Years before he came to be known as the best first officer in the fleet, Spock was a conflicted young ensign, serving on the Starship Enterprises under Captain Christopher Pike. Struggling to reconcile his many obligations - those forced on him by his Vulcan heritage, and those chosen by him upon his enrollment in Starfleet Academy - Spock must also balance the desires of his own heart. Those conflicting demands intersect during a mission to retrieve one of his world"s most sacred artifacts, a relic of Vulcan"s ancient past - the search for which will reveal dark and deadly secrets, forever altering the course of Spock"s life and defining the man he became. A classic tale from D. C. Fontana, one of Star Trek"s original producers and the writer of such classic episodes as "Journey to Babel" and "This Side of Paradise"