He took a deep breath as he leaned against the wall. Behrad had been dealing with researching the Borg on all available encounters. USS Voyager and USS Enterprise-D were vital elements in the whole research he had done. Then, there was the USS Raven, with only one sole survivor. The crew of the USS Tombaugh got assimilated, and not to forget the large-scale simulation of the Federation colony New Providence. Behrad had enough material to work with, but the conclusion was all the same….stay the f*ck out of the way of the Borg. These menace beings were not to mess with, yet they arrived at a Borg graveyard.

As the door opened, Behrad saw the ship drop out of warp and everyone looking at the screen. “What am I looking at?” The voice came from Captain Yoon-Jung, who was on the edge of her chair looking at the large field of debris, asteroids, and pieces of Borg ships that were drifting around with little to no life in them. It was a sight to behold, for sure.

“I am reading no hostile activity from the Borg.” Sujian made preemptive long-range scans. He looked worriedly at the screen and then back down at his console. “I am detecting a few spheres in poor condition and the cube." He pitched the live feed on the screen as a sizeable defecting cube appeared. The ship showed its age. The reports were not lying when they stated it had not moved for years. 

Yozria was looking with her mouth open, amazed at the brute force of engineering right before her. “This looks amazing, horrifying but amazing.” She noticed some people looking at her and added the fear element that she was not utterly insane about her fangirling on this. 

Approaching his console, Behrad took a deep breath. “Hmm, it seems that everything seems like it should be. The reports that we received from the DEI and the locals are accurate. This area is pretty much a graveyard with unpredictable elements.” He points at the side of the cube, seeing a probe ship slowly moving around, and then stops only to turn around.

“What is it doing?” Tamaz looked confused at the screen.

“It is in a loop…” Yozria crossed her arms. “When there are no basic commands given, anything that remains after disconnection is its primary order. It can be possible that the ship received only part of its order and now can only keep repeating that function until given another designated order.” She felt more drawn to this than Yozria wanted to admit to it.

Taking a deep breath, “Alright, let's get us into position. Lieutenant Padgok get the ship at a safe distance from the field that Starfleet and the DEI recommend. Commander Deem keep regular shifts on all decks going. The ship stays on yellow silent alert." The lights on the bridge changed to yellow as the shields went up, and weapons stayed on standby.

“Done, Captain” Sujian confirmed the order as the Tokyo moved into position and came to a complete stop. 

“The ship is in safety distance per the recommendation of Starfleet and DEI,” Padgok also confirmed. 

Taking a deep breath, Ko stood up and looked at her senior staff and eyed every one of them. “I will be leading the away team to the cube. Commander Towalr will be in command of the ship in my absence.” Ko looked at Towalr, who looked surprised at her. 

He didn't know how to react, but Towalr immediately responded, “That sounds like a splendid idea, Captain." 

“What about the general rule that the Captain doesn't leave the ship?” Yozria looked with not an impressed facial expression at Towalr.

Before Towalr could reply, Ko interfered. “I insist, Lieutenant. We are going into an unpredictable situation, and my experience in security and tactical is needed right now. Because I need Commander Deem on the ship as he has prepared long hours for a potential Borg threat in whatever form.” Ko looked at Behrad. “Lieutenant Vahdat, you are going with me to the cube. I need your scientific view on Borg behavior.” 

Behrad gave his Captain a nod. He expected her to pick him. She knew that he had done extended research on the Borg, their behavior, their thinking, and what they might expect. So it would have been strange if Captain Yoon-Jung had not taken him on this away mission. But simultaneously, as he looked at the screen with the looming green, dark glow from the cube, he felt the chills running down his spine.

Tapping on her comm badge, “Yoon-Jung to Commander Ibrix, get ready for an away mission to the cube. I need your expertise when it comes to retrieval of the sample.” 

“Understood Captain. I will be ready when we are going.” A brief reply came from the doctor. She didn't sound thrilled about the idea but didn't protest in any way. 

Giving a nod, “Alright,” Ko told herself and then looked at Yozria. “Lieutenant, get ready for the away team. I need your expertise as well. Dealing with Borg technology will be our biggest challenge when we are there, and so far, my reports state you are the best to get this mission done quickly and cleanly.” 

Before Yozria could reply, Sujian interjected, “I object, Captain. Lieutenant Deem is not fit to go towards such a dangerous mission!” He needed to control his emotions, but it was clear that he was concerned about the well-being of his little sister. After all, she would be far out of his reach when she is on that cube, and he would be unable to help her.

Ko looked at Sujian and could read the given situation. “I understand your concerns about this. I know you two are family, and you are worried about her. But if we want to ensure this mission to be a success. I need to add the elements that will make it a success.” She stepped forward and patted him on the shoulder. “I will keep her safe, trust me.” With that said, she moved towards the lift. “We move out in 30 minutes.” 

There was nothing Sujian could do against the orders of the Captain, but he noticed Yozria standing there looking at him. “I got this, no worries,” She said confidently and turned around to join the Captain and Behrad in the lift. 

But all Sujian saw were flashbacks of a little Yozria walking away from him as he took a deep breath and leaned onto the console, trying to recollect his posture and focus. He shrugged and knew that there was going to be a time he had to let go of her, let her do her job. But he also promised his family to protect her at any cost.

“Well, at least we are safe on the ship.” Towalr nodded to himself. “Commander Deem, keep the security teams regulated as the Captain had instructed.”