For those watching #StarTrekProdigy, you may be wondering... what types of faster-than-normal warp technology did VOYAGER encounter (and often use) on its journey back from the Delta Quadrant? Here is a short list of just a few game-changing propulsion systems they found! 1/10
THE CARETAKER ARRAY
This powerful being pulled Voyager 70,000 lightyears into the Delta Quadrant in the blink of an eye, and did so many times before with other ships from across the galaxy. Sadly, they died before they could use the array to send Voyager home. 2/10
SPATIAL TRAJECTOR
This Sikarian tech could instantly transport people and objects 40,000 lightyears. Though Voyager couldn't integrate the tech into Voyager with their limited resources, the Borg did -- as seen in PICARD, when Jean-Luc himself uses one aboard the Artifact! 3/10
THE COCHRANE
After finding exotic dilithium, Tom Paris developed a craft that could break the transwarp threshold and achieve "infinite velocity." Though surpassing warp 10 mutated him into a salamander, he successfully hit Warp 9.999999 -- very fast -- without problems. 4/10
COAXIAL WARP DRIVE
While initially unstable alien tech, coaxial drive was capable of folding space to go thousands of lightyears in a single jump. Tom Paris successfully stabilized the design and installed it in a shuttle. Though that ship was taken, his knowledge remained. 5/10
ENHANCED WARP DRIVE
Twice, standard Starfleet warp cores were enhanced to traverse 10,000 lightyears in a week or two. Silver Blood Voyager and the USS Equinox both did, though the latter harvested aliens to do so. The theory remains, should a synthetic alternative be found.6/10
WORMHOLES
VOYAGER found wormholes bridging the Alpha and Delta Quadrants. An artificial wormhole was created by the MIDAS Array to communicate. Later, Ferengi made a geodesic fold able to send inorganic matter from one quadrant to the other. As for other existing theories... 7/10
QUANTUM SLIPSTREAM DRIVE
Slipstream far exceeds conventional warp. Voyager was given a fully functional one, The Dauntless, using its scans to equip Voyager with slipstream that shaved 10 years. To avoid crashing, it still needed "a few years" of study to perfect navigation. 8/10
BORG TRANSWARP
With galaxy-spanning transwarp conduits, The Borg traversed thousands of lightyears in minutes. Voyager used them to get home; after the Borg were devastated in the VOYAGER finale, PICARD shows Borg conduits abandoned, now used by other ships as open highway. 9/10
In conclusion, any of these wild new technologies would transform the Federation's understanding of warp theory. With Voyager arriving 14 years early carrying this trove of knowledge, Starfleet's vast resources would no doubt experiment in a bold new era of exploration. 10/10
ADDENDUM: As others have astutely pointed out, Voyager also used a graviton catapult and Vaadwaur corridors to traverse thousands of lightyears in a short time — via null space and subspace, respectively. Not to mention Kes and Q giving them a boost!
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