Battle of Wolf 359 The Battle of Wolf 359 took place in 2367 in the Wolf system , roughly eight light year s from Earth , between the forces of the United Federation of Planets and the Borg Collective . It was recorded as one of the most destructive battles in Federation history prior to the Dominion War . Prelude to Wolf 359 . In 2366 , on stardate 43989 . 1 , the 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 Shelby of Starfleet Tactical arrived to investigate the disappearance . ( ) An away team determined that the colony had been wiped away by weapon s 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 outpost s . That evening at 1900 hours , the 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 USS " Enterprise " set a course for the " Lalo " s 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 charge s 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 . William T . Riker , as acting captain , planned to force the cube out of warp in order to attack it , using the " Enterprise " s 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 . ( ) The cube easily shrugged off the " Enterprise " s 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 . The Klingon Empire was in the process of dispatching warships of its own to assist in the defense , and the possibility of requesting support from the Romulan Star Empire was even considered . ( ) The battle . In 2367 , around stardate 44002 . 3 , the cube entered the Wolf system . Locutus hailed the assembled fleet , ordering the ships therein to disarm and escort the cube to the Sol system . Immediately thereafter , the fleet engaged the Borg . The was among the first ships destroyed , with its saucer section partially vaporized while approaching . The was quickly neutralized thereafter . When the and the rushed to rescue the disabled ships , they , too , were destroyed , along with numerous other starships entering the combat zone . Their valiant efforts notwithstanding did not prevent the eventual destruction of the USS " Saratoga " and the USS " Bonestell " . 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 people were assimilated . ( ) By the time that the " Enterprise " arrived , there were no life signs or power readings from the remaining hulks . ( ) 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 pod s . 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 . ( ) 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 pod s , 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 . ( ) Legacy . Initiated around 2367 , the development of the heavily armed was a direct result of the battle . However , as the Borg scare abated somewhat , the development process was slowed down , until it was decided to commission the prototype vessel to counter the Dominion threat , in 2371 . Commander Benjamin L . Sisko , the former first officer of the lost USS " Saratoga " and a survivor of the battle , was part of the team which developed the " Defiant " . ( ) The ship was called upon to fulfill its original design intent , during a subsequent Borg incursion in 2373 , when it battled a Borg cube in the Battle of Sector 001 . ( ) In 2367 , Admiral Norah Satie used the Battle of Wolf 359 as a pretext to question Captain Picard ' s integrity during a board of inquiry on Romulan subversion . She implied that Picard ' s relations with the Borg had led to the battle , and hence he was untrustworthy . ( ) In 2369 , Picard again was painfully confronted with the consequences of Locutus ' actions , as he met Commander Sisko for a briefing while the latter took command of Deep Space 9 . Sisko was , on that occasion , only barely able to contain his disdain for Picard , whom he blamed for the death of his wife , she having been lost in the battle . ( ) In 2370 , for a few nights around the time of the fourth anniversary of the massacre at Wolf 359 , memories of the battle and the death of his wife caused Benjamin Sisko to suffer a bout of insomnia . These painful recollections were subconsciously triggered by the anniversary of the battle . ( ) In 2371 , Vice Admiral Toddman commented to Sisko that the Battle of the Omarion Nebula between the Dominion and a joint Tal Shiar and Obsidian Order fleet sounded " like Wolf 359 , all over again . " Sisko admitted that he had had the same thought . Like the Starfleet ships that stood against the Borg at Wolf 359 , very few Cardassian or Romulan ships survived this encounter with the Dominion . ( ) In 2372 , Benjamin Sisko ' s father , Joseph Sisko , remarked to his son that the threat of a Dominion invasion of Earth had frightened the population of the planet to a degree not seen since the Borg scare . ( ) In 2373 , Commander Chakotay encountered the Cooperative , a group of Borg drones whose members included at least one member who had been assimilated at the Battle of Wolf 359 and returned to the Delta Quadrant , but who had later been liberated , thanks to a malfunction . ( ) In 2373 , in the run - up to what was to become the Battle of Sector 001 involving another Borg cube , Vice Admiral ordered Captain Picard , now commanding the , to stay out of the upcoming battle . Despite Picard ' s protestations , it was felt that he would add an " unstable element to a critical situation " , due to his experiences as Locutus in the Wolf 359 crisis . Eventually , Picard opted to ignore his orders and entered into the fray , proving that instead of being a liability , his experiences were rather an asset in that battle . ( ) In 2374 , the Alpha Hirogen Karr , in control of the , wanted to create a simulation of the Battle of Wolf 359 , as it was one of the " notorious battles " of the Federation . ( ) In 2379 , when Picard found himself in a predicament aboard the " Scimitar " , he was yet again painfully reminded of his experiences as Locutus when Shinzon taunted him with the remark , " " What do your Borg friends say ? Resistance is futile . " " ( ) Parallel universes . In one quantum reality , Picard was killed during the Borg incident and Riker succeeded him as captain of the " Enterprise " - D , with Worf as his first officer . In another quantum reality , the Borg had completely decimated the Federation by 2370 . A battered " Enterprise " - D , which was likewise under the command of Captain Riker , was one of the few remaining Starfleet ships left . The Riker of this reality was desperate not to return to his universe , after the crew had escaped from it through a quantum fissure . They attempted to stop Worf from sealing the fissure . Their " Enterprise " - D was destroyed , due to warp core containment field failure , when another " Enterprise " - D attempted to disable the aforementioned warp core and unwittingly used too much force for the seriously - damaged " Enterprise " to survive . ( ) Starships at Wolf 359 . The following is a partial list Federation starship s that participated in the Battle of Wolf 359 . A fleet of forty Federation starships was mobilized for the assault . Thirty nine ships were lost in the battle . ( ) Appendices . Background information . The Battle of Wolf 359 was never portrayed fully on - screen . Due to budgetary limitations , only the aftermath was seen in . Instead , the producers created a memorable scene by portraying the drifting wreckage and stunned reactions , upon viewing the carnage , of the " Enterprise " s bridge officers . ( " " text commentary ) Two and a half years later , portions of the battle were shown as a in the teaser for the pilot , . ( " " , pp . 17 - 18 ) The concept of featuring the battle as part of a back story for the character of Benjamin Sisko was decided upon by Michael Piller , who had written the " Best of Both Worlds " two - parter , and Rick Berman . Piller stated , " " Obviously , I was very familiar with the Battle of Wolf 359 from my work on ' The Best of Both Worlds ' . To make that a backdrop to this man ' s life was not unusual , because it was a backdrop in " my " life , and in Rick ' s life . And we knew it would resonate with the fans . " " Writing the conflict into the " Emissary " script also enabled the writers to include a couple of cameo appearances for Patrick Stewart in the DS9 pilot episode . The choice to make Sisko a survivor of the battle was made because the writers found it appealing to put Sisko , as the new series CO , at odds with Picard and to begin Sisko ' s personal journey in the series as " a man who is broken , and who begins to repair himself . " ( " " , p . 15 ) Depicting the battle . The depiction of the battle in " Emissary " was originally much more elaborate than it became . DS9 ' s visual effects supervisor Robert Legato was instructed to compose the battle footage before live - action production commenced . He recalled , " " It was fun to do because I was allowed to make it up from scratch ; there was no backlog of stock footage for it . The script said that they were right in the middle of this big fierce , ugly battle , and I had tons of debris in all the shots . Ships that were burning , on fire , flying past the camera . I made sure that all the debris had the correct names on it , the names of the ships that were mentioned in ' The Best of Both Worlds ' , so the episodes would tie together . " " Unfortunately , Legato had to re - composite the footage , as the decision was made to shoot the live - action as if the ships were about to enter into the battle . " " I had to go back and take all the extraneous ships out . It was a heartbreaker , because it was a lot of work and very good - looking stuff – much bigger than anything seen on a TNG show . " " ( " " , pp . 