4 PM IST, 26th March 2025 (1942),

India

As expected by the Indian Military High Command the “Cold start Doctrine” or Proactive strategy was a monumental success.

Cold start was fuelled after the failures of “Operation Parakram” which was launched back in 2001 in response to a Pakistan backed terror outfit attacking the Indian Parliament in broad daylight.

The Indian mobilisation against its neighbour took a total of three weeks to deploy necessary forces. This delay helped the Pakistani military to move its forces faster to the borders. Lacking strategic surprise the Indian military held itself from launching any kind of punitive operations at the border unless it led to open war. Though the fear of Conventional warfare turning into a nuclear exchange remained as both the nation militaries continued to mobilize, intense artillery duels continued until 2002 when the deadly standoff ended under international diplomatic mediation when the both the nations finally withdrew from the border.

The standoff exposed the operational gaps in the Indian offensive power including slow mobilization and thus after years of work the “Cold Start” came into existence.

Under this Integrated Battle Groups (IBGs) were raised those meant to be lethal, brigade-sized, agile and self-sufficient combat formations and has a varying mix of infantry, artillery, armoured, air defence, engineers, signals and other units permanently deployed together.

Their objectives were to launch a limited offensive and force its nuclear armed neighbour to either hold talks or continue a conventional war on its land and across the nuclear red lines forcing them to stand down their nuclear weapons or use it on their own soil.

When the transition occurred, “Cold start” was activated in anticipation of some kind of attack from either the Chinese or the Pakistanis.

As such the Pivot forces meant to defend the borders were rushed in and initial incursions were made by BSF units at the Western (Pakistan) border. Reports of India going back to 1942 soon reached Delhi and after some discussions it was decided to continue with the doctrine

Within 72 hours the 9th Corp now mobilized deployed its Integrated Battle groups and went ahead with a limited offensive all across the border pushing the British colonial forces deeper into the Punjab province and capturing large swaths of bordering territories before halting their advance and waited for the strike Corps to arrive for the main thrust towards Karachi.

The colonial forces caught completely off guard and against such ferocious attack provided token resistance before either surrendering or withdrawing towards the larger cities to fortify them.

Few RIAF (Royal Indian Air Force) airbases in the region were bombed by IAF Jaguars, cratering them and making them unusable. For the time being and in order to not cause any unnecessary civilian casualties the Karachi harbor under the Royal navy was not bombed back to stone age.

Nothing changed at the Kashmir front as the Indian forces consolidated their position with martial law reimposed on the region and efforts on cracking down on any seperatist elements were redoubled.

The Jammu and Kashmir State forces from the downtime were equally in disarray after their capital and with the entirety of their central command now gone, vanished out of existence. They were brought under the command of British forces in the region, still not in Indian control. The civilian population from the 1942 were also confused as their usual routes towards Srinagar were now blocked by Barbed Wire fences which were not there just a few days ago.

On the Himalayan front the 17th Corp was deployed in full force. But after finding no sign of any Chinese deployment or the border posts and after receiving the news that they were transported back in time, the Corp command under request from Western Command for additional reinforcements decided to send half of its IBGs to support the Indian forces amassing at the now defunct Bangladesh border.

---[-]---

Bangaon, Near Kolkata.

India-Bangladesh Border.

Tank Commander Siddiq Rahan was looking out through his commander hatch of his T-90MS, the "Lonely Gun", Aman Kuman, the Tank driver, was fixing an Indian Flag on the turret, and Rakesh Reddy, the Gunner, was loading live shells into the tank ammo rack.

They were part of the 51st Armoured Regiment. He looked behind to see four more tanks, another T-90MS and three T-72s also being prepared, and MRAPs and ALSVs with soldiers running around and getting ready to move. He then looked ahead to see a gate at the border being opened by the soldiers and a road leading to their objective, the heart of Bangladesh.

