Borg starship
|
|
In the Star Trek fictional universe, the Borg use a number of different vessels.
| Contents |
Borg cube ship
The Borg cube ship is a variety of immense, cubic starship that functions as part of the Borg Collective. It was first seen in the Next Generation episode "Q Who?" at the collective's 2365 first contact with the United Federation of Planets. The cube appears to be the principal spacefaring unit of the collective, by far the Borg craft most often seen on screen and the type of vessel used in both the Battles of Wolf 359 and Sector 001. Cubes are popularly believed to number in the millions or greater; however, the three currently known cube identification numbers, 461, 630, and 1184, seem to indicate smaller numbers. These ships' low numbers may be coincidence, however, or these may not be the ships' complete registries.
The design of a Borg cube is determined by the materials at hand and what is currently needed in a ship. The only unifying principles of design are a roughly cubical shape, a decentralized organization, and a size of several thousand meters per edge. Common capabilities of cubes include high warp capabilities, self-regeneration (at least of the outermost layer), beam weapons, and accommodation of Borg cybernetic units numbering in the tens or hundreds of thousands. Cubes have been known to carry Borg sphere ships in cavities covered by large slide-away hatches in their outermost layers, however it is not known if this is common.
Two basic styles of cube have been seen: the first, seen in The Next Generation, had an outer layer composed of a thin framework, allowing a green glow to emanate from within; the second, seen in Star Trek: Voyager, has a more solid-looking exterior, and less of a noticeable inner light, possibly indicative of a new assimilated technology or a new tendency to employ physical armor in protecting cubes.
Another type of cube, the tactical cube, was seen in a late season of Voyager: a model specifically designed for battle, which employed large, solid armor plates to protect itself.
Borg probe
The Borg probe ship is used by the Borg to gather information before primary ships are brought in. In one episode the USS Voyager was able to destroy the ship with a single photon torpedo. During the Star Trek Voyager episode Dark frontier it was revealed the USS Voyager can match the firepower of this class of Borg vessels. These ships are capable of transwarp speeds.
Borg Queen's ship
The Borg Queen uses this ship to direct all of the Borg operations. This ship is contained within the unicomplex of Unimatrix 01. The weaponry of this ship includes both fore and aft torpedo launchers. Only in the event of an emergency will the Borg launch this ship, making onscreen appearances rare (e.g., in the movie Star Trek: First Contact). Like the Borg Cube it can travel at transwarp speeds, allowing it to outrun its enemies if necessary.
Borg scout ship
The Borg scout ship is a smaller ship than its counterpart, the Borg Cube. The Borg scout ship is only 2.5 million metric tons in mass and holds a crew of five.
A Borg scout ship was found by the crew of the Enterprise-D on a moon in the Argolis cluster in the Next Generation episode I, Borg.
Borg sphere
STBorgSphere.jpg
The sphere ship was first seen in the movie Star Trek: First Contact, where it was stored within a Borg cube ship under a large slide-away hatch and used as an escape vessel upon the destruction of the cube. The sphere was later seen to be capable of time travel. It is unknown if other sphere ships are commonly carried aboard cubes or commonly possess time travel capabilities.
The Borg Spheres were also seen in several episodes of Star Trek: Voyager whenever the USS Voyager crew encountered the Borg. It appeared that they were being used as scout ships, perhaps a detachment from a larger Borg Cube.
Borg tactical cube
The Borg tactical cube ship is a variant upon the standard Borg cube with the additions of large, solid pieces of armor attached to the exterior. Presumably it possesses more power, weaponry, and deflector shielding. It was first seen in Star Trek Voyager episode "Unimatrix Zero, Part 1".
In the PC game Star Trek: Armada II, eight tactical cubes could be joined into a single starship, the tactical fusion cube. Note that this is highly noncanon.
| Star Trek starship classes Starfleet
| ||||||||
|