[Lyseil Panteer]

The temperature was actually pleasant now, Lyseil realised, and she took her beer with her out of the rec hall to enjoy the cool evening breeze that provided a much needed reprive from the daytime's scorching sun. It was nice to be off-duty soon, though she still did go against some regulation by undoing some buttons on her uniform-jacket.

"Ahh... this is nice!" she said in a sing-song tone as she sat down in the shade to watch the sunset.

[Tra Kize]

Approaching from the barracks area. The sound of her voice was followed by a response, "It's certainly much nicer than earlier." The Kel Dor nodded to the noble lady as he got closer. "Sergeant. A pleasure to make your acquaintance."

He had a drink of his own in hand, though it was in a sealed container with a fancy looking straw that probably attached to his breathing mask.

[Lyseil Panteer]

"Oh, sir!" she quickly stood and saluted, caught off-guard by the uniform the Kel Dor wore. "A pleasure! Sergeant Lyseil Panteer, sir."

[Tra Kize]

"At ease," he replies returning the salute. "There is no need for that. This is the uniform of a retired man. No need for the formality, I'm no one's superior anymore." He chuckles at that. "Though it is appreciated. I make my living as a lecturer these days... well, aside from the diversion supporting the Bankor resistance."

[Lyseil Panteer]

Lyseil smiled sheepishly, since she now saw that it wasn't the uniform of an active officer. "Ah, I should've noticed... heh."

"Oh, a lecturer? What's your field, sir? I don't think I've had the pleasure of attending any of your lectures!"

[Tra Kize]

"Primarily warfare strategy and tactics, actively. But originally I doubled in macro economics and political science. Twenty five years as a staff officer definitely shifted my focus and understanding though," he replies. "Gave me a keen understanding of the military industrial complex in the Republic."

"And yourself? What have you studied?" he returns, assuming a higher education from both her bearing and words, which was surprising given her rank but also welcome.

[Lyseil Panteer]

"Ahhh... I always wanted to better myself in that field. Tactics that is. Guess I'm in the right place for that now, yes-yes?" she chuckled warmly. "Political sciences, philosophy, history, chemistry, and biology, and I branched out into archaelogy and xeonology for my current field now; once I publish some amazing discovery, I'll be a real archaeologist!"

She was clearly enthusiastic about all the subjects, but her passion was clearly the adventure of an archaeologist as seen in holovids. "It's a lot of wide subjects and I haven't specialised too much, but it's been a great deal of help in my duties of managing reports and such for the commander, since I can then make sense of what the different specialists are talking about."

[Tra Kize]

"I see," he says with a nod. "That's an important skill to have. Translating technical information for high level policy and decision makers helps to ensure the right decisions are being made. I was going over the data from the Mandalorian's prisoner assault earlier. It was a terrible ambush, and now that we know they're not above such cruel tactics we can develop more effective prisoner recovery plans for such future incidents. If you wanted to go over that with me you could likely learn a thing or two about our current enemy's tactics."

"Also, I'm not sure how much opportunity there will be for archaeological study here, but I've heard of many unexpected finds that resulted from military conflicts in the past. The chaos and destruction can sometimes expose things from the past that were long buried. It's never safe for such an uncontrolled discovery, but if I hear of something along those lines coming up I'll be sure to keep you in mind."

[Lyseil Panteer]

"Oh, certainly, sir!" she nodded in response to both of those suggestions.

She cleared her throat, and prcoeeded to state what she knew. "Initial reports indicated that the Mandalorian forces, consisting mostly of clans Varad and Kryze but with some representation from other clans but not enough to make them into a major faction, had used tactics that are either illegal according to Repbulic laws regarding military operations - such as targetting civilians, terror actions, and enslaving of prisoners of both military and civilian nature. Reports from Emerald Valley confirmed also that they possess military tactics in taking out infrastructure, as commanded by their regional leader Tano Kryze. There's also been reports of captives being outfitted with explosive vests, so suicide-bombers have been an incorrect term so far as the Mandalorians themselves don't commit to such tactics personally, as their culture in general would frown upon dying in such a fashion."

Lyseil coughed a bit uneasily as she proceeded. "The opposing Mandalorian forces seem to still follow some of their cultural traditions strongly, as we have reports today that dozens of lives were saved by our Mandalorian allies engaging in ritual combat for the release of prisoners. Sadly... uhm... so far the reports I've seen was not very... favourable for our allies though, as it cost them their lives. So, uhm, even our opponents seem to have some concept of honor they still keep to - even if our allies claim that they've mostly abandoned it."

[Tra Kize]

"This has long been a point of note for the Mandalorians," he replies with a nod. "That as a group, they tend to act in line with orders and along clan lines quite strictly, as a point of personal honor. The honor of fighting for one's clan takes precedence in the absence of a challenge to their personal honor. But while the majority may act in such a manner in a conflict as a whole, individuals will place their personal honor, which is clearly variable between individuals, above that of the clan if called out on it. In this type of situation, what call would you make as a primary tactic for dealing with such activities?" he asks, curious about what solution she might come up with.

[Lyseil Panteer]

"Hmmm..." she took a sip from her beer as she considered possible tactics, knowing she didn't have the commander's experience or all the information.

