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Aircraft Design Company- Matsura's Planes Are Always Fastest!

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Character Sheet
  • Informational


    • ​
    Stress
    0​
    Office Stress
    0​
    XP
    5​

    Matsura Asuka
    Head Designer for Ohara Airworks
    Age 24 (Legally 25)
    Year 12 AF (After Flight)

    Design Stats
    Aerodynamics Engineering - +2
    Structural Engineering - +2
    Chemical Engineering - +1
    Mechanical Engineering - +1
    Ballistics Engineering - +1
    Electrical Engineering - 0

    Personal/Political Stats
    Social Skills - 0
    Politics Skills - 0
    Importance - 2
    Income - 1
    Investments - Ohara

    Resources
    Power - 0
    Wealth - 2

    Designs
    Type 1 Series - Military Variation (Designated T1M1)
    Type 2 Racer (World Speed Record October 1910-April 1911, 180kph)
    Model 2 Scout (Designated T1M2)
    Navy Scout Prototype (Drowned Rat)
    Dive Bomber B1M1 "Duck"
    Machine Gun Carrier R1A "Dragonfly" (World Speed Record May-July 1911, 200kph)
    Naval Rescue Water-Landing Supply Plane NR1M0 "Dolphin" (World speed record 240kph)
    Rhino Demon Train Hunter
    The world's first airliner
    The world's first pulsejet airplane

    Assets
    Slide Rule
    Computator (1 Reroll per Routine)

    Languages
    Albian
    Gallian

    Familiar Vices
    Drinking
    Prostitutes
    Dancing

    Family Life
    - Engaged to Arita Yachi, formerly the leading Ace in the Imperial Army. Designated #1 Cutest Army Boy, he's having some serious problems with PTSD right now.
    - Taking a second try at dating Mikami Kiho, ex-dockerwork from the south.

    Upgrades
    - 3 XP to upgrade a stat.

    Ohara Airworks
    Start Up, Imperial Capital, Akitsukuni

    Owner
    - Mr. Ohara, Rich. Aircraft Enthusiast. Business guy.

    Engineers

    Kibe Koume, 26, Office Manager
    Tiny & angry, Kibe went to school in Albia, picking up the language, the religion, and a fuckload of swear words. Speaks Albian.
    Mechanical +2, Ballistics +1
    Office Manager: If Kibe is not assigned to a team, the Office Stress is reduced by 1.

    Sakane Jun, 26, Second Team Leader
    A soured patriot, Sakane is married and has a young child being raised gender-neutrally. His two brothers who fought in the war.
    Structural +2, Aerodynamics +1
    Team Leader: If there are any additional projects, Sakane will lead them.
    Joinery: Sakane has training in the traditional Akitsukuni carpentry art of joinery, creating complex self-supporting joints with no fasteners or glue. When working with non-monocoque wooden spars or ribs, +1 Structural.

    Tezuka Kenji, ???
    A stoner with occasional flashes of insight. Nobody really knows what he does, but he's probably useful?
    Aerodynamics +2, Chemical +1
    Flashes of Brilliance: Each natural 10 rolled by any team Tezuka is assigned to gives +1 forward to the next research roll.

    Hasegawa Morio, 26
    A hopeless nerd with a photography habit, mostly on account of developing his own film, Hasegawa seems to do nothing but work and stack card houses, but somehow has an incredible attractive boyfriend. Speaks Gallian.
    Chemical +2, Ballistic +1
    Silent Workhorse: Hasegawa can work on two different projects at once for no cost to Office Stress, providing they use different stats.

    Kawamura Yosai, 25.
    Serially successful womanizer and incredibly attractive, Kawamura doesn't seem to have much of a personality outside of seducing women. Well, except for that time he seduced Asuka, which nobody talks about. Speaks Dyske.
    Structural +2, Electrical +1, Social +1
    Easily Distracted: If Kawamura is working on the same team as a female or non-binary employee, the team is at -1d10.

