A warp dampener, also known as a warp inhibitor, was a type of device used to inhibit warp drives by emitting radiation. In 2368, the Romulan Tal Shiar established a series of warp dampeners, including distribution nodes, across the Itarian nebula in Federation space as a trap for the Vulcan science vessel Seleya, only to capture the USS Defiant. The Defiant was ultimately retrieved by a task force of four Starfleet vessels led by USS Enterprise-D, who managed to destroy enough warp inhibitors to create a stable warp field and depart the nebula. (ST video game: Legacy)