Boyzilla: In fact, I needed a simple explanation that would both put in plain words why Space Ishtar was so 'weak' and how she could know Basic (the language spoken in SW), how to fly an SW ship, the economy, the politic etc... in short, everything that was needed to quickly integrate her into the universe. Having her incarnate in a SWverse resident was the easiest way to solve the integration problems ALL AT ONCE. Of course, I could have made up clumsy explanations as and when, each time it should have explained how Space Ishtar could have known this or that information specific to SW ("She's a goddess" or "It's thanks to Magecraft"). But... it would have required a lot of tolerance from the readers. And I think that SW fan has exhausted their tolerance stock for muddy explanations after watching episodes 7, 8, and 9 of the saga (*whistling*). You will notice in passing that Mannaa is also 'reincarnated'... for God's sake, I wrote another Isekai! But I had to find a way to prevent a spacecraft armed with phasers and moving in the cosmos thanks to a warp system to cut the Stardestroyers one after the other. Mannaa was as OP as Space Ishtar after all...
Author's Note: Thanks to all the readers for your reviews.
The Mandalorian Falcon (2)
Somewhere in the Ado sector...
The frigate Nebulon-B was moving at a low speed, about ten light years from Starforge Nebula. The spectacle was splendid. The background was a lace of gas colored blue, red, green, and purple illuminated by stars in gestation.
Two TIE fighters were returning to the ship. They had crossed paths with the TIEs who had relieved them of their security patrol. The two tiny fighters slowed down. Overtaking the frigate from the rear, they passed the propulsion section at the rear, the long tube that connected the bow and the bow before stabilizing their speed to fly at the same height as the opening closed by a field of luminous retention of the fighters' hangar.
A tractor beam grabbed the first TIE and brought it inside the hangar with grey metal walls and a black and reflective floor. Metal porticoes supported walkways and clamps held dozens of TIEs attached to the ceiling. The fighter was led to a free location and the clamps automatically closed on the short pylons that attached the hexagonal solar panels to the sphere-shaped cockpit.
Captain Elon Vedij, commander of the 166/345 Green TIE Fighter Wing opened the top hatch of his fighter and seized the rungs of the ladder above him to climb to the catwalk that passed just under the ceiling of the hangar, allowing pilots to enter and exit TIEs.
He took off his black helmet, revealing a still young face with brown eyes and hair. His face and hair were shining with sweat.
With a step made a little hesitant by several hours in the uncomfortable cockpit of the fighter, he crossed the extent of the hangar, answered the salute of two technicians in gray uniform who were going to maintain his TIE, and continued to an airlock in the wall.
Just as he entered the large room served by two turbolift tubes, someone called him.
"Elon!"
He turned around, recognizing the voice, and immediately smiled at his brother.
"Dhas."
The officer who stood near the security post guarded by two men wearing the black uniform and the sparkling black helmet of the Soldiers of the Fleet looked a lot like Elon. He was a little more broad-shouldered, a little taller, a little older, but the only real difference was that he has a receding forehead, promising he would be bald young.
Dhas Vedij was the Far Orbit First Officer. It was a mere coincidence that the two brothers were assigned to the same ship... unless their father Baron Admiral Bosun Vedij used his influence not to separate his children.
"How was your patrol?"
"Boring... ordinary patrol. No sign of Starforge's pirates."
"What about your TIE's energy?"
Elon grimaced.
"The energy gauge of my TIE is blocked. I spent two hours on patrol and I still have 100% of the energy I had when leaving the frigate."
Although they were independent fighters - but of limited autonomy- the TIEs had been affected by the strange energy that permeated the interior of the Far Orbit.
Dhas still had questions to ask but an insistent beep-beep rang out. With a sigh of annoyance, the First Officer pulled a comlink out of a chest pocket of his uniform.
"Dhas Vedij."
"Chief Engineer Halla Malo, my regards sir. I apologize, but I need you to sign the status report on the main generator."
"All right, I'll join you."
