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The Borg Children

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• Cast & crew
• User reviews

Ashes to Ashes

• Episode aired Mar 1, 2000

Voyager receives a former crewman, deceased, resurrected, genetically altered, unrecognizable, and glad to be "home." Meanwhile, looking after the Borg children exasperates Seven of Nine. Voyager receives a former crewman, deceased, resurrected, genetically altered, unrecognizable, and glad to be "home." Meanwhile, looking after the Borg children exasperates Seven of Nine. Voyager receives a former crewman, deceased, resurrected, genetically altered, unrecognizable, and glad to be "home." Meanwhile, looking after the Borg children exasperates Seven of Nine.

• Terry Windell
• Gene Roddenberry
• Rick Berman
• Michael Piller
• Kate Mulgrew
• Robert Beltran
• Roxann Dawson
• 19 User reviews
• 4 Critic reviews

• Capt. Kathryn Janeway

• Cmdr. Chakotay

• Lt. B'Elanna Torres

• Ensign Tom Paris

• Seven of Nine

• Ensign Harry Kim

• Ensign Lyndsay Ballard …

• Naomi Wildman

• Computer Voice
• Command Division Officer
• (uncredited)
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

Did you know

• Trivia This is the only appearance of Lyndsey Ballard. Her backstory is not an allusion to any previous installment.
• Goofs When the twins Rebi and Azan explain to Seven that they have made cubes out of their clay, one of them mentions that they are one-one-thousandth the size of a Borg vessel. The cubes are clearly only a few inches square. One thousand times those dimensions would be only a few hundred feet, and one thousand times the volume would only be about 50 feet square, clearly much smaller than all Borg cubes seen in all Star Trek series. A more likely description would be one-ten-thousandth the size of the Borg cube.

Seven of Nine : [ordering the children to play on schedule] Fun will now commence.

• Connections Referenced in Star Trek: Voyager: Drive (2000)
• Soundtracks Star Trek: Voyager - Main Title (uncredited) Written by Jerry Goldsmith Performed by Jay Chattaway

User reviews 19

• eyesofwrath
• Mar 18, 2024
• March 1, 2000 (United States)
• United States
• Official site
• Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA (Studio)
• Paramount Television
• See more company credits at IMDbPro

Technical specs

• Runtime 44 minutes
• Dolby Digital

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Screen Rant

Star trek: 20 behind-the-scenes photos that completely change voyager.

Behind the scenes, there's a whole different side to the cast and crew of Star Trek: Voyager that most audiences never got to see.

Star Trek: Voyager was the fourth main Star Trek TV show. It ran from 1995 to 2001. It was the first Star Trek TV series to feature a female captain as the head of a starship crew.

Captain Kathryn Janeway led the crew of the starship Voyager on what they believed would be a quick mission to track a rebel Maquis ship.

Unfortunately, Voyager and the Maquis ship were transported by a powerful anomaly across the galaxy to the Delta Quadrant. In order to protect the vulnerable Ocampa from the marauding Kazon, Janeway decides to destroy their easiest means of getting back to the Alpha Quadrant.

Thus their epic journey begins to return to the Alpha quadrant. Along the way, the two contentious crews become a family and Voyager becomes their home.

The crew of Voyager braved many dangerous parts of space and even more dangerous alien species. Throughout their journey, they stood by the principals of the Federation and promoted exploration and diplomacy.

The characters on the show developed individually and together. The audience got to know the crew of Voyager very closely. However, there is a whole different side of the show and the cast that most audiences didn’t get to see.

Thanks to these photos, we can see the cast and crew of Voyager in a whole new light. They and other players in the Star Trek franchise had roles we never realized.

Prepare to be fascinated by these  20 Behind-The-Scenes Photos That Completely Change Star Trek: Voyager !

20. JERI RYAN AND KATE MULGREW WITH CHAMPAGNE 

Seven of Nine was always reluctant to participate in social gatherings on Voyager. She found them awkward and inefficient.

Captain Janeway wasn’t always the most social captain, but she always commanded attention even at informal occasions. Janeway was always a mother figure and role model for Seven, even if Seven didn’t directly say so often.

Jeri Ryan was much more sociable than her on-screen character.

Here, Ryan and Kate Mulgrew pose together for a photo while at a cast and crew party.

Each are holding a glass of champagne. Drinking alcoholic beverages was another activity you would seldom, if ever, see Seven doing.

The fact that both actors are in their costumes makes the photo even more jarring.

19. ROBERT DUNCAN MCNEIL AND ANTHONY MONTGOMERY

Most Star Trek viewers only see the roles that the actors play on screen in the franchise. However, plenty of Star Trek actors have taken on other jobs.

Robert Duncan McNeil is most famous for playing Tom Paris on Star Trek: Voyager, but he also has worked as a director on  Star Trek  and other shows.

He directed four episodes of Voyager and four episodes of Star Trek: Enterprise .

In the photo above, he appears alongside Anthony Montgomery, who played fellow starship pilot Travis Mayweather.

Both are wearing their Star Fleet Uniform costumes. It’s strange to see Montgomery smiling for the camera with a bloody cheek, but it's most likely just makeup, and not a real injury.

18. FROZEN SEVEN

In the season 5, episode 6, “Timeless”, a grim fate seems to befall the Voyager crew. They were testing an experimental new slipstream drive to shorten their journey back to Earth.

However, they ended up crashing on a frozen planet and becoming entombed.

Chakotay and Kim made it back to Earth in a shuttle, but now they are trying to change the past.

They return to the icy planet and delve into the frozen wreck of Voyager to recover Seven’s Borg implants.

For this part in the episode, Jeri Ryan had to put on some icy crystalline makeup.

