by Vivek Ahuja
Those runners had not yet returned, and so Vikram and Tarun had discussed their options. One of which was that Vikram would leave Tarun here with Pathanya and then make the trip alone to Dotanang, and if required, Thimpu. They hadn’t seen any new flashes of light from the south so there was every expectation that Thimpu had not been nuked, although without radios they couldn’t be sure…
Vikram was still thinking about that as he sipped his tea when he heard the distant rumble of incoming helicopters. Pathanya and Tarun did as well and both men sat up straighter and looked south instinctively. They couldn’t see anything from inside the compound because of the high walls around it. Vikram put down his tea cup, picked the Tavor rifle leaning on the wall next to him and ran towards the main door of the compound. Tarun ran up behind him.
Both men spotted a pair of army Dhruv helicopters heading up the valley from the south. As Vikram shared a look at Tarun, the monks from the monastery also gathered outside near the grassy clearing. As the two helicopters flared for a landing, Tarun gestured to the monks to go back inside. Vikram walked forward and knelt on the clearing just as the skids of the helicopters touched down amidst a cloud of brown dust and dead grass…
The doors slid open and he saw paratroopers jumping outside with their rifles, heading towards the compound and other outlying buildings of the monastery. Colonel Misra removed the headphones inside the cabin and jumped out on to the grass. He put on his beret as he walked up to Vikram. Both men walked away from the helicopter just as the noise from its engines began whining down.
“Damn good to see you, Lef-tenant!” Misra said over the rotor noise as he patted Vikram on his back.
“Thank you, sir!” Vikram replied as he found a lump in his throat at seeing the Colonel having come all the way out here to get them. “How did you even find us, sir?”
Misra smiled: “Those monks you sent as runners found the leading detachment of my boys moving north with some N-B-C reconnaissance vehicles we brought in.” Misra turned as the two army doctors walked up to them.
“Where is he?” the Captain from the medical corps looked at Vikram.
“In there, sir.” Vikram said, gesturing with his arm towards the compound. Both doctors walked inside without any further ado. Misra and Vikram followed up behind them. They saw the two doctors kneeling next to the bed with Pathanya on it while opening the makeshift bandages on his leg. Tarun stood by in concern as they did their job.
“Sir, what are my orders?” Vikram said with a stiffened back as he realized the war might still be ongoing.
The Colonel looked at Vikram and had a brief grim smile on his face until he realized that these three men had not known what was happening for the last few days…
“The war is over, son. It did so over two days ago,” he said finally. He saw the shock on Vikram’s face. Tarun and Pathanya looked up at him as well. “And I am getting you boys out of here and back to India. You all did your country proud, gentlemen! On my orders Spear team is officially to stand down. Effective immediately!”
*****
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dr. Vivek Ahuja is the author of several historical articles on the Indo-China border and is contributor to Force Magazine in India. He has written extensively about the historical underpinnings of the Sino-Indian border dispute, the Sino-Indian border war of 1962 and its impact on India and China. He is also author of technical articles on the mathematical modeling and simulations of combat systems, land-warfare and wartime logistics.
He received his Doctorate from Auburn University in Aerospace Engineering and currently resides in Austin, Texas in the USA.