Subspace

In the common DragonKin vernacular, Subspace refers to a massive spectrum of pockets of space all of which are totally empty and considerably more compressed than normal space. At least some utilisation of subspace is considered essential for interstellar travel.
== Overview ==
Subspace in DragonKin terms refers to a massive spectrum of pockets of space all of which share the common traits of being totally empty barring a persistent omnipresent radiation and being considerably more compressed than normal space. These pockets of space get exponentially smaller the further, often termed "deeper", from normal space they are. Rifts into subspace are almost always too imprecise to allow for 2 different rifts to enter the exact same pocket, but the margin for error in "shallow" subspace pockets, including the "deepest" ones used for conventional navigation, will be nearly imperceptible.
Many "shallow" subspace pockets are close enough to normal space that objects will cast a "shadow" into subspace that can be picked up be many different types of sensor. These shadows aren't physically present and get fainter and fainter the "deeper" the pocket of subspace is from where the object actually is, but can be picked up by calibrated sensors.
The compression of subspace pockets start to shift unpredictably at the smaller and "deeper" pockets in ways that no computer or intelligence other than the Sould can hope to predict, making these "deep" pockets functionally useless for navigation or scanning purposes, effectively limiting the range of sensors and navigational speed. In addition to the compression becoming impossible to comprehend, "deeper" pockets of subspace become exponentially more energy intensive to open a rift into making them uneconomical to access.
Subspace radiation is a unique emission of subspace that while easily protected against by typical shielding and hulls found on all but the thinnest hulled starships, and constant enough to be easily filtered out of any scans or communications without drowning them out in "shallow" pockets, is present in such high quantities even in "shallow" subspace that it is considered that to be exposed to the full extent of it unprotected for even a second is considered to be a lethal dose to the majority of non-DragonKin creatures. Convincing explanations for the presence of this radiation are nearly non-existent.
The lowest level of subspace is weirdly referred to as "wormhole space" and is considered near instant connection to anywhere in the universe, but doesn't follow the same rules as normal subspace which has led many to believe it isn't actually subspace at all.
== Common Uses ==
===== Main Article: Hyperdrive =====
A Hyperdrive allows a spacecraft to enter and exit a pocket of subspace by creating a spatial rift into a specific zone (which is decided based on how the rift was created, with no two Hyperdrives having the exact same subspace signature although those made by the same species have only slight differences, while Hyperdrives from 2 different species may have a massive difference).
Due to subspace being more compressed than normal space, a ship may enter subspace in one location and travel just a few million Km in subspace before leaving, ending up multiple lightyears in normal space from where they started.
===== Main Article: Transporter =====
Transporters are a DragonKin Near-Instant transportation system that uses the same basic principles as a Hyperdrive, but creating both an entrance rift and exit rift at the same time to ensure the target does not get stuck in subspace.
===== Faster-than-light Sensors =====
Due to subspace "shadows" being present in "shallow" pockets, these pockets are often used to massively extend the range of sensors and other scans.
===== Faster-than-light Communications =====
Colloquially known as "Subspace Radio", pockets of subspace "deeper" than those typically used for scans and sensors, but "shallower" than those typically used for travel, are frequently used to broadcast radio waves (and other traditionally sub-light broadcasts) across up to galactic distances. Subspace radiation and the imprecise broad-pocket receivers/transmitters of these communications often makes them increasingly poor quality the further from their source they go.
===== Subspace Disruption Pulse =====
Subspace Disruption Pulses (SDPs) are a localised disruption of subspace with the intent of forcing something in subspace to return to normal space. An SDP is considerably more energy intensive than opening a rift to the "depth" of subspace you want to disrupt, but will knock anything down to that "depth" out of subspace. The energy required to disrupt a rift sized area of subspace is actually LESS energy intensive just opening a normal ship-sized rift as an SDP will last no more than a fraction of a second, but the excessive energy cost of performing an SDP is due to effectively expanding the rift to cover a huge area, often slightly more than the ship using it's engagement range. The huge energy cost makes trying to disrupt communications with a SDP all but futile without perfect timing, but is useful for forcing ships in subspace to enter normal space for combat or capture. SDPs are most commonly associated with pirates but occasionally see military or even rescue usage.
== Wormhole Space ==
Wormhole Space is a rather poor name for the unusual "deepest" possible pocket of subspace. It follows different rules from normal subspace, lacking the subspace radiation and being relatively energy cheap to open a rift into. Navigation via it is impossible for Non-Sould lifeforms, with even younger Sould failing to comprehend it's unpredictably shifting and impossibly tiny nature.
Wormhole Space has been successfully utilised by a Non-Sould, notably the Ancient Dragoians to create a near-instant transit network they named Wormhole Rings. These work by bypassing the navigation aspect by using fixed entry points that communicate with each other by normal subspace means, then simultaneously open their rifts on a shared frequency allowing anything that fits between the rings to travel between the two things in fractions of a second. The effective range of a Wormhole Ring is determined by their subspace pings, and is considered impractical for inter-galaxy travel, but ideal for small-scale intra-galaxy travel.