Energy dampening weapon
The energy dampening (aka Energy Dissipater) weapon was an advanced energy weapon used by Breen forces in the mid-2370s during the Dominion War. Rumors of the Breen's development of such a weapon go as far back as the late 2330s. (Star Trek - The Lost Era: "Well of Souls")
The weapon was first encountered by Federation forces when the Breen entered the Dominion War as allies of the Dominion in 2375, at the Second Battle of Chin'toka (DS9). Since the Federation Alliance had never encountered this weapon before, it was especially effective against them.
The weapon works by draining the energy of targeted ship, disabling their engines, weapons, and shields, thus making them easy targets for conventional weapons. Amongst the many vessels lost to this weapon was the USS Defiant. (DS9 episode: "The Changing Face of Evil")
Klingon starships could be made immune to the Breen energy dampening weapon by adjusting the tritium intermix of their ships' warp cores. This was found by accident after the engineer of a bird-of-prey, the IKS Ki'tang, performed the procedure to correct a containment problem in the starship's warp core.
Major Kira Nerys, of DS9 and the Cardassian Liberation Front hijacked a Jem'Hadar attack ship for Starfleet to analyze its energy dissipaters. (DS9 episodes: "When It Rains..." & "Tacking Into the Wind")
The Alliance discovered a countermeasure just prior to the Battle of Cardassia. (DS9 episode: "The Dogs of War")
(...More Info To Come)
Resources
- Memory Beta Non-Canon Resources
- Memory Alpha
Rob Johnson, FADM (ret.)
09 Aug 2008
