Borg type 03 Designated by Starfleet as the Borg Type 03 , this class of Borg starship was used by a rogue faction of Borg led by Lore . This unusual design was asymmetrical and totally unlike the previously encountered Borg cube and Borg scout ship , causing Captain Jean - Luc Picard to speculate whether it was something they constructed or an alien vessel they captured and assimilated . Whatever its origins , the vessel was still heavily armed and massively armored , as direct phaser and photon torpedo strikes from a starship caused no damage to the ship . Only one ship of this type was observed , when in 2369 this group of rogue Borg began attacking Federation outpost s and colonies in several outlying sector s . The ship attacked the research outpost on Ohniaka III , as well as the MS - 1 colony , using previously - unknown transwarp conduit s to appear suddenly over the target and launch a quick attack . In both cases it confronted the , which responded to the colonies ' distress signal s . The " Enterprise " then followed the Borg ship through the conduits to locate their base of operations . ( ) As numerous " Enterprise " personnel searched the surface of the unnamed world for the missing Lieutenant Commander Data , a deadly game of cat - and - mouse played out in orbit . The Borg ship attacked , forcing the " Enterprise " , under the temporary command of Doctor Beverly Crusher , to flee to the edge of the star system . However , Crusher resolved to retrieve the remaining crew who had been left behind , and returned to the planet , evading the Borg ship ' s attack long enough to retrieve most of the remaining personnel . However , the " Enterprise " delayed long enough that its warp drive was crippled by the Borg ship . Forced to flee again , but this time restricted to impulse speeds , Crusher ordered the " Enterprise " to activate an experimental metaphasic shield that allowed the ship to enter the nearby star ' s corona , where the Borg ship could not follow . The Borg ship held position outside the corona , waiting for the " Enterprise " to emerge . However , the " Enterprise " used a particle beam to cause a solar fusion eruption that completely engulfed the Borg ship , destroying it . ( ) Appendices . Background information . The " Type 03 " designation is visible on a tactical scan analysis appearing in " Descent , Part II " . This classification is presumably because this was the third class of Borg starship design encountered by Starfleet ( after the cube and the scout ship ) . For information on the studio model , see TNG studio models . Apocrypha . This design was designated as an " Assimilator " in the PC game " " . This a reference to its in - game special weapon , that can assimilate the crew members of a target and add them to the player ' s or computer ' s own crew reserves . The ship was used as the centerpiece in the " " pinball machine . In the novel " Greater than the Sum " and in " Star Trek Online " s " Delta Rising " expansion , Hugh commands one of these vessels , christened the " Liberator " , under the auspices of the Cooperative . In the game , the ship class is called a " Type 03 Command Vessel " , the most powerful class of vessel used by the Cooperative .