The inner part of the pale walls’ thickness, right there where Tondor entered it, from the depth of ten inches suddenly increased to several thousand miles! And its outer surface, literally was hanging over the sullen, pitted with the meteorites celestial body which was revolving silently in the cold vacuum of space, in the endless abyss.
It was Phobos one of the two satellites of Mars. But then, they didn’t know it. They have yet to learn about it soon. To understand where at this moment were Tondor’s ship, Max and Jennifer was almost impossible.
Tondor who was slowly walking through the glowing, purple, unknown substance without any exaggeration resembled a deity. Truly he was, by his nature he really was a divinity! Translucent, pale greenish white substance at the bottom of his platform soon began to melt. Within a few minutes, it was not quite clear where from, or in the purple tunnel that stretches for thousands of miles, but maybe in the outer space, were spread over an unprecedented giant-sized, the river of light that seemed easily could absorb the entire Solar system. Tondor not paying attention to the exciting transformation around the tunnel went on his way to the unseen goal.
Viscous waves of light driven away in all directions by the cosmic wind flowed further, filling the blackness of the space with the dense, white light. The stars disappeared. There was only light and nothing more.
Max looked around. He just couldn’t find the right words to describe the grandeur of the spectacle, the witnesses of which they were.
But then the light suddenly disappeared and they realized that they had come. Under their feet were the dark rocks. And the same dark rocks surrounded them around.
‘We had come,’ they heard a calm Tondor’s voice. ‘We are on the surface of Phobos, one of the two satellites of Mars.’ explained he.
Indeed, they were on the surface of Phobos. From such thoughts one could easily get crazy.
Max did not answer. Jennifer also preferred to remain silent. And what could they say or do? They’re happy? Shouting for joy or on the contrary, to tremble with fear? They did not know. Just stood there and watched.
Perhaps Tondor’s calmness passed on to them, and they began to treat everything what was going on with the same unruffled calmness, as he did. Although nether Max nor Jennifer just couldn’t realise that they really were in the open space and under their feet was the cold surface of Phobos. It was hard to believe that everything was going on real. But, it was so. It turned out that they were the first people who stepped on the Phobos. Nobody did it before. And probable the men get such an opportunity not soon.
They stood on a small stone’s platform surrounded on three sides by the rubble of rocks. The boundless grandeur of silent space was stretched before them. The billions of stars were shining enigmatically overhead. But a little bit down, slowly was floating the red surface of Mars. The sight was so weird and wonderful; that Max stopped breathing for some moments and from the emotion which filled him felt his eyes stung. God, it was beautiful! He stands on Phobos and looks how beneath his feet was floating the Mars!
Here floated the legendary Martian’s channels, then the highest mountain of Mars Olympus. The peak of Mount Olympus reached twenty seven mile height! And behind it shone the little Sun. Seeing the Sun, Max also saw the Earth! Yes, the Earth, their mother’s planet, their home, Jennifer’s and his. Small and blue, the Earth was a distant and beautiful. For the first time during the last week, Max was able to see his own home. Not exactly an apartment where he lived, not a city with a bird's flight when the plane is landing, but the whole planet. And even not with the Earth's orbit but with the orbit of Phobos. However, he cheered up and even smiled at a distant planet.
To home, family, friends. To everything what he loved and what had left far, far away, at a distance of millions miles. The Earth, as seemed flashed more brightly with its far away lights, as if recognizing and welcoming, her own children who, for unknown reasons, found themselves so far away from her mother's embraces.
Between Max and their home established as if the invisible connection through the memories that poured upon him as a torrent, as if he has received support from the mother’s planet. He became stronger, grandeur. He was not alone anymore. Behind him were billions of people that, if they only knew what happened and are happening to Jennifer and him, probably fixed all their thoughts, all their prayers on how to keep them up at least with the help of their thoughts.
