<following on from Mark's Grand Master and Cerberus ideas>

Mark H's comments made me realise this is converging on a different kind of scripted game: kind of a "dungeon crawl" - for example:

There is a galaxy teeming with grav minefields (to stop hyper-races cheating). Topologically, it is linear strings of stars, let's say there are 4 players thus 4 "arms". In order to reach the centre - and work out to other players - you must battle past various "monsters": scripted minefields, prison hulks, wings of Rebel fighters etc. Your advance scouts get killed in hordes as you gather info on what's ahead. Finally you reach the centre and can chew your way UP the arms to kill the others, using perhaps a prize ship found at the centre. Of course it can only go up ONE of the enemy arms at once...

It isn't supposed to be converging anywhere really, but the concept of "dungeon" is definitely not "excluded". The term I used for all this is/was "Monster Manual" as per the old D&D days. It doesn't "map" straight across as a concept, but the intent is there. Some of what I understand the Derelict Project to be -  is just such?
"Cerberus" is actually a name for a whole load of actual monsters perhaps and could fill in our remaining 11 "things" to reach my arbitrary 40+ target?
They don't really have to be anything other than "normal" and rather "mean" ships/things to have to fight. Part of the "joy" of these is that we can "specify high maximums" and leave (and advise?) the final scripters to set the actual values in a scaled mannar - as they want.
Yesterday's Cerberus might become today's "Licky Pooch" - that "uncertainty thing" again.
Possible?

I'd like this whole thing to provide as many possibilties to "surprise" players as is conceivably possible. I'd almost go dreamy if it were possible to supply a "generic ship pack" where the host chose the piccies he liked for the monster he designed... "pick and mix" monsters!

The Grand Master could give the host/scripter the chance to run things as a true "Dungeon Master". It's a "given" that - as in RPG - the players accept this aspect from the start. It's a different game. It doesn't have to be confrontational or even a Homeworld/Race based game. It could be very simple Characters (implicitly trusting team) vs. Monsters stuff.
"You are "Ollynid" - you have a small fleet of T-Rex's (fighter)- "Paulitus" is your ally and has a large fleet of "xxxx" (mage)... etc... you have the following supplies (....etc) and you must reach the fabled Seat of "Blurb" before turn 20. Beware!"
etc etc etc