# CHAPTER 3: THE LOST ASTRONAUT
There was nothing but silence inside the space rocket.
Only the echo of the launch—the deep, thunderous roar—lingered faintly in their ears.
That silence was broken by a voice.
"I'm sure everyone's asked you this," Rakesh said, his tone casual but curious. "But I still have to ask—why'd you accept this mission? It's basically suicide. Was it something meaningful… or were you just tired of life?"
Kavya Chandan sat with her hands resting gently on her crossed legs. She looked up, her expression calm but distant.
"It's not like I want to die," she said. "I have someone who cares about me. But I've always been fascinated by black holes—how mysterious, how unknowable they are. And the second reason... I'm alone. The one person I still have, one day she'll drift far away too."
She paused.
"So yeah... I chose this risk. Of my own will."
Rakesh and Ananya watched her silently, their expressions soft, respectful.
Kavya slowly lowered her head again, her eyes fixed on nothing in particular—quiet once more.
The rocket felt sturdy and secure, its interior awash in shades of white and grey—most of it steel, iron, and polished alloy. Kavya Chandan sat quietly, a small window just behind her seat offering a sliver of the universe outside. To her left was a narrow door leading to a compact washroom; on the opposite side, another door opened into a shared cabin meant for eating and resting.
They sat near the center of the rocket, with one more door ahead of them—leading into the pilot's chamber. Inside, two mission pilots were busy monitoring systems, adjusting coordinates, and keeping the vessel on course.
After some time, the rocket pierced through Earth's atmosphere, entering the cold, endless black of space.
Kavya slowly turned her head, stealing a glance through the window behind her.
Her breath caught for a moment.
"This is my second time in space... and just like the last time—Mother Earth… so beautiful. So elegant."
Her reflection shimmered faintly against the glass, layered over the blue curve of the planet slowly fading behind them.
One of the two built-in speakers in the corners of the rocket crackled softly, breaking the long stretch of silence.
A pilot's voice came through—calm, composed, but with an edge of gravity:
"We're approaching V-9: Shunya. All astronauts, prepare for deployment into the spacecraft module."
Kavya Chandan opened her eyes slowly.
It was time.
The three astronauts unbuckled their harnesses and stood up, one by one. The soft hum of the systems continued in the background, but the weight in the air had shifted—this was the moment they had trained for.
Kavya glanced once at the window—the stars outside unmoving, eternal. The void ahead calling her.
She turned and followed Rakesh and Ananya down the narrow path toward the attached spacecraft module.
Her heartbeat steady. Her mind silent. Only one thought echoing faintly—
"Shunya…"
The place where everything ends— or begins.
Kavya Chandan stepped into her special spacecraft—the Singularity Probe.
The interior was compact but intricate. As she lowered herself into the pilot seat, the door sealed shut behind her with a soft mechanical hiss.
Before her stretched a sleek dashboard, glowing faintly with rows of colored buttons, switches, and digital displays. It looked overwhelming to most—but to her, it was familiar. Like an extension of her own mind.
She reached out with calm, precise movements—adjusting switches, running diagnostics, checking alignment. Her fingers moved with confidence, not hesitation.
She wasn't just prepared.
She was built for this.
With a steady breath, she locked her harness and leaned back slightly, eyes scanning the navigation interface. Her posture, her expression—it all spoke one thing:
Experience.
And complete control.
Rakesh and Ananya settled into their own individual spacecrafts, positioned slightly behind Kavya's. Though her mission was the core focus, they were there for support—for data, backup, and whatever unknowns might arise near the black hole.
Inside her cockpit, Kavya Chandan exhaled deeply, her breath fogging the edge of her helmet for a second. This was it.
The final phase.
Ahead of them, a massive steel door slowly rumbled open, revealing the vastness of space—the black unknown stretched wide like the mouth of destiny.
A voice crackled sharply through the intercom, booming inside their helmets.
"NOW GO!"
Without hesitation, the three spacecrafts detached.
The stars awaited.
Back on Earth – Main Lab
The hum of machines and the glow of monitors filled the room, but a sudden voice broke the tense rhythm.
"Sir," a young scientist called out from his console, eyes wide, fingers frozen mid-typing. "They've detached from the rocket!"
