The Invisible Planet

Part 1: Azuri

Content Warnings: This story contains multiple graphic depictions of adult themes such as alcohol, drugs, violence, gore, sexual content, child abuse, sexual assault, and more. In order to minimize spoilers, content warnings will only be posted at the author's discretion and will not contain specifics.

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On an ordinary day like today, not too far in the future, humanity cracked the mysteries behind interplanetary travel. The decades that followed were filled with even more thrilling discoveries; the invention of the warp drive that could take them a light-year away in a matter of hours, the discovery of numerous galaxies, and the revelation that we are not alone in this universe.

Expeditions were sent away as the Earth continued to wither, classified as a hazardous planet in the early 2100's. By Earth year 2300, the Solar System in its entirety was declared uninhabitable.

Humanity continued to spread into the stars, with each expedition reaching further than the one before it. Ships full of refugees eager for a new start reached galaxies and star systems previously unheard of.

In just a few short centuries, the failures of Planet Earth were forgotten. Technological advancements allowed for the terraforming of more planets into habitable environments as the populations of humans and aliens alike grew exponentially. Many terraforming efforts failed, but enough were successful for societies to grow and thrive.

In the Azuri System, so called because of its glorious blue sun, there were six such planets. Closest to the sun was Toxen, a terraform failure with an atmosphere so dense with volcanic ash that even fully equipped workers could only stand to land on its surface a few hours at a time, for the sole purpose of mining its precious Cobaltium ore.

Then there was Kespan, a desert planet where terraforming once again went awry. The atmosphere was made stable and breathable, but the temperatures during the day were too hot for any but the most desperate of settlers.

Third was Kaecilium, a planet covered in lush rain forests and the greenest of swamps with no terraforming needed. The Kaecilian people had lived there long before the humans arrived, evolved for the watery surface with frog-like skin and fins on their arms and legs.

Fourth was Midelian, an Earth-like planet with a surface nearly 80% covered in water. Grand cities were built over every inch of its soil, and when the land was full, the oceans were next to be claimed, with under-water domes spreading miles and miles. Even its three moons were colonized; one by the military, one by a business, and one for living purposes.

Next was Oceana, another terraforming mishap. The surface was covered entirely with freezing cold salt-water and lost in an eternal rainstorm. All attempts to build settlements had ended in disaster.

Furthest from the sun was Glacia, a planet twice terraformed, but the freezing temperatures so far from the sun kept it covered in nearly ten feet of snow and ice. Even the climate control system installed could only do so much to stave off the constant blizzards. The settlers there relied heavily on cargo ships from Midelian and Kaecilium to send supplies.

It was rumored that once in a blue moon, when the night sky was clear and the wind was right, one could spot a seventh planet from the surface of Glacia; but these rumors were ridiculed by those who had been off planet and gazed into the emptiness beyond.

If there was a seventh planet in Azuri's sky, surely it was invisible.