Jaenna woke to the sound of a wave crashing against the cliffs below her family's home. Their domicile stubbornly stood on the edge of large, rocky cliffs. The building was her entire world right now—isolated by the relentless sea and windswept.
It wasn’t time to get up yet. She glanced at the clock on her nightstand, squinting her eyes to make out the faintly glowing numbers. With a sigh, she turned on her reading lamp and let her eyes wander to the window. The wind was howling, making the few scattered trees shake back and forth. But that was nothing new; it was always windy on Dolda II.
She got up and looked outside. Her gaze drifted to the sky, where the massive silhouette of Dolda loomed. The storm clouds dimmed the gas giant's swirling bands of color. It was Dolda’s gravitational pull that caused the waves to pound against the cliffs. But it was also Dolda's magnetic field that kept them safe, shielding them from their sun’s deadly radiation and the probing sensors of the Republic’s Fleet.
They called themselves a ‘republic’, but in reality they were anything but. Their dominion spanned over more than half of the galaxy, but that still wasn't enough. With every year, their fleet brought more worlds under their control. More people were subjugated and thrown into a life of obedience and exploitation.
A shiver ran down her spine, not from the cold, but from the thought of those invisible dangers lurking beyond their sun’s protective barrier. The Republic's presence was a constant shadow over their lives.
Jaenna pulled the blanket tighter around her shoulders and watched as the wind whipped the few scattered treetops into a frenzy. A mix of fear and fascination came over her, as she stared out into the dark, stormy night. She let out a sigh, as she thought about everything about her life that might change on this day, a day which she’s both looked forward to and dreaded for the past three years.
She turned around and scanned her room. It was barely more than a compartment, its steel walls cold to the touch and suffused with a faint hum from the life-support systems. A small, circular window offered a view of the almost barren moonscape, an endless expanse of rocks, speckled with a few patches of grass and small, stunted trees.
Despite the mostly sterile environment, the girl had managed to infuse the space with fragments of her personality. A threadbare blanket, a relic from her home planet of Nyreen, was draped over the narrow bunk, its faded colors a contrast to the room’s metallic sheen. Above the bed, a cluster of holographic photos floated in mid-air, projecting images of friends and family she hadn’t seen in years. Their faces flickered, a consequence of the intermittent power surges from their solar energy generator.
On a small shelf built into the wall, a collection of books and data pads were neatly arranged, ranging from foundational science to the latest fiction for youths from three years ago. Hidden behind the front row was her secret collection of romance stories and smut. In the opposite corner was a makeshift terrarium housed a resilient succulent, its green vitality a defiant splash of life in the otherwise austere room.
The room’s single, multifunctional console was cluttered with personal artifacts: a pair of retro-style headphones, a tangled mess of jewelry, and a small vial of Nyreen soil, kept as a precious memento. The console’s screen flickered with a to-do-list with things she had to prepare for today, the only unchecked item being “Don’t die”, a cynical joke from Jaenna a week ago.
Even in the cold, artificial light, the room held a warmth, a sense of refuge. It was her little, fragile bubble of normalcy amid the vast, unyielding emptiness of the Dolda system the galaxy beyond.
She sat down on her small, worn-out mattress, its springs creaking in protest. She picked up a small mirror from the floor beside her bed, gazing into its cloudy surface. Her reflection stared back, fragmented and hazy, much like her own thoughts. Grayish-blue eyes, dulled by exhaustion, peered out from beneath heavy, dark circles. Her skin was pale, giving her the appearance of someone whose life force was spread a little too thin.
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Despite all that, her blonde hair framed her face with a gentle shine, catching the dim light of the room. It was the one part of her that she still liked, a stark contrast to the rest of her appearance. The mirror quivered in her hand as she sighed, as she set the mirror down gently, feeling the cool, hard surface beneath her fingertips. The room around her was silent, save for the ever present faint hum of the life-support systems and the distant howl of the wind outside.
Today marked her 20th birthday. It should be a day of celebration, filled with friends, family, and laughter. But her life unfortunately was far from normal. In her family, turning twenty was a day of difficult choices. She had to decide whether to sacrifice the life she knew, the comfort and familiarity of her existence, to take on a responsibility far greater than herself.
Jaenna’s family were part of the Veil-Touched, a group linked to the Veil—a mysterious remnant of an ancient civilization’s attempt to tap into cosmic forces. Only Veilwalkers, those who’ve put in years of grueling training, can truly control the Veil’s turbulent and often unpredictable power. Becoming a Veilwalker isn’t just about training; it’s about cutting ties with everyone you know and dedicating your whole life to mastering this chaotic energy.
When Jaenna went through the testing, it was clear she was highly sensitive to the Veil. She could feel its shifts and sometimes had strange dreams, but actually controlling it was a different story. She remembered how she’d struggled then. If only I’d managed to keep my stupid emotions in check back then.
The room felt smaller than ever, the walls closing in. Outside, the relentless storm raged on. She peeked at the clock; it was almost time to get up. Sighing, she closed her eyes, hoping for a few more minutes of rest.
Suddenly, a loud crackle shattered the silence. The noise was so deafening that her ears rang with a continuous beeping sound, leaving her disoriented for a few seconds.
Panic surged through her. She knew exactly what caused it. Heart racing, she sprang from the bed, throwing on her shabby clothes from the day before. She rushed to her room's door, her voice breaking as she yelled, "Mom? Dad?".
Jaenna’s voice echoed in the corridor, swallowed by the darkness. She paused, trying to calm the rising panic, but the eerie silence that followed only heightened her fear. The air seemed thicker, heavy with an unspoken threat. She pressed on, her bare feet slapping against the cold metal floor.
The house groaned under the pressure of the storm outside. It wasn’t just the wind. Something else had changed, a shift in the atmosphere that set her on edge. Jaenna reached the end of the corridor, hesitating before the door to her parents' room. Her hand trembled as she pushed it open.
She stepped inside, the room as cold and unyielding as the rest of the house. The bed was made, the sheets undisturbed. Everything was in its place, but the absence of her parents made it feel wrong, unsettling. She turned, catching sight of something on the floor—a small, shimmering object.
Jaenna knelt, picking the communicator up with trembling fingers. The screen was cracked, but the message was clear: “Evacuate immediately. We love you. Follow our echo.” Her heart sank. The words pulsed on the screen, a stark contrast to the stillness around her. Did they fucking leave me behind?
A low rumble vibrated through the house, distant but growing closer. She knew what it meant. They were coming. Her mind raced, trying to process what she needed to do. The to-do list on her console flashed in her memory, the cynical joke now a grim reality.
Don’t die.
She stuffed the communicator into her pocket and bolted for the door. The house seemed to close in on her, the walls narrowing as she raced down the corridor. Her breath came in sharp, shallow gasps, every footstep echoing louder in her ears.
She reached the main hall, the exit just ahead. But as her hand reached for the door, the floor beneath her trembled, a deep rumbling that sent her stumbling. A loud crash came from outside, followed by the splintering of wood and metal. Jaenna froze, her hand hovering over the door handle, fear paralyzing her.
Then, with a deep breath, she steeled herself and pushed the door open. The wind slammed into her, nearly knocking her off her feet. But it wasn’t the storm that made her heart stop—it was the sight of the Republic cruiser descending in front of their home, its dark figure silhouetted against the sky.
They had found her.