Castles of Steel - Lesbians Good, Imperialism Bad

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Lieutenant Arisukawa Haruna

Balance Stats
❁ • ❁ Work / Life ❁ • ❁
❁ • ❁ Warrior / Princess ❁ • ❁
❁ • ❁ Radical / Respectable ❁ • ❁

Tactical Stats
Gunnery 0, Navigation +2, Command +2, Technology -4, Personal -2, Strategy +3

Stress: 3​


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PLEASE READ THE QUEST RULES BELOW

You collectively vote on the actions of Arisukawa Haruna, the first woman to serve openly in the Imperial Akitsukuni Navy.

This quest is set in a universe which is much like our own circa 1910, but with different politics, cultural norms, and ideas about gender and sexuality, as well as some unusual and advanced technology in places.

We are using this quest to explore themes like breaking the glass ceiling, divergent outlooks on gender and sexuality, colonialism and imperialism, and the place of royalty.

Content Warning
This quest goes some dark places.

There is violence, often explicit, often unfair, often against undeserving targets.

There are not always good options forward. The protagonist is not necessarily a good person.

There is implied content and discussion of sexual harassment and assault.

This is a world where people are often racist, sexist, queerphobic bigots. Sometimes, even the PC and the people they are friends with.

Voting Rules

We will tell you if write-in votes are allowed. If we do not say that write-ins are allowed, they are not. This is to prevent people from unrealistically hedging their bets.

You may proposal other options in a non-vote format, subject to approval, on non write-in votes.

We will tell you when a vote allows approved voting. If we don't say the answer is no, pick an option. We like making people commit.

Discussions makes the GM feel fuzzy.

Game Rules
When we ask you for a roll, roll 3d6. You are aiming to roll equal or under the value of your stat. If you succeed, Haruna gets through the situation with no real difficulties. If you roll above the target value, Haruna will still succeed, but this success will cost her something or add a complication.

Whenever Haruna loses something or faces hardship from a botched roll, she takes Stress. The more Stress Haruna has, the more the job and the circumstances she's in will get to her, and it'll be reflected in the narrative. Haruna must be kept under 10 Stress: if she reaches 10 Stress, she will suffer a breakdown and the results will not be great for her.

Haruna loses stress by taking time for herself, by making meaningful progress on her dreams, and by kissing tall, beautiful women.

Meta Rules
Author commentary is in italics so you know it's not story stuff.

Please don't complain about the system or the fact we have to roll dice. We've heard it before, we've heard it a thousand times across multiple quests. We're not going to change it, and it wears at our fucking souls.

Just going "oh noooo" or "Fish RNGesus Why!" is fun and fine. Complaining at length because you didn't get what you want less so.

If you have a question, tag both @open_sketchbook and @Artificial Girl. If you only tag one of us, you will be ignored. Seriously, we both write this quest.

And yes this is an alt-history type setting with openly gay and trans people, ahistoric medicine, and weird politics. Just... deal, please?

This quest employs a special system called Snippet Votes. Please read this post for more information.
 
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[X] Meet with Lt. Sugiyama and coordinate signals.
[X] Say a few words of encouragement to the men… and yourself.
 
[X] Say a few words of encouragement to the men… and yourself.

Not sure about the second option but AFAICT this is the best option for following our general plan here: model good behavior, get the crew on our side & working together, maybe start a small mutiny try and improve conditions on the ship.
 
[X] Meet with Lt. Sugiyama and coordinate signals.
[X] Bring extra belts for the Type 11, and a bucket to quickly change the water.
 
Ooof this update was really heavy, poor Haruna, but it was also beautifully and respectfully done. It won't be easy for her going forward, but she altrady has some supportive friends which will help her.
 
[X] Meet with Lt. Sugiyama and coordinate signals.
[X] Say a few words of encouragement to the men… and yourself.
 
[X] Meet with Lt. Sugiyama and coordinate signals.
[X] Say a few words of encouragement to the men… and yourself.

This seems like the kind of high-level stuff we should be focused on as the commanding officer. Giving our guns an extra tune-up would also be nice, but ultimately it's lower down the list, I think.
 
[X] Meet with Lt. Sugiyama and coordinate signals.
[X] Say a few words of encouragement to the men… and yourself.
 
[X] Say a few words of encouragement to the men… and yourself.
[X] Meet with Lt. Sugiyama and coordinate signals.

