Void Conduits

The galaxy is vast. Moving a fleet from a core planet to a distant frontier outpost can take hours - hours your enemy doesn't have to wait. Void Conduits collapse that distance to 30 minutes flat, regardless of how far apart the two points actually are.

How They Work

A Void Conduit is a paired transit structure. You build a conduit at two locations - typically one at your industrial core and one at a forward position. Any fleet you own can use the pair as a fast-travel lane, arriving at the other end in exactly 30 minutes and burning only 10% of the normal fuel cost.

Two conduits are required to form a connection. A single conduit does nothing by itself.

Building a Conduit

Base cost: 50,000 Metal · 75,000 Crystal · 25,000 Deuterium · 10 Dark Matter

Build time: 6 hours

Research prerequisite: Warp Theory (Astrophysics branch, level 1)

You must be able to reach the planet or system location where you want to place the conduit using normal transit before construction can begin.

Maintenance

Conduits require ongoing upkeep:

Per conduit per day: 2,000 Metal · 3,000 Crystal · 1,000 Deuterium

A 48-hour grace period applies after construction completes. If maintenance falls into arrears after the grace period, the conduit is deactivated until the debt is cleared.

Two conduits in a pair each pay their own maintenance. Operating a network of four pairs costs 8× the base daily rate.

Strategic Applications

Rapid reinforcement: Place one conduit on a frontier planet under threat. When the attack comes, your main fleet can be there in 30 minutes instead of several hours.

Fuel economy: Long-distance cargo runs cost 90% less fuel through a conduit pair. High-volume resource transport across the galaxy becomes economically viable.

Defense web: An empire with three or four conduit pairs can cover most of the galaxy, moving fleets between chokepoints faster than any attacker can reposition.

Limitations

• You cannot transit to a conduit you don't own (no alliance sharing by default).
• Conduits do not reduce combat travel time when attacking - only fleets you own can use your conduits.
• Dark Matter is required for each conduit. Securing a stable Dark Matter supply before building your network is essential.