Jumpin' Jupiter IV

IV

Jasna watched the light disappear from Gordon's eyes, and lost all control of her emotions. The gun dropped to the floor with a clatter and she rocked almost manically as she sobbed.

“I'm sorry!” She gasped at random between sobs.

“Jasna!” Various people tried to get her attention.

Matt inadvertently caught her attention when he took a picture of her face. She looked up at him in confusion. Her body still rocked as if of it's own volition. He snapped a second – clearer – picture.

“I don't know about the rest of you, but I consider this self defense. He murdered a member of our crew and beat on Jasna... She simply put a stop to his violence...” Matt stated.

Everyone agreed that after pictures of Mary's body and pictures of Jasna's face and neck were sent back to Earth, no one in their right mind would ever question that Gordon was shot in self defense. They also agreed that it was self defense, despite the fact that he wasn't fighting at the moment of his death.

“Jasna...” Lawrence murmured. “You shouldn't have pulled the trigger. You should have let me – or another man – get the blood on my hands.”

Jasna shook her head. “No... I don't think he would have let anyone else get close to him...”

She wiped at her eyes, but it was as effective as trying to towel off while still in the shower. Lawrence pulled her into his arms.

“It's okay... You don't have to cry,” he said in an attempt to soothe her. She nodded in agreement, then buried her face in his chest and sobbed all the harder.

Lana knelt behind her, and repeatedly made a soft shushing noise as she stroked Jasna's hair.

A couple of men with medical training silently agreed to tend to Gordon's body. The only burial option they had on the ship was to jettison him into space, much like a burial at sea. They treated him with respect though, despite the fact that he didn't deserve it. After cleaning him up the best they could – absolutely everyone on the ship watching them as they worked – they carried him to one of the airlocks.

Jasna followed them as if pulled by an invisible rope, Lawrence and Lana on either side of her for support. The others followed, determined to see this through to the end. Gordon was laid out peacefully on the floor of the airlock, and then the inner door was sealed.

Once the light turned green, Matt entered the command for the outer door to open. The body was immediately sucked into space. For several long moments, no one moved or even spoke. Finally, Jasna – who had managed to somewhat calm down by this point – waved to were she imagined his body was.

“Goodbye Gordon. May you rest in peace,” she whispered, and then turned to numbly walk to the showers. She and her clothes were covered in blood, though ironically, none had gotten on her face, and she desperately need to get clean. Before the blood irrevocably dried on her clothes!

While Jasna stood facing the wall in the shower room with her hands braced against it and her head hanging, she was doused by the spray of hot water – fully clothed and under the concerned supervision of the remaining women. At the same time, Matt and Lawrence and a few others went to take pictures of Mary's body, clean it up, and then prepare it for a funeral. Two deaths in so short a time had everyone reeling!

Everyone was asked to write up a detailed report of what happened, and once the last one was finished, they were all sent back to Earth so that Mary and Gordon's families could be notified. After that, everyone segregated themselves in their room to process and deal with everything that had happened.

*****

“Hi Jasna,” Lana greeted her cheerfully. A month had passed since Mary's funeral, and people were starting to return to normal.

“Hi Lana,” Jasna returned the greeting with a warm smile. Jasna was sitting on the bridge humming as she stared at the window. It was soothing to see the ship moving, even though from her perspective it seemed to be crawling slower than a snail.

Lana got to her knees in front of Jasna and took hold of her hands. “I know this is something we all avoid talking about, but I wanted to thank you. From the moment Kayleigh told us that Mary had died, I was gripped with a chilling terror that I would be next. I feel like you literally saved my life! It's silly, I know...”

Jasna hugged her. “Thanks... It means a lot to me that others felt the same. To be honest, I just kept thinking that he had already almost killed me once... who could stop him if he decided to try it again?”

At five months pregnant, Jasna was able to feel the baby move, but usually no one else could. It kicked hard enough now that Lana felt the slight wobble in Jasna stomach. She put her hands on it in awe.

“I used to love sitting with my head on mom's stomach each time she was pregnant. Listening to the baby slosh around inside has always been what I think of when people talk about miracles,” Lana confessed.

