Transwarp Drive
A Transwarp Drive is used to propel a spacecraft through space and time. They run on a number of small transwarp cells which can also be removed and used individually on smaller craft such as shuttles and stasis pods.
Each transwarp engine also generates its own transwarp signature that can be used to track its movements or pin down its current location.
Additionally, transwarp shunt technology allows a traveler to move through space and time without a ship. Instead, the traveller simply stands upon a platform to be transported to the desired place and time. The platform is not transported along with the traveller, so if they wish to return, there must be another transwarp shunt device on the other end, or they must bring along the parts to build one.
Fiction
[edit]Beast Wars cartoon continuity
[edit]Beast Wars cartoon
[edit]As part of a scheme to change history and allow the Decepticons to win the Great War, Megatron used the transwarp-capable ship Darksyde to travel to Earth during the Ark's dormancy. The Agenda (Part 2) Optimus Primal and his crew followed in the Axalon to stop Megatron. Beast Wars (Part 1)
When it seemed as though the Predacons had destroyed themselves, the Maximals raided the Darksyde for the parts they needed to repair their transwarp drive and return to their time. The Maximals managed to repair their transwarp drive enough to launch only for the Predacons to assault the craft during its takeoff, crashing it once again and destroying the functionality of its transwarp drive. Victory
2006 IDW Beast Wars continuity
[edit]Magmatron used a transwarp shunt to travel to the middle of Megatron's and Optimus Primal's Beast War in order to capture Maximal protoforms. As an additional prize for his masters, he intended to send Megatron back to Cybertron, but was tricked by Razorbeast and Optimus Minor, causing Magmatron himself to be displaced in time. The Gathering
Force of Habit
[edit]The Autobot flagship Iron Hope and the Decepticon dropship-class ship Upstart were equipped with Transwarp drive. Force of Habit
Shattered Glass
[edit]The Ark and the Nemesis had transwarp drives, which were used to travel from Cybertron to Earth. Do Over
Wings Universe
[edit]The engines of the Star Seeker warship Tidal Wave had transwarp capability. The Star Seekers utilized this to time-travel to the future in order to enact Captain Cannonball's purported greatest scheme in history. Tornado - Decepticon Saboteur Hoist the Flag
2021 IDW Beast Wars comic
[edit]Transwarp drives were capable of both communicating and travelling through time. The Beginning of the End As a result of this, usage of the transwarp drives were heavily regulated by Maximal Command, the ships equipped with them being kept at the Great Shipyard. Savage Landing Part 1 Following activation, a transwarp drive emitted unspace energy for three to four cycles. The Beginning of the End
Seeking to travel through time, a group of Predacon separatists stole a warship from the Shipyard, the Maximals redirecting the transwarp-capable exploratory vessel Axalon to intercept. When the two ships came to blows, the Predacons activated their vessel's transwarp drive and escaped through time, being pursued through the time vortex by the Axalon, both ships crashing on an uncharted organic world. Savage Landing Part 1 Rattrap was tasked with repairing the transwarp drive. The Beginning of the End
When the Maximals attacked the Darksyde, Nyx destroyed the stolen ship's transwarp drive. Maximals Strike Back, Part 3 Megatron attempted to repair the drive, only to be tricked away by Saberback. Primal Rage
When the Maximals and Predacons joined forces against the Vok, the aliens contacted Tarantulas and offered him their knowledge if he turned on his kind. Though they told Tarantulas to destroy what was left of the Darksyde's transwarp drive, he instead disabled its remaining functions, reasoning that he would need a transwarp capable craft to escape the planet and put his new knowledge to use. After hitting on the idea that the Darksyde's drive could be used to contact Cybertron for reinforcements, Rhinox and Scorponok discovered the scientist's sabotage. After Tarantulas unleashed the reanimated corpse of Terrorsaur, Scorponok used the transwarp drive to send a distress beacon to the Axalon before Tarantulas discovered him and used the drive to lure an escape ship from Cybertron.
At the Axalon, the message came through not long after Rattrap and Waspinator had managed to partially restore the Maximal craft's transwarp drive. The Beginning of the End Working off Nyx and Skold's theory that the Vok were creatures of unspace, the two engineers reworked the Axalon's drive to shunt its unspace energies into its weapon systems. Flying to the Darksyde, the Axalon's new unspace weapons dissipated the energy forms of the Vok before the same weapon shunted Megatron forward in time. With the alliance over, Blackarachnia allowed the Maximals to go in peace. When the other Predacons queried her about their future plans, the temporary leader noted that they should try fixing the Darksyde's transwarp drive, believing that the Vok's inert reversion device could be used as a useful spare parts supply. The End