Ari looked at the Parvati clone explaining the metal blocks to him and his team. If he was being truthful, nobody but Nameer was paying attention to his explanation. For him it was difficult for Ari to concentrate on anything on the difference between this woman and pretty and the intimate moment they had shared. Pretty was in her early twenties, flirty, and playful. This one was bookish, unkempt and in her late thirties. All the difference were all a bit jarring to him.

Thankfully, Nameer, the navy brat with his inquisitive nature was paying plenty of attention for all of them because he couldn’t make heads or tails of the steel. Metal was metal. You melted and made it into weapons.

It wasn’t supposed to be hard. He had more or less followed the same process even when he used the blood from the bodies from the enthralled. He had drawn out the iron and melted it using his shard. But what this Parvati was showing to them was a metal block that turned into dust and morphed into various shapes.

“I don’t get. So, it’s dust. That makes it metal shavings. What good is that?” Abesh sighed and got up from the stool that the continuum had provided for this briefing.

Nameer looked at the NSG commando “It’s quite simple if you think about it. When you forge a metal, it holds it shape. If you keep it mailable you can have it any shape.”

“That means it should be liquid and hot. I can use liquid and hot. Pour it over the enemy like tar in dark ages and it becomes a powerful deterrent. But this?” Abesh continued arguing with Nameer.

“Yes, but they are not following our Earth’s process. They took an alloy, broke its bonds and then artificially rejoined them with the help of magnetism. Now they keep it in a dust form. That dust you can transform using magnetic shards or potentiality.”

“So, they forged it?” Ari finally asked.

Nameer sighed while tapping the block that had turned into a thick cylinder “Yes and no. Every time the steel here takes a shape it is forged. But it is not because it is dust. Frankly speaking it might be stronger because of its magnetic nature. But when it is like this…” Nameer turned the cylinder back to a bar “It resembles steel. That’s where it gets its name from.”

“Then why don’t they call it steel?” Abesh asked.

“Because the Maurya Empire, that is the empire continuum comes from, discovered steel eleven hundred years ago. Steel was old tech that was out of fashion. So, they called it mem steel. They have different complicated name for it in the instruction manual.”

“Yeah? If it is that good, why don’t they use it for their armour?”

Nameer looked at Abesh with pitying eyes “This again?”

“Listen, I don’t care what you say. If this steel was so good they would all be running around with marvel armour. Flick it’s on. Flick it’s off.”

Singh laughed at Nameer’s expression and nodded “Go ahead navy. Put him out of his misery.”

Nameer began “What you have said is unbelievably childish. Don’t get me wrong I love Disney movies as much as the next guy but they are cartoons. To carry so many nanites around with you, you would need to wear a rug sack. The continuum armour is created for nothing to pass through. No radio bullets, plasma, magic or even radio signals can pass through the armour they wear. Some don’t even allow for even a drop of potentiality to go through them That is why they keep their helmets open when they are not in combat to breathe in. Also, this block…”

Nameer hit the control block and the cylinder turned into a ball and then into a pole that touched the roof of the temple.

Nameer continued “It is made for other things.”

“Like what? Making a stick?”

“Think about a ship coming under fire. Its armour is pierced, and it is taking in water. One flick and it is as good as brand new.” Nameer paused and looked at the NSG commandos and tried a better analogy “You commandos like to jump off helicopters, right? Think about it like this, your helicopter has come under fire, its rotary blades are damaged. It’s gears are broken. One flick, it is suddenly airworthy and climbing back.”

Abesh raised his eyebrows and reassessed the pole in front of him “Wow, how do you know this stuff? Did you watch any movies?”

“I am a ship's engineer.”

“Hold just a minute. You are a non-combat officer?”

Nameer looked up angrily “I am navy, ground pounder.”

“What does that mean?” Abesh asked in confusion.

Singh guffawed.

Ari chuckled and said “Okay, boy wonder. Stop. You are stepping on thin ice.”

