For other uses, see Quantum.

The quantum slipstream drive (QSD) was an advanced interstellar propulsion technology, a faster-than-light (FTL) drive system allowing starships to travel faster than conventional warp speeds. In the 24th century, this quantum slipstream drive was a technology in use by Species 116 in the Delta Quadrant. In the year 2374, the Federation starship USS Voyager acquired quantum slipstream drive from the USS Dauntless-A, a ship modified by Arturis to pass as a Federation QSD prototype. (VOY episode: "Hope and Fear")

Usage of the technology required the rare resource benamite and precise calculations. A later test of the drive in 2375 nearly led to the destruction of Voyager, and it was decided to put the use of the device on hold. (VOY episode: "Timeless")

Generating slipstream corridors requires more processing power than forming warp fields; the computational power required is directly related more to the frontal geometry of a vessel and less to the geometry of the rest of the ship, such as the warp nacelles, more important to conventional [[[warp drive]]s. Therefore, slipstream propelled ships are generally narrow and compact with aerodynamic lines. However, they were also more energy-efficient than warp drive. (TNG novel: Greater Than the Sum)

History[]

24th century[]

In the 2370s, Arturis plotted revenge against the Voyager crew for helping the Borg Collective defeat Species 8472 in their war in 2373. Using particle synthesis, Arturis created the Dauntless-class USS Dauntless (NX-01-A), a Species 116 vessel masquerading as a Federation QSD prototype. In 2374, Arturis lured Voyager to its location, hoping the entire crew would board the ship to travel to Earth. The Starfleet crew took detailed scans of the vessel. The Dauntless-A was preprogrammed to head to Arturis' home system to be assimilated. Captain Kathryn Janeway uncovered Arturis' ruse. The Dauntless-A, with only Arturis aboard, arrived in Borg space and was surrounded by Borg cubes. Voyager, which had been modified with a rudimentary QSD, covered 10.000 lightyears, or the equivalent of traveling 10 years, until its slipstream dispersed. (VOY episode: "Hope and Fear")

In 2375, the Voyager crew had installed a quantum slipstream drive over the warp core's outer shell. With the Delta Flyer as advance-warning scout, Voyager entered a slipstream. In an alternate timeline, this effort failed and Voyager was destroyed. The Harry Kim of 2390 changed the timeline, allowing Voyager to disperse the slipstream before it was destroyed. The drive was dismantled for lack of safe calculations and benamite. (VOY episode: "Timeless")

Voyager returned to the Federation through the Borg transwarp network in 2377, bringing various advanced technologies along. (VOY episode & novelization: Endgame)

The USS Spirit (NX-79995) was a Starfleet quantum slipstream drive prototype in operation in the 24th century. (SOTL calendar: 2009)

First Splinter timeline[]

In the year 2380, the Vesta-class Federation starship USS Aventine was among the first Starfleet vessels to be fitted with a quantum slipstream drive. (TNG novel: Greater Than the Sum)

By 2381, following the defeat of the Borg, Starfleet began installing quantum slipstream drives on its vessels, but, due to the nature of the technology, not all ships were compatible with the upgrade. (ST novel: A Singular Destiny)

Later that year, a small contingent of Starfleet vessels, including Voyager, was outfitted with the drives in order to explore the Delta Quadrant in greater detail, and to learn any information available about the Borg. (VOY novel: Full Circle)

Unknown to Starfleet, at the same time, B'Elanna Torres had managed to recreate the technology from memory and had outfitted a small vessel with the drive, to evade a fanatical Klingon sect that was pursuing her daughter. (VOY novel: Full Circle)

Again, later that year, starships in Project Full Circle experienced microfractures in their benamite crystals. Voyager's Chief Engineer Nancy Conlon deduced that, within three months, all the starships in the Delta Quadrant would have to return home if the problem was not solved. (VOY novel: Unworthy)

Security Chief Harry Kim took Nancy Conlon to B'Elanna Torres's personal shuttle, modified with B'Elanna's own version of a quantum slipstream drive and a benamite recrystallization matrix. A conversation between the current and former chief engineers of Voyager resulted in B'Elanna Torres agreeing to adapt her design for use on all of the ships assigned to Project Full Circle. (VOY novel: Unworthy)

In 2382, the Breen accepted a mission on behalf of the Typhon Pact and sent an operative to Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards to capture data pertaining to the quantum slipstream drive. The Breen were soon after 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. However, the prototype, its designer, and all information relating to the project were destroyed. (ST - Typhon Pact novel: Zero Sum Game)

In 2383, various members of the Pact, led by Sela, attempted to travel to the Gamma Quadrant to obtain Jem'Hadar technology to perfect the drive. They believed that Jem'Hadar ships possessed the right structure to cope with the stresses of slipstream. The attempt resulted in the destruction of Deep Space 9. The bombs planted to cause a diversion while they used the Bajoran wormhole caused more damage than was intended. (ST - Typhon Pact novel: Plagues of Night)

Further attempts to develop the drive came to an end when the Romulan Praetor officially denounced the Pact's attempt to build a drive, noting that attempts to do so had caused more problems with the Federation than the original existence of the drive, ending their attempts for the time being. (ST - Typhon Pact novel: Raise the Dawn)

In 2385, Federation President Nanietta Bacco offered Odo the use of a Starfleet vessel with quantum slipstream drive to return him home to Dominion space. (DS9 novel: Sacraments of Fire)

25th century[]

By 2409, slipstream drive was standard aboard any vessel that was captained by high-ranking officers in the Federation Starfleet, Klingon Defense Force, and Romulan Republic. These drives could only operate for a short period at a time before shutting down for safety reasons, though, in those precious seconds, the starship could cross an entire sector of space. After what was presumably a short period of recharging and re-calibration, they could be activated again for another "sprint".

