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It didn't particularly surprise Pike when Spock called for a Review Board following the Kobayashi Maru simulation's conquering, but it did disappoint him. Instead of focusing on ingenuity it had taken for the six to have not only figured a way into the system, but to have done it with the degree of finesse that they had? That was exactly the kind of brain power that had been his focus as a recruiter. People who could follow a marked path were easy to find. Those that could blaze their own trails were far rarer and he wanted each and every one of the six currently moving to stand at the front of the assembly to be aboard the Enterprise.
It was also not a surprise that Admiral Richard Barnett was the central figure on the Review Board. He was already being targeted by Puri for being the one to dock McCoy's pay without even minimal review of McCoy's jacket - which would have shown quite plainly that the man was divorced. Pike wasn't in the right position to go openly against an Admiral. Yet. But he was confident that no matter how the day went, he'd be able to turn it to his advantage. Just might take a little extra work is all.
For now, he wanted to see how the six cadets handled the situation. In yet another instance that failed to surprise Pike, Kirk and McCoy were in the central two positions, Kirk flanked by Gaila and Reilly while McCoy had Uhura and Chekov to his side. They looked to be a united front. So far so good.
Admiral Barnett scowled at the six, but if the plan was to intimidate them, it didn't seem to succeed. Rising from his seat, he addressed the group as the rest of the gathered cadets fell silent.
"Cadets, you have been called before this review board to answer the charges from Lieutenant Commander Spock that you knowingly entered a program of your own devising into the simulation computers and, by this method, defeated the Kobayashi Maru. What do you have to say for yourselves?"
Kirk stepped forward one step before speaking.
"The program worked beautifully, sir."
"You admit to cheating then?"
"No, sir. We merely expanded the allowed parameters of the test to allow use of options that would have permitted a win. In effect, we removed the cheating element from the program and then completed the mission with the resources we had at hand."
Eyes narrowed as he looked at Kirk, Spock spoke up.
"It would seem that you have failed to grasp the principal lesson behind the Kobayashi Maru simulation."
"I fail to see what a program designed to alter circumstances to prevent a successful completion regardless of the validity of the attempt is supposed to teach."
"The lesson of the test is to learn how you would react when faced with a situation where death is almost certain."
"If you wanted to know our reaction to a certain death situation, you could have saved a lot of money and just ordered us to walk unarmed off campus at night."
There was a bit of tittering among the watchers at that which made Spock's expression become sterner.
"I would think that you, of all people, would see the value of this type of self-examination, Cadet Kirk."
"Me? Why should I see the value of it?"
"Your father was George Kirk, was he not? The one that sacrificed himself to save the crew of the Kelvin?"
"My father was an idiot. No doubt brave, but an idiot. I don't believe situations exist that don't have a solution. I believe there are simply solutions that either no-one has considered or no-one has had the nerve to try."
"Everyone dies eventually."
It was at the point that McCoy lost his ability to let Kirk remain the only one speaking for the group.
"So what? So we all eventually die. Does that mean we should just go find a corner to go sit in until that happens, Lieutenant Commander?"
A slight smile played on Kirk's lips. He was actually pleased McCoy spoke up if for no other reason than McCoy making a valid point always seemed to annoy the shit out of Spock. Then Uhura drew his attention by speaking up as well.
"Begging the Admiral's pardon, we fulfilled the requirements of the test using only the six of us for input. I am not aware of any actual stated rule of the test that was violated."
From beside her, Chekov drew from memory the exact wording that was used before the test.
"Before the test began, we were told 'In order for this simulation to be considered a success, you and your crew must recover the cargo needed by the Empire and return to Imperial space without suffering catastrophic loss of crew or ship.' There were no limitations on what actions we could or could not take that given to us by our overseer, sir."
"I agree."
The voice booming from the back of the assembly hall had made the majority of the cadets jump. The man speaking was Admiral Wesley - who served both as the administrative head of the school and the Emperor's representative to the Academy.
"The cadets took a risk and pulled a victory out of what should have been certain defeat. In my opinion, that sort of initiative is more deserving of a commendation than a reprimand and I intend to see that appropriate mention is made in each of their service jackets. This Review Board is adjourned."
Before buzz could really begin in the hall, Commodore Ryder came in and hurried to the side of Admiral Wesley. The whole room seemed to hold it's breath as the Admiral frowned at whatever it was he was being told. Then Admiral Wesley went to the front of the assembly.
"Attention all cadets. We have received an urgent distress signal from Vulcan. All cadets are to report to the hanger for immediate assignment to ship. Get moving!"
Spock had gone still as a statue from the moment the word Vulcan had left the Admiral's mouth. He knew his father and he knew the Council of Elders. They did not like for Vulcan's business to be known to the rest of the Empire. For any sort of a call for assistance to come from them? The situation had to be dire. He was broken out of his train of thought by Pike's hand taking hold of his shoulder.
"The Enterprise is answering the call as well, Spock. Doctor Puri and I are heading aboard for the last minute checks. Admiral Barnett has requested that you take charge of the hanger area and get the cadets moving to their assigned ships. Once you've finished, join me on the Enterprise. I've gotten permission to take you on as my First Officer."
Despite the concern regarding the signal, Spock came as close as he ever did to smiling. Not only a position on the new jewel of the Imperial Fleet, but a command position that he knew full well many would have been willing to assassinate him over if it would have given them a shot at the position. First Officer. Even Sarek would be unable to deny the prestige of that position.
