"Excellent," Kotori nodded, straightening in her seat a moment and then regarded the rest of those she had assembled before her. After a pause - perhaps to allow Masako to regain her composure at least inwardly, she continued.
"Next on my agenda, I would like to cover certain chain of command issues. I raise them not because I feel any of you have been lacking, but instead for clarification."
"I have found myself of late often conferring with Claymere-Taii," Kotori continued, lightly resting her forearms on the edge of her desk and joining hands together. "I have taken him as my retainer, due to my position inside the Ketsurui clan, but I have been concerned about how I seemed to communicate much more with him than even my first officer, Yukari here."
"I trust Yukari with an important position," she continued. "As Miharu's first officer, she has a few roles. The first is supporting me in the day-to-day operations of this vessel. Concerns which are often on my mind are the completion of mission objectives, how to surmount adversity and planning for this ship's next move. She, on the other hands supports me that making sure the ship runs and operates well in order to complete those said requirements. This goes from bridge operation and ship logitics to crew management issues going from work assignments to disciplinary measures."
"I also entrust Yukari with another important task, which is to be able to run this vessel in the event that I am unavailable to command - this involves from me being absent to I being missing or killed in action. If such eventualities happens, I have full confidence that she has the knowhow and skill necessary to accomplish objectives in the same spirit I would as well as insure that this ship returns safely to port."
"Finally, I entrust her with the task of being perhaps my most open critic. I believe that we mutually understand each other... but Yukari is conservative where I am ambitious, cautious where I am bold, principled when I may be moved to be pragmatic. She is a most valuable asset for me, helping me see alternatives... the two faces of the proverbial coin. I cannot always have the good ideas, and sometimes in my drive to accomplish goals I may take things too far." Kotori smiled. "She's the one I trust to being me back to reality."
Her eyes shifted to Tom. "Tom, though he does not always have my ear, has a trait very similar to her which I value and respect, even if we do not always agree. Earning victories in the military, our survival standing on a razor's edge, can be daunting and push people to extreme actions. We must remember why we do things, why we risk our lives, and make sure we stand faithful to ourselves in that respect. Yukari and Tom, I find, are strongest in that aspect."
She continued with Tom. "Tom is our chief engineer, our specialist at meeting Miharu's more physical needs. Things run on this ship largely thanks to him and his technician staff and we defer to his expertise in that field - which makes him our Chief Engineer. Effectively, he is Yukari's subordinate when he's on duty. When not on duty, I'll admit I have not figured out if he was the uke or the seme."
Kotori couldn't keep from having her face split in a grin. It was obvious she was goodnaturedly teasing the couple.