Battle of Wolf 359

40 Star Fleet ships battle with a single Borg Cube as it heads toward Earth.
Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994)
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-1999)
www.flickr.com/photos/1025379...

[@DannyEastes]

Borg cube: deletes the entire front half of an excelsior instantly Also Borg cube: gives the miranda class a little love tap because there's a main character on board

[@Euripides_Panz]

Both ships were punching out of their weight class. The Borg, at minimum would be six heavyweights against a featherweight Excelsior and a light minimum weight Miranda. They are going to deliberately hit an Excelsior first, and hardest.

[@Euripides_Panz]

One other thing, Picard was influential to the Borg attack priorities. With Hansen ordering waves of skirmishers, Picard "allowed" a number of survivors by critical-hitting ships as they charged in, focusing destructive power on one, while limiting movements with tractor beams. Multiply this by six sides, and the Borg can within a few minutes, obliterate 39 starships. Saratoga had more time than some to evacuate because it was a low threat to begin with. A quick rabbit punch then on to heavier hitters that are still a potential threat. Picard (Locutus) does the same thing when Enterprise attacks again with the saucer acting in the diversion role, which allows Riker to order that section to use its weapons arrays to deploy antimatter and obscure the shuttle's approach.

[@SchinkenEnt]

It was heavily enhanced with plot armor

[@ThePathStrider]

Didn't that Star Trek Borg interactive movie suggest that Excelsior vessel had been sabotaged by Borg Drones?

[@alexandermarsh4501]

DEASTES ah rule seven of Star Trek

[@beanbean78]

Technically the battle of Wolf 359 was the massacre at Wolf 359

[@geomodelrailroader]

The Federation was wiped out 39 ships destroyed one damaged they did not have the resources to fight the Breen, the Romulans, the True Way, the Vorta, the Cardassians, or the Dominion. it took 3 years for the Federation to return to full strength by that time the Breen destroyed Earth, the Romulans crossed the Neutral Zone into Federation/Klingon Space, the Sona and the Baku had a civil war and dragged the Federation into the conflict and the Sona violated the Khitomer Accords by using subspace weapons, the Cardassians occupied Bajor for a second time, and the True Way, Vorta, and Dominion invaded the Alpha Quadrant starting the Dominion War. When the Federation was repaired the Sovereign Class, the Defiant Class, the Intrepid Class, and the Prometheus Class came out they were ready to fight the Borg and this time they won.

[@jarednil69]

It's true. Starfleet didn't have a chance.

[@Heero6]

@@geomodelrailroader it's the True Way, not the true wave, the breen didn't destroy earth, they only attacked it, and the vorta were part of the dominion, not a separate entity, 3 years after the battle the cardassians did not retake bajor, bajor became affiliated with the federation, and the sovereign, defiant, intrepid and prometheus classes were all in service for the dominion war. It's like you don't know star trek history at all

[@geomodelrailroader]

@@Heero6 I did study it I watched it all my life

[@Heero6]

@@geomodelrailroader and yet, most of what you said was wrong

[@jamiebraswell5520]

I still remember watching The Best Of Both Worlds when it originally aired. It was shocking and I feared for the Federation, even though I knew it was just a show and everything would be OK. I remember being in shock when the Enterprise arrived at Wolf 359. Never had we seen destruction like that, not at that time in the franchise. As a viewer, my heart sank. The stakes were extremely high. Wow, what a great time it was to be a fan!!!!

[@bobpage6597]

Same.....I always remember when I first saw the exchange with Admiral Hanson. The screen is fuzzy, you see him jolted hard in his chair and you can hear the hull crashing ominously loud. Its clear things are not going well for the fleet, which the Admiral confirms. Then the message cuts, and as the viewer you're left with a sinking feeling. Starfleet just got its ass kicked! As a 7 year old watching this for the first time, even though it was a TV show it left me feeling uneasy haha! :)

[@TheCormTube]

The music score when the viewscreen switches to the devastated fleet......

[@VidGamer123]

I wasn't around when it aired, but I did see a re-run of it and was blown away by how Starfleet was completely devastated by the Borg.

[@ajsouza3720]

@@VidGamer123 Same. I was open mouthed shocked when they arrived and showed the destroyed fleet. I was slightly disappointed we didn't see the battle but the effect of arriving at a starship graveyard was chilling.

[@EdricLysharae]

I, too, remember a chill going down my spine the first time I saw what was left of that fleet of 40 starships.

[@Uhohoreo]

Sisko: DAMAGE REPORT” Computer: Everything is Fucked homie

[@robdcollector2808]

M T hahah

[@lf2208]

"Ait lets bounce blue guy"

[@diamondeye75]

I just heard that in Majel Roddenberry's voice ;P

[@axis-zero1774]

STATUS report

[@FJF1085]

I cackled hahaha

[@Freddie1980]

Sisko: "DAMAGE REPORT!" Me: "Fire on the bridge, multiple hull breaches, warp core failure immanent and the swivel on my chair no longer swivels!"

[@benwade4156]

Freddie1980 ....hahaha thx for the LOL

[@Freddie1980]

ROFLOL. Nice one.

[@dennisthompson2183]

"Computer helpdesk went bankrupt!" "Holodeck going offline!" "Coffee-o-Matic damaged beyond repair!"

[@jtno2]

"Cupholder inoperative. Engineering! Get a repair team up here!"

