To answer a couple of your questions, here's the Benitez take on things;
Quote:Code of Benitez Piracy
If a trader has capacity 3000 or above, charge him or her the full amount, 2-3 million credits for passage.
If a trader has less than 3000, charge them only 1 million credits for passage.
We charge tax for 1 passage. If a trader is foolish enough to return, he's charged again, and again, and again, unless he buys a day-pass for 10 million (or 5 million if he has a small hold).
Arthur, you know half of the answers already, don't let the poor saps who want you not to pirate them by any means, get you doubting them.
If it's not nailed down you can demand it, if you're feeling mean you can demand they pay for their lives. You fly a Rogue most often, feel free to mug them if they are completely stripped bare of cargo, ammo, bots and bats. We're not supposed to be nice.
If you wiped the trader out and he comes barreling out of the trade lane shooting, he's just re-engaged. Traders taking the liberty of walking back through a system before 4 hours had better be doing so quietly and without fuss. Once you're dead you don't get to open fire first, simple as that. That applies to anyone and everyone.
Oh and for the rest of you, the Rogues don't offer day passes. If you're daft enough to keep plying the same route we're smart enough to keep robbing you.
Saint Del is considered a holy healer of diseases of children, but also as a protector of cattle.
lol... I hire gunboat mercs for protection, So youre not getting a penny outa me lol... meh, a trader has no chance of escape, and that seems unfair, but whatever, Ill put a bounty so big on ur head you wont be able to go near a civillized system.
However, I think most traders dont hire any.
All traders just need to take solace in the fact...
You Always make more money trading than a pirate does pirating, they just do it to annoy you, So annoy them back with Gunboat escorts.
This where there really is the saying
GET ESCORTS
comes in. Anyways rambling aside, A pirate can do anything to you, except kill you, before taxxxing
Then again, is it in RP to hire BS escorts? That'll fix their little red wagons... bhaahahah
Well....seeing how anything bigger then a gunboat would use a lot of h-fuel, it could be argued that it would not be in role-play to escort traders in cruisers or above. The resources that the battleship represents would be much better invested in escorting VIP's (like the president of Liberty!), or more commonly, breaking up the large group of 4 liberty rogue gunboats and 2 fighters.
It could be considered out of role-play for a battleship to chase down a lone fighter. Group of 10 fighters: By all means, come barreling in with guns blazing. It all depends on the situation and what you are up against.
On a related note, I have seen battleships that just stay in one spot, and battleships that use impulse drives when moving and not needed anywhere at the moment.