Battle of Sector 001 The Battle of Sector 001 was a confrontation between the United Federation of Planets and the Borg Collective in 2373 , when a Borg cube attempted to assimilate Earth . The battle resulted in significant casualties for the Starfleet forces , as they were outgunned . The fleet ultimately managed to successfully destroy the cube , though , partially due to Captain Jean - Luc Picard having intimate tactical knowledge of the Borg . ( ) Prelude . The Battle of Sector 001 was preceded by the Battle of Wolf 359 , which took place six years before . In this infamous engagement , Starfleet proved to be less prepared to fight the Borg than in the future conflict , opposed by a single Borg cube in both incidents . The earlier battle represented a devastating defeat for Starfleet , orchestrated by Locutus of Borg , a personality forced upon Captain Jean - Luc Picard , while he endured assimilation into the Borg Collective . ( ; ) The cube he was aboard was able to come extremely close to Earth , but was eventually thwarted , due to efforts by the crew of Picard ' s command at the time , the . ( ) The second major Borg incursion into Federation space began one morning , shortly before stardate 50893 . 5 , when a Federation colony on Ivor Prime was destroyed . News or evidence of the attack reached nearby Deep Space 5 , and long - range sensor s detected a single Borg vessel . Vice Admiral was immediately informed , when it was determined the cube was on a direct course for Earth . Later the same day as the colony ' s annihilation , Hayes contacted Captain Picard aboard the , who was already instinctively aware of the Borg presence in Federation space and felt he should be part of the response force . However , Hayes believed that Picard ' s previous experience with the Borg , in particular his time as Locutus , would add an " unstable element to a critical situation . " Despite Picard ' s protests to Starfleet Command , the " Enterprise " was ordered to patrol the Romulan Neutral Zone , while a Federation fleet mobilized in the Typhon sector to intercept the Borg cube before it reached Earth . Following his ascertainment that the Borg were returning , Picard recorded a log entry in which he reported , " " The moment I have dreaded for nearly six years has finally arrived . The Borg , our most lethal enemy , have begun an invasion of the Federation , and this time , there may be no stopping them . " " Picard briefed his senior officers about the situation less than an hour before the cube was due to cross the Federation border . At this point , it would have taken the " Enterprise " , traveling at maximum warp , three hours and twenty - five minutes to rendezvous with the fleet . Though the crew strongly agreed with Picard ' s belief that they should join the Starfleet armada , the " Enterprise " adhered to Hayes ' instructions , remaining separate from the group . ( ) The Battle . The cube engaged the fleet soon after . The conflict was broadcast on Starfleet frequency 1486 , and was monitored by the " Enterprise " - E . Tactical orders regarding placements in the defense perimeter were issued to the , , and , with Hayes ' flagship advising the " Endeavour " to prepare to engage the cube whereas the latter two vessels were given instructions to reverse to a particular defensive position . Approaching at speeds exceeding warp nine , the cube broadcast its familiar litany : The fleet opened fire , but to minimal effect . The defense perimeter was quickly shattered . The cube thereafter made a minute alteration in its course , all the while unrelentingly continuing towards Earth . Just after the " Defiant " was given an order to persist with its attack , the flagship requested reinforcements from Starfleet Command . Casualty report s began to be submitted , including many dead and wounded aboard the . Realizing that the battle was not progressing well , Picard ordered the " Enterprise " - E back to Earth , in violation of his orders but with the full support of his bridge crew . Several of the other ships , including the " Defiant " and " Bozeman " , assaulted the cube all the way to the Sol system . By the time the " Enterprise " arrived in Earth orbit , a large portion of the fleet had already been lost , including Hayes ' flagship . However , by this point in the battle , the fleet had succeeded in dealing heavy damage to the cube ' s outer hull , causing fluctuations in the cube ' s power grid . The " Defiant " , commanded by Lieutenant Commander Worf , had been heavily damaged and was preparing to ram the cube when the " Enterprise " arrived , distracting