On This Date In Wing Commander Future History - 1st Awkwende Jump Drive Test

The first humans to create and test a useable "jump drive" based on the 23rd century work of Dr. Shari Akwende was not the Confederation. The Pilgrims, a group of human separatists with genetic mutations that enhanced their ability to navigate in deep space, first tested an Akwende drive on 2501.187. They kept their discovery secret from the Confederation government for eighty-seven years. The Confederation first tested a working drive on the Haile Selassie. She jumped from Sol to Polaris on 2588.315 and returned on .323.