[Bluevoss]

How about these:

1) (this happened to me) While scrambling around looking for that fussion device to deal with the Yellow Kwangies (or whatever they are called) I found it for sale on a homeworld right in their path. So I bought the bomb, boosted it into high orbit, activated it and lit out of the system. Thats like shooting a gun shop owner with his own gun.

2) When facing the Yellow Kwangies or the swarm (i.e. moving threats) jump to the intercept system, then call up the bird traders and browse. Don't buy anything. Just get them into that system so they'll fight for you for free. Like, who knew there was any danger, right?

3) Use the bird-traders as caddies. When you have a band of nebula to cross, just call the bird traders in, swap out your warp drive to something more dust-friendly, and then switch back.

4) Caddies2 - use the bird-traders to safeguard your stuff against Esmerelda. Keep all your cool stuff with them, then trade back for it before running for home.

5) If you find a long-range scanner (especially the infinate-range scanner) in a store or swap meet, you can ask to "try it out". Plug it in, light up the systems with ships in them, then give it back.

6) Ripcord "Check out the derelic hull" O'Riley.

7) In tough battles, call in the bird-traders and then cloak. If they win, great, you can give them whatever rubbish is on the planet. If they die, well, you don't need to pay them, right? Please note - this isn't a good idea of you are using them as caddies.

8) With hyperspace/fold and gong - against really tough fleets with heavies (like that bot race) hop in, gong, hop out, repeat.

9) With a mirror and a gravity shunt, park on a black hole and mirror fleets into it. With hyperspace and a long-range scanner, you can pretty much depopulate the entire galaxy.

Note: I have done each of these once, when I first thought of it. Other than getting the birds into a system where a battle is brewing, I don't do them anymore. After all, why ruin a good game, right?