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] Hand them off to Somebody: This wasn't your problem. Hand them over to a petty officer and tell him to put them somewhere. 50/50 chance they ended up there or in the water, but either way it would get dealt with. This is what is expected of you.
 
[X] Put them in a store room and post a guard: Rules are rules. Have them put under a proper watch in a room that doesn't contain anything vital, and keep them there until you can dump them at port. The courts can figure it out. This will make you look naive and soft.
-[X] "My fellow sailors, do you want to give these bastards an easy way out? For being tied up and thrown overboard is the best fate they can hope for - and I trust in imagination and stubborness of our interrogators in their pursuit of truth, regardless of what these idiots actually know."
 
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[X] Hand them off to Somebody: This wasn't your problem. Hand them over to a petty officer and tell him to put them somewhere. 50/50 chance they ended up there or in the water, but either way it would get dealt with. This is what is expected of you.

Sounds like a whole lot of Not Our Job.
 
[X] Hand them off to Somebody: This wasn't your problem. Hand them over to a petty officer and tell him to put them somewhere. 50/50 chance they ended up there or in the water, but either way it would get dealt with. This is what is expected of you.
 
[X] Hand them off to Somebody: This wasn't your problem. Hand them over to a petty officer and tell him to put them somewhere. 50/50 chance they ended up there or in the water, but either way it would get dealt with. This is what is expected of you.
 
[X] Shove Them Into the Mess: The bulk of the Maikaze's crew were currently recuperating there. If you wanted a reputation as a mean motherfucker who puts the men over the rules, this was a good start.
-[X]Before you leave them to the crew, ask if they know anything, if they know something have them locked up. If they don't know anything, tell everyone that the three claim to have forgotten and that the crew have permission to do whatever it takes to make them remember.
 
[X] Shove Them Into the Mess: The bulk of the Maikaze's crew were currently recuperating there. If you wanted a reputation as a mean motherfucker who puts the men over the rules, this was a good start.
 
[X] Shove Them Into the Mess: The bulk of the Maikaze's crew were currently recuperating there. If you wanted a reputation as a mean motherfucker who puts the men over the rules, this was a good start.
 
[X] Hand them off to Somebody: This wasn't your problem. Hand them over to a petty officer and tell him to put them somewhere. 50/50 chance they ended up there or in the water, but either way it would get dealt with. This is what is expected of you.
 
[X] Hand them off to Somebody: This wasn't your problem. Hand them over to a petty officer and tell him to put them somewhere. 50/50 chance they ended up there or in the water, but either way it would get dealt with. This is what is expected of you.
 
[X] Hand them off to Somebody: This wasn't your problem. Hand them over to a petty officer and tell him to put them somewhere. 50/50 chance they ended up there or in the water, but either way it would get dealt with. This is what is expected of you.
 
[X] Hand them off to Somebody: This wasn't your problem. Hand them over to a petty officer and tell him to put them somewhere. 50/50 chance they ended up there or in the water, but either way it would get dealt with. This is what is expected of you.

Someone roll 1d6. 1-3 they end up in the brig. 4-6 is "prisoners? what prisoners?"
 
1-11: Back to port
  • Threadmarks
    • You didn't like this either way. You didn't want to be responsible for these… vermin. You couldn't bring yourself to think of them as someone like the men under your command or the men they killed with their attack. They were cowards, fighting the way they did! You had an inner battle, fighting with yourself over what to actually do with them. And in the end, you took the easy way out: you gave them to someone else to deal with. Looking around, you spotted one of the petty officers from your section and beckoned them over.

    "Petty Officer Inaba! Collect some men, draw sidearms from the armory, and place these prisoners under guard until we get to Nokor to hand them over to the Tokkeitai for interrogation and processing. Report to me when you're done, ah. Handling them." You leave the orders as vague as you can manage. He blinks, then gives a sharp salute before turning to his section and giving out rapid fire orders to his men. In almost no time at all, your men have marched the prisoners off below decks, encouraging them with shouted orders and kicks. The Tokkeitai are the Naval Special Police Corps who perform shore patrol duties as well as policing naval installations and dealing with discipline and personnel. They have a reputation for cold efficiency, much like their Army counterparts the Kenpeitai.

    Within about twenty minutes, your petty officer reported back and salutes.

    "The prisoners have been handled, ma'am."

    "...When you say handled….?" You felt a little reluctant to ask, but something compels you to do so.

    "They've been placed in one of the store rooms and locked in, since the brig is currently being used for additional hospital space, ma'am. I've written up a duty roster for guards and submit to to you through the Chief." You don't know whether to feel relief or annoyance that the prisoners are still alive, technically through no fault of your own.

    "Thank you, petty officer. You're dismissed." That done you finally stumble down into your office where you pour yourself a glass of something strong and collapse onto your futon, grateful that you, at last, can sleep.

    Gain +2 stress for the last couple days of continuous operation and heavy moral decision making. ​

    Mercifully, the slow trip into Nokor was free of complications. Your prisoners actually survived the trip, though they smell rather foul by the time you pulled into port. Apparently guarding them and feeding them was about all your sailors bothered to do.

