Vimana (10 page)

Indra got up and approached Aaditya. He held Aaditya's shoulder in a friendly gesture though his strength made Aaditya wince.

'Aadi, our enemies show no such compassion, as you have seen. If you try and share anything of what happened, they will track you down to get to us. That will cause some complications for us, but you will not survive. So for your own sake, listen to what Brahma said.'

Aaditya nodded. Unsure of what to do next he began to walk towards the door. Then he stopped and turned.

'Can I ask a couple of questions?'

Brahma nodded.

'What was that cylinder your enemies were after?'

Durga answered, 'They wanted it so badly because it could give them insights into how our vimanas work. My vimana had broken down and I was waiting for Shiva to come and help when they ambushed me.'

'Okay, if your vimanas fly around so freely without being detected, I'm assuming you have stealth of some kind. But why don't more people see them with their naked eyes?'

Indra shook his head, 'Nice try, but as we said, the less you know the better. Anything else?'

Aaditya paused, but then figuring he had nothing to lose since he was on his way home anyway, he blurted out, 'What's with the names? I imagine you'll never tell me what your organization really is, but why pick code names from Hindu mythology?'

To his surprise, they looked a bit perplexed. Then Shiva broke out laughing and the others joined in. Narada, a broad smile on his face, came to Aaditya and said, 'Let's just say that we've been around a while in these parts and we have come to like these names, so we made them our own. Now come on, we'll get you a ride home.'

Aaditya was at the door when Kartik burst in from a side door. Aaditya was shocked at seeing him so soon after the battle, and with no apparent signs of injury.

'A US Air Force F-22 has gone down in the desert over Iraq. They're calling it an accident during a routine training mission.'

Narada gestured with a hand and a holographic screen came up. In one corner, playing in a small box was CNN, showing the Breaking News.

'Ganesha, what do we know? A real accident or our friends at it again?'

As if on cue, a young man walked in. Unlike the others who looked like athletes or soldiers, this newcomer was short and potbellied. He seemed to have unusually large ears, and wore old-fashioned wire rimmed spectacles.

'What do you think? I hacked into the Pentagon servers, and they have no clue what happened. The plane just disappeared.'

Aaditya hugged the wall, realizing that in the chaos, everyone had forgotten about him, assuming that he had gone out of the room. Indra motioned towards the display and a world map came up, a few dots scattered on it.

'These are the aircraft we know they were responsible for destroying before 2000, because they stumbled upon them, or perhaps Maya and his goons just wanted to indulge their bloodlust. This is what has happened since then.'

The map now filled with dots, and a few began blinking. Durga spoke up.

'Many more, as if they are stepping up on purpose, but also so many missing and never found.' The display now showed only a dozen or so blinking lights.

'And all of them are top of the line aircraft in the Earth's major air forces- Rafales in France, Eurofighters in England, Blackjack bombers in Russia, the Su-30 from India and now this. What are they up to?' asked Indra to nobody in particular.

'If you ask me, they are preparing for war, trying to learn about these craft before they strike. Remember that their kritika vimanas are not much more advanced than these aircraft,' said Brahma.

'So Kalki will fulfill the prophecy,' said Vishnu, with venom in his voice.

Shiva almost spat out his words, 'Prophecy! He will rule over a pile of ash. Has he learnt nothing from last time?'

Aaditya had no idea what they were talking about, but something in their conversation struck a chord.

'A Su-30MKI of the Indian Air Force?' he asked aloud, to nobody in particular.

Everyone in the room seemed to freeze and the display disappeared. Narada was the first to react and came towards him, 'Aadi, we didn't know you were still here. Come on, we'll get you to your flight.'

Aaditya shrugged off his touch and walked towards the group. Secret organization or not, fierce unknown warriors or not, one could not walk away from some things. He spoke, his voice rising, as he struggled to come to grips with what he thought he had uncovered.