With his hand, he said goodbye to his brother, who replied in the same way. The First Officer was very busy. Not only did he have to fulfill all the duties of his office but... Vocis Kenit, the captain of the Far Orbit, discharged much of his own obligations on him. In particular, Captain Kenit had decided to continue pursuing the Jumper... even after the recent energy surge incident and the other main generator's aberrations. Tired of Chief Engineer Malo's attempts to make him aware of the danger, he now refused to talk to her, offloading the management of the problem on her and Vedij. Kenit had not even warned the Fleet of the frigate's strange behavior.
"Summarize the situation, Chief Malo."
"I looted the spare parts' stock to make additional voltage regulators that I placed on the main power lines, all around the generator."
"And this should prevent further energy overload?"
There was a moment of silence. Vedij heard only the sound of his boots on the metal floor of the long corridor connecting the bow and the stern.
"I don't know, sir. Luckily, the generator is currently stable, and very... quiet. I have to say I'm not in a hurry to check if my handicrafts are effective."
It must be said that at that moment, Space Ishtar was plunged into a deep sleep...
"I'll make sure the Far Orbit makes a stop at a Fleet depot as soon as possible. A new damage should not leave the frigate adrift."
"Yes sir. Thank you, sir."
About ten light years away...
Starforge Station was a huge asteroid shaped like a potato drifting into the cosmos. On the 'lateral' parts and the 'bottom' (if these terms had a meaning in weightlessness), only a few metal plates, transpasteel windows, and some machinery that protruded here and there suggested that the block of rock was entirely dug. On the other hand, the 'upper' section was occupied by a vast structure divided into two parts.
The first part was a thick permaconcrete slab. Its role was easy to guess since a dozen large ships, the size of a corvette or frigate, were landed on its surface. It was a spaceport.
The other part was an even larger installation, a kind of huge bunker surmounted by antennas and masts on which shone green or red position lights. Smaller ships such as cargo ships, Pinnaces (1), or fighters (C-73 Tracker, Toscan 8Q, or Uglies (2)) entered and exited side airlocks of this structure.
Around the asteroid, there were dozens of navigational buoys, as many commercial buoys surrounded by advertisements and animated holograms.
This was where the ships too big to enter the bays or land on the spaceport were parked. Although most were well-armed warships, they seemed quite laughable if one compared them to the giant currently docked near the first beacon. This huge (but archaic) Kaloth-class cruiser belonged to the Cavrilhu pirates, one of the largest pirate fleets in the galaxy. Small ships kept going back and forth between the asteroid and the ships anchored offshore, leading the crews on leave to the entertainment promised by the commercial buoys.
The main structure following Starforge in its wanderings was the orbital shipyard. Starforge's ability to build, repair, and modify spaceships was the main reason for this Shadowport's prosperity. There were about ten sites in the shape of a crescent moon. Each one was of sufficient size to accommodate a battlecruiser. Each of them was occupied by a ship under construction whose state varied between a metal skeleton and an almost completed ship. The cells were illuminated by powerful projectors, but also by the flashes of the plasma arcs used to weld the ships' hulls.
All around floated worker droids and barges loaded with construction equipment.
The Corvette CR-90 Gold of Abaraq was one of many ships that landed on the Starforge spaceport.
In the meeting room, Adar Tollon was chatting with Kuuda De Naal, an alien who had the exhausting and delicate charge of being the Alliance Supply Agent stationed at Starforge... On the one hand, he had to buy from the privateers of the Alliance the supplies they seized. On the other hand, he had to provide privateers with the equipment they needed. Two tasks that were far from simple.
Thanks to his help, they were able to identify a stolen goods dealer who had just bought a shipment of Mandalorian art objects. It was the loading of freight they were looking for, except... the fence had no pendants representing a Falcon.
The beep-beep of his comlink startled Adar Tollon who hastened to answer. He exchanged a few words in a whistling language with his interlocutor and then hung up.
"The Jumper was in Starforge but she took off less than an hour ago. Excuse me for a moment."
The elderly general got up to speak to the intercom near the door to ask that Corianna Corvell come to join them.
He started talking again with Kuuda De Naal, and all of them evoked various hypotheses on the location of Shiraz's pirate gang. Unfortunately, his lair was unknown and he was careful enough to sell his loot away from his hunting territory, implying that he had settled just as far away... and probably remaining very discreet. About ten minutes later, the intercom rang and Tallon had to get up again to answer.
