While exploring a planet on the brink of civil war, the U.S.S. Enterprise becomes entangled in a political and ethical crisis that forces the crew to confront the cost of peace, the limits of intervention, and their own roles as explorers versus enforcers.
The Enterprise arrives at Veltria IV, a Federation-aligned planet with rich resources and a volatile political situation. The two major factions—one authoritarian, one idealistic but disorganized—are on the brink of war. The Federation has promised neutrality, but hidden interests within Starfleet Command want Kirk to ensure the “right side” wins.
When war breaks out on Veltria IV, a splinter faction of Veltrians offers advanced empathic weapons to one side—devices that incapacitate soldiers by overwhelming them with their own buried traumas.
This threatens to drag the Veltrians into the conflict—and forces Kirk and Spock to reckon with whether emotional peace can be weaponized… and whether memory, when manipulated, becomes propaganda.
As Kirk navigates diplomacy with both sides, a third party emerges: a revolutionary movement that rejects both factions and claims the Federation is manipulating the planet for its own gain. Evidence surfaces of Federation black ops meddling—potentially led by one of Kirk’s old mentors.
