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The Book of Piracy - Binski - 02-05-2019 Antares was aboard the Argo's bridge. The ship had been fairly inactive for the past year, and he'd been spending most of his time aboard an old Salvager. He'd gotten a little old for the pirate's life, but it wasn't totally beyond him. Yet even he couldn't argue that it was more profitable to haul scrap. It always was, but when you're bones ache, its ever more about the cost to your self. The ship was in a docking bay at Freeport 2. The station now being totally independent gave people like himself the easy ability to make use of the station for just about any purpose. The scrap runs were fairly routine compared to piracy of the old days. It gave him time to think. Time to lay it all out. With that thought, after his routine systems check was finished, he slowly made his way off the Pelican's loading ramp, and over across to the corrdor from the landing bay to a docking port. There, an old Salvager he'd been lurking in was moored. The scrap trade was the same as always. And not as bad as you think once you know your way around the scrap fields, and the core systems themselves. Antares was a survivor. Figuring out how to stay afloat was a reflex at this point. As he stepped through the hatch to the Salvager and made his way up to the bridge, he looked about the corridors and at the crew. Ragtags as always, but Junker bases and even the Freeports were never short of young blood looking for some adventure. Lucky for the old men. He gave some orders to the crew and made his way to an office adjacent to the bridge that was a captain's ready room. He mostly let the crew do its thing. Just about everything was automated these days anyways. Takes some of the fun out of it, but it did free up time. He lit up his pipe after taking a puff, set it on his desk, and took off his leather bomber jacket to hang it up behind his desk. He sat down and settled in, and stretched out to put his feet up. "Computer, begin recording dictation: The Book of Piracy, by Captain Antares..." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
~The Book of Piracy~ By Captain Antares February 826 A.S. -------------------------Chapter 1: A pirate's life(style)------------------------- If you want to be a successful pirate in Sirius, you have to have one thing: Patience. Piracy takes time. Its work, and play. But don't forget that you're out earning the credits you seek. You will have to invest some time in really great payoffs. You're also going to have to be patient with the world at large. Being a pirate will make you an outlaw pretty quick. You won't be able to just fly around anywhere you like. You're always going to have to be thinking about your route. Planning your flights around your safe ports, and planning your attacks based on where you can launch from. You'll be living on your ship, and off your booty. You're going to have to move around a lot, and be ok with looking over your shoulder everywhere you go. And you most certainly will have to keep your mind on alert at all times. Always anticipate the worst. Always keep your eyes open for police or navy ships. When you are in the act, while you have the other guy thinking you have your mind on him him, you actually have to be on the lookout for reinforcements. Its a fast paced life sometimes. Others, it makes for long days. Your reasons for doing this? That's up to you, but whatever the reason, if you're that hard up, or determined, to get into piracy, you're best off going into it as prepared as you can. Just remember, never stay in one place for too long. Its better to skidattle with nothing than linger and wind up ground up by police and navy hotshots. And get used to flying outside of the tradelane network. For God's sakes, to be a real pirate, you're gonna have to accept that the other half of Sirius, the dark half, is not connected by the lanes. If you can get used to the cold harsh 'on the move' lifestyle of a space jockey that can only rest when the job is done, you just might survive out there in the Sirian underworld. You will be considered hostile to every house, corporation, trade organization, guild and mercenary group in Sirius not long after taking up a Pirate's Flag. Yet within the deep underworld of Sirius lies its own 'brotherhood' among the thieves and vagabonds that traverse the colonial back routes. If you can learn to blend in, think fast and respect those above you in the grand order of things, you should do ok and after long enough, it will likely open up more serious opportunities for you. In the end, everyone has the chance to make a name for themselves. After you do though, try not to regret it too much. -------------------------Chapter 2: Choosing a ship------------------------- Well whenever anyone takes to piracy, the first thing they're gonna have to ask themselves is how? How do you plan to pull it off? What kind of pirate are you? There are different types of piracy in Sirius, and it all depends on what the pirate flies, and what the trader flies. Transport Piracy: (Transport to Transport) Just about anyone in Sirius can turn to piracy. Not only that, but they can do it with just about any kind of ship. Especially any ship available on the Sirian Civilian