7th February 2258
USS Enterprise
(3rd Person POV)
The Enterprise hurtled through the darkness of space at maximum warp, its warp nacelles generating a shimmering field that carried the Federation's newest flagship toward the Vulcan system. On the bridge, every station was occupied, the crew settling into the focused rhythm that came with a mission of genuine importance.
At the helm, Sulu monitored the navigation display while the stars remained stretched into brilliant lines across the main viewscreen.
"Engines at maximum warp, Captain."
Pike nodded from the command chair. "Excellent."
He reached for the communications control and toggled the shipwide intercom. "Attention, crew of the Enterprise. This is Captain Christopher Pike."
His voice carried throughout every deck of the ship. In engineering, technicians paused to listen. In the corridors, officers slowed their steps. In the mess hall, conversations fell quiet as Pike's announcement came through the speakers.
"Most of you were ordered aboard this ship with very little time or information. Some of you probably haven't even had time to unpack yet. You deserve to know why."
At the science station, Ben leaned back slightly in his chair, listening.
Pike continued. "Twenty-five years ago, the USS Kelvin was investigating an anomaly near the edge of the Klingon Neutral Zone when it encountered an unidentified vessel. What followed was an unprovoked attack by a splinter group of Romulans."
The bridge remained silent.
"The attack resulted in the death of the Kelvin's commanding officer, Captain Richard Robau, along with fifty-seven members of his crew. The ship was severely damaged, and for a brief moment, it appeared that everyone aboard was going to die."
Pike paused.
"However, acting Captain George Kirk took command of the Kelvin and ordered the surviving crew to abandon ship. He remained behind when the evacuation was complete, sacrificing his own life to ensure that the rest of his crew escaped unharmed. Because of his actions, hundreds of people survived."
Pike's voice became quieter.
"The Romulan vessel disappeared before Starfleet could determine its identity or pursue it. For twenty-five years, we've had no explanation for what happened, no clear understanding of who attacked the Kelvin, and no indication that the perpetrators would ever return."
He paused again.
"That has changed. The same enemy has resurfaced. And this time, their target is Vulcan."
Ben glanced toward Spock. The Vulcan remained perfectly composed at his science station, his attention fixed on the captain's voice.
Pike continued. "Based on the intelligence available to us, the vessel responsible for the Kelvin attack is considerably more powerful than anything currently in service with Starfleet. We don't know exactly where it came from, and we don't yet understand how it acquired its technology."
Pike's expression hardened.
"What we do know is that its intentions are hostile. And that Vulcan is in danger."
Across the Enterprise, the crew listened intently.
"Our mission is simple. We will reach Vulcan before this enemy can carry out its attack. We will protect the planet and its people. We will identify and neutralize the threat."
A brief pause.
"And when this is over, we will bring those responsible for the attack on the Kelvin to justice."
Pike leaned back slightly in his chair. "I know some of you might be wondering whether you're ready for this. That's all right. You don't need to be fearless. You don't need to know exactly what's waiting for us."
His gaze swept across the bridge.
"You simply need to do your jobs as best as you can, trust the people beside you, and remember why we're going on this mission."
"Twenty-five years ago, the crew of the Kelvin faced an enemy they didn't understand."
Pike's voice hardened with determination.
"This time, we'll be ready for them."
He toggled the communicator off.
"Pike out."
---
7th February 2258
USS Enterprise — Vulcan System
The stars stretched across the main viewscreen for one final instant before snapping back into their natural points of light. The Enterprise dropped out of warp, and the sudden transition was accompanied by a barely perceptible shudder as the warp field collapsed around the ship. Ahead lay the Vulcan system, its scattered planets and distant stars slowly resolving on the navigation display.
Sulu glanced down at his console. "We've arrived in the Vulcan system, Captain. Delta Vega is ahead and to starboard."
Pike nodded, studying the tactical display for a few seconds before turning toward Spock and Ben. "Mr. Spock. Mr. Carter. I'd like to speak with both of you in my ready room."
