Space Hazards

Asteroids are spaceborn rocks that range in size from small particles to planetoids. They rarely have a strong gravitational field or atmosphere, but are usually rich in valuable minerals. They often form vast rings of asteroid fields that orbit a sun. Navigating through these fields is very dangerous due to the unpredictable changes in their velocities caused by asteroid collisions.

Asteroids with high content in special minerals may be hazardous in other ways as well.

• Fulkrium asteroids explode violently when shot

• Glodium asteroids will bombard a spacecraft with harmful radiation

• Hoglium asteroids may pull or repel a spacecraft when shot

• Kogmorite asteroids are dense and difficult to destroy

• Nosnium asteroids will prevent nearby craft from opening a zippway

• Ultramine asteroids rarely appear on sensors without a concentrated scan

• Yashum asteroids may deflect attacks, even back at a spacecraft

In order for exodian bodies to function, they must be subject to an amount of atmospheric pressure between 0.5 and 2.5 Barr Units, otherwise they succumb to respiratory and cardiovascular complications that eventually result in death. Space lacks any atmospheric pressure, so in order to keep a crew alive, they must either be wearing a suit that maintains that pressure while circulating breathable atmosphere, or accomplish a similar environment in the interior of a spacecraft. Pressurized spacecraft interiors result in another hazard, which is that a breach in the spacecraft's hull will depressurize it, and likely blowing loose objects and crew out into space.

Comets are small bodies of ice and gas that have extreme elliptical solar orbits. A comet's tail consists of the comet's outgassed ice. While not strictly hazardous, following in a comet's tail will cool a spacecraft, both masking its signature and reducing accumulated heat eventually to the point that interior conditions may be intolerably cold.

Exodian bodies function best when they are experiencing 1 Gravity worth of downward acceleration. Less than that leads to reduced bone and muscle density over time. Too much leads to compacted joints and spinal issues. In addition to this, sudden changes to acceleration cause problems with internal organs and bloodflow, even causing a loss of consciousness. To combat this, artificial gravity generators create fields that provide for a consistent simulated surface environment, while also reacting to sudden acceleration. Still, extreme maneuvers or collisions may overwhelm these systems and cause injury.

All objects exert a gravitational pull, and while this helps to create a stable and orderly world, it is also a deadly, destructive, and inexorable force. Objects such as stars, planets, or moons can draw a spacecraft closer and closer, accelerating it until it collides with the surface with enough force to destroy the craft and likely kill any crew. While the entire spacecraft industry is designed to overcome this issue with powerful engines, exodian objects that do not have the capacity or fuel to overcome the gravity of an object they orbit will find themselves falling to their death.

At extreme velocities, shields become unreliable at preventing spaceborn debris from perforating a ship's hull. In addition, shields begin exerting stress upon internal subsystems, causing widespread malfunctions and even hull damage. It is advised to keep a ship's velocity within a reasonable margin or have experienced damage-control teams to manage the issues.

Clouds of cosmic gasses an particles that span hundreds of lightyears. At lower densities, they may only cause minor inaccuracies in sensors and transmissions. At higher densities, they may have caustic properties, and if energized, may be subject to electrical storms that can damage ship systems.

Nebulae dense with certain may be hazardous in other ways as well.

• Degrithane nebulae will cool a spacecraft, this helps reduce harmful heat and conceals energy signature, eventually freezing interior and crew.

• Malakoride nebulae will gradually vaporize a spacecraft, mitigated by improved shields

• Oshum nebulae will amplify the range and power of energy beams

• Veildust nebulae may cause hallucination in a crew

• Xaprine nebulae will gradually drain power reserves from a spacecraft

• Xudramon nebulae will ignite into an electrical storm if shot

• Zesnine nebulae will gradually decelerate spacecraft and reduce its engine impulse

A nova is an explosion caused by the accumulation of gas and other materials around a star. This can severely damage anything inside a star system. Spacecraft inside the solar system are in even greater danger without protection from atmosphere or other planetary bodies. Ships caught in a nova should attempt open a Zippway into Zipp Space, or alternately scan for incoming nova gas and attempt to evade.

Space is full of radiation. Normally energy shields are able to block the majority of harmful radiation from affecting a ship or her crew, however some forms of radiation are too powerful for a shield to deflect and can cause terrible and lasting illness.

While space is very cold, nearly 2.7 Kip, spacecraft engines generate a lot of heat which is difficult for even the most advanced cooling technology to manage. In addition, proximity to external sources of heat, such as stars, weapons fire, or atmospheric friction, will only add to the accumulating temperature. This can result in intolerable environments aboard a spacecraft and even fire and engine meltdown.

Between engine fumes, battery chemicals, coolant leaks, and the gradual buildup of carbon dioxide, there are many ways in which poisonous substances can become airborne in a ship's interior. While life support systems do a lot to filter these substances out, they are not completely effective, particularly depending on the density of the toxin.

Wormholes are spacial anomalies that connect two points in space. They form spontaneously and are difficult to detect unless scanning for gravitational fields. Flying into a wormhole will transport you to the other destination point, however the forces exerted by the wormhole are likely to cause extensive structural and system damage to a ship.

Prolonged exposure to Zipp Space can cause a number of psychological symptoms including paranoia, hallucinations, memory loss, delusions of invincibility, hostility, or suicide. If you exhibit any of these symptoms after Zipp Space travel, please consult a medical professional.

For unknown reasons, pockets of Zipp Space manifest into Real Space. Since they are difficult to detect, it is believed that they are far more common than is expected. Any object that passes through a Zipp Slide will be accelerated, or if burning retrograde, will slow down much quicker. These pockets disappear after an object passes through them.