The History of the Borg.
Origin - The Borg originate deep within the Delta Quadrant of the Galaxy. The specific age and origin of
the Borg race is unknown, but Guinan believed that the Borg Collective have been in existence and evolving
for thousands of centuries. "Q, Who?" [TNG]
It is also unclear as to how and why the Borg evolved to
their partially cybernetic state, although the
Borg Queen has stated that the Borg were once completely organic lifeforms, flawed and weak, much
like the human race, but that they evolved to include the synthetic.
"First Contact" [ST8]
ca. 1482: The Vaadwaur are aware of the Borg and don't consider
them much of a threat. They've only
assimilated a handful of systems so far. The Collective's memory from this time is fragmentary.
"Dragon's Teeth" [VOY]
date unknown: Given
the Borg species numbering system, it is probable
that the species originally giving
rise to the Borg would have been designated as Species 1 (or possibly 0). The Borg Queen is a member
of species 125 – meaning she is of an
early species assimilated by the Borg. Thus, species 125, or that
particular individual, was an ideal choice for Queen or she could have been bioengineered for this
purpose. The relatively low index number could mean a couple of things: either the Borg did not need
a Queen for the early part of its history, or they replaced their previous Queen when a superior one
was found or engineered.
2063: Borg travel back in time to try to
prevent Earth's first contact with the Vulcans. Their sphere
is destroyed over Earth. Debris from the destruction falls on Earth's polar region. Two Borg drones
survived the crash, however they are frozen for 90 years.
"First Contact" [ST8], "Regeneration" [ENT]
2145: When they assimilate species 262, the Borg discovered the
existence of Omega.
"The Omega Directive" [VOY]
2153: Two Borg are thawed out, still programmed with the
mission to transmit earth's coordinates back
to Borg space, they attempt to complete their mission but are limited by the technology available to
them. They transmit the spatial coordinates of Earth via normal subspace which should take about
200 years before the message reaches Borg space in the Delta quadrant.
before 2293: The Borg attack the home system of Guinan's race,
the El-Aurians and although she
was not present at the time there was little left of her people after the attack.
ca. 2348, Stardate 25479: Annika Hansen is born at the Tendara
colony. Later she will be assimilated
and become Seven of Nine. "The Gift" [VOY]
2352, Stardate 32611.4: The Federation Council on Exobiology at
last gives the Hansens their final
approval. Starfleet's still concerned about security issues but they've agreed not to stand in the
way of the Hansen's research. The Hansens set off in the U.S.S. Raven and start chasing their
theories about the Borg. "Dark Frontier" [VOY]
date unknown: The Hansens are last recorded at a remote outpost
in the Omega sector.
"The Gift" [VOY]
2353, Stardate 32623.5: The U.S.S. Raven has been tracking
stray readings for nearly eight months now,
and there's still no sign of a Borg vessel. They begin to wonder if the Borg are nothing more than rumor
and sensor echoes when a Cube makes its appearance. They will track this Cube for three years before
their final assimilation. "Dark Frontier" [VOY]
Stardate 32629.4: After three months of tracking the Borg cube,
the vessel entered a transwarp conduit.
They followed in its wake all the way to the Delta Quadrant, the Borg's native territory.
"Dark Frontier" [VOY]
2356, Stardate 32634.9: The Raven was hit by a subspace
particle storm and took heavy damage. Their
multi-adaptive shielding went off-line for 13.2 seconds. Unfortunately, it was long enough for the Borg
to perceive them as a threat. "Dark Frontier" [VOY]
Seven watches in fear as her parents are assimilated. The Borg assimilate her and she will spend the
next 5 years in a maturation chamber. (Seven says she was assimilated 18 years ago in
"Scorpion, part 2" [VOY]). "Collective" [VOY], "Raven" [VOY]
2361: Seven emerges from her maturation chamber. The Hive
Mind has restructured her synaptic
pathways, and purged her individuality. The turmoil of her forced assimilation has been "replaced
with order." "Collective" [VOY]
2364, Stardate 41986.0: Science station delta zero-five and two
remote outposts in Sector 3-0 and
Sector 3-1 along the Neutral Zone are destroyed, appearing to have been scooped off the surface.
