Comet concealment leads to a comparison with San Carlos

Raven's Course uses a comet field as cover for a damaged ship, with concealed shuttles and explosives buying time against pursuers. The comparison with naval warfare challenges the assumption that an open environment offers no useful terrain. Michael Clapp's phrase 'rock beats Exocet' introduces San Carlos as an example of using landforms to obstruct missile approaches. Operating farther offshore gives defensive missiles more room for interception. The alternative argument favors closing with terrain that forces an attacker to negotiate difficult approach geometry, including pop-up maneuvers. The fictional pursuit extends that use of concealment into a form of guerrilla warfare in space.