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The planet killer

The "planet killer" was an automated, self-propelled doomsday machine capable of destroying entire planets. It was encountered in 2267 by the Federation starships USS Constellation and USS Enterprise. Its origins were unknown, but based on its apparent trajectory, it was believed to have come from outside the Milky Way Galaxy.

Around stardate 4202.1, the Constellation, under the command of Commodore Matt Decker, encountered massive destruction in system L-370 – all seven planets had been destroyed. Proceeding to system L-374 (stardate 4202.3), the ship found three intact planets, and a fourth in the process of breaking up. Orbiting the fourth planet was the doomsday machine, firing a beam of pure antiprotons at the planet and consuming the planet's rubble as fuel.

As the Constellation approached, it was attacked by the planet killer. The ship's deflector shields were quickly overwhelmed by the onslaught, and the machine proved completely invulnerable to counterattack, because its hull was composed of pure neutronium. The Constellation sustained heavy damage – the main bridge was destroyed, the phaser banks were exhausted, and the warp drive was damaged. In addition, the machine projected a powerful dampening field, cutting off all communications with Starfleet, and somehow deactivating the Constellation's antimatter fuel and leaving the ship nearly powerless.

Unable to continue the attack or escape, Decker ordered the crew to evacuate to the third planet in the system. Decker himself remained aboard as the last man. However, having finished consuming the fourth planet, the machine then turned towards the third planet. Decker tried to beam his crew back up, but the machine attacked again, damaging the transporter. He could only watch helplessly as the machine consumed the planet below and killed his entire crew of 400 men and women.