Last night, I scanned down a Hulk sitting in a belt. The pilot was about 10 months old, and there were no other pilots in the system. I'd just come from another system, and that was dead too, so it was unlikely this guy was bait.
At first, I couldn't believe it. It was as if someone had left me a treasure chest and it was unlocked. Surely there's a catch, right?
In local, the pilot said hello, and asked me who I was hunting. I stayed silent.
I warped into his belt at 0km, only to find the Hulk mining, 54km away. Damn! So I started moving my Ishkur towards him, but he was already aligning for warp. I target locked him, but before I could get within disruptor range, he warped out.
In my bio last week, I placed the following:
If you think I'm hunting you, you're probably right.Pay me ISK, and I will leave you alone.Pay me enough ISK, and I might even help you out.Pay me nothing... well, you'll pay, one way or another.
So I said to the guy in local, "5 million ISK and I'll leave you alone."
A few seconds later, my wallet flashed. Surprised, I checked it. I mean, he got away - why would he be paying me after the fact?
He'd paid me 4.7 million, saying that was all he had. Sure... But I accepted it. What's 300k between hunter and prey? Nothing.
So here I am, sitting back in my pod - at a safe spot - laughing to myself. I'd just ransomed someone who had gotten away.
Sure, I had every intention of continuing to hunt them down, and I know they were paying me so I wouldn't - but I never expected it to work!
I engaged the pilot in conversation, and he was happy I was so friendly. (Ummm... I'd just ransomed you...) I gave him some tips about mining in lowsec, and how to avoid this kind of thing happening again.
When my criminal timer faded away, I farewelled him and left the system.
I'll be using this more often. :)
If you're reading this and you see me in local, it's in your interests to pay me to move on. You'll be able to continue doing what you're doing without me harrassing you. Sure, you'll have others to watch out for, but you won't have to worry about me for 24 hours.
The alternative, of course, is that I hunt you down and destroy your ship, which will cost you a lot more than what I cost. Or even if you get away, I will continue to hunt you and disrupt your operations, and cost you money through wasting your time.
So pay up. Everyone's happier as a result. :)
