Training Exercise: Team 1

Posted on Sun Apr 12th, 2026 @ 10:14am by Cadet Sophomore Grade Miran Lalor [Lalor] HRH & Civilian Two of Eight & Lieutenant Commander Nicholas Reece [Reece] & Cadet Sophomore Grade Melan Aris & Cadet Freshman Grade Selenoa Ravari

Mission: Interlude
3819 words - 7.6 OF Standard Post Measure

OOC: Lt. Commander Nicholas Reece – Cadet Ravari, Cadet Melan and Cadet Lalor.

As their team split off from the rest, heading down a dimly lit corridor, Miran looked around carefully. The structure was made of an alloy she didn't recognise. It was dark but it had a strange element through it. "Its very weird looking." She murmered.

"Yeah, built by an unknown race in another galaxy will do that," Aris replied.

The corridor was huge. Someone 10 feet tall could have walked down it without issue. And it was equally wide; their party of 4 could easily walk abreast with room to spare. Controls to the equipment in the docking bay were oversized as well. That suggested a species far larger than standard humanoids.

More specifically, it was the older equipment, the stuff that seemed to come with the station. But there was other stuff, cruder stuff, more humanoid sized stuff bolted here and there. But no clear signs of a struggle so far. No scars from weapons fire, no traces of blood, although one couldn't assume whoever lived here had something that resembled blood.

"It's like this place was abandoned twice," Aris offered up as she checked her tricorder. The whole thing was messy. The bottom layer was sleek, controls and passageways neatly melding with the overall minimalist form. But then there was everything else. Ugly. Inelegant. And, yes, weird. "Maybe more than twice?"

Miran studied the readings over Aris's shoulder. "Which could be for many reasons... and not all of them good. Are we sure this place is not owned by a power?"

Aris shrugged to indicate she had no good answer for Miran. "If you voluntarily abandon a station, you usually do something with it. Sell it to someone, scrap it for parts, chuck it into the nearest star, something."

She put her hand against the wall, feeling the slight vibration that ran through it. Artificial gravity, air pressure, emergency lighting, that could all be explained by a hasty and forced evacuation. But some of the clumsy conduits were carrying power, and the whole station just felt....more active than it should.

Weird. It felt weird. Aris considered Miran might not have been as off the mark as she first judged.

"You also usually turn off the lights when you leave," Aris said quietly, eyeing the shadowed recesses surrounding them. She checked her tricorder again, looking for life signs but finding nothing of note. She looked to Nicholas, "How sure are we this place is abandoned?"

Nicholas was feeling an odd sense about the place as well. "Elysium's sensors gave the place a few thorough goings over, but, there were many sections that we couldn't see into." He indicated the odd-looking material that seemed to marble through the structure. "However, were we did see, it looked completely empty, so, that is why we are here. Remember, at Starfleet's core, we are explorers."

"Yes, sir," Aris acknowledged as they continued down the corridor. Besides the emergency lighting, the only illumination came from their suits, which causes patches of light to bounce around in accordance to the group's movements.

"Should we be looking for Engineering?" Aris asked. "Investigate the state of power generation, see if we can access computer systems?"

Nicholas nodded. "Thst is exactly what we are doing, Cadet. The sensor scans did indicate a possible power source, three decks and about two hundred meters from the landing bay. If the design is of a similar idea to ours, it will be an auxiliary fusion plant, with the main power facility deeper and lower in the facility."

Sele followed the group, scanning with her tricorder. The small LCARs screen displayed as she walked ahead a bit. Turning around, she sat on a railing overlooking the area.

Nicholas stepped up to her and asked, "And what are your scans picking up, Cadet Ravari?"

Sele focused on her scanning. Placing her foot up on the railing, she perched herself carefully while tapping on her tricorder. Turning to him, she replied, "I am picking up some strange, inconsistent power readings from over this way. It's weak. Intermittent. Something's blocking my scans. I agree with Melan. We should investigate it. Find out what's going on."

Nicholas nodded approvingly. "Good job." He gave Sele an honest grin. He then addressed the team as a whole. "Alright people, let's do this by the numbers. We move forward cautiously,,scanning ever square meter as we go."

Miran was tempted, very much so to roll her eyes but she forebore it. Her sister had blistered her ears before this mission about taking care and not ending up in medical.

They moved cautiously down the hallways, following their scanners.

The corridor eventually opened into a much larger space, the sudden change in scale almost jarring after the narrow passageways behind them.

The room was vast and circular, its ceiling arching high overhead into darkness. What little light existed came from intermittent strips along the walls, flickering weakly as if struggling to remember their purpose. Each pulse of illumination revealed more of the chamber’s strange architecture before plunging it back into shadow.

Unlike the rest of the station, this room felt… altered.

