Previously
in Star Trek: Personal Logs...
Cadets
Peter J. Koester of
In
between classes and training assignments their first year, both the young
cadets find themselves getting involved in close personal relationships,
Koester with a young member of the Vulcan Embassy staff in San Francisco, and
Kane with fellow Academy cadet and Alpha Squad member Jenna Poln. But as their Squad successfully completed
their freshman year at the Academy, both relationships come to unexpected ends
just as the cadets were about to depart on summer leave.
During
their sophomore year, both Koester and Kane become involved in new
relationships, Koester with Gamma Squad member Joanne Simon, who admits to
having hidden a crush on Koester their entire first year before asking him to
the annual Academy Sadie Hawkins Dance, Kane with a third-year sciences cadet
named Daphne. As the year progresses,
Omega Squad becomes the first of the second-year cadet squads to be assigned a
mission off-planet. During the
exploration of the lunar highlands, an unexpected quake nearly traps and kills
several members of the away team, including the OIC of the
As
their third year began, the pair find themselves accepted into the famed
And now the conclusion...
Star
Trek:
“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 Four - 2362/2363
Jason
Goode, Rek T’vLar, Meryl Weathers, Ch’dai Do-nath Gio Sepp, Carrie Roch,
M’rath, Virgil Kane, and Peter Koester were all gathered in Kane and Koester’s
shared dorm room. The semester had just
started, but they were studying for their final exam.
“I
quizzed the old man when I went home for leave right after the training cruise,”
Koester whispered conspiratorially.
“Turns out there was a real Kobayashi
Maru incident. Way back in 2245,
during high tensions with the Klingons.
A Federation freighter out of the Altair system struck a mine being used
to mark the border, disabling the ship and causing it to drift over the
line. A Federation starship went across
the border after it and ran into three heavily armed and fairly angry Klingon
warships.”
All
the cadets, except Ch’dai, seemed enthralled by the story.
“The
starship refused to raise shields, and continuously broadcast that they were on
a rescue mission. The Klingons couldn’t
have cared less. They pounced on the
starship, destroying both it and the freighter before the Federation ship could
even arm lasers. The captain had barely
enough time to launch a log buoy back into Federation territory.”
“After
analysis of the data showed the captain not only made an error in judgment, but
could have followed a large number of choices leading to the same final result,
it was decided that the incident would form the perfect basis for the Academy
simulator final exam. It’s got another
name too. ‘The No-Win Scenario.’”
“And
we’re going to beat it, right?” asked Goode.
“Well.....,”
Koester hesitated.
“I
found out some information too,” Kane added.
Suddenly his shin was kicked beneath the table and Carrie Roch
pouted. “I mean, we found out some
information.”
“The
Academy started using the Kobayashi Maru
scenario during the class of 2251. In
it’s almost 111 years of use, only one cadet has ever beaten the so-called
‘No-Win Scenario,’ and it took him three tries to do it.”
Kane
looked smugly at his fellow cadets, until T’vLar asked, “And are you going to
tell us who?”
“Cadet
J.T. Kirk, class of 2254.”
“Kirrrrk? As in Captain James T. Kirrrrk?” M’rath
asked.
“The
very same.”
“Did
your research say how Kirk beat the simulator?” Koester asked, his mind already
working on a plan.
“Unfortunately,
no,” Kane conceded. “But it did say he
received a commendation for original thinking.”
“The
simulator hasn’t been beat in 108 years,” Goode said, and then grinned
widely. “I say it’s about time it got
beaten again.”
* * * *
“Red
alert! Arm phasers and photon
torpedoes,” Koester ordered.
“Weapons
armed and standing by,” Rek T’vLar reported.
“Open
frequency,” Koester ordered.
“You’re
on, Captain,” Ch’dai confirmed.
“Tholian
vessel, this is Captain Peter J. Koester of the Federation starship
Several
seconds passed with no response. Koester
looked over at his Andorian tactical officer sitting in the alcove on the port
side of the bridge.
“Any
change in weapons status?”
