Corbomite

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In the fictional Star Trek universe, as well as the fictional TradeWars 2002 universe, corbomite is a material that intercepts and reflects energy. A Corbomite device intercepts any harmful energy weapon and redirects it back upon the attacker, causing damage when the ship carrying it is destroyed. Thus, such a device acts as a deterrent to aggression, since an attacker would essentially be committing suicide. There is no way of knowing whether a ship is actually carrying corbomite, since this information is never stored in the ship's computer's memory banks: the mere possibility is often deterrent enough.

Within the fictional Star Trek universe, "Corbomite" is itself a fictitious substance and device, carried by all Starfleet starships: Captain James T. Kirk comes up with the ruse to bluff an alien starship into not firing on the Enterprise in the episode The Corbomite Maneuver. In another episode, The Deadly Years the Enterprise is being attacked by 10 Romulan ships. Captain Kirk instructs Uhura to send a message to Starfleet using code 2, which was known to have been decoded by the Romulans, that the Enterprise was to activate the Corbomite self-destruction device and to avoid the area for 4 Earth years, thereafter. The Romulans, having decoded this and thinking that such a device would destroy them as well, retreated.

The Ferengi humanoid Quark would later unsuccessfully attempt the same bluff in the 24th century.

The Star Trek: Armada series of games created a "Corbomite Reflector" as a special weapon of the Sovereign class starship, which reflects energy back at an attacking ship.