borg star trek queen

Everything We Know About the Borg Queen After 'Star Trek: Picard' Season 2

Now that 'Star Trek: Picard' Season 2 has come to a close, let's unpack everything we know about the long-lost Borg Queen.

Star Trek: Picard has ended its strong, focused second season, having tossed the principal characters first into a dark alternate timeline and then several centuries into the past, all thanks to Jean-Luc Picard’s ( Patrick Stewart ) trickster-god nemesis, Q ( John DeLancie ). The major Season 1 characters returned: Captain Rios ( Santiago Cabrera ) now commands a new version of Picard’s old ship the Stargazer ; Raffi ( Michelle Hurd ) and Elnor ( Evan Evagora ) now serve together on a new Excelsior , and Seven of Nine is once again a Fenris Ranger and caretaker of Rios’ beloved La Sirena .

Dr. Agnes Jurati ( Alison Pill ) is another returning character, and for most of this second season, it seemed like the show did not know what to do with her . Then, at about the halfway mark, Jurati’s fate intertwines with one other character, who Star Trek fans haven’t seen in a long time: the Borg Queen ( Annie Wersching ). So who is the Borg Queen? Let’s take a look at her legacy and her current incarnation.

RELATED: How 'Star Trek: Picard' Squandered the Potential of Its New Characters

The One Who Is Many

1997’s Star Trek: First Contact establishes several updates to the Borg which carried over into later series, including Picard. They have the ability to assimilate via retractable cybernetic tentacles, and while we knew they were a decentralized collective, First Contact reveals the singular entity controlling this collective: the Borg Queen, played in that film by Alice Krige .

Krige would go on to portray the character in several episodes of Star Trek: Voyager , including the series finale. Susanna Thompson stepped in to play the Queen in the crucial "Unimatrix Zero" two-parter, setting up a strange mystery that to date has not been directly addressed. At the end of First Contact , the Queen is killed by Captain Picard, who severs her cybernetic spinal cord after Data ( Brent Spiner ) is able to destroy her organic components. The crew of the Voyager encounter the Borg and the Queen in the Delta Quadrant, and the show does not attempt to explain how the Queen can be alive following the events of First Contact .

The Voyager crew encounter the Borg many times during the show’s run, with the series finale centering around a future Janeway ( Kathryn Mulgrew ), who travels back in time to guide her younger self in battle against the Borg. Future Janeway knows that a Borg transwarp hub can propel the ship back to the Alpha Quadrant, and sacrifices herself to poison the Borg Queen and clear the way for Voyager ’s return.

The Borg Slayer

Fast forward to the second season of Picard , which deposits the admiral and company into a dark alternate timeline. Picard himself is a galactically-feared conqueror of countless alien species, and is set to exterminate yet another: the Borg Queen.

In Season 1 of Picard , former Borg drone and Voyager crew member Seven of Nine accessed a Queencell in the massive, abandoned Borg cube known as the Artifact. The concept of a chamber in each Borg cube which could only be accessed by the Queen was made canon. Seven of Nine then relinked herself to the rest of the collective, taking control of them all and allowing the La Sirena crew chance to escape.

The Season 2 premiere ends with a version of the Borg Queen appearing on the bridge of Rios’s Stargazer. Drawn to yet another massive spatial anomaly, Picard’s presence has been requested by an unknown species looking to formally join the United Federation of Planets. This turns out to be a previously-unknown Borg Queen, and as her massive cybernetic tentacles bury themselves in the Stargazer’s consoles and take over her systems, Picard orders the ship to self-destruct.

Jump ahead to this alternate timeline. As the main characters adjust to their surroundings, we learn that Seven was never assimilated by the Borg here. This Annika Hansen has no implants and is in fact the President of the Federation. She is about to honor Picard with the title “Borg Slayer” as he executes the Borg Queen before presumably the entire galaxy.

Echoing Timelines

The misplaced crew quickly comes together, and they learn that they're path back home runs right through the Borg Queen. In this timeline, Agnes Jurati is a scientist working for the Dark Federation and has access to the Queen, who is held in some kind of storage unit. We learn that the Borg have some kind of extrasensory perception of alternate timelines. This Borg Queen understands that the timeline has shifted, and knows who they all are and what they're doing.

Given Seven's reveal that the Queencells were not necessarily created for any one Borg Queen, the notion of a time-shift-sensitive Queen suggests that the Borg Queen could perhaps split her consciousness into many different avatars at once, allowing her to exist as simultaneous incarnations of herself. This could also explain her ability to inhabit the consciousness of Dr. Agnes Jurati. The Queen infiltrates Jurait's mind and in short order finds herself loose on the streets of L.A. in the early 21st century. The Queen needs a certain amount of elements and endorphins to grow her strength, and soon Jurati and the Queen are locked in a battle for control of Jurati's body.

The Star Gazer

The survival of our main characters depends on an internal debate which Jurati eventually wins. She convinces the Borg Queen that no matter the timeline, the Borg are always eventually defeated, whether by "a lone Borg slayer or United Federation." She convinces the Borg Queen that she and her drones will never able to overcome and achieve the perfection she seeks.

Before the season's ultimate dénouement, we watch Jurati and the Borg Queen find a common ground. Borg Queen Jurati then takes off in La Sirena, theoretically giving the Borg a 400-year head start on assimilating the galaxy. Picard and company wrap up their business in the past, repairing the timeline. With what is presumably the equivalent of his final breath, Q sends everyone save Rios (who elects to stay in the past) back to the bridge of the Stargazer, where all of this started.

Picard orders the bridge crew to stand down, cancels the self-destruct sequence, and waits. Borg Queen Jurati reveals herself, and the entire narrative comes full circle. The Borg now openly offer species the opportunity to assimilate. The Borg's request to join the Federation may not have been a ruse, after all. The finale reveal, Borg Queen Jurati tells Picard that there is a much bigger threat out there, one that will necessitate the Federation and the Borg working together. With the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation all officially returning for Season 3, we can expect the ramifications of Picard 's continuity-breaking overhaul fo the Borg to become the focal point of the show's third and final season.

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How Picard season 2’s showrunner plans to use the controversial Borg Queen

Who will get assimilated this time?

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Instead of avoiding or completely indulging in nostalgia, the creators of Star Trek often channel it, using references and reboots to re-up the characters audiences know and love. Picard season 2 has its own fun, calling characters aboard the U.S.S. Sulu, or (in an episode to come) doing their own homage to one of the lighter Trek films. This season also marks the return of the Borg Queen .

[ Ed. note: This piece contains some light spoilers for the end of Picard season 2 episode 1.]

Among the more controversial figures in Trek lore, the Borg Queen first appeared as the antagonist in Star Trek: First Contact , commanding the Borg who took over Earth. Many fans objected to her role because, well, she had never been mentioned before by the well-established Borg race, and the idea of a single queen sort of undermined the terror of the hive mind that made the Borg so unstoppable. Nevertheless, the Borg Queen assimilated another day, returning for episodes of Voyager and Lower Decks .

In season 2 of Picard she’s back once again. In the final moments of the season opener, “The Star Gazer,” the Queen boards the ship that Picard is on with his crew. “We wish … for peace,” she metes out in the usual mechanical tone, “but first … we require […] power.” Then she releases her tendrils, assimilating some 90% of the ships in Starfleet and stunning crew members.

No one is less pleased about this than Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan), whose traumatic history with the Borg has defined much of her arc in Picard and Deep Space Nine , and left her with Borg tech permanently in her skull.

“I think this sort of stunned, furious disbelief that, you know, she’s hearing from Picard, who’s shared something of her experience [being assimilated, …] to hear him say Oh you know what, maybe it’s not so bad ” Ryan tells Polygon. “It’s just an unbelievable thing for her to be wrapping your head around that this is actually what they’re contemplating.”

With Q also shows up to goof on Picard (and throw him through some serious time loops ), it seems safe to say that the Borg Queen isn’t through wreaking havoc on our Starfleet heroes.

And yet, when co-showrunner Akiva Goldsman sat down and found storylines that paired together, he found Seven’s wasn’t with the Borg Queen at all. With a season focused on connection and intimacy (or lack thereof), Goldsman found inspiration in how the Borg Queen existed as “quite binary; she’s either connected to all or totally disconnected.” To answer that, the writers found Agnes Jurati to be the most logical and interesting companion for her.

In the three episodes screened to critics, Seven barely ended up interacting with the Borg Queen.