17 - 18 ) Legato had used some debris stock footage from the " The Best of Both Worlds " episode , but virtually all of it had to be left out , save for a fleeting shot of a hulk seen in the window of Sisko ' s escape pod as it left the " Saratoga " . That shot was previously used as the burning hulk of the in " The Best of Both Worlds " , as identified in dialogue spoken therein . In " Emissary " , however , it was that of a nameless hulk , as the name " Melbourne " was now usurped by the " Excelsior " - class vessel , destroyed a few scenes earlier on . Still , it has the distinction of being the only studio model , besides that of the Borg cube , present in both depictions of the Battle of Wolf 359 and its aftermath . Depicting the aftermath . A variety of new " kit - bash " starship classes were constructed to depict the floating wrecks in the aftermath of the battle , which included the " Freedom " - class , the " Niagara " - class , the " Cheyenne " - class , the " Challenger " - class , the " Springfield " - class , the " New Orleans " - class , and the " Nebula " - class . ( Of all these starship classes , only the " Nebula " - class went on to make further appearances . ) The " Freedom " - and " Niagara " - classes were constructed by Greg Jein , Inc . , using that organization ' s own production assets . Greg Jein elaborated on his company ' s involvement , " " " The Best of Both Worlds " , we did a lot of the debris field . Some of them were probably too gruesome for the actual close - ups , ' cause we had something like a shuttlecraft that was ripped open " [ remark : the Type 7 shuttlecraft " Kotoi " ] " , and had bodies strapped to the chairs inside and had some corpses with ragged clothes hanging around on sticks to show floating in space , but I don ' t think they didn ' t any of that or else they were so small you couldn ' t see it . But we did a three engined ship for that and we did a one engined ship for that , which I think I still have someplace , because I just let them use that out of our stock inventory . We just took parts of the " Enterprise " we had left over and added nacelles and some other crap to it like that . " " ( " The Best of Both Worlds ( Blu - ray ) " special feature , " Regeneration : Engaging the Borg " ) Other classes were constructed by Ed Miarecki , using AMT " Star Trek " model kits ( Nos . 6618 and 6619 ) . The ships that were created by Miarecki were embellished with custom - made parts and appropriately modified and battle - damaged by Michael Okuda . Likewise , the Mars Defense Perimeter sentry pod was also a kitbash , this one constructed by Rick Sternbach , who used parts of submarine model kits to create the pod . Though not discernible on - screen , Okuda did fabricate names and registry numbers to be applied onto some of the models , " " I had custom rub - ons , called INTs , made . Not decals , but yes , they did have names and registry numbers . The " Melbourne " , " Kyushu " , and " Chekov " were specifically labeled as such because of the script references to those ships . I didn ' t know about the re - voiced name ( " Tolstoy " ) until I saw the final episode on the air , so I didn ' t do a label for that ship . " " When Locutus actor Patrick Stewart , still wearing his Borg outfit , chanced upon Okuda working on one of the models , applying battle damage , the latter could not resist , " " He asked me what I was doing . I showed him the model and said something like , " See what you did ! " " " Despite lasting only a few seconds , the scene in which three sentry pods are destroyed while the Borg cube passes Mars entailed a lot of work , such as the sentry pod having to be multiplied and " destroyed " in post - production . The scene was particularly challenging because it involved so many different elements that had to be composited together . Robert Legato , who served as a visual effects supervisor not only on the DS9 episode , but also on the TNG one , observed , " " If it ' s a battle sequence that involves three or four ships , the work goes up in geometric proportions . For ten seconds of screen time , you ' ve shot four or five days . That ' s a big shot . It has Mars in it , it has the starfield , the three ships blowing up , and the Borg ship flying towards us and away . " " This partly explains why , at that point in time , it was decided not to show the battle on - screen . ( " Cinefantastique " , Vol . 22 , No . 2 , p . 33 ) Uncertain starships at Wolf 359 . The following is a listing of ships that were either referred to in canon or mentioned in valid resource material by production staffers as having " potential " connections with the battle , but are not canonically confirmed as having such . The script of " The Best of Both Worlds , Part II " states Admiral Hanson ' s ship was a " Galaxy " - class starship . This would be supported by the fact that his message to the crew of the USS " Enterprise " - D came from a " Galaxy " - class battle bridge . There was also a free - floating " Galaxy " - class type of nacelle seen in the debris field , though several other classes use similar nacelles as well . A scene cut from the aired version of " Emissary " mentions the USS " Gage " in dialogue , ordered to attack the Borg cube with the " Melbourne " and the " Kyushu " . Although this line did not make it into the episode ' s aired edit , the states the ship was involved in the battle and was an starship with the registry NCC - 11672 . Furthermore , according to the " Star Trek Encyclopedia " ( 3rd ed . , pp . 