> On Sep 29, 2015, at 9:52 AM, Kelly St. Clair <xxxxxx@efn.org> wrote:
>
> On 9/29/2015 9:04 AM, Bruce  Johnson wrote:
>
>> Establishing the parameters is useful.
>>
>> You said ‘Watch a planet without being detected’ we presumed “reconnaissance of an inhabited planet” not “Stakeout of a criminal hideout.”
>
> This.  Heck, my own original assumption was that you were talking about a (pre) First Contact scenario.

I still think that stand off is a great option. Drop a TL14 “Hubble” somewhere a ways out (even as close as a light hour or so) and have it tune in on the planet. Drop two or three if you are concerned about round the clock coverage.

When the calvary arrives, have them direct a tight beam squirt at the sats, requesting the last X weeks of intel, and use your own passive sensors as you come in for real time data.

At the TL’s we are talking about boots on the ground for recon really don’t make sense. A light hour or three out and you should be able to count the gnats that are around the cook stove.

And, it’s a lot safer. What if said pizza smells really good, and the Varger in the group being surveilled catches a whiff of it?

I guess the only benefit that I can see to boots on the ground is a ready reaction force incase of something going sideways. However they also increase the likelihood of that sideways movement.

>
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> ---------------
> Kelly St. Clair
> xxxxxx@efn.org
>
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