The reason why they were being deployed was not as an invasion of the British Empire or seeking Revenge on the British, but it was to reduce the bottleneck of supplies which would go through a rather tiny area of Siliguri which would be at higher risk of attack and cutting off a large number of soldiers.

While some can argue it is an invasion, hostilities were first opened by the Colonial Forces, which could be assumed as an act of war on the Indian Republic. However should a peace deal come, India would be glad to accept it.

"Aman! What do you think about those orders? I've heard we are going to liberate our own people," Siddiq asked.

"I'm not sure Captain, for all I know, it's all weird shit, teleportation? Time Travel? I am not sure, all I know is that we are ordered to go to Dhaka and hold it." Aman replied.

"You do have a point, but orders are orders, but at least we finally get into some real combat at last, years and years of training" Siddiq said while looking at the "Lonely Gun" new flag. It was made compulsory for every unit in this action to have Indian Flags and markings present all the time during the operation.

"She's loaded and ready for some action, Captain!" Rakesh shouted out.

"Really excited huh, I would say fire a blank before we roll out," Aman said giggling.

"Shut up," Rakesh replied, annoyed.

“But those videos on the internet, it's everywhere, showing the wall of light.”

“Yeah, what do you think would have happened?”

“Probably some freak of nature. One thing I know is I need to start praying after all this”

“Yes sir, from all this, we probably have to.”

A whistle was blown and everyone got into their vehicles, Siddiq got into his Commander seat while Rakesh and Aman got into their positions. The engine of the "Lonely Gun" roared into life. The radio then crackled into life with the Colonel speaking.

“Men, many of you might not have realized but by some miracle, our entire nation has travelled back in time. The peculiar wall of light that engulfed us a few days ago has brought us back to the time of the British Raj, and right into the middle of the destructive Second world war. This was the time when our nation rose up to fight for our freedom, when the father of our nation “Mahatma Gandhi” proclaimed the slogan of “Do or Die” when he started the Quit India movement. On the other side of the border lay part of our motherland still in shackles of Slavery, our brothers and sisters suffering from hardships of colonialism. But no more, today we give our people the taste of freedom they have been struggling with for years.”

“Today we will undo the errors of a partition that made brothers of this beautiful land sworn enemies vying for blood. Today is the day when a new India will rise, A nation above the idea of petty division on the basis of religion, creed or politics. The nation our great freedom fighters envisioned, and fought on and died for. Their dreams of the Undivided India will be fulfilled today and our Regiment will be spearheading the path to the final unification of our great and glorious Motherland JAI HIND”

"JAI HIND!" The Tank crew shouted in renewed vigour along with countless soldiers of the 23rd Infantry Division who heard their CO's words.

"Move out!" The order is heard.

The huge convoy of Tanks, IFVs, APCs, ASLVs and Utility vehicles moved out, riding into the dirt road and crossing over the border, their destination.

Dhaka.

As Siddiq looked out the commander hatch of ‘Lonely Gun’, a trio of IAF Jaguar MAX Attack planes conducted a fly-by over the advancing convoy.

“Air Force boys don't want us to enjoy everything, don't they captain?”

“They are here just for the sights Aman, we will be enjoying the advance.”

Soon Instructions from the Regiment command is relayed through the radio

"To all forward elements, follow the ROE do not fire unless fired upon, we are instructed to ask for the surrender of any British Army units we encounter, if they do not comply we are authorised to use force and make them. Over."

It did not take long for the convoy to come across a British army barricade blocking the road leading inland. The British and Colonial soldiers had dug in and waited for them.

“One cannon spotted!”

“Load HE!”

“Loaded”

As soon as the Lonely Gun with the Indian flag attached to its turret leading the convoy came into view of the British, they responded by opening up with their anti-tank rifles, a two pounder anti-tank gun and a machine gun and rifle fire in entrenched positions.

The Armour Piercing round of the Two Pounder hit one brick of the Relikt ERA and was pushed away from the tank from the Explosion of the ERA. Rifle rounds pinged off the tank and the Anti-tank rifle fire was inefficient.

