ArcNebula Codex : Jump Gates

Jump Gates

"00" Jump Gates are an ancient form of interstellar travel which are constructed at known fractures in space, also called Worm Holes. They have been superseded by Dynamic Worm Hole C-Drives, Hyperspace Patchers and hull based FTL drives. Their main limitation is that they are located at fixed points in space, are expensive to maintain and their control is subject to territorial conflicts. Jump Gates exist as a finite number of networked points around the Universe which are all interconnected. Jump Gates in stable regions of space are in theory good jump on and jump off points, but the number of Jump Gates in more lawless regions of space make the entire network vulnerable at times of instability in any remote region with control of one.

If a Jump Gate is damaged or turned off in a region of space it is no longer on the network, and therefore no longer a viable jump target. If your destination Jump Gate is known to an enemy (or law enforcement agency) in pursuit of you, then they have the chance to interrupt your travel, redirect you, or suspend you during travel. Or they can simply meet you at the other end by using faster travel technology to overtake you. For all these reasons it is unusual for high value items or VIPs to travel via them now.

Travelling through a Jump Gate is not a simple affair either. It requires a skilled pilot, and the trip, although short, is still fraught with danger for the uninitiated. Instabilities exist in the Worm Hole they use as a conduit, and debris and Worm Hole Fractures must be avoided during transit.

In their heyday Jump Gates were the stuff of legends, and the playground of the rich, but these days they are more often used by smaller merchants with ships unable to travel using more expensive FTL technology.

Travel through a Jump Gate must be negotiated with the owner / operator of the structure prior to transit. Trips are one way, there are no guarantees, and certainly no refunds... 

If you find one... enjoy the ride.

Jump Gate Scan