Fandom High School

The Danger Shop that day was set up with what could best be described as some futuristic bullshit fashion boutique, although it was mostly centered around some sort of control panel and a few little dressing room pods. "Alright, guys," Summer started, "now, there's a part of this class's title that always gets cut off because it's a literal mile long, but one aspect we've been severely neglecting in this class is the and look cute doing it part. Which is why, today, we're going to be talking about signature looks."

Look, she had party brain; she had other priorities right now, and, hey, technically speaking, it was in the class description.

"Now, you might be thinking to yourself, but Summer! The universe is being taken over by an evil galactic empire! Is how we look really that important? And the answer to that question, as with most things, is....depends. If you're kind of a grunt working in the trenches, probably not so much, although there is a lot to be said about self-care and still looking your best even in the worst of situations. But also an iconic figure can also be crucial in sparking the hopes and minds of the populous to your side, and having a distinctive look can build that image. Not to sound gross about it, but it can be brand recognition. Not so good if you're trying to fly under the radar, but, if you do have a signature look and you are trying to fly under the radio, disguises can be more effective. If they're looking for, let's say, a distinct red ponytail, and you've gotten yourself a black wig, that's a little extra protection.

"So, anyway, you get the idea. Take some time and think about what you might want to do for a signature look, pop on over to these consoles where you can sort through a vast array of options, pop into the chaning room, let the DS do its magic, and then come on out, strut your stuff, and tell us a little about why you picked what you did. Are you going more style over substance? Utility over aesthetics? Have you already developed your own personal style to a T and no one will take it from you unless they're prying it out of your cold dead hands? Do you want to just pick something because it's fun and different and why not? We got you covered.

"So, give it some thought, and, when you're ready, step on up and let's see what you've got."

"Alright, guys," Summer grinned faintly at the students as they gathered, this time, inside a sort of mess hall/rec room inside of a spaceship for the start of class that morning. "Even though at least Illyana was able to offer a little bit of a respite from the screaming sun last week, I'm sure my space mom and her crew showing up to whisk us away was a welcome rescue. I was thinking of turning this into a lesson about Trust and having them turn out to be Imerials in very clever disguises, but honestly? The much more valuable lesson here is that, sometimes, the line between life and death or at least a tortured existence stuck on a screaming sun planet....is about connections. Allies. Networking. Who you know can sometimes be as important as what you know...

"...especially when who you know can sometimes turn out to be Imperials in really clever disguises. Which is why, today, since we're, quote unquote 'in transit' right now anyway, is to get to know each other. And get to know your allies. Be social. Learn some quirky little detail that maybe the enemy might not know, so that, if you're suspecting something's up, you can test them and see if they're an impostor. Is it maybe a little paranoid to suspect that, during any given pick-up, your allies might actually be your enemies? Maybe. But sometimes, that paranoia can be what keeps you out of space jail...or worse."

And here she wasn't even going to go into what can happen when those enemies were brain slugs that gave you false memories to fuck with who you thought was real and who wasn't! That was more some next-level shit.

"So, off you go. Socialization class. Get to know your friends better than your enemies can know your friends, so that if they try to be your friends, you can call them out on their bullshit. Try to get at least one new detail about each of your classmates, and, if you're feeling bold, my fake space mom and her crew are up in the bridge if you want to try to get to know them a little better, too. They're definitely helping us out here, so who knows? That information might come in handy later."

Once more, the danger shop was set up for their little classroom-temple-secret-base set-up, but the tech seemed a little more updated for the purposes of this week's lesson, just because this definitely seemed the sort of setting and discussion that called for one of those holographic projections that people in space always seemed to use when they were discussing plans and strategies and what have you. And Summer was leaning on the desk in between the hologram set-up and the students desk as she waited for everyone to come in and get settled.

"So" she started, "continuing where we left off, we're running out of resources and supplies and there's a good chance the Evil Empire Du Jour knows where we've made camp anyway. Pooling our talents and foraging for resources was a pretty popular idea last week, but, overall, it's kind of untenable. There's only so much out there to find, and there's a good chance you'll be burning through weapons or people in the efforts. So I think Vi really hit on the next best move, and that is to basically get the hell out of Dodge. After all, it's a great big galaxy out there, and this place? Probably abandoned for a good reason. So. What are our options?"

