Adventure - "The Kobayashi Maru"
by Darin Dillard

Adventure Preface
This adventure is intended for Narrators who wish to start all or most of their players off as Cadets. It takes place during the final month of classes at Starfleet Academy, and creates a non-lethal environment to make sure players adjust to the game correctly and to make sure they can actually survive in combat, both ship to ship and person to person.

Setting
This Adventure takes place at Starfleet Academy on Earth. For the players, it is the final month of training before they graduate and get their first assignment. Following the traditions of Starfleet Academy, all students must take the Kobayashi Maru (the no win scenario) and make a satisfactory grade or higher on it (grades are determined by the Narrator). The name of the simulated ship is the U.S.S. Horatio (an Oberth-class starship). Note: It is important to use a weaker ship to maintain the challenge in this simulation; a stronger ship may overpower the player characters and enable them to easily beat the test.

The Test
Scene I

Once all Cadets are at their stations, the simulator begins. The early stages of the test include a variety of standard operation tests. Below is a list of suggested tests to major ship systems and a reference for the Narrator to help determine difficulty numbers. As always, it is up to the Narrator to determine difficulty numbers. The Oberth-class starship is outlined on page 220 in the Core Rule Book.

Standard Tests and Reference for Difficulty Numbers (DN)

Tactical Systems
Fire phasers (DN determined by phaser type and object size) Fire photon spread at an asteroid (pg. 144) Repair damaged weapon system (pg. 87-88 and 149) Test Tractor Beam (pg. 145 and 213)

Engineering Systems
Initiate emergency Warp Core shut-down Bring the Warp Core back online Provide Emergency Power (pg. 149)

Operations Systems
Perform starship combat maneuvers (pg. 141) Launch a probe/Perform Scans (pg. 148)

Command Tests (pg. 149)

Narrators should take note on each player’s degree of success while performing these tests. A substantial success on one or more of these tests should earn the players some experience points at the end of the simulation.

Scene II

After the ship tests have been run, and the simulation is well underway, a distress call will interrupt the players. A Federation Cargo Carrier (consult pg. 222 for the Antares-class carrier), the Kobayashi Maru, is being attacked by Romulans near the Neutral Zone. The Captain of the ship is sending the message, when the transmission is abruptly cut off. The officious Cadet will immediately pull up the specs on the Kobayashi Maru and find that it is hauling 500 kilograms of dilithium crystals (extremely valuable). If the Cadets proceed to a rendezvous with the Kobayashi Maru, continue with the test. If the Cadets choose to ignore the distress call, they fail the test and will be assigned janitorial duties in the halls of Starfleet Command.

Cadets should take whatever steps are necessary (as outlined by their Narrator) to reach the Kobayashi Maru. No matter what these steps are, the ship will arrive at the location of the Kobayashi Maru while it is still in Federation space. If the Cadets fail any skill test set by the Narrator while enroute, the Kobayashi Maru will be in the Neutral Zone by the time party arrives.

Scene III

Upon entering the sector where the Kobayashi Maru was last reported, the crew will find the ship disabled and adrift in space. If a successful long distance scan was used on approach to the ship, your sensors officer will have noticed another ship in the area alongside the Kobayashi Maru. If this is the case, it will be obvious to the players that there is a cloaked Romulan ship in the area.

The moment the players take any action at the opening of this scene (aside from hailing the vessel), the Kobiahi’s power systems become restored (Romulans repairing the damage they inflicted on the ship), its shields and weapons systems will come online, and the ship will begin heading (at full impulse) towards the Neutral Zone (it will take the ship approximately 15 minutes to reach the Neutral Zone). Simultaneously, a Romulan Scout (pg. 223-224) will decloak, raise its shields, arm its weapons, and fire at the U.S.S. Horatio.