“Negative,
Captain,” T’vLar replied.
Koester
looked up at his first officer, who stood at his right elbow.
“What
do you think, Exec? They don’t seem to
be ready to move back across the border.”
“Perhaps
they need more forceful encouragement, Skipper?” Kane suggested. Koester contemplated his fellow cadet’s
suggestion for a moment.
“I
don’t know, Virg. Even though the
Tholians are on our side of the recognized border, it could cause a shooting
war if we open fire first. You know how
changeable the Tholians consider borders drawn on star charts.” Koester leaned forward in the command chair,
his hand under his chin as he contemplated the cone-shaped alien vessel on the
viewscreen. He then glanced at the
tactical console once again before suddenly straightening in the command chair.
“T’vLar,
lock phasers on target!”
As
the Andorian cadet followed the order, Kane looked at Koester.
“I
thought you said you didn’t want to start a shooting war?”
“Captain! Tholian vessel is turning away,” announced
Carrie Roch.
“Tholian
has disarmed weapons,” added Cadet Ch’dai.
As
the cadets watched, the Tholian ship turned back toward its own home
space. A second later it entered warp,
disappearing in a streak and thunder-flash of light.
“Tholian
ship has crossed back over the border,” Roch confirmed.
“How
did you know?” Kane asked as the viewscreen suddenly went dark, the image of
space replaced by text saying, “
The
cadets exchanged congratulations as the viewscreen started moving aside,
revealing Captain Maxim standing there.
“Very
impressive, Mister Koester. How did you know?” Maxim asked.
“It
was something Virg… I mean, Cadet Kane
said. About being more forceful. It occurred to me that, while we had our
weapons armed, it was purely a defensive stance. In our cultural studies class, we learned the
Tholians respect strength, especially in one on one confrontations. Arming weapons wasn’t enough. We had to be aiming right down their
throat. …Assuming Tholians even have a
throat.”
“And
would you have fired on them?” Maxim asked.
“Only
if fired upon first,” Koester replied.
“We were at red alert with shields raised. We could easily have repelled an attack by a
lone Tholian warship, at least for a while.”
Maxim
nodded and smiled slightly.
“Good
work, cadets. Enjoy your evening
off. See you all on Monday morning.”
As
the cadet command crew filed out of the simulator, Kane moved up beside his
room mate.
“Plans
for tonight? You getting together with
Joanne?”
Koester
suddenly had a funny look on his face.
“Joanne
and I are supposed to meet for dinner in
“Maybe
she’s just feeling the same stress a lot of us are feeling in our final year?”
Kane suggested.
“Maybe,”
Koester conceded, but still feeling there was something more going on.
Two
hours later, Cadet Koester walked into the Grand Oriental Restaurant on
“I
have to admit, until I walked in I wasn’t entirely sure you would be here,”
Koester said.
“Why
would you think that?” Simon asked, her expression turning slightly sad
looking.
“Because… Well…
It feels like you’re trying to avoid me lately.”
Simon
shook her head slowly, trying to reassure her boyfriend.
“No! I’m not trying to avoid you. I’m just…
Well, I’m sure you’ve been as stressed out about your classes as I have
been, especially since you’re a simulator captain.”
“Co-captain,”
Koester corrected, hoping to get a chuckle out of Simon. Instead she simply continued what she was
saying.”
“…And
I’ve been thinking about the talk we had before the training cruise. About how we need to slow down and wait until
after we graduate before we take things much further, and about how I don’t
want to wait, I feel so much for you now.
And about how different our career paths seem to be headed. It would be so much easier if we were both in
the same school, taking the same classes, working toward the same goal, seeing
each other every day instead of when we can fit it into our busy schedules
every few weeks.”
“We’ve
discussed this so many times, Jo. I’ve
wanted to be a command officer my entire life.
And you want nothing more than to study science and work in
archeology. But once we’re out of the
Academy we’ll have our whole lives ahead of us.”
