Summary
- The Battle of Wolf 359 was a historic event in Star Trek, resulting in the loss of many Starfleet lives and ships.
- Jean-Luc Picard, assimilated by the Borg as Locutus, faced guilt and trauma over his role in the battle.
- The aftermath of Wolf 359 influenced the storylines of other Star Trek characters, such as Benjamin Sisko, the construction of the USS Defiant, and the prejudice against the Borg.
Starfleet's first full-scale conflict with the Borg Collective at the Battle of Wolf 359 was one of the most seismic events of Star Trek's 2400s, and its aftermath continued to reverberate into the early 25th century. Having assimilated Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) into the Collective, the Borg attempted to attack Earth, but were halted by the Starfleet armada eight light years away in the Wolf System. The battle that followed was devastating for Starfleet, resulting in the loss of 39 starships and an estimated 11 thousand lives. It was a historic moment that would contribute to the backstories of several notable Starfleet officers from across the Star Trek franchise.
The most notable of these officers was Jean-Luc Picard himself, who had to live with his role in the devastation for the rest of his life. It was by assimilating Picard's tactical information that the Borg were able to decimate the Starfleet armada at Wolf 359. Although the USS Enterprise-D eventually rescued Jean-Luc and used his connection to the Collective to destroy the Borg Cube, it didn't assuage his guilt over his unwitting role in the battle. The Battle of Wolf 359 continued to play on Jean-Luc's mind until he was eventually able to finish off the Borg once and for all in Star Trek: Picard season 3. However, he's not the only Star Trek character who was forever changed by the event.
8 The Starfleet Legacy Of Locutus Of Borg
Most Starfleet officers were able to separate Captain Jean-Luc Picard and Locutus of Borg in their minds, but not everyone. In the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The Drumhead", iral Norah Satie (Jean Simmons) used the Battle of Wolf 359 to question Picard's integrity during an internal investigation of sabotage aboard the Enterprise. In Star Trek: First , Picard and the USS Enterprise-E were deliberately kept out of the second battle with the Borg due to his previous role as Locutus. Thankfully for the future of the Federation, Picard defied these orders and sent the Enterprise to Earth to defeat the Borg attack and their subsequent attempts to alter the past.
7 TNG's Battle Of Wolf 359 Widowed DS9's Sisko
Although Star Trek: Deep Space Nine never fought the Borg, the Battle of Wolf 359 was devastating for Commander Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) of the USS Saratoga. The Saratoga was one of the 39 ships destroyed in the battle, and his wife Jennifer (Felecia M. Bell) was one of the 11 thousand people who lost their lives. Jennifer's death left Sisko a widower and a single father, who raised his son Jake (Cirroc Lofton) by himself. Sisko came face to face with Jean-Luc Picard on the first day of his assignment to Deep Space Nine, and struggled to suppress his disdain for the Starfleet Captain formerly known as Locutus of Borg.
6 The Construction Of Star Trek: DS9's USS Defiant
In the wake of the Battle of Wolf 359, Starfleet began working on the Defiant-class starships to counter the threat of future Borg attacks. Once described by Sisko as a "tough little ship", the USS Defiant was the prototype vessel, deployed for use in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine during the Dominion War. There were three Defiant-class ships in DS9, defined by their smaller design, heavy armaments and powerful warp drive. They were incredibly valuable during the Dominion War, and Starfleet eventually had a chance to prove the Defiant's capabilities against the Borg when they resurfaced in Star Trek: First .
5 Wolf 359 Planted The Seed For Star Trek: Picard's Vox
As well as carrying the psychological trauma of being assimilated into the Borg Collective, Jean-Luc Picard retained the seeds of the next devastating attack. As revealed in Star Trek: Picard season 3, Jean-Luc's brain contained Borg DNA that acted as a receiver for the Collective's assimilation signal. This DNA was weaponized by the Borg Queen (Alice Krige) and Captain Vadic (Amanda Plummer) as part of their attack on Starfleet's Frontier Day parade. Worse still, Picard's Borg DNA was inherited by his son Jack Crusher (Ed Speleers), turning him into Vox - the transmitter of the Borg Queen's assimilation signal.
4 Anti-Borg Prejudice Stopped Seven Of Nine From ing Starfleet
Before the Battle of Wolf 359, the Borg Collective was an intangible threat for Starfleet and the Federation, as they were largely confined to their native Delta Quadrant. While attacks on colonies like New Providence alerted Starfleet to an encroaching Borg attack, it wasn't until Wolf 359 that they gained a true understanding of the Collective's devastating power. Memories of Wolf 359 led many Voyager crew to initially treat Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan) with suspicion in Star Trek: Voyager season 4. It's not a huge stretch, therefore, to draw a link between the Battle of Wolf 359 and the anti-Borg prejudice that prevented Seven of Nine ing Starfleet for decades.
3 Jean-Luc Picard's Post-Wolf 359 Trauma
Captain and later iral Jean-Luc Picard suffered from nightmares and panic attacks for decades after the events of Wolf 359. These were often brought about by increased Borg activity like his nightmare in the opening of Star Trek: First , which he has just prior to receiving information about the Collective's planned attack on Earth. Picard was willing to sacrifice everything to destroy the Borg in First , a single-minded thirst for vengeance that earned him an unfavorable comparison to Moby Dick's Captain Ahab. Years later, Jean-Luc visited the Borg Artifact in Star Trek: Picard, where he had to be brought out of a debilitating panic attack by Hugh Borg (Jonathan Del Arco).
2 Captain Shaw's Traumatic Star Trek: Picard Backstory
Star Trek: Picard season 3's Captain Liam Shaw (Todd Stashwick) immediately took a dislike to iral Jean-Luc Picard, for reasons that became clear much later. In the episode "No-Win Scenario", Shaw revealed that he was a young officer aboard the USS Constance during Wolf 359. Shaw escaped the destruction of the Constance after being ordered into an escape pod. This left Shaw struggling with survivor's guilt, and barely concealed his anti-Borg prejudice against his second-in-command, Commander Seven of Nine and iral Jean-Luc Picard - the "only Borg so deadly, they gave him a goddamn name." However, even Shaw could see that Wolf 359 wasn't Seven's fault and recommended her for promotion prior to his tragic death.
1 Wolf 359 Set Up The Cardassians ing DS9's Dominion War
The Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The Wounded" revealed a direct line between the Battle of Wolf 359 and the Dominion War. Captain Benjamin Maxwell (Bob Gunton) risked the fragile peace between the Federation and Cardassian Union by attacking several outposts. Maxwell believed that these outposts weren't, as the Cardassians claimed, science stations staffed by civilians and were instead military installations. At the end of "The Wounded" it's revealed that Maxwell was right all along, but the Federation had to turn a blind eye to avoid another war. Given that the Cardassians would continue arming themseves and later ally with the Dominion, "The Wounded" provides a fascinating link between Star Trek's two most devastating conflicts of the 24th century.