3D Interactive Space Terrain

Black Holes
	Without a doubt, black holes are the most perilous of all celestial objects a warship captain is likely to encounter. Thought of by Klingon monks and other clergymen as the 'evil shades of long-dead stars', black holes are the collapsed remnants of giant stars. They have gravitational fields so intense that nothing approaching too close can escape, not even light. Most black holes bear an accretion disk of super-heated plasma. This accretion disk is created by the disintegrated matter being sucked into the black hole's interior. Beyond the accretion disk lies the event horizon, the point beyond which the gravitational field is so intense that not even light can escape. Just before matter gets sucked into this event horizon, this matter will often discharge high-energy radiation to the surrounding accretion disk. This proves to be an additional peril in that these released energies are enough to destroy any vessel they comes in direct contact with. Only the most seasoned warship captain should consider entering a black hole-much less battling within its interior. The effects on a starship's systems are unpredictable within a black hole. Some systems may be severely impaired, while others function far beyond nominal levels. What effects are known to be consistent are severe turbulence, natural interference to sensors, and the most intense gravitational field any warship captain will likely encounter.

Gas Giants
	Gas Giants are one of the most hazardous terrain types in Klingon Academy. With its cyclonic winds, thick atmosphere, and intense gravitational field, it is very easy for a starship captain to become disoriented and lost within a gas giant's atmosphere. Due to the thick atmosphere, movement within a gas giant is also perilous. High impulse speeds will invariably strip a starship of it's shields within minutes. Battling within a gas giant is also extremely difficult since sensors are severely impaired, as are other ship's systems. However, any warship captain who finds himself significantly outnumbered, has an excellent chance of escaping pursuit by ducking into a gas giant, then dipping back out again-assuming he survives his own tactic.

Planetary Rings
	Planetary Rings in Klingon Academy are another terrain that proves useful for some types of warships, and hazardous for others. Smaller vessel may have the advantage battling along the surface of the rings in that they can quickly dip into its interior. Once there, a smaller vessel has the advantage of maneuverability for both avoiding large ice-asteroids as well as maneuvering around to their larger opponent's weaker shield arcs. Natural disruption to sensor accuracy helps facilitate this advantage for the smaller vessel. Also, transporters, for use with boarding parties, and tractor beams (both are a huge advantage that large ships have over smaller vessels) are severely impaired within a planetary ring.

Solar Coronas
	All stars within Klingon Academy feature their solar coronas. These are effectively the star's 'atmosphere', though fundamentally different from any other kind of atmosphere encountered. Composed primarily of high-energy plasma, star's coronas have unpredictable effects on weapons systems, especially energy-based weapons. In addition to this, the intense radiation from the star itself will rapidly kill off a starship's crew if its shields are down. It is never advisable for a warship captain to carry a battle into the corona of a star, unless he is certain that his enemy's weapons systems will be at a significant disadvantage.

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