[ZylonBane]

This one's really been annoying me lately--

Sometimes, I WANT to solo through the universe, seeing how well I can do with just my starting ship. But for some reason the devs decided to have !@#$%* Ripcord O'Reilly and that Muktian ship forced into your fleet when you find them, rather than asking. Worse, when you pick up the Muktian you're automatically and irrevocably allied with them, which throws a monkey wrench into any galaxy-wide killing sprees you might have had planned.

Would it really be so hard for these guys to ASK if they can come along?