Memory Alpha
Register
Advertisement
Memory Alpha

AT: "xx"

Quantum slipstream

Voyager navigates the slipstream

Slipstream display

A computer simulation of a slipstream

The quantum slipstream drive was an advanced form of propulsion technology first encountered by the USS Voyager in the Delta Quadrant, which had the capability of exceeding a starship's maximum warp factor by an unprecedented degree. Similar in principle to the transwarp technology utilized by the Borg, it was originally developed by a Delta Quadrant race designated by the Borg as "Species 116."

Technical data

Quantum slipstream drive operated by routing energy through the vessel's main deflector, which then focused a quantum field, allowing the vessel to penetrate the quantum barrier. In order to maintain the slipstream, the phase variance of the quantum field had to be constantly adjusted, or the slipstream would collapse, violently throwing the ship back into normal space.

History

Dauntless quantum slipstream drive core

The Dauntless's quantum slipstream drive

The Voyager crew first encountered slipstream technology in 2374, when they discovered the USS Dauntless, a vessel ostensibly sent by Starfleet to transport them back to the Alpha Quadrant. It was subsequently discovered, however, that the vessel was, in fact, an elaborate ruse by an alien named Arturis, who was seeking revenge on Captain Janeway for what he saw as her complicity in the assimilation of his species by the Borg, when Janeway forged an alliance with the Collective to defeat Species 8472. Planning to use the Dauntless to transport the Voyager crew back to his homeworld so they would be assimilated, Arturis was forced to settle for Janeway and Seven of Nine when his plot was discovered. Arturis was pursued in the slipstream by Voyager, which had been outfitted with the same technology. Lieutenant Commander Tuvok managed to breach the Dauntless's shields with a photon torpedo, allowing them to rescue Janeway and Seven. Commander Chakotay subsequently ordered their slipstream altered in order to avoid Borg space, leaving Arturis to be assimilated. Voyager remained in the slipstream for an hour before it collapsed, traversing 300 light years, although their diagnostics concluded that they could not risk using the technology again. (VOY: "Hope and Fear")

Voyager's slipstream drive

Voyager's slipstream drive

The next year, in an attempt to overcome the difficulties associated with slipstream, the Voyager crew constructed their own quantum drive utilizing benamite crystals. Although it initially appeared that the drive would work, Tom Paris discovered a phase variance in the slipstream threshold, which threatened to overload the drive's quantum matrix and destroy the ship. Harry Kim realized that, if someone were to pilot a shuttle ahead of Voyager in the slipstream and map the threshold as it was forming, they could send the phase corrections back to the ship with enough time to implement them. Kim and Commander Chakotay piloted the Delta Flyer ahead of the ship, but the plan failed in disaster when Kim sent an erroneous set of corrections to Voyager, causing the slipstream to collapse. Voyager exited in the Takara sector, crashing on an class L planet, resulting in the deaths of all hands, minus Kim and Chakotay, who remained in the slipstream and returned to Earth. Fifteen years later, in an attempt to change history by allowing Voyager to stay in the slipstream, Kim and Chakotay utilized a stolen Borg temporal transmitter to send a new set of phase corrections back in time, where they were detected by Seven of Nine's interplexing beacon, recovering The Doctor's program from the wreck of Voyager to help calculate exactly when to do so. The initial corrections did not work – but with no chance to correct their mistake, The Doctor convinced Kim to give up on the Alpha Quadrant and at least avert the disaster by transmitting information which would end the flight rather than prolong it. As Seven implemented these new corrections, the slipstream dispersed, returning Voyager safely to normal space, eliminating approximately ten years from their journey to the Alpha Quadrant. (VOY: "Timeless")

See also

Appendices

Appearances

Background Information

The quantum slipstream core prop is made up of a novelty plasma globe and "bubble tubes", available from most joke/gadget shops. (Delta Quadrant: The Unofficial Guide to Voyager, p. 248)

The drive was discussed in detail in the "Briefing: Propulsion Systems" article. (Star Trek: The Magazine Volume 2, Issue 4)

Continuity

In its first appearance, Voyager was able to ride another vessel's (the "Dauntless"'s) slipstream comfortably, as well as enter and maintain its own with minimal modifications to the warp drive. This slipstream was capable of traversing approximately 300 light years in an hour. The slipstream drive featured in "Timeless", on the other hand, required months of modifications, destabilized violently within seconds of launch, and was able to take the Voyager 10 years (approx. 10 000 light years) closer to Earth. It is unknown whether they are supposed to be the same drive designs or not, however, the drive from "Timeless" was enhanced by Borg technolgy.

Apocrypha

The Star Trek: Destiny trilogy introduced the Vesta-class starships, a testbed for a Federation quantum slipstream drive, along with numerous other technologies.

In A Singular Destiny Starfleet began to install quantum slipstream drives on its vessels from 2381. Due to the nature of the technology, not all ships were compatible with the upgrade. An upgraded version of the technology proved to be successful, and in the novel Full Circle Starfleet mounted an expedition to the Delta Quadrant by outfitting Voyager and several other starships with a fully functional version of the drive.

In the Star Trek: Typhon Pact novel, Zero Sum Game, the Breen sent an operative to Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards to capture data pertaining to the Quantum slipstream drive. The Breen were then contracted to build the first Typhon Pact prototype slipstream vessel. The lead researcher of the project, Thot Keer, intentionally withheld information from the other members relating to the drive's development in order to promote the Breen to a level of Pact authority of equal standing to the Romulans. Shortly before the initial trials, the prototype, its designer, and all information relating to the project were destroyed.

In Star Trek Online, players are able to use slipstream drives for brief periods after reaching Vice Admiral rank in order to travel faster between star systems.

External link

  • Template:NCwiki
Advertisement