By Richard Woodcock

Last time on Star Trek: Fortitude

Scene: Hangar Bay – USS Fortitude

The Anastasia touches down hard, venting steam. Hazard Team disembarks, tired but intact. Teshla watches from the upper deck, arms folded, as Llewellyn walks down the ramp beside a clearly unfamiliar new companion before exiting to great the team.

“You’re late, Admiral.” Teshla reported.

“Got you a souvenir.” Miles jokingly responded.

 “Colonel Dan Dare, Spacefleet. Temporarily displaced, recently not-executed. And very much in your debt.” Dan Dare answered saluting crisply.

 “You’re not on the roster.” Teshla nodded back eyebrow raising.

“Neither was the rift trying to swallow our realities.” Dan Dare retorted.

 “Let’s get briefed. The real war may just be starting.” Miles responded grinning.

Dan Dare walks beside Admiral Llewellyn, eyes scanning the hull of the shuttle that had saved his life. His pace slows as he sees the shuttle’s nameplate.

 “Anastasia…” Dan Dare spoke quietly.

He steps closer, fingers brushing the lettering on the hull. His face tightens, emotion flickering beneath his composed exterior.

 “Something wrong?” Miles asked?

“That’s the name of my personal command vessel. Back home. Anastasia. She’s been with me through every campaign, every loss.” Dan Dare answered.

He straightens and gives a small, knowing smile.

 “Funny thing, Admiral. You chose that name here—on a ship that wasn’t mine—but it still found its way across the stars.” Dan Dare finally spoke.

“We assigned the name, random list, no significance. Until now.” Miles looked back at Dan.

“Nothing in the multiverse is truly random. Sometimes… the right names just echo across time and possibility.” Dan Dare answered with a smile and a wink.

Dan Dare rested his hand on the hull for one last moment, then turns to Llewellyn.

“Take care of her. She’s got a knack for surviving the impossible.” Dan Dare spoke.

“Then she’s in the right fleet.” Miles answered.

They both walk on as sparks fly behind them and the shuttle begins to shine under fresh Armor plating.

And now the continuation:

Scene: Admiral’s Ready Room – USS Fortitude, Later That Day

The room is quiet, lit only by the soft glow of the stars outside the viewport. Admiral Llewellyn stands at his desk, a mug of coffee growing cold in his hand. He activates the console and begins recording.

“Today, I stood beside Colonel Dan Dare as he recognized a name we gave by chance. Anastasia. For us, just another shuttle. For him, a legacy. A ship that carried him through fire and fear—and always home again.”

Miles paused and took a gulp of coffee.

“But it made me think… this Fortitude is the fifth starship I’ve commanded to bear the name. It’s followed me from battles on the Klingon front to the Hur’q Siege at Deep Space Nine. I’ve never chosen another. Because it represents more than strength. It means enduring.”

“And now—by chance, or perhaps by fate Dan commands a vessel in his world also named Anastasia. Different hull. Different future. But the name echoes all the same. Perhaps, in every universe, there are captains who carry burdens too great, and ships built to shoulder them.”

Miles looked out the viewpoint, the past for a moment caught up with him and a single tear fell from his eye and dropped into the coffee mug.

“Maybe that’s all we really are—echoes of conviction. Fortitude in form and spirit.”

Miles ended the log and quietly sits down, the name Fortitude glowing on a wall-mounted plaque above his desk—five ships, one enduring ideal.

His thoughts brought back by the boatswain sound of the Comms [Admiral Llewellyn please report to the main conference room please.]

Scene: Briefing Room – USS Fortitude

The room is stark and clean, walls lined with LCARS displays. At the head of the table sits Admiral Miles Llewellyn. To his left, Commander Teshla Phyhr, then Dan Dare, freshly debriefed. Around the table: Reeve, Velra, SSA’KITH, Ch’korrak, Nalora, Dr. Twimek, and Akadia.

A 3D holo-projection of the subspace rift flickers in the centre. Around it, Treen fleet markers swirl like insects near a flame.

“We’ve fought the Treens, seen what they’re willing to sacrifice to protect that rift. But we still need answers.” Miles spoke with authority.

“Let’s start at the beginning. Who are the Treens?” Teshla asked?

 “The Treens are from my universe—a splintered branch of humanity engineered through cold logic, no emotion. Subservient to one mind: the Mekon. They’re brilliant, ruthless, and obsessive. The Mekon’s goal has always been domination—first of our solar system, then time, now… reality.” Dan Dare reported leaning forward in his chair his hand moved to grasp together.

“Iconian technology is being used to manipulate the rift’s phase harmonics. It’s not just a portal—it’s being tuned like an instrument. Matching this universe with another.” Velra reported bring up scans on the holographic display.

 “Why?” Reeve asked.

“Because in my universe, the Mekon failed. Here, he believes he can rewrite everything—remake the laws of time and physics. And he’s using someone… unique to do it.” Dan Dare grimly answered back.

 “Lazarus.” Ch’Korrak answered with a growl.

A chill settles over the room. The hologram shifts—now showing Iconian glyphs and quantum signatures overlaying Lazarus’s known neural oscillations.


