With Star Trek: Picard marking the return of not just retired Starfleet Admiral Jean-Luc Picard, but also fan-favorite former Borg officer Seven of Nine. And with the Borg Queen having reappeared in the series, fans of Star Trek would be wondering very quickly regarding the future of the galaxy with a potentially-active Borg Collective.
While Picard squares off once again against the extra-universal being Q, some fans are still wondering as to the full extent of the Borg Queen’s power and what this entails to both the Borg Collective and the future of the galaxy. In Star Trek, just who are the most powerful Borg in existence, and how are they relevant to this terrifying species?
6 The Borg Queen
Federation exobiologist Erin Hansen described the Borg Queen as similar to a queen of an insect hive, with her main purpose is to “bring order to chaos” by coordinating the Borg Collective. This is evidenced by the Borg Queen performing key functions such as regulating the Borg’s interspatial manifolds and transwarp hubs while at the same time having the “final say” towards activities the Borg deems relevant.
Such is her power over the Collective that she refers to herself as “the Borg,” with the drones being “hers.” Unlike the emotionless Borg Collective, the Borg Queen herself isn’t shy from showing emotions such as ruthlessness and even employing psychological warfare against her enemies.
5 The Locutus
When the Borg Collective looked at the Federation with the interest of assimilating the entire organization, they looked at Earth as an example. In need of an intermediary to both the Human race and the Federation, the Borg wanted to assimilate Jean-Luc Picard. Through his assimilation, the Borg Collective gained all of Picard’s knowledge and experience, more importantly his information regarding Federation strategy and technology.
Interestingly, the Borg Queen herself was present in the Cube where Picard had undergone his assimilation. In fact, the Queen was so obsessed with Picard that she intended for him to become his equal. This may explain how Picard as the Locutus had some sort of individuality unlike other drones, with him being able to refer to himself as “I.” Moreover, he exhibits some degree of control over the Borg, as seen when he’s able to command them as though they are personal troops.
4 One
Although not necessarily a Borg made by natural means, One was created in the USS Voyager out of a cloning and transporter accident. Since it was Seven of Nine’s Borg nanoprobes that infiltrated the lab, One isn’t necessarily part of the Collective. This was fortunate, given how One himself possessed unique abilities and features - to the point where he was a 29th Century drone created in the 24th Century. These new features include the creation of a multi-spatial force field, reactive armor, multi-dimensional adaptability, and internal transporter nodes.
With Seven assigned as his caretaker, One was able to “assimilate” the Voyager’s existing 47-billion teraquads of information. And when he inquired about joining the Collective, Seven showed One the true nature of the Borg, which horrified One. Unfortunately, despite One’s advanced capabilities, he passed away after fighting a Borg sphere that tried to tractor the Voyager.
3 Axum
Amongst the Borg Collective’s many unimatrices is something called Unimatrix Zero, a special Unimatrix containing a nanovirus that the Borg Queen couldn’t detect nor sever its links. Its main purpose is to house Borg drones who managed to retain their individuality, which they could access while regenerating. One such Borg drone involved with Unimatrix Zero is Axum, who became known to the Federation when he contacted Seven Of Nine to help release the code for Unimatrix Zero to the Collective.
However, the USS Voyager had different plans as they wanted to give the Unimatrix Zero drones their individual memories even when outside regeneration. In the process, this created a Borg Resistance Movement, with Axum becoming its leader. Not much is known about the aftermath of the Resistance, as Axum and Seven lost contact soon after.
2 Seven Of Nine
When the crew of the USS Voyager first discovered Seven Of Nine, she was simply the drone Seven of Nine, Tertiary Adjunct of Unimatrix 01. After risky procedures and a period of rehabilitation and reintegration, the USS Voyager managed to help Seven Of Nine get out of assimilation and become her “own” self.
However, while the present Seven Of Nine didn’t have much of her implants anymore, she still possessed some remarkable qualities of a former drone. These included an eidetic memory, superior strength, advanced senses, and especially advanced visual acuity. Her body can withstand more damage and can even resist radiation. At some point, Seven Of Nine had to use a queencell within a Borg Cube to link the transceivers of disconnected Borg inside it, acting as a Queen of a “miniature Collective” for the sake of their survival. This meant Seven Of Nine still possesses advanced intellect and understanding required to communicate within the Collective.
1 Paul Porter
In the USS Enterprise-E, chief engineer Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge put Porter in charge of engineering while he led a team to pursue a Borg sphere. Unfortunately, Porter was captured and assimilated by Borg drones who covertly entered the Enterprise during the chase.
While he didn’t possess any special designations or functions, it’s interesting to see the assimilated Porter still assigned to engineering. He was even deemed important enough to both protect the Borg Queen and aid in the attempted assimilation of both Jean-Luc Picard and Data. This meant Porter had significant-enough knowledge in science and engineering to retain this role even after his assimilation.