Last time on Star Trek: Fortitude

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.

And now the continuation…..

Scene: Spacefleet Command Ship – Fortitude (Spacefleet Universe)

Location: Outside the Rim of a Parallel Star Cluster

The light from the rift gleams onto the retro-futuristic hull of the Spacefleet Fortitude, her chromed surface catching the ambient light of nearby stars. Inside, Major Digby leans forward in his command chair, monocle gleaming faintly as an cadet hands him a data pad.

“Sir, priority communique. Encrypted… from Colonel Dan Dare.” The cadet reports.

“Well I’ll be… He’s alive.” Digby surprised, blinked at the data pad.

Digby listens intently as Dan Dare’s voice plays over the holotable, the room around him quieting. Tactical officers and Spacefleet commanders gather silently as the message concludes.

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

Digby sets the pad down slowly. A long pause. He turns to his command staff and speaks firmly.

“Signal the fleet. We’re mobilizing under Omega Accord protocol. Alert Commander Langridge to prep the Ajax and the Hammerstrike.”

“Sir? We’re breaching into another dimension?” Digby’s XO asked.

“No. We’re breaching home. Wherever Dare is… that’s where the line is drawn.” Digby answered smiling grimly.

Digby straightens his coat and steps onto the command platform.

“Ready the Fortitude for rift traversal. Colonel Dare’s called for us. We’ll answer.” He ordered.

Scene: Briefing Room – USS Fortitude (Starfleet Universe)

Location: Mekon Rift System

The briefing room is filled with tension. The crew of the USS Fortitude—Commander Teshla, Reeve, Velra, Neku, Akadia, Twimek, and Admiral Llewellyn—gather around the central holotable. Dan Dare stands nearby, arms folded, studying the projection of the rift system.

“We’ve confirmed Lazarus is the anchor. His remaining essence stabilizes the rift, drawing energy from the anti-matter universe through Iconian substructures.” Miles reported.

“And the Mekon is using that system to feed reinforcements, likely through dimensional back-channels.” Neku confirmed grimly.

“And we can’t shut the rift without destabilizing Lazarus or letting the Mekon escape.” Reeve postured.

“Unless we sever the Mekon’s control while using Lazarus to safely collapse the anchor array.” Velra confirmed.

“In my universe, Lazarus was a myth—two men, one shadow. When I was taken, I saw one of them—torn apart by the Mekon’s dimensional crucible. The other survived… changed.” Dan Dare spoke up.

“That may explain his return to sanity. Trauma has a way of resetting neural pathways—especially when amplified by interdimensional resonance.” Twimek assessed.

“Then the plan is this: insert a tactical team through the breach, destroy or disable the Mekon’s control node, extract Lazarus’s consciousness, and detonate the anchor array.” Teshla confirmed to everyone.

“And we’ll need to do it before the Mekon finishes whatever weapon he’s building in that citadel.” Miles followed up with.

Miles tapped a few controls on the holomap shifts to show the rift widening.

“Enemy activity along the rift’s edge has increased. They’re fortifying.” Akadia reported.

“Which means he’s scared. And close.” Velra postulated.

Dare gives a nod.

“Then let’s be scary right back.”

The team locks eyes. The clock is ticking. And the multiverse is on the line.

Location: Aboard Shuttle Anastasia, En Route to the Rift Citadel
Time: Coordinated with USS Fortitude’s engagement against the Treen fleet

Inside the darkened hold of the Anastasia, the Hazard Team is silent. Light flickers from console panels, illuminating armoured plating and focused eyes. The stars streak by briefly before they plunge into the eerie glow of the dimensional rift.

“Final checks. Gear green. No delays once we breach the perimeter.” Reeve confirmed checking his HUD.

“Nothing like an impossible mission to start the day.” CH’Korrak snorts softly.

“Dimensional compression ahead. Iconian energy signatures are rising—shield integrity may destabilize if we get too close.” Velra reported anxiously scanning scans from her console.

“Then we do not get close. We go through.” SSA’Kith spoke.

“Tactical cloaks engaged. Stealth active. But it won’t hold once we open fire.” Nalora retorted gritting her teeth.

Miles, seated behind Reeve, leans forward, voice measured and low, “Then we land hard, hit fast, and finish the job before anyone notices we were ever there.”

A low chime echoed

“Rift citadel in visual range.” Velra confirmed.

A vast lattice of floating Iconian obelisks and energy pylons orbits a mountainous core—a sphere of flickering antimatter energy suspended in spacetime distortion. Green Treen ships patrol the area, forming a loose screen. The citadel pulses—unnatural, shimmering with stolen dimensional energy.

USS Fortitude – Bridge

Red alert strobes pulse overhead as the main viewscreen shows the swirling Treen blockade.

Teshla Stands at the centre of the bridge, antennae angled forward, “Status report. All stations.”

“Treen fleet has formed a net pattern. Grid formation extending along all exit vectors. Their lead ships are powering up weapons.” Akadia reported, fingers dancing across the LCARS.

“Incoming signals—sensor pings match war-era Iconian phase cannons. Heavily modified for subspace disruption. Recommend we maintain at least thirty percent shield rotation or risk bleed-through.” Neku spoke from the science station

“Understood. Lieutenant Rose, threat assessment?” Teshla calm and resolved requested.

“Three primary cruisers, fifteen escorts, and something big lurking behind their lines—possibly a command ship. All weapons tracking us. I’d say we’re popular today, Commander.” Rose responded from Operations scanning her displays.

“Not the kind of admirers I prefer. All power to forward shields. Route warp plasma to lateral phaser arrays. Let’s give Zulu Team their window.” Teshla answered dryly.

“Targets locked. Shall I start with the ugly ones?” Rose asked?

“Start with the ones closest. Then the ugly ones.” Teshla smiled arching her eybrow.

