Name: U.S.S. Enterprise (alternate)

Registry: NCC-1701-E

Class: Sovereign-class

Captain: Jean-Luc Picard

Affiliation: Starfleet

Year: 2382

In an alternate universe where the Borg came in a request for aid against the  Voldranaii, invaders from another universe, Enterprise led the combined Federation/Borg fleet sent to stop them in the Mutara Sector. Seven, who had been undercover with the Borg while maintaining her individuality, was their liaison with the Queen. Worf headed a strike team to the Voldranaii ship and there it was discovered they were under Borg control anyway. Seven was activated by the Queen, who knew all along her true allegiance, and disabled the fleet with the aid of the prefix codes. The Borg Queen had engineered this ruse and explained as much to Picard, wanting him back as Locutus. Dozens of ships were lost in the ensuing battle, survivors were beamed to Enterprise, including Will Riker and Deanna Troi from Titan. Picard was seriously injured and by the time he came to the Borg had already overrun Cardassia and Betazed and they were on the run, the rest of the fleet scattered. They were found anyway, and Picard decided to try and lose them in the Typhon Expanse. There, a Data from 500 years in the future, rebuilt and sent by Locutus, told them of a way of destroying the Borg forever, but would require them to hand Picard over to the Queen to infect her. Picard did not see any other alternative and sought out the Queen’s Vinculum. They warped in, Picard, Seven (now severed again from the collective) and Data, who would register as a drone. Riker kept the Borg focused on the Enterprise in the meantime. When the Queen was defeated and the virus spread, Seven of Nine attempted to save as many liberate drones as she could. Kira Archer, a bridge officer, mutinied and wanted to put an end to the Borg, and fired torpedoes at the Borg Vinculum. She was taken into custody, and Picard and Seven were beamed back to the ship. Future Data had disappeared. The Enterprise made it out of the destruction intact but severely damaged, Seven however was did not survive the ordeal.

Appeared in Star Trek: Hive, IDW Comics

Listen to me very carefully. Hellbird. Repeat, Hellbird. And Jean-Luc. No Starfleet. Trust no one.

GATES MCFADDEN as BEVERLY CRUSHER in STAR TREK: PICARD S03E01 “The Next Generation”

#9: Triangle

An exhausted and injured Kirk makes a dangerous deal with a hive mind entity (to be protected from a different collective consciousness that's closing in) - spock senses the danger to his t'hyla and comes running

[Image description Riker from Star Trek in the conference room saying "You mean we could have signed up for a twitter replacement a dozen times already?" second panel is LaForge saying "A dozen, a hundred, it's impossible to tell." and the screen next to him is covered in nascent social media logos]

the older I get, the more fears I collect

I'm not going to say this is clever because I don't think it was on purpose but

Okay okay so, we know that popular/sci-fi depictions of hive organisms get queens wrong, right? The queen is the ovary of the hive, not the brain?

But! Actually, the Borg Queen specifically does fit.

The Borg don't reproduce biologically. They reproduce by assimilation.

The Borg Queen's focus on war strategy — even the mind games with individuals — is just as much about reproduction as an ant queen laying eggs.

Also, does anyone else feel like this is all Locutus related? Everything weird about Jack, the Changelings’ mysterious benefactor, Picard’s original body....

I’m just saying, I feel like this is a Locutus thing but I don’t know how common that guess is.

I think I realized why Jack was able to escape assimilation

The Hive mind.

In Star Trek Prodigy's "Let Sleeping Borg Lie", Zero, a Medusan, decides to have themselves assimilated. Since Medusans are already of a hive mind, they figure it will be safe.

They become fully assimilated. However, their friend, Gwynda, is able to persuade them to leave the Collective. Which is exactly what Jean-Luc did for Jack.

So, Jack being already connected in a sort of Hive-mind, via his Borg DNA, may've been what saved him.

What is it like to be a Borg?

Name: U.S.S. Titan

Registry: NCC-80102

Captain: William T. Riker

Class: Luna-class

Affiliation: Starfleet

Year: 2382

Background: In an alternate universe where the Borg came in due to a request for aid against the Voldranaii, invaders from another universe, Titan was part of the combined Federation/Borg fleet sent to stop them in the Mutara Sector. When it was revealed that the Borg had engineered the whole thing, and took over the fleet’s prefix codes, Titan lost control. They took heavy damage and the survivors were beamed aboard Enterprise.

Appeared in Star Trek: Hive, IDW Comics

Star Trek: Hive cover gallery

Ranking "joining a hive-mind is good actually" science fiction stories:

5. Picard Season 2, Borgati subplot: earnestly delivered monologue and functional (if confusing) plot twists, but unconvincing and out of character for everyone involved

4. Foundation and Earth: the disappointing ending to Asimov's epic Robots/Foundation novel series; however, like the moss of Melpomenia, it has grown on me over time

3. Mission to Zyxx, "The Magnificent Kevin:" since it is a comedy podcast, this episode is a parody of the concept, but there are thoughtful and unique ideas behind the jokes

2. Voyager, "Unity:" I have the unusual ability to love a good Chakotay episode (Chakotasode); I feel like a lot of people haven't seen this one, so they keep trying to do the "nice Borg commune" thing better and they just can't touch this

1. "Green Patches:" absolute banger of an Asimov short story; I don't even mind the cop out because it's so entertaining

#9: Triangle

Q in the new season of Picard is just one threatening metaphor after another and I'm enjoying it