the Borg long enough to transport the " Defiant " crew off their stricken ship , as her life support was failing . Picard , taking advantage of his residual link to the Collective , took command of the fleet and ordered all weapons to be targeted on a seemingly non - critical point on the cube . As it was destroyed , the cube launched a small , spherical craft from its interior – a type of Borg vessel not seen before and this may have been the Borg ' s aim all along . The barrage from the fleet ' s weaponry destroyed the cube , though the explosion also claimed several nearby Starfleet ships . ( ) Aftermath . After heading straight for Earth , with the " Enterprise " in hot pursuit , the sphere , launched from the Borg cube , began generating chronometric particle s , forming a temporal vortex . The sphere disappeared inside the vortex , near the boundary of Earth ' s atmosphere , traveling back in time to 2063 and disrupting First Contact . As the " Enterprise " was caught in the temporal wake of the vortex , its crew saw an assimilated Earth with a drone population of approximately nine billion . The " Enterprise " followed the sphere into the past , and was able to restore the normal version of history , before safely returning to the 24th century . ( ) This time travel event was described by Seven of Nine , as an example of the pogo paradox . ( ) The USS " Defiant " was deemed " adrift , but salvageable " and was soon returned to service at Deep Space 9 . ( ; ) Starfleet ' s losses in the battle were comparable to the earlier fleet action at Wolf 359 , despite the fact that the organization was much more thoroughly prepared since its last encounter with the Borg , the duration of the battle being a testament to this fact . ( ; ) The destruction of so many ships left the remaining fleet stretched thin across the quadrant . This was later rued by Captain Benjamin Sisko , shortly before Dominion forces passed through the Bajoran wormhole into Cardassia , and went on to prove of even greater significance following a later outbreak of hostilities with the Dominion . ( ) In addition to the losses inflicted by the Dominion , the casualties due to the Borg also caused a policy change within the Federation Council . The admission of new members was accelerated , as with the Evora , whose homeworld was declared a Protectorate in 2375 , one year after they achieved warp drive . First and foremost , however , the Council tended to act more questionably regarding ethics , even compromising , during the Ba ' ku incident – the principles upon which the Federation had been founded . ( ) Starships at the Battle of Sector 001 . The following is a partial list of Federation starships that fought in the battle . And at least : Appendices . Background information . Conception . The Battle of Sector 001 was inspired by the makers of being interested in presenting elements in the movie that " Star Trek " fans always enjoyed seeing in a " Star Trek " film ; fans had increasingly approved of battle sequences similar to those found in " Star Wars " . The likelihood that audiences would enjoy the battle sequence not only provided its genesis but was also why it was positioned near the start of the film . ( " " , p . 237 ) The battle was originally envisioned as being massive , much larger than how it wound up appearing on screen . Ronald D . Moore described the final version of the battle as " like , a quarter of the size of what we envisioned when we were writing the sequence and what we were hoping to get on the budget that we had . " ( audio commentary , / ) According to the official reference book " " ( pp . 203 & 208 ) , the battle was originally to have incorporated the " being gloriously destroyed " and the film ' s script originally presented the attacking Borg vessel not as a cube but as a tetragon , an odd - shaped rectangle . However , as written in the first draft script for " First Contact " , the " Endeavor " survives the engagement and no mention of the Borg tetragon is made . Variations on that shape of Borg vessel were nevertheless definitely considered at some point , being planned as the mothership for a Borg sphere . ( " " , pp . 208 - 211 ) Throughout the design process , the sizes of the sphere and its mother ship kept changing while remaining consistent with one another . ( ) Ricardo Delgado suggested that the large Borg vessel be an obelisk with the sphere set into its top . ( ) This concept took inspiration from ancient Egyptian architecture . " " I felt the obelisk was a natural geometric progression away from the cube , " " Delgado offered , " " while the obvious reference to Egyptology would also make the audience wonder if this was the Borg ' s first visit to Earth . " " ( " " , p . 