USS Healdsburg | 1700 Hours | Bridge

Captain Reacher sat in the command chair, eyes on the viewscreen showing the flickering outline of a gray moon at the edge of sensor range. Around him, the bridge crew of the Healdsburg moved with measured intensity, finalizing details for the mission. Lieutenant Hanes and Lieutenant Fox were at adjacent stations reviewing target schematics. Katie Harlow hovered nervously by the ready room, fingers tightening on her phaser rifle.

The Tempest Unit’s shuttle docked quietly in the aft bay, and a guard escorted a row of marines aboard. The Starfleet contingent saluted crisply; Katie nearly saluted as she gripped her phaser. Lt. Colonel Hayes answered on behalf of his unit with a quick hand salute. Reacher gave a curt nod.

“Everyone ready?” he asked. The Starfleet officers snapped to attention, and Hayes responded crisply, “Ready, sir.” Reacher spoke in a low, controlled tone. “We have intel on a Vaadwaur facility testing reactivated Borg technology. No one knows how extensive it is. We need eyes on the inside, intact and silent.”

“No, sir,” Fox replied softly. The scarlet-and-black security uniform of the Healdsburg looked stark next to the olive camouflage of the marines. “We’ll stick to the plan.” Lieutenant Hanes nodded as she tapped commands on her console. “Sensors show no patrols. All external systems are offline. We might be the first ones in.”

Chief Warrant Officer Kane frowned at his tricorder and unpacked a toolkit. “Infrared cams show nothing,” he reported. “No power signatures except for basic maintenance. If they shut down systems, it’s in our favor. I’ll carry a comm-jammer in case this place reaches out.” He rigged a small interference device, its blue light flickering on.

First Lieutenant Jake Arlen gave a short laugh. “Give us half a minute, and we’ll be in, grab the gear, and out before they even know we came,” he said, glancing at Fox. “Just blast through the door, right?”

Fox shot him a warning look. “We’re not on a bullet-spray timetable, Jake,” she said quietly. “Quiet and careful.”

Arlen shrugged. “Same difference in the end.”

Katie felt her stomach knot up. She checked the safety on her phaser again. Lieutenant Hanes leaned in and gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “Focus, Katie. Do your training. We move as one,” Hanes whispered.

Katie forced herself to breathe slowly. “I will,” she said in a small voice, managing a nod even as the world felt like it was spinning.

Reacher turned to the transporter console at the side of the bridge. He studied the readouts, then nodded once. “All right, team,” he said crisply. “Transporter lock.”

In an instant, the away team vanished from the Healdsburg’s deck.

Unknown Facility | 1715 Hours | Outer Perimeter

Moonlight spilled over jagged rock and dusty soil. In the darkness loomed a squat compound carved into the ridgeline. Strange Vaadwaur symbols were painted on a heavy metal door set into a stone wall. Faded plaques promised a long-abandoned research outpost.

The away team fanned out just beyond a scruffy line of scrub grass. Fox activated a sensor sweep while Hanes consulted a tricorder. “Perimeter’s cold,” Hanes murmured. “No life signs beyond us. Sounds like a lockdown.”

Kane moved to a rock outcropping, setting a small jammer device. “Subspace chatter’s jammed,” he said quietly into his comm. “This site’s on deep silence. If they hit an alarm, nobody will hear a call for help out here.”

Hayes approached the steel security door. He studied the panel. “This must be the entrance,” he said. He turned to Arlen. “How’s that hack coming?”

Arlen planted a mini-interface on the door’s lock and typed rapidly. “I’m in,” he said. The old control circuitry yielded under his fingers. “Looks like some ancient Starfleet cipher. I can override it.”

Katie stood tense in the starlight, sweat cooling on her forehead. Hanes gave her a nod. “Stand by,” she ordered softly. The corridor beyond would be silent and empty — or crawling with danger.

Arlen finished the final keystroke. A hiss of hydraulics issued from the door. In the shifting red glow of its lights, the portal slid open. The hallway inside was shrouded in darkness, but enough light leaked out to make out angular walls and sparse equipment. With a shared breath, the team stepped over the threshold.

Unknown Facility | 1720 Hours | Inner Corridor

La’an Hanes took point, with Katie close behind her. Fox covered their right flank as Arlen took the left, and Kane and Ensign Street brought up the rear. They walked along a long, wide hallway. Control consoles and old data terminals lined the walls, most of them dark and broken. Only a single amber alert beacon blinked far ahead.

“Looks like an R&D wing,” Hanes whispered, scanning with her tricorder. “Lab and offices, maybe.”

Ahead, a heavily reinforced door blocked the path. It bore a large Borg wheel symbol – the classic hexagonal network. A green light blinked on the access panel beside it.

“This has got to be it,” Hanes said.

Kane immediately knelt by the panel. “It’s locked behind a secure cipher. I can override, but it’ll take a moment.”

“No hesitation,” Hayes urged. “Start it.”

Katie took position behind a bulkhead with Harlow’s rifle ready. Fox tensed beside her.

With swift fingers, Kane rerouted power and keyed commands. The door’s lock clicked. A final hiss sounded as the heavy door slid aside. Dust drifted into the corridor from the gap.

Unknown Facility | 1725 Hours | Research Lab

They entered a broad chamber bathed in emergency lighting. Among scattered desks and consoles, glass containment tubes lined the far wall. Shapes writhed within the milky fluid of the tubes. Katie’s eyes widened. Vaadwaur bodies — some adult, some children — floated half-submerged, their limbs entwined with glowing tubes. Borg bio-implants marbled their flesh. A digital readout above each pod flashed encoded data.

“This is monstrous,” Lieutenant Fox breathed.

La’an Hanes covered her mouth. “They’re integrating Vaadwaur DNA. Borg,” she hissed.

