The Battle of Wolf 359 shook the Federation to its core. It was the moment Starfleet realized its mortality, igniting a new era of technology advancement and a hunger to understand the threat posed by the Borg. Salvage Facility 21-J played a key role in this. Built under a veil of secrecy and established in an uninteresting binary star system just a quick warp jump from Wolf 359, it was where Starfleet dissected the remains of the Borg Cube destroyed by the Enterprise-D. At the outset, the goal was to better understand their foe, but as time went on, it became a source of innovation itself, and even thirty five years later, its existence was a closely guarded secret.

Dr. Tom Brooks had prior knowledge of the facility. As a young research scientist specializing in temporal mechanics, he’d been part of a team that visited the facility in early 2374 to better understand the Borg’s temporal capabilities after their incursion a year prior. This trip, and his continued interest in the Borg over the intervening three decades, made him an easy choice for the mission. Commander Cora Lee, on the other hand, had no prior knowledge of the facility, and what she knew of the Borg was little more than could be found in textbooks. However, as the commanding officer of a starship, she had the clearance level to be read in on it, and as a prodigious engineer by trade, she was as good a choice as any for such a mission.

It was for this reason that the unlikely pair found themselves sitting aboard a Type-11 shuttle slipping quietly across the binary star system to intercept the elliptical trajectory of Beta Serpentis IV. At Admiral Reyes’ insistence, they kept their emissions at minimum and stayed radio silent to avoid the possibility of attracting unwanted attention.

“Fascinating that a place like this could exist in secret so close to the core of the Federation,” Commander Lee commented as she guided the shuttle into the stratosphere of the class I gas giant. As they descended towards the tropopause, temperature and pressure began to rise, and the shuttle shook as its inertial dampeners adjusted.

“A good many places like this exist,” Dr. Brooks replied. “Even on Earth itself.” Like that black site that he and Reyes’ team had assaulted the year prior. He glanced over and noticed the discomfort that had washed over the young commander’s face. “In many cases, secrecy and proximity must coexist, and this is one of those places.”

“I guess… but it’s just all sort of cloak and dagger, isn’t it?”

“As it must be,” nodded Dr. Brooks. “Some research simply can’t be disclosed to the public. With our weak stomached politicians and bureaucrats, can you imagine the uproar if they’d known we were tinkering with active Borg systems? Or that they influenced our own developments?” He didn’t know the full extent of what had been done at the facility, but even his reason for visiting would have turned many heads. What they didn’t know didn’t hurt them, and in fact, the insights and innovations it yielded went toward protecting them. “And think about what foreign intelligence services might have done if they knew a place like this existed. As far as the public can ever know, there’s nothing left except what remains in the graveyard of Wolf 359.”

“Do you think the colonists of Beta Serpentis III have any idea?”

“Of course they do. The colony only exists because of this facility,” Dr. Brooks explained. “Many of them were part of the team that built and maintained the facility. After it was decommissioned, some just stayed put. Beta Serpentis III is a frigid hellhole, sure, but when has that bothered the Andorians?” The non-Andorians mostly left quickly though.

“Admiral Reyes said this facility has been administered by automated systems since it was shuttered in the eighties,” Commander Lee said as she guided the shuttle deeper into the troposphere and had to circumnavigate a particularly dense ammonia storm. “But who does all the hands-on stuff? The stuff you gotta get out and walk around for?”

“Synths.”

“What about during the ban?”

“Synths,” Dr. Brooks repeated, noting the confused look on his colleague’s face. “Remember Commander, this facility doesn’t exist. So who would say anything about it? And besides, no organic wants to spend a day longer here than they have to, and frankly, even at their worst, synths were never the most dangerous thing contained within its walls.”

“I see…” Commander Lee nodded as a bolt of lightning cracked off their portside, courtesy of the friction formed by ammonia-H2O condensation colliding with massive cumuliform updrafts from deep below. But for as impressive as it was, electrostatic discharges were the least of her worries. She wasn’t sure what made her more uncomfortable, the cavalier way Dr. Brooks spoke of off-the-books research activities, or the way he described the facility they were about to visit.