Max's shoulders straightened and he began to look around with a greater confidence. Emptiness under the feet didn’t scare him anymore. There was no left even a little fear that something bad will happen with them. That he will not hold himself on the stone platform and fall into the abyss of space, from where he never returns again. In his mind, Max was most afraid of that the little gravitation of Phobos will not hold him, and he flies away into the outer space. From these unpleasant thoughts he was very eager to grab at least with one hand on the rock or at Jennifer’s hand. But there was no any rocks close to him, but hold Jennifer, he was ashamed of.

Jennifer from the moment of landing on Phobos thought of nothing. Just stood there and watched. Her brain plucked and analyzed only excerpts from the surrounding. Here she looked at Tondor. And she immediately thought that in fact he is rather small then tall and wasn’t scaring her at all.
Then her eye rested on the surface of Mars. And she thought at once that Mars is more reddish like a brick than purely red and too big. Then gaze stopped on Max. Jennifer noticed that the lace on his left shoe untied. And she immediately thought that her beloved Max may fall down, when steps on it.
About the greatness of cosmos by her feminine’s essence she didn’t think at all. It, the greatness of cosmos did not interest her. She just endured, knowing that she hasn’t any other choice except suffer all that the alien has prepared for them. View of Earth pleased her too, but not as much as Max. She saw the goal, where they could escape, if only they get such an opportunity. But they hadn’t such an opportunity. So, Jennifer waited patiently, what happens next.
“I hope he won’t force us to dig in the Martian’s channels?’ she thought suddenly, and at once scared that Tondor could hear her thoughts.
But if Tondor knew their thoughts, he didn’t react to it. He just stood motionless on his shining platform at some distance from Max and Jennifer. He did not speak, did not move. Nothing explains to them as if giving them the opportunity to look at all to their hearts' content. Meanwhile, his amazing platform, as usual, was melting everything around. But in spite of the molten rock, Tondor does not immersed in it, and was on the same level. It was odd and incomprehensible.
From the body of alien separated a rectangular, illuminated fingerless hand. He demanded their attention.
Max and Jennifer readily prepared to listen to him. What more surprising, he would say to them?
“If only I could take a snap with him,” suddenly thought Jennifer.
“Picture would be great!” but to ask Tondor have snapped with her she certainly didn’t dare. Although, suddenly remembering something, she pulled out her cell phone and began secretly photographing everything that came into the lens: the alien, rocks, stones, starry sky, the majestic Mars. Why, how beautifully the far away Sun’s lights looked on the surface of rocks or Tondor, when falling on him! The spectacle was fantastic and wonderful. Jennifer kept photographing without stopping, feeling that she was embracing by some a reporter's excitement when one was lucky and first got a great material for one newspaper.
Thanks God, the memory of her cell phone has eight gigabytes. Thanks God, she forgot to take out the memory stick, and now there is nothing to prevent her from making dozens of memorable, even historic photographs. Why of course, if the alien does not take away her phone, or does not erase the memory.
But Tondor did not react to the actions of Jennifer, even though he knew that she was photographing not only the surrounding landscape, but as well as him. It seems he was not worried about the prospect that his pictures will get to Earth and will be available to millions of people. Well, if they of cause get back to Earth some day.
Or maybe he allowed Jennifer to takes pictures of him, because he knew that neither pictures nor Max and Jennifer ever come back to their home? From these thoughts which pierced Jennifer suddenly like a lightning, she inside her heart huddled into a lump, put her phone down. But then she cheered up and stubbornly started to photograph again and even makes a video of Tondor!
“Lol, come what may! How it often says Max in a critical situations.” thought Jennifer, trying to catch her best picture of Tondor. Just right now behind his back was floating the red surface of Mars.
Max, when he saw what Jennifer was doing, at first, too, under her influence got out his phone, but after a few snaps, wisely decided that two amateur’s photographers were too much for Phobos. He hid his phone and started watching what Jennifer was doing.
At that moment, in the black sky, in the different places began to appear the yellow and red dots. Some were smaller, the others were larger. Once appeared, they disappeared no longer, and apparently, quite quickly began to approach the spot where they were – to Phobos.
