From both strategic and tactical perspectives, the actions of "Salamander II" are utterly meaningless.
If the objective is to guard the secrets completely, the self-destruct program could have been activated the moment the central processor module was triggered. At that time, it was surrounded by technicians and senior engineers—blasting them away would have ensured absolute confidentiality of the technical secrets.
If the goal is to inflict maximum damage to the Republic, indiscriminate attacks on New Orleans should have commenced immediately upon its repair completion. In this case, the Republic would have no choice but to quietly bear the bitter consequences, not daring to make international noise, much less blame the Empire or demand reparations. If "Salamander II" managed to return to the Empire's control zone and intelligence or video was extracted from its body, the Republic would find itself in an even more passive position.
