I was running low on fuel, and my ship was damaged enough that I knew I wouldn't be able to survive the misjump that low fuel can cause. I'd wrecked every hostile ship in the system, so there were no more resources to get from there.
But there were this neutral terran freighter, and its single fighter escort. If I wrecked them, I might just be able to get the fuel I needed. I wasn't sure I could take on a terran fighter. I'd never fought them before, but I'd seen the ease with which they took down pirates and hostile aliens. But if I took out the freighter first, I could just scoop up its fuel, and get out of dodge if the fighter turned out to be more than I could handle. Seemed like a plan.
Two heavy missiles later, the freighter was drifting wreckage, and the escort was heading towards me. Then two more fighters suddenly appeared to my right, swooping in, lasers firing. I went for plan B, activated my boosters and roared towards the wreckage of the freighter. I missed the fuel pickup by a sliver, shooting past the wreckage with nothing to show for it. I had to turn around, and try again. Before I even got close, the three fighters had locked on to me. My shield disappeared in seconds, and my remaining hull in less than that, leaving my ship an expanding cloud of fire and debris. Oh well.. there is always next time.