Sections of the walls had been cut open and rebuilt with unfamiliar materials. Smooth metal surfaces had been overlaid with dark mechanical growths — cables and conduits threaded together in unnatural bundles, running across the floor and climbing the walls like roots searching for something to feed on.

Some of the machinery still carried faint power.

Tiny green and amber indicators blinked slowly in the darkness, casting sickly reflections across the polished floor plates. The lights pulsed in irregular rhythms, like distant heartbeats.

At the center of the chamber stood a raised platform.

Whatever had once occupied the platform had been heavily modified. The structure looked part medical table, part industrial frame — reinforced arms extended from its sides, holding curved braces and mechanical tools that had long since powered down. Several thick cables ran from the platform into the walls, disappearing into the nest of technology embedded there.

The air here felt different.

Cooler.

Still.

As though the room had sealed itself away from the rest of the station.

Faint condensation clung to the metallic surfaces, and a thin haze drifted near the floor, catching the weak light and turning it into ghostlike wisps that moved slowly through the chamber.

For a moment, nothing moved.

Nothing made a sound.

Then one of the consoles attached to the platform sparked weakly, the brief flash of light illuminating the structure fully for the first time.

And there — half-hidden among the machinery — was a figure.

Humanoid.

Tall. Motionless. Suspended upright within the mechanical frame as if it had been placed there deliberately. Dark metallic implants traced along its body, disappearing beneath pale skin and reinforced plating. Tubing ran from its spine and arms into the surrounding machinery.

Most of the systems connected to it were dead.

Dark.

Cold.

But one small indicator still blinked.

Slow.

Steady.

Alive.

The faintest mechanical hum came from somewhere within the frame, so quiet it was almost indistinguishable from the ambient noise of the station.

And then, after several long seconds…

One dim green light along the figure’s implant flickered. And someone muttered "oh Fuck"

2 of 8 remained motionless as the outsiders arrived, it was unsure of what to do with these outsiders, the Hive Mind long ago would have compelled assimilation, but there was no Hive Mind, it had fallen silent a long time ago, emptiness was all that survived.

2 of 8's eyepiece locked onto the intruder trying to process what it was scanning, none of them were Borg, so this was not a rescue mission, perhaps new outsiders come to study and examine 2 of 8, time would tell what their intentions were, for the better or for the worse.

As soon as Nicholas saw the familiar image of a Borg drone, his instincts were to destroy it. The Borg were a terrific nightmare of a species back home. The very faint images of their ships on long range sensors were enough to cause one's blood to run cold. He immediately raised his phaser in one quick snapping motion.

Then he paused a beat. His rational brain jumped forward and screamed the question....how was this drone here....in the Circinus Galaxy?!?

"Everyone stay back," he said aloud to the group. "Do not get too close!"

"No shit!" Aris impulsively retorted. Something in the back of her brain said she should tack a "sir" onto that, but the rest of her brain beat that voice into unconsciousness. She grabbed her phaser and, despite orders to the contrary, set power to full. She leveled it as she stepped back and to the side, keeping the drone in her line of sight. If a shot had any chance of making a difference before the Borg adapted, she wasn't going to waste it shooting on stun.

Miran was cursing in her native tongue, a flow of lyrical words coming out harshly. She scampered back to the door.

Sele felt the wind of the impact as Miran scampered past her in fear. She turned, watching. Observing. She had been hearing this low, metallic hum. Her Vulcan ears stayed sharp. Her tricorder hummed as she scanned the half-metallic being that stared back. Cold. Emotionless. Confused. Memory brought Sele back to her mother's warnings of metallic beings called the Borg that assimilated. Conquered. Elicit fear as it did to her team. Nicholas raised his firearm, calling everyone to stay back. Cadet Melan raising jumping to defend against a defenseless mechanical being, and Cadet Lalor running for cover instead of holding the line. Sele couldn't blame them. The unknown is terrifying. Even she felt terrified herself. Raising her eyebrow, she kept her fear at bay and remained calm, one hand holding the tricorder while keeping her other hand near her weapon, just in case.

Keeping himself positioned between his cadets and the drone, Nicholas reached up and slapped his commbadge. "Reece to all teams! We have a Borg drone here! Keep your eyes open for any more!" He then tapped his badge again. "Reece to Elysium!"

Silence

"Reece to Elysium, do you read?!"

Silence

Nicholas stole a quick glance around the compartment, then focused his eyes back on the drone that was watching him. "The alien alloy must be blocking the comm signals."

2 of 8 did not move, it remained stationary, it could perceive the weapon aimed at it, without the Collective it would be vulnerable to any weapons, it lacked the exoplate armour it once possessed, stripped from it long ago.

With her tricorder still scanning the half-machine, the half-Orion Vulcan hybrid noted lower power readings. Despite their teacher's warning to stay back, Sele stepped forward, speaking, "If it were going to attack, wouldn't it have done so? You're a long way from home, aren't you? If you aren't going to hurt us, what is your designation?"

