Ditraxi

I don't usually mind these long trips but for some reason I'm feeling uneasy about this one...

"Lexia!" my mother calls.

I sigh and walk down the cold metal steps leading from my bedroom to the bottom deck.

"Lexia!" She calls again, I cringe at the high pitch sound of it.

"I'm right here mom."

"Oh. Well, you need to get back down into the cockpit and take over for your father."

Yikes... I hate sitting in the cockpit, seriously, it's probably the most stressful thing I've ever had to do.

"Of course." I reply.

My mother smiles at me, the change in expression casting odd shadows on her pale pink skin. I walk down the second set of steps to the bottom deck where my father is sitting behind the controls. "Hey Dad." I say quietly, walking up to him slowly, he's very bad at overreacting when he's spooked.

"Lexia, your mother sent you didn't she?" He asks, hissing just a little.

"Yeah, she want's me to take over. Just for a little while of course, you should go rest..."

He sighs a little before stretched out of his captains chair. The dim blue lights in the floor shining eerily onto his usually gray scales. He stands up completely and walks to me, his yellow eyes peering down at me over his glasses. He looks a little angry.

He smiles after a few moments, "Don't crash into any comets!" he yelps, chuckling at the way I jumped back in surprise.

"I won't dad." I groan back.

He gives a pat on the head, his cool skin making me shiver.

"Trax!" My mother yells from above us.

"You should go up there before she comes down to get you." I say pointing back to the set of stairs behind me with my thumb.

"Right." he says. And in that moment he whips around me and up the stairs before I could even take a breath.

"You don't have to yell Dexi." I hear my father hiss

"Ok. Dinner?" Is all she says back.

I shake my head and chuckle, sitting down in the captains chair. I click off the autopilot and grab hold of the steering wheel with my left hand.

"Where to, where to..." I mumble to myself, searching through the notebook my father keeps beside the chair with my free hand. He has Ditraxi circled in bright neon ink. I guess we're allowed back now, last time we were there I was 12, and he got into the fight with the High Priestess and she kicked us off 'forever', but I guess he did some schmoozing or something... I check the gauges for abnormalities, double checking the fuel levels and navigation screen. I turn the ship the the left, dodging the coming 'ring of sax denies centena', which is literally fancy Doona speak for 'ring of a million rocks', but my mother always gets mad if I don't say it in doona...

One of the pale blue lights at my feet begins to flicker, I peek down at it, it stops. I shrug and look back out into the darkness. The light starts to flicker again, and I look at it again, then all of them start to flicker. Great... I flick the autopilot switch to on and get up from the chair. I open the cabinet by the stairs and stare at the fusebox, I don't actually know how to operate a fuse box though. It's probably just a faulty wire or something, dad has had this ship since my oldest brother was 2, and he's 36 now. There's an unsettling crunch noise coming from inside the fuse box, but I don't dare touch anything. The room goes black. Even the headlights have gone out.

"Lexia, what's going on?" My father shouts from upstairs. I tighten my grip on the fuse box cabinet door.

"I don't know!" I shout back.

"I'm going to find a flash light, don't move!"

Something shakes the ship, and I fall backwards unable to keep myself stable with the door. I hear glass break upstairs.

"M-" I start to yell out, but before I can fully form my words something covers my mouth. I freeze.

"Ssssshh." something hisses.

I struggle to speak but can't.

"I'll let go if your quiet." the same voice whispers.

I nod my head, feeling stupid for doing so in the pitch black darkness. But my mouth is uncovered and I feel much less stupid.

"Who are you?" I whisper, hoping to be quiet enough for the mysterious intruder.

"That'sss none of your concern." it hisses back.

"What is my concern then?" I ask, irritated but still quite terrified.

"You will not return to Ditraxi, you or your family and essspecially not that sscaled father of yourss."

"No problem, I'll take us somewhere else."

There's a moment of silence.

"That'ss it, no ssstruggle?"

"There are thousands of other places to go in the Midas galaxy alone, and it's far far away from Ditraxi."

The creature says nothing.

"Lexia, I found a flashlight!" My father shouts shining the light down at me. I shield my eyes and look in front of me for the intruder, but I see nothing.

'If you come to Ditraxi I won't be ssso merciful..." hisses in my ears and I whip my head around, but again nothing. My father is in front of me in the next moment shining the light straight at me.

"Could you try not to blind blind me, please." I groan covering my eyes.

"Sorry." he replies lowering the light. I move my hand.

"What happened?" he asks.

"Power outage." I reply.

"Well yes, I know that."

"Well that's what happened."

He shakes his head and turns around to tend to the fuse box. I sit up against the wall and take a breath. I wonder what dad did to warrant such a threat. 'I won't be so merciful'... I shake the though from my head, already planning our new destination. It'll take at least 10 hours more than we planned this trip but I don't feel like taking any chances. The light switch back on, I squint having to get used to them again.

"There you go, all fixed."

"Thanks." I reply, standing up.

"I'm going back up, I think we hit some turbulence during the black out, a few dishes broke in the kitchen and I need to help your mother clean up."

"Ok."

He rushes back up the steps and I'm left alone again.

"Midas galaxy here we come."