“Main power holding at ninety-two percent. Auxiliary reactors spun up. If you need to push the grid harder, say the word—just don’t ask me to keep the hull pretty.” Penny confirmed over the comm in engineering.

“I’ll trade aesthetics for structural integrity any day. Acknowledged, Penny.” Teshla answered back.

“Commander, external hails coming in. Treen channels are jamming standard subspace, but I’m pushing updates through a low-band carrier. Star Fleet Command acknowledges our last signal. Reinforcements en route—estimated arrival: too damn long.” Rose gave a knowing smile.

Laughter bubbles up from one of the junior officers before quickly fading as the deck shudders.

“Noted, Ms Harrington. Helm?”

Fox White at the Conn, tapping controls as he steadies the inertial dampeners:
“All vectors plotted for evasive sequence theta. Thrusters standing by. Just say the word, Commander—though we may lose some paint.”

“I’ll authorize a fresh coat when this is over. Engage evasive pattern at my mark.” Teshla gave a grim smile and wink.

Teshla’s gaze sweeps the bridge, meeting every pair of eyes.

“This crew has stood every watch, every shift. Today will be no different. Our duty is clear—protect the team, hold the line. And if the Treens think they can break the Fortitude…”

Teshla steps closer to the viewscreen, voice lowering to an iron calm.

“…then they haven’t read our service record.”

A tense silence settles. Stations flicker with readiness lights, phaser banks armed, shield modulation cycles cycling.

“Well, if they did read it, they must be very brave… or very stupid.” Fox white says dryly without looking up from his Helm Station fingers flying over the controls with seasoned grace.

There’s a faint ripple of wry smiles among the bridge officers.

“Security teams to all critical compartments. Prepare to repel boarders. Mr. White, keep them guessing.” Teshla ordered.

“With pleasure, Commander. Let’s make sure their report cards end here.” Fox answered nodding.

The lights dim as the Fortitude shifts power to internal forcefields and weapons, bracing for impact or incursion.

The USS Fortitude blazes across the rift’s edge, unloading phaser bursts, quantum torpedoes, and sensor jammers. The Treen fleet responds instantly—dozens of sleek green vessels swarm forward, returning fire with rapid pulses of weapon fire.

The Fortitude’s engines roar, diving and twisting between waves of energy fire, slicing through enemy formation with explosive precision.

“Push them! We only need twelve minutes!” Teshla shouted over the alarms

Scene: Anastasia Descends

The shuttle Anastasia dives through the chaos above—a swirling maelstrom of ruptured subspace and shattered hulls drifting past her viewport. Plasma discharges strobe across the rift’s lip, silhouetting the sleek craft as it tilts nose-down and pierces the boundary.

INT. SHUTTLE – COCKPIT

Visual distortion flickers across the canopy. The citadel isn’t just a structure—it’s alive. Veins of violet energy pulse in the walls. Tessellations of crystal bloom and recede in impossible geometries.

“Everyone out. Go silent—go lethal.” Reeve orders his voice tight and clipped.

Zulu Team unstraps in a choreographed motion, visors sliding down with a soft hiss. Weapons are slung into ready position.

The Anastasia’s landing thrusters flare as she skims low over a causeway littered with half-buried obelisks, each etched with alien runes. Ash—crystallized into glassy fragments—rises in tiny clouds beneath her hull.

The shuttle dips into a narrow crevasse, hull plating scraping across jagged facets of protruding crystal. A burst of static rattles the comms.

INT. SHUTTLE – REAR BAY

Zulu Team assembles at the hatch. The lighting dims, replaced by pulsing readouts casting their Armor in cold glimmers.

 “Interference is worse down here. Target signatures shifting—could be decoys.” Valra speaks up checking her tricorder scans.

“Then we clear everything that moves.” Reeve responded.

The hatch hisses open. A blast of stagnant, metallic-smelling air sweeps over them.

One by one, Zulu Team steps out. Boots crunch over the crystallized ash. The environment warps subtly around them—like reality itself is folding in and out of phase.

Pale arcs of energy dance across the obelisks, illuminating twisted reflections in every shard.

Reeve raises a gloved hand—signals.

Zulu Team fans out—pulse rifles raised, visors glowing faintly in the dark. Their silhouettes blend into the angular shadows.

Overhead, the shuttle retracts landing gear and silently lifts, vanishing into the maelstrom beyond.

For a moment, the only sound is the low hum of the citadel, like the heartbeat of something vast and ancient.

Scene: Inside the Citadel Ruins

Twisting halls of metallic glass, carved with shifting Iconian glyphs, stretch into echoing silence. Dimensional echoes murmur in the distance—shadowy impressions of figures moving a second out of phase.

“Structural integrity is fractal—no straight lines. Everything’s held in stable decay.” Velra confirmed scanning.

“I feel watched.” SSA’Kith spoke aloud.

A rumble sounds. A squad of Treen guards—cloaked in adaptive Armor—burst from the shadows, weapons raised.

“Ambush! Scatter!” Reeve Commanded.

A firefight erupts. Pulse rifles trade fire with Treen disruptors. Reeve takes down two in a diving slide. Nalora spins mid-air, firing a precision shot that collapses a walkway. Ch’Korrak lobs a plasma charge—sending debris and limbs flying.

As the smoke clears, the team finds an ancient Iconian control hub—its core is tethered to an active multiversal anchor node. Inside: the unmistakable image of Lazarus his quantum echo projected like a ghost across fractured light.

“This is it. This is the machine. He’s tied to it.” Miles spoke aloud looking at the machine.

“You’ve come… to end it?” Lazarus spoke calm the voice echoing.

“He’s aware. He’s not resisting.” Reeve commented staring at the projection.

“He wants our help.” Dan Dare answered with a low voice.

“I can’t shut it down from here… But I can trigger a destabilization. We’ll have 90 seconds to get out.” Velra commented analysing the console.