[@dragoninthewest1]

@Henchman Twenty1 🤣🤣🤣

[@Elthenar]

You'd think that, knowing they were going into battle with one of the greatest threats they've ever encountered, they'd drop the kids of at Risa or something.

[@googleuser7454]

I don't think they had much time

[@EdricLysharae]

@@googleuser7454, yeah it was implied that Admiral Hanson had to throw together this defense fleet in a very short time. The fact that Oberth and Constitution class vessels were in this fight shows how little he had to work with.

[@nikosr265]

Lol kids don’t belong on Risa either

[@JemHadar422]

@@googleuser7454 they had no time...emergency Response the the Borg. Also even though Picard had warned starfleet ..they really had no ideas what they were dealing with.

[@mirandalockey7334]

@@EdricLysharae damn, even the constitution? Although unrealistic, I would’ve loved to see the constitution, (or enterprise A!) to kick the borg’s ass.

[@pro0055]

The look of pure HATRED in Siskos eyes as his ship was destroyed

[@cyclopstb]

The Borg always make people mad.

[@a.morphous66]

The look that says he’s going to come right back here and slap those motherfuckers right in their mouth-holes as soon as he gets the USS Ben Sisko’s Motherfucking Pimp Hand up and running.

[@andromidius]

Was two pronged: the destruction of his ship, and a finality to his wife's death. Nothing to even bury. Would upset anyone!

[@ExarchGaming]

@@andromidius shows why his reaction to meeting picard at the beginning of DS9 to be so icy and hateful.

[@MedalionDS9]

Mad enough to get into Picard's face short of throttling him on their first meeting... and creating their first Warship.... dude was PISSED

[@VXGaming]

Sisko served on a Miranda class and survived.

[@richardched6085]

That's how badass he is. Not even Khan Noonian Singh could survive the curse of the Miranda class.

[@klein2042]

So did Chekov

[@sanyahikari7072]

All STO beginners serve on a Miranda-class.

[@IsaiahINRI]

@Főfasírozó wow what a loser being sad that his wife just got murdered in front of him. Only pussies get upset about that, not like you.

[@zachjames6181]

In a red shirt too

[@CoolsBreeze]

I loved how Starfleet thought they were so badass with this fleet and it took this disastrous loss to wake them up to change.

[@bobpage6597]

A pattern reflective of real life sadly. It takes a catastrophe before the idiots in charge wake up.

[@Euripides_Panz]

So... you prefer lessons learned from mistakes that cost over 10,000 lives?

[@cosmicanomaly3416]

@@Euripides_Panz Pfft, this is sci-fi, if you want to be offended then be offended by reality, 10,000 is nothing in our history, 10,000,000 still seems low...

[@IsaiahINRI]

@@bobpage6597 and some wake up and cause more damage trying to fix the problem

[@navyreviewer]

Ehh. Go back and listen to adm Hanson in BoBW part 1. He doesnt sound very optimistic about their chances.

[@mveytia]

Starfleet did learn from this battle. They attacked the Borg cube in battle formations here, which basically lined them up and made it very easy to wreck their fleet. But in First Contact they employ a swarm attack, hitting the cube in all directions and were doing much better in that fight.

[@Archedgar]

Yep. The swarm tactics were their way of adapting to how a Borg cube fights..... maybe if they actually mass produced the Defiant like they were supposed to, they could handle one or even many Borg cubes since defiant-class vessels were specifically made for that. Too bad.

[@blindphate]

I believe they attacked the cube in waves at Wolf 359. In emissary you only see a few ships approach the ship at a time. Because of having Picard lead the fight, they had his intimate knowledge of the ships' captains and technical capabilities of each class. I think they would have done better if Picard was not assimilated.

[@girl1213]

@@ArchedgarYou have to be fair to them. The Defiant was the first complete battleship they had made in over 100 years. All their battleship tech knowledge was a century out of date. The last big war they had was with the Klingons, who fight very unlike the Borg. Nothing was ready. So they couldn't rely on technology, just their own brains to out-think them. Sisko using the Defiant helped with the development since he would take it out, not just to fight, but to explore and do what Starfleet's creed demands. That helped in ways they didn't foresee while desperate to fight the Borg.

[@Archedgar]

@@girl1213 You're right but you'd think with the dominion war going on they'd ramp up production of their only warship class rather than toss it aside. It's not like the defiant was only good against the borg......

[@digitaldigdug7811]

@@ArchedgarImagine that, attacking using all 3 dimensions instead of essentially side scroller formation. Also its kinda stupid of the Federation to think they can get by without a dedicated war fleet. I get they don't want war, but sometimes war wants you.

[@seann6061]

Ive always loved Data's suttle "nope" head shake when the Admiral's feed cuts out. One of the most human things he ever did in the series.

[@KH4444444444N]

"suttle"? Fuck...

[@naverilllang]

He's learned by this point that more words isn't always more. It's cool seeing him get better with each season at communicating woth humans. Not just learning different phrases, but gaining a deeper understanding of the complexity of communication that goes beyond a language

[@SR-iy4gg]

subtle

[@EdricLysharae]

1:54 For me, Dorothy captured how most civilians felt when the Borg invaded: Frightened, with their previously assumed sense of security now gone, along with feelings of utter helplessness and nerve-shattering panic.

[@jarednil69]

"DAMMIT! WE JUST CAN'T LEAVE HER HERE!" Makes me cry every time.

[@samsschool3639]

Always thought Sisko was the worst actor in all of star trek until I heard him say that line caught me by surprise and made me tear up like a pussy

[@hobomike6935]

Avery Brook's acting fluctuated between being really good and really bad.

