The Tactical Tractor Beam seems like an awesome toy for a bounty hunter to place on his ship. It drags at the opponent, gradually wearing at their system strain while penalizing their ability to fly and shoot. So far, so good.

However, the description of the Tactical Tractor Beam says: "Firing the beam is a ranged attack using the Gunnery skill, and may target one ship at close range. If the attack hits, the attacking pilot must use a maneuver to maintain a lock and continue to follow the craft."

1) Does the ship's pilot have to be the one to take the ranged attack action, or can the beam be fired by another crewman (like a copilot)?

2) When the pilot spends the maneuver to maintain the lock, does this include allowing him to match any Fly or Accelerate/Decelerate maneuver used by the target's pilot? Would it require two maneuvers to maintain the lock if the target's pilot uses two Fly and/or Accelerate/Decelerate maneuvers on his turn?

1. The way I handle these is that any weapon not in a manned turret is fired by the pilot and copilot by default. If someone wants to hook it up to another console/gunnery station (except for manned turrets like in the Falcon) I let my players make a Mechanics check while in dock someplace to put in some new wiring. This has the dual advantages of not only creating things for players other than the pilot or copilot to do during combat by having for example the computer specialist also getting access to a weapon, but also giving the ship that extensively modified and cross-connected feel that the Falcon has in the movies. Some threat on one of those Mechanics check means you never know what systems can suddenly blink on or off at the dramatically appropriate moment.

2. Tricky question. If it's a pilot only ship then I'd say he has some sort of automatic system maintaining the lock for him, otherwise it would be too easy for the other ship to shake it off. If another crewmember is operating the beam then it doesn't matter much since they have usually two manoeuvres to spend anyway.

1) Does the ship's pilot have to be the one to take the ranged attack action, or can the beam be fired by another crewman (like a copilot)?

Based on a strict reading of the rules, I don't think the beam has to be fired by the pilot. From a GM's perspective, I would rule that anyone who has access to the ships primary controls could fire the beam.

2) When the pilot spends the maneuver to maintain the lock, does this include allowing him to match any Fly or Accelerate/Decelerate maneuver used by the target's pilot? Would it require two maneuvers to maintain the lock if the target's pilot uses two Fly and/or Accelerate/Decelerate maneuvers on his turn?

In this case, I don't think you can combine the maintaining maneuver with the Fly/Drive or Accelerate/Decelerate maneuver. The benefits of the beam require a little take from the pilot's side.

2) When the pilot spends the maneuver to maintain the lock, does this include allowing him to match any Fly or Accelerate/Decelerate maneuver used by the target's pilot? Would it require two maneuvers to maintain the lock if the target's pilot uses two Fly and/or Accelerate/Decelerate maneuvers on his turn?

In this case, I don't think you can combine the maintaining maneuver with the Fly/Drive or Accelerate/Decelerate maneuver. The benefits of the beam require a little take from the pilot's side.

If the maneuver to maintain the lock doesn't also allow you to follow them, then can you really maintain the lock if the enemy wants to break it?

2) When the pilot spends the maneuver to maintain the lock, does this include allowing him to match any Fly or Accelerate/Decelerate maneuver used by the target's pilot? Would it require two maneuvers to maintain the lock if the target's pilot uses two Fly and/or Accelerate/Decelerate maneuvers on his turn?

In this case, I don't think you can combine the maintaining maneuver with the Fly/Drive or Accelerate/Decelerate maneuver. The benefits of the beam require a little take from the pilot's side.

If the maneuver to maintain the lock doesn't also allow you to follow them, then can you really maintain the lock if the enemy wants to break it?

If you have a tractor lock, shouldn't the target pilot have to make some sort of Piloting check to even be able to move at all? I don't have DC so I don't know what the Tractor quality rating on the tactical tractor beam is.

The Tactical Tractor Beam doesn't "lock" the target and prevent it from moving. Instead it applies drag and tugs at them causing them System Strain when they maneuver and applying penalties to their piloting and attack checks. The downside is that the pilot of the ship using the TTB has to spend maneuver(s) to keep the beam on target. I'm assuming that those maneuvers also include matching enemy maneuvers (mainly Fly and Accelerate/Decelerate) otherwise its not really possible to use the beam effectively (at least as I read it).

If the target pilot performs two Accelerate/Decelerate maneuvers then the two ships are still at close range. The attacking pilot need only make one maneuver to maintain the tractor beam lock as per the rules you posted in the original post.

If the target pilot performs two Fly/Drive maneuvers to move from close to medium range (assuming speed 2–4) in an attempt to break away from combat, then the attacking pilot must also make two Fly/Drive maneuvers (again, assuming speed 2–4) to maintain close range. With no maneuvers left, I would presume that the intent is for the attacking pilot to then attack again with the tactical tractor beam, rolling a new Gunnery check.

In the absence of any developer input, that would seem to be the most logical course of action that I can imagine.

Tactically, I would imagine that the beam is wholly intended for use exclusively in a dogfight for as long as the target remains engaged at close range with you—it's free extra system strain while you still get to blast them with other close range weaponry. It would be particularly useful if you've already gained the advantage and the Piloting penalties imposed by the beam allowed you to keep that advantage. If the target is running away, you're now entering a chase which is a whole different ball game.