Borg sphere

Borg sphere
Affiliation:	Borg Collective; Borg Cooperative, Delta Alliance
Type:	explorer
Service period	22nd through 29th century
Dimensions
Length:	600 meters
Width:	600 meters
Height:	600 meters
Specifications
Decks:	85
Crew:	11,000 Borg drones
Speed:	warp 9.99, transwarp drive
Armaments:	tractor beams, plasma beams, phaser weaponry, torpedoes
Defences:	multiple regenerative shield emitters, high-power subspace field, auto-regenerative hull, ablative hull armor

The Borg sphere was a huge sphere-shaped starship used by the Borg Collective, sometimes designated as a "long range tactical vessel" or as an explorer. These ships were designed for multiple mission profiles, including as a last resort contingency. Among other starship classes of the Borg fleet, the Borg sphere went through three different versions in the 22nd, 23rd and 24th century respectively. (VOY episode: "Drone"; CCG set: First Contact; Decipher RPG module: Starships, ST video game: Legacy)

Service history

At least two Borg spheres had been observed to have time travel capabilities. On one such occasion, a Borg sphere traveled back to the year 2063, in order to prevent the historical first contact between Humans and Vulcans. (TNG movie, novelization & comic adaptation: First Contact)

Although the sphere went back in time to 2063, it was intended to only return a few days into the past. (Star Trek novel: Engines of Destiny)

Another was used by the clone Locutus in an attempt to destroy the USS Enterprise-D shortly after the Farpoint mission, preventing Locutus' defeat in the battle of the Unicomplex. (TNG video game: Armada)

During Voyager's attempt to get home in 2377, they were chased by Sphere 634, one of the few the Borg Queen had managed to keep in contact with. The sphere managed to weaken Voyager inside the collapsing transwarp corridors before capturing the ship. When the sphere arrived in the Alpha Quadrant, a fleet of 27 Federation Starfleet starships opened fire on the sphere. It took a transphasic torpedo fired from Voyager to defeat it. (VOY episode & novelization: Endgame)

A more heavily armored version of the sphere was fielded by the Borg Collective circa 2379, dubbed the "Borg Sphere Prime" and acting as the dreadnoughts of the Collective. (TNG video game: Starfleet Command III)

Smaller variants of the Borg sphere also existed that served as long range scout vessels. On Stardate 3519.7 the USS Enterprise encountered one such vessel that had been responsible for the destruction of several planets including Outpost Omega-70.

This particular vessel suffered conditions that were not typical for a Borg vessel such as increased radiation levels that are hazardous for organic life. It was theorized by the Enterprise's science officer that this ship had partaken in a battle in the Delta Quadrant and had suffered severe damage before entering the Alpha Quadrant. One of the results was that the Borg crew of the vessel was acting severely erratic and were slowly killed by the radiation.

At some point after arriving in the Alpha Quadrant, the crew of the ship had attacked a world and stolen a mining device from the population which was integrated into the Borg sphere and modified to the point that it could destroy planets through a forced core implosion as well as being used as a ship-to-ship weapon with fire power levels the equivalent of forty Starfleet photon torpedoes.

The crew of the Enterprise managed to destroy this ship by making its implosion weapon turn on itself. (TOS comic: "Resistance")

Kelvin timeline

When the Narada arrived from an alternate future, its Borg augmented systems were detected by the Borg Collective. In 2263, a single sphere was dispatched to find "The Outlier" as they called it. As it exited the Delta Quadrant, the sphere found and attacked the USS Concord, assimilating sections of it and members of the crew including Captain Craig Terrell.

Continuing its search, the sphere attacked Outpost Armstrong, where it was fired upon by the USS Endeavour, briefly beaming over the assimilated Terrell to warn off Kirk from pursuing them before they warped into Romulan space.

After it crossed the Neutral Zone, the sphere destroyed a Romulan fleet before it proceeded to Quirina VI, launching an orbital bombardment on the colony. Though the drones found the blueprints to the Narada, the Romulans could not explain how the craft was built. With no data to be found, the drones assimilated those in the immediate area, even beaming up Spock, before the sphere set course for Romulus.

During the journey, the drones tried to assimilate Spock but consistently failed to do so on account of his hybridized neurology. When the sphere arrived at Romulus, it opened fire on the defence fleet, destroying them with ease, in spite of its shields being worn down. Exploiting this, the USS Endeavour beamed away the Federation prisoners while leaving its compliment of photon torpedoes in their place. Though the sphere had been destroyed, its power had shattered the confidence of both the Federation and the Romulan Empire, leading to them holding the Babel Conference to discuss the danger posed by the Borg. (TOS - Boldly Go comics: "Issue 1", "Issue 2", "Issue 3", "Issue 4", "Issue 7")

Appendices

Gallery

23rd century Borg sphere encountered by the USS Enterprise

A Borg sphere attacking Romulus in the Kelvin timeline while the USS Endeavour and Romulan vessels engage it.

23rd century Borg sphere firing a planet smashing device that was incorporated into it.

External link

• Borg sphere article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.