Nicholas was a private Federation registered warp three freighter with limited defenses.
In a Starfleet Academy simulator scenario, the freighter had to go from Miraz to Alca. Worried by the unexplainable destruction of ships through the Miraz passage, the USS Excalibur had to escort it. However once more, Nicholas was destroyed mysteriously.
The crew traced a subspace signal from a hidden Klingon starbase responsible for the destruction, equipped with an extensive subspace radio array used as a long range weapon. (TOS video game: Starfleet Academy Starship Bridge Simulator)