The first thing Aryaan learned about Vardhana Relay was that nobody ever stopped moving.
The second was that people who lived on frontier stations developed an impressive ability to ignore things that would have caused panic anywhere else.
A cargo mech could lose an arm in the middle of a market, and its operator would simply shout for a replacement.
A maintenance drone could fall three levels through a ventilation shaft, and someone would complain about the noise.
A pressure door could slam shut without warning, and everyone within ten metres would casually step backwards.
And apparently, a young man bleeding from the forehead after fighting an unidentified creature was not sufficiently interesting to stop a merchant from trying to sell him tea.
Aryaan discovered the last one approximately twenty minutes after returning from the wreckage.
“Tea?”
The merchant held out a steaming cup.
Aryaan stared at him.
The merchant stared back.
There was a long pause.
“I have blood on my face.”
“Yes.”
“I was just attacked.”
“Yes.”
“There was a creature.”
“Yes.”
“You don’t seem particularly concerned.”
The merchant shrugged.
“Do you want tea?”
Aryaan looked at Ron.
Ron looked at the cup.
Then he looked at Aryaan.
“Honestly, I’d take the tea.”
“You’re unbelievable.”
“I’m injured too.”
“You have a scratch.”
“It is emotionally significant.”
The merchant looked between them.
“Two?”
Ron smiled.
“See? This man understands customer service.”
Aryaan walked away.
Ron followed him.
“I’m getting one.”
“Get whatever you want.”
“That’s what I like about you.”
“Don’t make me regret saying it.”
Behind them, Potter was arguing with a vending machine.
Mitchell had already walked past.
Bonita was speaking with a station technician.
Riyansh was being examined by a medical drone because he had ignored three separate warnings from his AI.
Lane had disappeared.
Aryaan stopped.
He looked around.
“Where’s Lane?”
Ron shrugged.
“Probably brooding somewhere.”
Aryaan turned.
Ron immediately raised both hands.
“Okay. Bad joke.”
Aryaan continued walking.
“It’s not a joke if nobody laughs.”
“That was harsh.”
“Good.”
Ron followed.
They found the others in a small operations room belonging to the Vardhana Survey Guild.
Captain Kavya Sen stood beside a table covered with holographic maps.
A projection of the station rotated above it.
“Sit.”
Nobody sat.
Kavya looked at them.
“Fine. Stand.”
Aryaan moved closer.
“What happened?”
“The missing salvage worker has been located.”
That got everyone’s attention.
“Where?” Aryaan asked.
Kavya expanded the map.
A section of Vardhana’s lower industrial ring appeared.
“Sublevel Forty-Two.”
Potter frowned.
“That’s outside the civilian habitation zones.”
“Yes.”
“Why would a salvage worker go there?”
“Because he was running.”
“From what?”
Kavya looked at him.
“That’s what we’re going to find out.”
Ron raised his hand.
Kavya stared at him.
“What?”
“Are we going?”
“Yes.”
“Just checking.”
Kavya looked at the eight.
“Before we go anywhere, understand something. The person we’re looking for is named Dev Malik. He is a licensed salvage worker, forty-two years old, with a long list of minor offences and exactly one major offence.”
Potter leaned forward.
“What was the major one?”
“Stealing a military-grade atmospheric processor.”
Ron blinked.
“Why?”
“He said he needed it.”
“That’s not a reason.”
“He was repairing a settlement that had lost atmospheric control.”
Ron looked impressed.
“Okay.”
Kavya continued.
“He stole the processor because the military refused to release one without a formal requisition.”
Bonita frowned.
“Did he get charged?”
“Of course.”
“Then why is he still a licensed salvage worker?”
Kavya’s expression softened slightly.
“Because the settlement survived.”
Aryaan understood.
That was Vardhana.
Rules existed.
So did necessity.
Sometimes the two agreed.
Sometimes they didn’t.
“And the other three salvage workers?” Aryaan asked.
“Dead.”
“Cardiac arrest.”
“Yes.”
“Did Dev Malik know them?”
“They worked together.”
Aryaan’s expression tightened.
“Then he may have seen what killed them.”
“That’s why we’re going.”
Kavya tapped the table.
A section of Vardhana’s lower ring expanded.
“This is Sublevel Forty-Two. It used to be a mining-processing sector. The station expanded around it centuries ago, but parts of the old infrastructure remain.”
“What kind of old infrastructure?” Potter asked.
“Mining tunnels. Abandoned reactors. Maintenance shafts. Storage chambers.”
“Anything dangerous?”
Kavya looked at him.
“Potter.”
“Yes?”
“Everything is dangerous.”
