The U.S.S. Glenn performing a spore jump
The Spore drive is the common term for a displacement-activated spore hub drive, an organic propulsion system which utilizes the mycelium spores of Prototaxites stellaviatori. It allowed a vessel to instantaneously jump to any point in the universe. Both the Federation and the Klingons covertly used this technology during Burnham's War to gain an advantage over the other side. The technology was no longer in use by the 2260s.
In the 25th century, the Elachi make limited, but technically advanced use of spore drives on some of their ships due to their origin in the Mycelial network.
Background[ | ]
The technology was developed by Justin Straal and Paul Stamets, jointly deployed on the U.S.S. Glenn and U.S.S. Discovery. The Glenn managed to perfect the drive through the acquisition of a creature referred to as a tardigrade. However the Glenn's crew, along with Straal, were all killed in an accident that ensued during a failed jump. ("Context is for Kings")
Prior to their demise, J'Ula of House Mo'Kai succeeded in stealing this technology from the Glenn. She modified it to function as a weapon and placed it on the I.K.S. Lukara. ( “Secrets”) Her attempt at using it during the attack on Starbase One failed, due to Straal having corrupted the data she stole, resulting in her time displacement to the 25th century along with another Starfleet vessel (The player's DSC Starfleet vessel). ( “Downfall”)
The Discovery acquired the tardigrade from the Glenn after the disaster and its crew managed to successfully use the technology in the following months. However, after the tardigrade started dying, they were forced to find an alternative to its role as a navigator throughout the mycelial plane. Stamets conducted an illegal genetic augmentation on himself and took over that role personally. ("Choose Your Pain")
The technology was used intermittently after that, but was eventually classified with the disappearance of the Discovery. ("Such Sweet Sorrow") The technology was only uncovered once more with the appearance of J'Ula in the 25th century and her pollution of the Mycelial network. After this, it was identified that some Elachi, apparently from the network, had a greater mastery of the technology than the Federation had developed.
Jump to the Mirror universe[ | ]
The Discovery's jumps included one to the mirror universe. There, the Terran Empire of the 23rd century had been pursuing similar research, but instead sought to use the mycelial plane as a power source. The Discovery's jump caused the I.S.S. Discovery to jump to 25th century prime universe. ( “Para Pacem”)
When the I.S.S. Charon, which used a mycelial reactor, was destroyed in mirror universe, its wreckage was thrown forward to 2410 where Captain Killy was attempting to bring reinforcements to. However many Terrans who made that journey ended up cocooned in mycelian strands. ( “Illusion of Communication”, “Pahvo Dissension”)
Missions involved[ | ]
See also[ | ]
- Trait: Black Alert
- [Console - Universal - Mycelium Ambush]
- [Universal Kit Module - Miniature Spore Relay]
External links[ | ]
- Spore drive at Memory Alpha, the Star Trek Wiki.
| Travel | ||
|---|---|---|
| Ground | Risa Floater, Risa Powerboard, Run, Transporter | 
|
| Sub-light | Full Impulse, Impulse Capacitance Cell, Impulse Engine (Impulse Engines), Impulse Expertise | |
| Warp | Quantum Slipstream Drive, Sector Space Travel Speed, Warp Core, Warp speed | |
| Transwarp | Borg Transwarp Hub, Transwarp, Transwarp Coil, Transwarp Conduit | |
| Other | Bajoran wormhole, Iconian gateway, Sector space, Spore drive, Teleport, “Tour the Galaxy” | |