Slipstream

"Slipstream" is the term given to the complex, dangerous procedure of folding space between areas of weak gravitation. Discovered initially by Sanjo Kowairu, it involves the expenditure of large amounts of energy to focus ambient particles and gases into a temporary singularity. With this controlled anomaly active, the ship enters a quantum state, existing in a multitude of spatial dimensions. The ship's computer then culls possible exit states until one is found that matches the destination.

Existing in this many dimensions is energy intensive, and the power neccesary to cool the quantum computer to maintain a steady state is exponential with respect to the size of the problem space. The further a ship wishes to travel, the larger the set of possible exit states. In order to be able to reach a larger set of exit states, the more dimensions the ship's singularty must excite to.

Hence, the cost of FTL travel through slipstream is extremely high; exponential with respect to travel distance. Additionally, merely activating the singularity becomes much more difficult with any increase in ambient gravitational relationships; hence, a ship must be well outside any star systems for travel to be feasible in the first place.