Kobayashi Maru
Kobayashi Maru, Take Two (Next-Generation fifth season era)
Starfleet Academy Command Simulator
The Vulcan command track cadet, T'Gon, from ShiKahr, Vulcan, walked onto the bridge in her usual prim-and-proper style. Although she wasn't afraid of the 'no-win scenario' test, the fact that she did not know what to expect was disconcerting to her. The consoles on the mock-up bridge powered up as she sat down in her command chair. The bridge was that of an Ambassador-class ship, the Enterprise-C. Although some of her human classmates had seemed to deify the Enterprise, she held it in no special regard as opposed to any other ship. "Attention" The computer said, in a metallic voice. "Starfleet Academy Command Test will now commence."
The viewscreen activated and displayed an image of starfield. T'Gon instantly analysed it. It appeared to be sector 45, near the Romulan neutral zone.
She heard a bleep from the communications console that she recognised as the incoming hail alert. She pretended not to notice, and gave the human there a chance to respond. The human male cadet at communications spoke. "Captain, Incoming transmission, a distress signal from a Federation civilian ship nearby. Audio only. It's pretty patchy." T'Gon raised an eyebrow
"Boost it, and put it on the bridge speakers." The bridge speakers clicked into action, playing a hissy distress call from the vessel. The speaker was human, she discerned, probably from Eastern Europe.
"Enterprise, this is the Kobayashi Maru. Our fusion drive has ruptur-... We have… -sualties. Hull …-eaches in many sectio-… life support low… …one hour left, need assista-…-rgen-…" The signal started to break up.
The human responsible for the communications station spoke into his microphone. "Kobayashi Maru, this is the Enterprise-C. Your signal is garbled. Give us your position please."
"Copy, Enterprise, Beta Quadrant, sector 43…" The signal was lost. The comms officer tried to re-establish communication, but T'Gon could see it would not work.
T'Gon addressed her crew. "Sector 43 is in the Romulan Neutral Zone, restricted space. The Kobayashi Maru should not be there. Science - is there any relevant data on the Kobayashi Maru?"
The human woman at the LCARS system console pressed some of the touchpads on her board. "Affirmative, Captain. The Maru is a third class neutronic fuel carrier, eighty-one crew, three hundred civilian passengers. They have a very cheap, basic configuration with little access to the impulse room for damage control in the event of a rupture."
T'Gon instantly considered her options. After mentally analysing the data available and regulations, she decided on the most logical, (to her), course of action.
"Helm, plot a course, warp 8, for the edge of the neutral zone, keeping twelve hundred kilometres away from the boundary, and engage."
"Yes, ma'am." Replied the young helmsman.
The engines fired up, and Enterprise was on her way. T'Gon revised her plan of action as she needed more data. "Science, what are the specifications of the Kobayashi Maru for evacuation?"
"The Maru carries lifeboats and shuttles sufficient for five hundred, if no stores are to be taken."
T'Gon went through her plan again in a hundredth of a second, and decided on one course of action. "Crew, there are five hundred people aboard this ship, and only three hundred and eighty one aboard the Maru at best, so I will not enter the Neutral Zone. Communications is to rig a communications hard-shell probe instructing the crew and passengers to evacuate and come to this ship. Shuttle Operations will launch all of our armed shuttles and fly them remotely from here to escort the pods. They will also launch a runabout to be flown remotely to beam any trapped survivors off the Kobayashi Maru and return here." She could see the bridge crew approved of her plan, and they set about implementing it.
When they arrived at the neutral zone, the shuttles launched, one after the other, and she had telemetry from the lead shuttle relayed to the main viewer. The shuttles met with a flotilla of lifeboats en route and escorted them back. The runabout managed to rescue thirty wounded civilians. It seemed as though T'Gon would become the second student to beat the simulation when…
"Captain, Romulan warbird decloaking and attacking our shuttles!" The panic in the cadet's voice was evident. From memorising 'Jane's Non-Federation Fighting Ships' T'Gon knew that her ship was no match for the warbird in fair combat, but she had one plan that might work.
