Suicide is Painless

Suicide was against the law. Johnny had wondered why. It meant that if you missed, or the gas ran out, or the rope broke, you could get locked up in prison to show you that life was really very jolly and thoroughly worth living.
-- (Terry Pratchett, Johnny and the Dead)

"I want you to set up one of those 'special' Thrashers for me please Monty" said Kane
"Sure thing boss, crew?" asked Monty, hopeful the answer would be 'no' as he knew full well that one of those 'special' Thrashers would never return to Gusandall.
"Won't need one, I'm going to high sec" came the reply from the Pirate
"Oh! Have fun" the look of relief on Monty's face was clear, but working for Kane for as long as he has made every job dangerous, not for himself personally but for the hundreds and thousands of recruits that have crewed space ships for NovaKane Incorporated through the years, those that have survived long enough and served with distinction earning a good salary and a place on one of NOVAK's flagships. Daemon Montrose was once such a raw recruit but now he was the Deck Chief for a notorious Pirate and probably one of the nicest guys he knew. Kane rewarded loyalty and hard work.

The Thrasher slips into the black, heads over to Emolgranlan, the target already identified, the trap already being primed.

Flying any ship without a basic crew takes phenomenal concentration from a pod pilot, immortal they may be, running every system on a ship on their own is the most demanding of tasks.

Not needing a crew for this job would make recruiting new crew down the line a lot easier, folk are happier to sign on if they stand even a small chance of surviving.

Is a suicide gank really suicide if nobody dies?

The Thrasher jumps into Emolgranlan and warps to the associate. The warp in is flawless, five clicks away and the Thrasher opens fire, four volleys are needed but eventually the target explodes, just in time to treat the incoming CONCORD patrol to a nice fireworks display.

The immortal pod pilot warps his escape pod out and heads back to low sec, a smile across his face.

In other news, I'm having an awful lot of folk self destruct on me during ransom negotiations, this fella in the Dramiel stalled during a 50million negotiation long enough for his pod to explode :( Guess I'll console myself with what was for once a decent loot drop :)