Abesh looked at Ari in confusion and then his eyes drifted behind him.

Ari slowly turned around and saw Doctor Joshi, standing there, with a sunny smile on his carefree face. As Joshi’s eyes met Ari’s, he could see merry flickers of fire dance in them.

“It’s a cute little toy.” Joshi stated and held out his hand “May I?”

It took a moment for Ari to figure out that the strange man was talking about the steel pillar behind him. Ari looked back and saw Nameer looking to him for permission. Ari nodded and Nameer handed over the control block.

“Interesting.” Joshi said while fiddling around with the mem-steel.

“Is it?” Ari asked.

The Parvati clone who had been sitting quietly took to her feet and moved away from the table. She looked at the priest with apprehension and raised her hands in the universal gesture of submission. Doctor Joshi ignored her reaction and tapped the control box to make a large plate.

He lifted a finger, and a white-hot flame blazed out of it. Joshi moved his finger forward and punched a hole into the plate like it was wet paper.

Everyone looked at the hole that had been so easily punched in silence.

“Now you see, why the continuum doesn’t use it for armour? It is a toy over here. But on Earth, you would all treat this toy as a marvel wouldn’t you?” Joshi growling voice stated in the awkward silence.

Ari took a step towards the priest “And you wouldn’t doctor?”

Joshi looked at Ari blankly for a long moment. The fire in his eyes slowly subsided and he sighed “Fine.”

Joshi swayed for a second. His eyes finally focussed on the plate. With a dismissive gesture of his hand the priest fixed the hole.

Ari looked at Joshi’s now normal looking eyes and finger and with gritted teeth replied “I see.”

Joshi looked at Ari and continued in a normal voice “That’s not all. I believe the Americans are already using a similar material to create aerodynamics for their bombers. But this, This is disposable and I know exactly how our people would use this.”

Ari just raised his eyebrows in response “How doctor?”

Joshi sighed “Commander, there is a reason we keep sensing things into space. It is the perfect way to test rocket technology under the guise of delivering civilian satellites.”

Ari frowned “What does that have to do with this material?”

Joshi smiled “Untraceable missiles, commander.”

Ari looked from the doctor to the steel block behind him as the revelation hit him.

Joshi grinned “Take a walk with me commander. We have a lot to discuss.”

“Yes. we do doctor.”

Ari followed Joshi outdoors and watched the priest look up into the sky. He waited for the man to begin and when Joshi just stood there lost in thoughts, he asked “Are you okay doctor?”

“I am just thinking of my daughter. She hates me. And I just realised, that I won’t ever be able to right some of wrongs with her.”

Ari frowned “Doctor, I haven’t been in the right state of mind. Tell me, what is going on with you?”

Joshi chuckled “Strange, isn’t it? How our realities have changed.”

“Some have changed more than others.” Ari stated while walking next to Joshi.

Joshi laughed “You mean me? Yes, I have. More than any one of you. But I am not the only one. I think it’s the fact that I am no longer dying anymore that is making me melancholic. Freedom from death gives you a new perspective.” Joshi freely agreed.

“Doctor Joshi, you haven’t been dying for a while now. We were all healed within days of coming here.” Ari stated.

Joshi laughed “No commander. When I say I am not dying, I mean I am not aging by even a micro-second anymore. I am functionally immortal now.”

Ari looked at Joshi in disbelief.

“It is the shards. Mine are elemental and divine in nature. And the lord yaksha has been kind enough to provide all eight to me.”

Ari looked at the priest with conflict written plain on his face “I don’t think I am comfortable with my men listening to a cult leader.”

“Again, you mean me. And again, you right. I am a cult leader. I do adhere to the cosmic scriptures of Lord Agni and will propagate them amongst sentients like wildfire. But was it so different back home. Didn’t we have religious headers that prayed to gods and goddesses on television? Didn’t a large portion of our population sing songs, narrate mantras, and performed the rights led by them?”