“Seven is working on her relationship with Raffi,” Goldsman says. “Although there are clearly feelings and encounters that are driven by feelings with Seven and the Borg Queen, and Picard in the Borg Queen — we know those stories. We’ve told those stories. We could retell them with a sort of darker, more graphic grammar because we’re streaming. But otherwise, it’s the same story.

“So the hope here is to let Seven deal with some real-time relationship issues .”

Star Trek: Picard season 2 is now airing on Paramount Plus. New episodes drop every Thursday.

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“But she’s still a Borg Queen”

Alison Pill reveals how 'Picard' redefined Star Trek’s scariest villain

Alison Pill star of 'Star Trek: Picard' explores the “new vibe” of her character, Anges Jurati, and reveals the secrets of how and why she sang that Pat Bentar song.

The Borg Queen is living in Alison Pill’s brain.

By the end of Star Trek: Picard Season 2 Episode 6, “Two of One,” Dr. Agnes Jurati (Alison Pill) and the Borg Queen (Annie Wersching) have basically merged into a hybrid character. Jurati is still Jurati, but the Borg Queen’s consciousness now exists in her mind as an omnipresent alter-ego. We’ve never seen the Borg assimilate anyone like this before, and we’ve certainly never seen someone belt out a Pat Benatar rock classic thanks to newfound Borg confidence.

For Pill, this episode represents more than just one facet of her character. It’s the moment she thinks this version of Star Trek proved solidified its style. Spoilers ahead.

“We’re a little weirder. ”

Directed by Jonathan Frakes , the “Two of One” finds the time-traveling crew desperate to protect Jean-Luc’s ancestor all while trying to play it cool at a swanky party for astronauts bound for Europa. Though this episode has many memorable moments — including Adam Soong (Brent Spiner) trying to run Picard (Patrick Stewart) over with a Tesla — all the scenes are easily stolen by Alison Pill bringing down the house with a jazzy cover of “Shadows of the Night,” Pat Benatar’s 1982 rock hit.

Alison Pill singing in Star Trek: Picard.

“I think the choice of song is so wonderfully weird,” Pill tells Inverse. “ It was such a thrill to do and to explore this very rock song in the midst of a big band sound. I think it struck the right tone for this kind of newer, vibe for Star Trek that was just like, ‘No we’re a little weirder.’ We can get funky with this.”

Just in case anyone is confused, yes that is Alison Pill actually singing “Shadows of the Night” in Star Trek: Picard . Pill is a multitalented performer and has plenty of experience singing as well as playing musical instruments. She even taught herself drums for 2010’s Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and sings on that movie’s soundtrack, too. For Picard , she confirms she recorded the song before filming.

“I sing along to a pre-recorded version of myself,” Pill says. “There was a big stage and a full band. It was a childhood dream to do that.”

Doing a big musical number was perfect for director Jonathan Frakes.

“[Frakes] has a history in musical theater,” Pill explains. “He’s so knowledgeable about it and is just one of my favorite humans.”

She and Frakes worked tirelessly on the choreography and to determine how the song worked within the dramatic context of the episode.

Alison Pill, Annie Wersching, and Jonathan Frakes, behind-the-scenes for Star Trek: Picard Season 2, Episode 6.

“Alison Pill has bounding range,” Jonathan Frakes tells Inverse . “The subtlety at which she’s embraced the Borg Queen inside her is magnificent and effective. It’s interesting and weird and somehow she finds a way to bring some levity to it.”

“Many of the goals of the Borg Queen don’t sound so bad. ”

The mixtures of feelings the audience has for Agnes Jurati are now numerous, layered, and contradictory. It’s thrilling to see the character become more powerful and more confident, and it’s fun, too.

But she’s also literally becoming one with the Borg Queen, and thus, giving into assimilation. Star Trek has never done a Borg story quite like this, and Pill points out that it’s within all of these paradoxical notions that Picard is truly breaking new ground. Previous versions of Star Trek have told us that getting assimilated by the hivemind of the Borg is always bad. What Jurati’s fusion with the Borg Queen suggests is... maybe it’s complicated?

Here’s Pill in her own words:

“I think the real beauty of Jurati’s storyline is trying to look at what assimilation doesn't have to be, what the origins of assimilation are, and where we might redefine that in terms of community. Many of the goals of the Borg Queen don’t sound so bad. The actual political and emotional sentiment behind it is that we can work toward a common good together to support each other and build each other up. But assimilation is none of those things, actually. So Jurati is hoping there could be community without the assimilation. And the Borg Queen sort of insinuates that’s possible. But she’s still a Borg Queen.”

The storyline of Agnes merging with the Borg Queen certainly has huge implications for the rest of Picard Season 2. Will Jurati become a new Borg Queen? How will that impact the history of Earth in 2024? What about the other Borg Queen we saw in “The Star Gazer?”

These are all big questions, but Alison Pill knows that larger plot swings only work because of smaller character beats. The interior life of Agnes Jurati previously obscured in Season 1, is now coming into the light, paradoxically, because she’s having her brain hijacked by one of sci-fi’s most famous villains.

Who is the real Borg Queen now?

“She's always had so many secrets and emotions,” Pill says. “This is what my character is like on the inside and I’ve known for ages. You’re just now getting to see it so forthrightly.” So, will Agnes Jurati become one with the Borg and give up her individuality in the process? Alison Pill isn’t so sure that’s even the right question anymore.

“I think we definitely all understand that humans are social animals and many animals are social,” Pill says. “So how do we organize ourselves by these principles that don't put us in these individual black and white boxes and get stuck in the binary way of thinking? Of good vs. bad? Or with us or against us? How, how could we operate in society if those weren't the only options? That’s what our show is about.”

Star Trek: Picard Season 2 is available on Paramount+ .

Ryan Britt's new book on the history of Star Trek's biggest changes. From the '60s show to the movies to 'TNG,' to 'Discovery,' 'Picard,' Strange New Worlds,' and beyond!

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Annie Wersching, Who Played Borg Queen on ‘Star Trek: Picard,’ Dies at 45

Ms. Wersching was best known for playing the Borg Queen on the Paramount+ “Star Trek” series. She was also on the television series “24,” “Bosch” and “Timeless.”

By Livia Albeck-Ripka

The actress Annie Wersching, best known for her roles in positions of authority on television series like “Star Trek: Picard,” “24,” “Bosch” and “Timeless,” died on Sunday in Los Angeles. She was 45.

The cause was cancer, her publicist, Craig Schneider, said in a statement. He noted that even after Ms. Wersching was diagnosed in 2020, she continued her acting work, playing the Borg Queen on the second season of “Picard,” a “Star Trek” spinoff on Paramount+, as well as the serial killer Rosalind Dyer on the ABC crime series “The Rookie.”

Ms. Wersching was also known for playing Julia Brasher, a police officer on the Amazon series “Bosch,” and Emma Whitmore, an engineer, on the NBC series “Timeless.” On Fox’s “24,” about a counterterrorism team that protects the United States from potential attacks, she played the F.B.I. special agent Renee Walker, which she once called “a dream role.”

“She gets to experience so much action and do so many stunts; she is so cool,” Ms. Werschling told Alive St. Louis magazine in 2009. “Plus, I can relate to her; in real life, I’m not too much of a girly girl.”

Ms. Wersching also provided the voice for the character Tess in The Last of Us , a 2013 video game that has recently been adapted into a television series on HBO, with Anna Torv as Tess.

In an interview on the Paramount+ show “The Ready Room,” Ms. Wersching described playing the Borg Queen as “certainly a little intimidating.” She noted that she had familiarized herself with the role and those who had previously played it before going forward with her own interpretation and performance. “It’s such an iconic role,” she said. “I’m incredibly excited to have everyone see.”

Ms. Wersching was born on March 28, 1977, and raised in St. Louis. Her parents, Sandy and Frank Wersching, were involved in the local arts community. Her father died when she was 12.

Annie spent her youth competing in Irish dance with the St. Louis Celtic Stepdancers. She graduated from Crossroads College Preparatory School in 1995 and received a B.F.A. in musical theater from Millikin University in Decatur, Ill., in 1999. She had intended to make a career in theater but changed her mind after she was on tour with a musical in Los Angeles and went to a live taping of the sitcom “Stark Raving Mad.”

“I thought, ‘This is the best of both worlds — they are performing like it’s theater with the audience interaction, but you are on TV,’” she told Edge magazine. “This is the dream.”

She moved to Los Angeles in 2001.

She is survived by her husband, Stephen Full, whom she married in 2009, and three children, Freddie, Ozzie and Archie Full.

