Pirates - Social Parasites?: HH-124817#007

As with all aspects of our galaxy's history, there's a simply too much of it to fit into one document. This document is intended as an overview on the subject and readers interested in more specific areas should contact the customer services department of Central Library Institution. A charge may be made for this service and the Central Library Institution reserves the right to restrict access and/or refuse requests.

Pirates - Social Parasites?
Pirates have existed ever since the dawn of time. Even before most species left their own atmospheres, pirates have plagued them in one shape or form. Are they an unavoidable part of civilisation or something that can be stamped out? Can they be considered as anything other than a menace? These are both weighty questions and ones that won't be answered here.

So where do pirates come from? where do they go to? and how do they survive? Gathering information for this report, and indeed any pirate information, is difficult. Pirates are notoriously untrustworthy and when finally tracked down they generally fall into one of two categories: boastful or totally candid. Boastful pirates are usually younger and more headstrong and a huge sack of Masval needs to be taken when listening to their 'stories'. There will be a grain of truth somewhere in them, but that grain is wrapped up in many, many layers of bravado and fact 'smoothing'. Alternatively you may encounter a candid pirate. Extremely guarded about their history and revealing any information regarding pirate activity, candid pirates are the grissled members of the culture - the ones who've been around long enough to know that keeping their mouths shut keeps them alive. Anyone intending to research pirate facts first hand, had better be ready for lots of disappointment.

Normally existing in the less law abiding systems, pirates will venture into the shipping lanes and more peaceful systems when looking for targets and most systems have suffered pirate attacks throughout the years. Generally living off lone traders, more organised pirate groups are more than capable of targeting larger vessels and sometimes groups of several ships. Lone pirates are rare and the majority now belong to a clan or group. This makes sense strategically and offers a wider range of possible targets.

Reports of pirate clans date back nearly as far as the start of the galactic council and just as in every community, there are tales of legendary pirates and pirate groups. From way back in 1028 reports exist of the fearsome Josska-Rah clan which terrorised the Parset systems for over 50 years. Almost destroying the economy, the Josska-Rah have become legends amongst the pirate community and a re-establishing of the clan in 2651 resulted in a clan that still exists today (operating out of the Ratraval system according to last reports).

Although pirates may group together, there is no 'governing' body and pirate activity is very much uncontrolled. Fierce rivalry exists between most clans and skirmishes are not uncommon. Occasionally clans will attempt to work together (especially where large bounty is available) but more often than not, these tend to end in disaster. Nowadays all too aware of the dangers of in-fighting, modern clans will avoid inter-clan conflict where possible.

The running battle between the Dogma-Daggers and the Nepoot Talarish eventually led to the destruction of both clans when the galactic Navy exploited their depleted numbers and wiped both out. The Navy and planetary law enforcement agencies have waged a constant war with pirates and are usually very quick to respond to pirate reports. Although there have been calls to wage heavy assaults on known pirate systems, none have been staged and it seems that the galactic council is quite happy to let pirates exist within their own systems (just as long as they don't start attacking neighbouring systems).

A constant problem for traders and indeed all space travellers, pirates may see themselves in a heroic, almost romantic, light and while most would claim to live by some 'pirate code' this observer saw no evidence of such a thing. Quite prepared to kill anything for a profit (including each other), pirates are not to be trusted, and unless you're very handy with a missile launcher, they should be avoided at all costs.

Quel Barenda - MiSC Badoonda Dept. Xenology

Please refer to CoreVax's Sightings and Alerts for up to the minute Pirate sightings.