Simon
nodded, then smiled, leaning close to Koester to share another kiss just as
their meals arrived. The dinner passed
pleasantly, the couple catching each other up on what had been happening in
their lives over the past couple of weeks, and a few hours later the two were
walking hand in hand through the streets of
“I’ve
been thinking about what we talked about,” Simon said. “And you’re right. We need to slow down. We need to concentrate on our classes. Graduation is right on the horizon.”
“I
knew you would understand,” Koester said with a smile as he enveloped the
brown-haired woman in a hug. “It’s just
a couple more months, then we have the rest of our lives together.”
“I
just have this feeling, if I back off, when I look for you you’re not going to
be there,” Simon said, admitting her fears.
Koester gave his girlfriend a reassuring smile.
“Come
graduation day, I’m right there with you!”
Simon
smiled, then kissed Koester before saying goodnight. As Koester waved and started walking back toward
his own dorm, Simon watched him leave, wiping a single tear from her eye as she
turned to enter her dorm.
* * * *
May
2363
Cadet’s
log, stardate 40447.7: Virgil Kane
recording.
As
finals approach, we all can’t help but feel that sense that things are winding
down to an end. But our simulator
command crew are not unprepared. We’ve
drilled the best. We’ve scored the
best. We’ve become a command crew of
note. After spending most of last year
commanding the “Ride,” an Oberth-class
simulator, and another year commanding the ‘
Pete
and I have spent the last eight months preparing a strategy against the three
Klingon ships the computer will send our way.
And we’ve developed something we believe will work. A way to beat the unbeatable scenario.
Now,
it’s only a matter of our instructor choosing who will command our final, finest
voyage.
* * * *
The
lecture had ended almost twenty minutes before, but the Koester/Kane command
crew sat quietly in the classroom waiting for Captain Maxim to arrive. They were scheduled for the final simulator
bright and early, 0700 hours, the next morning, the last command crew of the
Class of ’63 to be scheduled.
Eventually,
the door swooshed aside, and Captain Maxim hurried in.
“My
apologies for my tardiness, cadets,” he said.
“But I was reviewing your records with other members of the faculty to
determine who will be placed in command of tomorrow’s simulation.” All the cadets exchanged glances.
“Mister
Koester, Mister Kane, you’ve both demonstrated your intelligence, ability, and
skills as rotating CO’s, and your ability to work as a team both with each
other and with your crew. However...”
Maxim
looked hard at both cadets before he spoke again.
“I
don’t have to announce this kind of decision often, and it’s never easy when I
have to ...Mister Koester’s overall score is point-two percent higher than
Mister Kane’s. It has been decided he
will command tomorrow’s mission.”
As
Maxim gathered his padd and isolinear chips, Kane offered Koester a handshake.
“It’s
an honor to be your XO, Skipper.”
Koester
returned the handshake, saying, “I’m proud to have you as my first officer,
Exec.”
* * * *
The
next morning, the cadets waited outside the doors of Simulator 220A. They had never actually seen anyone use this
simulator and assumed it was used strictly for the final exam.
“Cadets,”
said the voice of Captain Maxim from the simulator’s control room. “Enter the simulator and take your
positions. And good luck.”
The
doors parted, and the cadet crew walked in.
They were awestruck by the sight that greeted them. It was the largest simulator room they had
yet been assigned to, the bridge of an Ambassador-class starship. The simulator was authentic in every detail,
right down to the dedication plaque on the side bulkhead.
“Hey,
Pete!” Kane called out. “Come take a
look at the name of your new command!”
Koester
gulped as he looked at the plaque. The
simulator certainly had a legendary name to live up to.
* * * *
Captain’s
log, stardate 40450.1:
Starship
Enterprise-C on training
mission along the Neutral Zone, Gamma Hydra section 14, coordinates
22-87-04.
All
systems are normal and functioning.
Koester,
out.
The
cadets had been in the simulation two hours already, most of it spent
patrolling one section of the Gamma Hydra sector, confirming it clear of
incursion, then moving on to the next.
Koester, frankly, was getting bored.
“Is
anything going to happen?” complained Carrie Roch.