"Well they have done it now." Rakesh commented.

"Take out the AT! Distance, four hundred meters!" Siddiq ordered.

"On the way!"

The HE shell fired from the 125mm Smoothbore Cannon of the T-90 obliterates the Two Pounder position in a single shot, leaving only pieces as its remains.

The British Troops are stunned by the tank's sheer power.

“Light them up with the Co-axial!”

“Firing!”

Rakesh aimed the turret towards the British Machine Gun position and let loose a barrage of the coaxial machine gun rounds wiping the position out.

Siddiq, the tank commander, was intrigued by what was going on.

“I have to say, I never imagined it would be this easy, those positions are being easily wiped out despite resistance.”

“This is Kali-1, we ran into a British Anti-Tank position.One cannon and Infantry. Cannon is neutralized, suppressing infantry.” Siddiq reported.

Modern Indian Infantry dismounted from their vehicles and advanced forward to support the Lonely Gun.

As the Indians engaged the roadblock, they did not notice something in the air, something...dangerous, and waiting for them.

An explosion rocked the convoy, as a military truck carrying supplies exploded from what seemed to be a grenade.

“What the! Where did that come from!” The radio cracked to Siddiq’s surprise.

“What is going on?”

A hollow brass casing hit the ground as a mage tucked away in a tree, chambered another round in his rifle. Much to his surprise and delight, those vehicles in the Indian rebels hands weren't so tough after all. Staring down his sides, he scanned the convoy for his next victim.

Firing at the truck in the rear, he flew out of his hiding spot in an attempt to get a better view, confident that these savages would not be able to hit him from that hard. The sound of an autocannon from a BMP-2 and it’s subsequent consequences proved him wrong

“Target eliminated” the gunner said as he stared through the sights at the bloody remains of the strange flying man.

“Did he really think no one would notice?”

“I'm surprised at how he even managed to fly in the first place.

They soon assaulted the position and took it in ten minutes, resulting with nine dead and eight Colonial soldiers, with the Indians suffering just four wounded.

Siddiq Rahan poked his head out of his commander's hatch and saw the Prisoners now being led away from the front.

It was surreal for him, watching a mix of Colonial Indian soldiers and their White British officers being led away. A crowd of local Bengalis, mostly youths, curious over the explosions, watching Modern Indian soldiers and tanks advancing though the road.

"I hope it ends soon." He mutters to himself as he went back closing the hatch up

---[+]---

Somewhere in the Arabian Sea, on board the INS Vikrant.

The weather conditions were clear, with a slight breeze in the air. The bright sunlight bounced off the evening waters, resulting in a scenic photo worthy moment as the Indian carrier steamed along with her escort ships.

Vice Admiral K.S Nanda was sitting on his captain’s chair, observing what was going on. The following days after the “light” incident, the sheer amount of traffic they were forced to inspect was high. Near his fleet, he observed an Australian Destroyer escorting the carrier.

The Australian Destroyer Squadron, stranded like their American allies, decided to stay inside the Indian territorial waters until the fog of confusion settles down. The commander of the Squadron after discussing with his American and Indian counterparts agreed to jointly patrol the borders for the time being and until communication is properly established with the rest of the world and especially with their home Australia.

Nanda pressed his eyes, trying to get a moment’s rest to process everything which was going on.

He did not believe in god or the supernatural, but this was pushing his limits. It is only because of science he could justify what was going on, even if it was to assure him for now.

“Sir, CIC reports that we have Unknowns.”

Nanda sighed as he looked over to Captain Sandeep Dhankar, who was now the XO of the carrier. Over the following days, all kinds of ships were being intercepted by the Indian fleet.

While the Vikramaditya Carrier fleet was protecting the Bay of Bengal and Andaman sea, his carrier was designated to protect India’s western waters. Supply “Liberty” ships were being sent to Indian ports to be interred, matching the file photos of how those World War 2 supply ships looked like.