Jasna was interrupted by an unexpected yawn, but then she replied with a laugh. “I know exactly what you mean!”

“Sounds like you're tired,” Dave stated, startling them. “I came to take over on the bridge if you want.”

Jasna nodded. “Thanks.”

“I think I'm gonna go to bed too, good night,” Lana wished with a small squeeze of Jasna's hands.

“Night,” Jasna murmured as she gathered up her yarn and hook. Lana was gone by the time Jasna got to her feet.

Dave stopped her on her way out, wrapping her in an unexpected hug. “Get some rest,” he commanded. “You look utterly worn out!”

She laughed and then muttered sarcastically, “Thanks!” She rested her head on his shoulder for a moment. “If you're not too tired after someone else comes to take over here, try stopping by my room...”

Dave whispered a moan of anticipation. “Will do!”

Jasna kissed him, and then went straight to her room and fell right to sleep. A few hours later, Dave entered her room, and – seeing how deeply asleep she was – decided not to wake her. Instead, he lay down next to her, content to snuggle until he fell asleep.

When Jasna woke, she was delighted to discover that she had a bed partner. Unfortunately, he was too soundly asleep to respond to her touch. She sighed and left him alone; they could always have fun later on!

Jasna hummed as she walked to the galley to find breakfast. By the chatter she heard as she approached it, more than half the people on the ship must be gathered for breakfast.

“Jasna!” Lana greeted her cheerfully. “We're having an impromptu talent show. Care to participate?”

Jasna bit her lip, then shook her head. “Nah, I've already missed all your talents, so I'd only be embarrassing myself.”

“Oh come on!” Kayleigh begged. “There must be something you can do! Some unique talent that you're secretly proud of.”

Jasna realized that they were going to keep bugging her until she agreed anyway, so she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She cracked one eye open again and looked around warily.

“I can't do this with you all looking at me...” She muttered and then turned her back on them. She took another deep breath, and then cleared her mind.

People wondered if she was going to do something or not, then fell silent as they realized that she was; she just needed to talk herself into it first.

♫ When you were here before
Couldn't look you in the eye
You're just like an angel
Your skin makes me cry
You float like a feather
In a beautiful world
I wish I was special
You're so fucking special

But I'm a creep
I'm a weirdo
What the hell am I doing here?
I don't belong here … ♫

Jasna's voice was rich and steady. The song was slow and soft for the most part, but had its moments of passion and sheer beauty. She finished the entire song, and then braced herself for their brutal critique of her voice.

Everyone was silent for a moment, and Jasna finally gathered the courage to look at them. They seemed to be in shock!

“You listen to Radiohead?” James asked incredulously.

Jasna shrugged. “Why wouldn't I?”

“I just pictured you as a classical music kind of person,” James replied with a shrug. Several people nodded in agreement.

Jasna laughed. “That's certainly true! I do love classical, but it's not the only thing I listen to.”

Lana started clapping abruptly. “That was awesome! Can you sing another song?”

Jasna bit her pointer nail nervously as she considered the request. “Okay, but then I get to eat and listen to someone else sing!”

“Deal,” Lana grinned.

Jasna found that she still couldn't face them as she sang, not even with her eyes closed, so she turned her back once more and pretended that she was alone in the shower.

The song started out with some rhythmic vocalization. She couldn't remember how long the vocalization lasted, got nervous, and did somewhat horribly on the first verse, but then her confidence returned just in time for the second verse.

♫ The deeper you stick it in your vein
The deeper the thoughts, there's no more pain
I'm in heaven, I'm a god
I'm everywhere, I feel so hot!

It's not a habit, it's cool
I feel alive
If you don't have it you're on
the other side
I'm not an addict! (maybe that's a lie) … ♫

The lyrics took a break for more vocalizations, and then it was the throaty soulful part. To tell the truth, this was the reason Jasna liked the song; she actually sounded good singing it!

Once again, there was stunned silence when she finished, but rather than figure out why, she decided to escape their attention and find some food.

Lawrence called after her with a tone of amused sarcasm. “You do know that song's about doing drugs, right?”

Jasna laughed. “Yeah, but I don't hold that against it!”

