Sherbal V was the uninhabited fifth planet of the Sherbal system. It was located "in the middle of nowhere", far from Klingon space. The planet was heavily forested, with a variety of native animals and plants. It was noted for unusual weather phenomena, including copious electrical storms and glass storms that rained knife-like shards of glass. As a result, the Federation had placed a weather satellite in orbit, which linked to an unmanned monitoring station on the surface. The bizarre weather and sparsity of fruit-bearing plants made the planet inhospitable.
In 2381, the commanders of several starships, including Ma'ah, Vrek, Cosmia, and Gem, were marooned on Sherbal V after they had been mutinied upon by their junior officers with the secret aid of Nick Locarno. The IKS Che'Ta' remained near the planet under cloak to guard against intruders.
Later that year, the weather satellite stopped transmitting data. At Lieutenant jg D'Vana Tendi's suggestion, Captain Carol Freeman of the USS Cerritos, dispatched an away team to investigate, as a way to keep Beckett Mariner out of harm's way due to her recent spate of reckless behavior. The team found that the satellite's communication relays had been tampered with. After they completed repairs, their shuttle was attacked and destroyed by the Che'Ta', though they were able to beam to the surface.
The Starfleet officers discovered the other stranded commanders fighting one another for resources. After establishing a rapport with Ma'ah, Beckett rallied everyone to work together towards rescue, though she was then abducted by Locarno's ship. Under Ma'ah's leadership, the others modified the monitoring station into a distress beacon, which lured the Che'Ta' close enough to the surface for them to board it and retake control. (LD: "The Inner Fight")