    Koide Hatsu, 24.
    One of the few female graduates of an Akitsukuni engineering school, Koide is brilliant and incredibly driven, but her first job at Akibara was both humiliating and exposed her to an abusive coworker. Her father is a rich businessman with factories in Joseon, and she's engaged to Ken from Castles of Steel. Speaks Joseon.
    Mechanical +2, Structural +1
    No Sleep: If you let her, Koide will work herself to death. She can work a second project for no Office Stress, but all her stats will be reduced to 1 for the routine.

    Kobayashi Ayao, ???
    Disowned heiress of the Kobayashi family, all Kobayashi wanted was a career and to be a modern woman. For her trouble, a cousin threw acid on her, scarring her face, neck, much of her torso, and her left arm. Despite appearing serene and above it all, she's actually an avowed communist activist and baseball player.
    Aerodynamics +2, Social +2

    Adachi Ren, 24
    Adachi learned chemistry from her father, one of the most famous chemical engineers in the country, rather than through formal schooling. She's married, has a kid, and takes spirituality very seriously. Yes, you did the math right, she had Yuki when she was 17. It's 1912, folks.
    Chemical +2, Electrical +1
    Young Mother: Adachi will cause double Office Stress if she has to work multiple tasks.

    Uyeno Sei, Ballistics Engineer, 31.
    The oldest member of the crew, this is Uyeno's second career. Her first was as an officer in the Imperial Navy with specialized technical training: her very promising career was cut short by her transition. Her work in a naval arsenal on machine-guns landed her the job here. Briefly dated Satomi (the age range is a bit creepy but again, 1912), she's missing a piece of her ear and is deaf on that side, from an exploding cannon. Recently returned from Varnmark from experimental surgery, she's known for her skill navigating gendered bureaucracy.
    Ballistic +3

    Mi Kyung-Jae, 23
    A recent graduate of the Imperial College of Heijo, Mi is from the recently annexed territory of Joseon. For those keeping track at home, that means he's a Korean national living in Imperial Japan in 1912. We haven't seen much of his personality because he's rightfully terrified of everything around him. He has a specialty in endurance engine design and modification. Speaks Joseon.
    Mechanical +1, Chemical +1
    Endurance Engines: Mi has an excellent understanding of metallurgy and tolerances. Any engine he works on gains +1 Reliability if a 16+ is rolled.
    Pulsejet Wizard: Mi is now one of the world's leading experts on the pulsejet engine. He can be given his own project to custom-craft pulsejet engines, and he gives +1 to any pulsejet-related project.
    Joseon National: Mi does not have security clearance to work on any top-secret projects.

    Miyoshi Shigeri, 23.
    A non-binary person and admirer of Asuka's work, they were in an support role in the Army before joining the company.
    Structural +1, Mechanical +1, Aerodynamic +1
    Mechanic: Miyoshi has some experience repairing and refurbishing aircraft. They get +1 if assigned on the clean-up phase.


    Other Employees
    - Ohara Satomi, 22, Mr. Ohara's niece and the company test pilot, Ohara is a general lesbian disaster. She's good at flying planes, driving cars, and kissing girls. She's bad at being patient, being respectable, and sticking to literally anyones conceptions of gender roles. Deeply in lesbians with Coralie D'Amboise.
    - Fujkikawa Sotatsu, old, modelmaker. He's an old man and toymaker and we don't see much of him because he locks himself in his workshop a lot. He's friends with Kawamura?

    Assets
    - Engine Test Rig (Allows engine tweaking and optimization.
    - Wind Tunnel (+1 Aerodynamics)
    - Rapid Prototype Lab (+1 Clean Up)
    Expanded Cast

    Akitsukuni Industry
    - Homura Mohoko: Head Engine Designer for Kobayashi. First female engineer in the country. A lot of sex appeal.
    - Okumura: Head of Akibara aircraft design.
    - Yamanaka Hajime: Kobayashi engineer. Young and eager.
    - Igarashi Masazumi: Kobayashi engineer. Reserved and experienced.
    - Admiral Akibara Toru: Imperial Navy Admiral. Maximum nepotism. Maximum douchebag.
    - Lt.Cmnd Akibara Shinzo: The above's son. A hottie but very forward.