It makes her look like she’s been buried in ice for many years.

However, in the photo above she’s standing upright and looking alert, which is very eerie.

17. KATE MULGREW, TIM RUSS AND GEORGE TAKEI

In season 3, episode 2, “Flashback”, Tuvok experiences disconcerting memories from his past. He cannot remember them in context or why he’s experiencing them so forcibly now.

To explore and stop these visions, Janeway participates in a mind meld with Tuvok.

In exploring his memories, they focus on Tuvok’s time aboard the U.S.S. Excelsior under the command of then Captain Sulu.

George Takei guest stars in the episode as Sulu. Tuvok was just an Ensign at that time in his life. However, that didn’t stop him from raising logical objections to Sulu’s loyal but reckless actions.

To see the three Star Trek characters in their different era uniforms around a pool table is definitely unusual.

~~11. ROXANN DAWSON KLINGON MAKEUP

Roxann Dawson played B’Elanna Torres on Star Trek: Voyager . Torres comes from a mixed family of Human and Klingon parents.

She never quite fit in with her peers or in Star Fleet. On Voyager, she frequently buts heads with the other crew members, especially the regular Star Fleet officers.

She eventually forms healthier, more stable relationships with the other main characters. She and Janeway build up great respect for each other, and Torres even marries Tom Paris.

Her distinctive Klingon forehead ridges always set her apart from the other characters.

Even if her forehead isn't as pronounced as a pureblood Klingon, it’s still a long process in makeup to get it on every day.

This behind the scenes shot shows the edges of the prosthetic without a wig to cover it up.

15. VOYAGER 100 EPISODE CELEBRATION

We don’t get many chances to see all of the Voyager crew happy at one time. There’s always some dangerous species or special anomaly or personal conflict that troubles them.

Also, it’s not like they are on a mission they wanted to be on in the first place. Celebrating how long their journey has lasted doesn’t make sense.

However, for the show’s cast and crew, reaching 100 episodes is quite a milestone.

Everyone looks happy as Mulgrew prepares to cut into the cake shaped like the number 100.

The most interesting thing about the picture is who appears at the party in their Star Fleet uniform and who appears in more casual clothing.

Roxann Dawson and Ethan Phillips are also not in their makeup.

14. ROBERT BELTRAN TATTOO

Robert Beltran joined the cast of Star Trek: Voyager in 1995. He was cast as Commander Chakotay. Chakotay started the series as the leader of a Maquis ship of Federation dissidents.

When his crew and the crew of Voyager became stranded together in the Delta Quadrant, they grew to work together as one crew.

Chakotay always has a distinguishing tattoo around his left eyebrow. It’s supposed to be a signifier of his Native American ancestry.

Beltran himself has both Latin and Native American heritage, but the tattoo was created for the show.

In this behind the scenes photo, Beltran sits in the makeup chair while his tattoo is applied.

Fans have become so used to seeing Chakotay with it on-screen that the idea of having to apply it every day for filming seems strange.

13. LEVAR BURTON AND KATE MULGREW

Levar Burton first joined the Star Trek  franchise when he was cast as Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge in Star Trek: The Next Generation .

He served as the Enterprise’s Chief Engineer for the entire show.

However, Burton is also among the Star Trek actors who have contributed to the franchise behind the camera. Burton has directed several Star Trek  episodes, including two from The Next Generation .

He also directed several episodes of Deep Space Nine, Enterprise, and Voyager.

In the behind the scenes photo above, Burton is in his director workman’s garb, while Mulgrew in in costume as Janeway.

This looks like part of the Delta Flyer or another Voyager shuttlecraft. It also looks like there’s some incredulity between Burton and Mulgrew in this shot, but it could just be the momentary camera.

12. VOYAGER MODEL

The USS Voyager (NCC-74656) is an Intrepid-class Federation Starship. It launched from Earth Station McKinley on stardate 48038.5 in the year 2371. It was one of the first Intrepid-class models ever constructed.

Captain Kathryn Janeway took command of Voyager before the launch of its first mission.

Due to extraordinary circumstances, the ship became stranded in the Delta quadrant with a hybrid crew of Star Fleet officers and Maquis dissenters.

We see Voyager travelling through space all the time on the show.

However, in the production photo above, we can see modeler Mike Okuda applying decals to the actual prop in a workshop.

The show Voyager is capable of carrying a crew of 150, but here Okuda looks like he could carry the whole ship in his arms if he had to.

16. BORG CHILDREN ON SET

In season 6, episode 16, “Collective,” Voyager comes upon a damaged Borg vessel. Seven accompanies the away team to investigate.

Once on board, they discover that all of the vessel’s drones have been disabled or destroyed - except for 5 juvenile drones at various stages of development.

They may not be as numerous or focused as a full blown collective, but they are still Borg and impetuous as other children. Two of them are twins, Azan and Rebi.

They were played by real life twins Kurt Wetherill and Cody Wetherill.

In the photo above, they are in their full Borg makeup and costumes standing in broad daylight.

Perhaps Borg are made to look best in dark, harsh green lighting.

10. JERI RYAN AND ETHAN PHILLIPS

Neelix and Seven of Nine were both outside additions to the crew of Voyager. Neelix is a Talaxian who joined the crew after they all arrived in the Delta Quadrant. Seven was a Borg drone that the Voyager crew liberated from the collective.

Both took some time to adjust to life on Voyager and to find their roles.

Each of them also had radically different personalities. Neelix was always excitable and social, while Seven was reserved and solitary.

However, in this photo, you can see Jeri Ryan with a big smile, arm in arm with Ethan Phillips.

Ryan was clearly friendlier behind the scenes than what her role called for on camera. We hardly ever get to see Seven smile on the show.

