OVERVIEW

TACFLEET Technical Memorandum - Revised SD:110610

To some the Borg are the ultimate merging of organic and inorganic life
into a single, sentient conciousness.  To most observers, however, the
Borg are a relentless collective, devoid of any individuality, that
grows through the assimilation of any species that would benefit them.

The initial merging of humanoid life and technology that eventually
became the Borg is lost in history.  Based on direct observation, there
is evidence that the Borg reproduce biologically and that the
introduction of electro-mechanical devices begins at a young age.  The
Borg are also readily able to assimilate captives into the collective
quickly and with a high degree of success.  Much of the assimilation
process is carried out by nanoprobes that are injected into the captive.

The equipment incorporated into individual Borg (often referred to as
drones) serve a wide variety of functions.  All drones are equipped with
a subspace tranciever that ensures constant contact with the rest of the
collective.  The drones are also outfitted for increased visual acquity
and with data ports for computer interface.  Each drone will also have
specialized equipment suited to the task to which they are assigned.
Borg on boarding parties on Federation starships have been equipped with
random modulating personal shields and, in some cases, cybernetic energy
weapons.  These weapons operate along the same lines of the disruptors
used by the Jem'Hadar, which suggests prior contact between the Borg and
the Dominion.

For all the advances that the Borg have been able to achieve through
assimilation and a merging with technology, the price has been their
humanity and the benefits that come with it.  The Borg gain new
technology through assimilation, but they appear to be incapable of the
innovation required to develop new technology on their own.  This has
driven the Borg to continue to assimilate new species in order to
advance.

The first Borg ships encountered were cubic and ranged in size from 800
meters on a side to about 1500 meters.  Subsequently, spherical and
torpedo shaped ships were encountered, although these were significantly
smaller than the cubes.  A typical sphere is 400 meters in diameter.
All of these ships are fairly densely packed with equipment.  Some cubes
have an independent, spherical module that appears to be an escape
module containing critical systems.

Borg cubes have a central core which houses a distributed power
generation system.  A distributed systems is not as space efficient as a
single component, but it is consistent with the Borg philosophy (for
lack of a better term) of infinite redundancy.  Just as any drone can be
replaced with any other, the loss of a single power cell does not affect
the operation of the entire cube.

Borg warp propulsion systems exhibit a similar level of redundant
function.  The outer regions of each ship contain small clusters of warp
coils.  The positioning of the coils maintains a warp field around the
cubic ship.  In this case, the use of a distributed system has a great
deal to do with the geometry of the cube.  It is highly unlikely that
even the Borg have assimilated enough knowledge to develope a
centralized warp propulsion system that will generate a balanced,
efficient cubic warp field.

The Borg has also assimilated the technology to generate a transwarp
conduit that enables them to reach extremely high speeds.  Federation
analysis of the transwarp technology show that the conduit is a stable
tunnel through hyperspace.  It allows the Borg to quickly transition
into the Kappa band of hyperspace and traverse it safely.  The opening
of a transwarp conduit involves creating a stable passage into
hyperspace which remains open for a few seconds after the Borg ship has
passed through.  It is therefore possible to follow a Borg ship into the
transwarp conduit.

It is possible to cause significant damage to Borg cubes if they are
engaged at warp velocities and enough warp nodes on one face of the cube
can be damaged.  The asymmetric warp field that results is sufficient to
tear the cube apart.

The Borg use fairly conventional gravitic shielding.  They adjust their
shields to an optimum frequency to impede incoming fire.  This makes it
very difficult to engage the Borg using phasers.  The phaser harmonics
must be adjusted often to have an effect on the Borg ships.

The Borg's primary aim is generally not the destrustion of another
vessel, but rather the assimilation of its technology and crew.  The
Borg use a directed energy weapon, similar to a disruptor, in two
modes.  It can be used as a high-powered disruptor over great distances
to damage and disable starships.  It can also be tightly focused into a
cutting beam to remove a portion of a ship's hull.  The hull section is
analyzed by the Borg, and if it contains technology that interests the
collective, they begin the assimilation process.

The other device that allows the Borg to assimilate the crews of ships
is an extremely high powered tractor beam.  Usual Borg tactics involve
the use of weapons to damage a target ship.  The target ship is then
drawn in toward the attacking Borg ship and held by the tractor beam.
Once the ship is immobilized, assimilation of the ship and crew proceeds
swiftly.

Alton J. Reich
CAPT Jacob Miller
COMBATA, TACFLEET - Engineering Liason