“Set your charges. Let’s collapse the Mekon’s hold and pull Lazarus from this damn machine.” Miles gave the order to Reeve.

Zulu Team moves into position as the citadel hums louder stirring awake. Overhead, the rift pulses violently, and from above… something vast begins to stir in orbit.

As Reeve prepares charges and Velra begins interfacing with the control core, the chamber’s temperature drops. The lighting shifts. Shadows elongate unnaturally.

A voice hisses from all directions at once.

“You disappoint me, Lazarus. After all our work… all that pain. And now? You side with them?” A Voice booms out loud and clear dripping with contempt.

From the far side of the chamber, a massive holographic projection of the Mekon materializes—green-skinned, enlarged cranium pulsing with psychic light, mechanical limbs folded with smug precision. Iconian emitters behind him pulse, illuminating his ghastly silhouette.

“You gave me clarity… only because you removed my tormentor. That clarity brought guilt… and guilt brought purpose.” Lazarus answered Calmly.

“You were to be a key… an anchor. But anchors can be replaced. I no longer require your consent.” The Mekon retorted his massive head tilting.

“You’re using Lazarus to tear open the multiverse.” Miles spoke up raising his rifle to the hologram.

“Not tear. Merge. My kind will rise on every Earth… every timeline. The Treens will inherit infinity.” The Mekon answered with a satisfied evil smile.

USS Fortitude – Bridge Under Siege

Teshla clutched the railing as the Fortitude rocked. rocks:

“Shields down to 14%! Hull breaches on decks 4 and 7!”

“Three Treen cruisers on our tail. We can’t hold this line much longer!” Akadia reported waving smoke away from her console.

“On the upside… I think we scratched their paint.” Rose reported grinning under pressure.

“Helm—evasive pattern Theta-Eight. Divert warp power to phasers. We hold this sky or we burn in it!” Teshla dead serious ordered.

“Multiple warp signatures inbound Starfleet transponders!” Rose practically cheered from her console.

On the viewscreen, the tactical display changed to display the names of the ships in the relief force under the command of Admiral Vossan, shields blazing, immediately laying suppressing fire into the Treen lines:

============================================

Name: USS Ryujo

Class: Excelsior II

Registry: NCC-42189

============================================

Name: USS Kongo

Class: Excelsior II

Registry: NCC-42104

============================================

Name: USS Helios

Class: Inquiry-class

Registry: NCC-89436

============================================

Name: USS Valkyrie

Class: Ark Royal-class Carrier

Registry: NCC-97821

============================================

Name: USS Resolute

Class: Ark Royal-class Carrier

Registry: NCC-97904

============================================

Name: USS Pioneer

Class: Galaxy-class Explorer

Registry: NCC-71012

============================================

Name: USS Warchild

Class: Akira-class Heavy Escort

Registry: NCC-63549

============================================

Name: USS Kral

Class: Sovereign-class Heavy Cruiser

Registry: NCC-77414

============================================

Name: USS Pathfinder

Class: Intrepid-class Long-Range Science Vessel

Registry: NCC-74975

============================================

Name: USS Vanguard

Class: Defiant-class Tactical Escort

Registry: NCC-76833

============================================

Name: USS Horizon

Class: Odyssey-class Command Cruiser

Registry: NCC-98000

============================================

Name: USS Endeavour

Class: Nebula-class Multi-Mission Cruiser

Registry: NCC-71805

============================================

Admiral Vossan voice came over the Comm:

[Fortitude, you are on point, the Fleet is Yours  Commander Phyhr]

“About time. Let’s rally the line.” Teshla relieved but composed voice respond to the Admiral.

“Still outnumbered two to one. We’ll only buy time.” Neku spoke up grimly.

Suddenly another tear opens near the rift. However this one is clean and controlled, Stylized.

Teshla looks in shock as the viewscreen shows the Spacefleet Fortitude appearing, glistening with retro-futurist chrome, flanked by blue-and-white painted Spacefleet vessels.

At its helm stands Major Digby, resolute, pipe in hand, issuing crisp commands.

Starfleet and Spacefleet vessels unite, phaser arrays and gravity-pulse cannons coordinated with mathematical precision. The Treen ships scatter under the unexpected crossfire.

[Fortitude, this is the real Fortitude. Requesting battle integration.] Came the voice of Digby with a clipped British tone over the bridge speakers of the Fortitude.

“Your timing’s as dramatic as your name.” Teshla answered over the channel smiling wryly

[Don’t flatter me, I’m not a flag officer.] Digby dryly answered.

Scene: Ground Deployment – Reinforcements Arrive

Back in the Citadel, Treen reinforcements teleport in but new Hazard Team’s from the Star Fleet relief fleet beam in, along with Spacefleet Marines in heavy ceramic armor, storm the flanks through beam-in corridors. Plasma grenades and chronometric shields flash in the narrow halls.

“Guess command got our postcard.” Reeve quipped as a Treen shot past him.

“Finally—someone else to shoot at these Treens.”CH’Korrak half joked as he slammed a rifle but into another Treen.

“Hold position! The anchor’s not done yet!” Miles ordered

“You are children. Ants. You’ve delayed inevitability—not prevented it.” The Mekon holographic display screamed furious.

“Trigger the feedback loop. Collapse the chamber. I’ll sever the link from within.” Lazarus spoke to Miles and Dan his voice shaking.

“No. You don’t die fixing his mistake.” Dan Dare spoke locking eyes.

“It’s not about dying. It’s about choosing… who I am.” Lazarus resolutely answered.

He smiles faintly. Then vanishes into the light.

As the last of the Treen defenders fall and the Mekon’s projection fades into static, Lazarus steps into the pulse field at the heart of the anchor array. Streams of multiversal energy writhe around him too much for one man to contain.

 “Feedback loop charging—multiversal tension is critical!” Verla came over the teams comm badges having to scream to be heard.