9. ROXANN DAWSON, ROBERT PICARDO AND BABY

In the finale of Star Trek: Voyager, B’Elanna Torres goes into labor just as their finale mission home is about to begin.

Overseen by the EMH, the labor begins while the ship is still in the Delta Quadrant and the baby arrives when they arrive in the Alpha Quadrant.

It’s a heartwarming culmination of the journey of the Voyager crew and of Tom and B’Elanna’s relationship.

In this behind the scenes photo, Dawson and Picardo smile for the camera with the newborn baby, commemorating this profound moment in the show’s history.

The newborn Miral Paris was actually played by babies Carolyn Corey and Mathew Corey.

While neither were actually credited in the episode, they did play a special role nonetheless.

8. JERI RYAN AND JONATHAN DEL ARCO

Jonathan Del Arco may be most recognizable from the TV series Major Crimes and The Closer . Both shows had more to do with modern day crime instead of spacefaring futuristic sci-fi. Still, Star Trek fans should definitely recognize him.

In The Next Generation, Del Arco played Hugh, an individual Borg drone that becomes separated from the collective and taken aboard the Enterprise.

In Star Trek: Voyager, Del Arco portrays a deceptively intelligent alien that Voyager encounters while in the Void.

The Void is a perilous region of space with no natural resources whatsoever, but this alien seems to thrive in it.

The Doctor calls the alien Fantome after a piece of classical music that seems to soothe it.

In this photo, Del Arco is arm in arm with Jeri Ryan.

7. ROBERT PICARDO WITH GUITAR

Voyager’s onboard Emergency Medical Hologram was just designed to supplement the crews’ medical needs. However, he became the chief medical practitioner on board when their main doctor was lost on their disastrous trip to the Delta Quadrant.

The EMH or the Doctor grew, both as a character and as a hologram. He expanded his program to include all kinds of interests and skills unrelated to medicine.

Music was one of the Doctor’s biggest passions. He became very fond of classical music and sang in various episodes of the show.

In the photo above, Robert Picardo sits in the captain’s chair, no less, with a guitar and a confident grin.

The guitar even has a star field on it.

6. DWAYNE THE ROCK JOHNSON WITH THE CAST

Dwayne The Rock Johnson started his career on TV in wrestling. He quickly became one of the most popular personalities in the WWF and the WWE.

In 2000, he took one of his earliest steps into “serious” acting. He played the champion of an interstellar martial arts competition called Tsunkatse on Star Trek: Voyager .

In the episode, Seven of Nine and Tuvok get abducted and pressganged into the televised matches. Seven goes up against The Rock in the match and loses.

Having The Rock cameoing on Star Trek looks like a big deal for at least some of the cast.

Chakotay, Harry, Tom and Neelix all unexpectedly end up watching Seven’s match.

These four cast members are the ones in this photo, making over the top poses along with Dwayne Johnson.

5. JERI RYAN AND ETHAN PHILLIPS IN FRANCE

In a two-episode arc in season 4, “The Killing Game”, a species of merciless hunters called the Hirogen take over Voyager.

For their own sadistic amusement, the Hirogen launch a ship wide holodeck recreation of occupied France during WWII. Then they brainwash most of the Voyager crew into playing roles in the militant French resistance, while they take on the role of the invaders.

Star Trek always finds excuses to dress their cast up in period clothing.

In this behind the scenes photo, Jeri Ryan and Ethan Phillips pose in their 1940s French attire.

It’s quite a contrast to see Ryan as Seven dressed in a beret and a skirt with white socks and heeled shoes.

4. ROBERT PICARDO, ETHAN PHILLIPS AND LEVAR BURTON

Ethan Phillips played the Talaxian wayfarer Neelix all throughout Voyager ’s 7 seasons. Neelix stuck with the Voyager crew even though he wasn’t in Star Fleet.

He formed deep friendships and relationships with many of the other main characters.

However, in season 7 episode 23, Voyager encounters a colony of Talaxians, trying to make a new home for themselves.

Compelled to help his people, Neelix and Janeway agree to let him stay with the colony, and to stay in contact with the Federation as an ambassador to the Delta Quadrant.

The crew give him an honorary send off, with Tuvok even given him a farewell dance.

Levar Burton also directed this episode.

Phillips, Burton, and Robert Picardo all stand shoulder to shoulder in this photo.

3. JERI RYAN AT DELTA FLYER CONTROLS

The Delta Flyer is a prototype shuttle craft designed by Tom Paris. The crew use it frequently on away missions.

Various characters over the course of the series get stranded in it or save the day with it.

Some CGI obviously goes into the realization of the Delta Flyer on screen, as with most ships in Star Trek .

We don’t yet have the technology to film entertainment like space battles and exploration actually in space.

However, film crews can make the ship interiors as real sets and add the external space with special effects.

In this behind the scenes shot, Jeri Ryan sits at the controls of the Delta Flyer. From this angle, you can see out of the shuttle’s window into the surrounding blue screen of the soundstage.

2. JENNIFER LIEN AND EXTRA ON LOCATION

In the season 2 finale of Voyager , “Basics, Part 1”, the Kazon launch a hostile takeover of Voyager.

They seize the ship and leave the crew stranded on an uninhabited planet - supposedly uninhabited, anyway.

The crew has to adapt to survive, relying on basic survival skills and some help from their crewmates still hiding on Voyager.

The scenes on the planet were shot on location in Alabama Hills near Lone Pine, California.

In this simple '90s photograph, Kes actor Jennifer Lien takes a breather with her arm around an extra playing a Voyager crew member.

You can even see the time stamp on the photo as April 16 th , 1996. That would put this photo approximately a month before the episode premiered.

