Chapter 1 - Friend or Murderer

'Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say.' Arya's mom told her with a wink.

Arya and her mom were sitting on the window ledge, their favourite spot staring at the space with chocolate chai. Arya's parents Ram and Sita, were considered THE most brilliant people in the colony. They were working on a project to discover and communicate with other space colonies. Once Earth had become uninhabitable - groups of humans had taken the space fuel Allinone to start new colonies in space. And they had not been able to get in touch since then. Arya loved these evenings with her mom when they would have chai and talk about the history and other topics. Suddenly the glass pane broke, and her mom was sucked into the space. Arya tried to grab her, but the glass pane was back up. She kept pommelling the windows with her fists.

She woke up to find herself in Nana's arms. Nana - was their human bot who was so much a part of the family that she was officially Arya's guardian since her parent's death in an accident a few weeks ago. Arya still remembered that evening clearly. Her mom had told her excitedly that they had made a significant discovery, and they could not wait to share it with her once they were back home after meeting Regent Chiro - the head of their space colony. Arya had been waiting eagerly for her parents when they heard the announcement about an airlock mishap that resulted in Ram and Sita's ejection. Regent Chiro himself had come to deliver the news to them.

Arya still refused to believe that they were dead. Nana ran her fingers through Arya's hair and asked, 'Same nightmare?' Arya nodded, wiping tears from her eyes. Arya looked at the empty window ledge and said, 'I wish we knew their discovery - Mom was so excited.' Nana stepped back dramatically, put her hand on her heart and proclaimed - 'Don't worry, little Arya. Once Regent Chiro has completed his due diligence, you can take your parent's research and finish the mission they had started.'

A smile started to spread on Arya's oval face. She was following in her parent's footsteps - and a part of her wanted to find closure in finishing their research. Their research was critical since it was a last-ditch effort to save their colony. Allinone - Fuel, also known as oxygen for space, made everything possible in the space colony was not reproducing. And they had been unable to find the root cause. Arya's parents were trying to connect to other colonies in case they had Allinone, or worst case, they could all migrate. Arya found some solace in the thought of completing their mission.

A female voice boomed over the intercom - 'You two. Stop fooling around and come to the kitchen. I want to show you both something.' Arya knew not to ignore Viman when she spoke in that tone.

#

Arya and Nana made their way to the kitchen. Viman was in her scholarly avatar on the screen with her hair in a tight bun and glasses. Viman was the only conscious ship on the entire space colony. Years ago, some humans had chosen to download their consciousness into a ship's Processor. Arya's parents had discovered Viman on one of their foraging trips to Earth when it was still allowed. And the geniuses they were - they restored Viman so that she could inhabit the ship literally. At Viman's insistence, they had decided to keep it a secret. Nobody knew that their ship was part human.

'Do any of you want tea or cookies?' asked Viman. Arya and Nana shook their heads. Viman gave Nana a stare before saying, ' Nana had been pestering me for more Bollywood content since the accident as a coping mechanism. I was scouring for content on various streaming channels when I stumbled upon a conversation which I managed to get a partial recording of.' And she played the recording, which seemed to be a conversation between three people.

Voice 1: Are you sure that their daughter does not suspect?

Voice 2: Yes, She is a child with a human bot as a guardian. She is very gullible. She even believes that the reason why I took her parent's research was due diligence.

Voice 1: Have you managed to decipher the research?

Voice 2: No, Not yet - I need more time. They were more careful than I thought.

Voice 1: Well, I am glad you got rid of them before they could say anything to others. But, this is the last mistake you are allowed.

Voice 2: I understand and will stop funding these projects anymore. Please convey my thanks to other colony Regents.

Voice 1: Do you hear a disturbance in our channel frequency?

And the recording ended. Viman said, 'That's when I made my exit.'

Arya shook her head - if I understood the recording. Regent Chiro killed my parents to prevent them from publishing their discovery.

Nana interjected, 'But why would he do that - given that he is already in communication with other space colonies'

Viman tapped her finger and said, 'I knew something was fishy when he wanted to look at your parents' research.'

Arya got up and paced, 'He is right. I am a gullible child - I am practically friends with my parent's killer. I am the fool here.'

Just then, the doorbell rang announcing a visitor, 'Regent Chiro would like an audience with Arya and her guardian - Nana.'