Starfleet's Response to Assimilation

[@jacara1981]

A few books have the "Borg Protocol" where the ship itself will cause a high energy warp core breach that can cause a subspace tear to hopefully destroy the Borg ship with it. Another book from the early 2000s had the Federation losing to the Borg, so to save everyone they used the Omega molecule to destroy subspace in the Alpha and Beta quadrants, it sent everyone back to prewarp but without subspace even the borg couldn't get anywhere.

[@Domjot5569]

Yeah but now they doomed the entire half of the galaxy because while the borg cant get anywhere fast they have the ability to just cruise forever till they get there

[@Maksa-cb4os]

​@@Domjot5569Right but they bought the other half time to advance tech beyond Borg capacity. Borh rarely innovate so by the time a Cube gets to a couple of planets which could take decades the galaxy is ready to defend itself.

[@Bonez0r]

@@Maksa-cb4os I'm not familiar with the book that OP mentioned, but if it really forces every ship back to sub light speed, then it would take far more than decades to get anywhere. The distance between Earth and the closest star outside our solar system is 4.2 light years, so even at light speed it would take more than 4 years. From Earth to Wolf 359 is 7.9 light years. A search told me that full impulse is 1/4 of light speed, so from Earth to Wolf 359 at full impulse would take approximately 31 years. To traverse one quadrant would take at least 100,000 years at that speed. Plenty of time for distant civilizations to develop technology that can defeat the Borg.

[@Kronosfobi]

@@Maksa-cb4os Isnt Voyager trapped on the Delta quadrant? Which is pretty much right next to the Borg heartland?

[@Maksa-cb4os]

@@Kronosfobi One ship vs an entire galaxy seems like a no brainer tbh

[@Etrune]

The most important information a captain has is the number of lights there are.

[@Gatekeeper201]

There are four lights!!

[@TheDarkestSmurf]

47 likes. NOBODY. TOUCH. THE. LIKE. BUTTON.

[@Pendragon667]

Sokath, his eyes open

[@Crimson_Hawk_01]

99% of people are like ( what does this even mean )?

[@522steven]

Move along home

[@johntauren]

Talking about needing therapy and rehab after being assimilated, I adore what happens in the last episode of Picard, when the junior officers are freed from the collective, the first thing is that Seven immediately hugs Sidney LaForge. The one person there would who understand the trauma and helplessness.

[@CristySFM1234]

A giant middle finger to the assimilating threat... Perfect line

[@GleefulNihilism]

Had a Star Trek TTRPG game once where the captain was an Andorian who survived the Battle of Wolf 359, served for a long time on a classified joint Federation-Klingon Anti-Borg task force, then when given the Captain's chair told his senior officers that he voluntarily had a device implanted in his head that if it detects the Borg are trying to assimilate him will activate and wipe all potentially dangerous intel from his mind and prevent such a breach of sensitive information to the Borg. The CMO was the first to figure out that the "device" was basically just a grenade that pulls its own pin when it detects a nano-probe nearby...

[@EGRJ]

"Yes, my description was still correct."

[@GleefulNihilism]

@@EGRJ "Like I said, it will wipe my mind. Then you'll have to wipe the remains of my mind off of nearby walls, for which I apologize beforehand for the inconvenience."

[@TheGuardianofAzarath]

It still boggles the mind that the crew of voyager didn't even think that when they agreed to send their captian, chief of security and chief engineer on to a cube to get makeovers, that there wasn't a posssibility that the borg would get their access codes eventually. Which they did. As soon as the doctor said there was a problem with Tuvok, the _FIRST THING_ Chakotay should have realised was "Oh shit, he knows our command codes. Wipe them!" But _no_ his first order to Paris is "Get us into their weapons range."

[@williamgeorge2580]

I adore the show but "Didn't think it through" was always Voyager's M.O.

[@SuperGamefreak18]

ironcially I think because of how issolated they were actually played to their advantage, at best their codes would have been outdated by the time the borg could have used it, cause star fleet was advancing past the point they were at.

[@mrsamaritan6881]

Voyager has its good point, but strong writing wasn't one of them.

[@SuperGamefreak18]

@@mrsamaritan6881 yeah remember when voyager was seen as bad or weak… I miss those days the standard has dropped

[@mammutMK2]

​@@SuperGamefreak18 I guess the codes where all deleted immediately by SF command....as she was lost without a trace, there's the possibility that she fell into the wrong hands

[@baystated]

The Battle of Earth Space Dock in Picard S3 will need lots of therapists. The fleet's older commanders summarily xcuted by surviving younger officers during their temporary assimilation, traumatized officers who need to step into those open command roles. Not to mention un-portrayed atrocities on other Sol system worlds' surfaces and facilities.

[@Virgil38]

But they renamed the Titan, so they can move forward just fine...

[@newprophet2011]

There will be big time scars and trauma to sort through. I would imagine Admiral Crusher to update the fleet's medical protocol to accommodate mandatory psychological screening, treatment, and separation from duty (if needed) for the whole fleet. The Borg did not just assimilated the entire fleet without anyone noticing, they seriously tanked ESD and almost assimilated Earth. No enemy, in the history of Starfleet, did so much so quickly.