1. JERI RYAN AND SCARLETT POMERS

Ensign Samantha Wildman became pregnant before she joined the Voyager crew. When the crew was unexpectedly transported to the Delta quadrant, she realized that she would have to have the baby on board the ship.

Once she had matured into a young girl, she was played mostly by actress Scarlett Pomers on the show.

Naomi was insatiably curious and developed close relationships with Neelix and Seven of Nine.

In this behind the scenes photo, both Pomers and Jeri Ryan are in their character makeup. Pomers has her Ktarian forehead horns and Ryan has her ocular Borg implant.

Ryan is also kneeling to let the camera holder take an easier shot with both of them in frame.

What do you think of these  Star Trek: Voyager  behind-the-scenes photos? Are there any others that we need to see? Let us know in the comments!

Collective (episode)

• View history

Voyager finds a Borg cube controlled by assimilated children who have been separated from the Collective mind.

• 1.2 Act One
• 1.3 Act Two
• 1.4 Act Three
• 1.5 Act Four
• 1.6 Act Five
• 2 Memorable quotes
• 3.1 Production
• 3.2 Continuity
• 3.3 Video and DVD releases
• 4.1 Starring
• 4.2 Also starring
• 4.3 Guest Stars
• 4.4 Uncredited Co-Stars
• 4.5 Stand-ins
• 4.6 References
• 4.7 External links

Summary [ ]

The ace of cubes trumps them all; a Borg cube catches the Delta Flyer unaware

Commander Chakotay is on an away mission aboard the Delta Flyer . With him are Ensigns Tom Paris and Harry Kim , and Neelix . Passing the time, they sit together playing poker . It is time to compare hands. But when Paris is asked to show his, his eyes stare in horrified surprise at the front windows. The others turn to look; a Borg cube is coming straight toward them. The four men scramble to battle stations. " And I had a full house… " Paris mutters.

Act One [ ]

The Delta Flyer flees at full impulse , with the gigantic Borg vessel hot on its tail, firing at it. Neelix voices the question all of them have: why did sensors not detect it? Kim supplies a possible answer: a dispersal field was used to make it invisible to sensor scans. This is a worrying development; the Borg have never before employed such clever tactics. Warp speed is unavailable; the Flyer 's plasma injectors are damaged. Paris tries his best to avoid the incoming fire, but they suffer a direct hit, causing sparks to fly and degrading the deflector shields .

As Kim tries to clear the injectors, the cube's power output starts fluctuating. This means they still have a chance; they target its propulsion matrix. The tactic is successful; the cube is rendered dead in space, no longer able to chase them. But as they are about to make their escape, the Flyer shudders; the cube catches them in a tractor beam and begins pulling them in. Kim desperately tries to get the warp engines going, but is unsuccessful; then a power surge causes an explosion which knocks him unconscious. Power is lost, and the three awake men hear a chilling, familiar hail, in the emotionless, multi-track resonant voice of the Borg Collective :

As they watch helplessly though the forward windows, an immense hatch opens in the side of the cube. The Flyer is drawn in, and they are enveloped in complete darkness.

In the chamber of horrors: Paris, Neelix and Chakotay are in a Borg assimilation chamber

Dreaming that his crew mates were assimilated , Neelix gasps as he is woken by Chakotay. He, Chakotay and Paris are in a Borg assimilation chamber . Kim is nowhere to be found. They look around the room for him and see, on a platform, the horrific sight of a partially-assimilated alien . But the alien is dead; the assimilation apparently went awry. Paris is very agitated, expecting Borg drones to come in and begin assimilating them at any moment. Chakotay tells him to calm down; they are not drones yet, and may find an escape. The three men begin searching for a way to disable the force field preventing them from leaving the room.

Seven is baffled by the cube's weak, erratic attacks

Voyager conducts an intensive search for the Flyer . They follow its ion trail to where it ends, but the chief engineer , Lt. B'Elanna Torres , filling at the ops station for Ensign Kim, reports detection of a Borg cube; the same one the away team ran afoul of. Grim-faced, Captain Janeway orders red alert , a course alteration to intercept, and a constant remodulation of the ship's deflector shield frequencies, a standard, albeit, very temporary, defense against the Borg. The cube, however, does not move as Voyager approaches. A perplexed Seven of Nine , the ship's single foremost authority on the Borg, observes that its propulsion system is not that severely damaged; the drones aboard should have repaired it already. Then the ship shudders as the cube targets their warp core .

Janeway orders return of fire. The ship shudders again as the cube again fires, first at their impulse engines, then at their sensor array. None cause Voyager any real damage. Seven is baffled; the attacks, far from being the devastatingly powerful and efficient strikes that are par for the Borg, are very erratic and inefficient. Lt. Commander Tuvok targets and destroys their weapons. It is obvious that something is extremely amiss; this is far too easy.

Janeway is not intimidated by the damaged Borg cube

The away team is detected aboard the cube, unassimilated as yet. Voyager fires on the cube's deflector shield generator, in order to collapse the shield and allow the beam-out of the away team, but that fails. Seven, after further scans of the cube, finds the reason for the cube's unbelievably weak attacks: there are usually thousands of drones aboard a cube, but here there are only five. A hail from the Borg Collective comes through, informing, as it always does, of their intent to assimilate them. Janeway coldly answers by demanding the release of the away team.

The Borg repeat their intention. But Janeway now knows she is dealing with a lion whose teeth and claws have been pulled. " Not today, and not by you. " she replies, and threatens to resume firing if the away team is not released. A brief silence follows, during which cube scans them. Then the response comes: an offer to free the away team in exchange for specific technology, namely Voyager 's navigational deflector . Seven informs Janeway that the cube's communications array was damaged; the deflector would allow the five drones to reestablish their link with the Collective. This is the last thing Janeway wants, not that she was even considering the offer at all. She stalls, responding that she would consider the exchange if she is allowed to send over someone to make sure the away team is safe. The drones agree; she can send one person. Her obvious choice is Seven of Nine.

