A weapon with this special property is always short range and can’t be fired against targets that are outside the first range increment. If a tracking weapon would hit a ship in an arc that contains a weapon with the point special property, the gunner of the targeted starship can attempt an immediate gunnery check with the point weapon against the incoming tracking projectile using the bonus listed in parentheses in the weapon’s Special entry (instead of her usual bonus to gunnery checks). The DC for this gunnery check is equal to 10 + the tracking weapon’s speed. If the attack hits, the tracking weapon is destroyed before it can damage the ship. A point weapon can be used to attempt only one such free gunnery check each round, but this usage potentially allows a point weapon to be fired twice in a single round.

A weapon with this special property can fire in an arc adjacent to the one in which it was installed with a –2 penalty. A broad arc weapon can fire at only one target at a time.

A lockout countermeasure freezes a system if a user repeatedly fails attempts to access it, causing it to become entirely inaccessible. Generally, this does not mean that the system is powered down, and other modules and countermeasures can still take automated actions. Lockouts last a specified period of time, typically 10 minutes, 1 hour, or 1 day, but any time frame can be specified. A lockout cannot be disabled, even by a user with the correct passwords and credentials. It is possible to bypass a lockout by accessing physical components of the computer, requiring a successful Engineering check with the same DC as the check to hack the computer. A standard lockout activates if there are three failed attempts to access or hack the computer within 24 hours and costs 100 credits. A lockout can be set to allow a different number of failed attempts before activating or to last a different amount of time. If the computer has an alarm, it can be set to inform a specific terminal or communication device when each failed attempt occurs and when the lockout is activated.

This particularly cunning countermeasure creates an entirely fake network and system directory for anyone accessing the system that fails to bypass this countermeasure. The phony network has cloned control modules and data modules to make it appear to be the actual system, but the control modules do not actually work and the data modules contain garbage files. A character can uncover this ruse with a successful Computers check with a DC equal to the system’s DC + 5. See Detect Fake Shell on page 138 for more information. The fake shell countermeasure costs 50% of the base price of the computer plus 10% of the price of its control and data modules.

The system deletes specified data when an unauthorized breach is detected. This usually causes a number of data modules to be deleted from the system. Unless the owner is incredibly paranoid, this countermeasure is usually set to trigger only after two or more failed attempts to enter the system (so as to prevent accidental deletion due to a failed password attempt). Wipes don’t definitively remove data, however, unless the physical module containing the data is destroyed. Information deleted through a wipe can be recovered with 8 hours of work and a successful Computers check (DC = 10 + the DC to hack the computer). A wipe countermeasure costs 10 credits.

This countermeasure unleashes insidious virus software into any system that tries to hack it, causing damage to that system and its programming. If you fail a check to hack the computer by 5 or more, any device used in the attempt to break into the system is infected and becomes unreliable, resulting in a –5 penalty to all skill checks involving the infected equipment. You can remove a virus from an infected system if you succeed at a Computers check with the same DC as hacking the computer that has the feedback countermeasure. At the GM’s discretion, feedback viruses can have other effects instead, such as granting a +5 circumstance bonus to anyone attempting to hack the infected system. A feedback countermeasure costs 500 credits.

An expansion bay can be converted into rows of seating for passengers at no cost. A single expansion bay can hold seating for 16 Medium passengers (though seats can be built for larger creatures). This upgrade is appropriate only for taking many passengers on short trips; starships on journeys lasting multiple days should instead have guest quarters installed.