The same thing has happened to some Romulan outposts, and on Tarod IX. Later this is believed
to have been the work of the Borg. "The Neutral Zone" [TNG]
2365, Stardate 42761.3: The official First Contact between the
Borg and the Federation, when Q
transported the Enterprise-D out of Federation space into system J25 in the Delta quadrant,
some 7,000 light years off course, and into the flight path of a Borg vessel heading toward the
Alpha quadrant. "Q Who?" [TNG]
Q "introduced" the Borg to the races of the Alpha Quadrant.
2366, Stardate 43989.1 through 44001.4: Following this
"first contact", Starfleet began advance-
planning for a potential Borg offensive against the Federation. Lieutenant Commander Shelby
was placed in charge of this project to develop both defensive strategy and weaponry. One of
the advanced weapons systems which was developed at this time was the starship U.S.S. Defiant,
a heavily armored starship prototype.
"The Best of Both Worlds, part 1" [TNG]
Stardate 43994.1: The Enterprise investigated Jouret IV, one of
the Federation's outermost colonies.
The Borg had scooped it off the surface of the planet.
"The Best of Both Worlds, part 1" [TNG]
Three hours and 12 minutes after the USS Lalo departed Zeta Alpha Two on a freight run to
Sentinel Minor Four, a distress signal was received at Starbase one five seven. The Lalo reported
contact with an alien vessel described as cube-shaped. It's distress signal ended abruptly.
"The Best of Both Worlds, part 1" [TNG]
The Battle of Wolf 359:
The anticipated attack came in late 2366, when a Borg vessel entered Federation space, heading for
Earth. Starfleet tactical planners had expected at least several
more months before the Borg arrival, and thus were caught unprepared. This early arrival
demonstrated that the Borg possess vastly superior energy sources and means of faster than light
travel. Warp Drive is the standard method of faster than light travel normally utilized by the Borg.
The Borg are capable of sustaining warp speeds in excess of warp factor 9.99 for an indefinite
amount of time. But it was later learned that the Borg can traverse vast distances of space utilizing
artificially created wormhole-like channels known as "transwarp conduits". Enterprise-D captain
Jean-Luc Picard was captured by the Borg at the beginning of this offensive. He was assimilated
into the Borg collective consciousness and became known as Locutus of Borg, providing crucial
guidance and necessary tactical information for the Borg's subsequent attack on the Federation fleet
at Wolf 359. "The Best of Both Worlds, part 1" [TNG]
Starfleet massed an armada of some 40 starships in the hopes of stopping the Borg cube vessel at
Wolf 359, but the fleet was decimated with the loss of 39 starships and over 11,000 lives.
"The Drumhead" [TNG]
The U.S.S. Saratoga was also lost at the battle of Wolf 359.
"The Emissary" [DS9]
As Locutus, Picard explained that the Borg purpose was to
"raise the quality of life for all species" of
the galaxy by providing other life-forms the benefit of being part of the Borg Collective. Subsequently,
an away team from the U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-D was successful in capturing Locutus, and
returned him to the Enterprise. Utilizing Locutus' connection into the Borg Collective, in a last-ditch
effort, the crew of the Enterprise were able to plant a disabling command into the Borg Collective,
which resulted in the suspension of the attack on the Federation. This false command triggered a self-
destruct program in the Borg cube ship, and the Borg vessel, which had made it all the way to Earth
orbit, destroyed itself to prevent further access to their systems.
