DOUGLAS MUMPHREY

The events depicted in the Hunter's Navy series take place in the distant future.  Humanity has spread to other parts of the galaxy, starting with a colony in Alpha Centauri, our nearest neighbor.  From there, they spread and separated into differing, and often times warring factions.  During this period, little advancement was made in the development of technology.  After the consolidation of the Galactic Empire did they return to the quest for knowledge.  Much of what their ancestors knew had been lost, though, and it would take an ongoing search to regain the lost secrets of interstellar travel.  Over time, the Empire and its greatest rival, the Garrullean Republic, built the interstellar jump gate system.

 

The Jump Gate System

 

Based on the Krasnikov tube theory, these gates have the ability to send vessels to a connected gate in another system.  This has become the primary method of travel.  Its limitations are that it can only send vessels to a system that it shares a connection.  If a system's gate is destroyed or rendered inoperable, the link is terminated until repairs are made.  Also, it is the least secure way of travel, as hostile ships can monitor the gate and attack a ship as soon as it appears in the system.