'That bloody coward's run off again, but I am impressed. I thought you were done for when he fired. Now, shall we go back?'
Aaditya had been caught up in the adrenaline rush of the unexpected flying, but now he paused to think. He had been on his way home. Now he was expected to go back to the base where he had been a virtual prisoner. After seeing so much more of their so-called vimanas, would they ever allow him to go home?
'Aadi, can you hear me? Just ask the vimana to chart a course back to base, and you'll be on your way. I'll be right beside you.'
Instead, Aaditya found himself thinking What's the fastest route to Delhi?
The holographic display in front of him showed a glowing light with 'Delhi' under it. At the speeds this craft seemed capable of, he could be there in less than a few minutes. He wasn't sure about where to land or how he would deal with the consequences of putting down this strange craft in public. But at least he would have a shot at getting back home.
Even before he consciously knew it, his mind had commanded the craft to chart a path for Delhi. His headset exploded into a cacophony of noise.
'Aadi, what are you doing? Don't do this, please.'
Aaditya tried to filter out the voice, but he could not ignore the young man lying slumped in his seat just next to him. A large pool of blood was gathering under Kartik's head, and while Aaditya did not know if he would live or not if they went back to base, he was sure of one thing. If he continued on to Delhi, there was little chance Kartik would survive, simply because the chaos that would accompany the arrival of such a strange craft would almost certainly mean that first aid would take a backseat.
'Aadi, stop now, or I will have to fire.'
It was not the threat that stopped Aaditya, but the fact that he just could not bring himself to sacrifice the life of a young man to get back his own. He was not sure if they would let him go after all he had seen, but his conscience could not bear the burden of the death of the young man next to him. So, as much as his head screamed at him to continue to Delhi, his heart won this debate, and he commanded his craft, 'Back to base.'
***
Aaditya watched the display before him as the craft set on a course back to its base. When he wondered where base was, a caption appeared under a dot on the map. It read, 'Kongka La'. The words meant nothing to him but soon he saw snow covered peaks appear over the horizon. He had guessed correctly. Base was indeed somewhere in the Himalayas.
Indra's craft was with him, leading the way, no more than a few hundred meters away. Aaditya could see no jet exhaust, and wondered what was propelling the craft. It seemed to be much larger than the one he was in, and was white in colour. As it peeled off towards the mountains below, Aaditya saw that its nose was shaped like an elephant, complete with curved tusks.
What was it with them and animal motifs on their craft?
'Aadi, follow me down and stay close.'
So with his good luck charm still firmly clenched in his hands, Aaditya maneuvered the craft into a shallow dive as he followed the vimana ahead of him. Indra had entered into a narrow valley with snow-covered peaks on either side. As the space got narrower, he began to wonder if he could maneuver the craft in such a narrow space without plastering it all over one of the peaks.
Only when he saw a narrow opening slide open in a rock face ahead of him did he realize he had been holding his breath for several minutes. He watched Indra's craft glide into the opening, and he followed. Landing the vimana was easier than he had imagined. No sooner had he asked himself the question, How do I land this thing, than it began a slow and measured descent through the gap. He found himself inside the hangar where he had staged his ill-fated escape attempt. The cockpit canopy slip open when he commanded it to, and he found himself facing a veritable welcoming party.
There was Indra, who had alighted from his craft. He towered over Aaditya and may have looked menacing with his thick black beard, but his eyes were full of compassion. Then there was Narada, Kartik's father, the woman he had encountered during the fight at the Old Fort, and a number of other people he did not know, and then there was Tanya. As soon as the canopy opened, Kartik's father rushed in and pulled out his inert body. A small tracked vehicle came up and Kartik's body was laid down upon it, and the vehicle sped away.
'Do we still have time, Narada?'
Though he looked like a monster and killed like an assassin, Aaditya realized that Kartik's father was after all a father, and the anguish was apparent in his voice. Narada ran after the tracked vehicle, saying, 'I hope so.'
In all the chaos, everyone seemed to have forgotten Aaditya. He stepped down, wondering what he should do. Tanya walked up to him.
Whenever he had met her previously, her hair had been neatly tied in a ponytail behind her head, and her face had never betrayed any emotion. But now, her hair hung loosely around her, and her face was distraught. Aaditya could not be sure, but from her expression, it looked as if she had been crying.
She rushed towards him, and for a minute there was an awkward moment when he wondered whether he should hug her or not. To his relief, she stopped and then, as if through force of will, her professional facade was back.
'I'm glad you're okay.'
The adrenaline high of the battle behind him, Aaditya felt giddy and slumped against the craft.
'Aadi, are you okay?'
Aaditya exhaled audibly as he replied, 'I never thought I'd be happy to see myself be a prisoner of these freaks again, but I was going to be totally screwed out there.'
That broke the ice. Tanya burst out laughing, and soon Aaditya found himself joining in, roaring in laughter, though there was nothing funny about what he had said.
Tanya touched him lightly on his arm, and Aaditya realized that in spite of himself, he was staring. Why the hell had he never noticed how attractive she was? Perhaps being held captive by some top-secret organization did that to you.
'Come on, I'll take you to your room.'
She walked him through a sliding door and into to a room which was as different from his earlier cell as possible. There was a comfortable looking bed in a corner, a leather sofa, an attached bathroom and to Aaditya's delight, a TV and a mini-bar.
'Now, this is five star treatment.'
Tanya smiled.
'I told them you would like this better than the sterile room you had been given earlier. Get some rest, I'll come back later.'
Aaditya sat down on the bed. He was tempted to turn on the TV and find out what was happening in the world, but fatigue got the better of him, and before he knew it, he was fast asleep.
He was awakened by a light knock on his door. 'Come in,' he called, expecting to see Tanya there. Instead, Kartik's father walked in. Aaditya involuntarily stepped back, in part because the last time he had met this gentleman, he had been knocked out in a single punch, and in part due to his guest's fearsome appearance. His hair was still matted, though now tied in a top-knot on his head. His face was still smeared in ash, and he was naked to the waist down, wearing only tiger striped fitting pants. If anything, this made him look even more fearsome as it brought into focus his rippling muscles and the many scars crisscrossing his torso. As if sensing Aaditya's fears, he held up both hands, palms facing Aaditya, indicating that he posed no threat.