“I have one chance. One truth. Let me make it count.” Lazarus said calmly.

Lazarus presses both palms to the Iconian crystal core. Light erupts. The anchor fragments implode in slow-motion across planes of existence. A deafening roar echoes across sensors as the rift begins to tear inward.

“Lazarus—!” Dan Dare shouts.

To be Continued……

===================================================================

NRPG:

One final part to come, I wonder what will happen next?

The post Star Trek: Fortitude – Season 01 Episode 08 – Anchor Fall appeared first on The Malstrom Expanse.

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……

============================================================

NRPG:

This is setting the stage for the final act.

The post Star Trek: Fortitude – Season 01 Episode 07 – Contact appeared first on The Malstrom Expanse.

To my father who bought me the Eagle Comic every Thursday and let me dream. Happy Father’s day.

Last time on Star Trek: Fortitude

“Not a bad looking world, shame about the people?” Rose the operations officer spoke aloud.

“Indeed, but where not any closer to any real answers. Indeed what do these people have to do with Lazarus?” Miles asked aloud.

“We have a random twin star system to explore; the answers must be there?” Teshla reported.

“Indeed, Mr White. Set a course please?” Miles commanded.

“Aye Sir” the Helmsman answered.

Miles thought for a moment than tapped his Communicator badge.

“Captain to Lt. Commander Reeve, prepare the Hazard Team and where meet you at the main hanger bay with the Anatasia.” Miles ordered.

“Be there in ten.” Was the answer.

“Number one, where going to Keep the Fortitude at arms length and take the Anastasia. Keep communications open, we may need you in a hurry!” Miles ordered.

And now the continuation:

Scene: Secrete Temporal Science Station

The two humans lay huddled in what was there research station and now was there prison and the scene of the tragic accident that released an evil they could not have known. The room was dark and they heard the screams of torture from outside, not knowing what was happening to there former friends and co-workers.

A door slide open and the light shone in so unbearable it hurt.

As they both raised their hands weakly to shield from the light they saw the figure of an alien small in stature hovering on a chair with a massive head and flanked by two enforcer guards.

“What do you want, why are you doing this?” the male human asked.

“Curiosity…. The first weakness.”

Scene: Main Bridge, USS Fortitude

“Commander, where approaching the outer edge of the star system” Cmdr White reported from Helm.

“Very good, take us to full stop please.” Teshla answered. She sat back futher into the Command chair and on any other day she would have been confident but today she was going to be facing the situation on her own without Miles there to ask for advice. She knew he had full confidence in her. She wanted her own command but this was not a normal situation.

Neku from Science station chimed in.

“Cmdr the reading for this system is all over the place, it’s not just dimensional but its like subspace layers are compressing it like the natural order of time and dimensional science we know have compressed tightly here.”

Teshla’s eyes narrowed and her brow creased. “Any thing else?”

“Perhaps, may I bring up a science display on main viewscreen? Neku asked.

Teshla nodded her agreement  and the main viewscreen changed to a tactical/science display of the unknown twin binary star system.

Near the fourth planet a white dot blinked and flickered.

“As far as I can make it there is a rift there. “ Neku reported.

“May I assume it is not natural?” Teshla asked.

“That’s no natural rife, Its’s anchored with what I can tell Iconian technology!” Neku reported.

“I would concure Cmdr the radiation and particle anomalies are consistent with Iconian technology but also these readers are consistent with multidimensional overlap similar to the mirror borg we have been experiencing.” Fausu reported from tactical/Security station.

“The Forth planet appears to be habitable similar to that of earths Venus, where still getting telemetry and feeding it to the Hazard Team” Neku followed up with.

Teshla rubbed her left temple and than tapped a button on her communications section of the command chair display.

“Captain you getting all this?” Teshla asked.

“Aye, hold position here where take the Anastasia and investigate this rift and forth planet.” Miles commanded over the comm.

Scene: Main Hanger Bay, USS Fortitude

The hangar bay humed with precision as final pre-mission checks are performed. “Anastasia” sits powered and prepped, its hull gleaming under the ceiling lights. Zulu Hazard Team is suiting up in mission armor. Weapon lockers hiss open. Tactical gear is magnetically latched into place.

“Pulse emitter tuned. Field drones are patched. Auto-repair is still spotty—don’t break anything critical.” CH’KORRAK reported.

Lt. Cmdr Reeve checking his helmet seals ordered “Zulu, status?”

SSA’KITH answered “Armor integrity green. Weapon diagnostics complete.”

Miles Llewellyn walked over, carrying a pulse rifle. He steps up beside Reeve, eyes scanning the team.

“I trained in hazard protocols twenty years ago. Let’s hope I’m not too rusty.” Miles reported in.

“With respect, sir, we could use the grit. But we’re not babysitting. You stay with me, and we’ll make it back.” Reeve answered gruffly but respectfully.

“Provided nothing explodes, of course. Which… probably means something will.” CH’KORRAK chuckled.

Everyone shared a dry grin. Miles claps Reeve on the shoulder.

“Mission command is mine. Field command is yours. Get us through. We’ll recon the rift, then descend to the fourth planet. Intel says it’s a Venus-class—but habitable. Cold. Breathable. Hostile terrain.” Miles ordered.

“Its readings mimic the early Venus of our own solar system—only this one is cryogenic and tectonically volatile. Atmospheric pressure is survivable, but we’ll need adaptive suits.” VELRA reported.

“Treens may already be there. We can’t assume we’ll be first on the ice.” NALORA surmised.

“Then we go in dark and come out loud. Shuttle launches in five. Zulu—onboard.” REEVE commanded.

Zulu Team boarded the shuttle with crisp coordination. The bay doors rumble open to reveal the silent cosmos beyond. Miles Llewellyn watched them go, pulse rifle still in hand. His mind wondered briefly to family. He closed his eyes and shut that past universe behind him this was the universe he lived and breathed in now.