Can I get a Tactics roll for the meeting with Lt. Sugiyama? 3d6.
 
2-11: Bote
  • Threadmarks
    • Manning and supplying the boat wasn't exactly your job. And you had the feeling you'd just get in the way of the petty officer who was your direct subordinate. Instead, you decided that coordinating with your opposite number on the other boat would be the best choice.

    You headed down the deck to where Sugiyama was watching as his boat was being prepared for launch. Lt. Sugiyama was a short man a few years your senior, and as you got closer you noticed a nasty scar running along the side of his face. As you approached he turned towards you with a smile.

    "Lieutenant Arisukawa! I'm glad we'll have this chance to work together at last. I was worried you'd be stuck in that office forever." He laughed and you forced yourself to smile.

    "Yes, how fortunate. Now, I was going to ask you about signals between the boarding party and the other boat--"

    "Of course!" He interrupts you without missing a beat. "I understand that you want your chance at glory!"

    "I'm not so much worried about glory…"

    "So modest! None of that, Lieutenant!" He leaned over. "Frankly, the way this Navy has been treating you is shameful. We're all officers here! Say, why don't you take the boarding party? I know you most certainly want it."

    "Lieutenant, that's not not necessary, I just--"

    "Nonsense! I understand completely. Here--you don't have time to get one, so take my pistol. " He offered out his pistol belt with a beaming grin. "You should really buy one yourself. You can get a good foreign automatic instead. I don't mind revolvers but I have to say this pistol is one of the best purchases I've made. Really knocks 'em down, you know?" He laughed again. "One time in Cathay, this bandit came at me with a sword--huge thing, bigger than him! And it only took one shot from this thing to put him down. Can't say the issue revolver would do that, can you?"

    This man was crazy.

    "That wasn't--I don't mean to be rude…" You were completely at a loss. The whole mission had just turned upside down because he thought you wanted his job. You took the pistol belt numbly and looked at the weapon. It was huge, boxy, had no cylinders you could see, and had a tab inside the trigger guard of some kind. There were no bullets or speed-loaders, just three little metal boxes stuffed into pouches on the monstrous holster. You'd never seen anything like it.

    "Don't worry. I'll tell the captain it was my idea." He winked, as if the two of you were sharing a big secret together. "Now get going. We don't have much more time."

    He turned back and, exaggeratedly, said. "Oh no Lieutenant, I insist! It'll be good experience for you!" He winked again, and waved the armed party towards your boat. You walked back to your men numbly, awkwardly trying to buckle the belt around your waist as you went.

    You should say something encouraging, you thought. Officer-like.

    "Alright men. I've just been informed of a last-minute change of plans. We're going to be going in on the actual boarding action. Are the torpedoes loaded?"

    "Yes ma'am." One of the ratings replied. Shit. Regulations was you weren't supposed to carry passengers and torpedoes, just in case something exploded. Well, no time to fix it.

    "Good, then we're fully armed." You said absurdly. "The men on that boat over there have already killed six of our comrades. It's up to us to bring them to justice." Quick, think of more absurd patter! "This isn't just some stop and search missions, these men are killers, but they made a mistake when they picked a fight with us!"

    Everyone raised a hand in a silent cheer. Oooh, this was working!

    "If they go quietly, they'll answer to the Tokkeitai, so we all know they probably aren't going to go quietly! I know you've all been well trained and drilled for this moment, so I'll just make one request of you. Leave some for me!"

    That got a real cheer this time. Fuck yeah, girl. You got this.

    Lose 2 Stress because you got this.
    ​
    ---

    You did not have this.

    The waters that had looked so smooth from up on the deck of a 3,500 ton tender were a lot choppier down here. The motor at combat speed was loud and sputtered and petrol fuels clung to everything. Besides that, the high speed of the boat as it tore through the choppy water threw up spray everytime you bounced over a swell and even with the waterproof coat you wore, everything was soaked. You were standing on the little box behind the helm that somebody had painted the characters for "Bridge" on and staring out as the little smokey dot in the distance became a ship.