She listened to the others sing their favorite songs as she ate, but had to rush off as soon as she was finished because the baby fervently reminded her that she hadn't yet made a trip to the bathroom since she woke up. Strangely, emptying her bladder when it was under this much pressure had an almost orgasmic feel to it, which reminded her that she had someone warm and snugly in her bed.

She returned to her room to find that Dave was obviously having a good dream. Grinning, she uncovered the cause of the tent-shaped mound in her blanket. Getting as comfortable as she could with a 5 month fetus inside her, she focused on teasing his shaft, which fit into her mouth perfectly.

Dave moaned in his sleep, already close to ecstasy judging by the frequent droplets of fluid oozing from him.

“Oh god!” He exclaimed softly as he clutched the back of her head and thrust as deeply as he could. His shaft started pulsing making Jasna hum a laugh as his cum tickled her throat.

She didn't stop sucking when he ran out of juice, instead, she increased the intensity, making him thrash about, half in protest, half longing to enjoy this as much as he could. Jasna decided to twist her head side to side, and then giggled as he groaned.

She abruptly lifted her mouth completely off of him with an audible pop, and then shifted to straddle him. She gathered her skirt together and out of the way, and smiled that she hadn't bothered to put her underwear on earlier. As a result, there was nothing in her way as she guided him inside her.

She bounced with a medium pace, happily rubbing herself until she was panting and squealing. Dave was now watching her take her pleasure with a grin. She looked heavenly when her face was flushed with passion!

Ship policy was that if anyone wanted to talk to someone in person, they should knock on the person's door once and then walk in if it was open. If a person didn't want to be disturbed, they'd simply lock their door. Jasna hadn't been thinking about locking her door, and as a result neither heard the soft knock a moment later.

Jasna threw her head back and squealed as Dave announced, “ Oh god! I'm cumming again!”

“I didn't need to know that,” someone mumbled then quickly apologized and left the room.

Jasna laughed throatily as she lay on her side next to Dave. “Poor guy. I hope he didn't need me for something important.”

“Who cares?” Dave rhetorized, snuggling into her. He gently nipped her neck, and then kissed her shoulder. “That was the perfect way to wake up.”

Jasna's phone rang, so she grabbed it out of her pocket and answered it.

“Sorry to bother you, but I figured that you are probably done now anyway. I was wondering if I could get your help with something?” Ricardo asked, and Jasna realized that he was who had just walked in on her.

“I suppose,” Jasna replied. “Just give me a few minutes to, uh, clean up.”

“Sure,” Ricardo agreed.

Jasna used a dirty pair of underwear to wipe herself clean, then stuffed a clean pair in her bag along with some clean clothes so that she could take a shower when she was done helping Ricardo. Slinging her bag over her shoulder, she opened her door to find Ricardo waiting for her. Dave called out to her as she left.

“Thanks Jasna! See ya later!”

“Later Dave,” Jasna stated with a friendly wave. “So, what do you need my help with?” Jasna asked Ricardo.

“You've gone through and inventoried everything, right?” Ricardo asked.

“Yeah, well almost. Why?” Jasna replied curiously.

“I noticed something strange, come with me.” Ricardo led her to the storage rooms for the galley. “Look...”

Jasna didn't really see anything wrong at first, then she realized that there was quite a bit less food than there should have been so long as everyone stuck to three or even four meals a day. There was still enough to feed everyone for five years, but if food continued to disappear at the same rate, then it would run out long before they got home.

“Oh no...” Jasna murmured to herself.

“I noticed it this morning when I went to look for a particular packet of food I like and discovered that they were all gone,” Ricardo explained.

“The Salisbury Steak?” Jasna asked.

Ricardo nodded.

“The chicken and wild rice is gone too...” Jasna added. “I'll talk to Lawrence about this. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.”

Jasna turned to leave, but Ricardo caught her arm. He gently pulled her closer to him, and brushed her cheek with his hand. “Jasna...”

Jasna smiled and leaned in to offer her lips for a kiss. Ricardo seized her lips greedily, and then lifted her into his arms and backed her into the wall. He had to be careful of her rounded belly, but he managed to wrap her legs around him after unfastening his pants and pulling her skirt out of the way. The wall provided support so that Jasna wouldn't fall as he guided her up and down his shaft.