[@jarednil69]

@@hobomike6935 ok...

[@whette_fahrtz]

@@jarednil69 he's right, moments before "Dammit we just can't leave her here" was "help meeeeee!"

[@JakeStaffin]

I gotta say, from the first episode of DS9 I was convinced Avery Brooks would be one of the best Star Trek actors. Years later, I can still feel the fear he's experiencing in the first 4 minutes of the pilot. Even though he never battles the Borg again, I always love how this scene still had an impact on the character throughout the entire show.

[@googleuser7454]

I love how throughout the series you see how the war and the stress is impacting him gradually in his relationships with his son, lover, officers etc. He had been hardened after the death of his wife, softened a bit dealing with some of the shenanigans on DS9, then pushed past his moral limits as the war grew serious. Great acting and nuance

[@GladDestronger]

The Battle of Wolf 359 basically left him broken.

[@EdricLysharae]

Agreed. I think the writers did the best job with Sisko's character development when compared to the captains of the other series: we really see him grow as an individual from his experiences. Granted, it may also have been the continuity of many of the episodes later in the series that aided in showing this progression. Even though I will always cherish TNG, I think DS9 had far better writing, and its theme and mood has withstood the test of time far better than have the other series.

[@Verdigo76]

lol Yeah the next time the borg cropped up he sent Worf to deal with it.

[@blackjac5000]

@@TheCoolCucumber It was because he couldn't weigh space anchor and run away from his problems like Kirk and Picard could.

[@ArcaneAzmadi]

I like to think that the Bolian lieutenant remained in touch with Sisko and Jake after this, as the only two surviving bridge officers of the _Saratoga,_ especially since if he hadn't dragged Sisko to safety Jake would have had to grow up an orphan. It's kind of a pity that he was never mentioned again, or even given a name (a couple of expanded universe materials combined to give him the name of Hrannok Zar).

[@andrewshouse9840]

Wasn't it "Kapleen"? I remember as it always sounds so strange when Sisko yells it.

[@andreslinares6429]

@@andrewshouse9840 I've spent decades thinking he was saying help me in a weird way

[@HAL_9000__]

@@andrewshouse9840 😂 Sorry. “Help me”. Sisko says “Help me”.

[@girl1213]

We find in the Star Trek book "Saratoga" that his name is Hranok Zar. He had quite a few adventures with Sisko on the ship. They tend to meet during the Battle of Wolf 359 anniversary along with other Saratoga survivors to help each other with their grief. During that book, Hranok helps defend the Defiant from the Retizians, and Sisko is reminded why he considers Hranok to be a member of his family. So yes, they do keep in touch in a long-distance sense.

[@kodos100]

I always wanted to know more about that Bolian officer. He was outstanding!

[@therealtoxicbeast2267]

It’s funny, wolf 359 is a actual place in space. Fascinating.

[@minoanlight4545]

The Real ToxicBeast yeah, one of the neighboring stars. :)

[@Brandon-ew8mr]

+Minoan Light Only 7.3 light years away. Just around the corner. Might just take a stroll over to the System tomorrow. Care to join me?

[@germantrekkie]

Wait around 300 years and we will get the battle of Wolf 359

[@tedeckerman1898]

It's the nearest solar system after Alpha Centauri.

[@HacksignKT]

@@Brandon-ew8mr kek

[@apocalypseblues3897]

i absolutely love how ride or die humans and vulcans are with each other

[@KH4444444444N]

"thanks"

[@ObviouslyNotXenrek]

Classic fantasy trope tho; elves/vulcans are old, and see emotions as something to master. They've, in their mind, already "finished" the journey they see humans as potentially taking the first steps on. And are intrigued and enamored with a species that acts so much like they did in their youth (as a species). It's like adults raising their kids

[@SpikeTCG]

3:24-3:30- when a hottie walks into the bar just as you and your friends are leaving

[@PressA2Die]

lol

[@alexanderward5286]

Bruh....

[@chadirving3621]

Best… comment…. Ever!

[@ALIKN1-1]

😂😂😂😂

[@richardched6085]

Benjamin Simpsko

[@DantesonofSparda85]

to think, Riker was given a chance to Captain the Melbourne; he could've been killed here if he had taken the offer 6:13 Riker's "oh shit that could've been me" look

[@jolly7041]

DantesonofSparda85 yep.

[@tnvol2011]

Or he could have saved the lives of the crew with his experience with the Borg, something that no other Federation captain could say.

[@mdslick1362]

If im right rimers father was on that ship.

[@Lizfan2]

No he wasn't. He's mentioned in a season 6 or season 7 episode as being alive ( the one where they find Riker's double on a planet).@@mdslick1362

[@mdslick1362]

Lizfan2 oh ok. Wasnt sure. Im still watching the whole series. Im on season five.

[@BenjiMordino]

Even all these years later, the way Avery Brooks/Sisko delivers "Damn it, we just can't LEAVE her here" makes me break down. So great to have Shaw remind us Picard is not squeaky clean in ST Picard

[@TimberlakeTigerGirl]

It wasn't his fault: he was being mind controlled. He literally had no way of resisting the Queen's commands and had no control over his body. He wasn't even aware of what had happened until after he had been unassimilated. Picard already feels guilty enough people need to stop giving him crap over something beyond his control.

[@moderatetoysoldierkenofkaos]

Exactly

[@moderatetoysoldierkenofkaos]

@@TimberlakeTigerGirl And Picard did nothing to reconcile regardless.

