Space Travel
Even hundreds of years after their rediscovery, the workings of the Forerunner's starships remain a mystery to even the greatest of the Empire's scientists. Years of experimentation have revealed much of their functionality, but none of the principles behind this.
In many ways space travel is a simple affair - ships display a list of systems to which they have the ability to travel; select a system and press a button and the journey begins. Since the displays are in the language of the Forerunners then most pilots carry cribsheets to remind them which planets are represented by the tumble of letters and numbers which the Forerunners apparently used for names.
The distance between the stars is staggering, and even at the tremendous speeds permitted by Legacy technology, it would take decades to travel to even the closest of stars through physical space. Fortuitously the ships of the Forerunners are not limited by the constraints of physical space, they can access Hyperspace.
Hyperspace travel is not instantaneous, but by making the journey through that strange dimension, ships can cut interstellar journey times from years to mere weeks or even days. A significant proportion of that time is taken manoeuvring to one of the points in physical space from which Hyperspace can be safely entered. Why these points and not others are suitable for the transition to Hyperspace is unknown, however having been instructed to travel to another star, ships invariably begin by steering away from the nearest planet, and only jump once they are deep into space. Past experimentation has demonstrated that ships can be manually instructed to enter Hyperspace before reaching one of these points- indeed there are records of landed ships making the transition successfully. However few ships that have been forced to such measures have ever returned to normal space.
Hyperspace Maps
Manual navigation through hyperspace is effectively impossible. The distances between what pass for landmarks in that realm appear to vary from trip to trip, making any attempt to chart a course with Empire technology futile. As a result the Empire relies on the ships to navigate themselves to their destination, and this they do based on the limited number of 'maps' which they seem to possess. Long years of research have divined that the maps are stored on crystals, and by placing a crystal into certain niches onboard, it appears that the ships can 'learn' new routes. It has long been the opinion of the Guild of Technologists that the planets controlled by the Empire represent only the smallest fraction of the Forerunner's domain; and if only a 'master' map could be found then the Empire's continued expansion could be guaranteed for millenia.
Space Sickness
The crews of Imperial space vessels are frequently rotated between ships, and are required to spend one full year in three on prolonged shoreleave. House members are not obliged to obey such dictates, but the vast majority do; for to act otherwise is to risk madness.
The Sickness manifests itself in a sudden slide into insanity for those affected. One moment they’ll be repairing a bulkhead or resting in their bunk, the next they’ll suffer from frighteningly convincing hallucinations, voices in their heads and other signs of mental illness. For most it is the horror of knowing that one’s own, seemingly lucid, mind has snapped that is the most devastating.
Chirurgeons have theorised that it may be extended periods of time spent in hyperspace that bring on the Sickness, however they will be quick to confess that this is mere speculation. Since the discovery of the illness the Guild of Chirurgeon’s have been given the right to take into their custody any unfortunates found to be afflicted. Since this decree the number of reported cases has declined significantly, though this is probably more due to a reluctance to become guinea pigs, than a genuine reduction amongst the afflicted.