Borg Queen

For the mirror universe counterpart, see Borg King.

For the alternate mirror universe counterpart, see Borg Queen (AMU).


Borg Queen
The Borg Queen in 2375
Full name:	Borg Queen
Species:	Borg (formerly Species 125)
Gender:	Female
Born:	Unknown
Died:	2063 (Alpha-1) 2377 (Alpha-2) 2382 (Alpha-3)
Affiliation:	Borg Collective
Occupation:	Leader of the Borg Collective
The Borg Queen in 2063

"I am the beginning, the end, the one who is many. I am the Borg."

— The Borg Queen to Lieutenant Commander Data, 2063

The Borg Queen is the apparent leader of the Borg Collective. Throughout the history of the Borg there have been a number of queens who seem to take on the same character, perhaps indicating the Queen is a persona within the collective which could, in theory, occupy any drone.

As of the 2380s, at least some Borg cubes contained a queencell, which in turn contained a spatial trajector reserved for the Queen in the event of an emergency. (PIC episode: "The Impossible Box")

In 2401, an atypical version of the Borg Queen beckoned Jean-Luc Picard to a region of space, where she expressed the desire to join the Federation. This Queen was originally from an alternate timeline and had merged with Dr. Agnes Jurati in 2024. (PIC episodes: "The Star Gazer", "Penance", "Mercy", "Farewell")

Creation[]

There are a number of theories as to how the Borg Queen came into being:

Destiny[]

A species known as the Caeliar lived on the planet Erigol, having long ago harnessed claytronic atoms, programmable matter able to be controlled via a hive mentality. The Caeliar dedicated their lives to a Great Work, hoping to find the next evolutionary step for them. However, a deliberately malicious feedback pulse destabilized their Work and their solar system, forcing the evacuation of their cities. One of the cities, Mantilis was thrown through a subspace tunnel into the far past. The few United Earth Starfleet officers who survived decided to make their living separate from the Caeliar, but were eventually forced to return. One Caeliar remained alive, Sedín, who merged with the three remaining humans, one of whom was Kiona Thayer who became the precursor to the first Borg Queen. (ST - Destiny novels: Gods of Night, Lost Souls)

The Beginning[]

The Borg Queen was subject of a world that had been struck down by a deadly disease, which was slowly killing much of the population. The scientists on the planet developed bio-organic regenerators, a nanotechnology which would be injected into a subject's circulatory system, eradicate the disease and rebuild the patients crippled body. The Queen to be, in very ill health, was selected to be the subject of the first experiment. It was successful in eliminating the disease but also began to change her, making her stronger than ever before, replacing her broken body with technology and giving her drive and determination to share her gift with others and make them as perfect as her superior self had become. The establishment attempted to resist but the Queen was not willing to let herself be destroyed and instinctively used the nanoprobes to assimilate others. She quickly led her drones in assimilating the entire planet and set to work to spread her gift to the rest of the galaxy. (Strange New Worlds VI short story: "The Beginning")

Side Effects[]

Alternatively: The Borg Queen was originally a woman named Danzek, (or Asil*), who was the daughter of a scientist named Mynzek. Mynzek, with the aim of finding a cure for a terrible disease established a research base near the event horizon of a black hole. He sent ships out via a series of wormholes to capture subjects and run experiments on them in the search for a cure. Using the gravitational time dilation effect of the black hole he could coordinate centuries of research being conducted on the ships, which for those on the base took only days. Danzek was the guinea pig for these experiments on one ship, integrated with technology and biological components from numerous races she became powerful and returned to the station controlling a group of drone-like test subjects. After a brief confrontation in which the station was destroyed, Danzek, queen of her subjects escaped through a wormhole, which thanks to the temporal distortion generated by the exploding station could have sent here anywhere in space and time. (TOS comic: "Side Effects")

The short story "Forgotten Light" offers another version of the Borg's creation but not one in which the queen was the catalyst for change. It is possible that Sivdar, the leader of the technologists, a group who pushed for the technology that created the Borg in this story, could have taken on the role of Borg Queen. Asil was her unofficial name, according to Star Trek: Voyager Companion.