[@josephmassaro]

"Admiral, what is the first thing you do if you lose a starship to the Borg?" "Well, the first thing I do is cancel my credit cards and then change my passwords to my email accounts."

[@Meritania]

Dude, you’ve got to get your safeguarding report in. Worry about the legal ramifications first.

[@josephmassaro]

@@Meritania My Ferengi broker at the Latinum exchange takes care of that and as for legal issues, I have the best Vulcan law-firm on retainer.

[@jannegrey]

"Sponsored by incogni"

[@ChrisCooper312]

And change the code on my luggage!

[@KathrynJaneway-o7c]

Spaceballs reference?

[@mittensfastpaw]

A nice little overview! Considering how broken my brain is I'd give a whole cube crippling depression.

[@stankythecat6735]

If they assimilated me , the entire cube would have an instant cocaine addiction

[@timezerohour8864]

Believe it or not A romulan did just that with there fear and depression about artifical life in the Picard series.

[@BluegrassGeek]

@@timezerohour8864 Sort of. It's more that said Romulan was "infected" with existential dread of the dimensional artificial life by the Tal Shiar mind meld. The original warning device seemed to have a memetic effect that didn't just say "hey, these things are out there," it forced you to fear them and take action to prevent them from ever reaching our reality.

[@nathanhale7444]

Yea I hear ya. They'd just sit there wondering what's the point. Maybe ascimilate a potato chip factory.

[@williamgeorge2580]

Adding Borg tech to their ships.... I know Picard had a couple of decades of untold tales behind it, but maybe Starfleet should have focused on advancing that Borg one-shot-kill tech Janeway brought back with her instead.

[@hollismccray3297]

They did. Project "Full Circle" was dedicated to the analysis of the advanced tech given to them by future!Janeway. I don't know how much of it was in widespread use by the time of the Picard series though.

[@jayrabbitgamingproductions7335]

Wouldn’t using the tech Janeway brought be violating the Temporal Prime Directive?

[@shauntempley9757]

@@jayrabbitgamingproductions7335 Yes. The Department Of Temporal Investigations would have taken all the tech and classified it from the records, then destroyed, and it would have started the very moment Voyager docked at Earth Space Dock.

[@3Rayfire]

@@shauntempley9757 In theory DTI would've just classified the tech until the appropriate time. Considering that Voyager didn't take 70 years to get home in the original timeline, by the dawn of the 25th century that information would've been released to Starfleet's development facilities. In the novels Transphasic Torpedoes were held as a last resort stand off weapon since deploying them as regular weapons would've created a possibility that they would've been proliferated to their enemies or worse assimilated by the Borg.

[@shilohlee4332]

@@3Rayfire I remember hearing that given the Borg Threat & shorter timeframe involved, Starfleet waived the TPI and gave contemporaries, including the Klingons Transphasic Torpedoes. The Tech existed for Transphasic Phasers & Shields, but they were massive energy hogs enough to not really be practical. Starfleet was VERY careful with Transphasic tech, and the Klingons, less so. Eventually the Borg adapted.

[@andylongman355]

This has quickly become my favourite Trek channel. Great knowledge, but some really interesting, unique subject matter too.

[@CertifiablyIngame]

Thank you! I lot of topics I cover have been talked about before but I try to approach them with a different angle at the very least, or to add something new.

[@Stikkelsbær]

I wonder if assimilating Klingons is harder, given that they would likely just start committing kamikaze level suicide by ramming a cube with birds of prey. We see evidence of this with Worf in First Contact. A bunch of ships warping into a cube seem like they would be pretty effective.

[@Firecul]

Yeah I'm always confused why they always seem to ram at impulse speed. Warp engines would give one hell of an increased impact.

[@valeon7303]

​@Firecul probably because warp is in another dimension, and can't hit anything unless it has MASSIVE gravity.

[@Firecul]

@@valeon7303 I've never seen warp described as being in a different dimension before. Do you have a canon reference I can watch about that?

[@alduintheanti-dragonborn]

@@Firecul I honestly thought it was so they could more easily detonate the warp core while lodged inside the enemy ship, thus dealing more damage.

[@russc788]

Why not build a missile the size of a ship and just warp them in? Much cheaper, just have one at each planet.

[@samfowler2073]

Remember when the Borg got Voyager's access code after assimilating Tuvok and then installed a sunroof in the saucer? I think you just put more thought into this video than the Voyager's writers ever put in to any of their scripts.

[@dotmatrix7383]

And it was fixed by the next week. Not even a fiber missing from the carpets. 😂

[@WolfA4]

Hey man, some of them have spent centuries cooped up in a windowless cube, don't give them a hard time for wanting to enjoy a view of the stars.

[@laggybum3218]

You would think that abandoning ship would make it easier for the Borg to get the crew from the ship. Just use tractor beams to pull the pods in.

