Post by Hez on Apr 21, 2015 16:44:44 GMT -5
Lesson 0110: Discreet Target Tracking and Semester Finals
I'm especially proud happy about this lesson going off without a hitch, because it happened while I was out of town and I had little to do with its success. Thanks to the players who ran it, and thanks to the players who participated in it.
Hell, this post is basically a long-overdue thank you to everybody who's been able to make this guild a possibility. I couldn't keep it up without your continued support. I know we've had our challenges, including but not limited to obligations to other guilds, the loss of a few members, and the ever-evil real life obligation here and there. In spite of these obstacles, we're still able to meet up and have fun on a regular basis. I only hope you guys are still enjoying it as much as I am, and if not, I'm happy to have had the chance so far. I welcome your feedback, your ideas, and your e-friendship. Let's keep it going for another fake semester!
Due to certain extragalactic activities I won’t go into, I was unable to host this particular lecture. In my stead the course was taught by Aria, one of our newer instructors. From what Thayta tells me, the class was initially a bit inattentive, but eventually receptive to what she had to say. That’s to be expected with any oncoming member of the staff, I suppose, although I am pleased to hear everyone was eventually able to get on the same page.
Aria’s lesson focused on the art of successfully tailing a mark. In layman’s terms, that means to follow a target without being noticed. It’s a skill essential to our line of work, and often much more difficult than one would think. The type of target you might be expected to tail varies—this could be anything from a datapad to a live animal, and of course, a sentient being. Cargo is normally relatively easy to follow, being a matter of intercepting the correct shipping manifest, but when you consider the sentient factor of the matter, things can get a bit…unpredictable.
In order to demonstrate just how unpredictable a given target could be, the class was given an exercise in which they were organized into followers and followees. Cadets were instructed to follow their marks to two separate locations without being noticed. All Cadets were able to evade notice at least once, with Zephr successfully evading detection both times. Quite commendable, indeed. Some might argue that the use of stealth field generator gives certain cadets an advantage over their peers, but fairness isn’t always a factor in the field.
[Reminder: update personnel file for Cadet Zephr]
Semester wrap-up notes:
EAP
The Emergency Action Plan exercise went well. The only area academy affiliates need to work on is responding to the correct call-out. In other words, when the command to evacuate is “Maneuver Besh”, they’d damn well not move a muscle if told to execute “Maneuver Aurek” unless that particular command has been previously established. In a galaxy of infiltrators, the difference can mean life or death.
Graduates
The fact that I even have the privilege of entering these names into the database is the realization of my professional dream come true. That’s all I’ll say, here and now.
Next semester
I imagine the first semester at any academic institution should expect to have its challenges…Financially we were able to remain operating, but personally...emotionally…our costs were great. Too great. I intend to do something about that, and to give some of these graduates some hands-on experience in the field.
Aria’s lesson focused on the art of successfully tailing a mark. In layman’s terms, that means to follow a target without being noticed. It’s a skill essential to our line of work, and often much more difficult than one would think. The type of target you might be expected to tail varies—this could be anything from a datapad to a live animal, and of course, a sentient being. Cargo is normally relatively easy to follow, being a matter of intercepting the correct shipping manifest, but when you consider the sentient factor of the matter, things can get a bit…unpredictable.
In order to demonstrate just how unpredictable a given target could be, the class was given an exercise in which they were organized into followers and followees. Cadets were instructed to follow their marks to two separate locations without being noticed. All Cadets were able to evade notice at least once, with Zephr successfully evading detection both times. Quite commendable, indeed. Some might argue that the use of stealth field generator gives certain cadets an advantage over their peers, but fairness isn’t always a factor in the field.
[Reminder: update personnel file for Cadet Zephr]
Semester wrap-up notes:
EAP
The Emergency Action Plan exercise went well. The only area academy affiliates need to work on is responding to the correct call-out. In other words, when the command to evacuate is “Maneuver Besh”, they’d damn well not move a muscle if told to execute “Maneuver Aurek” unless that particular command has been previously established. In a galaxy of infiltrators, the difference can mean life or death.
Graduates
The fact that I even have the privilege of entering these names into the database is the realization of my professional dream come true. That’s all I’ll say, here and now.
- Novaa
- Violet Sky
- Thayta
Next semester
I imagine the first semester at any academic institution should expect to have its challenges…Financially we were able to remain operating, but personally...emotionally…our costs were great. Too great. I intend to do something about that, and to give some of these graduates some hands-on experience in the field.
I'm especially proud happy about this lesson going off without a hitch, because it happened while I was out of town and I had little to do with its success. Thanks to the players who ran it, and thanks to the players who participated in it.
Hell, this post is basically a long-overdue thank you to everybody who's been able to make this guild a possibility. I couldn't keep it up without your continued support. I know we've had our challenges, including but not limited to obligations to other guilds, the loss of a few members, and the ever-evil real life obligation here and there. In spite of these obstacles, we're still able to meet up and have fun on a regular basis. I only hope you guys are still enjoying it as much as I am, and if not, I'm happy to have had the chance so far. I welcome your feedback, your ideas, and your e-friendship. Let's keep it going for another fake semester!