Legacy[]

Another origin: The Vulcan Commander T'Uerell engaged in a mind meld with the Borg and discovered that the Collective was created by the probe V'Ger to serve as its heralds. During the Collective's development, it was discovered that females of certain species possessed a mental prowess and were capable of sifting through the endless amounts of information. These would become the first Borg Queens. However, the development of the Queen resulted in an entity that sought its own objectives and eventually abandoned the goals set forth by V'Ger. (ST video game: Legacy)

Purpose[]

The Queen appears to lead the Borg, having total control over the entire Collective, however it is possible she acts as a figure head, a voice for the Collective much like Locutus. When it appears she is ordering the Collective she may simply be enacting the Collective's will. As the Queen is also part of the collective it may be possible she stands in the mid ground, part of Collective decision but filtering out the best ideas herself, bringing "order to chaos". (TNG movie & novelization: First Contact, et al.)

Should the Borg Queen die, any drones under her command would be forced to enter hibernation. (TNG video game: Armada II)

"The Beginning" and "Side Effects" would seem to indictate the Queen is purely a leader, however "Forgotten Light" shows the Collective developing with equality, and the Star Trek: Destiny trilogy depicted a driving force behind the Queen.

Engines of Destiny indicates that Borg Queens are responsible for a single Borg matrix, with there being multiple Queens at one time, not a single Queen.

History[]

For years, the Queen selected industrial age worlds and did not assimilate them, but instead gave a select few on these planets technology, advancing the cultures dramatically over a small time period. Among these inhabited worlds were those of Species 642, Narisia, and 1429, a planet which later developed methods of traveling through time in starships. When either the species made significant progress towards something useful or lost their usefulness to her purposes, the Queen severed the assistance and cut off their links. (ST novel: Engines of Destiny)

Locutus of Borg and Borg Queen — The Borg Queen with Locutus in 2366

Borg Queen disembodied — The disembodied Borg Queen in 2373

In 2367, the Borg Queen was aboard a Borg cube that was sent to assimilate the planet Earth. Starfleet attempted to amass a fleet at Wolf 359, which was devastated using the knowledge gained from Locutus of Borg, the assimilated form of USS Enterprise-D Captain Jean-Luc Picard. Although the cube was destroyed over Earth, the Queen was able to escape, either in body or mind, and was present when the Borg again attempted to assimilate Earth in 2373. This time, the USS Enterprise-E and the USS Defiant were among the fleet that destroyed the cube in the Sol system. The Enterprise-E was drawn into a temporal vortex as a Borg sphere attempted to travel back in time so that the Queen could warn herself of the resistance put up by the fleet. Instead, the time travel technology threw the sphere and Enterprise back to 2063, where the Starfleet crew was able to prevent the Borg from assimilating the Enterprise and Earth, preventing the warp drive that led to the first contact between Humans and Vulcans. (TNG episode: "The Best of Both Worlds", TNG movie: First Contact; ST novel: Engines of Destiny)

In an alternate timeline where Montgomery Scott rescued James T. Kirk before he could be absorbed into the Nexus, the Enterprise-E did not exist, and thus the Queen traveled back in time and was not defeated as before. She and her drones assimilated Earth, erected a sensor barrier around the Sol system, and then methodically proceeded to assimilate surrounding worlds; she also reactivated links to her subject worlds. However, a time traveling Enterprise-D wound up in 2293, which the Queen became aware of through a Narisian named Balitor. The Queen possessed her body and attempted to attack and kill Picard, but was unsuccessful, and she terminated all Narisians linked to the Collective. The Queen was able to then control a Borg cube and eventually destroy the Enterprise, but her existence and that of her timeline ceased to exist when Picard was able to return Kirk to the Nexus. (Star Trek novel: Engines of Destiny)

By 2375 the Borg Queen was a member of Species 125. (VOY episode: "Dark Frontier")

Assuming the Borg designated their progenitor race Species 1 or 0, this would seem to indicate by this time the Queen had been replaced at least once.

The second encounter with a Borg Queen was in 2375 in the Delta Quadrant. Here, the lost Federation starship USS Voyager, tried to rescue the former Borg drone, Seven of Nine, who was then part of Voyager's crew, when the plan to steal a transwarp coil from a Borg sphere did not work out as planned. The Queen also revealed that Seven of Nine was not really freed by Voyager from the Collective, but was allowed to leave by the Borg. During this encounter, the Borg Queen hoped to assimilate Seven of Nine again, who experienced life as an individual for two years, and by doing so, add to her own perfection. However, Seven rejected the Queen and fled with a rescue mission sent by the Voyager in the Delta Flyer. The Borg Queen's diamond was sent by the Queen to intercept the shuttle, but it was destroyed in the attempt. (VOY episode: "Dark Frontier")