“There is a cavernous hole in the soul of this family today,” Mr. Full said in a statement. “But she left us the tools to fill it. She found wonder in the simplest moment. She didn’t require music to dance. She taught us not to wait for adventure to find you.”

Mr. Full noted that whenever he and his sons left their house, Ms. Wersching would shout “Bye!” until they were out of earshot.

“I can still hear it ringing,” he added.

Amisha Padnani contributed reporting.

Livia Albeck-Ripka is a reporter for The Times based in California. She was previously a reporter in the Australia bureau. More about Livia Albeck-Ripka

How Star Trek's Most Underrated Villains Wreaked Havoc From Deep Space 9 to Picard

Star Trek enemies like the Borg and Klingons have been a thorn on the Federation's side, but only one underrated villain has caused the most damage.

• The Dominion is a powerful alien empire in Star Trek that challenged the Federation like never before.
• While the Klingons, Romulans, and Borg evolved over time, the Dominion remained a second-tier villain.
• Star Trek: Picard's third season saw the Dominion return strong, with a complex plot and characters.

Star Trek has always featured compelling villainous aliens, many of whom have arcs and collective journeys as rich as any individual character. The Klingons, for instance, have gone from the Federation's greatest foes to fierce allies and antiheroes. The Romulan Empire similarly underwent rapid disintegration in the late 24th century and re-unified with their genetic cousins, the Vulcans, in later seasons of Star Trek: Discovery . Even the Borg changed over the course of the franchise, as individuals like Seven of Nine escaped the Collective and threats like Species 8472 proved more than they could handle. That dedication to their organic development has helped make them truly memorable foes, not only in Star Trek , but in pop culture as a whole.

One villainous species tends to get a little lost in the shuffle, however. The Dominion -- a powerful alien empire controlled by shape-shifting Changelings -- proved to be one of the deadliest foes the Federation ever faced. They launched a war against the Alpha Quadrant during the final seasons of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, forcing Starfleet to join forces with traditional enemies like the Romulans in the face of the common threat. Despite that, the Dominion itself is often relegated to second-tier villain status. Star Trek: Picard's triumphant third season successfully returned them to the spotlight, and reminded fans how terrifying they could be as antagonists.

The Dominion Were Designed as an Existential Threat

The complete history of the klingons in star trek's next generation era.

Deep Space Nine cemented a big transition for the franchise, moving away from Gene Roddenberry's beliefs in an absolute utopia. A Federation devoid of conflict was no place to tell compelling stories, which The Original Series solved by presenting solely external threats in its planet-of-the-week format. Star Trek: The Next Generation successfully broke out of that mold, though its early seasons were plagued by problems caused by the infamous "Roddenberry Box" forbidding intrapersonal conflicts among the crew. The incursion of the Borg in Season 3, Episode 26, "The Best of Both Worlds, Part I" definitively broke the Box, with Will Riker taking command of the Enterprise amid constant head-butting from his de facto Number One, Elizabeth Shelby.

As The Next Generation continued to explore the story potential of protagonists with differing opinions, Deep Space Nine fully committed to the dark side of the 24th century. Set aboard a rickety former mining station near the planet Bajor, it looked for drama within the limits of the Federation's power, and how characters like Captain Benjamin Sisko have to sometimes make compromises for the greater good. The Dominion proved to be the perfect fulcrum for that as a technologically advanced fascist theocracy, ruled by the Changelings who condition their subjects to worship them as gods. Besides their technological advantages, the Dominion's military forces are truly terrifying.

The ground troops are genetically engineered constructs known as the Jem'Hadar; they are bred to be soldiers and physically dependent upon a chemical called ketracel white to ensure their absolute loyalty. Their commanders, administrators and tactical advisors are a species known as Vorta, who are preternaturally cunning and built to influence foes with honeyed words before unleashing the Dominion's full forces on them. Worst of all were the Changelings themselves, who could perfectly imitate anyone they wished and who would abduct key personnel and replace them with duplicates to sow distrust and discord. On top of all that, they had a vast empire of slave labor at their command, and with the Bajoran wormhole providing a conduit to the Alpha Quadrant, they potentially had the ability to overrun the Federation in a manner of days.

The Dominion Pushed the Moral Limits of The Federation

The complete history of vulcans in the federation era of star trek.

The Dominion were designed the way they were in order to push the Starfleet characters -- specifically Sisko -- into making compromised choices for the sake of survival . That included below-the-belt tactics such as mining the entrance to the wormhole to prevent any ships from getting through, and Section 31's use of biological warfare to infect the Changeling collective with a fatal virus. The most telling moment came with Season 6, Episode 19, " In the Pale Moonlight ," in which Sisko has a hand in forgery, duplicity and murder in order to bring the Romulans into the war.

It is perhaps Star Trek's darkest moment, and a canny exploration of the franchise's famous adage, "the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few." Sisko's efforts bore fruit, and the united Alpha Quadrant was finally able to push the Dominion and its allies to the point of capitulation at the end of Season 7. But the cost was terrible, with millions dead and vast regions of the Alpha Quadrant devastated by war . The Dominion retreated back to the other side of the wormhole, and Odo -- a wayward Changeling who helped convince his people to halt the fighting -- returned to the collective to help end their distrust of "the solids."

As antagonists, they worked incredibly well, thanks in part to a slow build-up that left their origins and motives in the dark until they were well into their infiltration of the Alpha Quadrant. They provided the ideal crucible to test the Federation's principles under fire. While Roddenberry's bright future survived, it emerged with scars that never quite healed. Not even the Borg could top the Dominion as foes, and fans have even gamed out a hypothetical conflict between the Dominion and the Borg, with more or less even odds on which species will prevail.

Despite that, their footprint in the franchise is much smaller than other major antagonists. They returned to the Gamma Quadrant after the war, and essentially vanished with the series finale of Deep Space Nine. With its sister series Star Trek: Voyager focusing on the Borg , and the follow-up Star Trek: Enterprise taking place centuries before the opening of the wormhole, there was no convenient way to resurrect them. The franchise simply moved on, and the Dominion was left collecting dust on the shelves.

Picard Gives The Dominion the Comeback They Deserve

How deep space nine elevated the ferengi from jokes to serious characters.

The latter-day Star Trek renaissance provided an opportunity to do something special with the Dominion. Picard Season 3 depicted a dying, vengeance-obsessed Borg queen pairing up with a radical faction of Changelings to take another run at destroying the Earth. They replace key Starfleet members and sabotage the transporters aboard most of its starships by infecting those who use it with a subtle hormone that allows the Borg Queen to take control of them remotely. The complex plot sees Picard and the reunited crew of the Enterprise-D work to uncover the truth before the sinister coalition springs its trap.

Beyond the cleverness of the plot and its borderline horror-movie premise, Amanda Plummer's Changeling Vadic cements herself as an instant fan favorite. She and her cohorts were captured and experimented on during the Dominion War, rendering them traumatized and filled with hate. Plummer always excels in eccentric roles, which feels like a being who hasn't quite mastered the art of humanoid emotional expression. She's manic, mercurial, and extremely bad at hiding the depths of her hatred.

While Vadic meets her just fate before seeing her plans come to fruition, her presence lingers in the series' final few episodes, to the point of outclassing the Borg Queen herself. She also gives a face to the Changelings, who were usually by definition disguised as someone else. Their representative (known only as "female Changeling") was presumptuous and cold, which forms a stark contrast with Vadic's onscreen villain. It demonstrates the effects of their defeat on the Dominion's self-styled god-rulers.

Picard helps the Dominion demonstrate a viable arc over time, in the same manner as the Klingons, the Romulans and the Borg. Fans can see how the loss has affected them as individuals, as well as the political fallout from it all. Vadic belongs to a splinter group rather than the bulk of the collective. It gives them the depth and sense of continuity they need to rightfully join the ranks of elite Star Trek villains . With Picard opening the door to further appearances, and with other antagonists suffering from decades of overuse, an extended return could help define the future of the franchise.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Picard are both streaming in their entirety on Paramount+.

The Star Trek universe encompasses multiple series, each offering a unique lens through which to experience the wonders and perils of space travel. Join Captain Kirk and his crew on the Original Series' voyages of discovery, encounter the utopian vision of the Federation in The Next Generation, or delve into the darker corners of galactic politics in Deep Space Nine. No matter your preference, there's a Star Trek adventure waiting to ignite your imagination.

