The station was pretty alive, with recent months being quite eventful. The Blood Dilithium had placed SB38 on the map, and it was still dealing with it in a specific capacity. The sudden appearance of Borg in various sectors and their activity in Delta Quadrant had placed the spotlight on DEI. The Delta Exploration Initiative is responsible for overseeing and administering all operations in the Delta Quadrant. They also guided civilian experts and maintained strategic oversight of all Starfleet Interests in that quadrant. Now, this department was going to be vital for the Borg’s sudden appearance, but also to guide the crew of the Tokyo on the right path. 

“Well, it is lively, that is for sure.” Tamaz placed his hands at his side, looking around and seeing everyone from the docking area to their designated areas or appointments at Starbase 38. He looked over his shoulder. “Come on, DEI will be on our necks if we are late.” 

“How do you know that for certain? Behrad spoke with a shrug as he had a bag with him that contained a few PADDs.” They will have their hands full, seeing how many Borg signals have been transmitted in both Beta and Delta.” He started to follow Tamaz, followed by Padgok, who had kept to himself and looked around. “The general idea is to get information. I don’t think there is a certain rush to it.”

Tamaz slightly nodded to that comment. “Well, there is that, but still, we of the Tokyo need to be top-notch when dealing with the Borg.” He maneuvers through the people. 

Rolling his eyes and holding onto his back, “Your optimistic views sometimes really are annoying, Alavidze…what are we supposed to do if we are face to face with an active Borg ship? The New Orleans Class is not built for combat, and it shall not even put a dent in the Borg shielding. As the Vulcans would say, follow logical thinking and get out of there while you still have a functional ship”  Behrad spoke, a bit annoyed.

“We got the best helmsman, Behrad. Just chill.” Tamaz looked over his shoulder briefly in their direction before continuing, “As if Deem will let anything hit us without giving it back ten-fold.” 

Before Behrad could react, Padgok spoke, “I am sorry to disappoint you, Lieutenant, but I cannot outmaneuver a Borg ship. Thought the Captain has given me the order to practice fly patrons to avoid any shots from Borg ships.” 

“See, Captain is preparing the ship for the worse.” Tamaz smiled to himself.

“I got to disagree with you, Lieutenant,” Padgok continued, holding his hands behind his back. “But the training exercise is so far a failure, as in the Tokyo got destroyed at every encounter with the Borg.” Padgok shrugged a bit. “I think the lesson from it so far is at the first sight of the Borg, we have to get out, no questions asked.”

Taking a deep breath, “Finally, someone with a gram of sense,” Behrad stated as they walked into the DEI operational area. “Plus, should you not be focused on getting the information so that both you and Lieutenant Deem can keep the ship operational.” He waved it off. “Leave the scientific stuff to the people that know what they are doing.” 

“Then you need far more information than you might presume, Lieutenant” a voice came from the side of the group as they looked in the direction and saw a commander in a teal uniform standing there. The man is, by appearance, a Talaxian. He gestures to the operational hub. “Starbase 38 and the DEI are getting busier by the minute with this whole Borg situation. My people in Delta Quadrant are even on the edge of their chairs when discussing it. However, you guys are not here for that.” He looked back. “Delta-408, right?”

“Right,” Tamaz replied immediately. “I never knew that Starfleet allowed Talaxians.” 

Wanting to facepalm himself, Behrad looked at the Commander. “I apologize. His mind works slower than his mouth.” He took a deep breath. “We are the delegation of the USS Tokyo here to receive information about the area we are supposed to operate in.”

The Commander didn’t respond to Tamaz’s remarks and looked at Behrad. “Right, follow me,” He stated and walked away in a specific direction. “The name is Oatexux. I am assigned here to assist those going to operate in Delta Quadrant. Starfleet believes that it is better to have people who are known to the area give the instructions for upcoming missions at Delta. So here I am to provide information and the tools every ship needs to operate in its best capacity.” He enters a room, stops at the table in the middle, and taps onto the panel.

“So what is it we are going to be expecting from this location?” Padgok looked calmly at the Commander.

An asteroid field appears as a 3D on top of the table with wreckage in between. “This is Delta-408. Known to many in the Delta Quadrant as the Black Yard or to Starfleet as the Graveyard. 408 is, as you already know, the resting place of a few spheres and a cube. Based on information gathered from these ships, we presume the Borg group traveled together and got infected with the pathogen. Something happened. They dropped out of warp and crashed right into that asteroid field.” Oatexux shrugged. “But these speculations.” 

Behrad looked with great curiosity at the mapping “Three spheres?” He tried to count the amount on the given map.

“Two, actually, one got split in half and came to a halt quite distant from each other. The last one is a cube, fairly intact, but has significant damage to its hull.” Oatexux enlarged one of the objects as a cube is shown that has a damaged hull in various locations. “The Borg here are unpredictable…” 

Tamaz leaned on the table, looking at it. “Define unpredictable.” He looked in the direction of Oatexux.

“Well, we had a few ships in the area trying to map it, get some answers, and such. Some drones are dormant, others are defensive and confused,” Oatexux scratched behind his ear. “They are cut off the collective, but not all this area will provide a challenge for you guys.” He shrugged. “Seeing the rise of black markets, former Borg parts are quite popular.” 

“Scavengers” Tamaz said what Oatexux was trying to say. “So we are going into a minefield.” He looked at the damaged cube. Was this a bright idea? The options were limited, and denying the mission would only cause a stir as Starfleet would send someone else in any way. “What kind of scavengers are we dealing with?”

“Locals mostly,” Oatexux stated. “Malons and Kazons are regulars that stop by here….” 

Taking a deep breath, Behrad was not going to lie that the scientific part of this mission had him excited, but the dangers that had taken root of the mission were something he didn’t like. He looked at Padgok. “What do you think, Lieutenant, is it doable to fly here?” Behrad wanted to know at least that their flying routes were clear. 

The Benzite took a step closer and looked at the map in total. He narrowed his eyes slightly as a sign of thinking about the question. He finally pointed in a few directions. “There are paths that can be used to fly through, but Lieutenant Alavidze is right. This place is a minefield that if you do not pay attention, you will be damaged or, worse, destroyed.” There were many elements at play in this scenario. Asteroids, wreckage, the Borg, and scavengers. 

“That is true, Lieutenant,” Oatexux spoke, looking at the three before him. “That is why DEI will provide you with the latest information before you guys leave for Delta Quadrant. Be careful out there. There is so much that can go wrong. But Starfleet and DEI are glad to have an experienced crew going in to retrieve the sample.” Oatexux nodded to them. “I will take my leave. I also need to brief other teams. But feel free to contact me if you need help with something.” Oatexux walked away as the team left behind.

“This is going to be tricky. Captain Yoon-Jung will not like this” Tamaz concluded.

Shaking his head, he said, “No one in the Tokyo will look at what we are going to get ourselves into.” Behrad shrugged, knowing that this mission would be a nightmare very quickly if the Borg did get active on them. They needed more time to prepare for this mission, but time was a luxury they didn’t have. Behrad had difficulty imagining how this mission was going to conclude.