The Enterprise is sent on a mission, one that is strikingly similar to Tarsus IV. Trapped on the warring planet, Kirk must struggle through his demons to keep Spock and his landing team safe.

Spock has recently found he has feelings for his captain and is determined to stay away. Can he when he sees Jim falling into the memories of his horrid past?

Spock creates a videogame in an attempt to study humans to determine if they are ready for first contact. Curious, he joins the game to study them first hand. Jim catches wind of a strange NPC that hangs out in the Tavern. Everyone thinks it's defective, but Jim thinks it might be a secret event and talks to him. He's strange, and he's kind of cute in a weird way.Starfleet starts getting wind that the game might be controlled by people not of this earth, and they begin to question the creators' motives. Will Jim choose Starfleet, a faction he had sworn his life and loyalty too, or a man he had never even met face to face?

A boy from Iowa always dreamed about being a Starship captain. Only problem is, there is no such thing as starships. There aren't even any moon bases. The closest he could ever get was a desk job at NASA. Unfulfilled in the real world, Kirk turns to virtual reality where he could be the captain he always dreamed to be, but even that is being taken away from him. At midnight, the servers are going to shut down, erasing years of hard work and attachment.

Kirk decides to stay with his ship. A captain should stay with his crew until the end. Except there is no end. In fact, the NPCs and ship comes to life and it is no longer virtual reality, but real life. Thrust into the captain's seat with no real training, Kirk must navigate the ship, missions, and NPCs because they all think he's a captain. They all believe they are real. Are they? Or is Kirk just hallucinating it all because he wants it to be. His dream had come true, but it may have been more than he bargained for, especially when he starts getting attached to his crewmemebrs and making decisions that could send them to their death. But at the end of the day, he must decide whether he should try to find a way back or stay where he thinks he belongs.