Space Combat
Voidward warfare falls into two distinct domains:
The deep range battle
In open space, battles are fought across astronomical distances over long periods of silent maneuvering punctuated by moments of vicious devastation. Maneuvers lasting hours, even days, are performed in long burns by vessels, missile fleets and projectiles, all vying for superior positioning. At such ranges, battlespaces are shaped by celestial bodies and orbital mechanics, the advantages of gravitic heights and lows between opponents. Deception is a major factor, as positions are hidden and obfuscated by way of gravitic lensing cloaks, decoy fleets and noosphere trickery. Such battles are test the endurance of mind and soul, stretching long into plans within plans outmanouvering one another, until the engagement is resolved, often by just a few decisive strikes.
Long ranged battles in open space rarely devolve into close-range combat, unless one side is forced into a fixed position or a fight to the death.
The close space brawl
In the crowded space of near-planetary orbits and megastructures, combat erupts at short distances and follows the rapid cadence of inert slug salvos and tactical maneuvers. Cramped battlespaces are formed by gravitic anchors and physical cover, hugging parts of stations and megastructures, asteroids and set defenses. What open space there remains is quickly filled by clouds of debris and countermeasures, coalescing with the din of noosphere war into a coordinated chaos full of opportunities to dazzle, ambush, and overwhelm the enemy. Large numbers of lesser vessels engage in frontline combat here, and even surface-bound elements upon the bodies and obstacles of the theatre. Such battles at close range become an onslaught of continuous attack and attrition neither material nor soul can endure for long. Fighting will continue for hours, a day at most, before both sides must retreat or regroup to soon meet again.
Starship and habitat sieges
Under certain circumstances, close-ranged battles can evolve into a siege aimed at a station or capital ship of particular note. Sieges and their associated boarding actions often stretch from days to weeks, and though voidborne units on both sides may still participate in fighting, they are not one continious voidward battle.
Ceremonial battle, re-tellings, and tournaments
The two theatres of voidward war are often conflated in popular media and propaganda. Even though it is, in reality, the rarest of circumstances, the typical depiction is a pitched fight of two sides running at one another, beginning combat at long ranges before an inevitable showdown in a close-ranged brawl. Across the territories of Gondwana’s Trantor, the „Stellar Joust“ is a particularly popular genre fiction and even replicated in ceremonial tournaments.
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