So...

We've been working on rules for orbital bombardment -- one wrinkle of which is that the difficulty of hitting the target varies with its latitude: targets closer to the equator are moving faster, and are therefore more difficult to hit.

Out of this, I've come up with a scale of sorts for the game:

1" per turn = 100 knots
one turn = 6 minutes
1" = 10 nautical miles (11.5 statute miles)

This then brought up the question of how ships can move so fast in something which clearly has significant "resistance" (momentum equals half speed, and ships turn as if they were airplanes/wet-navy vessels).

My explanation?

The ether does not exert any influence upon normal matter (otherwise, the Earth would eventually come grinding to a halt in its orbit) -- however, by applying an appropriate electromagnetic charge to the propeller and "sails" of a ship, it can push against the ether and speed up, slow down, and change course.

A side effect of this, of course, is that while this charge is active, the ship cannot "coast" on its inertia -- the same ether that allows maneuverability provides a resistance which slows down the ship.

Make sense?

Dan

P.S. This provides for the potential of an optional rule: a ship may turn off its ether-charge and coast in a straight line according to its momentum. If it does so, its momentum remains unchanged (i.e., it is not reduced to 50%).