I mean, no, obviously the Borg play a major part here but I'm wondering if this mystery girl who seems to know Picard without knowing him and is very important etc etc isn't just an ex drone. I'm wondering if maybe she has Romulan Katra's from the destruction of Romulus (or from Picard's evacuation of it/evacuation of Borg attacked Romulan space). We know Spock and other Vulcans were working towards reunification so it's not impossible that some Romulans rediscovered unused telepathic abilities - including Katra's. Maybe that's why "she will be the end of us". The Katra's contain knowledge the current Romulan rulers DO NOT want revealed.... Anyway, just a thought.
I don't think katras is the answer, but I like what you're thinking generally. I'd love if they threw us a curveball and had her not necessarily linked to all the Borg business.
Seconded. The more I think into it a new facet appears. Why would Borg conspire with Romulans to make any alliance with? It was enough of a stretch for Janeway to do it and at least the Borg had a larger enemy to deal with (Species 8472, so I find it hard to believe the Federation has been attacking back so continuously successfully). And it's not anywhere near the same situation as Lore (or the same Borg, they were an isolated splinter) but it's not like the Borg aren't powerful enough to send 2 or 3 full cubes followed by some spheres, diamonds, clovers, and a couple horseshoes and be done with both Romulans and then Federation the way even VOY showed in an episode (I forgot which one, in season 5 or 6...).
I think a extreme Romulan faction is trying to weaponize Borg tech so they can rebuild their Empire, which is a different story related the Borg and lets the Romulans take the spotlight. So this girl may be a threat to their plans somehow.
I didn't even follow half of that. Romulans are my favorite Trek species, bar none, and none of these events "basterdize" them or whatever. Nemesis certainly wasn't a good film, it didn't diminish my love of Romulans or seem out of character. Also, Nero is my second favorite Romulan, after the Romulan commander.
I'm getting The Return vibes here. A collusion between the Borg and Romulans mean Kirk is coming back.
So far, the only Borg cube we saw in the trailer, was a defunct one (with killed drones), that was salvaged and used as a prison by Romulans. That's a far cry from the old-school "Borg invasion" storylines, and IMO also a very interesting angle to what happens with the Borg after the collective got defeated.
If the Borg themselves don't appear, just leftover bits of technology, I'm OK with that. (I totally buy, for example, the comics' suggestion that the Narada from ST09 was upgraded with Borg tech. There's no way that a monstrosity like that was a simple mining vessel...)
There will, absolutely, definitely either some Borg drones, or, more likely, the whole cube come back to life, most likely as a direct result of the Romulans' experiments, assimilate all the Romulans and prisoners still on board, and go on a rampage to be stopped by our heroes. And I will enjoy every second of that! Though it still wouldn't be a "traditional" Borg episode, but now likely a Romulan "playing with fire"/"unintended consequences by weapons gone rogue"/"Zombie outbreak" type of story.
The whole "5843 days without an assimilation" thing is Chekhov's gun and it must be fired before the season ends.