Your ship is a valuable resource in Eve, in fact, while you are in it - it is extremely valuable to you. Unless you have some serious implants in your head, it is likely the most valuable asset you own. So much so that you will fight to the death to defend it. As you should.
On the other side of the coin however, someone else wants you dead. Enemy, pirate, whoever just attacked your valuable asset wants nothing more than to blow it into itty bitty bits. Right now, within the Eve universe, this exploding of assets is the only real option. Either someone blows it up or you self-destruct.
But what if there were a different option?
Let me illustrate with the following example. Two Drakes have been beating each other up above a planet in low-sec, the fight has been intense, but clearly one player is superior to the other and the outcome is rapidly becoming obvious. The Drake in trouble is reaching critical structure, while the superior Drake is only at half-armor. As the last barrage of heavies slam into the loser and plunge his structure to 10%, the victor suddenly gets a pop-up window he has never seen before. The window simply has two choices - Destroy or Hijack. The victor chooses "Hijack" and his missiles go silent, his foe's pod is ejected from the other Drake (when the Hijack option is selected the enemy pod cannot be locked by the victor's ship) and the Drake is his now. A quick call to a Corp buddy who warps out to take possession and now the victor (or his Corp) have a new asset in their arsenal.
In the above example you'd probably just choose to Destroy the other Drake, but what if the other ship was a Faction Frigate? Or something even more valuable? It would depend on the circumstances and a complex mathematical probability formula, that isn't that complex. The Hijack option wouldn't pop up in every battle, for example in a toe-to-toe version of the above Drake fight. If both ships are close to the same levels of damage, the Hijack option isn't available. In Fleets the Hijack option is simply that, an option. Much like loot logging is now, the Fleet commander would decide if he wants to enable the Hijack option or not.
Obviously the mechanics of suddenly having several empty ships floating in space awaiting pick up would open up all sorts of opportunities. Other pirates, or members of other gangs, could swoop in and claim your prize or destroy it. But remember, that asset was going to be lost anyway. At least this way it adds an extra dimension to the game, another level of PvP choices that might help to increase participation and rewards.
I have to admit, I like the concept. As the victor in a battle it would be awesome to have the option, to not destroy the ship I've fought so hard to beat - but to take it.
I'm anxious to hear what you think? Gooder idea, or needlessly complicating?