'The Indian Air Force has lost only one Sukhoi whose wreckage was never traced.'

Everyone looked at him in silence as he continued. 'That plane was flown by my father.'

He looked at Brahma to see his reaction, but in the old man's eyes, he saw only sympathy, no surprise.

'You knew....'

Brahma held up his hand.

'Aadi, your father's plane was taken by the same enemies we fight. Yes, we knew that. But you still need not get involved. Go home and get on with your life.'

Aaditya almost screamed, his voice choking with emotion. 'Go back and sit at a desk in college and pretend that I don't know who killed my father? Pretend that he died in an accident, when I now know he was murdered by the same bastards I've seen over the last few days? No sir, I cannot do that.'

Shiva walked up and held Aaditya around his shoulder, as if comforting him.

'Aadi, all you will get is pain. Once you learn more, I don't know how you will ever be able to cope with being back home.'

'At least give me that choice. It's my father we are talking about.'

Brahma motioned for the others to step back.

'Very well then. Come over here and listen to what really happened to your father.'

***

SIX

Hawk One en route to waypoint three. Hawk Two has some FOD and is coming home.

Hearing his father's voice again was like an electric shock for Aaditya. Everyone else in the room had stepped back, leaving Aaditya alone in front of the holographic display. He watched a blue dot representing his father's plane move across the green tinged landscape. He knew that his father's wingman had aborted the sortie due to what was called in aviation parlance 'foreign object damage', which turned out to be a small bird hitting one of his jet intakes. The next ten minutes were routine reports from his father on the progress of his mission, which has been to test out flight characteristics of his aircraft after being loaded with the newly inducted Brahmos cruise missile. Then came the first sign of trouble.

I see something emerging from the water. Do we have a submarine in the area?

Hawk One, negative. Please confirm it is a submersible.

Going down to take a closer look.

It's large and spherical. Not a submarine for sure.

Hawk One, confirm your last transmission, please.

I see two craft taking off from its surface and coming towards me. Radar shows negative.

Hawk One, can you ID the bogeys?

They look like.....saucers, one has a red tip. They are flanking me now. Intent seems hostile, request authorization to take evasive measures.

Then there was silence. Aaditya fell to his knees. Narada made to come towards him but Brahma waved him back.

'They said it was an accident. Why did they lie?'

'Because no government likes to make such incidents public,' said Brahma.

Aaditya's mind was in turmoil. He had no idea what he should do. 'Aadi, perhaps it was fate that got you involved in all this, but we had no idea whatsoever of who you were till you posted online about the Delhi incident and we had to start doing background checks. Believe me, we would rather have not got you involved at all.'

Shiva knelt down beside Aaditya. 'I am a father. I nearly lost a son today, so I feel your pain. But I also think it's best that you get back to your life. You're young and have your whole life ahead of you.'

'A life spent knowing who my father's murderers are. No, I cannot do that.'

Indra raised Aaditya up.

'Son, what do you want to do?'

'I want to help you destroy those murderers.'

'Don't be foolish. What could you possibly do to help us?'

'Let me fly,' he pleaded.

'That's impossible!'

'I flew one of your vimanas back here, didn't I?'

Brahma intervened and motioned for Indra to back down.

'Aadi, you're angry, and I can understand that, but take some time to think it over. If you really want to stay and help us, we will not stop you, but don't be reckless. Your flying the vimana back was impressive but flying in combat against Maya and others like him is totally different.'

Aaditya was about to protest when Shiva spoke up, 'Look son, we don't just fly around. It gets up close and dirty, as you have seen. And there, you wouldn't last a minute.'

Aaditya thought Shiva was referring to his handicap, and he exploded in anger.

'Yes, I have a damned handicap that robbed me of my dreams, but if nothing else, I'll fly one of your vimanas in a suicide mission.'

At this point Brahma ordered everyone to disperse and told Aaditya to get some rest, saying they would talk again in a few hours when he had had more time to think things over with a cool head.

