Prologue:

People say survival is for the strongest, but Janani knew better !

It's never solely about physical strength.
It's always about authority , The Power!!

And power!! Ofcourse! It belongs to those who control the sky, who build spaceships to flee the world they are destroying !

The powerful ones who decide - who live , who perish, who will be left to rot !!

For people like Janani, a slumdog - survival amidst squalor had never been a possibility!!

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The sky bled hot red as the last shuttles prepared for departure, their engines sounds echoing like funeral pyres

Earth is now choking under a blanket of dust and despair.

Janani stood among the ruins of a city that had once flourished, one hand on her belly, the other gripping the cold metal of a gun she never imagined she would wield.
But she had no choice.

Dr. Meera Reddy had been her only hope—the lead geneticist behind PRAYAG, the fleet of ships which is carrying the chosen few to humanity’s second chance..

A kind of chance that did not include people like Janani - The slumdogs, the forgotten, the ones abandoned to die while the elite carved their escape into the stars.
Janani never cared about survival. Not until she carried a life inside her.

A life that, according to stolen reports, carried a mutation that made her child different ? Important ? or Dangerous ?

They would come for her. They would take the baby. Janani couldn’t let that happen.

With no one's surprise , Dr. Meera had come for her first.

The scientist had found her in the ruins, voice smooth with much practiced sympathy, eyes cold and filled with calculation.

She had called it a gift—Janani’s baby, a miracle of evolution.

“Not just survival,” Dr. Meera had whispered. “The next stage of humanity.”

Janani believed her for a bit but when Janani saw the syringe, the restraints hidden beneath the doctor’s pristine coat, she knew, what is gonna happen and Meera is in disguise of a good human

They never meant to save her.

For a fraction of a second, Janani hesitated. Could she reason with her? But the gleam in Reddy’s eyes, the syringe poised to strike, told her the answer. There was no reasoning. No mercy. So she pulled the trigger.

Meera crumpled, her life pooling around her like red ink spilled on a cloth.

Janani injected herself with the geneticist’s of Meera and with the geneticist’s ID coursing through her veins, Janani had one shot. One chance to board the last ship before it was too late.

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The launch site was heavily guarded, patrolled by drones & Robots scanning for unauthorized lifeforms.

Janani remained hidden in the shadows, careful her mind whispered , her breath shallow, heart pounding against her ribs.
She wasn’t just fighting for herself. She was fighting for her child.
“Scan initiated,” a robotic voice announced as she pressed her wrist against the access panel. The seconds stretched unbearably, a profound silence
Then—
“Dr. Meera Reddy. Clearance accepted. Welcome aboard.”
A shaky exhale. She took a deep breath maintaining herself under the shadow managing to reach her Hab Pod.

When Janani entered, she paused at the door, gasping for air.

The smell of excess filled the air - the aged wine, the grilled foods, meat and beef , perfume that was so dense it made her sick

This world seemed manufactured, devoid of pain.

She pushed herself forward, making an effort to walk slowly and deliberately.

If she went too quickly, she might attract notice !! She'd stick out if she moved too slowly!!

Hunger still gnawed at her ribs, yet the rich laughed and feasted, their voices a stark contrast.

She walked keeping her head down and her shoulders stooped, fearing that even her shadow may betray her.

This world of these glittering chandeliers and shiny neat marble floors was unfamiliar to her.

People wore diamonds & Platinum which gleamed in the gentle glow of artificial light

Janani's hands, hardened from years of hardship, curled into fists as the silks they wore shimmered, her body is full of anger but she have to act normal

She managed reaching her Hob pod finally and spent hours in front of mirror to mimicking rich

everyday when she comes out she ensured to be careful , mimicking the world around

However She didn’t know how to mask it—the stiffness in her posture, the hesitation in her steps didn’t fade . Her eating habits and the drinking posture didnt let her remain under the shadow.

She had spent her life dodging patrols and scavenging for food, not moving through halls of wealth.

The air felt too thick, the lights too bright, the walls pressing in like a wealthier cage.

Finally The RICH – > they sniffled the presence of Janani , they sniffled something unusual with her

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It didn’t take long for them to notice !!

A woman with no records,a slum with no status, no right to be here and wait what !! Pregnant !!

The whispers grew, creeping through the pristine corridors.

But it wasn’t just her presence that caused the worry. It was the existence of the baby.

Scientists whispered and hushed behind closed doors, eyes in awe looking at the reports that should never have existed. Her child—
Something new.

Is this an Evolution or an anomaly?
Is this a threat or salvation?
“We have to catch her at any cost , we can't let anomalies stay with us “The Rich ordered

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Gaurds finally sniffed and reached her Hab pod

She woke to the sound of footsteps toward her Hab Pod.

Her Instincts are now overridden by fear.