“Let’s see what secrets the rift and that frozen Venus have to offer.” Miles said to himself and boarded.

Scene: En Route – Anastasia, Mid-Flight approaching rift

Everyone was strapped in as the shuttle slips through the rift’s fringe, riding the edge of a quantum surge. Console lights flicker as interference builds.

“Iconian energy signatures detected. Their architecture is laced along the rift perimeter—stabilizing it. This rift is not natural.” VELRA reported.

“Meaning someone—or something—keeps it open.” REEVE commented.

“If the Treen’s are using Iconian tech, this just got a lot more complicated.” Miles sighed.

“Treen patrol ahead. Small formation. We’re in their sensor net.” NALORA reported monitoring sensors from her console.

“Activating stealth grid. Routing auxiliary power—don’t breathe too loud.” CH’KORRAK half chuckled.

Anastasia  glided silently through a nebular filament. Treen ships pass overhead, unaware.

“Luck is with us. For now.” SSA’KITH said with a low growl.

“Planetary descent window in sixty seconds. Atmosphere is thin but stable. Surface temperatures near minus eighty Celsius.” VELRA checked in.

“Everyone prep for cold-weather ops. We go in unseen. We leave a mark.” REEVE ordered.

The planet loomed into view, frozen storms swirling over cracked metallic plains.

Scene: Surface Landing – Fourth Planet (Venus-type World)

The Anastasia landed with a crunching whir as its landing skids break the thin ice crust. Snow swirls in electric blue eddies across a slate-gray tundra. Jagged black mountains loom in the distance.

“Touchdown confirmed. Atmosphere stable, but we’re on borrowed time. Hazard visors on.” REEVE ordered.

“Thermal flux from the surface suggests geothermal instability. That mountain range is laced with radiation and Iconian trace signatures.” VELRA stated scanning with tricorder.

“Good. That means we’re close. Let’s fan out and locate the rift anchors. Zulu Team, tight formation.” Miles answered nodding at Reeve respecting his command of the Hazard Team.

“No visible movement yet… but this kind of silence doesn’t last.” CH’KORRAK said with dryly.

“Tactical sensors picking up faint heat blooms—potential Treen recon units to the east.” NALORA also reported.

“They may have seen our descent. Recommend we relocate before sunrise.” SSA’KITH suggested.

The team moved out with efficiency, cloaked under the snow mist and cold shadows. The storm quiets as they head deeper into the icy alien wilderness, toward an Iconian structure half-buried in frozen ash.

Scene: Bridge, USS Fortitude, Edge of the Binary Star System

The bridge humed with restrained energy. Commander Teshla Phyhr stood at the center chair, flanked by tactical readouts and subspace sensor overlays. The rift churned silently on the main viewer, its violet heart pulsing like a wound in space.

“It’s too quiet.” TESHLA said to herself.

She sits in the Captains Chair. The crew remains steady, professional but tension lingers in every breath. She exhales slowly and activates the mission log.

“Personal log, supplemental. Commander Teshla Phyhr, acting CO.”

“The Andorian war-song teaches that battle reveals the heart. I always believed that to mean the heart of the enemy. But now… I understand. It’s our hearts revealed in absence—in the silence that follows when the ones we follow walk into danger, and we remain behind.”

“Admiral Llewellyn leads the mission below. I should be at his side. But he trusts me to hold the line to command his ship. It is a duty I will not fail.”

She glances to a tactical feed—no word from Anastasia. Her antennae lower slightly.

“This rift tears more than space. It tears at certainty. At unity. But I will not let it tear this crew apart. Starfleet stands in that rift because we believe something greater comes from standing together.”

“I just want him to come home.” TESHLA said softly.

Teshla ended the log and taps in a command.

“Computer, compile current logs and sensor telemetry. Encrypt under Command Protocol Twelve. Transmit to Starfleet Command relay node Epsilon.”

[Acknowledged. Transmission in progress.] The computer responded.

“Commander, transmission complete. No signal from the surface yet.” Fasu standing near Ops reported.

“Maintain comm-silence sweep. I want to catch the first syllable of Anastasia when they check in.” TESHLA ordered as she sat up in the command chair and tugged her uniform jacket down.

NRPG:

So now we go into the action of the story, this will be a whistle stop ride, I am rusty at writing and recently diagnosed with dyslexia so sometimes I have a hard time putting my thoughts down, but bear with me, this is going to be fun!

The post Star Trek: Fortitude – Season 01 Episode 05 – Hazard Team appeared first on The Malstrom Expanse.

“On Screen, USS Fortitude standing by Admiral” Miles reported.

[Greetings Fortitude, I wish the reason was more pleasant, you where aware of the incident an hour ago?] Admiral Vossan asked.

“Yes Sir” Miles answered.

[What you may not be aware of is the scope of the incident and it was recorded at the outer edge of the great barrier and all centred in the sector you are in] Vossan reported.

Miles raised his eyebrow in surprise.

[What you may not be aware of is this has happened before on Star date; 3087.6 with the crew of the Starship Enterprise under the command of Captain James T Kirk.] Vossan stated.

Miles felt his eyes narrow.

[Where sending you a data packet now with all details. It is Eyes only but I am recording I am giving you and the crew of the Fortitude access. Review the data and investigate what is going on and take any steps needed to prevent an invasion if that is the case.] Vossan ordered.

“Understood, can you give me more ships as a reserve?” Miles asked.

[where pulling out all Starfleet assets a full sector around you. Sorry Captain your on you own.] Vossan stated.

“Understood, Fortitude out.” Miles reported tossing an old fashion hand salute.

Miles watch the viewscreen go black before speaking.

“Number one I want senior staff in the conference room in 5 minutes.

Miles picked up the coffee pot and pored himself another large my of coffee before placing the pot back on the hot plate. It had been an hour since the discussion with Starfleet Command.