Spock rose from his station. Ben followed, though not before taking one last look at the viewscreen showing the three distant suns of the Vulcan system — a primary orange dwarf sun, along with its two companion white dwarf and red dwarf stars.
Pike rose from his chair and looked toward Sulu. "You have the conn, Lieutenant."
"Aye, Captain."
The three men crossed the bridge and entered the captain's ready room. Pike waited until the doors closed behind them before moving toward his desk. He glanced at Ben, then at Spock, his expression serious.
"Before we do anything else, I need to ask this. Mr Carter, you're sure Ambassador Spock is going to end up on Delta Vega?"
"I'm confident he will end up there because that's what I saw," Ben stated. "Nero captures him after he emerges from the singularity and eventually maroons him on Delta Vega. However, I think it would be prudent not to put all our eggs in the same basket. My visions aren't always complete. I saw enough to identify the location, but that doesn't mean there couldn't be variables I'm missing. I'd keep an eye on the other planets in the system as well."
Pike nodded. "I was thinking the same thing."
He turned toward Spock. "Mr. Spock, launch a subspace buoy near Delta Vega and have it monitor the area for any unusual activity. After that, make short in-system jumps to T'Khut, Ket-Cheleb, Valdena, Kal-Apton and Kir Alep. Leave a buoy at each location and have them report anything remotely unusual."
Spock gave a brief nod. "Understood, Captain."
He turned and left the ready room.
Once the doors closed behind him, Pike looked toward Ben. "Have a seat."
Ben took one of the chairs opposite Pike's desk. Pike remained standing for a moment, then settled into his own chair. There was a brief silence between them before Pike leaned back and studied him with a faint smile.
"You know, our first meeting was about as unconventional as they come."
Ben smiled. "I suppose walking into Starfleet Academy claiming the destruction of Vulcan is imminent does make for a memorable introduction."
"That's one way of putting it." Pike chuckled softly. "But now that we've got a moment to ourselves, I'd like to know a little more about you."
Ben raised an eyebrow. "Go ahead."
"Where are you from?"
"Richmond. In the United Kingdom."
Pike nodded. "I'm from Mojave, California. Not quite as old as Richmond."
Ben smiled. "Not quite."
Pike leaned forward slightly. "And your family?"
"My dad's an Auror."
Pike paused. "Auror?"
"It's basically the magical equivalent of an investigator and law-enforcement officer. They deal with serious magical crimes."
"That sounds dangerous."
"It can be."
"And your mother?"
"She's a Healer. Magical medicine."
Pike nodded slowly before asking another question. "How old are you, Mr Carter?"
"Please, call me Ben. All my friends do," Ben smiled. "And to answer your question - I'll be sixteen in a few months."
Captain Pike seemed genuinely surprised. "Sixteen?"
Ben nodded.
Pike leaned back and looked him over again, this time with considerably more scrutiny. "I'm going to be honest. Based on your build, the way you carry yourself and some of the things you've told us, I had you pegged somewhere in your twenties."
Ben laughed. "I get that a lot."
"So how does that work?"
"Magic." Ben shrugged. "It accelerates the physical and spiritual development of witches and wizards during puberty. It's basically our bodies adapting to handle increasingly powerful magic. There aren't normally any adverse effects. If anything, it makes us much more durable than before."
Pike gave him an incredulous look. "Sixteen years old and already capable of opening interstellar wormholes." He shook his head. "I suppose I'll have to stop complaining about teenagers being irresponsible."
Ben grinned. "No, you don't."
Pike chuckled before his expression became curious again. "You mentioned that you're a student at a magical school."
"Yup. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."
"Hogwarts." Pike smiled faintly. "Sounds like the name of a place where someone would teach you how to turn a frog into a hat."
Ben laughed. "We do learn Transfiguration, but it doesn't always involve frogs or hats."
"Fair enough. What exactly do you study there?"
"Quite a lot, actually. Offensive and defensive magic, spellcrafting, Transfiguration, Herbology, Potions, Enchanting, Healing, Care of Magical Creatures..." Ben paused. "There's more, depending on your electives."