[@ikrIkarus]

Though when the Auto Destruct is enabled, which the Borg will probably realise, they probably would deem the cost of hanging around to be to great, same with hunting down individual escape pods and shuttles that would in an optimal way, fly in pretty much all the available directions at once. Unless they have a very specific target, they probably won't go around hunting down every single last escape pod and such for what little gain is to be had from scooping up mostly low tier crew members.

[@CosmicOutpost]

Great vid! I would have thought the Chief Medical Officer relieving the assimilated crew members of their duties or command and entering that in their log would be swift way to shut down codes etc. from compromised crew?

[@chan742]

I had a similar thought. Listing a crew member as KIA or some other state should deactivate their authorizations? At least for future systems access?

[@guyvanarsdall7686]

Seems like the first course of action by a federation ship after a Borg ship is sited would be for all that ships crew members to remove the pips from their uniforms. No pips, no way the Borg know the ranks😅

[@EGRJ]

Unfortunately, Borg have those scanners so they can detect the pinholes and/or adhesive.

[@dariustiapula]

Terran Empire response: We can weaponize it or terminate with extreme prejudice.

[@christianrissotto.gordohom3478]

Hahahhaa Marshal Janeways story must be awesome.

[@dennischristopher9952]

​@@christianrissotto.gordohom3478A Terran version of Voyager would be so good. Marshall Janeway would definitely kill the Caretaker and take control of the Array. Then they would use it to invade the Delta Quadrant

[@christianrissotto.gordohom3478]

@@dennischristopher9952 Thats not what happened. According to star trek prodigy chakotay was alive and marshal janeway was on the delta quadrant but she wasnt turned into a borg yet and this continues in star trek online "terran gambit" where marshal janeway was serving the emperor and she was like 7 of 9... with cybernetic borg enhacements and capable of assimilating other units and taking them to create collectives at their service. We can theorize that she made what the normal janeway couldnt do it without a future intervention: kill the borg queen or at least neutralize it and weaponize the borg nanites and tech. Despite this huge response the terran empire was still struggling and trying to conquer other timelines like the star trek online one.... where you can see a constant conflict in the badlands caused by the terrans.... and thats not even the first thing you will see.

[@GraniteGhost778]

Everyone raise a glass for that poor Oberth!

[@TheGoddamnBacon]

Ka'Pla!

[@Ramschat]

Borg: "New protocol: target first officer for assimilation"

[@DiehardMechWarrior]

In regards to Halo’s Cole Protocol, I believe it was primarily enacted to hide the location of *Earth,* not simply the rest of the UNSC’s colonies, from the Covenant.

[@jannegrey]

Primarily Earth, then colonies with very big importance to Humanity (Reach), then inner colonies and then the rest. Protocol also stated that returning to earth was prohibited if you weren't absolutely certain you weren't followed etc. But the same was also true for Reach for example (I am not including Onyx - I hope I got correct planet, I always confuse it with different one - because basically no-one knew where Onyx was and it was removed from charts long time before Human-Covenant War). It was just more important to protect Earth. Cole protocol is presented as "Protecting Earth", but some of it's parts (like the example given in this video) protected all planets. It's just that many planets didn't have "no returning" and "no travelling to" in case you're compromised protocols like Earth had. But at least other key world did also have such rules, though they were slightly more relaxed.

[@shauntempley9757]

Yes, but the Cole Protocol also included ship board A.I as well. They were considered as critical to secure as Earth was, so it also had in place what happened if the ship was under attack, and about to be boarded, then the ship's A.I was to be dispatched with a crew member and kept out of Covenant hands as long as possible.

[@spartan078ben]

My one question about the Cole Protocol is: If it was enacted and then they won, how do they get back home? Are there protected backups to reload that information? I can't see a purpose for that. Probably, they'd have to wait for a friendly ship to come guide them home.

[@jannegrey]

@@spartan078ben It would be hard to "win" honestly in circumstances in which Cole protocol applied. Although it had 2 parts: Part about not going back to Earth - which was always in effect when there was suspicion that enemy might follow them. In this case if they won the battle they would make sure no-one from Covenant survived and then they would return. Though usually not to Earth itself - that was rare. And the other part was when they were being boarded. And yes in such case they wouldn't have backups or anything. They would be stranded or forced to make their own calculations. Which wouldn't help them getting back to Earth - at least not soon (those calculations are very complicated). Better to lose a ship/fleet rather than expose cradle of humanity to the enemy.

[@shauntempley9757]

@@spartan078ben I do not know. I know that all critical information on the ship is contained in the ship's A.I. The Cole Protocol was made because Covenant ships were faster in slipspace, and could track the energy a UNSC ships slipspace drive gave off when in use. It is how the first Halo game happened the way it did. The Covenant fleet tracked the Autumn from Reach and basically made a jump further along their course and ambushed the ship when it dropped out of slipspace.

[@reddyredwolf3931]

Funnily enough the Lower Decks Opening where the Cerritos runs away from the Borg is the correct action.

