Last night (well, more like early morning) I was involved in an incident with one of the members of the Congress, .:j:.Rusty.Bug.
As I was passing through the Galileo system with my character Netherwind (a trader) he demanded that I pay him for passage, which was completely within his rights to do so (although I've never been pirated by a junker before, so I had my doubts about that as well... but failed to verify my assumptions) and furthermore, the sum he demanded was 1 million credits - by no means unreasonable.
I reacted rather poorly in that I didn't even attempt to roleplay beyond a snug remark and proceeded to flee. He pursued me in his freighter, firing and, ultimately, giving me another chance to pay the sum. I refused again, insulting him (this, at least, was done in RP). At that point he destroyed my ship, saying "Tell me, how does it feel to get pirated by a Firefly?" Well, it didn't feel good at all... That was the last straw for my already wounded pride and aggravated nerves (it was cca. 4 in the morning and I was trying to make that final route before getting a new ship... I'm sure you all at least once knew that feeling and know how it affects a person's judgement) and I responded in a completely inappropriate manner, breaking several server rules as I switched to my bomber character (Netherstorm) and attacked him without any kind of provocation or RP in the same system.
We fought for a while, but in the end he destroyed my bomber as well (yes, I know, pathetic... but to my defense I've only been playing the game for a week now and there was some really ferocious lag going on). In any case, I not only succeeded to break several server rules and demonstrated a blatant disregard for the, my otherwise beloved, RP, but also made a complete fool of myself. I would like to apologize to .:j:.Rusty.Bug and the Congress as a whole. I have disappointed myself and am deeply ashamed of my actions. I realize that I have tarnished my reputation on the server, but here's hoping that I will be able to prove to the community and the Congress especially that what happened last night was a sad failure to preserve my composure and act in a rational and mature manner that does not happen often.
In closing, a quote I deem appropriate to represent the moral of the story... Marsellus: "...you may feel a slight sting. That's pride ****ing with you. **** pride. Pride only hurts, it never helps."
