Warp

**Warp** is an experimental technology that's only entering military use at the beginning of The Sol War. Unlike the standard jump technology that requires ships equipped with it to physically travel the distance between points A and B at extreme speeds, warp technology uses a special projector that warps space, creating a tunnel from point A to point B. Ships traveling through warp space arrive at the target point instantaneously and cannot be detected in normal space.

Although warp technology is powerful, it has its drawbacks. An overloading warp core can detonate, sending an incredibly destructive shockwave through space that destroys everything in its path and can severely damage or outright devastate even capital ships. Furthermore, capital ships passing through early model warp gates could be sheared in half if the generators sustaining the gate were destroyed and the gate suddenly collapsed.

## Military use

The technology was developed by the Coalition, using the remote Venus as a staging area. The prototype warp gate there served to launch sorties deep into Alliance-controlled areas around Neptune, including Riza-class science ships and entire wings of fighters. The Alliance first learned of this technology on July 19, 2160, when Klaus Steiner and a volunteer 45th pilot were pulled into a warp gate after randomly coming across such a sorties. Despite overwhelming odds, both managed to return safely to Neptune and report on the technology.

Although the Alliance scrambled to develop its own warp capability, it lagged behind the Coalition. Meanwhile, the Coalition refined its technology and on October 30, 2160, launched the first warp attack using a capital ship: CS Krasnaya interdicted the ANS Reliant, limping home for repairs. A desperate defense by the 45th Volunteers managed to turn the tables on the Coalition and Krasnaya was eventually destroyed, along with its fighter and bomber complement. The situation became even more dire when it turned out that the rogue colonel McGann obtained warp projectors from Coalition defectors and used them to raid an Alliance raider wing on November 13, 2160.

Struggling to bring its warp capability online, the Alliance decided to disrupt Coalition warp operations by destroying its forward operating post, Latov Asteroid Observation Base, believed to be coordinating warp attacks. The attack was launched on November 21, 2160, and was completely successful. However, the Coalition continued to expand its warp capability undeterred, bringing new, more advanced warp gates online, and preparing the CS Czar, a supercarrier, for use in conjunction with these gates. This warship became the target of a raid deep behind enemy lines on January 4, 2161, where the 307th Vampires and the 45th Volunteers used prototype warp projectors created using captured Coalition technology to slip into Saturn's orbit and destroy the Czar still in berth.

Although only capable of projecting a small gate, big enough for fighters, it represented a turning point in the war. Christened *The Tigers*, the 45th became a first-class outfit, participating in many of the warp operations. The first mission was the raid on the Stalag, a mining and storage depot producing fusion power cells for Coalition warp systems, to obtain a fuel cell supply necessary to bring the Alliance warp gate system online. The raid on March 6, 2161, was a full success and culminated in the destruction of the Stalag and supercharging Alliance warp efforts. As if to signify this advancement, the 45th wiped out McGann's pirate militia on April 15, 2161, thanks to their use of warp technology.

Another breakthrough came in May, when Alliance intelligence obtained the location of the Coalition's warp gate hub. The nerve center of Coalition Warp Gate operations, the facility controlled gate operations throughout the sector, along with holding much of the Coalition's fuel for Warp Gates across the system. The Alliance launched an attack on May 25, 2161, succeeding in destroying the facility and briefly regaining the initiative.

By September 21, 2161, a select number of capital ships were fitted with internal warp drives, including the ANS Victorious and ANS Yamato. ANS Victorious was lost with all hands on that date, as a sneak attack against the Dark Reign ion cannon foundered: Despite intel to the contrary, the ion cannon was fully operational and took out the Victorious in just one blast. The cannon was subsequently destroyed, and warp-enabled capital ships became an essential part of Alliance operations, allowing them to strike hard and fast, fragmenting the Coalition front line. On December 30, 2161, a warp strike combined with a perfidious attack using stolen Kamov bombers allowed the Alliance to wipe out the Coalition Second Fleet and ensure the liberation of Titan.

Finally, on February 28, 2162, warp projectors were instrumental in the destruction of CS Borodin, the Coalition's command post in outer Sol - and avoiding the loss of ANS Yamato, the Alliance's trump card.

## Gallery

* American fighters flying through a Coalition warp gate

## References

1. ↑ Mission 2
2. ↑ Mission 14
3. ↑ The gate can also be destroyed in the mission.