textfiles/apple/DOCUMENTATION/kobayashi.1

LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL

FROM:   Thometz,  G.,  Admiral,  Commandant,  Star  Fleet  Academy,  San
Francisco, USNA, Earth

TO: Kirk, James T., Admiral, Star  Fleet  Command,  commanding  NCC-1701
ENTERPRISE,  on  active-mission  status  (via: Star Fleet Command/Deneb:
scrambled/Captain's   Seal:   hold   for    arrival:     routing    code
EFTO70137226012144030951852SF/FSIG)

SUBJECT: ADVANCED CADET-EVALUATION MATERIALS


Sir: 

You  will  be  pleased  to  know  that Star Fleet Command has chosen the
Enterprise's recovery of the USS Robert A. Heinlein  during  the  second
five-year  mission as the model for the new cadet-performance evaluation
exercise at Star Fleet Academy, Earth and  Star  Fleet  Academy,  Deneb,
supplementing the "Kobayashi Maru" scenario. (Star Fleet Academy, Vulcan
is  presently evaluating the supplement to see that it meets their logic
standards, and Admiral T'Kaien's office assures me of a decision  within
several standard weeks.)

You  have  not been the only commander to point out the Academy's urgent
need for a subtler and more complex evaluation  scenario  than  the  one
offered by the "Maru."

While  administering  the  "no-win" scenario gives us a good preliminary
sense of  who  our  potential  heroes  are,  it  leaves  untested  those
qualities  in  a  commander  that  are  as important as heroism but less
spectacular: namely, observation, accurate evaluation,  and  multi-level
"synthesis"  --  not to mention sheer endurance, empathy, and humor. The
Enterprise's recovery-mission scenario gives  us  ample  opportunity  to
test  for  all  of  these,  in depth. And since the mission results were
(naturally) never declassified, the effectiveness of the material  as  a
means  of  testing  the  command aptitude and intelligence of new cadets
should be very high indeed. 

I suspect that some of Fleet's eagerness to implement this new  scenario
has  to  do  with  the  fact during the past year three more cadets have
broken the old "Kobayashi Maru" scenario---and only  one  of  them  used
methods  similar  to  yours.  (This  information  is  to  be  treated as
confidential until  further  notice.)  Apparently,  cadets  are  getting
smarter.  Or  perhaps  the  no-win scenarios of the past are no longer a
sufficient match  for  the  deviousness  (and  resourcefulness)  of  the
present. 

At  any  rate,  we  need to prepare our cadets for reality, not fantasy.
Both the despair of the pure no-win scenario and the  equally  dangerous
elation  of the "no-lose" attitude lie mostly in the latter category. We
look for good results  from  the  new  scenario,  for  it  concerns  the
real-life,  "gray"  area  between  those  two  attitudes. Administration
methods will vary. The test may be conducted via sleep  learning  or  in
computer simulation. 

Star  Fleet  Academy,  Earth  will  be  administering  it aboard the new
training ship USS Sans Souci. I am enclosing  a  copy  of  the  computer
version  for  you  to evaluate. Please feel free to make any suggestions
you think will improve the usefulness of this scenario  as  a  test  for
future starship captains. 




Sincerely,

Admiral G. Thometz, Commandant Star Fleet Academy, Earth


(P.S.:  Let's  see them cheat on this one, huh, Jim? Also, 'Eliake sends
her regards. Best, Greg)


BRIEFING

Transcript  of  disk  SFC/SFAMK2  #664658:  Audio/sleep-learning   cadet
preparation session. Authorized personnel only. 

(CAUTION:  Full  Vulcan  cadets  should not take the direct-experiential
version of this briefing, due to the presence  of  species-idiosyncratic
emotional reactions.)

The communicator whistles right into your ear. The dream you were having
about  hiking  in  the Grand Canyon falls right out of your head as your
eyes snap open. You lie there staring  at  the  ceiling  for  just  long
enough  to let your heart rate slow down a little, then sit up and swing
out of bed, hitting the communicator switch. 

"Kirk here. This had better be good, Lieutenant."

"It may not be good, sir," says the dry voice of the duty communications
officer, "but it's important. Eyes-only dispatch from Star Fleet."

You groan softly to yourself and sit up a little straighter, just enough
so that you can reach the keyboard by the  bed  and  type  in  the  long
string  of  characters  that  will  give the comm officer access to your
command ciphers. 

"Have the computer send it down here."

"Aye, aye, sir."

You wait a few seconds. The communications officer wakes  up  your  desk
screen by remote, then switches off. 

"Voiceprint," says the desk computer. 

You say your name. 

"Retinal," says the computer. 

You  hold still and let the low-power laser flicker in your eye. Without
further ceremony the desk screen fills up with print, amber on black. 

