Engine Technology

Observed Engine Technology of the Universe:

Warp Drive -

Slowest form of FTL, creates a warp field that folds expands and contracts space in front and behind the vessel burrowing it into a subspace layer as it moves throughout the galaxy

At the Technology's peak of development (Warp 9.975) Takes 75ish years to cross the galaxy (ST:voyager)

Portal Spawner(also called Jump Engines) (Hyperdrive)

The Hyperdrive is a middle ground FTL technology that forms a hyperspace window to take it into hyperspace, which is a layer deep in the subspace layer, much farther down than a warp bubble's ability to burrow, vessels cannot form a hyperspace window without a portal spawner, but vessels can enter and exit hyperspace as long as something is creating passage for them, like a Jump gate.

Jump points are strictly one way and outgoing points are distinguished by a red-shift, while incoming jump points posses a blue-shift. If for instance one jump point is opened inside of another, the staggering release of energy would almost instantly cause an enormous explosion. The System's Alliance briefly experimented with the offensive applications of this tactic though quickly dubbing it the "Bonehead Maneuver", as none of the Alliance ships were able to clear the blast radius before being destroyed.

Jump points do however have other tactical uses in warfare. A notable Minbari tactic is to lure an enemy fleet or task force into a predetermined location and then open a jump point right in their midst. Any ship that makes contact with the outer edge of the vortex is either instantly destroyed or severely crippled and the remaining ships are caught by surprise and easy targets for the Minbari Cruiser that has just jumped into the middle of them.

Cross the galaxy in a month or more depending on the power of the vessel and the availability of lock-on signals from Jumpgates and Jump relays (Babylon: 5)

Exotic Matter Pulsar(also called Slipstream Core) (slipstream)

A Gravity Field Generator(sometimes referred to as a mass effect generator), also known as a GFG, or a GFG Lens is a critical component of every Slipstream able spaceship. A GFG helps to reduce the effective mass of a vessel to just under one kilogram. It also focuses gravity so that a hole can be ripped into the fabric of spacetime so that the Slipstream can be accessed. A GFG is an important part of the ship's mobility system. drastically reduces the mass of the ship and then a slipstream drive opens a slippoint which the ship enters. The ship then catches onto the strings usually by means of slipstream runners. Once hooked onto the strings the pilot then navigates the series of slipstream "strings" until they reach the desired slippoint where they exit the slipstream.

One interesting thing about moving through the slipstream is that travel time between points has very little to do with the distance actually traveled. If a pilot is lucky, and the stream unfolds just right, the ship could transit between galaxies in minutes. But put an unlucky pilot at the helm and the same trip could take weeks or even months.Luckily for the cause of interstellar commerce and communication, the more frequently a certain path is traveled, the faster, easier and more predictable the journey becomes. As a result, frequently-traveled routes between major worlds, are safe and convenient.At an intersection of pathways in slipstream space, both paths manifest the potentiality of being correct and incorrect. It's only when the pilot chooses a specific direction that this potentiality collapses and one path becomes right, and the other wrong. For reasons still not completely understood, organic beings tend to choose the correct paths, or more precisely, the very act of choosing makes the path they have chosen the correct one.(Andromeda)