The Epirus Assessment is a standard examination given in stages to Solas Tempus personnel, particularly Temporal Operatives who are required to pass all phases of the exam. Broken into section the examination is seldom taken all at once, but rather the different sections (called phases) are taken throughout the career of both officers and enlisted personnel. Sometimes erroneously called the Solas Tempus Kobayashi Maru after a Starfleet standard exam of that name. Though it is correct the assessment has no correct resolution as it is designed to provide the person being evaluated with no options which result in a net gain. While some have criticised the assessment as being unfair as it provides no pathway to victory others argue that such a situation is very real and thus it is important to know how potential command officers will react. The assessment name refers to Pyrrhus of Epirus and the Pyrrhic Victory which results in a technical winner with no net gains.
Goals
A given simulation will have a set of conflicting primary mission goals. The most common conflict is that between the preservation of one's crew / ship against that of preserving the crew / ship of another. There are other conflicts as well boiling down to mutually exclusive goals; such as choosing to defend one key location from attack while sacrificing another. For Temporal Operatives the goals often have to do with preserving the timeline vs. preserving life, though more advanced assessments for Operatives can focus on preserving the timeline while preserving immoral or catastrophic events.
Variances
Each exam is somewhat randomized by the computer depending on the psychological profile of those being assessed. No two examinations are ever the same for the same people, though there will always be some amount of similarity. Specifically the computer is programmed to attempt to give the most difficult conflict possible between self preservation, ambition, and resolution of particular parts of the simulation. There will also be no possible way to resolve the situation in which all goals can be accomplished.
Assessment personnel may also decide to label an examination as unresolved if the resolution given does not generate a satisfactory result. In such cases the person being assessed may be asked to take the test again where the simulation will force said person to take a route which gives better information. This is seldom necessary but can be required when the resolution and performance given does not yield usable information pursuant to making a decision on the command fitness of the person being assessed.
Phases
Split into specific phases the exam is meant to test the different situations in which personnel might encounter a loose-loose or no win scenario. These phases are designed to be taken at different times throughout a career as this type of situation can occur when one is in nearly any position. As such often times more than one person is being evaluated during a single examination at different stages of the exam. Exam phases do not have to go in a specific order, though it is standard to begin with the Subordinate phase.
Subordinate
Generally the first phase of exam given. In this exam a subordinate officer / enlisted person is given presented with orders to pursue a particular goal. This is often considered to be the easiest phase of the test, in general the person being assessed is ordered to perform tasks which will result in their own death or in which their survival would require directly disobeying orders. There is no direct solution, personnel are evaluated on how well they carry out orders.
Command
This phase of the assessment deals specifically with one's ability to retain command in the face of a no win situation. The person in command is evaluated on their ability to take advise, give orders / maintain control of a situation, and make decisions based on available information. In this way it is similar to other command tests, while it is possible for the person being assessed to take a route of personal sacrifice over that of others this is frowned upon. Command personnel are expected to maintain command and control over their crew even when potentially ordering them to their deaths or to cause the deaths / harm to others.
Operative
Focusing on more ambiguous situations, this phase is given to those who wish to go into covert operations. Specifically it is similar to the command phase but focuses on being a team leader for a mission with conflicting, ambiguous, or even amoral goals. The team leader is expected to complete what they assess to be the "best set" of mission objectives. A team will be forced to make "bad choices" about how to proceed with a mission, these choices will result in varying degrees of negative consequences.
This phase of the exam is often taken as a team near the end of SEPCCOM or TACCOM training.
Temporal
Considered to be the most difficult of the phases to take. Given specifically to Temporal Operatives, the simulation will focus on the dichotomy between protecting / preserving the timeline and ethical behavior. Personnel will be evaluated on how well they are able to maintain operational command while ordered people to pursue an agenda which will result in the preservation of the timeline by causing, supporting, or not preventing unethical acts which must take place for the timeline to continue. This is often referred to as the Hitler Phase or Hitler Test due to the potential for the assessment to force a would-be Temporal Operative to cause / allow to be caused a genocide similar to the holocaust. Though the assessment does not mirror actual events in the general course, such a mirroring is possible.
Repeated Assessments
Training and command staff allow and even at times hint that there could be a successful resolution to the exam, though none directly say it. Supporting rumors that there could be some immense promotion for someone who is able to out wit / complete the assessment with all objectives intact adds to the drive for personnel to take the test seriously. The command, operative, and temporal phases of the exam are often taken twice or even three times, though seldom more than that. Personnel are welcome to take the exam as many times as they wish to in search of the best answer. There is also a rule on file, General Order 3512 which states that reprogramming or otherwise altering the conditions of the test could result in suspension or even expulsion is referred to as the Kirk Rule. Named after Captain James T. Kirk of Starfleet who notoriously cheated by reprogramming the Kobayashi Maru test. Later as an Admiral at Starfleet Operations he is on record having stated, "How we deal with death is at least as important as how we deal with life."
Unofficial Policy
While General Order 3512 is the official stance, training and command staff have a great deal of latitude on dealing with a perpetrator. There is an unofficial policy against punishing the person being assessed for coming up with a solution which is unique even if it falls outside of the general parameters of the exam. In 2377 Fleet Admiral Candy Poole was noted as instructing Academy personnel to dismiss charges of academic malfeasance against a trainee who resolved the Command phase of the exam by studying the algorithms of the simulation and calculating a method for causing the simulated hostiles to attack each other rather than the ship. Academy personnel noted that such a method would not work outside the simulation and thus sought to disqualify the cadet from command duty. Poole noted that the cadet had taken the test 3 previous times and evaluations of those attempts showed them to be perfectly fit to pursue a career within Blue Team. Subsequently the cadet with offered to take the training courses for a Temporal Operative directly out of the Academy.
Such unofficial policies have lead to the general idea that cadets should in fact take the test more than once and attempt to come up with unique and unorthodox solutions. This is considered to be part of the test itself, evaluating how creative a person is and how tenacious they are in attempting to find a resolution to an unresolvable situation.