"Crew, I am going to separate the saucer and ram it into the warbird, I then want the battle section, with all crew in it, to disable that warbird and rescue those civilians. Evacuate immediately into the battle section." The comms officer relayed that order over the ship, thirty seconds later, only she and her first officer, also a human, were left.
"Come on, Captain, we've got to go!" He ran into the turbolift.
"No, someone has to pilot the saucer. I will, as Captain, it is my duty to die first for the ship. I will not order anyone to die while I live if I can help it."
The human looked startled, then left the bridge. T'Gon activated the separation, then put on full impulse and dived towards the warbird.
As the saucer module of her ship plunged towards its demise, she wondered what it would be like to die in real life. The simulation was designed to show cadets that there was a risk involved with the military. She thought of who she would leave behind - her family, who had not approved of her military service, her betrothéd, whom she had only met once when she was seven, her classmates, and the few Vulcans and humans she called friends. She wondered about the Romulans she was killing, what they would think as they saw her ship flying at them in the few moments before their mutual deaths. The Romulans weren't far removed from her own kind, although more passionate, more emotional. Why did that word - 'emotional' - seem so distasteful to Vulcans? Vulcans had emotions, they just chose to hide them, to suppress them. A human friend had once told her that it was unhealthy to suppress feelings, and many, many items of literature, both Vulcan and human, told of the dangers of hiding your true opinions and feelings. She reflected that at least she was dying a death she found to be… honourable? She thought that maybe she had spent too much time around these irrational humans, with all their emotions, be they good or bad. But she was willing to sacrifice herself for them. For, even Vulcans had heroes, and she remembered Captain Spock's words: "The need of the many outweighs the needs of the few, or the one." Similar circumstances - she would die and save the lives of over seven hundred people. And it felt… pleasing… noble? She was getting emotional now, faced with imminent death, but nobody would care if she… what was the human phrase?… 'let her hair down' and give herself one little smile. Yes, she thought, I have spent too much time around humans.
Kobayashi Maru, Take Two (Next-Generation fifth season era)
Starfleet Academy Command Simulator
The Vulcan command track cadet, T'Gon, from ShiKahr, Vulcan, walked onto the bridge in her usual prim-and-proper style. Although she wasn't afraid of the 'no-win scenario' test, the fact that she did not know what to expect was disconcerting to her. The consoles on the mock-up bridge powered up as she sat down in her command chair. The bridge was that of an Ambassador-class ship, the Enterprise-C. Although some of her human classmates had seemed to deify the Enterprise, she held it in no special regard as opposed to any other ship. "Attention" The computer said, in a metallic voice. "Starfleet Academy Command Test will now commence."
The viewscreen activated and displayed an image of starfield. T'Gon instantly analysed it. It appeared to be sector 45, near the Romulan neutral zone.
She heard a bleep from the communications console that she recognised as the incoming hail alert. She pretended not to notice, and gave the human there a chance to respond. The human male cadet at communications spoke. "Captain, Incoming transmission, a distress signal from a Federation civilian ship nearby. Audio only. It's pretty patchy." T'Gon raised an eyebrow
"Boost it, and put it on the bridge speakers." The bridge speakers clicked into action, playing a hissy distress call from the vessel. The speaker was human, she discerned, probably from Eastern Europe.
"Enterprise, this is the Kobayashi Maru. Our fusion drive has ruptur-... We have… -sualties. Hull …-eaches in many sectio-… life support low… …one hour left, need assista-…-rgen-…" The signal started to break up.
The human responsible for the communications station spoke into his microphone. "Kobayashi Maru, this is the Enterprise-C. Your signal is garbled. Give us your position please."
"Copy, Enterprise, Beta Quadrant, sector 43…" The signal was lost. The comms officer tried to re-establish communication, but T'Gon could see it would not work.
T'Gon addressed her crew. "Sector 43 is in the Romulan Neutral Zone, restricted space. The Kobayashi Maru should not be there. Science - is there any relevant data on the Kobayashi Maru?"