Borg Queen's ship

• View history

The vessel was present when Species 10026 was assimilated in 2375 ; Seven of Nine and the Borg Queen were aboard while this assimilation took place. Later, the vessel pursued the Delta Flyer when it escaped from the Unicomplex after rescuing Seven. The vessel was destroyed when the USS Voyager collapsed a transwarp conduit it was traveling in. ( VOY : " Dark Frontier ")

• 1 Personnel
• 2.1 Background information
• 2.2 Apocrypha
• 2.3 External links

Personnel [ ]

• See : Borg Queen's vessel personnel

Appendices [ ]

Background information [ ].

No designation was formally given for this starship design. It remains unknown whether any other ships of this type exist.

The script of "Dark Frontier" described this vessel merely as "massive" and "a complex, distinctive geometric shape we've never seen before."

Because senior illustrator Rick Sternbach – who usually designed the ships in Star Trek: Voyager – was busy with other aspects of the production for the double-length episode "Dark Frontier", the challenge of designing the Borg Queen's vessel fell to Dan Curry . To do so, he worked closely with Brandon MacDougall who designed and made the 3D model at effects house Foundation Imaging . ( Star Trek: The Official Starships Collection , issue 109, p. 10)

The Borg Queen's vessel followed the design ethos of previously established Borg craft while also being deliberately unique-looking. " For the Borg Queen's ship, we decided to make it distinctive and instantly recognizable as different [than] the rest of the Borg fleet, " explained Curry. " Obviously, Borg aesthetics dictated that it should be some sort of geometric form […] It was just a matter of coming up with an appropriate geometric form, and I think the diamond shape was a group effort. " ( Star Trek: The Official Starships Collection , issue 109, pp. 10-11; Star Trek Voyager: A Celebration , p. 206)

Curry and MacDougall also wanted to add a sense of liveliness to the craft. This notion was inspired by the opportunity to feature moving starship parts in VOY, which had only recently become doable thanks to the series having changed to depicting ships with CGI rather than with practical studio models. To fulfill their goal of making the Borg Queen's ship look dynamic, Curry and MacDougall decided the outer structure could spin around the center when the ship was in motion. ( Star Trek: The Official Starships Collection , issue 109, p. 11)

Once the basic form of the vessel was settled on, MacDougall was given the task of filling in the finer details, including the placement of shipboard weapon systems. " The lack of need for cannon-like structures and the complex details of the ship allowed great flexibility, " explained Curry, " and we could make weapons emanate from wherever we wanted. " ( Star Trek: The Official Starships Collection , issue 109, p. 11)

Ultimately, Curry was highly pleased with MacDougall's work on the design, remarking, " Brandon's final version was brilliant. " ( Star Trek: The Official Starships Collection , issue 109, p. 11)

Foundation supervisor Robert Bonchune thought the aim of making the craft appear distinct was successful. He commented about the vessel, " That's totally different […] It's not like any Borg ship we have ever seen. " ( Cinefantastique , Vol. 31, No. 11, p. 33)

Apocrypha [ ]

According to the video game Star Trek Armada (and many other games), this ship class is referred to as a "Borg diamond", due to its shape and the fact that it follows the naming conventions used in describing the cube and sphere (though if the naming convention is properly adhered to, "Borg octahedron" is the more applicable designation).

In Star Trek Online , the Borg Queen commands a vessel of this class, termed the "Borg Queen's Octahedron", during an assault by Battle Group Omega against the new Unicomplex being built in the Beta Quadrant ("Hive Onslaught"). Another vessel of this class also appears during the multiplayer event "Borg Disconnected", where it engages in a four-way battle between an Undine Dreadnought, a Voth Citadel Dreadnought , and a fleet of Delta Alliance (Federation, Klingon , and Romulan Republic) ships during three simultaneous attacks on the Delta Quadrant's Unicomplex.

External links [ ]

• Borg diamond at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• Borg Queen's ship at StarTrek.com
• 3 Ancient humanoid

• Non-player characters
• Elite Tactical Drones
• Season Seven: New Romulus
• VisualEditor
• View history

The Borg Queen serves as the central control mechanism for the Borg Collective and typically resides in a Borg Unicomplex . Each queen is a female. After death, she will be replaced by a new queen.

• 2 Missions involved
• 5 External links

History [ | ]

• In 2366 , a Queen, along with Locutus of Borg , an assimilated Jean-Luc Picard - led a Cube on a mission to assimilate Earth and the Federation . Fortunately, the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise -D were able to rescue Picard and destroy the Cube, but the Queen was able to survive by unknown means.
• The Queen led a second attack on Earth in 2373 , this time attempting to travel back in time and prevent the flight of the Phoenix . The Queen was defeated by the crew of the Enterprise -E .
• A second Queen, an assimilated member of Species 125 , had been created by 2375 . In that year she operated out of Unimatrix 01, a massive Unicomplex in the Delta Quadrant . She attempted to capture Seven of Nine from the U.S.S. Voyager , but Voyager was able to destroy her vessel .
• In 2376 a Queen attempted to crush an insurrection based out of " Unimatrix Zero ", a virtual realm populated by errant Borg drones. She was foiled by Voyager the following year .
• In 2378 , the Queen tried to protect a transwarp hub in the Delta Quadrant, but failed due to the actions of a future Kathryn Janeway . The Queen died, and moments later her entire Unicomplex was destroyed.
• In 2409 , a new Queen has emerged and leads the Collective in a massive invasion of the Alpha and Beta Quadrants , mainly targeting the Federation and the Klingon Empire .

Missions involved [ | ]

• Unlike her predecessors, the Borg Queen encountered in “Into the Hive” appears to be an assimilated Romulan .

Gallery [ | ]

The Queen in her alcove.

Promotional image of the Queen.

External links [ | ]

• Borg Queen at Memory Alpha , the Star Trek Wiki.
• Borg Queen at Memory Beta , the non-canon Star Trek Wiki.
• 1 Delta Recruitment
• 3 Playable starship

Memory Beta, non-canon Star Trek Wiki

A friendly reminder regarding spoilers ! At present the expanded Trek universe is in a period of major upheaval with the continuations of Discovery and Prodigy , the advent of new eras in gaming with the Star Trek Adventures RPG , Star Trek: Infinite and Star Trek Online , as well as other post-57th Anniversary publications such as the ongoing IDW Star Trek comic and spin-off Star Trek: Defiant . Therefore, please be courteous to other users who may not be aware of current developments by using the {{ spoiler }}, {{ spoilers }} OR {{ majorspoiler }} tags when adding new information from sources less than six months old (even if it is minor info). Also, please do not include details in the summary bar when editing pages and do not anticipate making additions relating to sources not yet in release. THANK YOU

• Memory Beta articles sourced from video games
• Memory Beta articles sourced from games
• Memory Beta articles sourced from episodes and movies
• Memory Beta articles sourced from novelizations
• Borg Collective
• Political titles
• Time travellers
• View history

The Borg Queen.

The Borg Queen is the apparent leader of the Borg Collective . Throughout the history of the Borg there have been a number of queens who seem to take on the same character, perhaps indicating the Queen is a persona within the collective which could, in theory, occupy any number of different drone bodies.

• 1.1.1 The beginning
• 1.1.2 Side effects
• 1.1.3 Legacy
• 1.1.4 Destiny
• 1.2 Purpose
• 1.3.1 First Splinter timeline
• 1.3.2 Other alternate realities
• 3.1.1 Appearances
• 3.2 External link

Biography [ ]

Creation [ ].

There are a number of accounts as to how the Borg Queen came into being. Due to time loops and temporal revision resulting from time travel and causality, it is difficult to determine a linear order for which origin might have preceded the others.