Ari hissed “Yes, but back home the gods didn’t do things back. Joshi, the way your eyes light up, the way you talk, and the way you hold yourself sometimes unnerves me.”

Joshi snorted and warm gist of wind hit Ari. In the cold dark desert, it felt like a warm blanket and then it was gone. Ari looked at the red and black sky sprinkled with gas clouds and stars to controlled his thoughts. The neuro shard had fundamentally changed how he behaved. He didn’t feel the creeping paranoia anymore but if he scratched enough he knew he could still lose control and lash out in temper.

He took a few deep breaths and started walking. Joshi followed him wordlessly.

“That is the right approach, Ari. Whenever you start losing your composure, do something mundane. Walk, breathe, run, or find a way to distract yourself. Take out that energy safely. The neuro shard will settle down.”

Ari gave Joshi a penetrating look “What do you know about the neuro shard?”

“Everything. Didn’t I tell you? Lord Agni told me everything.” Joshi looked at Ari and smiled “Why do you think I was so angry with you for shoving that shard into your mind?”

Ari frowned “I don’t like gods. They are unreliable entities whose actions you can’t predict.”

“Tell that to the religious back home and you’ll get lynched.” Joshi laughed and continued “Actually you can predict their actions. Gods do what they need to for the good of the people they worship. What you don’t understand is that Lord Agni is not a god. He doesn’t like being tied to sentient worship. He is yaksha of fire and knowledge. He was here before we humanity and he will be here afterwards. Our worship for him is like sprinkles on top of a coffee.”

“Are we here to discuss religion Joshi?”

“If that is needed commander, yes we will.”

“Well, I am not comfortable with that subject. Worshipping gods is a personal matter. I don’t mind my men doing it, I just don’t like it when it causes conflict in between my men.”

“And you think that I will do that?”

“Yes doctor, I know you will.”

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Joshi looked at Ari for a moment and then sighed “Well since we are broaching difficult subjects let’s move on to a more difficult subject. Your trip to Earth.”

“Our trip back to Earth.” Ari corrected Joshi.

“I am not coming with you commander.”

“Doctor…” Ari stopped and looked at the Joshi sternly “I am not leaving you here surrounded by enemies.”

“Commander. Ari. Don’t worry about me.” Joshi smiled and the temple’s dome behind him was momentarily bathed in red flickers of fire. He continued “I will be waiting for you back here when you come back.”

“Why don’t you want to come with us?” Ari pressed.

“I can’t commander. I can’t leave this temple. Lord Agni has tasked me to keep this city safe and I will do so. Also, I can’t abandon Sheetal and Ash. They will need me here, and I will be protect them from here.”

Ari turned sharply to look at Joshi “Are you accusing me of abandoning them?”

Joshi sighed “I think you don’t think you are. But when you go through that bridge that the continuum have made for you, you will be abandoning them. And they will know it.”

Ari clenched his jaw “Joshi. I am doing everything I am doing to bring back more soldiers. Only with more resources I can free our civilians.”

Joshi stopped in his tracks and chuckled “Free them. For what? To hand over Ash to his mother? To put Sheetal back in her chair?”

“What are you talking about Joshi. Are you spacing out again?” Ari’s hostile look turned softer and in a concerned tone he continued “Come back with us. Get checked up by the doctors. Whatever you are going through, they will be able to take care of you.”

The priest smiled and shook his head “Thank you. But that is not what I want to discuss with you. You will need help from me if you want to fulfil the continuum’s demands and not die.”

“Die?” Ari raised his eyebrows.

“Yes, die. Like it says on the quest that Jay 7 gave you.”

“How do you know what it says?”

Joshi looked at Ari and stated “I am a priest of Agni, commander. Need I remind you that he is the elemental deity of fire and knowledge.”

