'And how will you do that?'
Kartik leaned closer.
'By teaching you how to fly a vimana.'
Aaditya sat up, not believing what he had just heard.
'So you've decided I can fly after all?'
Kartik's grin was back.
'Who am I to decide? My father is raving about your courage and he appealed to Brahma, and there you have it. You will now be trained as a pilot.'
A hard glint came into Kartik's eyes as he continued, 'And, perhaps one day, you can get the opportunity to avenge your father.'
The next week passed in a blur of treatments and sedation and being nursed back to health by Tanya. On the latter count, if ever Aaditya had any doubts, they were firmly dispelled now. He was, as the old song went, truly, madly and deeply in love with her, and it seemed that she felt the same way. What more could a guy ask for?
If Aaditya thought his life was good, he had never bargained for what happened next. He was rudely awakened, bundled out of bed and a blindfold placed around his eyes. He struggled in vain against the strong arms that held his hands behind him and marched him out of his room.
'What the hell is going on?'
There was no answer as he was pushed out. Then his blindfold was opened and he gaped in shock at what he saw before him. It was a gleaming silver vimana, looking much like what Kartik's did-a sleek, triangular craft with a tapered nose and a raised cockpit. Except this one was not covered in any animal livery. On its side was painted the crest that Aaditya always carried as a good luck charm, the squadron badge that had once belonged to his father. He didn't know what to say and turned to find Kartik, Shiva, Indra and Narada standing next to him.
Shiva thumped him on the shoulder.
'I thought it fitting that you ride with the insignia that once belonged to your father. As for this morning's theatrics, they were entirely my son's idea.'
Kartik grinned.
'At least you can't accuse us Devas of not having a sense of humour. Now come on and follow me in your vimana.'
Aaditya ran into his craft and into the cockpit. It seemed identical to the one he had been in with Kartik. There were two earplugs and he inserted them. Kartik's voice came in over his headset.
'You know the basics by now. Gently raise the vimana and follow me out. Then, the fun begins.'
Kartik's vimana gracefully slid out of the open hangar door, while Aaditya's exit was much more wobbly and clumsy. Conscious of the narrow space he was maneuvering in, his vimana wobbled its way out till he was in the valley, hovering a few feet above the ground. Kartik's vimana was just a few feet away and slightly above him. Then, Kartik's vimana seemingly disappeared in a blur of speed, as his laughing voice echoed into Aaditya's ears, 'Catch me if you can!'
No sooner had Aaditya thought that, the holographic display appeared, showing the blue dot representing Kartik's vimana speeding away, in an almost vertical climb. Aaditya ordered his vimana to accelerate to a matching speed-a thousand kilometres per hour and follow Kartik's trajectory. The vimana responded immediately, and Aaditya was pushed back into his seat as it entered a vertical climb. Aaditya increased his speed and soon was rapidly closing the distance to Kartik's vimana. He was now passing 50,000 feet altitude and suddenly it struck him just what he was doing.
Here he was, doing what he had always dreamed of, indeed doing more than he had ever imagined-piloting a craft with capabilities beyond what any fighter aircraft was capable of. That feeling of exhilaration stripped away any remaining nervousness he had, and he joined the chase in earnest. Within a minute, he was within visual range of Kartik's vimana.
'Got you!' Aaditya exulted over the intercom.
'Not bad, now just try and get me off your tail!'
Kartik's vimana swerved to the right in a tight turn, and before Aaditya knew it, Kartik was on his tail. Aaditya took his vimana through a series of evasive maneuvers, turning right and left, doing a loop to try and turn the tables, but whatever he did, Kartik remained rooted behind him. Finally out of sheer exasperation, Aaditya spoke up, 'Gimme a break! What the hell do I do?'
'Aaditya, this is tougher than flying a normal plane since you telegraph your moves before you even realize it.'
'What do you mean?'
'Our vimanas are thought controlled, what we called mantric vimanas. So, your craft will start reacting the moment you think of a maneuver, which may be even before you are consciously aware of it. Since your mind is the key, flying our vimanas is as much about learning to control your mind as it is about flying skills.'
The lessons continued, and Aaditya's days fell into a predictable but delightful routine. Evenings spent with Tanya, days spent in the sky with Kartik, and any spare time in the camaraderie of the Devas. In his second week of flying lessons, he got his first exposure to Asuras in the sky. He and Kartik had been flying over Southern China, when his display picked up two red dots about five hundred kilometres away.
'Asuras, my friend. Care to pay them a visit?'
Even before Aaditya could think of what to say, Kartik had turned towards the red dots. Not knowing what else to do, Aaditya followed. He noticed that Kartik had slowed down to less than two hundred kilometres per hour, and he followed suit, pulling alongside Kartik.
'Aadi, this is a live lesson in what our enemies are made of. We have two key advantages that they would kill for. First, their vimanas are mechanically controlled, much like human fighter planes, what we call kritika vimanas. That means that we have an advantage in reaction time and maneuverability with our thought controls. Second, their sensors are nowhere as good as ours. We can see them from more than five hundred kilometres out, but they won't know we are there till we're within a hundred kilometres of them.'
Aaditya soaked in the information as he kept looking at the red dots on his display, now closing in towards him and Kartik.
'Unfortunately, Brahma has forbidden combat this close to our base, since we don't want to attract attention in case any humans spot explosions. So today, we fly away.'
Kartik's vimana dove away, and Aaditya followed suit. By now, while not nearly as fast or as quick as Kartik, Aaditya had reached a point where he could fly without requiring too much instruction. As he flew back to the base, he thought that, for the first time outside of his dreams or video games, he could truthfully say that he was a pilot.
He found Tanya waiting in his room. A quick kiss, and then she was about to leave.
'Brahma wants me to work on a special project. I'm going crazy with work.'
'What project?'
'He's asked me to think through what people's reactions could be from a religious standpoint if the Devas make their presence public.'
Aaditya had heard mention before about the Devas thinking of how they would handle their first official contact with humans. He asked what Brahma had in mind.
'He doesn't tell me, but I think he's worried that with the way Kalki's going, it may become inevitable if the war comes into the open.'
As Aaditya started to change, Tanya stopped at the door. 'Hey Aadi, I found a weird looking plug in one of your pockets. I was about to throw it away but thought I'd ask if you needed it. Be back soon, sweetheart.'
Aaditya looked at the small plug lying on the table, and his heart stopped for a second. In all the excitement of the last few days, he had forgotten all about it. He reached out with shaking fingers to pick up the plug that Maya had given him in Afghanistan.
What did Kalki have to say to him about his father?
***
'I am honoured to be speaking to Ghosh's son.'