The beginning [ ]

The Borg Queen was subject of a world that had been struck down by a deadly disease, which was slowly killing much of the population. The scientists on the planet developed bio-organic regenerators , a nanotechnology which would be injected into a subject's circulatory system, eradicate the disease and rebuild the patients crippled body. The Queen to be, in very ill health, was selected to be the subject of the first experiment. It was successful in eliminating the disease but also began to change her, making her stronger than ever before, replacing her broken body with technology and giving her drive and determination to share her gift with others and make them as perfect as her superior self had become. The establishment attempted to resist but the Queen was not willing to let herself be destroyed and instinctively used the nanoprobes to assimilate others. She quickly led her drones in assimilating the entire planet and set to work to spread her gift to the rest of the galaxy. ( Strange New Worlds VI short story : " The Beginning ")

Side effects [ ]

Alternatively: The Borg Queen was originally a woman named Danzek , (or Asil *), who was the daughter of a scientist named Mynzek . Mynzek, with the aim of finding a cure for a terrible disease established a research base near the event horizon of a black hole . He sent ships out via a series of wormholes to capture subjects and run experiments on them in the search for a cure. Using the gravitational time dilation effect of the black hole he could coordinate centuries of research being conducted on the ships, which for those on the base took only days. Danzek was the guinea pig for these experiments on one ship, integrated with technology and biological components from numerous races she became powerful and returned to the station controlling a group of drone-like test subjects. After a brief confrontation in which the station was destroyed, Danzek, queen of her subjects escaped through a wormhole, which thanks to the temporal distortion generated by the exploding station could have sent here anywhere in space and time. ( TOS comic : " Side Effects ")

The Vulcan Commander T'Uerell engaged in a mind meld with the Borg and discovered that the Collective was created by the probe V'Ger to serve as its heralds. During the Collective's development, it was discovered that females of certain species possessed a mental prowess and were capable of sifting through the endless amounts of information. These would become the first Borg Queens. However, the development of the Queen resulted in an entity that sought its own objectives and eventually abandoned the goals set forth by V'Ger. ( ST video game : Legacy )

Destiny [ ]

A species known as the Caeliar lived on the planet Erigol , having long ago harnessed claytronic atoms , programmable matter able to be controlled via a hive mentality . The Caeliar dedicated their lives to a Great Work , hoping to find the next evolutionary step for them. However, a deliberately malicious feedback pulse destabilized their Work and their solar system, forcing the evacuation of their cities. One of the cities, Mantilis was thrown through a subspace tunnel into the far past . The few Earth Starfleet officers who survived decided to make their living separate from the Caeliar, but were eventually forced to return. One Caeliar remained alive, Sedín , who merged with the three remaining humans, one of whom was Kiona Thayer who became the precursor to the first Borg Queen. ( ST - Destiny novels : Gods of Night , Lost Souls )

The Borg Queen who succeeded in traveling back to 2063 and assimilating Earth had no memory of the name Sedín when confronted by the Jean-Luc Picard of the First Splinter timeline , indicating this origin was specific to only that reality, or possibly that circumstances had caused memory of that to be purged from her alternate timeline version of the Collective. ( ST - Coda novel : Oblivion's Gate )

Purpose [ ]

Borg Queen connectivity.

The Queen appears to lead the Borg, having total control over the entire Collective, however it is possible she acts as a figure head, a voice for the Collective, much like Locutus . When it appears she is ordering the Collective she may simply be enacting the Collective's will. As the Queen is also part of the collective it may be possible she stands in the mid ground, part of Collective decision but filtering out the best ideas herself, bringing "order to chaos". ( TNG movie & novelization : First Contact , et al.) Should the Borg Queen die, any drones under her command would be forced to enter hibernation. ( TNG video game : Armada II )

History [ ]

For years, the Queen selected industrial age worlds and did not assimilate them, but instead gave a select few on these planets technology, advancing the cultures dramatically over a small time period. Among these inhabited worlds were those of Species 642, Narisia , and 1429, a planet which later developed methods of traveling through time in starships. When either the species made significant progress towards something useful or lost their usefulness to her purposes, the Queen severed the assistance and cut off their links. ( ST novel : Engines of Destiny )

In 2367 , the Borg Queen was aboard a Borg cube that was sent to assimilate the planet Earth . Starfleet attempted to amass a fleet at Wolf 359 , which was devastated using the knowledge gained from Locutus of Borg , the assimilated form of USS Enterprise -D Captain Jean-Luc Picard . Although the cube was destroyed over Earth, the Queen was able to escape, either in body or mind, and was present when the Borg again attempted to assimilate Earth in 2373 . This time, the USS Enterprise -E and the USS Defiant were among the fleet that destroyed the cube in the Sol system. The Enterprise -E was drawn into a temporal vortex as a Borg sphere attempted to travel back in time so that the Queen could warn herself of the resistance put up by the fleet. Instead, the time travel technology threw the sphere and Enterprise back to 2063, where the Starfleet crew was able to prevent the Borg from assimilating the Enterprise and Earth, preventing the warp drive that led to the first contact between Humans and Vulcans . ( TNG episode : " The Best of Both Worlds ", TNG movie : First Contact ; ST novel : Engines of Destiny )

In an alternate timeline where Montgomery Scott rescued James T. Kirk before he could be absorbed into the Nexus , the Enterprise -E did not exist, and thus the Queen traveled back in time and was not defeated as before. She and her drones assimilated Earth, erected a sensor barrier around the Sol system, and then methodically proceeded to assimilate surrounding worlds; she also reactivated links to her subject worlds. However, a time traveling Enterprise -D wound up in 2293, which the Queen became aware of through a Narisian named Balitor . The Queen possessed her body and attempted to attack and kill Picard, but was unsuccessful, and she terminated all Narisians linked to the Collective. The Queen was able to then control a Borg cube and eventually destroy the Enterprise , but her existence and that of her timeline ceased to exist when Picard was able to return Kirk to the Nexus. ( ST novel : Engines of Destiny )

By 2375 the Borg Queen was a member of Species 125 . ( VOY episode : " Dark Frontier ")

First Splinter timeline [ ]

The First Splinter timeline which diverged from the " prime" version of reality in the 2380s decade would see two different Queens, perhaps owing to causality of some notable time travel events. The first was created aboard a Borg Cube in Sector 10 . The creation process was, however, halted by the crew of the USS Enterprise -E a short time after coming online. ( TNG novel : Resistance ) Later, the Borg would capture and assimilate Admiral Kathryn Janeway - making her into a replacement Queen. She would be destroyed after being infected by Project: Endgame. ( TNG novel : Before Dishonor )

A new Borg Queen was created, and as soon as she emerged from her chrysalis, she had two objectives - destroy Earth and crush the Federation. Since the Borg believed that they could no longer gain anything by assimilating Earth, they would instead destroy it; thus, the Collective launched their invasion in 2381 , and the new Borg Queen utilized the connection to the former drone Locutus to taunt him. She also oversaw the invasion forces, moving between vessels and not allowing former drone Seven of Nine to lock onto her position. Due to the former Earth Starfleet Captain Erika Hernandez being infused with Caeliar catoms , she was able to listen in on the Borg Collective and locate the Queen as she led an armada to attack the planet Deneva . Noting the similarities between the voice of the collective and the Caeliar gestalt , Hernandez and the USS Aventine attacked and boarded a Borg scout craft to secure its vinculum to control the Collective via Hernandez. Although Hernandez was able to cause the collective to turn on itself for a short period, the Queen transferred her presence to that ship and assaulted the remaining crew, and regained control of her forces, causing them to sleep and regenerate quickly. After the Caeliar city ship of Axion came to the Azure Nebula to lure the invading Borg Collective there with its Omega molecule generator , the Queen overrode all other objectives and had the entire fleet move to the nebula. Once there, Hernandez presented herself for assimilation to act as a link between the Caeliar and the Queen, allowing them to reach past and find the remains of Sedín, which they dissolved along with the Collective. ( ST - Destiny novels : Gods of Night , Mere Mortals , Lost Souls )

Other alternate realities [ ]

A Borg Queen in an alternate reality created by changes made to history by Q in the 2020s decade was encountered by Jean-Luc Picard . This Queen was coerced into assisting Picard's crew into creating time travel computations to undo Q's meddling. She died in the past, in 2024 , but lived on through a mental link with Agnes Jurati , who became assimilated as a new Queen who would be encountered by Starfleet in the year 2400. ( Star Trek: Picard season 2 )

Appendices [ ]

Appearances and references [ ], appearances [ ].

• Star Trek: First Contact
• Star Trek First Contact (Marvel 1996)

External link [ ]

• Borg Queen article at Memory Alpha , the wiki for canon Star Trek .
• 1 The Chase
• 2 Preserver (race)
• 3 Totality (Andromeda)

Giant Freakin Robot

Star Trek's Best Writer Predicted Voyager's Biggest Weakness

Posted: April 11, 2024 | Last updated: April 11, 2024

Star Trek’s Best Writer Predicted Voyager’s Biggest Weakness

Star Trek: Voyager has a legion of fans, but the show has also had some very fierce criticisms over the past decades. Perhaps the most common criticism is that the show overused the Borg, giving us so many run-ins with these cybernetic villains that they no longer seemed like a nearly unstoppable threat. Ironically enough, one of the best Star Trek writers, future Battlestar Galactica showrunner Ronald D. Moore, predicted this problem while writing on The Next Generation episode “I, Borg,” years before Voyager was created.