[@chemicalpoison91]

@@moderatetoysoldierkenofkaos reconcile what?

[@dragonsword2253]

​@@moderatetoysoldierkenofkaos Damn, what do you want from him? Don't you think the lifelong trauma of what he was forced to do is punishment enough? Why should he have to pay for something he didn't do?

[@porpus99]

Wolf 359 taught the Federation some lessons. Like going into battle with Civilians on board. Only thing missing were the Klingons, who did send warships.

[@Euripides_Panz]

The Klingons sent ships, but none seemed to make it to the battle coordinates in time. Voyager suggests Klingons either intercepted before or shortly afterwards. At least one Federation civilian ship was destroyed at or near the battle.

[@Shadowkey392]

porpus99 the civilians on board were civilian crew members. I.e. crew members who aren’t members of Starfleet’s military arm.

[@porpus99]

And yet having children aboard during war time is a good idea? Distractions.

[@paladinboyd1228]

porpus99, If all else fails you could always chuck a child at the borg or dominion.

[@OneCatholicSpeaks]

In a way, for normal duty, I could understand having civilians on board. They are families of those serving on the ship. However, I always thought as ships prepare to go on to the actual site for combat, their families are transferred to a colony ship (or similar). The colony ship then goes in a completely different direction than the path of the Borg. They knew that the Borg wanted Earth, so have the civilians be somewhere else. What happened with Captain Cisco is an accurate argument of why I thought they should have done that.

[@MisterRorschach90]

It’s weird. When I watched this episode as a kid I had absolutely no idea who sisko was so while I felt bad for him I honestly didn’t care that much. Now that I’ve watched most of ds9 after saving it for last years later, this scene is heart wrenching.

[@Rubashow]

"Chief engineer?" "Yeah?" "I was thinking, maybe we shouldn't build consoles out of flammable and explosive material?" "Look ... I don't have time for your nonsense right now ..."

[@masonwong8007]

"ChEng why are there random chunks of rock in these control consoles?" "When they explode it looks cool, Skipper" "Oh"

[@EdricLysharae]

ROCKS!

[@richterman3962]

You do realize they all use energy weapons, that energy has to go somewhere

[@ZacLowing]

@@richterman3962 they think that only happened on the bridge, it happened all through the ships. There where NO life signs from 39 ships

[@saintpsu]

Captain Shaw: Locutus of Borg, the only borg so deadly they gave him a goddamn name.

[@Dragonrose36]

There are two lines in Trek that I truly love how the actors delivered: Worf: "He IS a Borg!" and Sisko: "Dammit, we just can't LEAVE HER HERE!"

[@neddhu]

I think Sisko's line when he was that writer: i am a human being goddamit and starts crying.... i am white and it still resonated with me... his struggle against racism.

[@hugostiglitz8378]

@@neddhu Benny Russell far beyond the stars.

[@aqacefan]

And the cliffhanger to Best Of Both Worlds Part I: "Mister Worf... Fire."

[@EdricLysharae]

@@neddhu, yeah, it was heart-wrenching: the amount of systemic pain and injustice that was baked into that scene. Compared to that era depicted in those scenes, we've come a long way, but we've still got a *Long* ways to go.

[@remrad4315]

What about, "Find him and kill him!" "YOU BETRAYED YOUR UNIFORM!' or a ton of other lines from DS9.

[@funnyman4847]

Every time I watch this clip i can't help but think back to the parallel universe episode where riker see's his alternate self from a borg controlled universe. I can't help but look at this battle as a glimpse of how the federation would've fallen. Quite heart breaking to think about it. What's even worse is that I think even the escape pods would've been captured by borg vessels (wouldn't have put it past them to do that). No escape, no rest, no piece. Only saddness, sorrow and desperation.

[@KH4444444444N]

Ths Federation would have eventually won. There would have been a massive confab and Section 31 would have snapped into action with some kind of heavy shit.

[@erojerisiz1571]

KH4444444444N what if section 31 straight up time travels into the borg's early days and nuke them all

[@EdricLysharae]

Yeah, when the alternate Riker was desperately pleading, "Please, you must help us!", I felt a chill run down my spine. That is NOT how Riker usually reacts to threats.

[@philbertchow5425]

The Federation’s gone, my beard is everywhere!

[@policepubliccallbox]

@@EdricLysharae "...We won't go back! We WON'T go BACK!..."

[@somebuddyX]

I love seeing the Yamaguchi and the Bellerophon storm in together.

[@LostMercenary99]

I bet the Captain of that Oberth class ship was shitting kittens when we got the word his ship and its one little phaser array were being thrown at the Borg. That's like throwing a schoolbus at a nuclear missile.

[@kkhagerty6315]

LostMercenary99 lmao “I’m sorry admiral I misunderstand, you want us to do what”

[@sfs2040]

What Oberth? There was no Oberth at that battle.

[@LostMercenary99]

@@sfs2040 when Sisko enters his quarters to try and save Jennifer we see a ship blow up. That's the Oberth

[@nielsmichiels1939]

And somewhere in that there was a poor greasemonkey "that was picked at random" ,that was going to live with that trauma for thirty years.

[@agquad]

"Lucky Number Ten."

[@Koldeman]

The Battle of Wolf 359 was a major turning point in Trek lore. I can only compare it to how the attack on Pearl Harbor or 9/11 was to the U.S. Nothing was the same after this 2-part episode and it still ripples into the timeline continuing in ST:P.

