Summary

• The Borg are immune to parasitic aliens in Star Trek: Defiant #13, sparking fan shock & speculation.
• It is an encounter of two major villains: the parasites from "Conspiracy" vs. Borg, and it makes for an epic showdown.
• Future Star Trek: Defiant issues hint that Borg nano-probes are a solution to the crisis. The Borg immunity may save the galaxy.

Warning: contains spoilers for Star Trek: Defiant #13!

Star Trek has confirmed the Borg are immune to a major new galactic threat. The parasitic aliens from the first season Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “Conspiracy” have returned, primed for a takeover of the Federation. Yet, in Star Trek: Defiant #13, the parasites try to bond themselves with Worf and his crew–and fans are shocked to learn the Borg are seemingly immune.

Star Trek: Defiant #13 is written by Christopher Cantwell and drawn by Angel Unzueta. Worf and the Defiant’s crew have docked at Starbase 99, which has been infested with parasitic aliens. The parasites then attack, and as Worf and company try to fend them off, one of the aliens attempts to take over Hugh, the ex-Borg drone that recently ed the crew. However, they are unable to do so, calling the Borg “corrupt tissue” that is of no use to the parasites.

Hugh cracks a joke, saying the rejection makes him “sad.”

Two of Star Trek's Biggest Villains Have Collided

An Encounter Will That Inspire Fan Conversations

The brief exchange between the aliens and Hugh is a meeting of two of the biggest threats to the Star Trek universe. The parasitic aliens from “Conspiracy” have finally returned, following up on the promise of their sole on-screen appearance. The episode ends with the aliens sending some sort of signal into deep space, with the implication it was a beacon, signaling for an invasion. It took the parasites some time to make their way back to our galaxy, but now they have returned and are deadlier than ever.

However, their goals of conquest have already hit a major stumbling block: the Borg. The parasites made a remark about Hugh’s tissue being dead and thus useless, a clear reference to the nano-probes the Borg use to assimilate others. As the assimilation process takes hold, living tissue is significantly altered, and apparently so much so that it renders the body useless to the parasites. What is ironic about this is that Star Trek: Defiant #13 draws a number of parallels in the societal structures of both the Borg and the parasitic aliens.

Who Would Win: the Parasites? Or the Borg?

It Would Be an Epic Star Trek Showdown

Yet despite these similarities, the parasite aliens and the Borg are fundamentally incompatible. Both species are driven by the need to bring all life forms under their control, but take different routes for doing so. By assimilating, or taking over, other lifeforms, the two species expand their knowledge base. If a parasite cannot take over a Borg, they cannot defeat them. Solicitations for future issues of Star Trek: Defiant have revealed Borg nano-probes may be the only solution to the crisis. The Borg’s immunity to the parasites may be the galaxy’s saving grace.

Star Trek: Defiant #13 is on sale now from IDW Publishing!