Pirate

Even before the Great War, pirates operated throughout the galaxy and they exist as a persistent problem to this day. The majority of pirate attacks occur on interstellar shipping lanes where pirate crews can loiter in lawless areas of space, waiting for vessels to arrive from Faster-Than-Light Travel so that they can be seized before they can recharge to jump again. Another sizeable proportion of pirate attacks occur on lightly-defended colonies where imperial presence is minimal – it is for this reason that so many colonies employ mercenary garrisons. Pirate activity is primarily conducted away from the territories of powerful alien empires and most pirate bands hide out on uncolonized worlds where they are unlikely to be detected. Some pirates build secure bases, usually by inhabiting abandoned military stations or seizing control of civilian settlements.

While some alien races’ cultures mean that a sizeable proportion of their populace are pirates, such as the Nalstros, countless species are involved in piracy and pirate crews are often composed of aliens from various species. There is little comradery between pirate bands and it is not uncommon to stumble across pirate spacecraft which have been destroyed and looted in turn by other pirates.

Although pirates can be devastating to merchant businesses and colonial initiatives, they are severely outmatched by the firepower of imperial militaries. Pirates usually steer clear of Warlord or Peacekeeper warships, only attempting to seize smaller an less heavily-defended vessels.