****************************************************************       *
URGENT  *  URGENT  *  URGENT  *  URGENT  *  URGENT  *  URGENT * URGENT *
****************************************************************

From: SFC, EARTH VIA SFC, DENEB TOP SECRET/EFTO/SC937-0176CEC To:  JAMES
T.  KIRK,  CAPT.  (COMMANDING)  From:  NHAURIS  RIHAUL, ADM., SFC, DENEB
Subject: SPECIAL MISSION ORDERS


TEXT: U.S.S. Heinlein, on exploratory mission  in  Trianguli  area,  has
fallen   out   of   communication  under  what  we  consider  suspicious
circumstances.  Routine  hourly   telemetry   squirts   ceased   without
explanation  twelve  hours ago. Appended to these orders is the contents
of a single unscheduled squirt that came to us via  an  unusual  routing
---  dumped  to  a  robot  communications satellite near Gama Trianguli,
apparently by high-powered communications tachyon packet beam.  You  are
to  evaluate the contents of the telemetry squirt and report immediately
at maximum  warp  to  the  Heinlein's  last  known  position,  which  is
indicated in the squirt. 

WARNING:  Heinlein  was  persuing a mission, the objectives of which are
highly sensitive and have not yet been declassified  for  any  personnel
except  those  of Star Fleet Command, Earth Fleet Admiral's Office. This
mission material will be available to you as  soon  as  declassification
procedures are completed. 

Address any inquiries to Star Fleet Command, Earth. 


(Respectfully) NHS. Rihaul, Admiral, Star Fleet Command, Deneb

****************************************************************


 You  sag  a  little  where  you  sit, letting out a worried sigh as the
screen scrolls down and adds: 


****************************************************************

P.S.: Jim --- Stay out of trouble. You're going to be a  long  way  from
help. Best, Nhauris. 

****************************************************************


"Stop,"  you  say to the screen as you get up and head for the closet to
get into uniform. Damn, you think. Sulu  has  the  Heinlein.  What's  he
gotten  himself  into  now?  Brand-new  ship.  And  you were the one who
recommended him for this  temporary  command  assignment.  When  one  of
command  rank  with  sufficient  knowledge  of  the Trianguli sector was
available, he was the perfect choice. You thought he'd just ride  around
for  a  few  weeks,  enjoy  the  scenery, and not get himself right into
trouble. 

You pull the uniform top over your head and sit down at the desk.  "Go,"
you say to the computer. 

"Appended," it says. "Visual and audio content."

"Ready. Go."

The  text  vanishes.  Part  of  the  screen  begins  reading out printed
telemetry, the ongoing status of a starship's main function boards.  The
rest of it fills with an image of the ship's bridge. The Heinlein is one
of  the  newer  light-cruisers and, though the bridge is a touch smaller
than the Enterprise's, it's sleeker, neater. Banks of switches have been
replaced by light-controlled  relays  or  motion  sensors;  screens  are
bigger  and  clearer:  the fore screen looks more like a picture window,
one that you could walk right out of and into the stars drifting  slowly
toward  you.  You  look  past  the helm, at that screen.  Sitting in the
center seat is a lithe young form, with his back to you. You  know  that
back  well,  having stared at it for so many years when you were sitting
where he is now. But he's not so young anymore,  and  very  straight  he
sits in his own center seat, superbly self-assured. He is staring at the
contents of the screen intently. 

"Don't  lose  it,  Michael," he says softly. "You lose it, I promise you
I'll dock your pay."

The navigator  looks  over  his  shoulder  for  a  second.  Wearing  the
slightest grin, he says, "Sir, this fish is hooked. Eighteen light-years
and closing."

"Screens," says Sulu. 

"Deployed,"  says  the  helmsman,  glancing  over  her  board.  "At full
intensity."

"Phasers---"

"Ready, sir."

"Don't get trigger-happy, Brynne. They're just in case."

"Noted, sir," says the helmsman. But you notice  that  her  fingers  are
twitching  a  bit  --- the way Sulu's used to, once upon a time. Despite
the building tension, you smile a little. 



"Target at sixteen light-years," says the navigator. 

"Identification yet?"

"Not close enough, sir."

"I want to know who that is," Sulu says softly, "and what they're  doing
here so close to what we just passed."

"Target's accelerating, sir! Warp five now --- warp six ---"

"Oh, no you don't," Sulu says. "Catch him. Maneuvers at your discretion.
Mr. Wilhelmsen, hail him. Ask him politely to stop and be identified."

"Warp  seven now, sir," says the navigator, and the ship moans softly in
its bones as it leans into higher speed. You lean forward a little  with
it.  Stars  stream  by  the screen faster. And up there in the darkness,
just barely visible, something shines. 

"Visual!" says the comm officer. "No response to hails."

"All right," Sulu says, not sounding entirely regretful, "we'll do  this
the  hard  way. Rhia, what do its engines' power-consumption curves look
like? Can you get a fix on them?"

