A midshipman first class and engineer's mate aboard the USS Enterprise during the 2285 training cruise, who stays at his post when Khan attacks and dies of his injuries in sickbay.
Peter Preston appears in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, played by Ike Eisenmann. He is one of the trainees working under Montgomery Scott, and scenes restored in the extended versions of the film establish that he is Scott's nephew, the youngest son of his sister.
During Admiral Kirk's inspection, the eager cadet stoutly defends the Enterprise's condition and is teased by Kirk for it. When the hijacked USS Reliant fires on the unprepared ship, the engine room takes the worst of the damage. Other trainees run, but Preston remains to help keep the ship alive.
A stricken Scott carries the badly burned boy to the bridge and then to sickbay, where Preston asks Kirk whether the word has been given before he dies. His loss gives the film's battle its first personal cost.