“Welcome,
Cadets. Let me congratulate you all on
your appointment to
Cadet
Fourth Class Peter J. Koester was too excited.
After working so hard to get here on his own, without the influence his
family could have provided, now he was sitting in Starfleet Academy’s largest
auditorium, situated on the historic Presidio overlooking San Francisco
Bay. And somehow, it all seemed so
unreal.
Star
Trek: Starfleet Academy
“Kobayashi
Challenge” By PJK
With Michael
D. Tucci
Based in part on the PC game
“Starfleet Academy” by Interplay
And “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan”, screenplay by Jack B. Sowards
Year One - 2359/2360
His
new uniform felt funny, but still, it felt like such an honor to wear it. For what must have been the fiftieth time
that day, Koester felt the combadge on the left chest of his uniform, careful
not to activate it (as he had the first ten or so times), and the elongated
single pip on his red collar.
Koester
had completed the four week indoctrination Prep Squad that all first-year
cadets must endure the previous week, basic Academy indoctrination that
morning, then uniforms and supplies, including personal padds had been issued
before lunch, class scheduling after lunch, dorm assignments and a lecture once
class scheduling had been completed in the late afternoon. And now, at 2030 hours, Koester finally
walked into his assigned room. The cadet
dropped his books, padds, clothes, and other myriad belongings on the floor,
and he just slumped onto the bed.
From
his prone position he finally looked around the room. Two beds, two desks, and two closets fairly
well indicated he would sooner or later have a roommate. The room was fairly sparse, allowing the
cadets to ‘personalize’ their part of the room to their own tastes or cultural
preference. Each desk held a computer
interface that tied into the Academy’s LCARS, helpful with some of the homework
assignments that would undoubtedly come up.
On the shelves near the room’s large window were models of an old
Constitution-class starship and an Apollo command/service module from Earth’s
space exploration infancy. A picture on
the wall depicted the Forge, Vulcan’s great desert on the plains of Gol.
A
loud clunk at the door heralded Koester’s new roommate’s arrival. Koester picked himself up off the bed and
opened the door, which unlike most 24th century doors was still
attached on hinges and swung open manually.
A walking pile of junk greeted him.
“Thanks,”
the junk pile said as it moved in through the door. It briefly stopped by the bed Koester had
collapsed on. A head, human at least,
peered out from behind the pile, saw the similar junk-pile already laying on
the floor, and moved on to the other bed.
In a motion very similar to Koester’s when he first arrived, the pile
landed on the floor, fully revealing the cadet underneath.
The
boy was about five inches shorter than Koester, his hair darker, and his smile
somewhat infectious. The new arrival
offered his hand.
“Virgil,”
he said. “Virgil Dylan Kane.”
“Peter
Koester,” the taller cadet said, returning the handshake. “Welcome, and congratulations on your
appointment.”
“You
too.”
The
two stood silently for a moment, both looking about the room. Finally Kane said, “I suppose we should get
settled in?”
“We
should,” Koester agreed. “But right now,
I just have to lie down for a couple of minutes. It’s been a long day.”
“I’m
beat too,” Kane also agreed. The two
cadets stretched out on their beds for a few moments of rest. Moments later, the automatic lights went out
as both cadets fell fast asleep, still in their uniforms.
* * * *
Somewhat
surprising to both the young cadets, Kane and Koester shared most of their
classes and all of their lectures. By
the end of the first week in the Academy most of their introductory courses
were complete, and their regular curriculum soon commenced.
On
the first day of the second week all the new freshman cadets were gathered in
the Academy’s main auditorium once again.
“Welcome,
cadets,” said Lt Commander Aerdish of Betazed.
“As the Chief of the
While
generally quiet, there was a slight murmur among the gathered cadets.
“One
of the most important things you must learn here is teamwork,” Aerdish
continued. “Without teamwork, no
starship, starbase, or planet-side facility could survive the unforgiving
environment of space. To this end, you
will all now be assigned to teams, or as we refer to them, Squads. They will be your brothers, sisters, best
friends, and worst enemies for the next two years.”
Koester
began looking around the auditorium, wondering who among the cadets he would be
teamed with, while offering silent suggestions of who he would like to work
with the most.
“After
you complete Preliminary and
Faces
among the crowd looked back and forth, one or two perhaps overconfident cadets
even nodding in answer to the Commander’s question. The butterfly’s in Koester’s stomach started
fluttering again as names began being called out, forming the new squads.
