Reborn In 17th century India with Black Technology

Dakshin Bhartiya Empire, Indian Ocean, Seychelles Forward Base.

Akhil, entrusted with overseeing the southern naval base of the Empire, appointed his deputy to lead the forward base in Seychelles. Since the island was uninhabited, there were no complications in taking control of it. Following the seizure of the island, infrastructure for docking military vessels was swiftly constructed. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

The natural harbour-like shore was dredged and expanded to facilitate docking operations.

At present, the Seychelles forward base has the capacity to accommodate 8 Vinayak-class frigates, allowing for a total dock capacity of 4000 tons.

Nanda Kishore, in his role as commander of the Seychelles forward base, diligently carried out routine inspections of the empire’s marine boundary.

This had become Nanda Kishore’s daily routine in recent days. Ever since the conquest of the Seychelles Islands, he had been conducting patrols from Seychelles Island to Lakshadweep Island, with occasional stops at the Colombo port. However, he wasn’t alone in these endeavours.

The Navy of the Dakshin Bhartiya Empire had been on high alert ever since the military leaders became aware of the looming threat from the Ottoman Empire.

In addition to the forward base in Seychelles, naval vessels docked in Maldives, Lakshadweep, and Mumbai were continuously patrolling the Arabian Sea, tasked with intercepting any potential delivery of battleships to the Mughal Empire.

It was a routine day, much like any other. Nanda Kishore was sailing near the Gulf of Aden, finding himself only 50 to 60 km away from Socotra Island. Leading the routine scouting operation was Nanda Kishore himself aboard a Vinayak-class frigate, with his officers trailing behind in Hampi-class sloops, forming a triangular formation.

As he scanned the horizon and found nothing suspicious, Nanda Kishore prepared to change direction to head towards the Lakshadweep Islands for a resupply of essential medicines. However, just as he was about to give the order, one of his officers exclaimed, "Your Excellency, I think there is movement there."

Nanda Kishore swiftly turned his attention to the direction indicated by his officer, confirming the presence of a ship with the sighting of its figurehead. Judging by the height of the figurehead, Nanda Kishore deduced that the ship must be quite large.

Concerned that the large frigate might draw unwanted attention, Nanda Kishore ordered a retreat and opted to board a single sloop with a select group of his crew. They sailed closer to the mouth of the Gulf of Aden to obtain a clearer view, manoeuvring cautiously along the coast to avoid detection.

As they approached, the full extent of the ship came into view: a behemoth resembling their own Man Of War battleships. This three-mast warship, adorned with cannons and swivel guns, proudly flew the flags of the Ottoman Empire. Nanda Kishore recognized these details from the information he had received prior to assuming his post in Seychelles.

Spotting a hill-like structure near the Tohan area of Somalia, Nanda Kishore swiftly concealed the sloop behind it. Leading his crew, they ascended the hill manually to gain a better vantage point. As they reached the summit and peered out, what they beheld left them stunned: a fleet of behemoths.

Ten massive ships sailed in formation, exiting the Gulf of Aden, each leaving a ravaged and turbulent sea in its wake.

Seeing this scene, Nanda Kishore was greatly frightened as the Empire only had two such ships, and comparing the size of his own frigate to the large warship in front of him, he felt like he was comparing an adult with a child. On top of that, the ships were in a defensive formation where each ship could cover the other ships’ blind spots and concentrate their superior firepower in a single area.

It was an iron dome.

The ships quickly passed in front of him and moved towards Socotra Island, where they stopped for a brief moment by the swarm of civilian ships. Nanda Kishore felt like these small ships were very brave to approach the large battleship fleet.

Just when he thought these small ships were about to be blasted apart, the fleet of warships surprisingly stopped and waited near the shore of the island while the people conducted their business.

Originally, the plan didn’t include a stop at Socotra Island. Following their departure from the city of Djibouti, the fleet was scheduled to sail directly to the port in Gujarat. However, Commander Akhtar Noman’s desire to confront the numerous merchants near Socotra Island for hindering the fleet was met with pleas and resistance from his officers.

It wasn’t that they opposed him; rather, they were eager to indulge themselves, having been handsomely paid by Akhtar Noman for their cooperation. With their pockets full and itching to spend, they saw no better opportunity than an island in the Arabian Sea. After hearing the pleas of his assistants and crew, Akhtar Noman reluctantly agreed.

Thus, the current situation unfolded, with the crew given six hours to enjoy themselves before setting sail once again.

Although he did not know what happened to the fleet, Nanda Kishore recognized that this was a rare chance for him to gather valuable information. He swiftly ordered his officers to utilize the sloop and return to their base, bringing the naval technician with them to assess the strength of the unknown ships.

