Navigational Folder
This is the most common type of Space Folder as the type that enables instantaneous interstellar space travel, without the relativistic drawbacks of Super Luminous Travel. All sentient humanoid species that engage in interstellar travel have and use this type.
A Navigational Folder is always mounted on a vehicle of some sort, and projects a fold in space in one direction, which is why the Navigational Folder is typically mounted in the bow of the vehicle, projecting the fold forward, ahead of the vehicle. The pilot, or helmsman, (depending on the size of the vehicle,) sets a course in the direction of the star system they’re folding space to, and engage the Navigational Folder, setting the distance, and space is folded so that the destination is just in front of the ship, and then they just need fire the main rocket engines for a second or two and inertia allows the ship to coast through the fold. Once the entire ship is through the fold in space collapse after about thirty seconds.
The helmsman, or pilot, usually has a holographic display, or an Augmented Reality Display, that allows them to see what’s on the other side of the fold in space. This is to avoid unfortunate accidents, such as emerging in a star, too far into the gravity well of just about any space body, or simply to crash into ships or other structures.
Opening a fold in space within the atmosphere of a planet cause a difference in pressure and gravity that makes air disappear through the fold, which is why it’s illegal on most inhabited planets to open a fold within the atmosphere. Some planets have Pressure Docks on them, which basically is a hangar that is also like a giant airlock. With a space ship inside the Pressure Dock they can pump out the air of the hangar and then the ship can get into space from within the hangar, writhout any of the planet’s atmosphere escaping. But the bigger the ship the less likely it is that there’s a Pressure Dock large enough.
There are some cases where the Navigational Folder is not forward mounted. On the Landing Craft nicknamed "Spine Crusher" the Navigational Folder is mounted on the dorsal hull, projecting a fold above the craft, so that when the mother ship of the individual landing craft activates its guiding laser markers the pilot projects a fold back, and is thus able to fold space back into the launch bay, fire the thrusters and return to the ship.
The ships of the Trident Coalition Space Fleet have Navigational Folders mounted on the overhead, (ceiling,) of the launch bays, from which the “Spine Crushers” are launched. They are regarded as Navigational Folders as they are part of ship structure and are primarily used to allow the Landing Craft to drop down onto the surface of a planet, in other words, to allow a ship to pass through the fold. They do have one thing in common with the Portable Folders as well, since the holographic display for where the fold leads isn’t in the helsman’s instruments, but appear at the eventhorizon for the fold, below the landing craft. These Folders are also very popular among the crews of the ships, as well as the Marines, who use them to get down to Dionysos when they go on shore leave there. The Landing Craft are lowered to the lower deck of the Launch Bay, so that the Folds in space are projected above them. The crew in the Launch Bay opens the folds to a special patch of water, marked by buoys and ropes, in the water off the shore of Semele Island and those going on shore leave get naked, putting all their packing in water proof duffel bags and dive from the catwalk of a ship in orbit, through the fold, and land in the warm water of Dionysos and then swim a few meters to the shallow waters of the beach around the island.
There are Navigational Folders, in the Cargo Hold, of the Fleet Ships, that are of the same type as the ones in the Launch Bays. There’s usually at least one Cargo Hold that doubles as a Hangar for the Charon Class Troop Transports, that use the Folders to launch just like the Landing Craft, but the Troop Transports emerge from the fold at a slightly higher altitude, and use their engines and thrusters for a soft, controlled landing, instead of just plonking down, like the Landing Craft. Other Cargo Holds contains the Military Basic Hexagonal Module with the wall sections, to be lowered down onto the surface fo planets, through folds in space, and establish temporary camps, or even permanent military bases. The Navigational Folders in the Cargo Holds are not used for going on shore leave, like the ones in the Launch Bays.
Space ships aren’t the only vessels equipped with Navigational Folders. The Ships of the Fleet have a multitude of escape pods, that each is equipped with a Navigational Folder, so that if the ship is destroyed and the remains of the crew launch in escape pods, they can fold space to get home, unless they are too close to a planet and get caught in its gravity well. The escape pods are only equipped with thrusters for maneuvering in microgravity environment, so they can pass through a fold in space, and achieve a soft landing on a planet, but not nearly enough to achieve escape velocity. If your escape pod gets into a gravity well it will end up on the surface of the planet, or whatever object that generates the gravity. If you’re really unlucky it’s a sun or a black hole.
Each car of the Aeolus City Air Tram is equipped with a Navigational Folder, to cross to and from Boulder Island without flying over water, and to get in and out of the tram stop inside Ganymede Spire.
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