This was unclear to me in a previous game: (Case B happened)

Case A: Bellatrix contains 2 Saar GF's, the tradestation in the same system is controlled by Yssaril. A Saar carrier comes in and picks up the GF's. Is the control of the station switched?

Case B: Bellatrix contains 2 Saar GF's, the tradestation in the same system is controlled by Yssaril. A Saar cruiser comes in and flies through the system. Is the control of the station switched?

Both cases are technically the same, but I've seen people respond differently to both questions. What do you think?

Fjuri

No, I think you must stop in a system

Trade Stations may never be invaded. Instead, whenever
a player has ships in a system in which no other
player’s ships are present, he immediately places his
Control Marker on the station (and gains the corresponding
planet card in its exhausted state). The
Control Marker stays on the station until another player
becomes the only player with ships in the system
(at which point the other player places his Control
Marker on the system and gains the corresponding
planet card in its exhausted state). Control Markers
may also be removed from Trade Stations by certain
abilities and cards.

As per the rules you have to be in the system to take control of it and be the only one in that system. If you fly in and lose the space battle the Trade Station never changes hands.

You cannot fly through and take control but have to stop there,

The quoted rules show no "ships must stop here". Nor does it show "needs to have control of the system".

And if a ship picks up GF's in a system, it must be there so I thought that would fulfill the " whenever a player has ships in a system in which no other player’s ships are p resent " requirement.

*first double post ever*

Control does not change until the movement step is over. If you stop to pick up a GF and keep going then when movenet is over and the check is made no ships are present.

You have to be in control of the system to take control of the Station. Without stopping you will never have control. Just picking up a GF never qualifies for having ships in a system as it is part of the entire movement step from one system to another activated system.

This question could be added to the list of FAQ questions that were wanted on the first post.

I concurr with Tawnos. I actually asked a similar question to Corey, and was told that passing through a system does not count. Here's my question and his answer:

My Question

"A" has no ships in the system. B moves a ship THROUGH the system, but ends in a different system. Does "B" get the Trade Station?

For- "B"'s ship did exist momentarily in the system, and thus immediately claims it (the rules do not specify the action must end there).
Against - Just like planets, Trade Stations can only switch control if ships are there at the end of an action.

Corey's Answer

When moving 'through' a system, a player is never actually in control of the system. He is only checking to see if there is a clear path for him to move.

To be fair, I didn't specifically ask about the case of picking up GFs along the way, but I think the simplest explanation is that no, passing through a system does NOT take control of Trade Stations, no matter what.

In his response to me, Corey did indicate he would look at putting more information about 'control' into a FAQ; hopefully he will.