As the new Commander of Watchpoint Station, Teleston Industries has given you the job of restoring order to its remote system.  The task is difficult, but rest assured your manager has complete confidence in your ability.  At least until the next performance review.

Choose the best ships and equipment for each mission you undertake.  Learn about your foe's tactics and customize your forces to counter them.  Research and develop powerful new weapons and gadgets that will give you the edge out here in the fringes of space.

A leader is only as good as the people they command.  Manage your bridge crew, working with their conflicting personalities and interests.  Build trust, fulfill requests, and uncover what corporate secrets they have learned. 

Also, do remember to check your emails.

The system isn't going to save itself.  Command your fleets in turn based combat as you issue orders from the station.  Learn and utilize a wide variety of tactical powers to turn the tide of combat in your favor.  As you and your crew become more experienced, evolve your tactical powers to more customized versions that perfectly fit your chosen strategy.

Desperate times call for creative solutions.  Salvage every ship you defeat, every piece of equipment they carry, and use them yourself.  Rip the cannon out of your nemesis' ship and mount it on your own.  Reverse engineer your enemies' technology and build your own better version.  The only thing stopping you is copyright protections but they won't enforce those this far out right?