Harry clapped his hands together and held them in front of his chest. “I love it.”
Alyce raised one brow in his direction. “We haven’t heard the details yet.”
“Whatever they are, I’m in.” He leaned toward Holly. “When are we doing this?”
Holly kept her hope in check. “Well, soon. I wanted to talk aboutwhywe’d try something like this, first. We are, to put it bluntly, broke. The repairs we’ve done have used up everything Charles left in the station’s account, and guest traffic is still too low to sustain us. We neednits, and we need them soon.”
The room was quiet. They all knew the situation. Holly had been transparent about it since the beginning, and the silence that greeted her words was not surprise.
“Now, I know Moone’s Landing is currently in an out-of-the-way spot,” Holly continued. “We’re not going to suddenly become a tourist destination, but we sit directly in the transit path between Psion-9 and the new Saga-1 station that’s being built. Traffic through this corridor is going to increase. If we can establish Moone’s Landing as a place worth stopping at, even once, word spreads. Travelers talk.”
“They certainly do,” Alyce said. “Especially when they have a bad experience.”
“Which is why we need to make a new first impression,” Holly said. “This would be a trial run. Low stakes. Few guests, probably. But it gives us a base event to build on. If it works, we do it again. If it doesn’t, we learn from it and try something else.”
Harry set his teacup down with the deliberation of a man who had been waiting for this moment his entire life. “Holly. I have been saying for years that this outpost needs an event.Years. Ask anyone.” He swept an arm toward the others. “Ask Sam.”
Sam looked at Harry. “You have not said that to me.”
“You said it tome,” Alyce murmured. “Multiple times.”
“I knew it was one of you,” Harry said with a wave of his hand. “I have buyers, distributors, and averydedicated following on my channel,Frolicking with Fungi,who would be interested in an invitation to visit in person. I’m talking about people who have been watching my cultivation and usage series for years and have never set foot on the outpost. Some of them would come. I am certain of it.”
Holly blinked. “You have a following?”
“Nine thousand subscribers,” Harry said, with tremendous dignity. “And growing.”
“Nine thousand people watch you talk about fungus?” Alyce asked, her brow furrowed in genuine bewilderment. “How did I not know about this?”
“Nine thousand andfourteen, as of this morning. And it’s not just talk, Alyce. It’s education. It’s passion. It’s art.” He sniffed. “And for the record, Ididtell you about it. You were not interested.”
“I’m sorry, Harry,” Alyce said with an amused smile. “I should have paid closer attention.”
Harry patted her knee. “No offense taken, my dear. So much has weighed on your shoulders, but no longer. We have Holly.” He turned back to the woman in question with a bright twinkle in his eye. “I may also mention there’s a buyer of culinary-grade fungi on Centura-Vox that I’ve been corresponding with for months. He’s purchased some of my savory varieties and has been hinting about seeing the operation firsthand.” His brows wiggled. “A festival would be the perfect excuse to get him here. I think there might be a little more there than a strictly professional interest, if you know what I’m saying.”
Sam shook his head. “You’re flirting with one of your buyers?”
“We have veered off topic.” Harry raised his teacup. “The point is, I can bring people. Real people, with realnits,and real interest.”
“That’s actually very helpful, Harry.” Mish had been quiet, her expression thoughtful. “I think it could work. The garden is recovering. There’s enough growing now that it’s worth showing. For people who spend weeks or months in space, a garden tour could draw them in.” She tilted her head. “The forest, too. There’s a walking path through the older growth that’s very beautiful, and it wouldn’t take much to widen and clean it up, maybe with markers so no one gets lost. A guided nature walk.”
“That’s a lovely idea,” Alyce said, warming visibly. “Ship-bound travelers would pay for that. Even just to walk among trees for an hour.”
“Exactly,” Mish said. “Nature therapy. It’s simple, it costs us nothing to offer, and it’s a feature no other station in this corridor can provide in quite the same way.”
Holly felt a spark of excitement. She’d hoped for this kind of response but hadn’t counted on it. “The forest is one of our best assets. And the gardens. Both are things you can’t get from a prefabricated station.”
“Speaking of which,” Alyce said, shifting to a more practical tone. She crossed one ankle over the other and regarded Holly with a measuring eye. “Where are you thinking of holding this? And how soon?”
“Two weeks,” Holly said. “And I’m thinking the main square.”
“Two weeks.” Alyce’s brows rose. “That’s not much time.”
“I know. But the square is ready now. It’s clean, the rain system works, the lamps are functioning. The field is beautiful, but it would need more preparation than we have time for. The square gives us a central location with the storefronts around it.Harry’s shop. The Emporium. The hotel. It’s already a natural gathering point.”
Alyce nodded slowly. “All right. The square could work. But I have concerns about logistics. How are we getting people from the landing pads to the square? It’s a short distance on foot, but the gardens and forest? A little more difficult, especially for species who don’t walk well, or who have been in space for so long without gravity they’re too weak for such a hike.”
“Thezigs,” Holly said.