[@Hrafnskald]

Great video :) It's interesting considering what Starfleet hasn't done. For example, in The Expanse, the MCRN Donnager illustrates a different approach via Condition Zero. Ships set in this manner would automatically self destruct, with no time delay or override, if any of three critical areas was compromised. Likewise, Starfleet appears to have decided not to widely distribute the various anti-borg nanoviruses they developed, or that weird geometrical paradox thing they decided not to try. Given how the Borg can only grow through assimilation, making every ship or colony assimilated a potential weapon or pathogen unleashed inside the Borg would be quite effective, if likely too dark for the TNG era Noblebright Federation >:)

[@Phil-D83]

Carry old style kinetic firearms when engaging the borg. If they beam on board, adapt to hot lead.

[@xxsw4yxx]

Could they adapt to kinetic damage at the drone level? I beleive ships yeah, but the single drone?

[@Cdr2002]

@@xxsw4yxxforcefields block physical non-energy matter in Trek literally all the time, so yes. Picard got lucky once. This idea that the key to defeating Borg is ARs is ludicrous and people should stop pushing it. Even if their shields somehow can’t adapt to conventional projectiles (I call bullshit), they can start making drones with thicker armor.

[@michaelfederico2873]

Then develop tau style rail guns can't adapt to that.

[@yobogoya4367]

Technically every bullet is different. Unlike particle beams.

[@Cdr2002]

@@yobogoya4367 I think thousands of assimilated cultures can figure out slight differences in the contouring of hot metal

[@Mastari]

Yes. You delivered!

[@glennlaroche1524]

3:00 that poor lil Oberth tho.....

[@GSBarlev]

Honestly, I'd rather be on an Oberth than a Galaxy up against the Borg. The Borg ignore ships that pose no threat, and an Oberth is primarily a threat to *itself.*

[@Meritania]

That ship had its hull-plating vapourised.

[@GSBarlev]

​@@MeritaniaI know it looked that way, but if you look closer, the Borg clearly just performed an active scan on the vessel, which, due to a structural flaw, caused the ship's drive to go critical. 😢 /j

[@BNuts]

I'd think Starfleet would be tired of being hacked / controlled / assimilated by now, and just have an entire protocol launched with a voice command similar to the Omega Protocol: scan for Borg lifesigns and seal them down, maybe by transporting them into sealed, tech-free cells; seal the ship's systems so they can't be hacked or assimilated; secure communications to point-to-point beam microburst transmissions, so viruses cannot be spread among the ships; collect the intruders, and space them if necessary; sample the virus from an infected system to immediately develop a vaccine, and immediately purge the sample to prevent spread. Something like that. Starfleet personnel have also been assimilated often enough you'd think they'd be implanted with crippling viruses that would spread once they're assimilated. This would, of course, teach the Borg that assimilating Starfleet is dangerous, so they'd switch to killing, but that would also eliminate the threat of security leaks.

[@Blutwind]

A thing Starfleet should do when encountering the Borg is. Immediately put everry crewmember and pasengers in sensor lock the moment one of them disapears or has fluctuating lifesigns similar to assimilation inform security teams and automatically revoke all access. Next all tubes,maintanace shatfs and turbolift tunnel access door should be physically locked and maybe flooded with something like the warplasma (if possible not damaging to the systems) Yes repairs become harder but that way you prevent stowaway problems like in First Contact

[@leighrate]

The short version is when boarded, the ship immediately self destructs. And it's a one button self destruct that can be initiated by any crew member or the ship computer. If ships and crews don't permit themselves to be taken the Borg will eventually loose interest.

[@PatGunn]

Bad plan; one person who develops a cognitive fault should not be able to destroy any ship

[@jimmyseaver3647]

@@PatGunn Hence why nukes require two people with their own keys to actually _launch._

[@daryld4457]

I've always wondered whether ship shields, including the Borgs, would be able to protect against a starship engaging warp and kamikazing the opposing vessel. You wouldn't even have to sacrifice a crew, just automate one old starship and watch it go, saving hundreds of other vessels and thousands of lives.

[@Hrafnskald]

It's also fascinating considering what the Borg did not do with assimilation. Can you imagine the havoc that strategically assimilating Romulan or Cardassian vessels would do, if the Borg cared for infilitation, propaganda, or straight up messing with their enemies? Just the contents of a few Tal Shiar, Obsidian Order, or Section 31 brains could do wonders in spreading havoc, if the Borg were capable of thinking in that way. It's a good thing for the Alpha Quadrant the Dominion couldn't assimilate, and the Borg couldn't do subtlety :)

[@EricRuskoski]

How intriguing! Thanks! Super interesting subject, really annoying to have to be on the team that assesses that! So much information to pour through!

[@Wzrd8]

Trek online gets points for that Epic Maneuver. Well played.

[@Paintedawg]

Assimilation has to be one of the most horrifying things that can happen to someone that I've ever seen in any sci fi scenario.

