Some minutiae...
And it may be that the probe could not communicate across that distance, but instead flew there and back. Or, alternatively, that the probe was of Gamma Quadrant origin and flew from there to a location where the Federation could analyze its findings.
Which would mean that between the 22nd century and "The Emissary", thus within 200-250 years, it had covered those 70,000 ly. Not bad going, but not quite on par with Janeway's claim that the Voyager at maximum speed could have done it in 70 years.
Of course, the VOY episode "Friendship One" casts some doubt on this, as a probe decidedly launched from Earth in 2067 decidedly was in contact with Earth until 130 years before the episode, thus in the 2240s, and decidedly reached a target some 30,000 ly away at some unknown timepoint before the 2370s...
As for whether the Dominion could have captured the Quadros 1 probe, it's extremely unlikely given how vast space is, and how small the probe would be. And Friendship 1 seemed to be a relatively unique emissary for mankind, so it doesn't sound all that likely that the skies over Dominion planets would be littered with Earth or Federation probes. But in theory, Friendship 3 might have been launched in that direction, and might have been obnoxious enough to attract local attention... Most probes probably aren't that noisy and cheerfully annoying.
Timo Saloniemi
We don't know that it was a Federation probe as such. It could have been a much older one, the benefits of which the Federation reaped.
And it may be that the probe could not communicate across that distance, but instead flew there and back. Or, alternatively, that the probe was of Gamma Quadrant origin and flew from there to a location where the Federation could analyze its findings.
Which would mean that between the 22nd century and "The Emissary", thus within 200-250 years, it had covered those 70,000 ly. Not bad going, but not quite on par with Janeway's claim that the Voyager at maximum speed could have done it in 70 years.
Of course, the VOY episode "Friendship One" casts some doubt on this, as a probe decidedly launched from Earth in 2067 decidedly was in contact with Earth until 130 years before the episode, thus in the 2240s, and decidedly reached a target some 30,000 ly away at some unknown timepoint before the 2370s...
As for whether the Dominion could have captured the Quadros 1 probe, it's extremely unlikely given how vast space is, and how small the probe would be. And Friendship 1 seemed to be a relatively unique emissary for mankind, so it doesn't sound all that likely that the skies over Dominion planets would be littered with Earth or Federation probes. But in theory, Friendship 3 might have been launched in that direction, and might have been obnoxious enough to attract local attention... Most probes probably aren't that noisy and cheerfully annoying.
Timo Saloniemi