Keeping her hand close to her small holster, she lowered her tricorder slightly as her sharp Vulcan ears continued to hear that buzzing, low-powered hum. Shaking her head, her pointed ears twitched slightly as she added softly, "Are you going to harm us?"

2 of 8 stared at Sele without reacting, it was half Borg Half Klingon, although its assimilation tubes remained its nanoprobes were not efficient anymore.

"We cannot harm you," 2 of 8 informed Sele.

Aris could think of a few reasons why it hadn't attacked. Perhaps it was injured or confined in some way.

Or perhaps it had friends.

"Guys..." she warned, looking around for signs of an ambush. "Borg aren't exactly known for travelling alone. And tricorders aren't even picking this one up."

Nicholas' analytical brain started working overdrive. Sele was correct, something seemed off about the drone. With his phaser pointed at it, he should have been marked as hostile, yet the drone did not attack. Lowering the weapon some, he took a few steps forward, so he could get a better look while still remaining out of reach. "Can you speak? What is your designation?"

"We are 2 of 8," 2 of 8 replied in a monotone voice "We have no orders regarding your presence, the Hive Mind is quiet, we are confused," it added.

"How many other drones are here?" Aris asked. The urge to just flee had lessened - slightly - but she wasn't about to lower her weapon.

"We are alone, we were the sole surviving drone," 2 of 8 replied.

Nicholas could see that the drone was genuinely confused. That alone calmed him down. A drone alone, not connected to the Hive Mind of the Collective was not a real threat. They would have to remain vigilant, of course, but he was starting to see that this drone was not current dangerous.

Lowering his phaser, but putting it away, he stepped a little closer, just out of arm's reach. "Tell me, 2 of 8, what is the last thing you remember?"

"Cube 696 was travelling through the Transwarp Network when it collapsed, stranding Cube 696 in unknown space, all drones except 2 of 8 perished," 2 of 8 replied.

"Why aren't you with your cube?" Aris asked.

"Whoever runs this facility removed us, why we do not understand," 2 of 8 replied.

A lot of questions ran through Aris's mind. Where was the cube? How did someone remove a single drone from it? Were there others still alive? There was a spot of hope here: it seemed genuinely alone and separated from the Collective. Those had the potential to be saved.

She started to lower her weapon. Then another thought struck her.

"What would you do if you could re-join the Collective?"

"We would rejoin the Collective, we are Borg," 2 of 8 replied automatically.

Sele listened and sympathized with the lost drone. If she were lost and without a designation, she would want to rejoin. However, in her case, her family wouldn't be the one she would go back to. She waited for the question to be answered before she proposed her own.

Miran watched in silence from the door way. She, like her sister, had her issues with Borg. Commander Rin aside, her first reaction was to flee.

Nicholas was investigating the contraption that seemed to be holding the drone in place. He could also see that it seemed that most, if not all of the drone's armour and weapons had been removed. It looked almost vulnerable.

Of course, he knew enough about the Borg to know that one should never discount them.

Looking back into the drone's face, he spoke evenly. "As you are separated from the Collective, we would be willing to aid you in your escape from this prison. So long as you know, should you attempt to attack us, in any way, we will defend ourselves. Do you understand?"

2 of 8 studied Nicholas "We would welcome assistance in leaving this place," 2 of 8 replied "We have no instructions with regarding you, we shall not harm you," it added.

Nicholas nodded in understanding. "Alright. Turn your face away," he said as he adjusted the beam focus in his phaser and took aim at the cage sections attached to the drone. He started to slowly as carefully cut the drone free, careful not to injure them.

2 of 8 stood motionless as its rescuer cut it free, it also moved its head sideways as directed.

It took Nicholas a few moments to cut through all of the restraints holding the drone to the cage. When he was finally done, he bolstered his phaser, as a sign of faith that the drone would not attack them. "Okay, if you can, go ahead and step forward. Take your time though, in case you've been immobilized for a while, you might have difficulty."

Once 2 of 8 was free it stepped out of what had held it captive it stood there studying Nicholas and the others, passively, the Collective had not issued commands in so long, 2 of 8 was not sure what to do.

Seeing that 2 of 8 could move freely, though clearly out of sorts from being separated from the Collective, Nicholas carefully guided it away from the observation dias, and away from the chunks of its armor and other devices that had been removed from its person by whomever had captured it. Glancing at the cadets, he ordered, "Find a container big enough for anything that looks like Borg tech and gathered it, we are not leaving any of it behind if we can help it." He then looked back at 2 of 8. "It's alright. We won't harm you. If you come with us we will do everything in our power to help you."

