Sub-Ether Drive (Outlaw Star)

The sub-ether drive is a fictional method of faster-than-light travel in the Outlaw Star universe. The concept is similar to hyperdrive since it involves propelling the craft into another dimension or 'sub-space' where the properties of the universe differ. This design overall consists of a few plasma engines (for propulsion through sub-space) and a special drive powered by the fictional element dragonite which performs the initial jump into this dimension.

It is possible that that dragonite may interact someway with spacetime when exposed to highly energetic plasma created by highly effiecent fusion reactors. This interaction could be similar to the interactions of magnitism and electrcity. Perhaps, the dragonite can thrust a "spacetime" bubble around nearby matter.

The word 'sub-ether' could be derived from Aether theories which propose that there is a physical medium occupying everything, called 'ether'. Sub-ether therefore could be a dimension outside of ether, or normal space, in which the ship travels. This could be compared to the more typical hyperspace (science fiction) dimension in other science fiction works. It is not known if the term was purposely based on the scientific theory.