[@richardched6085]

USS Saratoga (NCC-31911) Class: Miranda (Variant) Type: Light Cruiser Crew: 26-300+ Launched: 2338 (Earliest) Destroyed: 2367 Weapons: 14 Phaser Banks 1 Phaser Array Strip (Worth 6 Banks, Located on Sensor Dome) 2 Forward Photon Torpedo Launch Tubes (Low Capacity) Max Speed: Warp Factor 6.824 (TNG Scale)

[@darthglobe4285]

That's a nice merge of videos

[@guardianimages6802]

Thank you

[@promethian0.063]

@SoulFire woah was there any need.

[@Barjack521]

Did you notice Riker do the "Picard maneuver" with his uniform at 5:50 when he stood up, signifying that he had taken on the captain role in full by emulating his mentor.

[@joshuadesautels]

"The Melbourne..." Translation: If Riker had taken that command, he'd be dead right now.

[@Artifactsofmars]

The star Wolf 359 would have made an interesting backdrop for this battle. For anyone who does not know, there is a young red dwarf star which is believed to have two planets orbiting it. The reason I know this is that I am researching this system for a Star Trek fan film. It will not include the Borg if I make it, but it will have some seriously bizarre alien landscapes and some other things.

[@Graywolf335]

"Let's get the civilians to the escape pods Lieutenant!" WHO BRINGS CIVILIANS TO A COMBAT ZONE?!?!?!

[@broann4138]

Some troglodyte who thought it was a good idea not to send them off to a shuttle before the battle began

[@googleuser7454]

They didn't have time to get the civilians to safety

[@DiceBard]

They were caught completely off guard by how early the Borg arrived. When they realized that the Borg were on their way they had to give the call to assemble every ship they could, called the Klingons for backup, and they even seriously considered allowing the Romulans into Federation space to join the battle, all while the Enterprise gave everything it had to delay the cube for as long as possible. The whole thing was fucked form second 1

[@blackjac5000]

[stares in Ukrainian]

[@hudsonball4702]

Ok i keep seeing complaints about why civilians were here in the battle in the first place. *"WHY DIDN'T THEY UNLOAD THE CIVILIANS FIRST BEFORE GOING INTO BATTLE!?"* this is the main complaint/question. The answer is simple. TIME. The Borg were on their way to Earth at their max warp speed. They were going to be there in a matter of a day or so. Starfleet had to react as quickly as possible and scrounge up a fleet as fast as possible. If it had a phaser bank it was brought into the fleet (which is why several Oberth class ships were there too). Starfleet didn't have the luxury of time to upload all non-essential personnel.

[@RandomAmerican3000]

"All civilians and non-combat personal to the escape pods. You are to eject as soon as we exit warp and maneuver away from the combat zone." They had five minutes to do it IN combat. They sure as hell could have arranged for it en route.

[@byronrieckman8416]

🤔upload? I think you ment "Offload"

[@Lizfan2]

They had 5 days.

[@ShadowSonic2]

@@Lizfan2I think it was only 1 day, with a lot of ships not arriving until the Cube did.

[@Lizfan2]

@@ShadowSonic2 Picard was a Borg for 6 days. They had 5 days to prepare. Look it up. Watch the intro to Deep Space 9 season 1 episode 1. It says right in the very beginning.

[@TsutomuTomutsu]

Damage report! - Direct hit! Um... thanks for volunteering that startling insight.

[@coreylewis9682]

In a tactical situation, one proceeds to do the job as required. Not letting emotions or the emergency itself effect your job and judgement.

[@IsaiahINRI]

@@coreylewis9682 he asked for a damage report not what caused it

[@frankreynolds445]

This was one of the best battles in the whole show. Too bad they didn't have the Borg fight the Dominion.

[@nestorguardado600]

They will in the future and 1 of them could be our Ally. I would not be suprised at all.

[@snarfsnaf69]

The dominion blah RESISTANCE IS FUTILE!!!!

[@rageface-blt7008]

Oh man. I still think about why the Borg didnt attack the alpha quadrant when they were so weak In The Dominion War.

[@ebannaw]

@@rageface-blt7008 They were too busy getting stomped by Species 8472 in VOY, otherwise they probably would have. Even still, they tried to destroy the UFP in Star Trek: First Contact, which takes place around Mid 2373 - more or less the same time the 8472-Borg War and Dominion War began.

[@EdricLysharae]

The Borg probably saw the Alpha/Beta Quadrants as easier to assimilate since the local powers in those quadrants were not as united as in the Gamma Quadrant.

[@TIG5574]

This was still such a great way to introduce Sisko. I just love that stoic look he gives as his first image. It was such a an exciting time to have a new Star Trek show on.

[@enkimerlin3209]

back when star trek was good. Seeing the Federation getting absolutely smashed by 1 damn Borg cube scared me to my core as a kid.

[@samsmith2635]

Here it is 2023 and I'm still thinking back to Wolf 359 daphaq

[@johnneyjohnson8607]

Best pilot episode ever.

[@Arfarf69]

Much different now that we know that Shaw was at this battle too 😞

[@stardude2006]

Remember Wolf 359 😔🌷

[@Aguanga_cowboy007]

We never forgot

[@multificionado5019]

If only it would've been an anti-Borg battle cry (re: "Remember the Alamo!")

[@aaronsalentine7876]

This comment will be a simulated. Prepare for a simulation resistance is futile.