Potter nodded thoughtfully.
“That’s a useful station philosophy.”
Kavya ignored him.
“The problem is that Sublevel Forty-Two is currently undergoing a power-routing upgrade. Automated systems are unstable. Some areas are unpressurised. Others are operating without proper lighting.”
Ron looked at Aryaan.
“Why does every mission get worse after the briefing?”
“Because the briefing tells us what we’re walking into.”
“Maybe we should stop attending briefings.”
“That is possibly the stupidest thing you’ve ever said.”
“That’s a competitive category.”
Kavya activated their temporary access credentials.
“You have ninety minutes.”
Aryaan looked up.
“Why ninety?”
“Because the maintenance team is going to restart the primary power grid.”
“What happens then?”
“Some of the abandoned sections will receive power.”
“And?”
“Some of the automated machinery will wake up.”
Potter raised a finger.
“Ah.”
Kavya looked at him.
“That was exactly my reaction.”
Sublevel Forty-Two began three hundred metres below the main station ring.
The elevator took them down for nearly two minutes.
Nobody spoke much.
The walls changed as they descended.
The polished metal and illuminated panels of the civilian sections disappeared first.
Then came reinforced industrial plating.
Then older material.
Finally, the walls became dark, uneven metal, repaired so many times that nobody could say what the original structure had looked like.
Aryaan ran his fingers across one section.
“Old.”
Kavya nodded.
“Vardhana was originally a mining station.”
“For what?”
“Rare metals, ice, silicates, energy-bearing minerals. The original operators hollowed out sections of the asteroid and built the first orbital ring around it.”
“Before the current interstellar network?”
“Long before.”
Aryaan looked at the wall.
The station had been built, rebuilt, and rebuilt again.
Generations had lived here.
People had died here.
Wars had probably been fought here.
The thought made the place feel less like a machine and more like an organism.
Something ancient.
Something that had survived.
The elevator stopped.
The doors opened.
Darkness waited beyond them.
Potter leaned forward.
“That’s reassuring.”
Kavya activated a shoulder lamp.
“Stay together.”
They stepped out.
The floor was covered with dust.
Not ordinary dust.
Metallic residue.
Bonita crouched.
“Recent.”
Aryaan looked down.
“Footprints?”
“Some.”
She pointed.
A trail led away from the elevator.
Kavya nodded.
“Good.”
They followed.
The tunnel was narrow.
Their footsteps echoed.
Every few metres, old symbols had been painted onto the walls.
Some were technical markings.
Others appeared to be religious.
Aryaan slowed.
One symbol caught his eye.
A circle.
Four lines.
A small triangle at the centre.
He had seen something similar before.
Not in the Academy.
At home.
In one of Devdutt’s old storage rooms.
Aryaan stopped.
Lane noticed.
“What?”
Aryaan pointed.
Lane studied it.
“Anything?”
“Maybe.”
Potter came closer.
“What’s that?”
“I don’t know.”
Potter stared at him.
“That’s becoming a theme.”
Aryaan ignored him.
He reached towards the marking.
Before his fingers touched it, his AI warned him.
UNKNOWN RESONANCE DETECTED.
Aryaan pulled his hand back.
Kavya noticed.
“Don’t touch anything.”
“I wasn’t going to.”
Potter looked at him.
“You absolutely were.”
Aryaan gave him a look.
Potter raised his hands.
“I’m just saying.”
Bonita moved closer.
“This is not a standard mining symbol.”
Kavya examined it.
“No.”
“What is it?” Aryaan asked.
“Old station mark.”
“For what?”
Kavya hesitated.
“Emergency shelters.”
Aryaan looked at the wall again.
That changed things.
“Why would there be an emergency shelter here?”
Kavya’s expression hardened.
“Because this part of Vardhana was once used during the Orion incursions.”
Everyone became still.
Aryaan looked at her.
“Orions?”
Kavya nodded.
“Not the modern records. Older ones.”
“How old?”
“Centuries.”
Potter frowned.
“I thought Orion activity in this region ended generations ago.”
“It did.”
“Then why are we finding their markings?”
Kavya looked at him.
“Because people don’t stop being afraid simply because the war ends.”
Aryaan looked at the symbol again.
That explanation made sense.
And yet something about the marking continued to bother him.
He couldn’t explain why.
They continued.
After another two hundred metres, they reached a junction.
Bonita raised her hand.
Everyone stopped.
“What?” Aryaan whispered.
She pointed.
A thin line of blood crossed the floor.
Fresh.
Kavya crouched.
“Dev Malik.”
“How do you know?” Ron whispered.
“Because he’s injured.”
