STAR TREK
STRANGE NEW WORLD

1x01 "BEFORE THE FALL" [PART 1]

Written By Alex Matthews

Based on 'Star Trek' 
created by Gene Roddenberry

STARRING

Evangeline Lilly as COMMANDER MYRA SHAW

Jai Courtney as LT. COMMANDER CARL KELHAM

Jack Harrer as LT. FINLEY McKENCHIE

Marc Ruffalo as LT. PERRY ALLEN (R.N.)

Temuera Morrison as COMMANDER ALDRED 

WITH 

Cobie Smulders as COMMANDER T'MUR

Jeffrey Wright as CAPTAIN EDWARD DONOVAN

“Star Trek and all related marks, logos and characters are solely owned by CBS Studios Inc. This fan fiction is not endorsed by, sponsored by, nor affiliated with CBS, Paramount Pictures, or any other Star Trek franchise, and is a non-commercial fan-made film intended for recreational use.  No commercial exhibition or distribution is permitted. No alleged independent rights will be asserted against CBS or Paramount Pictures.”

Copyright (c) 2019

Produced by Sojournerverse Productions

As she fell back onto the soft mattress, Myra Shaw left out a satisfied gasp of breath, no longer fighting the smile that forced its way onto her lips. She snuggled into the twisted mass of sweat-covered sheets she was tangled in, happily blissful from the release her most recent activity had provided.
"Damn, woman! You have some stamina!"
Looking over at the other occupant of the bed in her quarters, Myra admired the well-muscled physique of Carl Kelham. Soaked in just as much perspiration as she was, he shot her a cocky grin, as he took several steadying breaths. 
She rolled over, allowing the sheet to fall away, exposing herself again to him. Enjoying how his eyes were drawn to her, "Glad you could keep up, Carl."
He wiggled his eyebrows, sitting up and shrugging, "You called, I answered, It's our thing, right?"
That was one of the things she liked about Carl - he wasn't looking for anything serious. They had fun, and both had put their careers first. Starfleet may have relaxed a lot over the last few decades, allowing families onboard and couples to serve together, but not everyone wanted that out of life.
She watched his naked form as he slipped of the bed, and headed to the bathroom area. He splashed some water on his face, and spotted her watching him in his reflection. He grinned that shit-eating grin again. Damn, he looks good.
"You got somewhere to be?" she couldn't help but ask. He had scratched her itch, but that didn't mean she wanted to kick him out straight away. 
He offered another shrug of apology, "Gotta run a complete sensor diagnostic before we move into our next exploration grid," he explained.
Myra nodded, not happy he was leaving so quickly, but she understood his reasons. Their ship, the Starship Ascendant, was a state-of-the-art Sovereign-class cruiser, assigned to a long-term exploration of the massive Krona Expanse, a nebula that spanned over nine sectors of space, across the Alpha and Beta Quadrants. It was a mission that would keep them out in deep space at least three years, but it was what they had all signed up for. 
As Carl searched for his uniform tunic on the floor, lost among the strewn clothing tossed aside in the heat of their passion, Myra, feeling a chill, pulled the sheet up over her body again. "Maybe we can have round two later?"
As Carl looked up at her, with a look of almost childish glee, his reply was cut off by the trill of the intercom, [Bridge to Shaw.]
Myra's good mood deflated ever so slightly at the voice of the Ascendant's First Officer, an up-tight Vulcan woman called T'Mur. "This is Shaw. Go ahead, Commander?"
[Captain Donovan requests your presence on the bridge, Commander,] T'Mur explains placidly. Myra rolled her eyes, at her free time being disrupted, as was often the case when her responsibilities as the Chief of Security came up. However, T'Mur's next words, delivered with just the barest hint of amusement underneath them, made her flush with stark embarrassment, [Also, Lt. McKenchie wondered if perhaps you knew where Commander Kelham was? He is not answering his communicator.]
Carl stared at her with eyes as wide as saucers. Myra wanted to slap the stupid smile of his face right there and then, as she fought to stay composed as she replied, "If I see him, I'll be sure to pass on the message."
[Be sure you do. T'Mur out.]
Carl, pulling on his uniform pants, smirked, as Myra jumped out of the bed and made a bee-line for her sonic shower - she did not want to stink of sweat when she reported to the bridge, "Guess the cat's out of the bag, eh?"
"Don't even!" she shouted back, mortified at the idea of T'Mur giving her the 'Vulcan Eyebrow' when she saw her next.
Please, God, just kill me now...

