The son of a native Hawaiian chiefess and a visiting sailor Matthew Kamahualele Akana, like many other young Hawaiians following contact with the West, left the islands to see the world. In 1836 he accepted the position of cabin boy aboard the SS Neptune's Crown and for an additional five years drifted from ship to ship, serving aboard whaling ships and clipper ships. He proved an excellent and natural sailor, as most Hawaiians are, and rose to the position of Navigator, before he joined the Royal Navy in 1841. As an Able Bodied Seaman, where he became known as Matthew A. Kane, he saw action throughout the Near East and Far East including the Opium War, the Great Mutiny and against the slave trade.
In 1851 Akana finally served in European waters, he was with the Royal Navy during the Crimean War. In recognition for meritorious service he received a commission to lieutenant. With the outbreak of the American Civil War Akana was selected as one of many naval advisors to aid in the building of the Confederate Navy. He participated in many of the fleet clashes in the Gulf of Mexico and the Straits of Florida, co-authored an important report of the bombardment of Key West and served as gunnery advisor aboard the CSS Stonewall during the Battle of Havana.
From 1868 to 1870 he served briefly as a technical advisor with the navy of the Ottoman Empire. Akana retired from the British Royal Navy in 1871 and returned to Hawai'i.
Upon his return King Kamehameha V asked him to become his naval aide-de-camp as well as to form a naval force. With 26 men and the cutter HMS Protector (2 brass guns) Akana formed the Royal Revenue Marine Service. The Service acquired its first steam ship, HMS Liholiho, in 1873, and Akana was promoted to Commodore. The Royal Marine Corps, totaling 32 men, was created to augment the Service later that same year.
While serving as Naval A.D.C. for Kamehameha V's successors, Lunalilo and Kalakaua, Akana was slowly developing a competent naval officer corps as well as pushing for some sort of increased naval force. With the signing of the California-Hawai'i Reciprocity Treaty in 1874 the funds were available for an enlargement of the Service. Even more important was the interest of King Kalakaua in the development of a fleet to protect Hawai'i.
The purchase of the HMS Hawai'i, the former USS Salmon P. Chase, in 1875 marked the establishment of the Hawaiian Royal Navy, while the Revenue Cutter Service remained separate. Akana was promoted to Admiral by Kalakaua to head the Navy. 1876 saw the establishment of the Office of Naval Intelligence and the Royal Marine Artillery.
The first capital ship of the Royal Navy was authorized by the Legislature in 1876 and awarded to the Oakland Ironworks Company in California. Akana has recently stepped down from his position Commander-in-Chief of the Navy in order oversee the construction the HMS Kamehameha and has been attached to the Embassy in San Francisco as Naval Attaché.
| Great | Physique | Matthew has managed to keep exceptionally fit throughout his years. At fifty-six years old he is still able to outwrestle men twenty years his junior. |
| Good | Courage | His coolness under fire has kept Matthew alive and spurred on an impressive career. |
| Good | Helmsmanship | A lifetime at sea and a natural instinct for sailing the ocean has sharpened his seafaring skills and made him an extremely strong sailor. |
| Good | Perception | The ability to keep track of sea and sky is crucial to the sailing of a ship. Matthew's powers of observation are extremely keen. |
| Good | Leadership | Matthew's experiences throughout the world have honed him into a competent and able leader. |
| Poor | Physician | Matthew has no illusions about his abilities. He understands how to wound, but not how to heal. |
| Possessions | A listing of the characters stuff. | |
Cabinboy, S.S. Neptune's Crown: 1836
Joined the British Royal Navy: 1841
Enlisted Able Bodied Seaman, 1st Class: 1841
***The Crimean War 1854-1858***
Commissioned, Lieutenant: 1858
Promoted, Lieutenant-Commander: 1861
***American Civil War 1861-1864***
Naval Advisor to the Confederate Navy: 1862-1864
Promoted, Commander: 1868
Naval Advisor, The Ottoman Empire: 1868-1870
Retired from the British Royal Navy: 1871
Returned to Hawai'i: 1871
Naval Aide-de-Camp to King Kamehameha V: 1871-1873
Founded the Royal Revenue Marine Service: 1871
Commissioned, Captain: 1871
Commanding Officer, Captain, HMS PROTECTOR: 1871-1873
Commanding Officer, Captain, HMS LIHOLIHO: 1873-1875
Promoted, Commodore: 1873
Naval Aide-de-Camp to King Lunalilo: 1873-1874
Naval Aide-de-Camp to King Kalakaua: 1874-1875
***Signing of the California-Hawai'i Reciprocity Treaty: 1874***
Founding of the Hawaiian Royal Navy: 1875
Commissioned, Admiral, Royal Navy: 1875
Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Navy: 1875-1877
Purchase of the USS SALMON P. CHASE, recommissioned HMS HAWAI'I: 1875
Commanding Officer, Captain, HMS HAWAI'I: 1875-1877
Formed the Office of Naval Intelligence: 1876
Naval Attaché, San Francisco, California: 1877-1882
A brief description on how the character might show up in a campaign.
| Patron |
The player characters are eating at La Menagerie, a restaurant in San Francisco near the Imperial Palace, when suddenly there is a commotion in one of the private dining rooms. Two men burst out, one leaps through the front door and the other, bleeding from a wound in his chest falls at the characters' table. "Get the package and get it to Admiral Akana," he whispers handing a small locker key to the nearest player and falls over dead. The key is obviously to a locker. But where? What's in it? And what's so important about it that man lies dead in a French restaurant on Market Street? And who's this Admiral Akana guy, and where can he be found? The scenario becomes a Maltese Falconesque romp throughout San Francisco as the players attempt to determine where the locker is, get into it and find Akana. They are approached by thugs, masterminds and, if you want to really confuse the issue, members of a magickal order or two and the Imperial Security and Intelligence Service. It's up to you as to what's in the locker and why it's so important, but here are few ideas: 1) It's a small wooden tiki. The small statue is in fact the Ki'i (see Kahuna Magick) of a powerful kahuna bent on overthrowing the Hawai'ian monarchy. Possible villains include the Kahuna's henchmen (he's not bad enough for minions), the Kahuna himself, and possibly some fo the good guys who think the players are part of the plot. 2) It's a letter from the Chinese Dragon Emperor to agents in Hawai'i. There is talk in the letter of invading and taking over the small island nation. Possible villains include various Chinese mages, Tong lords and henchmen. 3) It's an artefect of the islands; a small fish-hook. If checked it radiates an ungodly amount of magickal energy. It may be simply an artefact made by a kahuna, or possibly it's an artefact of the gods (One legend says that Maui pulled the islands up from the ocean depths with a fish-hook). |
| Ally |
| Admiral Akana has a great respect for honor and friends. Should the player characters make a friend of Akana he will do all he can to assist them in their endeavors. |
| Informant |
| Admiral Akana has ties to the British Navy, the Californian Navy, the Hawai'ian Navy, various diplomats and many business owners who have property or enterprises in Hawai'i. Though his connections are tenuous at best, sometimes it only takes a letter of introduction to get in the door. He can be an invaluable source of information and connections. |