"The Best of Both Worlds, part 2" [TNG]
Stardate 45854.2: By 2368, at least two more Borg vessels
are found to be operating in Federation space,
when the wreckage of a small Borg scout craft was discovered on the
surface of a moon in the Argolis Cluster. The sole surviving Borg,
designated Third of Five, was brought aboard the Enterprise-D for
medical treatment and study. This injured Borg drone, having been
disconnected from the Borg collective, began to exhibit signs of
individuality returning to him. His new-found individuality was
encouraged by the crew. He was named Hugh by Chief Engineer
Geordi LaForge, and was nursed back to health. During his
convalescence, the crew developed what they termed an invasive
program, which, when introduced into the Borg Collective consciousness, was designed to cause a fatal
overload in the entire Collective. In the process, Hugh befriended Geordi LaForge, a friendship that
provided an argument that this invasive program, in essence as weapon of mass murder, should not be
used. Hugh was thus returned to the crash site where he was found, and eventually rescued by another
Borg Scout Ship which had been sent to retrieve the crashed Borg ship.
"I, Borg" [TNG]
Stardate 46982.1 through 47025.4: Following the return of Hugh
to the Collective, Hugh's new sense
of freedom and individuality began to permeate the portion of the Collective which he came in contact
with. The results of this were dramatic: deprived of their group identity, individual Borg were unable
to function as a unit. The unexpected arrival of the android Lore changed this chaos. Lore appointed
himself the leader of those Borg, and promised them he would provide them with the means to become
completely artificial life-forms, free of dependence on the organic portion of their bodies (it is
important to note here that the Borg would consider an android as sophisticated as Lore, devoid of any
of the flaws of organic tissue, to be the essence of the perfection they seek). In 2369, Lore led his Borg
in launching a major new offensive against the Federation. Utilizing transwarp conduits, they
penetrated Federation space in a ship of an unfamiliar design and attacked the outpost at Ohniaka III.
In response to a distress signal from that outpost, the U.S.S. Enterprise-NCC-1701-D engaged this
unidentified vessel orbiting the planet. Upon transport to the colony, the away team found that it had
been destroyed. Hostile Borg were encountered on the planet, and it was observed that they behaved
significantly different from all previous encounters, moving more quickly and decisively, attacking with
uncharacteristic anger, due to Lore's influence on them. The Borg appeared to be driven by individual
initiative, referring to themselves in the first person as individuals, and calling each other by name. One
of these Borg was captured. Calling himself Crosis, he eventually convinced Lt. Commander Data to
escape with him and defect to the Borg. The offensive was halted when Lore was shot by Data with
an energy weapon, killing him. His brother, Data, then dismantled him. The Borg group continued
to be cut off from the collective. Since that time, the activities of these non-collective Borg are unknown.
"Descent, parts 1 and 2" [TNG]
Stardate 50537.2: While trading with the Sakari
Colonists for the mineral gallicite, Chakotay finds the
remains of a Borg on the planet's surface when they were clearing away the Sakari ruins; they were
the invaders who destroyed the Sakari colony.
"Blood Fever" [VOY]
ca. Stardate 50560: Sisko mentions a "recent Borg
"In Purgatory's Shadow" [DS9]
Stardate 50614.2: A few weeks later in a region of space known
as the Nekrit Expanse, In response to
an alien distress signal, Commander Chakotay of the Federation starship U.S.S. Voyager lands his
shuttlecraft on a planet's surface and is immediately attacked. He is swiftly rescued by a group of
people which he soon discovers are formerly assimilated Borg that had somehow broken free of the
Collective some five years earlier. Unfortunately, in a free society, the former Drones reverted to
destructive ethnic warfare. Meanwhile, Captain Kathryn Janeway and the crew of Voyager find a
Borg cube disabled and adrift in space. They board the ship so that they can have the opportunity
to learn about the Borg technology; all activity in the cube ceased abruptly 5 years ago; there are 1100
Borg corpses on the cube; The Borg survivors ask the crew of Voyager to help them reactivate the
derelict Borg Cube ship in order that a new "collective" could restore harmony to their society. The
members of the cooperative still have Borg neuro-processors implanted in their nervous systems
because removing the implants would have killed them.
2373, Stardate 50893.5: The Borg launched a
second invasion in an attempt to assimilate Earth.
