Any Dog Can Call Themself a Pirate
15 Mar 2021Chad VanGaalen
"Real pirates fly bold. The rest are cowards."
MORAM
FREE STARPORT: TAPINAS RING
STRAYLIGHT COMMAND CENTRE
For the first time in ages, Moram was on the brink of war.
Straylight operatives knew it was coming. Civilians were informed, emergency protocols engaged. Each day, their enemy drew closer to their home - until, one day, their fleet carriers would arrive on their doorstep. Over one hundred commanders, branding themselves as Imperial Corsairs.
But the day never came. The Corsairs and their self-important loudmouth of a leader were nowhere to be seen.
Having been busy tasking pilots to develop an understanding of where and how the enemy was still managing to wreak havoc on the local economy, Commander Chad VanGaalen was having doubts. With no pirates in sight, civilian transports were nonetheless going missing at an alarming rate. And Hu Jini Patron's Principles, while they stood to benefit from the disruptions, did not have the resources to accomplish such a thing.
It didn't add up.
He glanced down at his data slate, newly alight. A message from an unknown origin, encrypted and specifically addressed to him. His brow furrowed.
**BEGIN TRANSMISSION**
Good day, Commander VanGaalen.
I am writing to you anonymously from the ranks of the Imperial Corsairs. You'd be correct in thinking this an oddity, or perhaps even a trick. It is but a refusal to stand idly by while the organization I sought to be part of is behaving so dishonourably it has me sick to my stomach.
The men sent to destroy Moram are hidden in plain sight. The self-styled Prince has instructed every one of our officers to avoid direct combat at all costs, and pilots are taking explicit measures to ensure it. The fear of having to face Straylight pilots forces them to hide among Moram's population, using civilians as meatshields. They take control of civilian ships at gunpoint, nervous and sweating.
I struggle to even find a hint of honour in the course of action of my brothers in arms, but you'll need to seek out other ways of saving the place you call home.
This is the only message you will receive from me. Do with it what you will.
CMDR *redacted*
**END TRANSMISSION**
To shed any possible doubts, the message was accompanied by a series of logs confirming that the Corsairs' chain of command had indeed passed on such instructions - multiple times - to all of its linemen.
Chad leaned back in his chair, allowing a long, heavy sigh. Tharik Otoli, the man who claimed to be an honourable pirate, had no intention of fighting with honour - or fighting at all.
((OOC note: IMCR, a squadron of over 128 pilots, is attacking Straylight's BGS in Moram. They have given unsavory and unsportsmanlike directives to their members, including to block individual commanders from our squadron and to restrict their gameplay to solo & private groups while they conduct this operation. They are cowardly "pirates" who, apparently, won't be pirating anyone any time soon. Straylight will make these documents available upon request to anyone that asks for them.))