You took a moment to look back up at the ship, there were more men with rifles and cartridge belts starting to line the rails and you could see a few of them hauling a type 11 towards one of the mounts on the railing. This wasn't going to end well and you needed to avoid anyone getting hurt. If your idiot captain machine-gunned a crowd of local workers that mean a lot of dead people and a lot of trouble for the Northern Fleet, who would want to know who the hell was responsible for scaring off all their cheap local help. The Captain would then blame you, and your career would be as dead as everyone they shot.
You turned back to the foreman, who was looking at you with an expectant glare.
"You, all of you, need to go!" You said, waving your arms away from the ship. "If you don't go--the captain will shoot you." You pointed back towards the ship and the men with the machine gun and his eyes got very big very quickly. He opened his mouth, probably about to argue and you shook your head.
"Go! I don't want anyone to get shot, you idiot!" You said in your best parade ground voice. "You understand?" You added machine gun noises with your mouth just for emphasis. He turned back towards the crowd and lifted his bullhorn again. He yelled something in his own language a few times, probably to get attention, then spoke again in a hurried tone, gesturing towards the ship, then at you, then back at the ship. There was a low murmur of discontent from the group of workers on the dock that threatened to spill into anger, but he yelled at them again in sharp tones and the crowd began to disperse, many of the workers shaking their fists and making taunting gestures towards the sailors who still lined the rails. You stood at the base of the gangway, waiting to make sure that they all cleared out without incident, then hurried back up to the deck.
"What the hell happened, Ensign?" A lieutenant asked, looking confused. Nearby, some sailors were packing up the Type 11. You swear they look disappointed.
"I told them they had to work or they'd get shot," you said calmly. "I guess they didn't need the money."
"Shame," he said. "We'll have to find new workers now. That'll be a headache." Yeah, my headache, is what you stopped yourself from saying. First though, you had letters to finish. You calmly went back to your quarters and finished up your replies, sadly informing Aiko that you had been sent to a new vessel and were no longer shipmates with Hideaki, though you still considered him (and her) your friends. Then, and only then, did you actually look at finding some new laborers. Oddly, despite your best efforts over the next couple of days it seemed like no one wanted to work for the Hachinosu. Almost like someone had warned them that they'd get stiffed.
Your report to the captain, of course, blamed the shiftless local workers. It seemed like nobody wanted to work for a fair rate! Whatever could be done??? The answer of course was that his precious display sailors with their pristine uniforms would have to do the work and actually get dirty. That was unfortunate. The crew, used to at least being able to laze around when the local help was around to do their work, grumbled but over the next days you got the impression that the work was actually good for the crew. It meant that they did something together that had tangible results. It was something that helped build solidarity and comradeship between sailors as they worked with the men in their sections, instead of just hanging about looking clean and important with their buddies.
Thankfully, the time in port didn't last long. Soon you were back at sea, swinging down the coast and then westward and back up the peninsula of Joseon to stretch the ship's sea legs and do some drills that involved the launching and recovery of the boats. The results… weren't great. Despite the tight discipline imposed by your cousin, the crew wasn't well motivated or practiced and you felt like things could be done faster. He, of course, was just happy to see his little boats falling into formation next to the tender. Things seemed to be normal--as normal as they got on board this hellship, anyway.
There were a few incidents of minor note over the next month, mostly to do with chasing down smugglers who thought they could make the run between the Cathay coast and Joseon without paying taxes to the Akitsukuni government. The little boats proved startlingly effective at that, catching small ships and boarding them in one go. One such ship was carrying wine, and you were pretty sure a healthy amount ended up in the Captain's stores before the ship was handed off at port.
For you, there wasn't much action, though. The most excitement you had was a day when a torpedo dropped out of a rack due to being improperly stowed, breaking legs of two sailors. All that really meant was, for the rest of the trip back to port, you had somebody to talk to in your office. Seamen Yoshio and Shoraku were best friends and fairly talkative, so it was nice background chatter as you continued writing your reports.
