CHAPTER 9

“Hello, viewers! I’m TwistedSphinx, and I’m here with another video with some friends, including the same Moccans from my first video! Say hello, everyone!”

“Yo! Pint-Sized Friend here!”

“...NightKnight47 present. Hi.”

“Uh, I was told to say my screen name is ValiantDefender, but that’s definitely not going to stick, h-hello there?”

“What about GentleGiant?”

“Absolutely not.”

“Stick in the Mud?”

“Q-quiet, you.”

“Okay! Now, just to let you know, this video is going to be a bit more serious than our last one, for reasons that should become clear. We also have a more specific goal in mind. Interim Defender, care to explain?”

“M-me?”

“If you’re willing.”

“I...I mean, I’ll try. Look. Latians and Moccans found out they’re not alone in the universe. That’s, that’s crazy and amazing. But even though we’ve been trading and stuff for years, we barely interact at all, e-even online. Lots of people on both planets still think that wanting to associate with each other is wrong, or...or strange. And that needs to change. Latians and Moccans are better off working together. Moccan science and engineering have taken off with all the materials being shipped from Latia, and then traded those advancements right back. And, er, thanks to how we trade, poverty is almost nonexistent in developed countries on both planets, and continues to drop all over. Some people say we’re entering a golden age, and I’d say they’re not far off. But if we want things to keep getting better, we, uh, we need to work for it. We need to...well...we need to recognize that we’re all people, that we’re all in this together. We’re different, yeah, but we have a lot more in common. So I guess I’m saying that what we want, what we’re going to try to help achieve, is, well, for Latians and Moccans to change their attitudes towards each other, so that we can all...I don’t know how to say it.”

“Be one big happy interstellar family?”

“Oh, shut up.”

“Hey, I’m serious! That’s what I want, anyway. There are always going to be barriers, but they can be overcome, and someday, there won’t be Latians and Moccans anymore. We’ll all just be people.”

“Pretty idealistic there, Pint, but I certainly hope so.”

“Sphinx, he’s...he’s a bit optimistic, but it can happen. A long time ago, on Moccs, it was the norm to separate based on things like gender, or whether you had fur or scales, or whether or not you had fangs. Or...or who you loved. It was messed up, and it took...well, literally thousands of years, if you think about it, but we did change eventually. There are still people who think like that, but they’re far from the norm, and almost everyone thinks they’re wrong to stop people from being with each other.”

“Yeah, Knight has it right! We changed before, and we can do it again!”

“When you put it like that, it does sound possible. But Latia isn’t quite the same. We still have some of those problems here. Even some people in power think women don’t belong in the workplace, or think that you should only love someone of the opposite gender. Those are some huge barriers to overcome before we even get to differences between Latians and Moccans.”

“True, but if my experiences are anything to go by, that’s mostly the older generation—and, to be blunt, they’ll die off, and the younger generations will take over, and they’ll change things. That’s how it went on Moccs—every generation was a little better than the one before, in terms of social progress. And the better technology got and the more people came together, the faster things changed. I think Latia is going to change much faster than Moccs did, in part because of culture exchange, and in part because Latians are realizing they’re part of a greater community.”

“You’ve, uh, you’ve done a lot of thinking about this, huh?”

“You bet, Stick! I’m pretty passionate about it.”

“Well, viewers, that’s a pretty good way to put it. In summary, we want Latia and Moccs to change for the better by embracing each other, similarities and differences alike. And we believe it will happen, if we just try. So, we’re going to do an ongoing series on this channel about Latians and Moccans interacting. Some of it will be general information—news about trade, technology, and so on—and some will be more personal, with us talking to you and each other about ways Latians and Moccans can interact with each other, and about our own lives as we do just that. We’d also love to hear from you and have some of you join us in videos, so I’m going to leave a link here for you to contact us if you have stories or want advice about connecting with someone that’s a different size than you. Assuming this channel gets off the ground, we probably won’t have time for everyone, but we will do our best to communicate with as many of you as possible!”

“We can’t wait to hear from you guys! Seriously. It’ll be good to meet more like-minded people, or just people who are curious about all this.”

