Warp drive

Warp drive is a technology which allows for faster-than-light space travel. It works by creating a protective warp bubble around a ship, which is then pushed into an upper layer of subspace that is close to normal space. The bubble is able to traverse the subspace layer much more quickly than it would have in normal space, and also serves to protect the ship from the unconventional behaviour of subspace physics.

Unlike with high-velocity travel in normal space, relative spacetime remains unaffected, allowing for vast distances to be crossed without causing noticeable time dilation.

The amount of energy required to traverse subspace increases exponentially with the speed being travelled and with the size of the bubble. For this reason, there are practical limits to how fast ships can move using warp drive. If the ship is unable to apply enough energy to sustain the bubble, it gets pushed back into normal space.

During the interstellar war that began in the 9270s, all of the main belligerents that were actively engaging in political and military conflict for domination of the galaxy were using warp drive to quickly traverse the vast empty space separating stellar systems and celestial bodies, reducing the time of the journey that light made between two bodies from a matter of years to mere days or hours.