Ari exhaled loudly. He took a step back, looked at the priest and his temple. They felt like the same entity in that moment. With a frown he said “Yes, it says that on the quest box.”

“I know.” Joshi glowered “What were you thinking? What did you think would happen when you don’t fulfil Jay 7’s orders?”

Ari scowled “What do you want me to say Joshi?”

“That you understand that you will die. It will be sudden commander. One moment you will be sitting there trying to get things done and the next you and your men will be ash on the ground.”

Ari growled.

“Control yourself Ari.” Joshi looked at Ari gritted teeth and continued “You shouldn’t have accepted a quest from the continuum with a system enforced death penalty. No, let’s go back a bit more. You shouldn’t have given Jay 7 blood and flesh to make a bridge. Seriously, what part of the words blood and flesh made you feel that this was a safe thing to do?”

“We were hungry priest. We don’t all live on fire and fumes.” Ari glared at Joshi and continued “Also, when I heard death penalty, I thought they would try to hunt us down and kill us. I would have had a squad with heavy weapons waiting for them.”

Joshi rolled his eyes “Ari, you are not dealing with a military junta. You are dealing with a futuristic cloned force who might have lost their purpose, but they know the system extremely well.”

Ari squinted at Joshi and shook his head “But if there is no system on Earth how would it kill us?”

“There is no system on Earth because it doesn’t need to be there. The world is settled, stable, and on a path that Lady Aditi set it on. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist there. It just doesn’t show itself.”

Ari looked up sharply.

“Do you mean, that it will show itself soon? Will it compel us to fight like it does here?”

Joshi squeezed the bridge of his nose and sighed “No, you paranoid fool. Earth was like the trials when it was at the edge of the universe. Today it’s a harvest world filled with potentiality. One that doesn’t require supervision from the yaksha.”

Ari narrowed his eyes and stated “Earth doesn’t have potentiality.”

“Yes? Then where did you get your first shard from?” Joshi looked at Ari Pointedly and answered his own question “Earth. How was a shard there if there was no potentiality? What use would it be if there was no potentiality? Why was it floating in the air while shards here fall to the ground here? Compared to this sandbox we are standing on Earth is swimming in potentiality.”

Ari was silent for a long moment considering the priest’s word. He finally broke his silence and muttered “I see.”

Joshi sighed “No, you don’t. If you did you would have realised that the Rakshasa are now going to fight tooth and nail to feast on potentiality treated flesh. Don’t you get it? Every human on Earth is like a free range chicken the raks think of like a delicacy.”

Ari’s eyes widened “What? Why didn’t you explain this to us before?”

“I tried.” Joshi almost screamed “The only one who has been receptive to my words is Abesh. You were man with anger and your man Singh had been beating him down ever since we met.”

“I will speak to him about that.”

“It doesn’t matter now.” Joshi shook his head and in calmer voice continued “The reason I am telling you this Commander is because Jay 7 knew all that. He knew about our Earth because he came from a world just like ours. And he knew when you returned home, you would be soon out of his reach. That is why he blackmailed you to create the bridge and then put the proverbial gun to your head to make you accept a quest. Now he wants you to get more meat to attract the raks right here.”

“So, he planned all this. I guess, I expected that. I figured most of all of that myself.”

Joshi closed his eyes and took a breath to calm himself “Commander. A bridge goes both ways. Someone needs to protect it from this side. I will be that person.”

Ari deflated and then shrugged “Okay. So, what do you want me to do? Not bring back soldiers to fight the undead. Sacrifice myself and my men? If that is what is needed…”

Joshi watched Ari’s words fade out and quickly shook his head.

“No commander. all I am saying is that you cannot trust Jay 7. Heck, you can’t trust most of the continuum. The good ones, they are few and far in between. I don’t know about that pretty young thing you are so conflicted about kissing but the older ones are only out for themselves.”

Ari looked at the priest sharply. Professional matters were one thing. This was personal and a flash of anger made Ari take a step towards the priest.

