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I did that previously using the old Explorer Corps handbook

Not sure if I still have it but it was fun

Just for a moment of relevance (I'll get over it, no doubt) there's a little FATE-system RPG called Diaspora that has a good system for generating star clusters that could certainly be adapted for Battletech use.

Let's say, for example, we're creating a little group of 5 star systems off in the Periphery. Because I'm an unoriginal hack we'll call them Arcadia, Babylon, Circe, Dagda and Eden.

The systems are each rated on Technology, Environment and Resources, using a FATE dice roll (4 dice, each providing +1/0/-1, or 4(d3-2) if that's easier). You then roll for each to see where the interstellar links are - or for this purpose, which systems are within 1 jump of each other.

Arcadia - T0 E-1 R-2 - links to Babylon
Babylon - T1 E-1 R-1 - links to Arcadia, Circe, Dagda, Eden
Circe - T2 E3 R2 - links to Babylon, Dagda
Dagda - T1 E0 R2 - links to Babylon, Circe, Eden
Eden - T0 E-3 R0 - links to Babylon, Dagda

Arcadia
Arcadia is a backwater, impoverished world, which retains a breathable atmosphere and biosphere only in deep canyons. Although it has little contact with the rest of the cluster it's a home for isolationist groups and dissenters from other systems. Many small communities hide between canyon walls and the tradition of asking no questions makes it a frequent place for criminals to hide out or carry out discreet deals. The harsh conditions wipe out unprepared settlers and some inhabitants encourage that along, living on what they can loot from derelict towns.

Babylon
Babylon has a single hostile world, with a belt of blisteringly hot desert separating tropical polar regions habitable by humanity. However it's the trading hub for the cluster, accessible in a single jump from any of the other worlds and can build dropships. It has to tax trade through it to pay Circe for new jumpships and repairs to their older vessels. The southern polar states are satrapies of Circe while the northern pole favours Dagda and proxy battles are fought there. The leaders of both poles collude to keep the war simmering to prevent Circe and Dagda from reducing restrictions on trading directly and cutting Babylon out of the cluster's economy entirely.

Circe
The most advanced system in the cluster, Circe is incredibly wealthy with two worlds that were colonised without any need for colonisation and substantial germanium deposits. Circe has developed the capability to build jumpships, albeit at a primitive level, which may prove the decisive factor in their long-running rivalry with Dagda. Ostensibly democratic, Circe is dominated by a hundred or so political and economic dynasties that control 90% of the system's wealth.

Dagda
The other centre of human population in the cluster, Dagda itself is as rich as either of Circe's worlds but its technology lags behind. Like Babylon it has a dropship fleet but it relies on reconditioned ships from the old colonial expedition for interstellar trade. Fortunately it has the lion's share of these, as the first world settled in the cluster. Autocratic nobles control fiefs on Dagda, united under the rule of a monarch elected for life from their ranks.

Eden
Domed cities exist on Eden's one populated world. Once it was a lovely world but unrestricted nuclear and chemical warfare has reduced it to fractious city-states buried beneath glass and granite. Wars are fought between the cities using fusion-powered tanks and 'Mechs. During periods of peace many of these soldiers wind up as mercenaries fighting proxy wars on Babylon.

Here's what I have thus far (see attachment). 

edit:  the Pirates, call them the Void Demons for now, are using the old warship hulk as their base.  I mean this as an adventure hook.  Perhaps the pirates kidnap a PC or NPC with tech skills in an attempt to get some systems on the wreck working. 
The Pirates I thought should be aerospace-based, led by a deserter from a nearby Great House military.  I hadn't decide which one yet.  They would need a sturdy dropship capable of carrying fighters. 

The wreck is the remains of the WOB ship Jan Huss, destroyed by the LAS Munchhausen and FWLS Pellinore in the later days of the Jihad. 

Battle of the "Skerries" aka Battle of the Belts
This Jihad-era space battle was primarily fought in and around the system's asteroid belts, hence the name.  Skerries is an old Norse term for small, rocky islands and was the nickname Belters used for their home and by association, themselves.  The Dante-class WOB ship Jan Huss arrived to pacify the system only to discover the Eagle-class Pellinore waiting for her.  The two ships fought a running battle across the system before the opportune arrival of the Lyran vessel Munchhausen.  The WOB attempted to flee to a pirate point and jump away but was cornered and shot to pieces. 

The grateful inhabitants of Jord and the belts never forgot the spirited defense by the Pellinore that saved their planet from WOB armageddon.  A triumphal monument to the ship's captain and crew was erected at Arrow's Point, Jord's Space Port.  The Bayreuth system has proven unusually loyal to Fontaine Marik during the Dark Age, mostly because of the efforts the Brett-Marik's made on their behalf in sending the Pellinore to their rescue.  Until recently, the Bayreuth colonists were fairly friendly with House Steiner.  They remembered the Munchhausen flying to their rescue 60-odd years ago all too well.  This goodwill evaporated with Melissa Steiner's invasion of Duke Fontaine Marik's lands in the Hammerfall operation.  The Bayreuth colonist have recently sent their local Battlemech regiment the Skalds to FWL space to help against Lyran and Clan Wolf aggressors. 

My idea right now for the backstory on the FWLS Pellinore was that like poor King Pellinore hunting the Questing Beast, she's metamorphically speaking always looking for something.  And that soemthing would be her mothership.  The Pellinore was the last Eagle built and has no mothership to defend as the Tintagel, the Thera she was supposed to accompany, was never completed.  She was almost captured by Word of Blake saboteurs but for the lucky happenstance that a Knight of the Sphere was at the shipyards visiting his grandchild.  The old knight, Pellinore reincarnated to hear the crew tell the story, affected the crew's timely rescue.  Rallying dock crew confused by the WOB intruders, the knight helped retake the bridge and engineering and evict the WOB from the ship.  The Knight then accompanied the Pellinore to join up with the forces of Duchess Marik and Marshal Brett.  That Knights name was Friedrich Sochor. 

The Pellinore was used as a fire-fighter, jumping to trouble areas throughout former FWL space as WOB forces made trouble.  Unfortunately, Knight Sochor did not live to see his adopted ship's valiant defense of Bayreuth.  He died fighting WOB cyborgs near Regulan space months before that encounter.  His cartoon likeness was painted on the bow of the Pellinore by a grateful crew to honor "their" King Pellinore. 

I wrote an app a while back that generated systems.  I think I used explorer corps rules... hmm.... or maybe it was A Time of War, anyway, here are some systems for you:

http://bte.battletechengineer.com/Planets1.pdf
http://bte.battletechengineer.com/Planets2.pdf

Not sure what the file differences were, but I can look into it if people are still interested.

I had an excel file that generated the whole systems too.....

Oooo, found my online system generator:
http://bte.battletechengineer.com/btsg

And ANOTHER battletech system generator:
http://bte.battletechengineer.com/BTRandomSystemGenerator/

Guess I did a lot on that

BTW, have these posts been of interest to anyone?  Or am I just amusing myself?

Not real sure.  I think I made them after I got perma-banned on the forums, or maybe right before.  Unfortunately, the official forums are really the way to get the word out about stuff, and since I can't be there anymore, and aside from megamek devs happen to be the only active developer I know of, well, nobody knows about the stuff I make

What really stinks is I'm working on a full blown alpha strike util now that'll generate/track formations, even let you do damage and crits and stuff in game, and it'll be lucky to get more than a few downloads as nobody will know about it

It all depends on what we generate/create.