She didn’t have much time to deliberate on that thought though. Her console began to beep, alerting her that it had picked up a large solid mass up ahead as they continued their descent.

“Looks like we’re coming upon Salvage Facility 21-J now,” Commander Lee reported as she looked forward. What she saw surprised her. “Woah, it’s massive.” It was bigger than many standard starbases, but looked nothing like any of them. It was something totally different.

“It is indeed,” smiled Dr. Brooks. He was amused by her reaction as he’d had much the same reaction the first time he saw the place. “It had to be large enough to house the debris of an entire Borg Cube, and it was designed specifically to survive the conditions down here.”

Commander Lee worked the controls, but no matter what she did, she couldn’t get a clear reading from the sensors. “I’m detecting a mix of Federation and Borg emissions, but beyond that, I can’t tell you much. There’s a metric ton of interference, courtesy of the gravimetric shear, the dense gaseous atmosphere, and the materials of the facility itself.”

“Exactly as it was meant to be,” Dr. Brooks nodded. As he understood it, one of the hardest aspects of building the place had been keeping it from being crushed by the pressure, sheared by the storms, or corroded by the harsh elements, but a benefit to its construction was that the environment and the materials came together to make it highly resistant to surveillance.

Commander Lee brought the shuttle in closer, making a tight pass around the facility as she surveyed its exterior. “Visual inspection suggests nothing out of the ordinary… but to be honest, I don’t know what I’m looking for.” It was unlike any Starfleet starbase she’d ever seen, lacking any design queues whatsoever. As it wasn’t intended to be seen by anyone, who cared what it looked like? It was all function and no form, just a massive amalgamation of sheeting, conduit, bulkheads, and industrial materials. Not all that different from the way the Borg designed things.

“Well then, I guess it’s time we go aboard,” Dr. Brooks said, gesturing towards a pair of blast doors cut into the superstructure. He worked the controls at his console, sending the codes that had been provided to them by Beckett’s office, and the blast doors began to open. “The system has cleared us to dock. Take us in.”

Commander Lee took a breath and guided the shuttle in. What struck her most was the darkness. There were no bright flood lights, and in fact, there was basically no lighting at all besides the light refracting off the atmosphere outside. It felt more akin to flying into a dark cave than a shuttlebay, and she had to keep the shuttle’s running lights on just to see her landing zone.

As she settled the shuttle on the deck, the blast doors behind them began to shut behind them. Commander Lee couldn’t help but feel like they were being locked in. That, coupled with the darkness, made her shudder.

“It’s an airlock style design,” Dr. Brooks explained, noting her reaction. “Primitive, sure, but ammonia corrodes emitters over time. Blast doors were just a more effective choice than traditional forcefields.” It wasn’t pretty, but it was practical.

As the atmospheric converters in the shuttlebay extracted the ammonia-rich atmosphere and replaced it with human-breathable air, Dr. Brooks got up and headed for the back to prep their equipment. Commander Lee, meanwhile, began the power down sequence, and as she waited, she looked out the front window. At least when the blast doors had been opened, there’d been some ambient light flittering in. Now, besides the narrow beam cast by the shuttle’s own lights, it was just dark. So dark. Almost completely black, besides an eerie deep green backlighting coming from a source she couldn’t quite place.

And then suddenly, she saw movement. 

“Hey doc,” Commander Lee said nervously. “I thought you said the facility was unoccupied.”

“I did,” Dr. Brooks replied as he clambered around in the rear hold. “Only synths. Why?”

“Because we’ve got company. Organic company.”

Dr. Brooks poked his head back out of the rear hold, and immediately he saw what she was talking about. There were three Andorians emerging from the shadows, looking very not synthetic. “Well, I will say this is not what I expected…” He looked down at a console and confirmed the atmospheric converters had finished doing their work. “I guess we should go outside and say hello.”

