Difference between pages "Former Demilitarized Zone" and "Borg Collective"

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{{icons|card}}
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{{icons|bfc}}{{Government
{{Region
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| name = Borg Collective
| name = Former Demilitarized Zone
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| image = [[File:BorgA.png]]
| image = [[File:Former Demilitarized Zone.png|375px]]
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| species = Borg; assimilated other species
| major powers = [[United Federation of Planets]], [[Cardassian Union]]
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| homeworld = Unknown
| minor powers =  
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| founded = Several thousand years ago
| important places = Hakton VII
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| warp =
}}
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| language = All
The former Demilitarized Zone (or DMZ) between the [[Cardassian Union]] and the [[United Federation of Planets]] is a region that was once the border between the two powers. As a colloquialism it includes other worlds traded between them, though all of these systems are now under Federation control. Due to their contested history, the region has a large number of Cardassian citizens in residence, sometimes in integrated settlements, but including several fully Cardassian colonies. Authority over the region formally falls to Starfleet, though recent upheaval such as the resurgence of the True Way has led to a pact of cooperation with the Cardassian Union to restore stability.
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| currency = None
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| government = Collective Consciousness
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| leader = None; represented by Borg Queen
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| advancement =  
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| military = Borg Collective
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}}The '''Borg Collective''' is the most formidable enemy the Federation has ever faced, and was considered one of its greatest existential threats of its history - challenged only by the [[Dominion]]. It is a hive network of cybernetic and multi-species people originating and almost exclusively found in the [[:Delta Quadrant]], and purports to be driven by the search for biological and technical perfection.
  
=History=
+
Made up of an unknown number - but believed to number in the trillions - of ‘drones,’ almost every Borg has been physically and psychologically forcibly altered to match the needs of and be mentally connected by subspace link to the Collective, a process referred to as ‘assimilation’ which subsumes, if not outright destroys, their individuality. Once a vast power dominating the Delta Quadrant and a repeated serious risk to the governments of the [[:Alpha Quadrant|Alpha]] and [[:Beta Quadrant|Beta]] Quadrants, in the latter quarter of the 24th century it has come close to collapse. In the 25th century, encounters with the Borg by the [[Federation]] are limited to rumour and evasion at the furthest reaches of its sphere of influence in the Delta Quadrant.
The establishment of the Federation-Cardassian Treaty in 2370 included the creation of the Demilitarized Zone and the redrawing of the borders of both powers. As a result, some colonies of both governments fell within the DMZ, while others were passed between the two governments, settlers forced to relocate. This move was hugely unpopular, leading to some Cardassian colonists defending themselves and the birth of the Federation extremist faction the Maquis.
+
==History==
 +
===First Encounters===
 +
The true origins of the Borg are unknown to the Federation, though they are believed to originate from deep in the Delta Quadrant. The nature of deep space exploration and colonisation is that on occasion ships will go missing or contact will be lost with whole worlds, with no explanation ever confirmed. This birthed rumours of the Collective’s existence as far back as the early twenty-fourth century, though no Federation investigations found any evidence of substance prior to the 2360s.
  
For three years, the region was the home of small-scale warfare as both Cardassian and Federation colonists waged conflict against each other and their governments. This ended in 2373, where the Cardassian Union’s alliance with the [[Dominion]] resulted in the Jem’hadar seizing the DMZ and wiping out the Maquis.
+
While a deep-space encounter by the USS ''Enterprise'' in 2365 was the first confirmed encounter with the Borg, an escalation in previous years of missing ships and lost [[Romulan Neutral Zone]] outposts has since been attributed to the Collective. This proved a prelude to invasion, with a single Borg Cube attacking the Federation in 2366. The assimilation of Captain Jean-Luc Picard and their own highly advanced technology enabled this lone ship to devastate and rout [[Starfleet]] at the Battle of Wolf 359. The Borg were stopped only by the USS ''Enterprise''’s rescue of Captain Picard and subsequent use of his connection to the Collective to sabotage and destroy the cube.
 +
===A Decade of Encounters===
 +
This invasion left an indelible mark on the psyche of the Federation and, particularly, Starfleet. Aware that they had been technologically out-matched, the next decade of starship development saw a massive increase in militarisation with the hope of stopping the Borg, should they ever return.
  
With the Treaty of Bajor, all worlds of the DMZ and any colonies the Federation had once ceded to the Union were restored to Federation control. Many Federation citizens retained or returned to their former homes. However, a large number of Cardassian settlements had been established over the years, and the Federation was mindful of past mistakes in forcibly relocating populations.
+
While this inadvertently prepared Starfleet better for the threat of the [[Dominion]] a decade later, even the finest technological advances proved no match for the Borg upon their return to the Alpha Quadrant in 2374. Distrust by Starfleet Command of Captain Picard’s potential connection to the Collective saw the veteran commander and his ship side-lined at the start of the invasion, but at the Battle of Sector 001, even Starfleet’s most advanced ships were still ineffective against yet another single Borg Cube. Only the intervention of Picard, disobeying orders to bring his ship to the Sol System where he assumed command of the fleet, and his deployment of his personal knowledge of Borg systems enabled the cube’s destruction.
  
