USS Malinche NCC-38997-A

ON

2384

Starfleet Academy – Earth

The Helm officer leant forward on his console, his eyes running over the data feed. Flight Officer Cadet Lach Delkar cleared his throat and spoke aloud over his shoulder. “I’m just getting the ship manifest now Capt’n….Ship profile: USS Kobayashi Maru; Class 3 neutronic fuel carrier, registry Tau Ceti sector.”
Delkar turned in his seat and face the Captain. “The Kobayashi Maru is located in Gamma Hydra, section ten. The vessel had struck a gravimetric mine, and its hull was breached. The ship has lost all power, life support is failing and its crew has sustained many casualties.”
Lauren Kaylee leaned back in the Captain’s Chair. She bit on her lip as she comprehended the information. “Mr. Delkar, pull up a star map on the forward viewscreen if you would. Compute for the Maru’s location and proximity to the Breen Neutral Zone.”
“Aye Capt’n”
Kaylee took the opportunity to tug at the collar of her uniform. She was quietly glad that she had her friend and fellow classmate Lachlan Delkar on the bridge during this assessment.

She had heard a lot of stories and whispers of the Kobayashi Maru scenario during her time on various cargo ships growing up. She heard how it was a no-win scenario that had been a staple assessment regime in the Academy for over one hundred years. In the 23rd century, she had heard that the Academy pitted Cadets against the Federations enemy-of-the-era: The Klingons. Now, 24th century, post-Dominion War lead to new scenarios and enemies.

On the viewscreen of the Nova-class Bridge they were sitting in, a starmap appeared, it depicted the blinking sphere of the Maru well inside the Breen Neutral Zone.
“Damn,” Kaylee said softly. Now she had a moral quandary. She could hardly leave Federation citizens abandoned to die. And they couldn’t afford to wait any longer, the ship was dying, fast.

As Kaylee stood up from her seat, she straightened her uniform. She walked down to the conn station. “Lach, I want to plot us a course straight to the Maru. Inform Engineering that I want those nacelles rigged for a silent running, I don’t want the Breen to know we’re coming.”
As she said those words, Kaylee became aware that most of the heads of the crew were now silently looking righ at her.
Delkar looked about. He licked his lips hesitantly. “Um, Capt’n. The Breen don’t take too kindly to the Federation since we kicked their shins in the War. Crossing into their space would constitute a violation-“
“I’m aware of that Mr. Delkar,” Kaylee said. She had to be stern in her decision. That was the position of a CO. Never second guess your decisions. “As a Starfleet Captain, I'm required to defend and assist the citizens of the Federation. Now, plot that course, if you will.”

Delkar nodded, and turned back to his instruments. While Kaylee knew she had come across a little hard, she knew the Australian Cadet hadn’t taken it seriously. They were all playing roles in a drama, it seemed. Kaylee had even noted that her usual cheery, warm demenour had changed. She was speaking more authortitive, and acting it. It was surely the stress of the exa. ‘Gosh,’ she thought. ‘These holograms seem so damned real!’

Kaylee walked back up to the centre of the Bridge. “Yellow Alert! All hands prepare for wounded and casualties. I also want battle-readiness. Lach, engage.”


The ship entered warp speed, bound for the stricken freighter.
After a few minutes, something were horribly wrong.

The Tactical Cadet’s instruments beeped harshly. “Captain,” he cried. “I’m picking 4 large ships on intercept.”

Kaylee cursed silently. “Alright, go to Red Alert, Comm, I want constant broadcasting that we are on a rescue mission, and have no other intentions. Helm, ETA?-“

As Kaylee began giving out orders, several things happened at once.
The bridge immediately lurched underneath them, as the Breen vessels opened fire with their disrupters.
The Operations officer cried out. “Sir, they’re blocking all our transmissions,” She managed to call this out before her console exploded. The Cadet fell to the ground, dead, her eyes staring lifelessly at Kaylee. A look of dread and lost hope upon her lifeless face.

