Newcomer / Intro Unrelated new-player questions

[Celthon]

Reinstalled the game recently, and relearning...have a few questions:

Does a player's Combat Rank affect the chance of being interdicted by NPC's...if I purposely keep Combat Rank low while working on other aspects of game will it lessen the chance of NPC's trying to interdict me?

Regarding Ship Launched Fighters: is there any sort of limit on how long it can stay out...for instance while mining, if I deploy the fighter? Does it have a fuel supply which depletes over time, etc.?

After hiring an NPC Crew Member, will it switch to new ship automatically if I switch ships?

Thank you for your time and assistance.

 

[Dommarraa]

1. The level of npc pirate that wants your cargo is based on combat rank, or other rank-2, whichever is higher
2. Guess so, but after the 1st pirate, you won't see any more unless you are crazy enough to mine in a Res or relog.
3. Yes as long as the ship has a fighter slot. If not they will leave and you would have to reassign them next time you do have a fighter slot.

 

[Harrowdown]

1. The level of npc pirate that wants your cargo is based on combat rank, or other rank-2, whichever is higher

The exception being taking missions that have a higher recommended ranking, those can still spawn things that can obliterate you. As far as I know the AI interdictions are terrible regardless of rank though, so it shouldn't be an issue so long as they don't catch you.