1: If I am not at war with a race, and wish to open a trade route and I do not own a star base which would extend my range to open a trade route, but there is a star base owned by that race which could extend my range, then that star base should extend my range so that I can trade with that race. The star base each race uses to help the trade route could help determine what profits each race makes from the trade route. For example, if the Drengin have 3 bases and the Altarian have 4 bases used in the trade, then the credits each get would be: Total Profit * Nb Of Bases of that Race / Total number of bases.
2: I have a colony ship, I have purchased from a race. Within range of that purchased ship, using the planet it was purchased from as it's home it should be able to colonize it however it is not so. The ship behaves as if it was sent from another planet. The home planet the ship was built from should behave as a friendly star base to the ship providing the player isn't at war with the race. (Call it a dealership clause if you will).
Example: I purchase a colony ship with a range of 10 from Planet A. Planet A (and my ship) are within a distance of 6 from a planet I could colonize. I should be able to colonize the planet which is at a distance of 6.
3: The home planet or star base of a friendly race should behave as a friendly star base for my ship and extend its range. The hosting race would bill the guest race using this service. The player would need to be given the choice if he wishes to use the facilities. When more than one route is possible with different races, they would compete to offer a better price for the player.