We westerners tend to lack an appreciation for the military history of some other countries, and one of the nations with an amazing military history is Japan. I'm unsure I have the cultural chops to write authentic Japanese characters, but there are a lot of Americans of Japanese ancestry that would be much easier to portray, though, and they DO tend to rightfully have an appreciation for their history and culture.
What if the Confederacy commissioned a new class of ship, the Shimakaze Class, complete with a version of long lance torpedoes that could be fired unobserved and do the same kind of terrible damage that the WW2 version inflicted on US ships? A pickup of Americans from San Francisco includes a group of Japanese-Americans who become the crew of the class leader and work to revive the proud traditions of Japanese military history.
Cultural conflict would have to play a strong role, as well as institutional distrust between the western-centric Confederacy and the crew. I'd have to be careful not to have the crew pushing in unrealistic ways against confederacy culture, but there would have to be some conflict at home to make the story interesting.
If I decide to take this on, I'd definitely need an editor who had a personal understanding of Japanese culture. I would be horrified if those who live it saw a story like this as an insult to them - it would dishonor them, and ill-serve readers who deserve a full picture of this amazing culture. Not sure how many of you out there could do this, but not having editing support on this project would make it a no-go.
Thoughts? Ideas? Offers of support? Let me know!