Kobayashi Maru scenario

The Kobayashi Maru scenario is a test given to command track|command-track line officer Starfleet cadets, but not science officers. It is a test of character to see what a potential captain would do in a no-win scenario.

In the original scenario, the cadet patrols the Klingon Neutral Zone in a simulated starship, this nowadays being the USS Horizon (but can be substituted for another ship). The ship receives a distress call from a neutronic fuel carrier, the Kobayashi Maru (commanded by Kojiro Yance), from inside the Neutral Zone. If the cadet attempts to aid the Maru, three Klingon cruisers attack. The computer ensures that it is impossible for the cadet to save both the Maru passengers and their own ship (TOS film Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan; TOS novel The Kobayashi Maru and EL story Just Another little Training Cruise).

Basis for the Test
The simulation takes place on a replica of a starship bridge, with the "testee" as captain and other Starfleet members, officers or other cadets, in other key positions. In the scenario of the 2280s, the cadet receives a distress signal, stating that the Kobayashi has struck a "gravitic mine" in the Klingon Neutral Zone and is rapidly losing power, hull integrity and life support. There are no other vessels nearby. The cadet is faced with a decision:


 * Attempt to rescue the Kobayashi's crew and passengers, which involves violating the Neutral Zone and potentially provoking the Klingons into hostile action or an all-out war; or
 * Abandon the Kobayashi, preventing war but leaving the crew and passengers to die.

If the cadet chooses to save the Kobayashi, the scenario progresses quickly. The bridge officers notify the cadet that they are in violation of the treaty, which is duly noted in the log. As the starship enters the Neutral Zone, the communications officer loses contact with the crippled vessel. Three Klingon starships then appear on an intercept course, or decloak nearby. Attempts to contact them are met with radio silence; indeed, their only response is to open fire, with unrealistically devastating results. The simulation ends with the understanding that the cadet's ship and crew have been lost. There is no way to win the resulting 'battle,' as the computer is programmed to ensure Klingon victory by any means necessary; but then, the objective of the test is not for the cadet to outfight the opponent, but rather to test the cadet's behavior and thought processes in the face of shame and defeat.

By the time of Star Trek: The Next Generation, the Federation had reached an alliance with the Klingons, rendering the previous format of the scenario no longer suitable. In the Star Trek: Voyager episode "Learning Curve", Lieutenant Tuvok placed several former Maquis crewmembers in a similar scenario on the holodeck using a damaged Ferengi starship and Romulan warbird as the opponent in a tactical training scenario. While similar, this exercise was not a true Kobayashi Maru scenario, as there was a way to win: running away.

23rd Century
A cadet took the test twice in 2234, the first and only one to do so until 2254.

In circa. 2239, a cadet lasted 11.5 minutes in the simulation (TOS novel The Kobayashi Maru).

Pavel Chekov took the simulation and evacuated his ship and then crashes it into the three Klingon cruisers, destroying all four ships in the process and (inadvertently) all of the evacuees as well.

Hikaru Sulu took the test and realized that it was probably a trap and refused to cross the Neutral Zone.

Montgomery Scott attempted to fight the Klingon ships, employing a series of unorthodox tactics, such as bypassing the Klingon shields using a works-on-paper-only calculation, and transporting various destructive items to them. At first, the tactic was surprisingly effective, but the computer scenario upped the ante with the arrival of additional Klingon ships. Scotty's responds in kind with even more unorthodox tactics that rapidly escalate in on-the-fly engineering derring-do and destructiveness. The simulation is shut off before reaching a completed state, but it is clear that the simulation will never end, no matter what the student throws at the Klingon ships, as an ever-increasing number of Klingon vessels will arrive on the scene, guaranteeing that the testee will lose eventually.

In 2265 Julienne Cochrane passed the Kobayashi Maru similation by reprogramming the simulation to make the Klingon cruisers to simply de-rez from the program.

James T. Kirk Took the test three times.

On his first attempt, 'commanding' USS Potemkin (NCC-1657), he lasted five minutes, but "died" after four minutes and 37.03 seconds. He lasted pretty much the same in his second attempt, but his reaction-time in both was well above average. After these defeats, Kirk took to studying statements by Korrd meant for both winners and losers (in battle) (TOS novel The Kobayashi Maru).

Before his third attempt, Kirk reprogrammed the scenario, eliminating the parts of the program that made it impossible to win, thus creating a level playing field where success was not guaranteed, but at least possible. He then told the simulation's Klingon, Kozor, that he was "Captain Kirk". When they heard this, the attacking fleet instantly assisted Kirk in locating Kobayashi Maru. Kirk then tricked the warbirds into warping away, giving him time to evacuate the Maru. The whole thing took eighteen minutes and twenty-seven seconds. Admirals Jublik and Zheng gave Kirk a commendation for original thinking, as well as ninety-nine demerits, just short of the expulsion limit (TOS novel The Kobayashi Maru, TOS comic Star Crossed and SNW story A Test of Character).

Years later, cadet David Forrester, inspired by Kirk's example, took the test and passed it; reutilizing Kirk's method of reprogramming the machine. (TOS game Star Trek: Starfleet Academy)

24th Century
The events in 2293 that made the Klingons allies meant that, by the twenty-fourth century, the Kobayashi Maru enemies were Rihannsu, as opposed to Klingons (SNW story Best Tools Available).

Other cadets that have beaten the simulation include cadets Quentin Stone and Nog (TNG novel A Rock and a Hard Place and SNW stories Best Tools Available and The Bottom Line).

Mackenzie Calhoun, upon taking the test, destroyed the freighter, reasoning the crew would prefer this to capture and torture from their adversaries (NF novel Stone and Anvil).

By the 2370s, cadets taking the test were asked to advance beyond Kirk's "original thinking" in their efforts to save the ship (TOS novel Avenger).

In 2379 Ebak Sison passed the Kobayashi Maru senario by observing how captain Kirk and Julienne Cochrane passed the test, he reprogrammed the simulation to make the Romulan Warbirds turn around and warp away as soon as his ship fired a barrage of 11 torpedoes as warning shots at the, bearly missing them. The stunt suceeded and earned him an award for extra work, since the Academy logged him with looking up information on both Kirk and Julienne Cochrane.

Cadets are forbidden to ever tell others how they win, if they win. In fact, the entire Kobayashi Maru program is meant to be unknown to those who have never taken it, so that they cannot pre-plan tactics. Leonard H. McCoy and Spock were two officers who had never taken the test, as of 2273 at least (TOS novel The Kobayashi Maru).


 * Star Trek: Enterprise series editor Margaret Clark on the next release in the Enterprise book series-- "The next book in this series tells the story of how Captain Hernandez (of the USS Columbia) and Captain Archer are patrolling the Klingon border and come to the aid of a merchant ship in trouble. That ship and the name of the book are “Kobayashi Maru” due out in 2008. “There is a reason why every Starfleet cadet takes the Kobayashi Maru simulation as a character test in Kirk’s time. It has to be an important event in Starfleet history,” says Clark referring to the famous opening scene from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.