The Veilwalker

Cosmic Mana Wave Monitoring Centre, Mars

Director Oslove Dirgg, a dark sclera-eyed human, oversaw the monitoring station of Mars's orbital rings. The day prior, they had detected readings of a possible cosmic mana wave that would be passing through the asteroid belt. With this knowledge, they had made ample preparations and put up the barrier in preparation for the event. Chances were that the wave would pass by as predicted.

But history has taught them that the waves could begin at one point and end up at another. While this did not affect transportation between Earth and Mars, they still kept an open mind.

"How much time till the start of the wave?" The director asked. A reply quickly came in from one of the operators. "Estimates report one hour forty-five minutes till start." Director Dirgg nodded looking at the large holographic screen where the time was then put up. Although the estimates said so, they all knew this was subject to change. It could start at any moment.

'Hopefully, nothing major happens.' He silently thought before asking for a follow-up.

"Are there any ships heading for Mars currently?"

"Yes, director. Three ships are headed here. The first one would be here in fifteen minutes, the second ship in about 23 minutes and the last one in about an hour's time." The response came in again. 'An hour? That's a bit far behind. Then again, the wave strikes at any time.

While small, still possess a serious threat.'

"Send a message to the rescue ops to be on standby."

Time continued to tick away slowly. Fifteen minutes…Thirty minutes…Thirty-five minutes…

"The wave is about to start sir." Another operator announced as the phenomenon began showing on the large monitor. "Has the last ship arrived?" He asked again. Just as he feared, the wave was starting earlier than predicted.

"No sir, it's about 10 minutes away." Hearing this response, the director let out a small sigh. While they had not arrived yet, they were close enough to the planet. The orbital barriers also had the additional function of creating a solidified space around its immediate surroundings, stabilizing the space and largely preventing the waves from getting too close. And so far, it hadn't failed them.

As everyone observed the cosmic mana storm displayed on the monitor and tinted in a colour seeable by everyone, the wave began shifting through the asteroid field displacing numerous asteroids to who knows where. The wave increased in intensity sweeping everything in sight, moving away from Mars.

This brought a small wave of relief to the operators and everyone in the orbital ring observing the phenomena on the available displays.

Soon after, the wave disappeared as if it was never there. But the control room personnel knew it was not over. Until an hour had passed with no signs of activity anywhere would they call it a save. But as luck would have it, or in this case, not so much, the wave was detected to have appeared within the space of Mars and the Sun. Too close to Mars for comfort.

"Sir we have a situation! The wave has appeared close by, and the last ship is right in its vicinity!" When the info was given, a look of dread appeared on the faces of everyone inside the control room. This was the worst possible outcome.

While all forms of transportation could have been halted, there had never been a situation where a ship within an inhabited solar system was caught in the cosmic mana wave.

"What?!" exclaimed the director. At this point, there was not much they could do but hope the wave passed them without displaying the entire ship. Worse was if the wave placed them inside a veiled space!

.....

[Arrival in 10 minutes. All personnel must be seated from here on.]

As the announcement came in, the students who had taken off their safety belts moved to put them back on with the assistance of the robots.

In the cockpit of the spaceship, the captain along with his crew were making preparations for their imminent arrival. But before they could proceed further, their deep space scanners detected a cosmic mana wave that took them by surprise. Since no information came from the orbital ring station, he understood it was an unexpected event.

The captain quickly gave out orders, not delaying even for a second.

"Put up the barrier and someone inform our passengers to brace themselves for impact!" When the commands came in, his crew which consisted of humans and a few robots came out of their shock and implemented his commands. The barriers fitted on spaceships were a small-scale version of what the orbital rings could produce as they served more like a physical barrier than a wave barrier.

Most times too, they are barely used in economy class ships as the materials used in constructing the ships were strong enough to withstand high-speed collisions with space debris. There was also the issue of power that would not be adequate to offset the cosmic mana wave.

[Alert! Alert! All personnel should brace for impact. We have an eminent collision with a cosmic mana wave]

As soon as the information came in, the majority of students began to panic. Some straight out passed out and a few could be seen crying and screaming their hearts out. Alex and Ross exchanged glances and could see the dread written all over their face. They promptly tightened their safety belt and put back their helms.

'This is what I feared would happen!' Internally, Alex began to panic as he psyched himself for what was to come. The teachers were also trying their best to calm the panicking students while they themselves tried not to show their fears. The few who were hunters knew the dread the cosmic mana wave brought. It was partly the reason some of them decided to take on the boring jobs of teaching.

The cosmic mana wave coming directly towards the spaceship impacted heavily against the barrier. The asteroid debris that came along with it were stopped by the barrier. The intensity of the wave was also reduced to a third of its strength while the rest made it past the barrier, washing over the ship in an instant before disappearing shortly after.

When the ship stabilized and came to a slow halt, the captain looked around and noticed a few of his crew missing, immediately understanding what happened to them. On the side of the student and teachers, a few hundred students disappeared with half the teachers.

Ross looked around before focusing on the spot his friend was supposed to be and his heart sunk.

"!!"

What met him was an empty seat!