Bluespace

History
Bluespace is a form of pocket dimension that was discovered in 2413 by Doctor Samantha Tigard and an anonymous Skrellian research team, who at the time was conducting a theoretical physics experiment to test the probability of a resonance cascade scenario, in which a portal to an alternate dimension would be opened. Tigard's experiments, when coupled with some theoretical models contributed by the Skrell, discovered Bluespace. She later went on the pioneer the first Enhanced Warp-Bluespace Drive. Powering the drive proved difficult until the discovery of plasma in 2417, which could easily power a bluespace crystal compared to more traditional power sources.

The first drone sent into Bluespace was constructed by the Einstein Engines corporation, and traveled to the edge of the Alpha Centauri system in less than ten minutes. However, using Doctor Tigard's experimental 'drive' system would not work for tradition travel, as it could not be focused and it was only large enough for objects smaller than the average human. Selling her designs for a record 234,000,000 standard Credits to the Einstein Engines corporation, the first Bluespace Gate began construction in 2420. Finished in 2425, the first Bluespace Gate, orbiting Mars, spanned the size of fifty meters, and had seven fusion reactors built into it. The existing, inefficient Warp Gates were quickly converted into Bluespace Gates, allowing them to be powered much more efficiently.

How it works
Bluespace is a very strange form of pocket dimension, that is largely unpredictable and completely unexplored. While there is speculation about the possibility of celestial bodies existing in Bluespace, it is highly unlikely. Travelling in the Bluespace dimension without a proper gate or Bluespace drive has thus far been proven to be incredibly dangerous, with probes either appearing in unintended locations or never returning at all. Travelling in the Bluespace dimension, depending on the power of the gate entered, varies from 10x the speed of light, to 1000x the speed of light. As of 2457, there are two methods of utilizing bluespace for galactic travel: Bluespace Gates, and Bluespace Drives.

Bluespace Gates
Bluespace Gates (or just "Gates") are generally used for travel between distant star systems for the mass majority of ships which don't have their own Bluespace Drives. They form the 'highway' of galactic travel, and are the basis of FTL transportation, as they allow instant travel to any other Gate regardless of its distance. Gates are generally 1 by 1 km and are ring-shaped with projectors facing inwards. Gates are completely automated, and activated with a transmission to the gate's communication system. In this communication, you must include your ship ID, faction, and intended location. Gates will refuse to open for wanted personas, and will alert the closest authority if attempted to be accessed. Gates will do the same for unregistered ships.

Gates are used by virtually all ships without their own bluespace drives. Due to the size of gates and how much they are used, incoming ships enter the gate on the right side, causing them to 'exit' on the left in the mirrored gate, making gate travel much like a drive on Earth. Most Gates are constructed by NanoTrasen, who charge a small fee for each use of a Gate; 20 standard credits.

Bluespace Drive
Bluespace drives are generally reserved for military ships, or for civilian ships that have the luxury of affording a drive. Bluespace drives are limited by the size of any given vessel, and require Bluespace Crystals to function, as well as enough plasma to power the crystal. Each bluespace Crystal provides a certain amount of 'jumps' per type of drive. It is NOT recommended to use a Bluespace drive to jump to any place not sustained by a Bluespace Gate or Jump Beacon (such as those utilized by the NSS Aurora for incoming and outgoing shuttles). Ships that fail to jump to the appropriate points or fail to log a jump flight path with a traffic controller run the risk of colliding with another object at the exit point. On rare occasions, two objects become 'entangled' upon exiting bluespace at the same location, causing the two bodies to meld in bizarre ways - which has thus far always been fatal for the inhabitants of the vessels.

Bluespace Drives project a field around a certain meter distance around the ship itself, enveloping it into the bluespace dimension, and then 'jumps' it to the plotted destination. Drives can be used to jump to any location within range, but this is incredibly dangerous. High Quality drives are more efficient in plotting exit coordinates and can be used for virtually any place to travel with minimal risk, but these drives remain incredibly expensive and used almost exclusively by the militaries of the major factions, or the adventurous wealthy.

Mysteries of Bluespace
A small segment of the scientific community have become increasingly alarmed at how fast the Sol Alliance has invested in bringing Bluespace into society, while there are still several major mysteries surrounding this new dimension and its interactions with our own. Since the discovery of bluespace, humanity has managed to discover several strange artifacts and lifeforms not known to follow the laws of our reality, including slimes, which were originally discovered in areas along with artifacts.

These new discoveries - which often ended in tragedy as the artifacts hold mysterious, dangerous powers - has prompted Nanotrasen to create an entirely new field of study: Xenoarchaeology. The leading station for this field is the NSS Aurora, where a research outpost was created on an asteroid filled with xeno fossils and artifacts.

Two leading theories have emerged from initial speculation: Either an advanced race exists in bluespace and they have made moves into our own in the past, leaving these artifacts behind, or the second theory that the bluespace mysteries and fossils are entirely separate, and that the "precursors" are not related to the strange, exotic mysteries surrounding bluespace.