    Character Families
    - Matsura(?) Mizuko: Asuka's sister. Was paralyzed in an accident in Asuka's first flight. Lives Elsewhere and is married now. Can't forgive Asuka, even though she's tried.
    - Adachi Motoki: Adachi's husband, an accountant. Legally blind.
    - Adachi Yuki: Adachi's 7 year old daughter and wannabe pilot. Very adorable.
    - Yachi's Brother: Exists.
    - Sakane's Wife: Exists. Drives him a bit crazy, but he loves her.
    - Yachi's Brother's Wife: Exists. Is statistically likely to be pregnant.
    - Lt. Coralie D'Amboise: Gallian pilot in exile. Satomi's girlfriend. 25. Accomplished bisexual duelist. She flew in the war for a single day, and for her troubles got a hole blown in her cheek and had her left arm paralyzed.

    Akisukuni Army & Ex-Army
    - Lt. Torio Tanaka: Yachi's former observer as an enlisted man. Was jumped up to fly Ducks and lost a leg on his first mission. A trained painter, married to Torio Saya.
    - Captain Amari Shiro: A Dragonfly pilot who ended up flying as Yachi's partner. Kind of delightfully twinky. They sorta slept together at one point, which wasn't great. He lost his previous boyfriend in the April Offensive and turned his plane into a shrine. He was shot in the gut and is still recovering.
    - Major Izuhara: Logistics officer, Imperial Army, this bespectled officer stood up to the Caspian Crown Prince and accidentally kicked off the Akitsikuni-Caspian War. The guilt was so much that, after almost a year of running Army procurement, he shot himself in a phone both.
    - Captain Nakai Sekien: Army scout pilot. First person to drop a bomb from an airplane, later head of the Duck Squadrons.
    - Captain Teshima: A Desk pilot that fought with Yachi. Lost an arm in the process, took over for Major Izuhara after his death. Seems cheery despite it all.
    - Captain Nashio: A real piece of shit dude and probably a rapist, he's also a war hero as the second-highest scoring ace on the Akitsukuni side. He was a young shitty kid in way over his head but it's no excuse.
    - Lt. Kinjo: Kind of a dumb lump and Nashio's friend, one of the desk pilots. Dead at 19.
    - Lt. Okazaki: Yachi's friend from before the war and pilot, he died in a spin in his dragonfly. His death probably hit Yachi the hardest.

    Westerners
    - Rose & Antoinette Sears: Pioneers of flight. Sisters. Black in 1910s not!America. Yikes.
    - Timina Guasti: Famous aircraft designer from Otrusia. Likes big planes and green.
    - Prince Protasov Vasilyevich: Crown Prince of Great Caspia. Real dick. You gotta hand it to him though, a decent flier.
    - Count von Zeppelin: Invented rigid airships. Runs a successful airline business. Damned impressive.
    - Bennhold: Aircraft Engineer. Experimenting with metal aircraft.
    - Aileen Middlemiss: Albian reporter for the Artimis Times. Well meaning and oblivious.
    Available Tech
    • Materials: Wood, Duralumin, Molded Wood, Wood & Silk Composite, etc
    • All engine mounts
    • All wing types
    • Basic reinforcement
    • Wing warping and ailerons
    • Basic water radiators
    • Flying Wings
    • Semi-Monocoque design (requires at least half the slots have frame pieces)
    • Valved pulsejets
    • Basic weapon mounts and turrets
    Tech not Yet Developed
    • Custom engines
    • Monocoque construction
    • Cantilever Wings and associated tech
    • V and T tails
    • Tailless designs
    • Aluminum and titanium
    • Cellulose surfacing
    • Any kind of radar
    • Weapon accessability mods
    • Interruptor gear
    • Geared propellers
    • And Maybe Other Stuff
    Akitsukuni
    Island Nation

    Government
    Constitutional Monarchy
    - The democratic portions of the government are dubiously legitimate.
    - The head of state is the Empress of Akitsukuni. She gives her blessing to newly formed governments.
    - The Navy and a small number of families have undue influence on politics.

    Economy
    Developing Mixed Market
    - Most industry is controlled by a small number of wealthy, family-owned companies.
    - The state provides most contracts to industry. Consumer good market is anemic.
    - Exports are few, mostly cultural.
    - Imports are raw minerals, food, oil, and expertise.
    - Currently suffering an economic crash after the last war.

