I haven't read the whole thread so this may have been said before but I think Freelancer has just done it's time now.
I came back to Discovery and played for a bit but it didn't feel the same as before. Things change and the mod progresses but that doesn't change that freelancer is an old game and the veteran freelancer players are moving on. Everyone's getting older and our lives change.
This is just a natural progression of a game and it's unstoppable. This mod has done superbly so far but it can't go on for ever.