Jazzy (Moon Hunters Inc. Book 5)

by Catty Diva

  “Someone needs to organize people and get the next shuttle loaded. So when I get back, I’ll just get in and take off.” Jazzy explained.

  “I’ll do it.” A man offered.

  “What’s your name?” Jazzy asked.

  “Elroy.” He said. Jetson had seen the guy around and recognized that they resembled each other.

  “I see a theme around here.” Jazzy said. “Thank you. Why don’t you send ten more people for this shuttle then start loading the next one? I should be back in forty minutes.”

  “I’ll do that.” Elroy agreed and he walked away. A few minutes later, ten more people got on the ship.

  Jazzy took the pilot’s seat and Jetson sat next to her. He knew he wouldn’t be a help, but he found it hard to stay away from her. She put on a head piece and spoke to the passengers. “Thank you for riding on Jazzy Air. I need everyone to sit down and put on your safety harness. We will be leaving right away to meet up with the big ship.”

  She assumed everyone did as asked and she turned the shuttle around and shot out of the bay door. Excited noises came from the back and he was sure this was the first time any of them had ever left the station. It was as frightening as it was exhilarating. The stars blurred as they shot straight at a giant ship that eclipsed everything around it.

  Chapter 6

  Escape

  Jazzy glanced at Jetson who had been with her on every trip she’d made with the shuttle between the ship and the station. She had taught him some basic things and had him watching out for other ships nearby. There hadn’t been any, but it was possible someone might try to escape in a ship. The shuttle had no weapons and that was a worry. Hating the feeling of helplessness that gave her, she tried to be cautious.

  “You’ve been quiet.” She pointed out.

  “I’ve been overwhelmed. This is a whole new world and I will have to find my place in it. The rules are different and I don’t know where I’ll call home.”

  “You could go home with me.”

  “Here I didn’t think you liked me and now you’re offering to make me a kept man.”

  Jazzy flushed. This man always managed to get under her skin. “That’s not what I meant. We could get to know each other better and I could help guide you in this new world. It doesn’t have to be decided immediately. We’ll be on this ship a couple weeks before we get anywhere that you could stay.”

  “I was teasing you. You turn such a pretty pink.”

  “Thanks, I think. Any thoughts on what you might want to do?”

  “Do?”

  “Yes, the places taking refugees work with them and help train them for jobs.”

  “What about what you do?”

  “It’s not always the easiest job and you risk your life. A few more years, and I’ll retire to a less dangerous and more settled life. I’m good with technology, that’s my backup job. If you decide on a career in this, you’ll want a backup job too. One good thing about this as a job is you learn a lot of things while you’re doing it. You’ll learn to fly, most of us know several languages even without the language chip we all have embedded in us, basic computer knowledge is needed, and often something else to get you in the door. We have hunters who appraise valuables, are cosmetologists, masseuses, builders, and plumbers.”

  “You can do all that?”

  “No, but we have someone who can. Something was stolen from the great pyramid and kept at an undisclosed location where a famous collector had shipped it after he bought it. There was no way in until Cash discovered the guy liked a good massage. Pretty men did it for him so Gabe had to go in.”

  “Did he have to have sex with the man?”

  “No, he put something in the oil and the guy got the best night’s sleep ever. Gabe had on so much makeup, no one would ever recognize him. He got the item back and Cash got paid. There are times we go in fists flying, but sometimes a soft touch works best.”

  “Thank you for taking me seriously. We didn’t get off to the best start but I thought I was making the best choices for everyone concerned. Defiance never seemed like an answer because we saw so many die for it. Perhaps death is better than a life in chains.”

  “I was wrong to judge you. The things you went through, all of your people went through, made decisions much harder than I gave you credit for. I was only in the lab as a child and none of my decisions then ever mattered.”

  “I’m sure you were strong even then.”

  “You give me too much credit. You’re forgetting I didn’t free myself. All I did was stay alive outside the labs. Life seemed much better there.”

  “You don’t believe that was quite the accomplishment for a teenager with no money and no one to help?”

  “No, I didn’t do anything special. I had my health and there were others that didn’t. They had the hard time.”

  “Why do I think you helped them?”

  “Not as much as I wish I could have.”

  “You were just a kid. Don’t beat yourself up.”

  They pulled into the bay for what she hoped was the last time. She and Jetson had made trip after trip and she didn’t think they’d had any help at all. “I think this is the last run for the night.”

  “That means there will be people left on the two lower floors.”

  “We’ll get them in the morning. They probably settled in for the night. The fighting must have been brutal.”

  “What happened to those injured?”

  “We all have first aid training and several are medics. We even have a couple fully trained nurses. It comes in handy all too often.”

  “I can see how it would when you do raids like these.”

  “Sometimes when we take artifacts or people back, those they were retrieved from get pissed. You’d be surprised how often that can become a fight.”

  Jazzy stopped the shuttle, opened the door, and dropped the ramp. People rushed to get onboard, even though it was the smallest group yet. Once they loaded, she pulled in the ramp and Jetson went back to close the door and lock it. She gave her usual speech and they were off.

