//------------------------------//
// KM-12198408-03 
// Story: The Kathiawari Mare 
// by AShadowOfCygnus 
//------------------------------//


Exam Form KM-12198408-03
Results


Examinee: C. Laputa Blueblood (Prince)
School (Year): Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns (Year 10 - graduating)
Exam Date: 14 Hearthfire 987
Examiners Presiding: F. Budget, F. Wings, C. Cruller  

Reason for Testing: Special request; request accommodated upon review

Scenario: 
Variant of the traditional Kathiawari Mare scenario—one airship with standard complement (Subject commanding) against one-hundred and thirty Griffonian raiders and some thirty prisoners. Era-appropriate gear and magics supplied. Scenario took place along the crags of Grey Cove, Shetland, on an equally grey winter morning. Exam vessel resolved as the Shire-class carrack HMS Tränen (thirty-eight guns, eight score complement).

No alteration by examiners. 


Account: 
Candidate began the scenario by demanding an accounting of current orders and status from executive officer. Officer supplied that the Tränen was assigned to a salvage-or-scuttle operation on a grounded frigate—the Kathiawari Mare—whose crash site was reported overrun by a host of Griffon irregulars and several of their war-beasts. The name was obviously familiar to the candidate, who ordered full speed ahead as soon as the situation was made clear. Scouts were launched to fly ahead and determine the location of the wreck. 

Two of the three deployed scouts reported back within the quarter-hour, pointing the way northeastward along the coast towards a steep-walled bay dug out of the cliffs there. A Griffon raiding party of unknown stripe and regiment were camped there in force, in and around the wreck of the Kathiawari Mare. Candidate ordered helm to give the cove a wide berth, holding it and any nearby forces steady on the starboard side. This was followed by an order of all hooves to weapons, and that as much cannon be wheeled to starboard as the deck and gun-ports would allow; ballast, nonessential cargo, and spellcasters should be moved larboard-side to evenly distribute weight. 

Candidate thereafter alerted his crew to the following, in ringing tones: 1) Griffons were expected around the wreck, and any motion from them should be seen as immediately hostile; 2) rotating cannon-fire to be centred on the wreck of the Kathiawari Mare; 3) spellcasters to provide covering fire and air defence where possible; 4) any survivors beyond saving. 

This last directive raised an uproar on deck; however, while later interviews would confirm the candidate’s frivolous attitude toward the matter, he carried himself with utmost aplomb at the tiller, and gave a stirring speech on the nature of sacrifice and the importance of preserving the honour of the fallen in the face of ‘rapacious Griffonia’. This seemed to mollify the crew somewhat, though the executive and second officers both came forward to raise their concerns regarding the issuance of ‘crew expendable’ orders without further reconnaissance. 

The guns were loaded as ordered, however, and the ship raised to bombardment altitude—well inside the low-hanging fogbank, as it transpired, and far enough off the bay to escape the notice of any sentries. A handful of Pegasus scouts were deployed as spotters and close air support; at their signal, the Tränen commenced bombardment and twenty-six of the thirty-eight guns took up the chorus, heavy shot finding its mark in both the wreck and the surrounding encampment. It took only three salvos for the gravity-assisted fire to spiral in on the magazine; even as the Tränen began its descent, raining fire all around, the powder store went up, taking much of the beach with it.

Regardless, candidate ordered nearly ten full broadsides thereafter, with little apparent effect other than to redistribute the debris. The Tränen then withdrew half a kilometre while Pegasus auxiliaries performed a final flyover—no survivors reported. 

Candidate was excused from the simulacrum at this point, though the panel elected to observe the projected results. By denying the Griffons access to salvage of the Kathiawari Mare, candidate effectively delayed the development of historical fourth-century countertechnologies for the remainder of the simulated war. However, as has proven their wont with the destruction or capture of any irregular force, the Griffonian monarchy was quick to denounce the action as a wanton attack on ‘nonaligned civilian targets’ outside Equestrian jurisdiction, causing no small amount of political backlash from neighbouring states. 

Furthermore, while the simulacrum projected an immediate reduction in Griffonian border raids following the conclusion of the scenario, it also indicated a gradual worsening of relations with the Griffon government and greater deployments of regular troops along the Griffonian side of the border as a direct result. 


Results:
The examiners have elected to award Prince Blueblood a score of 5—the lowest passing mark—to reflect the candidate’s evident lack of care or consideration for the lives at stake in the conduct of this exercise. While the candidate did, indisputably, achieve the stated objective, the lack of consideration for alternatives before committing to a ‘scorched earth’ approach is deeply troubling. 

The candidate, as evidenced in both the exam and the post-facto interview, seemed to either not care or not understand that the purpose of the exercise was not merely to win a military engagement, but rather to protect and extract the hostages—or indeed, if not to exhaust tactical alternatives in pursuit of their safe return, then at least to countenance them. His further objections that his preferred strategy exactly mirrored ‘what Auntie did’ demonstrate a marked incomprehension of the complexities of the political and personal ramifications of the Battle of Three-River Pass.

Again, however, the panel finds the candidate’s battlefield manoeuvring and obvious grasp of shipboard handling—the clever handling of weight distribution indicates some level of forethought—beyond reproach. We would require further data before we could offer a concrete opinion as to his performance in battle—preferably in scenarios in which he is not able to engineer an overwhelming advantage. 




A copy of this report has been forwarded to the Crown Secretariat, per request.