I understand that his ability is meant to remove stress from himself, but could the text as spoiled lead to taking stress token from any ship, friendly or not?

No. The use of you in this game is in reference to the pilot, not the player so it has to specify any external interactions specifically.

He is also extremely wary of the "quickening," as he is immortal until he loses his head.

Alright, thanks for the clarification.

Rulebook page 19:

Many card abilities use the word “you” to specifically reference that Ship card. Abilities on Ship cards cannot affect other ships unless explicitly specified by the ability.

I understand that his ability is meant to remove stress from himself, but could the text as spoiled lead to taking stress token from any ship, friendly or not?

And why would you want to try and apply his skill to an unfriendly ship?

I understand that his ability is meant to remove stress from himself, but could the text as spoiled lead to taking stress token from any ship, friendly or not?

And why would you want to try and apply his skill to an unfriendly ship?

A bit of hot Farlander on Farlander action, maybe? Removing it from Ibby would be nifty too.

Doesn't work, obviously, but there are enough "I can do good things with my stress" abilities creeping in that it's not all that crazy.

He is also extremely wary of the "quickening," as he is immortal until he loses his head.

And he is unique, so There Can Only Be One!