[@colepreston4872]

I always believe after borg starship should have some kind of manually activated self-destructive device. A button that shutdown the anti-material containment field immediately after pressing it. And it must be a physical button not on screen. Or at least something like this for data storage system. Physically destroyed it not just wipe it

[@RockRedGenesis]

I wonder what the protocols or plans would be in the event of an overwhelming Borg invasion, like what could depicted in the Star Trek: Destiny novels. I mean like the event that thousands of Borg ships have arrived, they've adapted to the Transphasic torpedoes, and are moving on the core worlds of the Federation and the worlds of the surrounding superpowers.

[@midniteoyl8913]

I mean, thanks to Dr. Soran, we know how to blow up stars and thus whole systems..

[@WardenWolf]

Short answer is, Starfleet practices technological starvation, preventing the Borg from getting hold of valuable information and technology so they fall behind Starfleet's latest advances. This is how they eventually wrecked the Borg.

[@briang9581]

Captain: Randomize... Tactical: They're adapting. Captain: Randomize the randomization. Tactical: We Win!

[@paulaburrows8660]

The original idea behind the Borg was very interesting. An enemy that can adapt to all attacks and situations. Unfortunately, over time, the only way for your "good guys" to beat them is plot armour and the Botg (more so the queen) making dumb decisions and moves.

[@rolandmiller5456]

Well Paula considering they conquered everything you could think of Until they were stopped at a certain point They didn't think they had any enemies that could. The Borg Queen was by that point arrogance personified.

[@TimeSpinner]

By the time of Prodigy S2, we know that ships have a way to fast-reset themselves. Hologram Janeway uses it to ensure she, herself, does not corrupt the time stream. (In fact, Temporal Investigations' experience in information sanitation procedures probably had a whole lot of influence in anti-Borg information sanitation.) This might also be an argument for the ECH, as seen in Voyager and later series. While continuance of awareness is paramount, being able to summon a command officer in seconds who can act in the best interests of the crew and the federation AND who has no knowledge of the current plan that can be exploited or predicted by the Borg, and no secure knowledge that cannot be instantly scrambled or falsified the moment the Borg probes contact the firewalls, was probably a pretty strong argument for bringing back Robert Pica- er, bringing back the ECH project. Both of these might have been responses to the Borg, though. A TNG S1 or SNW-era complete reset probably would have taken days, even weeks, and might involve time in spacedock just to keep systems running while core systems are being rebuilt.

[@amymagdaleneta]

this is why multi-factor authentication is so important

[@wildcard5616]

Picard was asdimulated for a while, and still has traumatic nightmares of being a drone.

[@Deltarious]

Something I've found always missing from the whole borg narrative that I do wish they would address at some point is that it *should* be possible for the Federation to posess weapons and technologies that just cannot be countered, no matter *what* the borg do, and it's just a matter of attrition. The most 'borg proof' plan would just be to use game theory and logistics to mathematically defeat the borg in terms of materiel and supplies using weapons that have no counter or 'off button' fought with the pre-calculated assumption that the borg are going to figure out everything it is possible to know about the plan. It is posible to compute this in advance and come up with something that simply cannot be stopped and has no critical weakness because you've already planned for them to know everything. Such strategies are weaker on a per-unit basis than using specialised tactics but work supremely well against threats like the borg provided you can 'afford' the cost in attrition and they function as a fantastic backup plan to anything more fancy. Sometimes, heck even *often* times in war there *is* no hard counter, no fancy tactics, it's just a numbers game and there is nothing you can do about it. I'd love to see the borg go up against that and start to realise it. My particular 'bug bear' is with weapons tech though, there absolutely should be weapons that the borg just cannot counter, or fully adapt to, at all, and *must* take a minimum amount of damage from, even if they do have *some* resistance

[@johnathan651]

Has the "bullets vs Borg" question ever been officially answered?

[@Paddyman8869]

Bow and arrow or just a rock

[@Paddyman8869]

Didn't John luke shot em on the hollow deck

[@TheGuardianofAzarath]

@@Paddyman8869 yeah, with the safety systems turned off.

[@MIMALECKIPL]

@@Paddyman8869 or swords

[@captianmorgan7627]

It seems to me that using physical weapons are your best bet for fighting drones (guns/arrows/blades/large rocks). Even if they 'adapt' to physical attacks they've now adapted to stop all physical objects from passing through their personal shields..... So now they can't interact with anything unless they turn off their protections and make themselves vulnerable to physical attacks again.

[@UGNAvalon]

I can imagine there being an emergency override used to revoke access codes to senior staff in the event of total compromise/assimilation, but then this would beg the question: what if someone decided to use that to hijack a starship from under the senior staff’s noses? Maybe even spoof the ship’s sensors to think that there’s a Borg incursion going on, thereby “unlocking” such override? 😳

[@LZeugirdor]

Another common security practice that should be introduced into starfleet ships is mandatory automatic changes to access codes. That and 2FA.

[@adamrivardstaff3877]

I feel like a logical protocol would be to, upon discovery/encounter with a Borg vessel immediately enact an automated protocol where if any senior staff member is removed from the ship by any means other than star fleet transporter, their codes are automatically scrubbed.

[@dennisud]

I'd LOVE to see the Universe class Vs. the Mega-class Star Dreadnought head to head!

