Cygnus

Also known as Cygnus 7670, Cygnus is a star in the Machine Sector and was one of the populated systems belonging to the Z. It features a rocky planet capable of harboring life, with many large saline lakes linked by streams and rivers, and its own biota. This water wasn't perfectly aquaformed for Z habitation, and hence they had constructed several "habbles"--balloon-like habitats inside the water--for civilian and commercial use and residency.

Following the events of 9 April 2156, the ERS Hydra led a counterstrike against the Z with a small task force, featuring the ERS Gondul, under Lieutenant Commander Oizys Vantage. During skirmishes and joint reconnaissance above the water line, the Gondul Starfighters punctured several habbles with Crimson Tide missiles, effectively spreading the substance quickly through the planet's waters.

Due to the spread of Crimson Tide and the Hydra's inability to combat it, the environment of the planet has become wildly destabilized, and it is considered a dead planet for the time being. Much of the Crimson Tide has died after its initial red bloom, and the planet's aquatic bacteria have multiplied while glutting on the food supply, deoxygenating the waters and filling them with the dead, the dying, and Crimson Tide's potent cyanotoxin. That has led to a large number of anaerobic bacteria populating the waters, belching methane and hydrogen sulfide into the air, heating the planet and killing terrestrial life.