The sea was no longer a boundary.
It was the battlefield.
In the shipyards of Bombay, iron ribs rose against the skyline like the skeleton of a sleeping leviathan. Sparks rained through the night as engineers hammered plates into place.
Arjun stood on a wooden platform overlooking the construction.
"Speed is survival," he said.
Below him lay India's first domestically designed ironclad warship.
Not copied.
Improved.
The Empire's Move
From the west, sails and smoke appeared on the horizon.
A British squadron—steam-powered warships escorted by armored cruisers—sailed under authority once rooted in the British East India Company, now fully absorbed into direct Crown control.
At its center:
HMS Resolute.
Its mission was simple:
-Establish naval blockade
-Destroy Bombay shipyards
-Break the industrial uprising permanently
Admiral Charles Whitmore studied the coastline through his spyglass.
"Bombardment range by dusk."
He expected coastal cannons and outdated resistance.
He did not expect innovation.
Birth of the Iron Lotus
At dawn, India's answer emerged from dock.
The ship slid into the water under monsoon clouds.
Her name:
INS Iron Lotus
Low profile.
Reinforced iron hull.
Steam turbine propulsion refined beyond British models.
Rotating central gun platform.
Hidden torpedo tubes—primitive, but deadly.
Meera stood beside Arjun.
"We're outnumbered."
"Yes," he replied calmly.
"But not outthought."
The First Naval Engagement
By afternoon, British ships opened fire.
Cannon smoke blanketed the Arabian Sea.
Shells crashed into docks.
Warehouses burned.
The Iron Lotus steamed forward.
Admiral Whitmore frowned.
"Is that… a ram design?"
He realized too late.
Arjun had studied naval warfare beyond Victorian doctrine.
Instead of broadside dueling—
The Iron Lotus accelerated directly toward HMS Resolute.
British guns thundered.
Shells struck.
Iron plating dented but held.
At two hundred meters—
Arjun gave the signal.
Compressed air chambers released.
A primitive self-propelled torpedo sliced beneath waves.
Moments later—
Explosion.
Water erupted against the hull of HMS Resolute.
Panic spread across the British formation.
They had seen such weapons in experimental reports—but not deployed by colonials.
Battle of Steam and Smoke
The sea turned chaotic.
Indian coastal batteries—concealed along fortified points—opened synchronized fire using range tables calculated weeks in advance.
Rail-mounted artillery repositioned between hidden tracks along the coast.
Every British movement was anticipated.
Every formation countered.
But the Empire was not powerless.
Two cruisers flanked the Iron Lotus, unleashing concentrated fire.
Hull plating began to buckle.
Steam pressure dropped.
Inside the engine room, engineers worked frantically.
"Boiler stress critical!"
Arjun descended personally.
"Divert auxiliary pressure. Keep propulsion at sixty percent."
He wasn't just commander.
He was engineer.
Turning the Tide
As dusk approached, monsoon winds intensified.
Visibility dropped.
Whitmore ordered withdrawal to regroup.
That was the moment Arjun had prepared for.
Signal rockets launched.
From behind coastal fog emerged two smaller fast steam vessels—lightweight attack craft built for speed, not durability.
They flanked the retreating cruiser.
Short-range cannons fired at rudder joints.
The cruiser lost steering.
It drifted broadside.
Coastal artillery struck decisively.
The British formation fractured.
Night swallowed the sea.
And for the first time—
The Royal Navy retreated from Indian waters under fire.
Aftermath
Bombay burned in places.
Dockworkers tended wounded.
The Iron Lotus returned scarred but afloat.
Citizens lined the harbor in stunned silence.
They had witnessed something unthinkable.
The Empire could bleed.
Arjun stood at the bow, rain soaking his coat.
He did not celebrate.
He calculated.
Because victory at sea meant escalation.
And escalation meant—
Global consequences.
London Trembles
In Westminster, emergency sessions convened.
Reports described:
-Indigenous ironclads
-Coordinated artillery
-Torpedo deployment
-Tactical retreat of British naval forces
The word "mutiny" was no longer used.
This was war.
Foreign ambassadors watched carefully.
France. Russia. The Ottoman Empire.
If Britain faltered in India—
Balance of power would shift worldwide.
A Dangerous Invitation
Days later, a coded telegram arrived in Pune.
Not from Britain.
From Europe.
A discreet offer.
Technical exchange.
Recognition.
Alliance.
Arjun read it twice.
Meera frowned.
"Are we aligning with another empire?"
He folded the message.
"No."
He looked toward the dark sea.
"We are aligning with no one."
He turned back to the map of the Indian Ocean.
"We become strong enough that alliances seek us."
Final Scene
In workshops across India:
-Steam engines improved.
-Steel production doubled.
-Experimental combustion engines quietly tested in secret sheds.
Children in villages now spoke of ships and machines instead of submission.
The war had shifted.
No longer rebellion.
Not yet independence.
But something far more dangerous—
An awakening civilization.
And far across the ocean, Britain prepared its greatest response yet.
Not just fleets.
Not just armies.
But something designed specifically to destroy Arjun Rao.
To be continued in Chapter 16: The Hunter from London