Katie pressed herself against a console. The silence shattered with a sharp CRACK! One pod’s glass fractured. Fluid gushed out and a pale Vaadwaur figure shot from the tank. Cables dangled from its spine. Its eyes flared green with rage.

Arlen cursed under his breath. “We have a runner.”

The creature leaped at them. Hanes shrieked as it latched on to her arm, its metal claws tearing.

“Fire!” Hayes shouted.

Bright phaser beams erupted. Fox strafed left, Arlen and Street to the right. Katie raised her rifle. She aimed at the hybrid’s glowing head and squeezed off shots. Blue energy hit hard; the creature’s face exploded into sparks. It snarled and staggered.

Hanes fell to a knee, bleeding. Kane scrambled to her side with a medkit. “Ma’am!” he yelled.

La’an let out a ragged breath, pressing a hypospray to her arm. “Still alive,” she panted.

The Vaadwaur twisted, smoke rising from its head, then collapsed into a heap. Before the others had fully recovered, another pod cracked open behind Fox. A second cybernetic Vaadwaur hybrid sprang free.

“Hold the line!” Hanes screamed. Dragging herself up, she fired on the new threat with Fox’s phaser.

The team converged fire on the second creature. Arlen and Fox flanked it while Katie knelt and aimed carefully. Together they unleashed another torrent of energy. The creature twisted, then fell silent at their feet.

The lab fell quiet. Dust drifted in the beams of light. Fox lowered her weapon. “That’s it… we have to go,” she said urgently.

Harlow’s fingers shook as she slid a clip into her rifle. Kane slung his tricorder forward. “We should grab what we can,” he said. He began uploading data from the terminal at the entrance.

Hanes limped toward them, Fox steadying her. Katie approached with a bio-bed sheet. “Let me help,” she said.

“Thanks,” Hanes replied. “I’m okay. We got it.” She caught Katie’s eye, nodded.

Arlen holstered his weapon and went to a console. He started downloading research logs. “We’ve got it,” he said. “Coordinates, schematics, everything.”

Katie swallowed the taste of bile. She remembered every moment — the eyes of the creature she put down. But Fox gave her a faint smile. “Good work,” Fox said softly.

Unknown Facility | 1730 Hours | Bridge

Captain Reacher sat rigid on the Healdsburg’s bridge, monitoring the live feeds. The tactical console blinked warnings. In one corner, the scrambled video from the lab flickered. The communications officer shook her head at the static.

“Status, tactical?” he demanded quietly.

The tactical officer’s eyes were wide. “Incoming! Sensors detect a Boomer-class Vaadwaur ship decloaking in orbit above the facility.”

Reacher didn’t flinch. “Shields up, all stations battle-ready,” he ordered. “Phasers and torpedoes ready.” He keyed the comm. “Healdsburg to team: We have incoming enemy. You’re clear to beam out once we give the signal. Do not engage the ship.” He killed the channel.

Suddenly La’an’s voice came through on the open lab channel. “Captain — can you hear me? We have Borg-hybrid Vaadwaur inside. We’ve been in a firefight, but we got the data. There are dozens of pods, coordinates to their other outposts. It’s… this is big.”

Reacher felt a chill. “Good work,” he said into the mic. “We’re on our way. Extract on my mark.”

On screen, the lab was flickering red from internal explosions. Behind him, the bridge crew sprang into action. “Helm, come about now — take us into high orbit above the site,” Reacher commanded.

The viewscreen showed the Boomer ship bearing down on the planet. “Weapons, fire on my mark,” Reacher said into the mic. “Dispense with those fighters!”

The Boomer launched two small attack craft. “Phasers locked,” the weapons officer reported. Streams of light arced across space and vaporized the incoming fighters before they could reach the surface.

Reacher turned back to monitoring sensors. The away team still hadn’t responded. Finally, Fox’s voice came through. “Captain, we’re pinned. Defense down, ready to beam.”

He nodded to himself. “Understood. Power transporters — beam them up now.”

Unknown Facility | 1735 Hours | Landing Zone

The team sprinted across uneven ground toward a camouflaged short-range shuttle. Flashes of light and distant explosions rocked the earth behind them.

“Go, go!” Hayes barked. He shoved Katie into the shuttle’s cargo hold and slammed the door.

La’an dove in ahead of him. Kane tossed a rifle to Fox. “Cover us!” Fox shouted as she manned the aft guns.

Overhead, the Boomer unleashing a final missile. Katie watched it slam into the landing pad and detonate. Metal screeched underfoot as the shuttle’s engines flared. The craft surged upward at maximum throttle, shuddering away from the blast zone.

On the Healdsburg’s bridge, Reacher exhaled. The viewscreen showed the facility engulfed in flame as the shuttle escaped. “Everyone in?” he asked quietly.

Lieutenant Fox stood. “All present, sir. Team intact.”

“Very good,” Reacher said. “Return to dock.”

USS Healdsburg | 1740 Hours | Shuttle Bay

The shuttle settled with a shudder in the Healdsburg’s bay. Medical techs rushed aboard. Katie’s legs were bandaged, La’an’s arm was wrapped, and Kane’s shoulder was covered with biogel.

Reacher met them as they stepped off the ramp. Hanes gave him a thumbs-up despite her bruises. Arlen clapped Fox on the back, lifting a corner of the cordon. She managed a tired smile.

The Captain found Katie standing a little apart, still pale. He approached her quietly. “You did good,” he said softly.

She stared at her boots. “I want to forget this,” she whispered.

Reacher placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “We’ll deal with it later. Right now, get some rest.”

Overhead monitors went dark. The stars outside were peaceful again — but Captain Reacher knew the storm of Borg dread was only beginning.