    Politics
    The Diet is currently ruled by a Constitutional Nationalist government. It has a system of nonlocal proportional representation, with representatives appointed by the party in accordance to their share of the vote.
    - Constitutional Nationalists: 50%
    - Purity Club: 9%
    - New Independents: 26%
    - Fairness Association: 11%
    - United Communist League: 2%
    - Monarchists: 1%
    - Assorted Fringe Parties: 5%

    Demographics
    Akitsukuni is mostly very ethnically homogeneous. Around 5% of the population are various minorities, most from nearby countries. Roughly .1% are westerners here for business or in advisory positions.
    - Population: 55 Million
    - Religion: Mostly Kodo. Roughly 2% of the population follows western religions.
    - Wealth: Most wealth is concentrated in the top 5% of the country. Nearly 20% of the population lives in conditions indistinguishable from peasantry.
    - Urbanization: Heavily urbanized for a small economy: 35% and rapidly growing.

    Military
    At Peace
    - Imperial Akitsukuni Navy (IAN): The 6th largest in the world, and the most experienced.
    - Imperial Akitsukuni Army (IAA): 150,000 highly experienced soldiers, and a considerable reserve.

    Aspects
    - Poor Resources: Aluminum costs +1.
    - Damn Akitsukuni Engines!: Engines have -1 Reliability.



    The Main Character Of This Quest Is Nonbinary And Uses They/Them Pronouns.

    I Am Putting This Here Because The Next Person To Misgender Them Is Getting Yeeted Into The Trash

    Also here's the Gayaverse TV Tropes page, because why not.​
     
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  • Informational
    • I think there was a thing for light CAS but that might've been swept up in procurement and the US' whole shebang they have going on there.
     
    someplaneguy said:
    My (completely amateur) understanding of the issues with the A-10 is that due to it being designed as CAS for WW3 40 years ago it sits in an awkward position of either being expensive overkill against people without top of the line military equipment or no longer capable of doing the job it was designed for against people with top of the line military equipment. As an example as far as I understand the gun can no longer take out a current gen tank because of armour improvements but everything else can be taken out with a smaller gun. It's still the best CAS option available, especially because live pilots are way better at not hitting their own troops. I think that if a replacement was being designed today it could either be significantly cheaper by reducing some of the expensive overkill (like in the light attack proposal) and stay in the role the A-10 is currently performing except with more planes available or significantly more expensive and perform the role that the A-10 was originally designed for. Either option would be an improvement considering the A-10 fleet has got to be hitting their lifetime flight hours and fatigue and cracking are going to be a big issue soon if they aren't already.
    Click to expand...
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    Not really, the issue isn't that the plane is a old, obscelecent, flying toaster. The problem isn't the airframe. It's not the avionics even if the F-35's avionics make it much more suitable. It's the name. One exact specific part of the name.

    It isn't the numerical designation. It's a nice, perfectly lovely round number.

    It isn't Warthog.

    It isn't thunderbolt.

    It's the A.

    One letter. The "A" means "Attacker". As in "attack the enemy on the ground who is killing our boys and bring them home." I could argue that the A part of F/A-18 is also the reason why the navy is so good at CAS. It reminds you of what you are. It reminds your commander of the mission you train for. It's exactly why the Air Force wants to get rid of it.

    Frankly, the pilots themselves are also kinda sick of the USAF's shenanigans. It's part of why we're running out of pilots.
     
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    someplaneguy said:
    My (completely amateur) understanding of the issues with the A-10 is that due to it being designed as CAS for WW3 40 years ago it sits in an awkward position of either being expensive overkill against people without top of the line military equipment or no longer capable of doing the job it was designed for against people with top of the line military equipment. As an example as far as I understand the gun can no longer take out a current gen tank because of armour improvements but everything else can be taken out with a smaller gun. It's still the best CAS option available, especially because live pilots are way better at not hitting their own troops. I think that if a replacement was being designed today it could either be significantly cheaper by reducing some of the expensive overkill (like in the light attack proposal) and stay in the role the A-10 is currently performing except with more planes available or significantly more expensive and perform the role that the A-10 was originally designed for. Either option would be an improvement considering the A-10 fleet has got to be hitting their lifetime flight hours and fatigue and cracking are going to be a big issue soon if they aren't already.
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    That's more or less it, except that the gun could never catastrophically kill a modern main battle tank even when it was being designed. It'll still cause a hell of a mess of one but on the other hand if you're in 30mm range of an enemy main battle tank then you're probably soon to be in 30mm range of an enemy SPAAG and they can kill you outright. It's probably impossible to design an aircraft to fulfill the exact role the A-10 was designed for, which is close-in interdiction of opposing armoured spearheads in West Germany, but that's okay because the role is dumb and you can do it way better with MLRS or attack helicopters.

