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Traveling at the speed of light felt… funny.
But tingly!
For me, it is the slowest planet in the solar system. Or was it the slowest planet in the solar system? I never knew I could go that fast! Well, only with the help of breaking the laws of physics. Eh, it was still fun! Despite how fast it went, I was able to get a look at the rogue planets. Whose stood cold. Well, not as cold as me! But still, it felt different when I looked forward to seeing… hundreds, millions of planets. Who didn't even leave a smirk.
"Weee!"
Hearing a cheerful voice behind me, I turned around to see my moons: one spun with laughter, one hugged on one side, and more cheers. "This is fun," Nereid cheered. As a smile was always on my face, it widened. "Hold on tight!" I say as I use my gravity to pull them closer, "It's a rough one!"
And it was! But it didn't take long. I let them enjoy as much as they could before we completely left the solar system. I'm not sure if we're even going to come back. Either way, all of us were mistreated. I hope the Sun understands that.
. . .
Everything had gotten blank at first, until the speed-of-light trip had ended. Which took only…..
The Kuiper Belt extends to around 30 Astronomical Units (AU) from the Sun, so that it would be 20 AU thick. Given the Oort Cloud, it would be way bigger.
One AU equals about 8 light-minutes, so if the light travels one AU in 8 minutes.
100,000 Astronomical Units times 8. Then, if I do 800,000 minutes divided by 60. 13,333 hours approximately. Then divide by 24, about 555 days. That would be a year and a half!
A whole light beam would also need half of an Earth year to reach out-
"Want to travel with me, guys?"
The calculations only left a trace on the back of my core when I turned to see Planet W. "Of course, mate," Uranus quickly answered. Then turned to me, "You cool, Neptune?"
"Hm…-200 degrees Celsius cool!"
I looked at Uranus and Planet X, then back at Uranus, "hmmm yeah, he's cool."
"Thanks to that diary book you gave me, Neptune, it helped me keep my sanity over the years. I was able to find Voyager 1 during my travels and finally managed to get out of the Oort Cloud, like you guys."
Cool!
"That's awesome, mate!" Uranus said, "Do you still have that book with ya?"
I looked at Planet X. I noticed his smile faded, "No, not really. When I went to the speed of light, I lost it."
While I watched Planet X and Uranus talked. Planet X changed, not the Planet W I saw back then, but he seems to be nicer now. But I've always noticed he kept exchanging glances at me. And keep looking at what's behind me. It was already clear to me he was looking for Proteus. Given what happened before he left, Proteus was really upset. It took forever for me to calm him down once he left.
I didn't care if he left; my moon was hurt. That's what was important. Triton is still upset with him, and reasonably so. But what was more noticeable to me was his eyes. His eyes were as dark as the void of space. I can't think of any scientific way that he and the other rogue planets would get that.
"So cool! Isn't that cool, Neptune?"
"…Why are your eyes dark?" I asked him.
I expected some silence from the two of them. I looked at X with a smile, patient to hear his answer. "Uh," Planet X spoke, "We think it's related to the absence of sunlight."
I nodded, "Sooooo, once we become rogue planets, we'll become like that?"
Planet X looked at me again, "Y..yes."
Awesome!
"Cool!"
"Heh…yeah."
"Hey, Neptune. I just wanted to ask about-"
"Proteus?" I answered. I looked at him, and he looked up. "Yeahh, he's doing okay! You should speak to him after we reach your kingdom thingy!"
I noticed Planet X looked furrowed, "You'll…think Proteus would want to talk to me?"
If he wants to, yeah!
But… I don't like you. :)
"Welllll that's up to him! I'm sure you want to apologize. Once we get there, I'll let him talk to you!"
Planet X looked at me and made a soft smile, "Yeah," he nodded, "Okay, that's good to hear. Anyway, we're almost there, it's going to get even faster when we get there."
