Shalan Drift Engine
This page refers to the "Drift" technology and concept, for the location, see: Shala Drift
The Shalan Drift engine is a little different from Pact's specifications*; namely in that it uses beam projectors slung along the ship's hull to tear ephemeral holes in the 'spacetime fabric', or 'dimensional veil', allowing the ship a fleeting moment to enter. Upon entry into the Drift, as it's known, the engine's onboard computer takes over by ensuring that a specialized shield- one that overrides conventional shielding tech, which would be powered down upon successful entry anyways- is recalculated and updated constantly as the ship traverses this transdimensional space. Should a calculation not be carried out properly, the shield's collapse, and the pressures from the dimension would catastrophically destroy the traversing vessel. The number of calculations per second is proportionate to ship size, though all have an enormous baseline.
Other than method of access, the "Shalan" Drift is functionally no different from the Drift that Pact Worlds access.
Prior to the dissemination of Drift engine schematics, the UGF made widespread use of Transwarp Corridor Borer engines, which created short-term wormholes across vast distances, but the power needs of such technology made it viable only for larger scale vessels; hence the proliferation of carrier-type vessels in the Federation's earlier days. The Drift engine is more suited for general use, thanks to its smaller scale and much smaller power needs.
The larger factions each adapted Drift technology differently, but, generally maintain the same principles across the board. Ranedian tech, for example, performs calculations slightly faster, but the shield integrity, thanks to recycled materials and faltering projectors, is sometimes faulty. Batavian technology utilizes neurocomputer hybrids for the engine's calculations, and some claim that the shields it projects are psionic in nature- a claim impossible to verify without being on one of the reclusive faction's vessels.
Given the name, the Shala sector seems to be the source of the signal that gave the galaxy the Drift engine, but its close neighbor, those of the Khuzdar Cluster, utilize a strange 'mystic engine' for their rare star-sailing vessels. Esoteric and poorly explained, these engines seem to, as suggested, function more off of mysticism than anything scientific. Galaxy-wide, of course, this has led to a lingering question over whether or not these engines are even real.
The Shalan Drift engine is a little different from Pact's specifications*; namely in that it uses beam projectors slung along the ship's hull to tear ephemeral holes in the 'spacetime fabric', or 'dimensional veil', allowing the ship a fleeting moment to enter. Upon entry into the Drift, as it's known, the engine's onboard computer takes over by ensuring that a specialized shield- one that overrides conventional shielding tech, which would be powered down upon successful entry anyways- is recalculated and updated constantly as the ship traverses this transdimensional space. Should a calculation not be carried out properly, the shield's collapse, and the pressures from the dimension would catastrophically destroy the traversing vessel. The number of calculations per second is proportionate to ship size, though all have an enormous baseline.
Other than method of access, the "Shalan" Drift is functionally no different from the Drift that Pact Worlds access.
Prior to the dissemination of Drift engine schematics, the UGF made widespread use of Transwarp Corridor Borer engines, which created short-term wormholes across vast distances, but the power needs of such technology made it viable only for larger scale vessels; hence the proliferation of carrier-type vessels in the Federation's earlier days. The Drift engine is more suited for general use, thanks to its smaller scale and much smaller power needs.
The larger factions each adapted Drift technology differently, but, generally maintain the same principles across the board. Ranedian tech, for example, performs calculations slightly faster, but the shield integrity, thanks to recycled materials and faltering projectors, is sometimes faulty. Batavian technology utilizes neurocomputer hybrids for the engine's calculations, and some claim that the shields it projects are psionic in nature- a claim impossible to verify without being on one of the reclusive faction's vessels.
Given the name, the Shala sector seems to be the source of the signal that gave the galaxy the Drift engine, but its close neighbor, those of the Khuzdar Cluster, utilize a strange 'mystic engine' for their rare star-sailing vessels. Esoteric and poorly explained, these engines seem to, as suggested, function more off of mysticism than anything scientific. Galaxy-wide, of course, this has led to a lingering question over whether or not these engines are even real.