292 ) However , this idea was eventually scrapped after it was discovered that the shape had an inherent lack of visual impact and excitement , particularly when shown from low angles . An alternative notion involved a squadron of Borg ships able to amass into a single vessel . " " It was like a Borg latticework that worked as one and moved as one , " " recalled ILM Associate Visual Effects Supervisor George Murphy . " " It would have made for a really nice visual – but it diminished the Borg villains to suggest they needed this many ships to beat Starfleet . " " ( " Cinefex " , No . 69 , p . 106 ) Although one of the tetragons was liked by everyone involved and was nearly approved , the writing staff finally decided to revive the concept of the Borg cube . ( ) Illustrator John Eaves concluded , " " As time went on , Rick Berman , Ron Moore and Brannon Braga rewrote the scenes , returning to the original cube style of the Borg ship . " " ( " " , p . 208 ) The Borg crafts in the first draft script for " First Contact " are comprised of multiple cubes as well as the single sphere . In the same document , the conflict is described as " " involving dozens of Starfleet and Borg vessels , engaged in a fierce firefight as far as the eye can see . Ships turning , twisting , firing , exploding . Lots of movement . It ' s a spectacular sight . " " The named Starfleet ships in this version of the conflict are not only the " Endeavor " and " Enterprise " - E but also the USS " Intrepid " . The first script draft of " First Contact " begins during the battle , on board a Borg sphere in which Human history was being studied . The sphere was locked in combat with a Federation ship that it quickly destroyed , all the while progressing away from the fracas . A Borg cube attacking a smaller Federation vessel , the " Endeavor " , was defeated by phaser fire from the " Enterprise " , which thereby successfully defended the " Endeavor " . After another cube was seen to have adapted to the " Enterprise " s phasers , the " Enterprise " brought about its obliteration via deployment of a single quantum torpedo . The same weapons were helping Starfleet win the battle , a situation which Admiral Hayes reported to the " Enterprise " from the " Intrepid " . In fact , the battle had so far resulted in the destruction of forty - seven Borg ships but merely fifteen Federation vessels . The " Enterprise " then pursued the Borg sphere out of the battle , on a heading to Earth . In common with many of the other elements in " First Contact " , the depiction of the battle had to be scaled down . ( audio commentary , / ) Ron Moore later characterized himself as having supported this plan , noting , " " I wasn ' t willing to make significant cuts elsewhere in the film for the extra bang - bang at the beginning . " " The numerous Borg cubes became one ship of that form . " " We [ . . . ] decided that a single cube was more in keeping with the way the Borg had been established before , " " recalled Ron Moore . The script writers opted to replace the " Endeavor " with the , so that they could have Worf join the " Enterprise " crew amid the battle . ( " " , p . 203 ) Ron Moore felt the writers needed such incentive before adding a of any sort . " " I doubt that we would ' ve put a " Defiant " - class ship in the b . g . solely as eye - candy , " " he speculated . Dialogue referring to the " Endeavor " can still be heard during the incident . The decision that the conflict would culminate in the Earth - bound Borg sphere emerging from the single attacking Borg cube was made late in the writing process . ( " Industrial Light & Magic – The Next Generation " , ) Despite the onslaught undergoing multiple conceptual alterations , Director Jonathan Frakes once commented that the resulting sequence still bears a " sort of " Star Wars " vibe , [ . . . ] with the shuttles [ " sic " ] against the size and scope of the Borg ship . " ( audio commentary , / ) Visualization . Visual effects company Industrial Light & Magic , which has done much work on the " Star Wars " films , was appointed to help depict the Battle of Sector 001 . In fact , Jonathan Frakes suggested that the sequence ' s resemblance to " Star Wars " might be additionally due to the involvement of ILM . ( audio commentary , / ) More specifically , " American Cinematographer " ( Vol . 77 , No . 12 , p . 