Basically, allowing players to abandon colonies larger than size 3 for what ever reason.
Probably only feasible in the next major version, involving invasion.
Basically, once a colony becomes greater than size 3, abandoning it gives you 1/2 or 1/4 or something like that of your investment back, and grants the colony independence. The colony keeps all its stuff, and becomes a Independent colony.
Now this is pretty exploitable as is, simply because you can trade with neutral colonies and use them to boost your own income.
So to balance this out, ANY colony you "abandon" this way, becomes targetable by factions hostile to you. They will attempt to invade and annex the now independent world, and use it as a base to attack you.
This fits in ingame lore, since factions like the Hegemony have a history of already annexing independent worlds. They could also just decide to destroy the colony entirely as well.
Additionally, you can't abandon colonies that are lacking certain things. For example, no industry if you don't have a mine.
So the only real way to prevent a new pirate base appearing right beside you, is to protect these colonies yourself. This can be by having them only in systems you control for example.
Another way to balance this out as well, if there are just as many independent colonies as yours (or more) you start taking a stability hit, maybe have "revolutionaries" spawn on your planets to reduce the stability. (Much like lore suggests for Syndrian home system)
Another potential balance, that new Independent world can also independently decide to go Pirate anyway if there is little/no military presence in the system.
Finally, attacking, in any way any Independent colony you released carries a MASSIVE stability penalty on your colonies. (Attacked our own people)
