Okita sat calmly regarding the two young men standing in front of his desk. The morning's exercises had gone about as he expected. In the corner stood Kongo, who wondered why she had also been summoned to this meeting.
"Gentlemen." The admiral began with that tone both Kodai and Chihaya by now recognized as the teacher. "Do you two know why you were defeated in today's engagement?"
"We divided our forces in front of the enemy." Kodai said with honest admission. At the time, Gunzou's suggestion seemed like a good idea. Even now Kodai realized it should have worked. Yukikaze (Who was now asking to be called Yuki) and Chihaya's Isokaze had synchronized their maneuver perfectly. The convergence of missiles and the multiple threat vectors should have been too much for Mogami to handle.
Except it had not.
"To be fair," Okita began. "Your approach was not without its advantages and in most cases, you would have taken the enemy by surprise. It certainly was not standard doctrine and for that reason alone, it would have caught most opponents… at least those who are aware of that same doctrine." Okita noted. "Off guard." He then looked at Gunzou. "Mr. Chihaya. Tell me what approach standard doctrine would call for in this situation."
Chihaya sighed in himself. He had been confident his plan would work. It was typical of all the battles Blue Steel had fought. The existing navy and its tactics had been of little use against the Fog and so Gunzou had thrown the book away. But in this case, perhaps he had been too clever.
"We should have come in together on a tight approach vector."
"By doing so, you increase your active defenses and saturate my defenses in a localized area." Okita instructed. He leaned back in his chair. "Tactics are about choices. About our own options and mission versus those of the enemy. Standard tactics exist because these are the things which experience has shown to work.
"Never limit your options. Do not ignore doctrine for being old ideas… Old things are clearly still of value. " He chuckled. "But at the risk of negating my warnings to you, do not be afraid to deviate from doctrine if an opportunity presents itself."
Okita eyed them thoughtfully. "To be fair, your plan should have worked… except I knew what you would do if I allowed you the time to choose your own approach. Understanding your opponent and your own nature are very important keys to victory. We both tend to gamble Chihaya. Sometimes it is necessary." He smiled. "Get some rest gentlemen. In the morning, we will run the exercise again. Dismissed."
The two young men saluted and left the compartment. Okita then turned to Kongo. "Tomorrow you will report to the simulator deck and take command of Blue force. Captain Yamanami will command Red force."
Kongo's eyes showed a touch of surprise. Okita smiled. "The time will come when you will command human crewed ships, Kongo. Best for you and them to get accustomed to it now."
"But should not Gunzou Chihaya command? He is human after all." Kongo asked.
"Gunzou is one of the best ship handlers and innovative tacticians I have ever seen Kongo, but he is not yet ready to command a fleet. The day will come, but while you still need to understand and trust your own intuition a bit more, you are a quite capable fleet commander. I see it in you. Find it in yourself. It may be that which saves us all one day."