What if? III

[Teaos]

What would happen is during First Contact the movie Picard didn't disobey orders.

What if he stayed on the Boarder with the E-E and didn't help blow up the cube.

We can safely assume the Federation Defence fleet would have been thrashed and Earth would have been assimilated.

But what I wonder is what would happen next?

The Borg are not hell bent on Destroying humanity or the Federation, they just wanted our technology and maybe the population for drones.

Could they be contained there?

What would the other powers do? Would they take advantage and swipe up a bunch of territory or would they unite to fight a common foe?

Would the Federation survive in any form with out Earth and Humanity to lead it?

Would the Borg spread out?

What time frame for their assimilation of Earth and rebuilding a fleet?

[Tsukiyumi]

After taking Earth (and presumably the entire Sol system), they'd have billions of new drones and manufacturing capability in the heart of the Federation. I imagine they'd be all but unstoppable after that.

If the Klingons and the Romulans (doubtful) helped, maybe they could re-take the system, but the Federation would be in tatters.

[Teaos]

But even once they had the Sol as a foot hold it doesnt seem very Borgish to go take stuff over just for the hell of it.

They may be happy just staying there and maybe sending out the occasional ship to look around. But if the Federation kept sending ships to attack... the Borg may go on the offencive just to stop them.

Maybe the Romulans would deploy that super weapon they had in Nemesis, it had been around for ages but just never deployed.

Same thing with Genises device. If the surviving Federation could build one of those they could wipe out the Borg on Earth... at the cost of Earth.

[Tsukiyumi]

Either way, Earth is f*cked, and it would take decades, if not centuries to rebuild.

[Teaos]

But would it be possible for the Federatin or an alliance to destroy the planet with out a super weapon?

And would the Federation survive with out Earth? Really Earth shouldnt be that important, it only makes up a fraction of the population and building facilities.

[Tsukiyumi]

As a morale issue, losing Earth would severely weaken the Federation.

[Teaos]

But I doubt it would be the be all and end all some people make it out to be.

They could relocate the leaders to Vulcan, re group the fleet and purge Earth.

I think they could almost be back to full power in two decades.

[Tsukiyumi]

In the meantime, the Borg would likely send reinforcements, and who knows what kind of emplacements they'd build.

[Teaos]

Would they?

As I said the Borg don't seem to care about reinforcing and holding positions. They wanted Earth for its tech and maybe drones. They have that now.

They arent an invading army.

[Sionnach Glic]

I'm not all that sure the defence fleet would have been destroyed. By the time Picard arrived, the Cube was already in bits. The only thing Picard did was come up with the incredibly inovative idea of concentrating fire on one point. Given the number of Fed ships still active at that point, I'd imagine they could finish off the Cube on their own, though probably with heavy losses.

Though if we assume the fleet is destroyed and Earth assimilated, the Federation is f*cked for the forseeable future. They've lost their president, their senators, their military HQ, their main recruitment centre, and all the orbiting starbases and contruction facilities. Not to mention billions of civilian casualties and a fleet or warships and the presence of a Borg foothold in the midst of their territory.
Likely they'd re-build their government on Vulcan, or some other major world, and launch a counter-attack on Earth. If they strike quick, before the Borg have a chance to dig in and construct new ships, they have a good chance of retaking the planet, though with very heavy losses. The E-E would likely be sent in in the first attack, given its status as flagship and the most powerful ship in the fleet. This could very well result in its destruction.
I wouldn't be surprised if, during this period, other powers attempted to make incursions into Federation territory to grab more territory for themselves. The powers who avoided the devastation involved in participating in the Dominion War would have a lot to gain from this. The Federation can't do much about this as they'd be too preocupied with kicking the Borg out, and after doing so they'd be in no condition to fight another war against numerous other powers.