Pike nodded appreciatively. "Sounds comprehensive."
"It is."
"How long have you been studying there?"
"I'm in my fourth year."
"How many years is the programme?"
"Seven, normally. Though I'm considering graduating after my fifth year."
Pike's eyebrows rose. "Why the rush? Do you have somewhere else to be?"
Ben gave him a small smile. "As a matter of fact, I do."
Pike waited.
"Because of my ability to see across different worlds, I always have somewhere to be. There's always someone who needs help somewhere."
The smile faded from Pike's face. He regarded Ben for a few moments before speaking again.
"What exactly did you see?"
Ben remained silent.
Pike continued. "I know what you've told us about Nero. I know what you've seen concerning Ambassador Spock and the destruction of Vulcan. But I've got a feeling you're not telling us everything."
Ben looked down at his hands for a moment before meeting Pike's eyes.
"You're right."
Pike didn't look surprised.
"I'm not telling you everything I've seen. Not because I don't trust you, but because temporal affairs are complicated. Sometimes knowing too much can be just as dangerous as knowing too little. I have to be very careful about what information I introduce into a timeline."
Pike nodded slowly. "I understand. Time travel isn't exactly something Starfleet has much experience with."
"Exactly."
"So tell me what you're comfortable telling me."
Ben thought for several seconds.
"Every era brings its own challenges. Even after we deal with Nero, Starfleet—and the Enterprise itself—will face quite a few more. Some of them in this century. Some much later."
Pike's expression became thoughtful. "You're saying this isn't the only crisis coming?"
"I'm saying that the future is complicated."
"That's not very reassuring."
"It wasn't meant to be."
Ben leaned back in his chair.
"Nero didn't just travel through time. He travelled backward and destroyed the Kelvin. By doing that, he changed the natural chain of events, creating an alternate reality. Your history isn't supposed to look exactly like this."
Pike listened carefully.
"For instance, in the original timeline—the one I know as the Prime Timeline—George Kirk survived long enough for Jim to grow up with a father. Jim became more idealistic and was inspired by his father's legacy. He joined Starfleet on his own, years before he did in this reality, and eventually became captain of the Enterprise, with Spock serving as his first officer. He became one of the most famous—and occasionally infamous—starship captains in Starfleet history."
Pike smiled.
"The interesting thing is that, despite the obvious changes caused by Nero, the timeline seems to be correcting itself," Ben continued. "It has placed Jim and Spock aboard the Enterprise again. And not just them."
Ben gestured vaguely toward the bridge beyond the ready-room doors.
"Uhura. Sulu. Chekov. McCoy. They're all here. People who were eventually going to become the core crew of the Enterprise in the Prime Timeline are finding their way onto this ship anyway."
Pike's expression became more thoughtful. "So you think the timeline is trying to restore itself?"
"I think it's trying to preserve certain outcomes. Not perfectly, but approximately. The details change, but the important pieces keep falling into place."
Ben's expression became slightly more serious. "Jim still has the same reckless streak. Maybe even more of it now. Without his father's influence growing up, he's had fewer reasons to rein himself in. He's brilliant, but he can be impulsive, arrogant and occasionally spectacularly stupid."
"Well, you've certainly got his number," Pike laughed. "What exactly are you saying?"
Ben looked directly at him. "Take him under your wing."
Pike's smile faded.
"Show him the ropes. Smooth out the rough edges. Give him someone to look up to. Someone who can challenge him without simply trying to punish him."
Ben paused.
"Jim never really had a father figure in his life. I think he needs one more than he realises."
Pike looked out the window into the darkness of space, deep in thought. After a few seconds, he nodded.
"I was already planning to have Kirk posted aboard the Enterprise once he graduated from the Academy." He looked back at Ben. "You've just given me another reason to make sure it happens."
He leaned back in his chair. "Thank you for telling me."
Ben smiled. "Thank you for having me aboard."
