So a little explanation first. A TIE Fighter from Star Wars is powered by Twin Ion Engines which is the reason it is T.I.E. (granted I know many will already know this info but many will not) While Ion engines are real the move a craft relatively slow but produce power for long periods of time. They can also build up quite a bit of speed in space and surpass rocket engines in speed given enough time to build up momentum. The article I am linking is about a new type ion engine being developed which is at least 100 times more powerful than what we currently have. Ion engines are and have been used in unmanned space vehicles.
http://www.newscientist.com/article/...s-to-mars.html
Now if I can just get a real lightsaber!