With the colony’s plan revealed, Commander Lee and Dr. Brooks rushed back to the shuttlebay. When they arrived, they made a disappointing discovery. “It’s gone!” Commander Lee lamented. “They must have moved it while we were belowdeck.” It had seemed so easy, just intercept the beacon before the colonists could move it, but they’d arrived too late. “What now?”

“We know where they’re taking it,” Dr. Brooks pointed out. Lieutenant Balan had secured the destination from the colonist she’d turned. “The Roche lobe of Beta Serpentis. We just need to find a way to get out there.” If they could reach the transwarp gate before the colonists could activate the beacon, they still had a chance at stopping the colony’s plan to be assimilated. 

“What are you thinking?” asked Commander Lee, feeling a bit defeated.

“Let’s go back to the shuttlebay where we abandoned our shuttle,” Dr. Brooks suggested. “We’ll find a way to break it out.” The Type 11 shuttle from the USS Ingenuity would have sufficient shielding to survive the shearing forces of the Roche lobe, and it carried sufficient ammunition to hopefully be able to destroy the gate when they found it.

Once more, Commander Lee and Dr. Brooks made their way through the network of jefferies tubes that lined the interior superstructure of Salvage Facility 21-J. This time, they were returning to where it had all started, where the colonists had initially sealed them in when they came aboard. A lot had changed since then, and they’d become quite practiced at bypassing the station’s security systems. It was fair to assume they’d be able to override the access controls and reopen the blast doors.

At least that was how they felt until they reached the shuttlebay.

“Fuck, it’s gone too!” Commander Lee cried out exasperatedly. It wasn’t like her to swear, but she’d been feeling like they finally had a workable plan… up until that moment. Their shuttle was gone. What the hell were they to do now? “Why’d they take our…” 

She didn’t finish her statement though, as she heard footfalls coming down the corridor that ran along the entrance to the shuttlebay. The pair ducked behind a large storage crate as a pair of Andorians came into view.

“The beacon is on its way over,” one of the Andorians was saying. “I loaded it onto the Starfleet shuttle with Th’korass and Ch’ekal a few minutes ago.” That answered the question of where the shuttle had gone.

“I wonder what ever happened to the two pink skins that came aboard with it?” asked the other Andorian. He’d heard about the skirmishes below deck.

“Who knows? And who cares?” the first asked indifferently. “The time is finally upon us. Nothing else matters. Our future is but a couple hours away.” As he spoke those latter words, his tone became one of excitement and reverence. He had dedicated his life to this pursuit.

“I’m going to take the last shuttlepod from bay three over to the gate so I can be there when they arrive,” the second Andorian declared. He knew he was being impatient and individualistic, but after all this time, he didn’t want to wait a minute longer. He could afford himself that indulgence one last time before he became a part of something greater.

Commander Lee and Dr. Brooks looked at each other. They were both thinking the same thing. The colonists had another shuttle. That meant there might still be a way to stop them.

“I’ll join you, but they’ll probably take one look at that pod and skip on by,” the first Andorian laughed.  “That forty year old clunker is hardly a prime demonstration of our technological distinctiveness.”

“They’ll know their followers when they see us.”

The pair rounded a corner out of sight, and then Commander Lee and Dr. Brooks slipped from their hiding spot to follow. Until now, they’d only dared to move about the station by way of the jefferies tubes, but time was of the essence so they had no choice but to take some risks.

A few minutes later, they came to another shuttlebay. A single Type 17 shuttlepod sat in the middle of it. Dr. Brooks realized the problem at once, but they didn’t have a choice. As the Andorians walked forward to the shuttle, Commander Lee and Dr. Brooks slipped inside the bay and  ducked behind a pair of cargo crates. Their concealment hardly mattered though. Blinded by their anticipation, Andorians were completely oblivious to their tail.

As the shuttlepod’s rear doors finished opening and the Andorians ascended the ramp, Dr. Brooks readied his rifle. Next to him, Commander Lee drew her phaser as well. 

“Ready?” Dr. Brooks asked quietly.

“As ever,” replied Commander Lee. She was ready to move. Now. Before something else happened to thwart them. This had to work. They had to get out there and stop the colonists from summoning the Borg.

“Hey!” shouted Dr. Brooks, breaking the silence as he and Commander Lee stepped out from behind the crates. As the Andorians turned, the last thing they saw was the two Starfleet officers with their weapons drawn. 

And then Dr. Brooks and Commander Lee cut them down.

Before the two incapacitated Andorians had  even hit the deck, Dr. Brooks and Commander Lee were already rushing forward. “Prep the shuttle!” Dr. Brooks ordered as they climbed through the hold and into the cockpit. “I’ll handle launch control!”

Commander Lee got to work firing up the shuttle’s systems, while Dr. Brooks interfaced with the station’s launch controls. It was a pleasant surprise that the shuttle was already connected to the station. He wasn’t even going to need to break through the security perimeter this time, a convenience he assumes was on account of the fact that the launch was intended as the Andorians had planned on taking the shuttle over. That would conceal his approach to the gate.

“All systems are a go,” Commander Lee reported a moment later.

“And we’re clear for launch,” Dr. Brooks replied as he turned to look at the young commander. “Now is the time that you and I say our goodbyes.” He gestured towards the rear hold. “It’s been a pleasure, Cora.” She’d helped get them to this point, but now it was time for her to get off.

Commander Lee looked at him confused. “What?” Up until now, she’d been assuming they would be going together to the gate to stop the colonists from activating the beacon. “What do you mean?”

“Miss Lee, you’re young,” Dr. Brooks replied, his eyes filled with a sad sincerity, a recognition of what was to come next. It was a dramatic shift in demeanor from the sarcastic wit and bold solutioning he’d brought for their escapades to that point. “You’ve still got a full life ahead of you. This is mine to take from here.”

Commander Lee still didn’t understand. In their frantic dash to commandeer the shuttle, she had missed something.

“Look around you, Commander,” Dr. Brooks urged. “This dilapidated pod will get me to the gate, but it’s just a passenger pod. It has no phasers and no torpedoes. The only weapon it has is its warp core, and it isn’t even ejectable.” Suddenly, Commander Lee understood. “It’s a one-way trip.” He’d recognized this the moment he’d seen the Type 17 sitting there. It was the only choice they had to stop the colony from summoning the Borg.

“No…” she fumbled with her words. “There’s got to be another way.”

“If we had more time, we might figure one out,” Dr. Brooks replied. “But we don’t. You heard them. The beacon is on its way over. We’re out of time.” Even at max burn, he’d be lucky to get to the Roche lobe before the colonists triggered the gate and activated the beacon.

“I’m coming with you,” Commander Lee replied firmly as she folded her arms across her chest. “I’m not leaving you to do this alone.” She couldn’t. There had to be another way, one that didn’t involve detonating the shuttlepod’s warp core. They’d just have to figure it out en route. And if not…