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I honestly don't know. It was because of a freak chance that a single Bird of Prey survived it that allowed the Alliance engineers to figure something out. Earth wouldn't have had a similar freak chance unless her name was Enterprise.

The Breen definitely could have done far more damage to Earth and maybe even survived which i think is far better than some insignificant system called Chintoka.

I think the Breen would have done more damage if they could. And Chintoka wasn't insignificant; it was treated as having vital strategic importance. Guadalcanal wasn't important for resources or anything; but it was hugely important for its placement.

I agree. But severely crippling Earth would have been like leveling the East Coast.

Sure. No argument. But that apparently wasn't a possibility.

Which leads me to believe that no energy dampening weapon was used, either Sol's defenses are now top notch or the Breen fleet was small.

Or it was worthless against starbases.

True. But then Starfleet would have already known about the energy dampening weapon. I also think Starbases cannot play that much of a role in the defending the system. At best they represent a hard point for the enemy has to either overwhelm or avoid. You still need a mobile force.

True, better to avoid Starbases. I'd bet good money that both the Klingons and Dominion wish they could have just avoided DS9.

Deepcrush wrote:True, better to avoid Starbases. I'd bet good money that both the Klingons and Dominion wish they could have just avoided DS9.

They could have. If they had ignored DS9 and killed the Defiant, the minefield would not have been laid, meaning the rest fo the Dominion fleets could have come through at any time.

They have Terok Nor nearby, if they reactivate that space station, they don't need DS9. Starve out the locals of food, supplies, energy, etc. Run battle drills 24/7 forcing them to stay on General Quarters all day, and let the stress wear them down. Use pot shots with long-range beam shots to make them keep their shields up, further straining their energy supplies and maintenance. Rotate fleet elements out as needed due to material stress or parts shortages, allowing the fleets to maintain peak readiness, while DS9 drops in capability every day.

Scan DS9 to find current weak points, and focus random shots in those locations. DS9 has to divert power to those areas for one shot, causing other areas to be reduced in effect. Accept damage to a few ships to run DS9 out of torpedoes, and have multiple ships coordinate fire. Either at multiple segments to cause stress all over, or at a single location to try and punch through. DS9 has to defend against both, making their job much harder.

The only way to get supplies in would be by cloaked Klingons, so a steady patrol will be needed, along with needing to keep DS9's shields up.

If the Dominion is willing to place a half dozen of their battlecruisers and a hundred of their Bugs into a dedicated force, they could have cracked DS9.

Even better, once they held DS9, they should have kept all non-Cardassian and Dominion personnel off the station. No place for resistance personnel to hide, and at the end they could have set the self-destruct without worrying much.

The problem with that plan is that the Dominion's pot shots means getting in range of DS9's weapons as well. That many PTLs and Phasers means that little hit and run raids won't do the trick. You need a full out attack. Plus, DS9 was at the mouth of the Wormhole. So if you leave it alone then every ship coming through is going to get shot at until you either take DS9 or just take the constant losses.

That still means that DS9 is using materials that it cannot replace, even if they chose their targets carefully. For your convoy just put a lot Bugs in the line of fire, let's face it, they were designed to be expendable.

Since DS9 is pretty much completely stationary, they could theoretically just continue to lob torpedoes at it from outside of phaser range.

Kinda makes me wonder why they didn't think of that.

Tsukiyumi wrote:Since DS9 is pretty much completely stationary, they could theoretically just continue to lob torpedoes at it from outside of phaser range.

Kinda makes me wonder why they didn't think of that.

Or if you get bored, you design a siege ship. Obscene shields, armor, and weapons in one direction, limited maneuverability (but more than a space station), and the flanks and rear are weak. Just have it advance steadily on DS9, firing with its own weaponry the entire time, and let DS9 wear out its equipment and use up ammo.

Heck, you can have it drop its shields to the rear to beam in fresh ammo, weapons, etc from smaller freighters, using the siege ship's bulk to hide the weak facing. Larger reactors and more fuel supplies to maintain longer and heavier combat operations, and heavier structure to handle attacks. Spinal type weaponry (similar to All Good Things) to deliver heavy damage. Useless against ships, but wonderful vs fixed targets.

Either DS9 focuses fire on the ship to kill it (and uses up lots of supplies) or the siege ship steadily damages DS9, degrading its performance.

A siege ship would be designed for long-term operation at combat levels against fixed targets. Bugs cover it against mobile threats, and the siege ship just kills stations.

Seems rather innefecient, though. Just stay out of range and lob torps at the station until its shields fail.

Or, rather then waste the time and effort and resources... just do what the Dominion did. Attack the damn thing. 6000 PTs and God knows how many phasers are going to rip into your convoys until you deal with them. Plus, as long as DS9 is there, they can always be resupplied. No way to know for sure if you've cut it off.

Leaving the enemy with a over powered fort plus cloaked super ship right on your single most important supply line is just not smart. Even hoping to wear it out with torps at long range would be iffy at best. Remember that DS9 can move. A little ECM and you're shooting in the dark at something across a system while your convoys are only a stone throw from the station getting raped as they come through the wormhole.

Also remember that you siege ship can move to reach the station. The station can just spin so that you're never hitting the same side more often then the shields can handle. Attacking a harden position is best done when you can overwhelm the defenses. Using a single front against that position means all of that firepower you are worried about can now be focused against you. This is bad.