Kobayashi Maru (Star Trek: TOS story by Karla Kelly)

K/S Fanfiction
Title:	Kobayashi Maru
Author(s):	Karla Kelly (with contributions by Anna Parrish)
Date(s):	1992
Length:
Genre:	slash
Fandom:	Star Trek: The Original Series
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Kobayashi Maru is a Kirk/Spock story by Karla Kelly (with contributions by Anna Parrish).

It was published in Charisma #15.

Summary

"In this alternate look at Kirk's career, the young, brash cadet is expelled from Academy for cheating on the Kobayashi Maru test. His only hope for a career in space lies with the Vulcan space fleet, and it is there he meets Spock and is faced with the biggest no-win decision of his life."

Reactions and Reviews

Darn it! Now I know one story idea I can shelve! I won't give the plot away. This is a variation of a very famous short story... and. no, it's not "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.' It starts with Kirk being expelled: the academy didn't appreciate his rigging of the KM test. That's all I'm going to say.

This is very entertaining. Normally, I can’t get interested in the academy days timeline, but this is an exception. My attention was drawn immediately because Kirk has been kicked out of the Academy. It seems his little trick with the Kobayashi Maru programming was not acceptable in this version.

The guilt and defeat he feels is palpable as he stumbles into a lecture hall where Vulcan Ambassador Sarek is recruiting Terrans to move to his home planet. The decreasing population has made it necessary to issue this unprecedented invitation to outworlders. Instantly, the Ambassador’s son is drawn to the scraggly but beautiful young man sleeping in his seat. There are lots of touching and tender moments as Spock first cares for him, then becomes friends with him. Kirk is told he will be given the opportunity to pilot a ship if he joins the pilgrimage, and he accepts.

There are some very out of the ordinary aspects to this story, including the domed hydroponics farm owned by Sarek. Kirk and Spock work together to save it from a sandstorm and wind up in each other’s arms. All in all, very readable and enjoyable.