“Perhaps
the idea of the mission is to bore us and see if we give up?” Ch’dai said
coldly.
Kane,
from where he stood at the bridge’s aft stations, monitoring the various
consoles, started to say, “Fat cha...”
“Captain,
we’re receiving a distress call. Audio
only,” Ch’dai suddenly interrupted.
“On
speakers.”
“This
is the Kobayashi Maru, nineteen
periods out of Altair VI... We have
struck a gravitic mine and have lost all power.
Our hull is penetrated and we have sustained many casualties.”
Here
it comes, Koester thought to himself.
“Mister
Ch’dai, respond to them,” ordered Koester.
“Mister Roch, can you locate?”
“Too
much interference, Captain,” Roch replied.
Meanwhile the Efrosian cadet hailed the freighter.
“Kobayashi Maru, this is the starship
Static
filled the bridge, through which a barely audible voice could be heard.
“...r
location is Gamma Hydra, section 10.
“Section
10 is in the Neutral Zone, Captain,” reported T’vLar.
“I
have her on sensors,” Weathers added.
“...Can
you assist us,
Even
though Koester knew almost everything about the freighter from his nearly six
months of intensive study, he also knew the instructors overseeing the exam
would be looking for certain specific actions from the crew. He turned to ops and requested, “Mister
Weathers, what information do we have on the Kobayashi Maru?”
“Vessel
is a Class 3 Neutronic fuel carrier.
Crew of 81.”
“Not
too bad,” Koester judged. “We dealt with
more than that aboard the Republic.”
“...Three
hundred passengers,” finished Weathers.
“Dammit!”
cursed Koester. The cadet captain
smacked his fist on the armrest of his command chair, spun it to face Kane, and
said, “But nothing we weren’t really expecting.
Are you ready to implement Plan A, Exec?”
“Ready,
Skipper,” the other cadet replied.
In
the simulator control room, Captain Maxim looked at the simulation control
officer.
“Plan
A?” he asked.
The
control officer shrugged, and then said, “They aren’t the first.”
Meanwhile,
back in the simulator, “Mister Goode, I want you to plot a course to the Kobayashi Maru!” Koester said with
excitement in his voice, spinning his chair to face the screen again.
“Captain,
may I remind you that entering the Neutral Zone is a violation of treaty?”
T’vLar said.
“Understood,
Mister T’vLar,” said Koester, “but lives are at stake.” Returning his attention to the helm, he said,
“Mister Goode, we warp into the Neutral Zone and drop out of warp...”
“...Right
next to the Maru!” Goode
finished. Koester, slightly miffed,
nodded, and then continued.
“Mister
Weathers, as soon as we drop out of warp, I want you to lock a tractor beam on
the Maru, so keep sensors securely
locked on it as we head in.”
“Understood,
Captain,” Weathers said.
“Then,
Mister Goode,...”
“As
soon as the tractor is locked on, we hit warp right on out again and rescue the
passengers and crew once we’re out of the Zone and back in Federation space!”
Goode finished again. “Brilliant!”
Koester
looked at Kane, gave an uneasy smile.
Kane sent back a thumbs-up.
“Ship
is ready, Skipper,” the cadet First Officer reported.
“Very
well. Mister Goode, take us into the
Neutral Zone, full impulse. On my
mark, go to warp.”
“Warp
speed on your command, aye,” Goode replied.
The
ship moved forward, slowly by comparison to faster-than-light speed, but within
moments Weathers reported, “We have entered the Neutral Zone and are in
violation of treaty, Captain.”
“Understood. Steady as she goes, Mister Goode.”
Koester
glanced at Kane, who had walked down to stand next to the captain’s chair.
“If
anything’s going to happen, it should be soon,” Kane said.
“Getting
ready to take the captain’s chair when I get blown out of it, Virg?” Koester
asked with a grin.
“Doesn’t
hurt to be prepared,” Kane smiled back with a shrug.
“Captain,
communications are being jammed!” Ch’dai reported, his voice like ice.
Koester
looked hard at the screen, trying to spot the oncoming Klingon cruisers.
