From every other game I've visited with a half decent working economy... Consumables!
Make operating bigger ships, that is gunboat and upwards, expensive. Turn their main guns, mortars etc into ammobased ones, with ammo payloads that don't drop (but leave the secondaries/point defense turrets as is for vs-npc use). That makes capital ships expensive to operate.
Add some elite fighter toys - mines at a premium with juuust that bit of an edge over the standard nukes. Bomber torpedos at a premium which fly a bit faster and blow with a bigger bang. It won't alter the balance of the game much, but it gives people a chance to dump excess credits.
Wide awake in a world that sleeps, enduring thoughts, enduring scenes. The knowledge of what is yet to come.
From a time when all seems lost, from a dead man to a world, without restraint, unafraid and free.
Mostly retired Discovery member. May still visit from time to time.