Methods of Travel

Methods of Travel
BLAST PROPULSION 

MAX SPEED:  99% S.O.L. (Requires "almost" infinite energy for that speed)

Also called combustion, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. It uses chemical reactions to propel itself. It has a high acceleration rate but burns fuel quickly, and is ineffective for long range travel. Ion and Antimatter drives also fall in this category, ion drives have low fuel usage, but can take years to accelerate to a significant percentage of the speed of light. Whereas antimatter fuel is hard to generate and contain in large quantities but it is extremely fuel efficient and capable of reaching 50-60% speed of light fairly quickly.

SOLAR SAIL 

MAX SPEED:  99% S.O.L. (Requires "almost" infinite energy for that speed)

This method of travel requires photons to move an ultra-light material. Despite the name, ultra powerful lasers can and are used to propel a ship when going against the solar wind. They are usually used for inter-planetary travel within the same solar system.

BLACKHOLE TRAVEL 

(Only works on specific types of black-holes)

Basically you fly into a black-hole and depending on how lucky you are. You will exit out of a "theoretical" white-hole at a different spot in the universe. Unless you have in depth knowledge of black holes, everything would be left to chance. Mainly because only a minority of black-holes in the universe actually have an opposite white-hole. Beware of this form of travel, even if you are successful there is almost always some sort of time distortion.

TUNNEL DRIVE

(Inter-stellar) 

Uses highly advanced lasers fired at a single point in space which then generates a worm hole. Once generated, the Tunnel Drive creates a field of Gravitons which forces the wormhole to stay open. Allowing the ship to go anywhere they want within a range of several hundred light years. This method however is extremely dangerous because if the tunnel drive fails mid-flight through a wormhole, the wormhole collapses and destroys the ship.

GATE TRAVEL/STARLANE DRIVE

(Inter-stellar)

By creating two separate star gates at different points in space. you can link the two gates via a  wormhole which allows you to have absolute control of it. Allowing you to keep it open or close it for as long as you want. Usually it takes a few hours to a couple of days to travel through any worm hole. Requires you to have been to the location previously so that both gates can be built. By repeating this process, an interstellar civilization can create a large network of gates which connect the colonies. Not only is this method safer then a Tunnel Drive, it is more efficient and controllable.

HYPERSPACIAL DRIVE

(Limited to class 3-5 civilizations)

Hyperspace is an invisible, parallel dimension with slightly different laws of physics which is extremely hostile. Ships that are capable of entering Hyperspace can travel a several million light years in a matter of hours and days. This allows travel between the closest galaxies in reasonable amount of time. However any ship that enters hyperspace requires some sort of energy shielding. Otherwise the hostile radiation and energy of this dimension will start disintegrating any form of matter. When it comes to smaller ships without a shield, this usually only takes a few minutes to an hour. Larger ships may take several hours before they are completely disintegrated. So it is essential to keep in mind that entering hyperspace for long periods of time without some sort of shield would be a suicide mission.

LOOPWARP

(Limited to class 4-5 civilizations only) (Most advanced form of travel)

A Loop-warp drive manipulates dark energy to literally link two points in space, making for instant travel. The range of the loop-warp drive is theoretically infinite. However, you need to know the exact coordinates of where you wish to go in order to loop-warp to it. Usually only equipped on massive Destroyer/Dreadnought class ships. Many civilizations that use this form of travel often create massive ships which are capable of holding a large fleet of smaller ships within them. It is said that a select few individuals in the universe have a smaller version of this technology allowing them to use instant teleportation anywhere in the universe. These beings are usually treated as gods. However few people actually believe that such power exists in the hands of a single person.