Evasive maneuvers

Evasive maneuvers (also known as evasive action, defensive pattern) are a sequence of defensive movements employed by starship commanders to evade enemy weapons fire, or capture. These movements were specified by predefined or on the spot course changes. Although each race uses different terminology for their evasive maneuvers, the tactics remain the same.

In 2254 "Number One" asked Captain Christopher Pike if they should make evasive maneuvers when something came closer to the USS Enterprise on a collision course with the speed of light. (TOS: "The Cage")

Spock used a spiral evasive course to break free from the constraint of the globular force field surrounding the USS Enterprise. (TAS: "How Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth")

An example of this is the Starfleet maneuver "pattern delta" which is to simply a maneuver of rocking the ship hard from port to starboard. Evasive "pattern delta 5" is used keep attacking ships off balance. (DS9: "Shattered Mirror", "The Search, Part I")

In contrast to evasive patterns, offensive movements such as attack patterns or tactical patterns are instances where a starship commander intends to engage the enemy in a confrontation, rather than evade. These patterns are known as standard maneuvers.

Then there are other types of maneuvers that are named for the person who executed them the first time such as "The Picard Maneuver" from TNG: "The Battle" which was named for Jean Luc Picard.

In 2369 while confronted with a Miradorn Theta-class raider in the Chamra Vortex, Odo ordered evasive maneuvers for his runabout USS Ganges. (DS9: "Vortex")

Evasive maneuver patterns

• Pattern beta two

VOY: "Persistence of Vision"

• Pattern beta four

VOY: "Workforce"

• Pattern beta six

VOY: "Flesh and Blood", "The Void", "Endgame"

• Pattern beta 140 (dual attack mode)

VOY: "Ex Post Facto"

• Pattern gamma

TNG: "Yesterday's Enterprise"

• Pattern gamma four

VOY: "The Swarm"

• Pattern gamma six

DS9: "The Way of the Warrior"

• Pattern delta

TNG: "Darmok", "Conundrum"; DS9: "Emissary", "Shattered Mirror", "What You Leave Behind"; VOY: "Year of Hell, Part II"

• Pattern delta four

VOY: "Caretaker", "Maneuvers", "Coda"

• Pattern delta five

DS9: "The Search, Part I", Star Trek

• Pattern theta

DS9: "Tears of the Prophets"

• Pattern theta one

VOY: "Prototype"

• Pattern theta two

VOY: "Initiations"

• Pattern omega

VOY: "Caretaker"; DS9: "Sacrifice of Angels"

• Pattern omega one

VOY: "Initiations"

• Pattern omega two

VOY: "Maneuvers"

• Pattern omega three

VOY: "Maneuvers"

• Pattern omega six

VOY: "Prototype"

• Pattern Kirk epsilon

Star Trek Nemesis

• Pattern Riker alpha

TNG: "The Best of Both Worlds, Part II"

• Pattern Riker beta

TNG: "The Best of Both Worlds, Part II"

• The Picard Maneuver

TNG: "The Battle"

Evasive maneuver sequences

Evasive Maneuver Sequences are simply a series or array of maneuvers which fit a particular circumstance, but then is left to the helmsman to execute the individual maneuvers themselves with discretion.

• Sequence Beta 93

VOY: "Learning Curve"

• Sequence Delta / Delta sequence

TNG: "The Wounded", "Darmok", "Conundrum"

• Sequence 010

TNG: "The Mind's Eye"

• Gamma Sequence

TNG: "Yesterday's Enterprise"