Try this. I make no guarantee that it is balanced or even playable, but hopefully someone will have fun finding out... If anyone wants to alter the scenario it to make it more balanced (or playable), I'd be interested in the alterations!
An empire is conducting a trial of an experimental battle computer. The trial consists of a simulated battle in which one side's ships are equipped with the computer, while the other side is significantly larger to give the computers a thorough work-out. Unfortunately the computers can't distinguish simulation from reality and start firing weapons at full power. At first the opposition fleet can't believe what is happening, then they wait while the computer fleet's crew try to disable the computer, but as damage mounts they have no option but to try to destroy the rogue computer fleet.
Both fleets in this game come from the same empire. The computer fleet gets a +2 initiative bonus, CQ 6, and the new trait "Battle computer" on all ships. The opposition may spend twice as many points as the computer fleet. Both sides can move as normal but the opposition may not fire until it has taken total damage among its ships equal to at least half the starting damage of its largest ship.
The computer fleet wins by surviving - the opposition must be destroyed or have withdrawn. The opposition's victory condition is more complex. Any computer ship which loses the "Battle computer" trait to a critical hit or marine boarding party runs adrift and is out of the game. If more points' worth of computer ships have been disabled in this manner than have been destroyed then the opposition wins. If more points' worth of computer ships have been destroyed than disabled then it's a draw, as the cost in lost ships and lives is too high to count it as a victory.
The opposition fleet has a new special action, "Disable Computer". This isn't actually something performed by their ships but this is the easiest way I can think of to fit it into the game mechanic. Pick a computer ship and have it roll an opposed CQ check against itself. One side of the check is the computer, at CQ 6; the other side is the ship's own crew, at CQ 4. If the crew wins the check then they managed to disable their own ship's computer and the ship runs adrift as if it had lost the computer to a critical as described earlier.