“Alpha
Squad..... Smith, Poln, David, Ch’Dach,
Jhdoloa, squad leader Jones. Gamma
Squad..... Keth,
More
squads and names were called out, but Koester was not paying attention
anymore. He was now part of a team, a
team that included his new friend Virgil Kane.
They would all, by tradition, train together - eat together - study
together - practically live out of each other’s pockets. And come to depend on each other for their
very lives. The universe suddenly seemed
a whole lot larger and more dangerous.
Were they up to the challenge?
* * * *
One
of the things Cadet Koester liked to do, once things had settled down in his
classes, was to sight-see, and he often used the travel opportunities being an
Academy cadet afforded. Every free
weekend that did not require his presence at drills or last-minute study
sessions with his squad would see him off on another adventure, either with
Kane and other fellow cadets or, on rare occasions, by himself. One weekend the cadets visited
The
coffee shop door opened and Cadet Peter Koester, soaked to the skin and
dripping cold water across the floor, stepped in. There were several other cadets, mostly
upperclassmen wearing civilian clothes with combadges hanging on their chests,
sitting at a few of the small tables who looked over at the new arrival in his
sopping wet cadet’s uniform and smirked.
“It
would be nice if they would announce the days they perform the annual weather
grid purge beforehand,” Koester said as he tried in vain to squeeze some of the
rain from his sleeves.
“They
did! Two days ago,” a nearby midshipman
first class said loudly enough for everyone in the shop to hear, causing a
small outburst of laughter. Koester
smiled meekly and slunk to a small table near the back of the shop.
It
was after ordering a raktagino in the hopes it would help to warm him up a
little as he continued to try to dry off his uniform that he first noticed her.
She
was sitting at a small table on the opposite side of the shop all by herself,
an old-fashioned paper book in her hand.
Her long dark hair was pushed back behind the pointed tips of her ears. Koester was not positive in the subdued light
of the coffee shop, bit it seemed like she would glance in his direction from
time to time as she flipped her pages, the slight arch of her eyebrow angling
upward.
Finally,
after his steaming mug finally arrived and he started sipping from the strong
spicy-smelling brew, the young Vulcan woman put down her book and walked over
to the lone cadet’s table.
“What
is the logic of drinking that vile concoction?” she asked. Koester looked up at her, confused at first
until suddenly becoming lost in the beauty of her deep emerald green eyes. She nodded down at the mug in Koester’s hand,
waking him from his momentary reverie, saying, “Your Klingon coffee.”
“Oh,”
Koester said awkwardly. “Um… Well, the
flavor kind-of grows on you.”
The
young Vulcan woman raised an eyebrow before saying, “Please allow me.” She picked up Koester’s mug of raktagino and
then walked over to the shop’s counter and moments later returned to Koester’s
table with her book and two smaller mugs, one of which she placed in front of
Koester. He sniffed it uncertainly, the
scent very similar to a mixture of ginger and green apple.
“I
believe that will be preferable,” the young Vulcan woman stated.
“What
is it?” Koester asked, picking up the mug and enjoying the sensation of the
heat penetrating his cold hands.
“Vulcan
Green Tea, one of my favorites,” the young Vulcan woman replied as she sat down
across the table from Koester. “My name
is T’Lees. I am an assistant at the
Vulcan embassy here in
Koester
carefully sipped the hot steamy tea, surprised by both how smooth its flavor
was and how quickly it warmed his chilled body before replying, “Midshipman
Fourth Class Peter Koester. I just
started attending the Academy a couple of months ago.” He gestured down at his still soaking cadet
uniform.
Koester
thought he almost detected a slight tone of sarcasm as T’Lees asked, “And do
they not teach you at the Academy to carry an umbrella on the days they purge
the weather grid, Cadet?”
“Actually,
I guess I must have been too busy studying for the exam I had yesterday with my
squad and never heard the announcement.
And I like to spend my free weekends, when I have them, sightseeing. I’ve spent my last few trips traveling along the
west coast.”
Again
T’Lees eyebrow rose.
“I
have only been posted on Earth a short time myself, but I too enjoy seeing the
sights of your world. I have heard
Koester
was not sure if it was the warmth of the tea, the pheromones in the air, or the
almost hypnotic attraction of T’Lees dark green eyes, but the cadet
unexpectedly found himself boldly inviting the young Vulcan woman on his next
sightseeing trip the following weekend.