You were heading in towards the shore for a raiding drills; one of the jobs of this ship was to park near to enemy harbours and unleash the boats, who could quickly weave past defenses, fire some torpedoes at close range, and escape again. Nothing involving you, of course, which is why you were surprised to hear a knock on the door. It was that new friend of yours, Lieutenant Kusakabe Kenshin.
"Ensign Arisugawa, how would you like to stretch your legs and go on a romantic cruise with me?" He said. You'd started this absurd flirtation thing at some point and it was too funny to stop, regardless of how unprofessional it was. He knew, of course, that you weren't interested. That's what made it funny.
"Lt. Kusakabe, a pleasant surprise. Come to save me from this place?"
Yoshio and Shoraku cheered and whistled. Oh, yeah, they were here.
"As a matter of fact, I have. Just down from the radio room, the annexation treaty has been finalized as of last evening and they'll be signing tomorrow night, and somebody bothered your cousin for a photo-op. Of course, he was very upset when he found out that they were actually looking for a different breed of royalty."
"They asked for me?" It wasn't like you weren't used to making public appearances now and again but you were just an ensign. And the first woman in the Navy, so that was probably part of it, honestly.
"That's the word. What do you say? It'll just be you, me, a dozen sweaty uncouth sailors, Boat 102, and Boat 104, cruising up the river to Heijo. They want to get a cool shot of you in front of the old palace there, shake hands, get bowed at, you know, the usual."
"How could I say no!" You said. I mean, you were literally being ordered to. "When do we leave, darling?"
"On the 'morrow." He said dramatically, walking out the door. "I will see you at 600 hours."
"I'll wait for you my love!" You announced dramatically, swooning like a bad actress. "And count the hours!"
Yoshio and Shoraku were laughing so hard you were breifly concerned they'd hurt themselves further.
---
The next morning, bright and early, you clambered down the side of the ship in your best uniform, sword banging against your hip, and dropped into Boat 104. You were nominally in command of the boat with Kenshin commanding 102 (and the whole two boat section). In reality, you were more like a glorified passenger with a grizzled petty officer who seemed completely comfortable running the boat with minimal input from you. The two boats motored away from the side of the ship and then began to make their steady course up the river towards the ancient capital, passing by small local fishing boats, trading boats, and other traffic. It was nice to get away from the ship and out into one of the small boats. You felt free--even if it was only for a day.
Heijo, formerly Hwangsong, was once the old Imperial capital, back when Joseon was an empire instead of the protectorate it was today and the extension of Akitsukuni territory it would be tomorrow. In modern times the capital had moved south to Keijō, formerly Hanseong, but it still held a lot of symbolic value, especially with the old palaces and government buildings that still dotted the place. It was only a few miles inland, so you didn't have far to go upriver. It was fascinating seeing the farmers and new industry on the riverbanks, even if the sailors were a little cautious. There hadn't been active fighting in Joseon for fifteen years, but you never knew…
Eventually, the city itself. A curious blend of modern and historic, it was growing rapidly as the northern administrative point of the colonial occupation, especially with the new rail connection. Modern buildings side by side with ancient structures hundreds of years old, factories overlooking rice fields. It reminded you a lot of home in Teiko, even if it obviously wasn't quite the same. Maybe more like home when you were a kid, before the first roads got paved properly and the streetcars went in along with the electric lights. They were still using mostly gas streetlamps! It felt so quaint.
The two boats finally puttered to a stop at a neatly appointed wharf at the city's riverine port. Waiting for you was a sharply dressed escort of Army soldiers (ugh) and sailors (yay!) with bright, shiny rifles and boots so polished that you swore you could see your face in. Also with them was the man in charge, an Army captain who had nothing on Kenshin in the looks department. He introduced himself as Captain Ienaga.
"I'll be in charge of your escort today, Your Imperial Highness," he said with extreme gravitas. The Army always had taken their role in defending the Imperial house seriously. "It is my honor."
