Lit What's the point to let Mara Jade be a dancer to the public?

Paplatine was a dirty old man, the end.

 

She doesn't have to be seen around the palace if Palpatine keep her secretly enough. He could also contact her through their link in the mind.

There is danger to expose her. Others don't need to know her true role, just need to know she's close to Palpatine, or even she's an imperial, that's bad enough. If Palpatine want to kill someone publicly, Vader is a much better choice.

 

You'd be suprised how much dancers at parties are ignored, just like any other entertainment. People like it, but don't pay super close attention. As others have pointed out, it is a good cover for several reasons; other than already mentioned: people tend to talk around 'the help' they way they wouldn't talk around others because they 'don't matter', she could get close to someone if she wanted/needed and they wouldn't be suspicious of her.

Also you are assuming if she was to assisinate someone that she couldn't just slip something into their drink, use some kind of tactile poision or just sneak into where ever they were and kill them in their sleep.

 

They could pay close intention if they want to, then why not keep Mara as a total secret, don't give others the chance to know her?

Why wouldn't they be suspicious? The girl is an imperial, she is close to the Emperor. Those who could raise trouble to let Palpatine send his hand to deal with, surely aren't fools and could be easily aware of the trouble if someone who is close to Palpatine come to them. If she wants to be a dancer to lower other's guard, she could easily take the cover on the mission, pretend to be a dancer in some Hutt owned casino.

Yes she could, but if her identity is totally secret she would have more choices to kill.

 

Part of Mara's job is to be a spy.

To be a spy, sometimes you have to gather information.

To gather information, you have to be places.

To be places, you have to have an explanation for what you're doing there.

To have an explanation for what you're doing there, you have to assume a cover identity.

Therefore, part of Mara's job is to assume cover identities.

It allows her to be places, such as Imperial Court functions, so that she can gather information and take action, while remaining undercover.

 

This is the wrong comparison. The Imperial Agent of TOR is a 'Cipher' designation, his/her role is almost completely paramilitary (which, duh, the game conducts the overwhelming majority of its interactions via combat). Mara Jade occasionally played the paramilitary role, but she was much more all-purpose. Her principle asset was her ability to be in constant communication with the Emperor himself, to speak with his voice, and to openly invoke his authority when necessary.

It really doesn't matter that certain people at court realized who she was, so long as they were of sufficiently high rank - such as the Grand Admirals - it was of no consequence. In fact, being able to point to a cover at court reinforces the legitimacy of Mara's authority when it was necessary for her to evoke it, as it provides a patina of plausibility to go with the various super-high-level command codes she used.

 

Exactly. To simply it further, there's a difference between James Bond and someone like Mara. The Cipher Agent from TOR is a much more "specialized" agent. Mara, above all else, is in the business of information. That requires numerous cover identities.

And besides, even the Cipher agent requires cover identities. The Balmorra missions, for example, have you infiltrate a terrorist cell. Your character uses a cover identity, and even goes as far as to change their accent (a little touch about the Agent storyline that I greatly enjoy). It's not a huge part of the game, as I would have loved for it to have been, but cover identities are definitely there. You just never get to disguise yourself as anything like a dancer. Personally, I think that would have made a very interesting mission.

 

really? They are going to know that anyway, she's not invisible.

Better that people think she is a dancer, than to have no cover and people will wonder about her

 

Maybe Mara doesn't have much covered as a dancer...but why would people assume 1) She's Imperial, 2) Palpatine likes redheads?

Lets say you have a mob boss. He goes into a strip club and sees a dancer (or dancers) he likes. He has her dance for him. Maybe she comes to parties at his place. Does that make that stripper...

1) A Mobster
2) That's close to the mob boss

Um, no.

 

As I understand this question, the problem arises, if the people she's met on her job, come around and see her dance at the Palace. I think Havac points out how good a general idea her dancer's cover is, but I agree with you, that if she meets prominent people around the galaxy who take commands from her, then it's not such a good idea. Also, I was a bit confused about her cover as Comtess in Allegiance. Using mutliple cover identities would maybe make her harder to track at first - but once recogized, it would make it harder to explain... I mean, a dancer who happen to be where things takes place, is still a dancer - and if she's one of Palpatine's personal fav's, then she'd be untouchable just for that. But a dancer who's uses a cover identity is pretty recognizable as a spy, as far as I can see...

To me, it could seem like Palpatine didn't plan her career to be that long... Then again, she was an experiment...

 

If Mara's cover identities as "dancer" and "countess" are problematic- what does that say about the cover identity of Roganda Ismaren, another Hand, as "one of Palpatine's concubines"?

 

There are A LOT of people in the GFFA. The people Mara comes in contact with in the field probably aren't going to ever be at Imperial Court, and therefore won't recognize her. (Although how they could recognize her in plain clothes after being dressed to dance is beyond me, especially if the Imperial Palace dancers wear elaborate costumes and tons of make-up.) The people she does know from Imperial Court--well, she's going to kill them anyway so what does it matter if they know her or not?

 

Well, Lando remembered her after seeing her only shortly in Jabba's Palace...And if anyone's been dealing with her before as Hand, they'd definitely should be able to recognize her afterwards. And part of Mara's moral is only to kill those she finds guilty of treason - not one guitly of knowing her identity. And yes, there's a lot of people in GFFA - but as soon as there's a plot excuse, they bump inot each other anyway And with good reason - I remember when I was interrailing through Europe - I ran into three people I knew in one month, and know many people who tell the same story. People end up places where other people are. Therefor not believing you'd eventually run into imperial officers or dignitaries at Imperial Court, is a short time strategy.

Of course this entire question is a construction in so far that we take a fictive backstory for a fictive charcater in a fictive universe - naturally it's dependent of the reader's goodwill to work out. As is so much other stuff we discuss heatedly on this board. Personally, I'd think it would be a pretty cool story to see Mara in a dilemma when it comes to covering her tracks (we saw it in MJ-BTEM with Captain Strok - but as he turned out to be a baddie, she could kill him wi´thout problems) - in general question her position somewhat.

 

The OP is trolling, right? Right?

 

He's as quick on the uptake as his namesake

 

What's with all the really obvious question topics lately? Next someone will want to know if Cad Bane contradicts the EU.

 

I don't think that was just a cover. Palpy had needs.

 

The point being that it's high profile enough for Leia to remember her from the court.

 

He does. We don't know how, but he does.

 

As disturbing as it may sound, I think FatSmel is right. Why should we infer that the title of "Imperial concubine" was only a cover? Ismaren was not the only one either.

 

I always got the impression that Palpatine was so immersed in the Dark Side that worldly pleasures meant nothing to him.

 

Maybe you are right. But I like to think he still liked worldy things. Didn't have splendid botanical gardens on his private skyhook?

 

More like he got off to killing people and making them suffer more than anything else

Vader even mentions he likes to kill people

 

Didn't Plagueis teach him not to kill unless it serves a purpose politically?

 

>Implying he cared what he or anyone thought about how he got his kicks