Pasteur Institute, Paris, France, Earth - Year 2257.
Alathea jumped slightly when the comm system whistled. She wasn't expecting any visitors today and had blocked out her calendar for research. "What is it?" she asked her assistant in a slightly annoyed tone.
"Dr. Boyce is here to see you. He says it's important."
Alathea frowned. What is Boyce doing here? Last she heard, he was on a deep space mission aboard Enterprise… unless something happened to Pike. Her heart rate quickened at the thought. "Show him in." She walked to the entrance of her lab to greet her visitor. "Phil, is Chris ok?" She asked in a panic tone.
"And hello to you too, Thea. Chris is fine," Phil reassured.
Alathea chuckled. "Sorry. It's nice to see you. It's just unexpected. When did you get back to Earth?"
"A couple of weeks ago. Enterprise suffered major system failures so Starfleet assigned Chris to another ship for the duration of his mission." A nod was the only acknowledgment. "Our last mission has been difficult…"
"Phil, Chris and I are ancient history. He made himself clear," Alathea interrupted, unwilling to revisit painful memories.
Boyce sighed. If there was one thing Alathea and Chris had in common, it was their stubbornness. "I followed your research on Rigelian fever. It's groundbreaking." He complimented her to change the subject.
"Thank you." Alathea blushed at the compliment. The fact that it was coming from Boyce sent butterflies to her stomach. At this moment, she felt like the young cadet she once was receiving praise from a mentor she most admired. "Hopefully, this will unlock a possible vaccine for the disease." She looked closely at the man in front of her. Boyce had seemed to have aged twenty years. "But you didn't come here to congratulate me on my latest manuscript."
Boyce heavily sighed before collapsing in a chair. Alathea leaned against the desk, facing her mentor with concern. "No," Boyce admitted after a while. "I came here to ask you to reconsider your commission to Starfleet."
"Is that all?," Alathea scoffed.
"I've been diagnosed with Irumodic Syndrome."
Alathea's jaw dropped open in shock. Despite the tremendous medical progress humanity had achieved in the past 200 years, many diseases still had no known cure, and most involved the mind. "How long until…" Irumodic Syndrome destroys the brain's synaptic pathways, causing confusion, delusions, and eventually death. The progression was often slow.
"They don't know."
"Are you showing any symptoms?" The doctor in Alathea took over. Although most cases were now discovered early through genetic testing, some cases were discovered later in the patient's life when the symptoms became more noticeable.
Boyce nodded. "Sometimes I find myself in places but I have no recollection how I got there or why I went there in the first place. I'm also starting to have memory lapses."
"So Medical wants to relieve you from duty."
Boyce nodded. "Enterprise is scheduled for another deep space, five-year mission. They can't have the CMO fall apart mid-way."
"They have treatments for Irumodic now. No cure but they can slow the progression."
"Yes, and all of them involve cognitive therapies that wouldn't be available on a starship." Boyce shifted his weight uncomfortably. "Thea, I'm here to ask you to consider taking a commission on Enterprise."
Alathea closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to compose her thoughts. The man she admired the most was slowly dying of a horrible disease. What made who he was would slowly disappear; his body wasting slightly slower than his mind. Her mentor… her friend was asking her for a last favor. He could have asked for anything else and she would have dropped everything. But the favor involved Chris. Her heart pinched in her chest as she internally pronounced the name. She had loved Pike for as long as she could remember. But she had been too scared of the potential rejection. She hadn't noticed she had started trembling until Phil reached out to her. "Thea, please. He needs someone he can trust. He needs you."
"Phil, I'm sorry. But I can't. This is too painful."
STSTST
One year later.
Alathea jumped when her computer announced a new communication. It was past 2am and she must have fallen asleep at her desk. It had become a habit lately. Dreading the long evenings at home, she often stayed in her office. She had thought she could learn to love Nathan, especially with Chris out of the picture but she had found herself resenting him for a loveless marriage. Of course, he wasn't to blame but it was easier to be angry at him than at herself.
