The E wrote:cthia wrote:Except, during the end, the Borg began to show human-like strategy. It manifested itself with the specific assimilation and reprogramming of Locutus - Picard. The Borg realized that if they had the premiere tactician of Star Fleet under its control, then the conquest of Federation space would soon follow. They were a human hair away from success.
Yes, they were. But they didn't need Locutus to get there; there are no indications that the battle of Wolf 359 would have played out any differently if they hadn't assimilated Picard. Based purely on the demonstrated capabilities of Borg cubes up to that point, they would have slaughtered Starfleet with or without Picard's tactical acumen.
The Borg could adopt a similar strategy in regards to the treecats. The Honorverse's premiere tactician is bonded. Their second, arguably, greatest tactician, White Haven is bonded. The Manticoran Queen herself is bonded. Control over treecats and the resulting handicapping or ensuing death of their human bonds could be a well considered and successful Borg strategy.
This assumes several things. One, that the Borg would come to the conclusion that they needed better tactical skills, and Two, that the Borg actually care about such things as crippling the leadership.
Point One is iffy already; If we compare the demonstrated capabilities of Star Trek ships with those of Honorverse ones, we can quickly see that Star Trek ships are much more maneuverable in realspace (since they can routinely accelerate to .5c at the drop of a hat), are much better protected (as ST energy shielding is capable of deflecting laser or xaser weaponry with ease), and are able to use their FTL drives in tactical applications no matter where in a system they are (see Picard maneuver). As such, chances are that the Borg would just steamroll Honorverse military forces (or simply bypass them); this makes the acquisition of tactical geniuses a very low priority.
Point Two is also in doubt. The Borg, generally speaking, do not seem to care about individuals
at all, no matter how skilled or politically important they are; Picard, it seems, was the first high-ranking Starfleet officer they could get their hands on, and after that, they made no attempts at targeted assimilation (One would assume, for example, that the Admiral commanding the fleet at Wolf 359 would make a good target. Or high-ranking civilian UFP personnel, once the cube entered transporter range of Earth).
Therefore, the conclusion kinda has to be that unless the Honorverse is better at fighting off a Borg invasion than the Star Trek universe is (which IMHO is unlikely), the Borg would not expend any effort to strike at its leadership.
I can't argue with the gist of your post. Honorverse tech against the Borg would end up with an assimilated Salamander.
No hope for the GA, unless the Borg assimilated a certain Reginald Houseman into the collective. Then they'll never get anything done! A bunch of overbred, aristocratic, snooty Borg cretins. There's a thought fer ya!I cannot yield to your counterpoint regarding Wolf 359. I'm not saying that the Federation would have ultimately defeated the Borg cube had it not been for the assimilation of Picard. (Though I'm not willing to say they would
not have managed to do so either.)
But, the Borg assimilated Picard specifically because of his knowledge of StarFleet tactics and technological weaknesses. Essentially, the Borg
intimately knew StarFleet tactics play by play. They had the
entire playbook! (That's like the RHN knowing
every maneuver that Honor would do before she did it.) That allowed the defeat of 40 StarFleet ships very quickly. Remember, the Klingons were coming to the aid of the Federation. But Locutus' inside knowledge allowed the Borg to wrap things up at 359 way too quickly than what it should have been able to do. Negating the ability of the cavalry (Klingons) to concentrate forces and coordinate with the Federation at Wolf 359.
Also, remember that with the knowledge of Locutus, the Borg had total understanding of Earth's defenses and weaknesses. Without Locutus' knowledge, I'm not so sure that a single Borg cube would have risked such a direct line course into the teeth of the inner defenses of the Sol system. I think the Cube would have continued its familiar MO of conquest along the periphery until it assimilated enough knowledge (and resources} of the current enemy. Thus, allowing the Federation more time for strategic planning.
wiki wrote:The Borg, having assimilated Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and his knowledge of Starfleet tactics and technology into its collective consciousness, obliterate the Starfleet force: according to dialog in "The Drumhead," 39 ships are destroyed, with the loss of over 11,000 lives. Survivors include Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) and his son, Jake (Cirroc Lofton), as well as an unknown number of Starfleet and Klingon captives assimilated by the Borg until the cube was destroyed. Following its victory, the Borg ship continues on its course to Earth, where the crew of the Enterprise-D rescue Picard and stop the cube.
After his rescue, Picard experiences intense guilt because of the thousands whom the Borg killed or injured by using his knowledge while he had been assimilated by the Borg. His struggle to cope with his captivity and assimilation is a central element of the episode "Family." Picard's desire for vengeance against the Borg is also an element of the film Star Trek: First Contact.
It was only one Borg ship. A single Borg ship is powerful, yet I don't think that single ship would have been as effective without Picard's intimate knowledge of StarFleet tactics, technology and weaknesses. And if they could have lasted long enough to be reinforced by the Klingons...?...
Picard is no tactical or strategic weak link. I'd have to place him opposite Harrington on the tactical/strategic scale. So if he thought that his assimilated knowledge was instrumental in the outcome of Wolf 359 -- then who are we to challenge
his assessment that the shoe fits.
IMHO.
