Destroying slaver transports

[Salvador.P]

Note: the intention of this thread is not to flame any faction, but to discuss the morale of destroying slaver transports. The bellow scenario is just one of many possible.

Here's a classic scenario: Pilgrim Series Slave Liner jumps into Tau-23 system, its cargo hold full of slaves (3900). As the liner approaches the Tau-37 JH a group of =CR= fighters & bombers closes in on the slaver from Java base. The way is blocked, CD are being fired upon the transport and the ship is basically a sitting duck. He refuses to drop the slaves off on the FP 10 or into space. Colonials blow the slaver transport up and its cargo (slaves) is floating in space.

Now, it's easy to RP it that the slaves are alive & well, enjoying the space walk, but IMO, that's very far from realistic scenario. Just imagine what would happen if a big ship full of people would really blow up. Those slaves are crammed into their holding cells, they have no escape pods. When the fires and explosions start, with life support and artificial gravity failing, slaves become minced meat. What floats in space, after the transport is destroyed, are not alive slaves, safely tucked in their escape pods, but dismembered corpses. Even if you order a slaver to drop those slaves into space, you sentence them to cold & quick death. The temperature of space is -273 C. One could survive that only in a space suit/escape pod (fighter pilots).

There is no doubt about the depravity of slavers or of those who support them. No doubt at all! But what about the so-called noble "space knights" who destroy transports full of slaves and kill thousands of innocent lives? They claim their motives are noble. That may be so, but what about the results of their actions? One could argue that if they had let the slaver transport pass, the slaves would have died on cardamine plantations anyway, so it really makes no difference. Well, perhaps not in the game, but lets not forget that this is a role-play community where we try to mimic real life. I don't know about you, but in real life, I would never ever ever think about blowing up a transport full of people. That is pure terrorism. No law-abiding group of people would resort to that.

A suggestion: to let the slaver transport pass is not an option, of course. If the captain refuses to let the slaves free on the nearest lawful base, you may choose to do one of the following:

• bring transport's hull down to 10%, or to critical, and persuade him to give you his cargo
  
• shoot off all of his weapons & equipment
  
• put a nice bounty on the slaver
  
• destroy the slaver's ship next time he passes you with any other kind of cargo
  
• (open to suggestions / your input)