He was even more surprised when she accepted. After that, Koester and T’Lees became regular
traveling partners, Kane and the rest of Omega Squad seeing very little of
their fellow cadet on weekends.
Three
Months Later
Koester
ran into his dorm room, almost tearing his uniform off as he darted into the
head. Virgil Kane looked up from his
desk at the breeze that blew through.
“What’s
the rush, Pete?” the boy from
“T’Lees
and I are catching the tram to
Kane’s
confusion lessened as he nodded.
“You’ve
been seeing a lot of that Vulcan girl lately,” Kane remarked.
“Yeah,
I know. I even gave her a tour of
Starfleet Command yesterday afternoon,” Koester replied. “We enjoy spending time together.”
“Is
it getting serious?” Kane asked.
Koester
looked at his room mate, his expression suddenly very solemn.
“I
know this may sound strange, especially considering T’Lees isn’t human, but I’m
starting to think she might be ‘the one,’ Virg.”
Kane
looked at his classmate critically. “But
how does she feel, Pete? Heck, she’s Vulcan! Can
she feel?”
Koester’s
expression turned knowing as he replied, “Oh, she can feel alright.” He then turned back into the bathroom.
“Don’t
forget about our subspace navigation exam next week,” Kane warned. “A couple of guys from the squad are stopping
in tonight. We’re going to replicate a
pizza and do some late studying. You
going to be back in time to join us?”
Kane
could hear Koester step into the shower, quickly clean up and wash his hair,
and step out again. A moment later he
emerged from the head, wearing a towel around his waist. The cadet had a gleam in his eye.
“Virg,
don’t wait up for me, okay?” he said.
“So
I shouldn’t expect you at the Parrises Squares game tomorrow morning either,
huh?”
“Can’t
say. Who knows? I might be home early tonight.”
Koester
threw on his cadet dress uniform, since first-year cadets were not allowed off
campus out of uniform, and a jacket, checked to make sure he had his Starfleet
ID, and rushed back out the door. Kane
watched the door swing shut behind him.
“Yeah,
okay. I’ll see you later then,” he said
to the closed door.
* * * *
Three
Weeks Later
“I
just don’t get it!” Kane mumbled loudly.
Koester looked up from his own computer terminal and over the back of
his chair at Kane.
“What’s
wrong?”
“I
just can’t seem to get warp dynamics under my belt.”
“Read
me the problem,” Koester said.
Kane
looked at his screen, reading off, “If a Miranda-class starship has a 50% load
of antimatter, and travels at warp 6, what is the intermix formula necessary
for the ship to reach a starbase 60 light years away.”
“Don’t
you pay any attention to McGregor’s lecture?” Koester asked, already knowing
the answer.
“I
try,” Kane said sheepishly, “but I get so distracted.”
Koester
crossed his arms.
“Maybe
you wouldn’t get so distracted if you didn’t sit so close to Jenna Poln,”
Koester said with a smile. “By the way,
are the two of you coming with T’Lees and I to
Kane
spun around in his chair to face Koester.
“Are
you kidding,” he said. “I haven’t even
worked up the courage to ask her out yet.”
“Virg,
what have I told you? What’s the worst
she can say? ‘No.’ Just ask her!
I need to know how many spots to reserve on the shuttle to Bahston by
tomorrow night.”
Kane
chuckled a little at Koester’s pronunciation, then started to say, “Well, in
that case...”
Koester
glared at Kane, knowing he was about to back down.
“Oh,
alright. I’ll ask her tonight,” Kane
said, then turned back around. Seeing
the computer screen reminded him he was still in the middle of his class work.
“Damn,
distracted by Jenna again. Come on,
Pete. How do I figure this out? Is there some special formula or something?”
“Virg,
it’s a trick question. There’s only one
ratio of matter to antimatter without waste byproducts to gum up the warp
coils.”
“Oooh!”
Kane said, slapping himself on the forehead.
“That was so stupid of me. One to
one!”
Koester
nodded, smiling.
“Now
you’re getting it.”
“Pete,
I’ll never graduate without your help.”
“Sure
you will, Virg. But I’ll still be here
to help you anyway.” Koester looked
thoughtful for a moment, then added, “And I think I know a way to make sure we
both make it.”