"Thank you, captain," you said with the appropriate amount of Imperial beneficence. Kenshin stood next to you and did his best to keep a straight face. "I'm sure that I will be quite safe here, especially with your capable men."
"Thank you, Your Highness. If you please, we have a car waiting--we'll be heading to the old palace for some photos and some questions from the press, then there's to be a dinner with some of the city fathers."
"Lovely," you said with conviction you didn't feel. "I look forward to it." You glanced sidelong at Kenshin as the Army captain strutted off towards the waiting cars and gave a subtle shrug as if to say 'guess we're stuck with him.' The pair of you piled into the backseat of the waiting car, with Captain Ienaga sitting next to the driver. The escort all scrambled into the back of a pair of trucks (no way would sailors ride with soldiers!) which trailed the car as you wound through dusty streets that slowly turned to cobbled stone as you get closer to the palace.
"Hey look, reporters." Kenshin said, pointing outside. "Westerners, too. Apparently you're a big deal, princess."
"I'm more worried about the crowd." Captain Ienaga said grimly. "There's a school in the city whose faculty is a hotbed of leftist troublemakers. The last thing we need is some stupid demonstration by the local students."
The crowd did skew awfully young. It was probably nothing, though. Joseon was pretty civilized as colonies went. It wasn't like the bandits in Cham or the warlords attacking some of the Cathay holdings.
There was a small stage set up that set you a few feet above the street in front of the main gate of the palace and all the reporters were already clustered there as the car slowed to a stop. The soldiers and sailors hopped out of the their strucks and formed a line in front of the stage, interposing themselves between you and the crowd. Then Captain Ienaga was opening the door for you and you stepped out and then up the three or four steps onto the stage and into a sea of cameras and reporters who were all looking at you expectantly. You could handle this--all part of what you prepared for growing up, right? You put on your best smile and stood in a few positions as photos were taken and then the Joseon functionaries on the stage with you all bowed deeply and more photos were taken of that. You caught sight of Kenshin off to the side and he was doing his best to keep a straight face and look serious, though you could tell that he wanted to laugh at your misfortune.
Then the reporters were all asking questions and you had to raise your hands to try and get them to quiet down so you could actually hear them. The crowd was a little restive but… nothing bad, you thought.
You got through a series of incredible basic questions, the sort you threw diplomatic answers out to. Stuff about the future of the colony, industrialization, politics, representation, stuff you didn't have answers to but were skilled at deflecting. Eventually, you got to a foreigner, an Albian woman who spoke at you very quickly in her own language. It was only your excellent education that saved you from needing a translator.
"Aileen Middlemiss, Artemis Times." She said rapid fire. "As the first woman in the Akitsukuni Navy, you surely have special insight. How do you see this affecting the future of women in your country?"
Oooh, a fun question from overseas. You hadn't answered this one in a while, since before you graduated, actually. The reporters back home had moved on to other things.
"I'm afraid I don't set policy on such matters. All I can do is set a good example by doing my job and, hopefully, achieving a position where I can help deliberate on these issues. But I believe my job is an important step forward for my country, and I hope my career is an inspiration." You said. Standard drivel, but a little more confident now. Things were hard, but you knew you were making strides.
"And what of your life more generally? Have you adapted well to the sea? Are you still going to marry and carry on the bloodline?" She asked, not even waiting for an answer before launching into the next (and completely running over the New Alleghany reporter waiting his turn).
"Um... it's been going…"
"Is that you boyfriend over there? The cute one in the navy uniform?"
"I'm afraid you're mistaken. I prefer the company of women. Besides that, it would be against regulations for me to be in a relation-"
"Friendship first! Admirable! Now, one last thing. What do you have to say to your admirers! There's a lot of them out there in the wide world, myself included!"
[ ] Something bland.
[ ] Something fiery and nationalistic
[ ] Something demure and humble.
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