Created by Captain Michael Turlogh Kane on Aug 16, 2016 @ 3:18am

TRANSWARP CONDUIT

A TRANSWARP CONDUIT is an artificial energy corridor, created by triquantum waves and accessed by tachyon pulses, that passes through subspace. Within the conduit is a matter stream that can propel a vessel inside it to speeds often exceeding twenty times their normal maximum. This new propulsion technology, perfected in the last few decades and now spreading through the quadrant, holds the potential to revolutionise starship travel and project exploration of the galaxy forward by many generations.

The Borg were the first race to make use of this technology, and although the Federation began a number of research projects to explore the viability of transwarp conduits, progress was slow. It was feared that the project could prove to be another white elephant along the lines of the transwarp projects of the late 23rd century, but the Borg themselves provided the impetus to change the direction of the Federation's efforts.

In 2393, the Borg renewed contact with the Federation, but they were drastically changed from the cybernetic monsters that had tried to exterminate the Federation half-a-century earlier. Now all individuals, with a homeworld and an operating central government modelled along the lines of the United Federation of Planets, this new Borg Federation entered into a military and political alliance with the Federation, sharing scientific, economic, and military technology, including full details on their transwarp conduit propulsion. This godsend allowed Federation engineers to begin to adapt Borg technology - because of the differences between Federation and Borg starship construction, composition, and comparative shield technologies, several modifications were necessary before the first manned Starfleet vessels successfully used transwarp conduits twenty years ago. The journey time between the Alpha and Delta Quadrants was cut from years to several weeks - it was also used to link up to the Federation's territories in the Gamma Quadrant.

Because of the enormous energy output required to generate and maintain a transwarp conduit, not every starship is equipped with the transwarp coils that are necessary to utilise the technology. Although slowly being rolled out through the fleet, Starfleet estimates it will be the middle of this century before all front-line starships are brought up to spec.

The potentialities brought about by transwarp conduit technology are staggering. By shredding journey times across the farthest distances, it is hoped that the Federation will soon be in a position to launch exploration voyages longer than any attempted before, to the far sides of the Gamma and Beta Quadrants, and perhaps along the very rim of the galaxy itself. From there, how much farther?