"Sir, Corianna Corvell is no longer on board. The guards do not remember seeing her go out but the outside cameras show that she called one of Starforge's taxis and entered the station at 2:00 local time."
Still aboard Starforge, but this time in the commercial district...
The commercial district of Starforge was a kind of vast market where merchants of weapons were near cantinas, a casino, an arena for the fight of gladiators (that made pirate duels profitable) hotels, and... brothels.
But once one left the main alleys, the rest of the district was a succession of sordid little alleys that zigzagged between filthy warehouses.
A Mandalorian in armor, a beautiful woman armed with a Forcespear, and a Shistavian wolfman stood in front of a SoroSuub Imagecaster, a state-of-the-art personal holoprojector. The object was placed on a crate and broadcast an image... a human silhouette 30 centimeters high, except that this silhouette was as if cut into the cosmic void, showing the image of suns and planets.
Jodo Kast - a kind of cheap Boba Fett- finished his report.
"... unfortunately, a strange girl arrived. Her reflexes, her physical strength, and her speed were incredible. She had a strange weapon, a pistol firing rays capable of following an individual. She also had a metal sword. She used it to stop one of my shots."
There was a silence and then a cruel and scornful voice was heard.
"And the pirate escaped?"
"Yes, Lord Blackhole. Exactly as planned... the Tracer is aboard the Jumper. Tracking the ship will allow you to find the pirate base."
"Good," replied Blackhole's hologram. "You will receive the promised payment. Send me a full report on the 'kid'. It could be a surviving Jedi. I'll forward it to the Inquisition."
"As you wish, Lord Blackhole. It is always a pleasure to work for the ISB."
When talking about 'Prob Droid' or 'sondbot' the first image that comes to mind is the imperial droid Arakyd Viper. A kind of black metal octopus floating above the ground thanks to a Repulsor. These droids were sent to planets where Rebel activity was suspected to film all dubious activities.
But the Vipers were neither the most numerous nor the most effective of the probe droids used by the Empire.
An entire sector of the ISB was tasked with coordinating a fleet of several million probebots of a different kind. The Plexus sector manages the Plexus Droids who were... non-crewed ships of small size (a 9-meter-long ship camouflaged to resemble a prospecting probe or a garbage-collecting droid) that traveled endlessly between the stars. They never approached planets and often went into little-known planetary systems. Every second, a Droid Plexus was able to measure activity in 10,000 different communication channels. Their primary role was to search for the hyperadio signals of the Rebellion, pirates, or other enemies of the Empire.
Another of their roles was to locate by goniometry the signals sent by Tracers, beacons that Empire agents placed on enemy ships.
Every time the Jumper came out of Lightspeed, the Tracer sent a brief omnidirectional signal that dozens of Droids Plexus spotted and triangulated.
A junior lieutenant approached the captain of the Far Orbit.
"Sir, a ship has just emerged from hyperspace."
With his hands crossed behind his back, Vocis Kenit turned away from the window showing Starforge Nebulas.
"And what kind of ship are you talking about, Lieutenant Donon?"
"This is one of our ships, sir. According to her transponders, this is the Plaguebearer, a Strike-class Cruiser."
One of the crewmen in the grey uniform turned to the officer who was pacing behind the row of seats, carefully watching the operators.
"Sir, we are hailed by the Plaguebearer!"
Captain Vocis Kenit had heard and replied.
"All right, open a communication channel. Broadcast the image on the main screen."
Two articulated arms, each carrying half a screen, came out of the walls. No sooner were the two parts joined than an image appeared.
Kenit frowned. Instead of an officer wearing the grey-green uniform of the Imperial Fleet, he saw a tall, skinny man dressed in the white of the ISB.
"I am Commissioner Notha of the Imperial Security Bureau. I was instructed by Lord Blackhole to find the Mandalorian Falcon. From now on, Captain Kenit, you are under my command!"
A brief expression of frustration appeared on the captain's face. He had hoped not to share the honors of capturing the datacard containing the names of all the traitors operating in the Core.