“Kissing? How do you know that I kissed her? Have you been spying on me? Or did your god tell you that too?”

Joshi wasn’t fazed by Ari’s looming presence “What? No. She came to see me. She actually told me that you did more than just kiss before you were interrupted.”

“When?” Ari took a deep breath to calm himself.

“When you were unconscious then decided to stay and talk about you. I was the last one she spoke to. You know because she knows that you don’t like me. But Pretty soon realised that your men worship you and I would be the only objective one from our world. So, she sought me out and found a more reasonable outlook.”

Ari’s eyes widened and he looked around. Thank fully they were alone.

“Pretty spoke to the boys?”

Joshi laughed “Oh, yes she did and it’s too late to be embarrassed, colonel.” Joshi winked.

Ari grimaced. His rank just underlined their age gap.

“Maybe She is too young for me.”

Joshi raised his eyebrows “But you won’t let her go.”

“Are you reading my mind now?”

Joshi snorted “Not one of things I or my lord can do. Although, unlike the lord, I am pretty good at reading facial expressions. Ari, take some advice from a man who has ended up alone and unloved. Let her decide whether she wants to be with you or not. And if she does decide on you, hold on to her with everything you have.”

Ari looked at Joshi for a long moment and stated “I guess Lord Agni was right in choosing you to become his priest. That advice and the way it was delivered was impressive Joshi.”

Joshi laughed and Ari saw a bit of fire lighting up his throat “Oh, that was nothing. That was just a bit of fatherly advice. As a man to man? Keep the beard. She really likes the beard. That beard is going to get you luckier than a rabbit surrounded by does.”

“Joshi.” Ari said warningly.

The priest chuckled “Fine. Fine.” He sobered “Ari, the reason I wanted to talk to you was not to meddle in your love life. It was to give you a heads up. You will have to leave. And in a hurry. This carefully crafted chess board that Jay 7 is so proud of will soon get upended and that unhinged imbecile will start lashing out and grasping for anything that gives them an advantage.”

“What are you talking about?” Ari asked.

“Commander, don’t talk just listen. When you reach home, you will have to rush to come up with a way to collect two hundred soldiers. For a government operation that does not exist. And without raising any noise. I can help you with that.”

Ari looked at the man. Joshi had always been smug. But before his smugness was hidden behind a facade of wisdom and patience. There was no smugness anymore. He could see real fear in the former scientist’s eyes.

“You are scared?”

“Yes.” Joshi hissed.

“Why?”

“I can’t tell you. Lord Agni won’t let me. I have asked for the freedom from the yaksha to converse with you, but he is still watching me.”

“Right now? Why?”

“He is always watching but I can feel his presence focussed here. It’s because we are peripherally trespassing on another yaksha’s territory.”

As usual, Joshi’s words opened another can of worms. Ari closed his eyes.

“I don’t know how to take that.”

“Neither do I.” Joshi laughed helplessly.

“What do you want Joshi?”

“Three things. One, you allow anyone who wants to take one of Agni’s shards to consume it.”

“No.” Ari immediately shot him down.

“Fine, die then.” Joshi folded his arms with an unearthly growl. Fire blazed in his eyes and his nostrils spewed out smoke.

Ari took a step back instinctively. His neuro shard that was always moving him towards aggression barely twitched against the aura that made the shorter priest loom larger than the sand dunes surrounding the broken city.

Joshi wrestled against an unseen force and growled “You said you will let me handle this.”

For a second fire covered the priest and with a silent whoosh it was gone.

Joshi exhaled in relief “Well, I think our position on that term is final.”

Ari looked at Joshi in apprehension. He made sure that the man wasn’t going to lash out and then began speaking “Joshi, look at you. Look what those shards have done to you. You are worse than what I was. One moment, you have fire flickering in your eyes, the next, you are covered with flames.”

