Nova and the Impossible Planet Once upon a starry time,
In a galaxy called Lumen,
There lived a young space cadet named Nova Ray.
Nova was bright and curious,
With hair the colour of moon dust and eyes that sparkled like starlight.
She lived aboard the starship Brevora,
A space academy that orbited the planet of possibilities.
Nova was the top student in navigation,
Excellent at moon maths and a whiz at asteroid art.
But there was one thing she struggled with – rocket repair.
No matter how hard she tried,
The wires tangled,
The circuits blinked at the wrong time and the engines made alarming whirring noises whenever she touched them.
I'm just not good at this,
She'd sigh,
Slumping in her zero-gravity seat.
Other cadets just get it.
I'm terrible at fixing things.
Her teacher,
Commander Vega,
Was as wise as the oldest star.
One day she hovered over and said in a voice as soft as Saturn's rings,
Nova,
What if you aren't bad at it?
What if you're just not there… yet?
Nova blinked.
Yet?
Commander Vega smiled.
Yes,
Every cadet hits space bumps,
But with effort and curiosity,
Even the most tangled wires can unravel to show a clear path.
That's called a growth mindset.
It means that just because you can't do something yet doesn't mean you won't someday,
With a little practice.
Nova wasn't sure about growth mindset.
She felt more like she had a give-up-and-float-away mindset.
Still,
She couldn't think about that for long,
Because something big was about to happen.
The next morning,
Commander Vega gathered the cadets together.
We've received a special mission.
We're going to land on the mysterious planet Gridlock,
A place no one has ever reached.
All ships freeze there.
The tech stops working.
People call it the impossible planet.
Gasps echoed through the deck.
Cadets,
You'll work in pairs.
You'll land,
Explore,
And try to discover why technology fails on that planet,
And how to get it working again.
Nova's heart did a flip.
Her partner was assigned Orion Blaze,
The best rocket repair cadet in the Academy.
Great,
She muttered.
I'll only slow him down.
When they landed on planet Gridlock,
It felt silent and strange.
The sky shimmered in squares.
The trees looked like puzzle pieces.
Everything felt,
Well,
Stuck.
As they stepped off the shuttle,
It gave a sad beep and powered down completely.
Hmm,
Said Orion.
Come on,
Let's fix this.
Nova looked at the circuits.
Her stomach knotted.
You try,
She said,
Backing away nervously.
Orion fiddled with the wires,
But nothing happened.
That's weird.
These aren't like anything I've seen.
Nova peered over his shoulder.
The connections twisted in unexpected ways.
It looked like a puzzle,
Not a problem.
And suddenly she had an idea.
Wait,
She said,
What if we don't try to force it to work the usual way?
Orion raised an eyebrow.
What do you mean?
I mean,
Let's start fresh.
Let's figure out why this planet messes with technology.
Let's learn more about it before we try to fix it.
Orion grinned.
That's actually pretty clever.
Together,
They explored the landscape.
Nova noticed that everything moved in slow,
Frozen loops,
Like time had lagged.
They recorded readings.
They experimented with tiny devices,
Making small tweaks and logging every change.
Nova messed up,
A lot.
Wires sparked,
Sensors shorted,
And once she accidentally launched a mini-drone into a bush.
But every single time she tried again.
This one didn't work,
She'd say,
But I feel like I'm getting closer.
Orion started calling her Captain Try Again.
And instead of being annoyed,
Nova felt proud because she wasn't giving up.
After hours of tinkering,
Nova made a breakthrough.
Look at this,
She cried.
The planet scrambles normal frequencies.
But if we shift to wavelength zeta,
The power flows again.
Orion adjusted their gear.
It's working,
Nova,
You've figured it out.
Their ship powered up,
Lights blinked on,
A slow hum filled the air.
Nova stared in wonder.
She'd done something she thought she couldn't do.
And when they returned to Starship Bravora,
The other cadets cheered.
Nova and Orion were heroes.
Commander Vega knelt beside Nova.
Well done,
Cadet Ray.
Tell me,
Do you still believe you're not good at fixing things?
Nova laughed.
Nope,
I just wasn't good at it yet.
Vega winked.
And now?
Now,
Nova said with a spark in her voice,
I'm just getting started.
That night,
Nova lay in her sleep pod,
Gazing out at the stars.
She whispered to the sky,
I may not be perfect,
But I'm learning.
I'm a try-againer.
I'm growing.
And somewhere among the galaxies,
The stars seemed to wink right back.
The End