She moaned encouragingly. Ricardo grunted and groaned in a way that made it clear he had missed having sex more then he would have thought possible.

Digging her fingers into his shoulders, Jasna met him thrust for thrust until she was almost squealing from release. Ricardo mumbled a prayer in Spanish, which indicated that he was close too.

“Oh my god!” Lana gasped in shock. “You're not supposed to do that where anyone can just walk in on you!”

Jasna laughed as the unexpected interruption set Ricardo off.

“Sorry, wasn't planned,” Jasna apologized with a grin. Ricardo rested his head on Jasna's shoulder for a moment, panting as he recovered.

Kayleigh giggled. “I'm actually surprised that we haven't run into someone having sex in the open like this before!”

Ricardo mumbled, apparently embarrassed. “Ladies, could you give us a moment of privacy?”

Lana turned to leave, but Kayleigh defiantly stared at them. “Nuh-uh! If you wanted privacy, you should have gone to your room!”

Jasna laughed, but then held her skirt in a way that it covered Ricardo as he pulled out of her, put himself back in his pants, and then zipped them up. She smoothed her skirts, knowing that she'd have to go take a shower now or else the dribbles would dry on her legs and eventually make her itchy.

She kissed him on the cheek. “I'm sure I'll see you later.” He nodded in agreement, and then fled the room. Jasna pulled out her phone and dialed Lawrence as she waved goodbye to Kayleigh and Lana.

“Hello?” Lawrence asked curiously.

“Hey Lawrence, I need to talk to you about something.”

“Right now?” He wondered.

“Actually, I'm on my way to the shower at the moment, but definitely soon,” Jasna replied.

“Funny,” Lawrence snorted. “I was just about to turn the shower on.”

“Great minds...” Jasna murmured. “Anyway, I'll be right there. I can talk to you while I wash up.”

“Sure thing!” Lawrence agreed and then hung up his phone.

Jasna soon entered the shower room, and immediately tossed her bag and all her clothes on a bench. She yawned and stretched as she walked to a shower head next to the one Lawrence was using.

“What did you need to talk to me about?” Lawrence asked as Jasna fiddled with the temperature controls.

“There's food missing. Quite a bit of it; more than I think could have been eaten unless everyone was eating twice what they're supposed to every time they eat...” Jasna explained, and then moaned at how good the water felt on her sore muscles. “Pregnancy really makes a body ache!”

Lawrence laughed, responding by rubbing her shoulders as she adjusted the temperature slightly hotter. She held still, sighing appreciatively.

“What do you think has happened to the food?” Lawrence wondered.

“I'm not sure, but I think it's possible that people are simply hording their favorites. The most popular packages are what's missing,” Jasna stated.

She lathered up and Lawrence stepped back to rinse his hair. Jasna was careful to wash between her legs thoroughly, which made Lawrence groan longingly.

“You're doing that on purpose to tease me, aren't you?” He asked.

Jasna laughed. “No!” She leaned back against the wall and fiddled with her clitoris. “Now this I'm doing to tease you!”

Hastily turning off the water to his shower head, he closed the distance between them. “I think it's about time we had a bit more fun.”

“Oh really?!” Jasna laughed. “What makes you think that?”

Lawrence grabbed her hand and guided it to his shaft. It was long and hard and obviously ready to enter her. She hummed appreciatively, then pushed him against the wall and dropped to her knees.

“I think this might be better first...” she murmured, and ran her tongue along each side of his shaft. Opening her mouth wide, she covered him as much as she could, sucking on him until his knees trembled.

“Uh!” Lawrence grunted softly. His fingers tangled in her hair. His hips rocked lightly, encouraging her to take him as deeply as possible. It took her some practice, but soon, she had him as far down her throat as he could go.

“Oh God!” Lawrence gasped, utterly loving the way she made him feel at the moment. He clutched Jasna's head and held her firmly while he grunted and filled her mouth.

“Ah! I'm so sorry!” Cassandra wailed. She and Matt had just come into the room to take a shower and possibly have a bit of fun.

Jasna started laughing, and then had to finish swallowing so that she wouldn't choke. A moment later, she threw her head back and laughed so hard that she almost fell over.

