by Kumar Lomash
Kevin was too embarrassed to open his eyes. He turned with his eyes closed towards the direction where the voice seemed to have come from.
“Were you talking to me?”, the same voice asked.
Kevin opened his eyes and found Joti standing in front of him. Her hair was not braided as before but was tied behind her head with a wisp falling along her face. She looked beautiful. Her eyes were watery, crystal clear, flawless. Her face had a shade of pinkish-yellow, like the sun when it appears on a snowy day through the thick clouds and provides warmth to everything that it sees. Her lips were soft, just soft and a couple of shades more pink than the rest of her face. She wasn’t wearing any makeup. In fact, it seemed like she was about to go to sleep. But how could she look so fresh, even at the end of the day, Kevin wondered. He felt a warm rush of blood in his body. Joti’s face was shining on him and that cold feeling which was all over him moments ago was nowhere to be found. Maybe it was adrenaline now but he was no more depressed.
“Were you?”, Joti repeated.
“Yes...”, Kevin replied in the affirmative. He did call her name out loud so there was no point denying that. Also, he was in no mood to end the conversation by saying “no”. Kevin wanted to talk to her, now he was just looking for the next set of words.
“...have you looked at the Nole yet? I hear it is beautiful.”
“Oh, I thought it was still a couple of hours before it was visible”, Joti got interested.
“No, it is visible now. People are seeing it back there.”, Kevin pointed backwards to the central hall.
“I was planning to see it in a couple of hours but if it is visible now then let’s go! Are you going there or coming back?”, Joti asked.
“I was just going there.”, Kevin lied without blinking. Moji made a beep or two, it was too much for it to let the lie pass by.
Kevin and Joti started walking together. Kevin was trying to look at Joti without making it obvious. He pretended to look at the cabin doors on Joti’s side so that he could look at her when she is not looking. Joti looked happy. Kevin distinctly remembered that she was not so happy when he first saw her yesterday.
“We won’t be able to see anything with that crowd hogging the window.”, Joti presented her disappointment upon arriving near the window on level 20.
Kevin looked at the crowd and thought how magical it would be to be able to watch Nole from a window with only both of them around. Realising this was not impossible to arrange he almost jumped with excitement and asked Joti to follow him.
“I know of a place where we can watch Nole as much as we want without interruptions”.
Kevin started walking rapidly towards the elevator that took him to level 45 in the morning. Joti followed him enthusiastically, sometimes walking rapidly with Kevin and sometimes almost breaking into a sprint. They reached the elevator and Kevin pressed the key for up.
Joti was surprised that he used that button. She said, while recovering from the breathlessness, “Are you sure we can go inside? This looks like a restricted areas elevator”.
Kevin nodded, “Yes, I used it this morning”.
The elevator arrived. Kevin looked around to make sure no one was looking. He saw Moji and said, “You must need some charging up, right?”. Moji stayed as Kevin and Joti walked into the elevator.
Kevin said “K42-262284, level 45 please”.
“Sure.”, a female voice responded.
“So, you are a K?”, Joti asked surprisingly.
“Yes, and you are a J!”, Kevin responded playfully, almost mimicking Joti.
“Yes, you already know my name, it's Joti”
“Hi Joti, I am Kevin.”
“I know.”, Joti responded with a smile.
“Wow, she knows my name already. She must have been asking around about me.”, Kevin thought. He was very excited.
“I think I saw you yesterday…”, Joti started a sentence but Kevin interrupted.
“Oh, I didn’t notice you. Where?.”, Kevin was trying to act innocent.
“...you were staring at me”, Joti completed her sentence.
“What?”, Kevin was embarrassed. “Why would I stare at you?”, he was blushing now.
Joti looked away from Kevin, towards the elevator’s door. She was smiling, probably on the obviousness of the answer to Kevin’s question. Kevin kept looking at Joti and was relaxed that she smiled at the end of all of this. The elevator was speeding rapidly towards level 45.
There was an instantaneous spark between the two. Kevin was obviously falling for Joti but Joti too now seemed interested in Kevin. She stood with her back supported on the elevator’s walls, her hands, one held by the other, behind her back, looking straight towards the elevator’s doors. She knew Kevin was staring at her but found no reason to deny him that. Kevin had the kind of appreciation in his eyes for Joti which all girls fancy. He kept looking at the wisp of hair which was still covering her face from the side, the side that was facing Kevin. He was tempted to lift his hand and move the hair back so that he can look at her unobstructed but before he could act the elevator came to a standstill. Kevin noticed that they were on level 45.
As soon as the doors opened, he leaned forward and peeked outside. The entrance hall was empty, dimly lit to avoid any energy wastage. He declared that it was safe to come out and walked out of the elevator. Turning towards the window he was spellbound by what he saw. The dimly lit hall allowed blue lights from Nole to show on Kevin’s face. Joti, still inside the elevator, could see Kevin completely lit by the mild lights coming from Nole. She got a glimpse of Nole on Kevin’s face as walked out cautiously. She was still looking at Kevin who was completely lost in the scene across the room outside that window. Even though she knew they were not supposed to be there, it was something about Nole or Kevin or probably a sense of adventure that she came so far with a stranger. She took her time before looking towards the window, afraid that what she would see would overwhelm her.
