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Behind the Dorms, Tuesday Afternoon

"Alright!" When the Reserves crew assembled today, they'd be greeted by Zack, holding up... Half a sword! The last two feet of the length of his blade were nowhere to be seen, and what survived was the hilt, and a length of metal that had definitely seen better days. "Broken weapons! They happen! I know some of you think your blades are all but invincible, but considering the sorts of things we see around here every day, I think it'd be safe to assume that someday, something will invade that stands a chance at disarming even you."

Like, say, Klingons.

Zack tossed what was left of his sword onto the ground at his feet, and then crossed his arms over his chest.

"A broken weapon means that you're going to have two problems. First, the very immediate issue of an enemy that quite possibly has now gained a serious upper hand against you. And second, the eventual repair or replacement of your weapon." He perked a little, giving his hands a clap together. "So! What we're going to do today is discuss both. Can you hold your own in a fight with something big and mean if you've been disarmed? Is your weapon still capable of doing some damage with what might be left? My sword isn't any good for attacking anymore, but at least I can use it to block incoming attacks with what's still there. And then talk about the repair or replacement. Is there someone on the island who can fix your weapon in particular? Can you find another one if it's beyond repair, or is it one of a kind?"

"Some of you may remember the meeting we held on searching your environment for an appropriate weapon," Arthur cut in, "In a pinch, remember to look around you, and to make use of what you've got. In fact, you're best off making sure you've got the measure of the area before you even start - lest you lose a flail and don't know to find the blunt instrument you might need to take out your enemy." NOT THAT HE KNEW ANYTHING ABOUT THAT. "Look around the grounds -- do you see anything you could use to your advantage if disarmed? And, on a related note - how great are your skills of avoidance -- although we'll go into that next week."

[OCD is up and the Reserves are open to all!]

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"It should," Azula said, "I fought in a war, everything is about winning there."

She smirked, "Of course, I like winning for the sake of winning."

"I'm partial to it myself. It's just not always the only goal. And I'm no soldier." Even if she fought in the Reserves for the rest of the year, she never would be, either. Dinah kept her expression calm and said, "There's some prices I can pay, and some I can't."

"Then I suppose you should be grateful there are people like me, willing to pay any price."

Did she just see a flash of red?

Or unnerved, that worked too.

"I think I'll be grateful you're not my enemy."

No, just her imagination. Nothing more. No one but her wore that shade of red.

"I'm a good friend to have," Azula said, seemingly laconic. Her eyes darted briefly over Dinah's shoulder before focusing on Dinah again.

"Friends are good...." Dinah turned to look, then shook her head when nothing was there, wondering if Azula had been testing her. "You okay? You seem a little distracted," she asked, half to cover, half because it was true.

"I'm fine," she answered, trying not to snap. It wouldn't do to alienate Dinah especially after what she said about being a good friend. "Just a lot to think about."

You do that, Azula. Aloud Dinah said, "Let me know if I can help with that," mostly on reflex. Then thinking, Do I want to know?

"Of course," Azula replied, really not meaning it. The last people she trusted this much turned on her. It would be the last time that happened.

"Have you been busy?"

"Pretty busy? All my classes are at the beginning of the week. I tried out for the play last Tuesday, and had to take care of Tony. Who's not a tiger any more, yay." Dinah grinned at that. "Otherwise, more running. Training with Arthur, as usual." And an ongoing game of Chicken with Cal, that would not be discussed. Nope.

"Play?" Azula repeated with a certain amount of disdain. She remembered the Ember Island plays her mother forced her to attend. They were so flamingly bad.

Dinah raised a challenging eyebrow. "Yes, a play. A good one. Our director's a genius even if he's kinda crazy. And it's fun."

"I'll take your word for it," Azula said. "In my experience all the plays I've been to were flamingly bad."

In fact the first thing she wanted to do after she was crowned was to abolish the stupid troupe. Then Zuko came and ruined her fun. Stupid Zuzu.

"Have you seen movies or television yet?" Dinah checked. "They might change your mind. Tony's going to be a professional director." And yes, there was pride there.

"You mean the little people walking around in that little box?" Azula asked, confused.

Dinah blinked, blinked again, then managed not to even sound amused when she said, "Yeah, well, that's a recording of a play, a lot of the time. Plays. News. Dramas. Comedies. They're just projected inside the box for convenience." She was so not going to try to explain technology she didn't fully understand herself.

Edited 2009-09-16 01:13 (UTC)

"Caught by the camera thing?" Hayley attempted to explain this to her but Azula only ended up more confused.

"Right. The camera records it, like-- oh, on a mirror?" She knew there were mirrors involved in the process inside the camera, anyway. "Then they use light and a recording thing to send it through the wires and cables to the back of the TV." And hey, did it need to be more technical? "You can get sports on it. Stock market prices. Shopping. And other plays. Usually recorded a lot earlier, but sometimes it's live, and you can see what's happening far away."

"You mean, it enables you to see anything from far away? Like a telescope?" Dinah was explaining it a lot better than Hayley. Azula was not surprised.

"Yeah. Well, you need to have the camera there, to see it. And a television set to catch the recording. But basically, yes." She grinned. "They even record sparring matches, and broadcast them. You could pick up a few new tricks."

"Interesting," Azula said, her eyes narrowed in thought, "does it work for surveillance as well?"

Trust Azula to pick up on that. "Yup." Dinah said, popping the 'p'. "A lot of banks and other secure facilities use them to discourage thieves, or catch them in the act. Some public places too. Those can be closed-circuit. Only one viewer." Dinah's eyes may have been cynical as she said this. "And why do you want to know?"

"I run the Fire Nation army," Azula should be using the past tense there. "It's my duty to look-up any technology that would benefit my country."

She might also be a little defensive there. Someone was really of their game.

Which, really, Dinah couldn't disagree with. It just sounded like it could be unfair. "They're pretty complicated. Too bad Ms. Whitaker isn't here ny more, she could explain them better... still. There has to be a teacher who'd be able to tell you about them." And pick up on Azula's plans for them, yup. "They even put them on the helmets of some soldiers these days, so their commanders can see what they're seeing when they're far away."

Now Dinah was just giving her ideas.

"Cameras on soldiers, you say?" Azula said, looking very, very, very interested.

Behind the Dorms, Tuesday Afternoon

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