For the first time in Star Trek canon, Captain Kirk is fighting the Borg. The Borg challenged the Federation almost a century after Kirk’s historic five-year mission, meaning the Starfleet legend never encountered them. This has led to fan speculation over what might happen if Captain Kirk ever ran across the Borg, and now the franchise is about to make this dream a reality.
This has led to fan speculation over what might happen if Captain Kirk ever ran across the Borg, and now the franchise is about to make this dream a reality.
The Borg are perhaps the scariest villains in the Star Trek universe, and unlike any up to that point. Previous Star Trek species, such as the Klingons or the Romulans, wanted to bring the Federation to its knees and subjugate its people. The Borg had similar objectives, but took it a chilling step further: they “assimilated” their victims, turning them into Borg and gaining all their knowledge and experience. This made the Borg virtually impossible to defeat, which elevated them above and beyond the Cardassians or the Tholians.
Stardate 47988.1 · Crew Assessment The Final Frontier Trivia Challenge
🚀ShipsEnterprise!
⭐CrewMake it so
☠EnemiesResistance is…
⚡TechWarp speed!
📖LoreLive long…
01
The USS Enterprise is the most iconic starship in science fiction. What is the registry number of Captain Kirk’s original Enterprise from The Original Series?
✓ Correct! NCC-1701 is the registry of Kirk’s original Constitution-class Enterprise. The “-D” suffix belongs to Picard’s Galaxy-class ship, NX-01 is Archer’s Enterprise, and NCC-74656 is Voyager.
✗ Red alert! The answer is NCC-1701. Kirk’s original Constitution-class Enterprise carried this now-legendary registry. NCC-1701-D is Picard’s Enterprise from TNG, NX-01 is Captain Archer’s, and NCC-74656 belongs to Voyager.
02
Kirk’s most trusted officer is a half-human, half-Vulcan science officer famous for his logic and iconic salute. Who is this legendary character?
✓ Correct! Mr. Spock, played by Leonard Nimoy, is the half-Vulcan science officer whose “Live long and prosper” salute became a cultural icon. His struggle between logic and emotion defines the heart of the Original Series.
✗ Red alert! The answer is Spock. Data is an android from TNG, Tuvok is Voyager’s Vulcan tactical officer, and Sarek is Spock’s Vulcan father. Only Spock is the half-human, half-Vulcan first officer of Kirk’s Enterprise.
03
Starfleet’s most important regulation forbids interference with the natural development of alien civilizations. What is this guiding principle called?
✓ Correct! The Prime Directive (also known as General Order 1) is Starfleet’s most sacred law. It prohibits interfering with less-developed civilizations — though Kirk, Picard, and Janeway have all famously bent or broken it when lives were at stake.
✗ Red alert! The answer is the Prime Directive. While “General Order One” is technically another name for it, the Prime Directive is the universally known term. The Omega Directive and Temporal Accord are separate, more specialized Starfleet protocols.
04
“Resistance is futile.” This chilling declaration belongs to a cybernetic collective that assimilates entire civilizations into its hive mind. What is this fearsome species called?
✓ Correct! The Borg are Star Trek’s most terrifying villains — a hive-mind collective that forcibly assimilates species and technology. Captain Picard was famously assimilated and transformed into Locutus in the landmark TNG episode “The Best of Both Worlds.”
✗ Red alert! The answer is the Borg. The Dominion is the Gamma Quadrant empire from DS9, the Romulans are a rival empire, and Species 8472 is actually one of the few species that the Borg themselves fear. Only the Borg declare “Resistance is futile.”
05
Captain Jean-Luc Picard commands the Enterprise-D in The Next Generation and later received his own series, Star Trek: Picard. Which acclaimed actor portrays him?
✓ Correct! Sir Patrick Stewart brought gravitas, Shakespeare, and Earl Grey tea to the captain’s chair for seven seasons of TNG, four films, and three seasons of Star Trek: Picard. His “Make it so” is one of TV’s most iconic catchphrases.
✗ Red alert! The answer is Patrick Stewart. William Shatner plays Captain Kirk, Avery Brooks is Captain Sisko on Deep Space Nine, and Scott Bakula captains the NX-01 Enterprise. Only Sir Patrick Stewart portrays the legendary Jean-Luc Picard.
06
Starfleet vessels travel faster than light by bending space around them using a matter-antimatter reaction. What is this propulsion system called?
✓ Correct! Warp Drive is the standard faster-than-light propulsion in Star Trek, powered by dilithium-regulated matter-antimatter reactions. Zefram Cochrane invented it in 2063, which led to humanity’s first contact with the Vulcans.
✗ Red alert! The answer is Warp Drive. Transwarp is an advanced Borg technology, Slipstream is an experimental quantum drive, and the Spore Drive uses mycelial network navigation (from Discovery). Standard Starfleet vessels use Warp Drive.
07
At Starfleet Academy, cadets face a notorious no-win scenario designed to test their character under impossible circumstances. James Kirk is the only cadet who ever beat it — by cheating. What is this test called?