[@The_Irish_Fox]

Everyone talks shit about the Miranda yet it holds out longer than he excelsior class

[@derworfnet]

2:16 Thats an Oberth-Class science-ship exploding in the background. My headcanon is that it wasn't even part of the Fleet (an Oberth is only weakly armed) but blundered into the Combat Zone by accident.

[@marvelgeek9577]

40 Starfleet vessels against 1 Borg Cube. 1 Federation ship survived. 11,000 Starfleet personnel either killed or assimilated. The battle lasted only 6 minutes.

[@JemHadar422]

The nebula and ambassador were desperately trying to free Sisco’s ship. If you notice they are firing on the Borg tractor beam emitter.

[@stratfordbaby]

No evidence of that. Your referring to them in the Borg's viewscreen video? Otherwise they are nowhere near the tractor emitter.

[@JemHadar422]

@@stratfordbabyI stand corrected 😊..thank you

[@andyh4518]

It was very nice of Locutus and the Borg to give the Saratoga survivors enough time to evacuate before destroying the ship.

[@johnfoltz8183]

Just like the Dominican when the Defiant was destroyed. *Dominion* Stupid auto correct

[@CaptainM792]

More survivors means more people to assimilate after destroying all ships in the fleet.

[@brianfeuerman1732]

Remember, they assimilate... they only destroy a ship if they have to, first they will attempt to disable it, and assimilate it’s crew. Unfortunately the Saratoga’s warp core breached, so it actually destroyed itself.

[@mrbojangles8133]

good manners cost nothing

[@zzztriplezzz5264]

@@johnfoltz8183 the Dominican 😂

[@Nine-Signs]

Note to the designer of Miranda class vessels, perhaps you should design a ship where the entire bridge doesn't explode on occasion.

[@Euripides_Panz]

Damage report. Damage to warp core. Direct hit, decks 1 through 4. No shit? If the bridge wasn't destroyed, the Captain wouldn't have died, leaving Sisko in command.

[@masonwong8007]

@@HippeusOmega Damn consoles with random chunks of rock in 'em.

[@jillevans1109]

Yeah for some reason destroying a sensor dome destroys the thing and damages the warp core

[@dadoody]

Future and they never wear any helmets for to brace for exploding consoles

[@Nickelodeon81]

And fit some damn fuses in the consoles.

[@IsaiahINRI]

Ever since I was little seeing borg picard just makes my stomach drop. Its still has not lost its haunting effect all these years

[@Matthias_F.]

Liam Shaw is peeing his pants somewhere nearby.

[@pucochamp]

Grease monkey

[@texasabbott]

Borg: collective note to selves... Go back in time, one-shot Sulu’s ship ( 0:27 ) before it gets to General Chang, assimilate Earth, and win Tennis match. Ignore Kirk, of course.

[@starleigh6680]

several hours later: Note to self. save spock in mutara nebula so kirk wont learn how to time drift in klingon ship

[@blackjac5000]

There's an Enterprise ep that showed that some of the Borg in that sphere the Enterprise-E shot down on April 4, 2063 survived, and while Archer was able to destroy them, they got off a distress signal to the Delta Quadrant that would arrive right around Picard's time...

[@tigerlilly4712]

Got me thinking. I know that the Galaxy Class ships had civilians but they were like cruiseliners in space. Didn't know that Miranda's carried families as well.

[@MrTimeless101]

Tiger Lilly Starfleet was naive about the dangers of space exploration.

[@paladinboyd1228]

MrTimeless101, I always assumed they would chuck the kids at the threat if needed.

[@Euripides_Panz]

Starfleet had been mostly at peace for some time. Most of those ships were assigned near to Earth at the time. This ordinarily wouldn't be a dangerous region for anyone at this time. Generally, hostiles don't live long to tell the tale.

[@RCAvhstape]

Mirandas weren't designed to house civilians, they were designed in Kirk's day. So making space for civilians probably led to serious compromises in the ship's performance, in addition to the limitations of such an old design. It'd be like retrofitting a WWII submarine to house women as well as men for the modern Navy and expecting it somehow keep up with the modern nuclear powered fleet.

[@Ty-yt3lj]

Helium Road it's pretty different to that. You don't need a Refit to carry a different gender of humanoid species, but you do need a Refit to carry potentially as much as 4x the actual crew compliment Not so much "refitting a WW2 sub to carry women" as "refitting a WW2 sub into a ferry"

[@richardlangdon712]

The location of this battle was a tipping of the hat to the original Outer Limits series of the 1960s. The episode was titled, Wolf 359 and revolved around preparing for an expedition to that star by recreating the exact conditions of that system in a laboratory. The experiment turned out about as well as this battle.

[@sosayweall7290]

This was the first time in a Star Trek series that we had seen the Federation receive an absolute hammering. It was shocking, especially as we knew the Borg were still out there.

[@nicholasmorsovillo2752]

Man when I first saw this scene when Star Trek Deep Space Nine started when they showed what happened during the Battle of Wolf 359 I really wish they could've shown what Admiral Hanson's reaction was when he saw Captain Picard as a Borg.

[@neddhu]

Now imagine the Borg sending 400 cubes to Earth. Accompanied by several thousand spheres and smaller ships. 🤣 The Federation is so lucky that the Borg are so not interested in them. Whenever the Borg attacks the Feds is with like 0,0001 of their fleet power, imagine them going to war like when they fought species 8472. Total wipe out.

