Christopher Pike was a 23rd century Starfleet officer. He was captain of the starship USS Enterprise from 2251 to 2264, as the successor of Robert April and immediate predecessor to James T. Kirk. Pike was a native of Mojave on Earth.

In 2254, Pike led a landing party to Rigel VII, in which they were attacked by Kaylar warriors in what seemed to be an abandoned fortress. Three crewmen, including Pike's own yeoman, were killed, while an additional seven, including Spock, were injured, some severely. The loss weighed heavily on Pike; with all the strain and overwork that followed, he began to question his own continuance as starship commander.

The Enterprise then set out for the Vega colony to hospitalize the sick and injured, but intercepted an old-style radio-interference distress call carrying the call letters of the SS Columbia, a survey expedition from the American Continent Institute which was lost in the Talos star group in 2236.

At Pike's reluctant command, the Enterprise diverted and traced the signal to the crash site on Talos IV. After an initial encounter with supposed survivors, including an out-of-place young beauty named Vina, it was revealed that the native Talosians had used telepathy to create the illusion of an encampment; all the survivors except Vina were dead.

Pike was overpowered and kidnapped, and placed in a Talosian zoo where they attempted to get him to mate with Vina to create a population of illusion-controlled Human servants. They forced Pike to relive old memories and placed him in illusionary scenarios of lives he could have if he abandoned his career as a starship captain. The scenarios including reliving the fight on Rigel VII, a picnic on Earth with his favorite horse Tango, and an illusory day in the life of an Orion slave-trader dealing in green animal women. When Pike refused to mate with Vina, the Talosians began to take steps to convince Pike to breed with other females of his crew; to this end, Yeoman J.M. Colt and Pike's first officer, Number One, were captured.

Pike managed to escape; after a standoff, he convinced the Talosians to restore the disfigured Vina's illusion of health and beauty while letting the Humans of Pike's crew free. The Talosians believed this violent reaction made Humans unsuitable for breeding and agreed. Although the experience with the illusory worlds restored Pike's confidence in his command, it was recommended that all contact with the Talosians' powers be restricted. General Order 7 was enacted, threatening the death penalty should any travel there, for fear of the Federation falling to illusory indulgence

Tragic Fate

After a long tour as captain of the Enterprise (11 years, four months and five days of which were spent with junior science officer Spock as a loyal member of his crew), Pike was promoted to fleet captain in the mid-2260s at which point James T. Kirk took command. Only a few years thereafter, he was aboard a training vessel, an old Class J starship, when a baffle plate ruptured and exposed many helpless trainees and cadets to delta radiation. Pike dragged many cadets from the danger, but in the process was hopelessly crippled by the rays. The disfigured Pike was put on a form of advanced life support which sustained his withered body and life functions, but he was too weak and incapacitated to ever move or respond to physical stimuli again. A wheelchair that was tuned to his brain could use blinking light signals to respond to simple queries in the affirmative (one beep) or negative (two beeps), but that was the extent to which he could communicate.

Return to Talos

In 2267, Lieutenant Commander Spock devised a plan to divert the Enterprise (of which he was now first officer under Captain James T. Kirk) to Starbase 11, where Pike was hospitalized, with a fake message. Spock's intention was, risking execution if caught, to deliver Pike to Talos IV, where the Talosians could tap Pike's mind with telepathy and illusions so he would be spared dying helpless in his lifeless body.

On Talos IV, with the help of the Talosians, Pike lived out a life of illusion in which his devastating handicap no longer existed. Pike went into retirement from Starfleet active duty and lived on Talos IV permanently, with no further outside contact, since the secrecy of the Talosian power made his fate largely unknown.

In Memoriam

The Christopher Pike Medal of Valor was named in Pike's honor. Captain Benjamin Sisko and Solok received the award in the 24th century. There was also a shuttlecraft Pike carried on board the USS Enterprise D