She frowned when she opened her messaging system. She clicked on the cryptic message, containing only one line: Second opinion? She opened the attachment and looked through the various scans and blood work. There was no mystery there; any second year student could have made the diagnostics and the treatment was rather simple. PTSD, she replied. Two weeks in a rehab facility with follow-up treatment should do the trick.
The response came within seconds: The scans are after treatment. And they are sending him back out there anyway. He needs you. He needs someone he can trust.
Alathea sighed. She didn't have to ask Boyce who he was talking about. All I can do is sign off on a second opinion that Chris is not fit for command. She frowned as she opened recent scans of his chest. What happened to his rib cage?
His last mission is highly classified. I wasn't told and he isn't talking. As for Starfleet, they already have signed off on his return to duty. Thea, please, reconsider my offer.
Alathea's fingers hovered over the keyboard for a long time. Give me some time to think about it.
STSTST
Mojave, CA, Earth
Pike swung the hammer over his shoulder before slamming it into the wooden pole with all his strength. His entire body hurt from the day's exertion but the physical pain was preferable to the mental anguish he had been living with ever since Boreth.
Every time he closed his eyes, he saw the explosion and the image of himself in a chair, screaming. After his return to Earth, he had spent a few weeks in a rehab facility but the treatment had done little in terms of calming his anxiety. Eventually, he had managed to calm himself enough to pass the tests but he knew that he was far from being cured.
"Your mother told me I would find you here."
Pike jumped at the voice. He dropped his hammer and shielded his eyes against the sun, trying to make out the features of the person walking towards him. "I know that feeling very well," Admiral Mayweather continued as he walked towards Chris, relying heavily on his cane.
Pike dropped his hammer and immediately offered assistance to the man who had become a father figure to the young teenager. "What feeling?"
"Wanting to forget." Mayweather sighed. "Physical pain is often preferable to the horror of war."
"I sat out the Klingon War. Admiral Cornwell had other plans for Enterprise." Chris let his sentence trail off; the pain of losing another friend would never fully disappear.
"Something tells me you've seen your share of combat in the past year."
"You've read the mission reports?" Chris asked, frowning. Command had made it clear that no one would ever be briefed on what had transpired with Section 31's out-of-control AI system.
Mayweather shook his head. "No. I have been assigned the Enterprise as part of our new fleet but these reports remain classified, even to me. Whatever you got yourself into requires even more secrecy than your mission to Talos."
Chris scoffed. Talos IV had been a difficult mission but somehow it seemed like child play in comparison to his tour on the Discovery.
"You don't have to do this alone," Mayweather said in a softer tone. The admiral could see the anguish on the face of the man he considered a son.
"Unfortunately, I do." Even if he was willing to talk about his nightmares, they happened to be highly classified. "What brings you to the ranch?" Chris asked, hoping for a change of subject.
"Your CMO, actually." Mayweather raised his hand as Chris was about to protest. "Have you talked to Boyce since you've been back?" Pike shook his head. Phil had sent him several messages since he'd been back in Mojave but Chris had ignored them, assuming that Phil wanted to convince him about undergoing another round of PTSD treatment. "I shouldn't be the one to tell you this but he's asked for a leave of absence and Starfleet has granted it," Mayweather continued.
Chris' jaw dropped open. Why would Boyce leave him as they were about to embark for the next 5-year mission? There could be only one explanation but Pike couldn't bear admitting it. "Is he alright?"
Mayweather looked down. "I think you should talk to him, Chris." A tinge of guilt tugged at Chris' heart. Phil had always been here for him but he had let his best friend down. Mayweather cleared his throat, "on his recommendation, I'm appointing Alathea as his replacement. Boyce has agreed to conduct the first…"
"You what?," Chris exploded. "I request…"
"Request denied," Mayweather said firmly. "CMO assignments are out of captains' approval. And Starfleet agrees with Boyce's assessment. I don't have a choice but to send you back out. But if it was up to me, I would order you back to a treatment facility."