open market. Including black market manufactured ship lines, the amount of ships available to pirate with is impressive. Most civilians and mercenaries that turn to piracy do so with Transport, Freighter or Gunboat level ships. Almost any transport can be converted over to piracy, and same goes with Freighters. Freighters though have some severe limitations when taking on heavier transports, so if you do use one for piracy, keep in mind you'll only have the firepower to take on smaller transports, and other freighters. Gunboats are already rigged for combat, but their limitations include slow sublight speed, and low maneuverability. But for isolated piracy, against heavier lightly armed transport vessels, a gunboat can be devastating. They are the most expensive of these kinds of piracy ships though. You'll have to pirate for weeks just to pay off the value of the ship. This might be an option for mercenaries, but not always to civilians, or disgruntled insurgent types. For civilians, with the right crew, any transport can be a good pirate vessel. You obviously want to consider their limits through. For group piracy, where a transport can be backed up by smaller craft, you have yourself a nice little operation forming when you can get into physically jacking shipments. Otherwise, as always, and I'll get more into it later, even a fat transport like a Serenity could succeed in securing a credits transfer from an unsuspecting, and properly isolated raiding location. I'd be insane if I didn't admit I speak of my own experience when it comes to a light transport. For my own experience, I chose an old surplus "Pelican" Sirius Civilian Armored Transport. Most of the transports around its size are ideal for piracy (and up to the Clydesdale and Bullmastif), and only need a few upgrades. Start with the turrets. Go with a decent mix of heavier turrets and light, but especially on the Pelican, make use of its 9 gun emplacements. In the case of this ship, its is the most maneuverable of transports. it almost handles like a freighter, but can't get the speed. But it can outmatch those lighter craft in armor and energy output by far, so they give far more fight, and have much better endurance against a defending transport. Yet... be just as difficult to hit as a freighter. This is why I have always reccommended the Pelican. Not to mention, there have been so many of them manufactured over the last couple hundred years, they sell for under 4 million credits on average. Then you can just add a few things like a better thruster and some armor, and you have yourself a cheap yet endurant pirate vessel . From there on in, the pirate part comes from what you do with it. If you choose this option, keep in mind you'll have to do the best you can with what you start with, but it can work. As you go, put your credits into some investments, like a cloaking device, Capital Ship quality armor, excotic weaponry like CODENAME guns, etc. Not to mention a high grade scanner. The longer the range you can get, the better. Cargo scanning range doesn't matter so much when you have to get close to a target anyways to keep them properly immobilized. That's when you get scans. For a small crew, this avenue is great for making a lot of money with a fairly cheap and easy starting ship. There are pitfalls and advantages alike that I'll go into later. Bomber Piracy: Bomber piracy takes a greater toll on your body, and mind, but can also be a quick and easy way to a big payoff. Also a fairly cheap avenue, especially for a new pilot, bombers offer a fast and maneuverable way to launch guerrilla style raids on trade routes and shippers of all kinds. For transport piracy, or any other form of cargo interdiction, when it comes to a bomber (or SHF) all you need is one main heavy weapon, with one main heavy shield-stripping weapon. Just about any medium bomber, and all heavy bombers can easily pull it off. Heavy bombers are typically only available to military personel but the open market does sell bombers like the Waran which is equatable to Hessian craft such as the Thor. There are actually a decent number of medium bombers available on the civilian and black markets. Especially if your main targets wind up being transports, pirates adapting faction hardware from the Rogues, Hackers, Corsairs, Outcasts or Unioners can still get fairly decent power output and combat effectiveness. Shop around for a bomber that feels good for you, get used to it and the weapons controls before you launch into action. I'll go into the tactics of each type of piracy later, but the fundementals come into play when choosing which ship you want to go with. If you are on your own and don't have any crew, you can easily pick up a bomber or SHF somewhere on the open market, arm it fairly well, and begin attacks. This choice will be the safest for you mainly becase of the speed factor. These craft are much faster than transports, and that means you can get clear quickly when the authorities arrive at the last minute. -------------------------Chapter 3: Choosing targets------------------------- The next question is: What to pirate? What is piracy anyways? Well any pirate attack is a stick up essetially. You want to be real careful about how you choose your targets. Some vessels will be