420 & 513 ) , the USS " Roosevelt " is stated to be an " Excelsior " - class starship with the registry NCC - 2573 and the USS " Tolstoy " is stated to be a " Rigel " - class starship with the registry NCC - 62095 . A statement quoted by Captain Kathryn Janeway in from Captain Amasov leaves it open to interpretation if the USS " Endeavour " was involved in this battle or another unknown skirmish with the Borg , prior to 2371 . The " Star Trek Encyclopedia " ( 3rd ed . pp . 135 , 580 , 604 ) states this ship was a " Nebula " - class starship at the Battle of Wolf 359 , and the sole surviving ship based on the fact that the ship faced the Borg again in . According to " The Art of Star Trek " , the concept models used to portray the B - 24 - CLN and previously seen on - screen at in were also photographed as part of the debris field seen in " The Best of Both Worlds , Part II " . The presence of both in said scene has yet to be confirmed in the aired version of the episode . There are , however , several deep background objects that still remain unidentified . It is also feasible that the models were filmed but that this footage was originally not used in the compositions for " The Best of Both Worlds , Part II " . Surplus Depot Z15 scenes in were mostly composed from shots previously made for the former episode , and the B - 24 - CLN at least was clearly identifiable in them . The same goes for the various proto - " Excelsior " - class models , originally built for " The Search for Spock " , as Mike Okuda reiterated in regard to the graveyard scene , " " The mysterious four - nacelled ship appears to have been another " Excelsior " study model built by Bill George for " Star Trek III " . I think there might have been a photo of it in one of the " art - of " books . We had at least three or four of those Bill George models kicking around . One of them is still hanging in the DS9 graphics department " " . Okuda ' s text commentary on the DVD confirms that it was the model built for the auto - destruct scene of the that was re - used to portray some of the " Constitution " - class wreckage . As to the ship listings of the participants in the battle , Michael Okuda remarked , " " The various ' mystery ' ships in the BOBW2 listings in the " Encyclopedia " were all ships that were either referred to in dialogue , or were models that were filmed for the ' graveyard ' scene . We did not make up any specifically to flesh out the " Encyclopedia " , although we ( the production staff ) did NOT come up with a definitive list of ships in the battle . I was tempted to try to develop one , but it occurred to me that future episodes might need to ' remember ' a previously forgotten Wolf 359 ship for as - yet - unwritten storylines , just as the DS9 pilot did with Sisko ' s ship , the " Saratoga . " Continuity . The episodes , , and refer to people that were assimilated during the battle and were taken to the Delta Quadrant before the Borg cube was destroyed at the end of . In fact , " Infinite Regress " suggests that Seven of Nine personally assimilated at least one of those people . The Klingon starships mentioned in dialogue , specifically , in Hanson ' s pronouncement , " " We ' ve mobilized a fleet of forty starships at Wolf 359 and that ' s just for starters . . . the Klingons are sending warships . . . " " were never seen on - screen or mentioned again . According to StarTrek . com , these Klingon reinforcements did not arrive in time to join the battle . In " Unity " , when Chakotay entered into a neural link with the Borg Cooperative , he however witnessed a battle between a Klingon squadron and a Borg cube of the same type that Starfleet engaged at Wolf 359 , the squadron faring little better than its Federation counterpart . The battle scene shown in " Unity " was stock footage from , newly edited in post - production . In , the Borg Queen states that she was present at the battle , a fact confirmed by Picard ' s memories of her , as shown in . When Picard asks the Borg Queen ( in that film ) how she survived the battle , she replies it is sad that he only thinks in " three - dimensional terms . " She is later on similarly portrayed as surviving the total destruction of her own personal ship in . Apocrypha . Listed to the right are several Starfleet vessels which also participated in the battle , according to various licensed apocryphal , but non - canon sources . According to the short story " Trust Yourself When All Men Doubt You " in the novel " The Sky ' s the Limit " , the " Nebula " - class wreckage seen in the debris field in " The Best of Both Worlds , Part II " and " Emissary " was , in fact , a second USS " Melbourne " , launched early