The Borg Were a Major Threat

The Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “I, Borg” was the first episode to bring these bad guys back since the explosive two-part episode “The Best of Both Worlds.” In those episodes, we saw how the Borg easily obliterated 39 Starfleet vessels at the Battle of Wolf 359, and the only reason the Enterprise was able to stop the Borg Cube before it could attack Earth was by hacking into their Collective through the assimilated Captain Picard. The show’s writers knew they wanted to bring these fan-favorite foes back, but they had to find a way to explain how the Enterprise could survive another encounter.

Hugh Develeoped A Personality Once He Wasn’t Terminally Online

Eventually, the Star Trek writers came up with a clever answer: instead of “I, Borg,” having the ship and crew fighting an entire Borg vessel, they must figure out what to do once they rescue the lone survivor of a crashed Borg ship. That survivor is Hugh, a Borg who develops his own personality once he is separated from the Collective. Captain Picard must then face the moral dilemma of whether to send Hugh back to the Borg with a virus that could wipe out the entire Collective or allow him to seek asylum, something which might put the Enterprise in perpetual danger.

Stop Stopping Unstoppable Villains

That Star Trek episode ends on a bitter note, with Hugh (who appears in a later TNG two-parter as well as the first season of Picard) choosing to return to the Collective to protect the Enterprise and his new bestie, Geordi LaForge. Though he didn’t write this ep, veteran Star Trek writer Ronald D. Moore praised the story as “a real good way to bring the Borg back” instead of having another fight because “we keep saying they’re unstoppable and if we keep stopping them it undercuts how unstoppable they truly are.”

Somehow The Borg Returned

For the most part, Star Trek: The Next Generation stuck closely to Moore’s thoughts about the Borg. The Enterprise crew never fought against the proper Collective again in the series, with their last TNG appearance having our protagonists fighting a splinter group of Borg who were weakened by Hugh’s individuality before being discovered and weaponized by Data’s evil brother Lore. The Enterprise was able to defeat a Borg Cube in First Contact, but only with the help of an entire fleet and Picard’s special knowledge (courtesy of his prior assimilation) about the vessel’s secret weak point.

Fan Favorite Borg

Fast-forward to the third season finale of Star Trek: Voyager, and the Borg (who originated in the Delta Quadrant) made a splashy appearance that ultimately gave us the fan-favorite character Seven of Nine. That two-parter was great, but the show kept returning to these villains. By the time Voyager was over, the Borg would appear (in one form or another) in a whopping 23 episodes.

Even for the biggest fans of Star Trek: Voyager, this led to constant questions of why the Borg didn’t simply destroy Voyager as easily as they destroyed all of the ships at Wolf 359. In fact, it was almost certainly those fan questions that prompted a specific line of dialogue in the series finale “Endgame” where the Borg Queen tells Seven of Nine “You’ve always been my favorite” and that because Seven cares for the Voyager crew, the Collective has “left them alone.”

Voyager Made Sense At The Last Possible Moment

In other words, Star Trek: Voyager did address (albeit at the very end) why the Borg didn’t just assimilate Janeway and her crew, but that doesn’t change the fact that the prophecy of Moore came true: constantly showing our heroes defeating these “unstoppable” foes made them seem like far less of a threat. Unfortunately, the franchise didn’t learn from this lesson, and the Borg honestly seemed less threatening than ever before when they returned (with what I can only hope was a last gasp) in the third season of Picard.

For this viewer, the de-fanged Borg proved one thing: that yawning, like resistance, was completely futile.

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Published Apr 2, 2024

The Final Frontier in Flavorful Coffee is Here

Pop Culture Coffee boldly launches new Star Trek coffee brand for fans and coffee connoisseurs alike!

StarTrek.com

Pop Culture Coffee , an innovative new company with unique collaborations with popular franchises, has announced the launch of its highly anticipated Star Trek branded coffees. This extraordinary collection, made under license from Paramount Consumer Products, aims to cater to coffee connoisseurs, Star Trek fans, and collectors alike, bringing together the love for the beloved franchise and the art of brewing the perfect cup of coffee. Customers can purchase the official Star Trek coffee in the U.S. directly from www.popculturecoffee.com , and the product will also be available soon at select specialty retailers and conventions nationwide.

The new Star Trek branded coffees by Pop Culture Coffee seek to celebrate the spirit of the legendary franchise by offering a flavorful array of carefully curated coffee blends inspired by the various aspects of the Star Trek universe. Each of the limited-run collectible coffee blends is adorned with stunning artwork featuring iconic Star Trek characters, cultures, and starships.

Pop Culture Coffee

Launching first will be CAPTAIN’S CHOICE — a smooth medium roast featuring The Original Series ' Captain James T. Kirk on the bag, as well as VULCAN VANILLA — a full-flavored Madagascar vanilla roast featuring Mr. Spock.

Following up will be a dark KLINGON RAKTAJINO brown sugar roast, featuring The Next Generation 's Worf. Not far behind, and to celebrate First Contact Day, will be the FEDERATION FRENCH ROAST featuring Captain Jean-Luc Picard and a light BORG BEANS roast highlighting the Borg Queen from Star Trek: First Contact on the bag. More coffee profiles will be released throughout the year.

But it's not just about the packaging — Pop Culture Coffee is committed to delivering an exceptional coffee experience. All of the company’s coffees are triple-picked by hand, ethically sourced from unique origins all over the world, 100% organic Arabica beans, and small-batch craft roasted to ensure a rich and flavorful cup of coffee with every brew. Beyond the cup, Pop Culture Coffee has an entire department dedicated to meticulously pairing natural flavors for explosive great-tasting flavor-fusions. The end result? Fans will have the opportunity to enhance their coffee-drinking experience while showcasing their love for Star Trek .

Pop Culture Coffee’s founder Ethan Terra shares his vision behind the creation of Pop Culture Coffee, "My lifelong passion for movies, pop culture, collectibles, and coffee led me to establish Pop Culture Coffee. We are driven by a singular purpose — to fuel people’s passions. Whether it’s art, movies, anime, music, gaming, sports, or celebrity icons, we all have something we’re enthusiastic about, and that enthusiasm should be championed. In a world where millions rely on coffee to kick start their day, we believe that coffee should be nothing short of extraordinary."

With its fusion of sci-fi fandom and coffee culture, Pop Culture Coffee is set TO BOLDLY GO WHERE NO ONE HAS GONE BEFORE. Pop Culture Coffee invites coffee connoisseurs, fans, and collectors alike to embark on a journey of taste and imagination, bringing together two passions in a truly innovative and enjoyable way. So grab a mug, set your tastebuds to stunned, and indulge in the flavors of the Star Trek universe with every sip.

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Screen Rant

12 star trek female villains ranked, worst to best.

Star Trek has a long list of female villains that have faced off against Kirk, Picard, Janeway, and Sisko, but who's the best at being the worst?

• The best Star Trek female villains include complex characters like the Intendant and the Female Changeling.
• The Female Romulan Commander and Alixus offer early examples of intriguing female villains in Star Trek.
• While some female villains like the Borg Queen excel, others like Seska from Voyager fall short of their potential.

While the canon of iconic Star Trek antagonists can often feel like an exclusive boy's club, many of the franchise's best villains have been complex female characters. For nearly 60 years, many of the best known villains in Star Trek movies and TV shows have been male, from Khan Noonien Singh (Ricardo Montalban) to Shinzon (Tom Hardy). Looking back, it feels quite regressive, and speaks to a wider issue with how women were written in early Star Trek .

For example, the notorious Star Trek: The Original Series finale "Turnabout Intruder" features Dr. Janice Lester (Sandra Smith), who was presented as a hysterical woman scorned, rather than a multi-layered and complex villain. However, even in those early days, there were one or two memorable female villains that could hold their own against Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner). While Star Trek 's movie villains have been predominantly male, the TV shows of the 1990s and 2020s introduced some truly iconic recurring female villains to the franchise .

Every Major Star Trek Villain Species, Ranked

12 alixus (gail strickland), star trek: ds9, season 2, episode 15, "paradise".

