Boarding is a special combat maneuver where a troop transport attempts to capture an enemy vessel.

When any capital ship is stripped of it's shields, a troop transport may attach to its hull and force entry. When this happens, nearby bombers will concentrate their fire on the TT to thwart the takeover attempt. The combat onboard the target may go both ways, greatly depending on the crew complement of both ships. On smaller vessels, not all of the TT's crew may be able to participate. If things go badly for the attacker, the TT may even be counter-boarded.

If boarding or counter-boarding is successful, the vessel in question will join the opposite side.