Mainak Dhar - Vimana

The next day, having taken permission from Kalki, Aaditya walked near the fields, watched by a guard behind him. As the prisoners came out, he saw Leslie at the head of the group. Their eyes met for a second, but nothing was said. The prisoners dispersed and began to talk to each other in small scattered groups. Aaditya walked closer to Leslie. The other prisoners watched, some warily, others with open hostility. His clean clothes and appearance stood in stark contrast to their own filthy clothes and unwashed and unshaven looks. Leslie nodded to a man next to her and as Aaditya watched in horror, he ran towards Aaditya's guard, kicking him in the groin. The stunned daitya doubled over in pain, and the man ran into the fields, screaming at the top of his voice. Absolute mayhem broke out as the other daityas ran after him. Leslie pulled Aaditya into the nearby fields, where they were hidden behind some bushes.

'Quick, tell me what you've learnt and what you want to do!'

'That man…'

'That man was called James and he was willing to die so that we could help you get out. Now tell me what you know so his death will not be in vain. We don't have much time.'

So Aaditya, stumbling over his words, told her what he knew and that he had to somehow get outside the underwater base where the Devas could get him. He saw Leslie's face darken as she understood Kalki's plan.

'Kalki must not know that you betrayed him, otherwise he will bring forward or change his plan.'

'How do I manage that and still get out of here?'

'You need to die.'

'What?'

They could now hear the daityas shrieking in triumph, an unearthly sound that told them that James had been caught. Leslie closed her eyes and Aaditya could only imagine the pain and loss she must have endured over the years.

'Look, go back now. We can't risk them knowing you're anything but the loyal dog they think you are. Lemme talk to Jim and the boys and we'll get a plan.'

'How do I contact you?'

Leslie smiled as she got up and rejoined the other prisoners.

'You won't need to. We'll find you.'

The next day was spent talking long hours with Kalki who seemed to be very interested in what each of the Devas was up to. In particular, he wanted to know how Shiva had taken the loss of Kartik. When Aaditya told him of Shiva's grief, Kalki practically gloated in triumph.

'Now he knows what loss feels like.'

Aaditya tried hard to control his anger as Kalki continued, a slightly glazed look in his eyes. 'I had so many with me, Asuras who believed in our way of life, and then they were all wiped out when the Devas crushed our city. All those lives lost will be avenged soon. The waves will wipe out the humans who shunned their creator.'

Aaditya came back to his room, which he now had the freedom to enter or exit at will, provided he didn't go to any other level without informing Kalki. He was troubled at how unhinged Kalki seemed to be getting as his plan came closer to execution. Earlier, Kalki had at least tried to put on a veneer of justification to what he had been doing. Now, he seemed to be acting more out of spite and anger than anything else.

There was a knock on the door. A daitya was outside. Maya wanted to know more about what had happened outside earlier in the day. They were walking towards the elevator when a scraping noise came from a dark corner of the corridor. The daitya walked over to investigate and suddenly reeled back, grabbing at his neck in agony. Two pairs of arms reached out and pulled him towards the partially open vent. Then Aaditya heard Jim's voice.

'Kid, find a way to be at the main hangar tomorrow night and try to grab a ride in a vimana. We'll do our best to ensure no other craft gets out to intercept you. You've got to figure out the rest. Good luck.'

Just as he turned to walk away, Jim slipped something into Aaditya's hand. When Aaditya looked down, he saw the long and thin blade that the daityas seemed to favour.

'Why the hell am I supposed to be babysitting you here?' Maya growled.

Aaditya enjoyed seeing Maya angry about his growing influence with Kalki. He rubbed it in, hoping that being angry would make him careless and less prepared for whatever Leslie, Jim and the others had planned.

'Because Kalki asked you to, and from what I gather, when it comes to what he wants, your opinion counts for little.' Aaditya answered.

Given Aaditya's love for flying, Kalki had not at all been surprised when he had requested to be allowed into the hangar to see the Asura vimanas and drones up close. Now Aaditya was not just waiting with bated breath for what was going to happen, but also taking in Kalki's forces. For the first time, he realized that Kalki's fleet of vimanas was small-perhaps no more than ten craft. Kartik's actions had inflicted crippling losses on Kalki's vimanas. There were at most a half dozen Asuras-large humanoids, all with deformities to their skulls and bodies in the form of small horns, an extra limb or in the case of one, two heads, results of the radiation or poisoning that the weapons of the Devas had inflicted on them millennia ago. Fearsome as they looked, they were few in number. Aaditya realized just how thin Kalki's capabilities really were in the air. He felt a surge of pride as he recalled Leslie's account of his father's last flight. His father must have taken out several Asuras and their vimanas with his last act of defiance.

'Maya, come on, you know I asked to be taken on a flight with you.'

Maya groaned, his exasperation clear, but Kalki's instructions had been just as clear. Given how thin his bench of pilots was, Aaditya wondered if Kalki's largesse was also driven by the hope that other than sharing information, Aaditya may actually be cajoled to fly on their side.

Maya's vimana rose vertically and then swept out over the fields. Aaditya saw a dark opening on top of the spherical dome. That would have to be the way to the surface. They entered and after a few minutes Aaditya saw the thin light of a moonlit sky as they emerged out of what appeared to be a tunnel opening. He turned in his seat and saw a large sphere disappear into the water behind them. He had seen it before in Japan and when Maya had escaped back into the base after the battle where Kartik had been lost. He guessed Kalki had a fleet of submersibles that detached from the dome and carried vimanas to the surface in the attached tunnels.

After two weeks in Kalki's base, being outside was an exhilarating sensation. But he had no time to savour his newly found freedom. He had no idea what Leslie's plan was, but without the element of surprise, he would have little or no chance in a one on one struggle with Maya. A voice screamed over the vimana's intercom.

'Maya, there are human prisoners in the hangar!'

'What the hell is going on there?'

Then Aaditya heard the sound of explosions and screaming in the background. He had never really considered himself very religious but found himself praying for Leslie, Jim and the others who were probably sacrificing themselves so that he would have a chance. He took a deep breath, readied himself and began singing the song that would hopefully bring the Devas to his rescue.

'All my bags are packed and I'm ready to go…'

***

Maya heard Aaditya singing aloud and cursed himself for letting down his guard. As he turned around to see what Aaditya was doing, he Aaditya's right hand coming up at him, something sharp and shiny in it.

Aaditya shouted in exasperation, as his first blow just seemed to nick Maya's shoulder. The Asura was wounded, but he was hardly out of the fight. The intercom was now filled with the sounds of explosions, but Aaditya had more immediate worries.

Maya struck out at Aaditya with his right hand, rocking Aaditya back, his head striking the canopy. Aaditya brought the blade up again, connecting with Maya's right wrist. The Asura grabbed at his wrist in pain but when Aaditya tried to strike again, he knocked the blade out of Aaditya's hand.