“In addition—and please bear in mind that this is going to take a lot longer to put together—we’re going to create a website and community for this. One of our long term goals is to foster meetups, first online and then in person when possible, for curious individuals. When we get closer to that goal, we’ll give you more information. Until then, if any of you out there have skills or experience that you think could contribute to that, please contact us. We’re eager to get all this done, but we are a small group of young people, with day jobs, bills to pay, and classes to attend—and we’ve never done anything like this before—so it’s quite the task.”

“But we will get it done, for sure. So I swear!”

“We’ll definitely try, viewers.”

“I promise to do my best to help out when possible, even when it gets hard.”

“I...yeah, I’ll help too, though I-I’m not sure I can.”

“I’m sure we’ll find ways for you to help, even if it’s just appearing in videos from time to time.”

“Yeah, I can do that.”

“All right! Whew. It feels good to declare all this to the world, doesn’t it?”

“For sure!”

“Yes, actually. Though it’s certainly daunting.”

“I was wondering if it was weird that I’m, well, oddly excited by this.”

“Not at all! We’re going to be a force for change, even if only a small one for a few people. But we’re contributing the best we can, in our own way. Okay. This might get split into a separate video after editing, but we have another thing to tell you all, viewers. Pint, who do you want to tell this?”

“I’ll start. Okay, people, I want this to be clear—what I’m going to tell you should not at all dissuade you from going out and making friends and stuff. But, and this is especially for Moccans, it should remind you to take the proper precautions and not get in over your head. Okay. Okay. So. I mentioned in my other video how eager I was to make some Latian friends. Well, I was a bit too eager. I put myself into a vulnerable situation with a guy I barely knew. I told myself that I knew him better than I really did, because I was so impatient to realize my dream of meeting and getting to know Latians. So I went with him, alone, to his home, and was completely within his power for a few days. And, he...he took advantage of that. Tried to get me to do things I didn’t want to. Used the power dynamic between Latians and Moccans to try to force me to do what he wanted. And, when I refused, he hurt me, as you can see by my very fashionable sling and brace. I had to be rescued by this big goof.”

“It goes to show that no matter how, uh, idealistic most of us might be, there will always be a few people who want to use meeting new people as--as an opportunity to prey on others. You need to watch out for those people.”

“That’s correct, Defender. We expect that this will mostly pertain to Latians wanting to take advantage of Moccans, but we’d like to remind all of you to be careful, no matter your size or the size of the other party. It’s okay to trust—it’s good to trust—but don’t put yourself in dangerous situations. This is something we want to help with using the website and meetups: giving people a safe place to socialize and try new things without any danger.”

“And...listen to your gut. Your subconscious will pick up on things, and put things together, that your conscious mind doesn’t. If it tells you that you or a friend might be in danger, listen. Some part of me knew that Pint shouldn’t have gone off by himself, but I didn’t listen.”

“Knight, don’t—”

“I’m not blaming myself. Just giving some advice.”

“...All right. That is good advice.”

“Okay, guys. That’s enough for a video. Maybe two! I’ve got a lot of editing to do. Let’s give some parting remarks, shall we? Anything at all you’d like to say to our viewers before we go?”

“Don’t give up, don’t hold back, and don’t let anyone or anything stop you from making the world—both worlds—a better place, in whatever way you can, even if it seems small or simple!”

“Believe in yourself. You’re always stronger, always better than you believe you are. If you have trouble believing that, look to your true friends. They’ll help you.”

“Oh, uh. I guess just be willing to take chances. It won’t always work out, b-but it’ll never work out if you don’t at least try.”

“And I’ll say it again: be whatever your friends need, whether that’s a heroic rescuer or just a shoulder to lean on! Goodbye, viewers!”

“See you later!”

“Goodbye.”

“Uh, yeah, bye.”

...

The next day, after getting breakfast together, they began to say their goodbyes in the arrival/departure area. It was time for Kelsen and Niko to go to the spaceport, to board their shuttle home. Ralia hugged Kelsen tight to her chest, just below her throat. “I’m really going to miss this.”

“...Me too.”

“You need to come back as soon as you can, or I’m going to lose it. Plus, you need to meet my parents.”

“Please god no.”

“Oh, don’t be like that! They loved you!”

“I know. I’m afraid that if I have to meet them in person, they’ll smother me.”

