The holographic planet rotated slowly above the conference table.
Unlike the densely inhabited worlds surrounding Mokshabhumi, Vanta-3 looked almost untouched.
Emerald continents stretched across vast sapphire oceans, broken only by scattered mountain chains whose snow-covered peaks glittered beneath the light of a pale yellow star.
Wisps of cloud drifted lazily across its atmosphere, giving the planet an almost serene appearance.
It looked peaceful.
Aryaan had learned not to trust appearances.
Captain Kavya enlarged the projection until the planet nearly filled the room.
“Vanta-3 orbits HD-84291, approximately sixty-three point four light-years from Mokshabhumi through established Fold Corridors. It is Humanity’s newest ecological research colony.”
Another gesture expanded the image.
Several bright points appeared across one continent.
“Population?”
Mitchell asked before anyone else could.
“Two hundred ninety-eight thousand, four hundred and twelve as of yesterday.”
Potter blinked.
“That’s… remarkably specific.”
“The census updates every six hours.”
“Of course it does.”
The colony zoomed further.
Instead of towering cities, clusters of settlements appeared like tiny islands amid endless forests.
“The Colonial Charter limits urban expansion,” Kavya explained.
“Only six percent of the planet’s surface may be permanently developed.”
Bonita’s eyes brightened.
“So most of it is protected wilderness?”
“For now.”
Aryaan studied the terrain.
“No orbital habitats?”
“None.”
“No planetary shield?”
“None.”
“No permanent defense fleet?”
“One patrol corvette.”
Ron slowly raised his hand.
“I’m sensing a pattern.”
Kavya looked at him.
“We’re underprepared?”
“No.”
She tapped the hologram.
“The colony was never expected to become strategically important.”
The room quietened.
“Until now.”
A crimson circle pulsed over one of the forests.
“Sector Twelve.”
The image descended rapidly.
The forest canopy came into focus.
Ancient trees spread their branches so widely that sunlight barely reached the ground.
Rivers wound through the wilderness like ribbons of polished silver.
Everything looked…
Normal.
Too normal.
“There have been seven incidents during the past eight months.”
The hologram changed.
One point disappeared.
“Survey Team One.”
Another vanished.
“Survey Team Two.”
Then another.
“Team Three.”
The pattern continued.
By the time she finished, seven markers had faded into darkness.
No explosions.
No distress calls.
No wreckage.
Simply…
Gone.
Ron shifted uneasily.
“They just vanished?”
Kavya nodded once.
“No emergency transmissions.”
“No signs of combat.”
“No biological contamination.”
“No atmospheric anomaly.”
“No evidence of Orion activity.”
Potter frowned.
“That’s statistically irritating.”
“What is?”
“When reality refuses to leave clues.”
Aryaan remained focused on the terrain.
Something about the forest bothered him.
He couldn’t explain why.
His fingers unconsciously brushed the edge of the investigator’s badge resting on the table.
The instant metal touched skin—
The room disappeared.
Sunlight.
Warm.
Children laughed somewhere beyond the trees.
The forest…
No.
Not forest.
Gardens.
The wilderness had become an immense cultivated landscape.
Stone pathways curved gracefully between flowering trees.
Water flowed through channels carved with geometric precision.
Men and women dressed in white and saffron robes crossed broad plazas carrying crystal cylinders that shimmered with faint golden light.
None of them spoke.
Yet Aryaan somehow understood them.
Not their words.
Their purpose.
Builders.
Scholars.
Caretakers.
The air itself felt…
Alive.
Then someone turned.
An elderly woman.
Silver hair.
Eyes impossibly calm.
She looked directly at him.
Not through him.
At him.
For one impossible heartbeat—
She smiled.
“Aryaan.”
The voice came from very far away.
Then closer.
“Aryaan!”
He blinked.
The conference room returned.
Ron was gripping his shoulder.
“Dude!”
Aryaan inhaled sharply.
“What happened?”
“You tell us.”
