Phase engine

Phase engine propulsion systems (also known as phase drives) were the typical starship component on Charon Dominion warships and vessels that enabled faster-than-light travel. Relatively new technology, as the Charon and vassal species had considered the "secrets" of faster-than-light travel to be lost technology, phase engines differed greatly from hyperdrives, principally in the manner which the respective components projected matter faster than the speed of light.

Whereas hyperdrives utilized tachyonic hypermatter to propel matter faster than light without damaging or altering its mass or energy by "pushing" through hyperspace "ripples", the phase engine "shifted" mass into an alternate dimension called "phase space" by opening a passageway between two points in spacetime, which was only possible through the utilization of protomatter. Unlike vessels in hyperspace, ships in phase space were still visible, albeit translucent and with a faint and luminous glow. To most, ships in phase space appeared to possess a blue aura, although ships with a destabilized phase engine or damaged components often had a red aura. This strongly suggests that phase engines utilized some degree of the electromagnetic spectrum, as higher frequencies and shorter wavelengths seem to suggest stable phase engines, while lower frequencies and longer wavelengths imply unstable phase engines.

The hyperdrive has several advantages over the phase engine, including faster transit and superior operational requirements. One of the most restrictive limitations of the phase engine is that it cannot be operated while the vessel it is installed in is in motion; a ship must be at a full stop in order for the phase engine to begin operation. In addition, the phase engine has a single standardized speed that is approximate to the Class 2 hyperdrive, a discovery made during the Extant War. The only believed advantage the phase engine has over the hyperdrive is that it produces no unstable radiation or reaction when damaged, aside from decreased performance, and is capable to traversing the Aperture.