Editing NiS/Ship to Ship Combat (section)

==Running==
Ships will not always want to stand and fight: discretion, the better part of valor, and all that.  If one ship decides to run, and the other decides to chase, each ship rolls a d6 and tries to beat the opposing ship’s speed characteristic.  If both ships pass, or if both ships fail, the distance between them remains roughly equivalent: the runner doesn’t widen the gap, and the chaser doesn’t bring him into weapons range.

If, however, the runner succeeds but the chaser fails, he increases the distance to long range.  If he was already at long range, he escapes clean and clear.

If the chaser succeeds and the runner fails, and the ships are at long range, the range is reduced to close.  If the ships are at close range, the chaser closes the gap to bring his weapons into range: fight a round of ship-to-ship combat.  Note, after the round of combat, the range automatically returns to close.

If the runner is caught and engaged in combat, he is sorely at a disadvantage because most ships have no aft guns, so the most he can do is attempt to avoid the oncoming fire.  Make the maneuverability opposed roll as normal, but if the runner wins he is unable to strike back.  Instead, he simply succeeds in keeping the opposing ship from bringing its guns to bear.