It was a strange situation on board the Raven. After the initial jumps, they got used to letting the three Jexx on the bridge take control. It was almost like being passengers. Dranke noticed a lot more of coffee analogues on the bridge and he smiled at the way people were taking it easy. Kell, Fenie and Piteer concentrated on the maintenance work, and Vaxe and Sette and Dex kept busy in the engine room. For Dranke, it was a time for reflection and waiting. He was taken aback from his reverie when he suddenly heard the Jexx speaking to him "Captain we are almost at the Hnnet system. Prepare for combat." Dranke pinged the rest of the crew to get strapped in. There was little to do other than to man the weapons.
The crew came together immediately. Almost everyone was either on the bridge or strapped in close on a console. It seemed strange to be entering into battle for real. And then the alarms went. The holograms showed the Jexx ships close into the Hnnet base they had targeted. Since they had the cloaking tech, they were not visible to the electromagnetic spectrum. Dranke had a sinking feeling. Commander Yod said something in Jexx and spoke to the humans "We are now commencing fire at the following coordinates..... counting down." The coordinates flashed in Jexx and English. Dranke, Fenie and Vaxe were on weapons. They all fired. There was a lot of action and voices in the Jexx language. Dranke looked at Kell, who shrugged.
In a few more moments the fleet regrouped. The Hnnet had not fired back. Where earlier there had been a gigantic space base, there was nothing. The Jexx cheered. It was premature.
As Dranke looked in shock at where the Hnnet base had been, he noticed that they had lost control over the darkmatter starcraft. He asked commander Yod "Are you sure you were able to destroy the base?" Commander Yod spoke in his rolling cadence "Of course. But the enemy has frozen our engines." As if to prove the commander wrong, the space base swam into view. Communications were in both English and Jexx "Do not try that again. As you can see, your weapons are useless against us." Dranke stared. This tech was way beyond anything he could imagine. The Jexx were powerless!
The Hnnet acted as if they had no A priori knowledge of the attack. They were obviously playing some kind of deep game. Commander Yod spoke to his attack force and they broke away. He turned to Dranke "We three will come to Earth with you. The rest of my people will return home, but we need to have a council of war. The Hnnet need to be taught a lesson." It did not require knowledge of Jexx body language to know the commander was seething. He handed over command back to Dranke, who gratefully accepted the responsibility and plotted a route back to Earth. Piteer checked the route map briefly, made a few adjustments to reducte the number of jumps, and within seconds, they started to jump. The whole misadventure had been a waste of time. Dranke wondered why the Hnnet would let this charade play out.
Dranke had seen the Jexx fleet turn back. It had been quite a lesson for them. Some part of him sympathized with the Jexx and their powerlessness. He had felt the same way the first time the Hnnet had immobilized the Raven.
Fenie was fascinated with the firing system. It was something new, and it kept her busy. Kell and Piteer joined her as she studied it's schematic and working. Ship life was almost normal. The Jexx had retired to their cabin, which the three of them shared. Except that the alarm which went off stridently. It was the lifeforce detection unit and Fenie scrabbled to check what it was all about. There was a commotion and the commander Yod stood in the doorway of the main cabins. Dranke rushed to see if the Jexx needed help. The companion Jexx were lying in a pool of the liquid they needed to stay alive. The transparent Jexx were very still. Commander Yod said "I need to end their lives, so that I could defect. There was no other way." Dranke was shocked. He did not know how exactly to react to this. Should he treat Yod as a defector or a criminal. Knowing that the alien species may not have the same rules at humans, he looked at Kell. All the crew had now gathered and were watching agog. Dranke said "Crew please man your stations. Only Kell and Fenie to stay." The crowd dispersed.
Kell whispered "We should not interfere in Jexx politics. This is unprecedented. It would have ramifications on Earth." Dranke nodded. "Commander Yod, you are requested to stay in your cabin. We will clear the bodies. You are not to leave your room please, until we reach spacecommand." Yod said in the curious way of the Jexx "Of course Captain. I would expect no less."
Dranke had posted two sentries outside the commander's door. He composed a detailed report to spacecommand "We are on our way to Earth. The following is the factual events that have unfolded after the commander Yod was thwarted from his attack on the Hnnet space base....." The message was a long one. It would reach spacecommand just a few Earth days before they would reach Earth. The mood was somber.
Dranke was conflicted. He spent a lot of time mulling over the murder. What he did not expect was the voice in his head. The voice asked him to release the Jexx commander. Dranke tried to think back a question to the voice. It was silent in response. He tried again. Nothing. The voice told him not to worry, it was as per plan. He continued to try and ask it questions. The voice fell silent. Dranke was even more unsettled. He looked around, but no one had noticed anything. Fenie gave him a smile and Kell nodded when he caught her eye. They had no clue. He felt very alone.
Pic courtesy : Space landscape from Metalyman at deviantart - http://metalyman.deviantart.com (http://goo.gl/KGDUHP)
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