Each sector has a max cap hydro amount which could work as the level difficulty.
And each could be tied to a mini game where it could be to Escort a miner through a CERBERUS infested map, to mine some at the end and return to gate with only one battleship, infinite trys, a great way to test models,
Could have a transport mission or a defend a planet mission, your imagination is limitless, and if completed, maybe it activates a low level genisis, on that sector, or gives a set amount of hydro.
The point is to give the gamer something other then blue stars or white stars to do while they wait.