Faster-than-Light (FTL) Drives

"This technology is too important to remain in the hands of one corporation, this technology needs to be shared with the world. This is the start of the era where mankind will flourish among the stars. To reinforce this point, now, August 24th at 12:00:00 SST, my team and I are releasing the full technical plans and scientific theory behind the Tachyon Drive to the public web."

-- Excerpt from a press release by Dr. Prerana Medujula, announcing the release of the Tachyon Drive plan to the public domain, breaking multiple corporate ownership laws in the process

Faster-than-Light engines are the backbone of the modern world. Vital for military, civilian and all other movement, these devices allow a ship to break the speed of light. Invented by Dr. Prerana Medujula in 2216 CE., these Jump Drives, as they are more commonly called, are often considered the most important inventions of the last 1500 years.

All ships come with a Jump Drive or equivalent technology, and they are used to quickly travel in system from one point to another, shortening a trip that would take much longer otherwise. Unlike regular engines, Jump Drives use fuel, and can only jump as long as they have fuel supplied.

Tachyon Drive

The most recent iteration of the Jump Drive, while enhanced, is not much different from Dr. Medujula's original design, besides some slight improvements in fuel efficiency and jump speed. The Tachyon Drive operates by manipulating superluminal particles called "Tachyons" near the ship, catching them with a "sail" emitted by the device. This energy "sail" then operates like an ancient sailing vessel, being propelled faster than light by the momentum of the captured tachyons. Relativiestic effects are mediated by the creation of a small subspace bubble around the vessel, meaning the ship itself still operates in "real time." The breaching of the light speed barrier also releases a large amount of Cherenkov Radiation, often seen to bystanders as a large flash of light at the start and conclusion of a jump. The creation and maintainance of such a large "sail" and subspace field requires the Jump Drive to carry it's own fuel and reactor, although some energy from the main engines is still required.

• Factions: ICC,UGTO
• Fuel: 1625 + (Gadget Level* 625)
• FTL Speed: 2400 Gu/s
• Recharge Time: 30 seconds ?
• Energy Drain: 0.08/s

Anti-Matter Jump Drive

The K'luth version of the Jump Drive, it operates in much the same fashion as the Human technology, but with the added implemetation of the K'luth Anti-matter technologys. The use of Anti-matter as an energy source allows the K'luth Drives to create a much more stable and efficient "sail," allowing them to surpass the Human faction in terms of jump speed and recharge time. K'luth Anti-matter drives are also more fuel efficient than comparable Human technology.

• Factions: K'luth
• Fuel: 1800 + (Level * 350)
• FTL Speed: 3000 Gu/s
• Recharge Time: 20 seconds?
• Energy Drain: 0.12/s

Hyper Mass Accelerator

A major issue noted in Tachyon Drive design was it's scalability. While an energy "sail" could easily be deployed for the sleek combat cruisers and other relatively small ships, attempts to successfully create one around a large, obtuse mass such as a Battle Station were ineffectual at best, and downright disastrous at worst. Rather then force Stations to the incredibly slow realm of sublight travel, a research lab on Ocotat was successful in producing an alternative, dubbed the "Hyper Mass Accelerator" or HMA. While slower and less efficient than a standard Jump Drive, this device allows Stations to travel at FTL speeds. Reports also indicate that the alien K'luth have also developed an equivelent technology, although some significant performance increases have been noted.

• Factions: All
• Fuel: 6000 + (level * 600)
• FTL Speed: 2000 Gu/s
• Recharge Time: 22 seconds(K'luth) & 24 seconds(UGTO,ICC)
• Energy Drain: 0.42/s(K'luth) & 0.5/s(UGTO,ICC)
• Equipable by: Stations and certain Dreadnaughts
• Swapable with: Wormhole Generator