She was right. Nole was visible just outside the window, so huge that the window appeared to be a window into Nole itself. Nothing else was visible from the window except for the blue surface of Nole. The planet was bright. The ship had crossed it at least once to be between the planet and its star. When you are nearing the orbit of a planet like Nole, the size of the planet overwhelms you. Nothing that she had read or heard could have prepared her for the vastness of the size of a planet. The spaceship, which seemed so huge up until a moment ago, now seemed tiny in the vicinity of a planet. As they both started walking towards the window, a beautiful illusion took place. Nole appeared smaller and smaller compared to the window. Joti realised that the entire Nole would be visible once she reaches the window. She was now in a hurry to see Nole in its entirety.
Kevin walked slowly towards the window but Joti overtook him. He let Joti move ahead because he wanted both Nole and Joti in his sight. Joti reached the window, it was the nearest she could be to Nole right now. Kevin followed her to the window but stopped a step behind. He looked at Nole and then at Joti’s perfect body knowing well which one was more beautiful. He moved a bit forward and said, “Beautiful” - almost as if whispering in Joti’s ears from behind. Joti turned her face and looked at him through the corner of her eyes, her face still facing midway between Nole and him. Smiling, she turned facing Nole and said - “Beautiful, indeed.”.
After several minutes had passed without any of them uttering another word, Joti began to turn towards Kevin who was already looking at her for a few moments now. She said, “I can’t believe that is going to be our new home”.
Kevin jumped on it, “Our?”. He had a mischievous tone.
Joti pretended to be irritated. She closed her eyes and pushed her head back, “are you always like this?”.
“Not always! Only when something beautiful shines upon me.”, Kevin replied with a smile.
Joti could not pretend to be mad anymore. She blushed. She was enjoying the flattery.
Kevin was encouraged by he
r blush. He brushed his hands through her arm. His hands were closest to each other at her waist, it seemed like a natural resting place. He grabbed her firmly and pulled her, pressing her body against his. Joti closed her eyes, she wanted him to continue. Kevin had a hundred thoughts rushing through his mind but they passed him by like the lights outside the window of a fast moving train. He was as helpless as someone who had just fallen from a cliff. There were forces acting on him which were far too strong for him to control. It was a free fall. Kevin’s hands grazed further down her waist. He wanted to hold her against his body. Joti opened her eyes and looked into Kevin’s. They were both looking at each other instead of Nole. A moment passed when Nole stood secondary to both of them. Was it the perfect time to kiss?, Kevin wondered. Their faces looked like shadows with the bright Nole in the background. Very close to each other but still not touching, one could still see the bright planet between their faces.
Joti closed her eyes again. Kevin leaned in and went all the way. Nole was eclipsed as their lips touched. Joti sank into Kevin’s arms which were now above her waist, supporting her as she leaned further back. Kevin was falling again. The kiss which started as a caress was now much more intense. Joti had to take a step back to regain her balance as she was leaning back too much. Not that Kevin would have let her fall but she moved almost as a reflex. Kevin followed her, he had no intentions of leaving her. He kissed her both lips multiple times.
A siren broke the silence of the ship. The sudden, loud sound startled both of them. It certainly broke the free fall that Kevin was having. He had not heard anything so loud and unpleasant while on the ship, so he asked. “What was that?”. By now he had released Joti from his grasp but still did not let her go completely.
“That siren goes off whenever ship enters a new stage. I think we have entered stage 9.”, Joti replied.
Kevin asked, “What is stage 9?”
“It means we have entered Nole’s orbit, Kevin. We are on schedule.”, Joti said with a smile.
She was still looking at Kevin, deep into his eyes, but now she was worried there would be some movements on level 45.
“I think we should leave now.”, Joti looked away from Kevin and took a step. She was confused, should she stay back with Kevin or was it too risky to be on a restricted floor this long? Maybe she was too afraid of her adventurous self. She was attracted to Kevin so much that she feared she might do something which she would later regret. She wanted to go back and think about all of this.
“Are you sure?”, Kevin asked. Grabbing her wrist he tried to imply he wanted her to stay.
“I am not!”, Joti wanted to say almost as a reflex. And that would have been the truth, Joti knew. But she said what she was supposed to.
“Yes, Kevin. Let’s go”.
The only reassurance for Kevin was that Joti did not try pulling her hand from his grip. She waited for Kevin to start walking, she was already a step away from the window. Kevin took a moment but eventually stepped up to her without letting her hand go. They both continued together towards the elevator. Their shadow, now casting in front of them showed clearly that they were holding hands. They both knew this was the beginning of something beautiful.
03. Stage 09
They ran the last 30 or 40 meters with giggles. Hand in hand, almost tiptoeing to avoid any sound. The elevator was already on that floor. It was too late for anyone else to be using the elevators anyways. Kevin pressed the button and got inside almost pulling Joti along who was otherwise looking around to see if they were really going back unseen. The doors closed and Kevin pulled her towards him but Joti seemed lost in other thoughts.