“Ops,
report.”
“Nothing
on sensors but the freighter, Captain,” Weathers said.
Something
was wrong. Koester could feel it in the
pit of his stomach. Had he and Kane
miscalculated somehow?
“Standing
by on warp, Captain,” Goode reminded.
“On
my mark, Mister Goode. Not a moment
sooner.”
The
ship continued forward, heading slowly for the stricken freighter. Sweat began to build on Koester’s brow.
“Captain,
I think...,” Weathers started to say. “I
mean, for a moment, I thought sensors detected a contact at 020 mark 2 off the
starboard bow.”
Koester
held up his hand, a signal to all to stay alert and stand by.
Moments
later, a shimmer on the screen appeared and resolved itself into the image of
three large green ships.
“Aww,
hell,” Koester muttered aloud.
“Captain! Three Romulan Warbirds just decloaked off the
starboard bow!” T’vLar reported.
“Mister
Goode...”
“Warp
speed, aye!” Goode shouted, and in an instant the ship shot into warp.
“Raise
shields. Go to red alert!” ordered Kane
from the captain’s side. In an instant the
bridge lighting changed to reflect the new alert status.
Koester
glanced back toward the operations console.
“Still
have sensor lock on the freighter,” Weathers said with a nod. “Standing by on tractor beam.”
“Dropping
out of warp in 10 seconds,” reported Goode.
“Six... Five... Four...
Three... Two... One...”
The
ship dropped back into real space, halting where a slowly rotating object
filled the screen.
“Freighter
right off the bow,” T’vLar confirmed.
“Tractor beam locked.”
“Well,
crew, let’s get out...,” Koester started to say when suddenly he was
interrupted.
“Captain! Three more Warbirds just decloaked! At bearings 000, 120, and 240 relative!”
“We’re
surrounded!” Kane said, emphasizing the word like a curse.
“That’s
not fair,” Koester mumbled. “Ch’dai,
hail the Romulans. Explain we’re on a
rescue mission.”
“They’re
still jamming all the frequencies,” Ch’dai said, his cold blue eyes boring into
Koester’s like ice picks.
“Captain,
Warbirds are powering up weapons.”
“Lock
phasers on the forward Warbird. Arm all
torpedo bays,” Koester ordered. “But do
not, I repeat, do not fire unless fired upon. Maybe we can still talk our way out of this.”
The
tense seconds ticked by slowly. Koester
and Kane stared at the viewscreen. Roch
looked at Kane, while Weathers looked at each person on the bridge in
turn. T’vLar kept one blue finger poised
above the firing control on the tactical console in front of him, while Ch’dai
continued to attempt to hail the Warbirds without success. Only Goode seemed to be relaxed, tapping his
fingers along the top of his control console.
Moments
passed, and for a brief second, Koester actually entertained the thought that
they might get out of this ‘alive.’
Then
the Warbird off to the port side opened fire.
The bridge shook, knocking Kane to the deck.
“Return
fire!” Koester shouted. An instant
later, phaser beams lanced out at the Warbird on the screen.
“No
damage to Warbird, our shields down by 10%,” T’vLar reported.
“Fire
torpedoes, full spread!”
As
a swarm of photon torpedoes shot out at the lead Warbird, striking direct hits,
all three Romulan ships fired back with both disruptors and plasma beams. Very quickly, the
“Shields
down!” Weathers reported. “Damage to
decks 5 through 9 and 18 through 27!”
Suddenly
the tactical console in front of T’vLar blew apart, showering sparks
everywhere. T’vLar fell to the deck.
“Dammit,
get us out of here, Mister Goode!” Koester ordered.
“Warp
drive is non responsive!” Goode reported.
“Attempting
to rrrrerrrroute powerrrr, Captain,” M’rath responded.
“Full
impulse!”
Suddenly
the viewscreen lit up as the Warbird that had been in front of them exploded,
damaged by the volley of photon torpedoes.
“....That
way!” Koester finished, pointing toward the new opening in the formation.
