Careers Fair, Fandom High Front Lawn, Friday Afternoon, 07/21/06

[drywitmartini.livejournal.com]

By lunch time, the booths were set up, the guests had arrived and there was quaint music playing from somewhere undetermined. Hawkeye is walking around with one of those portable microphone/speaker set-ups, roaming from booth to booth announcing the various guests that have come to Fandom to talk about their professions.

And despite what the mainland weather forecast said, it was definitely a nice, fine day.

Comments

SPY

[drywitmartini.livejournal.com]

"And last, ladies and gentlemen, but certainly not least, we have a lovely young woman here who's ready to talk to you about the fine profession of spying and espionage. Considering how sneaky some of you are, I'm sure she'll be a useful source of information for all of your future exploits."

Re: SPY

[tricksy-spy.livejournal.com]

"Good afternoon to you all," Alianne said with a charming smile. "I'm Alianne though my mother doesn't even call me that. You may feel free to call me Aly. I grew up in a spy's household but I only started truly practicing the craft when I was sixteen. I was kidnapped and sold as a slave from my home. Which was a lesson to me. No matter how good you think you are? A group of lugs can capture you if you're not paying attention." She shrugged and raised her eyes to the sky. "So always pay attention."

"I was sold, well, given away really, as a slave to a Duke's family, but prophecies, gods, and inept rulers took their course - as they do - and now I'm the spymaster to Queen Dovasary of the Copper Isles." She grinned. "And no, I'd not be batting that around if I'd not been assured I'm the only one here from my time. Since Dove was crowned, my job's been to prevent foreign countries - friends and foes - from taking advantage while keeping an eye on those nobles less than estatic about the new regime." She fingered the shiny black beaded necklace she wore. "Anyone ever tell you that the clean-up is harder than the fight? Believe them. So I'm here to answer any questions you have about spying, intelligence gathering, codes, gathering support, formenting rebellion." She laughed mischieviously. "And yes, I have some tools to give away. Any questions?"

Re: SPY

[multi-madrox.livejournal.com]

"Do you have any cool toys like that James Bond Bundt guy?"

Re: SPY

[tricksy-spy.livejournal.com]

"I'm not sure who that is," Aly said, smiling a bit flirtatiously. "But I do have toys. What kind were you hoping for?"

Re: SPY

[multi-madrox.livejournal.com]

"Do you have a wristwatch that has a cutting laser in it? Or some detonators?" Jamie asked eagerly. "Or maybe a pen that is a class three grenade?"

Re: SPY

[tricksy-spy.livejournal.com]

Aly grinned. "We use blazebalm more to take care of little problems. Like docks or an inconvenient fortress. My world's a bit less technical than yours. We use magic for some things and make sure to recruit the right people for others." She offered Jamie a small packet wrapped in oiled paper.

Re: SPY

[ihatedenmark.livejournal.com]

"How do you determine that someone may be guilty of committing or plotting a crime, even if they pretend innocence? What sorts of methods do you use to be certain of the fact?"

Re: SPY

[tricksy-spy.livejournal.com]

Aly looked at the boy closely before answering. "First I assume that everyone's hiding something. Then I collect information. As much as possible until I know if how many grains of sugar he enjoys with his morning cup of tea. Recruit people in his household if possible and set a tail or three on him. Eventually people usually hang themselves. Did you have a specific situation I could give ideas on?"

Re: SPY

[ihatedenmark.livejournal.com]

"I was informed by a biased but fairly reliable source that my uncle was the one responsible for the murder of my Father. I wanted to be certain that this was true before I acted against my uncle, as he tends to be fairly cunning and manipulative."

Re: SPY

[tricksy-spy.livejournal.com]

"I'd start by searching through his rooms," Aly said. "Only the most skilled dispose of everything. If you don't know how to put everything exactly back, recruit someone to do so. Does the man have a wife? Recruiting one of her maidservants or one of the footmen may give you useful information as well. No one notices the servants, and they all know more than they let on." She looked at him sympathetically. "I'd offer you my Sight, but I'm only here for the day."

Re: SPY

[threeweapons.livejournal.com]

Alanna hadn't really had much of a plan in mind aside from "need to get out of sight, now". She ducked into the first stall she saw. It really wasn't her day.

Re: SPY

[tricksy-spy.livejournal.com]

Aly grinned mischieviously at the short redheaded girl. "Have a boy you're trying to lose? Or is this part of the chase."

Re: SPY

[threeweapons.livejournal.com]

Alanna looked up at the girl and blinked. "Boy? What? No. Long story do you mind if I stay here while I come up with a plan that does not get me killed today?" Somehow, all of that was in one breath.

Re: SPY

[tricksy-spy.livejournal.com]

"Surely," Aly said. Her eyes flicked from the red hair to purple eyes to an ember necklace that she recognised. She tried not to think about the conclusion drawn from that information. "Why would you end up getting killed today of all days?"

Re: SPY

[chasingangela]

Angela fingered her hair, a little intimidated by the list of accomplishments. "What makes for a good code?" she asked. "I mean, how do you make sure that people can't just break it."

Re: SPY

[tricksy-spy.livejournal.com]

"The best way I've found to keep your codes safe is not to write the key down. Don't give a copy of the key to the agent in the field. Make him memorize it and be able to use it half-dead before you let him go into a dangerous situation," Aly said. She grinned. "Or do you mean actual type of codes to use?"

Re: SPY

[chasingangela]

"I guess I meant types of codes," Angela said. "Like, say you had a diary and you wanted to make sure it was private."

Re: SPY

[tricksy-spy.livejournal.com]

Aly thought for a second. "Depends on who's going to be trying to crack it then. If it's a nosy brother? I'd just make the entries sound as boring as possible until he gives up." She winked at the other girl. "If you have a trained spy trying to read it, you'll want to vary your cipher from day to day. Maybe one day use a simple letter substitution - an a for a v or some such. Then then next create a code that uses letters to replace sounds instead of direct substitution. I brought a few old codebooks with me if you'd like to take a look."

Re: SPY

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

"What's the best bribe anyone's ever offered you?" Parker asked. Because hey, she had a lot of minions she was going to have to suborn. Not to mention keeping her own from being compromised.

Re: SPY

[tricksy-spy.livejournal.com]

Aly laughed at the question and smiled gleefully. "Not the best bribe I've ever offered?"

Re: SPY

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

Parker grinned back at her. "That too? I've been offering money and threats, but something more subtle would be good."

Re: SPY

[tricksy-spy.livejournal.com]

"I've found revenge to be very useful if you're willing to keep a close eye on the recruit to make sure he's not thinking with his...emotions," Aly obviously substituted a different word at the last moment. "As for me? The only bribe I've ever taken was a bet."

Re: SPY

[kawalsky.livejournal.com]

Kawalsky eventually wandered over to Aly's booth. "What kind of training do you go through to become a spymaster?"

Re: SPY

[tricksy-spy.livejournal.com]

"I generally just managed not to die," Aly said with a mischievious smile. "But I'd recommend finding a government or cause to swear to and learning your craft from other spies." She gave him a measuring glance. "Before that, learn everything you can about anything, not just spywork. You never know when your cover is going to include speaking Scanran and riding a reindeer."

Re: SPY

[kawalsky.livejournal.com]

Kawalsky nodded. "Ever had to dress in drag and do the hula while being a spy?"