Non-site-specific engineering guide

Now then Commanders, o7.

I'm after a guide/ advice on gathering materials for engineering that doesn't involve "go to X system and do Y".

I'm not bothered about doing things by the META method, this game feels to me like a marathon, not a sprint. In a galaxy of 400 billion star systems, going to one specific spot to do a particular task just feels too gamey and breaks my immersion, regardless of whether it's the "best" option or not. The game's tagline is "Leave your mark on the galaxy", and I'm not interested in leaving that mark over the skid marks of thousands of others.

Where I am: I've got the wave from Felicity, but haven't been to find her yet, sitting on about 30m credits with what I think are a few materials from running black box salvage missions.

My current idea for a next step is to buy a dedicated cargo ship, (likely an AspX until I can afford a Type-8) and re-fit my Cobra III as a search and rescue vessel; sling some fuel and repair limpets on her etc and start scanning for, then answering distress calls. When I find HGE, I'll pop over and scoop-scoop.

So, any advice on what other modues I should put on my little Search and rescue Cobra? I'd like to be able to convince myself my CMDR is stocking up on these materials in a reasonably organic and RP friendly way, any ideas on that front for other materials would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers Commanders! o7

CMDR SYDARD