Holy hell, after attempting this mission for the Sunshadow Syndicate for over an hour, I finally came across the solution while browsing a forum. Like myself, another gamer was beginning to think the mission was bugged. Turns out, we were piloting the wrong ship. Unlike other missions, this one doesn’t put you in the correct ship if you happen to be flying the wrong one. The wrong one being a Specter. The description of the ship says that you’ll heal yourself when hijacking another ship… what sounds like a useful ability. However, this ability also prevents you from taking control of the ship you’re hijacking, thus preventing you from completing this particular mission. Change ships and problem solved. You’ll be able to hijack and take control of a Consortium ship. I found the easiest place to do so was the Frozen Wastes.

Note, there is also no need to put any faction points into the Hijacking ability. The mission gives you the necessary requirements. After completing the mission, you will need to invest points if you wish to hijack again, although there doesn’t appear to be any value to hijacking so you’re points are probably better spent elsewhere.