Since warping pulls two points in space together to lessen the distance traveled it is technically FTL, however, the ship isn’t actually moving but the space around it is. With this is mind, say you wanted to go 1 light year(ly) away. With our current technology the most we can cut off in time spent traveling that 1ly is 90%. So doing the math it would take around 36 days of travel within the warp bubble to achieve 1ly worth of travel.

So my planned travel time within the bubble today would only be around 3~4 minutes, unless I crashed and burned. I was understandably nervous but this was for The Greater Good. With this in mind I activated the warp drive.

I suppose if anyone could have looked out a window into the warp bubble they might have been mildly disappointed as the only thing there was a whitish blue light from the compression of light particles. For me though, oh boy, if I still had adrenaline glands I think they would have exploded.

I think the closest thing to it would have been trying to skydiving into a tornado, while shooting sharks, which were trying to eat you, and trying to land safely on the ground. I thought the simulations would have prepared me but it was like comparing a spark to a roaring inferno in terms of intensity. Patches of real space, barely perceivable with my equipment, wiped towards me each one missing by the closest of margins while I frantically manipulated the warp drive.

Finally, mercifully, it was done. The warp bubble faded and real space could be seen once again. To anyone riding within the ship it would have seemed a short and uneventful trip but, FUCK THEM, they probably would have pissed themselves while curling up into a ball if they had known how close to death they really were.

I retreated to my inner core, back to my mansion, and sat down next to the fire before I started shaking uncontrollably. I’m familiar with death, from the battlefield to the chemo, death was hovering all around me.

This was different however, back then I had no control over death, a stray bullet on the battlefield could find me at any moment. Just then I had been in control of my own fate, threading the line of my own free will.

The cats, noticing my distress, curl up around me until the entire floor is covered with them. My shaking lessens under the cat’s affection and finally subsides. ‘I can’t do that every time I warp, my mind would break under the strain. I need to improve my ship brain in order to lessen the load.’

~2 months or 5.2secs later~

I contact Dave using the quantum computer, which is just a fancy Morse code machine, “Dave, it was really rough going for the first time but I think I can manage the warp transit better after all the data I collected going through.”

“Good, good one more test run, just go to right outside the edge of the solar system, get some readings and then come back.” ‘Where’s a quest box when you need one?’ “Oh and hurry back Vahlen has something that you might like.” ‘It’s like he can read my mind.’

I have to wait for another 15 minutes before the warp drive recharges but as soon as it’s done I warp away. I almost died within the first 5 seconds of warping. If I hadn’t upgraded my ship brain I would be dead right now. For some reason, and I believe it was because I was too close to a gravity well, the amount of normal space within the bubble was ridiculously high. I could test this theory later but right now I’m just trying not to die.

The bubble fades around me once more leaving me alone in the void. From here our sun has faded into the background of millions of other stars. I float there waiting for the drive to recharge and for more accurate readings.

‘Space travel is really dangerous, I almost died so many times and it hasn’t even been more than an hour. I need to be constantly on guard when trying new things out here, because if I screw up no one can save me.’

I update my ship brain with the new data gained from the last warp while waiting for the drive to charge, so I can set sail for home. I take one last look around then warp back home.

So I tested my theory on the way back by warping outside of any large gravitation sphere and the result was like night and day. There were noticeably less patches of normal space which, while still hard, played a significant role in lessening my anxiety.

After coming out of warp I almost absentmindedly let the tugs bring me back to the lab where my core was separated from the ship and transferred back to my birthplace. I can see Vahlen standing near one of the terminals typing something.

“Hello Vahlen.” “Hey Scott you’re back,’ she turns off the terminal and looks at me, ‘so the test was a success. How was it?”

“I’m not going to lie the first two warps nearly killed me,’ shock and then worry run across her face, ‘but after that I think that I’ve gotten the hang of it. I also heard from Dave that you had something I might like.”

“Yes I think you’ll be pleased with it. I saw how much not being able to touch things affected you yesterday so I’m working on creating a physical shell that you can move around in.” I freeze time so I can organize my thoughts. ‘On one hand I’ll be able to finally move around freely again. I don’t have to be chained to my core anymore but on the flip side how can a body compare to a ship. It almost feels like a downgrade after experiencing warping through space. On the other hand a body would allow me to access things I couldn’t otherwise.’

“You would do that for me? Thank you so much Vahlen.”

Unbeknownst to humanity, Scott’s warping outside the solar system had caused a ripple in space, acting similar to a stone dropped into a still pond, to expand outwards. These ripples do not pass unnoticed by those that can detect them. Some are ignorant of their meaning, some ignore them, some begin to prepare but the truly wise begin to flee. For they will not miss this and they will come.