Coaxial warp drive

Coaxial Warp Drive (also known as a coaxial induction drive) was a theoretical form of propulsion envisioned by the Starfleet Corps of Engineers in the 24th century.

The coaxial drive functioned by drawing in subatomic particles and reconfiguring their internal geometries to fold the fabric of space therby allowing a ship to travel across extremely large distances near instantaneously. Should the drive experience any particle instabilities it would overload threatening to collapse space within the radius of the detonation by nearly a billion kilometers. This could be countered by protecting a symmetric warp field to contain the instabilities or to install a polaric modulator to dilute the particle stream.

In 2374 the crew of the USS Voyager (NCC-74656) encountered a vessel that utilized this form of propulsion. Piloted by an alien named Steth, Voyager was required to prevent such a particle instaibility from destroying the vessel. Shortly afterward it was discovered that Steth was, in actuality, a Shapeshifter that was wanted in multiple systems. Steth replaced Tom Paris and later Kathryn Janeway in an effort to escape captivity. He was stopped by Paris - who was altered to appear in Steth's last body - who disrupted the drive with a chromoelectric pulse. With Steth back in custody, his prototype vessel was returned to its proper owner.

The starship USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) employed a similar form of propulsion.