Ralia clutched him tighter in response. “Like this?”

“Mmph!”

Fyche, on the other hand, was holding Niko up to face height, chatting about the videos and their grand upcoming undertaking. “It’d be cool to be more involved, but I’d have to, like, have an online presence for that. So I guess it’ll have to wait until I can somehow afford a decent computer.”

“Well, that might be sooner than you think.”

“You mean b-because parts are getting cheaper thanks to trade?”

“No. Well, I mean, yeah, probably. But that’s not what I meant.”

“Then what?”

“Oh, you’ll see.”

“What’s, what’s that supposed to mean?”

“All will become clear. In time.”

“You’re, uh, you’re doing this just to mess with me, aren’t you?”

“Of course!”

Fyche responded by tapping Niko on the nose. “Bad mouse.”

“Whoa there! You are assaulting a poor, critically wounded Moccan! I should report you to the authorities!”

“N-not before I report you for psychologically terrorizing me.”

It took some time for their laughter to die down. When it did, Niko cleared his throat. “I have to say it again: thanks for saving me.”

“You, uh, don’t have to keep saying it.”

“Fine, then. I want to say it again.”

“Ugh. You’re welcome already. I-I didn’t do it just to be thanked.”

“I know. That makes me even more grateful.”

“...F-fuck. That was smooth.”

“Right? Anyway, I have one thing for you, before I go.”

“What?”

In response, Niko leaned forward, holding on to the side of Fyche’s muzzle with his good hand, and gave him a long, tender kiss, and Ralia and Kelsen let out a soft “Ooh...” Fyche blushed bright red and went wide-eyed, but he didn’t pull away. When Niko finally did, he sputtered. “That was—I didn’t think—I mean, not that I didn’t want—I just wasn’t expecting you to...” He trailed off. Niko just smiled and motioned for Fyche to set him down.

“I’m glad I got to meet you, Fyche. I’ll be in touch. C’mon, Kelsen! I’d love to stay longer too, but we’re going to miss the shuttle. If we do, your parents will literally kill us.”

Ralia set Kelsen and their luggage down. “Not literally. You two exaggerate so much.”

Kelsen shook his head. “Someday, you will realize we really, really don’t. Literally is right...Goodbye, Ralia. I love you.”

“I love you too, Kelsen. Have a safe trip.”

On the shuttle, Niko leaned back with a contented sigh. “I told you it was going to be awesome.”

“You almost died.”

“Yeah, but I also got rescued, made a new friend, and made out with said friend. And don’t act like things didn’t improve for you, ladykiller.”

“More like lady...get...smotheredbyer.”

“That was your best?”

“Unfortunately. Anyway, yeah, I guess you’re right. I went from too afraid to talk to being able to touch and speak my mind. For the most part.”

“Heh. Hey, we wanted to make a big change in our lives, and we did. And despite some setbacks, it went really well, and we both got what we wanted.”

“Yeah. I guess when you look at it like that, it’s pretty awesome.”

“Hell yes it is! All right...now we just need to plan our next visit.”

“...I’m down.”

“Yeahhh! And next time, it’s going to be a much longer stay.”

After saying his farewells to the Moccans and then to Ralia, Fyche walked home with an extra bounce in his step. It was everything he’d ever wanted for years now. He had some new friends, some of them Moccan. People in his life who weren’t just coworkers or roommates. And Niko...well, hopefully he’d come back soon. Fyche missed him already.

On his way to his apartment, he checked his mail; he’d been waiting for an overtime check for a few days now. He was surprised to see a mid-sized package inside, with a note attached.

Dear Big Goof,

I was going to get you a computer, but I realized this was probably a more manageable step up...plus, computers on Latia are expensive as hell! Anyway, it’s basically a computer small enough to fit in your pocket. I included some simple instructions on how to use it and on switching your info over. If you need any more help, feel free to call me any time. ;) Haven’t even left yet, but I can’t wait to come back. Thanks again for everything.

Your friend, Niko

Inside the package was a brand new, top of the line smart phone, along with instructions on how Fyche could use it to establish an internet presence, connect with friends, and transfer his contacts and data plan over from his more primitive phone. Fyche’s breath caught, and then he smiled, wider than he had in years.