*HEROS COME IN ALL SHAPES…AND SIZES*
Yarn explained to Hulla Baloo, the tiniest Fester Tail of them all, that he could not possibly travel to Klesia and reprogram the Al203 Telescope. He would shrink to oblivion.
Noticing the look of sheer disappointment on Hulla Baloo's face, Eliza quickly tried to comfort the tiny man. "That was a courageously brave thing to offer, Mr. Baloo. You are certainly a valiant little Fester Tail." She bent down to the tiny figure and kissed him gently on the head.
If anyone else had used the word "little" to describe Hulla, they would have found something nasty floating around in their coffee the next morning. But since the statement had come from Eliza, the Fester Tail mechanic couldn't have been happier and he blushed to an alarming shade of red.
Izzian noticed the interlude between Eliza and Hulla and winced as every jealous bone in his body ached. He must have looked like a jealous boyfriend because Eliza grinned with satisfaction, content to give him a taste of his own medicine.
He whispered loudly, "A Fester Tail? Come on Eliza, it's okay to like guys that are shorter than you, but this guy's barely as big as your nose."
Although no one noticed, due to the man's smaller stature, Hulla Baloo danced around in circles with fists up, ready for a fight. Apparently, the Fester Tail had heard Izzian's comment about being the size of a nose. Hulla was prepared to defend his own honor.
"I'm sure it's really none of your business," Eliza said curtly to Izzian.
"It's not my business if you make a fool of yourself," Izzian mumbled.
"It is called being polite, Izzian Klowosky. And at least I'm not a liar," Eliza whispered back ferociously.
"We can hear you both," said Yarn.
"So can we," said Signal and Muriel Minor into the microphonic device, simultaneously along with every other being on the ship.
Yarn looked at the entire group and said, "Now is not the time for petty arguments. We have two planets full of tiny Klesians to save, remember? Hulla, you truly are a brave hero, but it just cannot be you."
"I'll do it," Izzian volunteered, not sure if he was trying to act brave or to show up the little Fester Tail and perhaps receive a kiss from Eliza for volunteering. A kiss would probably feel better than a thump, he assumed.
"It's my home planet and I should be the one to reprogram the Al203. It's probably my fault that it happened in the first place."
As Izzian spoke, he grew more certain that he should be the one. "I might have jostled Mr. Seebot as he was typing on the Al203 airboard. I could be the cause of this entire disaster," he grudgingly admitted.
The elders on the ship disagreed, however. "It's not your fault, Izzian," said Gala.
"No, it was Mr. Seebot's fault for trying to be too organic and typing the equations by hand," Thilillian ventured.
"We cannot place blame entirely on the wretched Mr. Seebot, as much as I'd like to," said Yarn. "Perhaps the rudimentary telescopic devices were a bad idea in the first place. Any piece of technology with that much power and the ability to shrink a population with the accidental push of a button should never have been created without specific safeguards, if at all.
"But sadly, Izzian, you lack even the slightest ability to program the Al203 and you would probably end up causing greater damage," Yarn finished.
Enot agreed, saying, "You have your whole future ahead of you, Izzian. You can’t go through the rest of your life as small as a Fester Tail. No offense," Enot added, aiming the comment at the smallest people in the room.
Izzian thought he noticed a small sigh of relief escape from Eliza's lips when the entire group agreed that Izzian was not the best choice for the job. Either that or she had belched as a result of the horrid tea and stale biscuits. Still, he felt good for volunteering.
"Well then, let me go," said Thilillian as she stood to make her point. "It's my fault just as much as Izzian's and I have tons of experience reprogramming the telescope. I know the darned thing better than Mr. Seebot. Plus, I could repay my debt and be forgiven for my crime of stowing away on the comet."
"No Thilillian, you shouldn't be the one," Eliza said to the surprise of everyone present. So far, Eliza had shown little support to the runaway alien known as Thil.
"You have repaid your debt, I'd wager to think. After all, you helped us fight Lucas and Link, even though you were scared senseless. It was you that helped Enot with the formulas and such. No, I think it should be an earth girl that goes to Klesia. I think it should be me."
Suddenly, the tides had turned. Every person on Leon decided that it was his or her duty to reprogram the Al203 Telescope. Every hand rose to state their case and every person was denied the opportunity for one reason or another.
The Fester Tails were already too small. The teens were too young. Yarn and Laddie were too old and hadn't they just recently rediscovered one another after all those years apart? No, that wouldn't be fair.
Izzian knew for certain that Mrs. Kleevox, his old Klesian teacher, would be quite proud of this group of Compassionate Citizens of the Universe. The fate of Klesia was in each of their hands and every being had offered to help. It was way better than people arguing why they, personally, were not the right choice.