*             *             *

The sensors only delivered a computer's bland estimation of the environment around them, but it was enough to get his binary vascular system pumping furiously.
Aldredinvidorenzil, or Aldred as he learned to accept being addressed due to other species inability to pronounce his full name, stared at the screens above Science Station One with a look of near-rapture. A Kravaarian, one of the only to join Starfleet, he had a love of science and exploration that made him something of an anomaly of his kind. But he had found a kinship with those around him when he had left his homeworld and went into the stars, before finding his way into Starfleet Academy. 
It was moments like this that he had made the decision, one he had yet to regret. 
The conspicuous clearing of his throat behind him signaled to Aldred that Captain Edward Donovan believed his Science Officer had once again allowed his attention to become far too focused on his screens. He sat up a little straighter before pointing out a particular wave-form reading on the upper left screen. "As you can see," he explained, "readings have grown exponentially stronger in the last 10 minutes."
Donovan's reply was forestalled by the arrival of Commander Myra Shaw, exiting from the port-side turbo-lift. Aldred nodded a brief greeting, curious to see that the security chief made a point of not meeting Commander T'Mur's gaze. 
As she approached, Aldred's enhanced (at least in contrast to other members of the crew) olfactory senses detected a faint trace of the familiar scent of the Ascendant's Chief Engineer, Lt. Commander Carl Kelham. To the science officer, this merely confirmed the belief that the two had engaged in another of their seemingly random sexual trysts. Their affair was something of an open secret among the crew, although Shaw, confusingly for a security officer, did not seem aware that everyone else knew of it. 
"Good of you to join us, Shaw," Donovan commented icily, only sparing the briefest of glances to confirm her arrival. "We've picked up some unusual energy readings, that could be indicative of a wormhole forming."
"Any sign of other ships in the area?" Aldred understood that her questioning came from her duty to make sure the ship and crew was aware of any danger present, but he could not help but frown at the wonder of nature she seemed to be treating as a threat.
T'Mur shook her head in response, "Not since we passed the Gorn trading routes several days ago."
Donovan stepped away from the science station, moving slowly back to his command chair, taking in the sight of the dust and particulates that made up the Krona Expanse. "We've got some time to look into it, so let's do so." He allowed himself one of his rare smile, "That is why we're out here, isn't it?"
"Captain?" The uncertain tone of Lieutenant Finley McKenchie got everyone's attention. The well-built human worked his Flight Control instrumentation with apparent difficulty, "We're being pulled off course. Slowly but steadily."
Alred quickly consulted his own console, before anyone would find need to ask him, "Gravimetric currents, Captain. I can only assume they are generated by the anomaly."
Donovan's smile vanished as he took his seat. T'Mur moved to her own as Shaw took her position at Tactical, "Increase power to the impulse engines, Mr. McKenchie, back us off."
The lieutenant nodded, but as his nimble fingers danced over the console, a blast of light filled the forward view-screen as space was torn asunder...

*             *             *

If there was sound in space, it would be akin to a cry of anguish as the very fabric of reality was split apart, and great furls of energy unwound, reaching out through the void to snag the insignificant speck that was the Ascendant.
The valiant ship struggles in the grip of forces that no mortal could ever master, the protective shields flaring into being around it no match for the onslaught it faces...

*             *             *

The entire ship bucked like one of the stallions that Shaw had seen when she visited her uncle's ranch in Mojave. She grabbed hold of the Tactical station in a desperate ploy to stay standing, but was thrown against it, hard. The air was pushed from her lungs, the force just enough that Shaw knew she was going to have some bruised ribs. 
A quick look around let her see that she had been one of the lucky few not to be thrown to the deck. Only the captain, secure in his command chair's emergency restraints, had no issue with the turbulence they were experiencing.
"Severe chronodynamic energies coming from the anomaly," Aldred shouted above the noise of the structural integrity field trying to keep the ship stable and in one piece. 
"Chronodynamic?!" Donovan yelled back in confusion, as Shaw read her own sensor displays, and marveled at the sheer amount of raw power being thrown against the Ascendant's deflector shields. 
"Whatever it is, Captain," she reports, "it's measuring at over 400 yottawatts!"
"Incredible," uttered T'Mur, letting slip some genuine awe, as Shaw cringed at her status indicators, "Our shields are barely holding the radiation back."
McKenchie continued his own struggle with a flickering console of negative indicators, "I can't readjust our heading, Captain!"
Aldred confirmed what Shaw saw for herself on her tactical scans, "We have become ensnared in the currents, their power has increased ten-fold. We do not have the engine capacity to pull away."
Donovan's countenance hardened - he was not a man who gave up easily, Shaw knew, but it looked like this time he did not have a choice. "Well then," he spat, grimly, "I guess we're going in."
As the Ascendant was pulled closer to the gaping maw of the bright white of the anomaly, she suddenly remembered the old story her father had read to her as a child.
She was falling down the rabbit hole...

To Be Continued...