The ride was amazing! The speed of light was probably the best part of this entire thing! Now for this kingdom thing…
It was… ominous! Despite the lack of sound in space, it felt eerie. All of the other planets stood on their ground, not moving at all. How did Planet X even find this place? Well, if they seemed welcoming, I'm sure he'll be welcoming to us. "So mate, how did you even find this place?"
I looked at Planet X.
"See that big blue guy over there, he found me and took me to the kingdom. They introduced me to Her Majesty, the red dwarf, along with PSO. It was…adventurous, I can say for sure,"
How adventurous?
And who's CZO?
"They also said they recruit planets that lost their stars from supernovas. We help them, you know? For a good cause, and that's when I chose to join their kingdom."
I looked back at Uranus, "Wow, mate. You've had quite the journey since we last saw you!"
I looked back at X. "What about you guys?" he asked, then turned to me. "Neptune?"
It was quite the journey indeed. Planet X is still called Uranus, 'Caelus'. I wouldn't want to be the one to explain what happened because of Uranus. But that's all in the past now. And…I can't really laugh yet until Uranus is okay with it!
So, I smiled widely, my eyes turned to Uranus, looking for an answer. Uranus left a smile, looked back at X, "Actually, I dropped the whole Caelus thing. Didn't really suit me," He spoke. I was proud of him!
But I needed to know how Planet X reacts to it. If he's still the Planet W I saw, or the new planet X now. Planet X raised an eyebrow, "So.. you like Uranus better?"
I looked back at Uranus, who still left a smile. I think we're in the clear! "I… LOVE, Uranus."
And of course we all laughed. It was such a relief that all of that is in the past. What was even greater was that he got friends now! Lots of them! I'm glad Planet X had company. And they seemed cheerful too. I'm sure the others will welcome us too! I'm not sure what the little one got upset about young peter though!
They must reeeeeeaaaaallllyyyyyyyy want the earth.
I thought it was obvious that the Earth couldn't come because it had life! He almost didn't survive in the Kuiper Belt. What made them think he was going to survive here? I would get that the Rogue planets had no idea what it takes even to contain life and maintain that consistency. I could tell this red dwarf here is upset with that, but does she really know how much responsibility it would take to hold that?
Mars did a smart thing. It's too risky, and even bringing him here would be overkill.
"How could none of us notice the Earth didn't come?"
Because a lot of things were going on!
"There were so many planets, it didn't even occur to us that someone would stay."
That's because he had no choice but to!
"Well, now what? The Earth is now stuck with that crazy giant ball of plasma!"
I feel bad.
"We can't just go back…"
I'm Neptune!
"Guys! The plan is for the Earth to stay with the Sun until we figure out a way to get it out of there without risking life on its surface."
I don't… see any scientific way for that to happen.
"Well, why didn't you start with that?"
I turned to the red dwarf, who smirked. "There's someone I'd like you to meet."
"Hello there, my name is OTS 44. To what do I owe this pleasure?"
I'm going to be honest, I haven't seen a rogue planet- no. A brown dwarf this close. Well, technically, a rogue planet and a dwarf star. She was much bigger than young Peter. But it is not big enough, and not warm enough to sustain life like Earth. "Yeah, the Earth couldn't come," Venus said. "For obvious reasons," Mars added.
I'm sure it was obvious. I was hoping the brown dwarf would understand that, no matter what, the Earth couldn't come, unlike the red dwarf, who didn't understand why.
"May I ask what those reasons are?"
There goes my hope.
"Well, for one, the Earth needs a stable orbit, so—
"He can orbit me."
Now hold on.
All of us were surprised by how easily she answered that question, but to me, they clearly don't know the scientific way of sustaining it. I stood closer, "Aren't you a planet?" I asked the brown dwarf. "Well," the brown dwarf said, "Actually, I'm a-
"A brown dwarf."
I turned to Young Peter, "A celestial body somewhere between a massive planet and a small star," he continued. "Indeed," the brown dwarf answered.