Finally, the last person spoke up. The enormous Firithian woman had so far kept quietly to herself, so the group was startled to hear her voice. "It has got to be me," said Mrs. Able Mabel Jesset, previously of Sudden Bluff Home for Mental Health.
"No, Mrs. Jesset. Sit down. You've just gotten your freedom. You can't risk that, not ever again," said Gala, gently touching the Firithian's two and a half foot knee cap.
Enot smiled at Gala's obvious concern for Mrs. Jesset. Gala noticed the smile and blushed.
"No," Mrs. Jesset forcefully reiterated. Her bellowing Firithian voice shook the walls. "This young woman saved my life," she said, pointing to Gala, "and it's time to pay it forward as they say on earth. I've been in that mental home for too many years, wasting away my life, forgetting who I really am.
"I suffered away in shame, locked in human form for too long. Do you know that I had myself convinced for quite some time that I was imagining being a Firithian? I was ashamed at being so different from everyone else on earth. I was ashamed to be myself, so I vowed to never change into my true Firithian form and eventually, I just forgot who I really was."
Everyone listened to Mrs. Able Mabel Jesset as she unhappily lived the last several years of her life on earth, growing stronger with each admission.
"I didn't believe that I could be accepted as something different. I thought I wasn't good enough. But now, thanks to Gala and to all of you, I see that differences abound. Not one person on this ship is exactly like the other. We are a hodgepodge group, and it's our hodgepodge-ed nature that has allowed us to solve the riddle and eventually save Klesia."
Mrs. Jesset paused to wipe away a very large tear that threatened to wash away the Fester Tail people.
She continued, "You, the Fester Tail people, I didn't even know you existed until today. I always thought you were simply a child's fantasy and look at you; the most clever of us all.
"And you, Izzian Klowosky, are the bravest Klesian boy of all time. Not only did you accept me as your first ever Firithian roommate, but you never once complained when I stepped on you. Most importantly, you never judged me.
"And your friends, Paksha, Eliza and Thil, you all show such devotion, such loyalty. Any Firithian royal would want you by their side during a battle." The group of teens sat up proudly at Mrs. Jesset's compliments.
Able Mabel continued, "And Leon, look at you. Leon you surprise me how human you really seem. Your emotions and tenderness have allowed us all to become one big happy family.
"Enot's brains and Gala's caring, passionate nature have freed this old Firithian woman from a lifetime of regret," Mrs. Jesset said, patting Gala's hand.
Enot gazed affectionately at his co-pretend parent, realizing the old Firithian was correct in her descriptio
n of Gala. For the first time, Enot finally understood what it meant to be a true Compassionate Citizen of the Universe. Gala had shown him that.
"And Mr. Vladimir, Laddie, you have cheered me up more times than I can count over the years, with your Nosey Nightingale Nectar and Strawberry Yak Sap. Your snow cones bring the town some much needed childishness. Yarn, without your meddlesome ways, Izzian would be stuck on earth for a long time, never able to be his true self either," Mrs. Jesset said.
"All of you, all of us really, have extreme differences," Able Mable extended her large, clumsy hand and allowed her tentacles to unfold and wave about the room.
"A Firithian's tentacles are more accurate than the most precise laser in the universe. That's why we make fantastic surgeons. These lovely tentacles will allow me to easily and efficiently reprogram the Al203 Telescope and save Klesia," she finished.
Everyone watched Mrs. Jesset reach a tentacle towards the Fester Tail table. She latched onto a very small tea cup. With ease, the old Firithian picked up the tiny cup and brought it to her large lips. Her tentacles tipped the miniature cup back, and Mrs. Jesset swallowed the remainder of the hot chocolate in Muriel Minor's cup. The group applauded, astounded at the precision of Mrs. Jesset's skilled appendages.
"Ahh," she exclaimed, licking her lips, "Delicious. It's nice to have something that tastes so good after that swill we were served earlier." Yarn gave a grumpy harrumph at the insult, but soon began smiling with the rest of them.
"Also, as you can plainly see, I am rather large to begin with," said Mrs. Jesset, sitting hunched over in the corner of Leon, "and I will shrink, but I'll still be big."
Everyone was surprised at Mrs. Jesset's speech and no one thought she had it in her. It turned out she did. The group mulled over her kind words and flawless strategy. Soon the sounds of murmuring mumbling filled the cabin's air while the group verbally discussed Mabel's idea. The whole gang agreed that the lovely Firithian was the perfect choice for the job.
It was settled. The large Firithian, Mrs. Able Mabel Jesset, formerly of earth, would be the hero that saved all of Klesia and Klesia Moon Prime.
***