War Stories (Book 1) - Keith R.A. DeCandido [21]
One of the other Starfleet captains asked, “What kind of defenses can we expect?”
Ross spoke up then. “Intelligence reports indicate that there are only two Jem’Hadar strike ships guarding it.”
The third Starfleet captain made an irritated noise. “Not to put too fine a point on it, Admiral, Captain, but aren’t three ships a bit—well, inadequate? We’ll be lucky to get that far into Dominion territory as it is.”
There were some rumblings from the Klingons at that, but Ross simply said, “Unfortunately, you’re all we can spare. We’re putting together a massive offensive against the Dominion. This is one of many strikes we’re attempting simultaneously to keep their forces spread thin. We have to press the attack now.”
“However,” Sisko said, “you will have a relatively easy time getting there. Thanks to the Cardassian resistance, we’ve been able to obtain a course that will get you to the outpost without encountering any patrols. It’s a less direct route, so you’ll have to go at warp seven most of the way to get there at the pre-arranged time.”
Patel said, “This is assuming that the patrols stick to their assigned routes. We can’t very well count on that.”
“We’re past the point where we can play things safe, Commander,” Sisko said just as the Klingon next to Gomez made a disparaging comment under his breath about Patel’s lineage.
Before her first officer could say anything else, Amalfitano spoke. “We’ll be fine, Captain, don’t worry. We’ll clear a path for the rest of you,” she added, looking around the room.
Then her gaze fell upon Gomez. This is my moment, I guess, she thought. The chief engineer hadn’t really needed to be at this briefing, but she had come up with an idea that the captain wanted brought up in front of Sisko and the other higher-ups. “Captain, Admiral, if I may?”
“Yes, Commander Gomez, what is it?” Sisko asked.
Both Martok and the Romulan bristled, but Sisko and Ross each gave her expectant looks, as if they were genuinely interested in what she might have to say. Gomez took that as an encouraging sign. “We might be able to do better than just having a specific course. We can alter our ships to make us look like Cardassian freighters.”
“We’ve tried that in the past,” Sisko said. “But at this point, the Jem’Hadar and the Cardassians know to look for it.”
“With respect, sir, those had been changes to the shield harmonics. What I’m suggesting is altering the warp fields of the ships. We’ve tested it on the Sentinel, and it should fool even Dominion sensors at warp speeds.”
One of the Romulans sneered. “And when you come out of warp and are revealed to be a Federation ship?”
“We keep the warp field in place. As long as they don’t do an intensive scan, they shouldn’t be able to tell the difference between it and a hull configuration. In fact, we can also change the shield harmonics to match. They’re less likely to look for that bit of misdirection if the ship’s warp field reads as an allied ship.”
Ross seemed intrigued by the idea. “Can you maintain warp seven with this reconfiguration?”
Gomez blinked. She hadn’t thought of that—but then, she hadn’t known they’d be forced to maintain warp seven until two minutes ago. “I’m afraid not. We could only do warp four—any higher and the modified warp field will tear the hull apart.”
“Then it won’t be practical for this mission. Still, it’s a good idea. Send the specifications on that to the station—and,” he added with glances at Martok and the Romulan general, “we’ll share it with everyone here, see if we can make it work across the board.” He turned back to Gomez. “Good work, Commander.”
Gomez nodded, but was still disappointed. She was sure that the trick would work—but not at warp seven. She had been hoping for a practical test, and this mission would have been ideal for it.
The good news was that the route provided by the Cardassian resistance had done the trick, and the three Starfleet vessels arrived at the outpost unmolested. The other good news was that Intelligence was right, and there were only two Jem’Hadar strike ships guarding the outpost.