Intracommunications

To prevent the ionospheric pollution that may be caused by conventional communications methods, the Ardent is equipped with a system-range Unterwelt communicator, which uses principles of quantum entanglement to directly transmit information between devices. This also allows the Ardent to remain in contact with ground teams and detached modules where other communication would be impeded by interference or physical shielding.

Unterwelt communication is instantaneous once a connection is established, but that connection requires the sender and the receiver to remain continuously powered and in stable positions relative to each other. As such, ground teams are accompanied by an A-COM detachment responsible for maintaining a line to the Ardent, and patching through any requests or messages (much like a switchboard operator of old).

The only context in which Unterwelt communication does not work is while the ship is undergoing manifold collapse, whether it is travelling between systems or concealing itself. This is because the process removes the ship from real space for the duration; from the perspective of a communicator outside of the manifold, anything inside it simply does not exist.

The Ardent is also equipped with a number of ansible receivers, each attuned to a relay on one of the project’s contributing planets. In layman’s terms, ansibles are an Alliance technology for interstellar messaging, as they allow for communication that appears to be faster-than-light: an ansible sender delivers packets of data via manifold collapse, much faster than would be possible within the usual constraints of real space.

While sending data is much easier than transporting an entire voidcraft, manifold collapse is still an intricate and energy-intensive process. The Ardent receives broadcasts from its planetary sponsors at regular intervals, which contain news from each planet along with personal messages submitted by the kith and kin of Ardent personnel.

The Ardent’s own manifold collapse drive is capable of responding to the Alliance via the same technology. Even with dedicated T/OM assistance, however, information-scale manifold collapse takes a long time – and only takes longer as the Ardent travels farther away from Alliance space. As such, ansible responses are generally limited to logs of the Ardent’s positioning, progress and status, with the line otherwise kept clear for emergencies.