“OK, so we know potentially were dealing with A person called Lazarus and that one of them is insane and one is not. They can cancel themselves out as one is from an antimatter universe and the other is from an positive antimatter universe. According the the records from the original Enterprise the good Lazarus stepped into the threshold… the corridor between universes and held him there while the original Enterprise destroyed Lazarus ship that in theory also destroyed the evil Lazarus’s ship as well.” Miles asked out alound.

“that’s about it Sir” Teshla responded.

“So what allowed them to cross over? Fox white asked.

“That’s the 60 million gold pressed latium question cousin” the ships Chief engineer answered.

“Indeed it is, but right now we have a lot of theory and not a lot of practical knowledge.” Iles answered thoughtfully sitting down and taking a gulp of the coffee and tapping the table as if bringing a court house to order.

OK, so we know a little bit more on Lazarus but what do we know about the other ships, the other 42?” Miles asked.

“I can tell you there not of this universe.” Neku, the chief Science officer answered.

“How so, there not an undiscovered species?” Teshla asked.

“There quantum signature is very different from our universe of the alloys used to construct the ships.My suspicion is that there from another universe very different to ours.” Neku answered.

The Door chimed to the main conference room and Akadia the chief Tactical officer and member of the new republic navy walked in.

“Looks like we got there database from there computer core, very different system to ours. There called ‘Treens’” Akadia reported.

“Treens?” Miles answered.

“I checked the quantum signitures and there not from our universe a very different to ours.” Akadia answered with a frown.

“What’s wrong?” Miles asked.

“It appears they are conquering race of individuals. Oh and there from Venus!” Akadia answered helping herself to the pot of coffee.

“Venus!” Teshla blurted out.

“I suppose its speculation they caused the cosmic wink?” Twimek asked shading his eyes form the light as remens did not like the light.

“Perhaps, Computer readout from recovered alien computer core” Akadia nodded in response as she spoke.

The computer responded.

[Data report on Alien race classified as Treens:

Planet of Origin

• Planet: Venus
• Region: The northern hemisphere of Venus is home to the Treens and their leader, the Mekon.
• The southern hemisphere is inhabited by the Therons, a more peaceful and democratic civilization.

The Mekon – Character Profile

Full Name: The Mekon
Species: Treen (genetically enhanced)
Home Planet: Venus (Northern Hemisphere)

Physical Description:

• Skin: Green
• Head: Enormous and bulbous – sign of his enhanced intellect
• Body: Withered and small, unable to support his head naturally
• Mobility: Moves using a hovering levitation chair
• Eyes: Piercing, intelligent, and menacing

Personality Traits:

• Cold, ruthless, and calculating
• Super-intelligent, a master of science and strategy
• Emotionless, devoid of empathy
• Obsessed with conquest and universal domination
• Views other beings as inferior

Key Characteristics:

• Utilizes advanced technology, mind control, and biological weapons
• Commands legions of obedient Treens and robotic enforcers

The Treens – Species Profile

Species Name: Treens
Homeworld: Venus (Northern Hemisphere)
Society: Technocratic dictatorship led by the Mekon or a ruling council

Physical Traits:

• Skin: Smooth green
• Build: Humanoid but slightly more angular and robotic in motion
• Expression: Largely emotionless faces

Cultural Characteristics:

• Highly logical and scientific
• Lack empathy, creativity, and moral values
• Society governed by science and control
• Rigid hierarchical structure, with the Mekon at the top

 Visual Inspiration

The Mekon:

• Hovering in a round, saucer-shaped flying chair
• Giant, veiny head with deep-set eyes
• Tiny, withered green body
• Long-fingered hands, often posed in contemplation or command
• Often seen in futuristic scientific labs or control rooms

The Treens:

• Dressed in tight, high-collared uniforms
• Smooth green skin with a slightly alien, insect-like aesthetic
• Often shown operating machinery or working in labs
• Their cities feature stark, geometric, metallic architecture]

Miles sat at the conference table and looked over all those in the room before speaking to the ships computer.

“Computer are the able to create an graphic representation of this Mekon and the Treens?” Miles asked.

[Affirmative, displaying on main conference room holographic emitters now.]

Suddenly a image displayed in holographic form.

“ok….. we have the face of at least the losers to Lazarus or the people that defeated him? But there not from our earths solar system” Miles spoke aloud.

“Computer are you able to display a representation of their home world of Venus?” Teshla asked.

[Affirmative displaying now.]

The image changed from the green humanoids to the planet scape.

“Not a bad looking world, shame about the people?” Rose the operations officer spoke aloud.

“Indeed, but where not any closer to any real answers. Indeed what do these people have to do with Lazarus?” Miles asked aloud.

“We have a random twin star system to explore; the answers must be there?” Teshla reported.

“Indeed, Mr White. Set a course please?” Miles commanded.

“Aye Sir” the Helmsman answered.

Miles thought for a moment than tapped his Communicator badge.

“Captain to Lt. Commander Reeve, prepare the Hazard Team and where meet you at the main hanger bay with the Anatasia.” Miles ordered.

“Be there in ten.” Was the answer.

“Number one, where going to Keep the Fortitude at arms length and take the Anastasia. Keep communications open, we may need you in a hurry!” Miles ordered.

NRPG:

So things are moving together and we are now starting a multiverse story, where characters from other Sci-fi stories are coming together from my childhood. I can’t wait to explore what could happen.

The post Star Trek: Fortitude – Season 01 Episode 04 – A Treen from Venus? appeared first on The Malstrom Expanse.

“Captain picking up some type of repeating distress call, can’t tell from where exactly its sounds like a repeating automated beacon. I think?” Rose reported.

Miles looked over to Teshla.

“What the hell is going on?” Miles asked out aloud.

“No idea but what do we do with a distress call?” Teshia answered with an honest face.

“We Help.” Miles answered walking his chair and tapping the intercom buttom.

