Destined | Christopher Pike

Prologue

A/N: Hello and welcome! This is my first Star Trek centered story and I'm so excited for you to read it. I've worked super hard on it and I hope you enjoy it. This is going to be centered around the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds series. Some things will be different. Some things will be the same. Thank you for reading!

When Christopher Pike saw his death, he didn't just see his life ending. No, he saw a flash of what the next seven years would be. He saw fellow Starfleet officers. He saw enemies he would engage with. People he would lose. He saw times of sadness and times of joy. However, the other thing he focused on, not his imminent death, was someone in particular. A woman.

Prior to then, he had never seen her in his entire life. He didn't even know her name or where she was from or how she would factor into his life until the damn crystal seemed to fixate on her. She was important. He could sense that, so he pressed his mind harder to make the future memories appear. Finally, a clear picture of her came into view.

She was a beautiful woman. Slightly younger than he anticipated. Was it a child he didn't know about? A Starfleet officer he had yet to meet that he would guide? She had dark, auburn hair that was parted down the middle and hung loosely around her face. She had amber brown eyes that seemed to be a mixture of inquisitive and mischievous. Her lips were full that revealed a gentle yet infectious smile. She wore a blue shirt with the Starfleet emblem on it meaning she belonged to the science division.

Her face unfroze and images, clips started playing in front of him. Almost like they were being projected onto a screen. It started off innocent. Just causal conversations. Then, the smiles that grew broader. The eyes that lingered far too long for just friends. The touches on the forearm or shoulder. The comfortable silence. The way their eyes would search for one another in a room. Until finally, they kissed. They went further than kissing, but his mind wouldn't stop.

Their relationship grew and grew. People finding out. Them telling others. The constant fear of being scrutinized , but in the end the two of them didn't care. He could see her curled up on the couch in his room while he cooked for her. He could hear her humming a song as she completed a task. He liked hearing her hum. He could tell he did. Baking. She liked baking. She said she liked to bake when she was stressed.

He heard her voice. It was a comforting, soft spoken tone. It was something he also enjoyed hearing. He knew what she sounded like when she was sad or happy or angry. He saw himself showing her his home in Montana. He taught her how to ride horses. He watched himself fall deeper and deeper in love with her, until one day his future self decides that he wants to spend forever with her.

This, despite everything, came to a shock to him. He never saw himself getting married. He had fallen in love before, but none of them had ever been enough to make him settle down. He supposed this woman was different. They got married and they were happy. So, so happy. He had never felt such happiness before and it killed him, because he knew what would happen in a few years.

He wanted to scream when he watched her pounding against the glass after the explosion. Tears were streaming down her cheeks as she feared for his life. People were holding her back, but he could practically feel her pain. Stop! STOP! He didn't want to see this. He didn't want to see the lifeless person he would become. He didn't want to watch the woman suffer anymore. He couldn't allow this to happen. No, he would not allow it, even if he had sealed his own fate.

There was only one thing he wished to know before he let go of the crystal. Her name. He just wanted to know her name, so when he crossed her in the future, he knew to steer clear of her. He tried to make himself think, but all the emotions were too much. Clarity. He needed clarity. He was sure had had said her name at some point. Search. Search.

Emma...Emma!