Despite their reluctance to leave their captain alone and with only the sloop they arrived on, the officers understood the urgency of the situation. They quickly made their decision, unloaded any unnecessary weight from the sloop, and set sail as the wind propelled them towards Seychelles Island.

As hours passed and the sloop did not return, Nanda Kishore began to feel restless. He knew the warships could leave at any moment. Just when he thought it was too late, the sloop from Seychelles arrived with a naval technician stationed at his base.

"Wow," exclaimed the naval technician as soon as he saw the warships. His exclamation made Nanda Kishore frown, prompting the technician to break out of his amazement and immediately get to work. He quickly took out a piece of paper and started to draw the warship, calculating its specifications according to the ratios of its different structures.

The technician wanted a closer view for better data collection. Although Nanda Kishore felt it was risky, he obliged, considering how much the data could be helpful for the empire. He brought down the Dakshin Bhartiya Empire flag on the sloop and put up an Arabic one. He also added various graffiti to the ship to make it look old and applied some black dirt to simulate damage.

Nanda Kishore removed his naval uniform and donned an Arabic dress found on the sloop as he sailed towards Socotra Island.

"Alhamdulillah, Your Excellency, we have a set of European jewellery. Would you like to buy?" Kishore Nandan asked in an Arabic accent Turkish as he got closer to the warship and was noticed by a sailor on board.

"Oh, what is it? Show me," the sailor responded eagerly.

"..."

"...."

"..."

The chat between them continued for a few moments as the technician, who was also riding with him and disguised, quickly memorized each and every detail about the warship in front of him.

"Hey, who is that?" suddenly, a loud shout rang out on the deck of the warship.

"Go, go quickly! If the captain sees you, he will blast you apart," the sailor who was negotiating until now quickly yelled in fear.

Nanda Kishore knew that the time was up as he quickly turned the ship and ran.

On board the warship, the sailor who was negotiating until now was being reprimanded, "Useless fellow! I told you to look after the ship when we were away. Now you are letting strangers get close. How many times did I tell you to be vigilant? If you were not my sister’s child, I would have already kicked you out of the crew.

Next time, this should not be repeated, or else I will let you permanently stay at home. Do you understand?"

"Yes, uncle. It was my mistake. what happened this time, will not happen again."

"What is it?"

"I mean, yes, sir, Your Excellency, the captain."

"Good."

The news of the arrival of the Ottoman fleet quickly passed through the sloop and reached Vijay.

Upon receiving the news, Vijay swiftly arranged an extraordinary military meeting within the empire. Leaders from every department and ministry whose influence could impact the naval confrontation were summoned. Presently, in the meeting, Vijay occupied the central seat, with Admiral Gangadhar seated beside him.

Naval commanders Gautam Sarvesh and Akhil were also in attendance, highlighting the naval focus of the gathering. Marshal Kiran Pujari was present to provide his insights as well. Joining them were Prime Minister Vinod, Finance Minister Jagannath Mohan, and the heads of Bhartiya External Pragya, Roshan, and Bhartiya Internal Pragya, Selvan.

In front of Vijay lay the document detailing the specifications of the Ottoman Battleships, analyzed and verified by the naval technicians.

Vijay opened the document and began to read for himself.

Vishesh Niladri, the young naval talent, was also present, renowned for his skills as a designer and a protege of Daniel Boswell. He began to explain the specifications of this Man Of War battleship and its similarities or differences compared to their own.

"Respected ministers and leaders, after various theoretical tests and simulations, we have arrived at these conclusions regarding the potential specifications of the warships. The battleships of the Ottoman Empire are codenamed the Sultan Salim class. The displacement of the ship is estimated to be in the thousands, with a length of 57 meters, a beam length of 15 meters, and a draft of 6 meters.

Its materials are made up of oak, elm, and pine, with its planking said to be composed of primary wooden planks reinforced with iron."

"As for the masts, as you can see in this sketch, it is a three-masted design. There are three types of masts used in this battleship: square masts for power, triangular masts for manoeuvrability, and staysails for fine-tuning."

"When it comes to its offensive abilities, it can carry 50 to 70 cannons of various calibres, ranging from 15 kilograms to 25 kilograms. The swivel guns it could carry range from 10 to 20 of 8 kg calibre."

"From our analysis, the ship could potentially accommodate a crew of 400 to 500, with tasks similar to those on our battleship, including sailors, gunners, and marine officers."

"Calculating the ratios of various aspects of the ship, the cruising speed could be estimated to be anywhere from 5 to 6 knots, with a maximum speed ranging from 7 to 8 knots. Overall, it appears to have moderate manoeuvrability."

After presenting the ship’s specifications, Vishesh Niladri left the room, and Vijay along with the military and government personnel began discussing countermeasures.

P.S. Finally Practicals are over, Theory is on Tuesday next week, and I have math and Automata on the same day, FUK...