Intergalactic Summit

Sure noble trade, and I am sure the asset/trade denial services that The Orphanage provides are quite successful, however the culture of New Eden is such, that it isn't really seen as a noteworthy occupation. My advice, do a black ops hotdrop or ten in the home systems of those you fight, and then perhaps they may realize that they are not safe in their own systems, and may come to have more respect or better yet, tears for you.

Mercenaries aren't hated, but you're not a mercenary. Orphanage is a trade interdiction service, you park your ships outside high security trade hubs and assault stupid null pilots in large groups. Is it any wonder regular combat pilots don't hold the same respect for you that they would for their actual enemies?

Mercenaries are a dying breed, it's all economic warfare now.

Quite simply, because in the eye of a citizen, be he commoner or holder, a Mercenary is perceived as a loose cannon. People like predictable things. Everything is a part of a certain.. hierarchy. People wake up, cater to their work, guided by their... well, whatever it is that guides them. A hostile force might be hated for one political motive or the other, but it it also follows a certain hierarchy, or a moral code if you wish. You know they have a certain modus operandi, and certain limits.

A mercenary might have this as well, don't get me wrong. But this is not how people perceive them. In eyes of the broader public, a mercenary is a stray dog, a pariah whose only moral guideline is the weight of his monetary account. ISK, that alluring mistress, if you wish.
Society doesn't fear or hate mercenaries because they have weaponry or will to fight... everybody does these days... they do that because they seem unpredictable.

The mercenary is here to make no more of an honest living than you. If you have not befouled anyone then you have no reason to fear us

How I miss the golden days of the profession.

Please tell me. how I am no mercenary? I have stolen a few contracts from Noir. I was previously listed in "Merc Contracts" and iIget paid to do what I do. Same goes for The 0rphanage.

Maybe you find yourself loved or hated because the reactions these emotions bring with them are more noticeable than the ones that people who don't care for you either way show?

What you find yourself to be is more a reflection of your own way to perceive the world around you than how the world does treat you objectively, on average. I'm sure most people couldn't care less about you.

Are you describing a mercenary, or a pirate? A mercenary is paid to pursue a specific person, group or objective in their contract, whereas a pirate will attack whatever target they happen across that could present a profit.

You appear to be describing an opportunist aggressor, not a 'true' mercenary. Unless of course, someone had reason to place a price on your head.

I hold no particular ill-will against mercs or pirates, but there is a distinction to draw between the two.