fandomhigh | Macro-Tactics, Monday

"So far, we've been talking about the nitty gritty of macro tactics. Resource management, picking your battlefield, deciding where and when to build your bases," Kerrigan said, stalking gracefully from one end of the classroom to the other. "Today, we'll take it up a level. After all, the most important resources you have are your friends-- and your enemies."

She smiled. It didn't look too nice. "Nobody goes to war in a vacuum," she said. "Depending on your level of influence, you'll have any number of people looking on. Neighbours, far-away friends, rival powers. If you don't manage them right, it can break your campaign. Obviously, I don't have the time or the interest to be teaching you all diplomacy, but I can tell you about the basics of warcraft." She glanced around the room.

"If you stray too closely to what some might term 'war crimes', you'll have all hell on your heels. If you stray too closely to the wrong border, you might get shot in the ass. If your opponent has treaties with some of your neighbours, then attacking them might be a really bad choice if you don't want half the world marching into your backyard. Of course, if you have a big enough army, nobody's going to have the balls to cross you, but most of the time, that's not going to be the case."

"Take stock of your neighbours. What interests do they have? What treaties? Can you make allies of them? You know what they say about the enemy of my enemy. Having someone to back you from the rear can be very useful. Talk to them before you take any steps. Show your flanks favourably. Make promises. You don't have to keep all of them - just make sure you can keep the few that matter, or you have the manpower necessary to overpower them when the war is done."

She may have gone on on that topic for a little while before she stopped, in front of the large map of Europe she'd been using to underscore her point. "I want you all to pick an enemy," she said. "It doesn't have to be anyone you know well. It doesn't have to be anyone in this class. Just make sure it's someone significant to you. Now partner up with someone - preferably someone you don't know well - and try to convince them to help you out, or at least do nothing when you tackle your enemy." A beat. "It's just a hypothetical, so don't get your panties in a bunch."

A pause. "We all know high school's just practice for the real world, anyway."

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"Hobart, the head of the so-called 'Ruling Council' of Glacia," Karla said with an almost chagrined smile and shrug. "He's corrupt, morally bankrupt, pettily small-minded...and my uncle."

She wasn't particularly fond of him. In case that hadn't come out enough.

"You?"

"He's quite the character, your uncle."

Cloud took a moment to consider her question before he waved a hand slowly, eyes suddenly lit up. "I already took care of him." Or so he hoped. ~~But not really?~~ "Gaia's current issue is more...environmental. I can't wave war against pollution. Not in the general sense." After spending the holidays there, he wa sure he couldn't.

"Perhaps not you," Karla said, a little absently. And then realized what she said a moment later. "Err, rather, there are ideas and things you can adapt to try to undo some of the damage that's been done."

That's totally what she'd meant! Totally!

"Not me", answered Cloud, blissfully unaware of whatever Karla had tried to say. "I just hope the one that can find a way soon even when s-" Hm, he was getting at not slipping critical information, even if Karla already knew about Aerith. Not that he knew she knew. He knew she knew something, but not enough to know just how much he was allowed to share.

"There is still hope back at home."

Karla and Aerith were besties and were going to have 'Heal the land' parties together. Trufax.

"In that case," Karla said, bringing her attention back to the lesson, "I think we can work together quite nicely. I need help with a civil war. You need help putting your world back together. I have skills that can help with that, as well as useful stuff like food, medicines, and supplies to help keep your people going. The question then becomes, what can you offer me?"

Cloud did not need to know that. At all. His brain was broken enough, thanks.

"I can..." He hesitated for a moment before shrugging. "I can level a city by myself." And with a little help of certain Knights, of course. Or his own Meteor Rain. "Not to mention I can do a civil war all by myself, although I would need to know a lot more about the ways of your world."

Karla actually frowned at him a bit for that. "What good will leveling a city do?" she asked. "You'll be destroying people's homes, their livelihoods! Things they've worked a lifetime to achieve or that have been in their family for years. Not to mention the potential for injury and even death."

You are making him feel guilty, Karla.

"I figured whoever you wanted to erase from the picture was locked somewhere where the only casualties were on his side. I would never hurt innocent people."

"How in the Darkness can I do that?" Karla asked. "Even if I could just make sure that all of those who support Hobart were locked away in a single place, how could I guarantee that there were no innocents there, with them. Servants, children, people nearby...There is no way to fully protect innocents in war, Cloud. I know that. But there's got to be a better way."

Macro-Tactics, Monday

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