At the urgent request of my neighbor, I am now revealing what I know. On Mars, there lives a people. Aliens from another galaxy. Or rather, there once was a people. Five warriors of the Turuú remain. They live in a cave on the other side of the planet, far from Olympus Mons. A bit of safety. The volcano's crater occasionally spews lava, after all. All the other members of the tribe—43 people—left a week ago. They had hoped for contact with humans. But the humans were delayed, and supplies were running low. I don't want to take away anyone's hope, but the warriors will leave tonight as well. All that remains for Captain March and his crew are the paintings on the rock wall.

When the planet was empty again and only red dust devils swirled across the plain, someone teleported from Proxima N into the cave. Another alien. He had planned to wait, sat down on the rock in front of the entrance, and opened a can of Nexus.

The humans' spaceship landed half a week later. No one asked how the alien had managed to hold out—except himself. But the power of the universe had sent him support. Renu greeted the newcomers with the usual phrases of the district. The Nexus was gone, and the hall welcomed the arrivals warmly, heated. On Mars, a few things were different from Earth. There were two moons, different gravity, the rising of Earth, and one depended on spacesuits if not staying inside the glass domes. The alien told the crew about the extraterrestrials' plans. "The meeting could have worked. Unfortunately, they didn't have much time." He led the captain to the paintings that the others had left behind, though he himself could make less sense of them than the human.

The spaceship belonged to the Cargo Company. On behalf of the Earth government, they were to survey a few reachable planets for valuable metals. The mission was more important than staying in the Mars settlement, so the guests did not linger long. The next day dawned, and with the morning came departure.

The alien reached into his pocket and pulled out a camera. The rising Earth was larger than the rising Mars, the neighbor in the solar system. The alien took a few photos and then teleported back to where he came from—Proxima N.

All the mentioned individuals belonged to the side one calls the good one. But the story is about a conflict, so it also involves those who cause some of the problems. An act of sabotage was planned. The second part of the story would demand much more from the captain.

On the spaceship, they had no idea yet that pirates would appear. The first shot from the space pirates' laser weapon hit the hull. March fired back. One of the two pirate gliders exploded—visible in the rearview camera. For the captain, it wasn't about the cargo, but about the lives of his crew members. Next, he changed course. The next button press activated the quantum jump function. And the ship was gone. The pirates had failed, but not without causing some damage.

March and his crew landed on the greened planet Lorex. Here, they were safe for the first time, as the place belonged to the Alliance and was avoided by pirates and criminals of all kinds.

As we know from the scientists, the metaphysical world exists. On Lorex lived a shaman. He sold a crate of healing potions to March—self-mixed and highly effective. March was delighted with the discount and instructed his first officer to give the shaman the powder made from ground emeralds. Even stones possess healing power. Gemstones from space were something not even the dwarves underground possessed. The shaman showed good cheer because of it, and he truly felt it. The spirits he had summoned had served him for nine hundred decades, and all of them had advised him to heed their prophecy and wait for the supplier of the green powder: March. “Thank you! Follow Orion!” he said. The captain knew what he meant.

A rune on the runestone on Lorex glowed ice-blue. Three moons stood in the sky that night. The extraterrestrial script revealed not the slightest hint of what it meant, for it came from another time. Not even the mayor of Lorex, who was proud of the stone, ever occurred to him that Lorex had once been a sacred place. Forgotten writings? Almost! A few aliens would know them.

In a kiosk on Ibiza, a coffee machine exploded. At just the right moment. Because the customer who was next in line was carrying a pistol. In the brief chaos after the bang, he snapped out of his focus and decided in a split second to postpone the robbery. The saleswoman never found out who she had escaped from and turned her attention to the second person in line. He was actually an alien. Unrecognized and anonymous, he bought his popsicle and paid with coins that no one on Earth had ever seen before. But they were made of real gold and actually valuable enough to buy the entire store. The saleswoman, a woman from Bavaria, put them in the cash register and was happy that evening to be able to pay for her new car.

How does it all connect now? Where is the meaning? I just want to make it clear to you that there are already extraterrestrials on Earth. They live among us and don't really do anything evil or dangerous. They wait and observe. They accompany us. One day they will reveal themselves and explain to us that everything is okay.