“Captain to Engineering, Cmdr White, how long before we can move and see again?” Miles inquired.

“As much as I love to say I am a miracle worker, right now where stranded, mains offline and where on Auxiliary power. That comic wink for another description damaged the dilithium  crystals it practically drained them. I am reconfiguring now but I need a wee bit of time to recalibrate and re-energise the crystal.” Came the Chief engineers respond. She really was that good she survived assimilation and was the cousin of their acting Helmsman Fox White.

Miles considered the situation.

“Do we have enough power for the hanger bay?” Miles asked sitting in his command chair.

“Just about, going to go joy riding with my cousin?” Penny asked with a chuckle.

“Just about, can you get the main hanger bay ready where take the Anastasia over to take a look” Miles ordered.

“Can do.” Penny answered closing off the channel.

Miles fingers keyed the sickbay button.

“Doctor Vodokon can you spare yourself or someone else to join a away mission?” Miles requested.

“Chief nurse Felica Eiser is already on her way to the main hanger bay Captain.” The chief medical officer answered.

“Thank you Doctor, miracle worker as always” Miles chuckled his response and closed the channel.

“Cmr Lira you better tag a long with a extra two person security team, where going on an little adventure.” Miles ordered turning to go to the turbolift.

“Number one the ship is Yours, Cmdr White time for you to do some of that legendary piloting of yours.” Miles commanded.

It had been an hour since the comic winking out had happened.

Miles sat quietly in his chair, still wondering where his shake down cruise had gone from a shake down to what the devil was going on. He sat on the Delta class shuttle the biggest one the new Fortitude could carry and briefly missed the old Lexington class Starship he had commanded that had a lot more room than the new Fortitude. However it was a conscious choice to change ships.

“Captain were approaching the co-ordinates of the distress beacon.” Fox reported from the pilot seat.

Miles stood up and paced the few feet to the pilot’s chair.

“What we got?” Miles requested.

“Looks like a twin binary star system, 12 planets where approaching the fourth one, looks to be a class M but…” Fox Trailed off.

“I sense an Oh dear?” Miles asked.

“Looks like there has been some kind of battle, picking up 42 ships. They look like wrecks and no survivors.” Fox answered.

“Show me the wrecks, put us in orbit of the fourth planet.” Miles ordered moving back to his chair and console to bring up the data.

“Aye Sir.” Fox answered.

The ships where not more than a little more shuttle size, they where green with a centre long almost needle body with 4 pylons and a nacelle on each.

“There a little retro, they remind me of Orion fighters.” Miles said out loud to no one in particular.

“They do but they ships usually use a rotating warp mounting. This is different, in fact they are static. Also there is nothing coming up for that ship in the databanks”  Fox answered.

“Looks like they were centred around one smaller ship, it’s the one sending out the distress beacon. Fox reported.

“Let’s have a look.” Miles requested.

The ship at the centre of the wrecks was a more metallic ship, much smaller than the others, its was almost disc shaped with a tail and what looked like a dome over the centre of the disk.

[Fortitude to Anastasia, we have the mains back online and where be with you in about 5 minutes.] Teshia voice came over the comm.

Miles tapped a button on his console.

“See you in five minutes.” Miles responded.

“looks like there was on hell of the firefight. That was little ship took on all 42 of those fighters” Fox reported.

“What does that say about the pilot of that one vessel?” Miles answered.

“That’s the thing Sir, it was not those 42 ships that took it down, it has barely any damage and what I can pickup, it looks like the pilot just disappeared.” Fox confused answer came.

“What?” Miles retorted.

At that moment the Fortitude jumped in and the ships number one came on the comm.

[Fortitude to Anastasia, Captain you better get back here, where getting a Starfleet communication coming in, Code factor one!] the first office reported.

“Invasion status?” Fox answered surprised.

“Are the transporters up?” Miles asked

[Aye Sir] the first officer reported.

“Cmdr white, get the shuttle docked and get that disk shaped ship and one of those green fighters docked into the hanger bay for inspection.” Miles orderd.

He than tapped his comm badge.

“Fortitude beam me to the bridge.” He ordered.

Within a moment he felt the familiar transporter feeling take hold of him and he was back on the bridge of the USS Fortitude.

Miles moved to his chair and sat down.

“Transmission from Starfleet Command, Admiral Taryn Vossan” Rose from operations answered.

“On Screen, USS Fortitude standing by Admiral” Miles reported.

[Greetings Fortitude, I wish the reason was more pleasant, you where aware of the incident an hour ago?] Admiral Vossan asked.

“Yes Sir” Miles answered.

[What you may not be aware of is the scope of the incident and it was recorded at the outer edge of the great barrier and all centred in the sector you are in] Vossan reported.

Miles raised his eyebrow in surprise.

[What you may not be aware of is this has happened before on Star date; 3087.6 with the crew of the Starship Enterprise under the command of Captain James T Kirk.] Vossan stated.

Miles felt his eyes narrow.

[Where sending you a data packet now with all details. It is Eyes only but I am recording I am giving you and the crew of the Fortitude access. Review the data and investigate what is going on and take any steps needed to prevent an invasion if that is the case.] Vossan ordered.

“Understood, can you give me more ships as a reserve?” Miles asked.

[where pulling out all Starfleet assets a full sector around you. Sorry Captain your on you own.] Vossan stated.

“Understood, Fortitude out.” Miles reported tossing an old fashion hand salute.

Miles watch the viewscreen go black before speaking.

“Number one I want senior staff in the conference room in 5 minutes.

===============================================

NRPG:

So the plot is coming together.

The post Star Trek: Fortitude – Season 01 Episode 03 – Code Factor One appeared first on The Malstrom Expanse.

Miles Llewellyn looked up from his data Padd and rubbed the top of his nose and reflected on his glasses catching. He sighed.

