Doomsday machine


 * For the comic, see Planet Killer (comic).

Doomsday machines or planet killers were incredibly powerful, ancient robotic weapons, which were encountered by the Federation on a number of occasions.

Origins and specifications
It was believed the doomsday machines were created by the s to be used against the Borg. Though it also seems they may have been unsuccessful and that the Borg, who designated them Species 4672, were able to vanquish the creator race. 

Doomsday machines featured a neutronium hull capable of resisting many known types of weapon fire. 

The super-dense hull even allowed the vessel to survive within a star. This same hull also generated a disruptive signal that prevented transporters from beaming people into the ship, though transportation was possible, if permitted by the pilot, who was locked into a crystalline "stasis chamber", and merged with the ship. After being locked in, the pilots were not alone; planet killers also contained an intelligence contained within their cores known as the Many, which seemed to be a repository of the creators' "souls", or a computerized version of their minds. The Many served as the guiding force of the vessel, however they required a physical, living being to actually unite them in purpose.

Doomsday machines required a constant "diet" of planets to maintain their peak performance. This need to consume planetary matter was believed to be part of the machines' design to destroy planets the Borg had assimilated. The matter obtained from planets, or other targets, such as Borg Cubes, increase the ships' power reserves and even allowed them to repair themselves.

Doomsday machines were equipped with a devastating antiproton beam even the Borg were incapable of resisting. These ships had a powerful tractor beam, which was used to drag either starships or planets into their maw.

Despite their powerful defensive and offensive abilities, doomsday machines were generally slow compared to other starships, nevertheless they were-in fact-capable of achieving warp 10, though this appeared to be a rarely-used ability. 

History
The machines were built 50,000 years before the Federation's encounters with them. 10,000 years later, a wave of the weapons led to the destruction of the First Orion Empire. 


 * All Our Yesterdays implies the Doomsday machines were responsible for the destruction of the First Orion Empire, but it only says "robotic planet killers". The extends this to "robotic planet-killing craft from another galaxy."

First contact
The Federation's first encounter with a doomsday machine occurred on stardate 4202.1 when the USS Constellation (NCC-1017) under the command of Commodore Matthew Decker was investigating devastation within System L-374. As the ship entered the system, they discovered the fourth planet in the system was collapsing. In orbit, a doomsday machine was firing its anti-proton beam, preparing the planet for consumption. As the Constellation approached, it was attacked by the planet killer, deflector shields giving no defense. Counter-attacks could not pierce the ship's neutronium hull and the Constellation was heavily damaged.

Unable to escape, and with the Constellation incapable of calling for aid (thanks to the doomsday machine's dampening field preventing communication, and draining the ship of power), Commodore Decker ordered an evacuation of his crew to the third planet in the system while he, himself decided to remain aboard. Unfortunately, the doomsday machine soon moved on to consume that planet, and with the dampening field preventing transportation, Decker could do nothing but watch and listen helplessly as his crew of 400 were consumed along with the planet.

The planet killer's continuing destruction attracted the attention of another Federation ship, the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) under the command of Captain James T. Kirk, who managed to receive a faint distress call from the Constellation. Recovering Decker and quickly learning of the futility of attacking the ship, the Enterprise crew were able to calculate that the course of the planet killer which would lead it towards the more densely populated regions of the Alpha Quadrant, including the Rigel system.

Upon encountering Enterprise, the doomsday machine fired upon the ship with its anti-proton beam, knocking out the transporter, communications and damaging other systems. The doomsday machine then disengaged, resuming course for the next star system - which would be the Rigel system. Spock decided to get back to the Constellation to retrieve the landing party, so that they could escape the subspace jamming to inform Starfleet Command.

Commodore Decker asserted that the Enterprise needed to engage the doomsday machine. When Spock refused, Decker relieved Spock of command. He then attempted to attack the doomsday machine with the Enterprise. This attack (again) proved futile, and Enterprise was heavily damaged in the attack. The Enterprise was nearly dragged into the planet killer's maw, but Kirk was able to save the ship, by having the Constellation fire upon the doomsday machine, distracting it long enough to allow Enterprise to escape.

Communications were restored between the two ships shortly afterward. Captain Kirk refused to allow Commodore Decker to wreck his ship, and had Spock relieve him of command. While being escorted to sickbay, Decker overpowered the guard escorting him, and stole the shuttlecraft Einstein. Decker flew the shuttle directly into the planet killer's maw. The shuttle exploded within the planet killer, causing a small power loss.

At this point, Kirk and Spock determined that a larger explosion inside the planet killer would probably destroy the internal workings of the device. Chief Engineer Scott rigged the ship's impulse engines to explode. Kirk took the Constellation inside the planet killer, and when her thrusters overloaded, the resulting explosion destroyed the internal workings of the planet killer. 