    Ramble said:
    It's the A.

    One letter. The "A" means "Attacker". As in "attack the enemy on the ground who is killing our boys and bring them home." I could argue that the A part of F/A-18 is also the reason why the navy is so good at CAS. It reminds you of what you are. It reminds your commander of the mission you train for. It's exactly why the Air Force wants to get rid of it.

    Frankly, the pilots themselves are also kinda sick of the USAF's shenanigans. It's part of why we're running out of pilots.
    Click to expand...
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    Okay, cool, why did they procure it then? If they loathe it conceptually so much why did they decide that after losing 200 Skyraiders in Vietnam they needed a direct replacement for it that was better? They've been trying to retire it for years because it's costing them money and it's horrible and Congress won't let them because the sound of the gun makes their peepees go big.

    Of course, the American way of fucking up having an independent air force is not the only available way. The RAF has a long and storied history of totally screwing over the Fleet Air Arm, from absorbing them and then giving them the most horrible scraps of aircraft available, to constantly lobbying against the construction of new carriers including the devisement of an infamous map that moved islands and in some cases continents around to show that all possible conflict areas could be covered by the RAF flying from friendly bases and therefore carriers were unnecessary, to conducting the Black Buck raids just so that the FAA didn't make the first successful strike on the Falklands. I see this process as more likely for Akitsukuni given the similar strategic position to Britain and the already, uh, parlous interservice relationship.
     
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    10-5: Imperial Audience
  • Threadmarks
    • You were worried, at first, though intellectually you knew you shouldn't be. You knew it had a longer roll to takeoff than your other planes, of course it would, it was heavy and it had a lot of resting friction to overcome, but you were so used to planes leaping into the air after a short roll that when it didn't happen you could feel yourself start to panic.

    Then the wheels lifted, and the plane started climbing. For the next twenty minutes, the plane circled the airfield and you stood with a stopwatch, recording top speeds and turning times. Satomi had her own checklist to go through, and in later tests she'd push the edge of its stability and see what it'd take to induce a stall, but everything seemed to be working.

    You spared a few moments, after the liner thundered overhead at just two hundred meters, to point your binoculars back at the Empress's car, just in time to see her lower the parasol out of the way with her hand to watch it progress. She was smiling.

    You snapped the binoculars back up, nervous sweat on your brow.

    Eventually, the plane came down for a smooth landing, touching down effortlessly and rolling quite a ways before stopping. That might be be problematic: you might have to explore brakes or something. Still, the numbers were incredible, better than anything you'd ever seen. The people around seemed incredibly enthused too. Mr. Ohara was talking excitedly with a gaggle of Army officers and investors, looking overjoyed. Yuki was babbling to her mother how much she wanted to fly one when she was older, how she'd take everyone on a vacation to exotic locales.

    You pulled your binoculars away and wiped a few tears from your eyes. There was more to you than weapons after all.

    ---

    You were going over the numbers with your team when you hear your name from an unfamiliar voice, and you turned around to see a man in an Imperial Guard uniform, gesturing.

    "Are you Matsura Asuka?" He asked. You nodded desperately, words escaping you a moment.

    "Yes. I am."

    "Could you come with me, please?"

    Before your brain could really register the request, your legs started moving. You shuffled behind him across the airfield, past Sakane and the mechanics going over the liner to check for damage, towards...

