Reviewer: Lil black dog Signed [Report This]
Date: 20 Dec 2013 00:17 Title: No-Win Situation

Interesting look at the Kobayashi Maru.  Yes, I believe each test would be tailored to the individual, playing to that cadet's strengths and weaknesses.  I find it kind of funny (in a flippant sort of way) that Nazar had to ask if he failed.  Really?!

Reviewer: Nerys Ghemor Signed [Report This]
Date: 08 Sep 2011 00:58 Title: No-Win Situation

Interesting to see Nazar's reactions to this.

Here are some things I was either just curious about, or that I was not clear about..

Did Nazar know from the start that the Kobayashi Maru test meant doom, if no one is allowed to speak of it?  Or is it just that no one is allowed to speak of the particulars of their test?

I am also curious to know--in your universe, is the test even tailor-made to the cadet?  The way they lulled Nazar in with a starship whose finery made him relax, and that also tapped the idealism he has at this time...could that have been intentional?  Would another cadet have received that exact same version of the Kobayashi Maru scenario, or not?  It's clear that it's tailor-made to the times in which the cadet lives, but what about beyond that?

One thing I am also not quite clear on is what the intent of ramming the one Cardassian ship was.  Was that to reduce the number of ships that could try to pick off any escape pods from the Galaxy?  Was it going to extend the time the Kobayashi Maru had?  Or was it just spite against the Cardassians on Nazar's part?

Author's Response: I think the nature of the test is a mix of both. I'm not sure how long someone could keep the "no one's beaten this" fact secret, but certainly no one is allowed to say what they did in the test (which I believe was hinted in Wrath of Khan). I picture Nazar as entering the Academy as a young idealist. After all, he came in the late 2350s; the Cardassian Wars are cooling down, the Galaxy class starship is nearing completion, the Klingons are now allies. I see the pre-TNG years as being an idealistic era of peace, an era which was shattered by the arrival of the Borg. In a way, he contrasts sharply with Carmen (another character from my series), who joined right after the Borg invasion, her brother having been killed by the Cardassians and was fully aware of the risks involved in joining Starfleet. I just see Starfleet retooling the scenario every few years so they are going up against the Federation's current enemy. When writing this, I saw him doing this like a pilot in the thick of battle whose plane is out of fuel with few weapons left and is near a rather large enemy ship. Also, a young cadet seeing his crew die would probably not be thinking too clearly. Nazar doesn't have as much spite against the Cardassians as much as Carmen does.