I nearly fell upon my sword once in a similar situation, having been en-route to a delivery destination and being interdicted. I normally win these with reasonable ease, but not this time. Lost my shields and a few systems very quickly. Having dispatched the little sod I set off back to my delivery station only to find that I could not contact the station to request docking. My sensors were off-line. Well having wasted quite a bit of time wondering what to do, I decided that the only option open to me was to self destruct. However, fortunately I decided to ask on a forum first and was told about the repair/reboot function. Saved me a lot of credits.
Right now my game time is taken engaged in the war in Exioce, but once that war is over. I am planning on going into the deep for a vacation till I get bored, which knowing me and past such ventures, happens after about 8 to 10 hours game time