[@afterglow-podcast]

I would imagine Starfleet has something similar to the "Cole Protocol" used in Halo, where any ship in danger of enemy takeover scrubs their data banks of certain information (in Halo, that would be Earths location). I'd also think any officer level crew member could activate Starfleets version of the protocol. Granted, this won't work on an individuals personal mind.

[@makeitcold6649]

Starfleet needs better IT. How many episodes did crew get kidnapped or non-crew infiltrated the ship and the computer didn’t think to send an email let alone turn alarms on? We got 300-400 years of technological advancement but we can’t program basic threat analysis? If Borg/Romulans/Dominion whatever, even show up on sensors, why does anyone need to order red alert? Why are “shields up” a separate order? “Everyone go to battle stations but don’t, you know, make it look like your going to battle stations”

[@feralprocessor9853]

Right off the bat, a Borg Cube dwarfing a starfleet Vessel.

[@andrewshearsby8125]

thought the first thing was to call Starfleet and run like hell...

[@stevieturner9338]

Thank you Rick

[@Zeithri]

1:20 - TIMELINE SHENANIGANS!! IT'S JUST LIKE 2012 AGAIN!!! He doesn't get kidnapped by Borg, he gets taken by Klingons! It was Borg in 2012, Aaaaaaaaaah!! I haven't seen this cutscene for so long, I missed it.

[@apokalypsecow9756]

As regards the Borg adapting to phaser frequencies, it wouldn't be too difficult to have a group of Starfleet engineers come up with a large series of randomization algorithms, which are subsequently chosen at random, fired a random number of times (between 1 and (rand(small)) shots) and then cycled back into the random queue, where the user picks the queue sequence before a fight with the Borg, and by picking new random seeds for the random number generators periodically throughout the fight based on a combination of a random pick of ambient temperature, ambient noise, the current startdate (or other randomly-chosen cultural date-time stamps), the color patterns available from a camera mounted on the front of the weapon, ambient humidity, ambient pressure, accelerometer readings (randomly sampled), weapon orientation readings (from a random pick of the weapons within a random range), ambient radiation level (between a random pick along a randomly selected range of the entire spectrum), and the current state of a small sample of a randomly-chosen decaying element (unique to each weapon), you could come up with something that would be damn near impossible to predict. If you want to get really funky, start having the randomization algorithms themselves be self-modifying based on all the above, while they're all in the queue.

[@Numba003]

One of my first thoughts was, "blow up the ship, " lol. Glad to see that wasn't the first option on the list. 😅 Thank you for another interesting video! God be with you out there, everybody. ✝️ :)

[@casbot71]

"No individual will likely have even their own prefix codes memorised." ....A Vulcan bridge officer gets assimilated.

[@ThommyofThenn]

This is really good and nice game footage. Thanks!

[@ryanedgerton9664]

There's also Starfleet secrets to consider. For example, Janeway knew that Seven would have awareness of the Omega molecule because the Borg had assimilated Starfleet captains (before it turned out the Borg knew long before the Federation did). Organization-wide secrets like that are a HUGE consideration, beyond even an individual captain's command access. It's safe to say that Starfleet probably has at least one or two more Omega-level secrets tucked away that are only revealed at Captain level and up, and I'm willing to bet they involve active research or locations (Iconian archeology, anyone?). Do we have any insights into what steps, if any, Starfleet takes in that respect? Doesn't seem like a mere beefing up of patrols would do the trick...

[@NainGeantMiniature]

It would be nice if you linked the videos you reference in the description of your videos.

[@Chris_Lohmann]

I read the thumbnail as “Starfleet’s Anti-Bong Protocol”. 😂 I thought, “Weed is outlawed in Starfleet? What do you think they’re growing in that arboretum?” 😆

[@Acc0rd79]

I know it sounds evil but how about an option where as soon as the ship is basically taken over the ship instantly self destructs. All hands are lost but no information is ever gathered and possibly another Borg ship lost? At least it would make the Borg try to come up with a different means of taking over the Federation.

[@Wesleym134]

Imperium of Man's Response to the Borg: Kill the Xeno! Show No Mercy! FOR THE EMPEROR! * Rams a Emperor-Class Battleship to the Borg Cube* Of course it would be also more hilarious when the Borg assimilate the useless information of the Imperium and start doing things like lighting incense to "Placate the Machine Spirit" of their cubes.

[@CJP-3LB]

To be fair I think completely destroying a starship via self destruction is more effective than deleting a library of information that could potentially be recovered and you still wouldn't have to deal with assimilated crew...assuming the self destruct is working

[@AmeliaNeek]

Excellent.

[@deltacx1059]

The flood vs Starfleet is a interesting prospect, bit nastier than the Borg.

[@StaticSkyTV]

Chief Medical Officer can also relieve the captain of duty.

[@ShanenWay]

Send in the Enterprise or Voyager they seem to know how too get rid of the Borg

[@quentinking4351]

Halo mentioned. Absolute win.

