Alter-space is an abbreviation of Alternate Space. A series of alternate dimensions that mirror our own, but are smaller in size. The drive slides a vessel from our dimension into an alternate one. The vessel travels to it's destination and then returns to normal space. This allows interstellar travel from one star system to another in days rather than years.
The more energy that is placed into the drive, the further into alter-space the vessel can slip, allowing faster travel times. Once power is drained from the drive, the vessel slips back into the dimension from which it came.
Vessels are required to place an enormous amount of energy into the drive, and sometimes are not able to sustain the power input into the drive. As a result, ships that lack a "Balanced Drive" are unable to travel to their destination with one slip. Larger vessels almost always have a balanced drive, while smaller ones almost never.
A destroyer traveling from one star system to it's neighbor (suppose 5 light years) can make the journey in three days. Travel from one side of the Hegemony to the other (along it's long axis) would take the better part of a year.
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