The Veilwalker

The final year students numbering 300 lined up nicely before the sir train with their teachers already having a brief exchange with the captain. Standing before the train entrances were humanoid robots powered by the empire's primary AI system. These robots were mostly used in assisting space efforts and the military. Other variants were also used in maintaining law and order across the empire.

Alex stood with his classmates taking everything in when the captain moved towards them after her brief exchange with the teachers. The captain introduced herself and proceeded to instruct them on what to do once inside the train. While the trip would be for a short 30 minutes, they needed to observe all the protocols. As kids, there would always be those who ignored simple instructions.

Of course, the robots were there to assist them with any problem they would have.

"That would be all." Completing his instructions, the students were guided into the trains and directed to their seats. Once everyone was seated and well-fastened, the air train prepared for takeoff.

[Next stop: Alpha Orbital Ring]

Came the system announcement.

...

[Welcome to the Alpha Orbital Ring]

Once the air train docked with the primary orbital ring and reset the atmospheric pressure and composition in the docking interface, the students were then allowed to exit calmly. The students with their teachers were guided to the spacecraft docking area by the robots. As they moved, they appreciated the view of the earth from the station. The orbital ring was huge, and this was just one of two.

The orbital rings had everything from space monitoring equipment to control centres for space shuttles and living quarters for hunters and all other personnel.

As they moved to their destination, the robots gave them a tour along the way, explaining to them the sections they came across and the purposes they served. Not long after they came across the spaceship docking bay. The bay size was just as huge. Some of the spacecrafts had sizes equivalent to a football stadium and others were designed small for a small number of passengers.

The ship that Alex and his mates were guided to was one of the huge ones. There were cruise ships as well, but those were found in the other regions of the galaxy and sectors.

Before the ship they were to board was a group of other students. Alex could tell at a glance there was a little over two thousand. He also recognized the uniforms some students wore. Once they joined in with the others, their teachers made their way forward to meet the captain. While they waited, some of the students went ahead to mingle with the other students from the other schools.

'I thought we were told to stay close.' Alex thought to himself. He didn't really mind since no harm was done but, in that crowd, one could lose sight of their mates if they ventured to far from the group.

"What do you think?" Ross spoke looking around. Alex turned to him and observed his actions for a second before responding, "I thought you said you've been in orbit and on a spaceship before."

"I have. But I never said it was medium class." Ross said with a smile. Hearing his words, Alex raised his brows in surprise. "That thing is medium class?!" Of course, he kept his voice low as he didn't want to draw attention to himself. Despite that, he was still taken aback. His knowledge of spacecraft was almost nonexistent.

But the size he was currently seeing being just a medium-class ship made him realize how small his world was. 'I guess I should keep an open mind.'

Spacecrafts came in different classes: ranging from mini size for a few people, to small-class that was half the size of the medium class. These classes of spaceships did not operate on hyperdrive technology since they were only used for short distances.

With the medium-class spaceships able to reach speeds of 270,000 km/s―more than 70% the speed of light, they were more than enough to serve as an economic class.

The colossal classes and above that were mostly docked on the Beta Orbital Rings for hunters came with hyperdrives. These hyperdrives were the new and improved versions from millennia ago that could perform millions of light-year jumps in one. These drives were built from the cores of the void monsters since they were the most sustainable forms of energy they could ask for.

Additionally, the orbital rigs and the colossal classes were built using materials from the void creatures as were as the new minerals humans discovered.

"Yeah, you should see the colossal classes and above. That would really blow you away." Ross responded with a smile. They continued their discussion until the teachers returned from their short meeting.

"Okay everyone, everything has been sorted out and everyone who needs to be here is already present.

"This time, however, once inside the ships, you would be guided to chambers where you'd be fitted with suits suitable for space travel. The suits are designed to maintain your body temperature and can generate its own air. Now don't ask me how they work, they just do."

The teacher went on to explain how long the journey would take and all they needed to do was to be seated, and before they knew it, they'd be landing on Mars. The current position of Mars was on the opposite side of the Sun, away from Earth. But this distance meant very little as the ships could cover that distance in about an hour.

Once everyone was guided inside the ship and led to the changing rooms to be fitted into their sleek-looking suits that looked more like sleek motorcycle suits and helmets, they were led to the sitting area where the robots fastened them into their seats for safety reasons; though they would hardly know the difference once they start moving.

[Takeoff in five minutes]

Alex looked over to his left where Ross was seated. He raised his hand into a fist to which Ross responded in kind, fist-bumping. As the students prepared for their journey, little did they know the disaster that would befall them as some would never return and was also the beginning of a wave of change overturning known conclusions.