New idea; illegal Andrium production, i.e. smuggling.
Ship based andrium plants require an outside energy source. While illigal in all sectors of space, andrium runners take big ships with plenty of runners into deep space where they find energy sources to run their process. The process involved is very dangerous and typically involves taping solar flares. From technology developed during some war, the now antiquated equipment is dangerous and the process leaves vast radiation clouds of debris moving at high speeds through systems, many take on comet like orbits.
Additionally, at some point the truth of the technologies quiet retirement can be revealed that with certain types of stars under certain circumstance, the mining process could destabilize the star...
If ya wanna go all HP on us, such an action could cause a shift in some big worded phrase that sounds impressive thingamicbob.
Enter the lost...
Or, another dimension, a lost civilization is contacted/old technology awakened (read a bezerker, which is why/how first war ended and solves puzzle of how planet Home of Whomever was destroyed by the Standard Historical Reference #15/Lost Empire/Race and how both armadas were destroyed in the process), ancient portal opens allowing/forcing via gravitational pull from portal to another sector of space/dimension/past/what-ever-floats-your-boat-buddy, cuz it's sci-fi.
Fodder for thought.
lynn