“That's the third time today that I've been walked in on!” She roared from the hilarity.

Lawrence was red from embarrassment, but held onto her so that she didn't fall and hurt herself. Once he had her on her feet again, he cleared his throat. “I'm finished with my shower now, so I think I'll go look into that matter that we discussed.”

Jasna nodded, still giggling softly. She watched him pull his robe on, and then waved at him as he left. A glance at Matt and Cassandra showed that they were still standing there hesitantly.

“Don't worry about me, I just have to finish washing my hair, and then I'll be on my way. In the mean time, feel free to take a shower. There's no sense in waiting for me to leave when there's so many showers free.”

Cassandra nodded in agreement, and then got undressed. Matt blushed and kept his gaze focused on the floor.

Jasna finished her shower, and then went to the bench to thoroughly dry off. She grinned at Matt. “You might want to put a sign on the door... Unless you like the thought of being walked in on.”

He blushed redder than ever. “No... once was enough...”

“Maaatt!” Cassandra hissed. Reminding him that Jasna didn't know she'd walked in on them once.

Jasna laughed. “I tell you what, I'll do it since I happen to have a pen and some paper in my bag.” She pulled out both, and then wrote occupied on the paper. “See?”

Matt nodded in agreement, and then realized that he was getting a good look at her body. He returned his gaze to the floor.

Giggling merrily, Jasna got dressed, then exited the shower room, calling out, “Have fun!” as she left. She made sure the sign would stick to the door, and then left them alone.

Deciding that there was nothing better to do at the moment, Jasna returned to her room – Dave was gone – gathered up her laundry, and brought it to the small room dedicated to a washer and dryer.

“Remind me to beat whomever designed this ship!” Jasna muttered as she put her clothes in the washer.

“Why is that?” Edward asked, entering the room just in time to hear her.

“This ship was obviously designed by men more concerned with fitting as much as possible into the tiniest space with regard to simplicity of wiring and piping, but with absolutely no regard to how it will irk the people who use it!”

Edward laughed. “You mean like how this room is in a positively miniscule closet next to the boiler room across from the shower rooms and down the hall from the galley? They wasted no piping – that's for sure – but they also didn't give any consideration to how sweltering it gets in here from the boiler...”

Jasna nodded. “Nor did they give any thought to ventilation for this room! A person could damn near pass out from heat stroke in the small amount of time it takes to load the washer!”

“Speaking of,” Edward changed the subject. “Do you have enough room in there for my things?”

Jasna nodded, standing aside to let him add his clothes to hers. He set it to wash on medium, and then pushed start. A low throaty laugh suddenly rumbled from her, piquing his curiosity.

“What?” He wondered.

“Nothing,” she lied with a grin.

“What?!” He demanded, almost dying of curiosity now.

She rolled her eyes and sighed. “Oh... just that our clothes are now getting all wet and tangled together, almost like they're having sex!”

Edward burst out laughing, not expecting that in the slightest. “That's an interesting way to think about it!”

Jasna groaned and wiped some sweat off her forehead. Edward placed his hand on the small of her back, and guided her out of the room. “It's too hot in there for you, especially since you're pregnant.”

Jasna simply nodded in agreement, her face alarmingly red.

He led her to the Galley to get something to drink, and breathed a sigh of relief when her color returned to normal. Jasna smiled at him gratefully.

“So... how are your stocks doing?” She asked, knowing that he could talk about them all day.

He surprised her. Rather than launch into a detailed explanation, he grabbed a mug of coffee and smiled at her. “Here, let me show you.”

She followed him to the bridge, waving at Chris as they entered. Edward helped her to sit in front of one of the computer consoles, and then pulled up a report that he received via email each day. It was another of the little things that the government did for them so that they didn't feel so isolated and alone. All of their email was forwarded to the ship. As a result, Edward was able to continue mostly running his business.

“What do you know about investing?” He asked.

“Nothing,” Jasna admitted honestly.

“I thought as much,” he said with a smile, and then took a few moments to explain the basics to her.