“If there is one constant of the universe its that Starfleet Loves paperwork” Miles stated ruefully.

“Aye Sir, and why is it when you go up in rank it gets longer and longer, and you can’t delegate it?” Teshla answered looking up from her own Padd.

Miles and Teshla where reviewing crew logs and technical reports about the newly Christen USS Fortitude-E.

She was only a day into her shake down and Miles felt the ship under traveling at low warp.

“I would say number one that’s why I have you!” Miles replied with a grin.

“Why thank you Sir, remind me to call in sick tomorrow!” Teshla retorted with her own grin.

Teshla was loyal to Miles and had served for many years under him. She had been offered a commission of her own ship twice now and she had been tempted but she just felt it was the wrong time.

Miles had spoken in great length to Teshla about this making sure she understood if she wanted to persue her own command she had his blessing. It was not fear of flying solo without a safety net but some crisis or another had always delayed her moving to her own ship.

Miles did not want to hurt her career and had taken his own quest to get her ready to take her own command. He would miss her  and so would the crew but things must change to help things grown.

Once the Fortitude had finished her shake down, the Fortitude was going to join a new fleet. Miles knew a few of the ship coming out of dry dock where in need for a new Captain and Miles was going to make sure Teshla pursued one of those new commands coming up.

Miles reached over to coffee pod and picked up the half empty pot.

“More coffee?” Miles asked motioning to Teshla’s empty mug.

“Please Miles, what was this coffee again its lovely?” Teshla asked.

“It’s a chocolate blended with coffee, more cream?” Miles answered.

“Oh yes, you’re not doing much for my waist line?” Teshla replied.

“Don’t worry we can do some fencing later?” Miles answered with a half grin.

That was when Suddenly everything changed.

The universe just stopped for seemed like an eternity.

Miles felt time, space everything just freeze, it was pain, joy even fear wrapped into one but even that did not do justice to what he felt and did not fear.

Suddenly Miles what thrown into his desk and Teshla was thrown into the bulkhead.

The Fortitude sounded like she was in great pain her engines suddenly cried out in into the dark void of space.

Miles knew something was dragging her violently out of warp, the inertia dampers where barely coping.

The Red Alert Klaxon Was starting to sound; it was in slow motion and then started to speed up.

What had happened?

The light changed to the emergency lights as the ship went to alert.

Miles held his stomach from the pain and manged to swing round his desk when he felt the Fortitude spin. Something was very wrong.

[All hands stand by for emergency stop!] Its was Fox white, he had the conn.

Now Miles could hear a console near him pop and go fizzle and he started to smell burning.

Miles put all his will power into high gear, the ship was in trouble, the crew where in trouble. Memories of the Last Fortitude flooded his mind, but he willed them away for now. He had to stay in the moment.

Miles grabbed Teshla arm and investigated the bruised left side of her face. She was going to have a massive black eye for an andorian.

“OK, I am ok. Bridge lets go” Teshla answered shock in her voice my years of training and experience kicking in like Miles.

The ship lurched and Miles felt the drop from warp speed to sub light.

They both manged to make it out of the bridge and stumbled onto the bridge, a couple of consoles had overloaded, a fire detail was on it. He could see some people were hurt.

Miles looked over to the Helm and saw Fox Whites fingers flying over his console, he was doing his own battle to save the ship he done it they were still alive.

“OK everyone where out of warp now at dead stop, Jesus what the hell happened, science report?” Fox ordered. looking over his shoulder and see Miles and Teshla on the bridge.

“Captain, number one sorry I don’t know what happened it was like. I don’t know like the universe just blinked!” Fox reported still catching his breath, he had clearly just saved the new Fortitude and her crew.

Miles threw up his hand.

“No need to apologies Cmdr, damn good flying I can see the Asclepius is going to get a fine Captain after whatever just happened come to the conclusion.” Miles gave a quick response.

Miles Staggered to his Captain’s Chair and hit the all hands communications button, the familiar boatswain whistle came over the ship.

“All hands maintain Red Alert, damage control please report to first office. Where alive and out of warp, stand by for follow up information.” Miles ordered and closed off the channel.

“Fox where is here right now?” Miles asked.

“Two seconds Captain, navigation control it still calibrating. Where in the Agrama Sector Umm, this is not right.” Fox answered confused.

“What do you mean Cmdr?” Miles asked.

“Where just outside a star system, but its not on any charts Sir, I thought we might be in the Agrama system but where opposite that star system.” Fox answered even more confused.

“Captain, message from Starfleet, general alert status code factor two all Starfleet personnel, ships, stations and member worlds.” Rose Harrington reported from operations wiping blood from her forehead.

“How far did this… this go?” Teshla asked.

“From what I can peace together Cmdr I think this cosmic wink… was all over the galaxy.” Neku reported. The Chief Science officer reported.

“What?” Miles answered a little shocked himself. “The whole universe felt this?”

Neku’s console beeped and chimed  as if reconfiguring itself.

“I think so, sorry Captain the ships computer is still processing what happened and astrogation seems to be reconfiguring herself. Cmdr White is correct where at the otter edge of a star system that should not existed, somehow Cmdr White managed to hold us together when we entered the star systems gravity well” came Neku’s response.

“Talking of which how bad are we hurt?” Miles asked looking over the his number one. Nothing making sense.

“Damage reports still coming in, Penny is cursing every known deity in existence and so far no fatalities yet we have lost long range sensors and the warp drive is down, port side warp coils got fried but looks like there not cracked, we certainly tested the Fortitudes new systems. Teshla reported.

“Captain picking up some type of repeating distress call, can’t tell from where exactly its sounds like a repeating automated beacon. I think?” Rose reported.

Miles looked over to Teshla.

“What the hell is going on?” Miles asked out aloud.

NRPG:

I have left a clue in the story of something I have always wanted Star Trek to revisit story wise. More to follow in episode 3.

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