[@toddkurzbard]

So, then, in the HIGHLY unlikely event that a Captain, or command-level officer, is assimilated, but is retrieved and "rehabilitated" (SEE: Picard, Jean-Luc\Locutus), is he\she given NEW access codes, if they once again assume command of a starship? I would assume they are granted NEW access codes, but ONLY once Starfleet is ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN that all Borg "tech" is completely removed, because, with even ONE nanoprobe remaining, there is at least of a potential of communication with the Collective, or of said nanoprobe quickly multiplying again. Remember what Guinan said in the first Borg encounter: as long as there is even one of you left, you will survive. Perhaps, they ARE given new codes, but with restrictions.

[@MackeyDeez]

I think the contigency plan in case a Starfleet vessel get captured by the Borg should be auto self destruction. As for captains and second officers, there's only one action they can take to avoid assimilation.....

[@matthewmiller6068]

Wouldn't they be able to get the algorithm if they assimilate a whole ship, presumably they would download all its databases and software to analyze for relevant technology? That would be a lot easier than assimilating the inventor.

[@terakhanthis]

Here's your anti-borg measure: Containment field around detected drone. Then shipwide holo emitters activate and create holographic gunmen, sans-safety protocols, to just shoot the drone with a holographic bullet.

[@luisramos821]

I wonder if you will do a ship index of the new typhoon temporal battle cruiser?

[@ultramaximusreviews]

What's with the "boots and pants" beat in this video LOL

[@mattsamoto4451]

well the whole command code issue came up in best of both worlds.

[@yodaslovetoy]

"We are the Borg. Lower your shields and surrender your ships. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Your culture will adapt to service us. Resistance is futile" Starfleet "hold our beer, we'll do it ourselves!!!!"

[@JeanLucCaptain]

What about the actual combat protocols in place if a ship is being boarded and under assimilation by the Borg?

[@stormking6332]

Gorilla tactics might work best against the Borg to reduce or eliminate the knowledge that they might gain during assimilation. Keep their operations mobile and random so they can anticipate Starfleet's next move🤔

Ah, also known as the Pakled method. But gorilla tactics is much catchier.

[@lucianshaw6541]

Makes me wonder.. if you have a super old ship with minimal crew, could you just go right into Borg space? Id think they wouldn't care because theirs barely anything they can get without expending more either way. Id think the borg would just ignore you and let you explore

[@amandamatheny3675]

I strongly disagree about the prefix codes. People may not be able to or take the time to memorize them, but the fact is the information is there in their mind and the only difficulty in memorization is simply the human equation, but the Borg would be able to circumvent that if they have access to the persons mind including all of their memories. Think about it? How often do you try really hard to remember something and fail when you're trying, but sometimes randomly when you're not even trying, random minutia pops up into your head, often including that one thing you were trying really hard to figure out when you wanted it. That demonstrates the point that the information is there within our minds. The difficulty is simply Being able to access it. The Borg would not have that difficulty. They could very easily just sift through your memories until they find what they need.

[@MantisEnergy]

Are you making these cinematic shots, or are they from gameplay? I'm making some LCARS comms screen videos for my fleet and if you've made these I'd be fascinated to learn how!

[@anticarrrot]

I think you're overlooking the Borg's likely tendency to grab technology as well as people. As well as the Borg's relative lack of interest in things they already fully understand. Sure they can learn some new information from a captain, but chances are they can learn a lot more by stealing Starfleet's latest set of gadgets, or that one specialist on board that has exclusively focused on a rare field of study. Similarly, if the Borg had a choice between going for the captain, or (say) the central off switch for the ship's gravity, the latter will incapacitate the crew while only mildly inconveniencing the collective. Taking out weak points in Starfleet's far more centralised ship design (important power conduits for example) is going to be far more effective than grabbing any number of bridge crew.

[@Wesley_H]

Now that we know what happens when the Borg and Founders join forces, I’m curious about the effects of species like the Pakleds, Tamarians and Binars might have on the Collective. Would the Tamarians’ ability for metaphorical interpretation or the Binars’ problem solving abilities have allowed the Borg to circumvent the plan presented in I, Borg (Season 5, episode 23)? Would the incorporation of the Pakleds’ underdeveloped brains cause a lag in the Collective’s overall cognitive ability, leading to a catastrophic collapse of the entire network?

[@clintmatthews3500]

The Borg probably just don’t care about most of this information.

[@Mikedeela]

Get a Knee Defender. Put it on the seat in front of you immediately upon boarding. Before the person in front of you has a chance to recline their seat.

[@kevreid82]

Sensitive technologies should automatically self destruct if the ship is about to be captured or destroyed. Crews brains too should self destruct if nano probes are detected in bloid stream.

[@allistair61]

You mention senior officers being high value targets for capture, I do remember hearing rumours that during the Second World War Native American code talkers had the same problem with the Japanese. I remember hearing rumours that officers and senior NCOs on patrol had instructions to shoot their radio operator if there was a chance of either capture or being overrun. It makes you wonder if admiral Hanson's bridge crew had someone instructions.

[@midniteoyl8913]

Pretty sure that was what the Nic Cage movie 'Windtalkers' was about.

