Does the mandatory piloting check at the beginning of a helm phase count as the pilot "acting" for the purposes of a Taunt action?

Question

In starship combat, a successful Taunt captain action imposes penalties on opposing crew members for a period of 1d4 rounds if they "act" during the phase in which the Taunt occurs. To quote the rules (emphasis added):

If you are successful, each enemy character acting during the selected phase takes a –2 penalty to all checks for 1d4 rounds

So if the captain of Ship A Taunts Ship B at the beginning of the helm phase, before Ship B's pilot has taken their pilot action, then the pilot of Ship B has the option to decline to take an action for that round in an effort to avoid taking the penalty for 1d4 rounds. However, the pilot must roll a piloting check that round to determine which ship moves first. This mandatory piloting check is not a starship combat action, but does it count as "acting" for the purposes of the Taunt?

Answer 1

The pilot has two options:

• Roll the piloting check, and move (or perform any other piloting action) first or second
• Forgo any move action (as if the pilot seat is empty) taking no action.

It's the action (move or perform stunt) that matters. The pilot can decline to move that round, and no piloting check is relevant at that point.