Max pointed at it.
‘Look, Jenny, take a pictures of those dots too, till they’ll fly away again.’ he said. ‘I wonder what it is. Maybe it’s some kind of the meteor rain? However, it doesn’t look like that. Their approaching is too organized.’
‘Maybe its aliens’ Jennifer said, lifting her phone up. ‘I mean the other aliens.’
‘Maybe,’ agreed Max, ‘But, as for me, it’s too much aliens for us, don’t you think so?’ added he, peering at the dots of light.
At first, there were no more than a dozen of them. But, in a few moments appeared the others crafts. Prospect of dating the whole pack of Tondor’s fellows didn’t please Max. For him personally, was quite enough the company of Tondor. But, meet the entire squadron of aliens! No, it was too much for him!
‘Awesome! They turn out!’ Jennifer cried, trying to catch as much as possible the luminous dots.
Jennifer went on to photograph the aliens, but Max didn’t longer was looking at her. His attention was turned on to Tondor. He did not believe his eyes. In the fingerless Tondor’s hand appeared a weapon! The fact that it was the weapons but not something else, Max had no any doubt. Although till now he hasn’t a chance to see the aliens’ weapon. It’s just worked out his intuition. But maybe, Tondor himself inspired such a thought into his head.
Simultaneously with the appearance of weapons in Tondor’s hand, Max noticed as both yellow and red dots of unknown aliens’ crafts, like a swarm of angry wasps, rushed at them with frightening speed. Spacecrafts still were quite far away from the surface of Phobos, but they didn’t look as harmless dots longer.
Outwardly, the unknown space crafts looked like a Tondor’s ship, though their size was of course much smaller. The crafts were burning not worse than a tunnel through which they descended to the satellite. What was surprising, the tunnel with the appearance of alien’s crafts has not disappeared, and continued to shine high in the black vacuum.
Max counted about fifty space crafts. While they were flown up to the satellite, he had enough time to look at them. In its form, mostly prominent, the crafts had one or two platforms, which were either passed through the craft shining with green or were attached to the unit above or below. Such crafts were burning with purple light.
Max still didn’t believe that something really was threatening them. He thought it was all a game. Just Tondor decided to play for them a small scene. Show them that the Solar system not so uninhabited, as it is customary to think in the world. If you have not personally seen the aliens, it does not mean that they do not exist!
With such thoughts that raced in the Max’s head with a meteoric speed, colliding and exploding each other, Max looked at the alien’s weapons. It just grew out of Tondor’s hand like it was a continuation and a product of his own body at the same time. To the massive handle, too yellow, were attached several red rectangular plates with smooth surfaces from which were protruded obliquely cut some pipes. From its holes were busted out scarlet glow. The unseen before weapon was approximately about half a yard long. About the weight of weapon Max could only guess.
‘Did you think the same thing what I did about?’ Jennifer whispered. She no longer took pictures. She looked at everything that was happening with wondering eyes and listening, how was pounding her heart in her chest. She understood now it must be happen something very important.
‘What?’ had not heard, Max asked, taking her hand. Immediately he recovered his composure.
‘Do you think it's his enemies? Do you think they will shoot?’
‘I think so. I think it will.’
Answer was brief, but, nevertheless, was understandable. They thought the same way, and began to understand each other perfectly. In the old life, even “before the ship” as sometimes was joking Max, such a thing rare happened to them, but in recent days, they were thinking on the same wavelength. They were as if turned into the one thinking human being.
Yellow and red space crafts flew very close to Phobos.