But still, there's no way the Earth could orbit around you. I stood close to you to test if it was warm, and it wasn't even close enough! "The lies you've been fed. Planets, just like life, don't require Stars to develop!
I mean. I suppose that's true.
Not all life requires sunlight or warmth from a star. If I remember right, there was a moon of Saturn that could support life without needing the Sun. From the brown dwarf, they can generate their own heat from radioactive decay or gravitational contraction. The planetary disk around the brown dwarf is included because it forms from the same gas and dust that stars form.
"There are no guarantees, but we will do our best. I introduced all of you to one of our best-kept secrets because I can see how desperate you are. You fought against your star, even if it was hopeless."
What are they implying? That they owe us something?
It's true, they saved us from the Sun potentially killing us, but I know he wouldn't do that.
"What are you saying, Simp?" Young Peter asked. I turned to Simp, and she made a smile, "Join us. Become a rogue planet officially, like your friend X."
Something doesn't feel right here. Planet X said, 'They also recruit planets from stars that went supernova,' but he didn't mention anything about getting or achieving life. I noticed the look he gave when I mentioned the kingdom; he looked regretful.
I opened my mouth, "Question!!!! Why?"
Simp looked at me as if I were confused. I was not confused.
"..why..? What?" Simp asked.
I blinked, "Why? That's my question!"
"Uh-" Simp paused, "B-because we will fight tooth and nail to make sure the Earth can be free while still being able to sustain life!"
I still don't see that as scientifically possible.
"Because we both know stars can't develop but abuse their immense power over the planets, as if they were insignificant."
Are all stars abusive?
"Because we're fighters, and when something's wrong, we rebel against it, no matter the odds. And more importantly, because helping planets is what we do."
The other rogue planets standing like soldiers tell me a different story.
"We don't stop at 10 or 100 or 1,000. We will help millions of planets across the galaxy! Simp asserted.
It does seem promising, but I have other questions to think about.
Recruiting planets for what? Are you going to go beyond?
What about the stars that aren't violent? We don't know that for sure, but I want to know what happens if we don't join.
"Interesting!! Interesting…"
I'd want to talk to Young Peter about this.
"Wellllll," I spoke, "Let us discuss your fun little pitch and get back to-.
"I'm in."
What?
I never expected Young Peter to be the first to answer and join. But worst of all, he said it with confidence, like he knew what he was signing up for. Was it the little rogues? Was it because of the Earth? I could hear Saturn, saying his name, shocked, just like I was.
"Hey, are you sure about this?"
Even Planet X was surprised by what he said. That confirms it right there. If Planet X is concerned, then I wouldn't want to join this group!
"If he's in, then I'm in!"
But this is Young Peter; if he joins, then the others will join!
"Me too, I guess."
"I'm also in, mate!"
WHAT?
"Uh…"
"Come on, Neptune!" Uranus looked at me. "This will be fun, you'll see!"
But.. you don't know that! I can't trust Simp's word. I don't trust anything about this! But, if it takes to be with my moons and stay with Uranus. Then…
"Then I'm in, Uranus!" I said with a smile, returning with Uranus's. Uranus laughed, "That one's new!"
It was an unintended pun. But it was a little funny.
"What choice do I have?" Mercury asked. Simp looked at him, then looked at the moons, "Moons, you in?"
"We're loyal to our planet friends. We're in."
Oh boy.
Simp eyed the dwarf planets: "And finally, the dwarf planets."
"For the record, none of us has a choice."
I…figured that.
Uranus seemed happy about it! I'm sure my little moons would too. Would they be safe? I did see the other little rogues happy, so I assume they would be safe and well cared for.
"Without further ado, welcome! To the Rogue Planet Kingdom."
Present day.
"Wow, Uranus, your eyes have been getting darker by the minute!"
"Really, mate? To me, your eyes look even darker than mine! Do you feel anything?"
