The Admiral’s Log: My Journey Through ‘Star Trek Online’ – Part XXX

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

The Kobayashi Maru Test

​It’s funny how sometimes a seemingly innocuous plot point in a story can grow into something more, and for proof, look no further than Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. For this motion picture, featured the genesis of the Kobayashi Maru Test, a simulation designed to teach cadets/future Captains of the risks inherent to space travel and combat wherein they may face imminent doom and a no-win scenario. And I call this plot nugget innocuous, because it was designed to serve as a bookend piece for Admiral Kirk, when he admitted, that he doesn’t like to lose and cheated on the test and well, I’m just shocked at what all of that grew into when it comes to Star Trek lore as the years rolled on.
 
First and foremost, it finally showed James Tiberius Kirk as a man, one with flaws who has in fact failed in life, and that made him more relatable in my eyes since he was a master of bravado before this and second…the fans, myself included, were truly intrigued when it comes to  this test. Because it was simply fascinating to know that Starfleet would ask its future commanders to look death straight in the eye and ponder upon the fact they may outright die in combat and the darkness and bluntness of that test, turned those two plot points into something legendary, to the point where the test found itself integrated into the fabric of the franchise as a whole.
 
But why all of this matters to me today, is two-fold. For one, I’ve always wondered what it would be like to sit in the captain’s chair and take this all-important test and see how I would fare with my crew’s back against the wall, and also because, Star Trek Online was able to grant me that wish. For this game always finds new ways to enhance the mythos and lore that comes with this storied franchise and they’ve found a way to keep the mystique of the Kobayashi Maru test alive, by outright including it into the game and well, last weekend I finally took this legendary test and it turned out to be far more difficult than I ever imagined.
 
That’s due in large part to the fact that the test has been updated to reflect the dangers and challenges of the 25th Century. For it no longer involves a solo ship squaring off against a flotilla of Klingon ships, now you’re part of a fleet that faces waves of enemies, made up of some of the strongest enemies in the galaxy and the sheer volume of bad guys warping in to destroy the Kobayashi Maru is overwhelming to the least, and my heart definitely dropped on several occasions when I saw massive fleets of Jem’Hadar, Iconian and Borg fleets arrive to challenge us and while small victories were possible on a regular basis, it is what the test stands for that makes it overwhelming.
 
Because this truly is a no-win scenario, and no matter how hard I tried, or how hard I fought, eventually the Kobayashi Maru was destroyed and man, that did not sit well with me at all. In fact, the prospect of losing motivated me to try the test twice more and the best I could muster progress wise was six rounds of combat, only to find defeat at the hands of the Borg in that round and well, now I truly understand this test and the importance of it. Because this sucker is a pride killer, one that definitely humbles a captain, and it reminds you to not head into a situation with phasers blazing and most importantly, it really does remind you that you will lose from time to time…
 
But, all of the important lessons aside, I won’t lie, this test did bring out the geek in me. I mean come on, they use the exact same audio of the distress call used in Star Trek II and…I got to freakin’ take the Kobayashi Maru test! It just doesn’t get much geekier than that, and I am so glad that I finally had the opportunity to experience this now iconic part of Star Trek lore and well, perhaps it could not have come at a better time. For new challenges arrived shortly after I took the test by way of the new Personal Endeavor System, and everything this new aspect of the game has to offer, is where we will pick up next time. Until then.   

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