This is my opportunity to follow the U.S.S. Enterprise crew through 6 bold challenges, each of which are 161 kilometres (100 miles). The first challenge in the set follows Captain Pike, who is plagued by visions of his own death, but when his Number One goes missing on Kiley 279, he rejoins the U.S.S. Enterprise crew and dives back into action. Can he and the crew save her in time?
Picking this challenge set from Conquerer was a no-brainer. I’ve been a Trekkie my whole life. I remember watching the original series raptly, sitting on my basement floor, and wishing I could travel with my favourite crew. It seemed possible… after all, William Shatner hailed from Montreal, just like me. All I had to do was study science hard, and one day I would get to travel alongside Bones and Spock. I remember how much I expected from the first action movie (as well as how confused and disappointed I felt after it).
When the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds show came out, I was somewhere between apprehensive that they would dishonour canon I’d loved longer than some of the actors in it had been alive and excited at a chance to see my favourite characters as younger versions of themselves.
I was a bit uncertain heading in, since I loved the re-casting of Bruce Greenwood as Pike in the 2009 re-booted movie. My first glimpse of the quiff on Captain Pike’s head tilted the balance in their favour. That sleek silver hairdo on Anson Mount was a dramatic makeover from the scruffy look of his character Cullen Bohannon on Hell on Wheels. He listens to his crew, and in spite of having doubts his choices, he’s still going to take a chance to make things better. He has a sense of humour about himself and the situations they find themselves in, while still earnestly trying to do the right thing. He disobeyed General Order One (shortly thereafter renamed to the Prime Directive), helping establish that pretty much forever, Star Fleet captains only listen to the rules they liked.
He’s even reasonably well-spoken:
- “Belief can be the difference between victory and defeat. Get a crew to believe in miracles, they might give you one.” Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (Season 1, Episode 4)
- “Today will not be our last, but our finest hour.” Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (Season 1, Episode 4)
- “We like to think that right until the very last instant, somehow, some way, we’ll cheat death.” Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (Season 1, Episode 1)
- “Giving up our values in the name of security is to lose the battle in advance.” Star Trek: Discovery (Season 2, Episode 9)
- “There’s surviving, and then there’s living.” Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (Season 1, Episode 9)
- “I don’t mind dissenting opinions, I really don’t. But they have to come with solutions.” ‘Star Trek: Discovery (Season 2, Episode 1)
- “Not every cage is a prison, nor every loss eternal.” Star Trek: Discovery (Season 2, Episode 1)
- “This new information changes the context, and the context can change our perspective.” Star Trek: Discovery (Season 2, Episode 2)
- “Right up until the very end, life is to be worn gloriously.” Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (Season 1, Episode 1)
- “Starfleet is a promise.” ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ (Season 2, Episode 5)
Jonathan Lane wrote a good piece explaining how we got the captain we needed for each decade, but for now, I’m willing to stick with a one very simple reason why this Captain Pike is a keeper: he cooks for his crew and loved ones.