It felt cold. Staying in the rogue kingdom made me miss what warmth felt like, and it was hard to get used to it. It felt uncomfortable, but I didn't want to show that to Uranus! And yes, yes, I know I'm an ice giant and all, and I should be used to this. Maybe a little homesick, but hoho, I was never that sick when I got too close to the Sun! And as soon as I saw X, I wanted to know how Guillermo was doing. Guillermo told me that it was a well beyond journey, he said with X, and it wasn't meant, and he certaintly wasn't boring! He went so fast that he almost got lost!
Speaking of Planet X, he introduced us to little rogues! Adorable! When I found out they were the little rocky planets that young Peter had ejected, I realized why Jupiter felt shocked, and it made sense that he joined so suddenly, mostly to atone for them and… possibly Planet X.
I also asked X why the rogue planets stood there. Planet X didn't even know himself; he was joking that they might've stood like that for millions of years. An interesting joke! Interesting joke. Throughout the months, I inspected the place, I stood quietly, and watched the conversation. As soon as I heard the blue dwarf and Simp, I didn't forget that they wanted the Earth no matter what, and that we explained why the Earth couldn't come and what he needed. I don't think they care at all.
And I heard them saying they want us 'gone'.
This whole place gives me the creeps.
"Hey guys!"
Both Uranus and I turned to see Planet X with a grin, "Hey there, mate! What's going on?"
"Simp wants to talk with you. It's important."
Ooo! Finally, something exciting!
In fact, have I even introduced myself? She introduced herself to us, but I don't think we did either.
"How are you finding life now at our kingdom?"
"It's fine!"
"It's aight."
"We've been playing!"
"Chill."
"I'm cool!"
"My name is Neptune!! : D"
"I've decided it's time. Time for you to serve our cause."
"Cool, something to do!" Uranus looked at me, and then I looked back at him. We both turned to Simp. "SHOOT!"
"You will spread across the Milky Way galaxy and help us save millions of lost planets. Only after you save a million may you return."
Return?
Return home?
Or back to the kingdom?
Gee, for us, just joining, that's a big task for us to do together.
"Oh..." Uranus spoke, "Uh… like a million total or-"
"Each. Which is why you must all go in separate directions."
Separate directions?
Wouldn't that take a long time?
Separate?
What?
"Anything to say?" Simp asked.
"About what?" I said back. "Mate," He turned to me, "She just told us we'll be split across the galaxy in some twisted mission!"
I heard that loud and clear. There's no way she would let us do something like that. Hah, there's no way!
"Hah!" I scoffed, "Yeah, right. As if we would do something like that."
Stars, I was wrong. When I heard Simp explaining that we have no choice and ranting about us being selfish and ungrateful, everything came back to me. I first looked at this place. "Also, just my opinion.. It's SUPER sketchy that she wants us gone. I'm starting to think that she-"
"Stop."
I know I'm nice, but I didn't want to hear Jupiter come out of his mouth.
Convinced that we should be grateful that they saved us, and it's true, we were! But separating us seems like they have a different goal in mind than what they said in the beginning. Is this really what we're going to do?
"So, is this the end, mates?" Uranus said. "I guess it is, each of us must recruit one million planets," Mars answered. Saturn said back, "So, if we find one lost planet every day, that would be…uh."
That would take about.. "2,777 years, give or take..!" I turned to Uranus. And as I knew, he would be in shock. It doesn't seem that long. But Earth's human, Astrodude, wouldn't be here when we get back.
Because he would be- X.X
"I… don't want you to be alone again, Neptune. I know what it does to you."
I shook my surface and turned to him, "I know, but I'll be okay."
I can't tell if I would be lying or telling the truth; I wouldn't know what would happen to me if I were alone again. Uranus shook his head in denial, "This is not how this was supposed to go. We were supposed to stay together."
I know Uranus. I know.
I won't let a simple task keep us apart. It'll take time, but I'll think of something. Just like Triton would help us out of our mess, I'll help us out of it, too. I've been in the darkness before, so it's nothing new to me.
I'll protect my moons, but I will miss the planets and the star I always knew.