    She was some kind of mid-sized paddlewheel cargo freighter, the sort of that ended up here in the Far East after changing hands repeatedly over a decade and change once it was considered too old fashioned in the West. Probably a product of some Albian shipyard. There was nothing subtle about it: a huge flag on the back announced its allegiance to Xiong-Den Clique, the warlords who effectively (and illegally) ruled a sizable chunk of the central Cathay coast. Your government had an agreement with the Cathay Imperial government to treat them as rebels, even if such things could not be enforced on land by the failing Imperial armies. The only problem was the various Western governments backing them, hoping that Cathay would splinter and they could come carve up the pieces. They'd get a warm welcome in Western ports, long enough to get repainted and reregistered before going out to move more weapons.

    They were smugglers, they were killers, they were in with the Western imperialists, and depending on where they ended up after you took them in, they might even be traitors.

    Boat 101 was just ahead of you: it would break to starboard and cover the ship while you boarded from the port side. You had a flare gun opposite your pistol: if you fired that, it meant all hell had broken loose, and they were to give you a minute to get clear before they turned everything north of the waterline into a sieve. Otherwise, though, your orders were to take the boat, take prisoners, and most importantly to seize any papers or logs the ship had. Nobody wanted the warlords to be better armed than they were already. You nodded at Petty Officer Mikami as you closed with the ship.

    "Tell them to heave to or we'll open fire." Mikami had spent time in Cathay with the navy already and so knew enough to get by. No translation problems this time. He raised the speaking horn and shouted through it as you closed with the freighter.

    No response. No change in heading. You looked to the pom-pom gunners.

    [ ] Fuck it. Red flare. Your boat and Sugiyayam's would empty your guns and only board once there was nothing moving. Just note that they fired first in the report and no one would ever ask questions about it.
    [ ] Tell them to fire on the paddlewheels. That'll slow them down… though it would mean the boat would need to be towed back, which would annoy the captain. It'll make sure they don't make safe waters before you're done with them.
    [ ] Just get up and board quickly. You can outrun an overloaded paddle steamer without issue.
    - [ ] Though a few rounds into the superstructure wouldn't hurt anything...     ​
     
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  • Threadmarks
    • [X] Tell them to fire on the paddlewheels. That'll slow them down… though it would mean the boat would need to be towed back, which would annoy the captain. It'll make sure they don't make safe waters before you're done with them.

    This oughta wake 'em up.
     
    [x] Tell them to fire on the paddlewheels. That'll slow them down… though it would mean the boat would need to be towed back, which would annoy the captain. It'll make sure they don't make safe waters before you're done with them.
     
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    [X] Main Gun, two rounds across the bow.
    - [X]If that doesn't work, Tell them to fire on the paddlewheels. That'll slow them down… though it would mean the boat would need to be towed back, which would annoy the captain. It'll make sure they don't make safe waters before you're done with them.
     
    [X] Just get up and board quickly. You can outrun an overloaded paddle steamer without issue.
    - [X] Though a few rounds into the superstructure wouldn't hurt anything...

    Warning shots are for when you are not certain if they are hostile are not. Confirmed hostiles get direct fire until they run up a white flag.
     
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    [] Main Gun, two rounds across the bow.

    I believe this is traditional.
    Unfortunately no write ins so...

    [X] Just get up and board quickly. You can outrun an overloaded paddle steamer without issue.
    - [X] Though a few rounds into the superstructure wouldn't hurt anything...
     
    [le sigh, I LIKE 'shot across the bow' conceptually, and not just because of mercifulness-ness]

    [X] Tell them to fire on the paddlewheels. That'll slow them down… though it would mean the boat would need to be towed back, which would annoy the captain. It'll make sure they don't make safe waters before you're done with them.

    The big problem with a quick boarding action is that this steamer could well have a loooot more people aboard than our torpedo boat. And if they're a gun-runner, those men could be as well armed, or better armed, than we are. We need to get some idea of what they're capable of responding to us with, and a bit of reconnaissance by fire in the form of shooting up the paddlewheels to see what response they make would be a good start.

    The big problem with just blowing the hell out of the ship right away, honestly, is that this could, say, be a human trafficking operation in which case we've just machine gunned a bunch of helpless kidnapping victims tied down in the hold.
     
    [X] Just get up and board quickly. You can outrun an overloaded paddle steamer without issue.
    - [X] Though a few rounds into the superstructure wouldn't hurt anything...
     
    [X] Tell them to fire on the paddlewheels. That'll slow them down… though it would mean the boat would need to be towed back, which would annoy the captain. It'll make sure they don't make safe waters before you're done with them.
     
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