Chapter 30 - What is a subspace vortex and how can it be used for FTL travel? (Patreon)

Picard reviewed the information Data had sent him. According to the records, a subspace vortex (also called an energy portal) was an extremely fast method of propulsion utilized by the Xindi races. This method was capable of transporting a vessel at a rate of about six light years per two minutes, the vortices being opened through the generation of a phase deflector pulse, using onboard generators, and were sustainable for hours at a time.

However, the portals required an incredible amount of energy to open, and the larger the portal was the more unstable it could be, and unstable portals could destroy a ship rather than transport them. A ship the size of the Enterprise would never be able to create a stable portal given its size even if it had the power to make one, and it was uncertain whether the ship could even produce enough.