Warp trail A warp trail was the trail of residual subspace distortion in space left behind by the warp drive of a starship . The trail could be tracked with sensor s . ( ) The ion trails left behind by a ship traveling at warp were also sometimes referred to as warp trails . ( ) If the warp signature of a ship was suppressed by remodulating its plasma injector s , the ship did not leave behind a warp trail . ( ) A warp trail could also be masked with a randomized EM field . ( ) A nebula could also mask warp trails . ( ) To find and track a warp trail left behind by a tricyclic plasma drive required information on the decay rate of the plasma it used . Even when traveling at impulse the ship left behind a warp trail . ( ) The warp drives used by Kazon - Nistrim and Rigelian s ended their warp trail after the ships dropped out of warp . ( ; ) The ion trail left behind by a ship could be in time dispersed by stellar winds . ( ) When an ion trail was left behind by a ship at warp , subspace distortions could be detected in its wake . ( ) The radiation signature from the ions could be used to determine the type of craft and propulsion system that left it behind . ( ; ) By remodulating shield harmonics , the ion trail could be masked . ( ) It could also be dissipated with a magneton pulse . ( ) Ion trails were also left behind by other propulsion systems such as advanced ion propulsion . ( ) Ion trails were left behind by starships and shuttles using impulse engine s . It could be determined from the distribution of the ions what maneuvers the ship had used . ( ) Federation escape pod s landing on a planet also left behind an ion trail . Even after landing the propulsion system of the pod kept leaving behind the dispersion trail with a stronger concentration gradient near the pod . ( ) Examples . In 2151 , followed a Suliban vessel into the atmosphere of a gas giant by tracking its warp trail . " Enterprise " did not originally have the sensor acuity to identify a warp trail , but this changed when Sub - Commander T ' Pol modified the sensors to isolate the plasma decay rate of the Suliban ship . ( ) In 2152 , Travis Mayweather successfully located a Kreetassan starship by scanning for their warp trail . ( ) In 2153 , " Enterprise " tracked the ion trail of an Osaarian vessel that had hidden inside a cloaking field to avoid detection . ( ) In 2154 , the crew of " Enterprise " pursued Doctor Arik Soong and his Augment s into Klingon territory by tracking their warp trail . Once Soong discovered that " Enterprise " was using the Bird - of - Prey ' s warp trail to track them , he was able to successfully mask their warp trail . ( ) 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 . ( ) In 2370 , Chief Miles O ' Brien was able to retrace a Maquis warp trail to find Gul Dukat . ( ) In 2372 , the crew of the discovered the ion trail of a Kazon carrier vessel commanded by Razik which had destroy Chakotay ' s shuttlecraft . ( ) Soon after , a warp trail was discovered leading away from a moon the " Voyager " crew had been surveying for polyferranide , which lead them to a seemingly lifeless planet with an unusual energy source . ( ) After a raid on " Voyager " by the Kazon - Nistrim in which a transporter module was stolen , Seska deliberately left a warp trail behind for Captain Janeway to follow . ( ) In the same year , " Voyager " encountered the Cardassian " Dreadnought " missile in the Delta Quadrant . It contained a sophisticated array of computer technology as well as its own high - powered warp drive . To avoid detection , it was also capable of masking its own warp trail . ( ) A group of rogue Jem ' Hadar used a magneton pulse to dissipate their ion trail after attacking Deep Space 9 . ( ) When the Nistrim seized " Voyager " at the end of 2372 , Seska ordered Maje Culluh ' s askara to scan for the warp trail of a missing shuttlecraft even if they found its wreckage . ( ) In 2373 , Tieran , in the body of Kes , stole a " Voyager " shuttlecraft and remodulated the plasma injector s to suppress its warp signature . ( ) 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 . ( ) In 2377 , Janeway ordered her senior staff to scan for the ion trail of Gar ' s ship after the Dralian stole The Doctor ' s program . ( ) Later that year , she again gave the order to scan for ion trails after " Voyager " s deuterium was stolen in . ( ) In 2378 , The Doctor masked the " Delta Flyer II " s ion trail after departing with " Voyager " ' s warp core to deliver it to a pair of kidnappers . ( )