So this will be the last update for a long time.

Fun way to start off with the chapter huh? :D

Seriously though, it might be the last update for some time. I'm going out of town for over a week (yay! -_-) and then my school starts. I have classes every day from five to eight and I have school on Saturday to. Also, I have to write tests every Monday and piano classes every Saturday (yay! :D) But I will try my best to update, so please don't give up on the story! 

And as always, hope you enjoy this chapter!

The weekend at Vulcan wasn't that bad after all. Apart from T'Preth glaring holes through her head because of the silly stunt she had pulled. And T'Lan not missing a single chance to reprimand Kathy for not following the 'Vulcan way'. And Sarek not finding her prank (which wasn't meant for him in the first place) amusing. And- well, you get the point.

All of that being said, Kathy knew that she should have listened to her gut; which had told her to not get out of bed. If not for her gut, the bad omens should have been a fair warning.

First of all, her alarm didn't ring, and for some reason, there was no hot water. So Kathy had to take a cold shower. Then, Kathy had to run to the mess hall, get a piece of toast, and run towards her first class; Battle Strategies. Upon realizing that she didn't have her PADD, she ran back to her room. And worst of all, in this whole process, she didn't have time to dry her hair.

Holding her books between her legs while pinning up a few strands of her hair, Kathy waddled towards the class. Just as she walked in, she realized no one was there. She checked the time on the digital clock on the teacher's desk, before letting out a groan, figuring out that she had read the time as 9:40hrs, and not 6:40hrs.

"It's bloody 7:20hrs; and class doesn't start till 10hrs! The universe just loves me, doesn't it?!"

Kathy began scroll through her notes in a vain attempt to cram in as much as she could into her brain. Today was the day Professor Spock would pick one person to take the Kobayashi Maru test. Kathy tried to concentrate as words began to float around on the PADD, and before she knew, she had fallen asleep.

*** *** *** ***

When Spock had walked into the class, the last thing he had expected was finding Kathy curled up in his chair with a PADD in her arms. Spock stood in front of her as he took a moment to observe her. Her eyes appeared to be sunken because of lack of sleep, and her hair was damp. Her chest rose and fell with every breath she took, making Spock feel as though time had frozen, and nothing else apart from his Cadet Whitlock mattered.

Spock shook his head slightly in an attempt to shake away his illogical thoughts, before clearing his throat. Kathy barely stirred. Spock sighed and placed a hand on her shoulder, making Kathy jump out of the teacher's chair as her PADD hit the floor.

Feeling a bit woozy from getting up suddenly, Kathy swayed, losing her balance. She would have fallen, if not for Spock, who immediately grabbed her arms, pulling her towards him. Spock's back hit the table as Kathy all but fell on him due to her inertia.

She blinked quickly. She was definitely awake now.

Kathy didn't move a muscle, her right hand vibrating with every beat of Spock's heart while her left hand rested on the loop of his Star Fleet pant. Spock looked down at the Cadet, who seemed to be wide awake, yet a bit dazed. His jaw clenched as he stood up straight, oblivious to Kathy shuddering as his muscles flexed under her hand.

Kathy stepped away from Spock shakily, as she gently moved her hands away, not knowing the effect her gentle touch was having on the Vulcan. She took a few steps back until there was respectful distance between them, before coughing in order to ease the tension.

"I apologize, sir. You startled me."

"You are forgiven", Spock muttered.

His voice was hoarse, and thick with an emotion which seemed oddly familiar yet alien to Kathy. She looked up at him, feeling a bit confused. Was he not feeling well?

"I am not unwell, Cadet", Spock said, sounding amused.

Kathy blushed and flinched as she realized that she had said that out loud. Silence ensued for a few minutes, before Spock decided to break it.

"Are you well prepared, Cadet?"

Kathy let out a nervous chuckle as she shrugged.

"Yup, I'm as ready as can be."

*** *** *** ***

"I really shouldn't have said that..." Kathy mumbled to herself as the class made their way towards the simulation room.

Kathy gulped slightly as she entered the room. Mackenzie, Alya, Samuel, and Chekov were the navigation officers, while Uhura and Micheal were the communications officers. The first officer was Jim and the second officer was Fredrick. There were a few other people (Bones included), but Kathy was too busy panicking to observe.

Spock looked at Kathy with a raised brow. He felt a bit guilty for making her take the test first, but he shook it off. He did not have any emotional attachment to her, he reminded himself. Spock stood straighter, watching as Kathy inhaled sharply and stepped into the simulation room, trying to convince himself that he did not care for her.

