Saw a ship far outside the Bubble… NPC or player?

o7 Commanders,

I’m currently out on an exploration trip beyond the Bubble in the black. After scanning a planet with the DSS, I noticed a ship flying in a perfectly straight line right in front of the planet. It just kept going until it disappeared into the distance.

I was so surprised and it was so fast that I completely forgot to target and scan it, so I have no idea what it was.

Are random NPC encounters possible that far out, or does this pretty much have to mean it was another Commander?

I’ll admit, it made me a little nervous… There are always stories about players attacking others just for fun, and my Caspian is barely armed. If it had turned hostile, I would’ve been toast… along with about 1.5 billion credits worth of exploration data.

Thanks, Commanders! o7