The mission consists of phases. The game begins with phase 1. The next phase wil be phase 2, etc. In every phase the players set a stake. In most cases this stake has to be higher than the previous one. If more players want to set a stake, the highest counts. If noone wants to set a stake, it is assumed that it is higher by one than the previous.
After the stake is set, every player decides if his/her crewmember does anything to forward the mission. The one who set the stake can't choose not to do. Those who decide yes, describe what they are trying to achieve, then they roll a conflict against the planet. The planet has as many dice as the stake is and can use the shady side of the one who set the stake against him/her.
If a player succeeds in a conflict against the planet, his/her crewmember gets some "checkpoints". The number of the checkpoint gained is the value of the stake minus the number of the phase. If the planet succeeds in a conflict against a player, the stake is set equal to the phase and something terrible happens. This is the only possibility the stake can be lowered.