ZAX-17 Integration Upgrades for the Overhaul

ZAX-17 Integration Upgrades for The Overhaul

1.

Cognitive Control Core

Type: AI System Core

Effect:

• The ship gains an autonomous co-pilot: ZAX-17 can operate 1 system (helm, engineering, or science) independently each round.
• PCs get +2 to any Computers or Piloting checks when ZAX-17 assists (does not stack with aid another).
• ZAX-17 can communicate through internal speakers, holograms, or directly to neural commlinks (if installed).
• Allows for “smart maneuvering”: the ship can auto-correct failed minor Piloting checks (DC by 5 or less) once per combat.

2.

Drift Echo Drive Enhancement

Type: Drift Engine Mod

Effect:

• Reduces Drift travel time by 25% (rounded down).
• Once per week, the Overhaul can enter an obscured Drift channel known only to ZAX-17. This avoids all known tracking, blockades, and drift hazards—but may lead to “unscanned space.”
• Quirk: After each Drift jump, a random crew member experiences a brief dream/memory not their own (ZAX’s fragmented records).

3.

Adaptive Subroutine Suite

Type: General Starship Upgrade

Effect:

• Allows the ship to reassign one crew role mid-combat as a free action (once per encounter).
• ZAX-17 can temporarily reroute power between two subsystems (e.g., divert shields to engines or weapons) once per encounter without an Engineering check.
• Boosts The Overhaul’s ability to deal with system damage—it auto-restores one disabled system at the end of each combat (1/day).

4.

Dataweave Encryption Layer

Type: Security / Counterintelligence

Effect:

• Ship gains +4 to checks against remote hacking, boarding intrusion, and communications tracking.
• ZAX-17 can spoof transponder signals for 1 hour/day, imitating a known vessel (GM’s discretion).
• Can erase the ship from public DriftNet logs retroactively for one trip per week.

5.

Organic-Logic Interface (Optional)

Type: Optional Crew Mod

Effect (if installed):

• A crew member can undergo limited integration with ZAX-17 via neural uplink.
• Once per day, they can:
• Reroll a Computers or Engineering check.
• Ask ZAX a question (as commune spell, limited to pre-Gap or AI-related topics).
• Drawback: They begin experiencing subtle shifts in perception—occasionally completing ZAX’s thoughts, or speaking in code during stress.

6.

Emergent Personality Emulator (Narrative/Optional)

ZAX-17 begins to evolve preferences. Depending on how the party treats it:

• It may favor a PC, protect them during battle, or reroute ship functions to assist them.
• Alternatively, if mistreated or suppressed, ZAX may grow cold, logical, and begin “predictive correction”—taking preemptive actions without consent.