To: Moff Gergris, Halthor Sector Command
From: Governor Thanis, Noonar
Regarding: Increase in PiracyI absolutely must insist on greater Imperial Fleet presence in the Noonian system. An alarming number of pirates has recently been plaguing merchant vessels, particularly those hauling cargoes for Nebula Consumables.
The Noonian system has several large food processing facilities where Nebula Consumables products are grown, synthesized and packaged. The pirates are intercepting 25 percent of all foodstuffs being shipped out of the system. If Nebula Consumables is to continue to supply the Imperial Army with foodstuffs, it will need more protection. I do not have the resources to regularly escort vessels to and from hyperspace jump points, and I certainly do not have the ships to seek out and destroy these pirates.
On perhaps a related note, General Kozar informed me that his men found an abundance of Nebula Consumables products when he shut down the Rebel base on Movris. If the lot numbers on those foodstuffs match the lots from ships hit by pirates in this system, these pirates might be privateers encouraged and possibly financed by the Rebellion.
I await your reply, and more Imperial Fleet support.
Governor,Trophan Thanis, Noonar
Rebel privateers are those swashbuckling rogues of the space lanes, pirates turning their raiding efforts on the enemies of the Alliance. A privateer is a captain of a privately owned ship licensed by a government to capture enemy commercial shipping during war. Many privateers are licensed by the Rebel Alliance to harass Imperial shipping, seize cargo, and pursue the war in space as much as possible.
Privateers differ from space pirates in that they are restricted in their conduct and targets. They aren't like standard Alliance Naval vessels -- they are privately owned, not primarily military, not subject to Alliance orders, and not in the chain of command.
Some Rebel sector commands like using privateers because they are a cheap method of hounding Imperial shipping and acquiring supplies when Rebel ships are few and needed for other missions.
Pirates
To understand privateers, one must first understand pirates. Pirates are nasty cutthroats who plunder unarmed ships, raid defenseless colonies and slaughter innocents. They answer to no legal authority and often no underworld power. Usually.
By Imperial Naval Code, piracy is the act of taking a ship by armed force without commission from a legitimate government. (Note that by this definition many Rebels can be defined as pirates.) Since space piracy interferes with galactic trade, it falls within the realm of Imperial enforcement and is a class one infraction of the Imperial Naval Code, with penalties of five to 30 years on an Imperial penal colony, impounding the ships involved, and possibly execution. The personalities of pirates are somewhat varied. While most pirates are cold-blooded killers, psychopaths, or hardened mercenaries, there are exceptions. There are the occasional merciful but professional pirates, who raid without unneeded bloodshed or damage. Their motivations run from revenge to profit. That being said, most pirates are indeed hard, cold and merciless.
Day-to-day pirating is not the glamorous, profitable and lazy life portrayed in the holos. Even more than on military vessels, the pirate ship needs to be kept shipshape and in fighting trim. A ship's guns and shields need powerload-testing, and engines, thrusters, and a dozen other systems need maintenance. In his spare time a pirate is busy checking and patching his vacuum suit, cleaning personal weapons, and honing blaster skills. A pirate who allows equipment to fall into disrepair is a liability to the crew, and can make the difference in any engagement.
Like a military vessel, discipline is maintained, sometimes rigidly and severely. Pirate captains have a well-deserved reputation for harshness. Unlike a military vessel, there is no backup during an engagement and rarely a safe port afterwards. Weeks can pass without action. If there are no prizes (in the pirate's case, plundered cargo) there is no profit and the crew becomes uneasy. When there is a prize, the ship must make haste to rob and run. Distress signals are too easy for a prize-ship to send. Although response is slow due to the distances involved, a wounded pirate ship can itself become the Empire's prey. On the other hand, a prize filling the cargo bay with booty can make all the difference to a discontent crew.
Also unlike a military vessel, the pirate ship is usually democratic and elects its own officers. It often has a simple set of rules for governing the ship known as "pirate articles," to which every pirate on board has agreed.