The Federation Starfleet Odyssey-class, Yorktown-class, Sojourner-class, Endeavour-class, Chimera-class, and Manticore-class vessels, Klingon Defense Force Peghqu'-class and Duvqu'-class vessels, Romulan Republic Daeinos-class and Dinaes-class warbirds, and Dominion Jem'Hadar Vanguard heavy destroyer vessels were equipped with a more advanced version of the same technology, capable of sustaining the slipstream corridor for twice as long, and with a greater degree of maneuverability. Interestingly, a Risian luxury cruiser has been outfitted with a set of special solar sails that allow it to act in the same way as the aforementioned vessels. (STO video game: Star Trek Online)

Standard[]

Starfleet acquired the quantum slipstream drive from Species 116 in 2374. (VOY episode: "Hope and Fear")

A Starfleet prototype QSD enabled the USS Spirit to navigate a quadrant in 80 days. (SOTL calendar: 2009)

In the 2400s and 2410s, standard quantum slipstream drive was equivalent to transwarp speeds, i.e. velocities achieving or exceeding warp factor 10. In time from 2409, standard quantum slipstream drive powered by a mark X matter anti-matter warp core could attain a maximum warp factor of 20. (STO - Klingon War mission: "Welcome to Earth Spacedock")

Advanced[]

Compared to the standard QSD, the advanced quantum slipstream drive could be maintained longer and a max warp factor of 22. The advanced QSD was a standard feature of Starfleet Odyssey-class star cruiser classes and related variants, as well as Khitomer Alliance destroyers like Starfleet's Chimera-class and Manticore-class, the Klingon Defense Force Peghqu'-class and Duvqu'-class, the Romulan Republic's Daeinos-class and Dineas-class, an the Vanguard Fleet's Jem'Hadar Vanguard heavy destroyer. (STO - New Dawn missions: "Explore the Flotilla", "Ceremony", "The Hunt is On", "Welcome to Earth Spacedock")

Chroniton-integrated[]

The chroniton-integrated quantum slipstream drive originated with the Vesta-class and its advanced technologies. A QSD-capable vessel required at least two out of three technologies to enable chroniton-integrated QSD: a sympathetic fermion transceiver, a quantum field focus controller and a multidimensional wave-function analysis module. These were operated from universal consoles and formed an experimental systems set available to multi-mission explorer ship classes derived from the 24th century Vesta class. In the 2400s, the chroniton-integrated QSD was among the fastest QSD variants in the Alliance, enjoying warp factor 22 and a high flight turn-rate. (STO website: New Romulus: Multi-Mission Science Vessels: Vesta Line)

Cyclical[]

The cyclical quantum slipstream drive was unique to miracle worker ships, specifically those that operated with a commander-ranked bridge officer with miracle worker specialization. Cyclical QSD achieved a maximum warp factor of 22. (STO - Reckoning missions: "Explore the Flotilla", "Ceremony", "The Hunt is On", "Welcome to Earth Spacedock")

Hyper-advanced[]

In the 25th century, the Dauntless-class and Dauntless II-class were equipped with a hyper-advanced quantum slipstream drive. Compared to a standard QSD, ships were able to change direction easier thanks to an improved in-flight turn-rate, and could maintain the slipstream for longer. The warp factor was equivalent to 20. (STO - Delta Rising missions: "Explore the Flotilla", "Ceremony", "The Hunt is On", "Welcome to Earth Spacedock")

Protowarp[]

Protowarp, or proto-warp, was a QSD-equivalent unique to the Federation Protostar-class temporal science spearhead. By 2411, it was the fastest non-instantaneous propulsion in the Khitomer Alliance, with a flight turn rate equivalent to the chroniton-integrated QSD and a warp factor of 42. (STO website: Incursion: Command the Protostar Temporal Science Spearhead)

Solar sail[]

The Suraya- and Luxe-class Risian luxury cruisers were equipped with a solar sail quantum slipstream drive that incorporated solar sails to achieve a maximum warp factor of 21. (STO website: House United: Time for a Transcendent Summer!)

Trans-slipstream[]

In the 2370s, at least one species was capable of traveling on a trans-slipstream wake. In 2370, the USS Hera was caught in such a wake and hurled from the Milky Way Galaxy to a rogue planet in galaxy NGC 4414. (TNG novel: Indistinguishable from Magic)

External links[]

• Quantum slipstream drive article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.
• Quantum Slipstream Drive (ability) article at Star Trek Online Wiki.