    Towards the car. It seemed surreal. Dreamlike. The Imperial Guard had cleared the crowd back at least fifty meters with bayonets drawn, and there was a forest of banners surrounding the car now, attendants scurrying everywhere. The guardsman slowed their step a moment to line up beside you, leaning to whisper quickly.

    "Okay, formality. When we tell you to stop, you stop and you get on your knees. You bow, and you hold it unless she says otherwise. She might not say otherwise. Do not move from where you're stopped. Don't get closer to her under any circumstances. Address her as 'Your Imperial Majesty'. Don't look at her unless she says you can, keep your eyes low."

    Oops, already violated that last one. You didn't know what the punishment was but it was probably really really bad. You cast your eyes down quickly, your mouth dry, equal parts excited and terrified.

    "Okay. Anything else?" You asked.

    "A ton, but we don't have time. Do your best!"

    He stopped you with a hand maybe five meters from the grill of the car and nodded, and you fell to your knees and put your face in the dirt as fast as you possibly could. You were simultaneously glad and horrified that you were wearing cheap work clothes today, in case you needed to climb around in the innards of the liner. Why was this happening to you????

    You felt like you spent an eternity with your face in the grass. There was a little bug crawling towards your nose and it was extremely gross but you didn't want to move an inch. You were worried you were breathing too loud.

    You could hear whispered conversation happening around you, and then a feminine voice. Your heart skipped a beat thinking it was the Empress herself, before you realized that it was one of her handmaids.

    "Her Imperial Majesty asks if you are the one who designed the craft we just witnessed." The voice said.

    It took you a few tries to find your voice.

    "Y-Yes, Your Imperial Majesty."

    "Speak louder." She said.

    "Yes, Your Imperial Majesty."

    "Her Imperial Majesty wishes to inform you that she is very impressed with your machine, and has a few questions."

    "... I will try to answer any of Her Imperial Majesty's questions to the best of my limited abilities. Sorry."

    There was something, at the edge of your hearing, that sounded like a short, subdued laugh. Another voice cut in.

    "Is there somebody else we should be talking to about the machine, then?" The voice said. You heard the slightly rustle in the people around you, maybe murmurs.

    "No, Your Imperial Majesty." You said, just to be safe. Oh spirits, the little beetle was touching your forehead. You felt so lightheaded. A little dizzy.

    "We have been informed this machine can take passengers as far as the colonies, or up and down the islands in a few hours. Is this so?"

    "I-n theory, Your Imperial Majesty." You said. "We haven't actually done it yet. We'll be testing those capabilities this week, it will be a long proc-"

    You realized you were starting to ramble, and you stopped dead. You felt like you'd been here for a year.

    "Fascinating. That follows. When it is finished testing, how safe would you say it would be?"

    "Nothing about aviation is terribly safe, Your Imperial Majesty, but I believe it is a very safe and stable model by those standards." You said.

    There was a short pause.

    "Would you say it, or, any aircraft, was safe enough for, say, the Imperial Family?"

    ===

    Write in Asuka's ensuing babble. Answers that aren't "No" will result in a social check, and possible rewards and/or looming consequences.​
     
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  • Threadmarks
    • [X]"No airplane is ever truly safe, Your Imperial Majesty, just as no automobile, train, or boat is ever truly safe. That said, if our future tests turn out fine and if a competent pilot is chosen and if no one sabotages the aircraft....then yes, I would say this aircraft is safe for the Imperial Family."
     
    What would 'money isn't an issue' security plan look like? Regular and skilled maintenance is a must of course, stress that a lack of it would be a killer. Sourcing some more reliable engines from overseas should also help I imagine, and there might be other fiddly or expensive tricks and modifications that usually wouldn't be worth the trouble. Sending a quality inspector to our engine manufacturer, for example.

    That it's amphibious with the right landing gear should help too.

    What I'd like to say is something along the lines of it being safe enough that we'd see no issues with Asuka themselves or any of their loved ones using it, and maybe a primer of whatever use statistics exist at the time, and then let them come to the decision themselves.
     
    midnight77 said:
    [X]"No airplane is ever truly safe, Your Imperial Majesty, just as no automobile, train, or boat is ever truly safe. That said, if our future tests turn out fine and if a competent pilot is chosen and if no one sabotages the aircraft....then yes, I would say this aircraft is safe for the Imperial Family."
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    I strongly recommend to remove the sabotage part

    [x]"No airplane is ever truly safe, Your Imperial Majesty, just as no automobile, train, or boat is ever truly safe. That said, if our future tests turn out fine and if a competent pilot is chosen ....then yes, I would say this aircraft is safe for the Imperial Family.

