Fishman,
there are two ways you can slow the tempo of the combats.
First is to hit the [SPACE] bar. This will freeze all action, you can then select each of your characters and give them the orders you want, then resume the combat by hitting the [SPACE] bar again.
Also you can change the auto-pause options. This will freeze the game when certain conditions are met - for example if an enemy is spotted, or if a trap is discovered (very handy
). Again the [SPACE] bar resumes the hacking.
Kez