Stardate 1457.9: The Enterprise and the Cayuga under Captain Batel support the Earth outposts along the Romulan Neutral Zone with supplies and upgrades. As Pike, Una and Spock are talking with Hansen Al-Salah, the commander of one of the outposts, his son Maat enters the room. He is one of two cadets that would not survive the reactor accident to occur in seven years. Pike has to leave the meeting, and only Una knows why. He starts to write a letter to Maat, warning him of what would happen. Suddenly Pike's future self from a time after the accident appears in his quarters. He says that this interference would wreck the future and produces a Klingon time crystal. The younger Pike touches it and travels seven years into the changed future. All cadets survived, no one was even hurt and he is still the captain of the Enterprise. Pike talks to Spock, who is his first officer now, and Spock confirms through a mind meld that the captain tells the truth about him traveling through time. The ship receives a distress call from Commander Al-Salah of Earth Outpost 4, which is under attack by an unidentified enemy. As the Enterprise arrives, it is too late. The outpost is gone. The USS Farragut under Captain Kirk joins the Enterprise. But Pike doesn't trust Kirk because he is afraid his brash young colleague might start an all-out war. Either inadvertently or intentionally, the Enterprise intercepts a video image from the bridge of the Bird-of-Prey, giving away that the Romulans look like Vulcans. The Enterprise and the Farragut follow the Romulans in a way to appear like an echo to the limited sensors of the enemy ship. When the Romulan ship is about to cross the tail of a comet, the two Starfleet ships prepare to intercept it with a pincer move. But the Bird-of-Prey has turned around and cripples the Farragut. The Enterprise fires back, upon which the Romulans deploy their plasma weapon. Fortunately, its range is limited and the damage on the Enterprise can be repaired. The Enterprise beams the survivors of the Farragut aboard. Among them is Commander La'an. She is surprised that Pike does not know that Una has been in a penal colony for seven years. Although Kirk and Erica Ortegas protest, Pike offers a cease-fire to the Romulan commander, who accepts. On the Bird-of-Prey, the subcommander questions the decision of his superior officer likewise, and secretly calls the fleet for support. Kirk, on the other hand, arranges for a fleet of unarmed and unmanned mining drones to face the Romulans, in the hope that they wouldn't recognize the ruse. The Romulans Praetor has her fleet fire upon the Bird-of-Prey with its unreliable commander. As the enemy armada begins to fire on the Enterprise, Kirk uses the drones as a cover. The ship jumps to warp, but only after taking heavy damage. Spock is among the seriously wounded and won't recover. The Romulans declare war on the Federation. After wrapping up the failed mission with Kirk, Pike returns to his own time. He deletes the letter he was going to send to the boy. Captain Batel beams over to the Enterprise and arrests Una Chin-Riley for being genetically modified. But Pike swears that this isn't over yet.

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