Tondor fired. The black sky pierced the red beam and red craft, hovering dangerously close to the surface of Phobos, like a rock fell down. She did not explode. But from the strong impact against the rocks, its frame cracked, split apart, and as if the craft was filled with a viscous liquid, with stringy scarlet splashes broke out in all directions. Unknown substance was clinging to the rocks and ground. In place of the fall of the craft, something was bubbling and Jennifer for a moment seemed as if she sees a creature trying to get out of the boiling pools. But it failed, and burned down, along with the fragments of the craft. Jennifer hadn’t enough time to properly view it. But one thing she was sure hard. Phobos is not attacked by humanoid. The burned down creature didn’t look neither like humanoid nor human being even approximately.
The second Tondor’s shot hit the yellow craft. At this time, a deafening explosion followed it, though the ramble itself wasn’t heard because of lack of atmosphere on Phobos. The next moment in all directions flew away the fragments covered with a bright flame.
But it was only the beginning. The bodies of other crafts were covered by the glowing purple haze a few elongated in the direction where there were: Tondor, Jennifer, and Max.
Then the mist disappeared and appeared again, but dangerously close to the place where they stood. The unknown substance congealed in the air, clinging to the rocks, disappeared in the cracks and crevices. And every time the rocky surface of Phobos was shaken by the explosions. Shaking was so strong that at some moment, Max thought that a small gravitation of the satellite does not hold them, and they will fly away with Jennifer in the outer space. Another possibility the satellite even will split apart, like a ripe watermelon from a stroke.
Than flashed out the protection of their spacesuits. It’s happened for the first time from the moment when they put it on under request of Tondor. Max shone dark purple, and Jennifer dark green. And one must say they do too, looked more like the aliens from a distant galaxy than the ordinary inhabitants of the Earth. Why, and they felt themselves to be honest to say, already as a common people not any more. The glow of the spacesuits fitted them. Max gave it kind of a young god, but Jennifer fabulous beauty. Made them supermen! Just with the level of Tondor. Yes, so it really was. It’s although neither Max nor Jennifer have been fully aware of all its features, obtained with the acquisition of space suits. They’ll have to learn about it yet and under the quite a tragic events. But let's not get ahead in our story! All in good time!
The next Tondor’s shot and followed after it the explosion of another craft, forced Max and Jennifer fell down with loud cries on the rocky surface.
‘Max, what is he doing?’ Jennifer screamed in fright.
Max, in response only dully croaked something. His voice was lost, his throat became dry. By his brain, he understood that they are safe, but hold back his feelings, he could not. He wanted to hide in some hole, curl up and wait till all that cosmic battle will be over.
Like having got an extra order the aliens’ crafts broke down from their coordinates and at high speed came to approach. Violet and pink haze enveloped more and more often its red and yellow bodies. The surface of Phobos almost every moment was shaken by new explosions. The rocks, mangled by unknown energy, were disappearing one by one. Purple on the edges and dazzling white in the center the crater, were approaching closer to the place where fought Tondor and where lied down Max and Jennifer.
“He needs some help!” suddenly was flashed in Max’s head. “But what can I do? Damn! If I only had a gun! But I’ve got nothing! They shut him down. He’s alone. Look how much there are of them. And new crafts are still coming!”
Tondor as if he could read his sincere desire to help him slightly turned to the spot where laid Max and Jennifer. Outwardly, he did not produce any action, but, nevertheless, Max shocked, saw that in front of Jennifer and him, right on the black stone of Phobos was lying just exactly the same weapons, as that Tondor held in his fingerless hand!
Max could not believe his eyes. He threw a quick, questioning glance at Tondor. Then he looked at a weapon and after it looked at Jennifer. The weapons do not disappear. It seems Tondor heard his wish, and provided Jennifer and him an opportunity to fight with the enemies’ crafts.
Max with some strange excitement, even unusual to himself reached out a hand and grabbed the alien’s weapon. The handle was warm, comfortable, and for his hand was a pleasure to hold Tondor’s weapons.
‘Jenny, honey, will we help him? Ah?’
‘O 'Kay!’ Jennifer’s hand reached out to the weapon lying before her. Once as been a child her father taught her to shoot from the M-16. But it was something else.