Cautiously, the pair climbed out of the shuttle. 

“This facility is off limits by the order of Starfleet Intelligence,” the Andorian declared firmly, his voice cutting through the eerie silence and echoing across the shuttlebay. “State your purpose.”

“I am Commander Cora Lee, Commanding Officer of the Starfleet vessel USS Ingenuity, and this is Dr. Brooks, Research Scientist from the Advanced Science, Technology and Research Activity,” Commander Lee explained. “We are here on official Starfleet business.” As she spoke, Dr. Brooks discretely checked his tricorder. Something wasn’t right.

The Andorian’s eyes narrowed on the Commander: “And that business would be what, exactly?”

“We are here to confirm that Salvage Facility 21-J remains in good working ord…” Commander Lee tried to explain.

“Under whose authority?” the Andorian interrupted, stepping closer to her.

The aggressive attitude of the Andorian was off putting. Commander Lee took a step back, unsure how to respond, but Dr. Brooks stepped forward as he secured his tricorder back in his utility belt. “Under the orders of Starfleet Intelligence, you numbnut,” he answered, watching the Andorian’s body language closely as his tone shifted from coy to aggressive. “The same Starfleet Intelligence that said this facility was off-limits to all, including you.” He set his hand on his sidearm. “And so now I must ask you the same: under whose authority are you here?”

The Andorian looked caught aback by the shift in momentum. For a moment, he just stood there. And then, suddenly, he reached for something concealed within his jacket. 

But Dr. Brooks was faster.

By the time the butt of a phaser pistol had begun to emerge from the Andorian’s jacket, Dr. Brooks already had his at the ready. He squeezed off a shot before the Andorian could even get his fully drawn. The other two Andorians began to move, but Dr. Brooks didn’t wait to see what would follow. He simply squeezed off two more shots.

“Wa… wa… what did you just do?” Commander Lee stuttered.

“I kept us alive,” Dr. Brooks answered flatly as he swept the room with his phaser, looking for any other targets that might present themselves.

Commander Lee just stood there, mouth agape. Why was it that every mission since linking up with the USS Polaris seemed to go this way? And how was it that even Admiral Reyes’ lab coats shot first and asked questions later? This was definitely not what she had envisioned when she was told the USS Ingenuity would be linking up with the Advanced Science, Technology and Research Activity. Where were the stellar phenomena and ancient ruins?

“Didn’t you notice his antennae?” Dr. Brooks asked. After what Lieutenant Balan had explained, it had been a giveaway to their malintent – and, of course, what he saw on his tricorder.

“No… but what if he was just trying to safeguard the facility?” Commander Lee asked. These colonists, who they knew felt estranged from the Federation, could have totally just taken it upon themselves to protect the facility. “If I was doing that, and two people came aboard I didn’t expect…”

“Look at your tricorder, Cora,” Dr. Brooks insisted. Commander Lee reached down to her belt and opened it up. The readings were strange, but so were the readings they’d taken from the shuttle. She couldn’t really make heads or tails of them. “Those readings you’re seeing, the reason they’re confusing is they’re not separate Starfleet and Borg emissions patterns. Those readings, they’re fused together.”

“You mean…” Her voice trailed off in terror.

Dr. Brooks nodded grimly. Things had just become significantly more complicated. But then they heard the rhythmic sounds of footfalls coming from somewhere deep within the facility. A quick check of the tricorder confirmed that more Andorian lifesigns were headed their way. “We need to get the fuck out of here.”

“How?” Commander Lee asked, looking back at the blast doors. They were sealed shut to keep the vacuum out, but they’d also keep them sealed in. “Somehow I don’t think those codes Beckett’s office gave us are going to work anymore.”

“We’re not going out,” Dr. Brooks replied as he flipped the underbarrel taclight on and moved away from the shuttle into the darkness. “We’re going in.” Commander Lee had no choice but to follow. They were now trapped aboard Salvage Facility 21-J with an unknown number of hostile Andorians and a Cube’s worth of Borg technology.