Aaditya was stewing in his room when Tanya came in and sat down on the sofa next to him.

'Aadi, I'm so sorry. I had no idea about your father.'

'All I want is to get a chance to avenge his death. That's all I want.'

Tanya placed a hand on his arm. 'Are you sure you want to stay?'

'Yes.'

Tanya sighed. 'Aadi, you would not be the first one to say that.'

Aaditya turned to face her, as she continued, 'Many more have come in contact with them over the years. Lost travellers, crashed pilots, accident survivors, and explorers. At first, many of them want to stay, especially when they guess what's going on. But inevitably, they cannot bear being away from their normal lives and accept the full reality of what they're involved in. Without being mentally prepared for this, the pressure gets to them. Some go mad, others beg to return. When they are released, their description of what they've seen makes them objects of ridicule or worse. That's why they are so hesitant to have you stay.'

'What's your story, Tanya? You aren't like them, and you clearly haven't gone mad.'

Tanya looked away wistfully, as if bringing back memories she had not thought of for a long time.

'My story is different. My family was killed in a plane crash over the Atlantic Ocean, and I was the only survivor. One of the vimanas saw a five-year-old girl floating on a life raft and picked me up. They tried to send me back, but the problem was I had no family other than the one I lost. In the months I was here, they got attached to me, and being a kid, my mind was open enough to take in who they were. So I grew up around them, they educated me, and when I was older, they offered me a chance to go back. By then, this was home.'

Aaditya was looking at her in wonder.

'So, you never wanted to go back?'

Tanya smiled.

'This was the only life I really remembered, and over time, I made myself useful, serving as the contact for anyone like you who happened to stumble upon them.'

'Tanya, who are these guys? Their names...their aircraft...they certainly are not the CIA, nor do they look like any other government organization.'

'That only they can tell you. Aadi, can I say something?'

'Yeah, of course.'

Tanya was holding both his hands.

'I would be happy if you stayed. I have nobody I can relate to, nobody else here who will grow old like me. One day I will be an old woman and they will still be what they are. But do think hard about your decision, it will not just change your life, it will become your life.'

Aaditya had no idea what she was talking about. But he was sure he could not just walk away after learning what had happened to his father.

'Tanya, believe me, I wish I had nothing to do with all this. I wish I could just get on with my life. But for better or for worse, I am here, and now I cannot walk away. I'll stay, whatever that means, and try and do something. I threw away the dreams my father had for me, but now I will not let him down.'

As he spoke, he banged his fist against his right leg. Tanya caught his hand and looked him in the eye. 'Aadi, you're a better man than you give yourself credit for. Now, if you really want to stay, I imagine Brahma will want to talk to you soon.'

An hour later, Aaditya was back in the conference room, except this time there was nobody else other than him and Brahma. The old man asked him to sit down on one of the chairs and sat down next to him.

'We are forced to keep our existence a closely guarded secret. But if someone chances upon us, we believe in giving nothing but the full truth. Do you know why?'

Aaditya shook his head.

'Because the day is coming when we may have to reveal ourselves. And the last thing I want is for your people to mistake our secrecy for hostile intent. Are you really ready to hear the truth? I ask you one last time, because once they hear it, many people wish they had not.'

'I'm ready.'

Brahma motioned towards the centre of the room, where a holographic display materialized. It showed the Earth as viewed from space. It filled the screen rapidly, growing from a distant blue dot to a blue and green sphere ringed by clouds, where Aaditya could begin to make out features of the continents.

'What a beautiful sight. Aadi, do you know what that is?' Brahma asked.

'The Earth of course.'

'Yes, of course it is.  But this is more than just a video of the Earth from space. It is a recording that I cherish dearly.'

Aaditya saw the wistful look in the old man's eyes and wondered where he was going with this.

'This, Aadi, is a recording of the first time I saw your planet.'

Aaditya's head swiveled towards Brahma in shock.