Eun-Kyung smiled as she sat back down again, this time closer to Katae.
“Yes, ma'am. Thank you. And I suppose we didn't exactly get a chance to talk before I was off with the Away Team again. At any rate, as far as Shina-Hei goes, I definitely want to make sure she is able to return fully to duty. I'm aware intellectually about the tactical realities that lead to...”
Her voice trailed off for a second before she snapped her gaze back up. “That lead to the onboard detonation. Still, I feel responsible, both as her superior and for approving the various specific actions. As for those actions, I think that incident and much of the mission itself fell prey to the problems of an unclear command structure, a dilution of forces, and a general lack of understanding of combat procedures.
For the first, I'll readily admit that as a starship ops officer by training, I did not impose my command presence as I perhaps should have. Oshiro-Heisho, er -Juni now, has invaluable experience as a ground force operator, but a firm chain of command should have been established, even if just to delegate authority.
For the second, I believe the team should have remained together from the start. The Diligent should have been abandoned and either sealed or destroyed until we were sure all threats were neutralized. Splitting forces, particularly in the face of a totally unknown tactical situation, seems unwise.
Finally, while understandable given the confusion generated by that very unknown and the mix of occupational specialties deployed, the performance of the team was, if effective, crudely so. We can't plan for every scenario, and certainly not ones as bizarre as what we encountered, but perhaps for future situations you or I could work with the Juni to make sure our Away Teams communicate, maneuver, and engage targets cohesively.”
Drawing in a deep breath, Eun-Kyung sat back a little.
“Sorry for rambling on. That did turn into more of an after-action report than anything else.”