Interstellar Travel

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Understanding Interstellar Travel

To travel through the vast expanse of the Orion Sector is a feat once considered monumental, but has now become an almost everyday occurrence. The sector's interconnected systems owe their accessibility to a network of jump points and hyperspace travel, made possible by the discovery of Plasma as a powerful fuel source and the profound insights into Bluespace, which has allowed the ability to and navigate the cosmos. What was once a daunting challenge of traversing immense distances has become a routine experience for those dwelling in the 25th Century, from traveller, trader, to expeditionary corps, pirates, and even nomads, space traveling is a common way of life to explore the sector, and seek opportunities across the many populated and unpopulated systems within.

In the current era of the sector, most spacecraft rely on Bluespace or FTL drives. Some species, having experienced planetary unification and a golden age of peace, have been fortunate enough to possess the means to construct their own FTL engines. These engines are heavily reliant on Plasma as a fuel source, a resource rich in energy that exerts powerful thrust when ignited. In its liquid form, plasma becomes essential for fueling rocket engines, propelling ships into orbit, and enabling travel within hyperspace. The engines constructed around this fuel allow ships to achieve velocities that break the speed of light safely when handled properly by a pilot. This remarkable capability has significantly reduced the time required to traverse distances within systems, from thousands of years to mere days and week. Thanks to understanding of Bluespace, it led to the most critical part of Interstellar Travel which allow said shortcuts to exist, the discovery of Jump Points.

Jump Points are rifts in Bluespace that occur naturally in specific locations throughout a system, and act as portals to hyperspace, an alternate dimension beneath the fabric of reality. These jump points serve as shortcuts that enable ships to travel from one system to another. Species with a comprehensive understanding of Bluespace and its constantly changing properties can harness refined Bluespace crystals to develop engines and specifications that facilitate travel into hyperspace. By employing plasma fuel to propel the ship, it can traverse to other systems within the nearby region of relative space. However, once a ship enters hyperspace, it must continuously expend fuel or risk gradually succumbing to the gravitational pull of the gravity well within hyperspace, which normally would be a star. Stranded within that system, the ship will remain until its engines can re-establish propulsion and stability against the force of gravity wells, ships usually carry distress beacons in case of emergency which can be detected throughout hyperspace by nearby passing ships in the area.