The current agreement made with the Americans is to have both nations be safe-harbors towards allied ships, at least until the current crisis passes. To do this the American and Australian ships have been sweeping the region, assisting in de-escalating and directing ships to the harbors. Since this is the peak of this strange 1950s World War Two that has been easier said than done.

However there were some threats as well, mainly with Submarines. A wolf-pack of presumingly Italian Submarines were hunted down after a few ships were sunk.

“More submarines?” Nanda asked, rather bored by this. He expected to face a few surface ships, not pesky submarines.

“No sir, they reported surface and aerial contacts, we would be getting additional details sooner or later.” The Captain responded.

This peeked Nanda’s interest, for he was finally getting a chance to deal with a potential naval task force. A damn Axis fleet. Using the Italian Ethiopia colony as a submarine base, Italian and German submarines have been spotted a few times sinking merchant ships. Up to this point they seem to stay away from the Indian coastline

“Get me more details, and make sure the communication officer is ready to establish contact.”

“Yes sir!” The captain responded to the Admiral.

“CIC, contact Flight deck and get me two more Fulcrums in the air, and get them ready the remaining other aircraft.”

“Sir, we have hailed the approaching fleet, they claim to be a British fleet.” The communication officer reported.

“Interesting… Get us on an interception course, but keep us away from their guns.” Nanda ordered the captain as he then turned towards the comms officer.

“Patch me through, I want to send them a message.”

“Yes sir, your mic is now on the channel.” The officer responded.

"Unidentified Fleet this is Admiral S.M. Nanda of the INS Vikramaditya you are now nearing the territorial waters of the Republic of India, hold your position or turn back immediately, or you will be seen as hostile." He spoke into the radio.

After a minute of waiting for a response, they received a message back from the ‘British’ fleet.

"This is Admiral Bruce Fraser of His Majesty's Royal Navy and whoever is listening to me hear this well, you so-called Republic of India will not last another week when the might of the British Empire and her Allies will crash upon you. It will be wise if you Mutineers surrender."

This surprised Nanda and his fellow officers were stunned and confused by this message, but they quickly remembered their situation, as it was likely the British still did not know that the India they know does not exist.

“Looks like the British Navy is a bit slow in figuring out what is going on” Nanda joked in his native language, followed by the muffled laughter of the captain, obviously not on the radio.

Nanda then put the mic back near his mouth and began to reply back to the response they received.

"This is Admiral S.M. Nanda of the Indian Navy, Admiral Fraser, we know you are confused to find us but I implore you to think properly before acting. I request you to send one of your ships so we can clear this out. I, as a fellow man, do not want to shed unnecessary blood for a misunderstanding."

This time, the response was near immediate.

"I am not falling for your tricks Nanda, raise white flags on your ships and be prepared to be boarded."

Nanda audibly sighed from what he was hearing. Now he has to fight a British fleet from the way it seems to be going on. Last thing they need is to fight even the British and nearly everyone else.

"You know I cannot do that, Admiral Fraser." Nanda spoke into his mic, expecting the obvious answer.

"Then be prepared to meet your maker after we blow you and your so-called Indian Navy out of the sea." The British Admiral declared out before the radio turned silent, it was obvious that he was not listening to the Indian response.

Sandeep was standing next to Nanda, waiting for the interaction to end.

“Admiral, CIC reports aircrafts heading our way. Permission to send the Shershaahs?”

“Approved, have them face the power of our best jets.” The Admiral replied.

---[-]---

On the deck of the INS Vikrant

Squadron leader Subrant Subhas was testing his flaps as his Radar Intercept Officer (RIO) Azhar Supriya checked weapon systems. He finished going through the checklist as he prepared to take off.

“Shark 4-2, you are clear for takeoff.

“Shark 4-2, roger that air traffic control,” Subhas responded.

“Systems check complete, we are good to go.” Supriya announced.

“Roger that.”

Subhas pushed the throttle to its max, activating the afterburners of his aircraft, with its twin engines pushing out enough thrust for it to take off from the Ski-ramp of the aircraft carrier.