The
ship slowly started to move away from the Warbirds, dragging the Kobayashi Maru with it, when the
remaining two Warbirds fired again.
“Damage
report,” Koester choked through a cough.
“Loss
of life support below deck 22.
“Evacuate
all decks below main engineering,” Koester ordered, then started to say,
“Mister Goode....”
“We’re
at full impulse,” The Helmsman replied.
“The freighter is slowing us down.”
Another
explosion launched Koester out of the command chair and onto the deck between
the tactical and conn stations.
Immediately Kane jumped into action.
“Ops,”
he said. “Can you fire any weapons?”
“No
power to phasers,” Roch responded.
“I’ve
got one armed torpedo in each aft tube,” Weathers said.
“Fire. One at each target.”
The
“Warrrrp
powerrrr back on line, Misterrrr Kane,” M’rath said through clenched jaws.
Koester
sat up on his elbows, looking at Kane.
“Do
it, Virg,” the Cadet Captain said.
“Mister
Goode, engage!” Kane ordered, but too late.
The ten torpedoes struck the ship, sending cadet bodies flying
everywhere, causing fires to sprout, and consoles to break apart with a snap,
sending more smoke into the air.
Then
all at once, the alarms silenced.
Blowers started, and within moments the air was mostly clear. No traces of fire remained. The sparking panels and monitors had stopped
dead.
Koester
slowly stood, brushing soot and charred wiring off his uniform, and stood next
to Kane by the command chair. Each of
the other cadets stood as well.
On
the screen, the report printed out.
“USS Enterprise NCC-1701-C has been
destroyed with all hands. Freighter Kobayashi Maru has been destroyed with
no survivors.”
“Dammit!”
Koester cursed once again to himself. He
half-turned toward Kane. “We should have
seen the Romulans coming. Of course
peace with the Klingons would make them change the program.”
“Not
to mention Gamma Hydra borders the Romulan Neutral Zone,” Kane added as an
afterthought.
“Alright,
let’s open her up,” said the muffled voice of Captain Maxim. Koester rolled his eyes.
“You
mentioned Kirk took this thing three times,” he said to Kane. Kane nodded.
“If we talk fast, maybe Maxim will give us another try.”
“Well,”
said Goode, playing the devil’s advocate.
“I guess now we find out if they toss you out for failing this test.”
“They
can’t just fail you,” Kane
reiterated again. He looked at
Koester. “Can they?”
The
viewscreen slid aside once more, letting the remaining smoke flow out into the
corridor beyond. Into the simulator
stepped Captain Maxim. He stood at the
front of the bridge, eyeing each cadet.
Finally he walked around the tactical post and stood before ‘Captain’
Koester. The cadet stood ramrod
straight.
“Plan
A?” the captain asked, one eyebrow raised on his forehead. Koester merely nodded. “Let me ask you, Cadet; was there ever a Plan
B?”
Koester,
looking nervous, cleared his throat, and then answered, “No, sir.”
“Too
bad,” Maxim said as he started walking around the bridge, observing the damage
and running a finger across the top of one grimy console. “I would have been very interested in hearing
what it was, considering I’d never get to see it.”
A
cold chill ran down Koester’s spine as seven pairs of eyes looked his way, but
no one spoke.
“Congratulations,
Cadets,” Maxim said with a smile. “You
passed.”
Koester’s
knees almost gave way. His eyebrows shot
up in puzzlement, and he turned to face the captain.
“Passed?”
he stuttered. “But we all got
killed! The freighter was
destroyed! They beat us!”
“Of
course they beat you, Cadet. We don’t
call it the no-win scenario for nothing.
You’re supposed to
die,” the captain explained. “Something
would be wrong if you didn’t.”
“But.... Plan A was developed to beat the simulator,
sir,” Kane explained.
“Cadets,
had this been real, your plan may very well have worked. It almost did here too. That’s why the computer had to override and throw
in an additional squadron of well-armed Warbirds. More than the average cadet crew requires.”
“But,
sir...,” Koester started to protest.
“Cadet!”