It was agreed that these Cardassian colonists and their family would have the right to remain in these settlements, citizens of the Union but residents in Federation territory. The border with Cardassia overseen by Starfleet was generous in permitting Cardassian trade and investment to cross into the old DMZ, though very little further.
+
The Dominion War became Starfleet’s military priority after, and only the return of the USS ''Voyager'' in 2378, lost for seven years in the Delta Quadrant, brought new intelligence on the Borg Collective. Not only had ''Voyager'' survived multiple encounters with the Borg, including bringing aboard multiple former drones, but their near-instantaneous journey across tens of thousands of light-years was achieved through use of the Borg’s transwarp network. This daring mission necessitated not only the destruction of a transwarp hub, weakening a transportation system that stretched across vast reaches of the galaxy, but also the infection of the Collective with a neurolytic pathogen. While thought to be devastating, the exact extent of the damage done to the Borg Collective was unknown.
 +
===The Artifact===
 +
Subsequent encounters with the Borg Collective became much rarer. While a Cube’s incursion into Romulan territory in 2384 led to the assimilation of a scout ship and its twenty-six crewmembers, the vessel suffered a submatrix collapse soon after. The ship and all of its drones lost their connection to the Collective, a catastrophic accident believed made possible by the damage ''Voyager'' had done to the hive mind. The Cube became the property of the [[Romulan Free State]] and was dubbed the [[ma:Artifact (Borg cube)|Artifact]], a focus of research by both the Romulans and the Federation.
  
The Attack on Mars and the subsequent Federation focus on internal affairs scaled back Starfleet presence in the region. This led to the former DMZ becoming largely self-regulating, systems and worlds looking after their own interests and security. This suited many of the populace, who were mindful of past betrayals by their and the neighbouring government, and preferred to go it alone.
+
Huge advances were made in knowledge and understanding of Borg technology, but the disconnection of an entire Cube’s complement of drones had a further impact on the Alpha and Beta Quadrants. While many former drones were so traumatised by both their assimilation and separation that they struggled to live independently, remaining on the Cube either dormant or under the care of the Borg Artifact Research Institute, some left to recover their own lives.
  
In early 2399, an attack on a Starfleet ship at Hakton VII and later a Cardassian survey station on the border ended this rugged peace. A group of Cardassian anti-Federation extremists called the True Way claimed responsibility, making it clear they wished to restore Cardassian territory to Cardassia and that they saw both the Federation and the Detapa Council as their enemies.
+
Corruption in the Institute led to Borg technology, particularly harvested implants, being sold on the black market along the former Neutral Zone. This stoked the interest of several unscrupulous profiteers, who went so far as to abduct former Borgs - by then known as “xBs” - and murder them for their cybernetics. At this time, Starfleet is unaware of the exact size of this black market in Borg technology.
  
Faced with this new challenge, Starfleet and the Detapa Council swiftly drew up an agreement to restore stability to the region. As such, both Federation and Cardassian forces, negotiators, and support services have entered the old DMZ in recent weeks to attempt to help locals and stop the True Way.
+
In 2399, a Tal Shiar-initiated attempted genocide of the xBs aboard the Artifact led to an uprising by the capable drones aboard, led by former ''Voyager'' crewmember Seven of Nine. Upon seizing control of the Artifact, the crew opened a transwarp conduit and departed Romulan space for the planet [[ma:Coppelius|Coppelius]]. There it fell foul of automated defence systems, and crashed on the surface. After Starfleet protected the synthetic lifeforms of Coppelius from slaughter at the hands of the Romulan Free State, the wrecked Artifact remained, and most surviving xBs embarked on a new life in cooperation with the synth population.
  
=The DMZ Today=
+
While use of and research into Borg technology did not fall under the Federation’s ban on synthetic life, this wariness had hampered its harnessing by Starfleet. As-of April 2400, Starfleet has only begun to expand its use of well-understood Borg technology, and deploy the lessons learnt from it in starship development.
==The Federation==
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==Society & Culture==
Many Federation citizens who live in the DMZ remember that they or their neighbours were forced to abandon their homes thirty years ago, and they have largely not forgiven the Federation and Starfleet. This has not been a problem for recent years, with limited government presence and no inciting events. However, the threat of the True Way has returned Starfleet to the region.
+
The Borg Collective is made up of trillions of drones that are linked to order via the subspace hive mind. The hive mind is then directed by the Borg Queen. The Borg Queen herself is not believed to be a single individual, but are limited in number to each unimatrix. When a person is assimilated, initially the voices of the collective mind will frighten and overwhelm the new drone. All individuality is stripped from the person with very little distinction between drones. The only designation comes from within a group where a drone could be referred to as something akin to "Fourth of Seven"; the only other form of distinction comes from the primary role of a drone, for example: a tactical drone, a medial/repair drone, a maintenance drone.
  