Beyond the ready-room doors, the bridge continued its quiet work as the Enterprise moved deeper into the Vulcan system.
---
(Ben's First Person POV)
I stepped out of the captain's ready room and paused for a moment, taking in the bridge.
The Enterprise made another short in-system jump, carrying us toward Kir Alep, the outermost planet in the Vulcan system. A few moments later, the planet appeared on the main viewscreen, a distant sphere hanging against the blackness of space. Sulu worked his console while Spock monitored the sensor readings.
"Sixth and final buoy is online, Commander," Sulu announced.
Spock glanced at his display. "Acknowledged, Lieutenant."
I walked toward the front of the bridge and stopped near the main viewscreen. The subspace buoy slowly drifted away from the Enterprise, its small beacon blinking steadily as it began transmitting a continuous stream of sensor data back to the ship.
I watched it for a few seconds before looking beyond it. I let my enhanced eyesight sharpen. The Vulcan system opened before me.
I could see the distant planets scattered throughout the system, each one illuminated by the combined light of their stars. Beyond them stretched an almost incomprehensible expanse of stars and constellations, many of which were completely unfamiliar to me. The patterns I had grown up seeing in Earth's night sky were nowhere to be found here.
For a moment, I simply stood there.
"Is everything all right, Mr. Carter?"
I glanced sideways. Spock had approached without me noticing.
"Everything's fine, Mr. Spock." I looked back toward the viewscreen. "I'm just... having a moment."
"I see." He stood beside me for a few seconds before adding, "I shall leave you to it, then."
I smiled faintly. "Please don't leave on my account. I'd actually prefer it if you stayed."
There was a brief pause while Spock looked at me.
"Very well."
He came to stand beside me. For a while, neither of us said anything. We simply stood there, watching the stars.
The silence wasn't uncomfortable. If anything, it was strangely peaceful. Eventually, I broke it.
"What's it like?"
Spock turned his head toward me. "I beg your pardon?"
"Serving on a starship?" I gestured vaguely toward the viewscreen. "Having the privilege of witnessing views like this almost every day?"
Spock looked beyond the viewscreen again, his expression becoming thoughtful.
"Mostly, it is an occupation like any other. However..." He paused, apparently searching for the appropriate words. "There are times when one is reminded that it is much more than that. To stand on the bridge of a starship and observe a world that no member of your species has ever seen before is... difficult to quantify. There is a certain perspective that comes with it. Problems that seemed significant from the surface of a planet can appear remarkably small when viewed against the scale of the universe."
His gaze remained fixed on the stars.
"And then there are the unexpected moments—the ones that stay with you even when you are no longer standing on a ship. A sunrise over an alien ocean. The sight of a nebula whose colours have no equivalent in any terrestrial atmosphere. The first transmission from a civilization hoping for an answer so they would know that they are not alone in this universe."
He turned his head slightly toward me. "Moments like those remind one why exploration is worth the risks associated with it."
I smiled.
"I have no doubt about that. But what about the cost?" I asked. "Being away from your family, your friends, your homeworld." I glanced at him. "I know Vulcans are well known for their emotional discipline, but still. Don't you ever get lonely?"
Spock was silent for a few seconds.
"On occasion."
He looked toward the viewscreen again.
"The Vulcan approach to emotional discipline does not eliminate the experience of loneliness. It merely provides one with greater control over how one responds to it. Starfleet officers become accustomed to long periods of separation. We form friendships with our colleagues, establish routines, and maintain communication with those on our homeworlds."
He paused.
"But there are moments when that becomes insufficient. A transmission from Vulcan is not the same as being there. A conversation over subspace is not the same as sharing a meal with someone you care about. And seeing one's homeworld on a viewscreen is not quite the same as standing upon its surface."
Spock turned to face me.
"I suspect that is one of the less frequently discussed costs of exploration. We speak extensively about what we gain by travelling among the stars. We speak considerably less about what we leave behind."
His expression softened almost imperceptibly.