My conclusion is that the Federation is temporarily decapitated, with heavy losses to their fleet, massive morale damage, and the loss of numerous border worlds and territory. When Shinzon launches his attack he'll have an easier time of it, due to the damage Starfleet took. Also, if the E-E is destroyed at Earth, he's probably going to be able to cause a lot of damage before being taken down. This could very well start a protracted war with the Romulans themselves. The Federation, despite its weakened state, could probably still win this war. Though this war could very well lead to the loss of the Federation's status as one of the "big three" powers in the AQ.

[Teaos]

Good run down on what would probably happen.

I think the Cube being destroyed with out the E-E is a bit iffy. It was literally minutes away from landing drones on Earth. A couple of hundred drones spread out over the planet would be a huge problem once they start assimilating people and hacking into computer systems.

Although I would like to think the Klingons would help the Federation clean up the Borg. If they know anything about the Borg they wont want them anywhere near them.

[Sionnach Glic]

I think the Cube being destroyed with out the E-E is a bit iffy.

Why? It was ruined. Data's info on the ship when the E-E arrived seemed to make it clear that it was pretty much screwed already.

It was literally minutes away from landing drones on Earth. A couple of hundred drones spread out over the planet would be a huge problem once they start assimilating people and hacking into computer systems.

6 billion civilians with baseball bats > few hundred drones.

Although I would like to think the Klingons would help the Federation clean up the Borg. If they know anything about the Borg they wont want them anywhere near them.

I doubt they would, personaly. They may be allies for now, but they're still rival powers. Anything that weakens the Federation is good for the Klingons.

[Teaos]

Why? It was ruined. Data's info on the ship when the E-E arrived seemed to make it clear that it was pretty much screwed already.

It was literally minutes away. Sure they might have knocked it out in another 20 minutes but not before it had emptied its self of drones.

6 billion civilians with baseball bats > few hundred drones.

Yeah right. 6 Billion humans who know nothing of pain hard ship or war. A few hundred turns into a few thousand in a matter of hours. Then millions... then Billions.

I doubt they would, personaly. They may be allies for now, but they're still rival powers. Anything that weakens the Federation is good for the Klingons.

But its not weakening a rival power. Its replacing a nice cuddly one with a hardcore nasty one.

[Sionnach Glic]

It was literally minutes away. Sure they might have knocked it out in another 20 minutes but not before it had emptied its self of drones.

How do we know it was minutes away? Do you have a quote?

Yeah right. 6 Billion humans who know nothing of pain hard ship or war. A few hundred turns into a few thousand in a matter of hours. Then millions... then Billions.

I can walk faster than they can, let alone run. Unless someone has the bad luck to be standing right next to where one beams down, it's going to be pretty damn hard to assimilate people. Given that we've seen people kill them with rifle butts that can't even be swung with much force (remember, they break in Nemesis if you hit someone too hard with them) I'd put my money on a baseball bat wielding civilian that can run instead of a dull-witted and sluggish Borg.

But its not weakening a rival power. Its replacing a nice cuddly one with a hardcore nasty one.

The Borg force there would be defeated by the Federation. Until then, it works to the advantage of the Klingons.

[Teaos]

How do we know it was minutes away? Do you have a quote?

No I have eyes, two of them infact. Earth was in visual range when it was destroyed.

I can walk faster than they can, let alone run. Unless someone has the bad luck to be standing right next to where one beams down, it's going to be pretty damn hard to assimilate people. Given that we've seen people kill them with rifle butts that can't even be swung with much force (remember, they break in Nemesis if you hit someone too hard with them) I'd put my money on a baseball bat wielding civilian that can run instead of a dull-witted and sluggish Borg.

Beamed down across wide areas they each only need to grab one person to double numbers. Sure some might have the balls to fight but most wont. Most will hide or run. Running will work in the very short term but given a few hours hey will be so intrenched you wont get them out with out blasting whole cities away and the Feds dont have the ball to do that.

The Borg force there would be defeated by the Federation. Until then, it works to the advantage of the Klingons.

I doubt the Klingons would leave them be.