The motivation for Tafa's specialization is clear from his exploits in the past. The cost for maintaining his employment is a 3% maintenance fee. He is well worth every percentage point of it. It is worthwhile to note that individual leaders may cost up to and including 10% of your annual income. It is therefore in your best interests to carefully weigh the pros and cons of each High Council appointment. Dismissing the one that is causing the greatest detriment or providing the least amount of good is generally the way to go if you have decided to remove one of these ranks. How you view their dismissal depends whether you are pessimistic or optimistic in your reasoning respectively.

I SPY WITH MY LITTLE EYE
The James Bonds' of today would find a challenge the likes of which they have not yet known were they to visit the universe of MoO3. You may not get 007 himself working for you and you may or may not employ one of his descendents (or non-Human equivalents). Either way, you certainly need a spy agency as the game progresses where difficulty levels and prevailing circumstances will dictate just how soon is soon enough… or too late. In my related analysis, the appointment of Sulauthk Tafa was not sufficient reason for me to seek commencement of training exercises for Apolyton's first agent for the defense of the empire. It was a solemn warning in a 'SitRep' report half-a-dozen or so cycles later that acts suspected to be the work of enemy spies that sent the program into hyper drive.

The first Apolytonian spy is Petra, specializing in Economic intelligence. The aforementioned warning was that my trade routes were being disrupted. As the head boss of a MoO3 race, it is up to you to be able to translate a message like this not just into action but appropriate action. As you set about deciding what field your spy is to hone in on, also keep in mind what your empire's greatest strength and greatest weakness are. These should be your first two target areas, although not necessarily in the order in which I have stated them. Categorize these characteristics in line with the following disciplines of espionage: 'Economic', 'Military', 'Political', 'Economic', 'Social', 'Diplomatic' and 'Scientific'. Strictly speaking the members of this group require no further explanation. A few additional pieces of information on 'Espionage' in general is available for reading Appendix II.

Petra is retained in the service of the Apolytonian people at a cost of 7AU per cycle. Battlemage, my second spy who began his training almost immediately after Petra completed his, also costs 7AU per cycle. The total annual cost therefor is 14AU. This new recruit's specialty is in Military matters. As I stated above, I thought about my empire's area of greatest strength and greatest weakness and moved to protect both of these sectors for different immediate but the same long-term goals: the preservation of the Apolytonian way of life and, in turn, Apolyton as a whole. This conceptualization of my empire's status may seem somewhat apocalyptic but for my purposes my spies remained on the defensive at all times. Subterfuge into the realms of my neighbours carried too high a price tag with too high a risk of having to pay it.

As time progressed, I increased my agency's numbers to include not only one but two 'Economic', 'Military' and 'Political' spies and one for each of the remaining areas of expertise. Some began their employment in response to similar 'SitRep' reports as the one I referred to earlier. Others still came out of premonitions into events that might have otherwise come and the degree of ramifications they would have brought about. The employment of spies is apt to become a necessary evil of living in The Orion Sector. Frankly, somebody is bound to get screwed here sooner or later: it is in your best interests to take reasonable steps to ensure that that somebody isn't you.