“There were two Lazaruses—each locked in eternal combat across universes. Well in the spaces between the universes. That struggle was broken when the Mekon intervened.” Dan Dare spoke quietly and grimly learning as far forward as he could in the chair and desk he sat at.


“You saw it happen?” Miles asked his eye brow raised in surprise.

Dan Dare, nodded slowly:


“I was there. Captured, still playing the compliant prisoner. The Mekon summoned both Lazaruses into a controlled phase chamber—an Iconian structure modified to overlay positive and negative space simultaneously.”


“He brought both aspects of Lazarus together?” Akadia asked shocked.


“Yes. Forced them into phase sync. But he wasn’t after containment—he wanted dominance. And he knew which version he could manipulate.” Dan answered.


“The one from the antimatter universe.” Reeve guessed.


“He executed the other one. Cold. Efficient. The Mekon destroyed the positive-matter Lazarus with an Iconian phase inversion device. Called it ‘removing instability from the equation.’” Dan nodded with a somber face.


“That moment must’ve created a shockwave across dimensional balance. The remaining Lazarus… stabilized?” Velra quietly nodded adjusting the LCARS displays.


“For the first time, yes. No duality. No inner war. But the irony? That clarity… made him see what he’d become. And what he helped the Mekon do.” Dan answered sitting back in his chair.


“Which means the key to the rift… and stopping the Mekon… is now inside a man trying to make amends.” Miles spoke up after a pause.

 “Without the endless struggle to consume him… he began to recover.” Twimek spoke quietly for the first time.

 “You’re saying… the Mekon didn’t just use him—he fixed him?” Teshla asked in slight disbelief.

 “Temporarily. The Mekon used Lazarus’s link between matter-states as an anchor for the rift. But Lazarus’s mind wasn’t ready. The Mekon’s control faltered. And now… Lazarus remembers what he was.” Dan said, a sad almost melancholy voice.

“And what does he want now?” Reeve asked the room going silent.

“I might be able to assist; are you are aware of the PSCC that Starfleet Developed?” Twimek spoke up.

“I remember something about Daystrom institute developing something.” Miles asked trying to recall.

“It is a Starfleet innovation adapted from Iconian tech and used only in high-risk containment of multidimensional or quantum-unstable entities. It creates a safe observation chamber linked by a phased corridor, allowing controlled, filtered conversation and presence without compromising the stasis field integrity. The PSCC uses inertial dampening fields and refracted chroniton lenses to enable safe visual and auditory interaction while preserving total physical separation.” Twimek reported bring up an Holographic display.

“Like a mirror to talk to the other side?” Miles asked.

“More than that, we might be able to transport him to the ship.” Twimek nodded in response.

“How long to set this up?” Teshla asked.

“Twenty minutes.” Twimek repospond.

There was a sudden surprise round the room.

“Right from under the Mekon’s nose?” Dan asked finally.

Twimek nodded.

“Make it so.” Miles ordered standing up.

Scene: Phase-Stabilized Containment Corridor – USS Fortitude, Deck 8

Miles Llewellyn and Dan Dare stand in a dim corridor lined with LCARS panels. A translucent hexagonal shimmer separates them from the isolation cell beyond. Inside, Lazarus sits on a bench, pale and silent. The room glows faintly with phasic hum.

Miles tapped his comm badge:


“Confirming PSCC is stable?”


“Stable and sealed. He can see and hear you but not touch you. You’re safe… physically.” Velra reported over the comm.


“Emotionally, might be a different story.” Dan Dare retorted with a low voice.

Miles and Dan step forward. Lazarus looks up, eyes tired but lucid. He rises slowly, crossing to the energy barrier.


“So. They sent the heroes.” Lazarus spoke up his voice steady.


“I watched the Mekon kill your other half. Vaporized like a math error. And you just stood there.” Dan spoke up firmly stepping closer to the barrier that divided them.


“I was under the Mekon’s control. Bound to his quantum field stabilizers. Even if I had wanted to stop him… I couldn’t. I was the anchor to his design.” Lazarus answered his jaw tightening.


“But then it all changed.” Dan questioned.


“When the other me died, the madness broke. I… remembered who I was. Who I could’ve been.” Lazarus nodded.


“Then help us stop him. Use the bond he created against him.” Miles asked.


“If I go near that rift again, I might destabilize… or worse. I’m still tethered to the subspace harmonics. But I want to resist. You need me at the convergence point.” Lazarus answered pain in his eyes.


“Then we take you there. Under guard. At our time, not his.” Dan spoke up.

Lazarus only has the presence to nod his actions his mind spilt.


“Velra, We’ll bring Lazarus… to the edge of eternity.” Energize. Miles ordered.

Scene: Secure Isolation Chamber – USS Fortitude, Deck 8

Lazarus sits motionless behind his phased containment field. The hum of the system echoes quietly.

Commander Twimek Vodokon, the Reman chief medical officer, steps into the chamber. His psi-suppressor badge flickers as he disables it and signals to the observation deck.


“Proceeding with sanctioned meld. His consent is confirmed.” Twimek spoke up.


