The star of Star Trek: New Voyages, James Cawley, who plays Captain Kirk on the fan-produced series, will appear in Star Trek: Hidden Frontier's upcoming episode "Vigil" as Captain Mackenzie Calhoun from the Star Trek: New Frontier series of books.

Carlos Pedraza, the producer of Hidden Frontier, announced the casting in a press release with more details on the web site. Hidden Frontier follows the starship Excelsior under the command of Captain Elizabeth Shelby (Risha Denney), formerly the first officer and lover of Calhoun, who commands the Excelsior in the New Frontier novels of Peter David published by Pocket Books.

"Vigil", which will run nearly 40 minutes in length and is expected to be released in September, focuses on Calhoun and Shelby working together on a secret mission in the midst of a fleet of Romulan ships during the Tholian War. While Hidden Frontier is set in the 24th century after The Next Generation, New Voyages takes place the generation before and showcases the original Star Trek crew played by new actors.

"Fan series like Hidden Frontier and New Voyages prove there is still plenty of life left in the Star Trek franchise," said Cawley, a onetime production crewmember of Star Trek: The Next Generation who produces as well as stars in New Voyages. His series is scheduled to begin production next month on its third episode, "To Serve All My Days," guest-starring Walter Koenig (Chekov). Hidden Frontier has produced 40 episodes.

More information is available on both the Hidden Frontier and New Voyages web sites.

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