The Raven jumped time and again, but for once, no one was really watching their progress. Except for cursory glances by Dranke and some interest by Piteer, for purely academic purposes, for the first time in a long time they were following a starmap without course correction.
Kell, the observer from spacecommand was Dranke's superior as far as rank was concerned; but since he was the captain, he outranked her - at least on the darkmatter starcraft. Kell got herself a coffee and stared from one of the consoles on the bridge as Dranke and Fenie talked softly amongst themselves. They were obviously a closely-knit team. It seemed to her that the crew were always in a ballet of minimalistic moves. They knew how each one moved, thought and they had their roles to play. It was a performance. She wondered how much of it was conscious. It struck her as particularly significant. But she had other things to do. She shrugged off the observation and immersed herself her work.
While Dranke had been quite shaken by the decision handed down to him, he knew when not to question orders, and he quietly came to terms with his new orders. Fenie, Vaxe and Piteer had all met with him privately and voiced their disquiet, and he had to give them direction, while being frustrated with the knowledge that this was a mistake. He decided to bury it and tackle it when the time came.
Kell walked upto the bridge where Dranke and Sette were logged in. Sette was carrying out a simulation of possible Hnnet planets using an algorithm, which was learning all the time. It was now able to predict the possible places they would have to visit. Kell pulled a face "We should be reaching the Jexx world soon. As per my calculations, we should soon exit the jumps and enter normal space." Dranke looked at her searchingly "Yes, of course. The crew is on shifts now, but we will quickly adjust to Jexx time once we approach."
As if to prove Kell right, the darkmatter starcraft exited the jumps and powered up the fusion drive which awoke with a shudder. Space resolved to show the blue-green planet which was Jexx. It reminded one of Earth! Dranke looked on as Sette adjusted the lighting to 'day.' Softly beeping morning alarms were apparent all over the ship, the crew were waking up. Dranke got a coffee analogue and continued to stare at the planet. Thin white tracers left the surface aimed at them and he looked at Sette who hand signaled to him - it was a welcome committee.
Fenie and Piteer got onto the bridge. And Dex and Vaxe took up the rear. The full bridge crew was now staffed and they were looking bright and chirpy. Kell grinned "You're in for a bit of a surprise. The Jexx move only in trios. Since they look very different from us, please do not stare. Dranke almost smiled "We are used to alien species, so we should be good." The Jexx ships were maneuvering for a docking procedure. Dranke was a little surprised. Clearly their tech was not the same as the Hnnet. He said nothing, but nodded as Fenie looked up, confirming docking acceptance. The Jexx entered.
There were three of them there as Kell had predicted. The human-shaped spacesuits were a throwback to the times when there were astronauts. But all resemblance there ended. The Jexx were transparent. Their spacesuits were neutral white, but their bodies had no definition. The Jexx spoke.... one word from the first, followed by one word from the second, followed by one word from the third. "Welcome.....to.....Jexx." This was going to be an ordeal. Dranke said "Thank you, greetings from Earth." The Jexx spoke again, words tumbling out like a waterwheel toy "We.....have......already......been.......greeted......from.......Earth......when......we.......visited......please ......follow.......us.....to.......our.......military.......base." Dranke motioned for Kell to reply and watched as the Jexx listened to her intently. He studied the aliens. They were clearly invertebrates, and it seemed like they were breathing in the liquid in which they were enclosed. They clearly had a different chemistry than he was used to. The liquid was colorless, just like their bodies, and it gave no clue of what it was.
As the Jexx left, Dranke looked at Fenie who shrugged. She was clearly also trying to analyze what was in those spacesuits. They were designed to look like Earth spacesuits, but they did not seem to have the same body structure. So why? It was a mystery. In the meantime, Piteer slid the Raven into formation with the three Jexx spacecraft. They were tiny compared to the Raven, but they were bristling with instruments and weapons, which left no doubt as to what was the primary role of the spacecraft.
An orbital wheel which went around the planet was identified as their destination and the Jexx spacecraft slid into small hangars on its surface, The indicator for a larger hanger was flashing, and Dranke was clearly expected to land there. He looked at Fenie "I think that's the one." The Raven slid into the space and the bay doors closed. They were in.
Pic courtesy : Pixabay.com ( http://goo.gl/QcLj9e )
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