much easier to pirate than others. Some will pay, some will run, some will fight. Heck, some will just sit there and do nothing but bear a big dumb smile while they get sent into the black. If you're pirating in a Transport ship yourself, remember that for the most part it will be transport vs transport. You can wind up equally matched to a civilian trader, and especially a corporate trader. The best way to keep the balance in your favor is isolation. If you've put more into armor and weaponry, you have a good chance. Your last factor in this to consider is your maneuverability vs the enemy. I always pirated in smaller ships, and I could fly circles around a much larger, longer heavy transport. Literally, if you do get one of these ships isolated, use space. Think 3 dimensionally. Do circles around it, go over it, below it, keep moving. They will fire back but if you keep moving around and have a good gunner who can turret steer, they become the easier targets to get. Big, fat, and easy to hit from a distance than your little ship is to them. If they are armed with slower heavier turrets, that works even better to the small pirate's advantage, as most traders anticipate piracy from larger transports or hostile fleet cruisers. But these ships can bear a lot of armor, so remember you can waste a lot of time on them, time enough for back up to arrive. Don't get caught 'with your pants down' for too long. Somtimes, you gotta know when to let them go. But with some skill and luck on your side, isolation is the key. How to isolate a ship? You have to get out into the target areas. There are two types of target areas to attack. Mining zones, and trade routes. Mining Zone Piracy: Mining zones are usually fairly isolated themselves. Miners are the ones that protect themselves for the most part, and they are often trying to save money by going without heavy security. For mining zones the best tactic is to fly in hard and fast. Take your chances. Of course take scans of any ships in a target area as soon as you're in range, but keep in mind that miners are on the lookout. When they see an unknown vessel flying upon them fast, they abort their activites, and bug out. That means by the time you get to them, they're gone, and you find yourself chasing them. Try to anticipate that they may be on their way out by the time you get close, and be ready with your Cruise disruptor. With a cloak its much easier of course. You can fly into a mining zone, get in close among the miners to point blank range, and drop the cloak to surprise them. With that advantage, you can ensure there is almost no chance they could evade you. Environmental concerns not withstanding. Tip: When you get to within 10k of another ship, switch your HUD's scanner list to the targeting display. Then you can cycle through a sub target list and get data on the ship's class and armaments, even well outside of direct scanning range. It can tell you what type of ship they fly why what weapons they use, and how well armed they are, as you close in. It also lets you directly target vital systems like their countermeasure dropper or shield generator. In either case, get in, close the gap, make your demands for credits or cargo clearly, and get out. Many times, while you're in the middle of letting them negotiate a ransom, they have secretly sent transmissions to call for assistance. You'll know, when after much procrastination, other ships appear on scanner, and close in fast. Be ready to abort. If you want to fight and die, go ahead. But I made it out there by knowing when it was best to duck and run, as well as when to fight. In cases such as that, I'd be cloaked and out by the time any reinforcements could close the gap. But that only gives you enough time to get clear. if you linger, you're asking for it. Otherwise, this is how to guerrilla style attack mining operations. Many times I would simply appear in front of a vessel at point blank range and fire warning shots across their bow immediately. "Shock and Awe" is the term. But as a rule, once I had a cloaking device, I would rarely allow targets to see what direction I came from, or what direction I would withdraw to. That means uncloaking and cloaking after and before cruising anywhere. In mining fields you'll find two types of ships mainly. The larger hauling vessels, and smaller extraction vessels. Small miners are usually lightly armed, if at all, and are usually no threat. But always check to see what a miner has equipped, as he could double as an escort if properly outfitted. Miners though are fiarly light craft usually, and should go down quick if you have to deal with them first. That's if they put up a fight. If not, go right for the transport. That's where the money is. And more often than not, they're not going to put up to good a fight in any asteroid field or thick gas cloud. With groups of larger transports, you can hold an entire group for ransom by holding the most vulnerable member of the group hostage. Meaning, that unless they pay, you can target the weakeast ship and begin at least guarantee that one will be destroyed, even if the others can succesfully flee during that time. It can help 'encourage' them to pay as a group. This can also be a tricky maneuver to pull, as you can also wind up