Chapter1:Planet PR007
“Kahu’er.” Jo’s voice echoed through the dim chamber.
Sarin opened his eyes.
The adaptive pod slowly released him.
“Yes, Jo?”
Sarin sat up and started walking towards the eye of the live spaceship Jo.
“We have entered the paraway; it shall take us about 20 minutes to reach PR007. I detected Tamina’s soul at this location last”.
“Alright, have any of our rou’ters been to this planet?”
“Yes”
As he was on his way to the eye zone, a bright blue holographic light shone in front of Sarin. Hammy, the rou’ter of Sorates, a Naviyate, assigned to explore and collect information about PR007 materialised in front of Sarin, smiling ear to ear.
“Oh!” Sarin exclaimed with a questioning, confused look “Hammyy…..haassn’t… morphed himself ???…Are the inhabitants of PR007 aware of other species in the cosmos?”
“I do not know, Kahu’er; the only information I have is that all the species of paraway, in fact, share the same physical appearances as the Naviyates; and just that they don’t seem to possess anyAiśvarya.” replied Jo.
“Hmm,” Sarin thought – How did they survive without the powers? Has no one invaded this place? Is Tamina safe? He thought worriedly as her beautiful yet sad smiling face appeared in front of him, the one he saw before she disappeared in the control room. The one that deepens the ache in his heart even more.
Meanwhile, in the background, Hammy’s holograph continued to explain, with the help of a visualising tool, the vast landscape of PR007, the mountain, the beautiful waterfall, the flora and fauna, the caves, and he appreciated how the inhabitants had reserved and conserved the ecosystem so well, and had a low population concentrated near the middle of the planet. This statement made Sarin now listen to Hammy intently.
“For language adaptation, please use CH52”. Hammy instructed.
A thin tendril pushed through the membrane, wet and translucent, its surface twitching with tiny pulses of light.
Sarin watched it curl toward him.
“Jo.”
“Don’t be dramatic, Kahu’er. It’s only a language interface.”
Sarin did as said. A green light originated from the tube attached to the soft bio wall and travelled towards Sarin’s body, into his wrists, and disappeared into his nerves. The language was instilled in Sarin’s brain in seconds, and the tube recoiled into the wall.
This seems very similar to old Navi Sarin thought.
Sarin entered the eye; everything outside looked the same, a vast vacuum lit with twinkling stars and a few big concentrated masses of gases and flying asteroids.
A white, almost transparent screen the size of Sarin appeared in front of him, displacing the various inhabitants one after another in loose clothing, some in a single long cloth, others in two pieces, with beautiful jewellery as Hammy continued pointing both his hands towards the screen.
“This is how the Banders dress.” Then suddenly Hammy’s face scrunched. “Eww…. Isn’t this like toooo loose?” …. Then suddenly he smiled and started making gestures through his hands again and said, “That’s exactly what I thought too, friend, but let me tell you these are the comfiest sets in this universe sooo very breathable…..before my farewell I would like you to remember that people of PR007 call themselves Banders and their planet Aband. And there shall be no need for extra props to survive the planet, and the best way to not expose yourself would be to conceal your powers.” With that, Hammy dematerialised in the air.
With Hammy and the screen gone, once again, the ship went all silent with the dark starry view in the line of sight.
“What are you thinking?” Jo’s voice called out
“Nothing much…” Sarin said, nodding his head left to right like a child caught doing something suspicious.
“HaHaHa!!!” a rich laughter like that of an old man was heard throughout the cabin.
“Which nth attempt is this in finding Tamina?” Jo asked
“You need not bother, oldie, and who told you I am thinking about my failure?”
“Failure??... Hahaahha……I did not mention failure… so there have been several failed attempts, I guess….”
Sarin tensed up a bit first and then replied melancholically, “I guess this is the thirty-seventh”
“Hmm…How many more attempts left before you’ll never be able to trace Tamina?” Jo asked.
“Around nine to twelve more to go,” Sarin said, continuing in a sad, hopeless voice. “Most of the time I was late… by the time I reached the planet, she already had a family. I just watched her from afar.” his eyes twitched, and then his demeanour changed; he seemed a little angry. “And the one time when I was on time, Lucas took away that opportunity.” by the time he finished, he was all red.
“Who does he think of himself?” he crushed a table in front of him using his hands.
“Kahu’er, that’s a once-in-a-lifetime crafted artefact, and nothing here belongs to you as of yet.” Jo said firmly.
Sigh…“Sorry Jo….I did not mean to cause any damage…..I’ll pay for it once we are back home.”
“Soorryy!! That’s another new…..I am liking the new Kahu’er more,” Jo said teasingly.
Sarin rolled his eyes. “Get me a small vessel to land me on the surface”
In front of Sarin stood half-illuminated Aband, a green-blue sphere.
“How long do you intend to stay on the planet Kahu’er? You cannot forgo your duties because of personal reasons; Commander Kai did not let his beloved daughter be a source of distraction… You should do the same, or else this can lead to grave consequences for the whole of the verse….Tamina isn’t the only soul lost; there have been many more before her and many more that are going to be lost after her…. She is not worth the risk……and if she were here today she would have told you the same.” Sarin did utter a single word.
“Is the vessel ready?” Sarin asked.
“Yes, Kahu’er” Jo said, sighing.
All the walls around Sarin began to shift, and he was transported to a hall containing a small flying ship in capsule form that could carry only a single person. Sarin began walking towards it.
“At least be careful as not to show your Aiśvarya as you did right now… and remember I only mean well for you, my child…Please think about what I have said” Jo said tenderly.
Sarin pressed a button and the lid of the capsule slide upwards.
“I know.” Sarin gave a small smile.
“I have entered Hammy’s address…He’ll help you further”
Sarin entered the pod, and the door closed.
The pod was released from the spaceship’s side and began entering the Aband atmosphere.
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