“And you can melt metal with a flex your hands.”

Ari looked at his hands and nodded. Joshi was right on the money there. But unlike the priest, his loyalties weren’t divided.

Ari grimaced “It’s not just that. I am not comfortable with the brainwashing your god has done to you. I don’t want to subject my men to that with his shards.”

“Brainwashing?” Joshi asked in a peeved tone and sighed “You don’t understand Agni’s shards.”

“I don’t understand this Agni’s motives.”

Joshi paused “Truthfully, neither do I. But as they say gods work in mysterious ways.”

Ari growled his neuro shards finally let him feel the familiar heat of its presence.

“Fine, let me tell you of the motives of Agni that I do understand. He is trying to help the blind death bringer and the empress of the new era.”

“What?”

“I am sorry that’s what he calls… We call them Ash and Sheetal. Kavita’s boy and my protégé.”

“Are you sure they are alive?”

“Yes.” Joshi nodded with a grimace “It was tricky there for a while. Heck, it’s still touch and go. But they are in the right limbs for now. From here, they will be on their own. And woe to anyone who to those who try to prey on them.”

“That’s a lot of nonsense.” Ari dismissed Joshi words and in a sarcastic tone added “You expect me to believe that a psycho boy and his scientist friend can fight against a force that has kept us locked down?”

“Yes.”

Ari took in a sharp breath and looked at the red and purple sky. The sand dunes lit by a thousands of stars outside the city. They felt nearer than the stars on earth and it was another thing that unnerved him about this strange place. Everything was slightly wrong and that included the priest in front of him.

“Joshi, did you ask your Lord Agni and to make them into priests like you?”

Joshi laughed “No. They are out of my yaksha’s reach. And our conversations are more like a one-way radio. He usually tells me what needs to be done and expects me to do it.”

“Okay, so what does he want with them?”

“I don’t know. He has provided them with a few tools which Ash hogged. That was unexpected but it worked out in the end. After that I thought he would be angry when they started experimenting on them and try to make them into…”

Ari turned sharply and asked “Experiment? What do you mean by experiment? Testing their reflexes, running scans, understanding our biology or something more sinister?”

“Oh, the continuum went all the way commander. They cut them apart, shook the warders insides and blended it all up. Then they stuffed everything back inside and called on the light’s creatures to fix them.” Joshi shook his head and in cursed “Bloody barbarians.”

“How sure are you about this?”

Joshi dismissed Ari’s question “Anyways, I thought the Yaksha would be angry, but he laughed. For two days. He kept laughing. Do you know how irritating it is to have a man in your head laugh for two days. I thought I was going insane.”

“Are you?”

Joshi laughed “Insane? Honestly, commander? I don’t know.”

“Gods man. You are scaring me.” Ari was getting more and more unnerved by this conversation.

“Me scary? You should see the real Rakshasa coming here. What we fought were bandits, slavers, and the dregs of their society. Lost little lambs trying to graze on grass in a desert. The ones coming, they will make you piss in your pants.”

Ari gave Joshi a searching look. The man wasn’t lying.

Ari exhaled “Fine, those and only those who want your lord’s shards can take them.” And then in a flippant tone he asked “What are your other demands priest?”

“I will need people to protect this temple. I will take a few guards from the ones you bring. You won’t have to pay for their upkeep. I will take care of that.”

Ari frowned but agreed “What else?”

“I don’t know if you are ready for this, but this is the most important part. The safety of our world will depend on you by upholding your word. There will come a moment when Ash and Sheetal will be vulnerable. Do not try to capture them, and take them back though the portal. Help them instead.”

“What do you mean?”

“When you go back, Kavita and her pawns will ask you to do everything to bring Ash and Sheetal home. Don’t do it. If you do, our world will die.”

Ari blinked “That a bit much Joshi.”

“No, it’s not commander.”

“What now you can see into the future?”