Voyager hovers at all stop, facing the cube. Seven beams aboard and walks through the corridors of the cube. Not a single drone is seen, except for one dead one. The 'Collective voice' tells her to go to a certain area: Grid 63, Subsection 01. She complies, and finds that it is a Borg neonatal unit. She hears something behind her, turns and finds five adolescent Borg at the unit's entrance looking at her; two twin boys, two older boys and a young girl. It is apparent that they are too young to be out as drones serving the Collective; they should still be in neonatal maturation chambers themselves. She identifies herself and asks where the adult drones are. The voice replies: " There are no others; the others were… " One of the children steps forth, the "Collective voice" is replaced by his single voice, and he finishes the statement " deactivated. We are the Borg. " Seven cannot believe it; they are dealing with not just five Borg, but five neonatal Borg; in effect, five Borg children .

Act Two [ ]

The five neonatal drones note Seven's possession of a Borg designation. She tells them that she used to be a drone herself and that she will help them repair the damaged cube. The second oldest, who has assumed leadership of the group, loudly objects that this was not the agreement they made. Seven, in a tone that brooks no argument, responds that she is modifying the agreement; she did not realize they were dealing with children. But she is reminded that they hold the away team as hostages. So, when the second oldest shouts at her to comply with the original agreement, she acquiesces, and asks to see the hostages. As she is taken to them, the "leader" menacingly tells the others to assimilate her if she resists.

As she walks with the others, Seven speaks to the oldest, asking about his designation and what makes them think they will survive in their incomplete state on this damaged vessel. The youth calls himself "Second". Their "leader", he says, is called "First". The designations refer to hierarchical position; originally, being the oldest, he was "First" and the other boy was "Second". But he could not maintain order in the group, so "Second" became "First" and he became "Second". He confidently tells Seven that the Collective will come to retrieve them.

They go to the assimilation chamber where the team (minus the still-missing Ensign Kim) is being held, and Seven ascertains they are in good health. She quietly warns them as they gaze in surprise at the neonatals not to judge by appearances; they control the vessel and its weapons. She is disgusted by the horribly botched attempt at assimilation she sees there. Second explains that they were trying to perfect their assimilation techniques. Seven harshly tells him that they failed to do so. The girl matter-of-factly indicts Ensign Paris for attempting to interfere with the force field controls, and punishes him with an electric shock when he tries to do it again under the pretext of denying it and trying to show what he was "actually" doing. Satisfied that they are well, Seven leaves with the neonatals. As she departs, Commander Chakotay pointedly asks her to give their "regards to Harry" as a way of covertly conveying that Harry is missing. Once outside the chamber, Second presses Seven for the deflector array, but she responds that she has to report back on the hostages' condition to the captain. Also, she says she has to take an adult drone's corpse with her to find out what happened to the vessel and the other adult drones. They agree.

Back on Voyager , Janeway and Tuvok walk down a corridor to sickbay , discussing Ensign Kim's absence among the hostages. Janeway tells him to try to contact him using a Borg frequency so the children would not detect the transmission. They enter sickbay.

The anti-Borg pathogen

In sickbay, The Doctor has found something remarkable in the drone corpse Seven returned with; a pathogen was responsible for killing it and all the other adult drones. He informs the two officers . Seven tells them the five juveniles she found were not affected; their maturation chambers protected them. The Doctor answers Tuvok's question as to whether it would only kill Borg in the affirmative, but then is suddenly horrified to realize that the Captain is considering using it as a bio-weapon against the juveniles. She asks Seven her opinion; would they really kill the hostages if their demands are not met? Seven's answer is yes. Janeway orders The Doctor to keep the pathogen as an option, but she will not use it until she has met the drones themselves. She then leaves with Seven.

On the Delta Flyer , Ensign Kim regains consciousness after having been knocked out in the initial attack by the cube. He slowly goes into to the cockpit, bathed in the harsh green light of the Borg vessel's interior, and finds the com signal sent from Voyager as per Captain Janeway's instructions. To answer on the same carrier wave, the computer tells him, significant system modifications have to be made; but he is well aware of this and immediately begins making them, as the Flyer is seen to be held in a colossally vast, cavernous hangar bay within the Borg vessel along with at least two other unidentified craft.

Act Three [ ]

Janeway and Seven are on the cube with the young drones. First angrily demands that she stick to the agreement: the hostages for the deflector. But Janeway offers them another option: come with Voyager and be individuals again. She begins asking the youngsters questions about their homeworlds and lives before their abductions and assimilations, but First belligerently presses his demand for the deflector. Janeway begins to stall again but he forces her back against a wall by the throat. Keeping her cool, she tells him that they cannot have it, and assimilating her will not get it for them. She then offers to help them repair their cube's technology. First sullenly agrees, giving them two hours. Seven is to remain to do the work. As Janeway leaves, First warns her not to return.

Voyager continues to sit before the massive cube. Janeway walks onto the bridge , announces they have two more hours, and asks about the pathogen. Tuvok tells her it should be ready by then. Lt. Torres voices her incredulity that they are actually negotiating with adolescent drones. Janeway comments on the drones' unpredictable nature. Tuvok notes that delusions of superiority and contempt for authority are common traits of juveniles of any species. Then a transmission from the hidden Ensign Kim on the cube comes in. Janeway decides to have him get to the cube's shield generator and destroy it. Tuvok is to guide him there by audio signal.