[@dunnono00]

Just 1 was thisclose to getting the job done. If not for the interference of a god-like being making sure the Enterprise would be in the right place at the right time, that would have been it for the Fed. I think that's why we never got a proper continuation of the Borg Invasion storyline until First Contact. They really couldn't think of a way to top it. Hell, they couldn't even top it in First Contact, at least in my eyes. This is how I imagine the TNG writer's meeting went after Best of Both Worlds. Senior Writer: "Ok, so how do we continue the Borg Invasion story?" Intern: "Dude, how about, like a hundred Borg Cubes attacked the Federation." Senior Writer: "Uh huh. Ok, and then what? They nearly conquered the Earth with one, so is the Federation just wiped out?" Intern: "Uh... nah. See, this one Borg.... has huge titties." Other Writers: " .... " Senior: "You're fired." Later that day... Rick Berman: "So tell me more about the Borg titties."

[@Thunderchild2604]

2:18 They even send Oberth class ships against a Borg Cube. Imagine how desperate Starfleet must have been..

[@erojerisiz1571]

To be fair they were still at a relatively peaceful time and their best ships are probably busy patrolling borders elswhere But then again, the feds should've at least kept a fleet of some of their best ships to guard earth

[@Doc_Fun]

I mean shit, they were using Constitution classes. Two iirc. Might as well have sent the actual USS Constitution, would have done about as much.

[@ericmorang3903]

The Oberth class ships I think weren't meant to actually fight. It's possible they were acting as sensor jammers and other kinds of electronic warfare.

[@dbloyd2]

Solution to the Borg was in Star Trek First Contact movie: "Fire all weapons on these coordinates."

[@Acrosurge]

The solution to the Borg Cube in First Contact was that its outer hull was already heavily damaged by Star Fleet and its power systems were fluctuating. Captain Picard, still being able to hear the Collective sometimes, "overheard" a critical weakness that appeared because of the damage and ordered a concentrated strike on that temporary weakened system. It was a weakness not even Data could detect. Under normal circumstances, concentrated firepower (unless you're Species 8472) will not magically destroy a Borg Cube. We saw that method attempted in the Best of Both Worlds and it failed.

[@olternaut]

30 years.....now I can understand Sisko's loss....the feeling of helpless hopeless dread. The emptiness.....

[@BigMcLargehuge1983]

Holy shit, that anguished of Sisko's just ripped my heart out.

[@ct0760]

Damage report! Multiple hull fractures, nine overloaded power conduits, and Ensign Davis spilled soy sauce on his pants.

[@blackjac5000]

He put that in a damage report!?

[@bigbaba1111]

the TNG borg were simply amazing. voyager made them a joke. scary how fast the borg were able to adapt to the phaser and torpedo weapons of the federation.

[@iamanevutable981]

Bless you for uploading this. It makes it so much easier to share this story with friends.

[@plucas1]

Ensign Blue Alien Guy was MVP on Sisko's ship.

[@hobomike6935]

I wish we knew what his name was =( all we know is his race, Bolian

[@ehstronghold]

5:46 Even Worf was freaked out seeing the destroyed Federation fleet....and it takes a lot to scare a Klingon.

[@brianwesley28]

It has been stated that a single ship survived the Battle of Wolf 359 and it was said to have been a Nebula Class. Some believe that the same Nebula Class was added to the Battle of Sector 001 engagement against the Borg, in the movie First Contact.

[@williamcostigan91]

brianwesley28 The USS Endeavor captained by Joseph Amasov. She was critically damaged but survived. She gathered most of the fleet survivors before the Enterprise arrived.

[@themightyklingonwarriormee5043]

William Costigan in the P.C. DOS game Star Trek: Borg there is another surviving ship the USS Righteous but it's non-canon. Look it up on memory alpha the star trek wiki and read the synopsis of the game.

[@Revkor]

well intialluy destoryed but temperoal hijinks by Q

[@richardludwig3673]

Huh... I always thought the Enterprise counted as the surviving ship.

[@prion42]

No ship is confirmed to have survived on screen. The Ahwahnee was intended by production staff to be the sole survivor, but its later appearance (text only) uses a different registry number from the model.

[@jfernandez7098]

Before anyone starts criticizing the battle remember that this battle taught the federation MANY important lessons that probably saved them in the long run, 1. It taught them that civilians should not be aboard starships that might have to fight 2. They needed to make ships that could fight even if there wasn't any immediate threat 3. Not everything can be solved with diplomacy, sometimes you need to kick their ass and force the enemy to stop And 4. Old ships don't stand a chance at fighting something that a much more powerful ship couldn't handle (I.e a miranda class wont do shit to a borg cube when a galaxy class couldn't scratch it even after firing everything it had) The borg taught the federation that diplomacy doesn't always work and you need a backup plan to put up a fight

[@danielshottopics8187]

The Battle of Wolf 359 was Epic, the Best of Both Worlds was the Best TNG Episode It had the Majority Audience for that Episode but after they went back to the quiet Cerebral Episodes that Audience went away and Star Trek became a Small Audience again.

[@SeizureGman]

This was why the defiant class was made. Starfleets first proper warship no science or civilian crap just a oversized warp core with a shit ton of guns stapled onto it.

[@zacharyfett2491]

Graeme Spence “.....oversized warp core with a shit ton of guns stapled to it.” Most awesome description ever.

[@mamster233]

Graeme Spence why was the Defiant given such a large warp core?

[@SeizureGman]

@@mamster233 i just remember reading that the ship had a warp core that was overpowered for a ship if it's size and that was the reason why the ship had initial teething problems.

