Battle of Wolf 359

"I am Locutus of Borg, You will disarm all your Weapons and escort us to Sector 001. If you attempt to intervene we will Destroy you."

— Locutus of Borg

Battle of Wolf 359


Date:	2367
Result:	Decisive Federation defeat
Belligerents
United Federation of Planets	Borg Collective
Commanders
Admiral J.P. Hanson	Locutus of Borg
Strength
40 ships	One Borg Cube
Casualties and Losses
39 ships	11,000 killed or assimilated

The Battle of Wolf 359 was an encounter between the United Federation of Planets and the Borg Collective in early 2367. The battle was a crippling defeat for the Federation and it is one of the most destructive battles recorded in Federation history, next to the follow up Battle of Sector 001 and Dominion War.

Prelude[]

n late 2366, on stardate 43989.1, the USS Enterprise-D arrived at Jouret IV, twelve hours after contact with the New Providence colony was lost. The colony was found to have been completely destroyed, literally scooped from the planet's surface.

Admiral J.P. Hanson and Lieutenant Commander Elizabeth Shelby of Starfleet Tactical arrived to investigate the disappearance. An away team determined that the colony had been wiped away by weapons similar to those found on a Borg cube encountered by the Enterprise in System J-25. While investigating a planet within that system, the Enterprise had found corresponding devastation as that on Jouret IV. Likewise, devastation of this kind had been found even earlier, in 2364, on several Federation and Romulan outposts along the Romulan Neutral Zone, and, in 2365, on the sixth planet of System J-25.

Starfleet immediately began preparations for a possible Borg invasion. Admiral Hanson returned to Starbase 324 to discuss strategy with Starfleet Command. Starfleet imposed a fleet-wide standing yellow alert, and warned all Federation and allied outposts. That evening at 1900 hours, the USS Lalo departed Zeta Alpha II on a freight run to Sentinel Minor IV. At 2212 hours, Starbase 157 received a signal from the Lalo, reporting contact with a cubical object. The signal was cut off mid-transmission, and no response was received to further hails.

Upon receiving this information from Admiral Hanson, the Enterprise set a course for the Lalos last known location. With Starfleet reinforcements at least six days away, the Enterprise was on its own. En route to the coordinates, contact was made with the unknown vessel: a Borg cube. News was relayed to Admiral Hanson, who had begun to assemble a fleet to combat the invasion. The Borg demanded that the Enterprise captain, Jean-Luc Picard, beam himself aboard their vessel for an unspecified purpose. After a brief exchange of fire, the Enterprise retreated into the Paulson Nebula, with the Borg vessel close behind.

Hiding in the dust cloud, the Enterprise and her crew prepared for the inevitable resumption of conflict. Attempting to force the starship out, the Borg launched magnetometric guided charges into the nebula, causing minor damage to the Enterprise. Picard ordered the ship out of hiding, and in the ensuing attack, he was captured by the Borg, who then left at high warp, en route to Sector 001 and the core of the Federation.

The cube maintained its course, with the Enterprise in hot pursuit. First officer Commander William T. Riker, as acting captain, planned to force the cube out of warp in order to attack it, using the Enterprises deflector dish. An away team led by Lieutenant Commander Shelby was sent over to the vessel and succeeded in taking the Borg cube out of warp. In the process, it was discovered that Captain Picard had been assimilated by the Collective – he had been transformed into a Borg drone with the designation Locutus of Borg. Having temporarily disabled the cube, the Enterprise launched its deflector weapon. (TNG: "The Best of Both Worlds")

The cube easily shrugged off the Enterprises assault with the unwilling aid of Picard's knowledge and resumed its course to the Sol system. The Enterprise was forced to stay behind, having suffered extensive damage to its deflector array and warp core. In the meantime, Admiral Hanson and Starfleet Command had hastily assembled a fleet of forty starships, with more on the way.

Battle[]

The Excelsior-class USS Melbourne was among the first ships destroyed, with its saucer section partially vaporized while approaching. The Miranda-class USS Saratoga was quickly neutralized thereafter. When the USS Yamaguchi and the USS Bellerophon rushed to rescue the disabled ships, they too were destroyed, along with numerous other starships entering the combat zone. Their valiant efforts notwithstanding, they did not prevent the eventual destruction of the USS Saratoga and the USS Bonestell.

The USS Constance was also a participant in the battle. One officer, Liam Shaw, then an engineer, was one of 50 survivors aboard. He and the other survivors made their way to the life deck, but discovered there was only one ten-person escape pod remaining. Ultimately, a lieutenant would arrive and randomly select him and nine others to board the lifeboat and abandon ship, leaving the other 41 to perish aboard. The psychological impact of the battle and his survivor guilt would remain with him for the next 34 years.

