Franky, I just wouldn't use a fighter. You still need a big 'ol carrier with jump engines to bring it to its destination and if you give your survey vessels proper engines and fuel tanks you won't need forward bases. To be really useful those bases would need maintenance facilities (if they also serve grav vessels and your geo ones are commercial), stockpiles of all the needed minerals for maintenance and enough population to allow for shoreleave.
If it is just about the fuel just send some sorium harvestes after them, way less hassle than what you plan to do. The idea might not be bad, but it will turn into a clickfest. While I tell my survey ships to go to system X (which is annoying enough after a while, when they need to do several jumps to get to new places), you need to tell your carrier to go there, then deploy your fighter, then tell your fighter manually what to survey and to then come back. Then you need to set up the base, and finally send in other survey ships.
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One HS = 50t
But it took me ages until I could remember that and I hated all those screens where you can't show something in tons rather than HS.
Another thing is that the fighter might be too small or too fast to attract enemies in the sector, so they might only come out when you cross it with your carrier.