    Here is my revision
     
    [X] "I can't say anything with one hundred percent certainty, Your Imperial Majesty. I would say that, if our future tests turn out fine and if a competent pilot and copilot are chosen and if the plane is well maintained between flights... then yes, I would say that this aircraft is as safe for the Imperial Family."

    My version of the above, emphasizing that a lack of maintenance can make aircraft unsafe.
     
    open_sketchbook said:
    You were worried, at first, though intellectually you knew you shouldn't be. You knew it had a longer roll to takeoff than your other planes, of course it would, it was heavy and it had a lot of resting friction to overcome, but you were so used to planes leaping into the air after a short roll that when it didn't happen you could feel yourself start to panic.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    Yeah, that'll have to be tinkered with.
    open_sketchbook said:
    You spared a few moments, after the liner thundered overhead at just two hundred meters, to point your binoculars back at the Empress's car, just in time to see her lower the parasol out of the way with her hand to watch it progress. She was smiling.

    You snapped the binoculars back up, nervous sweat on your brow.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    Success breeds more responsibility, no good deed goes unpunished.
    open_sketchbook said:
    Eventually, the plane came down for a smooth landing, touching down effortlessly and rolling quite a ways before stopping. That might be be problematic: you might have to explore brakes or something.
    Click to expand...
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    Yeah, that'll be necessary.
    open_sketchbook said:
    You pulled your binoculars away and wiped a few tears from your eyes. There was more to you than weapons after all.
    Click to expand...
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    ... No, I'm not going to ruin this moment.
    open_sketchbook said:
    You were going over the numbers with your team when you hear your name from an unfamiliar voice, and you turned around to see a man in an Imperial Guard uniform, gesturing.

    "Are you Matsura Asuka?" He asked. You nodded desperately, words escaping you a moment.

    "Yes. I am."

    "Could you come with me, please?"
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    IT BEGINS!
    open_sketchbook said:
    The guardsman slowed their step a moment to line up beside you, leaning to whisper quickly.

    "Okay, formality. When we tell you to stop, you stop and you get on your knees. You bow, and you hold it unless she says otherwise. She might not say otherwise. Do not move from where you're stopped. Don't get closer to her under any circumstances. Address her as 'Your Imperial Majesty'. Don't look at her unless she says you can, keep your eyes low."
    Click to expand...
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    Eh. Sounds about right, but at least they're human about it.
    open_sketchbook said:
    Oops, already violated that last one. You didn't know what the punishment was but it was probably really really bad. You cast your eyes down quickly, your mouth dry, equal parts excited and terrified.

    "Okay. Anything else?" You asked.

    "A ton, but we don't have time. Do your best!"
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    See above.
    open_sketchbook said:
    "We have been informed this machine can take passengers as far as the colonies, or up and down the islands in a few hours. Is this so?"

    "I-n theory, Your Imperial Majesty." You said. "We haven't actually done it yet. We'll be testing those capabilities this week, it will be a long proc-"

    You realized you were starting to ramble, and you stopped dead. You felt like you'd been here for a year.

    "Fascinating. That follows. When it is finished testing, how safe would you say it would be?"
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES!
    open_sketchbook said:
    "Nothing about aviation is terribly safe, Your Imperial Majesty, but I believe it is a very safe and stable model by those standards." You said.

    There was a short pause.

    "Would you say it, or, any aircraft, was safe enough for, say, the Imperial Family?"
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    LET'S GOOOOOOOO!

    [X]"No airplane is ever truly safe, Your Imperial Majesty, just as no automobile, train, or boat is ever truly safe.
    -[X]But if properly designed, given the best pilots, and the right maintenance facilities, the risk is near zero.
    -[X]The liner is a start, but for the extra safety and regality due the Imperial Household there are several modifications I would be obligated to make. No expense should be spared for her throne upon the heavens.
    ​

    Make the pitch now! Strike while we have her personal attention.
     