“All fine?”, asked Kevin.
“I think there was someone watching us from the dark corner of the room”, Joti replied with some uncertainty.
“Really? An armbot? I believe an armbot would have questioned us if it saw us roaming”, Kevin added.
“I feel it was human, definitely not a machine.”, Joti said with some confidence.
The elevator stopped. Moji was waiting at the door.
“What took you guys so long?”, Moji asked.
“Joti was not letting me go.”, Kevin joked.
“Your human is half mad, Moji”, Joti defended herself.
“That’s because I have only seen half of you.”, Kevin looked at Joti with a mix of mischief and appreciation.
Joti blushed again and she smiled helplessly looking towards Kevin. Moji beeped, nobody was sure what it meant by that beep but nobody cared anyways.
“Kevin, we need to talk”, Moji showed some urgency.
“Catch you later, Kevin.”, Joti took the hint.
Kevin was almost mad at Moji but he knew it was goodbye time anyways. He had to ask something before he could let go of Joti’s hands. He asked, “What’s your number?”. Joti replied, “322”.
“When will I see you again?”, Kevin asked again. Joti was already walking back. She replied without turning or stopping.
“Soon!”.
“We have entered stage 9, Kevin.”
“I know that, Moji. What else?”, Kevin started walking towards his cabin. He knew Moji would follow.
“You have been nominated to go on the 2nd probe to Nole. Which is 3 days from today.”, Moji said.
“That’s great Moji, who told you this?”, Kevin was very interested in reaching Nole as soon as possible.
“I have a memo from the Captain’s office. However, he would brief you in the morning. I just wanted to give you a heads-up”, Moji clarified.
“Cool”, Kevin was now preparing to go to sleep. He was already in his cabin.
“Current gravity is 4 meters per second per second and it will be 5 when you leave 3 days from now. However the gravity on Nole would be 11.3 and I am afraid you are not prepared for that.”, Moji added.
“So, what do you suggest?”, Kevin asked.
“We will workout tomorrow with Gollow, goodnight”, Moji went away without waiting for Kevin’s reply as Kevin pulled the blanket over his face.
The next morning Kevin and Gollow were working out when Gollow started describing how challenging Nole was going to be. He said that some soldiers in the Union had been chosen to go to Nole on the first probe and sweep the landing area for any threats.
“Who knows what we would find there.”, said Gollow.
“I hear the place is clean, it had been abandoned long back.”, Kevin told what he knew.
“That is what I hear too. But sometimes what you know is just what has been told to you. And this whole project about flying out here and then capturing Nole for ourselves seems to be going too smoothly.”, Gollow expressed his concerns while pulling some weights.
“So, you are worried because there is nothing to worry.”, Kevin summarised his confused state.
“I don’t know Kev. We will see when we get there.”, Gollow said.
Kevin also wanted to share his feelings about Joti but he was not sure if Gollow was the kind of guy who would understand matters of the heart. He thought he should discuss these things with Gambhir as he was much less of a stone-head to understand romance. Just to check his theory, Kevin asked Gollow, “Have you ever been in love, Golli?”
“What? With a girl?”, Gollow confirmed if he understood the question.
“Yes, with a girl. What else?”, Kevin almost laughed at Gollow’s confusion.
“Naah, never felt that way.”, Gollow replied.
Kevin had verified that his theory was indeed correct. He continued working out.
At breakfast, Kevin and Joti were seated at different tables but facing each other. They kept smiling at each other. Kevin was too occupied making funny faces for her and making her laugh. Gollow, seated with Kevin was completely unaware of what was going on. He revealed finally that he too was on the first probe going to Nole in an hour.
“That’s huge, why didn’t you tell me earlier? You must be really happy?”, Kevin asked. He was completely with Gollow now.
“Y
ou bet, I am.”, Gollow replied. Gollow tried hiding his concerns and showed that he was excited, which to some extent he was.
“What’s Nole going to be like?”, Kevin asked.
“Don’t know, will tell you when I am back tonight.”, Gollow replied.
“I would need that man, I am on a probe myself the day after tomorrow.”, Kevin said.
“Cool!, what is your duty?”, Gollow asked.
“I don’t know. I have a briefing sometime today.”, Kevin replied.
“I should leave now, Kevin. Will catch you tonight at dinner or tomorrow if I am late tonight.”, Gollow hurried.
Kevin turned towards Joti but she was already gone. Kevin looked at Moji, Moji said, “No reason to be sitting here anymore, right Kevin?”
Gollow arrived in a large hall which was full of dressed up men and women. He and the rest of them seemed to be wearing some sort of a uniform. Everyone was already seated. Gollow found an empty seat and made himself comfortable. The man seated next to Gollow leaned over and said, “are you ready for this?”.
Gollow replied casually, “What? take an army to an empty planet? Yes, I am ready!”
“I don’t think it’s empty, my friend”, the man continued. “They are assigning multiple guns to each one of us and much ammunition to indicate that they expect action. I hear there are 100 guards and 100 armbots in the probe.”
“100 armbots?”, Gollow was shocked.
“Gentlemen!”, a loud voice silenced the room. It was Gollard.