with 3 or 4 transports deciding to take their chances and fight back. Even more terrible, one of the transports might actually be willing sacrifice itself for the others. Don't let yourself fall for a decoy or distraction. Eventually, when you get paid or the action passes, time comes to withdraw. Like trade lane piracy, the longer you are out there, the more attention to draw. You can be detected by long range sensors, and after at least one attack, wind up reported to local security. If you stay in the area of your last attack for long, you may wind up with company. Always be guaging how worth it it is to take a chance on one more transport. Trade Route Piracy: Between resource extraction sites or refineries, and their ultimate destinations, is the trade route that carries the goods. They are the veins of Sirius, and cargo is the blood. We're out to snatch a little drop here and there. Space is big, and goverments can only cover so much volume, only protect so large an area at any given time. If it isn't clear to you, let me make it; You want to try to get a ship in a 'sweet spot'. That is, a spot along a route that leaves them the most vulnerable to interception. That means, fartherst from their last safe port and their next, farthest from the safety of the next trade lane or jump gate. Again, the cloak came in handy for this back in the day. You could follow a ship leaving a civilized region of a system until they strayed far from a base or planet. That was when we'd spring our ambush. While they were cruising. We'd get along side them, just below them or behind them at point blank range...Drop the cloak, kill our engine, and launch a cruise disruptor. That would always come as quite a surprsie to the trader. If you don't have a cloak, your best bet is to make them come to you. And that means staking out along a trade lane. The longest lanes make the best ones. Pick the farthest point from either end, and get in real close to the lane rings at a point in the middle. Keep in mind that a ship will drop out a little in front of you depending on which direction they come from. You don't want to be too close to the last junction they came from, or they may just take their chances on pulling a ONE-EIGHT-ZERO and running back the way they came. Some ship captains are crazy enough to take a few dings to their hull, happy even to limp back to the safety of a base. Assuming you hit the lane ring, and when its out a ship does drop out, move up to it quickly, and hit it with a Cruise Disruptor. Many pilots will sort of 'zone out' when they cruise down a lane for a while, not anticipating a trade lane disruption. If you hit them with a Cruise Disruptor it will trip an additional alarm for the pilot and wake them up to the fact they are back in normal space. At that point, order them to halt and hold position, levy your demand and keep your eyes peeled. Lane piracy gets perilous for a couple of reasons. The first is, they allow for ships to travel at much higher speeds than normal. More ships, especially potential reinforcements, can come up on you very fast. Try to keep some distance at this point from the lane and keep tabs on the trade ship. If enemies do suddenly arrive from up the lane, don't linger to gawk, hit your cruise (or cloak) and get out. Otherwise if things stay clear, stay focused on the trader. That leads to the second problem, and that is that the Trade Lanes recover functioning pretty quickly. If you don't keep your guns trained on your target, and sometimes make it clear you WILL fire them, they will try to drift up to the lane ring slowly. If you aren't careful, and its happened to me more than I'd like to admit, they'll get up to the lane and re-enter it, leaving you behind, probably laughting at your mistake. You have to be watching everything. It pays to keep track on the rings during the entire exchange and keep them down. That also helps keep reinforcements a few KM out if they do show up, giving you more time to escape. If all goes well, they pay up, and you let them resume their path. A lot can go wrong, but many times it can go right, and you keep on. In this kind of piracy, you may stalk the same area for a while, and catch more than one passing ship. Remember that the longer you linger, the more likely someone will report you to authorities and interceptors will be dispatched. For lane piracy, and this brings me to the next chapter, keep your safe ports well known, and close. Once you are done at the lanes, best to pull back to a removed port for safe rest. Most navies and police will not pursue any craft far from industrialized areas. Its a forgone conclusion, that once a pirate, its unlikely you'll ever be able to openly land on any lawful station or planet ever again. Camping Piracy: This is another, what I consider, totally valid form of piracy. Some would say its the 'cheapest', and they may be right. But there is no denying, that patrolling near a jumphole or jumpgate, also guarantees that a target comes to you. All jumpholes and gates are focal entry points to star systems. All non hyperjumping traffic must flow through them. So if you lurk near one that is frequented by traders, it is just a matter of time before a target shows up on your scanner. Be ready, as they'll just get moving