“I want you to see it, Doctor. The moment my soul split. So you know I am not that man anymore.” Lazarus spoke up standing slowly.

Twimek steps close. The forcefield warps for molecular access, allowing his fingers to gently touch Lazarus’s temple.

Twimek speaks in a ritual tone:

“From the Dark we are enlightened”

A storm of images flood Twimek’s mind:

Two Lazaruses screaming in a corridor of collapsing probability. The Mekon floating above them, watching as one is vaporized. Iconian runes flaring as the rift stabilizes, drawing energy from a howling void. Lazarus kneeling in blackness, whispering: “He made me whole… and in that wholeness, I remembered pain. A vision of Dan Dare imprisoned, the Mekon calling him “the keystone of failed defiance.”

Twimek recoils slightly, breath catching.


“What did you see?” Miles asked.


“Truth. Horror. And redemption. He was insane. He was used. But now he’s… lucid. And he’s more terrified of himself than we are.” Twimek shaken, but composed answered.


“Then he’s the only one who can stand between us and what the Mekon’s doing with the rift.” Dan answered.

Scene: Briefing Room – USS Fortitude

A 3D projection displays the rift’s edge with Iconian constructs marked. Hazard Team, Teshla, Velra, Akadia, and Dan Dare are present. Lazarus appears via holo-feed from isolation, monitored but participating.


“The Mekon’s rift array is pulsing in a pattern matching Lazarus’s neural signature. He’s being used as the anchor. We can’t shut the rift without him.” Velra stated.


“But bring him in, and the Mekon could reassert control.” Reeve asked.


“Then we build a failsafe. A neural dampener keyed to Lazarus’s biometrics. One hint of regression, and we cut the link—hard.” Teshla answered Reeve.


“I understand the risk. If I slip, you end me. I’d rather die myself than let him twist the galaxy.” Lazarus answered quietly on the holo feed.


“He’s our only shot. He knows the Mekon’s mind. And he’s the only one who’s ever walked out of that madness with a conscience intact.” Dan said out loud to the room.


“Then we move to convergence. Prep the Anastasia and a tactical corridor. We take the fight to the source—and this time, we’re writing the ending.” Miles ordered standing and tapping his comm badge.

“All Hands….. Battle Stations, I repeat Battle Stations.”

Scene: Ready Room – USS Fortitude

Commander Teshla Phyhr stood alone, the stars beyond the viewport casting a blue sheen across her face. Her expression is calm, but her antennae twitch faintly—signs of deep tension.

She activates the terminal and records her log:


“Commander Teshla Phyhr. USS Fortitude. Supplemental log, encrypted priority one.”

She exhales slowly before continuing.


“I understand Starfleet Command has begun withdrawing strategic assets from this sector following the temporal and dimensional surge and the Mekon incursion into subspace-liminal layers. I submit this request with urgency.”

A 3D tactical feed displays the system: rift flaring, Treen formations gathering.


“We are outnumbered. Outflanked. But not outmatched. Admiral Llewellyn is leading ground operations with Zulu Team. We’ve recovered an interdimensional prisoner named Dare—Colonel Dan Dare. His presence confirms this is a multiversal incursion.”

A pause. Her voice softens slightly.


“And yet… even without reinforcements, we will hold this ground. The Fortitude will not retreat. Because some lines can’t be crossed—and some names carry too much weight to abandon.”

She pressed the send key.


“Requesting immediate Starfleet reinforcements. Tactical, scientific, diplomatic. We will keep this system intact—until Starfleet remembers why it exists.”

Scene: Communications Array – USS Fortitude, Lower Decks

Dan Dare steps into the comms station escorted by Velra and Reeve. A lone technician glances at the admiral’s override code, then nods silently.


“You’re authorized, Colonel. You sure they’ll hear it?” Velra asks.


“If there’s one thing Digby can’t ignore, it’s me calling in a debt. Or a war.” Dan answered is a faint smile.

Dan Dare leans over the console, entering a secured frequency with quantum variance. The screen pulses blue—Spacefleet encryption recognized. He begins his message.


“To Spacefleet Command, marked for immediate receipt by Major Digby, commanding officer of the Spacefleet Fortitude.”

He speaks clearly, formally—like a commander calling the banners.


“This is Colonel Dan Dare, stranded but alive in a universe not our own. Starfleet—a parallel organization from this multiverse—has given me shelter and command access. I’ve seen their principles. Their courage. They are… family, in a different light.”

Dan learns forward.


“But the Mekon is here too. Different tactics. Same mind. He’s harnessing Lazarus—yes, that Lazarus—as an anchor to breach the walls between realities. It’s working.”


“We need reinforcement. The rift is unstable, the enemy growing. I’m invoking Omega Accord protocol—joint intervention. Request immediate cross-dimensional fleet presence.”

Dan pauses, the final appeal personal:


“Digby, I know you’re out there. Bring the Fortitude. Bring the fleet. Bring the fight.”

The Transmission ends. A moment of silence follows.

“Let’s hope the universe listens.” Velra spoke quietly.

To be Continued……

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NRPG:

This is setting the stage for the final act.