Transwarp conduit

A transwarp conduit, also known as a transwarp corridor or a transwarp tunnel, was an artificially-created energy conduit through a realm of subspace known as transwarp space.
The entrances of transwarp conduits bear many resemblances to subspace gateways. They were utilized by the Borg to cover great distances in a relatively short period of time. Accessed via tachyon pulses of alternating frequencies, the conduits contained a matter stream in which a vessel could reach velocities at least twenty times greater than the maximum warp speed of a starship, in a process Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge described as "like falling into a fast-moving river and being swept away by the current." (, , )
== Technical data ==
The generation of a transwarp conduit was characterized by triquantum waves, subspace disruptions with a field magnitude of at least 2.9 teracochranes, and a highly-symmetric power-utilization curve. Transwarp conduits generated high neutrino emissions accompanied by an intermittent graviton flux, leading Seven of Nine and Harry Kim to believe that they are in fact wormholes. The Borg maintained a network of thousands of transwarp conduits throughout the galaxy, connected by six transwarp hubs supported by interspatial manifolds, with exit points in all four quadrants. They were additionally able to generate new conduits through use of transwarp coils. This allowed the Borg to deploy vessels almost anywhere in the galaxy within minutes, giving them a decisive tactical advantage. Upon entering a conduit, a vessel was subject to extreme gravimetric shear. To compensate for this, the Borg projected a structural integrity field ahead of the ship. Additionally, there were extreme temporal stresses placed upon the vessel, necessitating a chroniton field be projected throughout the ship in order to keep the different sections of the ship in temporal sync. (; )
A transwarp conduit opened in the center of the Alpha Quadrant by an unknown entity generated powerful triquantum waves that resulted in a massive energy buildup and discharge that threatened most of the sector that it was located in. ()
According Rok-Tahk, a class at Starfleet Academy taught that some conduits could make ships travel hundreds or even thousands of times faster than warp. ()
== Encounters ==
In the 2350s, after three months of shadowing a Borg cube aboard the , Magnus and Erin Hansen followed in the cube's wake after it entered a transwarp conduit, traveling all the way to the Delta Quadrant, the Borg's native territory. ()
The crew of the observed a transwarp conduit in use in 2369, while engaging in combat with a rogue Borg vessel. Pursuing the vessel, the Enterprise became caught in the conduit's energy matrix and was briefly pulled inside. Later, upon analyzing the subspace distortion of the conduit, Commander La Forge was able to reproduce the tachyon pulses the Borg used to open the conduit, allowing the Enterprise to pursue the Borg to the planet which they were using as a base, sixty-five light years away. ()
In 2374, the was sent to investigate a subspace compression anomaly. Starfleet believed that analysis of the phenomenon would provide them the knowledge to create transwarp corridors that could help them win the Dominion War. ()
That same year, the was believed to have been destroyed by the Dominion after it crossed Romulan space to attack the ship. () However, the ship evidently fell through a transwarp conduit into the Delta Quadrant instead where it was taken to the Kazon training facility by the rogue AI running the place. ()
During the same year, Seven of Nine attempted to utilize the 's main deflector to generate a transwarp conduit in an effort to facilitate their return to the Alpha Quadrant. Erratic fluctuations of the ship's warp power caused the tachyon levels to rise to a resonant frequency. Tachyons flooded the warp core, threatening a breach. Unable to stabilize, Torres was forced to eject the core. ()
A year later, Kathryn Janeway, Voyagers captain, mounted a mission to steal a transwarp coil from a Borg sphere, in an attempt to return to the Alpha Quadrant. The mission was successful, but the Voyager crew was forced to install the coil in the in order to travel to Unimatrix 01 to rescue Seven of Nine. Upon completion of the mission, they returned through the conduit to rendezvous with Voyager, pursued by a Borg ship. As soon as the Flyer arrived at Voyagers coordinates, Commander Chakotay ordered a full spread of photon torpedoes fired at the threshold perimeter of the conduit, destabilizing the matter stream and imploding the conduit for at least a light year. This resulted in the destruction of the Borg vessel upon emerging from transwarp space. Voyager was subsequently able to travel another twenty thousand light years towards the Alpha Quadrant before the transwarp coil gave out, eliminating approximately fifteen years from their journey. ()
