Max Carter was no ordinary 12-year-old. He had a telescope, a wild imagination, and a secret - his best friend wasn't from Earth. Zarnak, a turquoise-skinned alien with four eyes and a sharp sense of humor, had crash-landed in the woods behind Max's house three years ago. Since then, they'd been inseparable.

One starlit night, Max pointed his telescope toward a blinking light near Jupiter.

"That's not a star," he muttered.

Zarnak's face turned pale-green. "That's a cruiser from the Drexar Fleet. If they're coming here, Earth's in trouble."

The Drexar were a ruthless alien race known for conquering planets and stripping them of resources. And now, they were headed for Earth.

"Can't your people stop them?" Max asked.

"My people won't interfere unless they're provoked," Zarnak replied. "But if we act fast, maybe we can stop the invasion before it begins."

They had 48 hours.

Using spare parts from Zarnak's old ship and Max's garage tools, they built a signal jammer strong enough to disable the Drexar's communication beam - their key to coordinating attacks. But they needed to get close to the flagship to use it.

Zarnak called in a favor: a stealth pod flown by an exiled Drexar engineer named Yolu. As they neared the mothership, the pod was hit with a warning blast. Max didn't hesitate.

"I'll take the jammer in myself."

"You'll be vaporized!" Zarnak shouted.

"Not if I move fast."

Max slipped into a Drexar guard suit they'd swiped and sprinted through the corridors of the ship. Alarms blared, footsteps echoed, but Max reached the control room. Just as a commander spotted him, Max slammed the jammer into the main console.

With a surge of light, the ship's systems collapsed. Across the sky, Drexar cruisers blinked out of formation, confused and disabled.

Earth was safe.

Back on the ground, Zarnak grinned. "You're braver than half the galaxy's warriors."

Max shrugged. "Just protecting my home."

Zarnak offered his four-fingered hand. "From now on, you're not just my friend. You're an honorary Starlighter."

Max shook it. "Cool. Do I get a jetpack?"

They both laughed under the stars - two friends, one world saved.