regardless of your presence for the most part. This is a sure way to make sure you are will within cruise disruptor range when the ship arrives in system. If done right, you can hold the ship there and it will never get to cruise speed, until after you are content. Despite what many say, if you are desparate, or in absolute need to launch a successful attack, stalking jump points is a viable option. It is mostly a military tactic these days and would likely only be seen in warfare, or the most extreme piracy and terrorism. No where out there is totally safe, everyone is responsible for themselves when they get flying. Don't let traders guilt you into letting them walk when you had them on the ropes! Again, the main pitfall is that you are also blind to the other side. That means that lingering near a jump point can be a double edged sword. Reinforcements can jump through just as easily as a trader, and then it could be you that is caught. You could opt to jump though the wormhole or jumpgate in question, but that is not always safe either. You have to keep an eye on your long range scanner and traffic reports. Like always, if you linger out there too long, it will be you that winds up caught in a trap. -------------------------Chapter 4: Choosing Safe Ports------------------------- Knowing where you can safely operate from is extemely important if you really want to live to the end of the day. But don't kid yourself in this area, it ain't easy. The Sirian underworld can be deadly while outside of the cockpit as well. Backwater routes lead to independent and outlaw operated bases. They all have their own route network and economy, and rely mostly on the jumphole network. Knowing the jumphole locations of your area is necessary as well. When you aren't hunting, you can't always expect to be able to get around using the lanes and patrolled junctions. Jump Gates can be used soemtimes, but between them, you may find yourself cruising the back parts of a system that only someone as crazy as yourself would find you in. At that point, remind yourself that the thing traders fear most about these areas, is now you. But this way when you pull back from the lanes or mining fields, you will know where nearby you can make repairs at, or escape to if you wind up pursued by authorities or bounty hunters. And if you can get around using the jump holes, you pretty much have a totally open and unsecured network of sub routes that allow for unlawful and independent traffic to get around Sirius. That is, without making too much use of house built infrastructure. A lot of the time lanes and gates wind up too hot to touch, and you'll rely on the back routes most corporate traders only fly in their nightmares. Its doable though, if you have all your stuff wired tight. So Freeports and Freelancer bases come to mind. Pirates have floated among them for centuries. But if you want to get in and out without trouble from the locals, know where to draw a line. If you're foolish enough to engage too close to these bases, don't be surprised if you wind up extra crispy. Even more useful are asteroid bases. Almost every asteroid and ice field in Sirius has stellar debris large enough to build man made infrastructure into. They offer natural protection in many ways, and help reduce construction costs. All of the best ones have long since been burrowed into for centuries as well. That means though that it isn't hard to find one if you need to. Keep your reputation with local unlawful and neutral factions relatively decent, and even as a neutral party, you can get access to some of the more lucritive locations in Sirius. In Kusari, its the Blood Dragons base's that have an extensive underworld network. In Liberty, its the Roges and Lane Hackers. Wherever it may be, if you seek refuge and are lost in uncharted space, head for an asteroid field. Follow local patrols. If you have general idea of who operates in the space you're in, you can guess who might have a port nearby to get help at. The same basically goes for nebulae. Gas clouds, and behind gas clouds, make ideal spots for hidden unlawful bases. If you think you're all out of options, its always worth a try. Charting areas in advance, buying information from patrons at local bars, and 3rd party star charts are all wise choices if you wish to succeed out there. -------------------------Chapter 5: The Art of Piracy------------------------- Properly executed piracy is an art like any other. Its about forming temporary relationships, and its all a game of chicken to see who will blink first. Bring your poken face. Many times I pirated a vessel when I was actually severely outmatched and disadvanted in ways they simply didn't or couldn't see. Yet I would succeed by following through with what was basically bluffing. An old military saying is that 'Looking good is half the battle'. That is still true today. You can somtimes succeed in securing bounty from a trader just via intimidation alone. Or as Sun Tzu would have said, truely succeed by attaining victory without fighting. I've pirated ships not even realizing I forgot to equip a cruise disruptor, and they could have got away on me. 