0030 Hours
2 November 2012
Somewhere in Arabian Sea
Captain Vikram Batra read the encrypted message again and took out a small laminated photograph of Lord Ram out of his pocket. Clutching the small photograph he closed his eyes and whispered a short prayer. Lord Ram had commanded his army across the sea to fight against an asur (demon) Ravan who had kidnapped Sita. Although Cap Batra will not be commanding any army across the sea, his work did have some passing semblance to what Lord Ram did. Like the ancient King, in a way he too will cross the sea and bring the righteous wrath upon the enemies. The thought made him smile and feel stupid at once. “This is no time to harbour any illusions of grandeur, old man.” He said to himself and looked around the bridge of the ship he was entrusted to command. In a way, he could afford to feel grand. After all, he was the first officer to command Arihant, India's first nuclear submarine. His chest slightly puffed with pride on remembering that he was also going to be the first officer to lead India's first nuclear submarine in to combat. “Back to work, back to work.” He commanded himself as he put the small photograph back in his shirt pocket.
Around him, the crew members were engaged in their work with full attention. Taking in a deep breath, he picked up the intercom and started a short address to his crew men, “Hello everybody, this is your Captain speaking. As you all know, our country has been attacked by nuclear weapons. Even as I speak, our enemies are preparing for more attacks on our country and our loved ones. Right now, it's not about anything like money or religion or politics, it's about our survival as a nation with a glorious history and a prosperous future. For this purpose, we've been ordered to destroy certain enemy targets. From this moment onwards, we are officially at war. I expect each one of you to remember your training and behave accordingly. That's about everything I have to say for now. Man all battle stations.”
He cut the intercom and ordered, “Make depth 50 m.”
“Depth 50 m, aye.” Navigation officer responded smartly.
“Helm turn One-zero-zero.”
“Turn One-zero-zero, aye.”
“Make speed 18 knots.”
“Speed 18 knots, aye.”
INS Arihant turned slowly and started its journey towards Pakistani coast. It was only a matter of hours before it reached close enough to make its name come true literally.
0340 Hours
2 November 2010
6x Su30-MKI Flight
Skies over Gujarat sea coast
Flames And Arrows Page 24