“Good shot, good engine, good end speed, gear up.” Supriya reported.

The F/A-18F, otherwise known as Shershaah was the latest Twin-seater Naval aircraft of the Indian Naval Air Wing. With the growing Indian carrier fleet and at the time growing relations with the US Navy, the Super Hornet was chosen. With all the other options, that airframe had the longest and most reliable reputation, stretching over decades. What makes these Shershaah special is that they are domestically made, while a foregin design, it is Indian made.

“Shark 4-2, turn heading 1-7-5, how copy?”

“Shark 4-2, good copy.” Subhas responded.

His aircraft banked and turned towards the ordered heading as he flew over the carrier and began their intercept mission. He was not alone as one “Baaz” was in the air to support them.

“Shark 4-2, this is Shark 4-4, levelling off your starboard.” The comms system announced as an MiG-29K flew in formation with the Shershaah.

“Gotcha.” Subhas replied as he showed a thumbs up towards the pilot of the other jet.

“Shark 4-2, this is Eagle 2-1-2. Contact fourteen kilometers, I have a flight of two, climbing off the deck, North-west of your position. Turn to heading 2-7-2.”

The two jets turned towards their ordered flight path as they began to climb. In order to ensure they can fly long enough, they were equipped in a light Combat air patrol (CAP) loadout. Subhas checked his fuel gauge which indicated he had about forty five minutes of fuel, just enough to ensure he can ‘dogfight’ the incoming aircraft and return back to home base for other friendly aircraft to relieve him.

“Shark 4-2, radar contact. Two bogeys, Two o’clock high! Three kilometers out, angel 6, no IFF tone back.” Subhas’s RIO reported.

“Roger that, climbing angel 6.” Subhas responded as he pulled the flight stick of the jet towards him, making the hornet lift its nose and start to climb as a result, with his wingman following suit.

“Shark 4-2, this is Shark 4-4. We have potential Vampire jets if the briefing was accurate, nearly in visual range.”

“Okay, time to look sharp, weapons tight, I do not want anything unless it is in self-defense.” Subhas ordered as he prepared to merge with the incoming fighters.

The on-board Radar-Warning-Receiver (RWR) bleeped an low audio warning to the ears of the Indians as emissions from the British ships were directed towards their direction. Subhas knew the British fleet was near but not close enough for visual confirmation.

The Two Vampire jets, the naval variant, flew past the Indians and began to turn as the Indians began to react. From what Subhas recalled from naval school that these Vampires were apex fighters during its day, providing the British Empire an effective fighter against the Soviets. An aircraft he would fear if he was not inside a far superior aircraft.

“Contact! Merge, break right!” Subhas ordered as he pushed his control stick to the right and pulled it towards him, pulling 9Gs as his breathing became heavy and felt his vision blacken up a little.

This was a favourable position for the Indians, as they had a speed advantage and situational awareness than the British fighters, who were probably surprised by the Jets flying past them.

“They are splitting up! I’m going left!” Shark 4-4 declared as he banked his jet to the left and begane turning, waiting for his presence on the bogey’s tail.

“I’m going left!” Subhas blurted out as he turned his jet as well, maintaining position on the other bogey’s tail.

“Lock” His radar system announced, allowing him to fire a missile if it was required.

“We are currently heading 1-5-0 and I am behind him.” Subhas spoke into his communication system.

“Roger, I am tracking the other one.” His wingman replied.

Another audio bleeped quickly, indicating that Shark 4-2 was in the gun-range of the bogey.“I’m tracking him! I’m in the firing position. Take them out.”

“Shark 4-2, this is Eagle 2-1-2, continue pursuit, do not engage.”

Stunned by the sudden order, Subhas knowledged the new orders. “Roger that Eagle 2-1-2, Bogeys identified as a Sea Vampire, tracking.”

The Vampires tried to outmaneuver the Indian jets, however they were still on their tails, causing more panic to the British Pilots. The Vampires began their retreat towards their carrier.

