Symbiotic relationships in nature are when two species usually cooperate for their mutual benefit.
Sharks wont eat certain species of fish, because those will clean their skin of parasites, so the shark gets clean and the fish gets food and protection.
Birds that hang out with cattle, elephants, or hippopotamus', to keep their big friends clear of insects and parasites, getting a free meal and protection from predators out of the deal.
So picture an alien race, who have a symbiotic relationship with another species.
It may look like they're always carrying a pet around with them, like a ferret around their neck, or parrot on their shoulder, but the little friend provides them some great service, maybe tastes their food for poisons, or just keeps them calm during an emergency by grooming them (emotional support animals of the universe, y'all!) Or just keeps them clean like symbiotic animals do here on earth.
Or what if the little friend is the intelligent one? Maybe their big friends have some average level intelligence, but the little guys are the geniuses who design the spaceships and all the tech, guiding their hands, telling them which buttons to push and so on. The big guys are there to protect their delicate bodies from predators, and carry them around so they can get places in a hurry.
What if the big and little friends are just as intelligent? What if they work together in tandom on all their tasks?
Picture humans at a planning meeting and this little voice they never heard before pipes up on how to improve engine efficiency, or something, and it turns out to be the little squirrel like creature nesting in the hair of your crew member.
Human: wait! You're sapient?
Alien: of course I am. I went to the academy too, I'm a fully qualified engineer.
Human: why haven't I heard you talk before?
Alien partly hides their face in their hair nest: I'm shy.
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