* * * *
Two
Months Later
“I
wish to congratulate you all on the fine first year you displayed. You all did remarkably well,” Lt Commander
Aerdish said with a smile. Out in the
auditorium, Koester and Kane shook each other’s hand. Meanwhile, Aerdish continued.
“It
is with great pride that I now turn you over to Commander Adam Marsh, Officer
in Charge of the
As
applause sounded throughout the auditorium, Aerdish stepped away from the
podium and a serious looking human man wearing a dress uniform with three gold
pips on the collar stepped up. He looked
the audience of cadets over briefly, and then started talking.
“Tension
on the Romulan boarder. Our ongoing cold
war with the Cardassians. Uneasy
relations with the Tholians. Expansion
by the newly encountered Ferengi. That
is what you must deal with as a Starfleet officer. Can you take the pressure?”
Marsh
again let his eyes scan the assembled group.
“But
there is much more to being a Starfleet officer than staying on your
guard. Diplomacy, humanitarian aide,
exploration.... The search for
knowledge! Those too must be forevermore
at the forefront of your actions.
Perhaps you will be present when a Romulan ship crosses the
border, but only because the ship is damaged and the crew is in need of
help. Or you will be the one facing down
a Cardassian warship, but one sent to declare a truce. Perhaps you will be the one that
creates the as-yet unattainable agreement with the Tholians that makes them our
allies, much as was done with the Klingons fifteen years ago. Or be the officer that makes true first
contact with the Ferengi, and make them our friends instead of our foes.”
The
auditorium remained as silent as space while Marsh paused.
“This
year will be very different from your last.
You will put all the training, all the drills, all the knowledge you
accumulated last year to the test. You
will spend much of your time this year on training missions off campus. Missions that will take you to the moon,
Mars, Titan, and even Pluto. All this
will be preparation for your third year, when you must choose what departments
and divisions you want to major and minor in and participate in your training
cruise, a near six month voyage as the acting crew aboard the Academy training
vessel USS Republic.”
Marsh
took a deep breath, then continued.
“Yes,
it will be a year of choices for you. Do
you choose to attend one of the Services Colleges, and learn Science, Engineering,
Operations, Security, or Communications?
Go on to become a leading member of your department? Will you apply to the Medical Academy for six
more years of intense training and become one of the medical officers that care
for not only your own crew, but alien life in need wherever you may find
it? Or will you go all the way, learning
a little of each discipline as you attend
Marsh
let his words sink in, then concluded, “I look forward to seeing all of you
here again in two months. Until then,
enjoy your summer leave.”
The
auditorium erupted in applause, and as Marsh and Aerdish left the stage, all
the cadets rose and quickly left the building.
* * * *
The
cadets made their way out onto the Quad, making groundskeeper Boothby very
nervous about the new flowers he had just planted around the grounds. The various squads got together within their
small groups one last time before leave truly began, congratulating each other,
patting each other on the back, apologizing for bruised egos earned throughout
the year, and saying goodbye until classes resumed again in August.
Koester
walked over to join what still remained on campus of Omega Squad. Dara Thompson and Bot F’rnsis had both
departed immediately after Commander Marsh’s speech, anxious to catch their
transports to the Martian Colonies and Teller respectively. But Mik, the tall Andorian squad leader,
Leslie Paul, and Virgil Kane were still gathered together. Both Paul and Mik already wore their new
collar device, but Koester and Kane had made their agreement months
earlier. Each handed the other their new
pip, and with very little ceremony, Koester pinned the second elongated cadet
pip on Kane’s collar while Kane simultaneously did the same to Koester.
“Congratulations,
Cadet Third Class,” they both said together, causing the whole squad to smile.
Mik
approached the two cadets, offering his large, blue hand.
“In
the tradition of your culture, congratulations,” the squad leader said. “And in the tradition of mine...,” the
Andorian offered a warriors blessing upon the two fellow cadets.
Soon,
both Mik and Paul also departed, promising to get the squad together a week
before classes were scheduled to resume to review and train together. Koester and Kane started speaking together as
the others departed.
“What
plans do you have for the summer?” Kane asked his roommate.
“Spending
as much time as I can with T’Lees,” Koester replied.
“You’ve
really fallen hard for her, haven’t you?
You do realize a human having a relationship with a Vulcan is not the
easiest thing to maintain?”
