| Name : |
Borg / 8472 War |
| Universe : |
Prime Timeline |
| Year : |
2373 |
Almost from the moment Voyager was stranded in the Delta Quadrant, it was clear that the ship would be likely to encounter the Borg during the journey home. The ship's first encounter with the collective came on Stardate 50537.2, when they encountered a reclusive species which had hidden themselves in underground habitats after almost being exterminated by an attack many years before. The body of a Borg drone was found on the surface of the planet, indicating that the collective had been responsible for the attack. [1] On Stardate 50614.2 the crew encountered a wrecked Borg cube floating in space. A nearby planet held survivors from the vessel, including citizens of the Alpha Quadrant. They theorised that some form of natural disaster had overtaken the cube, or that perhaps the vessel had encountered an even more powerful species. [2]On Stardate 50984.3 a long range probe which was scouting ahead of Voyager was assimilated by a Borg vessel. Facing a vast territory containing thousands of solar systems and millions of cubes, Janeway contemplated abandoning the journey home and settling in the Delta Quadrant - but there was no way to be sure that the Borg would not eventually reach any planet they settled on. Voyager managed to chart a region which was relatively free of Borg vessels and the ship proceeded through. [3]
Shortly after the journey began, Voyager encountered a fleet of no less than fifteen Borg cubes - however, they all but ignored the Starship. Hours later Voyager discovered all fifteen vessels wrecked or totally destroyed; a peculiar life form was attached to one of the vessels, an organic spacecraft several hundred metres in length. [3]
Captain Janeway sent an away team to the Borg ship to investigate. They discovered that large numbers of the drones aboard had been killed, their body parts arranged in a gruesome collection. Some drones were attempting to assimilate the biological spacecraft, but the attempts where futile as the cells of the alien rejected all technology with ease. [3]
The pilot of the vessel attacked the Away Team, injuring Ensign Kim and infecting him with alien cells before he could be beamed away. The ship made a narrow escape from the alien craft, which displayed enormous firepower. Kim's infection spread rapidly, uninhibited by his own immune system. Fortunately the EMH was able to devise a method of using nanoprobes to neutralise the alien cells, defeating the infection. [3]
It became clear that the aliens were the reason for the relative scarcity of Borg vessels in the region - they were emerging from a large number of singularities throughout the corridor and conducting a massive war with the Collective. Unable to match the technology of the aliens and unable to assimilate them, the Borg could barely offer any resistance to the onslaught. Janeway decided that since Voyager now had a method of defeating the alien cells, they might be able to use this as a bargaining chip to secure passage through Borg space in exchange for the technology. Despite Chakotay's considerable reservations Janeway proceeded with the plan, and the Borg agreed to an alliance. [3]
Unfortunately a vessel of the alien species - known to the Borg as "Species 8472" - attacked the cube that Captain Janeway was working on and badly injured the captain. The Borg used their cube to ram the vessel, destroying both ships. A party of drones beamed to Voyager so that they could continue working on an anti-8472 weapon. [4]
Despite considerable pressure from Janeway, Chakotay decided to end the alliance. He ejected most of the Borg into space, but the remaining drone - Seven of Nine, tertiary adjunct to unimatrix zero one - was able to survive this and used Voyager's navigational deflector to open a singularity and send the ship through into 8472's realm. Known as "fluidic space", this parallel universe was completely filled with a fluid substance rather than the empty space common to our own universe. With 8472 ships closing in, Voyager armed several torpedoes with the modified nanoprobe weapons and prepared for battle. They managed to defeat three of the 8472 ships with standard yield weapons before escaping to their own universe again. A fleet of 8472 ships attacked but were destroyed with a high yield torpedo. Faced with a weapon they could not overcome, Species 8472 abandoned the war with the Borg and returned to their own realm. [4]
Mere moments after the war had ended, Seven of Nine violated the alliance and attempted to begin the assimilation of Voyager. Fortunately the Federation crew had planned for this eventuality and were able to disable the drone before setting a course for the alpha quadrant once more. [4]
The consequences of the Borg/8472 war where far reaching. [5] on a small scale, at least one member of the species was left behind in our galaxy where it was hunted by the Hirogen for several months. Despite seeking sanctuary on Voyager the 8472 was captured by the Hirogen and almost certainly killed. [6] The Borg were able to resume their process of gradually spreading through our own Galaxy, assimilating other species as they chose. As but one example this led to the near annhilation of Arturis's people, and his campaign of revenge against Voyager. [7] More worryingly for the Federation Species 8472 themselves took an interest in Humanity, which they now considered to be a serious threat. They even went to the trouble of creating a replica of Starfleet academy to train operatives to infiltrate Starfleet. An 8472 attack on the Federation would doubtless have proved disasterous, but fortunately Voyager was able to negotiate a genuine peace between the two powers. [8]
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