not far from our position. It had a big sun, perhaps larger than our own. Fifteen planets spun around it, small marbles in soft shades of gray, blue, and orange. It didn’t take long to identify the three we knew were inhabited.
The strange haze that had prevented us from getting more detailed views of the three Trexus planets was more visible, as well. It only spanned around them, without affecting the others in the system.
“That mist thing is weird,” I said. “What is that, exactly?”
“We were never able to figure it out from afar,” Derek replied. “Hopefully we’ll understand it better once we get there. It’s like a shapeless filter of sorts, blurring our telescope imagery.”
By now, our necks were stretching as we leaned closer to Derek and Sofia so we could get a better view. It looked so quiet. So peaceful. Filled with secrets waiting to be discovered. Threads to be pulled. Curtains to be drawn. My limbs tingled with excitement. If there was one thing my sister and I would never tire of, it was this feeling, right here—the thrill of discovery, the bewilderment, the thousands of questions that filled my head, beckoning me to answer each and every one of them, making sure I’d leave no stone unturned.
Esme and I looked at each other for a brief moment. As if reading each other’s minds, we both smiled. It wasn’t a grin. It was a hopeful, timid curve of the lips. It was a thought that we dared not put into words, for it might crumble and vanish before we could make it into a reality.
“That’s Trexus-1, closer to the sun,” Derek said, drawing our attention.
The three Trexus planets were right next to each other, easily within reach if there were methods of space flight readily available for their people. The one we’d called 1 was reddish in color, and it was the smallest. “It’s mostly deserts and rocks, isn’t it?” I asked, remembering some of the data we’d skimmed through from the telescopic observations. The haze wasn’t as obstructive from this distance, as opposed to what we’d seen through the telescopes.
“Yes. And quarries. We noticed a lot of settlements around them. My guess is they’re exploiting the resources. But the oceans are small and few,” Derek replied. “Chances are there’s not a big population.”
“Look at Trexus-3,” Sofia added, moving our focus to the slightly bigger, blue-and-white planet on the other side of 2. “Given its distance from the sun, it’s mostly ice and snow. There’s plenty of water, but it’s permanent winter out there.”
“That would probably mean even fewer people. We did find structures and settlements there, though, didn’t we?” Esme asked, her brow furrowed. I knew she was already digging through the memory of what she’d read from Dmitri and Phoenix’s observations on the topic.
“Exactly. It’s inhabited, we just don’t know how many of them are there, given the haze,” Derek replied. “But it’s Trexus-2, our destination, that is the most fascinating.”
Indeed, the closer we got to it, the more beautiful it seemed. Its patches of green and blue reminded me of Earth. It had the perfect conditions for life. The atmosphere, the right distance from the sun to allow for a healthy climate and changing seasons… My heart was already racing as I wondered what kind of people lived there. I’d been wondering from the moment we’d first been told about the mission.
It was also the biggest of the three, though still slightly smaller than Earth. It had two moons, to my surprise. One was almost half its size, a monstrous white marble, while the other was merely a pebble, crimson in color. They seemed close to one another, and perhaps someday they might even collide. I knew the white one would win that battle rather quickly.
“Imagine what that big-ass moon looks like at night!” Esme exclaimed, her eyes wide and twinkling. “It’s got to cover half the sky…”
“I guess we’ll find out soon enough,” Sofia replied, smiling broadly as our interplanetary spell began its descent toward Trexus-2.
We finally passed through the thin layer of mist, and we were now able to see much more. My breath left me as I stared through the windshield.
If the journey itself had been full of wonder and awe, our approach was loaded with adrenaline—not because of the ride, but because of the anticipation that was building up in each of us. Our destination was truly the crown jewel of this solar system.
Its waters were deep and blue, tourmaline