Template:2009spoiler Template:Sidebar character Nero was a Romulan miner originating from the late 24th century, and captain of the mining vessel Narada. Following the destruction of Romulus in 2387, Nero sought vengeance against those he felt were responsible, ultimately resulting in his being transported back in time to 2233.
Nero's actions in the past resulted in the creation of an alternate reality. In this reality, he was directly responsible for the destruction of the USS Kelvin as well as the deaths of its two senior officers, Captain Richard Robau and Lieutenant George Kirk. Kirk's death altered the upbringing of his son, James T. Kirk, who in this timeline did not join Starfleet until 2255.
Nero was later responsible for the destruction of the alternate reality's Vulcan, which resulted in the deaths of Amanda Grayson and the majority of the Vulcan race. Nero also attempted to destroy this timeline's Earth, but his plot was foiled by Jim Kirk and the crew of the USS Enterprise.
Origins
Nero was married and was about to become a father, but his wife and their unborn child were killed when Romulus was destroyed by a supernova in 2387. Nero was off-planet when the disaster occurred, but he witnessed the event firsthand.
- Nero briefly states that his wife was "expecting [his] child"; Nero also shows Pike the holographic image of her in which she is visibly pregnant. In Star Trek: Countdown, her name is Mandana and she is specifically stated to be pregnant.
- According to his dossier at the official Star Trek film website, it is stated that Nero was involved in discovering massive lithium deposits on Delta Vega which solved an energy crisis in the Romulan Star Empire. It is unspecified if this is the same Delta Vega in the Vulcan system that he would later maroon Spock on in the past, which may have violated treaties with Earth and the Federation if such treaties were not modified in the aftermath of the events of Star Trek Nemesis. It may also refer to a second Delta Vega which is on the outskirts of the Milky Way. It was also used by the Federation in the prime timeline and mined for lithium ore, but may have been abandoned by the late 24th century. (TOS: "Where No Man Has Gone Before")
Nero placed the blame for Romulus' destruction on Ambassador Spock, who had promised to prevent the disaster, and the Federation, which he believed did nothing while Romulus was destroyed. Spock, piloting the Jellyfish, was able to extinguish the supernova by using red matter to create a black hole which enveloped the star, but before he could escape, he was intercepted by Nero, now in command of a technologically-advanced Narada. Both ships were pulled into the black hole, with the Narada going in first.
Arrival in the 23rd century
The Narada emerged 154 years in the past, on stardate 2233.04. There, the Narada encountered, attacked, and severely damaged the Federation starship USS Kelvin. Seeking information on the whereabouts of Spock, Nero had his second-in-command, Ayel, contact the Kelvin and demand that the ship's commanding officer, Richard Robau, board a shuttlecraft and come aboard the Narada. Robau was unfamiliar with Spock, however, and when he informed Nero of the current stardate, Nero killed Robau with his Teral'n.
Nero then proceeded to attack the Kelvin, now under command of Robau's first officer, George Kirk. Kirk used the Kelvin's weapons to prevent Nero from destroying the shuttles departing the Kelvin, ultimately sacrificing himself by ramming the Kelvin into the Narada. Kirk's actions saved 800 lives, including his wife, Winona Kirk, and their newborn son, James T. Kirk, but he was unable to destroy the Narada or Nero.
Attack on Vulcan
Nero spent the next twenty-five years repairing the ship and awaiting the arrival of Ambassador Spock, plotting his vengeance against him and the Federation. Near the end of those twenty-five years, Nero was involved in an attack on a Klingon prison planet and, using the Narada, destroyed 47 Warbirds. During his time on the prison planet, Nero sustained an injury to his right ear.
- A deleted scene from the film shows that Nero was a prisoner on the prison planet, which turned out to be Rura Penthe. It was Nero's escape from Rura Penthe which Uhura heard about in the transmission she received regarding an attack on a Klingon prison planet. During his confrontation with the Klingons, Nero's ear was partially bitten off.
Nero's goal was to ensure a future for Romulus that was completely free from the Federation. When Spock arrived through the black hole in 2258, Nero was waiting for him. He captured Spock's ship, which still had an entire compartment full of red matter. Rather than kill Spock, however, Nero marooned the elderly ambassador on Delta Vega so he could witness the destruction of Vulcan from the planet's surface.