The impact of Alixus (Gail Strickland) is relatively minor. However, Alixus is an incredibly compelling Star Trek: Deep Space Nine villain who deserves to sit alongside some franchise greats. In DS9 season 2, episode 15, "Paradise", Commander Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) and Chief Miles O'Brien (Colm Meaney) are stranded on a planet that has abandoned technology in favor of a more simple life. Alixus is the leader of this traditionalist community, but Sisko and O'Brien soon unearth the darkness at its core. Alixus was a Federation scientist who had theorized that a return to nature would be better for humanity in the long run.

Gail Strickland had previously appeared with Avery Brooks in Spenser: For Hire .

To prove her point, she sabotaged the colony ship, the SS Santa Maria, forcing it to crash-land on a remote planet. Alixus installed a duonetic field generator that prevented all technology from operating, forcing the colonists to live by her new vision. To prove her thesis, she resorted to cruel punishments and stood by and let her colonists die from easily curable ailments. Gail Strickland plays Alixys with such nuance, transforming "Paradise" from a filler episode into an underrated Star Trek: Deep Space Nine classic . Her electric scenes with Sisko foreshadow the DS9 captain's later conflicts with other zealots.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

*Availability in US

Not available

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, also known as DS9, is the fourth series in the long-running Sci-Fi franchise, Star Trek. DS9 was created by Rick Berman and Michael Piller, and stars Avery Brooks, René Auberjonois, Terry Farrell, and Cirroc Lofton. This particular series follows a group of individuals in a space station near a planet called Bajor.

11 Seska (Martha Hackett)

Star trek: voyager, seasons 1 to 3.

Star Trek: Voyager 's Seska (Martha Hackett) was a fantastic idea for a character, but very poorly executed. Introduced as one of the secondary Maquis crew members of the Valjean, it quickly became clear that Seska was hiding something. Not only did Seska want Commander Chakotay (Robert Beltran) to lead a mutiny against Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew), she was also a Cardassian spy in disguise. These two elements combined ended up confusing Seska's character in Voyager , as an outnumbered Cardassian would surely have set their sights on an alliance with Janeway, not the Maquis .

Martha Hackett previously played the Romulan Sub-commander T'Rul in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 's season 3 premiere "The Search, Parts I & II".

Eventually, Seska left the USS Voyager, to make an alliance with the Kazon in an attempt to capture the ship. The motivations for Seska's plan to capture Voyager were seemingly rooted in her disappointment at being scorned by her former lover, Chakotay. Disappointingly, one of Star Trek: Voyager 's most interesting villains was reduced to the level of Captain Kirk's evil ex-girlfriend, Janice Lester . The most successful plot by Seska was only discovered after she'd died, when a holodeck simulation of a Maquis mutiny turned into a deadly trap in Voyager season 3, episode 25, "Worst Case Scenario".

Star Trek: Voyager

The fifth entry in the Star Trek franchise, Star Trek: Voyager, is a sci-fi series that sees the crew of the USS Voyager on a long journey back to their home after finding themselves stranded at the far ends of the Milky Way Galaxy. Led by Captain Kathryn Janeway, the series follows the crew as they embark through truly uncharted areas of space, with new species, friends, foes, and mysteries to solve as they wrestle with the politics of a crew in a situation they've never faced before. 

10 Asencia, The Vindicator (Jameela Jamil)

Star trek: prodigy season 1.

Janeway's ship was once again infiltrated by an enemy alien in Star Trek: Prodigy season 1. Masquerading as a Trill ensign, Asencia helped track the USS Protostar, in the hopes of activating its deadly Living Construct weapon and destroying Starfleet. Asencia's true identity was discovered after Janeway and the USS Dauntless rescued the Diviner (John Noble). Hoping that the two Vau N'AKat could work together, Asencia was shocked when the Diviner chose his daughter Gwyndala (Ella Purnell) over their plan to destroy Starfleet. In the Prodigy season 1 finale, Asencia successfully activated the Living Construct and returned to her own time .

Asencia's story will presumably continue in Star Trek: Prodigy season 2 , as Admiral Janeway heads into the alternate future to rescue Captain Chakotay and his crew from the Vau N'Akat. It's therefore hard to rank Asencia higher until her story plays out in full. However, judging by the ruthlessness and cunning that Asencia displayed in Prodigy season 1, it's clear that Janeway and the crew of the USS Voyager-A will have their work cut out for them.

Star Trek: Prodigy

Star Trek: Prodigy is the first TV series in the Star Trek franchise marketed toward children, and one of the few animated series in the franchise. The story follows a group of young aliens who find a stolen Starfleet ship and use it to escape from the Tars Lamora prison colony where they are all held captive. Working together with the help of a holographic Captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew), the new crew of the USS Protostar must find their way back to the Alpha Quadrant to warn the Federation of the deadly threat that is pursuing them.

9 Female Romulan Commander (Joanne Linville)

Star trek: the original series, season 3, episode 4, "the enterprise incident".

In Star Trek: The Original Series , season 2, episode 4, "The Enterprise Incident", Captain Kirk is tasked with stealing a Romulan cloaking device . Part of the plan requires Lt. Commander Spock (Leonard Nimoy) to seduce an unnamed Female Romulan Commander (Joanna Linville), who is attracted to the Vulcan. However, unlike Seska in Star Trek: Voyager , the Female Romulan Commander's ambitions lie far beyond romantic interests. She believes that capturing the USS Enterprise for the Romulan Star Empire will be a boon for her career progression, and wants Spock to serve alongside her.

Years after the events of "The Enterprise Incident", the Federation was banned from developing cloaking technology thanks to the Treaty of Algeron.

Having seemingly turned on Kirk and even killed him in a fight, Spock keeps the Female Romulan Commander interested while Kirk infiltrates the ship. However, the Commander saw through the ruse and beamed aboard the Enterprise to try and take it by force, or have it destroyed. The plan to steal the USS Enterprise is foiled, and the Female Romulan Commander is left embarrassed by falling for Kirk and Spock's fight and losing the cloaking device to the Federation. Interestingly, Spock doesn't throw the Female Romulan Commander into the brig, and instead takes her to standard quarters, implying his seduction wasn't all pretend.

Star Trek: The Original Series

Star Trek: The Original Series follows the exploits of the crew of the USS Enterprise. On a five-year mission to explore uncharted space, Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) must trust his crew - Spock (Leonard Nimoy), Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy (Forest DeKelley), Montgomery "Scotty" Scott (James Doohan), Uhura (Nichelle Nichols), Chekov (Walter Koenig) and Sulu (George Takei) - with his life. Facing previously undiscovered life forms and civilizations and representing humanity among the stars on behalf of Starfleet and the United Federation of Planets, the Enterprise regularly comes up against impossible odds and diplomatic dilemmas.

8 Lursa and B'Etor Duras (Barbara March and Gwynyth Walsh)

Star trek: tng, ds9 and star trek generations.

The House of Duras were sworn enemies of Worf, Son of Mogh (Michael Dorn) in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine . After Worf killed the House's patriarch in TNG season 4, episode 7, "Reunion", Duras' sisters Lursa (Barbara March) and B'Etor (Gwynyth Walsh) were left seeking vengeance. The House of Duras tried to instigate a Klingon Civil War, and even provided a Bajoran terrorist with the explosives needed to destroy the wormhole in DS9 season 1. Following the aborted Klingon Civil War, the Duras sisters effectively became guns for hire, placing them in the orbit of Dr. Tolian Soren (Malcolm McDowell) in Star Trek Generations .

Star Trek Generations was a disappointing end for the Duras Sisters, as they never really got a final confrontation with Worf . Sidelined as Soran's muscle, the sisters and their Klingon crew did manage to destroy the USS Enterprise-D, but their own ship was destroyed soon after. Weirdly, Generations never lingered on what a big deal this would have been for Worf, given how the House of Duras had been behind many of his issues with the Klingon Empire. This dissatisfying ending means that the Duras Sisters can't make it into the top tier of female Star Trek villains.

Star Trek: The Next Generation

Star Trek: The Next Generation is the third installment in the sci-fi franchise and follows the adventures of Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew members of the USS Enterprise. Set around one hundred years after the original series, Picard and his crew travel through the galaxy in largely self-contained episodes exploring the crew dynamics and their own political discourse. The series also had several overarching plots that would develop over the course of the isolated episodes, with four films released in tandem with the series to further some of these story elements.

7 Sela (Denise Crosby)

Star trek: the next generation, "redemption" and "unification".

