Lena adjusted the radiation shield on her suit, the artificial sun of Orbis-9 flickering above the biodome’s glass. As the last remaining Xenobotanist, she’d spent years cataloging the flora left by the vanished Kethari species.
Today, she found something new—a pulsating violet root embedded in the station’s power conduit. It was feeding. The station had been losing power, and now she knew why.
She hesitated. Cutting it would restore the station but might kill a species she barely understood. She activated her scanner—its neural response was erratic, desperate. It was aware of her.
A warning flashed—a power collapse was imminent. She exhaled, then rerouted excess energy from the habitat core, allowing the organism to feed without draining the station. The pulsations slowed, stabilizing. The station’s lights flickered back to life.
As Lena stepped back, the root curled slightly toward her—acknowledging. She smiled. Science wasn’t just about studying life. Sometimes, it meant choosing to share it.
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