Chris was fuming, fisting his hands to control his anger.
Mayweather's expression softened. "We are all worried about you."
"Does this mean I also get Nathan Luna onboard?", Pike spat the question out in disdain.
"No."
Pike frowned at the unexpected answer.
"Whatever your relationship with my daughter is, Pike, she's the best there is out there. You know that. So I suggest you make use of her expertise."
"With all due respect, my past relationship with your daughter is the reason why she can't be the Enterprise CMO. There is a conflict of interest there."
"If we were talking about any other captain, I would agree with you. However, we both know you only passed the psychological evaluation because you knew what to answer. You've been around that block often enough in your career. But for some reason, you could never lie to Thea. This is not punishment, Chris. I'm just trying to get you someone you will finally confide in."
"As you said, my mission was highly classified. Thea will never get security clearances high enough," Pike said defiantly. There was nothing he could do about his nightmares. Sooner rather than later, they would become his reality. He didn't want to dwell on them. He just wanted to go back out there and make the best out of the rest of his life.
"You and I both know you can omit the more classified details," Mayweather knew that he wouldn't get through to Pike. He just hoped that his daughter would. "Enterprise's refits are almost complete. You are to report to your post at 0800 tomorrow."
"Aye, sir." Truth be told, he was looking forward to going back to the Enterprise. He needed to keep moving. There would be a time where he would have to sit still.
"Chris, this is not punishment."
"Yes, sir," he replied, unconvinced.
STSTST
USS Enterprise, Utopia Planitia.
"Energize," Pike ordered the lieutenant behind the console. He had asked for some of his senior staff to welcome Alathea onboard. This was not standard protocol but he didn't want to spend time alone with Boyce and Alathea. He felt guilty about not noticing his friend's deteriorating condition. He was also angry at him for bringing Alathea back in his life. They had agreed to part way after Talos. Chris had moved on with his life. And he didn't want a reminder of his past, of everything he was about to lose.
Spock glanced at Number One. His years at Starfleet Academy had taught him very little about reading human emotions, preferring spending time in the computer labs than with his classmates. However, he didn't have to understand emotions to sense the unease in the room. If anything, he had just gained a better understanding of the human expression "to cut the atmosphere with a knife."
The doctor materialized in the room, with a smile on her face. "Lieutenant Commander Alathea Mayweather reporting for duty."
"Welcome aboard," Chris said coolly. "You already know my chief medical officer, Dr Boyce," Chris continued with the introduction. "And I would like you to meet my XO, Commander Una Chin-Riley, and my science officer, Lieutenant Spock." Since neither officer offered her a handshake, she returned their respectful nod. "Number One can show you to your quarters." Without waiting for Alathea to reply, Pike left the transporter room.
"Well, that went better than expected," Boyce said to release some of the tension in the room.
"To what are you referring to, doctor?" Spock asked with a raised eyebrow. "And doctor, I trust that you will find your tour of duty on Enterprise quite challenging. The captain has a tendency to find himself in situations that require immediate medical attention."
Alathea chuckled at the comment. "Sounds like Chris!"
Number One frowned at the familiarity. "Do you know the captain?"
"Yes, we…"
"... they have crossed paths before." Boyce answered evasively. There would be time for the rest of the crew to understand the details of why he had chosen Mayweather as his replacement. But as things stood, no one besides Chris and Alathea knew about his condition or that he would retire before the beginning of their five-year mission. As far as the rest of the crew was concerned, Phil didn't want their pity. He wanted them to remember him as their colleague and friend. He had never planned to tell any of them the truth.
"We were together at the Academy," Alathea answered vaguely.
"I see." Number One wasn't satisfied with the explanation but there would be plenty of time to get to know the newest member of the crew better.