'Follow through' made it work. And in that case, I didn't know any better. In this sence piracy is like chess, or any turn based game. You make a move, they make a move. The trick is to put the trader in a position where they run out of moves, and their only options are to 'up' their bet (fight or run) or fold, and pay. Really, if you want to blast ships and kill space farers more than get rich quick and easy, you might want to find a terrorist organization like the Xenos to work for. Otherwise, the point of piracy is to do just what I described, and get paid without fighting. Fighting comes as a last resort. Especially if you are pirating in a converted civilian transport or freighter, you don't want to rock the boat any more than absolutely necessary. Having said that, there certainly will be times when its time to open fire. Your first move is to close the gap with a trader, and to be doing that in a sweet spot. If you pull them out of a lane, or fly up on them way out in space, open the exchange with a cruise disruptor, and hail them on an open channel. The missile will alert the pilot and/or crew they are being intercepted and to take notice. Somtimes traders will get pretty hostile just from doing this, but that's just the jitters. Remind them that if you were to open fire, they'd know it, from having their shields completely stripped. At that point, make sure you get as much information out as possible. They may stop listening and bail and might just zone out until they escape or are (sadly) destroyed. Get it out there quick, you want them to Halt and hold position, or cut their engines and hold. Demand your X million credits for safe passage and clearly declare that you will open fire if they refuse or run. Keep your finger on the cruise disruptor trigger. While you are doing all of this, you'll want to close in and get detailed scans of the ship. Look quickly at its armor and armaments, make a quick assessment of its capabilities, and most importantly, check its cargo hold to see what its hauling. The cargo value usually determines what is a fairly reasonable demand. I know we're pirates, but there is even a line between piracy and insanity. We draw it by being happy skimming the cream off the top. At that point, they'll respond, one way or the other. You may get a delayed reacation, all you can do is use your intuation as to whether its worth it to be patient with a trader, and for how long. You can wind up being counter ambushed if they call in reinforcements, so you may have to draw a line and pull the plug if they won't pay up fast enough. Don't let them procrastinate you to death. If they pay, you take the money and move on. Keep hunting, or withdraw to safe harbor. If they run, as a matter of principle, I always pursued the ship, no matter what. Even if I was about to let someone go, if they started running, I'd have to teach them not to. But that's just me. If you want integerity as a pirate though, and a reputation, you have to know when to dig your heels in. Some traders will simply reply 'by the mouths of their cannons' as the old saying goes, and go right to opening fire on you. Always be ready to take evasive action when waiting for a reply, as they may take the chance to strike with surprise. Keep your distance, and never simply sit like a duck at point blank range in front of a trader. Even a lightly armed trader can sink a bomber in an instant if you are caught off guard. Don't make an easy target. If they do fire first, they make it easy for you, and you're safe to sink them, if you can. There's always a gamle in there somewhere. It also pays to be familiar with your weapons ranges, so you can judge their range as well as yours at a glance. The worst thing they may do to you is just go quiet. They may try to play dumb or inoperative. Its really up to your own intuation as to whether you see it as worth it to waste them or not. Some trade captains and crews are fresh and inexperienced. They panic, or they do take longer to deal with. Remember you are holding them at gunpoint! Others though are sly creatures that have no respect for the Art of Piracy, and will take every chance to trick you. They may play dumb in hopes you will simply move on and leave them be. How you proceed is up to you, but after I realized I had been fooled a few times, I had to start sinking ships that opted to send no response to a ransom demand. Throughout all of this there is a flow to the exchange. Rest assured that the majority of encounters will go normally, and in your favor, if you do it right. Your attitude will also decide a lot for you. The more aggressive you are, the more panic you may instill in your opponent. That may actually slow them down on you. Going in angry may also harden them against you, and radicalize them to want to fight, even if they'll lose. I always went into an attack calm and collected. I stop them, and make a clear demand. I also make it clear they won't be harmed as long as they pay. If you feel 'reasonably' safe, you can afford to let the trader try to negotiate on the cost of the ransom. If you ask high, they may plead for a lower amount. If they do, its wise to just take almost any offer. Some traders will be surviving haul to haul, so they have all their cash tied up in their current shipment. The old saying goes, you can't get blood from a stone. If you can determine they likely are