Not Any More Crazy Than Your Average Human

Oce was resigned to dying. The pirates had destroyed the propulsion system beyond repair with their first shot, and they had even deemed it necessary to destroy the subspace beacon, so unless somebody had picked up the distress signal in the small amount of time the fight had taken place in, this vessel would be xeir casket.

Not that it mattered.

A display interrupted xeir fatalist musings, informing xem that an unidentified warship had jumped next to xem.
"This is human cargo-pusher Elbe, In'ae diplomatic vessel, do you need medical assistance?"

Oce perked up. Humans? Xey had spent their early diplomatic career in contact with this young species. Not a warship then, the humans just had a very particular philosophy in ship building, owed to their less than friendly welcome to the galactic stage. The human word for "ship" was usually translated with "warship", their word for "warship" had, after review by several scholars, been standardized to be translated with "Terror".

"Greetings, this is Oce of In'ae diplomatic vessel. I am not hurt, please send an urgent subspace communique to my Homeworld, my attackers took the broodmother I was tasked with transporting."
"Understood. We will dock now, please be ready to evacuate."
Xey would have been content with the relay of the message, so ransom payments and return could be arranged as fast as possible, but the humans had apparently decided to take xem on board. On xeir screen, the cargo-pusher broke apart, unclamping the long array of containers and tanks, leaving the actual ship free to maneuver much faster. Curious, maybe the humans believed that xeir vessel was losing atmosphere? Xeir diagnostics told of no such thing, but as the human saying went, derelicts could not be choosing, so xey where waiting in the airlock as the doors opened, fully suited up and with an additional canister of breathable atmosphere, in case the humans needed to deliver their cargo before they could drop xem off somewhere that wasn't full of oxygen.

To their surprise, the inner door revealed a human that was also suited, was there something wrong with their ships environmental systems? Behind xem, the docking-clamps released, abandoning the stricken vessel.

The human started chittering, and xier suits translator needed a moment to catch up. "...found traces of the ship leaving the system and plotted a course to follow."

Xey paused "Excuse my translator, did you just say you wished to pursue my assailants?"

"Yes."
"Why?"
"They took a In'ae Broodmother. The one in your care."

Xier suits translator put helpful markers in xier vision, explaining that the human seemed to be concerned about possible damage to xier cerebrum.

"You would use your cargo-craft to pursue an armed vessel, to a probably hostile destination, in order to retrieve an individual that is unknown to you and is not of your kin?"

Xey waited while the humans translator relayed the question. Maybe their helmet display also flashed an indicator for concern over cerebral damage.

The human bared its teeth in a display that xey intellectually knew meant joy, but that had always unsettled xem.

"Yes. Humans and In'ae are quasi-family." It emphasized its point by hooking its forelimbs together. Oces suit emphasized that the human was still unsure about xier mental capacity.

The jumpdrive kicked in, and xey followed the human to the bridge, wondering why it would choose "friends" when xey knew from experience that words expressing "allies" and "trade partners" were available to them.

A human bridge always included more humans than one would expect. Most species would opt for automated systems, artificial intelligences or integrated biocomputers, but humans were a social species and so their ships were often impossible for a single individual to control.