Many Federation colonies are fiercely self-sufficient and disinclined to help or receive help from Starfleet. While they may or may not tolerate their Cardassian neighbours on both sides of the border, and are potential targets of the True Way’s raids for resources, they often prefer to resolve these situations themselves.
+
The Borg are efficient and pragmatic in the management of drones. If one is beyond help or repair the Collective will deactivate it and begin salvage operations for reusable parts. This is also carried onwards in their inability, or perhaps unwillingness, to procreate in similar fashion that most humanoids to. Upon assimilation of younger humanoids they are placed in maturation chambers until ready to fully join the collective mind.
  
The DMZ has become a point of significant interest Federation industry; its resources were largely untapped until twenty years ago, and many companies have moved into the region and now find their businesses threatened by the True Way.
+
The Borg are known to ignore vessel and species that are no threat or whose inclusion in the Collective will not improve it biologically or technologically. This is believed to be why large numbers of Delta Quadrant species to be ignored, particularly in the [[Nacene Reach]]. Communication with the Borg is almost always limited to their signature call for the complete surrender of their enemies, with the warning ‘''Resistance is futile'',and negotiation has only ever been heard of on occasions where assimilation cannot give the Collective what it wants. In such cases the Borg may speak through their Queen, or a single drone is chosen and designated as a special liaison.
  
==Cardassian Residents==
+
The Borg are at their most unpredictable when faced with an opponent they cannot defeat through their usual method of force. This was witnessed by ''Voyager'' when they learnt of [[ma:Species 8472|Species 8472]], who were resistant to Borg nanoprobes and immune to assimilation.
The Federation was loath to forcibly remove anyone from the former DMZ after the Treaty of Bajor. Any Cardassian who could claim residency of the region was allowed to stay or return, and their families also allowed to settle. This required some restrictions after the first few years, when it became apparent that some Cardassians were using the DMZ as an immigration loophole to escape the resource-starved Union for Federation territory, where they would be better regarded. Still, these residents have been permitted to travel to and from the Union and have largely made comfortable and settled lives for themselves these past thirty years.
+
==Technology==
 +
The Borg develop and advance their technology through assimilation of species, which has enabled them to become one of the most technologically advanced powers in the galaxy. Through this they have proven able to deploy technology such as sophisticated cybernetic implants for their drones and advanced weapon systems to enable assimilation of entire cultures.
  
These residents are more volatile in their dealings with Starfleet; some welcome their support with open arms, while others resent their homes being under Federation rule. The majority seek to be left alone as much as the Federation citizens do.
+
Borg vessels normally deploy cutting beam technologies (similar to Starfleet phasers or Klingon/Romulan disruptors in deployment) which is able to, in conjunction with Borg torpedo technology, break down enemy defenses to allow for tractor beam deployment and assimilation. Vessels are in basic shapes such as cubes, spheres or diamonds with highly decentralized systems and no clear command center, engineering or living quarters. They are also equipped with transwarp coils as their primary source of power and propulsion, which allows them to travel at faster-than-warp speeds to cover great distances in much shorter times than other vessels by opening transwarp conduits. The Borg also operate large unimatricies; effectively very large starbase-type unicomplexes in strategically important locations.
  
Some settlements are integrated between Cardassians and Federation citizens; some worlds share homogenous settlements, but the majority of Cardassian colonies are Cardassian-exclusive. These colonies come in all shapes and sizes, from people getting on with their lives to Cardassians resenting having to live under Federation rule. There is also a growing population of Cardassians who wish for democratic and liberal reform of the Union, which they are able to plan and campaign for safely from within Federation territory.
+
Drones do not require sleep due to their cybernetics, but instead undergo a regeneration cycle in a Borg alcove. While a drone is physically inert during this period, it is also when the Collective sorts the data downloaded from its active period, and its mental capabilities still continue to contribute to its vessels computations.
  
The True Way treats these Cardassians as allies or traitors, with nothing in between. They expect Cardassians to provide them with resources or even membership, or they are complicit in the abandonment of Cardassian worlds to the Federation.
+
It is unknown to what extent the Borg continue to develop and advance technology they have procured, and they are slow to adopt or learn to counter technology they have merely observed. While they have proven ruthlessly efficient at incorporating technology from those they have assimilated, there is no evidence of independent research and development by the Collective. This is usually limited to weapon systems, or technology with an obvious and immediate application; while technologies that might support or enrich a culture in other ways are retained as knowledge in the Collective, they are effectively lost if that entire society has been assimilated, discarded as inefficient in the Borg’s pursuit of perfection. This can lead to the Collective experiencing periods of technological stagnation if they do not assimilate a species with new advancements, or which does not force them to adapt.
 +
==Current Status==
 +
The journey of the USS ''Voyager'' confirmed the distant Delta Quadrant to be the seat of the Borg’s power, though their expansionism had been checked on occasion for a myriad of reasons. Most common were stellar phenomena inhibiting travel or communication, such as the region of Chaotic Space in the [[Gradin Belt]]. But for over a decade, the condition of the Collective after ''Voyager’s'' return was unknown to Starfleet.
  
