Spies Like Us [OPEN]

[Sinistra]

The academy had a few standard lecture halls and the one assigned to Sinistra for teaching clandestine operations had a wide arc of tiered seating and desks so that all could see her on the lecture floor. There was a holoboard behind her for notes and she waited for the students to assemble, leaning on the table sitting in the middle of the lecture floor.

[member=Nrir'ezeash'assase] | [member="Xavka Duquo"] | [member="Darth Erebos"] | [member="Ameli Trahir"]

Spoiler

I tagged those who signed up ahead of time but this is open to anyone.Do not worry about posting order, respond to the remarks of all involved in the conversation as you might normally.

 

[Krayzen Dratos]

It seemed that Krayzen had arrived first, not like it mattered to him anyway. What mattered to the Anzat was him learning as much as he could from the Sith Spymaster, especially when it came to clandestine operations; despite him being a Warrior, he knew, like any warrior that intelligence operations were the key to winning a war in most instances, and it was very important in strategy. It was unfortunate, at least in his opinion that their wasn't in the OS where one can take up a job that featured a hybridization of being a Warrior, and an Assassin; nevertheless, he was well aware that the OS most likely didn't need a branch like that, and his opinion was certainly a selfish one.

The young -by Anzati standards- Sith Acolyte arrived in the room that had been chosen for the lesson. He firstly bowed down in respect to the Sith Lord, being armed with only a Sil-5o sonic pistol, and a lightsaber. He then went an approached a table, sitting down and awaiting for more participants to arrive, as well as for further instruction.








[member="Sinistra"]

 

[Jaith Dahl]

The Mandalorian stepped into the lecture hall and bowed deeply in utmost respect to Sinistra. He saw that he was only the second Acolyte to arrive and took a seat just down from another student. His gold and black armour made him stand out, but he was here for the exact same reason everyone else was - to learn the ways of the One Sith.

He was going to pick up as much knowledge as he possibly could; he had learnt quite a lot from his Master, who'd told him that learning the way of the spy was as equally important as wielding a lightsaber. Jaith told himself that it was for the greater good that he attend this class - the more skills that he had under his belt the better it would be.

Jaith had been on several clandestine missions during his time as a mercenary, so saw this as being a refresher of sorts, abet in a new kind. He leant over and he held out a gloved hand to the other student. "Jaith Dahl," came the voice from behind the fanged helmet. Looking up at the clock, he was surprised no one else was here yet.

 

[Sinistra]

Sinistra looked around at the ones filtering in for the class and pursed her lips. Perhaps there were some running late.

"Clandestine Operations are the backbone of most organizations who work on a national, international or interstellar scale. There are lots of names for us who walk in the shadows, who put on a different face for the galaxy. Agents, assets, spies, spooks, ghosts, assassins. We are thieves, but what we steal is knowledge and information. We influence governments, corporations, markets, and wars. We have to be cunning. We have to be flexible."

She stepped and spun around, so that all could see her attire.

"Dressed as I am, there is no doubt of what I am. The first lesson in clandestine operations is dress for the part. A lot of what we do is observation. You can tell much about a target simply by observing them, however, if your appearance draws attention to your presence, then you will only learn how your target reacts when confronted by an anomaly."

She moved back to the table and clicked a holoprojector, which brought up a three dimensional overlay of a crowded room. It played through a short animation, where several people were interacting in the room, which looked like a cocktail party. There were several waiters roaming around with food trays, a couple people observing the action from the edge of the room and a couple small groups of people having an animated discussion.

After it played for several minutes, she stopped it and looked up.

"In that scene, one of those people was a spy. Which one was it?"

[member="Jaith Dahl "]| [member="Krayzen Dratos"] | [member=Nrir'ezeash'assase] | [member="Xavka Duquo"] | [member="Darth Erebos"] | [member="Ameli Trahir"]

 

[Karolus Krupp]

Lord Karolus Krupp always found it fancy to travel to the Sith Academy, even if those occassions were quite rare considerin he was not a Sith. Being Minister of Intelligence had helped him acquire authorized access but even with that authorization the Sith seemed reluctant to see his presence in the Academy, and he made sure his trips were meaningful and rare. Very rare.