[@windhelmguard5295]

first response should always be: RAMMING SPEED!

[@nathanhale7444]

Yea you'd think that ha ING a fail safe that would wipe the computers memory would be one of the first anti borg measures Starfleet would have implimented.

[@murrvvmurr]

My fellow trekkies/ers/ites, I have been trying to order the destiny 3i n1 novel for A YEAR. Anyone knows WTF is up with that book? Great content, great vid i have done all the things. Do you know what it up with the TNG novels?

[@Reoh0z]

The Borg are connected with one another, how is it that nobody spam mailed their message service with popups extolling the virtues of dubious sites.

[@Knuspermonster]

Correction: Cole was an Admiral and commanded with much succes a whole Fleet

[@jm823]

I feel that Starfleet should go on the offense and send out 1 or 2 manned shuttles into Borg space on basically what would be "suicide missions" I know I know Starfleet good but if they infect not only the shuttle's computer but also the individuals with a neurolytic pathogens like Captain Janeway did or like Picard tried in I Borg with the invasive program "a topological anomaly". While this may not be in the spirit of the federation it would deal a death blow to the Borg and basically rid that whole sector of space of this menace. LLNP 🖖.

[@oddish4352]

The Borg can adapt to energy weapons, but they can't handle impact weapons or bullets. So, here's my anti-Borg protocol. 1. Replicate a Thompson submachine gun. 2. Win.

[@alexanderwagner4095]

Question would it be possible to link the Shield and phaser frequencies to like signals of the crew like there link computer encryptions are generated by using lava lamps 😅

[@Iceflkn]

Why hasn’t Starfleet developed planetary escape pods? Starships have them-why not planets? A potential answer could be a specialized class of evacuation vessel, designed specifically for planet-wide rescue. These ships wouldn’t need to be large; their power would come from an array of immensely powerful transporter systems, enhanced by vast computational and storage capacities with multiple redundant power sources and fail-safes. Anything in a transporter buffer is essentially in stasis, needing no food, water, or resources. This technology could support entire populations, ecosystems, and even architecture in suspended animation, preserved safely until relocation. Such vessels could even aid in terraforming by transporting entire ecosystems to new worlds, recreating habitats and atmospheres on planets that need them. Most Federation planets already have vast transporter networks, capable of spanning distances from the personal to the planetary. By extending these networks, each region could be assigned its own transporter hub, with an “area of responsibility.” In an emergency, each hub would beam everything in its area into the evacuation vessel’s buffer, making comprehensive planet-wide evacuations possible. These ships, designed for efficiency and safety, would be small enough to shield and armor effectively, giving them the resilience to withstand extreme conditions. Multiple layers of protection would help ensure the safety of the stored cargo, regardless of the situation. This system could save not only the population but also key components of the ecosystem: plants, animals, water, atmospheric gases, and more, preserving an entire environmental profile until transfer to a new location. Entire buildings, cultural artifacts, and even wealth could be stored, safeguarding a planet’s identity and heritage. This also raises another question: why is physical mining still necessary when transporter technology could theoretically extract resources without disturbing the environment? Transporter-based mining could be a clean, non-invasive process, reducing ecological damage and preserving planetary environments. Every inhabited Federation world could maintain one or two of these vessels, ready to evacuate and preserve life, culture, and natural resources. In an unpredictable galaxy, these ships would ensure that no world faces destruction without a means to preserve its essence. Such a technology could redefine planetary living. Why treat planets as permanent homes? If populations could relocate with ease, planets could become temporary waystations rather than fixed addresses. Entire worlds could become mobile communities, with inhabitants moving freely, able to explore or escape as needed, always just a beam away from the next destination. Imagine the stories: factions discovering ways to hijack these planetary escape vessels, seizing control of entire civilizations in suspended animation. Using the last recorded transporter trace, individuals, ecosystems, and treasures could be duplicated. If life can be replicated, why not wealth, minerals, or even entire cities? This technology would open the door to unprecedented risks-and equally unprecedented adventures.

[@jannegrey]

Does anyone know when "new" part of the story for STO will be available?

[@omgpix]

Any borg assimilation protocol that doesn't include a micro explosive at the base of the skull isn't much of a protocol. I get this is ST but in a scenario where they gain EVERYTHING, it's the only way. I don't think it's unreasonable to suggest that via assimilation the Borg might have a better understanding of Starfleet and its personnel than Starfleet itself has. They can analyze a drones entire life from birth to assimilation and compare and contrast it with all the others to form a God's eye view of the organization that Starfleet doesn't and would never have because the Federation isn't an Orwellian hellscape with nigh-infinite processing power. You can guard against the known knowns like command codes, battle plans, etc. but the known unknowns and especially unknown unknowns? that'll sink you.

[@ianharmon2123]

Shelby got what she deserved in Picard Season 3, and no one can argue with that. I made the same noise I made in the theatre in the 90"s, when Kirk Destroyed the bird of prey at Khitomer in 6, YES!!!!!!!!!!

[@Shatterverse]

I still stuck by my manually guide dumb warp missile fleet strategy for eradicating the Borg.