‘Come on. Get up!’ Max quickly jumped to his feet, aimed the weapon to the nearest line of aliens’ crafts. ‘Do you want us to shoot?’ he shouted to Tondor.
The alien did not answer, but Max was ready to swear that he bowed his head affirmatively, although in common sense he hadn’t got a head.
‘Fine!’ said Max, selecting the first target for a shot. For some reason he does not think that he had never used such a weapon. However, as Jennifer he also had a little experience in dealing with earthly weapons. He fired a couple of times with friends in the shooting gallery from an AK47. Not very much liked it, but if you get used to it, in that cases no problem with it.
Everything was happening very quickly. The number of attackers of the Phobos crafts didn’t decrease. In the eyeshot of Max got the yellow space craft. Max’s gaze just seemed stuck to it. He was following her movements. Merged with it!
Meanwhile, someone else's craft landed on the Phobos’ surface, some ten or more yards away from Max and Jennifer. The yellow body of the aircraft suddenly deformed, sagged, split apart and some an unseen before creature jumped out on the ground.
When Max saw it he involuntarily shuddered. Jennifer also saw, and cried silently mostly of wonder and surprise than fear.
The creature was about six feet tall, with a square, narrow and angular body. He’s got a round head, divided into four sections. And in each section was flushed out a single blue eye. His hands, seemed were separated from his body and, like in the grooves, were moving in some kind of glowing purple bands. The creature itself, as well as its craft, was glowing with a soft yellow light. In the left hand it held some unusual object. Most probably it was a weapon. The creature stood and didn’t move.
One second, only one second, while they stood motionless and looked at each other, turned for Max into the eternity. Then he quickly took an aim and fired. But the weird creature nevertheless outstripped him. The flat, oblique, white beam was fired and a large stone, in front of Max, broke in all directions, turned into the red-hot gravel.
‘Son of a bitch!’ exclaimed Max, who didn’t expect such a quick start, and wasn’t ready for fight. Well, he knew, of cause that in front of him stood the enemy, real enemy, but he thought that Tondor do something with him. Why, it was his first battle. In fact, it was the cosmic battle. In short, Max was a little confused.
He instinctively squeezed the handle of weapon. But nothing happened. No buttons, no trigger or anything like that; the weapon didn’t possess.
‘Damn! It does not shoot!’ exclaimed Max. He was annoyed and confused at the same time.

There was another shot of alien. A strong blow right to the Max’ chest, at first threw him up high, and then down on the cold stones. Protective suit glowed with a deep purple light. In the place where the enemy’s beam hit it, the surface of the suit was almost black, and covered by the pale flouting in all directions spots. To the hearing of Max came a frightened cry of Jennifer. Cursed them all, Max as was lying down, twisted his neck, saw how to Jennifer was approaching the same ugly creature. It was shooting with the scarlet rays; Jennifer’s protective suit already was damaged in two or three places.
In a rage, Max fired again. This time he succeeded, though he still had no idea what he had done to force the weapon to open the fire. Maybe, it was his emotional stress or a real danger or a mental order to his weapon.
However, the weapon obeyed him. A few scarlet and green beams, literally swept away the alien who was attacking Jennifer. Smeared him on the rocks and turned his craft into a large boiling pool of molten substance.
‘Well done, Max! That jerk deserved it!’ Jennifer cried.
But the battle did not abate. After the alien who was attacking Jennifer, Max killed one more that attacked personally him. The cosmic battle, meanwhile was gaining strength, getting fiercer and fiercer. For several long minutes, the Phobos’ surface, within one to two miles around the battle’s scene turned into the glowing wood of fire.
The big rocks split apart turned into the gravel. The ground menacingly cracked; like the sinuous snakes were creeping to them the bottomless cracks, threatening to swallow at any time as a fighting people, as well as Tondor with his yellow platform. Explosions became stronger. The space above the satellite was filled with fragments of rocks, blown up crafts, which, were thrown into the Phobos orbit, and formed there something like a meteors’ belt.