  This time when they landed on the big ship, they would be getting their room for the trip. The cargo bay was nearly empty. It was already being set up with inflatable mattresses this ship carried. There were a lot of emergency supplies since this was one of three ships Oison had that was sent to assist in disasters. The Mazlans were helpful to others in the true sense of the word.

  The fact that their home planet had been destroyed and billions had perished made them sympathetic to others in similar situations. Jazzy knew that wasn’t the reason they were helping here. It was more personal and even though they hadn’t found a single full-blooded Mazlan in any of the labs, there had been traces in the genes of those subjects they had tested.

  Once they came to a stop in the bay, they slipped off before the others. Jazzy opened the door and pulled down the ramp from the outside. She led Jetson out of the madhouse the bay had become as the people off-loaded. She felt they’d done their share and now it was time to get a room and turn in for the night.

  None of her fellow hunters were onboard since they were all on the station taking charge of whatever the situation there was. She found a crewman in the hallway. “Hello. I’m one of the moon hunters and this is one of the rescued people. We need a room assignment.”

  “Yes, Ma’am. What’s your name?”

  “I’m Jazzy. He’s Jetson.”

  The young man spoke into his earpiece. “Just follow me and we have a single for you.”

  “A single?” Jetson whispered.

  “It will have one double or queen bed. It’s for a couple, although they also put the potential mates in these rooms. The crew usually doubles up in rooms, sometimes as many as four in those rooms with bunks. I imagine they’ll be putting two or more in every room. There are a couple smaller ships, but they won’t hold many people.”

  The young man stopped outside a room. He held out a screen and Jazzy pressed her thumb to it. She grabb
ed Jetson’s hand and pressed his thumb to it, too. “It allows us to get in the room by pressing our thumbs to the lock.” Jazzy explained. “Thank you.” She said to the crewman.

  “You’re welcome. Mess is serving around the clock.”

  “We’ll check it out after we clean up.” Jazzy assured him as they walked into the room.

  “This is nice.” Jetson murmured.

  Jazzy searched out clothes. They would have put some in all the rooms. She found some in several sizes and they looked like the scrubs medical personnel wore. It was probably all they had onboard. “I’ll shower first.” She explained. They weren’t ready to get intimate yet and suddenly she felt shy.

  “Okay. You may have to show me how to use things.”

  “No problem. I won’t take long.” She grabbed a set of scrubs and hurried into the bathroom. It would have been nice to take a long bath, but time wasn’t on their side. A quick shower would have to do.

  Jazzy felt more like herself once she was clean, dry, and dressed. She went in the other room and picked out some large scrubs for Jetson. “These will fit you. Call if you need me to help you turn on the water.” Jetson nodded, took the scrubs, and headed to the bathroom.

  He must have figured things out because he didn’t come back until he was clean, dry, and dressed as well. “What now?”

  “Now, we go find the cafeteria and get something to eat.” Jazzy led the way following her nose.

  The place was packed but people were leaving so seats should be available. The food was served cafeteria style. They both chose meatloaf with mashed potatoes, corn, a side salad, and a piece of cherry pie. Jazzy suspected he made the same choices she did because he’d never had any of the food before. She grabbed a large glass of sweet iced tea and found a place they could sit together.

  It was obvious Jetson loved the food as he ate it with his eyes closed. The mush she’d been served in the facility must have been what they all got all the time. They would discover many things to enjoy now that they were free.

  They ate in silence and got up dropping off their trays and heading back to their room. Jazzy led the way back even though Jetson seemed to know it, too. Once they were in their room, things were a little awkward. Jetson stepped up to her and pulled her into his arms. His movements were slow but confident as he lowered his lips and kissed her passionately for a few moments before pulling back.

  “What side of the bed do you prefer to sleep on?” He asked.

  “I don’t care. What about you?”

  “No preference either. We’ll get along fine.” He picked a side and pulled back the covers. Laying down, he covered up and drifted off to sleep.

  Was it that he was moving slowly or did he not really want her? She had worried about what she would do if he made a move and now it seemed she’d worried for nothing. His breathing was slow and easy, he was truly asleep. There wasn’t much for her to do but go to sleep, too. She moved to the other side of the bed and turned over the covers. Fluffing her pillow, she then slid into bed and just lay there hoping sleep would come. It did eventually.

  Jazzy felt hot. She also felt something pushing against her ass like she was being humped. Her mind cleared and she remembered going to bed next to Jetson. He must be the one pressing up against her. Rolling over just enough to see what was happening, she saw he was indeed pressed up against her and moving around in his sleep.

  “Jetson.” She said trying not to alarm him but wanting him awake. There was no response. “Jetson!” She said loudly and he jerked awake.

  “What?”

  “You were jerking around in bed.”

  “Most women don’t mind that.”

  “I’m not most women. You woke me up.”

  “I’m sorry. It wasn’t intentional.”

  “That’s okay. It’s still early enough we can get some more sleep before we have to get up.”