==Starfleet==
+
Only the stabilisation of the [[Barzan Wormhole]] in 2389 and the formation of the [[Delta Exploration Initiative]] allowed the Federation to learn more of what ''Voyager'' had left in her wake. While over the next decade they could claim great advances in negotiation and understanding of Delta Quadrant races, little new has been learnt of the Borg Collective in that time. Locals from various regions have reported, however, that sightings of Borg ships are particularly rare, and there has been no confirmed assimilation of more worlds since ''Voyager’s'' sabotage.
Starfleet largely withdrew from the region after the Attack on Mars. Now it has to return to stop the True Way and restore stability. This is largely a mission of diplomacy, restoring peace and confidence in Starfleet among the locals who distrust the Federation, and cooperating with Cardassian ships and missions crossing the border to render aid.
 
  
Starfleet Command is mindful that if the Cardassian residents are not looked after they may become sympathetic to the True Way. Similarly, if the True Way become a problem and the Federation citizens feel threatened, they may take matters into their own hands - and so their confidence in Starfleet to protect their interests must be restored and maintained.
+
No Starfleet ships have had a notable encounter with the Collective since 2378. Links with the [[Talaxian|Talaxians]] has given reports, including sensor records, of a flotilla’s encounter with a Cube in 2396. Only by abandoning their comrades was a single ship able to escape, and Starfleet’s study of this incident has led them to conclude that while the Collective may on the whole not be the threat it once was, individual Borg ships remain as formidable as they have ever been. Starfleet protocol continues to instruct captains to avoid the Borg under all circumstances; if their ship wants to fight, Starfleet ''will'' lose.
 +
===Former Drones===
 +
Most individuals are never freed from the Collective. Those who do, such as many of the crew of the Artifact, are so traumatised by the recovery of their individuality they require lifelong care. Exceptions are incredibly rare, and the majority of them - apart from well-known figures such as Jean-Luc Picard and Seven of Nine - are former crewmembers of the Artifact, or were on the ship the Collective disconnected in the late-2360s for the presence of [[ma:Hugh|Hugh]], a drone who had begun to develop his own sense of individuality. It was on the Artifact that they developed anything approaching a community, and adopted the term ‘xBs’ - ‘ex Borg’ - for themselves.
  
==The Cardassian Union==
+
Fundamentally, assimilation by peoples of the Alpha and Beta Quadrants over the last two decades has been exceptionally rare, and their recovery even rarer. For example, it is believed the twenty-six crewmembers of the scout ship ''Shaenor'' are the only Romulans ever assimilated. While it is possible that some missing vessels whose fate has never been discovered fell foul of the Borg, no Federation ship bigger than a shuttle is confirmed to have been lost to the Collective since the Battle of Sector 001.
Formally, the Union has no authority over the former DMZ. It has also had limited control over its own border with the Federation, which is largely under Starfleet regulation. While a blow to Cardassian pride, this was a reprieve for Cardassian resources. But nevertheless, the Union along the border have found themselves targets of the True Way.
 
  
The Detapa Council has agreed to help the Federation hunt down the True Way and aid in stabilising the region. They have dispatched ships, diplomats, and support services to help Cardassian citizens and assist in resolving disputes. Ostensibly this is to meet their responsibility to their own citizens and to aid in hunting down the True Way, who clearly operate somewhat in Union territory. However, the Detapa Council knows that proving they can cooperate effectively with Starfleet and maintain stability will encourage the Federation to reopen trade or even restore its aid agreement.
+
For any of these nearly-unique individuals who have broken free of the Collective and can live independently, existence is hard. They are widely distrusted if not reviled, and treated with apprehension even in the peaceful Federation. In volatile regions such as the old Neutral Zone, they are at risk from unscrupulous individuals who would profit from selling their cybernetic implants - which would almost always entail murder.
 +
====Starfleet Service====
 +
Membership in Starfleet is incredibly difficult for xBs to secure. It is most ‘common’ for those who were officers before their assimilation, and especially those for whom assimilation was brief. They undergo the most scrupulous of examination and evaluation ahead of being cleared for service, a process that might take years.
  