[@zacharyfett2491]

@@SeizureGman The real question is why did it take so long for Starfleet to build a warship? Additionally I don't remember a single DS9 episode about any sort of scientific exploration, which was a nice change of pace.

[@SeizureGman]

It took the borg kicking starfleets ass and the dominion destroying a galaxy class ship for Starfleet to realise that the galaxy does not always play nice and they also need warships. Plus it don't help that most of there fleet consists of ancient ships that are 50 to 80 years old no wonder when the dominion war kicked in federation ships were getting smashed left right and centre. The war would have gone better in the federation's favour if they had more defiant, akria, sabre and steamroller class ships than the ancient Miranda, excelsior and oberth classes which formed the bulk of starfleets fleet.

[@ilpoomatili9549]

We need to give credit to the ambassadors agility. 0:38 That's a very tight turn for that speed

[@hilariousnickname]

Something especially horrific about Wolf 359 was that it happened at the height of the Federation's own Pax Romana. That's why there are civilians on ships in a major battle. They had no idea something so deadly could come upon them so quickly. Imagine how many of those 11,000 dead were civilians. They'd learn that lesson by the time of the Dominion War.

[@msb3235]

"The only Borg so deadly, they gave him a g*ddammed name!" Captain Shaw of USS Titan, 2401.

[@marcfoster715]

This was the Star Trek equivalent to the Babylon 5's "Battle of The Line"...

[@blackjac5000]

I read that the actress who played the Earth Alliance President in that B5 movie also played Rachel Garrett, the Enterprise-C's captain.

[@MrBomani]

Ramming speed would have been a good idea for the fleet.

[@hobomike6935]

Still futile. The hulls of the federation ships are softer than the borg cube and it would have only scratched it up some. I like Worf's gumption but it sadly wouldn't have worked :(

[@felixleong61]

Federation Admirals in STO: Why we have so few lieutenants in Starfleet? Lieutenants: Then please stop sending us to battle in Miranda class training ships.

[@starleigh6680]

apparently in STO your chracter canonicly takes 7 months to get from cadet to fleet admiral and does not get promoted for almost two and a half years after that

[@djargus]

I love the "hero ship" firing multiple phasers at the Borg cube, but the Excelsior class starship (I think it's the Melbourne) that gets destroyed first just sits there waiting for a tractor beam to quickly drain it's shields and then a cutting laser to wipe away the front half of the saucer section.

[@GregorAdler]

Damn, picking Avery Brooks for the role was like winning a lottery.

[@jameswinn3281]

Now that I think about it, every vessel that was to join the fleet at Wolf 359 should’ve at least evacuated their civilians to a nearby planet

[@kargaroc386]

Shaw was probably here

[@alistairrae9807]

He was on the USS Constance

[@Makman1994]

Imagine if the Borg and Species 8472 got involved in the Dominion War.

[@jefff3886]

Janeway would kick both their asses. Again.

[@andrewmontgomery5621]

When I saw that starship graveyard I was like "Holy...,.. mother of God."

[@manuelm80]

During the fight of his life, Admiral Hansen decides to FaceTime the Enterprise instead of paying attention to the Borg.

[@WaveForceful]

I can fully understand why Sisko hated Picard.

[@corruptedfile1985]

But it wasnt picards fault he was under control over the Borg

[@thegreenmanofnorwich]

@@corruptedfile1985 Sisko knows that but it's still the only distinct face and voice of the enemy, so his intellectual understanding doesn't guide his emotional response

[@EdricLysharae]

Too bad he couldn't have been in the vineyards when Picard told his brother what a hell he went through under control of the Borg.

[@Stonegeneral]

@Leo Peridot I like to think that they threw together this fleet so quickly they didn't have a chance to offload civvies

[@Stonegeneral]

Leo Peridot I agree, it does seem like a stretch. Just can’t think of a more practical in-universe explanation otherwise.

[@johnritcher5751]

I feel awful for Picard. The next episode how he broke down to his brother in France.

[@MrNRGOneHunna]

2:47 When you struggle to spot your friend at the gym 😂😂😂😂😂

[@translucentorb]

If only Starfleet made every system on their starships as resilient as the artificial gravity systems.

[@louiskeep1832]

Can I just give a shout-out to Lieutenant Blue Bell-End Head Guy who pretty much took over and organised the evacuation saving his commanding officer and the kid after the Captain went all ditzy for his family despite knowing that he was going into an active battle zone with civilians onboard.

[@whette_fahrtz]

“Damnit we can’t just leave her here!” God that line hits hard

[@davesnothere.]

The Defiant class sounds more reasonable after watching these scenes stitched together. Thanks for doing this. LLAP

[@kkelly80]

I love how warp core breaches had a timer.

[@ICGvids]

If my ship was going into battle with a borg cube I would probably have my wife and kid on the first shuttle off that ship and far away

[@stephentucker2714]

"Shields are being drained, 64%, 42" sounds like the battery life of my phone

[@seeyouintheeighties]

I still think using models looks so much more realistic than anything cgi can do. Odyssey is a great example of this compared to later cgi galaxy class shots. Also great to see martok posing as a Vulcan captain

[@denisgauthier9191]

it’s so sad how space is littered with the vessels that have battled the Borg and failed 😢

[@corruptedfile1985]

Any Star Trek fan(especially me) knows that this battle was an extremely tragic day for the federation :(

[@positronlaserforce]

Salute to the Bolian Lt., he saved Sisko so we can have DS9