Changes: Borg tactical cube

Latest revision as of 14:47, 3 March 2024

The Borg class 4 tactical vessel, or Borg tactical cube, was a type of heavily-armed Borg cube utilized by the Borg Collective in the 24th century.

History

The only known encounter with the tactical cube happened in 2377, by the crew of the USS Voyager in the Delta Quadrant. The cube was chosen for its proximity to the Federation ship as they planned deployment of a nanovirus to infect the Collective to allow drones to retain memories following their regeneration cycles. During engagement, the cube managed to destroy the Delta Flyer shuttlecraft and inflict heavy damage to Voyager before the Borg Queen initiated the cube's auto-destruct. (VOY: "Unimatrix Zero", "Unimatrix Zero, Part II")

Technical data

The tactical cube differed from the standard Borg cube in several ways, the most notable being the extensive hull armor that covered large portions of the exterior hull of the ship. The interior was also slightly altered from what is known of Borg architecture. The vessel's central plexus was protected by multi-regenerative security fields. (VOY: "Unimatrix Zero", "Unimatrix Zero, Part II")

Ships of the class

Tactical Cube 138

Appendices

Background information

The tactical cube appeared only in VOY: "Unimatrix Zero" and "Unimatrix Zero, Part II".

For further information on the studio model, see Borg cube model.

Apocrypha

The Borg tactical cube was also used in the climactic final level of Star Trek: Legacy. Oddly, creators of the game boasted in a video interview that the vessel was of their creation, and that it had been designed especially for the game's finale. The Borg tactical cube model had first appeared on Star Trek: Voyager six years before. Doug Drexler, the model designer, was not mentioned at all during the interview in question. Also, when the vessel appears during the mission, Admiral Janeway says she has encountered such a vessel before, and had help destroying it, clearly referencing the events of the episode.
Tactical cubes are also featured in Star Trek: Armada II, in which eight of them can combine to form a massive tactical fusion cube.
Ships of this class also feature in Star Trek: Conquest; however, the ship is ranked as a "cruiser" and has inferior fire power and shielding to an average cube.
Tactical cubes are found in several campaign missions of Star Trek Online, classified as a dreadnought. Each one has approximately two times the weaponry of a standard cube and roughly four times the hit points, requiring a small fleet to destroy.

External links

Borg tactical cube at Memory Beta, the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
Early design sketches^(X) at the DrexFiles^(X)

