Inspite of a gap of a few light-years between them, a stench of the sweat of the lesser aliens from the other side of the portal disturbed his extremely sensitive nose.
Saptarishi thought that the general was making a big show of it even though he wasn’t actually coming with them into the hostile territory that lay beyond the induced black hole. He wished that they could have switched places.
But of course they couldn’t. This was what he was destined to do. Damn gullible while signing the contract!!!
Twenty five fresh meats, including him were being shipped to the other part of the world to fight the war of the Gods on a tropical, ruthless planet which knew no mercy. He has been briefed that this was a taming operation.
For months now, he had been training for this job, toiling his way, breaking sweat, trying not to get his head blown apart, balancing on the flimsiest of the grounds as his instructor inundated him with jabs and strikes.
He knew years ago how to fight a man. But now he knew how to hold his fort while battling a vicious alien.
Though of course, training was no guarantee for invincibility. Saptarishi could bet that his comrades were as fear-struck as he presently was.
But they tried their best to hide their true feelings. They barely succeeded.
The ship was shaking furiously. It had to, as it was just miles beyond the event horizon of the induced black hole. He felt his stomach knot in panic. His nerves were frayed. He long gave up trying to soothe them down to normal level.
He gripped the Space-Time Parachute firmly in his hand. His life and sanity depended on it. Down below, though domesticated, it was a black hole nonetheless.
The pilot waved to the general, “This is how far my baby goes.”
The captain nodded to the pilot. Then turning his aristocratic head towards his soldiers, he said, “Time to prove your worth, mite-laden whelps.”
They all got rid of their safety belt in unison. Saptarishi could not have dreamt of such a concerted effort a few months back. But now, it was but natural.
Though fear dwelt heavily on his stomach, he knew he could do nothing about it.
‘There is no terror in the bang, only in the anticipation of it.’
Now from where did that pop up? No doubt, from his old, long forgotten life.
But the sad thing wasn’t that he was estranged from his family, that he sorely missed them, but it was that he didn’t even remember their faces. For him, they were just as dead as he was for them.
Someone prodded him in the back. That brought him out of the reverie.
“No time dreaming, son.”
He noted that eight of their troupe had already space-dived. It was his turn.
He braced himself.
He looked out through the screen on his suit. Blackness.
Calm nothingness.
But deep down his gut he knew that, it was far from calm. Out there was a gigantic, hug-philic, mind boggling whirlpool of twisted space and time.
He just had to open the parachute (with his mind, of course!) at the right moment.
“We haven’t got all the time, mutt.”
Saptarishi mutter a quick apology.
Without further ado, inspite of his sixth sense thoroughly against it, he plunged himself into what can truly be called…
…To infinity and beyond.
Alienman 