Questions about Borg vs Blasters

[Leon_Caboose]

I am currently writing a fanfic about the borg crossing over into the star wars galaxy. However I know that Borg probably can't adapt to blaster fire. I need to know if (given time) there is anyway that the borg would be able to adapt to blaster fire.

[Serafina]

Borg adapt to frequencies.
Blasters don't have a frequency.
Therefore, the Borg can't adapt.

Armor would be of some use, but blasters can blow chucks out of metal walls, so personal armor is not of that much use except if they hit a wall next to you - then it protects your from the shrapnell.

[Leon_Caboose]

Would it be plausible for them to be able to make the armor more resistant to blaster fire when assimilating storm troopers? Cause the idea is that a borg cube falls through a worm hole heavily damaged and comes out with only a torn up corner surviving. A star destroyer finds them and the borg begin to assimilate the crew, alibi very slowly due to the empire having stronger technology. Eventually they do finish assimiliating the crew, but are cautious as to how to approach assimilating the destroyer, as even though they have a borgafied (dunno proper term) star destoryer, a fleet of star destroyers would easily destroy them.

[Crazedwraith]

It's your story, not a debate. If you want them to adapt to blasters, they can adapt to blasters. You don't need to justify it on any terms apart from 'that works for my story.'

As an aside, I never fully got the line of reasoning for no blaster adaption. So they don't have a frequency. It's just as likely that means they'll adapt once and since you can't fiddle with the frequency you can't you blasters working again. Photorps don't have a frequency. The ships still adapt to them. (To an extent.)

They way to defeat Borg adaption with blasters would just to be pump up the power level. Borg drones can't have unlimited power to sink in them. This is in fact what the ENT crew did with their phase pistols in 'Regeneration'

[open_sketchbook]

Indeed, the Borg adapting to the frequence of a phaser doesn't mean that Borg can't adapt to something that doesn't have a frequency; the only thing it proves at all is that the method of adapting to phasers that the Borg use is to adjust their shield frequency. Borg adapting to frequences isn't a limitation, it is a lower limit; it may simply be the most effective way to adapt to phasers specifically.

[Eleas]

Borg adapt to frequencies.
Blasters don't have a frequency.
Therefore, the Borg can't adapt.

Correction: therefore, the Borg cannot nullify blaster fire through frequency-based trickery. That doesn't say anything about the potential of other damage-reducing techniques. Armoring up the drones, as you note, is one way of "adapting."

Armor would be of some use, but blasters can blow chucks out of metal walls, so personal armor is not of that much use except if they hit a wall next to you - then it protects your from the shrapnell.

Borg drones are robust enough to be able to carry armour plating. A competent Borg "commander" might create heavier Borg drones, perhaps even "models" that would be armoured only in certain facings. Of course, ranged weapons would be a must for the Borg as well.

All of these are ideas we'd be unlikely to see on the show, but which don't really seem unreasonable for a space-faring civilization to adopt. Have the Borg get with the program. They'll be better off for it, and so will the story.

[open_sketchbook]

If you want to keep the Space Zombie feel, after the first couple Borg go down have Borg boarding parties led by specialized shield drones the rest of them hook up to and provide power to, letting them march right up the hall covered by an energy shield, forcing the SW forces to split up and try to flank them through other hallways, giving you all sorts of chances for, say, a small team wandering into a Borgified part of the ship.

[Eleas]

That's a good idea. You could also have the Borg use technologies that would slow down and/or incapacitate boarders, much like spiders do with their prey. Perhaps the shield the Borg use can double as a stun field.

(The first thought I had in this was that they'd simply manipulate the gravity plating to hold the enemy soldiers in place, but that didn't work thematically with the Borg. Gravity is too pragmatic, it doesn't feel malicious enough.)

[open_sketchbook]

The Borg consider being seperate of the collective to be miserable existance, they would probably try to use tactics that prey on the vunerablity of the individual, like psychological warfare techniques, as a perverse way of "advertising" collective existance and cybernetic enhancement. Like, for example, using distorted background noise to frustrate, irritate and disorient boarders, affecting their inner ear to kill their balance and make them nausious, using light patterns that throw people off, basically using long-term passive resistance to boarders with the intent of not just getting them to give up but to prevent them from finding their way back, isolating them on the ship, preventing them from sleeping, eventually drive them insane. Then, to drive it home, make it actually work, and have a character or two either off themselves or give themselves up to the Borg to escape.

