Learn how Pike and Number One met at Starfleet Academy in ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: Asylum’ (exclusive)

It’s been pretty quiet except for the crickets in the “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” frontier lately, and after a NYCC Season 3 update at Paramount+’s Star Trek Universe Panel this past October that included a thrilling clip of the Enterprise engaging with Gorn attack ships, we haven’t heard much more.

No doubt a brand new trailer is somewhere on the horizon, but until that third season enters Paramount+’s streaming orbit sometime in 2025, one method of maintaining one’s interest in Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) and his gallant crew can be found in the comforting pages of a new tie-in hardback novel recently released last month from Simon & Schuster that adds considerable dimension to the close relationship between Pike and his Number One (Rebecca Romijn).

Written by “Star Trek” veteran Una McCormack (“Picard: The Last Best Hope,” “Discovery: Wonderlands”), “Strange New Worlds: Asylum” makes for an excellent seasonal read for clear starry nights when our thoughts turn towards the heavens.

Here’s the official synopsis:

“When Una Chin-Riley and Christopher Pike meet at Starfleet Academy after one of his lectures, they immediately become friends. A stellar student, Una is the ‘poster girl’ of her class, and Pike is determined to become a Starfleet captain with his own ship, rhetorically assembling his dream crew. As their friendship evolves, Pike also suspects Una is involved with the Euxhana, a Chionian cultural minority, who are seeking asylum in Federation space, leading to more questions than answers.

“Twenty-five years later, Una and Pike are working together on the USS Enterprise to settle a Chionian trade agreement when a pro-Euxhana saboteur launches a terrorist attack. When the suspect is taken into custody for interrogation and is discovered to have a history with Una, her past associations resurface, threatening to expose a secret she’s been harboring all these years…”

We connected with McCormack to learn more about how this outer space yarn originated and what keeps her tied to Roddenberry’s “Wagon Train To The Stars.”

Space.com: What was the genesis of this “Strange New Worlds” story centering on the dynamics between Pike and Una?

Una McCormack: That was exactly the genesis! “Let’s tell the story of how Pike and Una got to know each other.” The next step was to explore in more depth where their relationship goes after “Ad Astra Per Aspera.” What those events would mean for their friendship. And then I tried to find a way to connect those two time periods together, so that Una and Pike can recall where they started, and how far they’ve come.

Space.com: How was this “Star Trek” book different than previous franchise titles you’ve written and what was the most rewarding aspect?

Una McCormack: I’ve written a couple of “Picard” books, and a couple of “Discovery” books, but this is the novel book I’ve written for “Strange New Worlds.” And while they’re all “Star Trek,” each show has its own tone. So definitely the biggest task was to make sure that this felt like an “SNW” novel, and not something better fitted to one of the other shows. I hugely enjoy the characters on “SNW,” and the most rewarding aspect was getting to write those voices.

Pelia in particular was great fun. Some of the characters only have cameos in the book, but even then you try to get these right. There’s a scene with Spock, Ortegas and Uhura (who aren’t central characters in this novel) that’s possibly my favourite in the book. And I loved putting in the Gilbert and Sullivan references!

Space.com: What keeps you spinning out compelling tales in the final frontier of the “Star Trek” universe?

Una McCormack: They keep coming back and asking me! That’s one reason, but of course it’s a great pleasure to get to write stories based on shows and characters that I enjoy so much.

“Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: Asylum” is available now.