“Could be anyone.”
Kavya looked at him.
“Ron.”
“Yes?”
“This is a restricted industrial tunnel thirty floors below the habitation ring.”
“Right.”
“So who else would you expect?”
Ron nodded.
“Fair.”
They followed the blood.
The trail became heavier.
Then suddenly stopped.
A door stood ahead.
It was partially open.
Kavya drew her weapon.
Everyone else followed.
Aryaan felt the warmth of Kundalini rise.
He kept it low.
He had learned something during the fight on the salvage vessel.
Power was not simply something he could summon because he needed it.
His body remembered the cost.
His head still hurt from forcing his temporal perception too far.
He would not make the same mistake twice.
Probably.
Kavya signalled.
Three.
Two.
One.
The door opened.
Nothing.
A small maintenance room.
Broken equipment.
An overturned chair.
A bloodstain.
And a man lying behind a storage container.
Kavya moved first.
“Dev Malik?”
The man groaned.
She crouched beside him.
“Can you hear me?”
“Yes.”
“Are you injured?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“Everywhere.”
Ron whispered:
“I like him.”
Mitchell elbowed him.
Dev Malik opened his eyes.
They were bloodshot.
His beard was uneven.
His clothes were torn.
One arm was wrapped in what appeared to be a piece of industrial insulation.
Kavya examined the wound.
“That’s not from a weapon.”
Dev’s eyes moved towards the group.
“No.”
“What happened?”
He looked at the eight.
Then at Kavya.
Then back at the eight.
“You brought children.”
Aryaan frowned.
“Children?”
Dev laughed.
Then immediately winced.
“Okay. Maybe not children.”
Ron stepped forward.
“We’re graduates.”
Dev stared at him.
“Congratulations.”
Ron looked offended.
Kavya sighed.
“Dev, tell me what happened.”
The salvage worker’s expression changed.
Fear replaced irritation.
“The others are dead.”
“We know.”
“No.”
Dev gripped Kavya’s sleeve.
“You don’t know.”
Kavya looked at him.
“What don’t we know?”
“They weren’t killed.”
Aryaan felt his stomach tighten.
Dev looked at each of them.
“They were taken.”
Silence.
Kavya’s voice became quieter.
“By what?”
Dev swallowed.
“I don’t know.”
“Then what did you see?”
“Nothing.”
“Dev.”
“I didn’t see anything.”
Aryaan studied him.
The man’s fear was real.
But something else was present.
Guilt.
He was hiding something.
Aryaan stepped closer.
“What did you bring back from the wreck?”
Dev looked at him.
His expression changed.
Kavya noticed.
“What did you bring back?” she repeated.
“Nothing.”
Aryaan’s eyes narrowed.
“That’s a lie.”
Dev stared.
Ron glanced at Aryaan.
“How do you know?”
Aryaan didn’t answer.
He had not used temporal perception.
He had simply watched the man’s eyes.
A tiny movement.
A hesitation.
Dev’s right hand had moved towards his belt when Aryaan mentioned the wreck.
There was something there.
Kavya reached for it.
Dev grabbed her wrist.
The room changed instantly.
Kavya’s mechanical arm locked.
Dev’s injured body suddenly moved with surprising speed.
He shoved her backwards.
Aryaan reacted.
Lane moved first.
He crossed the distance between them.
Dev twisted away.
Lane’s fist struck the wall.
Dev kicked his knee.
Lane staggered.
Riyansh charged.
Dev rolled beneath him.
Ron shouted:
“WHY IS THE INJURED MAN FAST?”
Potter yelled:
“Because apparently he has plot armour!”
Dev reached the door.
Saiyuki appeared in front of him.
Dev stopped.
She smiled.
He turned.
Bonita was behind him.
Dev looked around.
Mitchell stood beside Kavya.
Riyansh blocked the other exit.
Aryaan folded his arms.
“You were saying?”
Dev breathed heavily.
Then he laughed.
“Academy kids.”
Kavya’s mechanical arm grabbed him.
“Give me the object.”
Dev resisted.
Kavya squeezed.
“Now.”
He surrendered.
It was a small metallic cylinder.
Aryaan recognised the design.
Not exactly.
But enough.
“That’s not Vardhana technology.”
“No.”
“What is it?”
“I don’t know.”
“You stole it from the wreck?”
“No.”
“Then where did you get it?”
Dev looked at the cylinder.
His expression changed.
For the first time, Aryaan saw something besides fear.
Recognition.
And sadness.
“I found it in the dead man’s hand.”
Kavya looked at him.
“Which dead man?”
Dev didn’t answer.
Aryaan’s pulse increased.