In 2378, Voyager discovered a transwarp hub in a nebula, allowing them access to a transwarp aperture less than a light year from Earth. With help from her counterpart from twenty-six years in the future, Captain Janeway was able to outfit Voyager with ablative generators, enabling the ship to withstand attacks from Borg ships guarding the hub. Entering the conduit, Voyager destroyed the interspatial manifolds as it went, causing the hub to collapse. Despite their destruction of the manifolds, Voyager still found themselves pursued by a Borg sphere, which exited near Earth and engaged a fleet of Starfleet vessels. Voyager destroyed the sphere from within using a transphasic torpedo, an advanced weapons technology acquired from Janeway's counterpart. ()
By 2384, transwarp conduits were considered by Starfleet to be "abandoned Borg tech" and were used by other races. ()
In 2384. Dal R'El, Rok-Tahk, Jankom Pog, Gwyndala, Murf, and Zero attempted to use one to reach their destination faster as it would otherwise take them 61 days. The entrance to the conduit was an inactive transwarp aperture in the middle of space which Zero activated with a tachyon pulse. Although the conduit greatly reduced the ship's travel time and took it into the Delta Quadrant, a Kazon drone entered the conduit and forced the Infinity out of the tunnel and into a landing at the Kazon training facility. On the planet, First maje Ekthi introduced himself as ruler of both the planet and the conduit and accused the crew of trespassing, but turned out to be mind controlled by a rouge AI who had been scouring the conduit and ships passing through it for "recruits" for the AI's pilot training program. The AI was ultimately destroyed by Zero, ending its tyranny over the transwarp conduit. Amongst the wrecks of the ships that Zero found which had been attacked by the AI over the years were the Cairo and another ship. ()
The 's search for the missing kids led them to the abandoned transwarp conduit. After arguing with Admiral Edward Jellico, Vice Admiral Kathryn Janeway had Voyager enter the conduit. ()
In 2399, Cristobal Rios showed knowledge of how to properly fly a ship through a transwarp conduit while arguing with Soji Asha, suggesting that he had encountered and possibly used the conduits before. ()
In 2399, Soji Asha piloted La Sirena to a surviving node on the Borg transwarp network and then through a conduit, in an effort to reach her homeworld before the Zhat Vash, traveling twenty-five light years in about fifteen minutes with a Romulan scout ship secretly following them through as well. ()
After seeing La Sirena in the transwarp conduit being chased by the Romulan ship, Seven of Nine opened another conduit for the and followed them to Coppelius in the Borg cube. ()
In 2401, an atypical Borg Queen sought out the Federation's help against an unknown threat, later revealed to be a massive energy wave unleashed by an anomaly in the center of the Alpha Quadrant that threatened billions of lives. By harmonizing the shields of the Federation's fleet with the , they were able to block the energy wave. The anomaly then transformed into a massive transwarp conduit that was unlike any ever seen before. The Borg Queen revealed that not even the Borg with all of their collective knowledge knew who was behind the creation of the conduit and she called it a piece of the puzzle that's final image was unclear but was tied to a threat. At the Borg Queen's request, Picard granted the Borg provisional membership in the Federation so that they could keep the conduit under close observation as "the Guardian at the Gate." ()
Later in 2401, a Borg cube carrying the Borg Queen emerged from a transwarp conduit in Jupiter's atmosphere to meet with Jack Crusher. After discovering the cube hiding in the Great Red Spot, William T. Riker was surprised that the Borg had hidden a transwarp conduit inside the gases of Jupiter. ()
As of 3189, a transwarp tunnel with an aperture near the Verubin Nebula was listed on courier maps, although Cleveland Booker believed that few in their right mind would risk using it. Nonetheless, Osyraa took the Viridian through this tunnel in that year to pursue the . ()
In 3191, Ruhn's dreadnaught used a transwarp conduit as a shortcut to reach the location of the Progenitors' technology faster. ()
== See also ==
* Quantum slipstream drive
* Subspace vortex
== External link ==
* 
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Category:Borg technology
Conduit