Are you fucking kidding me? Aris thought. Was the commander seriously considering putting that thing on the shuttle with them? This was insane. Yeah, it said it wouldn't harm them, but it also said that was only because it had no orders to the contrary. That...was not the words of an ally.

Unable to come up with a way of tackling that terrifying thought, she threw herself into the assigned task, ducking down hallways looking for something to collect parts in. She settled on a piece of curved metal she could pry off the wall. It wouldn't be classy. It would be more like a sled than a container, but it was something. She dragged it back to the group and started tossing anything that looked like it had been removed from the drone.

But, of course, there was more tech here than just the pieces of discarded parts.

"Sir?" Aris said. "They took him apart for a reason. I think they've used this tech to modify the station. All this bio-mechanical stuff. Might it be derived from Borg tech?"

Nicholas looked around and grimaced. "Damn, looks like you are correct. There's no way we can take all of this tech." He considered their options, then continued. "Alright...we take what we can, leave the rest. It's the best we can do."

"Yes, sir." Aris began scouring the room for loose parts that might have come from the drone and tossing it in the makeshift container.

"Most if it is Borg tech, or derived from Borg tech yes," 2 of 8 confirmed.

2 of 8 had little choice but to cooperate with its rescuers, without the aid of the Collective it had little choice in this matter, so far, they had done nothing to suggest ill will. Perhaps they knew where this other Borg was located, it was not there but it had to be close.

"We can detect another like us; do you know where it is?" 2 of 8 asked its rescuers.

Nicholas looked at the drone for a moment, then replied. "One of our crew is an Ex-Borg. She was once a member of your collective, but now, she has regained her individuality and is free of the Collective's influence."

2 of 8 processed this information "We understand," it replied.

2 of 8 had no comprehension of true individuality, although severed its captors had done little to free its mind from what it had been programmed to believe by the Collective.

2 of 8 looked around its prison calculating the options to relocate it away from this place. 2 of 8 was not yet fully self aware and half expected commands to follow.

"That object there is part of the Vinculum, what connects drones to the Hive Mind, it is not functional as far as we can tell," 2 of 8 stated indicating an object close to one of the cadets.

Nicholas glanced over to where the drone was indicating. He pulled out his tricorder and scanned the device. Once he was certain it was safe to handle, he put his tricorder away and picked the device up. "We will take it back with us, along with any other tech of yours that you can point out, provided we can remove it safely from the station systems."

2 of 8 stood there studying Nicholas and his companions, it recognized a Bajoran, a humanoid female of a species unfamiliar to 2 of 8, without the Hive Mind the likelihood of identifying the species was slim, and a female who appeared to be part Vulcan.

2 of 8 would need to adapt to life outside of the Collective, and process all sorts of new information, especially regarding events since it was lost to the unknown expanses of the galaxy.

"Where do you all come from, what ship, what is your alignment?" 2 of 8 asked Nicholas seeking further information about those rescuing it "What year is it?" it added.

"Our ship is the USS Elysium. We are a Federation starship crew, currently lost here in the Circinus Galaxy, like yourself." He paused to take a breath, then continued. "As for the year, its about mid 2398. Do you know how long you've been lost and a prisoner here?"

"We have been here around 83 years, Cube 696 was lost around 2315," 2 of 8 replied matter of factly.

2 of 8 knew of the United Federation of Planets from its time both before and after assimilation "We know of the Federation," it informed Nicholas "We are unfamiliar with the Circinus Galaxy," it added.

Miran muttered "Great."

Nicholas then looked around at the rest of the team, time to start heading back to the runabout people. Finish up any scans, collect any last items that look to be of Borg design, and let's get back." He then reached up and tapped his commbadge. "Reece to away teams, we have found a Borg drone. It is conscious and seems to be disconnected from the Collective Hive Mind. We have freed it from the prison it was locked in and have collected several pieces of its gear that had been removed by the residents of this station. We are beginning our way back to the runabout. Finish up your investigations and rendezvous back at the ship in ten minutes, Reece out." He then double tapped his combadge, terminating the connection.

They were done. Finished. Sele looked around, compiling her report into the tricorder and looked at their new friend. She genuinely had no idea what the fuss was all about and wanted to help the lost drone. Turning to the commander, she straightened up and replied, "Ready to head out, sir! I have all the sensor data and the important stuff saved."

Aris took up the rear of the of the now five person party. She had scoured the area of anything that might have come from the Borg, and then added as much as what might have been reverse engineered from it. She wondered what team 2 was going to make of their... guest. The flight back was going to be....well, "interesting" was not quite the right word.

Team one reached the runabout first. Aris secured the scraps of tech and waited to see how this played out.

Miran stood silent by the hatch waiting.

As they wanted for the rest of the away team, Nicholas escorted 2 of 8 inside the runabout, showing then where they could rest for the flight back to the ship.

TBC