Seven chats with Second

On the cube, Seven works to fix the damage. Second enters with some technology she requested. As she works, they get to talking about their lives, pre-assimilation. Second does not remember his, but Seven's questions begin to bring back memories. She also fixes his sub-vocal processor, letting him speak normally. While Seven is making the simple adjustment, Second reacts quizzically, recalling that First has said that his malfunction could not be repaired until they reconnect with the Collective. Repair complete, Seven simply flashes Second a sly, knowing, look and resumes her work. Intrigued, Second gazes at her intensely, eventually noting that her hair reminds him of his mother's hair. Just then First enters and angrily rebukes him for his " irrelevant conversation " with her. He orders Second to return to his station, then gives Seven a baleful stare as he leaves to return to his.

Seven speaks to Janeway about the five young drones

Seven returns to Voyager and briefs Captain Janeway in her ready room about a disturbing discovery she made in the cube's communication records; the Collective did indeed receive the drones' distress call. But it has no intention of responding; the drones are immature, and damaged due to their premature release from their maturation chambers. They are, therefore, unimportant; the Collective, not interested in retrieving them, permanently severed their link to the hive mind . The drones, who do not have the ability to decrypt the message, are unaware of this.

Janeway considers that they can use this to win them over; once they find that they have been rejected by the Collective, they will have no place to turn but Voyager . They could regain their individuality. Seven is doubtful; they do not have the discipline to overcome their separation from the hive mind. But Janeway is determined to try. But she decides to hold on to the information for now. Seven leaves to return to the cube and finish the repairs.

Act Four [ ]

Ensign Kim carefully walks along the damaged corridors of the cube, guided by Tuvok's voice over the com and using playing cards to mark his way, in case he has to backtrack.

Seven returns to find First inspecting her work. He accuses her of stalling. She responds that she is working as quickly as she can, and shows him a PADD containing the data she is using. He dismisses the data as flawed. Annoyed, she counters that it is his understanding of the scientific theory behind the data that is flawed. In front of the other children, she belittles his ability to ensure their survival. He tells her she has forgotten what it means to be Borg. She quickly proves that false, outlining the tenets of Borg philosophy : the unity of the Collective; common goals; the quest for perfection. But, she insists, they do not have to remain drones to experience these things.

She invites them to return to Voyager with her. But First is unmoved; he tells her she has 38 minutes left out of the two hours he gave her. Just then, an alarm sounds; another maturation chamber is malfunctioning. This one contains a Borg infant; its autonomic functions are failing. First insists that it will adapt, but the girl reports after looking at a monitor that this is not happening. She pleads with him to let Seven help. Seven takes charge. She has them transport it to an incubation pod, but it still shows signs of acute distress. The only option left is to transport it to Voyager . First stubbornly refuses, saying that it is part of their collective, but he is overridden by the others.

Ensign Kim approaches the location of the cube's shield generator . He arrives, and begins planting spatial charges to destroy it. But he is surprised by the Borg girl. He distracts her with conversation while he reaches for his phaser, but she is not fooled; she tells him matter-of-factly that his weapon is useless there; a dampening field is present. He stares at her nervously.

On Voyager , Janeway and Tuvok walk briskly down a corridor, as he reports on losing contact with Kim. The Doctor hails her and asks her to come to the Sickbay. She orders Tuvok to keep trying to regain contact with Kim and goes to the Sickbay while he goes to the bridge.

The Borg infant

In the Sickbay, The Doctor shows her the Borg baby, which Seven had beamed there directly. He has stabilized her. Perhaps trying to get Janeway to change her mind about using the pathogen on the juveniles, he has her hold the child, who immediately stops fretting once in her arms. But Janeway is unmoved; if she must take that option to save her officers, she shall; she only hopes that she is not forced to actually do so.

On the cube, First confronts Seven with one of the spatial charges Kim had planted. He accuses her of trying to deceive them. They show him Ensign Kim, lying against a wall. He has been injected with Borg nanoprobes . But, since the young drones cannot yet properly assimilate, the nanoprobes are simply destroying his body instead of assimilating it. First orders Seven to call Captain Janeway; they want the deflector array now . She tries to continue stalling, but First has none of it. Frustrated, she calls Voyager .

Act Five [ ]

On Voyager 's bridge, First is on the viewscreen. He insists Janeway surrender the deflector immediately. She demands that he transport Ensign Kim back to them first, but he refuses. He threatens to "assimilate" the others (which would certainly kill them) if they do not get the deflector right away. Janeway stares at him and angrily tells him that they cannot simply remove it; it is part of the ship. No amount of threats from him will change that. First's sullen face is replaced by the image of the cube as he terminates the connection. The ship shudders as the cube's tractor beam locks onto the deflector in an attempt to tear it off. Hull stress on the ship increases; Lt. Torres reports hull integrity breaches on two decks . Janeway orders randomization of the ship's shield harmonics to in an attempt to break free, but the beam adapts.

Second finds out their worth to the Collective, or lack thereof

On the cube, Seven, aware of what the drones are trying to do, decides that it is time to reveal what she knows about their awaited rescue by the Collective, and does so. First accuses her of lying, but Seven gives him the encryption code to check for himself. He does not, but Second steps forward to do so. First angrily tells him to return to his station, but he ignores him. His face registers his shock as he sees the message. First insists that Seven is again trying to trick them, but Second responds that the message is authentic. First pushes him aside and looks at it. He insists it is a mistake. Seven reminds him of what every drone knows: the Collective does not tolerate imperfection. They are damaged; thus, to the Collective, they are irrelevant. First stubbornly responds that they will 'assimilate' more species to prove their worthiness.