Jennifer was shocked. After making a few shots she stopped shooting and just stood there and watched the fight. Everything what was going on around her was too much for her. Her brain got numbed, her body didn’t obey her. She was like in a dream, though she understood everything, was able to analyze the situation and makes conclusions.
Meanwhile, in Max’s soul suddenly woke up and became to grow a savage warrior, whom even in our days of computers and other high technologies however, lives and sleep deep inside every man. . .real man. And now, finally, this unseen before warrior got at last a chance to show himself in all his glory; breaking through the shell of civilization and stand up for himself. Max fought violently, with pleasure, having no mercy to enemies.
He shouted, cursed and used four-letters words when he missed the target and was exalted with joy like a teenager, when he successfully shot down the craft or burned down his crew.
When in his turn he was hit by the alien’s beams, he cursed them more, and sent to hell. In a word, during their first space battle, Jennifer heard from him so unfamiliar to her hearing words and phrases that, if their meaning was understandable to her, she would be very, very surprised. But, even without understanding the meaning, she guessed that by it emotional power it was a true expression of feelings and desires of Max. It was a real Max. Before her, now it was a barbarian Slav and not just a barbarian. A Barbarian Warrior with a capital letter. And she looked at Max with admiration. He was in her eyes, a real man, a defender. Indeed, not only defending himself, not only helping Tondor. But also he was defending her, his beloved girl, his Jennifer!
Alien’s crafts suffered heavy losses. Their space fleet lost already about three dozen units, and all what remained after them covered the blustered surface of Phobos with the boiling scarlet and yellow funnels. Burned rocks, burned aliens, Nobody could survive in this merciless battle!
But the fury of battle nevertheless had not abated. Now, the aliens changed their tactic. Maneuverability of their crafts has suddenly increased to utmost, and they strove to evade Tondor’s deadly beams at any price. Some of them really succeed in it, but not for a long. Max took care of them. One craft was destroyed by Jennifer. But when out of it crawled the half-charred creature, and begun to crawl to her, she couldn’t kill it. Max had done it for her.
“This is our Phobos! You shouldn’t come here!” Max angrily thought, kept firing. He did not even notice the moment when he began to think that Phobos belonged to him, but not the others. And it was quite natural. When a man someday gets a chance to leave at last the orbit of his mother’s planet, the whole Solar system will be his own home by right of birth in it. A star called the Sun was the cradle of mankind. And he, Max was the first among the people who got a real, serious battle with the aliens. Therefore, he felt the strength and hadn’t any doubt that he was doing the right thing. In any case, even if he refused to shoot, Tondor would not give the intruders any chance to leave the Phobos safe and unharmed. He was destroying them methodically without a trace of pity or hesitation.
“Probably he has got a good reason and right for it.” again, thought Max.
But after a moment, the force of battle began to subside. Whether the enemies were exhausted, or they received the order to withdraw, Max did not know, but in any case, the surviving units began to turning around and vanish into the outer space.
Tondor did not pursue the withdrawing crafts and ceased fire. He again, as if nothing happened, turned into an indestructible, monolithic, majestic rock. In all directions his body was emanating the invincible power. It was felt even from a distance.
“I think now when we helped him, we in some way got in the same level with them, and he’s got to treat us with some respect. Well, if not, at least, explains what it all means.” thought Max, seeing off the departing aliens. Crafts again turned into the small, innocuous dots. Max really wanted to shoot at least once more, after them, and even cry out something with joy because they won, but he restrained himself. He felt Tondor would not approve such his behavior. He’ll not like it.
‘Jenny, how are you?’ asked Max, remembering, at last, about stunned and shocked girl. During all battle, he also remembered about Jennifer, but in another way. All the time while he fought he was afraid that the aliens would kidnapped Jennifer and take with them into the space. Come, then, find her in nowhere! He then, likes a prince in some fairy tale, would be looking for his beloved in the oversee kingdom, far-far away. Only his case was worse. The space is much bigger than all the kingdoms of the Earth together.