70 ) has claimed that the visual effects shots of the battle are " - style . " As an in - joke , ILM Visual Effects Supervisor John Knoll even inserted a small digital model of " Star Wars " " " into the battle , which can be seen fleetingly flying near the Borg cube . John Knoll considered the creation of this extensive battle sequence as being " kind of a fun challenge . " ( " Industrial Light & Magic – The Next Generation " , ) To initiate the design process , Knoll had ILM Art Director Alex Jaeger start work on a series of animatics showing the confrontation . ( " Cinefex " , No . 69 , p . 101 ) Jaeger also created a concept illustration of the battle . ( " " , pp . 124 - 125 ) The relatively high quantity of starships involved in the conflict necessitated usage of CGI for the sequence . ( " Cinefantastique " , Vol . 28 , No . 6 , p . 23 ) Explained John Knoll , " " We intended for all the background action to be done with computer graphics . " " This choice was influential in determining the configurations of the required spacecraft . ( " " , p . 116 ) Designing the Starfleet armada . The ships to be shown with CGI were mostly new designs , as an instruction from Paramount sparked their creation . " " Paramount wanted us to expand on the " Star Trek " universe , " " remembered Alex Jaeger , " " presenting kinds of starships no one had seen before . " " ( " Cinefex " , No . 69 , p . 101 ) The producers and ILM deemed the existing variety of Starfleet types too familiar and small for the battle . They not only preferred to add to this assortment but also wanted to make the depiction of the conflict something they could be proud of . ( ) Those who concurred with Paramount included John Knoll . " " I didn ' t look forward to trying to do the space battle with these same four ships we ' ve already seen a hundred times , " " said Knoll . " " I thought it would be nice to expand the Starfleet universe a little bit , to see some ships that we haven ' t seen before . " " ( " Cinefantastique " , Vol . 28 , No . 6 , p . 23 ) Several other considerations also impacted on the decision to invent some new vessel designs . Knoll reckoned , " " Starfleet would probably throw everything it could at the Borg , including ships we ' ve never seen before . And since we figured a lot of the background action in the space battle would be built from scratch anyway , I realized that there was no reason not to do some new designs . " " ( " American Cinematographer " , Vol . 77 , No . 12 , p . 70 ) Alex Jaeger was assigned to design all of the new ship classes . ( " " , p . 116 ) " " Initially , [ Paramount ] wanted a dozen new starships , so I did about eighteen designs , " " he said . " " But once they realized what it would cost to build and texture all of these different CG models , they whittled it down to four ships really fast . " " ( " Cinefex " , No . 69 , p . 101 ) John Knoll noted that , when he set Jaeger the task of designing the new vessels , it was important that they " kind of obey the aesthetic of " Star Trek " . " In essence , most of the vessels included in the battle were at first designed to have a saucer - type primary section and a pair of long , outboard warp engines . However , the team at ILM then began to veer away from this concept , instead trying to create crafts that would each have a distinctive silhouette that wouldn ' t be mistaken for the outline of the " Enterprise " . ( " Cinefantastique " , Vol . 28 , No . 6 , p . 23 ) Making the new ships fairly easy to distinguish from that vessel was largely because " First Contact " was to be the first film to feature the " Enterprise " , so the creative team didn ' t want the new " hero " ship to become lost among the others . ( " Industrial Light & Magic – The Next Generation " , ) Noted Jaeger , " " They had to look quite distinct , which meant that I was allowed to vary the designs quite a bit . " " ( " Cinefex " , No . 69 , p . 101 ) During the process of devising the ships to be used in the battle , some designs were intentionally left out . For instance , John Eaves created a few concept sketches of the " Endeavor " before it was established that it would not actually appear . ( " " , p . 203 ) A pencil sketch of a similar starship was illustrated by ILM Digital Model Artist John Goodson and given the registry number " NCC - 7105 " . ( " " , p . 