Chapter 4: Strategy

“So have you talked with Chenn at all?” Andrew asked.

Nari and Andrew were going over some of the information that she’d read in her lessons from the previous week. He didn't get many chances to talk to her otherwise because he was too busy, so occasionally, he would bring up a topic of discussion that was not pertinent to the lesson if he felt they needed to discuss it.

Nari shrugged. “No.”

Andrew gave her a searching glance. “Why not?”

“I just didn’t feel like it. I’ve talked with some of the girls though, and I’ve been making friends with two of them.” She spun in her chair to face him.

“Which two?” He continued to scrutinize her.

“Vanessa and Nikki.” She shrugged. "Why?"

“Ah. Yes, I know who you’re talking about. Nikki is a good friend to have. Hard working and generous.” Andrew mused, turning his chair back to his own terminal.

“Glad you approve. Shouldn’t we continue working?” Nari asked, ignoring the fact that he hadn’t included Vanessa in his assessment.

She filed the information away to remember at another time. She would need to keep her guard up with Vanessa if Andrew thought she wasn’t worthy of including in the hard-working and generous category. He also hadn’t said she was a good friend to have, yet another hint that perhaps she should be wary of Vanessa and maybe even go so far as to stop hanging out with her.

“Yes, we should.” Andrew turned back to their work. He brought up some holographic displays of virtual battle scenarios. “So can you tell me how to solve these, Nari? What should I do if my forces are down here in this plain and the enemy is somewhere in the surrounding hill land?”

Nari looked over the scenario.

Green, computer-simulated hills, mountains, and flood plains glowed on the holograph - a sort of transparent screen projected onto walls or surfaces that was able to be rotated and moved around by moving one's hands through the projection - hovering in the air. Her forces were represented by black dots, swarming the plains in tight, compact ranks. There were no dots to indicate where the enemy was, and the lay of the hills was seen from above so that she could see all the surrounding hills instead of just the ones in the front.

“Any time, Nari. Remember, in real battles you won’t have much time to deliberate in a situation like this. You need to be able to think quickly, whether it’s just you or if it’s you and your men. So what are you going to do?” Andrew pressed her to make her decisions with speed.

Her brilliance with plans was no use if she needed a lot of time to come up with one in a situation where she needed to make one in a few minutes.

“I’m going to send scouts into the hills in groups of two or three to figure out the enemy position. I don’t dare send my helicopters into the air to scout their position because if I do, they’ll be shot down if the enemy has any anti-aircraft weaponry hidden at their location. With scouts, if they do their job carefully and properly, the enemy won’t know they’re there.” She decided, pointing at a few locations in the hills.

Andrew nodded, smiling. “Yes, that’s a good plan. When – or rather, if – the scouts return, what will you do with this information?” He thumbed something into the display.

A cluster of red dots showed up, pulsing on the hologram to show her where the enemy was located. They were located in a nest of hills with the mountains towering on their left flank. 

“Am I offensive or defensive here, Andrew?”

He grinned. “You’re offensive, Nari. You should know that by now.”

She laughed. “Quit making stupid jokes. It distracts me.” She turned to look at the pulsing red dots, calculating some things as she shifted, trying to find a comfortable spot to rest her back in the metal-backed chair.

He laughed too. “You're the invading force here. So decide what you’ll do. And explain it.”

“Well, the most obvious place to go if I’m attacking, not defending, is through this small pass in the hilly terrain. It’s the only place where the land around is flatter so that I can see what I’m dealing with to some extent. I’m going to assume that the enemy already knows that I’m on the plain. That’s the best way to approach the issue. Never assume that they haven’t spotted you yet.” She gave him a glance.

He nodded. “Continue.”

“So, I can’t go through this flat terrain because that’s predictable, assuming that they already know where I am. If I circle around behind them…” She paused.

Staring at the terminal, she placed her fingers into the holographic projection.

It melted away from her hands like ink bleeding on a paper. She spread her thumb and pointer finger far away from each other, zooming in on the display. The terrain sharpened and she could see the details of the encampment. Soldiers and buildings popped up on the plains, showing her where the defenses were and how they were laid out.

They had a strong guard on their right flank and both front and back positions, but the left flank was left open with few guards there. The mountains stretching up behind the camp could present a problem, but if she played it right, those same mountains would work to her advantage to hide her so they wouldn't see her coming.

She grinned. This was fun. “Their guard is weak on the left flank. They seem to feel confident that the mountains to that side of them and the hills will discourage any attackers. Looking at the terrain, it probably would. But then, it is in the perfect position for my army to march quickly and quietly through the hills unnoticed if I do it right.

"I would need to send my army into their positions several large groups at a time. I can’t take everyone through there all at once or they’ll spot us. So I’ll send groups, have them cluster in these key positions, and when everyone is assembled twenty or thirty minutes later, I’ll signal the attack.”

