‘I noticed that you said “they” instead of “we” when you referred to the Meluhans,’ said Kali.

Sati seemed perplexed. She still believed Meluha was her own land. ‘Umm, that’s unimportant... It’s still my country...’

‘Sure it is,’ smiled Kali.

Gopal cut in. ‘Just for the sake of argument, let us imagine what would happen if there is a direct all-out war.’

‘That is something we will have to avoid,’ said Shiva. ‘I see sense in what Sati is saying.’

‘Nevertheless, let us consider what Lord Bhrigu and Daksha might think,’ said Gopal. ‘I agree, it is in our interest to not have a direct war. But it is in their interest to have one, and a destructive one at that. They will want tensions to escalate so that they can confuse the people. They will then say that the Neelkanth has betrayed Meluha. Like Lady Sati just pointed out, the patriotism of the Meluhans could drown out their faith in the Neelkanth.’

‘I agree that Lord Bhrigu may want to escalate the situation,’ said Shiva. ‘What I do not understand is how he will manage it once it has. I have seen the Meluhan army from up close. It’s a centralised, well-drilled unit. But the problem with such armies is their utter dependence on a good commander. Their general, Parvateshwar, is with us. Trust me, they do not have another man like him. If Lord Bhrigu is as intelligent as you say he is, he would know that too.’

Ganesh and Kartik sighed at the same time.

Shiva glared at his sons.

‘Baba...’ said Kartik.

‘Dammit!’ screamed Shiva. ‘You will not doubt his loyalty! Am I clear?’

Ganesh and Kartik bowed their heads, their mouths pursed mutinously.

‘Am I clear?’ asked Shiva once again.

Kali frowned at Shiva before looking at Ganesh and Kartik, but remained silent.

Shiva turned back to Gopal. ‘We have to avoid provocation. Our military formations have to be solidly defensive, so as to deter them from staging an open confrontation. The main task for our army is to keep them distracted, so that a smaller unit can search the towns on the Saraswati for signs of the Somras manufacturing facility. Once we succeed in destroying that facility, we will win the war.’

‘Nandi,’ said Sati, turning to the Meluhan major.

Nandi immediately laid out a map of Meluha. Everyone peered at it.

‘Look,’ said Sati. ‘The Saraswati ends in an inland delta. The Meluhans will not be able to get their massive fleet from Karachapa into the Saraswati. Their defence doctrine covers just two possible threats – a naval attack via the Indus or a land-based army attack from the east. That is why they don’t have a massive fleet on the Saraswati.’

Shiva grasped what Sati was alluding to. ‘They’re unprepared for a naval attack on the Saraswati...’