Omega Directive The Omega Directive ( denoted by Ω ) was a highly classified Starfleet general order requiring the captain of a starship to notify Starfleet Command immediately upon detection of an Omega molecule . The directive also authorized the use of any and all means to destroy an Omega molecule , superseding any and all other regulations , up to and including but not limited to the Prime Directive . The Omega Directive was deemed necessary because of the extreme power and consequently catastrophic threat to interstellar civilizations posed by even a single molecule . Knowledge of the Omega molecule and the Omega Directive was restricted to starship captain s and flag officer s . History . In the mid - 23rd century , a team of 127 top - Federation scientist s , led by the Starfleet physicist Ketteract , was working on a top secret experiment at a classified research center in the Lantaru sector . Research showed a single molecule of Omega contained the same power as a warp core , so theoretically a small chain could sustain a civilization indefinitely . Ketteract ' s goal was , according to Kathryn Janeway , an inexhaustible power source , though Seven of Nine pointed out its potential use as a weapon . Federation cosmologist s theorized that the Omega molecule once existed in nature for an infinitesimal period of time at the exact moment of the big bang ; some even claimed Omega was the the primal source of energy for the Big Bang . The scientists were able to synthesize a single Omega molecule , which only remained stable for a fraction of a second . Upon its nearly instant destabilization , the research center was destroyed , killing all 127 scientists . An unexpected secondary effect [ discovered by rescue teams en route ] was the rupture of subspace within a radius of several light year s , causing warp travel to become a permanent impossibility within this area . Starfleet Command realized the terrible implications : a chain reaction involving a handful of Omega molecules could devastate subspace throughout an entire quadrant , effectively ending interstellar travel for spacefaring civilizations in the quadrant . Therefore Starfleet Command suppressed all knowledge of the experiment and fabricated the story of a natural phenomenon occurring in the Lantaru sector which made warp travel impossible within the seven - light year radius of subspace devastated by the Omega explosion . Protocol . Starfleet enacted the Omega Directive in response to the Lantaru incident , naming it after the last letter in the Greek alphabet , chosen to signify the molecule as the ultimate threat not only to the Federation , but to every spacefaring civilization in the entire galaxy . If a starship were to detect an Omega molecule , the following procedure would occur : The only known execution of the Omega Directive occurred in the Delta Quadrant on stardate 51781 . 2 in 2374 by Captain Janeway , commanding officer of the . On that stardate , " Voyager " s sensors encountered the shock wave from a nearby Omega explosion , revealing the presence of one or more Omega molecules in the vicinity . However , " Voyager " was completely out of contact with Starfleet when the detection occurred , with no contact possible in the foreseeable future . Complicating the matter was the fact that Seven of Nine was aware of both the molecule ' s existence ( due to the Borg ' s own Omega experiments ) and the Omega Directive ( the Borg having assimilated Starfleet captains , thus their knowledge ) . Unable to call for an Omega team to deal with the problem , and after reluctantly considering First Officer Chakotay ' s counsel , Janeway therefore modified the protocols to their unique situation by briefing her senior staff [ including Seven ] on the directive , effectively enlisting the crew to destroy the molecules . The " Voyager " crew successfully destroyed the Omega molecules . ( ) Apocrypha . The Omega Directive is mentioned by Captain James T . Kirk in the video game " " after a devastating attack spreads thousands of Omega particles into a star system . Kirk asked Starfleet to develop the directive . The game " " depicts events of an Omega molecule . It was found by the Ferengi , who were preparing to sell it to the Cardassian s , as they did not realize its power . The Romulan s led by Sela captured it and hid it at a Romulan starbase where the Borg assimilated it . It was moved to Unimatrix 01 where an invasion force led by the Federation - Klingon - Romulan alliance destroyed it and the surrounding Borg sectors . The Section 31 novel " Cloak " details the events that lead to the creation of the Omega Directive . In it , the forces the USS " Sphinx " out of warp , having been sabotaged by Section 31 in order to prevent them from revealing the research station in the Lantaru sector . This leads to an investigation that reveals Ketteract ' s experiment to James T . Kirk and the crew of the original " Enterprise " . Although Kirk tries to appeal to Ketteract to stop the experiment , he is unsuccessful and the events described in come to fruition . In the game " Star Trek Online " mission " Sphere of Influence " , the player character and major characters from the Federation and Klingon sides are taken by surprise when the character Commander Winters tells everyone that " all the monitors on the bridge are showing an Omega , we ' re locked out of the computers and the engine ' s off - line " after the " Enterprise " - F scanned what was on the other side of the Iconian gateway near Jouret IV , thus setting the stage for the Season 8 expansion .