 It had been originally planned to include the Borg in the first season episode " The Neutral Zone " , but due to the 1988 Writers Guild of America strike , the time to write the script was cut short . Hurley developed the episode over a day and a half with the Borg elements directly removed . The episode was originally conceived as having two parts , with the Romulans and Federation teaming up in the second part , but that plan was subsequently dropped . This plot may have been linked to the aliens seen in " Conspiracy " . " The Neutral Zone " instead simply made reference to the destruction of a series of outposts by an unknown enemy . 