But he quickly hid his disappointment.
"As you wish, sir. What are your orders, sir?"
"ISB agents placed a Tracer on the Jumper. As soon as the ship stops somewhere, we follow her in... hoping its Shiraz's hideout and the pirate still has the Mandalorian Falcon."
Space Ishtar moved weakly in her sleep then blinked before startling. Her eyes opened and she turned her head to look around.
The goddess of space sat on a chair in the middle of a vast room with metal walls once covered with a plastic coating now eaten away by time. A sort of cargo hold, it seems... and the place was not empty. A dozen ruffians dressed in tattered spacesuits and armed with an arsenal of disparate weapons gathered around Ishtar as soon as they saw that she had woken up. Half of them were humans with shaggy beards on their faces, tattoos on their arms, and many scars. The others were a mixture of strange Aliens.
"Have sweet dreams, princess?"
"Did you sleep well?"
"We let you rest, you looked tired," laughed a third.
But Space Ishtar was not one to be intimidated by space pirates. She had a slightly forced smile.
"Uh... nice day. I..." She tried to get up but... "Oh, what... "
Ishtar looked down and found that she was tied to the chair by plasteel bands, the kind of metal strips that were normally used to close cargo containers. Bewildered, the goddess remained for a moment with her mouth open, and then her cheeks turned pink. She hated to be humiliated in this way and then a little voice told her that it was not the first time she ended up tied to a chair for trusting the wrong person...
"Quiet, turn her to me."
"Too bad we had fun, Shiraz!"
Two of the colossus lifted the chair and turned it over so that Ishtar could see what was behind her. On a sort of throne made of plates of welded hull armor sat a colossus bearing Mandalorian belskar armor. The man had a mustache handlebar and a braid that fell on his shoulder. Hung around the neck, clearly visible on the breastplate of his armor, he wore a Mandalorian-style medallion... a Falcon-shaped medallion! Two pirates armed with blaster rifles stood on both sides of the gang leader.
"You're in front of Prince Shiraz, little girl," he says with a cruel smile. He turned to look at a woman in a black jumpsuit walking towards the throne "I was told you wanted to see me."
Crossing the room, the tall redhead had badly styled hair was held back by the elastic band of welder glasses. As she stopped by her boss, Ishtar recognized her.
"Galiria? Why did you capture me?"
The young pirate crossed her arms and turned her head not to look at her... clearly uncomfortable. She replied, however.
"What are you complaining about? You wanted to see Shiraz, you're facing him. In our secret lair! Normally, we don't invite anyone..."
"Oh? Did I win the tourist free tour in the lottery?"
Ishtar was no fool. They must have had a good reason to have 'invited her'. Ceasing to struggle, the plaststeel bands were too strong even for her, the goddess smiled ironically. She awaited the inevitable proposal of the pirates. She was pretty confident despite the situation. If the pirates wanted to negotiate it was because they wanted something from her. So her position wasn't as bad as it looked. And then... she was Space Ishtar. If they thought she was a little girl, they would have quickly made a mistake that she could take advantage of.
Shiraz spoke again.
"First I want to thank you for saving Galiria... my girlfriend."
The colossus patted the hand of the redhead who had just sat on the armrest of his throne, while the chair on which Ishtar was tied jumped.
"Girlfriend?"
Space Ishtar looked at Galiria... she was tall and muscular, which certainly made her look more 'adult' than her age, but her face and behavior were those of a teenager. She was between sixteen and eighteen years old.
As for Shiraz... his face was marked by time. He did not yet have white hair, but the goddess estimated his age at about forty.
The pirate chief was old enough to be Galiria's father, not his... anyway, you got me.
Without seeming to pay attention to her reaction of disbelief, the pirate leader continued to speak.
"Besides, I admit your parents died... partly because of me."
"And you stole the Jumper!"
Shiraz nodded.
"And I stole your parents' freighter after unintentionally causing their death."
A figure wearing heavy armor and a full helmet suddenly spoke.
"Excuse me, Shiraz, but I can't let you take the blame for this." Turning to Ishtar, he walked to her chair. Then, he knelt so that his face... finally the faceplate of his helmet was at the height of that of the little girl.
