fandomhigh | The Art of War, Week #14 [Period 3, Monday]

"Last week we gained first-hand knowledge of Tzu's favorite weapon - fire," Ghanima said as the students settled down. "The events you saw happened on my homeworld about thirty years ago. Five troop carriers alighted in the deep desert, intent on raiding the sietch and picking up Fremen for questioning." She smiled at them, a slightly vicious edge to her eyes. "One carrier escaped, with only three prisoners. One of whom some of you met," she said with a nod to Ella and Agnes, "who allowed herself to be captured. Fremen casualties were mild, compared to the fate that befell the Emperor's troops."

"Before we continue with the last section of Tzu's manifesto, I'd like to take a few moments to discuss what you learned last week. Is fire a weapon you would use? Why or why not? Remember; a desperate enemy is the most dangerous."

"Afterwards, we will move on to one of my favorite sections, and the last chapter of the book." Ghanima held up her copy of the book and smiled. "Spies."

"Spies. A resource that is often sadly overlooked," Ghanima remarked after the first discussion. "Industrial espionage, eavesdropping on a friend, employing reconnaissance behind enemy lines, all of these count as spying. However, it is not as straight forward as you would think."

"There are five types of spies," she stated, turning to write on the board:

(1) Local spies (2) inward spies (3) converted spies
(4) doomed spies (5) surviving spies.

"When you have these working together properly, it is your greatest resource, greater than munitions or soldiers or generals. Information, as always, is the most powerful weapon of all."

"Each type of spy has a specific purpose," she continued. "Having local spies means employing the services of the inhabitants of a district, usually to help you detect localized troop movements and to be aware of changes in terrain. Having inward spies means you are making use of officials of the enemy."

"My personal favorite are the converted spies, getting hold of the enemy's spies and using them for our own purposes." Ghanima beamed at the class. "Subversion of a loyalist is always so entertaining."

"Then there's the 'doomed spies'. Some squeamish generals try to avoid this grouping, but they are indispensable to a solid victory. Having doomed spies, doing certain things openly for purposes of deception, and allows our spies to know of them and report them to the enemy."

"Surviving spies, finally, are those who bring back news from inside the enemy's camp." Ghanima said briskly. "There is no part of war more delicate, more intimate, or harder to balance than with spies. As Tzu says, 'None should be more liberally rewarded. In no other business should greater secrecy be preserved.'"

"Your assignment for next week is to ferret out some tidbit of information to which you would not normally be privy," Ghanima informed them. "Either via another spy, or by uncovering it yourself. You will not need to share exactly what you learned, merely the method used to discover the information."

[OOC: You know the rules, ~~wait for~~ the purty OCD awaits! Have fun!]

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

Sneakily!

Take notes, pass notes, etc.

After seeing the effects of the attack last week, would you use fire on a population? Why or why not?

[Feel free to ping to each other, start arguments, etc. Let chaos reign!]

Edited 2008-12-08 15:30 (UTC)

"In what sort of non-combat situation could you see spies being useful?" Ghanima asked. "Industrial espionage has been around for thousands of years, and gossip could be considered a form of spying. Do you think the rules of engagement change for these spies not on a battlefield? Why or why not?"

Once he arrives.

She's around, both before and after class.

SP to the max this morning, as I am totally afk. Back sometime after noon!

Lee Adama

The idea of being a spy was an appealing one to Lee. Of course, that idea would be dependent on being sneaky and he tended to draw attention to himself, unfortunately.

"I think I'd only use it on property," Lee decided. "On technology and such. Not with people. That'd be a slow suffering."

Liir Thropp

Ella of Frell

Liir thought of Princess Nastoya and her promise. He wondered what kind of spies she might use, what eyes and ears she'd have.

[ooc:...thank GOODNESS he's from early in canon *WIBBLE*]

"No. No, I don't think I ever could. And I suppose that's my why not.

"It's not very effective if I couldn't live with it."

"Spies are always useful," he said, thinking of Shell, of the boy who'd seen him, of the white Cat.

"And always inconvenient. But if you're in a situation that would make you think of them, they're probably necessary."

Yamanaka Ino

She hummed happily to herself as she took notes.

Spying was a family thing, after all. Mmmm.

"I would," she said simply. "Because fire is something that triggers a primal response--terror--no matter how well trained people are. Even if you do keep your head in the middle of the situation, part of most people is mentally shrieking 'Fire! Fire! Abort! Flee! Run!' and that's useful."

"And panic," Ino added thoughtfully. "If you can keep the opposing force from rallying their morale, a fire is a good way to go, And while it's dangerous to corner people, cornering them can be well worth it."

"Not really, though I understand what you're saying," she said, straightening up. "It doesn't matter where your location is. If you're on the job, then you're on a battlefield. It might not be one with guts and gore and blood flying about, but it's a battlefield anyway. Your weapons are your words, your eyes, your hands. The way you walk, the way you talk, that's what you're fighting with--and if you're good at it, then only you ever realize that a battle was fought and won there."

Ben Skywalker

Ah, the family business. Ben mentally counted off the different kinds of spy he had been, his mother had been, his friends had been, all while maintaining a look that said he might not even be paying that much attention.

"How would you contain it?" Ben asked. "The nature of fire is that it's unpredictable."

"If the goal is that important, you don't take any option off the table," Ben said. "War isn't pretty and drawing lines to make yourself feel better might just draw out the suffering for an entire population because a quick and ugly option ends things faster."

"Spies can prevent non-combat situations from escalating into wars," Ben said, "and so for them, it's practically impossible to define what would be a battlefield. Infiltrating a base that holds a secret weapon is a battlefield, even if no one knows about it yet and it's thousands of lightyears behind the battle zone. The same holds true for trying to coerce someone into becoming a collected spy. It's a two person battlefield. Electronics listening for key phrases--it extends the battlefield everywhere." He shrugged. "It's best to think that someone is always listening, and guide yourself accordingly. The idea that a battlefield is only where capital ships are pounding on each other is antiquated."

"True," Lee replied, "but there are such things as contained fires. Still, I'd only use it as a last resort. You're right in that it's unpredictable but sometimes, burning up some tech will be a lethal blow to an enemy."

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The Art of War, Week #14 [Period 3, Monday]

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Discussion: Weapons of War

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