FTL Travel

There are many forms of Faster-Than-Light (FTL) travel in the galaxy, invented at different times by different societies. One of the most prominent though is the Kedel Drive, created by Kedeilian scientists many years before the formation of their order. Over time, the technology spread throughout the galaxy and many civilisations adopted it and currently regard it as the most reliable form of FTL travel. Before every known species independently discovered the Keidelian Order, these societies had their own, more crude and slow ways of navigating the vast distances of the Milky Way galaxy.

The Kedel Drive (KDrive):
This technology relies heavily on Navigational Markers(Navmarks), small orbital installations around stars, that form interstellar routes navigable by spacecraft with a KDrive. The KDrive, using EXOTICTECH, shrinks space in front of the spacecraft to an infinitely tiny size and expands it behind it so that the spaceship, in essence, jumps from one Navmark to another. These Navmarks are usually positioned in orbit around stars using other FTL methods. Two neighbouring Navmarks continuously scan the direct route between themselves and block any ship from jumping in case an obstruction is unexpectedly present. Passing through folded matter will vaporise a spacecraft. Many Navmarks are positioned in a row forming interstellar pathways called Kedel Space Lanes. They are usually no more than 20ly apart, as the possibility of obstructions increases with distance. In the outermost regions of the galaxy, as the density of stars shrinks, the gap between Navmarks get larger. A Kedel Drive can also be utilised without any Navmarks to guide it, a remarkably dangerous undertaking. After all, the risk of a travelling hazard being in the way to the specific coordinates is quite substantial.

The KDrive can also be used to fold space over vast distances for telecommunication. High energy electromagnetic waves aren’t affected by material obstacles and so pass right through them. Nevertheless, most beings in the galaxy use the Navmarks for data transmission. Folding space between two Navmarks and relaying a signal through them requires little energy compared to folding substantial parts of the galaxy and making sure enough energy is supplied so that the transmission isn’t affected by material obstruction. Therefore Navmarks are used as relays for intergalactic communication. Extreme situations or emergencies might compel those that have the wealth and the access to sizeable amounts of energy to bypass the relays and transmit directly.

There are many classes of KDrives. From the expensive and luxurious ones that are the most comfortable to the expensive and speedy ones that shake violently every jump, to lastly the cheapest and oldest models, which get sentients from point A to point B but take substantially longer. The main difference between the classes is the time it takes for the KDrive to charge and fold space, which depends on the distance of the jump. The travel time also depends on how manoeuvrable a craft is because, after every jump, the ship still needs to face towards the next Navmark. The average KDrives propel ships through the galaxy at median speeds of around 2Kly/hr or approximately require 40 seconds for each 20ly jump.

Human Warp Engine (WarpDrive):
The Human Warp Engine is very similar to the KDrive in that it shrinks space in front of the spacecraft and expands it behind, moving the ship forward at superluminal speeds relative to the closest star. The most significant difference is that, unlike the Kedel Drive, the WarpDrive doesn’t fold space to an infinitely small size. Instead, it shortens the distance to the target by a substantial amount, still requiring a couple of hours to travel mere lightyears. Before the discovery of the Kedeilian Order by humans, this was the primary means of travel and communication. Over time its main use became intrasystem travel, crossing even the most expansive star systems in less than an hour and the average ones in mere minutes.

Korendian Wormhole Generator (KorGen):
The Wormhole Generator works by folding space and connecting two points in it by a tunnel of spacetime, shorter than the standard distance, which the ship navigates at relativistic speeds. The generator was developed by an unknown race millennia before it was discovered and used by Korendians to colonise the closest two stars systems to their homeworld. It took many years for them to reverse engineer and improve the reach of the Generator and its energy consumption. The improved version, commonly known as KorGen, enabled the Korendians to expand rapidly across their region of the galaxy, finally meeting other sentient races. After making contact with the United Nations(now the FUOC), who at the time had already met with the Kedeilians, the Korendian populace quickly adopted the KDrive technology, replacing the KorGen, and becoming the standard in the Korendian Republic. Still, many Korendian ships rely on KorGens as a backup in case the KDrive malfunctions.

Seiveran Miz Hyperdrive (Hyperdrive):
The Hyperdrive was created by the extragalactic Seiveran Miz thousands of years ago, long before they decided to leave their galaxy and travel elsewhere in generation ships moving at faster-than-light speeds. The hyperdrive operates by shifting the spacecraft to another dimension called hyperspace, where distances are considerably smaller than in realspace. Every point in hyperspace corresponds to every point in realspace. Any gravity wells prevent safe passage through hyperspace. Thus, it can be effectively used for travel outside of galaxies but is very restrictive inside them because it requires long-term, extensive, and dangerous exploration to find routes that are safe for hyperspace travel. After the Seiveran Miz arrived in the Milky Way, they were limited to the Galactic North, until they met with the Revossians and subsequently the Kedeilians. After this, they adopted the KDrive like the rest of the galaxy. To this day though many systems in their holdings don’t have Navmarks and as such it is difficult to navigate their territories with the KDrive, preventing outsiders from easily travelling to these regions, a kind of protection from unwanted visitors.