Although the Federation fleet was successful in thwarting the Borg attack, a single Borg Sphere
escaped into a temporal vortex to Earth's 21st century. While in the past, the Borg attempted to
thwart a pivotal moment in Earth history by preventing space pioneer Zefram Cochrane from making
Earth's first faster-than-light spaceflight on April 4, 2063. The crew of the newly commissioned
Enterprise-E, following the Borg Sphere through the temporal vortex into the past, ensured that
Cochrane was able to make his legendary first warp flight. In doing so, the Enterprise-E crew
destroyed the Borg Queen, an entity which was believed to be the central nexus of the Borg Collective.
"First Contact" [ST8]
2374, Stardate 50984.3: The starship Voyager
approaches the heart of Borg territory in the Delta
Quadrant; Borg space is vast, encompassing thousands of solar systems. The Doctor says that he
has examined every square millimeter of the Borg corpse and is closer to understanding how the Borg
assimilation technology works. The crew witness the destruction of several Borg cubes by an
unknown alien lifeform which appears impervious to both Borg and Starfleet weaponry. Kes has a
premonition of a pile of Borg bodies. An away team is sent to investigate one of the heavily damaged
Borg cube ships discovered. Kim finds a pile of dead Borg bodies when he, Tuvok and Chakotay
beam onto the damaged Borg cube; They also investigated one of the mysterious alien lifeform's
bio-ships, which was still attached to a hull-fragment of the decimated Borg cube. The away team
discovered that they were not alone aboard the crippled Borg ship, and moments before they could
transport out, Ensign Harry Kim was attacked by one of the mysterious organic looking aliens. As
he lay in Sickbay, contaminated with alien cells that were transforming him, Kes had a terrifying
premonition about this new enemy and Captain Janeway realizes that it is no longer the Borg which
is a threat to them. The EMH soon learns that these unknown aliens possess an extremely potent
immune system, and thus Borg Nanoprobes are unable to assimilate them. The Doctor is successful
in modifying the Borg nanotechnology, allowing the alien cells in Ensign Kim's body to be destroyed.
"Scorpion, Part 1" [VOY]
2374, Stardate 51003.7: In order to save Voyager, the Borg
sacrifice their own cube by putting it into
the path of fire from invading aliens, which the Borg designated Species 8472. The Borg are losing
the war with Species 8472. They have been attacked over a dozen times in the past 5 months and
the Borg have been swiftly defeated each time. Still in danger of assimilation, Captain Janeway is
forced into making an 'unholy alliance' with the Borg, in which the Borg will allow Voyager safe
passage through their space in return for Voyager's help to defeat their new enemy. The Borg
Collective agrees to this arrangement, and the two sides collaborate to create a biogenic weapon
which could defeat the invading aliens. The Borg select one of their own, Seven of Nine, to work
with the crew of Voyager on the weapon. Commander Chakotay and Captain Janeway struggle
with opposing feelings about working with the Borg. As time runs out for the very survival of the
Borg, the Borg order Seven to seize control of Voyager and take it into the alien realm. Seven says
that the assimilation of Species 8472 would have greatly added to the Borg's perfection. The alliance
proves successful, with the biogenic weapon serving its purpose as a deterrent against Species 8472
from further attacks on the Borg. With Species 8472 defeated and no longer an immediate threat to
the Collective, Seven of Nine attempted to take control of Voyager, but she is separated from the
Collective - her link to the Collective severed by Commander Chakotay utilizing Borg Neural Link
technology. Captain Janeway allows Seven of Nine to remain onboard Voyager, as they were
responsible for severing her link to the Collective. It takes about 2 weeks to remove all the Borg
technology from Voyager's systems. Janeway tells Chakotay to leave the Borg improvements in
the power couplings on Deck 8 since they seem to work better than the original ones.