“Dev.”
The salvage worker looked at him.
“I told you.”
“What?”
“They weren’t killed.”
His gaze moved towards the cylinder.
“They were taken.”
The lights went out.
For two seconds, nobody moved.
Then the emergency lights came on.
Red.
Kavya raised her weapon.
“Stay where you are.”
Something moved beyond the door.
Aryaan’s senses sharpened.
Not temporal perception.
Something else.
A vibration.
Deep.
Almost beneath hearing.
The cylinder in Kavya’s hand began to glow.
Potter stared.
“Oh, that’s bad.”
Ron looked at him.
“How bad?”
Potter considered.
“On a scale from one to ten?”
“Yes.”
“Illegal number.”
“Potter!”
The wall behind them shook.
Dust fell.
Dev’s face went pale.
“No.”
Kavya turned towards him.
“What?”
Dev looked at the door.
“It found me.”
“What found you?”
Dev’s eyes moved towards Aryaan.
Aryaan felt the same pressure he had experienced aboard the salvage vessel.
The same strange sensation behind his eyes.
The same pull in his spine.
His Kundalini responded.
This time, he allowed it.
Only slightly.
A faint current travelled upward.
The world sharpened.
The red emergency lights became brighter.
He could hear the mechanical hum of the station.
He could hear Ron breathing.
He could hear the rapid beating of Dev’s heart.
And beneath everything else—
A second rhythm.
Something outside.
Slow.
Heavy.
Deliberate.
Thump.
Aryaan’s eyes widened.
Thump.
The door bent inward.
Thump.
Riyansh took a step forward.
Aryaan grabbed his arm.
“Wait.”
Riyansh looked at him.
“Why?”
“Something’s wrong.”
“That’s not very specific.”
“I’m working on it.”
The door bent again.
Kavya raised her weapon.
“Everyone behind me.”
The metal began to tear.
A hand appeared.
Not the pale crystalline hand from the salvage ship.
This one was larger.
Armoured.
Three fingers.
The claws dug into the metal.
The door ripped apart.
The creature stepped through.
It was almost twice the height of a human.
Its body was covered in black plates.
Its head was narrow.
There were no visible eyes.
Instead, a circular structure pulsed at the centre of its forehead.
Ron whispered:
“Okay.”
Potter whispered back:
“Don’t say it.”
Ron nodded.
The creature turned towards them.
Ron immediately said:
“That’s definitely not good.”
Potter closed his eyes.
“I hate you.”
The creature moved.
Fast.
Kavya fired.
The first pulse struck its chest.
The creature barely reacted.
The second hit its shoulder.
It turned towards her.
Kavya fired again.
Nothing.
Riyansh stepped forward.
His body-cultivation technique activated.
Golden light appeared beneath his skin.
“Riyansh,” Aryaan warned.
Riyansh ignored him.
He charged.
The creature swung.
Riyansh blocked.
The impact sent him sliding backwards.
His feet carved lines through the floor.
He stopped.
Blood appeared at the corner of his mouth.
The creature moved again.
Lane intercepted.
His strike landed against the creature’s neck.
The creature turned.
Lane’s second strike hit.
The creature caught his wrist.
Aryaan felt time shift.
He reached forward.
The future opened.
One second.
Two.
Three possible outcomes.
Lane’s shoulder broken.
Lane thrown against the wall.
Lane—
Aryaan pushed.
Pain exploded behind his eyes.
He forced the future sideways.
Lane suddenly slipped free.
The creature’s hand closed on empty air.
Lane looked at Aryaan.
Aryaan nearly fell.
Lane understood.
He moved.
Not towards the creature.
Away.
Aryaan stumbled.
Mitchell caught him.
“Don’t do that again.”
Aryaan breathed heavily.
“Wasn’t planning to.”
“Your face says otherwise.”
“I hate my face.”
“Good.”
The creature turned towards them.
Potter looked at the cylinder.
Then at the creature.
Then back at the cylinder.
“Uh.”
Nobody responded.
Potter held it up.
“I think this thing is attracting it.”
Kavya looked at him.
“How do you know?”
“Because every time it gets closer, this gets brighter.”
The cylinder pulsed.
The creature stopped.
Potter stared.
“See?”
Ron looked at him.
“Congratulations. You have discovered that the creepy object is creepy.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
The creature suddenly charged.
Potter threw the cylinder.
Everyone shouted.
“POTTER!”
The cylinder landed in the middle of the room.
The creature turned towards it.
Potter smiled.
“See?”
Kavya stared.
“You could have warned us.”
“I thought you were all going to stop me.”
“That was not the issue!”
