Chapter 1: The Commencement

These are chunks of obsidian, likely native to the Elemental Plane of Earth and ripped here thanks to the use of a Drift engine by another vessel.

The asteroids are filled with molten stone. Shooting them will cause them to explode, potentially damaging nearby ships

The strange thruster emissions are decorative and not functionally significant

The engineers on all ships (if present) each take an action to repair the starships’ systems or give them a boost. These actions occur simultaneously, so they can be resolved in any order.

Taunt (Any Phase, Push)
You can use the communications system to broadcast a taunting message to the enemy vessel. You select an enemy vessel and a phase of combat (engineering, helm, or gunnery), and then attempt a Bluff or Intimidate check (DC = 15 + 1-1/2 × the enemy starship’s tier). If you are successful, each enemy character acting during the selected phase takes a –2 penalty to all checks for 1d4 rounds; the penalty increases to –4 if the enemy’s check is made as part of a push action. Once used against an enemy starship, regardless of the outcome, taunt can’t be used against that starship again during the same combat.

Actions: Pilot / Science Officer / Captain

Each starship’s pilot attempts a Piloting check. The pilot with the lowest result must move his starship first, followed by the next lowest, until all starships have moved. This check is repeated each round during the helm phase, so the order of movement can change from round to round. If a starship has no one in the pilot role, that starship acts as if its pilot had rolled a 0. If there is a tie, the pilot with fewer ranks in the Piloting skill must move his starship first. If there is still a tie, the two pilots in question should each roll another Piloting check and compare the results; the pilot with the lowest result moves first.

As they move their starships, pilots can attempt additional skill checks to perform dangerous maneuvers or push their vessels beyond their specifications.

Also during this phase, any character taking on the role of science officer can use the starship’s systems to scan vessels or target foes. Science officers must act immediately before or after their starship’s pilot, but they can jointly decide the order they act.