A device in use during the mid 22nd century in the Sol system, the Verteron array was situated on the surface of the planet Mars. It was designed to deflect the orbital path of comets. In 2155 John Frederick Paxton seized control of the array, threatening to use it as a weapon unless the Earth government complied with his demands to force all aliens to leave the system immediately. As a demonstration, Paxton used the array to blast the surface of the Earth's moon.1Paxton planned to follow up this display blast by destroying Starfleet Command. Fortunately Captain Archer was able to reach the surface of Mars in a shuttlecraft by hiding within the tail of a comet which was due to collide with the planet, part of the ongoing terraforming effort. He then flew to Paxton's ship and gained access. Paxton managed to fire the array despite Archer's intervention, but Commander Tucker adjusted the target co-ordinates to instead blast an unoccupied patch of ocean.2
References
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