    Nokor was a sprawling, humid town at one end of the Kraham River delta (so named for the rich red color of its clay) and stepping out onto the deck as the wounded Maikaze is eased up the dock felt like getting hit in the face with a wet towel. The city seemed huge, bigger than any of the ones at home. At the very least it was more spread out. The most impressive part of it, though, was the huge and imposing ancient temple that rose above the city further inland. It was positively massive and it gave the city its name (though the ruin was usually called the Nokor to differentiate it from the city). It was some sort of ancient temple-fortress that once dominated the area around the river delta in the dusty years of the past. From what you heard it had been ruled by warrior-priestesses who practiced human sacrifice! But that might just be a story they told tourists.

    You looked out across low houses and a crowded harbor where the imposing bulk of the Southern Fleet lays at anchor. There were pair of battleships bristling with turrets and barbettes and guns of every description. And then of course there were the lean light cruisers and the bulky armored cruisers. There were even the strange shapes of a squadron of submarines lined up against one pier. They seemed like strange little boats and privately you thought that such things couldn't catch on. The men who served on them were a fiercely proud bunch and saying so around them was a good way to start a fight, though. All around the harbor merchant shipping plied back and forth with small craft darting between the larger ships carrying people and goods across the wide bay.

    You honestly weren't sure if you wanted to stay on board or get a chance to stretch your legs. Either way, you stood by and watched as your prisoners were hauled away to their fate by men in Tokkeitai uniforms and then your wounded were off-loaded to be transported to the local military hospital. Eventually, you decided to head below and find Hideaki in the wardroom. The two of you quickly started up a game of Go that you were pretty sure you were winning until you're interrupted by a voice from the doorway.

    "Hey, lady ensign!" Oh, it's the XO, Lieutenant Commander Narita. You do have a name! But the look on his face is so grave that you wonder if someone died.

    "Bad news, I'm afraid. We have to find some Army lieutenant that needs a lift home. You drew the short straw, so you're the one who gets the duty." He actually sounded sorry he had to give you this order. Even lady ensigns were higher up in the world than Army mud-sloggers. Though you privately doubted that this was some sort of random selection.

    "Sir, if I can ask, why do I have to babysit the Army?" Truly a fate worse than death.

    "I don't like it any more than you do, ensign. You did a good job with the Maikaze situation. In fact, I hear the captain might even mention you favorably in his report! So, honestly, I wouldn't give you this duty if I had any other choice. Hell, I'd send an enlisted man, but since he's an officer," you could practically hear the unspoken 'technically' in his voice. "We need to send an officer to fetch him. Everyone else has other duties that need attending to."

    "I'll do my duty then, sir." You saluted and wondered what Spirit you had offended to get this kind of awfulness.

    "Though." He leaned in a little closer, conspiratorially. "We're not in a huge rush, so, you know, take your time. It's a big city, Ensign. Could take all night to find him."

    "Right you are, sir." The XO nods one last time and then turns to depart. You sigh and looks back to Hideaki.

    "Bad luck, Arisukawa. We'll have to finish our game another time!" Hideaki grimaced sympathetically.

    "Yes, we will. I'm going to go get my sword before I head off. You never know with the Army," you quipped.

    "Ha! Good luck and good hunting!" With that cheery exchange, you headed off to retrieve your sword and then disembark from the ship. You had your orders, after all.

    Write down the order you search below, and if you want to indulge yourself. You currently have 6 stress.

    [ ] Search the Opium Dens: Army trash are always getting high and wasting the day away. You'd wager that he's comatose on the floor of some filthy hovel.
    -[ ] And maybe you could finally try some… (-3 Stress, possible addiction)​
    [ ] Search the Gambling Halls: The Army was poor because none of them had any sense. It would be just like one of their Lieutenants to gamble away his money in some pit of vice.
    -[ ] Though it has been a while.. You miss your games from the academy! (-2 Stress, possible loss of money)​
    [ ] Search the Brothels: Army dogs have no dignity. If they're anywhere, it's almost certainly in the bed of some two-yen whore. Or rentboy.
    -[ ] And, you know, it's been a long couple weeks on the tender. Maybe some companionship wouldn't hurt. (-2 Stress, possible terrible time)​
    [ ] Search the Vendors: This city is full of desperate people pulling pieces of their heritage out of the walls and selling it to tourist for next to nothing. If you were a shameless Army pig, you'd definitely be haggling with some merchant over a priceless cultural artifact that belongs in a museum.
    -[ ] It would be nice to get something for the office, though… (-1 Stress, souvenir get)​
     
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  • Threadmarks
    • [X] Plan Take Your Time
    -[X] Search the Brothels: Army dogs have no dignity. If they're anywhere, it's almost certainly in the bed of some two-yen whore. Or rentboy.
    --[X] And, you know, it's been a long couple weeks on the tender. Maybe some companionship wouldn't hurt. (-2 Stress, possible terrible time)
    -[X] Search the Vendors: This city is full of desperate people pulling pieces of their heritage out of the walls and selling it to tourist for next to nothing. If you were a shameless Army pig, you'd definitely be haggling with some merchant over a priceless cultural artifact that belongs in a museum.
    --[X] It would be nice to get something for the office, though… (-1 Stress, souvenir get)
    -[X] Search the Gambling Halls: The Army was poor because none of them had any sense. It would be just like one of their Lieutenants to gamble away his money in some pit of vice.
    -[X] Search the Opium Dens: Army trash are always getting high and wasting the day away. You'd wager that he's comatose on the floor of some filthy hovel.
     
    Losing money seems kind of an abstract penalty in this quest. I'm not sure how much we have to lose and I'm not sure how much use it is on a naval ship.
     
    [X] Plan Take Your Time
     
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