[Leon_Caboose]

Well pretty much, i just wanna make it feel desperate for the borg at first. Give the reader the idea "Ya....their gonna get slaugtered."

However, once the borg assimlate something like a star destroyer, not only do they have a huge ship, but they also have access to a massive array of knowledge. That being said, its not gonna be like in star trek where the federation is scrambling to defeat a single cube. The borg will be in pretty bad shape from the start of the story (has to do with voyager and the hub they destroyed) and it will be more a war of attrition than a rampage by the borg.

[Rossum]

A few ideas:

1. The Gungans had access to some pretty advanced shield technology like that theater shield and those personal Gungan Shields that could reflect trade federation blaster fire. Although Borg shields might not be up to the task at first, they could do something similar once they get a feel of Star Wars technology. I'm not sure if Stormtroopers have anything like Gungan shields with them but if the Borg find out about it then they could start researching that line of thinking. Plus there are the Destroyer Droids that have their personal bubble shields, Borg could try grabbing that tech. Not sure exactly if the Borg could supply all their drones with blaster-deflecting shields but they would certainly want them as soon as they find out they exist, then give at least a few of them shields to cover the rest.

2. In the Endgame episode of Star Trek Voyager, future Janeway came back with that Ablative armor thing that could cover the entire Voyager ship (I always thought that was cool the way they said "Deploy Armor" and then the whole ship got that awesome armor plating that could protect against borg firepower. I think it was supposed to be based on holodeck technology or something... like they made holographic titanium armor or something that worked like the real thing). I don't think the Borg have anything like that unless this story takes place after Endgame when the borg tried to assimilate future Janeway and then got hit with the Janeway virus. At most, they might have an incomplete concept of how the armor would work and could whip up some sort of weak attempt at it once they run into blaster fire.

So, the stormtroopers could blast a bunch of the drones at first since they have no armor to defend against it. The Borg try adding traditional armor to defend themselves and have slightly better success. Then they dig up their old files on Federation holodeck technology and try projecting a holographic version of Imperial Stormtrooper armor around themselves (a bunch of drones are boarding a Star Destroyer, the stormtroopers think things will be like shooting fish in a barrel, then the drones say "Deploy Armor" and are decked out in extra thick body armor that regenerates after its hit by blaster fire). Conservation of energy is still in effect, so even if they aren't blown up by blaster fire the borgs will still get knocked around. Plus, even if holo-armor is able to act like regular armor (not sure if it would) and could regenerate due to its being a projection, it would still have limitations. Concentrated fire would take them out no matter what and each borg would have a limited supply of power before they couldn't support their armor anymore.

Holographic armor (if you decide to use it) would just be an upgrade from their limited shield tech to adapt to blaster fire. Holo armor woulf be slightly better than regular armor since the borg would just need to put armor projectors on their drones instead of manufacturing armor itself, some modifications would let them adapt the armor as they go (first if would be a thick titanium-like shell, then maybe imperial stormtrooper armor, then thicker armor, then go into some really tough stuff that would be too expensive to put on stormtroopers), and the armor could regenerate from damage.

If not actual holograms then they might adapt replicator tech to do something similar.

3). Give the borg the ability to dodge. Once they figure out that their usual tactic of walking down corridors and soaking up phaser fire with their shields isn't going to work then the borg might start getting serious about not lurching around like zombies. Have the borg put cameras on their arms so they can peek aroung corners before heading out. Learn to dodge and move like a normal person in a combat zone. And, if you want to give them some 'horror' to them then have their implants start synthesizing steroids or adrennaline or something.

Yeah, turn the borg from shambling zombies into fast zombies. Have them sneak around corners, give them some sort of adhesive or personal gravity modifiers so they can run on walls. Have them scurry through the vents to attack their enemy where they won't suspect it. And of course they can teleport (even if they can't always do it properly. Imagine the crew in the star destroyer firing on the suddenly fast and nasty borg invaders, barricading the doors and vents to keep them out... and then suddenly a green light shimmers into existence and explodes into bits of gore and borg cybernetics... then it happens again but the pieces are bigger and an actual skeleton is visible... then again and its a complete borg who just looks really scrambled...).