  Jetson took her at her word and he was asleep again in seconds. Jazzy hated people who could do that. She found sleep wasn’t coming back for her. He’d woke her up, but it hadn’t bothered him. Since nothing worked to help her sleep, she got up.

  Jazzy headed down the halls of the ship ending up in the cafeteria where she grabbed a cup of coffee and a donut. Her gaze was drawn to a big guy sitting with a bunch of the ship’s crew. When their eyes met, she was stunned to realize this was Roar. Rising from his seat, he grabbed his coffee mug and moved to meet her.

  “May I sit with you?” He asked.

  “Certainly. I feel like I owe you everything. It was almost hopeless for me before you spoke to me.”

  “About that. I hope you didn’t share that with anyone.”

  “I know your people are secretive and I respect that. No one knows, nor will they find out from me.” Jazzy assured him.

  “I thank you for that. There was a concern in using those talents so openly but we decided if anyone was trustworthy, it would be a moon hunter. The reputation your group has is the best.”

  “I didn’t know that. Cash will be happy to hear that we are well thought of.”

  “They told me you piloted the shuttle yesterday. Many thinks for that. We were all busy or someone would have taken your place.”

  “It was no problem. I enjoy flying. Jetson, one of the long time prisoners, stayed with me helping where he could.”

  “There were so many here. I hope we have finally hit them hard enough to make them reconsider what they do.” Roar said.

  “I fear if they abandon the labs, they will destroy everyone or just leave them behind.”

  “We are working to find the last of the labs. We have found references to at least five more.”

  “So many.”

  Roar turned and looked toward the door, so she did too. Jetson stood there, his eyes searching until he found her. “I’ll leave you to your friend for now. If you need anything, let me know.” Roar strode away, tall and proud as Jetson approached.

  The donut hadn’t helped much and her stomach growled. “Have you eaten yet?” Jetson asked.

  “Just a snack. Let’s go get breakfast.”

  Jetson followed her to the line where they grabbed trays, plates and whatever they needed. They filled their plates and went back to sit where he had first seen her. Once they were seated, they began to eat.

  “Who was the guy you were talking to?”

  “Roar. He’s a crewmember.”

  “Did you know him before?”

  “Not very well. He wanted to thank me for piloting the shuttle. He’s a nice guy.” It made her wonder, could Jetson be jealous? Why did the thought delight her? “I’m planning to pilot a shuttle after breakfast. Maybe it will help to get us out of here sooner if we assist.”

  “I’ll go with you.”

  “Thank you.”

  They finished eating without any more talking until they were done. “Ready?” Jazzy asked.

  “Yes.” Jetson said and they dropped off their trays and headed to the bay.

  Upon arrival, they discovered another shuttle already at work. They entered one of the unused shuttles. “Command deck, this is shuttle four asking to take off.”

  “Shuttle four, what is your mission?”

  “This is Jazzy. I intend to assist in picking up passengers from the station.”

  There was a long pause. “Shuttle four, you are cleared for takeoff.”

  “Thank you, Command.” Jazzy said as she took off for the bay exit.

  “Why was there such a long pause for clearance?” Jetson wondered.

  “An officer had to give us clearance.”

  “I’d like to see the command deck sometime.”

  “Remind me and we’ll see it later on our trip.” Jazzy promised.

  The day went well and it was over by lunch with several shuttles taking part. Even though all former prisoners and some new prisoners (guards and supervisors running the facility) were loaded, the ship would not be leaving right away. The ship would stay nearby to supervise the process of stripping the s
tation of all valuables. It had been used in purposes opposed to general space law and the sale of any valuables up to and including the station itself were allowable. The money would go to aiding the victims in reentering society.

  It was a lofty goal, but the money would never be enough. The financial support needed would be much more than that. It would be the hours of volunteer time that would make the biggest difference. Those with families on the outside would do the best. Jazzy was left with her thoughts about Jetson. She wanted to invite him to live with her, but what if he rejected her offer?

  Normally, she went full steam ahead and did as she thought right. The problem was her heart was rarely involved. Not that she was in love, or at least she wasn’t sure if she was or not. Did that even make sense? Jazzy wasn’t the type who usually fell in love. She was an action girl, not an emotional one. Her heart was hard to reach due to all that it had been through when she was young.

  Jetson seemed to be changing that without even trying. Lately, she’d seen strength and resilience in him that originally she hadn’t. He was also one fine looking man by any standards. Was it love or was it lust and did it even matter at this point?

  “What’s going on in your head?” Jetson said quietly. He’d snuck up on her and she’d almost jumped liked a skittish teenager.

  “Just getting ready for bed. I’m tired.” And I’m a coward. But the last part went unsaid except in her head.

  Jetson stood so close to her she could feel his heat on her back. The desire to lean into him was great, but she fought it. “I don’t think I believe you. Are you worried about what’s going on down on the station? Or maybe you’re worried about those of us that were freed?”

  “Why would I worry about that? Everything is being taken care of.”

  “Are you afraid I’ll expect something you’re not willing to give?”