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    timy said:
    I strongly recommend to remove the sabotage part

    [x]"No airplane is ever truly safe, Your Imperial Majesty, just as no automobile, train, or boat is ever truly safe. That said, if our future tests turn out fine and if a competent pilot is chosen ....then yes, I would say this aircraft is safe for the Imperial Family.

    Here is my revision
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    Yeah not to interfere here but there was supposedly an assassination plot involving the Empress like a few weeks ago so that's probably a bit of a sore subject.

    Also, this is almost certainly her first public appearance since then.
     
    open_sketchbook said:
    Yeah not to interfere here but there was supposedly an assassination plot involving the Empress like a few weeks ago so that's probably a bit of a sore subject.

    Also, this is almost certainly her first public appearance since then.
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    *thinks to current Air Force One specs*
    So would be getting into detail about how it can keep her up in the air where it's safe be a good idea?
     
    Always Late said:
    *thinks to current Air Force One specs*
    So would be getting into detail about how it can keep her up in the air where it's safe be a good idea?
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    Again, it probably isn't a good idea to linger on the subject while Imperial Guardsmen with bayonets are nearby. They're a mite touchy about anything that could possibly in any universe be conceived of as a threat.
     
    [X]"No airplane is ever truly safe, Your Imperial Majesty, just as no automobile, train, or boat is ever truly safe.
    -[X]But if given the best pilots, and the right maintenance facilities, the risk is near zero.
    -[X]The liner is a start, but for the extra safety and regality due the Imperial Household there are several modifications I would be obligated to make. No expense should be spared for her throne upon the heavens.
     
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    open_sketchbook said:
    Again, it probably isn't a good idea to linger on the subject while Imperial Guardsmen with bayonets are nearby. They're a mite touchy about anything that could possibly in any universe be conceived of as a threat.
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    ... Ah hell, I really hope my vote doesn't get taken as 'so you'd show us a shitty product then, and try to put out empress upon it'. I might have been better off going with my initial instinct of just saying it's safe, period, but these things would make it 100% safe.
     
    Always Late said:
    ... Ah hell, I really hope my vote doesn't get taken as 'so you'd show us a shitty product then, and try to put out empress upon it'. I might have been better off going with my initial instinct of just saying it's safe, period, but these things would make it 100% safe.
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    Tacked an "extra" into my version to imply that these things would make it safer, but it's already good enough.
     
    [X]"No airplane is ever truly safe, Your Imperial Majesty, just as no automobile, train, or boat is ever truly safe. But this is by far the safest plane ever designed, even so it would be prudent to wait at least a few months while it proves itself in service to make sure there are no unexpected issues.
     
    [X]"No airplane is ever truly safe, Your Imperial Majesty, just as no automobile, train, or boat is ever truly safe.
    -[X]But if it where given the best pilots, and the proper care, the risk is close to zero.
    -[X]That being said, there are some more things which I can add in order to truly make it the safest plane to ever fly and befit the Imperial Household. No expense should be spared for her Imperial Majesty's throne upon the heavens.

    I just gonna throw my hat into the ring while I'm at it.
     
    Always Late said:
    *thinks to current Air Force One specs*
    So would be getting into detail about how it can keep her up in the air where it's safe be a good idea?
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    Problem is, well, up in the sky.....

    Ever see that Harrison Ford flick, Air Force One? Yeah, that's a risk to consider. Granted, there's nothing WE can do about that, so.....


    [X]"No airplane is ever truly safe, Your Imperial Majesty, just as no automobile, train, or boat is ever truly safe.
    -[X]But if properly designed, given the best pilots, and the right maintenance facilities, the risk is near zero.
    -[X]The liner is a start, but for the safety and regality due the Imperial Household there are several modifications I would be obligated to make. No expense should be spared for her throne upon the heavens.

    Hmm, aftermarket mods.....

    Well, we could spring for luxurious accommodations, at the risk of weight and or lessened passenger room.

    Think we can rig up a onboard engine fire suppression system? Just a basic fire extinguisher on hand with a cable leading to it might work.
     
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