Coaxial Warp Drive, also known as Coaxial Induction Drive or Coaxial Drive, is a propulsion system that allows a vessel to travel large distances nearly instantaneously.
Federation Coaxial Warp Drive
Experimentation into the development of the Federation Coaxial Warp Drive can trace its history to the mid-2250s when Starfleet began work to develop an alternative to the Warp Drive for high speed travel within the galaxy. 127 of the Federation's leading scientists were gathered under the direction of Professor Bendes Kettaract, a Human theorist who had been working on developing a new form of energy generation. Due to the sensitive nature of their work a Starfleet Outpost in the Lantaru Sector was selected for experimentation into the development of the Drive. While nearing a breakthrough in their research, an accident caused the destruction of the Outpost, killing all 127 scientists, and a devastating rupture of subspace within a radius of several light years, causing warp travel to become a permanent impossibility within the Lantaru Sector. Because of this Starfleet immediately terminated further research into the Coaxial Drive.
While no additional work was conducted by Starfleet, the crew of the Starship Voyager encountered a small, Benthan vessel that was powered by a Coaxial Warp Drive in the Delta Quadrant in 2374. When encountered the vessel was in a highly unstable state and its single pilot was overwhelmed by the situation and unable to correct it. Through the actions of Voyager's pilot, Tom Paris, the vessel was saved from destruction; however, the Benthan pilot - Steth - was not whom he appeared and was in reality a shapeshifter who was trying to elude authorities. The crew of the Voyager attempted to modify a shuttle to accommodate the Coaxial Warp Drive; however, the prototype was stolen by the imposter after he replaced Captain Kathryn Janeway. Through the actions of the Voyager crew they were able to recover the prototype and the Benthan vessel to deliver them to the proper authorities. Due to the danger posed by the technology Voyager's crew made no further attempts to utilize the Coaxial Drive and placed the prototype engine in storage.
Following the return of Voyager to the Alpha Quadrant, Starfleet restricted access to many of the technologies brought back by the Voyager crew. Nonetheless, the Theoretical Propulsion Group was able to acquire the prototypes for not only the Coaxial Warp Drive but also the Quantum Slipstream Drive. While both technologies were groundbreaking, Starfleet chose to focus its efforts upon the Slipstream Drive rather than the Coaxial Drive with a working prototype vessel launched in the 2380s. The Coaxial Drive was returned to storage.
In the mid-2410s, due to advances on the part of the Klingon Empire and the Romulan Republic, the Federation Council approved efforts to develop a new propulsion system to maintain the Federation's superiority in propulsion technologies. It was agreed that Starfleet would resume research on the Coaxial Warp Drive at Gateway Station near Bajor. After significant work, the prototype Core was completed and installed aboard the Starship Enterprise during an extensive refit following the Battle of the Foundry.
Coaxial Warp Drive Overview
Coaxial Warp Drive propulsion systems operate in many respects similarly to the Warp Drive that has been in use by most galactic powers for centuries. The Drive operates by first creating a standard warp field and then further manipulating that field to fold space. The Drive accomplishes this by drawing in subatomic particles and reconfiguring their internal geometries thereby creating the enhanced warp field that accomplishes the folding of space. The Coaxial Warp Drive utilizes antineutrinos as a catalyst for the space-folding process and then creates a neutrino envelope around the vessel, using tetrahedral Boronite/Dilithium quartz in the Coaxial Core to focus and amplify the space-folding process for travel. This process generates an incredible amount of power, more so than a conventional Warp Drive could generate in an entire year. The space-folding process is, however, exceptionally dangerous to any craft that may be too close to the vessel engaging Coaxial Warp as it can cause significant structural damage to any vessel not protected by the Coaxial Warp Field and even the presence of such a field is no guarantee of safety. Despite this, the Coaxial Drive does provide the user vessel with enhanced protections from collision as, since it is not traversing normal space, the ship is in very little danger of accidentally colliding with an object in space. Further, due to the Drive operating similar to a Folded Space Transporter under the Elway Theorem, the crew of a vessel can experience nausea and other illness while aboard a vessel travelling at Coaxial speeds.
While a long theorized technology, Coaxial Warp Drives are still highly experimental and are restricted in Starfleet due the dangers that can result from an instability in the system. Coaxial Warp Drives are prone to overload due to particle instability inside the Drive that can, and will, cause the system to experience malfunctions and even lose integrity. In the event of a catastrophic system failure the vessel utilizing the Coaxial Warp Drive would be destroyed and would also collapse subspace for a range of up to 1 billion kilometers from the point of detonation. To correct for this flaw, a polaric modulator is used to dilute the particle stream as it enters the coaxial core, similar in nature to a carburetor utilized in automobiles. A last ditch option to stabilize the instabilities in the space folding core is to employ a symmetric warp field to force stability. This also creates a disadvantage as a chromoelectric field or pulse can be used to disable the system.
Further information regarding the energy generation of Coaxial Warp Drive is restricted.
Coaxial Warp Drive Factors
| Coaxial Warp Factor | Speed |
|---|---|
| 01 | 02 Light Years Per Minute |
| 02 | 04 Light Years Per Minute |
| 03 | 06 Light Years Per Minute |
| 04 | 08 Light Years Per Minute |
| 05 | 10 Light Years Per Minute |
Real World
Disclaimer
Star Trek and all related marks, logos and characters are solely owned by CBS Studios Inc. This fan production is not endorsed by, sponsored by, nor affiliated with CBS, Paramount Pictures, or any other Star Trek franchise, and is a non-commercial fan-made production intended for recreational use. No commercial exhibition or distribution is permitted. No alleged independent rights will be asserted against CBS or Paramount Pictures.
