table or indeed any of the other trappings he had associated with corporate meeting rooms, like projectors, screens or notepads. Instead, in the middle of the room, suspended just a few inches above the ground, there were a number of holographic screens. As soon as the door slid shut behind him, the screens disappeared and lights came on. The first to speak was Narada.
'Aadi, we have met, but let me introduce myself properly. I am Narada Muni and I handle Intelligence here.'
Next to him was the ash-covered man, looking none the worse for wear from his drinking bout.
'And I am Shiva. I lead our Special Forces.'
The woman he had met in the fracas that had started this all was seated next to Shiva. She was wearing a red-bordered white suit, and she smiled as she introduced herself, 'I am Durga, and I never did thank you for trying to help me.'
Some connections were forming in Aaditya's mind, when the last three men there introduced themselves. The tall, muscular man with a beard spoke next. 'We have met in the air, Aadi. I am Indra, the Military commander here.'
Next to him was a man with a dark complexion, who seemed to be playing with a disc-shaped object in his hand. 'And I am Vishnu. I am the administrative head here. Think of me as the Chief Operating Officer, if that analogy works for you.'
The last man, who looked much older than the rest, with long white hair and a white beard, spoke. 'My young friend, I am Brahma. I am in charge here and I wanted to meet you and thank you for what you did before you leave.'
Aaditya wasn't sure he had heard it right.
'So you mean I can still go home?'
Brahma smiled.
'Or course. What did you expect? We never keep anyone against their will, and while you have seen a lot more than you should have, the only request I have is that you try and forget what happened over the last few days. We have already sent out communication to our adversaries that you were caught up purely by accident and know nothing of any value. So please just stick to your life as it was.'
It sounded more like a plea than a threat. Aaditya asked why they were letting him go if they wanted him to keep quiet. This time Vishnu spoke.
'Because sometimes taking a risk to do the right thing is better than doing what's expedient but wrong. You should know that-that is what you did. And if we did not, we would be no different from our enemies.'
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