“Shark 4-2, 4-4, return back to intercept waypoint, do not pursue Bogeys, how copy?”

“Roger that, good copy.”

---[-]---

Onboard the HMS Formidable, Battlegroup 19

The situation went from a simple investigation mission to find out why their Indian colony went silent to a terrifying dogfight. Over the past few days everything seems to have gone crazy, which is saying much during the world largest war in human history.

Admiral Fraser stood outside as he looked out with his binoculars. While the CIC has the four fighters on radar he still has the habit of looking out. Over the last forty years technology has developed at a rapid pace. Spawned from World War I, otherwise known as the Aristocracy War in which most of the European nations Aristocrat class was overthrown - like in France, Germany, Spain, Russia, Italy, and others. While the Empire came out of that war untouched, even the Empire was forced to adapt to the changing times.

While most nations struggled to recover from the Great Depression, somehow Fascist Germany rose from the ashes and become the dominant power in Europe. The first sign should have been when they assisted in the defense of Poland in 1937 against the Soviets. That was before Hitler betrayed the Poles and annexed them once their forces already occupied key locations. The Soviets, a manpower juggernaut, was shockingly defeated by the advanced weapons the Germans brought to the war, at least a generation ahead of anyone else.

Forming an alliance with Finland, they conducted a surprise invasion on the rest of Russia after France was crushed from a three front war from Spain, Italy, and Germany. The Allies did not give up without a fight, before France fell a joint military force made of British, French, Belgium, and Netherlands forces pushed past the Rhine, gaining much ground. The German superior technology proved to be too much as the invasion was pushed back. By that point, all reinforcements were forced to stop the Spanish and Italian fronts.

What Fraser just witnessed made every German wonder look like a childs toy. His ship's radar was barely able to keep up with the speed and maneuverability of the Indian aircraft. By the time anyone knew what happened both enemy aircraft were on the Vampires tails in the killbox position. To his confusion the Indians have yet to take them out, making him wonder why.

“Sailor, contact the HMS Mars and have them provide flake cover,” Fraser ordered. Watching the Minotaur-class Heavy Cruiser move into position, he looked carefully at the situation.

It reminded him of the Siege of the Aegean Sea, the British protecting the Turkey western front. His battle group was part of that campaign before being sent to investigate India, an order he hated. Coming here could have opened the door of the Axis taking the Bosporus Straits and crossing into Turkey. If Turkey is taken then Egypt is lost. “Sailor, tell them not to shoot to kill, shoot to warn. Just get those things off our pilots.”

Looking out, Fraser watched the HMS Mars fired its flake cannons. It had the desirable effect, forcing the enemy fighters to break the engagement however, he wonders if they were ordered to. The design looks vastly different than any aircraft he has ever seen, clearly not a modern aircraft.

“How did the Indians gain such power?” A sailor asked.

“It has to be the Germans,” another sailor replied. “Where else would they get these fighters or pull off an uprising?”

While Fraser wanted to agree that the Germans are behind this, his gut told him otherwise. For years the Axis has been trying to undermine the British Colonial Empire but failed. With the Japanese pressing from the east, the Crown agreed to invest much needed resources to protect the Raj. The sudden uprising makes no sense, the timing is wrong, and even if the Germans are behind this it does not explain about the massive technology gap. That is when he wonders if this situation is related to the “Wall of Light” news he has been hearing about. While he did not believe such a thing, there was much chatter from The Admiralty regarding the topic.

“Coms, send out an open message,” Fraser ordered. “I want the Indians to hear this.”

Once the radio was ready, Fraser spoke, “To the unknown fleet, this is the Royal Fleet of the British Empire. To whom am I speaking to?”

“Admiral, everyone can hear us,” a sailor pointed out.

Feeling the tension on the bridge, Fraser understood why everyone was nervous. The Axis have a submarine and airbase at the Italian colony Ethiopia. While the Wolf Packs probably knew of their general location, sending an open like this would broadcast their exact location. It is a risk but a naval battle with a completely unknown enemy is the bigger threat.