"Scorpion, Part 2" [VOY]
Kes pushes Voyager safely beyond Borg space; the Doctor
is able to extract 82% of the Borg hardware
from Seven's body. "The Gift" [VOY]
date unknown: When Voyager encounters the Caatati; Rahmin says
that his people were assimilated by
the Borg over a year ago and that only a few thousand of them escaped on 30 ships; Rahmin says that
they need food, medicine, and thorium isotopes; before they were assimilated, the Caatati were a proud
and accomplished people; Lumas says that they have not been welcome anywhere because they have
no resources and are treated like vagrants or criminals; a Caatati ship takes Voyager's warp core when
they find it floating in space; a fleet of 27 Caatati ships approach Voyager demanding food, weapons
and Voyager's entire supply of thorium; they also want Seven so that they can repay one of the Borg for
what was done to the Caatati people; they return Voyager's warp core in exchange for the energy matrix
that Seven designed that will allow the Caatati to produce thorium isotopes in large quantities and
become self-sustaining again. "Day of Honor" [VOY]
Kim jokingly tells Seven that he always wanted to learn
Seven starts to have flashbacks of being on a Borg
vessel; she says that she wasn't traumatized by the
Borg; she doesn't see them as threatening because she was raised by the Borg; while searching the
Cargo Bay, Torres finds a Borg data-link that seems to be a succession of log entries written in Borg
alphanumeric code; 13% of the Borg technology that the Doctor removed 3 weeks ago has regenerated
in a matter of hours; every Borg ship is coded to emit a distinct resonance frequency to guide drones
that have become separated from the collective.
"The Raven" [VOY]
that the Borg are capable of reactivating drones as much as 73 hours after
they have no fear of death; when a drone is damaged beyond repair, it is discarded but its
memories continue to exist in the Collective consciousness; according to Seven, children
assimilated by the Borg are placed in maturation chambers for 17 cycles.
"Mortal Coil" [VOY]
Seven remembers Kovin performing a surgical procedure on
her and extracting Borg technology
from her body. "Retrospect" [VOY]
Alpha Hirogen says that the Borg are a worthy
prey and he wants to recreate the notorious
battle known as Wolf 359 after World War II simulation is over; the Doctor disables Seven's
neural interface by remodulating one of her Borg implants to emit a jamming signal.
"The Killing Game, part 1" [VOY]
Seven tells Janeway that she will enhance the holographic weapons
using Borg technology;
Paris says that the Nazis were the "Borg of their day" since the Nazis were bent on world
conquest; Seven tells Turanj that despite their arrogance, one day the Borg will assimilate
the Hirogen. "The Killing Game, part 2" [VOY]
Seven says that each drone's experiences are processed by the collective and only
information is retained; the Borg were able to create a single molecule of Omega and keep it
stable for one-trillionth of a nanosecond before it destabilized and destroyed 29 vessels and
600,000 drones; Seven says that to the Borg, Omega represents perfection; the Borg
discovered Omega 229 years ago through the assimilation of 13 different species; every
drone is aware of Omega and have been instructed to assimilate it at all costs.
"Omega Directive" [VOY]
The Kyrians believe that the Warship Voyager had Borg drones as part
of their crew; in the
Kyrian simulation, Janeway initiates the Borg activation sequence and orders Seven of Nine
to stop the Kyrians in the engine room; Janeway tells Seven to assimilate the two surviving
Kyrians since Seven has been wanting to expand her Borg fighting force.
"Living Witness" [VOY]
When Seven is hallucinating, she sees Borg on Voyager.
Stardate 51978.2: A badly damaged encoded message
received from Starfleet Command five months
earlier is finally translated by Arturis, an alien passenger recently invited onboard whose species has
a great affinity for language. The directive brings the U.S.S. Voyager to a spacecraft, emitting a
distinctive Starfleet warp signature, but totally unlike any Starfleet vessel known. With a propulsion
system faster than warp speed, the ship is capable of bringing Voyager to Earth - crossing 60,000
light years - within just three months. The ship is discovered to be an elaborate ruse on the part
of Arturis, who seeks revenge against Voyager and her crew for their part in assisting the Borg to
defeat Species 8472 which led to the survival of the Borg and assimilation of Arturis' people.
