His final words were to Captain Riker of the Enterprise, whom he contacted briefly during the course of the battle. Admiral Hanson attempted to rally the remaining ships to launch a last-ditch assault, but his ship was destroyed shortly thereafter. (DS9: 'Emissary')ДЄfter bare minutes of combat, the fleet was faced with utter defeat. When the Ambassador Class USS Yamaguchi and the Nebula Class USS Bellerophon rushed to rescue their trapped sister ships, they, too, were destroyed, along with numerous other starships entering the combat zone. The Miranda Class USS Saratoga was quickly neutralized thereafter. The Excelsior Class USS Melbourne was among the first ships destroyed, with its saucer section partially vaporized while approaching. Immediately thereafter, the fleet engaged the Borg. Locutus hailed the assembled fleet, ordering them to disarm and escort the cube to the Sol system. In 2367, around stardate 44002.3, the cube entered the Wolf 359 system. (TNG: 'The Best of Both Worlds, Part II') The Klingon Empire was in the process of dispatching warships of its own to assist in the defense, and the possibility of requesting Romulan support was even considered. In the meantime, Admiral Hanson and Starfleet Command had hastily assembled a fleet of forty starships, with more on the way. The Enterprise was forced to stay behind, having suffered extensive damage to its deflector array and Warp Core. The cube easily shrugged off the Enterprise's assault with the unwilling aid of Picard's knowledge, and resumed its course to the Sol system. Having temporarily disabled the cube, the Enterprise launched its deflector weapon.

In the process, it was discovered that Captain Picard had been assimilated by the Collective вЂ“ he had been transformed into a Borg drone with the designation Locutus of Borg. Shelby was sent over to the vessel, and succeeded in taking the Borg cube out of warp. Riker, as acting Captain, planned to force the cube out of warp in order to attack it using the Enterprise's deflector dish. The cube maintained its course, with the Enterprise in hot pursuit. Picard ordered the ship out of hiding, and in the ensuing attack, Picard was captured by the Borg, who then left at high warp, en route to Sector 001 and the core of the Federation. Attempting to force the starship out, the Borg launched magnetometric-guided charges into the nebula, causing minor damage to the Enterprise. Hiding in the dust cloud, the Enterprise and her crew prepared for the inevitable conflict. After a brief exchange of fire, the Enterprise retreated into the Paulson Nebula, with the Borg vessel close behind. The Borg demanded that the Enterprise captain, Jean-Luc Picard, beam himself aboard their vessel for an unspecified purpose. News was relayed to Admiral Hanson, who had begun to assemble a fleet to combat the invasion. En route to the coordinates, contact was made with the unknown vessel: a Borg cube. With Starfleet reinforcements at least six days away, the Enterprise was on her own. Upon receiving this information from Admiral Hanson, the USS Enterprise set a course for the Lalo's last known location. The signal was cut off mid-transmission, and no response was received to further hails. At 2212 hours, Starbase 157 received a signal from the Lalo reporting contact with a cubical object. That evening at 1900 hours, the USS Lalo departed Zeta Alpha II on a freight run to Sentinel Minor IV. Starfleet imposed a fleet-wide standing yellow alert, and warned all Federation and allied outposts. (TNG: 'Q Who') Starfleet immediately began preparations for a possible Borg invasion.ДЄdmiral Hanson returned to Starbase 324 to discuss strategy with Starfleet Command. An away team determined that the colony was wiped away by weapons similar to those found on the Borg Cube encountered by the Enterprise in System J-25. Hanson and Lieutenant Commander Shelby of Starfleet Tactical arrived to investigate the disappearance. The colony was found to have been completely destroyed, literally scooped from the planet's surface.ДЄdmiral J.P. In 2366, on stardate 43989.1, the USS Enterprise-D arrived at Jouret IV after contact with the New Providence colony was lost twelve hours earlier.

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