<strong> Warp and Stellar navigation</strong><br/><br/>To navigate, one must first understand how space is classified.  There are five broad navigational categories used to navigate space, each one closer to a planet.<br/><br/><em>Void Space:</em>The deep void is the vast majority of space, and it's the only place where spaceships can achieve their maximum speed, and safely enter the warp.  Jump points are always located in void space, and most space voyages require many weeks to get between the destination planet and the jump point.  Navigating void space takes an average of 1-2 week for a freighter, depending on the exact location of the jump point.  In the Sol system, everything beyond the Asteroid belt is considered to be Void Space.<br/><br/><em>System Space: </em>The majority of space voyages take place in system space, in the dark places between planetary bodies.  Debris and micrometeors limit maximum speed, while gravity currents make rapid acceleration dangerous.  Pirates often ambush targets in System Space, using the vast distances to try and isolate individual convoy ships.  Navigating typical system space takes an average of 3 weeks for a freighter.  In the Sol system, the space between the Asteroid belt and Mars is classified as system space.<br/><br/><em>Planetary Space:</em>Planetary space is even more dense with matter and gravity currents than system space, and puts a great strain on vessels flying through it.  The majority of space battles take place in planetary space, since planetary space is small enough to be easily patrolled, while still far away enough from gravity currents to not impair the performance of the fleet.  Navigating typical planetary space takes an average of 10 days for a freighter.  In the Sol system, the Earth-Mars-Venus system is classified as planetary space.<br/><br/><em>High Orbit:</em>High orbit is the sublunary sphere of a planet.  Within high orbit, orbital bombardment of planetary targets becomes a possibility, though accuracy is more or less limited to selecting which hemisphere will get a square kilometer vaporized.  Orbital defenses and space stations are invariably in high orbit space, often along with the system ships and defense monitors.  Navigating typical high orbital space takes an average of 2 days for a freighter.<br/><br/><em>Low Orbit: </em>Low orbit is the space between the surface and exosphere of a planet.  It is the space where orbital bombardment becomes effective, but where starships can be targeted by surface defenses and Aeronautica<br/><br/><br/>Maneuvering in Space:<br/><br/>Spaceship Speeds:<br/><br/><strong>Cruising Speed:</strong>Normally, starships travel the void at their cruising speed, so that they can make the needed course corrections to keep them moving efficiently and save resources on fuel.  A ship's listed speed is its cruising speed in VUs per 30 minutes.<br/><br/><strong>Combat Speed:</strong>Combat speed is a lower rate of speed used in combat so that starships engaged in active fighting can maneuver as well as possible and avoid the potentially disastrous circumstance of flying past each other and exposing their flanks, possibly leading to the ship losing the ability to fire on opponents.  Combat speed is equal to half a ship's listed speed.  (round up)<br/><br/><strong>Top Speed:</strong>When a ship REALLY needs to get somewhere, it simply fires its engines all full and lets things go.  Rogue Traders routinely fly around the void at top speed, since they have little fear for fuel costs and efficient enough staff to not tear their vessels to shreds.  A ship's top speed is equal to twice its listed speed.<br/><br/><strong>Flank Speed:</strong>Sometimes, top speed just isn't fast enough, and a ship needs to get an extra burst of speed.  The tech priests aboard a ship can push it even further, getting it going a little faster.  The dangers are immense, however, and they often lead to the ship's engines breaking down or even breaking apart.<br/><br/><br/>Starship Maneuvers:<br/><br/><strong>Standard Move:</strong>Under normal circumstances, a starship moves its current speed in a straight line, and may turn at up to a 90 degree angle at the end of its movement.  Ships of light cruiser size and larger may only turn 45 degrees at the end of their movement.  This is the default move a starship takes, and if a starship fails an advanced maneuver, it simply takes a standard move instead, moving at its current speed.