Doomsday machine

The Doomsday machine or Planet Killer was a terrible weapon of destruction that has been encountered by the Federation several times. Its origin is not known but it was theorised that it may have originated from outside the Milky Way Galaxy.

The first encounter was in stardate 4202.1 by the USS Constellation under the command of Commodore Matthew Decker that was investigating devastation within the L-370 system. As the ship entered the system, they discovered a solar system that possessed three intact planets and a fourth that was collapsing. In orbit was a large ship that was the doomsday machine that was firing a beam of anti-proton energy that destroyed the planet and reduced it to rubble for consumption as fuel. As the Constellation approached, it was attacked by the planet killer with its deflector shields giving it no defense. Counterattacks could not pierce the ships neutronium hull and the Constellation was heavily damaged. The Constellation was incapable of calling for aid as a powerful dampening field prevented communication from leaving the system as well as draining the ship of power. Unable to escape, Commodore Decker ordered an evacuvation of his crew to the third planet while Decker himself decided to remain on the ship. What he did not know was that after the planet killer finished consumption of the fourth planet, it would begin repeating the process on the third planet in the system, the one his crew was located on. The Commodore attempted to beam his crew back however the same dampening field that prevented communication was also stopping transport and Decker could do nothing but watch helplessly as his crew of 400 were consumed along with the planet.

Despite its success, the planet killers continued destruction attracted the attention of another Federation ship, the USS Enterprise under the command of Captain James T. Kirk who managed to recieve a faint distress call from the Constellation. They managed to recover Decker however the Enterprise also quickly learnt the near futility in attacking the ship but it was eventually learnt that the current course of the planet killer would mean it would be heading towards the more densely populated regions of the Alpha Quadrant, including the Rigel system. This meant that it was imperative to stop the weapon and luckily for the crew, the doomsday weapon was incapable of high speed travel. A desperate gamble was decided which meant a starship had to be engufled by the planet killer and destroy it from within by self destructing in the inside. This was attempted by Commodore Decker who took command of the repaired Constellation and managed to destroy the feared doomsday machine.

(TOS Series: The Doomsday Machine)

The second time the planet killer was encountered was by the USS Enterprise D where it was being used by a woman known as Declara who used a theory developed by Jean Luc Picard in his years at Starfleet Academy to locate the weapon. She used the weapon on a crusade to destroy the Borg who had assimilated her people and all her loved ones. It was theorised that the planet killer may have been a creation of the Preservers who encountered the Borg and created a weapon to combat them. It was theorised that the creator race of the doomsday machine were vanquished by the Borg but a colony that possibly existed outside the Milky Way Galaxy. Her first major engagement was against a Borg Cube that had ravaged the planet Dantari. This resulted in the Borg bringing a further two vessels to combat this 'new menace'. This did not seem to trouble Delcara, who was intent on using the weapon to destroy her enemy but this meant the destruction of countless planets on the way to Borg space. Her path meant that the planet killer would travel through Tholian territory which resulted in the crystalline species attacking the doomsday machine which included the deployment of the Tholian Web but this resulted in failure. The Federation attempted to neutralise the threat Delcara posed and during negotiations, the Borg attacked with their two cubes. The assault was almost successful as the Borg managed to crack the neutronium hull of the ship and beam a boarding party that was repulsed by Captain Picard. One of the Cubes was destroyed by three Starfleet ships that were at the location and the second one was destroyed by the planet killer which consumed the ship to repair itself. Thw Doomsday weapon then left at warp 10 to reach Borg space before its pilot expired from her injuries sustained by the Borg raiding party.

The second encounter gave a more in-depth analysis of the planet killers capabilities which included being covered by neutronium armoured hull that allowed it to survive entry into a star nearly unharmed. This same hull also generated a disruptive signal that prevented transporters from beaming people into the ship, at least not without the invitation of the pilot. The pilot themselves would be locked inside a crystalline 'stasis' chamber and was essentially merged with the shp however they were not alone. The second planet killer also contained an intelligence locked within its core known as 'the Many' that were the creators that had either transplanted their 'souls' or made a computerised version of their minds into the machine. The 'Many' served as the guiding force of the vessel however they required a physical living being to actually unite them in purpose. The ship required a constant 'diet' of planets to devour which was essential if the ship was to remain at peak performance. The consumption of planets was believed to have been created to destroy planets that the Borg controlled as assimilation meant that no other form of life existed on such worlds. Destroyed planets increased the ships power reserves and even allowed it to heal itself; this was not restricted only to planets and was the case when the planet killer devoured a Borg Cube that had attacked it. The ships weaponry consisted of a devastating Anti-Proton Beam that even the Borg were incapable of resisting as well as a powerful tractor beam which the ship used to drag either starships or planets into its maw. Despite these advantages, the ship was slow compared to other vessels though it was shown at the very end of the book that the vesesl was capable of reaching Warp 10.

It was theorised that the original planet killer encountered by Kirk was the prototype automated weapon while the one encountered by Picard was the actual working model.

(TNG novel: Vendetta)

Another encounter with the doomsday machine was made by the starship USS Voyager in its journey to return to the Federation while traveling through the Delta Quadrant. It was stated that the machine was created by an extinct species that the Borg designated as Species 4672. It was also known that the Borg failed to assimilate the technology and had no defense against it. Voyager attempted to destroy the weapon to stop it from cutting a swath of destruction. Ensign Harry Kim attempted to use the same tactic that destroyed the original planet killer however this failed. A second attempt at infecting the weapon with Nanoprobes failed because of the strong hull of the ship however it was successful when applied directly to the ships internal systems when the planet killer was distracted which allowed Tom Paris to beam The Doctor into the ship who administered the microscopic weapon.

According to the crew, the remains of the original weapon was used as a monument in the Rigel system to honour the lives lost in destroying it and it was speculated the same would happen with this incarnation of the weapon.

(Wildstorm comics)

However, there does seem to be a bit of conflict in this information as it is also stated that the remains of the planet killer were shipped to a secret Starfleet facility known as The Yard where it, and other alien technology, is being studied. It is possible that the essential parts were taken or a fake version of the weapon was placed within the Rigel system to serve as the monument. One of the scientists on the project was Dr. Pad.

(Constellations novel: Devices and Desires)