"From what I know, I'd try to appeal to our opponents' sense of honor. It could maybe take their focus off of causing further harm to the civilians and the POWs. By honoring some parts of their culture to draw them out into more direct confrontations, as I don't think the Mandalorians have forces or resources to actually face us head-on... based on how they are running their tactics so far, as their strategies seem to make up for their lack of numbers and supplies in comparison to the Republic."

"Of course, it bears the greatest risk that they won't abide by a call for more direct confrontation, as they know it is their weakness and they would instead use the situation to spring a trap."

[Tra Kize]

"A fair assessment," he says with a nod. "But bear in mind that the Mandalorians likely study our own strategies, techniques and culture to improve their own effectiveness. Thus the risk for a trap in such a situation is far greater than one would initially assume just from our own point of view."

"However, we can observe that the actions of the clan seem to be beneath the personal honor of the individuals of that clan. If they are willing to follow such a man then the honor of the clan would appear to be far more important than the individual honor of it's leader, further making it unlikely that appealing to individuals will improve the situation."

"So if one cannot appeal to the individuals in order to cause their personal honor to override the commands of their leadership, how do you change the actions and point of view of that leader?"

[Lyseil Panteer]

"Mhm, good points..." she nodded thoughtfully, absorbing the words of the more experienced commander and tactician. "I'm not sure... can you really change the viewpoints of someone like that, when you think about all that he has condoned so far?"

[Tra Kize]

"Even if you could, how much time and effort would it take, and how many more innocents would suffer if you took that time?" he asks.

"However, the commander of any military operation is a legal military target," he states plainly. "Though committing to such a path would raise new concerns. If the mission became eliminating the enemy commander, what issues arise in that situation? How many resources need to go into it such a mission and what risks does it entail?"

[Lyseil Panteer]

"Oh...hmm..." she thought hard on the subject. "... I don't know. Assassination seems a little... wrong? Like the kind of thing that would just add more fuel to the fire for the Mandalorians who follow Varo Kryze? His children are said to be rather ruthless and violent too, so no doubt they'd respond to any such elimination with a volatile reaction?"

[Tra Kize]

"Not only that, but by acting in such a low manner we become the same as those we label criminals. For some that might be fine, but that is not something that would cause political concerns in the Republic as well as potentially cause soldiers to question their own leadership," he agrees with a nod.

"But what do we know of the man personally? And what can we learn of him from intelligence gathering? How would we compel him to step onto the battlefield himself? Is he the type that would only do so if he felt victory was assured and risk was near zero? Would he only do so if he felt his direct command was necessary for victory? Would he feel the need if a commander he considered an equal was on the opposing side of the battle? Could one appeal to his personal honor to take the field? Or maybe he could be compelled if his troops were to doubt his capability and he felt a need to prove himself? Asking the questions, getting the information, and formulating a course of action around that to attempt to give him a warriors death on the battlefield... these are the steps needed to eliminate a Mandalorian commander without incurring a disproportionately violent response. And to do so has the potential to compel those that followed him to back or confirm a commander that is more in line with their personal sense of honor, potentially reducing the number of war crimes inflicted by their forces."

[Lyseil Panteer]

"So, how would you do it?" she asked with some impatiance, since she wasn't seeing any clear answers or solutions herself.

[Tra Kize]

"Research the man himself, gather intelligence on his habits, and use those to alter an existing plan to draw him to the battlefield during an assault. Form a strike force specifically selected for dealing with him and whatever personal guard he keeps nearby. Tactics often have common themes, but one thing that you always need to improve your success rate is more information than your opponent."

[Lyseil Panteer]

"Indeed! Well, that's why you're the expert and I'm still learning!" she nodded with enthusiasm.

"Hopefully our Mandalorian allies can provide more information on Varo Kryze and his children. No doubt they know more about him than we do!"

[Tra Kize]

Tra nods his agreement.

"I wonder what kind of intelligence assets the strike force has available. I'm sure it's limited, given the Republic's measured contribution to this resistance. And they're probably working overtime looking into the state of the Imperials right now."

[Lyseil Panteer]

"Yes... I expect we will learn more later during the command staff briefing. Will you be attending, sir?" she asked in a friendly tone.

[Tra Kize]

"I won't. Despite my record, I am firmly aligned with the resistance and not officially part of the Republic Navy. If they had to pull out for some reason I would be free to remain, and would. But as such, I have no official standing or clearance unless the commander chose t grant a special dispensation."

[Lyseil Panteer]

"I'm sure it could be arranged, if you so wish, sir! I feel fairly confident that the Commander would appriciate closer cooperation with the local resistance, and someone who understands the Republic military structure and is respect by the locals, such as yourself, would be an excellent meditator, if I may say so," she smiled warmly at this bright idea.

[Tra Kize]

"I wouldn't decline if the offer was made, but I also would not wish to be a bother to the commander either. I assume that he is aware of my presence and if he ever feels the need for it, he will call on me. At the very least you can assure him that I am glad to work with him as needed to ensure that the resistance is well looked after and would be glad to communicate the needs of both forces between them. Though he already has a structure in place for that undoubtedly. He would be a fool if he didn't and the Strike Force has been led quite well thus far, so I imagine he is no fool."

[Lyseil Panteer]

"Commander Malcolm is no fool. No-no, sir!" she agreed eagerly, clearly having a lot of respect and professional admiration for such a renowned hero. "Very well, I trust the judgement of you both."