Interesting question. I've had a similar situation myself last week. I was in the Omegas working in a loose association with another merc to gain experience. I had the target engaged and dropped their shields below the 50% mark at least twice. The target managed to evade due to a group of NPC's having CD'd my ship. This allowed just enough lead time for the target to make a break for it.
My partner was searching for the target elsewhere in the system. Unfortunately I became entangled with an NPC gunboat and lost sight of the target being chased. At roughly the same time, my partner spotted the target and continued chase. He chased the target to a base where he saw the target docked and grabbed a screen cap.
Would this count as a single engagement because the two on one side were working together or two separate engagements, with the second one not being enough for a PvP kill?
We managed a good discussion with the target in private comms and came to an agreement that it was a pvp kill, but later the other merc and I decided not to pursue it and wait for another occasion when we could be assured of having a righteous kill.
Sometimes I read the rules and they are black and white, other times they show shades of murky gray. I always try to ensure I'm following the rules correctly, but even more so now that my merc character is getting more play as I develop her.
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