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{Sidebar starship class|
-|Name=        	Borg tactical cube<br /><small>(aka class 4 tactical vessel)</small>
+|name=        	Borg tactical cube<br />{{small|(aka class 4 tactical vessel)}}
-| image=       	Borg tactical cube.jpg
+|dt=            Borg tactical cube
+|image=       	Borg tactical cube.jpg
-|Affiliation= 	[[Borg Collective]]
+|affiliation= 	[[Borg Collective]]
-|Type=		Tactical vessel
+|type=		Tactical vessel
-|Active=	[[2370s]]
-|Speed=		[[Transwarp]] capable
+|active=	[[2370s]]
-|Armament=	[[Torpedo]]es, beam weapons
+|speed=		[[Transwarp]] capable
+|armament=	Beam weapons <br /> [[Torpedo]]es
-|Defenses=	Hull armor, [[shields]], [[multi-regenerative security field]]s
+|defenses=	[[Hull armor]]<br />[[shields]]<br />[[multi-regenerative security field]]s
-| image2=	Tactical cube interior.jpg
+|image2=	Tactical cube interior.jpg
-|imagecap2=	Interior of a tactical cube
+|caption2=	Interior of a tactical cube
 }}
-The [[Borg]] '''Class 4 tactical vessel''' was a type of heavily-armed [[Borg cube]] utilized by the [[Borg Collective]]. The tactical cube differed from the standard Borg cube in several ways, the most notable being the extensive [[hull]] armor that covered a large portion of the exterior hull of the ship. The interior was also slightly altered from what is known of Borg "architecture". The vessel's [[central plexus]] was protected by [[multi-regenerative security field]]s.
+The [[Borg]] '''class 4 tactical vessel''', or '''Borg tactical cube''', was a type of heavily-armed [[Borg cube]] utilized by the [[Borg Collective]] in the [[24th century]].
+==History==
-Only one such vessel was observed by [[Starfleet]] &ndash; by the {{USS|Voyager}} in [[2376]]. The tactical cube was caused to [[self-destruct]] by the [[Borg Queen]] during a brief [[civil war]] within the Collective. ({{VOY|Unimatrix Zero|Unimatrix Zero, Part II}})
+The only known encounter with the tactical cube happened in [[2377]], by the crew of the {{USS|Voyager}} in the [[Delta Quadrant]]. The cube was chosen for its proximity to the Federation ship as they planned deployment of a nanovirus to infect the [[Borg Collective|Collective]] to allow [[Borg drone|drones]] to retain memories following their [[Regeneration|regeneration]] cycles. During engagement, the cube managed to destroy the ''[[Delta Flyer (2375)|Delta Flyer]]'' shuttlecraft and inflict heavy damage to ''Voyager'' before the [[Borg Queen]] initiated the cube's [[Auto-destruct|auto-destruct]]. ({{VOY|Unimatrix Zero|Unimatrix Zero, Part II}})
-=== Ships of the class ===
+== Technical data ==
+The tactical cube differed from the standard Borg cube in several ways, the most notable being the extensive [[hull armor]] that covered large portions of the exterior [[hull]] of the ship. The interior was also slightly altered from what is known of Borg architecture. The vessel's [[central plexus]] was protected by [[multi-regenerative security field]]s. ({{VOY|Unimatrix Zero|Unimatrix Zero, Part II}})
-* [[Tactical Cube 138]]
-== Appendices ==
-=== Appearances ===
-<div class="appear">
-* {{VOY}}
-** {{e|Unimatrix Zero}}
-** {{e|Unimatrix Zero, Part II}}
-</div>
-=== Studio model ===
+===Ships of the class===
+* [[Tactical Cube 138]]
-The Borg tactical cube was designed by [[Doug Drexler]] at the request of the producers who wanted some ideas pitched for a new Borg cube design. Drexler incorporated in his design the notion that the Borg performed tactical updates after their recent beating by [[Species 8472]], or as he put it, "''What do you do with a cube? You can armor it. The Borg had just had their collective asses handed to them by Species 8472, so I'd design a flak jacket for a Borg cube. Personally I felt adding anything to the cube that gave it personality was a mistake. I happened to love the idea that the design said absolutely nothing about them, while at the same time, everything.''" [http://drexfiles.wordpress.com/2009/10/25/borg-tactical-cube-design-phase/#more-18232] The model was built at [[Foundation Imaging]] by [[Koji Kuramura]], who used the texture maps of the standard Borg cube as a basis, they themselves being mapped from the physical studio model used in {{film|8}}. [http://drexfiles.wordpress.com/2009/10/25/borg-tactical-cube/] As Kuramura explains, "''I started with the base Borg cube model. And added the parts that Doug had on his drawings. I don't know if many people know this, but there was never more than 3 sides built for the Borg cube, because if you think about it... You could never see more than that on screen. The reason being was that it was a very Polygon heavy model. And back in those days of ''Voyager'', memory was at a premium.''" [http://drexfiles.wordpress.com/2009/10/25/borg-tactical-cube/#comment-21124] At the time, Drexler was also posted at Foundation Imaging as VFX coordinator, so Kuramura was able to confer with him about details as he was building the model.
+==Appendices==
+===Background information===
+The tactical cube appeared only in {{VOY|Unimatrix Zero}} and {{e|Unimatrix Zero, Part II}}.
+For further information on the [[studio model]], see [[Borg cube model]].
-During the design phase, Drexler shortly toyed with the notion of a pyramid-shaped Borg ship. He commented, "''My one joke was the Borg pyramid. I mean think about it. First we had the Borg cube, then the sphere from "First Contact", and now the pyramid! It's the [[UPN]] logo!''" [http://drexfiles.wordpress.com/2009/10/25/borg-tactical-cube-design-phase/]
-=== Apocrypha ===
+===Apocrypha===
-* The Borg tactical cube was also used in the climactic final level of ''[[Star Trek: Legacy]]''. Oddly, creators of the game boasted in a [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQ9W6TWnSPk video interview] that the vessel was of their creation, and that it had been designed especially for the game's finale. This is highly unlikely, as, not only had it clearly first appeared on ''Star Trek Voyager'' two years before, but Doug Drexler's name was not mentioned at all during the interview in question. Also, when the vessel appeared during the mission, Admiral Janeway says she had encountered such a vessel before, and had help destroying it, clearly referencing the events of the episode.
+* The Borg tactical cube was also used in the climactic final level of ''[[Star Trek: Legacy]]''. Oddly, creators of the game boasted in a {{YouTube|type=v|VQ9W6TWnSPk|video interview}} that the vessel was of their creation, and that it had been designed especially for the game's finale. The Borg tactical cube model had first appeared on ''Star Trek: Voyager'' six years before. Doug Drexler, the model designer, was not mentioned at all during the interview in question. Also, when the vessel appears during the mission, Admiral Janeway says she has encountered such a vessel before, and had help destroying it, clearly referencing the events of the episode.
 * Tactical cubes are also featured in ''[[Star Trek: Armada II]]'', in which eight of them can combine to form a massive tactical fusion cube.
 * Ships of this class also feature in ''[[Star Trek: Conquest]]''; however, the ship is ranked as a "cruiser" and has inferior fire power and shielding to an average cube.
-* Tactical cubes are found in several campaign missions of ''[[Star Trek Online]]'', classified as a dreadnought. Each one has approximately four times the weaponry of a standard cube and roughly ten times the hit points, requiring a small fleet to destroy.
+* Tactical cubes are found in several campaign missions of ''[[Star Trek Online]]'', classified as a dreadnought. Each one has approximately two times the weaponry of a standard cube and roughly four times the hit points, requiring a small fleet to destroy.
-== External links ==
+===External links===
+*{{mbeta|Borg tactical cube}}
-*[http://www.starshipdatalink.net/art/tacube.html Designing the Borg Tactical Cube] at [http://www.starshipdatalink.net Federation Starship Datalink]
-*[http://drexfiles.wordpress.com/2009/10/25/borg-tactical-cube-design-phase/ Early design sketches] at [[Doug Drexler]]'s [http://drexfiles.wordpress.com/ personal blog]
+*{{DrexFiles|2009/10/25/borg-tactical-cube-design-phase/|Early design sketches|external}}
 [[de:Taktischer Kubus]]