After Admiral Barnett handed Spock the PADD containing the cadet assignments, Spock headed briskly to the hanger area as he thought about his new responsibilities to the Enterprise. Stopping just short of the hanger, he opened the list of ship assignments and made three quick alterations. Nodding to himself in satisfaction, he continued on inside. Both Captain Pike and Doctor Puri would be surely too busy to notice the change of assignment to three cadets and, by the time the crisis was over, they might no longer care. Pike might even acknowledge Spock's foresight in splitting up the group.
Moving to a central location, Spock began to call out the assignments. A slight frown formed on Uhura's face as she realized he wasn't reading them out in any sort of sensible order, but she reasoned to herself that perhaps the readout had been done in a hurry and Spock simply hadn't bothered to correct it.
"Cadet Kirk - Enterprise. Cadet Woolf - Hathaway."
As Spock continued reading names, Kirk gave McCoy a grin before heading for the first shuttle going to the Enterprise.
"I'll see you when you get there, Bones."
The thought of having to be inside a shuttle without either booze or Kirk to help him through it was not a pleasant thought for McCoy, but he managed to give Kirk a grin.
"Go on. You're about to bust a gut from wanting to get a look at her."
Kirk gave McCoy's shoulder a squeeze then headed off, leaving McCoy chuckling as he turned to Uhura.
"Is it just me, Nyota, or does he almost look like he's skipping?"
Chuckling, Uhura shook her head.
"It's not just you, Len."
"Cadet Chekov - Enterprise. Cadet Reilly - Hood."
Both Uhura and McCoy's heads snapped up at that, then they gave one another an uneasy look. Something was wrong. Pike had promised Kirk that if his team beat the Kobayashi, all the team would be aboard the Enterprise and Pike had never gone back on his word to Kirk before. Reilly looked dejected, but made his way toward the second shuttle loading for the ISS Hood as the first shuttles were already lifting off.
McCoy was quiet on the outside, but mentally cursing a blue streak as he wished there was a way for him to let Kirk know that there was a problem - and that problem appeared to be the hobgoblin's doing.
"Cadet Chapin - Buran. Cadet Gaila - Enterprise."
Without looking, McCoy knew it was Gaila who was giving his arm a squeeze. He wished he could reassure her that Reilly going to the Hood was a simple administrative error, but he rather felt in need of some reassuring himself. He could feel the faint tremble in her hand just before she pulled away.
"Cadet McCoy - Farragut. Cadet Uhura - Farragut."
Now it was Uhura gripping his arm. And using her nails.
"Nyota? I don't have the equipment handy to give myself a blood transfusion so watch the puncture wounds."
"Sorry, Len."
The apology was automatic as her attention was fully on Spock. He was coming to the end of the list so she didn't hesitate to walk straight up to him, hissing under her breath at him.
"You changed my assignment. Why?"
Coolly looking down at her, Spock began to walk toward the Enterprise's shuttle.
"I had thought it would please you to be assigned to the same vessel as your doctor."
Mouth dropping open briefly, Uhura then stepped into his path.
"My doctor? This is about you being jealous of Len? Spock, the man's like an older brother to me. There's nothing more to it than that. I am supposed to be on the Enterprise. You don't think Pike will notice that I'm not at the Communications station where he expects me to be?"
Spock was quiet as he reached out without warning and grabbed Uhura's hand, holding it tightly enough that she couldn't pull away, but not tightly enough to cause damage. She scowled at him, knowing as she did that he was using his touch telepathy on her to verify if she was being truthful. After a minute, he dropped her hand and made an alteration to the PADD.
"You are on the Enterprise. The other assignments will remain as they are."
To head off any further arguments, Spock pulled out his communicator.
"Spock to Enterprise. One to beam aboard."
As he dematerialized, Uhura let out a number of curses in an equal number of languages when Gaila suddenly reappeared beside them, grabbing Uhura with one hand and McCoy with the other.
"Come on! Hurry! The shuttle is leaving soon."
Shaking his head, McCoy tried to pull away from her grip.
"Uhura can go, but I can't, darlin'. They won't let me onboard."
Gaila's blue eyes had a look in them that reminded him of Kirk's eyes when he was up to no good.
"They will. Trust me, Leonard. I'm not going to face Jim and explain to him why you aren't there."
When the trio reached the Enterprise shuttle, the officer keeping track of who was allowed on had a look on his face like he was drunk. Then McCoy remembered how he'd felt himself the first time he'd had a taste of Orion pheromones and, if it wouldn't have drawn too much attention, he would have kissed her on the spot. The officer was in such a stupor that he didn't even acknowledge them going onboard. Gaila stood beside him, tapping onto the officer's PADD to complete the roster check before getting to a seat herself.
A call over his communicator startled the officer out of his daze. Giving his head a shake, he glanced down to his PADD screen as he answered.
"Samuels here. No sir, no reason for any further delays. Yes sir, everyone is onboard and accounted for. Yes sir. Right away, sir."
Lowering his communicator, he called out to the shuttle pilot before securing the door.
"You're good to go and you're the last one out. Clear for liftoff."
On the shuttle, McCoy was seated between Uhura and Gaila. Knowing his problem with shuttle travel, Gaila took his hand and made use of her pheromones to keep him distracted. He still kept his eyes closed, but he smiled.
"Thanks."
"No need to thank me, Leonard. I've heard the stories from Jim. This is insurance that you don't throw up on me."