-- and your insides jump in terror as the screen whites out, as the ship
lurches madly and people caught entirely unaware spill onto the floor as
the Heinlein's automatic red-alert sirens begin wailing  like  banshees,
as the moaning of the ship's engines gets alarmingly loud. Sulu is still
in his helm --- how, you can't imagine, shouting orders, hearing answers
back before he finishes them. 
     
     "--- five ships --- six --- eight now ---"
     
     "--- fore screens down to forty percent, sir!"
     
     "--- fire at will ---"
     
     "--- hull pressure ---"
     
     "--- explosive decompression!"
     
     "--- seal down decks five and eight ---"
     
     "--- Wil, dump the log three ways, hurry it -- packet the top
     to the nearest station and load the buoys with the rest -- no,
     even better, just one buoy ---"
     
     "Star Fleet Command, Deneb, this is Heinlein ---"
     
     "--- twelve of them, sir ---"
     
     "What are they? who are they?!"
     
     
     "--- can't even ---"
     
     "--- hull pressure ---"
     
     "--- starboard nacelle ---"

And  then  comes  another  terrible  explosion and crash and flinging of
bodies about. Visual goes down, leaving you  with  a  screen  two-thirds
black,  the  rest  displaying frantic and deranged readouts from science
station, helm, navigations:  all  systems  near  failure,  life  support
going,  matter-antimatter reaction near critical --- and the voices, the
terrible voices, confused, desperate, brave: 
     
     "--- come on, Wil, move it!"
     
     "--- phasers ---"
     
     "--- tubes are crushed, no use ---"
     
     "--- Star Fleet, Deneb, do you read? U.S.S. Heinlein ---"
     
     And worst of all, Sulu's  voice,  flavored  with  something  you've
     never heard in it before --- despair. 
     
     "Oh, my god ---"
     
     A  scream;  then  nothing  but  black noise, the complacent hiss of
     uninvolved stars. And even the telemetry dies. 
     
     "End file," says the screen. 

You have to hold still for a few  seconds,  again,  to  let  your  heart
slow. 

"Bridge," you say then. 

"Bridge. Lieutenant Renner."

"Get  me  Star  Fleet,"  you say. "And once you've done that, recall the
special-missions crew. We've got trouble."

"Yes, sir"

Sulu... you think. 

"Any other orders, sir?"

You think about that too. 

THE CREW

Cadets may wish to review the histories and  careers  of  the  principal
Enterprise   special-missions   command  crew.  Although  much  of  this
information is common knowledge among Star Fleet  personnel,  cadets  of
species  in  which latency has occured recently (plus/minus ten standard
years) may not be familiar with the qualifications of the  command  crew
of  the  Enterprise.   For  their  benefit,  and  to  dispel many rumors
(justified or not), a brief  career  history  of  each  crew  member  is
included.    (Excerpted  from  Who's  Who  in  the  Federation,  revised
edition.  Reproduced by permission,  Marquis,  Who's  Who  Interstellar,
Earth/Vulcan/Deneb V.)


ADMIRAL JAMES T. KIRK

Admiral  (Commanding)  James T. Kirk: A legend in his own time; soldier,
diplomat, and student of history; past and present commander of  a  ship
whose name is synonymous with bold adventure; born Iowa, U.S.A., 28 July
2132; graduated Star Fleet Academy with highest honors; relieved Captain
Christopher  Pike  and  served  as  captain of U.S.S. Enterprise for the
duration of her second five-year mission; promoted  to  commodore,  then
admiral,  and  assigned  to  Star  Fleet  Command, San Francisco, Earth;
reassigned to the refitted Enterprise at the time of the  Vejur  crisis;
now  commanding  Enterprise  for  special  exploratory,  diplomatic, and
interventional  missions;  adviser  to   the   Federation   Council   on
Interspecies  Affairs;  Chairman,  Cadet  Commandant's  Training Studies
Group, Star Fleet Academy, Terra. 


CAPTAIN SPOCK

CAPT.  Spock  First  Officer  and  Science   Officer,   USS   Enterprise
Half-vulcan  -  WEIGHT:  170  lbs.  at 1g Typical Vulcan physiology: Two
hearts and manganese based blood  cells.   Special  attributes:  Contact
telepathy; scientist and mathematician of galactic repute. 

Captain   Spock:   An   inseparable   part  of  the  Enterprise  legend;
galactically renowned scientist, research  mathematician,  and  computer
specialist;  serving  for  these  missions  as First Officer and Science
Officer; born ShiKahr, Vulcan, 56 Tasmeen, 503 VSD; graduated Star Fleet
Academy with highest  honors;  assigned  to  Enterprise  during  Captain
Christopher  Pike's command; associated with her ever since, excluding a
period spent on sabbatical on Vulcan after the second five-year mission;
returned to service aboard Enterprise during the Vejur crisis;  promoted
to  captain  shortly  thereafter;  assisting Star Fleet in designing the
courses and curricula to be used when the Enterprise becomes a  training
ship; currently in special-mission service.