The year is 2199.
It has been 100 years since our civilization first developed faster than light travel. Know by many names to its many beneficiaries: the Warp Drive, Frameshift Drive, Jump Drive, Hyperdrive, Gravity Well; All share ancestry with the first prototype FTL ship, developed by an international team of scientists and engineers in the year 2099. They operate on a simple principle: Space before the ship contracts, and space behind the ship expands. Using carefully tuned particle accelerators and field coils, ships can now travel thousands of times the speed of light. The most recent models of the drive can travel thousands of times the speed of light. A few more exotic methods of travel exist, but yield roughly the same efficiency as the alcubierre-type FTL engine.
Of a more mysterious nature are devices commonly referred to as “slamgates.” Kilometers in size, and triangular in shape, these enormous machines are thought to have been crafted by the Peregrin Travelers. A ship crossing the plane of the device at sub-light speeds is instantly catapulted at faster than light speeds proportional to its velocity when entering. Sadly, tests of speeds higher than 1c have yielded no results, as testing vessels are never seen or heard from again. Captains are advised not to verify this with crew onboard. Only three working examples of these devices exist in civilized space, with the rest either damaged or in unsafe Traveler-held space.
Space is currently divided amongst several interstellar nations, many of which control hundreds of settled star systems. Turmoil has erupted as these countries now vie for control of key systems. War seems inevitable, but there is one last chance for peace: a commemoration of the first faster-than-light flight that will be held on Urth.
The centennial of civilization’s greatest achievement may be the last chance to avoid all-out conflict.
Welcome to the galaxy.
[spoiler]It’s with a heavy heart that I’ve got to say no teleportation machines or transporters, as that’s just kind of a recipe for disaster. Otherwise, tech is pretty unrestricted outside of travel time and balanced ship strength. If you have a question or are experiencing an OOC conflict with another writer:
Feel free to contact me, I’ll be the one doing most/all the moderating on these new AU worlds.
I’ll be putting together a galaxy map soon, claims process will be identical to the way it is now with the main universe: claim an area, and named star system (similar to how cities are denoted in the main claims process). Look for that map coming soon!
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