Jennifer came close to Max, stopped beside him. She really wanted to hug him, and Max in his turn really wanted to hug her, kiss her and boast how many aliens he killed. But such their behavior would be too humane, so they did nothing. They stood in dignified poses, because they were on Phobos, fought for their land and looked at Tondor. What will he say? How to react? Praise them? Or he’ll be angry? Maybe they did something wrong? Or they missed the aim? They did not know. So, they were waiting for what he would say.
Actually, Max waited. Jennifer was happy that everything was over. No, she was not afraid of aliens, but for the first time, by her opinion, the shooting could be less.
Protective suits faded, but did not stop to shine. Probably some threat was still exist and if one could say so felt danger, even if the danger was moving away.
‘Weapons.’ sounded a vague Tondor’s voice. He was not hurt at all in a battle, neither he nor his amazing platform.
‘Give him back your weapon.’ Jennifer whispered rapidly, pushing Max.
Telling the truth Max didn’t want to depart with the weapon, to which he already got used, but he hadn’t another choice. Slowly with some hesitation he gave weapons to Tondor.
Jennifer did the same. But she felt in another way. She wanted to get rid of it as quickly as it was possible.
When Max touched with his weapon Tondor’s hand, he saw how the weapon suddenly dissolved, and drew inside the fingerless hand of alien. The same thing happened with the weapon of Jennifer.
‘Wow!’ Max couldn’t help to wonder. ‘Tondor who was it?’ dared asked he.
‘Plarns.’ replied Tondor.
‘Plarns?’ repeated Max. ‘Well, as for me quite an unusual name. They are your enemies?’
‘No, they don’t. It’s Plarns. I have no enemies. The Plarns interfere with our activities…sometimes.’
‘Oh, really? And what do you do, if it not the universal secret?’ Max realized that the long-awaited moment has come, when they finally can get the answers, if not to all, but to the most of torturing Jennifer and him questions. And he decided not to loose such a chance.
‘We place the bases in the undeveloped star’s systems, as yours for example.’
‘But they have something similar to you,’ said Jennifer considering that after battle in which they fought together shoulder to shoulder, she also got at last the right to ask a question, to know what is going on around. In what, against her will, she had been involved.
‘Maybe, in some way,’ agreed Tondor. ‘But they are quite different. Aliens. The Plarns do not go to the contact with anybody. If they would land on your planet, there would be no one left alive.
‘So, what does it mean?’ said Max slowly. ‘We saved mankind from destruction?’ and he thought at the same time: “Man, what a bad luck. Nobody on Earth even knows what we did for them. Well, we are heroes!”
‘I see!’ exclaimed Jennifer. In her thoughts at once swept the Hollywood’s movies, in which the supermen were saving the Earth from all sorts of disasters: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, and others.
‘And how often do you have such collisions?’ Max asked.
‘It happens only when our paths cross.’
‘You are a Worrier, eh?’ asked Jennifer.
‘I’m Tondor.’
‘I understand.’ agreed with his statement Jennifer, realizing that, in fact, she understood nothing.
‘You passed the test. You deserve to be here. I am pleased with you.’ suddenly said Tondor.
Hearing these words, Max at once fairly smiled, but Jennifer, even applauded. She was happy. Maybe now Tondor will send them to home? It would be wonderful!
‘Max, do you have any enemies?’ quite unexpectedly for Max asked Tondor.
Max, hearing such a question, for some reason looked at Jennifer, as if she knew the answer to that question better than he did.
Jennifer shrugged her shoulders. Tondor continued to surprise them with the unexpected questions.