"Fortunately, there are compensations. One develops an appreciation for the people who accompany you. After sufficient time, the crew of a starship ceases to be merely one's colleagues. They become... family."
He looked back toward the stars.
"And that makes returning home all the more meaningful."
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then Spock's expression changed slightly.
"Speaking of home..." He glanced around the bridge. "There is something I wish to inquire about regarding your earlier revelations. But perhaps we should discuss it in a more private location."
"No need."
Spock looked at me. I snapped my fingers.
A faint shimmering wave passed outward from my body, washing over the space immediately surrounding us. It was subtle enough that nobody else on the bridge seemed to notice.
"I've just put up a localized acoustic isolation field around the two of us. We can speak here, and no one will be able to hear our conversation."
Spock's eyebrows rose slightly. "Truly?"
He glanced toward the other stations. Then, apparently deciding to test my claim, he turned toward the helm.
"Mr. Sulu?"
Sulu didn't react.
Spock turned toward communications.
"Ms. Uhura?"
Again, nothing.
He looked at them for a few seconds before turning back toward me.
"Remarkable. An acoustic isolation field surrounding the two of us, created simply by snapping your fingers?"
I laughed softly.
"No, of course not. The snapping isn't what actually creates the field. I have to shape the energy within my own body along very specific pathways that will produce the desired effect in the outside world, and then I cast the spell. The snap is just a trigger. It gives me something physical to associate with the conscious casting of the spell. Otherwise, there would be a risk of accidentally casting magic simply because I thought about doing something."
Spock considered that.
"Fascinating. Would you object if I took a few non-invasive scans while you cast these spells?"
"Not at all." I smiled. "But I'd say we should probably wait until the current crisis is resolved."
"Agreed."
I looked back toward the stars. "So..." I said. "What is it you wanted to ask?"
Spock hesitated. It was subtle, but I noticed it.
"During the course of events that you happened to witness..." His voice was quieter now. "What became of my family?"
The lightness disappeared from my expression.
"Mr. Spock..." I took a breath. "As I'm sure you understand, the events I saw—and the ones I showed you in Captain Pike's office—aren't set in stone. My being here is proof of that. Your future is still being written."
"I understand." His voice remained controlled. "However, I still wish to know about my parents' fates in your vision."
I studied him for several moments.
Then I sighed.
"When scans from the Enterprise determined that Nero had unleashed a singularity within Vulcan's core, you beamed down to the planet to evacuate the Vulcan High Council. Your parents, as you had surmised, were among them in the Katric Arc."
Spock's face remained impassive.
"You got them out, and the Enterprise was in the process of transporting them aboard." I paused. "However... before the transfer could be completed, the ground beneath your mother collapsed. She didn't make it."
Spock went still.
Gradually, I noticed a subtle change in his complexion. He had gone pale.
His breathing became heavier, though his expression remained almost perfectly controlled. Anyone else might have missed the signs entirely. I didn't.
My enhanced hearing picked up the sound of his heartbeat. It was racing.
The Vulcan cardiovascular system was already significantly faster than a human's, but Spock's heart was now beating far beyond its normal rhythm.
"I'm sorry," I said quietly. "That mustn't have been easy to hear."
Spock said nothing. I continued carefully.
"But please remember what I told you earlier. That was one possible future. I've seen enough alternate realities to know that the smallest change can have enormous consequences."
I looked directly at him.
"Your mother dying on Vulcan was part of the future I witnessed. It does not have to be part of yours."
Spock finally turned toward me.
"So don't let what I saw become something you fear," I continued. "Let it become something you prevent."
His eyes remained fixed on mine.
"I cannot promise you that everything will be fine. I won't lie to you like that." I paused. "But I can promise you this—the future I saw is no longer the future you're walking toward. We're here now. We know what's coming. And we're going to do everything we can to make sure you never have to live through it."
Spock took a slow breath. Then he nodded.
"Thank you."
I returned the nod.
We turned back toward the viewscreen. The stars continued to shine beyond it, indifferent to the events unfolding around them.