Why didn't other civilizations help the Federation against the Borg?

[The Overlord]

Why didn't other civilizations help the Federation against the Borg invasions in Best of Both Worlds?

The Federation was allied with the Klingons during Best of Both Worlds and even the Roumlans would see it in their interests not like the Borg assimilate the Federation.

Also other alien civilizations were not present when the Borg invaded Earth in First Contact and it seems like those rogue Borg from Descent who were slaughtering any biological organisms they find would be a cause for concern for them. Also why were the Borg focused more on the Federation then any other AQ civilization?

 

[Andymator]

Re: Why didn't other civilizations help the Federation against the Bor

The Klingons did. Go watch the episode again.

 

[Christopher]

Re: Why didn't other civilizations help the Federation against the Bor

Why didn't other civilizations help the Federation against the Borg invasions in Best of Both Worlds?

The Federation was allied with the Klingons during Best of Both Worlds and even the Roumlans would see it in their interests not like the Borg assimilate the Federation.

Admiral Hansen did say that the Klingons were sending warships to Wolf 359, though it was never established whether they reached it in time to join the battle. However, there was a Marvel Voyager comic which asserted that there had been Klingon ships involved.

And "The Neutral Zone" established that the Romulans and UFP were sharing information about the mysterious power that scooped up their border colonies -- a power that turned out to be the Borg.

Also other alien civilizations were not present when the Borg invaded Earth in First Contact and it seems like those rogue Borg from Descent who were slaughtering any biological organisms they find would be a cause for concern for them.

In the former case, I'd say it's simply that the Federation is a big territory and other powers' ships may not have had time to reach the battle. Also, relations with the Klingons were pretty unfriendly at the time, as seen on DS9. In the latter case, those events happened way out on the border in a remote part of space. Though ST doesn't always remember to show it, the galaxy is a big place.

Also why were the Borg focused more on the Federation then any other AQ civilization?

We know they were curious about the Romulans as well, but they went after the UFP because it was the UFP that they made contact with in "Q Who," and before that when they assimilated the Hansens. Perhaps they simply judged that the UFP had the greatest "biological and technological distinctiveness" of any AQ power and was thus the one most worthy of their attention.

 

[The Overlord]

Re: Why didn't other civilizations help the Federation against the Bor

The Klingons did. Go watch the episode again.

They mentioned the Klingons sending ships in Best of Both Worlds. but we never saw them in action. Where were they?

 

[Christopher]

Re: Why didn't other civilizations help the Federation against the Bor

They mentioned the Klingons sending ships in Best of Both Worlds. but we never saw them in action. Where were they?

Like I said, maybe they just couldn't reach the battle site in time. The Borg cube moved very fast. By the time Starfleet called for Klingon help, it was already very near the heart of the Federation.

 

[Cyke101]

Re: Why didn't other civilizations help the Federation against the Bor

They mentioned the Klingons sending ships in Best of Both Worlds. but we never saw them in action. Where were they?

Like I said, maybe they just couldn't reach the battle site in time. The Borg cube moved very fast. By the time Starfleet called for Klingon help, it was already very near the heart of the Federation.

Additionally, there was a flashback in Voyager of a Klingon fleet fighting a Borg Cube. That could be an unseen part of BOBW, but it could also be part of an implied Borg incursion in the Beta Quadrant; or it could be completely unrelated either, the point being that the Borg fought non-Federation forces in our neck of the woods as well.

On a side note, I seem to remember a TNG episode that discussed the Klingons finding Borg wreckage in the Beta Quadrant. They recovered a key piece of tech and it eventually ended up on the Enterprise-D. However, I can't find information on the episode or the tidbit. Did I just make this up?

 

[Trekker4747]

Re: Why didn't other civilizations help the Federation against the Bor

The Klingons did. Go watch the episode again.

They mentioned the Klingons sending ships in Best of Both Worlds. but we never saw them in action. Where were they?

The show had a budget to work with, time constraints and limitations with SFX technology. I'm sorry that we couldn't see the Klingon ships in action but for whatever reason it wasn't decided to film it happening or the after math of it. Regardless we were told it happened, good enough for me.

 

[Anwar]

Re: Why didn't other civilizations help the Federation against the Bor

I don't think the Klingons made it to Wolf 359 in time, the Borg annihilated the armada too fast.

I DO think there were other random Borg encounters between BOBW and First Contact that they just didn't focus on. The assimilated Klingons are probably from there.

It's fully possible that aside from the Klingons none of the other Alpha Quadrant species thought the Borg were a real threat or the Feds were over-reacting to a possible incursion.

If they DID know about that threat and still did nothing, then it just makes them all ungrateful bastards for not willing to commend the Feds or be more friendly to them for saving the entire Quadrant from invasion.

 

[CaptainStoner]

Re: Why didn't other civilizations help the Federation against the Bor

question makes little sense when you consider what the federation is

 

[indolover]

Re: Why didn't other civilizations help the Federation against the Bor

Either they wanted to see the Federation take a bloody nose, they naively thought the Borg were not interested in them, or due to creative licence the Borg were the greater threat to the Federation since the Federation's capital planet is Earth and Trek is meant to highlight the human condition.