Karolus admired the location of the Academy and its concealment, quite in contrast to the public and vulnerable temples that Jedis typically would erect. He had an underwater vehicle ready for him when he arrived at Pieralos, the underwater capital of the Nautolans. His journey to the Academy had always been difficult despite having the coordinates, and he always messed up the directions.

After a long journey of navigating underwater with his vehicle and numerous navigational errors Karolus had arrived at the Academy. Passing through the courtyard infront of the main entrance, he noticed no one and believed that most would be having classes at the current time. His passage led him through the area dedicated for discipline. Poles for people to be tied upon and leashed. Karolus always found it too barbarian for his taste but never let that thought cross his facial expression. Continuing on his way, he passed by a dozen of acolytes to which he nodded respectfully. He was glad not to have seen a higher-ranked Sith as they would either look at him with a disapproving face for having an access or on a rare occassion they would enter a dialogue with the Minister and express their disapproval.

Finally, Karolus arrived at the entrance to where the spy lecture was being held currently by Lord Sinistra, an experienced asset to the One Sith Intelligence who specialized in clandestine operations and had the knowledge to back up her high ranked position in the OSI. Lord Krupp found her quite an interesting character, one that seemed to be born with numerous masks. The Minister believed some people were just born with a talent for switching personas and operating in the shadows. Karolus was sure he did not have the best skills for field work, probably not even close to Sinistra's but his intelligence and skills in analysing and managing information were extraordinary.

The Minister, dressed in his typical brown tunic with puffed sleeves and a black cape on top, he did not bear any weapons at all, making him look quite powerless and less intimidating. A persona which he really liked to enforce upon others. Lord Krupp realized he was a bit late and was in the middle of class exercise when his eyes met with Sinistra. He nodded respectfully at her glance and leaned on the wall, close to the entrance and further away from the stage. Karolus' face expressed no emotions, only focus on what was taught and the students' reactions to it. He knew better than to speak before summoned in a class, a lesson of manners taught well to him during his noble upbringing.

[member="Sinistra"] and everyone who might notice his appearance.

 

[Niysha]

Much more her speed than combat training, Niysha was quietly (emphasis on) excited for a chance to learn how to...do exactly what she'd been doing for several years now, actually. Staying below the radar of others was a tricky balance in a Sith academy. If you were too visible, you became a rival, but if you appeared too weak, you became prey. It was best to be forgettable altogether, a skill that Niysha had done her best to cultivate for six solid years.

The presentation began, and Niysha focused intently to observe the electrical pulses of the holoprojection. Least of all here, in the Darwinist capital of the galaxy, did she expect to find someone thinking of the blind when making a lesson plan. Fortunately, with proper concentration, a sea of light became a flowing river of electrical signals and positive/negative charges. Holograms were easy to see, but tricky to distinguish.

Which, of course, put her in the perfect position to focus on what was happening on screen. This was an easy answer, and...well, Niysha allowed herself to step into the spotlight just this once. She spoke only when she was sure her instructor had finished speaking. "It's definitely one of the waiters, my lord. A partygoer attracts attention, whether center stage or wallflower. People look at them. The help is beneath notice unless it does something wrong."

Far preferable to combat classes. A quiet, bookish nerd in a lightsaber course was a free punching bag that you could beat bloody without even a glare from the teacher. There would be none of those strong-arm tactics here, for risk of disappointing an instructor who was teaching subtlety.

[member="Karolus Krupp"] | [member="Sinistra"] | [member="Jaith Dahl "]| [member="Krayzen Dratos"]​

 

[Krayzen Dratos]

Krayzen heard Sinistra speak about clandestine operations. He then heard her ask who –in this scenario- was a spy.

The Anzat looked around keenly, and quickly dismissed the two people observing the action from the edge of the room. Firstly, he did this because he thought that them being so observant was an attempt to trick them into picking them. Secondly, and most importantly, Krayzen believed that they couldn’t be able to hear what other people were talking about.

He then looked at the couple of small groups having a discussion. From what he could see, each of the people were preoccupied at having the discussion, and were not observing, or hearing what other people were doing.

