Chapter Text
The Kobayashi Maru is brutal. Everyone knows what it is by now – unbeatable. A no-win scenario (unless you cheat). Designed to show you that sometimes, there is no way out. You have to be prepared for that possibility, out there in the unknown, exploring space where just about anything can happen, as well as testing a cadet’s command ability in a no-win scenario. But it’s so well-known, now, that they can’t use it anymore. At least, not the same scenario. Instead, among many simulated training scenarios, one of them will be a no-win scenario, and you never know which one or when and where they will test you with this simulation.
Cris has the original Kobayashi Maru simulation. It’s been made public since it had to be taken out of circulation. Do you know how many times he's run it? Even with his 24th century knowledge of Klingon ships and battle strategies, still the only way to beat the simulation is the Kirk strategy, or variations of it. Game the system. There is no way to beat it if you play it straight.
It turns out, the Ibn Majid scenario was a Kobayashi Maru of sorts. There’s no way to beat it. No matter how many times he runs the simulation, he fails every time. Lose the ship or kill your guests and lose the captain. A no-win scenario. They put you through it for a reason.
Cris started the simulation again, and watched his captain walk through the door.
“Tell me about your planet,” Captain Alonzo Vandermeer said as they walked with their new guests to the corridor, a young Commander Rios hot on his heels, beside the ambassador’s young assistant.
“Our community isn’t very big,” said the ambassador, Beautiful Flower.
Vandermeer smiled as they approached the conference room. They passed by several crewman on the way, but they decided, since it was only the ambassador and his assistant, to keep this a more intimate meeting at first, so as not to overwhelm them. Just the captain and his XO, having a relaxed meeting with the ambassador and his assistant. They would have a more formal introduction, with the rest of the main bridge crew, after this initial meeting, once word has gotten back from Starfleet HQ. Most on the ship probably didn’t even know they had a first contact. “After you,” Vandermeer said as he gestured through the doors.
The ambassador stepped through the doors easily, followed by his assistant, who stopped to look at Rios with her strange yet somehow beautiful yellow eyes. His eyes flickered around her face and he smiled, just a little, as she walked into the room. He shot a glance toward his captain before entering the room himself.