4). Have the borg use their nanobots to heal. I can't count the number of times Seven of Nine has midified her borg nanoprobes to do crazy stuff like bring people back from the dead (I think she brought Neelix back once and he wanted to kill himself afterwards... but he didn't.). If the borg can do that to revive their own dead (even if it takes some time to do and they run the risk of coming back wrong) then it could give them an edge (particularly if they can kill stormtroopers, revive the corpse, and then assimilate that). It could turn into something like "We are the Borg. We are the perfect union of life and technology. We are beyond life and death. Join us willingly and you will know life eternal. Defy us and you will join us even in death. We are the Borg. Resistance is futile. You WILL be assimilated."

Once they grab technology like the Bacta tanks, Star Wars cybernetics, or cloning technology then they become a force that should be able to revive their wounded from any injury and even death (philosophical aspects not withstanding, force wielder might know that the revived person isn't the same as the one who died but the Borg could assimilate enough memories from their victims to make it convincing for everyone else.)

5). There was also an episode of Voyager where somebody mentioned a plan to hit Earth with a bomb filled with Borg nanoprobes that would spread over the planet like dust and assimilate everyone. I don't think they had the design completed (I think they needed Seven of Nine to work on it) but it could prove interesting if they actually use something like that. They could pump in clouds of nanoprobes to try and assimilate the crew of the ship without sending in actual drones. Stormtrooper armor should be able to protect against it and star destroyers should have other systems in place to protect against gas attacks or other stuff like that but I think the Borg could cause some damage with that at least for a few battles... might take out some of the unarmored officers and make Borgified ships nastier to move in since they can flood the air with assimilator nanobots (if they really need to). That way, stormtroopers moving in borg ships have to make sure their armor is on at all times to prevent infection and even one hole in their armor could cause assimilation. Though fire and EMPs should be able to fry floating nanobots.

6). Shield Barriers. In the Borg Ship they have shields set up in the corridors that can block anyone who doesn't have a personal shield that could be freqencied to let them pass. The Borg might be able to create some portable field generators that they set up to make powerful barriers inside corridors. Set up a shield that is braced against the walls and floor of the corridor and make it strong enough to block blaster fire. Heck, maybe they make their Shield Barriers frequency based (not sure if that would let them block all of a blaster shot or not) and then the borg use phasers that can shoot through them. You thus have a strong shield barrier in a hallway that could probably hold out against blaster fire and protect the borg against blaster while letting them fire the weaker phaser beams through the barrier at the stormtroopers. Not sure how imperial armor hold up against phasers, but the ability to block enemy attacks and movment while letting your own attacks and troops go through could give the borg some advantage.



Soo... in short when it come to Borg vs Blasters, I would say their first line of defense would be to make their drones faster so they can dodge them, then try setting up some barriers up that block the stormtroopers while letting themselves get through, then get some armor (either traditional armor or try some holo-armor stuff which would just be a temporary measure since it would use up more power than their normal shield systems and isn't as efficient as better ways), then try to grab some existing Star Wars personal shield tech like the Gungan or Destroyer Droid shields, and finally use their nanobots and medical technology to try and revive their destroyed drones who were creamed by blaster fire.

I think that one of the reasons that the borg would casually throw away drones to adapt to phasers is because they had those incubators that could grow new ones... and they just have really crummy self-preservation instincts and morale and think they can just wade through battles despite their losses. Put them up against an actual force that can kick their ass (and maybe have fewer drones in the collective and not have them run by that idiot Borg Queen... and at least a few decent ones who can think for themselves) and they could come up with some decent tactics.

Not saying they really have a chance of taking on the Empire or anything... just that if they play their cards right and don't like idiots they could find ways to deal with the blasters and even pose a serious threat. Heck, if they ever get their planetary nanoprobe bomb thing working (and can find a way to get it past Star Wars planetary shields and such) then they could start attacking and assimilating whole planets in a combination of bioterrorism and mass-recruitment. At which point they become a serious enough threat that everyone else want them dead.