She started running with the baby in her belly bouncing and struggling with her every jump

Running through the pods , past the so called elites, past the windows looking down where Earth was nothing more than a dying speck.

I would let them TOUCH my baby , she uttered gaining strength as she run

She reached the control bay just as alarms screamed. The doors closed behind her.

They thought they had trapped her , announcements of her capture spread like wildfire

Rich started their vile auction - who gonna claim her on their bed , who gonna use her baby in the lab , whose slave she will be and whose retreat she gonna be

Clanks and laughs everywhere , and air reeked of cruelty

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Little did they know , she planned this all , they are messing with the BEST CODER of the SLUM

and BAM - She hijacked the spaceship

The hijacking took thirty-seven seconds.

Janani saw this coming , she was prepared from the first , EVEN BEFORE ENTERING THE SHIP OF CRUELTY

She spent weeks studying security vulnerabilities. The system was designed to keep outsiders out.
But from the inside?

One small override , a small code .

And PRAYAG now belonged to her.

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A sudden Jerk , resembling an earthquake on the Ship.

Panic creeped through the halls—engineers checking the odds,
the rich with an attitude never dying clawing at their seats, demanding to know what was happening!!

A strong , cold , steady voice and a hard core silence !!

Janani’s voice crackled over the speakers.

“You left us to die,” she laughed, voice steady and cold. “Now, I do the auction , I make the RULES”

She turned the ship around.

Back to Earth.

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The windows witnessed their closure to Earth .

The wealthy screamed. They begged !!

But this time, they had no power.

They spent their fortunes on escape. They left millions to death.

Now? They were returning to the world they had abandoned and to DIE
PRAYAG descended into the ruins of the old world !!!

But Janani wasn’t crashing it—she was landing it for a greater purpose.

The rich wept in terror, believing they were doomed. But Janani had no intention of killing them.
Not yet!!!

She activated the emergency override and broadcasted a signal to the remaining survivors on Earth.

A relief to Earth
A warning to the Ship

“This ship has enough resources to sustain thousands,” she announced.

I am making a deal - get the slum children inside or get ready to DIE

I am ready to DIE, will you ?

Silence. Then, chaos. Protests. Bargaining. But she was very firm.

“Let's get the kids” the major announced

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One by one, the children moved in, The Orphaned, The starving, The forgotten, The ones which world never cared for !!

Their parents stood at the edge of death, their faces filled with sorrow.

Some stopped the flow of tears, others openly wept, their hands lingering on their children's heads as they hugged , kissed and waved a last Bye

Parents had no choice and they had no future to offer.

A mother hugged her daughter before letting go, her voice breaking, "You should Live for us."
A father knelt before his son, with a brave smile despite the fear in his eyes. "You’re stronger than me.You are my Super hero and tied a band to the kids hand."
The children, too young to fully grasp the weight of what was happening, hugged their parents for just a moment longer.

Then, one by one, they turned away, stepping toward Janani and the waiting ship

A small Girl, no older than five, hesitated to come in at the entrance, her dirt-filled cheeks and face looking up at Janani’s belly.
She reached out hesitantly, her tiny fingers brushing against Janani’s stomach.

Bend down , she signalled and as Janani bent

"Do you have a baby?" She whispered in Janani’s ear

Janani nodded, her throat filled with Lump!!

The girl's lower lip trembled as she enquired. "Will she live? Does that mean... we won’t die too?"

Janani gripped little one’s small hands. "Not while I’m here," she said firmly stopping the tear falling down her cheek

The girl stared at her, then stepped inside.

And as the last child stepped inside, Janani exhaled.

She had stolen a place on the last ship.

But she had done something greater.

She had rewritten its purpose.

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**Epilogue**

As the ship settled, the wealthy started gathering in groups, their fear instantly turning into quiet calculation.

One of them—a man draped in silk and privilege—smirked and whispered to another.
“Let the slum come,” he said, voice laced with pride and chin up . “We know what to do with them. Especially now.”

Janani’s heart pounded and hundred thoughts raced in her veins!!

“They won’t just work for us anymore,” another added, voice smirking with satisfaction.

“Their bodies… their genes… we need them.

We always have. But now, we’ll take exactly what we need, when we need it.

The slum-born are resilient, their biology very much hardened by suffering.

If we take what we need from them, our children will never know weakness again .

They will become stronger and learn those things which we can never give them.”

Janani’s breath raced .

Not for labor. Not for service. But for their children. For their own survival.

The rich hadn’t lost. Their attitude grew like mountains

They had just changed the play.

Her fingers clenched tightly into a fist, and her eyes glowing a fierce red!

She had won the battle.
But the war for survival !!!!
It had only just begun.

And this time, Janani would not just survive—she would lead the fight.

The Beginning !!!