Main article: Axanar Tries to Rally Fan Films to Its Proposed Guidelines
See also: Backlash and The Public Interest Behind Private Guidelines Talks and ‘Intrepid’ Suspends Production.

After AxaMonitor published details about Alec Peters’ effort to get other fan films to back the production guidelines he wanted to negotiate with CBS and Paramount, the Axanar producer went hunting for the leaker.

And Peters thought for sure he found him. He was also wrong.

On May 28, 2016, Peters confronted Scott Johnson, a principal at Oklahoma-based Starbase Studios, which provides production facilities for a number of smaller Star Trek fan films, including:

Scott Johnson of Starbase Studios, on the set of Star Trek New Voyages, where he also volunteers.

• Starship Grissom
• Yorktown
• Starship Valiant
• The Federation Files
• Star Trek: The Romulan Wars
• Starship Melbourne
• Starship Republic
• Star Trek: Anthology
• Dreadnought Dominion
• The Lexington Adventures

In an interview with AxaMonitor, Johnson said he was among the eight people invited to participate in giving Peters feedback on his draft fan film guidelines, but joined the group late in its discussions.

“I was added to this group late Thursday afternoon,” Johnson said. “I made NO COMMENTS period in said group. Friday morn this [guidelines article] comes out.” That led him to make his public statement disavowing Peters’ effort, he said.

Johnson corroborated his statements with the transcript of a Facebook Messenger conversation he held with Peters from May 26-28, 2016.

[Friday 3:49 PM] Alec Peters: Just so you know, I didn’t leak anything. We had a mole who copied screencaps of everything and sent them to [AxaMonitor editor] Carlos Pedraza who broke the story. I hate that fuck.

However, Peters had, early that morning, revealed the names of the people he had invited to the Facebook chat to a pro-Axanar blogger, sparking the nearly universal disavowal by fan producers — including Johnson — of his efforts.

Scott Johnson: I can’t believe u did this to the people that have helped YOU in the past WILLINGLY @ that.

Johnson said he was upset he’d been publicly named as a part of the group despite contributing nothing. “Who gave u the names?” he asked AxaMonitor editor Carlos Pedraza. “I’m tired of the lies and am going to the source.”

Johnson had confronted Peters about his release of the names, quoting a Facebook post by Shawn O’Halloran, a vocal critic of Peters and Axanar:

Scott Johnson: [quoting O’Halloran] “Axamonitor posted the information and NOT the names because the source requested to remain anonymous and keep the participants’ names anonymous. … Axamonitor contacted [Axanar spokesman] Mike Bawden and asked for a comment before publishing and then Alec Peters decided to leak everyone’s name to HubCap [Dave’s blog] about two hours later.”

[to Peters] What part of that don’t you understand?

STORING SETS Before he’d accused Scott Johnson of leaking information to AxaMonitor, Alec Peters had asked to store Axanar’s sets at Johnson’s Starbase Studios facility.

Peters replied:

Alec Peters: Not sure what I am responding to.

By Saturday morning, Peters suspicions began to boil over.

[Saturday May 28 6:28 AM] Alec Peters: Can you please send me screenshots of your conversation with Shawn [O’Halloran]? Specifically what you said right before that.

About 45 minutes later, a confused Johnson replied:

[Saturday May 28 7:15 AM] Scott Johnson: ?
Alec Peters: I would like to see your conversation with Shawn O’Halloran.
Scott Johnson: Wasn’t me. It was shared to me by 1 in your group.

Another three-quarters of an hour passed, and Peters asked:

[Saturday May 28 7:59 AM] Alec Peters: Who?

Johnson did not reply. Almost 14 hours later, Peters shared his deduction:

[Saturday May 28 9:44 PM] Alec Peters: Yeah I figured. We know the leak was you. Really bullshit Scott. … You released private info and fucked us all over.
Scott Johnson: ME??? REALLY ALEC? Good luck with that one.

Johnson, who had volunteered as crew for Peters in the past, as well as for Star Trek New Voyages, was further outraged when Peters began telling others Johnson was the source of the leak to AxaMonitor.

“Alec is messaging personally to people I know and telling them that I’M THE LEAK and TRASHING my name and rep[utation],” Johnson said. “I AM DONE with him.”

Axanar supporters on Facebook began stating as fact that Johnson was the leaker:

The accusation stung because Peters, anticipating the possible loss of his studio, had asked Johnson to store the Axanar sets.

“Alec had contacted me in the last month wanting to move his sets here,” Johnson said. “So tell me, if I’m such a bad guy why would he want to move all his crap here? Under my care I assume? REALLY? With the enemy????”

Johnson said, “Alec is ‘The Black Plague.’ You can quote me on that.”

UPDATE Asked for a statement on May 30 about the accusation, Axanar spokesman Mike Bawden said Peters and Johnson “have patched things up and Alec now assumes the person leaking the details of the discussions surrounding possible fan film guidelines is someone other than Scott.”

Johnson confirmed Alec had apologized to him. “Alec apologized for saying I was the leak. We are square on that. Nothing more. … He also said he would post his apology publicly. I have yet to see that anywhere at present.”¹⁾

Johnson added he has not nor will he house Axanar sets at Starbase Studios.

Moving forward, he said Peters was looking elsewhere for the person who gave AxaMonitor the information. Peters may need to cast his net wide, since the article had multiple sources.

“He said he’s pretty sure who the leak is by process of elimination,” Johnson said. “I said good luck.”

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