118 ) Another ship that was proposed but did not appear in " First Contact " was named USS " Criterion " and had two massive nacelle s . ( " The Art of " First Contact " " , / ) Yet another eliminated starship design had four nacelles and was christened USS " Zandura " . According to some reports , Alex Jaeger has said that he meant for this type of ship to be named " the " Zandura " - class " and be " a prototype science ship ( like the " Grissom " ) with separation capabilities for atmospheric flight conditions . " The name " Zandura " was inspired by the band Fold Zandura . As a similar homage to historic pilot Chuck Yeager , Alex Jaeger was highly interested in christening one of the ships with the name " USS " Yeager " " and did so with another unsuccessful ship design , though the name was kept for a vessel . ( A selection of concept artwork showing Starfleet ships designed for the battle but eventually excised can be found . ) The specific new Starfleet ship designs eventually selected for the battle were comprised of not only the " Saber " - class but also the " Akira " - , " Norway " - , and " Steamrunner " - classes , all of which were ultimately given the go - ahead by Producer Rick Berman . ( " " , p . 116 ) Alex Jaeger deemed the approved designs as having " very radical layouts " while " still keeping true to the basics of starship design , such as [ the requirement that ] the deflector dish and Nacelle Bussard collectors must have a clear view to open space in the front view , etc . " The four classes were modeled as three - dimensional wireframes , painted and textured in the computer . ( " American Cinematographer " , Vol . 77 , No . 12 , p . 70 ) Extremely low resolution CGI was used . The " Saber " - , " Norway " - and " Steamrunner " - class vessels were all detailed at lower resolution than the " Akira " - class . ( ) Jaeger noted , " " Actually ILM was using Electric Image for animation and Form Z for the models of these ships back then . " " Additionally , at least two of the four vessel configurations ( the " Akira " - and " Saber " - classes ) were each also sculpted into a small study model , both of which were to scale with one another . ( " Industrial Light & Magic – The Next Generation " , ) Designing the Borg mother - ship . Like the Starfleet armada , the massive Borg mothership also evolved in concept illustrations . Ricardo Delgado , for example , drew a picture of the Borg obelisk he proposed . Additional to openings through which the Borg sphere could be clearly viewed , the obelisk had an opening at the top which , according to Delgado , was purely decorative . ( ) Meanwhile , John Eaves concentrated on producing multiple conceptual versions of the Borg tetragon . He later recollected , " " I did three or four passes in the rectangular shape . " " ( " " , p . 208 ) John Eaves originally illustrated the Borg tetragon as a reflective block that was extremely large and almost totally smooth but with many inset passageways . The producers , though , deemed the design insufficiently textured , as Eaves related ; " " They said , ' OK , that ' s kind of cool . Let ' s carry that a little bit further , but not so smooth ; we need that Borg detail . " " ( ) John Eaves ' second drawing of the tetragon showed it as an extremely uniform shape that suggested more paneling and featured larger recessed areas . ( ) As well as having these deep canyons throughout , the tetragon had beveled edges . ( " " , p . 208 ) Eaves commented , " " They liked the idea of the detailing on it ; it had ribbon - shaped canyons . They liked the feel of that , but they felt that the pattern was too mathematical . " " ( ) Therefore , John Eaves imbued his third pass with random detailing . This time , the rectangular Borg vessel had many irregular , deep valleys and a round escape hatch for the Borg sphere to exit from . The third pass was the tetragon design that was almost approved and used . " " That one they really liked ; they said ' Let ' s go with that , " " stated Eaves . The producers considered the design over a period of one week or thereabouts , before making their eventual choice of reverting to the cube design . ( ) Filming . In most cases , ships in the background of the battle were computer - generated , as planned by ILM , whereas ships appearing in closeup footage were rendered with studio model s . ( " Cinefantastique " , Vol . 28 , No . 6 , p . 