This has left the military Central Command in a difficult position. It is in their best interests if cooperation with the Federation fails, but empowering the True Way risks undermining their agenda. Their officers are set for the moment to judge each situation as it transpires, with the ideal goal of stopping the True Way and cooperation with the Federation alike.
+
For example, [[ma:Icheb|Icheb]], a former drone who was liberated by the USS ''Voyager'' was admitted to Starfleet Academy upon the ship’s return to the Alpha Quadrant, but this was the result of years of observation and evaluation that Icheb bore patiently - and that he was an adolescent once freed, finishing his education and training aboard Federation facilities. In contrast, ''Voyager'' crewmember Seven of Nine refused to undergo such a long process of scrutiny and eventually abandoned her pursuit of service in Starfleet. Despite her years of loyal contribution to ''Voyager'', her ironically individualistic attitude and that she had been a drone since childhood contributed to a perhaps more-rigorous vetting process, and one which Seven refused to tolerate as Icheb had.
  
=In Play=
+
Any xBs trying to join Starfleet can expect this long and rigorous vetting process, and to be heavily scrutinised throughout their service. They must be whiter than white, more perfect and proving more trustworthy than anyone to be allowed to wear the uniform. This lack of trust in a serving Starfleet officer is unparalleled anywhere else in the organisation, and might be more challenged were xBs not such a miniscule minority; there are possibly no more than a hundred xBs living independently in the galaxy, let alone trying to be in Starfleet.
* The former Demilitarized Zone is Federation territory largely left alone for over ten years. It is a disparate region of people who feel they owe the Federation little and would prefer to go their own way.
+
==In Play==
* Cardassians who live in the DMZ are an unknown factor for any Starfleet captain. They might prefer life under the Federation or want protection from the True Way and cooperate. Or they might resent living under Federation rule and sympathise or actively support the True Way. Proceed with caution.
+
*The Borg Collective is not the major threat it once was. ''Voyager's'' sabotage in ''Endgame'' has effectively hobbled them; not only do they seem to have stopped expanding, it is possible they have even abandoned territory. This does not mean they are not feared - their absence has possibly enhanced their reputation as the bogeyman - but they are no longer a clear and present danger to the Federation.
* Federation citizens in the region remember they or their families were betrayed by Starfleet before. They refuse to let it happen again, and so are often unwilling to accept or give help. Starfleet wants to restore their confidence in the Federation so the return of the True Way doesn’t trigger a return of the Maquis.
 
* The True Way sees anyone that does not support returning these worlds to Cardassian control as the enemy. They will steal resources from civilians, attack Starfleet and the Union alike, and try to recruit from Cardassian residents.
 
* The rich, historically untapped resources of the former DMZ make it highly appealing to Federation industrial interests who wish to operate freely in the zone and without Starfleet oversight - despite the threat of the True Way.
 
* The Cardassian Union sends many missions of diplomacy and cooperation into the DMZ to help Starfleet hunt down the True Way or support and develop Cardassian settlements.
 
  
[[Category:Alpha Quadrant]]
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*Even in the Delta Quadrant, encounters with the Borg are almost unheard-of. They are not a regular threat, and a starship coming face-to-face with a Cube is not even considered a likely risk.
 +
 
 +
*Despite this, individual Borg ships and drones remain as formidable as they ever have. ''Perhaps'' a fleet could now defeat a Cube, but this is untested. Such ships are only spotted far from Federation borders, where only lone Starfleet vessels would encounter them. Protocol still tells Starfleet not to engage.
 +
 
 +
*The Borg, as such, cannot be defeated by force of arms. This is never the story Star Trek has told about them as an enemy. Don’t meet them in a straight-up fight. They will win.
 +
 
 +
*Anything once of the Borg has been treated with enormous suspicion the past quarter-century. This includes technology; while Starfleet does study it, they presently prefer to learn how to best it if possible. In short, Starfleet ships aren’t packing Borg-derived superweapons; there’s still too much fear of what’s not known about this technology, or the risk the Collective might use it against them.
 +
 
 +
*This goes perhaps more so for former drones, or xBs. They are perhaps the most despised people in the galaxy, and live hard and lonely lives. Former Borg Starfleet officers must be exceptional individuals, be exceptionally well-behaved, and also have perhaps-unprecedented restrictions on their personal liberty to be allowed to serve.
 +
 
 +
*There remains a blossoming black market in the dark corners of the quadrants for Borg technology. This includes cybernetic implants from former drones - who have almost certainly been murdered for them to be acquired.
 +
[[Category:Delta Quadrant]]

Revision as of 14:57, 10 October 2022

This article is official Bravo Fleet canon.








BorgA.png
Borg Collective
Basic Information
Major Species

Borg; assimilated other species

Homeworld(s)

Unknown

Founded

Several thousand years ago

Official Language

All

Official Currency

None

Political Information
Governance Type

Collective Consciousness

Leader

None; represented by Borg Queen

Military Branches

Borg Collective

Template:Government

The Borg Collective is the most formidable enemy the Federation has ever faced, and was considered one of its greatest existential threats of its history - challenged only by the Dominion. It is a hive network of cybernetic and multi-species people originating and almost exclusively found in the Delta Quadrant, and purports to be driven by the search for biological and technical perfection.

