Pirate Guide

Pirates In Aurora (WIP)

Welcome aboard, sit down, shut it. This sector's relatively new, but the colony isn't, and it's lucrative for a voidjack like you if you know what you're doing. This guide assumes you don't know what you're doing, or at least not well enough to make a profit locally.
First thing you need to know, listen to your Captain, or their designated First. You're on their ship, and their word's the only law you should be concerned with. Break it, die. Simple eh?
Second thing you need to know, you're going to be fighting in Vac and Black a lot. If you're not a practiced gun-hand or vac-blade, you oughta ask for some pointers from someone on your crew. Practice makes perfect and all that.
Third and last informal foreword or whatever it's called, don't make yourself a target. Maybe you wanna be a famous pirate, that'll come if you just keep surviving. Making a target of yourself is how you get introduced to a cold, silent grave.

Who's in charge?

In sector, you're answering to your Captain foremost. If they're not able or not paying attention, their designated First has command. After that? Work it out, voidjack, are you more or less senior than the other crew?
In full though, here's a quick descending list of the biggest power, right down to you.

Pirate Lords - self styled kings and queens reigning on big ships or asteroids in the void, they organise and fund us. Don't piss them off.
Pirate Captain - Your ship Captain, your commander, call 'em whatever just follow their orders
First Mate - Your senior in experience, skill, probably also wealth. Do as they say when the Captain's away.
Crewman - This is you, Voidjack. Work hard and someday maybe you'll rise a little higher.

Plunder in the void

You probably reckon you know all there is already about plundering and stealing to make profit, but there's things you've gotta consider now that you're on a crew. First up, bounties.
Bounties, they're the things the Lords want you to get them. Do not ask why if they don't explain, just do the work. They'll pay you with nifty little coins for your uplink so you can get more gear in the field. Trust me this is killer useful.
That said, I know you, little new thing. You've just stripped some factional badge off your vest and started riding for yourself, and you're probably eager to plunder some ships for their hard earned material wealth. Well, it's a good idea. If you take wisely. Most don't get this lesson through their thick skull, and they find their stomping grounds rapidly depleted, or themselves dead. So read well, and ken my meaning properly.
Only a fucking moron kills a golden egg laying goose. You need that explained a little? Sure. You're a pirate, civi's and mercs got loot that you want. So you hit 'em for that loot, right? Grand. Take too much though, and they might just go cryostore for the shift, cut their losses. Now there's one less ship to hit. And if you get a rep for taking it all? Well, people might just start laying traps with no intention to surrender. And then where will you be? Expending material en-masse for unsure hauls. That's where.

Boarding your mark

Generally you wanna follow a vague list for any mark you're intending to board.

(Optional, HIGH recommended) Is your target a medic? If yes, consider leavin 'em be. They're generally neutral by habit, and might even patch you up if you're hurt. People also tend to get REAL violent when medics are in danger.
(Optional, recommended) Hail your mark on holopad, tell them to sit tight and make no sound or risk a hole in their hull.
Get aboard (alive, preferably. Even better if you have a way out.)
Display your weapon to the crew and make known your intent
(optional) get all the crew in one place and restrained
Take what you need and get the hell out

Now there's some depth to this, as you might imagine, when the crew you're plundering get uppity. Harsh words aren't a concern, after all you're making off with their hard earned material wealth. What does name calling matter to you? Nah, the problem comes when they get feisty. Use their hands, or weapons.
That's when you've gotta make some choices, but remember, dead bodies make the badges far more interested than a little robbery. As a veteran of many boardings I recommend the following:

Remind them you have a gun, and no reason NOT to hurt them.
Beat 'em down and cuff if you can, make it look painful so others don't try nothin.
Shoot only if you gotta, and remember sometimes just a few exchanged rounds will change their mind.

I really gotta harp on that last one, no one will care morally if you're killing for loot. But it's heat on a crew, and we're only allowed so many in sector at once (which is explicitly to avoid them cranking up the heat!!!)

Game Mechanics
SLE	Space Law · SLESOP
Medical	MedicSOP
Corporate	CorpoRepSOP
Crime	Smuggling · Pirate Guide