Arturis planned to use this ship to transport the Voyager crew back into Borg space to be assimilated.
"Hope and Fear" [VOY]
Stardate Unknown: Several months later, The crew of Voyager
launches an ambitious, high risk mission
to invade a damaged Borg sphere to steal Borg transwarp technology. The Borg quickly detect the
plan, and swiftly access Seven's neutral transceiver to communicate to her an ultimatum: the
destruction of Voyager and the assimilation of her crew if Seven doesn't rejoin the Collective.
Seven of Nine is captured and returned to Unimatrix Zero One, where the Borg Queen reveals that
Seven was intentionally left aboard Voyager in a scheme to further understand the nature of human
resistance. Seven does not comply with the wishes of the Borg Queen. Meanwhile, Captain
Janeway, mystified at Seven's apparent betrayal prepares an away team for a daring rescue. The
rescue attempt leads to a vicious showdown with the Borg Queen. To refine their tactics for the
dangerous heist, the crew reviews data found in the field records of Seven's parents, researchers
Magnus and Erin Hansen, before they and their young daughter Annika (later Seven of Nine)
were assimilated by the Borg. The crew of Voyager is successful in stealing a transwarp coil and
escape assimilation. "Dark Frontier" [VOY]
Stardate Unknown: Sometime later, the Federation Starship
Voyager encounters a severely damaged
Borg cube vessel with all adult drones aboard dead. The only surviving crew of the cube is a handful
of Borg children who had been prematurely released from their maturation chambers. The Borg
children attempt to steal Voyager's navigational deflector in order to repair their damaged cube, and
contact the Collective in order to return to the hive. The crew of Voyager discover that a virus
infected the cube, killing all adult drones aboard the vessel. They also make the startling discovery
that the Borg have dispatched a vessel to intercept the damaged cube - to destroy it rather than re-
assimilate it, in order to prevent the deadly virus from spreading to the rest of the Collective.
Seven of Nine convinces the Borg children to come aboard Voyager in order to save them from certain
death at the hands of the Borg. Aboard Voyager, the Doctor is successful in removing the Borg
implants from the Children. "Collective" [VOY]
Stardate 54014.4: Seven of Nine
experiences what she believes to be a vivid dream, only to discover
the existence of Unimatrix Zero - a virtual construct where Borg drones with a special mutation go
during their regeneration cycles and can exist as individuals. Seeing this as an opportunity to destroy
the Borg from within, Captain Janeway orders Seven of Nine to re-enter Unimatrix Zero to contact
the drones there. Seven finds Axum, who informs her that Unimatrix Zero was created by a recessive
mutation that began with the assimilation of a single drone and has since spread to thousands. Axum
has developed a nanovirus to hide the genetic marker from the collective, but it is only a matter of
time before the Borg Queen figures out how to circumvent this and finds a way to destroy Unimatrix-
Zero. Axum asks Seven to help, and Captain Janeway agrees to assist the affected drones. The crew
of Voyager modifies Axum's nanovirus to allow the infected drones to retain their individuality after
awakening from their regeneration cycles. Captain Janeway, Tuvok, and B'Elanna Torres transport
aboard a Borg vessel in order to deliver the virus to the Central Plexus - the device which links all the
drones aboard to the Collective. The away team appears to have failed and are assimilated, but the
Borg Queen discovers their plan and attempts to convince Captain Janeway to coerce the occupants
of Unimatrix Zero to surrender. Janeway orders the destruction of Unimatrix Zero in order to preserve
the resistance. The away team is successfully rescued from the Borg and the newly liberated drones
from Unimatrix Zero begin to gather their forces.
"Unimatrix Zero" [VOY]
Stardate 54973: With the help of Admiral Kathryn Janeway from
the future, the crew of the U.S.S.
Voyager encounters a Borg Transwarp Hub and embarks on an ambitious plan to use it to return to
the Alpha Quadrant and cripple the Borg in the process.