Ghost in the Machine

MISSION BRIEFING
While passing through this asteroid cluster en route to our next mission in a nearby system, we were ambushed by a squadron of hijackers. They used our hailing frequency as a vector to inject a viral payload into the main computer, and are attempting to disable and seize control of the ship. While we’re working to regain control of ship’s systems, the hijackers are attempting to take down our shields and send over boarding parties. We will not surrender the ship. All hands, prepare to repel boarders!

MISSION BRIEFING

While passing through this asteroid cluster en route to our next mission in a nearby system, we were ambushed by a squadron of hijackers. They used our hailing frequency as a vector to inject a viral payload into the main computer, and are attempting to disable and seize control of the ship.

While we’re working to regain control of ship’s systems, the hijackers are attempting to take down our shields and send over boarding parties.

We will not surrender the ship.

All hands, prepare to repel boarders!

MAP SETUP
A) Player Deployment Area B) Asteroids x6 (Random Layout). Each Asteroid must be Range ≥1 from the board edge and Range ≥1 apart.

MISSION PARAMETERS
Objective	Prevent the Takeover: Purge the virus from the ship’s computer and repel all boarders. If there are any Disabled Tokens or Critical Hit Tokens remaining on any ship’s Ship Card at the end of Round 10, the Mission is considered a Failure.
XP Reward	Successfully completing the mission earns each player 2XP. If all enemy ships are destroyed, each player earns an additional 1XP.
Retreat Options	Players may not retreat until all Disabled Tokens and Critical Hit Tokens are cleared. Afterward, players may retreat from any edge.
Mission End	Mission ends immediately when all players have escaped. At the end of Round 10, all remaining ships with tokens on their Ship Cards are lost.
Destroyed Players	These players gain 1 fewer XP (minimum 0).

SUCCESS

I’m happy to report that we have successfully held the ship and are performing repairs while on the way to our original mission objective. Meanwhile, I’ve drafted a priority one memo reporting this security vulnerability to Starfleet. Once a systems update is rolled out, this sort of thing should no longer be possible in the future.

FAILURE

We will not surrender the ship! Computer, initiate auto-destruct sequence.

Replay this Mission, or retire your Captain Card.

ENEMY SHIPS
Formation	Round	Bearing	Orders	2p	3p	4p	5p	6p
Hijacker Wave Alpha	Setup	1	Hijack	X			X
Hijacker Elite	Setup	6	Hijack	X !		X !		X !
Hijacker Wave Bravo	Setup	Roll	Hijack		X			X
Hijacker Wave Charlie	2	Roll	Hijack	X	X
Hijacker Wave Delta	3	Roll	Hijack	X			X

SPECIAL RULES

Viral Infection: At the start of the game, place six Disabled Tokens on each player-controlled ship’s Ship Card. These represent the level of infection in the ship’s computer.

Shields Are Collapsing: All player-controlled ships begin the scenario with only half of that ship's printed Shield Value (round down).

Helm Not Responding: While there is at least one Disabled Token on the ship’s Ship Card, the following movement restriction applies:

During the Activation Phase, before moving the ship model, roll one D6. The result overrides the Speed of the chosen maneuver on that ship’s Maneuver Dial (even if the resulting maneuver does not appear on the ship’s Maneuver Dial, in which case treat it as a Red Maneuver). If no maneuver template exists for the resulting maneuver, use the next closest appropriate template.

Weapons Are Ineffective: While there is at least one Disabled Token on the ship’s Ship Card, the following attack restriction applies:

During the Combat Phase, before the Deal Damage step, roll one D6 and apply the following effects:

1–2: Attack fails and deals no damage.
3–4: Attack deals half damage (round up).
5–6: Attack deals normal damage.

Purging the Infection: At the end of the End Phase, a ship may spend one or more Scan Tokens to remove a corresponding number of Disabled Tokens from its Ship Card. When all Disabled Tokens have been removed, that ship has purged the infection. Full Shields are restored, and the ship can move and attack normally.

Hijack Orders: Enemy ships with Hijack orders will pursue and attack the nearest player-controlled ship until that player ship has no remaining Active Shields. Once a player ship has no Active Shields, enemy ships with Hijack orders will not attack it further, but instead attempt Boarding Actions.

When choosing a maneuver, ships with Hijack orders use the closest player-controlled ship as their target.

Boarding Action: Once within Range 1 of a player ship with no Active Shields, instead of performing a normal Action, an enemy ship with Hijack orders will perform a Boarding Action. Place one Critical Hit Token on the player ship’s Ship Card to represent a hostile boarding party. The Boarding Action may be performed even if the ship has Auxiliary Power Tokens.

Repel Boarders: At the end of the End Phase, a player-controlled ship may spend one or more Battle Stations Tokens to remove a corresponding number of Critical Hit Tokens from its Ship Card. When all Critical Hit Tokens have been removed, the ship has successfully repelled the boarders.