The Offer

You did something because it had always been done, and the explanation was "but we've always done it this way." A million dead people can't have been wrong, can they?
-- (Terry Pratchett, The Fifth Elephant)

When made an offer you can't refuse, you have a few options, you either accept the offer, or you decline the offer, simple really, sometimes you might haggle for a better offer, but, once the offer has been accepted, don't renege, it's considered rude.

I pride myself on having honoured every single ransom I have ever offered, even on occasion having refunded ISK after some trigger happy accomplice got their jollies mid negotiation.

So. when an Ishtar and Tengu are spotted running the lucrative Angel Red Light District in Gusandall, all sorts of machinations are put into gear.

They are probed out within 30seconds of probes hitting space and my accomplice is already on the acceleration gate when I undock The Fifth Elephant™, a Sleipnir class field command ship.

Sleipnir

Name: Sleipnir
Hull: Cyclone
Role: Field Command Ship

Command ships are engineered specifically to wreak havoc on a battlefield of many. Sporting advanced command module interfaces, these vessels are more than capable of turning the tide in large engagements. Field command ships are geared more towards out-and-out combat than their fleet command counterparts, though both ships can hold their own in battle.

Developer: Boundless Creation

Boundless Creation's ships are based on the Brutor tribe's philosophy of warfare: simply fit as much firepower onto your ship as possible. Defense systems and electronics arrays therefore tend to take a back seat to sheer annihilative potential.

Battlecruiser Skill Bonus: 5% bonus to Medium Projectile Turret rate of fire and 7.5% bonus to Shield Booster effectiveness per level

Command Ships Skill Bonus: 5% bonus to Medium Projectile Turret damage and 10% bonus to Medium Projectile Turret falloff per level

Role Bonus: 99% reduction in Warfare Link module CPU need

I warp to the gate and activate it, Keira is in position, Interdicition Maneuver II link active, my tackle overloaded, a massive boost in range as I would need it because the gates are far apart, they're not in the first room, microwarp drive active as I make all haste to the second gate, activated as I enter range and hurtled through to the next room of deadspace. They're sitting 45clicks away, I overheat MWD and close, locking both of them up, Tengu warps out before it resolves but I'm pleased to see a lock on the Ihstar, looooong point goes green and I close, a flight of Zerker IIs start to chase me down but the Ishtar is doomed, I hero tank hoping this would encourage the Tengu to come back but it never does, as the Ishtar explodes, the Pod is tackled and terms offered:



He accepts and transfers the isk, 90 million short, negotiations have ceased and I add his corpse to my collection. I refund the ISK, I should have considered it a donation but I have some weird fucked up sense of honour, don't ask, I can't explain it.