23 ) John Knoll commented , " " We used miniatures for the Borg cube and the " Enterprise " , but everything else was computer generated . " " ( " Industrial Light & Magic – The Next Generation " , ) On the other hand , depicting the exterior of the USS " Defiant " involved using both a practical model as well as computer graphics , and a digital version of the " Enterprise " was shown in close - up during the battle . John Eaves remarked , " " I think one of the first big shots [ wherein ] you see the CG model [ of the " Enterprise " ] is when you have the " Defiant " being attacked , and the " Enterprise " flies over . I think that was one of their [ ILM ' s ] very first CG shots [ in the film ] . " " ( " The Art of " First Contact " " , / ) The reason the " Norway " - , " Saber " - and " Steamrunner " - class ships were all lower - resolution CG models than the " Akira " - class was that the latter became the producers ' favorite of the four classes and , unlike the other three , was detailed for foreground use . ( ) John Knoll was interested in making the Borg cube look particularly foreboding . " " So wherever possible , we were looking up at it , " " he clarified . " " We shot it fairly close with relatively wide lenses , and tried to make it break frame in many shots , as if it ' s too big to photograph completely [ . . . ] I also turned the Cube 45 degrees so that one edge of it would come toward the camera like the prow of a ship . " " Visual Effects Cinematographer Marty Rosenberg additionally wanted to enhance the threatening and intricately alien facets of the cube ' s appearance , which he tried to do with lighting techniques . Rosenberg observed about the cube , " " We always had the camera dutched to it ; we never had it coming straight at us [ . . . ] We gave it a slow , determined movement ; we never see real speed . " " ( " American Cinematographer " , Vol . 77 , No . 12 , pp . 69 & 70 ) Speed is something that was reserved for the Starfleet vessels intercepting the Borg cube . ( " American Cinematographer " , Vol . 77 , No . 12 , p . 70 ) The complex , simultaneous maneuvers of so many ships contained within the sequence were devised by Stu Maschwitz , an animator at ILM who had found it fairly easy to tackle aerial maneuvering in helicopter sequences for the film . " " Those same kinds of dynamics and motions were needed for this scene , " " George Murphy observed , " " so we relied on Stu to tackle the battle choreography . He also came up with some nicely finessed bits of business for the background ships . The dogfight turned out to be a little bit " Star Wars " , a little bit " Top Gun " ; and it was much faster than the battles in the earlier " Star Trek " features . " " ( " Cinefex " , No . 69 , p . 109 ) The look of battle damage on the CG Starfleet vessels was a concern to John Knoll . He explained , " " I had Alex Jaeger start with practical materials in order to create those elements . He took sheet metal and blasted it with a torch ; then he tried all kinds of other materials to get a variety of detailed and realistic burn marks that we could use as textures on the CG models . " " ( " Cinefex " , No . 69 , p . 109 ) Explosions shown to occur amid the battle were simulated via the laying of miniature pyrotechnic elements , work achieved by ILM ' s pyrotechnics crew . " " They blew up several black cubes packed with debris , " " stated Alex Jaeger , " " and we were able to match up those blast elements to our model photography . " " As part of the compositing , explosions on the Borg cube ' s hull were colored green , to match the ship ' s interior and exterior color motif . ( " Cinefex " , No . 69 , p . 109 ) Damage to the Borg cube was portrayed with the removal of particular model sections , then the addition of a burn which was airbrushed around the supposedly damaged area . ( " Cinefex " , No . 69 , p . 109 ) John Goodson recollected of the cube , " " We had about six pieces on it . They were held in with tiny . . . [ . . . ] little machine screws , really tiny , like what you ' d use in your glasses , and these sections would unscrew and come off . And so you ' d have these gaping rips in the thing , and then we would take an airbrush with a little bit of gray paint and do kind of a blast mark on it , and you had instant damage . And to repair it , a can of black spray paint , blast the hole [ with the paint ] , do a little bit of touch - up with some color , screw the piece back in , and it was fully restored . It took minutes to change . " " ( " Industrial Light & Magic – The Next Generation " , ) For the explosions involved in the Borg cube ' s eventual destruction , Marty Rosenberg filmed ten miniatures of the cube over several nights . Each of these miniatures was smaller than the main cube model and had a lightweight skin packed with explosives . The cubes were suspended from pipes towering sixty feet above a high - speed anamorphic camera , which was on the ground pointing straight up at the models . Rosenberg shot the exploding cubes at 300 frames per second ( fps ) . Several precautions were taken to guard against damage . For instance , safety glass was positioned to shield the lens and the camera was further protected by a piece of plywood with a hole cut out to accommodate the matte box . Grinning , Rosenberg noted , " " At the end of each take , the matte box was maybe 4 [ inches ] deep in plastic ! We knew the shot was finished when we couldn ' t see anything ! " " ( " American Cinematographer " , Vol . 