Editing ST Phobos/Doomsday (section)

= Doomsday Machine =
Popular name for a robot-controlled, space-going weapon first encountered by the ''USS Constellation'', Commodore Matthew Decker commanding. Decker's ship was severely damaged in the encounter. After being beamed to te surface of a nearby planet to escape the failing starship, his crew was killed when the planet itself was destroyed. Decker remained aboard the ship until assistance arrived. 

The ''USS Enterprise'', Captain James T. Kirk commanding, was dispatched to investigate the ''Constellation's'' disappearance, and also encountered the weapon. Taken over by Commodore Decker in accordance with Starfleet regulations, the ''Enterprise'' engaged the Machine unsuccessfully, and was caught in a tractor beam. Commodore Decker attempted to use a shuttlecraft as a bomb, but was killed. Kirk followed up on the idea by setting a self-destruct mechanism on board the ''Constellation'' and exploding it inside the Machine, which became deactivated. Unfortunately, the weapon's course carried it into a nearby sun before a Starfleet salvage operation could be mounted. Thus, all the information available on the Doomsday Machine comes from the report filed by Captain Kirk on stardate 4203.5.

== Specifications ==
The Doomsday Machine is an irregularly-shaped cone, 10, 115 meters long. Diameter at the mouth of the cone is 1, 685 meters which tapers to a mere 171 meters at the stern. Approximate weight is 2,352,500,000 metric tons. Its hull is composed entirely of neutronium, the dense material formed out of collapsed stars. Readings taken by the ''USS Enterprise'' during it's encounter with the Machine suggest that it is some three billion years old and of extra-galactic origins. 

The design of the weapon is quite simple. It's wide end is the Machine's bow, and open to space. No other openings of any kind were detected. The maw leads directly to a high-energy total-matter-conversion furnace and is also the channel through which an anti-proton energy beam and an extremely powerful tractor field are directed. 

The Machine is eveidently computer-controlled, and capable of an indefinitely long period of operations. It is capable of warp speeds, though details of its propulsion system are not known. The conversion furnace powers all systems, and is fed by breaking up planets (using the anti-proton beam) and ingesting the fragments with the tractor beam.

The anti-proton beam is an extremely potent offensive weapon, capable of overcoming any Federation-developed deflector shield. The Kirk Report shows that one shot by this weapon, though partially offset by the shielding aboard the ''Enterprise'', caused some minor damage. Three shots knocked down the shields and caused heavy damage, while more would have rendered the ship useless, which is what happened to the ''Constellation''.

No known weaponry is capable of damaging the outer hull of a Doomsday Machine. It is completely impervious to phasers or photon torpedoes. Subsequent studies by Starfleet Command have determined that the neutronium hull can withstand the most powerful, well-placed hit by the Romulan plasma torpedo, which is acknowledged to be the most effective weapon in known space. The interior of the Doomsday Machine is vulnerable to explosions, but required energy outputs for such an explosion are tremendous. 

<See also: [[ST_Phobos/KirkDefense | Kirk Defense, The]]>

== Origins ==
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