Made up of an unknown number - but believed to number in the trillions - of ‘drones,’ almost every Borg has been physically and psychologically forcibly altered to match the needs of and be mentally connected by subspace link to the Collective, a process referred to as ‘assimilation’ which subsumes, if not outright destroys, their individuality. Once a vast power dominating the Delta Quadrant and a repeated serious risk to the governments of the Alpha and Beta Quadrants, in the latter quarter of the 24th century it has come close to collapse. In the 25th century, encounters with the Borg by the Federation are limited to rumour and evasion at the furthest reaches of its sphere of influence in the Delta Quadrant.

History

First Encounters

The true origins of the Borg are unknown to the Federation, though they are believed to originate from deep in the Delta Quadrant. The nature of deep space exploration and colonisation is that on occasion ships will go missing or contact will be lost with whole worlds, with no explanation ever confirmed. This birthed rumours of the Collective’s existence as far back as the early twenty-fourth century, though no Federation investigations found any evidence of substance prior to the 2360s.

While a deep-space encounter by the USS Enterprise in 2365 was the first confirmed encounter with the Borg, an escalation in previous years of missing ships and lost Romulan Neutral Zone outposts has since been attributed to the Collective. This proved a prelude to invasion, with a single Borg Cube attacking the Federation in 2366. The assimilation of Captain Jean-Luc Picard and their own highly advanced technology enabled this lone ship to devastate and rout Starfleet at the Battle of Wolf 359. The Borg were stopped only by the USS Enterprise’s rescue of Captain Picard and subsequent use of his connection to the Collective to sabotage and destroy the cube.

A Decade of Encounters

This invasion left an indelible mark on the psyche of the Federation and, particularly, Starfleet. Aware that they had been technologically out-matched, the next decade of starship development saw a massive increase in militarisation with the hope of stopping the Borg, should they ever return.

While this inadvertently prepared Starfleet better for the threat of the Dominion a decade later, even the finest technological advances proved no match for the Borg upon their return to the Alpha Quadrant in 2374. Distrust by Starfleet Command of Captain Picard’s potential connection to the Collective saw the veteran commander and his ship side-lined at the start of the invasion, but at the Battle of Sector 001, even Starfleet’s most advanced ships were still ineffective against yet another single Borg Cube. Only the intervention of Picard, disobeying orders to bring his ship to the Sol System where he assumed command of the fleet, and his deployment of his personal knowledge of Borg systems enabled the cube’s destruction.

The Dominion War became Starfleet’s military priority after, and only the return of the USS Voyager in 2378, lost for seven years in the Delta Quadrant, brought new intelligence on the Borg Collective. Not only had Voyager survived multiple encounters with the Borg, including bringing aboard multiple former drones, but their near-instantaneous journey across tens of thousands of light-years was achieved through use of the Borg’s transwarp network. This daring mission necessitated not only the destruction of a transwarp hub, weakening a transportation system that stretched across vast reaches of the galaxy, but also the infection of the Collective with a neurolytic pathogen. While thought to be devastating, the exact extent of the damage done to the Borg Collective was unknown.

The Artifact

Subsequent encounters with the Borg Collective became much rarer. While a Cube’s incursion into Romulan territory in 2384 led to the assimilation of a scout ship and its twenty-six crewmembers, the vessel suffered a submatrix collapse soon after. The ship and all of its drones lost their connection to the Collective, a catastrophic accident believed made possible by the damage Voyager had done to the hive mind. The Cube became the property of the Romulan Free State and was dubbed the Artifact, a focus of research by both the Romulans and the Federation.

Huge advances were made in knowledge and understanding of Borg technology, but the disconnection of an entire Cube’s complement of drones had a further impact on the Alpha and Beta Quadrants. While many former drones were so traumatised by both their assimilation and separation that they struggled to live independently, remaining on the Cube either dormant or under the care of the Borg Artifact Research Institute, some left to recover their own lives.

Corruption in the Institute led to Borg technology, particularly harvested implants, being sold on the black market along the former Neutral Zone. This stoked the interest of several unscrupulous profiteers, who went so far as to abduct former Borgs - by then known as “xBs” - and murder them for their cybernetics. At this time, Starfleet is unaware of the exact size of this black market in Borg technology.

In 2399, a Tal Shiar-initiated attempted genocide of the xBs aboard the Artifact led to an uprising by the capable drones aboard, led by former Voyager crewmember Seven of Nine. Upon seizing control of the Artifact, the crew opened a transwarp conduit and departed Romulan space for the planet Coppelius. There it fell foul of automated defence systems, and crashed on the surface. After Starfleet protected the synthetic lifeforms of Coppelius from slaughter at the hands of the Romulan Free State, the wrecked Artifact remained, and most surviving xBs embarked on a new life in cooperation with the synth population.