On Voyager , hull stress is almost critical. But then Tuvok reports a fluctuation in the cube's shield grid; they can use it to release the pathogen. But Janeway is loath to finally take this step, and determinedly seeks an alternative. She sees on the command console that the tractor beam draws power from the same grid as their shield matrix. She orders a feedback pulse be sent through the tractor beam from the deflector; this would disrupt both the beam and the shields.

On the cube, Seven continues to press her point; the children have no future with the Collective, but they do on Voyager . But First refuses to listen. Fed up, Seven turns to the others an appeals to them directly. Then the cube shudders as Voyager begins sending the feedback pulse. Second checks a monitor, sees what is happening and reports it to them. The feedback is overloading the shield matrix; this will soon destroy the cube. First orders them to " Adapt! " and hurries to a console. The other drones do the same.

On Voyager 's bridge, Tuvok reports that both the cube's tractor beam and shields are weakening. Lt. Torres reports a successful transporter lock on all of the crew members aboard the cube except Kim and Seven. The three they have, Chakotay, Neelix and Paris, are beamed aboard from the assimilation chamber where they were being kept. But they cannot yet lock onto Kim and Seven; their location is still too heavily shielded. Janeway orders amplification of the feedback pulse.

On the cube, the girl reports the departure of the three hostages. Second reports the weakening of the shields around the room where they are. The drones turn to First for instructions, but he stands there impotently. Seven urges them to drop the shields. Nobody moves to do so. Her urging becomes a command. Still, nobody moves. She goes to a console to do it herself. First rushes up and pushes her away so hard she lands on the floor half-stunned. He desperately tries to stave off the imminent failure of the shields, but fails.

In impotent rage, he grabs two heavy objects and rushes at Seven with an angry scream, intending to crush her head in, but Second intercepts him, takes the objects away and stares at him with a look that says, in no uncertain terms, to back off. First orders him back to his station; he does not move. First angrily orders him to obey. But neither Second nor any of the others are taking orders from him any longer. Seven groggily gets to her feet as the cube again shudders, violently; its induction grid is overloaded. Its destruction is imminent. First runs to a console in a last-ditch effort to try to prevent it. Then consoles begin to explode, including the one he is at, sending an energy discharge into him. He convulses and collapses. Seven runs to him and scans him with her tricorder . But he cannot be saved; his cortical node is going off-line. To his last breath, he calls on the others to continue resisting, insisting that the Collective will come for them. The girl kneels at his side and tells him that they will find a new home. His final words show him as stubborn to the last: " We are Borg. "

Seated on her ready room 's sofa, Janeway speaks to Seven about the children's future. They have sent out hails to any ships in the area from two of their respective races: The Brunali for Second, and the Norcadians for the girl, but they have gotten no responses, and as for the twin boys, they do not even know what species they are from (they are later identified as Wysanti ). Janeway puts Seven in charge of them. Seven is uncertain about this; she cites Neelix as being a much better choice, given his experience with children.

Janeway, however, insists that Seven is the right one; she has already bonded with them, and only she could understand what they are going though as former drones. Seven muses that she could help them avoid some of the pitfalls she faced when she was first severed from the Collective. With a deep breath, steeling herself,

Seven comes to inform the children of their identities

she leaves and goes to her quarters , cargo bay 2. This is where her alcove is located. There are five alcoves in all; she uses one, and the children, who of course will need to periodically regenerate as she does, will use the other four.

She meets the children there, now de-assimilated and clad in clothing instead of covered in Borg exo-plating . Like her, all of their implants have been removed except for those tied into their vital functions, and external traces of implants are on their faces. Seven gives each of them PADDs containing limited biographical data she had downloaded from the cube. Second's name is Icheb , the girl's is Mezoti , and the twins are Azan and Rebi . She then puts them "to bed" – into their alcoves. The regeneration cycles kick in and they close their eyes, silent and still as they engage in the Borg equivalent of falling asleep. Seven has the computer dim the lights and exits the cargo bay. Before the doors close, she turns around in the corridor and has a final look at them.

Memorable quotes [ ]

" Does that beat a flush? " " I knew you were bluffing. " " That beats me. Tom? " (Tom stares at a Borg cube dead ahead) " Battle stations! " " And I had a full house… "

" We will return your crew members in exchange for specific technology. " " Talk about unusual behavior. The Borg negotiating? "

" You will be assimilated. " " Not today and not by you. "

" They're not exactly drones. Mature Borg are predictable. They'll ignore you or assimilate you, but these juveniles, they're unstable. " " They are contemptuous of authority, convinced that they are superior. Typical adolescent behavior for any species. "

" Borg vessels may be forbidding, but they are not haunted. "

" Sweet dreams. "

Background information [ ]

Production [ ].

• The final draft of this script was completed on 2 November 1999 .
• The shield generator on the Borg cube appears to be the same prop, heavily modified, that was originally used to represent the " Think Tank " artificial intelligence.

Continuity [ ]

• After " Memorial ", this was the second time in three episodes that Chakotay, Paris, Kim and Neelix ran into difficulty on an away mission.
• This episode marks the first appearances of Icheb , Mezoti , Azan , and Rebi on the series.
• One of the Borg children, Mezoti, belonged to the Norcadian species, which Voyager had first encountered in the previous episode " Tsunkatse ".
• Mezoti 's dress in the last scene was previously worn by Isabella in TNG : " Imaginary Friend ".
• It is never revealed what became of the Borg infant. When asked in 2000, Brannon Braga stated the infant had been returned to its people off-screen. " The baby was returned to its people, which you did not see depicted in an episode. We considered showing it on-screen, but decided it would be best to focus on the remaining Borg kids. They have given us some great story material so far. " [1]
• The Borg on the cube demand the USS Voyager 's navigational deflector to reestablish communication with other Borg in the region. This is an allusion to Star Trek: First Contact , where the Borg tried to construct an interplexing beacon on the navigational deflector of the USS Enterprise -E to contact the 21st century Borg in the Delta Quadrant .

