Alright, thanks to a lot of help from these forums (especially the ramming), and a bit of creativity, I have managed to get to what I think is the final goal: Help the mothership escape.

However, despite all of the tricks up my sleeve, the mothership just dies every time I get within 11,000 meters of the objective.

I have:

Researched capital hull to maximum
Researched capital speed to maximum
Installed drive module
Activated heat and bullet shields
Built 7 Patchers
Operated in evasive and passive mode
Upgraded power core
Installed thermodynamic system
Gone through the dust cloud

About 2-3 minutes after I exit the dust cloud, even at 30% engines and everything off, the Mothership hits 40 detectability. At that point, there's no use waiting around to get murdered, so I turn everything up to maximum and make a run for the black hole. Can't get much past 11,000 meters before the Mothership just blows up.

Any ideas?