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Originally posted by Timo:
Speed in actual combat would not matter very much. Impulse speed during the dash from a supposed "warp threshold" to the planet you are striking at is crucial to your surprise factor. (Warp speed during the deployment run from the starbase to the target system would also be crucial to surprise value, if not for the fact that the Dominion can observe all fleet movements across interstellar ranges with ease. So you can only achieve limited tactical surprise in-system, not interstellar surprise.)

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It's been far too long since the last "You're the Admiral!" scenario. Remember those wonderful deployment plans?

Consider that if a combat fleet is being sent from Starbase 375 to retake Deep Space Nine, a distance of, say 10 light years. The Defiant could make Warp 9.5. Uprated Galaxies, according to the DS9:TM, could make Warp 9.9. And the Mirandas would be poking along at Warp 8.

Now, unless you want to split your fleet up, you've got to restrict all ships to the lowest common speed. And when you're talking about a difference from Warp 8 to Warp 9, that's a hell of a lot of speed. Not only would it take twice as long to reach the battlefield, but it also gives the enemy twice as much time to prepare a defense -- or worse, a counterattack.

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