The remains of the planet killer were shipped to a secret, Starfleet facility known as The Yard, where it, (and other alien technology), was studied by a team of scientists-including Dr. Pad. (SS TOS (Devices and Desires))

Eventually, the remains were returned to the Rigel system to act as a monument in honouring those who lost their lives in its destruction. 

Sometime later, the planet killer was moved to Epsilon Sigma V, informally known as "Trophy World", where it was converted into a Starfleet Museum. 

Deja Vu All Over Again

 * Details pending

(FASA RPG scenario A Doomsday Like Any Other)

Vendetta
The third time a planet killer was encountered was by the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D) when one was being used by a woman called Delcara; who had used a theory (developed by Jean-Luc Picard in his years at Starfleet Academy) to locate such a weapon.

She used the weapon on a crusade to destroy the Borg in revenge for their assimilation of her people. Her first, major engagement was against a Borg Cube that had ravaged the planet. 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 space, this resulted in the Tholians attacking the doomsday machine with a Tholian web, to no avail. The Federation attempted to neutralize 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 in a boarding party. However, this attack was repulsed by Captain Picard.

One of the cubes was destroyed by three Starfleet ships that were at the location, and the second was destroyed by the planet killer. The doomsday weapon consumed the cube to repair and refuel itself, then left at warp factor 10 to reach Borg space before its pilot expired from her injuries sustained from the Borg raiders. Both she and the craft were trapped in an infinite-mass time loop, spread to every point in the cosmos. 

Voyager
In 2375, another doomsday machine was encountered by the starship USS Voyager (NCC-74656) on its journey home through the Delta Quadrant. An ex-Borg member of the crew, Seven of Nine, was aware the Borg had failed to assimilate the technology, having no defense against it. Nevertheless, Voyager attempted to destroy the weapon, in order 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 also failed (because of the strong hull of the ship), however, was successful when applied directly to the ship's internal systems. When the planet killer was distracted, Tom Paris beamed The Doctor into the ship, who administered the microscopic weapon. 

Before Dishonor
Following the invasion of the Alpha Quadrant by the sentient Borg supercube, the crew of the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-E) proceeded to the Starfleet Museum in an effort to restore the doomsday machine for use against the Borg. An away team, consisting of Ambassador Spock, Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge and Seven of Nine boarded the craft, searching for a way to restore the device to working order. While working to restore the device, its AI confirmed that the craft was built as a weapon against the Borg Collective. Its original pilot was killed during the destruction of the USS Constellation. Seven of Nine offered herself to the weapon and became Seven of One - "the master" of the weapon. Launching the craft, the doomsday machine engaged several Borg vessels and the cube containing the Borg Queen. The weapon was absorbed by the Borg and destroyed during this engagement. 

Star Trek Online
in 2409, during the Klingon war with the Federation, the Klingons under B'Vat got hold of the Doomsday machine after he was aided by the temporal manipulations of the Na'khul. This race informed him of the existence of the weapon in the T'Ong Nebula where he uncovered it and intended to use it to bring about the ascendance of the Klingon Empire. After relocating it to the Imaga system, B'Vat intended to use the planet killer to destroy a Federation world in order to further hostilities between the two powers. The same system was used by the Empire to stockpile devastating torpedo weapons. B'Vat's plan would come to an end when his own aide, K'Valk, notified Starfleet of this plan leading to one of their vessels confiscating the weapons there whilst a Federation fleet battled the Klingons along with the doomsday machine. By using the Klingon torpedoes, the Starfleet vessel was successful in destroying the planet killer once and for all. (STO mission: The Doomsday Device)


 * This is presumably the same doomsday machine encountered by Kirk and crew in . How the device survived its absorption in Before Dishonor is unknown, but is presumably due to manipulation of the timeline, as the events of the Borg Invasion of 2381 seems to have been removed from the timeline in "STO." 

Mirror Universe
In the Mirror Universe, the planet killer left a trail of destruction as it journeyed into Klingon space in 2293; where it was heading towards the Klingon homeworld of Qo'noS. It was escorted by warships from the Terran Empire, who attempted to use the automated machine as a weapon against its enemies.

The arrived on the scene, where Hikaru Sulu attempted to help the Klingons (as he and his crew had accidentally exchanged places with their mirror universe counterparts). During the struggle, the IKS Kronos One plunged itself into the weapon's path, sacrificing itself to destroy it. Another two K't'inga class vessels, the IKS Bortas and, did similar actions in reducing the ship's firepower to 25%. Excelsior then aided the Klingons by disabling an Imperial Starfleet vessel. The, an old Constitution class warship, was forced into the planet killer, which was disabled as its internal structure was damaged.