The stress/panic-system seems great and I’m really looking forward to see how it plays. One thing I’m missing is a more personal stress/panic response. There are signature items for relieving stress, but very little about personal ways of gaining stress or reacting in panic.
In the rules as they are in Alien RPG, stress and panic is something pretty generic. It seems like a pretty common trope in stories (and in reality) that people get stressed out about different things and panic in different ways. Personal phobias and anxieties could potentially play a bigger part and would be great for storytelling. Maybe they can be gained on high Panic rolls (you gain an appropriate phobia, every time you are exposed to the phobia, you gain one stress).
What would also be cool is a personal stress response. It could be something that gives no rules effect, but is activated on a “no effect” panic roll. Like babbling, cowering, cocky, clam up, nervous laughter, irritated, etc. Just for flavor.