“To the Royal Navy, this is Vice Admiral K.S Nanda of the INS Vikrant Carrier Group of the Republic of India Navy.”

That information caught Fraser off guard. Assuming Nanda is telling the truth, the Indians have a carrier group. The only nations with a true carrier naval doctrine are the Empire, Imperial Japan, and the United States.

“This is Vice Admiral Fraser of the HMS Formidable Battlegroup. This is an illegal uprising of a Crown colony, in violation of the 1939 agreement and during a time of war. If you lay down your arms, restore the British Raj, and tell me who told you these technologies I promise no harm will come to your crew.”

With a short delay, Nanda finally responded, “I understand your statement and why you have arrived Admiral; however, your orders are based on outdated and flawed information. This is not a rebellion, or an insurgency, or an alliance with the Axis. My Carrier Group has already engaged with Axis U-boats as they tried sinking commercial ships.”

“I am no fool, Vice Admiral,” Fraser responded. “The only ones who could produce an aircraft like that are the Germans. We know of their spy network in trying to swing the Raj to join the Axis. Even if what you said is true, it is impossible for you to acquire such a fleet in the manner of days. If you do not surrender I will have no choice but to engage.”

“Vice Admiral, I understand this sounds strange but the situation has changed,” Nanda said. “The Raj you speak of is gone. I will be happy to explain everything to you if you please follow me.”

“I cannot do that,” Fraser replied. “I will not surrender my Battle group to a bunch of rebels.” While his orders are to investigate what happened to the Raj, he knows he will be politically hanged if he surrendered to rebels without a fight. His training is telling him that Nanda is bluffing because it is impossible for them to acquire such technology and weapons and even if they did, they wouldn’t stand a chance against the Pride of the Seas, the Royal Navy seamanship.

Fraser's gut continued to bug him. Something is off and he cannot figure it out. Nanda's tone sounds sincere even if it makes no sense. Either way, the loss of the Raj is not acceptable right now as the war raged. He knows there has been talks about India Independence in Parliament but that is above his pay grade. However, starting another war, one the Empire cannot fight is not in their interest. “Alright Vice Admiral, I will agree to your terms to meet however I want to hear from Viceroy of India. He can validate that an uprising has not occurred and the subjects of the Crown are safe, I will be allowed to hear out what is going on.”

To Fraser's confusion, Nanda did not respond. He understood that it could take time to make the arrangements however the basic response is yes or no. The fact that Nanda could not respond with a yes began to show that this conversation was staged. “I am waiting for a simple response, Vice Admiral.”

“I am sorry, Vice Admiral,” Nanda said. “I cannot provide the Viceroy of India as he is no longer among us, same with the rest of the Crown subjects. They were… teleported away during the Wall of Light event.”

As Fraser listened, the more baffled he was. Nothing about the story Nanda said made sense or seem possible. “Bollocks! If you refuse to grant me the Viceroy of India, I must assume he and everyone else are being held captive or dead.”

As Fraser gave the order for the Battle Group to get in range, the communication officer mentioned that he made contact with an Australian warship, HMAS Brisbane. Now everything he knew was thrown out the door. “What are the Australians doing here?”

“Sir, apparently they are with the Indian rebels,” the sailor said. “They are requesting a neutral ground for talks. Their commander said everything about the Light is true and that. If you still do not believe, he promised to get you into contact with the United States Carrier Group in the region.”

First the Austerlians and now the Americans. The Americans have beloved their carriers, creating many classes to fight the Japanese. The only American carriers he knows of are both in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, the USS Trident, United States-class and USS Oriskany, Essex-class. The USS John A. Dahlgren, Midway-class was supposed to be assisting in the defense of Australia so he wondered if that is what the Australian ship was talking about. Either way, he knows the situation has developed past his orders.

“Tell the Australian ship I am willing to meet on the American carrier. Let's hear about this… Light…”