Agreed.
By the way the King of the Lorrian Star Kingdom welcomes you to the vast galaxy.
If you ever feel like joining a small corporation with lots of opportunity for growth, feel free to send me a pm
I also sent you a friend request some time ago.
But back to the topic, maybe you could make some planets out there inhabited by sentient creatures who are able to communicate in the universal language (idk what it is but anyway...) as well as trade in solars (some of the more third-world ones may ask for Diamonds or other kinds or resources in exchange for goods). You could attack the planet and raid them for resources, but doing so will result in being blacklisted by the people there and if they are intelligent enough, they will send their ships after you. If they're not so technologically advanced, they'll just refuse to conduct trade with you. Simple.
I think that would be a fantastic idea and open up more features to the game. I would be glad to work on that in the Game Developing Apprenticeship program, but you've got to teach me stuff first xD