out of credits, take cargo if you can, or take anything they can cough up. At least it wasn't a total waste of time. I have seen traders leave under the promise to pay after they sell the cargo. It sounds foolish but has worked more often than you think. Most traders don't want to fly knowing someone is out looking for them. They'll pay, when they get the credits. If not, its easy to know how to treat them when you see them again. Yet I've seen fancy shiny ships with lots of gear and a full load of something rather nice act like they don't have 5 million to spare for passage. Somtimes, you just have to insist. That leads to firing on them somtimes. Captain's will change their minds from time to time when their hull integrity gets down below 50%. If they finally cave and pay, its always best for the principle to let them go. It encourages others to comply in the future, and to take us at our word in the first place. Sinking Trade Ships: When the time comes to open fire on a transport ship that refuses to pay, or is fleeing the scene, there are may things to consider. Range is key throughout any battle. The important thing to remember if pirating with a transport is speed. You can match any other transport's speed which means all you have to do is keep within weapons range. The knack will be to begin to deliver broadsides to the other transport while evading as best you can, their defensive fire. If you are pirating in a smaller transport or gunboat, that is much easier. As long as you have a cruise disruptor, you can keep a transport relatively immobilized. Those that stand and fight can be taken out easiest, all you have to do is keep moving around them. Fleeing ships however get harder. Heavily armored transports can take quite a beating, so you must be quick. That is where bombers come in handy. This happens often with lane piracy. In much of the colonial trade lane network, distances between bases is fairly short. Even at sublight speeds, they may manage to make it back to safe port from even the sweetest 'sweet spot' interception in that area. Meaning, you'll have to deliver a lot of firepower fast to get them before they get back to base (albeit heavily damaged), and that still requires hammaring them as fast as you can. Nova torpedoes, Corona 'beam' weapons, antimatter cannons, and hellfire rockets are what gives the bomber the advantage there. Not to forget its speed advantage can be the deal breaker. Otherwise, when out in an isolated area like an ore field, scrap field, gas cloud, etc, a larger pirate vessel can shine by forcing an isolated ship to pay, or at worst, duke it out in an area where the pirate has an obvious advantage. The isolation of the target ship is key, as it means that, bottom line, the pirate will succeed over time if it came to combat. The further from a base you can get them, the more time you get, the more likely you can shoot them down with any class of ship. That ultimately means, the more likely they are to see their inevitable defeat, and pay the ransom to continue unassaulted. ~Conclusion~ This pretty much lays out the basic fundementals of piracy here in Sirius, using Sirian technology, with Sirian ships and engineering, Sirian space and stellar phenomena. It might not be the same everywhere in the unvirse, but thats how it is here. Piracy requires a lot of intuition. You really do have to feel your way though encounters. Its like poker and chess. Its about making moves, yet its about knowing when to hold and when to fold. Its also not for the faint of heart. There comes a time when every pirate realizes they aren't just boys fantasizing anymore. They're taking credits from someone for real that they earned. So, remember that when you've got someone in your sights. Its like I said, skim some cream off the top, but leave them with their livelihood. Besides, every farmer knows you don't kill all the cows and eat them. You keep them grazing so you can milk them. Throw back your fish so they can be caught again. If you can get the hang of the flow and what it takes to survive flying the systems of Sirius as scoundrel or criminal, you can make a great deal of credits, and we all know, more importantly, make a name for yourself as a mover and shaker of the underworld. If you can pirate trade, you can effect any local economy in Sirius, and that is a powerful weapon to wield indeed! That, can be the best payoff of all. Captain Antares of the Armored Transport Argo Antares had fallen asleep in his chair. He had spent hours dictating to the computer. Auto editing. Smoking his pipe. He'd gotten more done that he'd anticipated. He figured he might as well send a first version to the 3D printer and give a nice old fashioned book style to it. It would make a great addition to just about any Sirian Pirate's mantle. All it will need is a leather bounding and Skull&Crossbones seal, and this book on piracy would be complete. Then, just maybe, the time would come to dump it on the Neural Net, and roast a few marshmallows on the heat from the flames. He smiled as he mused about the possiblity. He leaned forward as he awoke. Stared at the file for a moment, then at the keyboard, and finally hit the transmit button. A trade is a trade he thought to himself, might as well help keep it alive... |