77 , No . 12 , p . 70 ) Though concept sketches that John Eaves created for the movie ' s Borg cube mostly presented the escape hatch for the sphere as being easily identifiable , it was decided – while the main cube model was under construction – that the sphere would be shown to emerge from a concealed hangar , keeping the hatch unseen until the sphere ' s launch . ( ) To shoot footage of this conclusion to the battle , the miniature used for the sphere and its equivalent for the cube ( which were built at two different scales ) were filmed separately . After the model of the sphere was shot on a motion control stage , that motion control photography was composited into footage of the cube , made to seem as if the sphere was rising out of a passageway that was actually constructed into the cube model . ( " Cinefex " , No . 69 , p . 109 ) Trivia . Although some fans claim to hear Captain Morgan Bateson and Uhura in the comm chatter during the battle , Ronald D . Moore has stated , " " As far as I know there are NO ' voice cameos ' in this sequence . " " The first teaser trailer that was released to promote " First Contact " includes shots from the Battle of Wolf 359 , the " Enterprise " - D ( destroyed in the previous film , ) and a single view of the ( stranded in the Delta Quadrant at the time ) . The shot of " Voyager " shows the vessel firing multiple phaser beams at a Borg cube . In a similar reuse , footage from the Battle of Sector 001 is incorporated into the teaser trailer for . Brannon Braga , who co - wrote " First Contact " with Ron Moore and ( to a lesser extent ) Rick Berman , was highly satisfied with the final version of the battle . He not only gleefully described the sequence as containing " great " and " spectacular " battle material but also cited the view of the Borg sphere ejecting from the Borg cube as a highlight of the sequence , referring to it as " a great shot . " ( audio commentary , / ) However , Ron Moore has criticized the battle sequence , commenting , " " I [ . . . ] wish we could ' ve had a longer and more spectacular space battle up front . " " In , readers of voted the battle sequence as their eighth favorite all - time moment in " Star Trek " . ( ) Remarks made by Captain Sisko in place a continuity error on the dating of this event . , the following episode , takes place on stardate 50564 . 2 , supposedly several months before the 24th century events depicted in " Star Trek : First Contact " , which are set on stardate 50893 . 5 . At least some of the ships which were built by ILM for the Battle of Sector 001 were reused in a fleet of Starfleet and Klingon vessels , in the final shot of , and in Dominion War footage of Operation Return in . ( " " , p . 472 ; " Cinefantastique " , Vol . 30 , No . 9 / 10 , p . 64 ) Apocrypha . The " " novel " Lesser Evil " details events aboard the during the battle . According to the book , Borg drones began beaming onto the ship and started adapting to the phaser frequencies used by the crew . Many of the officers were assimilated , including the vessel ' s commanding officer , Captain sh ' Rzaan . The Borg were eliminated from the craft , thanks to the " Budapest " being one of five test - based starships for TR - 116 rifle s , which the Starfleet officers used to finally gain victory . A story in the " " anthology " No Limits , " featuring the , stated that ship was also at the battle . In the novel " Engines of Destiny " , an alternate version of the Borg Queen from a timeline where Picard apparently died on Veridian III reflects on this battle , noting that the planned time - travel in this timeline was meant to just travel back a few days to warn the past cube about the scale of the offensive they would encounter rather than go all the way back to First Contact . In the novel " Watching the Clock " , the Department of Temporal Investigations speculate that the Borg ' s use of time travel on this occasion could have been aided by a renegade faction in the Temporal Cold War providing them with the ability . Lucsly noted that such an attack was out - of - character for the Borg and it was ridiculous to assume that they would never have had the opportunity to assimilate time machines before now , speculating that various agencies normally took action to prevent the Borg acquiring time travel .