Warp trail

Fragments of Suliban warp trails

A warp trail (also known as an ion trail) is a wake in subspace left by a starship using warp drive. A warp trail is trackable with sensors. There are ways of masking warp trails, such as traveling through a nebula.

In 2151, the Enterprise NX-01 followed a Suliban cell ship into the atmosphere of a gas giant by tracking its warp trail. (ENT: "Broken Bow")

In 2154, the crew of the Enterprise pursued Doctor Arik Soong and his Augments into Klingon territory by tracking their warp trail. Once Soong discovered that this was the way the Enterprise was following them, he was sucessful in masking their trail. (ENT: "The Augments")

In 2356, Magnus and Erin Hansen attempted to mask their warp trail in a nebula when they and their daughter, Annika, attempted to escape from the Borg aboard the USS Raven. (VOY: "Dark Frontier")

In 2370, Chief Miles O'Brien was able to retrace a Maquis warp trail to find Gul Dukat. (DS9: "The Maquis, Part II")

In 2372, the crew of the USS Voyager discover a warp trail leading away from a moon they'd been surveying for polytheranide, which lead them to a seemingly lifeless planet with an unusual energy source. (VOY: "Tattoo")

In the same year, the USS Voyager encountered the Cardassian Dreadnought missile in the Delta Quadrant. It contained a sophisticated array of computer technology, and its own high-powered warp drive. To avoid detection, it was also capable of masking its own warp trail. (VOY: "Dreadnought")

A group of rogue Jem'Hadar used a magneton pulse to dissipate their ion trail after attacking Deep Space 9. (DS9: "To the Death")

In 2373, Benjamin Sisko told Worf to look for an ion trail generated by a runabout Kira Nerys had taken to interview several Cardassians suspected of being behind the killings of a number of former members of the Shakaar Resistance Cell. (DS9: "The Darkness and the Light")

Other references

• VOY: "Critical Care"