Lastly, Krayzen looked at the waiters. As they walked with the food trays, they had what the couple of people observing the action from the edge of the room couldn’t have, the ability to observe your target, and listen to them. Most importantly, no one would suspect a waiter to be the spy, so it seemed natural for one of the waiters to be the spy.

All of this was quickly processed in two seconds, and just like his colleague, Krayzen also responded by stating “I agree; the spy is one of the waiters.” After finishing speaking, Krayzen noticed another presence enter the room. It was one from a non-force sensitive, and he silently wondered who it was, as he awaited for the next part of the lecture.

[member="Sinistra"] / [member="Jaith Dahl "]/ [member="Karolus Krupp"]

 

[Sinistra]

"An astute observation and one that brings me to the next point. Know your target and the environment. Tailor your operation to fit the need of the organization. This is a low level operation. The waiter in question is there to observe a certain individual for the night. There is little danger in the observation and the agent is serving only as informant. Observe, report back, do not engage or draw attention to yourself. I'm not going to lie, a lot of agents find themselves in these positions. Informants are the ones who tip off the OSI to investigate something further. Nothing turns into a full scale campaign without an informant somewhere telling us what they know."

She noticed the Minister of Intelligence enter the room, his attention on the members of the class but showing no signs of interrupting it. She inclined her head to show him the respect of his office but returned to the subject matter at hand.

"Everyone wants to be super star agent as shown in the films that draw huge crowds to watch a well known and well muscled spy tangle with large cruel organizations and take them down alone. I can guarantee there is nothing so flashy or sexy about what we actually do in the OSI. It requires discipline and sacrifice. After the informants have collected all they can through observation, the next step is move an asset in closer."

She pulled out the film again and highlighted a older looking near human looking man. She clicked a button, and a dossier on him opened wide, showing the various pieces of information collected on him. The man's life story seemed to unfold, his name, age, birthday, height, weight, gender, spouses, mistresses, children, education, and every job he'd ever had appeared on the screen. There were complete financial records for his personal accounts and property listings. He seemed to be a typical, well paid company executive.

"Once we have a dossier, we decide how best to obtain the end result we are looking for. In this case, we sent an informant to observe this man. He is the head of research and development for a rather large shipyards. However, observations have turned up that he has personal meetings with a known crime boss in the Hutt Cartel. We cannot discover anything more from simply tailing him. It's time for boots on the ground. The question is, do we engage the industrialist or the criminal and why?"

[member="Krayzen Dratos"] | [member="Niysha"] | [member="Karolus Krupp"] | [member="Jaith Dahl "]|

 

[Niysha]

Fortunately, Niysha didn't know this one on instinct. She could make several guesses about engaging the criminal, due to his negotiable loyalties, but those were simply guesses. It seemed just as optimal to place someone as the executive's secretary and then allude through a second agent that his dealings with the criminal might have become more public. His mad dash to burn information would include that secretary, putting the agent in a perfect position to lift copious amounts of delicious secrets.

It was just a guess, so Niysha had plenty of reason to keep her mouth shut and wait. This would, thankfully, give her enough time for someone else to answer a question. It wouldn't do to be the brightest hopeful in this or any other class. Rivalry was difficult but entirely possible to avoid. She'd established herself as alert and responsive. Now she needed to prove that she wasn't over-eager to steal others' limelight.

Just one more face in the room. Niysha waited.

 

[Krayzen Dratos]

Krayzen continued to here the Sith Spymaster speak, and all that she stated, Krayzen already knew. While he certainly wasn’t the best spy, Krayzen had done numerous undercover-style works in his time as a bounty hunter which allowed him to be able to hunt, kill, and capture his targets, something that he knew was part of what spies did; additionally, he had created his own network that gave him intelligence –and credits- when he needed it. While it certainly may not be as far reaching as Sinistra, or the OSI for that matter, he knew enough to know it was legitimate, and definitely worth a century of work to build it up. Now, he planned on using that to help the OSI, and ultimately, the OS cause.

Krayzen then heard Sinistra’s next question, and he began to wonder if it was better to engage the industrialist, or the criminal.

