Blue Sun
Inspired by a soft sci-fi story I read a good while ago, where I really liked the setting and certain aspects, but absolutely loathed just about everything about the writing.
Fortunately, the author of that story does not own the various concepts he used that I actually liked, so I'm building my own to do it better. Will it be better? Who knows, I try my best, but everyone's taste is different. I only write what I would like to read, myself.
The story is set in a space age, where travel between systems has become possible. Alien contact has been made, with a certain level of diplomacy having been established. Amidst this, humans have learned how to bestow human-like sentience upon animals.
There is a lot more I could say, but I think the final story should be allowed to speak for itself.