I have a feeling the third reason is the truth here. The Borg don't discriminate as such, as long as a species in technologically viable, then they would assimilate it. This included practically all viewed Alpha Quadrant species in Trek. I doubt they would have much interest in the Mintakans or the people Worf's foster brother saved, for obvious reasons. If the Federation fell, then the Klingons, Romulans, Cardassians, Ferengi, Tzenkethi, Gorn, Miradorn, Talarians, Sheliak, Bajorans, etc. are next. All are advanced and warp-capable species.

 

[Tiberius]

Re: Why didn't other civilizations help the Federation against the Bor

Given that the most we ever saw of Wolf 359 was the six ships at the beginning of Emmisary, I think we only saw a tiny part of the Battle. I think that there would have been some klingon ships present. Maybe even some Romulan ships, if Hanson did end up asking them for help.

 

[Rom's Sehlat]

Re: Why didn't other civilizations help the Federation against the Bor

In a Voyager episode "Unity" we learn about a human woman who was assimilated at Wolf 359. We also meet a Romulan. I got the impression he was assimilated there as well, but I don't think it was explicitly mentioned.

 

[The Overlord]

Re: Why didn't other civilizations help the Federation against the Bor

In a Voyager episode "Unity" we learn about a human woman who was assimilated at Wolf 359. We also meet a Romulan. I got the impression he was assimilated there as well, but I don't think it was explicitly mentioned.

Wouldn't it make sense that the Romulan was assimilated when the Borg started stealing Romulan and Federation outposts in the neutral Zone? Also how could that human be assimilated at Wolf 359 when the only cube in that battle was destroyed at the end of the episode? She would have died on that cube.

 

[Cyke101]

Re: Why didn't other civilizations help the Federation against the Bor

Also how could that human be assimilated at Wolf 359 when the only cube in that battle was destroyed at the end of the episode? She would have died on that cube.

And hence that's why it's a continuity error. But Voyager does indeed show a human that was assimilated at Wolf 359. Infinite Regress implies that Seven might have been at Wolf 359, too.


There could be any number of theories out there, like another cube or an assimilated Starfleet vessel that made it back home, or accompanying the Queen in some way that was "beyond" three-dimensional escape. But it's all just speculation and don't really count.

 

[Anwar]

Re: Why didn't other civilizations help the Federation against the Bor

Don't forget about the colonists at Jouret IV from the start of "Best of Both Worlds", they were assimilated too. Unless they were all on that Borg ship and died with those Borg it's likely the Borg loaded them onto one of those escape Spheres and sent them back to the Delta Quadrant.

But yes, there were the Romulans and other Fed personnel from the Neutral Zone starbases also assimilated and probably sent back to the Delta Quadrant.

 

[Christopher]

Re: Why didn't other civilizations help the Federation against the Bor

Also how could that human be assimilated at Wolf 359 when the only cube in that battle was destroyed at the end of the episode? She would have died on that cube.

I addressed that in my story "Brief Candle" in the Voyager anthology Distant Shores. The story was a sequel to "Survival Instinct," which featured another Starfleet officer assimilated at Wolf 359. As I recall, I explained that after Wolf 359, the cube had assimilated more people than it had need/slots for, and so before reaching Earth, it sent the excess drones off in a scout sphere that returned to the Delta Quadrant. That way, it wouldn't waste resources on life support for drones it didn't need.

 

[Snaploud]

Re: Why didn't other civilizations help the Federation against the Bor

Most of the Alpha Quadrant powers would have arrived too late even if they left immediately after hearing about the Borg armada, and that's not taking into account the time it would take for their political groups to make a decision whether to risk their necks (assuming they have necks).

It would have made sense, however, post-BOBW to form some sort of mutual defense pact against the Borg. Though, it would be a tough call for most of them (as they hadn't seen the Borg attack anybody other than the Federation).

 

[JRoss]

Re: Why didn't other civilizations help the Federation against the Bor

That whole "the Borg were responsible for scooping up the Romulan colonies" thing is really irksome.

So the Borg ended up sneaking about the Alpha/Beta Quadrant somehow completely avoiding detection and then all of a sudden abandoned Romulan space to go straight to Earth? It makes no sense.

 

[Anwar]

Re: Why didn't other civilizations help the Federation against the Bor

They attacked the Neutral Zone bases and decided that neither the Feds nor the Romulans had anything to offer them.

Then Q zapped the ENT-D to the J-25 system and the same Borg ship that attacked the Neutral Zone is there. It sees them and thinks "WTF? They shouldn't have the ability to come out this far yet. Maybe we underestimated them."

That ship decides to head back to the Federation to assimilate them proper, leading to BOBW.

 

[Tiberius]

Re: Why didn't other civilizations help the Federation against the Bor

^ What Anwar said.

And there's nothing to indicate that the Borg avoided detection in Romulan space. For all we know, there could have been a Romulan version of Wolf 359 just prior to "TNZ" and we just haven't heard about it.