Laniakea Field

A Laniakea Field is the resultant field produced by a Laniakea Reactor.
The field itself consists of a dense cloud of Laniakea Particles, an elementary particle that Laniakea Reactors emit when matter and antimatter annihilate one another. Such a field saturates unoccupied spaces like a towel thrown in a pool. This means the intensity, and effects, of Laniakea Fields are especially pronounced in the vacuum of space in comparison to an atmospheric environment.

Manifestation

Matter Interference: Laniakea Particles have a tendency to absorb the kinetic energy of matter with its relation to the velocity of the field itself. In other words, if an object contained within the field has a nonzero absolute velocity relative to the field velocity, the object will experience an opposing force similar to aerodynamic drag or fluid resistance. Unfortunately, the shape or orientation of the object does not affect the drag force's intensity unlike the phenomena seen in fluid dynamics. Additionally, Laniakea Particles raise hell on unprotected electronics, disrupting charge flow and generating Electromagnetic Interference. As a result, electronics that are not EMP hardened will cease to function even in less dense Laniakea Fields generated by Type A4 or A5 reactors.
EMR Backwash: The phenomenon that describes the interference of light-based communication systems within the field. When polarized light crosses the field's threshold, a portion of that information is refracted and lost. This continues as the laser communique travels further into the field until the signal is completely unrecognizable from its original state. This has posed a significant shortcoming of the Laniakea Reactor as a field of sufficient intensity completely isolates a given volume of space from external communications. While some workarounds exist, such as HECRs (Hybrid External Communication Relays) or more powerful Laser Communication devices, if an engagement involving a considerable number of capital ships occurs, it is highly unlikely any information will escape the battlespace until its conclusion.
Conductive Dynamism: Though external communication is nigh impossible within a Laniakea Field, Lanieakea Particles are capable of broadcasting information. This is possible through a mechanism similar to thermal conduction where a data source agitates the surrounding Laniakea Particles which collide and agitate their neighboring particles and so on. The resulting particle wave can be interpreted as audio with compatible equipment. However, a major drawback stems from the distinct lack of surreptitiousness. There is no way to encrypt information and only a single medium exists to transmit through. In this way, it's akin to verbally shouting through an atmospheric medium: anyone within the immediate vicinity of the broadcaster can intercept whatever is being communicated.

Localization

The range of a Laniakea Field depends significantly on the number of reactors, their relative positions, and current output. Reactors will often have variable output levels which correspond to varying field sizes. As such, a cruising ship will minimize its output to reduce the inertial drag it experiences. Likewise, a reactor will ramp up in a battlespace to provide as much power as it can to all critical systems and rapidly inflate the density and range of its field. Using the Zugzwang as an example, its Type B1 Reactor will generate an fiercely dense field of approximately 500km when in combat but maintain a 100km, sparse field in its voyages.
When two fields produced in isolation of each other meet, they will immediately merge to form a larger, more intense field. This summated field's intensity dwarfs the estimated sum of the two independent fields if they were simply added together while maintaining the volume these two fields encompassed. In conjunction with the EMR Backwash phenomenon and ineffectiveness of sensor systems like radar and lidar, ships rely on their generated fields to warn them of incoming vehicles. This has profoundly altered the manner in which war is conducted as ambushes and covert attacks are much more difficult to perform.

Type

Natural