While Enterprise does destroy the Borg sphere, the crew quickly realizes they're not out of danger. The Borg themselves haven't been destroyed; they merely beamed over to Enterprise shortly before their sphere was destroyed. Borg plans have only been delayed by Enterprise's attack. If they can assimilate the Enterprise, the Borg can still proceed with their original plan.

In the end, it all comes down to a matter of time. Can the crew of the Enterprise halt the assimilation of their ship before the Borg have the wherewithal to stop Zephram Cochrane from launching his Warp-1 test vehicle? If so, then the Vulcans will not see that Earth has advanced sufficiently for them to make first contact with humans--and the Federation might never be born.

Reprinted/Collected in:
Star Trek: The Complete Comic Book Collection (2008) DVD-ROM

Characters:    Add/remove characters to this issue

Reginald Barclay Borg Queen Zefram Cochrane Beverly Crusher Data (Star Trek) Sean Hawk Geordi LaForge

Alyssa Ogawa Jean-Luc Picard Lily Sloane Solkar Deanna Troi William T. Riker Worf