while still under construction . According to the novel " The Return " ( written by William Shatner with Judith and Garfield Reeves - Stevens ) , one starship at the battle was the USS " Hoagland " . The Peter David novel " Vendetta " also mentions that one ship was destroyed in the battle . In the Malibu Comics " Star Trek : Deep Space Nine " issue # 6 , the USS " Kyushu " and the USS " Melbourne " were depicted as an " Excelsior " - class starship and a standard - configuration " Nebula " - class vessel . It was not stated which was intended to be which . The canonical " Kyushu " was a " New Orleans " - class ship . Also , starships , , USS " Reliant " , and were stated to have been at the battle . In the Marvel Comics " Star Trek : Voyager " comic book contained in issue # 10 , a story entitled " " deals with survivors of Wolf 359 , trapped in a temporal rift , with " Voyager " attempting to rescue the survivors before the nature of the rift forces them to return to the battle or risk the destruction of " Voyager " . Three " Miranda " - class ships ( one with a " roll bar " ) , and a dozen or so Federation starships of unidentifiable class were depicted as being at the battle , as were a " Nebula " - class , a " Galaxy " - class , and an " Excelsior " - class ship . Also , at least one Klingon Bird - of - Prey , at least three starships , and one ship were seen fighting the Borg cube . The USS " Melbourne " was stated to have been Admiral Hanson ' s ship . In the " Doctor Who " crossover miniseries , " " , the Battle of Wolf 359 is seen in three issues , first in issue 5 as a flashback and again in issue 6 and 7 , when and his companions and travel back in time to the Battle of Wolf 359 to recover a copy of the Borg central archive from the Borg Cube during the battle after the present version is ' deleted ' by the Doctor ' s enemies , the . During the Doctor ' s visit to the battle , he describes it as a ' ' , a concept introduced in " Doctor Who " to refer to an event in time and space that absolutely has to happen with if there are any attempts to alter it , with other examples of fixed points being the and the Doctor ' s " " at Lake Silencio . In issue 5 , a " Galaxy " - class starship and four others with somewhat similar hull configurations are seen approaching the cube . In issue 6 , three ships are seen attacking the cube , two appear to be " Ambassador " - class and one " Excelsior " - class . The depicts the wrecks of two " Constitution " - class ships , one " New Orleans " - class ship , one " Ambassador " - class ship , one previously unseen class ship , and two unidentified ships . The magazine itself depicts a " Galaxy " - class ship attacking the cube . The video game " " has Q sending the player back in time to this battle to prevent the destruction of the " Excelsior " - class USS " Righteous " , which ( at the time ) was assumed to have been destroyed . The game culminates with the player and the ship being sent to the present by Q , after the player has averted the ship ' s destruction , thus allowing the timeline to be preserved and give the " Righteous " the chance to gain a unique amount of information about the Borg . According to the video game " " , the starship USS " Kadosca " was destroyed in the battle . According to the video game " Starship Creator " , the USS " Victory " also participated in the Battle of Wolf 359 . Purportedly , the " Victory " was able to escape total destruction but suffered heavy damage , with the ship ' s first officer also being killed . In the " Star Trek " novels that William Shatner wrote with the Reeves - Stevens , the Battle of Wolf 359 also occurred in the mirror universe . However , this battle was between the Terran Empire and the Klingon - Cardassian Alliance . The Terrans were routed , and the Alliance bombarded , vaporizing the Great Lakes and other landlocked bodies of water . The novel " Greater than the Sum " confirmed that many people were assimilated during the battle but , since the Borg cube had only a certain number of drone slots , they were sent back to the Delta Quadrant on that ship ' s Borg sphere . The novel " Headlong Flight " depicts an alternate universe where , among other differences , Tasha Yar is alive , Beverly Crusher is permanently transferred to Starfleet Medical , Wesley Crusher abandoned his plans to attend Starfleet Academy and remains on " Enterprise " as a consultant on special attachment , and Picard / Locutus died after the Battle of Wolf 359 , as Data and Shelby attempted to hack the Collective via Picard while he was still on the cube , triggering the self - destruct before they could get him off the ship . " Star Trek Online " once featured a mission wherein the player , aboard the USS " Saratoga " , is sent back in time by Q to prevent the death of Benjamin Sisko at the hand of time - travel ing Borg . The player can , however , go to Wolf 359 and view a memorial to the battle and its victims .