Subspace & Subspace Nodes
Subspace jumps are the only form of "Faster Than Light" or "FTL" travel discovered as viable by humans and Vasudans, considering that the Shivans use the same mechanics it's unlikely that there's any other way to cross interstellar distances faster than the speed of light.
Every massive gravitational well, like a sun's, generates one or more "subspace nodes" at the edges of its well, which connect to the nodes of other massive objects. Large starships, and some modifier fighter craft, have the generators necessary to execute jumps through these nodes. Generally an interstellar jump will take between 30 minutes to an hour.
Normally two craft traversing the same node connection will not encounter each other, but with specialized tracking equipment it's possible. Subspace behaves much like the interstellar vacuum, with the exception that some sort of unknown interference disables all shields.
Intrasystem Jumps
Intrasystem jumps are also possible, though imprecise without guidance equipment. Usually the only beacons to guide by are large gravitational objects(stars, planets) or large friendly ships(Orion-class destroyers, Arcadia-class installations, etc.). Large hostile ships that have been thoroughly scanned, or marked with jump beacons, may also be jumped to. Only large craft have the necessary navigation equipment to make "blind" jumps without a beacon to navigate by, and most smaller craft will have their own systems supplemented by their command ship to keep their jumps precise.
While jumping, most ship systems are shut down and any shielding is inoperative. For large craft, there's a considerable charge-up period for the jump drives, leaving them vulnerable for a considerable period of time, and making successive jumps require cooldown.
Generally it's inadviseable to execute jumps that attempt to get closer than 10,000km to an intersystem node or a large gravitational body, as that renders jumps imprecise. Jumping into a planet's atmosphere usually results in a fatal and messy accident.
Ship Nomenclature
The first letters of any ship designation is the owner. GT or GV signifies human or Vasudan ships of the GTVA. NTF is the Neo-Terran Front and associated remnants. S is simply for Shivan. C is for Civilian. The antiquated PV designation for pre-GTVA Vasudan craft is still used by Hammer of Light(HoL) craft.
Next is the ship class. Smaller ships are in two categories Fighter(F) or Bomber(B).
T is Transports(Fr is a Freighter, the difference being that Transports carry cargo internally while Freighters are designated as craft that carry external containers), Cv is a Corvette while C is a Cruiser. Cruisers are generally smaller than corvettes and less dangerous. D is the designation for Destroyers, the large, dangerous craft that are capable of launching fighter and bomber wings. To date, only one craft carries the J, Juggernaut, designation, the SJ Sathanas.
Important Systems
Red jump connections are unstable/destroyed nodes that cannot be traversed. Yellow jump connections are artificial ones generated by Knossos Devices.
Capella
At the end of the Second Shivan Incursion, the Capella system's jump nodes to Vega and Epsilon Pegasi were intentionally collapsed by the GTVA to seal in the advancing Shivan armada. To date, no craft has traversed the collapsed jump nodes, but it's known that Shivan craft are sometimes able to traverse nodes that are impassable to GTVA craft due to instability. Both nodes are watched carefully.
While the light from the incident has yet to reach other systems, all data from the ships that escaped Capella before the Epsilon Pegasi node was collapsed suggests that the Shivans used their armada to engineer a supernova explosion of the Capella star. The reasons are unknown, and if anyone has any idea, their knowledge is heavily classified.
Epsilon Pegasi
Sahara: The innermost world in the Epsilon Pegasi system, Sahara is analogous to Sol's Mercury, albeit far enough out to retain a vestigial atmosphere. The planet is home to some mining operations but little else.
Pegasus: The primary settled world in Epsilon Pegasi, terraformed after the Great War and currently home to two billion Terrans and a Vasudan minority. Most Vasudan residents were evacuated during the NTF insurgency due to the core NTF system Polaris being practically right next door. Pegasus has been terraformed to resemble Earth climatically and with regards to local flora and fauna. Was a Venus-like world before terraforming.
Thebes: This world was partially terraformed when the NTF insurgency interrupted the process and evicted most of the Vasudan colonists there. After the Second Shivan Incursion, the planet has been re-colonized both by its original colonists and by refugees from Capella. Thebes was originally an ice world, but with the thickening atmosphere it's rapidly becoming an oceanic world. Has some native life clustered around deep volcanic vents under the ice, but nothing complex.
Thedra: A comparatively small gas giant and the fourth planet from the local star. Houses a few experimental aerostat settlements in the upper atmosphere, but otherwise most inhabitants are in orbit. Research is ongoing on a novel form of bacteria that exists airborne in the upper layers, occasionally clustering together into vast mats.
The Three Orphans: A trio of moon-sized worlds somehow in the exact same orbit around the star, the home of several large-scale mining operations but little else. No atmosphere or native life.
The Debris Belt: A combination of trash, wrecked ships and ancient probes. The Debris Belt is the result of the Great War, the NTF insurgency and contains the remnants of many of those Shivan ships that made it through from Capella during the Second Incursion. Unsavory scavenger and pirate types are said to have outposts in the debris belt, and there are regular rumours that Shivan ships have been seen there as well.
Squadrons of the GTD Glassflower
901st Frost Sprites, Space Superiority
902nd Mountain Devas, Bomber Flight
903rd Guardian Saints, Interceptors
904th Arrow Frogs, Space Superiority
905th Kamikaze Tigers, Interceptors
906th Black Spears, Support Flight
907th Impalers, Bomber Flight
