Cosmic Mana Wave

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.

Armed with this knowledge, they made ample preparations and erected the barrier in anticipation of the event.

Chances were that the wave would pass by as predicted. However, history had taught them that the waves could begin at one location and end up at another. 

Although this did not affect transportation between Earth and Mars, the operators remained open-minded. 

"How much time till the start of the wave?" The director asked. A reply quickly came from one of the operators.

"Estimates report one hour, forty-five minutes till start."

Director Dirgg nodded, looking at the large holographic screen where a countdown was then put up. Although the estimates said so, they knew this was subject to change.

It could start at any moment. 'Hopefully, nothing major happens.' The director silently thought before asking for a follow-up.

"Are there any ships heading for Mars at this time?"

"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 can come at any time. While this is a small wave, it still poses 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 was announced as the phenomenon began to appear 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 the ship had not arrived yet, they were close enough to the planet.

The orbital barriers also had the additional function of creating a solidified field around its immediate surroundings, stabilising the space and essentially preventing the waves from getting in close.

And so far, it hadn't failed them.

As everyone observed the Cosmic Mana Storm displayed on the monitor, tinted in colours visible to all, the wave began shifting through the asteroid field, displacing numerous asteroids to who knew where. 

The wave intensified, sweeping everything in sight and began to move away from Mars. This brought a small wave of relief to the operators as everyone in the Orbital Ring observed the phenomenon on the available displays. 

Soon after, the wave disappeared as if it had never been there. But the control room personnel knew it was not over.

Only after an hour had passed with no signs of activity would the director declare the wave to have passed.

But as luck would have it, or in this case, not so much, the wave was detected to have appeared within the space between Mars and Earth, and 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!"

"Oh no..." The director cried in cold sweat.

When the information was shared, expressions of dread appeared on the faces of everyone in the control room. 

It was the worst possible outcome.

While all forms of transportation could have been halted, there had rarely been situations where a ship within an inhabited solar system was caught in a Cosmic Mana Wave.

At this point, there was not much they could do but hope the wave passed by without displacing 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, was 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 this 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 orders.

The barriers fitted on spaceships were a small-scale version of what the Orbital Rings could generate, as they served more like a physical barrier than a wave barrier.

Most of the time, they were fitted and used in economy class ships, as the materials used in constructing them 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 imminent 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 each other's faces. They promptly tightened their safety belt and put on their helmets. 

'This is what I feared would happen!' Internally, Alex began to panic as he psyched himself for what was to come.

The teachers were doing their utmost to calm the panicking students while they themselves endeavoured not to reveal their fears; a rather difficult task. 

The few who were hunters knew the dread the Cosmic Mana Wave brought. It was partly the reason some of the instructors decided to take on the less appealing job of teaching.

The Cosmic Mana Wave, coming directly towards the spaceship, impacted against the barrier, threatening to break it completely. The barrier did manage to halt the asteroid debris that accompanied the wave.

Despite the barrier's inadequacy, the intensity of the wave was reduced to a third of its strength, while the rest made it past the barrier, washing over the ship in a flash before disappearing.

When the ship stabilised and came to a slow halt, the captain looked around and noticed a few of his crew members missing, immediately understanding what had happened to them.

'Dammit!'

On the side of the students and teachers, a few hundred students and half of the teachers disappeared.

Ross looked around before facing the spot where his friend was supposed to be, and his heart dropped into the pits of his gut.

"!!"

What met him was an empty seat. Alexander was nowhere to be seen.