“Normally
I would agree with you, Virg, but T’Lees is different. She’s like no other Vulcan I have ever
met. She may be logical and unemotional
in public, but behind closed doors she’s the most passionate Vulcan I have ever
met in my life.”
“And
how many Vulcans have you met?” Kane asked with a smirk.
“Admittedly,
she’s the only one. But from everything
I have heard, even in our xenosociology class, I was expecting someone much
more reserved. More… well… cold. But T’Lees is anything but.”
“You’ve
got it bad,” Kane remarked.
“I’m
hoping the Academy will allow me to live off campus next semester, so T’Lees
and I can move in together. I’m going to
ask her this afternoon.” Koester took a
deep breath, as if trying to overcome his excitement, before finally asking,
“What about you? You have any plans for
leave?”
“Nothing
special. I’m going to spend some time
back home with my family in
As
the two cadets conversed, the subject of the conversation, Jenna Poln, walked
up. Kane gave the petite woman a hug and
kiss, but something in the look in her eyes just did not seem right.
“I
need to talk to you, Virgil,” she said, then glanced at Koester standing
nearby. “Alone.”
Kane
nodded, made his apologies to his roommate, and followed Poln across the
Quad. Koester watched while trying not
to look as if he were watching.
Across
the Quad, Kane and Poln spoke, Jenna’s eyes looking down toward the ground most
of the time. Kane visibly stiffened at
one point, then nodded his head slowly and gave his fellow cadet a tight hug,
after which he started walking back toward Koester alone. Poln, meanwhile, walked slowly away in the
other direction.
“What
happened?” Koester asked with concern.
Kane
half-shrugged his shoulders, looked toward his own feet for a moment, then said,
“Jenna pointed out that she just barely made it through the last semester, and
felt that we’ve been spending too much time together. That I’ve been distracting her from her
studies. She doesn’t have someone like I
have you to help me pass all my classes, Pete.”
Kane sighed before adding, “She suggested it would be best if we just
remained friends and not get too deeply involved anymore,” Kane concluded.
“I
see,” said Koester. “I’m sorry.”
“Not
your fault, Pete. Heck, without you, I
probably wouldn’t have passed the year, and I wouldn’t have even asked Jenna
out in the first place.” Kane smiled
weakly. Koester put his arm around his
fellow cadet’s shoulders.
“Like
I said.... I’m sorry.”
* * * *
As
soon as the gathering on the Quad started to break up as cadets headed either
back to their dorm rooms or toward whatever transit system would take them to
where they were planning to spend the summer, Koester rushed back to the dorm
room he shared with Kane. He planned to
change into a fresh uniform with his new pips and go meet T’Lees at their
special coffee shop on
He
was already halfway changed before he noticed the message light on his computer
monitor blinking.
“Computer,
play message.”
The
computer bleeped acknowledgement and the screen lit up with an image of
T’Lees. Koester stopped dressing,
shocked by the actual expression of sadness on his Vulcan lover’s features.
“I
am sorry I had to leave you a message like this rather than be able to tell you
in person. I have been reassigned to new
duties on Vulcan. By the time you
receive this message, I will already have left Earth.”
“No…,”
Koester whispered, dragging out the chair at the desk and sitting down hard on
it.
“Due
to the nature of my new duties, I request you not try to contact me,” T’Lees’
message continued. “You also need to
concentrate on your work and studies.
Perhaps this parting is for the best, for both of us.” It seemed for an instant as if T’Lees’
message would end, when suddenly the Vulcan woman’s lips formed the hint of a
smile and added, “Perhaps someday in the future, if fate is kind, we will see
each other again. Goodbye, my
love.” She then placed two fingertips
against the monitor, which Koester, a solitary tear winding down his left
cheek, touched with his own fingertips.
“Peace and long life,” T’Lees concluded.
As
the monitor screen turned black, Koester took a deep breath and slowly lowered
his fingers as he whispered, “Live long and prosper, T’Lees.” He continued to stare at the black screen for
several minutes before finally straightening in his seat and, lifting the
uniform shirt he was holding, tapped his combadge.
“Cadet
Koester to Cadet Kane.”
“Go
ahead, Pete,” Kane responded a moment later.
“What’s up?”
“Let’s
just say my day is a lot like yours at this point. I need to get out and blow off some
steam. Care to join me in town?”
“I’m
right there with you, Pete,” Kane replied.
To Be Continued.....
Continue on
to Part 2.
Return to 2369.
Return to Stories Archive.