Warp Travel

Warp travel is among the most reliable, steadfast, and common-place methods for FTL travel, and is used by every faction in the Milky Way galaxy but two.

## Scientific Principles

Warp drives, better known to the Terrans as Alcubierre drives, are among the most important technologies in existence, and the principles behind it are absolutely essential to maintaining an interstellar nation. Without this technology, communications would break down, and travelling from system to system would often take decades.

The drive essentially functions by trapping a ship within a "bubble" of realspace, then contracts space-time in front of the bubble and expands it behind the bubble. This propels the ship forward on a wave of space-time at speeds faster than light. However, within the bubble of realspace, the vessel itself does not actually move. Therefore, nothing actually goes faster than the speed of light, and no laws of physics are broken. For a more in-depth look on how the Alcubierre drive works, see here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcubierre\_drive

## Warp Lanes

The warp lane network was one of the most important developments that the Murrcioun Syndicates brought to the rest of the galaxy, and it won them a place with the Galactic Council. It was part of what allowed the Council to return law and order to the Milky Way and bring about the end of the Dark Ages. Let's equate using a warp drive to driving a car. Travelling along a warp lane, or warp lanes, is like travelling along a highway with a map. Travelling without a warp lane is like driving across the country knowing only the direction you're going and how many miles you need to go.

The warp lanes function around two technologies developed by Murrcioun scientists. The first is the warp lane registrar, a technology which assists ships with identifying the best conditions for entering the warp lanes at the fringes of a solar system beyond the star's gravity well, and also optimizes projected travel routes. The second is the warp node, a series of deep space stations placed in set positions along the plotted route, with maneuvering thrusters equipped so their position can be corrected if necessary. The nodes take the navigation plans out of the hands of the travelling ship and maintain the integrity of the realspace manipulation. Travelling along a warp lane means that your journey is faster, safer, and more accurate.

Travelling without a warp lane means that the range of your drive is limited, as well as the accuracy. Warp travel is still very efficient within a certain range. But the farther away your destination is, the more likely you are to over or under-shoot your target by a light-year or two, the more likely you are to end up somewhere dangerous like within a gravity well, and the more likely it is that the integrity of the realspace field to decay, and thus, cause you to drop out of warp in the midst of transit. As a result of this, civilization in the Milky Way tends to be clustered around systems with warp lane connections.

Warp lanes are quite expensive to create and maintain. The network was created as Galactic Council influence spread, and even today is owned and maintained by the Murrcioun Syndicates. The network was connected between strategic systems, and they serve as major trade and travel hubs. Due to the expense of the network, and the general belief of the Syndicates that the current network is good enough, it is quite a chore to get them to construct a new warp lane route.

Each system with a warp lane in it also has a space station which is considered sovereign Murrcioun territory. While it might seem odd that foreign powers would allow this, the value gained in revenue and system traffic cannot be overstated. At systems with three or more connected warp lanes, these stations quickly become Trade Worlds, large habitats that serve as intergalactic markets. It is the warp lanes and trade worlds which grant the Murrcioun power and influence beyond what their comparatively small territory would normally allow.