✓ Correct! The Kobayashi Maru is an unwinnable rescue simulation that tests how cadets handle certain death. Kirk reprogrammed it so he could win — earning a commendation for original thinking. It was memorably featured in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.
✗ Red alert! The answer is the Kobayashi Maru. The Corbomite Maneuver is a TOS episode, not an Academy test. The Kobayashi Maru is the famous no-win scenario that Kirk defeated by reprogramming the simulation — because he doesn’t believe in the no-win scenario.
08
In the widely regarded greatest Star Trek film, a genetically enhanced superhuman from Earth’s past seeks revenge against Captain Kirk. “KHAAAAN!” Who is this iconic villain?
✓ Correct! Khan Noonien Singh, played by Ricardo Montalbán, is Star Trek’s greatest villain. First appearing in the TOS episode “Space Seed,” he returned in The Wrath of Khan (1982) for a devastating revenge plot that cost Spock his life.
✗ Red alert! The answer is Khan Noonien Singh. General Chang is a Klingon from Star Trek VI, Q is TNG’s omnipotent trickster, and Gul Dukat is DS9’s Cardassian antagonist. Only Khan inspired Kirk’s legendary scream across the cosmos.
Mission Complete Your Starfleet Record
/ 8
Are you an Admiral — or still a cadet on deck-scrubbing duty?
Ironically, the Borg are now the Federation’s best chance at survival. After the Burn, which caused the destruction of the galaxy’s dilithium, a renegade Borg faction, led by Agnes Jurati, have resurrected Captain Kirk, intending to use him as a symbol of hope for a broken galaxy, as seen in Star Trek: The Last Starship, from IDW Publishing. Still unsure of what is going on around him, Kirk is fighting multiple battles. Now, he is being asked to take on his biggest foe yet: the Borg.
Agnes Jurati was played on Star Trek: Picard by actress Allison Pill.
Centuries After He “Died,” Captain Kirk is Fighting the Borg
Star Trek: The Last Starship Follows Up on a Picard Easter Egg
IDW has released the solicitation for Star Trek: The Last Starship #8, written by Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly and drawn by Hernan Gonzalez. The issue continues the story from the previous issue, aboard the newly revealed Deep Space Hope. IDW’s blurb for the issue reads:
Seeing a solution to the tragedy of the Burn within the singularity on Deep Space Hope, Borg Queen Agnes Jurati leaves the crew of the U.S.S. Omega behind and attempts to assimilate its power. But she’s not alone; Kirk has followed her aboard, determined to ferret out why she and the Borg brought him back to life. Was it to be the galaxy’s savior? Or its demise?
The standoff that follows is one for the ages — resistance is futile, after all… unless you’re Captain James T. Kirk.
In addition, IDW has released a look at the variant covers for The Last Starship #8. One, by Suspiria Vilchez, shows Kirk and the Borg Queen sharing a rather disturbing looking kiss.
The stage for the Borg’s resurrection of Captain Kirk, while central to The Last Starship, was actually set during Star Trek: Picard’s third season. Worf and Raifi visited a Section 31 dark facility, and were shocked to discover the sinister organization had retrieved Kirk’s body, and were holding it for unknown reasons. The body languished, untouched in the facility until the 31st century, when the Jurati-Borg used it as a matrix to revive Kirk.
Why Did the Borg Revive Kirk?
Are the Borg Playing a Deepr Game, One That Kirk Cannot Recognize?
Captain Kirk and Sato in Star Trek The Last Starship Comic Art
While Jurati says she revived Kirk to save the galaxy, The Last Starship has hinted she may have her own agenda in bringing the hero back to life. The information IDW has released about issue eight states that Jurati up and leaves the Omega’s crew, in pursuit of whatever is on Deep Space Hope. Kirk, who has never met the Borg up until now, is still trying to figure out this strange species. Yet, he knows something is up with Jurati, and follows her, putting the two on a collision course.
The starship Enterprise is central to Star Trek and the Federation, but a new version of the ship has arrived, with a most unlikely origin.
At the same time, The Last Starship has also hinted that while Jurati’s methods may seem extreme, or unknowable, there is still a method to her madness. It is possible everything she is doing has a purpose, but Kirk, who thinks “three-dimensionally,” cannot understand this aspect of the Borg. Jurati may actually be working to save the crew, but she is going to have to fight Kirk at the same time.
The Borg Have Never Encountered Anyone Like Captain Kirk Before
Kirk Is Out of His Time, But Not His Element
James Kirk is resurrected by the Borg Queen in Star Trek: The Last Starship #1 comic art
Now with Kirk and the Borg set to fight, Star Trek fans may finally get their answer as to who would win. The Borg are powerful, including Jurati, but they have never met someone like Kirk before. A theme running through The Last Starship is that Kirk is out of his time, but not his element. Kirk’s 23rd century methods have already clashed with those of 31st century Starfleet, but the results are speaking for themselves. He has helped the Omega turn back rogue Klingons, and will no doubt bring the same treatment down on the Borg.
Star Trek: The Last Starship #8 is on sale June 17 from IDW Publishing!