‘Enemies?’ repeated Max. He thought the best way to answer this question. And who should be considered as his enemies? Does Tondor mean the children’s or school’s bullies? Or the competitors for life at work? Maybe Tondor intends to do away with all his potential enemies? Before Max’s eyes, starting from the school, passed the faces of his streaked few “enemies”. He smiled to the distant memories, thoughts, shook in his thoughts by his head, and the enemies’ faces scattered like the morning mist. ‘No, I’ve got none of it. I mean a serious enemy.’ he added. ‘Why do you ask me?’ and he thought to himself: “Perhaps now Tondor will say, “Well, now you will get them!”
Tondor said something quite different:
‘We are returning.’
They once again entered the red glowing tunnel which after the battle came down almost to the Phobos' surface. How far it was from the ship, Max could not identify, but they went not very long and did not get tired.
But if Tondor would say that during this time they have gone the distance of five hundred miles, Max, to put it mildly, would be a little surprised. But Tondor said nothing. As before, when they landed on Phobos, he was walking ahead. Or rather he didn’t walk, just stood on his platform, which quietly was moving inside the glowing tunnel. Here the platform has nothing melted, probably because the tunnel, as well as platform belonged to Tondor.
Soon, they got back on board the ship.
‘Home… Finally we’re at home!’ Jennifer said happily, not even surprised that she called the ship which she hated all that time “Home”. But after all the experience, the ship really seemed to her cozy and homelike. In fact, it was so.
On board the ship, during their absence, nothing has changed.
As before, the screen was working, broadcasting the surface of Phobos. Cell phones, which they left on the bed, still laid there. No body tempted to take them. And there was nobody who could do it. Tondor needn’t cell phone at all as well as his friend Tonokor. All on board remained in its own places.
‘Take some rest.’ said Tondor and dissolved inside the yellow wall.
Max and Jennifer were left alone. For a few seconds they watched how Tondor was slowly walking through the unknown substance of his ship. Then he disappeared completely.
‘Well!’ said Max, falling down on the bed. He still, before his mind's eye saw the scenes of battle. His brain, without stopping re-experiencing all that happened to them.
‘I have no words.’ Jennifer lay down beside him. She took her phone, began to view the photos which she made before the battle. That's Max; a little further Tondor…Over there, just on the black horizon appeared the small dots. Who could imagine what would happen next. Nobody! Except Tondor! Then she got upset.
‘What a pity!’ disappointedly she cried out.
‘What do you mean?’ asked Max in surprise.
‘We had to make a video of the battle. Can you imagine? How could I forget about it! And you, Max did not say it to me.’
‘Sorry Jenny, I forgot too. When it all begun, everything else escaped from my head,’ Max also regretted that they didn’t make a film how they fought against the aliens. It would be a real blockbuster!
‘Yes, you are right. But we could do nothing now. It’s too late. Don’t think about it. Maybe, next time.’
‘Next time?’ repeated Jennifer. ‘Max, I don’t want to fight again.’
‘Me too. Tired? Did you scare there? Poor girl, come to me.’ he gently hugged her and kissed her hair.
‘Am I tired? Yes, I’m tired. Scared? I don’t remember. I didn’t think about scare. Actually I even didn’t remember now about what I was thinking there at all. I was shocked and bewildered. I hope you understand me.’
Max understood everything.
‘Me too,’ said he. ‘Also I was angry with them, very angry! But we won and I’m glad.’
‘You are my hero.’ Jennifer smiled and kissed his cheek.
Max did the same. He was overwhelmed with the emotions and feelings and also was a little excited, especially now when everything was over and right to him laid Jennifer. After fighting together against the intruders she looked to him more beautiful and charming then before.
‘Do you think he will not return?’ quietly asked Jennifer touching with her hand his face.
‘I guess not, but if so, so what?’
They kissed, then again and again. Their kisses became hotter and hotter.
‘How is he?’ quietly, blushing, asked Jennifer.
‘Well, missed you already.’ replied Max hoarse with emotions voice.
Tondor did not disappoint them. Protective suits allowed them to do what they want to do. It was their human nature and they could not resist it. Max and Jennifer wasn’t care anymore if somebody could watch them.
As well known, love is stronger than even the war.
 

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