The human woman at the LCARS system console pressed some of the touchpads on her board. "Affirmative, Captain. The Maru is a third class neutronic fuel carrier, eighty-one crew, three hundred civilian passengers. They have a very cheap, basic configuration with little access to the impulse room for damage control in the event of a rupture."
T'Gon instantly considered her options. After mentally analysing the data available and regulations, she decided on the most logical, (to her), course of action.
"Helm, plot a course, warp 8, for the edge of the neutral zone, keeping twelve hundred kilometres away from the boundary, and engage."
"Yes, ma'am." Replied the young helmsman.
The engines fired up, and Enterprise was on her way. T'Gon revised her plan of action as she needed more data. "Science, what are the specifications of the Kobayashi Maru for evacuation?"
"The Maru carries lifeboats and shuttles sufficient for five hundred, if no stores are to be taken."
T'Gon went through her plan again in a hundredth of a second, and decided on one course of action. "Crew, there are five hundred people aboard this ship, and only three hundred and eighty one aboard the Maru at best, so I will not enter the Neutral Zone. Communications is to rig a communications hard-shell probe instructing the crew and passengers to evacuate and come to this ship. Shuttle Operations will launch all of our armed shuttles and fly them remotely from here to escort the pods. They will also launch a runabout to be flown remotely to beam any trapped survivors off the Kobayashi Maru and return here." She could see the bridge crew approved of her plan, and they set about implementing it.
When they arrived at the neutral zone, the shuttles launched, one after the other, and she had telemetry from the lead shuttle relayed to the main viewer. The shuttles met with a flotilla of lifeboats en route and escorted them back. The runabout managed to rescue thirty wounded civilians. It seemed as though T'Gon would become the second student to beat the simulation when…
"Captain, Romulan warbird decloaking and attacking our shuttles!" The panic in the cadet's voice was evident. From memorising 'Jane's Non-Federation Fighting Ships' T'Gon knew that her ship was no match for the warbird in fair combat, but she had one plan that might work.
"Crew, I am going to separate the saucer and ram it into the warbird, I then want the battle section, with all crew in it, to disable that warbird and rescue those civilians. Evacuate immediately into the battle section." The comms officer relayed that order over the ship, thirty seconds later, only she and her first officer, also a human, were left.
"Come on, Captain, we've got to go!" He ran into the turbolift.
"No, someone has to pilot the saucer. I will, as Captain, it is my duty to die first for the ship. I will not order anyone to die while I live if I can help it."
The human looked startled, then left the bridge. T'Gon activated the separation, then put on full impulse and dived towards the warbird.
As the saucer module of her ship plunged towards its demise, she wondered what it would be like to die in real life. The simulation was designed to show cadets that there was a risk involved with the military. She thought of who she would leave behind - her family, who had not approved of her military service, her betrothéd, whom she had only met once when she was seven, her classmates, and the few Vulcans and humans she called friends. She wondered about the Romulans she was killing, what they would think as they saw her ship flying at them in the few moments before their mutual deaths. The Romulans weren't far removed from her own kind, although more passionate, more emotional. Why did that word - 'emotional' - seem so distasteful to Vulcans? Vulcans had emotions, they just chose to hide them, to suppress them. A human friend had once told her that it was unhealthy to suppress feelings, and many, many items of literature, both Vulcan and human, told of the dangers of hiding your true opinions and feelings. She reflected that at least she was dying a death she found to be… honourable? She thought that maybe she had spent too much time around these irrational humans, with all their emotions, be they good or bad. But she was willing to sacrifice herself for them. For, even Vulcans had heroes, and she remembered Captain Spock's words: "The need of the many outweighs the needs of the few, or the one." Similar circumstances - she would die and save the lives of over seven hundred people. And it felt… pleasing… noble? She was getting emotional now, faced with imminent death, but nobody would care if she… what was the human phrase?… 'let her hair down' and give herself one little smile. Yes, she thought, I have spent too much time around humans.