And now it was time to get up and use the fancy sci-fi visual display, which was really just to show off three different planets, each with a little dialogue bubble read-out with name, current distance, and other various technical details.

"Running the analysis," she said, sounded very important about it as if this was actual research and not something she was literally just borrowing from her own life, "based on how much fuel we have, there are only three liveable planets within distances that isn't currently under the thumb of the Empire. The first planet," and here she moved her hands in a fancy way to highlight the planet in question on the display, "is actually very nice, very rick in resources with a lot of forest and mountain cover but the planet's parent star emits a long, loud, continuous sound that sounds like a scream all day....and this planet has a 42-hour day cycle.

"The second planet," she continued, switching to the next, "is almost identical to Earth except for one very significant difference: everything is on a cob. Like, everything. Plants, mountains, animals....all the way down to a molecular level, it's cobs, all the way down.

"And, finally," Summer switched to the last option, "our last planet, like the planet before it, is also very similar to Earth if not for one small difference, and when I say a small difference in this case, I mean it, because the planet literally has a circumfrence of 330 yards. That's it. It is, in all senses of the word, a tiny planet. And possibly a scientific anomaly, if we're being honest, but, then again, the other ones have atomic cobs and screaming suns, so...the universe is weird, y'all.

"But having to be on the move is sometimes necessary when you're trying to stage a giant galactic coup, so sometimes, decisions need to be made, we need a new base, and this ain't it. Now it's just a matter of seeing if the team can agree, on a whole, which one to move to next. Or make a case for some other options. So what do you think? Screaming sun planet, everything-on-a-cob planet, or tiny planet? Not the best options, sure, but sometimes, you gotta work with what you got."

The class was back at the ancient temple/new rebel base in the Danger Shop again, only this time, they were definitely starting out near the top of the structure, on a wide ledge that could not only comfortably fit all of them, but also a long line of turret cannons.

"Alright, guys," Summer started with a nod. "So we've got our base and we've kitted it out with all the basics, and now it's time to talk defense. Because eventually, the evil galactic empire in question is definitely going to find out where your base is hidden and there's a good chance you'll have to defend it, probably with your lives. We're definitely not going to go into a full on battle strategy...yet...but we are going to learn how to use some good heavy equipment," she set a hand proudly on one of the turrets, "to start out with. Good for taking down any suspicious air craft that may be floating around trying to get all up in your business. Of course, if a spy drone or ship goes does, that's definitely going to get traced back to you, so sometimes, you just gotta let 'em fly and lay low, but after a while, it might be a problem, and that's where the heavy artillery might come in.

"How exactly did our low-key rebel operation manage to procure high quality turret guns in the first place? I don't know. Probably stolen. Could have been refurbished out of junk parts. Maybe we had a bake sale. Financing a political movement isn't nearly as exciting as just shooting stuff, although it is important and something we'll probably go over, too, but not on the week right before a break. That is definitely a 'let's learn how to use giant fucking guns and shoot shit' sort of week."

So, with that said, Summer took some time to explain the turret guns themselves and demonstrate how they worked, so that hopefully even the most firearms deficient newb could pick it up and feel...well, maybe not comfortable, but at least willing to try it out. "Now, of course," she added, "these might be way different from the kinds of heavy weaponry you might have in your own worlds and dimensions, but it's all basically the same concept, if you learn one, you can probably pick up another pretty easily."

Uh, no, Summer, sorry, but not everyone was you or Rey.

"Let me know if you have any questions. Once you guys get settled, behind the guns the sim's going to kick in and you'll have some bogeys in the air to shoot at and get some practice in. The more you go, the quicker and more evasive they're going to get, too, so hopefully, those of you who are new to this will have some time getting used to it, and, if you pick it up pretty quickly, you'll still have a challenge. So go ahead, man your guns, and let's shoot some shit."

Was it a good thing or a bad thing that the class was back in the classroom sim in the danger shop? Perhaps only time would tell. But there they were, Summer leaning a little on the desk at the front of the room while she waited for everyone to get settled in, and then got started.