Sela was the Romulan daughter of Tasha Yar (Denise Crosby), who spent years working for the intelligence services. Sela's first notable operations against the Federation were brainwashing Lt. Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton) to assassinate Klingon governor Vagh (Edward Wiley) in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The Mind's Eye". Sela tried again to destabilize relations between the Klingon Empire and the Federation when she supported the Duras Sisters' attempt to take control of the Klingon Empire. Sela's plans were foiled by Captain Picard and a Starfleet armada that prevented Romulan reinforcements from entering Klingon space .

Denise Crosby conceived the character of Sela as a means to return to Star Trek: The Next Generation after enjoying the experience of making "Yesterday's Enterprise".

Sela became the mastermind behind an attempted Romulan invasion of Vulcan, by manipulating Ambassador Spock's reunification mission. Using a holographic duplicate of Spock, Sela hoped to convince the Federation that an incoming fleet of Vulcan ships contained a Romulan peace envoy, and not an invasion force. Picard, Data, and Spock foiled Sela's plan, and she was incapacitated with a Vulcan nerve pinch, never to be heard from again. It was an ignominious end for Star Trek: The Next Generation 's best Romulan villain.

Spock’s Star Trek TOS Romance Explains His TNG Vulcan & Romulan Dream

6 valeris (kim cattrall), star trek vi: the undiscovered country.

Lt. Valeris (Kim Cattrall) is a great Star Trek villain because there's a genuine emotional impact on the crew of the USS Enterprise-A. It may have been better if Saavik betrayed Spock in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country , but the weight of Valeris' betrayal is still impactful. Valeris' cold Vulcan logic dictated that peace with the Klingons was illogical , which is why she joined the Khitomer Conspiracy. Spock's protégé helped to frame Captain Kirk and Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley) for political assassination, and deliberately hindered the investigation.

While Gene Roddenberry objected to her inclusion, Saavik was actually written out of Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country because Kirstie Alley declined to return to the role.

Valeris' coldness makes her quite a compelling Star Trek villain, as she genuinely believes her many crimes are based on logic. It's a fascinating insight into how interpretations of logic can differ from Vulcan to Vulcan, as proved by Spock and Valeris' clash in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country . Interrogated by Kirk and forced to endure a controversial mind meld with Spock, Valeris finally revealed the identities of the conspirators, and was taken to the Khitomer Conference to publicly unmask the conspiracy.

5 Vadic (Amanda Plummer)

Star trek: picard season 3.

Vadic was one of the most unpredictable foes ever faced by Admiral Jean-Luc Picard. A Changeling tasked with delivering Jack Crusher (Ed Speleers) to the Borg Queen (Alice Krige), Vadic took some big swings to achieve her goals in Star Trek: Picard season 3. Vadic's awesome ship, the Shrike, almost destroyed the USS Titan-A and its crew during their multiple skirmishes in the course of Picard season 3 . Vadic even found time to kidnap Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) in an attempt to secure the assistance of Captain William T Riker (Jonathan Frakes).

Amanda Plummer is the daughter of Christopher Plummer, who played the villainous General Chang in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country .

It's a testament to Amanda Plummer's unique portrayal of a Star Trek villain that it wasn't immediately clear that Vadic was a Changeling . The scenes in "Dominion" in which Vadic described the brutal treatment of Changeling prisoners during the Dominion War were beautifully performed by Plummer, adding depth to Star Trek: Picard season 3's villain . It even elicited a degree of sympathy, but Vadic soon lost that when she began executing members of the USS Titan-A's crew. Eventually, she was blown out into space by Jack Crasher, where, ironically, her Changeling body solidified then exploded into pieces.

Star Trek: Picard

After starring in Star Trek: The Next Generation for seven seasons and various other Star Trek projects, Patrick Stewart is back as Jean-Luc Picard. Star Trek: Picard focuses on a retired Picard who is living on his family vineyard as he struggles to cope with the death of Data and the destruction of Romulus. But before too long, Picard is pulled back into the action. The series also brings back fan-favorite characters from the Star Trek franchise, such as Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan), Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton), Worf (Michael Dorn), and William Riker (Jonathan Frakes).

4 The Intendant (Nana Visitor)

Star trek: deep space nine (various).

The Intendant, the Mirror Universe variant of Major Kira Nerys (Nana Visitor) is one of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 's most memorable villains. DS9 brought back the Mirror Universe in a big way, and the Intendant played a key role in each return visit. Kira's dark opposite was effectively the Gul Dukat of the Mirror Universe's Terok Nor, ruling the station with intimidation, manipulation, and violence. She was assisted in her tyrannical role of the station by Elim Garak (Andrew Robinson), who opposed some of the Intendant's more holistic methods .

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine producer Michael Piller had been rejecting Mirror Universe episodes since his days on Star Trek: The Next Generation . However, he and Ira Steven Behr finally figured out that the most interesting story to tell would be the aftermath of the fall of the Terran Empire, as seen in DS9 's Mirror Universe episodes.

The Intendant eventually lost control over the Terran rebels, thanks to various Mirror Universe incursions by Kira and Captain Sisko . This led to her losing her position, and being imprisoned aboard Regent Worf's flagship in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 7. Hoping to win favor with Worf, the Intendant orchestrated a plot to have the flagship fitted with a stolen cloaking device. However, the cloak was sabotaged, leaving the flagship open to attack from the Terran rebels, striking another blow against the Klingon-Cardassian Alliance, and giving the former Intendant a chance to escape with her life.

3 Kai Winn (Louise Fletcher)

Kai Winn (Louise Fletcher) was one of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 's most fascinating characters. First introduced in the DS9 season 1 finale, Vedek Winn was a religious zealot who objected to Sisko's closeness to the Bajoran Prophets. This jealousy of Sisko eventually poisoned the calculating religious leader even further, pushing her to more and more extreme lengths to bring herself closer to her gods. Played by Oscar winning actress Louise Fletcher , Kai Winn's descent into hell across seven seasons of DS9 was compulsive viewing.

Louise Fletcher and Michelle Yeoh are the only two Star Trek stars to win the Academy Award for Best Actress.

While Kai Winn had a redemption of sorts in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 's finale, it was still rooted in the cowardice and pettiness of her character. When she realized that the Pah wraiths wanted Gul Dukat as their emissary and not her, she decided to put her faith back in Sisko. While that saved Bajor from destruction, it's hard to ignore that Kai Winn's motivations were once again rooted in Bajor's higher beings ignoring her.

2 The Female Changeling (Salome Jens)

The Female Changeling (Salome Jens) was Star Trek: Deep Space Nine 's most interesting female villain . The spokesperson for the Dominion Founders, she was a master manipulator, and a steely villain with little regard for the "solids". The Female Changeling's attempts to manipulate Constable Odo (René Auberjonois) were compelling viewing, and ultimately solidified the Constable's loyalty to his friends aboard DS9. Seen as a god by the Vorta, the Female Changeling also appeared to delight in manipulating Weyoun (Jeffrey Combs) by playing him off against the Breen in the latter stages of DS9 's Dominion War .

Salome Jens also played the First Humanoid, now referred to as a Progenitor, in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode, "The Chase", which Star Trek: Discovery season 5 is a sequel to.

Salome Jens' performance as the Female Changeling was utterly compelling, delivering her lines with an icy sense of superiority befitting a species that set themselves up as gods. When the Dominion War ended in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine finale, the Female Changeling was taken into custody for her multiple war crimes. However, despite Odo's attempts to educate his people to move past the Female Changeling's ideology, those like Vadic still wanted to destroy the Solids following the Dominion War.

1 The Borg Queen (Alice Krige)

Star trek: first contact, voyager, picard.

Introduced in Star Trek: First Contact , the Borg Queen (Alice Krige) is the greatest female villain that the franchise has produced . Unlike her drones, Star Trek 's Borg Queen had a personality, and used that to seduce others into joining the Collective. Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner) seemingly fell under the Borg Queen's spell in First Contact , but was merely distracting her so he could avert the Collective's plan to sabotage the Phoenix's first warp flight. The Borg Queen's consciousness was stored elsewhere, able to be downloaded into a new body, which is why other actress have played the role originated by Krige.

Each Borg Queen performer has brought something new to the character, the most notable being Annie Wersching and Alison Pill's partnership in Star Trek: Picard season 2 . Their co-dependent relationship revealed new information about the Borg Queen that humanized her somewhat. Through her connection to the Queen, Dr. Agnes Jurati (Alison Pill) discovered that the Borg long for connection, and the Queen is ultimately lonely. Rather than being a retcon, this was a callback to the Queen's previous relationships with Data and Picard, confirming that they were the only matches for Star Trek 's most enduring female villain.

Star Trek: First Contact is available to stream on Max.