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For the ENT episode of the same name, please see "Damage".

Damage was physical harm done to an individual or a thing. Damage done to an individual was known as an injury. Damage could also describe the degredation of more intangible concepts, such as self-image or perceptions toward a person. Damage that was heavily done, potentially to the point of near or total extinction, or damage which made something beyond use, healing, or repair, was said to destroy or cause destruction.

In the 21st century, the Krenim Annorax constructed a weapon ship for defeating his people's greatest enemy, the Rilnar. When the weapon ship erased the Rilnar from history, it resulted in the Krenim being powerful again. Unanticipated problems arose, such as when the Rilnar were erased, they could not contribute a crucial antibody into the Krenim genome. This antibody would have made the Krenim immune to a rare disease; however, in its absence, fifty million Krenim died in the colonies when the disease broke out. With this event, of erasing the Rilnar, Annorax had damaged history. Realizing his mistake, he endeavored for the next two centuries to undo what he had done, causing more damage to history. This process was described by Chakotay as a thread was being pulled out, another was unraveling. The pattern of damage ended with the destruction of the weapon ship and the restoration of history. (VOY: "Year of Hell")

Aboard Earth and Federation starships, the senior staff would call for damage reports if the ship was thought to have been damaged by an event or situation. (TOS: "Where No Man Has Gone Before")

In 2065, the SS Valiant was severely damaged by the galactic barrier. (TOS: "Where No Man Has Gone Before")

In 2265, several crewmembers of the USS Enterprise were killed when the starship was in the galactic barrier. Autopsy reports later revealed damage to their neural circuits, with an area of the brain burned out. (TOS: "Where No Man Has Gone Before")

The Earth probe Nomad was damaged in deep space and mostly or all of its memory banks were destroyed, and Nomad was reported destroyed in a meteor collision. However, in 2267, Nomad was responsible for destroying the Malurian race due to its sterilization procedure to probe for biological infestations and to destroy that which was not perfect. Aboard the USS Enterprise, Nomad increased engine efficiency by fifty-seven percent but this would destroy the ship if not stopped as its structure could not handle the stress of that much power. Nomad also intended to return to Earth, to which Captain James T. Kirk noted in a Captain's log that, once there, it would automatically destroy all life. While programmed to destroy imperfect lifeforms, Nomad made alterations to the Enterprise which would do so without destroying the vessel. Spock later considered the destruction of Nomad to be a waste as it was a remarkable instrument, however, Kirk noted that it might have destroyed more billions of lives. (TOS: "The Changeling")

In 2364, Doctor Beverly Crusher claimed that chromosomal damage was preventing the Aldeans from conceiving and also explained their lack of appetite, extreme pallor, and sensitivity to light. (TNG: "When The Bough Breaks")

In 2365, it was noted that all major cities on the planet Iconia had been heavily damaged and the pattern of destruction was consistent with large-scale orbital bombardment approximately 200,000 years before. Lieutenant Commander Data was later damaged while using a console inside an Iconian control room. An Iconian computer program attempted to rewrite Data's software, which resulted in physical manifestations including blindness and loss of motor control. (TNG: "Contagion")

In 2366, Jean-Luc Picard noted to Data that excessive honesty could be disastrous, particularly in a commander, as advertising one's limitations to a crew could damage credibility as a leader. (TNG: "The Ensigns of Command")

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