The Borg Queen was one of several real people who was adapted into a character in Kelis' play, based on descriptions from B'Elanna Torres. (VOY episode: "Muse")

Borg Queen 2377 — The Borg Queen in 2377

In 2377, a Borg Queen was again encountered by Voyager. This time the Queen wanted to destroy Unimatrix Zero, a virtual world that was populated by regenerating Borg with a genetic mutation. This world was discovered by Seven of Nine and posed a threat to the Borg. During Voyager's efforts to rescue this virtual world, the Borg Queen demonstrated her powers by destroying a Borg sphere because she could no longer "hear" only one drone. When a nanovirus was released to prevent the detection of Unimatrix Zero, the Queen destroyed several Borg vessels, and killed 75,000 Borg drones in the process, in the hope of persuading the captured Captain Janeway to give her the antidote. (VOY episodes: "Unimatrix Zero", "Unimatrix Zero, Part II")

Borg Queen confronts Admiral Janeway — Admiral Janeway confronts the Borg Queen in 2377

The last encounter between a Federation starship and a Borg Queen was in 2377, and again Voyager played a part in it. Voyager accidentally discovered a Borg transwarp hub within a nebula and were helped by Admiral Kathryn Janeway, who came from an alternate timeline around twenty-seven years in the future, to use the Borg transwarp network to get back to the Alpha Quadrant. Because the Borg guarded their transwarp hub closely, Admiral Janeway devised a plan by which she would infect the Borg Queen with a Neurolytic pathogen and in doing so make her lose control over the force fields which protected the interspatial manifolds. When the admiral was captured by the Borg, near the Unicomplex, she was assimilated by the Borg Queen herself. Soon after, the Queen began to lose control over her drones. The pathogen even made her lose control over her own synthetic parts, as her body literally fell apart. Her death caused the destruction of the Unicomplex and despite her efforts, Voyager reached Earth safely. The Borg sphere that was sent after them by the Queen was destroyed by Voyager's transphasic torpedoes, which were given to them by Admiral Janeway from the future. (VOY episode: "Endgame")

The 2380s would see two different Queens. The first was created aboard a Borg cube in Sector 10. The creation process was, however, halted by the crew of the USS Enterprise-E a short time after coming online. Later, the Borg would capture and assimilate Admiral Kathryn Janeway - making her into a replacement Queen. She would be destroyed after being infected by Project: Endgame. (TNG novel: Before Dishonor)

A new Borg Queen was created, and as soon as she emerged from her chrysalis, she had two objectives - destroy Earth and crush the Federation. Since the Borg believed that they could no longer gain anything by assimilating Earth, they would instead destroy it; thus, the Collective launched their invasion in 2381, and the new Borg Queen utilized the connection to the former drone Locutus to taunt him. She also oversaw the invasion forces, moving between vessels and not allowing former drone Seven of Nine to lock onto her position. Due to the former United Earth Starfleet Captain Erika Hernandez being infused with Caeliar catoms, she was able to listen in on the Borg Collective and locate the Queen as she led an armada to attack the planet Deneva. Noting the similarities between the voice of the collective and the Caeliar gestalt, Hernandez and the USS Aventine attacked and boarded a Borg scout craft to secure its vinculum to control the Collective via Hernandez. Although Hernandez was able to cause the collective to turn on itself for a short period, the Queen transferred her presence to that ship and assaulted the remaining crew, and regained control of her forces, causing them to sleep and regenerate quickly. After the Caeliar city ship of Axion came to the Azure Nebula to lure the invading Borg Collective there with its Omega molecule generator, the Queen overrode all other objectives and had the entire fleet move to the nebula. Once there, Hernandez presented herself for assimilation to act as a link between the Caeliar and the Queen, allowing them to reach past and find the remains of Sedín, which they dissolved along with the Collective. (ST - Destiny novels: Gods of Night, Mere Mortals, Lost Souls)

In 2382, the Borg attempted to completely exterminate the United Federation of Planets, when a single Borg cube penetrated Federation space in an attempt to assimilate Bajor. The Borg cube was leftover from the Borg Invasion of 2381 and avoided the Federation for a year until 2382. The fleet was unable to stop the cube at sector 654 and pursued the cube all the way to the Bajoran sector. The cube was eventually destroyed in orbit of Bajor by the USS Intrepid-A. However, the Borg cube launched a sphere just as the cube was destroyed, in a last attempt to assimilate Bajor. Captain Chakotay ordered phasers to be locked on the Borg sphere. Voyager destroyed the Borg sphere, stopping the Borg from assimilating Bajor. The Borg Queen was killed when the sphere was destroyed. (Star Trek: Intrepid)

