I’m not sure how much more we can elevate the RP. Military operations don’t leave a lot of room for variation. The thing that would enhance the RP is simply to do less OOC vocally, which is already a written into protocols, but I certainly don’t want to get in the way of people having fun. The forum conversations in the bar seem to be a great opportunity to do more RP, again if people do not push too far into silliness. Not that all such decisions should be judged by me or Matsiyan. We have a tendency for epic tragedy. One of my favourite plays is Antigone.
Matsiyan has been within a hairsbreadth of disobeying a direct order at least twice that I can think of since the covert mission to deploy the sensor relays. But on both occasions, the situation resolved itself before the vessel he was on could intervene. At some point he is going to start accusing himself of consent by silence. It is all too easy to retroactively disagree with something that should have been resisted on the spot.
Matsiyan is not entirely unhappy about the removal of the weapon and has respect for the moral position on that subject. The one thing he could not stomach would be the murder of the R&D crews, unless they had clearly transgressed some order that Xavier was required to enforce.
As far as I am aware a state of Civil War still exists with the Unukalhai. So destruction of naval assets ought to fall under aiding and abetting the enemy. Unless the mere existence of that weapon is a breach of a treaty or standing order, and the crews refused to abandon ship, then Xavier is a traitor and a murderer, even if he is morally courageous.