what if the Borg hadn't found the Enterprise in tbobw1 therefore no Locutus?

[Shat Happens]

In the beginning of The Best..., the Borg actively looked for the Enterprise to get Picard and make a Locutus out of him etc.

What if they hadn't fount the E-D (or Picard wasn't aboard)(or Picard had died between J-25 and then? or married Lwaxana and went off to Betazoid? would the battle at Wolf 359 be won by Starfleet? Would they even try to sector 001? Would they Locutus someone else? that someone certainly would be less competent than Jean-Luc.

 

[Alexander Corrino]

They wanted Jean-Luc because he commanded the strongest ship in the fleet, not because of him specifically. (Or so they claimed.) So, logic dictates that they'd pick whoever IS commanding the Enterprise-D if it's not Jean-Luc. The defeat of the Borg hinged more on Data and Jean-Luc as a team (and on the rest of the crew) than on Jean-Luc himself. Yes, he managed to find his way to Data, but Data had to be there in the first place to interpret his word "sleep". (And Troi had to be there to tell them that this was not Locutus speaking.) So this was more of a crew effort. Even to go back to get Jean-Luc back was Riker going against orders/protocol. So like I said I don't think it all hinged on Jean-Luc alone.

 

[Oddish]

- Whoever is captain of the Enterprise becomes Locutus.
- Riker, with no Picard to keep him glued to the Enterprise D's first officer slot, is probably commanding the Melbourne. Hasta la vista.
- Shelby is pushed into field command of the Enterprise, and Data is first officer, and Guinan is still whispering in their ear. Could those three beat the Borg together? No way to know, but I like their chances.

 

[Qonundrum]

I'd wager they'd still find out about the Big-D as being the flagship thanks to having already skulked around and taking neutral zone posts off of the planets and asteroids (per TNG S1 finale "The Neutral Zone"'s first hint at the yet-unnamed Borg) and sifting through the databases.

What @MrPicard and @Crazy 4 Xmas Lights said are still on point the most, but some scout ship was already here - how much information they were able to send back to the Collective in the Delta Quadrant within a relevant timeframe is another matter; Q's involvement with J25 was still an impetus and probably a big-enough one to get the Borg to decide that everyone in Federationland is worthy of being upgraded to perfection or whatever imperfect system the Borg wish to call it. How much assimilating of individual non-infant beings that had done already is a big gray area and what is told in "Q Who" is little more than characters theorizing, not fathoming the entire scope of the horror of the Borg -- which ties in very much to what Q was warning about. The Borg stated they analyzed the technology, but didn't confirm or deny the ability to assimilate anyone other than infants. I'm figuring it's J25 that had the Borg decide there's more to the Federation's critters than just big shiny things that go bloop-beep and flash more than that runner going through the set in that Oscars award ceremony with David Niven as host circa 1974. Now that's a fun one to watch!

 

[Sketcher]

Wouldn't Hanson have made a better target for assimilation? Makes you wonder if the Borg assimilated him at Wolf 359 to get all those admiraly secrets.

 

[C.E. Evans]

I think the Borg would have found someone else to be their voice during their first offensive on Earth. Presumably as one of Starfleet's most well-known captains and commander of the Federation flagship, Picard was the most convenient choice on their way to Earth, IMO, but if not him, I think they definitely would have gone with someone else as a second choice. Perhaps Edward Jellico, Admiral Nechayev, or maybe even a high-ranking member of the Federation Council if they were nearby. Ambassador Spock may even have been possible if he happened to be on their radar perhaps...

 

[somebuddyX]

They'd probably change focus and assimilate the President of the Federation.
"Okay he's a Borg, so what? As long as he reduces space taxes and keeps the transporters running on time I'll follow him." - John L. Citizen, Milwaukee.

 

[at Quark's]

They'd probably change focus and assimilate the President of the Federation.
"Okay he's a Borg, so what? As long as he reduces space taxes and keeps the transporters running on time I'll follow him." - John L. Citizen, Milwaukee.

A citizen sensitive to the 'President is OK as long as he lowers taxes' argument is probably sensitive as well to the fact that a Borg for president isn't exactly likely to introduce stricter immigration policies, but will instead encourage and in fact even force foreigners to join. Simply tell that to that voter block and the Borg president probably would be voted out of office quite quickly.

 

[Jedi Marso]

The idea that the Borg needed a 'voice' to assimilate Earth is a faulty one given the nature and tech of the Borg, and was inserted for drama and to give the Borg a 'personality' of sorts. Without Picard, the Borg simply move in and assimilate Earth, then move on to the next Federation planet if they so desire. Picard turned out to be an Achilles Heel to them in the end.

 

[at Quark's]

The idea that the Borg needed a 'voice' to assimilate Earth is a faulty one given the nature and tech of the Borg, and was inserted for drama and to give the Borg a 'personality' of sorts. Without Picard, the Borg simply move in and assimilate Earth, then move on to the next Federation planet if they so desire. Picard turned out to be an Achilles Heel to them in the end.

Interesting take. It would fit with the idea that the Queen was retroactively inserted by First Contact to fill that same narrative role. They even coupled it with the idea to have Locutus 'stand by her side', so in a sense they got parallel roles, both in- and out of universe.

Until now, I had only considered the story in terms of 'they had to target Picard personally to heighten the drama' - because in (in-universe) reality, of course there was no need for it. They'd simply curb stomp over the Federation's defenses, and assimilate everyone, without any voice needed to speak for the Borg to 'facilitate their introduction into their society'.

 

[Oddish]

Illegal immigration certainly wouldn't be an issue. The borders are open, but you DON'T leave, and you DO assimilate into our culture.

 

[Victoria]

"Once we have an immigrant, we never give it back" Borg Rule of Acquisition No.1.

 

[Finn]

In the beginning of The Best..., the Borg actively looked for the Enterprise to get Picard and make a Locutus out of him etc.

They did? I was under the impression the D was looking for that Borg cube....

 

[Oddish]

"Once we have an immigrant, we never give it back" Borg Rule of Assimilation No.1.

FTFY.

 

[Shat Happens]

They did? I was under the impression the D was looking for that Borg cube....

this is what gave me that impression:

PICARD: Move to intercept.
WESLEY: Aye, sir.
WORF: Sir, the vessel has already changed course to intercept us.

 

[Finn]

this is what gave me that impression:

PICARD: Move to intercept.
WESLEY: Aye, sir.
WORF: Sir, the vessel has already changed course to intercept us.

Yes. They’d ignore a Galaxy class starship once it appears on their sensors if it wasn’t the D


That dialogue doesn’t mean they were looking for Picard specifically. I watched that scene on P+ before replying earlier.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Illegal immigration certainly wouldn't be an issue. The borders are open, but you DON'T leave, and you DO assimilate into our culture.

Of course if the Borg had assimilated a Canadian captain, the results would be very different:

WE ARE THE CANADIAN BORG. RESISTANCE WOULD BE IMPOLITE. PLEASE WAIT TO BE ASSIMILATED.

(pour l'assimilation en francais, veuillez appuyer sur le '2'.)

 

[Josh Kelton]

They wanted Jean-Luc because he commanded the strongest ship in the fleet, not because of him specifically.

Which would make sense if the Enterprise-D was the only Galaxy Class in the fleet. Unless there's something that makes the Enterprise-D stronger than other ships of the same class.

 

[Oddish]

It's called the flagship. And at least one other Galaxy Class at the time was blown to bits (the Yamato). Maybe the others, like the ill-fated Odyssey, were still under construction.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

We also saw the actual USS Galaxy in some of the Dominion War battles on DS9.