(Answered) Combat intuition with Aerospace units Commanders edition

[Sledgehammer]

Combat intuition on page 93 says.

"If this unit's side wins initiative, the unit whose pilot has this spa can move and resolve all of its attacks during the Movement Phase, applying all damage effects immediately-- before any target units can act. This ability can only be used once every 3 turns."

Page 205 says "unit may move and resolve fire before any other unit acts".

Aerospace movement on page 180 says "Aerospace movement takes place after all ground units have moved. Aerospace units do not count toward the number of non aerospace units moved. Unless a scenario's rules dictate otherwise aerospace forces enter the play aera on their movement of the first turn with the aerospace unit's miniature placed along the home edge. Aerospace units move by placing a flight path across the area. The flight path is created by turning the miniature so that its front side is facing any direction that crosses over at least 24 inches of the play area. In the end phase move all aerospace units to the end of their flight path."

This raises my first set of questions. When using combat intuition does the aerospace fighters movement happen before ALL movement including ground units due to the line in the spa that says "before any targets can act"? 

Secondly since the movement is considered already finished, once it is time to enter into the next phase how is the flight path treated along the play area? Is the unit considered still on the board, is it just along the end of its flight path, or is it treated as normal (making a low altitude strike very, very dangerous)?
How would i treat the flight path of an enemy aerospace fighter that hasn't moved yet and thus does not have a flight path?

The next phase of my question has to do with air to air attacks and combat intuition.

"When one aerospace unit declares an attack against another aerospace unit, it creates an engagement." skipping overheat here. "Because an engagement automatically will force both units to maneuver for advantage if the defending unit in an air to air attack has not yet declared its own attack yet it may decide immediately whether it will return the attack or save its actions for its own attack against a different target. If the defender chooses not to return the attack when an engagement is initiated it cannot choose to engage the same attacker later in the same turn."

This part raises the question of whether or not an opposing aero fighter should even be able to elect anything before they have even moved or shot. Does the combat intuition unit automatically win the engagement? Does the defender immediately make the decision to engage them, the only difference being that shots from the attacker happen in the move phase? Do we just treat this as a shot without the engage modifiers altogether?

[nckestrel]

Yes, Combat Inutition is a more specific rule, so it overrides standard movement rules.  An aerospace fighter would move and then attack before ground units move.

I'm not sure what you mean by the second question.  An aerospace unit always has a flight path.  The flight path is the entire line in front of it.  If there's an aerospace mini, there's a flight path.  There's always a line straight in front of the mini to the other side of the play area.  There's no time where the aerospace fighter doesn't have a flight path.

No, the aerospace fighter doesn't automatically win the engagement, the engagement resolves as normal.  The defender immediately makes the decision to engage them or not and can return fire then. Air-to-air engagements and the defender returning fire don't follow standard initiative order, and combat intuition doesn't change that.  Note this also means the return fire from the defender also applies damage effects immediately, so both units could destroy each other before other units get to move.

[Sledgehammer]

So in an aero on aero fight, both pilots would apply damage immediately, rather than the combat intuition pilot applying their damage in the movement phase and the defender applying it in the shooting phase?

[nckestrel]

It would be the beginning of the Movement Phase for both, yes.
If fighter A used Combat Intuition, in the beginning of the Movement Phase (before other units) it would move (set a new flight path) and select a target, Fighter B.  Fighter B would then choose whether to return fire or not.
If Fighter B does return fire, make the engagement roll, then make the attacks and apply the damage for both units immediately.
If Fighter B does not return fire, make the engagement roll, then Fighter A attacks and applies damage.  If Fighter B is destroyed, it cannot make an attack in the Combat Phase that turn.  If Fighter B is not destroyed, it can attack in the Combat Phase (possibly affected by any critical hits or other effects from Fighter A's attack).