“No. But Agni can. I think.” Joshi paused with frown lines covering his forehead and then brushed the whole thing off to continue “Anyways, we both know Kavita wants her problem child back because he is her only source to understand the shards. And Sheetal is the preeminent authority on shards in India.”

“She was. Now we all are.” Ari corrected the priest.

Joshi gave Ari a pitying look “Seriously? Commander, that girl pushes boundaries that we don’t even see.”

Ari considered Joshi’s words and realised how foolish he must have sounded. His neuro shard would have jolted in anger at the rebuttal previously. It didn’t like Joshi’s words but instead of anger and shame flashing in his mind he just felt it syphon of the energy into his nanites.

Ari finally agreed “I suppose you right about that. There must have been a reason that they put her in charge alongside you. But they can’t just take, what did you call them? The warders. What does that even mean?”

“It means, those who are created to war.” Joshi explained and continued “I am tied to this temple Ari. Ash and Sheetal, their life, well it is going to get very complicated soon. Don’t put your hands on them. Let them go.”

“If I do not, someone else will try to apprehend them?”

“Yes, but as long as you don’t do it everything will work out. Trust me on this.”

“What happens if I take them back to Earth? I know you said, the planet dies but how?” Ari asked.

“I can’t tell you that.”

“Again?” Ari asked and when Joshi did not answer, he tapped his chin “Warders, whatever they are, everyone is crazy about them here. I am beginning to believe that they are a strategic resource. And we need them. I am not going to lie about that in my report Joshi. And that will make them points of interest back home too.”

Joshi exhaled “And governments and armies will move to capture them and turn everything into a warzone. Yeah, that how things are going to go.”

Ari looked at the doctor in shock.

Ari looked at the man if he believed the man then they should do everything to repatriate the two and stuff them into a safe hole. So why was Joshi so adamant about this point?

Ari began “I understand Sheetal, he lady scientist had some potential but that boy? There was something seriously wrong with him. Honestly, he is just a privileged punk.”

Joshi took in a deep breath “That boy is more than he appears to be. Now that they have changed. I don’t even know what they are going to be.”

Ari looked at a tank like vehicle go past the temple and muttered “So what, we all have changed.”

“No Ari, they have had things done to them. Sheetal has realised that she is not made of glass. And Ash, he has had a taste of freedom. That cannot be undone. You cannot hold them commander. You are not equipped to. We are not equipped to. Those two are not the same children you saw in the conference room. They are warders. They are creatures of war now.”

“So, when his mother asks me about him?”

“Don’t lie. Tell her that her son is a hostage and you are taking two hundred and fifty soldiers to save him. That is what you are going to anyway.”

“And when the time comes to apprehend him, we don’t?” Ari gave Joshi a flat look.

“Only once. I am only asking for you to look away one time.”

“They won’t be happy with that.”

Joshi smiled “Trust me. After you tell her of the technology and the shards on this side, Kavita will be very happy. So will the others. They will send you as many troops as they can.”

Ari exhaled.

“I will think about all you have shared. For now, I am not ready to give you an answer.”

Joshi looked at Ari with level gaze “Commander, this will be the final time we talk before you go. Give me an answer and I will tell you how to get everything you want.”

Ari raised his eyebrows “Is that how you want to do this?”

“I am pressed for time.”

“So let me get this right. You want soldiers to guard your temple. You want the freedom to shove your strange shards into my people? And you want me to not pursue Ashoka Stalin and Sheetal Serai. And you want me to make the decision right now?”

“Unfortunately, yes.”

‘Why? Oh yes. You can’t tell me.”

“No.” Joshi’s lips twitched “It’s because I will be going through a transformation. You will understand it soon enough. When your shards reach class one, you will go through one too.”

“What?”

Joshi replied “It’s when your soul finally imprints its will on your body.”

“Do you know how strange all of this sounds?”

“Yes. Ari, less than a week ago, I was dying of radiation poisoning. Now I have fire running through my blood. I know this is all strange.” Joshi replied in frustration.