In 2399, Picard mentally recalled the image of the Borg Queen and Locutus while aboard the Artifact. (PIC episode: "The Impossible Box")

Alternate timeline[]

Borg Queen, 2401 alt — The Borg Queen in alternate 2401

After being transported into an alternate timeline following the Stargazer's destruction, Picard and his crew encountered a Borg Queen who possessed an awareness of the split in the timeline and was set to be executed by Picard. With her species having been wiped out in this timeline, the Borg Queen agreed to help Picard and his crew travel back in time and correct the timeline. (PIC episode: "Penance")

Peace overture[]

Borg Queen, 2401 — An atypical Borg Queen encountered in 2401

In 2401, the Borg contacted the Federation, claiming to want to join it. A much different Borg Queen than was previously encountered beamed aboard the USS Stargazer and began assimilating the ship and its fleet. In response, Jean-Luc Picard activated the Stargazer's auto-destruct, stopping the assimilation and destroying the vessel. (PIC episode: "The Star Gazer)

Upon returning from 2024 moments before the explosion, Picard cancelled the auto-destruct and allowed the Borg Queen to proceed after realizing that it was the same Queen from an alternate timeline who had merged with Dr. Agnes Jurati. The Borg Queen revealed that a powerful energy wave was approaching and she needed the shields of the fleet combined with that of her own ship to block it. The Borg Queen had come to Picard both because he was someone in charge who would trust her and vice versa and because they needed the help of a friend. The Borg Queen's efforts were successful, saving countless lives, although she didn't know who was behind the creation of the massive transwarp conduit aside from it being a threat that required close observation. Picard agreed to grant the Borg provisional membership in the Federation so that they could remain there, "the Guardian at the Gates." (PIC episode: "Farewell")

Hologram[]

A hologram of the Borg Queen appeared in Starfleet's Borg Encounter holographic training drill, in use by 2381. In the simulation, it was possible for the user to beat the Queen at chess and teach her empathy to improve their score. (LD episode: "I, Excretus")

Queen Alpha[]

The Borg Queen designated as Alpha is the most superior of models used by the Collective, and also the most logical choice for reactivating the Queen when the current becomes dysfunctional. It is for this reason that it was recycled after destruction.

Alpha-1[]

Alpha-1 led the first attempt by the Borg to assimilate Earth in 2367. It was she who gave the order to assimilate Jean-Luc Picard, re-designating him as Locutus. She let him control the cube during the Battle of Wolf 359, while she regenerated. After the battle, she utilized a Borg trans-temporal transporter to take her back in time to the Delta Quadrant, where she remained as Locutus was desimilated and the cube destroyed.

In 2063, when Jean-Luc Picard asked her how she survived, she cryptically replied that he "thought in such three-dimensional terms". This may be a reference to her escape, since the Borg designate time-travel as manipulation of the fourth-dimension.

Alpha-1 was sent to assimilate Earth in 2373. Though the cube she commanded was destroyed, a sphere escaped into a temporal rift to the year 2063 to assimilate Earth prior to First Contact. This sphere was also destroyed, but not before she and several drones beamed onto the engine room of the USS Enterprise-E. Her attempts were thwarted by Jean-Luc Picard, who destroyed Alpha-1.

Alpha-2[]

Alpha-2 was activated when the Federation starship USS Voyager came too close to a nebula that contained the Borg transwarp hub. However, the intervention of Kathryn Janeway from the 25th century complicated things, due to her encounters with the Borg. Alpha-2 assimilated Kathryn Janeway from the 25th century, but in the process infected herself with a neurolytic pathogen, severing the "mental" link shared among the Borg. The damage to the Collective as a whole was quite serious: the entire transwarp hub was destroyed. But Alpha-2's infection did not spread to the rest of the Collective, only those with her in the cube.

Queen Beta[]

The Borg Queen designated as Beta was second-in-activation-protocol after Alpha. She was activated in 2373, after the destruction of Alpha-1, and remained active until 2377, when Alpha-2 was activated. After the destruction of Alpha-2, Beta was reactivated until Alpha-3 could be fully activated.

Alpha-3[]

Alpha-3 led the attempt by the Borg to assimilate Bajor and destroy the Federation in 2382, her attempts were thwarted by Typhuss James Kira, who destroyed Alpha-3.