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Benamite was a rare and unstable form of crystal which was extremely difficult to synthesize.

In 2375, the crew of the USS Voyager constructed a quantum slipstream drive, at the heart of which were benamite crystals. Although it was eventually discovered that constant phase variances in the quantum threshold could make the journey extremely hazardous, the crew elected to risk implementing the slipstream drive anyway, as the crystals had already started to decay, and synthesizing more could have taken years. (VOY: "Timeless")

In 3188, Cleveland Booker described obstacles to interstellar travel to newly arrived time traveler Michael Burnham, including the widespread lack of dilithium or benamite. (DIS: "That Hope Is You, Part 1")

Booker's comments might imply his ship could fly quantum slipstream if the crystals were available.
In the novel Watching the Clock, benamite is used aboard some Starfleet ships testing quantum slipstream drives in the 2380s.

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