I have recently become a member of a Facebook group in which a minor debate ensued as a result of my posting of this image that I created. Along with a tangent or two, the debate was comprised mainly with the discussion of the Galactic Empire from the Star Wars Universe versus the Borg Collective from the Star Trek Universe. As the comment section of a Facebook post is hardly an ideal medium for such a conveyance, I chose to present the results of my incidental research, as well as my own conclusions, here where a more organized discussion can be had.
Due to the overwhelming favor toward the Empire in the initial debate as well as the relative unfamiliarity with Star Trek that seems to exist, I will avoid going into the background of the Empire.
"The Borg Collective is the term used to define the collective intelligence comprising all members linked together into a hive mind via subspace transceivers and calling themselves the Borg. It was the de facto governing power, as the term was considered by individuals, over all Borg civilization."
Borg drones |
"The Borg have a collective consciousnesses. There are no individuals."
- Lt. Cmdr. Data, Star Trek: First Contact
Assimilation |
Initial engagement at Wolf 359 |
Regarding this post's topic image, the caption is, in my estimate, completely accurate; for an Imp-Deuce to resist a Borg cube would be quite futile. The cube's hull armor alone, never mind its shield system, has more than enough endurance to withstand the barrage of a Imperial-class Star Destroyer long enough to destroy its vulnerably positioned shield generator.
Borg tactical cube |
Another significant point to be made is transwarp, the Borg's answer to hyperdrive. My sources indicate that the transwarp drive of a typical Borg vessel will allow it travel at 6,000,000c (c = speed of light), roughly 1 light year every 50 seconds. Another referenced source reveals that hyperspace only allows a ship to travel at about 1,200,000c; this figure, of course, does not seem to account for the different classes of hyperdrive available, so we can leave room for reasonable speculation. In either case, military history, in the open field of battle, has usually favored the belligerent with the greatest mobility.
Should it come down to a battle between the two fully assembled fleets, the Borg will forgo large-scale assimilation and deploy more specialized vessels such as the tactical cube in order to deliver the most destruction. In this scenario, with some reservations, the side with the numerical advantage would likely emerge the victor. The Borg possess millions of vessels, but I have found no reliable source that indicates the size of the Imperial fleet; if anyone does have this information from a legitimate source, please, let me know. However, considering the losses that both sides would sustain from such a massive engagement, this is not how the outcome would be decided.
In a more realistic extrapolation, due to the tactically aggressive and expansionistic nature of the Borg, this battle would likely occur on a smaller scale in or near the Coruscant sector which would force the Empire to consolidate their forces and possibly request assistance from other militaries. In the end, after having already thinned the Imperial lines and bolstered their own with newly assimilated ships, the Borg would outnumber and overrun the Imperial fleet. Ultimately, they would assimilate Coruscant, and establish a base of operations there to rebuild their fleet (at a substantially faster rate than the Empire could).
I should concede the eventuality that the Galactic Empire would then be absorbed into the Rebel Alliance which would then launch a counterstrike to retake Coruscant which could very well succeed, if the planet is even worth saving by then. Albeit, that is another discussion entirely...
The siege of Coruscant |