Now that we've received official word that Thargoid massacre missions from the Aegis megaships don't count toward system defense, I'd like to propose something slightly different:
Station-owning factions in systems targeted by Eagle Eye should offer add-on style missions for massacring scouts. It's inconceivable that they would fail to notice the dozens - if not hundreds - of attacked ships in their system. These factions have a definite, vested interest in promoting the defense of their systems. While we're given (meagre) combat bonds by the Pilot's Federation for killing scouts, having some form of acknowledgement of imminent danger and a way to interact with (and build reputation with) a local faction would add a connection to the Thargoid attacks. I propose that these add-on massacre missions are not in place of the normal missions and would offer money, material, or reputation rewards - but not influence. That is, there's no impact on the normal background simulation, but this would influence how the independent pilots deal with the station-owning factions.
Station-owning factions in systems targeted by Eagle Eye should offer add-on style missions for massacring scouts. It's inconceivable that they would fail to notice the dozens - if not hundreds - of attacked ships in their system. These factions have a definite, vested interest in promoting the defense of their systems. While we're given (meagre) combat bonds by the Pilot's Federation for killing scouts, having some form of acknowledgement of imminent danger and a way to interact with (and build reputation with) a local faction would add a connection to the Thargoid attacks. I propose that these add-on massacre missions are not in place of the normal missions and would offer money, material, or reputation rewards - but not influence. That is, there's no impact on the normal background simulation, but this would influence how the independent pilots deal with the station-owning factions.