Harish Soni immediately stepped forward, his coat swaying as he hurried across the lab. He leaned in, eyes scanning the live data streaming across the massive central screen.
Multiple indicators blinked in real time: three crafts, one heading directly toward the black hole.
For a few seconds, he said nothing. Just stared.
His face tightened—a flicker of concern forming between his brows.
"They're really going in," he murmured under his breath, almost like a prayer. "No turning back now…"
A heavy silence settled around the lab as everyone turned their eyes to the screen.
Deep Space – En Route to V-9: Shunya
Kavya Chandan's spacecraft surged forward, cutting through the endless black. The stars blurred in the distance—but her focus was locked straight ahead.
There it was.
V-9: Shunya — a swirling giant of darkness, its edges warping light itself. A monstrous storm in the fabric of space, beautiful and terrifying.
No second thoughts. No hesitation.
Just purpose.
Her hands rested firmly on the controls. Every breath inside her helmet echoed like a drumbeat. Her heartbeat stayed steady—but her eyes carried the weight of what lay ahead.
Behind her, Rakesh and Ananya hovered in space within their own crafts. They had reached the boundary—the closest humans had ever dared to go.
And that was it for them.
But Kavya?
She was going further.
Only her.
Only one.
The others watched in silence, their crafts steady, recording data, watching telemetry, praying for a miracle.
Kavya's voice echoed softly into her helmet:
"Let's see what you really are… Shunya."
She tightened her grip on the controls.
And dove in.
Back on Earth – Inside the Main Lab
The room buzzed with tension. Beeping monitors. Fast-typing fingers. Eyes glued to data streams.
A young scientist turned from his terminal, panic laced in his voice.
"Sir! The gravitational pull—it's intensifying rapidly. The spacecraft... it won't hold much longer! Even with reinforced plating, it's too close to the event horizon!"
Professor Harish Soni rushed forward, alarmed. His brow furrowed deeply as he scanned the data himself.
"Hurry," he barked. "Connect me to Kavya Chandan. Now!"
A technician flicked a few switches. "You're live."
Harish snatched up the mic, his voice urgent and heavy with fear.
"Kavya! Abort! Do you hear me? Back up. You're too close. The pull will tear the craft apart!"
But there was no response.
Static.
Then—her voice, calm but strained, cut through the comms.
"I know... but I can't. The pull is too strong. I'm not in control anymore."
The line crackled.
Then—dead silence.
SIGNAL LOST blinked across the screen in red.
Harish Soni stared at the monitor, frozen. His fingers loosened, the mic slipping from his hand and clattering onto the console.
The entire room went still.
Harish Soni stood frozen for a heartbeat, staring at the red SIGNAL LOST on the screen.
Then—
BANG!
He slammed his fist down on the metal table, the sound echoing through the silent lab.
"Damn it!" he growled, voice trembling with frustration and helplessness.
Everyone in the room flinched. No one spoke. The weight of failure—or worse—hung thick in the air.
Harish stood there, knuckles white against the steel, jaw clenched.
She was gone.
Or so it seemed.
"I think… this is it for me."
Kavya Chandan's voice was steady, but her hands trembled as she fought the failing controls. Her fingers moved instinctively—training and desperation colliding—but it was useless.
The spacecraft shook violently.
Alarms screamed.
The stars outside twisted like streaks of liquid light as the gravitational pull surged.
It was out of her control now.
She exhaled deeply, eyes fixed on the black hole before her—V-9: Shunya.
Then she let go.
A calm acceptance washed over her.
In seconds, the black hole consumed the craft.
A flash. A silence.
She was gone.
Far behind, drifting in the dark void of space, Rakesh and Ananya could only watch the blip on their radar disappear.
Ananya covered her mouth, tears spilling from her eyes.
Rakesh bowed his head, whispering, "No…"
Back on Earth…
On a quiet balcony bathed in moonlight, Agasta stood, arms resting on the railing, gazing at the moon with soft, distant eyes.
She didn't know yet.
Didn't know what had just happened.
Didn't know what was lost.
Somewhere out there, past gravity, past space, past time…
Kavya Chandan: The lost astronaut.