TO BE CONTINUED>>>>

Date 2384
Earth: Starfleet Academy
Kobayashi Maru exam
Cdt. Kaylee, Lauren

Kaylee was rocked to her knees by the next salvo of fire from the Breen warships. The bridge was already full of sparks and chaos. One bridge officer was already dead, and damage reports were beginning to be logged in from locations all over the ship.
“Shields up! Lach evasive maneuver Kirk Epsilon!”

As the ship flew low and underneath the Breen warships, Kaylee leapt off the deck and came to stand beside her friend and fellow Cadet Lach Delkar at the Conn.
She saw something on the viewscreen. “There she is!” she pointed. “There’s the Maru”
The ship looked like a dying husk. The people on board didn’t have much time. Neither did Kaylee.
“Lach, get us closer, we gotta rescue those people,” Kaylee urged as the bridge rocked under more disrupter fire.
Lach gritted and shook his head. “There’s no way we’ll manage it Lauren, We would need to lower our shields in order to do that. Which I need to mention…are now down to 10 percent…”

Kaylee cursed. “I know, well, we’ll hav’ to do our best to shake ‘em. Helm, bring us about 0 mark 180 degrees and engage warp. Maybe we can get those Breen to follow our gambit.”
Due to the damage received, the inertial dampners were a little luggish. Kaylee felt the ship turn completely around and dash into Faster-Than-Light speeds.

Lach nodded. “Yep. They’re following us, they don’t want to say good-bye.”
Kaylee nodded. “Perfect. Tactical: Load rear torpedo bays, hav' 'em rigged for proximity detonations, at distance of one thousand metres. Helm, when the torpedoes are released, I want you to drop us out of warp, initate a down-wind axis turn, then warp back to the Maru. We won’t have much time.”
As both the department officers complied, Lach mentioned. “Capt’n, the Structural integrity might not be able to handle this.”
Kaylee looked at Lach and grinned, she placed her hand on his shoulder. “I’m sure you can manage. You are, after all, top in the class, Lach.”
She drew herself to full height. “Tactical: fire torpedoes, full spread across their bows. Helm, engage maneuvers. Now!”

As the ship snapped out of warp speed, she unleashed a spread of torpedos. On the viewscreen, there was multiple flashes of light, and with a rush of pseudomotion, the 4 Breen Warships came dashing after the ship. The torpedos arced out from the rear of the ship, creating almost a net between the ship and the Breen. As the Breen neared, the torpedos were triggered. A massive combined explosion enveloped the Breen ships' bows, damaging them, and masking them to the Starfleet vessel.
At the same time, the ship's nose dipped down, starting a complete down-axis spin. As the bow came back around, the ship was flying interveted, its previous interia making it now travelling backwards. With a flash from its warp nacelles, the ship dashed back into warp speed, travelling away from the disorinetated Breen, back towards the Maru.

Kaylee breathed a sigh of relief. It was miraculously worked. "Alright Helm, get us right ontop of the Maru, Ops, prepare to lower shields and begin transport'n the survivors, we only got a short window here."

As the ship dropped back out of warp speed, the Maru viewable on the front viewscreen, Lach turned back to Kaylee, a tired smile on his face. "good job Lauren," he said. "We may just get out of -"
The entire front of the Bridge exploded, the deck fell out from under Kaylee's feet. Wounded, and breathless, Kaylee lay on the floor, looking at the devastated Bridge around her.
She barely heard the tactical officer crying, "Three new contacts. More Breen."
She turned to head to the side, and saw Lach, slumped over his destoyed console. Dead.
The deck rumbled under more salvo fire.
Kaylee rolled onto her knees, still trying to catch her breath. She looked around the bridge, bodies lay every were. Where had she gone wrong? What had she done wrong? Why couldn't she win the test.
The Bridge was rocked again. Sparks flew around her.
"Abandon ship," she croaked. Noone heard her.
The Bridge was rocked again.
Kaylee dragged herself to her feet, she gripped the handrail for support. The other cadets looked to her.
The Bridge was rocked again. Fires bellowed from damaged consoles.
Kaylee took a deep breath. "Abandon Ship!" she yelled loudly. "General Order 13! Get to the lifeboats! Move it people!"
As the officers moved out, Kaylee thumbed the ship-wide comm and repeated the order. She also rigged the communication console to deploy an emergency beacon.


