Since the last official Star Trek series launched (2001’s Star Trek: Enterprise), at least a dozen independent fan-made projects have cropped up online. The democratization of video production –and in particular, DIY visual effects– has been responsible for allowing the homebrew Trekker to continue the ongoing missions of the Enterprise in live-action web series, podcasts, machinima, animation, and with productions spanning the globe from the US to England, Scotland, Belgium and The Netherlands.

The latest project on the horizon is Star Trek: Axanar, the brainchild of writer/producer Alec Peters (with help from VFX wizard Christian Gossett). It takes place in the year 2245, 21 years before the events of Star Trek: The Original Series. The story involves Starfleet Captain Kelvar Garth of Izar, one of Captain Kirk’s personal heroes, who would later betray Kirk in the TOS episode “Whom Gods Destroy.” Axanar tells the tale of Captain Garth’s victory at the Battle of Axanar, a decisive battle in the Four Years War against the Klingons.

Amongst the stars of Axanar are Battlestar Galactica‘s Richard Hatch, Alien Nation‘s Gary Graham, and JG Hertzler, who has previously played Klingon Martok on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

Continue below to for more info and to see some VFX shots.