The creature lunged towards the cylinder.
Potter shouted:
“NOW!”
Bonita understood first.
She threw a small device.
It landed beside the cylinder.
A flash erupted.
The creature staggered.
Mitchell followed with a kinetic pulse.
Riyansh charged.
Lane moved from the opposite side.
Saiyuki appeared behind the creature.
Eight people.
One target.
For the first time since arriving at Vardhana, they moved like a group rather than eight talented individuals occupying the same space.
Aryaan saw the difference immediately.
Riyansh absorbed the creature’s attention.
Lane attacked its joints.
Bonita targeted the weakened sections.
Mitchell disrupted its balance.
Saiyuki struck from blind angles.
Potter manipulated the environment.
Ron—
Aryaan looked around.
“Where’s Ron?”
Potter pointed.
“Why would you ask me?”
A scream echoed from the tunnel.
“GUYS!”
Aryaan closed his eyes.
“Of course.”
They found Ron hanging from a maintenance cable.
Below him was an open shaft.
A very deep one.
The creature had struck the platform, and the impact had sent him over the edge.
Ron clung to the cable with both hands.
“Little help?”
Aryaan ran towards him.
Lane grabbed his shoulder.
“No.”
Aryaan turned.
“What?”
Lane pointed.
The creature was recovering.
Aryaan looked between Ron and the creature.
Then he understood.
This was the kind of moment his temporal perception was supposed to solve.
He could try.
He could see the future.
Move Ron.
Avoid the creature.
Save everyone.
His temples already throbbed.
He could push again.
But Riyansh was closer.
Aryaan shouted:
“Riyansh!”
Riyansh looked.
“Ron!”
Riyansh’s expression changed.
He ran.
He grabbed the cable.
His feet planted against the platform.
His body-cultivation technique surged.
The golden light became brighter.
Riyansh pulled.
Ron rose.
“THANK YOU!”
“STOP TALKING!”
“I’M STRESSED!”
“PULL YOURSELF UP!”
“YOU’RE MAKING IT WORSE!”
Riyansh roared.
He pulled Ron onto the platform.
The creature attacked.
Lane intercepted.
Aryaan moved.
He didn’t use temporal perception.
He didn’t need to.
For once, they were moving together.
Aryaan stepped beside Lane.
Lane shifted left.
Aryaan shifted right.
The creature struck.
Lane blocked.
Aryaan drove his palm into the creature’s chest.
The impact barely moved it.
But Mitchell’s kinetic pulse struck at the same moment.
The creature staggered.
Bonita threw a charge.
Saiyuki kicked it into the wall.
Potter slammed a control panel.
The old machinery woke.
A massive industrial arm descended from the ceiling.
Potter’s eyes widened.
“Oh.”
Aryaan looked at him.
“What did you do?”
Potter smiled nervously.
“I may have solved the problem.”
The mechanical arm slammed into the creature.
The entire platform shook.
The creature disappeared beneath several tonnes of industrial machinery.
Silence.
Ron stared.
“Did we just win?”
Potter nodded.
“I believe so.”
The machine moved.
The creature emerged.
Ron stared.
“Never mind.”
Kavya raised her weapon.
The creature suddenly froze.
Its forehead began to pulse.
The cylinder on the ground responded.
Aryaan felt the vibration again.
Only this time it wasn’t coming from the creature.
It was coming from somewhere else.
Far away.
Or perhaps—
Not far away.
His vision blurred.
For a fraction of a second, he saw something impossible.
A room.
Not Vardhana.
Not Mokshabhumi.
A stone chamber illuminated by lamps.
A man stood beside a table.
Devdutt.
Aryaan’s breath caught.
Devdutt was holding the same cylinder.
But he wasn’t alone.
A woman stood opposite him.
Aryaan couldn’t see her face.
She was saying something.
The vision distorted.
Aryaan reached towards it.
The room vanished.
He stumbled.
“ARYAAN!”
Ron caught him.
Aryaan looked around.
Nobody else seemed to have seen it.
His heart hammered.
The creature was gone.
The cylinder was gone.
And Devdutt—
Devdutt was standing in a room that could not possibly be here.
Aryaan stared at the empty floor.
“What happened?” Lane asked.
Aryaan swallowed.
“I don’t know.”
For once, he genuinely didn’t.
They found Dev Malik fifteen minutes later in the evacuation corridor.
Kavya had insisted on getting everyone out before investigating the creature’s disappearance.
That was probably wise.
It also meant Potter had spent the entire journey explaining how his spontaneous decision to throw the mysterious cylinder had been a calculated tactical manoeuvre.
“It was instinct,” Potter finally admitted.