As Kaylee made her way to the turbolift, a loud voice spoke out over the entire chaos. "That's enough. Hold It."
Suddenly, the entire Bridge dissolved and disappeared. Kaylee was now standing in the middle of a holodeck.
The loud voice spoke over the comm. "Cadet Kaylee, your test is over. Please exit the simulator, and await computation of test results."

ON

2384
[One year prior to Malinche]

Fleet Academy- Earth


She sat there uncomfortably in her seat. She picked at her nails. She tugged at the loose strands of her hair. The environmental controls kept the room at a comfortable 27 Terran degrees, but she still managed to sweat.
The Academy Reviewer of the Kobyashi Maru Examination sat across from her. He was completely silent as he reviewed the test results. He was assessing every fibre of her being, every decision she had made, every emotion she had displayed. He reviewed it all with cold, indifferent logic. He was Vulcan.
After a few more minutes of silence, the Vulcan Reviewer shut down his display and tilted his head ever so slightly towards her. His eyes probed hers for a moment longer, before speaking.
“Flight Officer Cadet Lauren Kaylee,” He said. “You have failed this examination.”

The words were so blunt and indifferent that they slammed Kaylee in the chest. Her heart leapt up.
Failed.
A million thoughts rushed through her head and onto her tongue before Kaylee had a chance to sort or filter them out. She stammered. “Sir…respectfully…that test was impossible…it-you…I couldn’t,” she broke out in a nervous giggle. “That test was impossible, sir. There was no way I could have won.”
The Vulcan Reviewer didn’t even blink. “Yes, Cadet Kaylee. That is the test of the Kobyashi Maru. You have identified the principal lesson embodied in the exam.”
Her thoughts had finally caught up with her. Now a little humiliated, and embarrassed, she turned her sights on the Reviewer. “Sir, do you understand how impossible an un-winnable test is to win? I don’t see the point in taking a test that I am doomed to fail…why should I take it?”
The Reviewer considered Kaylee for a second. He turned in his seat fully, so that he was now facing her directly. “Cadet Kaylee, the exam was created to address this one single fact: A Captain cannot cheat death. The inevitable must be met with as much skill and resolution as possible. When ‘winning’ is self-evidently not an attainable goal, the objective must be to preserve and protect as much as one can. That is a captain’s task. That is the task of whoever is forced to take the Kobayashi Maru test. To achieve what can be achieved when survivability is no longer an option. To achieve- not evade.”
This statement left Kaylee quiet, as she processed this new information.

The reviewer continued. “Management of a crisis situation depends on a captain’s certainty that the crew can and will follow orders no matter how desperate or seemingly hopeless the circumstances in which they find themselves.”

Kaylee silently nodded. “I understand, sir. So, now, when you say that I failed, I performed the same as every other cadet.”
The Vulcan nodded slightly. “The same as every cadet since the forming of the Federation.” He paused, almost impersievable. “Except for one, though.”
He continued, regardless. “Though you failed, Cadet Kaylee, your actions during the Kobayashi Maru test deserve merit: You managed to sustain your ship as long as possible; Your tactical strategies and manoeuvres that you employed assisted you in your attempts to reach the stricken vessel; and, when the inevitable came, you worked to ensure the lives and safety of your crew. Your personal performance and demeanour was composed and you handled the situation as admirably as any of the top percentage of your fellow cadets.”
Kaylee heard this. She ventured a final question. “So…I did good?”
The reviewer cocked a single eyebrow at her. He exhaled slightly. “In your colloquial vernacular, Cadet, yes. You performed the test ‘good’.”

END