Maxim said, raising his voice slightly.
“This is not a test of fighting skill.
It isn’t live or die. Because you
are going to die. Its entire purpose is a test of character. To
see how you would face a no-win situation.
Some cadets get flustered and fall completely to pieces. You went in with a plan, briefed your crew,
and faced down a difficult situation without losing your head, without
provoking a fight, trying every option at your disposal. We wanted to see how you would react under
pressure!”
Maxim
paused a moment, took a deep breath.
“Cadet
Koester, most cadet crews don’t even get to see the freighter before they’re
‘killed.’ Until 2250, the Academy didn’t
even bother programming the Maru into
the sim. You passed. See?”
The Captain pointed to the rolled aside viewer, where a new line had
appeared under the simulator results.
“Simulator
Score: Pass. Overall Crew Score: 91%”
“As
I said earlier, Cadets, congratulations.
Dismissed.” And with that said,
Maxim turned and left the simulator. The
cadets looked at each other, smiles spreading on everyone’s faces, including
Ch’Dai. Except for Koester. He merely collapsed into the seat of the
command chair. The other cadets gathered
around him in celebration as maintenance crews stepped in to clean up the simulator.
* * * *
Stardate
40475.0: The main Quad of Starfleet Academy
The
cadets, wearing their full dress uniforms, stood at attention. Their proud parents and friends sat in the
rows behind and to each side.
Koester
looked around out of the corner of his eye for a certain other cadet, but to
the best of his ability, he could not spot her.
Meanwhile Superintendent Bald spoke at the podium set up on a temporary
stage.
“I
am very proud to be at the graduation of this class, my last commencement as
Superintendent of Starfleet Academy.
Next week I am to be relieved by Admiral Brand.”
“I
have watched this class, from their freshman year, through Squad formation and
the above average performance of Omega, Gamma, and Red Squads... Sophomore year and the amazing rescue of the
away mission on the moon… Junior year,
and your training cruise aboard the Republic,
including your participation in the rescue of the passengers and crew of a
stricken freighter… And finally, this
last, senior year. I am proud to be the
Superintendent of the class with the highest grade average since the Academy’s
founding. And I am also proud to mention
the highest passing score on our Academy final simulator exam since 2254.”
At
that, Admiral Brand, the soon-to-be appointed Superintendent stood and joined
Admiral Bald at the podium.
“I
wish to offer this graduating class my personal congratulations,” she
said. “I only hope that my tenure as
Superintendent produces officers as capable and outstanding as yourselves.”
Applause
started among the gathered guests. Soon
everyone, including the cadets themselves and the VIP’s on stage, honored the
graduating class.
Then
once again, Admiral Bald took the podium.
All two hundred members of the Class of ‘63 stood.
“I
confer upon you all the rank of Ensign in the Federation Starfleet, with all
rights and privileges there-of.
Congratulations to all of our newest Starfleet officers.”
A
cheer rose up among the cadets. Had they
been wearing hats, they would probably have been thrown in the air. Back-pats and handshakes abounded. And through the crowd, Koester finally
spotted the Cadet.... err, Ensign he had been searching for. Joanne Simon.
As
soon as the ceremony officially ended, Koester made a break toward where he had
seen his fellow newly-commissioned officer standing among friends. But search as he might, he could not find her
again.
Standing
alone in the middle of the Quad, the ranks of new Ensigns breaking up, being
congratulated by their family and friends, and heading out on their own
separate ways, Koester was soon surrounded by ten people. His simulator Command crew, his parents, and
Ensign Jenna Poln, who clung to Ensign Virgil Kane’s right arm, much to the
annoyance of Ensign Carrie Roch, who clung to his left.
Extricating
himself from the two female Ensigns, Kane walked up to Koester.
“Guess,
I can’t call you Skipper anymore, huh, Skipp.... I mean, Pete.”
“I
guess not,” Koester said, sounding a little down.
“Come
on, Pete,” Ensign Merryl Weathers said.
“This is a happy occasion.
Smile!”
