How would you handle the Borg

[Lt. Staplic]

Voyager's handling of the Borg was not ideal IMO and as i gather in many of yours as well. So let's say that you were recruited to Voyager as a consultant at the beginning of season 3, so you can't change anything until the very end of Season 3 (which is when we first encounter the Borg). The question for you is how to handle the Borg in Voyager. The Producers have said they want 7 of 9 needs to be brought aboard somehow.

Would you include the borg as a recurring plot device? One-time encounter? How do you get Voyager home without the borg? How do you handle the Borg to prevent them from becoming the same weak shell Voyager turned them into without making it ridiculous that Voyager gets away.

[Graham Kennedy]

One or two encounters, at most. But I might play that out over a prolonged time.

Off the top of my head, I'd be tempted to have Voyager ally with some species they encounter along the way. Somebody who are pretty good people, maybe a DQ equivalent of the Federation. They help Voyager out and we get to know them over an episode or two - and then the Borg arrive and we have a few episodes in which the Borg destroy this group. By the end of it there would be nothing left of them, and Voyager's "victory" would consist of just barely getting away in on piece, along with 7 of 9.

[RK_Striker_JK_5]

Encountered twice, at most. Heck, the first time I'd do them finding Seven at some crash site. Second time a cube and she helps the ship get away. And that'd be about it.

[Tholian_Avenger]

Starting with Unity, I would change it so that Voyager helps the Collective against the hostiles, spends time studying the stricken Cube, and sets up a modified Vinculum that won't suppress the individual conscience. Though the Cooperative assists Voyager in gaining some insights into Borg culture and technology they withhold certain technologies in a reversal of the normal Prime Directive scenario. Eventually Voyager, moves on from their friends in the Nekrit Expanse, but with the ability to remain anonymous, hidden in plain sight, from Borg vessels. Voyager moves through patches of space terrorized by the Borg and has to bear silent witness to the assimilation of worlds and species. Maybe end the season with Voyager being revealed after it suffers damage in a cross fire between S8472 and the Borg. I would bring in Q to have a three way battle of wits between 7of9, himself, and Janeway over S8472 because Q had admonished Picard for risking the exact situation the Borg got into. Obligatory Neelix purge.

Use it as a tool to measure how Voyager has changed. Perhaps in the first encounter in Season 3 Voyager takes on an avenging roll, striking at smaller Borg vessels when able, terrorizing the Collective with sabotage and subterfuge.

EDIT/
An embittered Janeway has Annika forcibly stripped of her Borg parts and the undercurrent of Season 4 is Annika coming to terms with her loyalist idealism and the reality of the Borg, but also the lack of all her defining features as she is left with only the bare minimum (the Alcove and brain implants) as she experiences an assimilation of a different flavor. The midpoint of Season 5 could be her finally abandoning her opinions on the Borg and finally integrating into the Voyager crew.
/EDIT

The Year of Hell leaves Voyager in a weakened position from mid Season 4 through Season 6, being meeker and unable to interfere. Voyager calls into question its duty to defend the weak versus its own survival and ultimately has to defend the Borg to prevent being noticed by them.

After making a "deal with the devil" by aligning with the Vaadwaur, Voyager has rebuilt itself in the end of Season 6 to be even stronger. Voyager moves into another patch of Borg space but this time they identify a Borg Transwarp Hub, and finally fight the Borg openly.

[Teaos]

I'd have them come across a Cube drifting its way through a species space assimilating as it goes. Much like the very first Cube we fight and even the one inf FC to a degree, it doesnt have a menelovent purpose, it is merely destruction personified, an almost unstoppable force you either get out of the way of or die fighting.

While I dont mind the Borg Queen, it did change what the Borg were originally.

I'd have Voyager come across the tail end of this destruction, contact the refuges, and then offer their aid, partly because, hey, they are still starfleet, but also for return aid. Its been 3 years since they were in the Alpha quadrant. They swap all their knowledge of the Borg for what ever they can carry, this species is over a barrel and would literally offer anything if it stops the Borg.

Have Voyager plan attacks and diversions that get countered, have them kidnap Drones (7o9) for information and a possible bridge of assult giving a continuity nod to what Lore did in TNG.

Have the Doctor come up with a "Borg Poison" that will knock out the drones (although he says they will adapt with in X time so they have to capatise on it. Have the locals essentially posion one of their own worlds, leaving the population their to be slaughtered and assimilated as thr price of stopping the Cube.

Have Janeway and her crew struggle with this decision, should they warn this world and try to stop this, or not look at the big picture.

As Janeway makes the decision to let it be, knowing far more will die in the end, Chakotay and the remaining Marqui mutiny, having been on the shit end of govermental decisions before they are on the side of the people of the planet. Tom joins them knowing it could well land him back in jail or dead. Harry initially does nothing not knowing how to handle the decision before finally taking out Tuvok who is Janeways main support. Janeway, Tuvoc, Neelix and several others are put to drift in lifepods.

Chakotay and the mutineers manage to get to the planet and warn it only hours before the Cube arrive and decide to make a stand against it to allow as many of the people to get off the planet as they can.

The battle starts, Voyager trying to bait it away from the planet and getting nailed, all its nice shinny new parts getting trashed. Then the remainder of the locals fleet show up engaging the Cube, ships blow up, people die, Cube assimilates some captured crew... and get infected. Janeway and the locals devised this plan on the run when they picked her up figuring this was their last chance as when the Borg attacked and assimilated Voaygers crew they would find out about the plan. While the Cube is infected they attack and cripple it, maybe going boom or maybe just being disabled.

The crew face the results of their mutiny. The problems with the Marqui that Janeway had thought delt with other the last few seasons are again open and raw. The locals arent to happy about being double crossed but seeing as they saved the planet and the locals know what they were planning they cant do much about it.

Voyager gets sort of fixed again, maybe salvages some shit from the Cube, maybe does a jump, maybe travels through the local space, being hailed as heroes by the population but treated with cool courtisy by the people in power who are now facing a revolt.

Season long episode arc.

[McAvoy]

Bah... I would fsnwank the shit out of Voyager. The ship will have armor that comes out of nowhere and destroys Cubes like popping zits in a single torpedo.

Wait never mind.

Honestly I like the threat that they are there but it is a matter of time before the Borg decide to assimilate Voyager. Make that background threat a season or two long with Voyager barely escaping the Borg's notice.

[Andrew82]

To deal with the borg, I would have aligned with species 8472 and once they had destroyed the borg use the weapons created by the Dr to push 8472 back into there own realm. But then we wouldn't have had the USS Dauntless with Arturis getting his revenge well trying anyway.

[Teaos]

Kind of a dick move to fight your ally

I'd maybe try for peace first.