Ron stared at him.
“You threw a potentially dangerous unknown device at a monster.”
“Yes.”
“That’s not strategy.”
“It worked.”
“That’s not the same thing.”
Potter considered.
“It’s close.”
Mitchell sighed.
“Please don’t encourage him.”
Dev Malik walked beside them, leaning heavily against Kavya.
Aryaan watched him.
The man was still hiding something.
He knew it.
Dev knew he knew it.
Neither said anything.
Finally, Dev spoke.
“You’ve seen him before.”
Aryaan looked at him.
“Who?”
Dev stared ahead.
“The old man.”
Aryaan stopped.
Everyone else continued for two steps before noticing.
Lane turned.
Ron looked between them.
Kavya frowned.
“What old man?”
Dev’s expression changed.
He realised his mistake.
Aryaan stepped closer.
“Who?”
Dev shook his head.
“Forget it.”
“Dev.”
“I said forget it.”
“You know Devdutt?”
Dev looked at him.
For a second, something passed between them.
Recognition.
Fear.
Then Dev looked away.
“I’ve heard the name.”
Aryaan’s heart beat faster.
“Where?”
“No.”
“Where?”
Dev shook his head.
“You don’t understand.”
“Then explain.”
“You think you’re looking for your parents.”
Aryaan froze.
Nobody spoke.
Dev looked at him.
“That’s not what you’re doing.”
Aryaan’s voice became quiet.
“Then what am I doing?”
Dev stared at him.
“Being found.”
The corridor suddenly seemed colder.
Aryaan stepped forward.
“By whom?”
Dev’s eyes moved towards the others.
He hesitated.
Then:
“That’s what I’m trying to find out.”
A warning alarm sounded.
Kavya immediately looked at the nearest display.
“What now?”
The station AI responded.
POWER RESTORATION SEQUENCE INITIATED.
Kavya swore.
“How long?”
PRIMARY GRID RESTORATION IN FOUR MINUTES.
Kavya looked at everyone.
“Move.”
They moved.
Fast.
The evacuation was chaotic.
Sublevel Forty-Two woke around them.
Lights flickered.
Old machines groaned.
A mining drill began rotating somewhere beneath them.
A cargo crane moved overhead.
A mechanical loader rolled from a storage bay and immediately tried to run over Potter.
“WHY DOES EVERYTHING HERE WANT TO KILL ME?”
“Move!”
“I AM MOVING!”
“MOVE FASTER!”
“THAT’S NOT HOW LEGS WORK!”
Ron grabbed Potter’s collar and dragged him aside.
The loader smashed into the wall.
Potter stared.
Ron stared.
Potter slowly nodded.
“Thank you.”
Ron grinned.
“Anytime.”
Potter looked at the machine.
“I’m still going to hack it.”
“Why?”
“Revenge.”
“Understandable.”
Aryaan ran ahead with Lane.
The tunnel began shaking.
The old station structure had not been designed for a sudden power restoration after decades of partial operation.
Metal groaned.
A section of ceiling collapsed.
Lane pushed Aryaan aside.
The debris struck Lane’s shoulder.
He fell.
Aryaan stopped.
“Lane!”
Lane pushed himself up.
“Go.”
“No.”
“Go.”
Aryaan grabbed his arm.
“Move.”
Lane looked at him.
Aryaan saw the pain in his face.
“You’re hurt.”
“Not badly.”
“That’s what Riyansh said.”
Riyansh, several metres behind them, shouted:
“I HEARD THAT!”
Ron shouted back:
“HE’S FINE!”
“I’M NOT!”
“YOU’RE FINE!”
“I’M BLEEDING!”
“THAT’S NORMAL!”
Mitchell shouted:
“Both of you shut up!”
Aryaan almost laughed.
Almost.
Then the tunnel shook again.
He pulled Lane forward.
They ran.
The emergency elevator was waiting.
Everyone piled inside.
Kavya hit the control.
The doors closed.
For several seconds, there was silence.
Then Ron collapsed against the wall.
“I’m never doing this again.”
Potter looked at him.
“Liar.”
“Fine. I’m never doing this again willingly.”
“Better.”
Riyansh sat down.
Mitchell immediately examined his arm.
“You overused the reinforcement.”
“I had to.”
“You almost tore the muscle.”
“I know.”
“Then stop doing it.”
Riyansh looked at her.
“Would you have preferred Ron falling?”
Mitchell paused.
“No.”
“Then we’re good.”
She looked at him.
“We’re not good.”
Riyansh smiled.
“You care.”
Mitchell rolled her eyes.
“Don’t make this weird.”
