Phase space

"It's not like hyperspace, greenhorn. Another dimension, sure, but this one's just close enough to the physical galaxy to be visible, while still being immaterial. Something to look at as the enemy ships fly through it, huh?"

- Unidentified Federation engineer

Phase space was a parallel dimension to realspace, exclusively utilized by the starships of the Charon Dominion to achieve faster-than-light transit. The nature of phase space was still being researched by the Charon Dominion, as well as the Galactic Federation during the Extant War, and was considered to be "unpredictable and unknowable" by the galaxy at large. Although indeed a separate dimension than realspace, phase space resided on a "closer plane" than hyperspace; ships in phase space were still visible to the naked eye, albeit thinly translucent and dimly radiant. Because vessels in phase space adopt several characteristics of frequencies and wavelengths within the electromagnetic spectrum, it had been theorized that a relationship existed between phase space and the energies of electromagnetic fields. "Shifting" into phase space, or "phase drifting", was considered to be an impossible feat without the benefit of the exotic properties endowed via protomatter.