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The Cube did not have a Queen on board, because that is not how it works.

"The Queen" is just a consciousness that brings harmony o the chaos of so many minds. In First Contact, the body being used by the Borg Queen was originally an Operations track officer aboard the Enterprise E.

At one point you see her being walked back to the warp core...


As for the time travel... I imagine that was plan B... the Borg saw that a straightforward frontal attack was not working, so they tried something easier. I guess they decided it was worth the catastrophic risk to the timeline.

If the Queen's body was originally human, how did she get that big lump of metal in her head? Have you got a screencap of that?

And if the queen is just a computer program that uses a body just to communicate, how come all the Borg stopped the moment Picard broke her neck?

"The Queen" is just a consciousness that brings harmony o the chaos of so many minds. In First Contact, the body being used by the Borg Queen was originally an Operations track officer aboard the Enterprise E.

We've seen cubes operate without queens. In fact it is more likely the queens take on the role of an admiral. Which begs the question of why was one on that ship?

As for the time travel... I imagine that was plan B... the Borg saw that a straightforward frontal attack was not working, so they tried something easier. I guess they decided it was worth the catastrophic risk to the timeline.

They decided to risk screwing up the timeline rather than send more than one ship? They really need to get their priorities straight...

And if the queen is just a computer program that uses a body just to communicate, how come all the Borg stopped the moment Picard broke her neck?

It doesn't make a lot of sense to me either, but in the interest of explainign away on on-screen weirdness, perhaps the "operating system" which was overseeing the Borg operations in the time-travel line resided in the Queen-body?

Maybe the Queen was there to see if the situation warranted the use of time travel. They needed someone with a bit more independent thought than a drone.

Maybe each cube has the potential to create a queen, and automatically creates one if they're out of communication for too long or if they determined communication is impossible, like when they traveled back in time. She then becomes the control system for that group of borg, until they relink with the collective.

Maybe the Queen was there to see if the situation warranted the use of time travel. They needed someone with a bit more independent thought than a drone.

So they were more willing to take crazy chances with the time line than send more than one ship?

Maybe each cube has the potential to create a queen, and automatically creates one if they're out of communication for too long or if they determined communication is impossible, like when they traveled back in time. She then becomes the control system for that group of borg, until they relink with the collective.

Possible.

The borg only send one cube because thats all starfleet can defeat. Its just the plotline kill, thats all.

The original script for First Contact had Starfleet engaging an entire Borg fleet and winning with a loss ratio of 47 Borg to only 15 Starfleet, using "quantum torpedoes" that bore a closer resemblance to the Transphasic torps of "Endgame". There's no reason for the script to make the Borg stupid just because the writers can't be bothered to improve Starfleet's anti-Borg capability - after all, Shelby mentioned multiple weapons systems in development at the time of "Best of Both Worlds".

The borg only send one cube because thats all starfleet can defeat. Its just the plotline kill, thats all.

True. But we are looking for an in-universe explaination. That is to say, if these events actually happened then why did they do this?

Inherent, if unemotional, arrogance and disdain for others is a hallmark of the Borg (at least, until Voyager writers got to wreak havoc with the whole idea...). Although the Borg were eventually stopped in BoBW, they were stopped by individual and particular acts of heroism and by having re-kidnapped Picard - who had a unique insight into the Borg's weaknesses.

As a matter of fleet action and purely tactical superiority, the Borg were correct in assessing the fact that they didn't need more than one cube. Even in First Contact, with the Borg-killer USS Defiant on hand, they were again only defeated by Picard's inside knowledge.

While the Borg should probably have guessed that Picard/Locutus was still around to be a thorn in their side, from a strictly tactical standpoint they were justified in only sending one cube.

Anyone else notice how weak each borg was in Voyager?
In the Best of Both Worlds, one borg managed to push off Worf easily.
In FC, only really Worf could defeat them in hand to hand combat (one of the guys used the butt of his rifle in a Borg's chest and the Borg didn't flinch). This was a fully trained security officer.
In Voyager, Janeway could easily defeat a Borg (Unimatrix zero) with her rifle butt. Let's be fair, she's a middle aged woman and she's not particularly physically strong. This is absolutely stupid.

The cube in First Contact had already suffered severe damage to its outer hull, and a relatively short concentrated barrage from about half a dozen ships (admittedly including the fresh E-E) was enough to destroy it. It's possible that it was Picard's inside knowledge that allowed the Feds to destroy the cube, but it's also possible that it was simply the concentrated fire that did it. A few more ships during the earlier stages of the battle and it's conceveable that it could have been destroyed short of Earth without the E-E's help.

Thorin wrote:Anyone else notice how weak each borg was in Voyager?
In the Best of Both Worlds, one borg managed to push off Worf easily.
In FC, only really Worf could defeat them in hand to hand combat (one of the guys used the butt of his rifle in a Borg's chest and the Borg didn't flinch). This was a fully trained security officer.
In Voyager, Janeway could easily defeat a Borg (Unimatrix zero) with her rifle butt. Let's be fair, she's a middle aged woman and she's not particularly physically strong. This is absolutely stupid.

Maybe the person the Borg was originally plays a factor. Like if you assimilate a weak species those drones will be weaker. Maybe Janeway is just lucky.

Thats just plot fate.