Potter leaned towards Ron.
“Are they—”
Ron elbowed him.
“Don’t.”
“Fine.”
Aryaan looked at Lane.
Lane’s shoulder was bruising.
“You okay?”
“Yes.”
“Really?”
Lane looked at him.
“I’m fine.”
Aryaan nodded.
Then he noticed Sia.
She had moved closer to Lane.
Not obviously.
Not enough for anyone to accuse her of anything.
But she had.
She handed him a small medical strip.
Lane looked at it.
“I don’t need—”
“Take it.”
Lane took it.
“Thanks.”
Sia immediately looked away.
Ron noticed.
His eyebrows rose.
Aryaan noticed Ron noticing.
Aryaan shook his head.
Ron smiled.
Aryaan mouthed:
Don’t.
Ron mouthed back:
I said nothing.
Aryaan:
Exactly.
The elevator reached the upper ring.
The doors opened.
Fresh air flooded in.
Nobody moved for a second.
Then Potter stepped out.
He took one breath.
“Civilisation.”
Bonita walked past him.
“Barely.”
Potter smiled.
“Still counts.”
Aryaan stepped into the station.
His mind remained elsewhere.
The vision.
Devdutt.
The cylinder.
The unknown woman.
The words:
You think you’re looking for your parents.
Aryaan didn’t know what Devdutt was doing.
He didn’t know whether the cylinder had belonged to Devdutt.
He didn’t know what the creature had been.
He didn’t even know why his temporal perception had shown him a room that had no connection to Vardhana.
But one thing was certain.
Devdutt had known something about the object.
And Devdutt had never told them.
Again.
That evening, after medical examinations and official reports, Aryaan returned to their temporary quarters.
The others had scattered.
Ron and Potter were arguing over whether throwing the cylinder had been genius or insanity.
Riyansh had been ordered to rest.
Mitchell was supervising him.
Bonita was studying the station’s old maps.
Saiyuki had gone somewhere nobody knew about.
Lane was sitting near the window.
Sia was there too.
Aryaan stopped.
Lane looked at him.
Sia looked at him.
Aryaan immediately understood that he had walked into something.
“Sorry.”
Sia frowned.
“For what?”
“Nothing.”
“Then why are you apologising?”
Aryaan considered.
“Instinct.”
Lane looked amused.
Barely.
Sia crossed her arms.
“Did you need something?”
“No.”
“Then go.”
Aryaan blinked.
“Okay.”
He turned.
Lane said:
“Aryaan.”
He looked back.
Lane gestured towards the chair.
“Sit.”
Aryaan did.
Sia sighed.
“You’re both impossible.”
Aryaan smiled.
“That’s what Ron says.”
“Ron says that about everyone.”
“Fair.”
The room became quieter.
Then Lane asked:
“What did you see?”
Aryaan’s smile disappeared.
Sia looked at him.
“When?”
“In the tunnel.”
Aryaan looked at Lane.
“How did you know?”
“You stopped breathing.”
Aryaan stared.
Lane continued.
“For a second.”
Sia’s eyes narrowed.
“You saw something?”
Aryaan hesitated.
He could have lied.
Instead, he told them.
“Devdutt.”
Sia’s expression changed.
“What about him?”
“I saw him.”
“Where?”
“I don’t know.”
Aryaan described the room.
The cylinder.
The woman.
He described the feeling that had accompanied it.
Lane listened.
Sia listened.
Neither interrupted.
When he finished, Lane said:
“Could it have been an astral projection?”
Aryaan frowned.
“Maybe.”
Sia looked thoughtful.
“Astral travel doesn’t usually happen like that.”
“I know.”
“Especially not accidentally.”
“I know.”
Lane looked at Aryaan.
“You’re getting stronger.”
Aryaan didn’t like how he said it.
“What does that mean?”
“It means your Kundalini is affecting your perception.”
Aryaan looked away.
“I don’t know if I like that.”
Sia leaned forward.
“You shouldn’t.”
Aryaan looked at her.
She continued.
“Astral travel isn’t a shortcut to power. The seniors at the Academy always warned us that entering the subtle planes without preparation could damage the mind.”
“I wasn’t trying to.”
“I know.”
Aryaan rubbed his temples.
The headache had returned.
Lane noticed.
“Sleep.”
Aryaan laughed.
“That’s your medical advice?”
“Yes.”
“Brilliant.”
Lane stood.
Sia watched him.
“Aryaan.”
He looked up.
“Don’t tell Devdutt.”
Aryaan’s smile disappeared.
“I wasn’t planning to.”
Sia looked relieved.
Then Lane said:
“We should ask him.”
