Pip hurried across the quiet greenhouse floor, her red scarf bouncing against her chest as she followed the small visiting gardeners. They were tiny, too, no taller than a stack of cups, and each one carried a tray of sleeping seed pods wrapped in soft cloth. The pods looked like smooth little moons, pale and shut tight.
Nera stood near the brass telescope at the far end of the observatory, looking stern behind her silver goggles. Cori was already at the greenhouse control box, her round apron pockets puffed with labels and chalk. Pip had come to help the visiting class wake the seed pods in time for planting. She had even promised she would be useful.
But when Cori pressed the pod-warming panel, nothing happened.
A tiny blue light blinked once, then went out. The panel gave a low, tired click and stayed cold. Cori pressed her lips together. “The greenhouse pod-warming panel has shut down in the cold,” she said. “And we cannot use the station’s power reserve to restart it.”
One of the small gardeners hugged the tray closer. “The pods need gentle warmth,” she whispered. “If they sleep too long, planting will be late.”
Pip looked at the dark panel, then at the tray, then at Nera and Cori. The observatory felt suddenly very still. There had to be a safe way to warm the pods without draining the station’s power—but where could it come from?
What happens next?
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