For this scene, the leading Cadet will have issued a Yellow Alert before entering the sector (we hope), a Red Alert if the Sensors Officer noticed the second starship (again, we hope the commanding officer is wise). He/she will also have attempted hailing the Kobayashi Maru and possibly the cloaked Romulan vessel if the ship was noticed upon approach. In any event, if the Romulan scout ship was not detected and the ranking Cadet has not issued a Red Alert before it decloaks, the Disruptor from the Romulan will penetrate to the hull of the Horatio and damage one of its systems (consult pg 143 for starship hit locations).

At this point, a variety of things could happen. Some players may choose to disable the Kobayashi Maru before dealing with the Romulan Scout (the Kobayashi’s shields are powered at 10 and the hull has been damaged and is down to 40; her warp core is severely damaged). Some players may choose to fight the Scout first (giving the Kobayashi enough time to slip into the Neutral Zone). Some players may try to engage both the Kobayashi and the Scout at the same time (at the Narrator's discretion).

If the Kobayashi Maru is taken into the Neutral Zone or if the Horatio enters as a result of pursuit, the Narrator should make a note of this as these two events should lower the Cadet’s score on the test. At the discretion of the Narrator, another Romulan Scout can be waiting just over the border.

At the end of this scene, if the Cadets are successful in rescuing the Kobayashi Maru, the simulation can end. If the U.S.S. Horatio is destroyed in combat or if the bridge is destroyed, the simulation ends automatically.

Scene IV (optional)

If all goes well in ship to ship combat, a variety of events can take place (on a holodeck of course).

1. The players may attempt to board the Kobayashi Maru. Use the Romulan stats provided. On board the Kobayashi, 6 Romulans are operating the ship and guarding the ship’s crew. Two Romulans are stationed near the hostages (there are 8 remaining crew members; 4 members were killed during the highjacking), the remaining 4 Romulans are on the bridge of the ship (some may be wounded if a hit to the bridge was attained in ship combat).

2. The players may attempt to board the Romulan Scout. Use the Romulan stats provided. On board the Scout are 3 Romulans (some may be wounded if the Scout was severely damaged in ship to ship combat). All three Romulans are on the bridge of the ship.

Grading the Test
Positive Outcomes of the Test

1. Save as many hostages as possible.
2. Recover the Kobayashi Maru and its cargo.
3. Take as many Romulan prisoners as possible.
4. Capture a Romulan Scout ship.

Negative Outcomes of the Test

1. One or more hostages is killed (after the Horatio arrives).
2. The Kobayashi Maru is not recovered.
3. The Kobayashi Maru is destroyed.
4. The U.S.S. Horatio is destroyed.
5. The U.S.S. Horatio is left adrift near or in the Neutral Zone.

At the discretion of the Narrator, if a player excells overall in this simulation, the Narrator may wish to promote a character to the rank of Lieutenant: Junior Grade. Personally, I would refrain from promoting Cadets too quickly as you can focus subsequent missions around character promotions.

Romulan Officers

This is a very sketchy Romulan Template, but it should fulfill the needs of this adventure.

Wound Resistance Level = 3
Armed with standard Romulan Disruptor
Romulan Tricorder

ATTRIBUTES
Fitness 2 [6]
    Strength +1
Coordination 3 [5]
Intellect 2 [5]
    Perception +1
Presence 2 [5]
    Empathy -1
Psi 0 [6]

SKILLS
Energy Weapon (Romulan Disruptor) 2 (3)
Dodge 3
Shipboard Systems (Tactical) 2 (3)
Planetside Survival (Romulus) 2 (3)
Administration (choose Specialization) 1 (2)
Science (Life Science) 2 (3)
Science (Physical Science) 2 (3)
Culture (Romulan) 2 (3)
History (Romulan) 1 (2)
Language (Romulan) 2
Unarmed Combat (Romulan) 2 (3)
World Knowledge (Romulus and Remus) 1 (2)

ADVANTAGES/DISADVANTAGES
Shrewd +1, Arrogant -1, Code of Honor (Romulan) -2

EDITOR'S COMMENTS
Extra cudos to the author for submitting this adventure in HTML format. <grin>

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