Borg
Class: Mechanoid, gatherers of data
Home planet: None, but they reside in Borgspace at Unimatrix Zero
Values: The acquisition of information and data, biological, technological.
Important Borg: Seven of Nine, Borg Queen, Hugh, Locutus of Borg
Feature in: TNG, VOY
Obviously taken from the word “cyborg”, the Borg are a hive mind entity, which is to say they are all interconnected to the one master brain, and none of them operate independent of that. Borg have no free will, no emotions, no personality. They are recruited from the ranks of other races by being “assimilated”, which involves their being injected by Borg drones with a compound that turns their skin pale, and introduces what are known as Borg nanoprobes into the system, creating a conduit which hooks the new Borg up to the collective. Limbs are enhanced with interface devices, usually on the arms and face, which allow the new Borg to receive commands and retrieve data, and keep in contact with, and be controlled by, at all times, the hive mind.
The Borg (they are always treated as being a singular entity, even if there are many of them attacking or present) value the accumulation of data more than anything; in fact, it is the only thing they value. They are not conquerors, except in the sense that to assimilate and take over a planet affords them the opportunity to make more drones and thus increase their power. They add whatever distinctive differences an alien race has to their own, absorbing the knowledge of their technology, and so always continually evolving. They have no interest in war or territorial disputes, except when attacked, and believe in no gods. When a Borg is killed or incapacitated, it is removed from the hive mind like a broken connection, and vanishes. Like a part that is no longer needed or has become unusable, drones are discarded without a thought. They originated in the Delta Quadrant of the galaxy, and were first encountered by NCC-1701D, soon afterwards finding Earth and a whole new target. They easily crushed the greatest fleet ever assembled by humanity, and with the help of Captain Picard as Locutus of Borg, wrote the name of Wolf 359 forever in blood into the history books.
It was later discovered that the Borg all serve one Queen, and that they travel through hyperspace in a method different to that used by most races, something called transwarp conduits which emerge in Borgspace. Their ships are flying cubes and are extremely tough, repairing themselves if not completely destroyed. They do not know the meaning of the word surrender, and will pursue an enemy to its absolute limit, never giving up. They learn and adapt quickly, so new weapons used against them are only effective for a very short period. They have powerful weapons themselves, capable of destroying huge swathes of a planet’s surface. They are not part of any alliance and will attack both sides in a battle, as long as it is to their advantage. They do not understand concepts such as honour, courage or fear, all of which they believe to be irrelevant. They are pure, unthinking machines, directed by their Queen towards one unalterable goal: improvement and perfection of their race.