Attack on the USS Kelvin

On stardate 2233.04 in the alternate reality, the Federation starship USS Kelvin (alternate reality) was attacked by the Romulan mining vessel Narada, 75,000 kilometers from the Federation-Klingon border. This was one of the first incidents in the alternate reality, a parallel universe created by the Narada's arrival from the future having caused a split from the space-time continuum of the prime universe.

Prelude
Upon investigating an anomaly resembling a lightning storm effect in space, the Kelvin's crew initially considered whether this phenomenon was of Klingon origin, although that theory was later dismissed. The time of the encounter also marked entering premature labor with her and.

The battle
When the Narada emerged from the anomaly and discovered the Kelvin, it quickly charged its weapons. In response, the Kelvin went to red alert and began fighting off torpedoes launched from the Romulan vessel. The first hit took out the warp drive and reduced main power to thirty-eight percent. The second torpedo disabled the Kelvin's atmospheric stabilization and collapsed its shields. The Kelvin was easily overcome, with several crew members killed, but the attack was halted by Nero's first officer, Ayel, who requested that Captain Robau come aboard Nero's vessel to discuss terms of a cease fire. Robau obliged the request and transferred to the Narada via shuttlecraft, leaving George Kirk in command. Robau's final orders to Kirk were to evacuate the ship using all available shuttlecraft, and to use the autopilot to set the Kelvin on a collision course with the Narada.

During the meeting on the Narada, Robau was killed by Nero. Tracking Robau's life signs, the Kelvin crew became aware of Robau's execution instantly. George Kirk immediately ordered evasive action and the firing of all weapons, and the Kelvin continued taking fire from the Narada. Knowing that the Kelvin would be no match for the onslaught of missiles from the Romulan ship, Kirk ordered General Order 13: the evacuation of the ship.

Once all shuttlecraft had been launched, Kirk used the Kelvin to cover their escape. With no other options left, he plotted a collision course, intending to use the ship's autopilot to ram the Narada. Kirk was, however, forced to remain on the Kelvin, rather than join his wife aboard medical shuttle 37, when it was discovered that the Narada had destroyed the Kelvin's autopilot function, leaving him to pilot the ship manually. As he did so, Kirk used what weapons still functioned to shoot down the Narada's missiles before they could strike the fleeing shuttles. Kirk then piloted the ship until it rammed into the Narada, severely damaging it and destroying the Kelvin.

Aftermath
George Kirk's sacrifice ensured the survival of the escaping shuttles. Furthermore, while Kirk only served as captain of the Kelvin for a mere twelve minutes, his sacrifice saved the lives of some eight hundred people, including those of his wife and newborn son.

After the Kelvin's destruction, wrote a dissertation on the Kelvin and the actions of George Kirk, its commanding officer at the time of its destruction. Pike later made reference to this dissertation and his knowledge of George Kirk to Kirk's son, daring him to do better than his father and enlist in Starfleet.