Typically, those who visited the Russian River Valley south of Healdsburg came for California’s finest Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays, but the five operators who materialized in the rocky riverbed in the dead of night had no interest in Sonoma’s varietals. Outfitted in tactical vests and night vision optics, they’d come to free their colleagues and get some answers.

“Target two klicks downstream,” Commander Lewis reported. “Stay alert.”

The team didn’t need to be told twice. Rifles raised, eyes scanning for threats, they were on high alert as they advanced down the riverbed. They knew the stakes. Their opponent had high-level access, technical sophistication, and bold intentions, and they were culpable in the disappearance of retired Rear Admiral Edir, her husband Mark Ellis, and two of their colleagues.

“It would have been nice if we could’ve just beamed directly there,” remarked Dr. Brooks as he climbed over the dried out trunk of a fallen Monterey cypress. Although he’d been hardened by the trials of war and incarceration and was no longer a soft-palmed theoretician, he still didn’t particularly enjoy bushwhacking through overgrown sedge, deergrass and brittlebush.

“Sure, but once we’re in control of the compound,” Commander Lewis reminded him. “It will work to our advantage to slow the arrival of reinforcements.”

“Unless those reinforcements can beam through the interference.”

“If they had that, we’d never have made it out of Milan,” Commander Lewis countered. “The enemy would have just beamed in all around us and ended it instantly.” Instead, they’d come by ground and by air, and that had allowed Commander Lewis and Ensign Rel to escape.

“You said it yourself, Dr. Brooks,” Admiral Reyes added. “The modulating harmonics of the jammer are irreversible, even if you know the exact parameters of the entropy generator.” Speculation untethered from reality did nothing except make you question yourself, even if it was a natural result of nerves.

The going was neither quick nor easy as the team navigated wet rocks, thick underbrush, and dense oaks, but forty minutes later, Commander Lewis raised his hand in a fist to draw the team to a stop.

“We’re here.”

The team dropped to their hands and knees and scurried up the bank. Staying low beneath the untamed chaparral, they looked out at the sprawling vineyard before them. The vineyard spanned grounds of at least a couple kilometers with an ornate villa in the middle of the estate.

“That’s a few too many rifles for a wine tasting,” Commander Lewis chuckled as he stared through a pair of digital binoculars at the villa and its surroundings. “Three shooters on the rooftop, two squads patrolling the grounds, and at least another dozen lifesigns inside the main estate.”

Right next to the Commander, Dr. Brooks stared through another pair of binoculars. “I cannot assess the quality of their grapes, but they definitely do more than wine here. The energy profile and SIGINT of the villa looks more like a runabout than a tasting room.”

“And how about that structure at ten o’clock, about a quarter klick from the main villa?” asked Commander Lewis. “Looks like a utility shed to me.”

“EM radiation coming off of it would suggest as much,” agreed Dr. Brooks.

“Before we show our hand, let’s check it first,” Commander Lewis replied as he put his binoculars back in pack and turned to the team. “Doc, you’re with me. The rest of you, hold here and give us cover.”

Quietly and carefully, Lewis and Brooks set off for the shed. The head-high grapevines gave the vineyard believable purpose, but they also gave the pair cover as they advanced towards their target. Meanwhile, Admiral Reyes provided occasional updates to them on the position of the roaming patrols, although none came within a hundred meters of the pair.

A few minutes later, Commander Lewis and Dr. Brooks were inside the shed.

“Bingo!” Dr. Brooks exclaimed as he looked around the small room. “Everything we could want. This looks like a network drop for the estate.” He began pulling gear out of his pack, wired it up to the system, and began running an advanced intrusion suite. “It’s strange they left this place so unprotected.”

“Easy to let your guard down and become complacent when you think your cover protects you,” Commander Lewis observed. From criminal overloads enjoying a coffee in broad daylight to admirals cutting dirty deals on the comfort of their own starbases, he’d faced many who’d made exactly this mistake.

As data began to stream onto his PADD, Dr. Brooks frowned. As much as he’d expected it, and as much as the intelligence suggested it, he’d still hoped for a different outcome. “You’re going to want to take a look at this,” he said as he handed the PADD to Commander Lewis. “The equipment, software, protocols… it’s all Starfleet spec.” He was already a convicted felon, and if things went south here, he’d get another decade or so tacked on for what they were about to do.

“So your hunch was correct?”

“Looks like it.”

Commander Lewis tapped his combadge. “Allison, we’re inside,” he reported. “And everything we’re seeing is Starfleet in design. This is almost certainly a black site.”

Crouched in the chaparral watching a roaming security detail through her binoculars, Admiral Reyes sighed. “You’re sure?” She’d hoped Dr. Brooks’ earlier hypothesis had been nothing more than a spook-inspired conspiracy theory, but given her experience in San Francisco, plus everything they’d been through to this point, it made sense.

“Either that or it’s the home of master thieves who stole a pile of high tech Starfleet gear and settled within earshot of HQ,” joked Commander Lewis. “Before we risk breaking a dozen laws, just want to confirm you still want to proceed?”

“Yes,” Admiral Reyes confirmed unwaveringly. “It’s time to get some answers.” 

Ensign Rel looked over at the Admiral, nerves visible on her face. Up to this point, they’d broken into a civilian facility and defended themselves when fired upon, but there was a big difference between that and intentionally engaging in a firefight against their own. 

Dr. Hall, for her sake, looked unperturbed. Although she wore the uniform, she had no trust in the institution. She’d seen far too much to believe it lived by its higher ideals, and everything about their present situation smelled like a conspiracy. Still, she was impressed to see an admiral of similar mind. Typically, such bureaucrats would never do such a thing, but Allison Reyes was showing yet again that she was a different breed.

“Do set your phasers to stun though,” Admiral Reyes added. “I don’t see how the disappearance of a retired Rear Admiral and her husband, nor the abduction of two of our crew, is aboveboard, but if this all ends up being a big misunderstanding, best we avoid having murder charges tacked on.” She was far beyond being willing to back down at this point though.

Each of the operators, both those in the shed and those on the hill, checked and rechecked their rifles and sidearms to make sure the settings were in place. Each of them felt the gravity of the situation.

“What’s the next move Commander?” Admiral Reyes asked. As the ranking officer, she owned the choice to proceed, but she deferred to Commander Lewis when it came to the actual tactics of the engagement. There was no more seasoned a shooter.

“Dr. Brooks is going to loop the surveillance feeds,” Commander Lewis explained. “And then we’ll circle back to you three and move on the villa.”

Silence settled over the group as everyone made final preparations.