With the red matter now in his possession, Nero attacked Vulcan, using the Narada's extendable drill platform to burrow through to the planet's core. A fleet of seven Federation starships arrived to assist Vulcan, unaware the planet was under attack; they stood no chance against the advanced Narada, however, and Nero easily destroyed them all. When another Starfleet vessel arrived, Nero ordered that it be destroyed, as well. However, after a brief attack, Nero recognized the vessel as the USS Enterprise. Knowing that a younger Spock served aboard the Enterprise, he ceased his attack on the vessel and instead demanded that its captain, Christopher Pike, come aboard the Narada via shuttlecraft – the ship's transporters were inoperable as long as the drill was active. Pike complied, but only to allow a team consisting of James Kirk, Hikaru Sulu, and Chief Engineer Olson to space-dive onto the drilling rig and disable it so the Enterprise could begin evacuating Vulcan.
Kirk and Sulu were successful in sabotaging the drill (Olson had been killed), but not before the drill reached Vulcan's core. Nero released a canister of red matter into the planet's core, creating a black hole at the center of Vulcan which devoured the planet and killed the vast majority of the Vulcan race as well as Spock's mother, Amanda Grayson. Following the planet's destruction, the number of remaining Vulcans was estimated to be less than ten thousand. Nero had turned the once-thriving Vulcans into an endangered species.
Attack on Earth
Nero's next target was Earth, the core of the United Federation of Planets. Before he could attack Earth, he required the Starfleet codes which would allow him to disable the planet's defenses. He had captured Captain Pike for this purpose, and although Pike refused to cooperate willingly, Nero forced him to talk with a Centaurian slug.
With Starfleet's defenses no longer a problem, Nero set a course for Earth. The Enterprise exited warp into the atmosphere of Titan and was able to beam James T. Kirk and young Spock aboard the Narada as it entered Earth's orbit, using the magnetic field of Saturn's rings to remain invisible to the Narada's sensors. Spock piloted the Jellyfish out of the Narada and destroyed the drill, which had already begun drilling into Earth. Meanwhile, Nero encountered Kirk, who was searching for Captain Pike. Nero fought with Kirk, telling the young officer that he recognized him from Earth's history and that the Jim Kirk he read about "was said to be a great man ... but that was another life."
Nero was preparing to kill Kirk when he received word that the Jellyfish had been taken and the drill destroyed. Nero left Kirk to Ayel, who was ultimately killed by Kirk. On the bridge of the Narada, Nero attempted to kill Spock, despite the fact that the destruction of the Jellyfish would have ignited the red matter and created a massive black hole. Spock took the Jellyfish to warp to get out of the Sol system, and Nero followed. Spock then set the Jellyfish to collide with the Narada, but he, Kirk, and Pike were transported back to the Enterprise before impact.
The resulting black hole ripped through the Narada, cutting it in half. Aboard the bridge, Nero answered the hails of Captain Kirk aboard the Enterprise, who offered his assistance. An embittered, enraged Nero refused the offer, saying he would rather watch his homeworld be destroyed a thousand times and die in agony than to accept the assistance of the Federation. Kirk obliged and ordered the Enterprise fire at the Narada. Nero remained on the bridge as his ship collapsed around him; the Narada soon vanished out of existence, taking Nero with it. (Star Trek)
Memorable quotes
"Hi Christopher, I'm Nero." (Star Trek)
"SPOOOOOCK!" (Star Trek)
"Fire everything!" (Star Trek)
"I would rather suffer the end of Romulus a thousand times. I would rather die in agony, than accept assistance from you."
"You got it. Arm phasers, fire everything we've got."
- - Kirk's response to Nero after suggesting Nero to surrender peacefully. (Star Trek)
Background
Nero was played by Eric Bana. In the prequel comic Star Trek: Countdown, Nero's backstory is expanded upon. According to the series, Nero was initially in league with Spock, and attempted to help him stop the supernova. When Vulcan declined to assist Romulus by handing over the technology necessary to produce red matter, Nero blamed Spock and Vulcan after the supernova destroyed Romulus. An explanation is also given for the tattoos on Nero and his crew:
- "There was a tradition on Romulus that when a loved one died you would paint your grief upon your skin. Ancient symbols of love and loss. In time the paint would fade, and with it the period of mourning. Life would go on. We paint these symbols on our skin now. But we burn them deep. So that they will never fade. Because life does not go on. We died with our friends. We died with our families. We died with Romulus. And all that is left is revenge."
In the novelization of 2009's Star Trek by Alan Dean Foster, Nero states that his formal name resembles "Oren", but is difficult for Humans to pronounce.