On one hand, engaging the criminal could prove beneficial. He would be willing to change some ties, and get the information that they needed quickly; additionally, the criminal could give us more information in terms of what the Hutt Cartel was planning.

On the other hand however, the industrialist was easy to capture, and most likely was willing to give information much more quickly.

As he deduced this, Krayzen felt [member="Niysha"] wanting to avoid the question; the force helped deduce feelings, especially if someone didn’t guard them. He couldn’t deduce however why she had done it. Perhaps she was cautious? Maybe she didn’t want to get it right? Krayzen didn’t know, nor did he care. He did know this though; a guarded mind is something that is good, especially in this class. That was why Krayzen heard Teras Kasi barriers to protect them, and if anyone attempted to intrude his mind, mental barriers aided by the force would be there also as a precaution; even though they weren’t activated, decades of using the ability allowed him to be able to use it with ease.

The Anzat wasn’t afraid of answering the question, mostly because he didn’t really care if others so him as a threat; he had trained enough to be able to fend for himself, and the Anzat liked duels, and he thought himself to be quite good at them.

“I would go for the industrialist; he represents an easier target, and the ability for us to be able to find documents on why the Cartel would want such a large naval force. Additionally, unlike the criminal who most likely has some form of mental resistance, the industrialist most likely doesn’t have the ability to that, and you can threaten to reveal the information in a public manner. He most likely also won’t hide his information well, and there are certainly documents that speak about the engagements that are made. Lastly, while a criminal can have his loyalty negotiated, they also have the ability to report what they have to his superiors. That is why I would go for the industrialist. “ he stated. That was mostly if he had been a non-force sensitive. If he was a force sensitive however, Krayzen would certainly –and this is most likely the case with trained force sensitives- be able to use other methods to get the criminal to talk.

 

[Sinistra]

"Interesting approach, I can see the thoughts behind it. I'd caution you again relying on mental attacks for one reason. You give yourself and your operation away when you engage your target in that manner. That should always be a last resort only when circumstances are dire and there are no more options available."

She clicked the video forward to show that both targets had been surveilled.

"Now in each case we had to find a way to gain intel safely. One way is to embed an operative within each organization. In this manner, they would have access to networks not previously explored while seeing the targets on a more intimate level. The biggest investment in these occasions is trust. It takes time in order to put pieces in play and have them be above reproach. The other option is to find a weak link in the organization and convert them to our cause through pressure or money. Believe it or not, money can be a powerful incentive to betrayal. Especially among those who are not force sensitive."

She turned off the video, and stood up from the edge of the table.

"It's time for an exercise. Gather your things and follow me."

She proceeded to head out of the classroom and through the corridors until they came to a wide courtyard, full of people crossing through to class, sitting and talking, practicing combat footing for saber forms. She pulled everyone to one side.

"I want you to pick a target and shadow them for at least 30 minutes without your target becoming aware of your observation. Spread out and blend in. I'll be around to check on you."


[member="Krayzen Dratos"] [member="Niysha"] [member="Jaith Dahl"] [member="Karolus Krupp"] [member="Ameli Trahir"]

 

[Krayzen Dratos]

[member="Sinistra"]

The Anzat had the veteran Spymaster speak about the flaws in his method. Krayzen took her suggestions, and memorized them inside, and out; he knew that she was correct, and perhaps the suggestions she had given to Krayzen were suggestions that she had given that had messed up on a mission that was extremely similar to this.

He then went with her, and heard her instructions.

Krayzen then decided to move in, and pick a target; his target was a criminal, whose network extended to several companies that supported the Galactic Republic. If only I could finish him, eliminate the evidence, and wipe out the people's minds in a few seconds. Krayzen thought.

The Anzat didn't have any weapons. He just walked inside a well known restaurant that served the upper class- the elite of all society. Krayzen so several of his Anzati brothers and sisters(metaphorically speaking of course) as he walked in in a casual manner. "Do you have a drink?" he stated, as he sat somewhat close to the criminal, but far enough that he wouldn't find it an issue, or be disturbed by it.

This would certainly be an interesting exercise.