BEYOND THE EXOSPHERE

As Sallie left the familiar confines of Earth's atmosphere alongside Jexter, the stars above them twinkled like diamonds scattered across the velvet expanse of space. The ship's viewport framed the breathtaking view, and Sallie's eyes widened in wonder.

"Jexter, it's so beautiful," Sallie breathed, her voice barely above a whisper. "I've never seen anything like it."

Jexter smiled, her eyes crinkling at the corners. "I know, right? Space has a way of putting things into perspective." She navigated the ship through the vast emptiness with ease, her hands moving deftly over the control panel.

Just then, a soft chime filled the air, and Jexter's communication device flickered to life. A holographic image materialized before them, and Sallie saw a young boy with striking blue eyes, "Snow White" skin and spiky blue hair that stuck out in every direction.

"Jexter!", the boy exclaimed, his voice filled with excitement. "I miss you so much!"

Jexter's face softened, and she reached out to touch the holographic image. "Hey, Jixon. I miss you too, little brother."

Sallie's eyebrows raised at the mention of a name she hadn't heard before. "Jixon?" she repeated.

Jixon was a precocious kid, full of energy and curiosity. He regaled Jexter with stories of his adventures on Xilor, from exploring the frozen crystal caves to playing pranks on their friends. As they talked, Sallie learned more about Jexter's family and her relationship with Jixon.

" I don't mean to brag but Jixon's a genius," Jexter said, beaming with pride. "He's is only 12 years ( actually 72 years old in earth calendar), but he's already showing remarkable skills in hacking and coding. He's been helping me with my missions, providing valuable intel and support." Our parents are always on his case about it, but I think it's cool."

Sallie felt a pang of jealousy, her mind flashing back to her own lonely childhood. She had always wanted a sibling, someone to share her secrets and adventures with. Jexter and Jixon's relationship seemed so special, so full of laughter and love.

Just as the 2 of them were sharing a lovely sibling moment, suddenly a rogue alien spaceship emerged from the depths of space. The ship's displayed strange symbols in its lava and magma like design. Jexter seemed to be familiar with the ship unlike Sallie, which was unlike anything she had ever seen before.

This odd spacecraft belong to the the Xeridians. The Xeridians were an alien species that were notorious for their fire and heat based powers. Their ships fly deep in space looking for weaker alien species to prey on. Due to their opposing powers, they were sworn enemies of the Xilorians.

Jexters own ship's alarms blared, "Incoming attack! Xeridians, at a bearing of 270 degrees!!!"

Sallie's heart sank, her mind hasn't fully recovered from their last encounter with the hostile alien, Sparkleon. Now, there was another hostile alien species that seemed threatening.

She then realizes that this was the "unwanted attention" Jexter was trying to avoid.

Jexter's hands flew across the controls, her eyes locked on the tactical display. "Evasive maneuvers! Sallie, strap yourself in!"

The Xeridian spacecraft releases a massive ball of fire towards their Jexter's ship. The fireball crashes into their own spaceship with such a great impact, their spacecraft gets caught on fire. The impact makes the ship to shudder, throwing Sallie and Jexter off balance.

Being set ablaze, the spaceship temperature begins to rise extremely, causing Jexter to scream in pain. The Xilorian's vulnerability to heat was a weakness she couldn't ignore. 

Jixon shouted through the hologram, "Help please save my sister…please!!!"

Sallie's instincts kicked in, and she grabbed a nearly fire extinguisher, spraying it at Jexter who is wriggling on the floor like a dying earthworm.

As the flames died down, Jexter's eyes met Sallie's, gratitude shining in their depths. "Thanks, Sallie for saving my life...again."

Sallie shrugged, feeling a sense of pride and accomplishment. "Anytime," she said, her voice steady. "That's what friends are for."

The ship's comms system crackled, and Jixon's voice came through, his tone calm and collected. "Jexter, I've hacked into the Xeridians' systems. I'm uploading a virus to disable their ship's GPS."

Sallie's eyes widened, impressed by Jixon's quick thinking and skills. The Xeridians' ships faltered, their flames dying down as Jixon's virus took hold. Jexter's quickly rose and took control. She swiftly activated the ship's backup systems, stabilizing it and keeping them alive.

Despite all this, the shipping was still severely damaged due to the fire ball impact, its engines sputtering.

"Asteroid field ahead," the ship's computer warned. "Impact imminent."

Jexter's eyes snapped to the control panel, and she swiftly plotted a new course. But in her haste, she made a mistake. The ship shuddered as it struck an asteroid.

"We're going to crash!" Jexter yelled, her hands fighting to maintain control. 

The ship plummeted towards a RAINBOW COLORED PLANET below, Sallie's stomach lurching with the impact. The ships engine were failing badly and a crash landing was inevitable. Jixon, who is still appearing through the hologram, becomes scared thinking his elder sister was going to die. His holographic image begins to blink and eventually disappears, depicting a loss of signal. Both Sallie and Jexter manage to escape the crashing ship through Jexter's parachutes. Luckily, the RAINBOW COLORED PLANET atmosphere is breathable. As they safely landed on the mysterious planet, Sallie checks her breast pocket to confirm if the cryogenic cube that contained her mother's shrunken corpse was safe. Seeing it was, she slowly sighs a sigh or relief followed by severe panting. 

Jexter attempts to use her communication device to contact her brother but keeps getting no signal on the planet. To make matters worse, Jixon's hacking skills didn't seem so durable as the Xeridian ship that attacked them earlier returns. This time around the two girls had no where to run as the Trans-Dimensional Hyperdrive, the engine that powers Jexter's ship, becomes damaged in the crash landing. Out of the Xeridian ship, 4 large reddish brown muscular figures jump out and land, blocking the two girls in all 4 directions. These 4 figures were adult male Xeridians who were about to feast on Sallie and Jexter. Jexter knew she couldn't defeat all 4 of them at once and reluctantly accepts the fact she and Sallie were in big trouble.