His heartbeat thundered inside his chest.
“I…”
He hesitated.
If he described what he’d seen…
Would anyone believe him?
Captain Kavya was watching him carefully.
“What did you experience?”
Aryaan looked up.
“You expected something.”
“I asked a question.”
He hesitated again.
Then answered honestly.
“I saw people.”
Silence.
“They weren’t memories.”
“They weren’t dreams.”
“The forest wasn’t a forest.”
He looked back at the hologram.
“It was…”
He searched for the right word.
“…lived in.”
Potter’s usual smile disappeared.
“Past echo?”
Aryaan turned.
“You know about those?”
Potter shrugged.
“My mentor once mentioned that certain cultivators can accidentally perceive residual imprints left by intense human activity.”
“Residual?”
“Reality remembers.”
The sentence hung in the air.
Captain Kavya neither confirmed nor denied it.
Instead she asked,
“How long?”
“A few seconds.”
“What did they look like?”
“They seemed…”
He frowned.
“Peaceful.”
Across the room, Lane hadn’t taken his eyes off the hologram.
Something had changed.
The others saw a rotating image of Vanta-3.
Lane saw…
Thin ribbons of translucent grey drifted across the projection like smoke beneath water.
No.
Not smoke.
Figures.
Human-shaped.
Semi-transparent.
Walking.
Some climbed invisible stairways.
Others simply stood still.
Watching.
The mist curled around Sector Twelve before disappearing beneath the holographic terrain.
His pulse quickened.
It wasn’t the first time.
Since Vardhana, the strange apparitions had appeared more frequently.
Only around certain places.
Certain people.
Certain…
Things.
Sia noticed him staring.
“What is it?”
Lane hesitated.
If he answered honestly…
Everyone would look at him the way they had when he first mentioned seeing impossible things during meditation.
Still…
“They’re here.”
Ron looked around.
“Who?”
Lane’s eyes never left the hologram.
“I don’t know.”
Everyone followed his gaze.
They saw nothing.
Only a planet turning silently in the air.
Sia studied his face instead.
“You can see them again.”
It wasn’t a question.
Lane nodded once.
“What do they look like?”
He considered.
“They aren’t people.”
“No?”
“They only…”
He searched for words.
“…borrow the shape.”
Nobody laughed.
Not even Potter.
Captain Kavya deactivated the projection.
The room brightened.
“Good.”
Ron looked confused.
“Good?”
“You’re both progressing.”
Aryaan and Lane exchanged glances.
“What do you mean?” Aryaan asked.
Kavya folded her hands behind her back.
“There comes a point in advanced Kundalini cultivation when perception evolves faster than understanding.”
She looked first at Aryaan.
“You are beginning to perceive Kāla.”
Then at Lane.
“And you…”
Her expression grew thoughtful.
“…are beginning to perceive what exists between places.”
Ron raised his hand.
“I perceive that I have absolutely no idea what any of that means.”
This time, even Kavya smiled.
“You will.”
Two hours later, Docking Ring Seven was alive with activity.
Cargo drones floated overhead carrying sealed expedition crates.
Engineers moved briskly beneath the broad wings of a sleek exploration vessel while technicians performed final diagnostics on its Fold Drive.
Painted across the hull in silver lettering were the words:
IGS ANVESHĀ
Potter stopped walking.
“…That is a beautiful ship.”
Unlike the military craft often seen around Mokshabhumi, the Anveshā possessed elegant lines.
Its broad central hull flowed seamlessly into curved sensor arrays that resembled outstretched wings.
Observation domes dotted its upper surface, while retractable landing struts rested beneath reinforced plating designed for repeated planetary expeditions.
It wasn’t built for war.
It was built for discovery.
Aryaan smiled.
For the first time since Vardhana…
He genuinely felt excited.
He had no way of knowing that within a few days, the forests of Vanta-3 would challenge everything he believed about history, reality…
…and humanity’s place among the Fourteen Lokas.
To be continued…