*** *** *** ***

Kathy inhaled sharply and stepped into the simulation room, almost jumping when she heard Chekov's distinct Russian accent.

"Keptain on ze bridge!"

Kathy gave him an awkward smile as she sat down in the Captains chair.

"We are receiving a distress signal from the USS Kobayashi Maru", Uhura said, sounding bored. "The ship has lost power and is stranded. Star Fleet-"

"Two Klingon vessels have entered neutral zone", Bones said, making Uhura glare at him. "They're locking weapons on us."

"We have to help them", Kathy said. "Tristan, give me all you've got on those Klingon vessels."

"Their leader's name is Tel'peh of the house of Malok. He's a thief, murderer, and pretty much every other negative adjective you could come up with. He is known for his pride and ego. He is a rather cunning Klingon, his signature move is chopping off the victim's head before beaming it to the enemy ship. He will do anything to prove himself worthy, and is not someone anyone would want to mess with."

"And those vessels seem to have an advanced weapons system", he added with a frown.

"Thank you Tristan", Kathy said, smiling at the Records Officer, completely ignoring formalities.

"How many war birds are there?" Kathy asked out loud.

"I am not sure Captain; there seems to be some kind of interference. It's messing with our sensors. From what I can make out, there are around four to six of them," Mackenzie replied.

Kathy hummed thoughtfully. 

"Three more Klingon war birds decloaking and targeting our ship", Bones said, before turning to face Kathy who nodded at him.

"Thank you Bones", Kathy said, looking deep in thought. 

She snapped out of it suddenly pressing a button on the arm rest, prepared to make a ship wide announcement.

"Attention crew, I need everyone to immediately evacuate", pausing for a moment, she eyed the people on the bridge.

"All of you. Micheal, hail the Klingon war birds before you leave."

"Yes Captain", Micheal muttered reluctantly.

"Wait, are we actually going to try to talk to those monsters?" Bones exclaimed.

"Yes we are. Do you have any objections, Commander Mcoy?" Kathy asked.

Her face was void of emotion, but her eyes were piercing like arrows. Bones turned around and mumbled a quite 'no'. Kathy got up from the chair and exchanged a few quite words with Chekov, before turning to address the bridge.

"Ok everyone, listen up! I need all of you to follow this trajectory."

She gestured towards the screen near the Russian. Everyone's eyes widened.

"What the hell is this kid doing?" One of the Commanders questioned. Spock remained silent.

"If Chekov and my calculations are correct", Kathy continued, "then the powerful stellar magnetic field of the planetary nebula Dextra should make your shuttles invisible to Tel'peh's sensors. Also, the remains of the USS Optimus should act as a camouflage for the shuttles."

(AN:- A planetary nebula is a kind of emission nebula consisting of an expanding, glowing shell of ionized gas ejected from old red giant stars late in their lives. Also, the USS Optimus is the ship which came to that quadrant of space to save the Kobayashi Maru crew. And obviously, they were blasted to smithereens XD)

"Where are we going with this?" Jim questioned.

"You want us to rescue the Kobayashi Maru crew while you distract the Klingons", Nyota stated.

"Well, I was hoping to negotiate with Tel'peh, but I doubt that will happen. I need you all to wait for my signal. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT attempt the rescue before I send out the signal."

"What signal will you send?" Alya asked.

Kathy grinned wryly.

"You'll figure it out. Any more questions?"

"How do we know that this will work?" Someone questioned.

"We don't", Kathy said honestly. "But we have got to try."

No one responded.

"Okay everyone, get into your respective shuttles. And good luck. May the odds be in your favour."

Kathy smiled to herself as she said that. Soon, the simulation room was empty.

Kathy waited patiently, hoping that her plan would work. The screen flickered as a Klingon's appeared on it. She immediately knew who he was.

The young hybrid got up from the Captain's chair, walking around the navigation console as she performed the Klingon salute. Tel'peh merely smirked at Kathy, whose face remained friendly yet guarded.

He's just a program; just a program...

"This test is unbeatable, isn't it?" A commander asked doubtfully, his voice drowned out by the loud whispers of the 'crew' as they were being escorted out.

Spock observed the simulation room with something akin to pride and wonder in his eyes.

"For those who do not understand it's purpose, yes."

So will Kathy pass the test or not? }:-D (that was my sorry attempt at making a devil face btw)

PLEASE DON'T KILL ME FOR THE SORT OF CLIFFHANGER

So yeah... I love you all as always! And have a lovely day. Or night. Or afternoon. Or whatever it is based on your time zone...

All the love,

Kit_Kat

xxx