Given the map from "When it Rains", the two closest points of the Badlands to DS9 are something like 10 light-years from the station. So, the bare minimum is 10ly/day, and that's assuming that the Honshu destruction site was literally directly en route to the Badlands (which doesn't make sense).2046 wrote:From "Waltz"[DSN6]
Per the later "The Sound of Her Voice"[DSN6], the Defiant tops out at Warp 9.5 using extraordinary measures, but has potential structural integrity issues beyond Warp 9. So, Warp 9 is probably her normal maximum.KIRA: It's confirmed. USS Honshu was destroyed this morning at ten thirty hours by an attack wing of Cardassian destroyers. Starfleet has picked up the distress beacons from three escape pods and one shuttlecraft, so there are survivors.
ODO: The signals are coming from this area. The last reported position of the Honshu was here, which means there could be survivors in any of these adjacent star systems.
O'BRIEN: That's a pretty large area. How many ships are in the search party?
ODO: Two. The Constellation and the Defiant.
DAX: Two? It could take days.
KIRA: With all the Dominion activity along the border, it's all Starfleet can spare at the moment. And the Defiant has another appointment. In fifty two hours you need to be at this rendezvous point outside the Badlands. You are the escort for a Federation troop convoy.
WORF: It will take twelve hours just to arrive at the coordinates where the Honshu was destroyed.
KIRA: And twelve more to reach the Badlands, I know. But this convoy is completely unprotected. They've been using the plasma fields in the Badlands to hide their movements, and when they emerge they're helpless without the Defiant.
Starbase 621 is noted as the destination of the Honshu, and Sisko had been aboard it for a couple of days. They were due to arrive by noon the following day.
621 was mentioned previously in "Sub Rosa" . . . Picard was suggesting that they were planning to leave Caldos in a few hours to be at Starbase 621 the following morning, and Caldos was a very old colony. So, it seems the Honshu was probably headed to a location reasonably close to Caldos, which probably puts it deeper into Federation space (though, in fairness, "Lower Decks" was next).
The point is, barring a rendezvous, not only was the Honshu able to cruise at less-than-maximum warp to another starbase in Federation space within a few days, a trip that would carry them past a few other star systems, but the Defiant, presumably bookin' it, was able to arrive at the area of these other star systems within 12 hours.
Even just assuming 15ly for the trip between DS9 and 621, an estimate for the Honshu destruction site would be 10ly from DS9, giving the Defiant 20ly/day.
YMMV.
10ly/day is about 3650c.
I consider that too low.