Andrew nodded. “Good, but one issue. If the enemy has already spotted you, Nari, don’t you think they’ll be watching to see what you do? They’d see the troop movement and begin fortifying in the areas you’re sending the troops to. How will you fix that issue?”

She shrugged, still grinning. “Easy. I’ll send a larger group to the right flank. They’ll do everything the way the smaller group would, and try not to be spotted. Then I’ll have the other, smaller groups appear too obvious to be the real attack. The enemy will believe that the bigger troop is the real attack and ignore the one small group.

"I’ll send several smaller groups to circle around, and I’ll go with one of them, leaving my subordinates in charge of the bigger troop movement that I’m using as distraction. Then, the bigger troop will start attacking the enemy position, creating small distractions and then disengaging and disappearing. Meanwhile, the rest of the army is getting into position. Then when everyone on my side is ready, the real attack is launched while the other portion of my army is creating a diversion.”

“Sounds complex, Nari. It’s best to keep a plan simple. So many components allow for too many variables in the enemy movement and even in your own army. Not only that, you don't have endless soldiers.” He glanced at his watch. “Our lesson time is over. I’m going to go grab some lunch. I don’t know what you have to do, but it's probably best you get moving so that you don’t end up late.”

Nari nodded. “I have advanced self-defense training with Indri next.” She grimaced.

Andrew gave her a smug look, laughing a bit. “What? You don’t like Indri?”

“He’s such a know-it-all.” She blurted it out before she even thought about softening her judgment.

Indri was her superior, and she knew she should afford him the proper respect even if he and Andrew did insist on being called by name, not by titles. 

Andrew crossed his arms, speaking with a gentle, but firm tone in response to her comment. “Mind your tongue, Nari. Have some respect for your superiors.”

“He specifically ordered me not to. He wants us to be open and honest about all our problems in the class and everything we’re struggling with in regards to the class." She hesitated, uncertain if she should go on - what she was about to say wasn't in the least respectful, but it was honest.

She sighed. Best to be honest. "The only thing I’ve struggled with so far is Indri himself!”

“Still… He’s older than you, and he’s in a position of authority, Nari. You need to have respect for him. He’s only working with a select group, and the fact that he’s working one on one with you is a special privilege. Only one or two of our students get that.” Andrew reminded, standing up and putting his desk into order.

“I know. I try not to be disrespectful towards him. But he sort of breeds it and encourages it. I ignore most of his jibes and humor, but sometimes… Well, you and Indri don’t act like commanders with any of us. I mean… In the FBI, our superiors couldn’t be bothered to talk with us mundane workers. We almost never saw them unless it was something important.

"You and Indri… Well, you are always finding ways to spend time with those under you when you can. Everyone on base knows you both, and they all talk about you with nothing but admiration and love. Even the ones who don’t particularly like Indri’s blunt sarcasm.” Nari stood too, putting her chair back into its customary spot just to the side of Andrew's desk.

“You can’t lead people you don’t understand and love, Nari. If those beneath you in station do not know that you love them and are doing all you can to lead them to victory safely, they will begrudge you every life that is taken in battle. They will question you when you ask them to do something seemingly reckless or overly dangerous.

"Listen to me, Nari. Understand this. Whenever possible, explain to your soldiers or underlings what you are doing and why. Taking the time to explain it to them while you have it will breed trust. They’ll see that you are levelheaded, and when you don’t have time to explain it to them, they will understand that the situation is truly dire. That’s how you lead in a manner that people will trust you and follow. You love them more than you love yourself.” Andrew smiled at her.

Nari nodded. “I’ll remember that.”

“For your own good, I hope you do. You have the makings of a leader. A great one, in fact. But if you can’t love those under you, then all the decisive action in the world will fail to make people follow you.

"They want to know that the person they are following can do something for them. They won’t follow someone who is a dictator or someone who, while they are decisive, is unwilling to think about or care for the lives of those beneath them." He paused as though considering his words. "Or rather, they won’t do so for long.” Andrew finished, walking to the door and pulling it open to reveal a long, narrow hall, which was, just like the others, grey.

Grey was boring and seeing it day in and day out sometimes got on her nerves, Nari reflected. This place needed a bit more color.

Seeing that he was waiting for a response, she nodded. “I understand.” She smiled.

He clapped her on the back. “I knew you would. Now go have your lesson with Indri, and be respectful! I don’t care if he deserves a tongue-lashing or not. Think of it this way, if you don’t give him the tongue-lashing he deserves, then you prove that you’re stronger than he is because you can control your tongue even when he can’t.” He grinned at her.

She laughed. “That’s a good way to see it!”

“I know… It’s how I deal with Indri on days when he’s intolerable.” Andrew laughed.

She nodded. “Well, I guess that qualifies you to give advice, then.”

He shook his head, smiling. “Guess so.” He walked out of the room, leaving her to shut off the terminal. She did so, and then she walked to her next class.

Andrew had given her a lot to think about in regards to leadership. The more she considered his words, the more she saw just how true they were.