Jasna eventually shook her head. “See, that's why I don't like the thought of investing! Businesses like Walmart make a lot of money and therefore are the smart investments even though they are evil, and businesses like the Tesla Motor Company are unguarenteed, and therefore only investors who can afford to risk losing money can invest in them. I think the stock market in general is hugely unethical!”

Edward laughed. “I bet that you would think of it differently if you learned more and played the game.”

“Game?” Jasna inquired with one raised brow. “Of course you would see it as a game. It isn't the food off your table if you lose money.”

Edward rolled his eyes and shook his head, still chuckling. “Here, I tell you what. I'll invest some money in any company you think I should, and in exchange, you'll learn to play the game with me.”

Jasna shrugged. “Sure, why not?”

Edward pulled up a list of every business listed on the stock market so that Jasna could read up on them. She chose the Tesla Motor Company – of course – and two others that promised to make the world a greener place.

Edward nodded with a smirk, and sent off an email to his broker. With the time delay and the fact that it had to go through government filters first, it would take several hours before they'd receive a reply from his broker. In the meantime, Edward continued to educate Jasna on the stock market.

Edward's watch gave two short beeps, and he stood. “I'll be right back,” he promised.

Jasna nodded.

Chris laughed as soon as Edward was gone. “He's never going to leave you alone now! He'll pester you to talk stocks with him until you go mad and decide to shoot him!”

Jasna gasped. “That's not funny!”

Chris sobered up from his wild laughing. “Sorry, I didn't mean that they way it sounded. I just meant that you should politely tell him that you're not interested now before he bores you to tears.”

Jasna shrugged. “Why not? He's lonely, probably more so than the rest of us, so why shouldn't I talk to him about the things he loves?”

“Because I'm sure not even he would appreciate knowing that the only reason you talk to him is out of pity,” Chris stated.

“It is not!” Jasna protested. “I like Edward. I think he's fascinating and smart in a way that people just aren't anymore.”

“He's old is what you're saying,” Chris laughed.

Jasna sighed. “You're being so mean right now.”

Chris flinched sheepishly. “I think I'm just jealous because you're spending time with him while I'm all alone here.”

Jasna smirked. “With that attitude, you should be alone!”

“Yeah yeah,” Chris muttered.

“So as I was saying,” Edward launched into a continuation as he walked onto the bridge. “Stocks are beautiful!”

Jasna smiled at him. “I don't really understand why you think that, but I'm willing to learn more.”

They chatted more until Edward's watch beeped again.

“Laundry's done,” he announced.

Jasna nodded, and then followed him to the laundry room.

“Wait here, I'll get it so you don't have to risk overheating,” Edward offered.

“Thank you!” Jasna stated in relief. Two minutes later, Edward emerged juggling all their combined laundry.

Jasna laughed. “I think we'd better take that to my room and separate it!”

Edward pointed to a nearby door with his foot. “My room's right there.”

Jasna nodded, and rushed to open the door for him. They sat on the bed folding their clothes. There really wasn't much since no one had more than three outfits, but by this point, Jasna was yawning. Tears streamed down her cheeks.

“Darn pregnancy... make me so tired...” She murmured in an attempt to excuse her lack of manners.

“That's okay,” Edward assured her. “ I remember from when my wife was pregnant. She was always tired!”

Jasna folded her last item – her bloomers – and stood to go. She swayed woozily.

“Perhaps you'd better lie down for a bit,” Edward suggested. He took her laundry from her and set it aside.

Jasna nodded, climbed into his bed, and shifted until she got comfortable. Edward put his clothes away, and then chuckled softly.

“If I were just 20 years younger...” he sighed, making it sound like he was older than his mere 60 years of age.

Jasna yawned, and then mumbled. “You're not too old to be interested in women.”

“That's certainly true,” Edward agreed, stroking her hair with his hand. “But I am old enough to want a nap.”

Jasna patted his bed. “Then lay down and snuggle with me.”

Edward nodded, curling around her, and then holding her to him. Jasna rested her head on his shoulder, and fell asleep almost instantly. Edward took a few minutes to drift off.

He loved listening to her breath. She reminded him of his late wife. Laura had been very similar to Jasna in temperament and personality. He let himself pretend he held his wife in his arms, enjoying the opportunity to simply sleep with his loved one once more.

Go To Part V