I agree with PJ on the little guy spy stuff. The player would never be able to detect those spies. But here's another idea.
Sleeper cell spies on non-bounty range planets. These do nothing. They can still be caught, but the chance of it is really reduced. What's the point, you ask? Well you could load up an enemy player with these sleeper spies that are less likely to be caught over a period as long as weeks. With normal spies, by the end of the period, many of those you placed early on would already be caught, and your scheme would be ruined. The other player would be on to you. But like this, they can all "go active" at once. You assign them duties when you drop them on the planet, but you also click the sleeper cell button. Then, once all your spies are in place to overwhelm the enemy, you deactivate the sleeper cell fuction and they all start working. Of course, now they are easier to detect.
This way, you could really coordinate your spy actions even though setting up a good spy network usually takes an extended period of time.
I would not want sleeper spies to be able to get on ships or move about. That would be bad. Also, you should not be able to use them to even gain info on the planet. The whole idea is that they are sleeper cells not opperating yet.
And again, I would want it possible to catch these spies to help make it more fair, it should just be a reduced probability.
As far as KZ's flagging idea, I'm usually a proponent of freedom in the game, meaning a player can do whatever, including attack smaller players, but they have to pay the price for it, ie they get a bounty. But, in this case, I really do have to agree with KZ. That's probably the most effective way to end this.
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