ONE: Epilogue of Hermesh

19. Almost Like 1812

General Naaroke Barmin got up slowly to get another glass, "I would have offered you some of this…libation, but it is quite specific to Amarthians physiology. We've found a way to conquer hunger by artificially nourishing the body, while lying in the hibernation pod. But the body still demands liquid when parched."

"It's quite alright," Sheel replied in a noncommittal manner.

Pouring the liquid into his glass, the General once again looked out into space at the unrelenting movement of ships and other vessels.

"So we can't save them?" the General asked finally. Sheel could sense the depth of despair hidden behind that one simple question.

"Not the way you might want to," Sheel answered quitely.

"Instead, you want to make the convergence happen now, 4000 years before it is supposed to." the General continued impassively, still gazing out. "So Shubhankor believes this to be the only possible solution in the time that might just be available to us?"

"Unfortunately so."

"And in order for you to try and accomplish it, he needs Hermesh to fight on as long as possible to buy you as much time as possible; am I getting this right?"

Sheel stayed silent. But the Amarthian knew the answer even before he had asked the question. He gulped down the liquid angrily.

Giving a few moments for it all to sink in, Sheel spoke again, "Can it be done, Dmitry?"

"'The trouble is, we all think we have time.' I think Shidhartha said that," General Barmin spoke, with a bitter smile, "Allow me to answer your question, by telling you tales of two battles. Do you remember the Third Battle of Panipat?"

"I know of it, yes."

"Of course you do. When we become Shidhayiis, we're all told that whatever past surrounds us will reveal itself to us. We'll know everything and anything we wish to know," the General recited from memory and sighed, "What we are not told is that we'll still have to individually make sense of-" He took a sip. "Well, all of it." He said.

Taking another deep breath and emptying the glass of its content, General Barmin spoke again slowly, "The actual battle took place on the 14th of January 1761. It was fought on the grounds of Panipat, situated north of the then Mughal capital of Delhi, between the armies of the Maratha Empire, under the command of Sadashiv Rao Bhau and the King of Afghanistan, Ahmad Shah Abdali and his allies. But here is an interesting fact about the battle that not many people know. The outcome of that battle was greatly determined by actions taken by the two sides, almost 2 months prior to it.

The previous year, the army of the Marathas had travelled from the south and captured Delhi. At the time, King Abdali's Afghan forces were situated north of the capital city, on the eastern side of the Yamuna river which used to flow from north to south back then. In an attempt to stop Abdali from fleeing back to Afghanistan, Sadashiv Rao took his forces and marched north along the western banks of the Yamuna and even defeated a garrison of 15,000 strong Afghans at the Battle of Kunjpura.

However, Abdali surprised the enemy by crossing the river near Baghpat, south of where the Marathas were camped. By doing so, the Afghan king effectively cut off the supply line between the Marathas and Delhi. In the two month long siege that followed, Afghans were able to block all food and other essential supplies to the 270,000 Marathas, many of whom were not even soldiers. The battle that finally took place in January was based less on military strategy and more on the desperation of besieged soldiers who chose fighting and dying on the battlefield over starvation. Unsurprisingly, the Marathas lost that battle."

"Were you there when the battle happened?" Sheel asked, staring at the General, appraisingly.

"No I wasn't. But in August of 1812, I was in Krasnyi when the French invaded Russia." replied General Barmin cryptically.