100960.9
CAPT Mirazuni, A.
ADDENDUM
The collapse of these negotiations lies squarely at the feet of Captain Vel, whose lack of preparation, poor judgement, and misguided need to project authority turned a delicate diplomatic opportunity into a debacle. I arrived on the Forrestal intending to collaborate and brief her on well-documented intelligence regarding the Confederacy. Instead, I found her already mid-conversation with Grand Chancellor Eraton—a move that would have been commendable had she deigned to notify her supporting ship in the area; logs from the Endeavour confirm that no such attempt was made. This oversight is especially troubling for a carrier captain, where coordination with escorts is a fundamental expectation. Ignoring such a basic tenet of command in a moment requiring precision reflects poorly on her preparation and judgement. One might assume that collaborative diplomacy was beneath her consideration.
The talks began on steady footing but quickly unravelled under Captain Vel’s combative tone and thinly veiled contempt. Rather than addressing the Chancellor’s concerns with the tact expected of a Starfleet captain, she opted for an ill-judged display of authority, culminating in an inexplicable decision to terminate the transmission mid-conversation. Whether this was intended as a show of strength or a theatrical flourish, it achieved nothing beyond further straining already fragile relations.
Afterwards, Captain Vel confided that she was “stalling for time” under orders—an objective she technically accomplished, though her methods bore the hallmarks of improvisation over planning. When I advised her of a critical piece of intelligence—that the wormhole schematics in question had originally been stolen from the Itrin Hierarchy and not Viggo—she failed to see its relevance, claiming that it conflicted with orders. This was particularly concerning, as the historical fact could have been used to dismantle the Chancellor’s claims of heritage and birthright, a narrative he has repeatedly attempted to leverage in previous negotiations. That such a tenable link was overlooked speaks to her troubling lack of foresight and preparation.
Captain Vel, in all her wisdom, thought this conflicted with orders; again, this information was publically available to those who chose to do their research.
The situation worsened as the Confederate delegation prepared to leave. I suggested issuing a carefully revised message to reduce our offer and salvage the negotiations. Captain Vel, however, delegated this task to her operations officer without oversight. The resulting transmission was an unvetted, sycophantic disaster, only discovered when I requested to hear what had been sent. Rather than addressing this glaring failure of command, Captain Vel inexplicably praised the Ensign’s “rapid relaying” of the message in her own report.
This was compounded by Captain Vel’s hasty and unstructured counteroffer, delivered with the desperation of a captain scrambling to regain control. The proposal, unauthorised and strategically hollow, only served to further undermine the Federation’s position. That Grand Chancellor Eraton cited “dishonest conduct” in his rejection was both unsurprising and entirely self-inflicted.
Captain Vel’s conduct during these negotiations displayed a lack of preparation, poor situational awareness, and a worrying absence of strategic foresight. Her failure to exercise basic oversight, dismissing critical intelligence, and reliance on theatrics over measured diplomacy reflect poorly on her command abilities. If future engagements are to avoid similar outcomes, they must be entrusted to those with the discipline to prepare, the judgement to adapt, and the restraint to lead with competence rather than bravado.
I stated during the exchange, “We’ve only served to undermine our own position and left us in a worse place than before.” This remains an accurate assessment of CAPT Vel’s handling of these negotiations.
RECOMMENDATION My recommendation remains the same as my previous report; foster better relations with the Kacam, Citali, and Ralin. Any potential progress with the Confederacy has been irreparably squandered by these reckless and short-sighted actions.
RECOGNITION None.