<br/><br/><strong>Adjust Bearing:</strong>By making a challenging (+0) Pilot + Maneuverability test, a starship may turn 1 VU early, plus up to 1 additional VU per degree of success.<br/><br/><strong>Adjust Speed:</strong>By making a challenging (+0) Pilot + Maneuverability test, a starship may increase or decrease its current speed by 1 VU, plus up to 1 additional VU per degree of success.<br/><br/><strong>Adjust Bearing and Speed:</strong>By making a hard (-20) Pilot + Maneuverability test, a starship may increase or decrease its current speed by 1 VU, plus up to 1 additional VU per degree of success, as well as turn 1 VU early, plus up to 1 additional VU per degree of success.<br/><br/><strong>Burn Retros:</strong>In place of a ship's normal maneuver, the commander of the ship may simply fire the retro rockets of the ship, causing its speed to be reduced.  If the ship is moving faster than its cruising speed, its speed is reduced to its cruising speed.  If the ship is moving at cruising speed or slower, its speed is reduced to its combat speed.  If a ship burns retros at combat speed or slower, the helmsman must make a  challenging (+0) Pilot + Maneuverability test.  On a success, the ship comes to a stop.  On a failure, the ship's speed is only reduced by 1 VU.  A ship may combine burning retros with any other maneuver with no increase in difficulty.<br/><br/><strong>Come to New Heading:</strong>By making a difficult (-10) pilot + maneuver test, a starship may make a turn when it has moved half its current speed (round down) and another turn at the end of its movement.  When a starship comes to a new heading, shooting actions on the same turn take a -20 penalty.<br/><br/><strong>Disengage:</strong>If a starship is at least 8 VUs from all enemy vessels, it may make a challenging (+0) pilot + maneuverability test opposed by a scrutiny + detection test from every enemy starship within detection range.  Each ship more than 20 VU away takes a -10 penalty to their detection test for each 5 VU or fraction thereof they are away.  If the disengaging ship gets more successes on its maneuver check than the enemy ship got on its detection roll, then it successfully shuts down the plasma drive and hides in the dark of the void, effectively invisible to enemy ships.<br/><br/><strong>Evasive Maneuvers:</strong>During a maneuver action, the helmsman may elect to take a -10 penalty to the test to engage in evasive maneuvers.  If the maneuver is successful, enemy ships suffer a -10 penalty per degree of success on any skill check to harm the ship, but the ship's weapons suffer an equivalent penalty to ballistic skill tests when taking shooting actions.  (note: if a ship takes evasive maneuvers, enemy ships making hit and run attacks do not lose the attacking shuttle if the hit and run attack fails by four or more degrees)<br/><br/><strong>Stern Chase:</strong>If a ship ends its movement action outside the maximum range of all enemy weapons, it may elect to simply try and fly away from enemy vessels.  The ship is immediately removed from combat, and any enemy ships which are eligible to begin a stern chase may also remove themselves from combat to pursue the vessel.<br/><br/><strong>Suicide Flip:</strong>By making an arduous (-40) pilot + maneuver check, a ship may flip itself over on its retros, effectively moving backwards via its inertia.  Attempting this maneuver automatically reduces speed as if a burn retros action had been taken  If the maneuver is successful, the ship may turn 180 degrees and its speed becomes negative.  (that is, the ship begins to move backwards)  On subsequent turns, the vessel may not burn retros or reduce its speed until its speed is positive, and must exclusively rely on increasing speed through special maneuvers to regain control of the vessel.  This maneuver is incredibly dangerous; if it fails by one to three degrees of success, the vessel suffers an automatic thrusters damaged critical and suffers 1d5 points of hull integrity damage (ignoring armor) per degree of failure.  If the maneuver fails by four or more degrees, the ship suffers an automatic engines crippled critical, and 2d10 points of hull integrity damage, ignoring armor.  The turn of a suicide flip, successful or not, the ship suffers a -20 penalty on all ballistic skill rolls during shooting actions.  A suicide flip is one example of a unique maneuver the crew of a starship can perform by being creative.  Such maneuvers will be fairly complicated, but can often be as powerful as they are dangerous.