I think the ASB timing is variable such that it's possible to get out after only one ASB shot with level 3 engines, but it's not consistent. It's possible you misremember and a first ASB shot missed or hit something inconsequential, so that there were two chances for one to hit piloting.
At any rate, yeah it's a gamble that you lost, even if it was correct in terms of win percentage to take. I probably would've taken the same route, risk one rebel dive for a store when I needed a decent weapon.
In general, if you lose because of a situation where many multiples of things ALL had to go wrong (store didn't have a weapon, ASB hit piloting, that ship had a Vulcan to kill you), that's not all that much of a demerit against playing well. But then again, squeezing out more ways to handle such a situation is where the margins exist between a win rate of 90% and 99%.
At any rate, yeah it's a gamble that you lost, even if it was correct in terms of win percentage to take. I probably would've taken the same route, risk one rebel dive for a store when I needed a decent weapon.
In general, if you lose because of a situation where many multiples of things ALL had to go wrong (store didn't have a weapon, ASB hit piloting, that ship had a Vulcan to kill you), that's not all that much of a demerit against playing well. But then again, squeezing out more ways to handle such a situation is where the margins exist between a win rate of 90% and 99%.