...Although if we wanted, we could still claim that it was. That is, a ship leaving Earth 200 years ago might have spent 180 years at sublight (or low warp), with the colonists in cryosleep as was customary for the time (Harry Kim describes a cryosleep colonizer from as late as 2210). They would awake at their promised land - only to meet a Starfleet vessel whose captain would tell them that it would be a
really bad idea to set shop down there because the Cardassians were right next door, but that as UFP citizens, they had the right to do so nevertheless.
|
His actions definitely slowed down Cardassian efforts to fortify their border with the Federation and their ability to launch an offensive strike.
|
How so? He destroyed two warships and one transport that may or may not have been contributing to the escalation effort. Hardly a devastating loss, considering what we later learn of the scale of the Cardassian military. And nothing in his actions was indicated to have the consequence of discouraging the Cardassians; to the contrary, at the conclusion, the villains of the week learned that Starfleet would
not inspect their shipments.
Timo Saloniemi