Star Trek Expanded Universe
Register
Advertisement

Subspace turbulence was a kind of subspace anomaly that could generate a high-warp buffet and could inflict llhrei'sian to Romulans, if severe enough.

The RIS Bouteina was to investigate a source of subspace turbulence but took two full months to get to the source. Subspace tremors were paroxysms of subspace turbulence and, for safety reasons, forced the Bouteina to drop out of warp to avoid structural damage. However, the frequency of the subspace tremors lengthened the travel time to the source of the subspace turbulence by a few days. (RIS Bouteina: "What about some D'oh!")

Scale of subspace turbulence[]

The Grust scale was used by the Romulan Star Navy to measure the intensity of subspace turbulence. It was established through the effects it had on starships and an intensity was called a Grust factor.

  • Grust 1: Objects in a ship at high warp like a pen could be shaken
  • Grust 2: Minor but noticeable shipwide vibrations
  • Grust 3: Occupants were to fasten their seat belts when possible
  • Grust 4: A starship would be heavily shaken
  • Grust 5: Turbulence could cause llhrei'sian to its occupants
  • Grust 6: A ship could be blown off course
  • Grust 7: Starships were exposed to a yellow alert-level of risks
  • Grust 8: Starships were exposed to a red alert-level of risks
  • Grust 9 and up: The turbulence was a threat to Norexan-class ships

It was long believed that having turbulence that reached Grust 10 was an impossibility, until 2384, where the Bouteina crossed through several zones where Grust 10 and 11 turbulence have been reported. ("What about some D'oh!")

Sources of subspace turbulence[]

Subspace turbulence could be caused momentarily by the presence of other subspace anomalies. However, stellar events could cause subspace turbulence of their own. The largest source of subspace turbulence in the galaxy was, as of May 2384, a star that went nova in the 2003 UB13 system. (RIS Bouteina: "What about some D'oh!")

Advertisement