Locutus, armed with the assimilated tactical knowledge of Picard, directed the battle from the Borg side. After bare minutes of combat, the fleet was faced with utter defeat. Admiral Hanson attempted to rally the remaining ships to launch a last-ditch assault, but his ship was destroyed shortly thereafter. His final words were to Captain Riker of the Enterprise, whom he contacted briefly during the course of the battle:

Communications were cut off in the midst of this transmission, and no further transmissions were received.

Ultimately, thirty-nine starships were lost, with a total loss of nearly eleven thousand lives. Many Starfleet personnel were assimilated. By the time that the Enterprise arrived, there were no life signs or power readings from the remaining hulks accept the USS Endeavour which was left for dead.

At least one civilian transport craft was caught in the battle. The ship was heavily damaged and had to evacuate its crew and passengers via their escape pods. The mother of one Starfleet officer was on board. The rest of the craft's passengers were most likely assimilated, though it is unknown if Locutus' ship did this, or if they were assimilated at a later date.

Wolf 359 Outcome — Outcome of the Battle

Aftermath[]

Following the battle, the cube resumed course towards Earth, completely undamaged. The Enterprise, having finally completed repairs, raced to catch up to the Borg. In preparation for a Borg invasion of Earth, a state of emergency was declared on the planet.

Brushing aside the last line of defense by easily destroying a flotilla of Mars Defense Perimeter sentry pods, the Borg cube took up position in Earth orbit. However, using the recaptured Locutus and his link to the collective mind of the Borg, the Enterprise crew managed to plant subversive commands to deactivate and destroy the Borg ship. Although the outcome of the invasion could have been much worse, the result of the battle was nothing short of disaster. The loss of such a large number of starships left the Federation unprepared for any new sustained conflict.

Commander Shelby took command of a special task force to rebuild Starfleet, but returning the fleet to previous deployment levels was expected to take up to a year.

Known Starfleet Vessels[]

Constitution II Class

USS Star League NCC-2101 (Destroyed)
USS Mckinley (Destroyed)
1 Unnamed Constitution II Class (Destroyed)

Miranda Class

USS Saratoga NCC- 31911 (Destroyed)
USS Hoagland (Destroyed)
USS Reliant (Destroyed)
2 Unnamed Miranda Classes (Destroyed)

Oberth Class

USS Bonestell NCC-31600 (Destroyed)
2 Unnamed Oberth Classes (Destroyed)

Excelsior Class

USS Righteous NCC-42451 (Destroyed)
USS Potemkin NCC-18253 (Destroyed)
USS Hood NCC-42296 (Destroyed)
USS Roosevelt NCC-2573 (Destroyed)

1 Unnamed Excelsior (Destroyed)

Alka-Selsior Class

USS Alka-Selsior NCC-1401 (Destroyed)

Constellation Class

USS Victory NCC-9754 (Destroyed)

USS Constance NCC-10364 (Destroyed)

Ambassador Class

USS Yamaguchi NCC-26510 (Destroyed)
USS Tolstoy NCC-62095 (Destroyed)
2 Unnamed Ambassador Classes (Destroyed)

New Orleans Class

USS Kyushu NCC-65491 (Destroyed)

Springfield Class

USS Chekov NCC-57302 (Destroyed)

Challenger Class

USS Buran NCC-57580 (Destroyed)

Freedom Class

USS Firebrand NCC-68723 (Destroyed)
Unnamed Freedom Class (Destroyed)

Nebula Class

USS Endeavour NCC-71805 (Heavily Damaged)
USS Melbourne NCC-62043 (Destroyed)
USS Bellerophon NCC-62048 (Destroyed)

Apollo Class

USS Gage NCC-11672 (Destroyed)

Zodiac Class

USS Yorktown NCC-61137 (Destroyed)

Galaxy Class

USS Liberator NCC-67016 (Destroyed)

Niagara Class

USS Princeton NCC-59804 (Destroyed)

Chyenne Class

USS Ahwahee NCC-71620 (Destroyed)
2 Unnamed Chyenne Classes (Destroyed)

Legacy[]

Widely considered one of the Federation's worst defeats in its entire history and a traumatic event for billions, the mere mention of Wolf 359 is considered an offensive action.

External links[]

Battle of Wolf 359 article at Memory Alpha, the canon Star Trek wiki.
Battle of Wolf 359 article at Memory Beta, the non-canon Star Trek wiki.
Battle of Wolf 359 article at Star Trek Expanded Universe.