While use of and research into Borg technology did not fall under the Federation’s ban on synthetic life, this wariness had hampered its harnessing by Starfleet. As-of April 2400, Starfleet has only begun to expand its use of well-understood Borg technology, and deploy the lessons learnt from it in starship development.

Society & Culture

The Borg Collective is made up of trillions of drones that are linked to order via the subspace hive mind. The hive mind is then directed by the Borg Queen. The Borg Queen herself is not believed to be a single individual, but are limited in number to each unimatrix. When a person is assimilated, initially the voices of the collective mind will frighten and overwhelm the new drone. All individuality is stripped from the person with very little distinction between drones. The only designation comes from within a group where a drone could be referred to as something akin to "Fourth of Seven"; the only other form of distinction comes from the primary role of a drone, for example: a tactical drone, a medial/repair drone, a maintenance drone.

The Borg are efficient and pragmatic in the management of drones. If one is beyond help or repair the Collective will deactivate it and begin salvage operations for reusable parts. This is also carried onwards in their inability, or perhaps unwillingness, to procreate in similar fashion that most humanoids to. Upon assimilation of younger humanoids they are placed in maturation chambers until ready to fully join the collective mind.

The Borg are known to ignore vessel and species that are no threat or whose inclusion in the Collective will not improve it biologically or technologically. This is believed to be why large numbers of Delta Quadrant species to be ignored, particularly in the Nacene Reach. Communication with the Borg is almost always limited to their signature call for the complete surrender of their enemies, with the warning ‘Resistance is futile,’ and negotiation has only ever been heard of on occasions where assimilation cannot give the Collective what it wants. In such cases the Borg may speak through their Queen, or a single drone is chosen and designated as a special liaison.

The Borg are at their most unpredictable when faced with an opponent they cannot defeat through their usual method of force. This was witnessed by Voyager when they learnt of Species 8472, who were resistant to Borg nanoprobes and immune to assimilation.

Technology

The Borg develop and advance their technology through assimilation of species, which has enabled them to become one of the most technologically advanced powers in the galaxy. Through this they have proven able to deploy technology such as sophisticated cybernetic implants for their drones and advanced weapon systems to enable assimilation of entire cultures.

Borg vessels normally deploy cutting beam technologies (similar to Starfleet phasers or Klingon/Romulan disruptors in deployment) which is able to, in conjunction with Borg torpedo technology, break down enemy defenses to allow for tractor beam deployment and assimilation. Vessels are in basic shapes such as cubes, spheres or diamonds with highly decentralized systems and no clear command center, engineering or living quarters. They are also equipped with transwarp coils as their primary source of power and propulsion, which allows them to travel at faster-than-warp speeds to cover great distances in much shorter times than other vessels by opening transwarp conduits. The Borg also operate large unimatricies; effectively very large starbase-type unicomplexes in strategically important locations.

Drones do not require sleep due to their cybernetics, but instead undergo a regeneration cycle in a Borg alcove. While a drone is physically inert during this period, it is also when the Collective sorts the data downloaded from its active period, and its mental capabilities still continue to contribute to its vessels computations.

It is unknown to what extent the Borg continue to develop and advance technology they have procured, and they are slow to adopt or learn to counter technology they have merely observed. While they have proven ruthlessly efficient at incorporating technology from those they have assimilated, there is no evidence of independent research and development by the Collective. This is usually limited to weapon systems, or technology with an obvious and immediate application; while technologies that might support or enrich a culture in other ways are retained as knowledge in the Collective, they are effectively lost if that entire society has been assimilated, discarded as inefficient in the Borg’s pursuit of perfection. This can lead to the Collective experiencing periods of technological stagnation if they do not assimilate a species with new advancements, or which does not force them to adapt.

Current Status

The journey of the USS Voyager confirmed the distant Delta Quadrant to be the seat of the Borg’s power, though their expansionism had been checked on occasion for a myriad of reasons. Most common were stellar phenomena inhibiting travel or communication, such as the region of Chaotic Space in the Gradin Belt. But for over a decade, the condition of the Collective after Voyager’s return was unknown to Starfleet.

Only the stabilisation of the Barzan Wormhole in 2389 and the formation of the Delta Exploration Initiative allowed the Federation to learn more of what Voyager had left in her wake. While over the next decade they could claim great advances in negotiation and understanding of Delta Quadrant races, little new has been learnt of the Borg Collective in that time. Locals from various regions have reported, however, that sightings of Borg ships are particularly rare, and there has been no confirmed assimilation of more worlds since Voyager’s sabotage.

