Kobayashi Maru scenario

The Kobayashi Maru scenario is a test given to 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. The ship receives a distress call from a neutronic fuel carrier, the ECS Kobayashi Maru (commanded by Kojiro Vance), 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.

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 McCoy and Spock were two officers who had never taken the test