Aryaan turned.
“What?”
Lane looked at him.
“If he knows something about the cylinder, we should ask.”
Sia shook her head.
“He’ll lie.”
“Probably.”
“Then why ask?”
“Because people reveal more when they lie.”
Sia stared at him.
Aryaan slowly smiled.
“That’s actually a good point.”
Lane shrugged.
“I have those.”
Sia rolled her eyes.
“You two are terrifying.”
Aryaan stood.
“We’ll talk to him tomorrow.”
Lane nodded.
Sia looked between them.
Then quietly said:
“Be careful.”
Aryaan looked at her.
She seemed to realise she had spoken too softly.
Her expression hardened immediately.
“I mean because he’s dangerous.”
Aryaan’s smile widened.
“Of course.”
Sia glared.
“Don’t.”
“I didn’t say anything.”
“You were about to.”
Lane walked towards the door.
Sia followed.
Aryaan watched them leave.
Then he smiled to himself.
Some things were easier to understand than others.
On the other side of Vardhana Relay, several kilometres from the station’s inhabited sectors, a maintenance hatch opened.
Dev Malik climbed out.
He was no longer limping.
He was no longer afraid.
At least, not visibly.
He entered a small abandoned chamber.
There was no equipment.
No lights.
No furniture.
Only a stone platform built into the wall.
Dev removed something from his jacket.
A small metallic cylinder.
The same shape as the one found beneath the salvage vessel.
He placed it on the platform.
The cylinder activated.
A projection appeared.
Not Devdutt.
Not Aryaan.
A map.
The map showed Vardhana.
Then the surrounding space.
Then something much larger.
A network of lines.
Routes.
Coordinates.
Light-years.
And beneath them, symbols that did not belong to any known human language.
Dev stared.
“You were right.”
A voice answered from the darkness.
“About what?”
Dev turned.
A figure stepped forward.
Their face remained concealed beneath a hood.
Dev’s expression tightened.
“The boy.”
“Which boy?”
“Aryaan.”
The figure remained silent.
Dev continued.
“He can see it.”
“See what?”
“The threads.”
That got a reaction.
The figure moved closer.
“How much?”
“Not enough.”
“Are you certain?”
“Yes.”
Dev looked towards the cylinder.
“He doesn’t know what he’s seeing.”
“Good.”
Dev frowned.
“You said he wasn’t supposed to be involved.”
“He wasn’t.”
“Then why did the device respond to him?”
The figure didn’t answer.
Dev’s voice hardened.
“You told me this would remain dormant.”
“It should have.”
“Should have?”
The figure looked at him.
Dev stepped back.
“You don’t sound surprised.”
“I am not.”
Dev stared.
“What does that mean?”
The figure reached towards the projection.
The map changed.
A single point appeared.
Mokshabhumi.
Then another.
Vardhana.
Then another.
A location beyond both.
A location so distant that the measurement required more than ordinary light-years.
The display shifted.
A symbol appeared.
The same symbol Aryaan had seen on the wall.
The circle.
The four lines.
The triangle.
Dev whispered:
“No.”
The figure nodded.
“It’s begun.”
Dev’s face lost its colour.
“You said we had time.”
“We did.”
“How much?”
The figure looked towards the darkness.
Then said:
“Less than we thought.”
Far away, on Mokshabhumi, Devdutt sat alone.
The city glittered beyond his window.
He had not slept.
A small metal object rested on the table before him.
It was old.
Older than the station.
Older than most recorded human settlements beyond Earth.
A thin line of light moved across its surface.
Devdutt watched it.
His expression was exhausted.
He reached towards the object.
Stopped.
Then withdrew his hand.
For several seconds, he simply sat there.
Finally, he whispered:
“Not yet.”
The object pulsed.
Devdutt closed his eyes.
For an instant, his consciousness stretched outward.
Not through distance.
Through possibility.
Threads appeared.
Hundreds.
Thousands.
Some bright.
Some dim.
Some ending abruptly.
He saw Vardhana.
He saw Aryaan.
Lane.
Ron.
The others.
He saw a thousand possible futures.
In one, Aryaan stood beside his parents.
In another, he stood alone.
In another, Mokshabhumi burned.
In another, the stars themselves seemed to bend.
Devdutt’s breathing became laboured.
He withdrew.
Blood appeared beneath his nose.
He wiped it away.
Then he looked at the metal object.
A small inscription appeared.
ONE THREAD SAVED.
Devdutt whispered:
“No.”
He looked towards the distant city.
“Not one.”
His eyes hardened.
“All of them.”
The object went dark.
And Devdutt began preparing another anchor.