"Sooooooo," she started, "I think last week sort of showed that this group is not exactly the subtle spy types, which is perfectly fine. A good rebellion is based on a wide variety of different types and it's important to play into your strengths. While info gathering can be important, so can all the little things going on behind the scenes, as well as the brute force to send out in times of actual uprisings and attacks. So we're going to switch our focus just a liiiittle bit again....that, by the way, is also important, being flexible, and looking at situations and figuring out how to adjust accordingly...and today, we're going to talk about BoOs...Bases of Operation.

"Now," Summer pushed herself off the desk and ventured to the board, because this was definitely going to be a 'discuss and list' sort of lesson that day, "the jello cantina we were in last week was my Base of Operation when I was a part of the Rebellion. As you guys saw, it was a good place for eavesdropping and picking up on local news and information, which I could then pass onto interested parties, but it also had the added benefit of being a business that dealt in importing ingredients from all over the galaxy. I could easily disguise transactions for weapons and supplies for the Rebellion as legitimate business purchases and shipments; most of my business contacts were also spies, and we could disguise everything as good old capitalism in case anyone wanted to look a little closer. But there's a lot of risk in a place like that as a BoO, too, as evidence by the fact that one little leak could have devistating results, and that's why, eventually, when the facade began to crack, it was time to get on out of there before it was too late.

"A lot of times," she continued, "a BoO will be tucked away and hidden somewhere you wouldn't expect. An abaondoned planet or somewhere that's hard to get to, which offers a lot of safety, but it also makes it a little more difficult for people to come and go, or to keep up-to-date on what might be happening in more poulated areas of the galaxy. If the base is discovered, you're out of the way enough that you might be able to get out on time, but, if you don't, the remote location can leave you pretty vulnerable, and resources for defense might be limited.

"A mobile base of operations can also be useful; in my last tour against the Galactic Federation, my crew worked out of our ship, so we were constantly on the go, which made us more difficult to pin down, but could often be a very strong drain on resources and, if we were low on power or were recognized, we could run into a lot of trouble. It wasn't any trouble that our guns couldn't handle, but it probably was more trouble than was strictly helpful.

"These are just a couple of examples," she said, having written some of that on the board and now turning back to the students, "and I'm sure you can think of more. Which is what we're going to talk about today. Together, I want us to discuss what makes a good base of operations, what you might like to avoid, perhaps some ideas on previous BoOs that you've dealt with before, and why you think they worked or didn't work, what could be improved, etc, etc, so on and so forth. I think we cann really get some good ideas going between everyone's different experiences, so let's go. Base of Operations jam session. What've we got?"

"Welcome back, guys," said Summer, again from the front of the classroom sim, which was all decked out with an old-timey projector--don't worry, the quality of what they'd be viewing was fine, this was all part of the whole ~effect~--. "So, last week, we talked a little bit about warning signs of a Galactic Empire, and things to look out for, some subtle, most not, which then probably begs the question of how and why people could even fall for this crap in the first place.

"The first answer to that, obviously, is systemic oppression and threats of violence...or worse, of course, but the second part of it is often propaganda, which is forms of media created to push a very specific, often false, narrative with regards to a certain set of beliefs, politics, governmental power, war efforts, etc, etc, etc. Usually, this is the sort of stuff that's framed in a sense of unity, national pride, patriotism, blah blah blah. They're designed to make the person viewing it feel involved or that they could have some part in the greater good, despite the fact that the people creating the propaganda are the exact same people who took that agency away from them in the first place. It's basically mind manipulation without the actual mind control, and it can be stupid effective sometimes.

"Propaganda can also be used by the 'good guys,' though, too, and you could argue that literally everything is propaganda. This class is propaganda. I'm actively trying to radicalize you against oppressive regimes, and I do that through education when you're still young and squishy...well, some of you definitely not so squishy...and impressionable. Does that mean propaganda's only bad when the people we don't like are doing it? Or is it questionable coming from anyone, and it's important to be aware of propaganda when we see it and consider what ulterior motives might be behind every public message we're being fed?

"To springboard this discussion a little further, I've put together a compelation of various examples of propaganda I was able to root up from around the multiverse. We'll have a look and then we'll discuss what we've noticed and how that can help us when it comes to defending our galaxies from those who wish to take it over like complete and total dicks."