Armada 1 Ion Storm

The Ion Storm is a special weapon of the game Star Trek: Armada. It casts a temporary nebula, similar to the Metreon Gas Nebula, which damages the shields of enveloped ships and stations. Once the shield energy has dropped to zero, it continues to kill off the crew, if there is any. It does not, however, damage the ships systems (in contrast to the Metreon gas nebula). This can render ships and stations intact but deserted, making them easy to capture. Once recrewed and shields reloaded, they are perfectly fine. There are no warning notifications of the weapon being inflicted on stations, so it can go completely unnoticed. Once the shields are down, any station or unit becomes an easy target. This special weapon can also inflict friendly fire, as all units and ships are affected by it. The range of 700 of this weapon is comparable to the artillery ships (1000) and as such, requires some sort of sensor station or scout, in order to make use of its full firing range. It is researched at the Gre'thor Armory. The Ion Storm looks like this:

The Ion Storm inflicts damage to anything it touches. The Shield Remodulation and Phase Cloak protect from it. The Corbomite Reflector, however does not.