Qhiks ships hauled them through the gate back into Milky Way galaxy to the spot they intercepted them after they escaped the Kraz’ox and destroyed the ISS in the process.

The four Anoi on the ship didn’t talk much, they barely answered the ISS crew’s questions and kept to themselves. James wondered if Azcrawford was the chatty one or if the Anoi were frustrated by the situation, either way, that was not something he would dwell on this trip. They had more important things to worry about, from how to not get shot once they enter the Solar System to how to find trustworthy people and convince them of what Qhiks have said.

The Anoi explained that the initial jump from the solar system to Qhiks territory was uncontrolled at almost the maximum distance, so the way back would take them five controlled jumps with the cooling period between them. So the crew had almost two days before they arrive back on earth. They used that time to finally get some sleep.

James found himself unable to sleep with everything going on, so he spent most of his time amongst Anoi and getting to know newer Astronauts that he didn’t have time to familiarize with before the Anoi arrived and everything spiraled out of control.

“Did you get some sleep in?” James stumbled onto Chloe in the hallway leading towards the Hangar.

“Yeah, some,” She answered. “You still can’t sleep?” She asked him.

“Not really, but I got some rest with my eyes open earlier, I’ll be fine…” He said.

“Have the Anoi said anything?” She asked.

“Not really, they are still keeping to themselves. They only answer with yes or no or just downright ignore me when I ask them questions.” James said.

“I just hope they don’t fuck us over once we get to Earth.”

The deal they made with Anoi was a simple one. Once they do the last jump and appear in the Solar System, the Anoi would activate communication systems towards the Kraz’ox, and then they would step down and surrender to Kraz’ox once they board them.

James also used all the time they had to familiarise himself with the Anoi suits, learning its functions and capabilities. The suits had battle capabilities but that was not their main function, the suits were more focused on communication with the ship making it easier to fly the massive spacecraft, they also had thrusters for if you needed to go out of the space without a tether.

After the fourth jump ship’s drive needed five more hours before they could jump towards the solar system right next to the Moon as previously agreed. The crew gathered one more time in Hangar to get their stories straight, there was no doubt in their minds that Kraz’ox’s were going to believe them just like that. They were sure that they would be interrogated separately, the Qhiks warned them of that as well.

The time before the final jump went by in the blink of an eye and the, now familiar, nervousness and the feeling of uncertainty came back. James, Chloe, Meng, and four others went to the command room to be with the four Anoi that flew the ship, and the rest of the ISS crew stayed behind in the hangar.

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“Are you ready Humans?” One of the Anoi, who introduced himself as Tracords asked.

“Ready,” James asked looking at Chloe and Meng who nodded in agreement.

The drive initiated, their vision went black for a second and they appeared right next to the Moon. As soon as they did the spaceship’s alarms started blasting.

“The communications are on Human, you can broadcast to Kraz’ox,” Tracords said and James swallowed a lump in his throat and started talking.

******

Youx never planned to join the Army but was forced with the draft once Kraz’ox started experiencing huge losses some three years ago. He was yet to see battle and spent most of his time escorting colony and mining ships between coalitions solar systems and planets.

Now he found himself above this beautiful blue planet called Earth populated by the so-called humans that looked oddly similar to them. He welcomed this job: staying in orbit above the planet, patrolling the small region for any signs of intruders. He was supposed to spend two weeks patroling then he would be allowed to land and relax for a few days before getting back into space.

Youx was always curious about new worlds and species they held, the smell of the new atmosphere, and the wonders the universe can create never got old. This was an oddly developed world on the brink of the ability to space travel, those were very rare, you either encountered a planet in the early development or way past its prime.

He ate his morning rations, drank a cup of Swui, extract from a plant Swuidron, to wake himself up, and started his patrol. Their intel told them the chances Anoi and their coalition commit any forces to this sector were almost 0, but still, a job was a job, and he was going to do it.

He made his way around the moon and not even a quarterback his sensors started blaring. His radar showed Anoi ship right next to the moon, where he passed some ten minutes ago. Turning the ship around he could see the huge ship with his own eyes, the Anoi battleship, by the damage it had all over he concluded it must have been the same one that escaped Solar System some days ago.

“Youx to command,” He yelled. “The Anoi ship just appeared next to the moon.”

“Copy that,” Command answered some seconds later. “Keep an eye on them but don’t engage it’s a full-on battle cruiser it can destroy you easily, we are sending backup right away.” The command said and cut off their transmission.

He flew his ship in a wide circle keeping his distance, ignoring all the blaring and beeping that was happening in his cockpit. Finally checking his display he saw that the Anoi ship was hailing him. He reluctantly opened the channel.

“This is James Barnes speaking, part of the ISS crew that was taken hostage by Anoi. We commandeered their ship and found our way home. Do not shoot at us, we are humans, we have four prisoners.” The message over the radio said and kept repeating itself several times before Youx snapped out.

“Youx to Command,” He quickly contacted his command. “I’ve received a broadcast from their ship, it’s humans, they are saying they have control over the ship and found their way back.” He said and forwarded the message from the Anoi ship to the command.

“Roger that Youx, still keep your distance until we confirm the authenticity of the message,” Command answered.

He spent the next ten minutes doing the same circular motion and watching his sensors if the Anoi ship was targeting him before the backup arrived. The command sent almost all available ships forming a huge armada next to him.

It took them more than an hour to safely confirm that humans were in fact in control of the Anoi ship. They did additional checks and rounds in order to make sure it wasn’t some kind of a trap or a distraction. With caution and more ships approaching and forming a perimeter around the Anoi ship they first extracted the four Anoi prisoners and sent them directly to their command battleship that was still above the earth. Sometime later they boarded the human astronauts in two smaller transport ships and he found himself escorting one of them down to earth, to

their base in Central Park, New York, he would see Earth sooner than anticipated.