Before James T. Kirk, another captain stood on the bridge of the "U.S.S. Enterprise(TM), " spearheading its mission of exploration into the uncharted reaches of the galaxy. He was a man driven to perfection, a brooding soul whose haunted eyes reflected the burden of the impossible standards he set for himself, and for whom his longtime science officer, Spock, one day would risk everything. Yet, little is truly known about the enigmatic Christopher Pike, the events that defined him...or the secrets that consumed him.

From the embers of his early childhood among Earth's blossoming...