“Gods. You know sometimes I feel like I am losing my mind just like you?”

“I am not losing my mind and neither are you.”

“Then why am I considering your terms?” Ari growled.

Joshi smiled knowingly.

Ari finally began “Fine! I will let anyone who wants to take up your religion. As long as they are loyal to us, I don’t care who they pray to. I will also provide your temple with five guards. And I will let the kids run free and not capture them. But only once. The next time I see them, I will bag them up and drag them back home.”

“I can live with that.” Joshi let out a held breath and smiled “Okay. Now listen, take this and tell Nameer to use these commands on the mem-steel’s control block. It will make this with those bricks.”

Joshi pointed at a drawing on the unfolded paper and gave it to Ari and continued “Then you contact General J. S. Rathore at the DRDO. Tell him that he can have this brick and the design if he can get you the soldiers asap. Trust me, he will get them to you within hours.”

“What is this?” Ari rubbed the strange paper in his fingers.

“Vellum. Animal skin. At least I think it is animal skin. It could be human.”

“Joshi” Ari growled.

“Shut up!” Joshi snapped and continued “This is not the time for nonsense.”

Ari saw the heat in the man’s eyes and nodded “I am listening doctor.”

“Before you contact General J.S. and yes, you should call him J.S. That’s how he like being addressed. Before you contact him, call Kavita. She will be rallying to get re-elected, and you won’t be able to get in touch with her.”

“Won’t going to General JS annoy her?”

“No, she will appreciate the initiative you took. One good thing about her sociopathy is that as long as you are personally loyal to her she will give you enough rope to run around. She calls it having tools with brains.”

Ari grimaced but nodded.

“Anyway, after you talk to JS, send in your people ten at a time. By that time, she will get in touch with you. That’s when you let her know about her son. She will be annoyed but it will be too late for her to do anything. Not like she would try after she sees the mem-steel. She will only ask you to procure more of the substance. By Agni, she might even promote you.”

Joshi took in a large breath “But to do all this you need to know about the bridge. One just like the arch here, will appear over there a few minutes after you reach back home. Be careful when it appears. It will shake the earth and kill everyone who is standing in its path. Make sure that doesn’t happen. Otherwise, they will blame you for the accident and try to shelve the program. Don’t give them the chance.”

“And who are these people who will try to stop me?” Ari asked.

“Oh, you will meet them. And you won’t like them. Nobody does.” The doctor took a step back.

“Joshi what are you talking about.”

Joshi turned around and said “I have said all that I needed to commander. And remember, my lord and I could have compelled you to do everything with a system quest with penalties like Jay 7. We didn’t. Don’t force our hands.”

Ari gritted his teeth but nodded.

“Now that we have got that unpleasantness out of the way, here.”

Joshi made a pair of gloves appear from the air and threw them to Ari “Something to replace your old ones. They are made from a titanium alloy. That’s what gives them the bluish. Try them on.”

Ari looked at the gloves. They were metal and, in anyone else’s hands, they would not move an inch. Ari slid one of his hands inside and the glove melted conforming to his palm like a second skin.

Equipped.

Pugilists Gloves.

Shards Required – Metal, Quicksilver, Energy, Technology.

Effects.

Heat resistance - 300 degree Celsius.

Ari looked at them and they grew spikes like the ones that had been torn off his hands. He looked up and saw Joshi walking away. He called out.

“Where are you going doctor?”

“Back to the main hall commander. I need to prepare for what comes next. And I will be doing it in communion with the lord yaksha. I’ll lock the door from the inside. Don’t try and open it. The hall will be bathed in fire.”

Ari looked at his gloves and called “Doctor. Thank you.”

Joshi tuned slightly and smiled “We can’t have the leader of our forces unarmed commander.”

“Still, thank you.”

Joshi nodded “Good luck, Ari.”