Jump drive

The jump drive is one of four known FTL technologies, the others being the hyperdrive, subspace traversal, and the gateway. Like subspace traversal and the gateway, the jump drive is used exclusively by the Emorian Union.

The jump drive operates entirely differently from both hyperdrive and subspace-based technologies. Instead of breaching a separate dimension of space-time, the jump drive creates a small, temporary wormhole, essentially tearing a hole, or aperture, in space-time between two points in space, permitting a vessel to travel between those points instantaneously.

The power required to create such an aperture is immense. Minimum power requirements to operate a jump drive are estimated to be more than 1,000 times greater than that of subspace traversal. These power requirements vary based upon the size of the vessel and the length of time which the aperture should endure.

The distance that a ship can jump is limited to roughly 100,000 light-years, and typically requires a short period between jumps of two or more days.

The "speeds" that are achievable through jump drive technology far exceed those achievable by subspace traversal. In fact, the jump drive makes intra-galaxy travel virtually instantaneous. Inter-galaxy travel varies depending upon the distance between galaxies, but may be reduced to a matter of months.

The Emori achieved jump drive technology approximately 16,000 years ago. Shortly after having developed the jump drive, all Emori ships had been equipped with the technology.

No other known species have achieved jump drive technology.