No Starfleet ships have had a notable encounter with the Collective since 2378. Links with the Talaxians has given reports, including sensor records, of a flotilla’s encounter with a Cube in 2396. Only by abandoning their comrades was a single ship able to escape, and Starfleet’s study of this incident has led them to conclude that while the Collective may on the whole not be the threat it once was, individual Borg ships remain as formidable as they have ever been. Starfleet protocol continues to instruct captains to avoid the Borg under all circumstances; if their ship wants to fight, Starfleet will lose.

Former Drones

Most individuals are never freed from the Collective. Those who do, such as many of the crew of the Artifact, are so traumatised by the recovery of their individuality they require lifelong care. Exceptions are incredibly rare, and the majority of them - apart from well-known figures such as Jean-Luc Picard and Seven of Nine - are former crewmembers of the Artifact, or were on the ship the Collective disconnected in the late-2360s for the presence of Hugh, a drone who had begun to develop his own sense of individuality. It was on the Artifact that they developed anything approaching a community, and adopted the term ‘xBs’ - ‘ex Borg’ - for themselves.

Fundamentally, assimilation by peoples of the Alpha and Beta Quadrants over the last two decades has been exceptionally rare, and their recovery even rarer. For example, it is believed the twenty-six crewmembers of the scout ship Shaenor are the only Romulans ever assimilated. While it is possible that some missing vessels whose fate has never been discovered fell foul of the Borg, no Federation ship bigger than a shuttle is confirmed to have been lost to the Collective since the Battle of Sector 001.

For any of these nearly-unique individuals who have broken free of the Collective and can live independently, existence is hard. They are widely distrusted if not reviled, and treated with apprehension even in the peaceful Federation. In volatile regions such as the old Neutral Zone, they are at risk from unscrupulous individuals who would profit from selling their cybernetic implants - which would almost always entail murder.

Starfleet Service

Membership in Starfleet is incredibly difficult for xBs to secure. It is most ‘common’ for those who were officers before their assimilation, and especially those for whom assimilation was brief. They undergo the most scrupulous of examination and evaluation ahead of being cleared for service, a process that might take years.

For example, Icheb, a former drone who was liberated by the USS Voyager was admitted to Starfleet Academy upon the ship’s return to the Alpha Quadrant, but this was the result of years of observation and evaluation that Icheb bore patiently - and that he was an adolescent once freed, finishing his education and training aboard Federation facilities. In contrast, Voyager crewmember Seven of Nine refused to undergo such a long process of scrutiny and eventually abandoned her pursuit of service in Starfleet. Despite her years of loyal contribution to Voyager, her ironically individualistic attitude and that she had been a drone since childhood contributed to a perhaps more-rigorous vetting process, and one which Seven refused to tolerate as Icheb had.

Any xBs trying to join Starfleet can expect this long and rigorous vetting process, and to be heavily scrutinised throughout their service. They must be whiter than white, more perfect and proving more trustworthy than anyone to be allowed to wear the uniform. This lack of trust in a serving Starfleet officer is unparalleled anywhere else in the organisation, and might be more challenged were xBs not such a miniscule minority; there are possibly no more than a hundred xBs living independently in the galaxy, let alone trying to be in Starfleet.

In Play

  • The Borg Collective is not the major threat it once was. Voyager's sabotage in Endgame has effectively hobbled them; not only do they seem to have stopped expanding, it is possible they have even abandoned territory. This does not mean they are not feared - their absence has possibly enhanced their reputation as the bogeyman - but they are no longer a clear and present danger to the Federation.
  • Even in the Delta Quadrant, encounters with the Borg are almost unheard-of. They are not a regular threat, and a starship coming face-to-face with a Cube is not even considered a likely risk.
  • Despite this, individual Borg ships and drones remain as formidable as they ever have. Perhaps a fleet could now defeat a Cube, but this is untested. Such ships are only spotted far from Federation borders, where only lone Starfleet vessels would encounter them. Protocol still tells Starfleet not to engage.
  • The Borg, as such, cannot be defeated by force of arms. This is never the story Star Trek has told about them as an enemy. Don’t meet them in a straight-up fight. They will win.
  • Anything once of the Borg has been treated with enormous suspicion the past quarter-century. This includes technology; while Starfleet does study it, they presently prefer to learn how to best it if possible. In short, Starfleet ships aren’t packing Borg-derived superweapons; there’s still too much fear of what’s not known about this technology, or the risk the Collective might use it against them.
  • This goes perhaps more so for former drones, or xBs. They are perhaps the most despised people in the galaxy, and live hard and lonely lives. Former Borg Starfleet officers must be exceptional individuals, be exceptionally well-behaved, and also have perhaps-unprecedented restrictions on their personal liberty to be allowed to serve.
  • There remains a blossoming black market in the dark corners of the quadrants for Borg technology. This includes cybernetic implants from former drones - who have almost certainly been murdered for them to be acquired.