A man was sitting on a bench at the beach, talking to the person next to him. The neighbor had pulled his cap down so low that passersby couldn't recognize his face. The man who was speaking was an insider. He knew the other's true identity, and he understood why it was better for him not to be seen. Some aliens have alien bodies. That's why.

As the sun set, some were glad to know where the light switch was. Some people didn’t have a light switch. They imitated the life of the Native Americans, sat in the tipi, and followed the light of the moon. One of them, who was tending the fire in front of the tent, was surprised by a bear. Before the bear could strike, it was caught by the tractor beam of a UFO. The evening was saved. That’s how the reports come about. UFOs here and there, patterns in the cornfields.

On the paths through the park on Lorex, March once encountered a woman who told him new stories from Earth. The captain had not been there for a long time, had a can of Nexus with him, and listened. The governments had agreed on free internet, and there were no more wars. Things looked good for the Blue Planet. And for its inhabitants. The woman showed March a photo of an asteroid that had impacted in the Nevada desert. The California governor had declared the site the Moonstone National Park. March was hearing this for the first time, but during his last visit to Earth he had been in the NASA office and had seen forecasts about rare large asteroids. As the day came to an end, March boarded his spaceship again and set off for Mars. Once more in good spirits and ready for further adventures.

"Mars again!" was written on the sticker. It was stuck on the officer's suitcase. Next to it were three laser cannon impact holes. Are we bringing war into space? he had wondered. Everything happens for a reason, March had replied. There are no conflicts near Earth. Usually. Some say the entire cosmos is more peaceful than any era here on Earth. The officer would never reject space travel. By now, he knew the Red Planet well, got along fine there, and liked the station. This time, he would encounter the pirates there who had never given up on the cargo. Cargo worth a planet. Why don't we have an escort? Because that would cost us half the money. We're strong enough; our weapons are better than the junk the pirates use. Last time was close, someone said. March nodded. Risk is the boundary to safety.

"Welcome to Coconut Island!" the sign read. Nobody mentioned anything about crocodiles! a tourist complained as he left the lagoon. I was scared the whole time! "But those are small specimens, tamed and not hungry!" the ranger reassured him. The island is safe. Only if someone has a phobia should they avoid exposing themselves to the stress!

Coconut Island was not on Lorex. Strange things were happening on Lorex. The park was burning. Pirate flags were flying on the government buildings. Why strange? Because the area is actually safe. March had experienced the last days of Lorex. The pirate general planned to blow up the entire planet the next day. However, he didn't get far during his escape... he should have seen that coming!

March sat on the throne of the dead king. The planet had been liberated, but its ruler had paid with his life. Before the throne lay the heap of gold: coins and emeralds. The captain's officer limped toward the door with his shot leg. Outside, fresh air awaited him, and he finally felt that the war was over. The captain had dozed off on the throne. A rare peace had settled over the hall. Somewhere high up, beneath the lofty ceiling, a bird chirped. That was all. Whatever the war had been for, everyone was glad it had ended.

"Nexus is empty!" the alien bellowed. He stood angrily in front of the fridge, wearing only his underwear, and blamed his roommates. They explained to him that he was the one who had drunk everything, and they made it clear that he would also be the one who had to drive to the supermarket tomorrow. The alien grinned. "You're right! Almost forgot that." On the TV news that was running in the background, a report about a UFO was playing. The group in the living room knew it all too well—it was their UFO. "Like I said!" one of the aliens declared. The others murmured in agreement.

The gardener feared the worst when he saw the spaceship. It executed a vertical landing – right on the freshly mowed lawn of the man. Clumps of grass were crushed, and a large imprint was visible to all guests for three weeks. The pilot of the flying object felt no guilt. He had escaped a fleet of pirate gliders and was sweating with fear. “Water!”, he gasped, and the gardener naturally brought it to him. The military in Nevada directed their radars at the daytime sky. No pirates were in sight. “Probably invisible! The technology is advancing all the time.” The gardener and the pilot were safe anyway.