Yesterday, 12:26 AM
Sebastian still feeling a little embarrassed by his performance during their last mission was hoping that he was doing a better job than he did on the last mission,
The Zephyr dropped from warp at the edge of the designated area, and the first wave of sensor returns began appearing almost immediately.
Sebastian watched the data populate his console, his expression becoming increasingly serious.
Starbase 214 was already visible on the long-range display, its shields raised.
Around it were nine Hideki-class escorts, divided into three groups of three. They weren't simply circling the station. Their patrol pattern formed a loose spherical shell around the base, each group maintaining a position that would allow them to respond to an approaching vessel from almost any direction.
Beyond that defensive perimeter came the more concerning contacts.
Three additional Hideki-class escorts formed the points of a wide triangle.
Inside that formation were three Keldon-class battlecruisers, positioned in a much tighter triangle.
And behind them, still moving at impulse velocities, was a Hutet-class dreadnought.
Sebastian stared at the tactical display for a moment.
"This isn't a patrol," he said quietly.
He brought up the sensor data again, comparing the positions and movement vectors.
"It's layered."
The distinction suddenly seemed important.
The Cardassians weren't merely protecting Starbase 214. They had constructed a defensive formation designed to detect, classify, and respond to an intrusion before anything reached the station.
Their military sensors might not have been optimized for open-ended scientific investigation, but they clearly didn't need to be.
They had built this system around one question.
What is approaching us, and how quickly can we respond to it?
Sebastian was about to say something when another contact appeared.
His console immediately flagged it.
"Lieutenant."
The Yeager's transponder appeared on the display.
Sebastian's eyes narrowed.
The smaller ship had emerged between the larger Cardassian formation and the approaching dreadnought.
Then the sensor display changed.
"Energy surges."
He began pulling the sensor returns apart, separating background radiation from the much more distinct signatures.
"Weapons fire."
His fingers moved rapidly across the controls.
The three Keldons were already adjusting their vectors.
The outer Hidekis were doing the same.
The formation was changing.
Sebastian watched the tactical plot redraw itself.
"They're surrounding the Yeager."
There was something almost unsettling about how quickly the Cardassian formation responded.
No confusion.
No obvious hesitation.
No chaotic movement.
Each ship seemed to know exactly where it was supposed to go.
Sebastian looked toward Lieutenant Ra'an.
"Lieutenant, I think there's something important about the way they're deploying."
He brought the sensor data onto the main display.
"The outer Hidekis aren't moving directly toward the Yeager. They're closing the escape corridors."
He highlighted the three groups.
"The Keldons are moving in behind them. They're forcing the Yeager toward the center."
Sebastian paused, thinking through what he was seeing.
"The Cardassians don't appear to be using their scientific sensors to figure out what the Yeager is doing. They're using their military network to predict where it can go."
That distinction bothered him.
He had been thinking about Cardassian sensor capabilities ever since their work around the sector had begun. Federation science tended to approach a problem by gathering as much information as possible and then determining what the information meant.
The Cardassians seemed to approach the problem differently.
Identify the threat.
Limit its options.
Predict its behavior.
Then act.
Sebastian looked back at the display.
"And that may be why their sensor coverage is so difficult to exploit."
He hesitated before continuing.
"We've been thinking about their scientific sensors as the weakness. If their military sensors are built around redundancy and prediction instead of broad-spectrum analysis, then sending something into the region that they don't immediately recognize may not be enough."
His eyes followed the Hutet as it continued closing on the Yeager.
"Because they don't necessarily have to understand what we're doing."
A moment passed.
"They just have to notice that we're doing something they don't expect."
Sebastian leaned back slightly.
"And right now, the Yeager is giving them a very large problem to solve."
His attention returned to the tactical display.
For once, Sebastian wasn't looking at the Cardassians as simply an enemy with better or worse technology.
He was looking at the system behind the technology.
And that was considerably more dangerous.
== Tag All. ==
The Zephyr dropped from warp at the edge of the designated area, and the first wave of sensor returns began appearing almost immediately.
Sebastian watched the data populate his console, his expression becoming increasingly serious.
Starbase 214 was already visible on the long-range display, its shields raised.
Around it were nine Hideki-class escorts, divided into three groups of three. They weren't simply circling the station. Their patrol pattern formed a loose spherical shell around the base, each group maintaining a position that would allow them to respond to an approaching vessel from almost any direction.
Beyond that defensive perimeter came the more concerning contacts.
Three additional Hideki-class escorts formed the points of a wide triangle.
Inside that formation were three Keldon-class battlecruisers, positioned in a much tighter triangle.
And behind them, still moving at impulse velocities, was a Hutet-class dreadnought.
Sebastian stared at the tactical display for a moment.
"This isn't a patrol," he said quietly.
He brought up the sensor data again, comparing the positions and movement vectors.
"It's layered."
The distinction suddenly seemed important.
The Cardassians weren't merely protecting Starbase 214. They had constructed a defensive formation designed to detect, classify, and respond to an intrusion before anything reached the station.
Their military sensors might not have been optimized for open-ended scientific investigation, but they clearly didn't need to be.
They had built this system around one question.
What is approaching us, and how quickly can we respond to it?
Sebastian was about to say something when another contact appeared.
His console immediately flagged it.
"Lieutenant."
The Yeager's transponder appeared on the display.
Sebastian's eyes narrowed.
The smaller ship had emerged between the larger Cardassian formation and the approaching dreadnought.
Then the sensor display changed.
"Energy surges."
He began pulling the sensor returns apart, separating background radiation from the much more distinct signatures.
"Weapons fire."
His fingers moved rapidly across the controls.
The three Keldons were already adjusting their vectors.
The outer Hidekis were doing the same.
The formation was changing.
Sebastian watched the tactical plot redraw itself.
"They're surrounding the Yeager."
There was something almost unsettling about how quickly the Cardassian formation responded.
No confusion.
No obvious hesitation.
No chaotic movement.
Each ship seemed to know exactly where it was supposed to go.
Sebastian looked toward Lieutenant Ra'an.
"Lieutenant, I think there's something important about the way they're deploying."
He brought the sensor data onto the main display.
"The outer Hidekis aren't moving directly toward the Yeager. They're closing the escape corridors."
He highlighted the three groups.
"The Keldons are moving in behind them. They're forcing the Yeager toward the center."
Sebastian paused, thinking through what he was seeing.
"The Cardassians don't appear to be using their scientific sensors to figure out what the Yeager is doing. They're using their military network to predict where it can go."
That distinction bothered him.
He had been thinking about Cardassian sensor capabilities ever since their work around the sector had begun. Federation science tended to approach a problem by gathering as much information as possible and then determining what the information meant.
The Cardassians seemed to approach the problem differently.
Identify the threat.
Limit its options.
Predict its behavior.
Then act.
Sebastian looked back at the display.
"And that may be why their sensor coverage is so difficult to exploit."
He hesitated before continuing.
"We've been thinking about their scientific sensors as the weakness. If their military sensors are built around redundancy and prediction instead of broad-spectrum analysis, then sending something into the region that they don't immediately recognize may not be enough."
His eyes followed the Hutet as it continued closing on the Yeager.
"Because they don't necessarily have to understand what we're doing."
A moment passed.
"They just have to notice that we're doing something they don't expect."
Sebastian leaned back slightly.
"And right now, the Yeager is giving them a very large problem to solve."
His attention returned to the tactical display.
For once, Sebastian wasn't looking at the Cardassians as simply an enemy with better or worse technology.
He was looking at the system behind the technology.
And that was considerably more dangerous.
== Tag All. ==