Video and DVD releases [ ]

• UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, Paramount Home Entertainment ): Volume 6.8, 2 October 2000 : This volume came with a reversible sleeve: the standard Voyager layout, and a "Special Edition" layout, with a prominent image of Seven from " Tsunkatse " as the cover image.
• As part of the VOY Season 6 DVD collection

Links and references [ ]

Starring [ ].

• Kate Mulgrew as Captain Kathryn Janeway

Also starring [ ]

• Robert Beltran as Chakotay
• Roxann Dawson as B'Elanna Torres
• Robert Duncan McNeill as Tom Paris
• Ethan Phillips as Neelix
• Robert Picardo as The Doctor
• Tim Russ as Tuvok
• Jeri Ryan as Seven of Nine
• Garrett Wang as Harry Kim

Guest Stars [ ]

• Ryan Spahn as First
• Manu Intiraymi as Icheb
• Marley S. McClean as Mezoti
• Kurt Wetherill as Azan
• Cody Wetherill as Rebi

Uncredited Co-Stars [ ]

• Patrick Barnitt as deactivated Borg drone
• Andrew English as operations officer
• Tarik Ergin as Ayala
• Tina Kotrich as operations officer
• Mark Major as deceased Borg drone
• Erin Price as Renlay Sharr
• Keith Rayve as deactivated Borg drone

Stand-ins [ ]

• Brita Nowak – stand-in for Jeri Ryan
• Stuart Wong – stand-in for Garrett Wang

References [ ]

ability ; assimilation ; assimilation chamber ; assimilation profile ; autonomic nervous system ; bearing ; biographical data ; Brunali ; Borg Collective ; Borg cube ; Borg drone ; Borg infant drone ; Chamber of Horrors ; childhood ; clubs ; communications array ; confinement beam ; cortical implant ; cybernetic organism ; damage ; dampening field ; data grid 426 ; data node ; David ; decryption protocol ; Delta Flyer ; dispersal field ; emergency power ; escape pod ; feedback pulse ; Goliath ; hair ; Hansen, Erin ; Hansen, Magnus ; haunted house ; heart ; hive mind ; hostage ; impulse engine ; incubation pod ; induction grid ; interlink frequency ; ion trail ; Jefferies tube ; Kim, John ; Kim, Mary ; Leucon ; maturation chamber ; medical tricorder ; meter ; nanoprobe ; navigational deflector ; nightmare ; Norcadian ; Norcadia Prime ; offline ; photon torpedo ; plasma charge ; plasma duct ; plasma injector ; playing card ; poker ; power coupling ; propulsion matrix ; propulsion system ; quadric field theory ; queen of hearts ; red alert ; resonance field ; respiratory system ; second name ; sensor range ; shield generator ; shield harmonics ; shield matrix ; spaceborne virus ; stasis field ; subvocal processor ; surrender ; synaptic pathway ; Talaxian ; Theta class (planetoid) ; thoracic node ; tractor beam ; transwarp conduit ; tricorder ; vessel ; warp core ; warp plasma ; work detail ; Yifay

External links [ ]

• "Collective" at StarTrek.com
• " Collective " at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• " Collective " at Wikipedia

• More to Explore
• Series & Movies

Borg Documentary Video - Part 3 (Voyager's Borg Encounters)

Length of Part 3: 6:54. This video includes footage from the following episodes: Star Trek: The Next Generation ST:TNG 126 - "The Neutral Zone" ST:TNG 142 - "Q Who" ST:TNG 174 - "The Best of Both Worlds, Part I" ST:TNG 175 - "The Best of Both Worlds, Part II" ST:TNG 223 - "I, Borg" Star Trek: Deep Space Nine ST:DS9 401 - "Emissary, Part I" ST:DS9 447 - "The Search, Part I" Star Trek: Voyager ST:VOY 101 - "Caretaker, Part I" ST:VOY 157 - "Blood Fever" ST:VOY 159 - "Unity"

Complete List Of Appearances Of The Borg In Star Trek

This article is more than seven years old and was last updated in July 2019.

The Borg are Star Trek's most feared and most loved adversaries they appear in a total twenty-one episodes in the Star Trek franchise in 'Enterprise,' 'The Next Generation' and 'Voyager,' every television incarnation other than the original series and 'Deep Space Nine.' They also appeared in the Star Trek movie 'First Contact.' Below is a complete list of the Borg's appearances in chronological order.

1. Enterprise - 'Regeneration' [S02E23]

2. The Next Generation - 'Q Who' [S02E16]

3. The Next Generation - 'The Best of Both Worlds' [S03E26 - S04E01]

4. The Next Generation - 'I, Borg' [S05E23]

5. The Next Generation - 'Descent' [S06E26 - S07E01]

6. Voyager - 'Unity' [S03E17]

7. Star Trek: First Contact

8. Voyager - 'Scorpion' [S03E26 - S04E01]

9. Voyager - 'The Raven' [S04E06]

10. Voyager - 'Drone' [S05E02]

11. Voyager - 'Dark Frontier' [S05E15 - S05E16]

12. Voyager - 'Survival Instinct' [S06E02]

13. Voyager - 'Collective' [S06E16]

14. Voyager - 'Child's Play' [S06E19]

15. Voyager - 'Unimatrix Zero' [S06E26 - S07E01]

16. Voyager - 'Imperfection' [S07E02]

17. Voyager - 'Endgame' [S07E25]

There's More To Come...

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