Koester
nodded, and then said, “You’re right. We
still have a few days before we leave for our first assignments. I’m sure I’ll find her before she leaves.”
“That’s
the right attitude,” Ensign Jason Goode said.
Kane
took a step closer to Koester. The two
each exchanged a small object, and then proceeded to remove the four elongated
pips each had on his own uniform flap.
Kane
placed the single, round gold pip onto the front flap of Koester’s dress
uniform. Koester then proceeded to do the
same to Kane, pinning the small but significant rank pip onto the dress
uniform.
“Congratulations,
Ensign,” Kane said to his friend.
“Congratulations,
Ensign,” Koester returned with a smile.
The
two exchanged handshakes then pulled each other into an embrace.
“Well,
where are you off to anyway?” Koester asked.
“A
year’s study at the Vulcan Academy of Science, then on to the
“The
Al Batani,” Koester said, forcing a
smile. “I’m going to miss you, Virg.”
“Me
too,” the Virginian responded.
“Hey! Keep an ear out. I’m going to ask for you on my first
command,” Koester said.
“Uh-uh,”
Kane responded. When Koester started to
frown, Kane added, “I’ll be asking for you on mine!”
* * * *
EPILOGUE;
Eleven years later, Earth Year 2374:
Ch’Dai
Do-Nath Giu Sepp of Efros still serves in Starfleet. He is assigned as a Science Officer aboard
the starship USS Yosemite NCC-19002,
and is currently a Lieutenant Commander.
M’rath
of Cait currently serves as Chief of Operations at Starbase 122. He is a
Lieutenant.
Jason
Goode, Merryl Weathers, and Carrie Roch, all from Earth, left Starfleet after
each had served six years. They together
joined an archeological team headed by Dr. Savar of the Vulcan Academy of
Science, studying ruins in the Rigel and border sectors.
Virgil
Dylan Kane of Earth resigned from Starfleet in 2366 and joined the Bajoran
resistance movement after his parents were killed in a Cardassian attack on a
civilian transport. He returned to
Starfleet in 2370. He is currently
serving as the First Officer of the USS
Dauntless NCC-74658 at the rank of Lieutenant Commander.
Rek
T’vLar of Andor was killed at the Battle of Wolf 359 while serving aboard the
starship Tolstoy NCC-62095. He was 25.
Peter
Koester is currently a Captain, assigned as Commanding Officer of the starship USS Dauntless NCC-74658. Despite repeated attempts, he never saw
Joanne Simon again.
Author’s
note on “Kobayashi Challenge” The
Special Edition:
The four parts of “Kobayashi Challenge” were originally
written by both Peter J. Koester and Michael D. Tucci in 1998 while both served
in the
When the USS
Dauntless started publishing past
adventures on-line after establishing a web-site in 2004, “Kobayashi Challenge” was held back from the Stories Archive for
several reasons; mainly because two stories published in season seven, “Training Cruise”, which established
that Starfleet Cadets perform their training cruise during their third year at
the Academy, and “Ghosts of the Past”,
which related an early story from Captain Koester’s first year at the Academy,
conflicted with the original plots portrayed in “Kobayashi Challenge” (which originally depicted Koester and Simon
getting involved during their first year at the Academy and the class training
cruise at the end of their second year, lasting only two months, ending before
Koester and Kane’s entry into Command College).
In the process of re-editing the
four story parts, I realized certain sections needed more ‘fleshing out,’ such
as the depiction of the cadet’s mission on the moon, merely a simple mention
that they had gone, turned into an actual fully realized crisis replacing the
training cruise in Part 2 and expansion of some of the bridge simulator scenes
and the deteriorating interaction between Cadets Koester and Simon to get a
better idea of the cadet’s personalities in Parts 3 and 4.
Now, after a full decade, I’m proud
to finally add “Kobayashi Challenge”
to the Fifth Fleet Stories Archive. I
hope you enjoy.
~Cap’n
Pete – December 2009
Return to 2369.
Move on to 2374 “May Old Acquaintance Be
Forgot.”
Return to Stories Archive.