"I am Baron Brock, Shiraz's lieutenant. I was in charge of the boarding party and the prize crew that boarded the Jumper."
"Yes, I remember you..."
It was hard to forget a man who always wore a full power armor. Brock replied immediately.
"And I have trouble recognizing you. Your eyes have changed color and your hair too."
There was a moment of silence as Ishtar wondered what to say, but Brock continued to speak.
"I am solely responsible for your parents' deaths. I have no excuse to offer. I made a bad choice. It's my fault. I am in debt to you and one day I will pay. I have nothing to repay you... but one day you will need help. Call me!"
Space Ishtar felt very uncomfortable because... actually... she was the one who killed Cilgriss Corvell and Muroda Corvell, Corianna's parents. It was she who caused this catastrophe. And... death did not exist where she came from. It was the ultimate taboo. No one even the most evil creatures could kill in the Servant Universe. For millions of years, Ishtar was the first person in her universe who violated this taboo. And it upset her to think about it.
She looked away from Brock.
"You couldn't have known."
It was a pathetic excuse and Ishtar was well aware that she was not trying to excuse the pirate.
"What clears me of the murder charge..." sighed Baron Brock."It doesn't change the fact that by ejecting the Escape Pod I killed them."
"YOU COULDN'T KNOW" cried Ishtar at full lung.
All the conversations between pirates stopped at once. They looked at Space Ishtar with surprise, not expecting her to suddenly get angry.
Quickly, the little girl spoke again.
"You couldn't know. You didn't know what was going to happen. You didn't mean to kill them... please don't talk about it anymore."
There was a moment of silence then Brock stood up. He hesitated for a moment, visibly looking for something to say... but finally nodded and turned around without adding anything.
About ten minutes had passed. Plunged into rather dismal thoughts, Space Ishtar did not pay attention.
When she looked up, the goddess noticed that Shiraz and Galiria - still sitting on the prince's armrest- were looking at her in silence. They waited with a rather surprising tact that she recovered from the emotional crisis they had felt.
"You said you had a proposal."
Prince Shiraz nodded.
"I've decided to add the Jumper to my ships."
"What?"
The pirate chief nodded.
"After the events of NDH 23466 this old cargo ship was strangely transformed. Her shields, weapons, thrusters, and hyper thrusters have been... boosted! This must now be the fastest scrap heap in the galaxy. That's the kind of asset my gang needs."
"This is MY ship!"
"I know, Corianna. And since you saved Galiria, I have no intention of taking her from you in exchange for nothing. The first option is that you sell the Jumper to me. I give you an honest price... 100,000 credits."
"I want to keep the Jumper."
Obviously... the Jumper was the present incarnation of Mannaa, and this starship was a part of her.
"Then you join my gang."
Surprised, Ishtar remained perplexed and then her face took an expression of intense reflection.
"I'm 14... I can't believe you want to hire a little girl."
"Galiria was 13 when she joined my gang and she told me about your fight with the Bodyhunters. If we add the change in your appearance... you too have been transformed by the Rift energy."
Space Ishtar was surprised by the pirate's insight. Then she smiled. A perfectly evil expression...
"Oh? You're no fool, Shiraz. If you have to, you use your brain."
But the gang leader showed no irritation, he merely shrugged his shoulders.
"A no-brainer pirate doesn't live very long. So?"
"I accept, I join your gang."
"Good. Galiria?"
The young pirate got up and took out a vibroknife from her boot. She quickly cut the metal wire. A moment later, Ishtar was standing and massaging her wrists. Shiraz smiled at the young girl.
"Do it," he said, touching his throat.
"To do what?"
But mechanically she had already imitated the gesture of the pirate prince and... her fingers touched a metal necklace. Tied up as she had been until then, Ishtar had not noticed the presence of this 'ornament' which had not some kind jewelry. Under her fingers, she felt a wide metal strap half a centimeter thick, as well as a kind of cube one centimeter aside. An icy chill descended into her neck. Her instinct told her that this necklace was very bad news.
"What is this?"
"A guarantee that you won't double-cross me."
"Answer me, Shiraz. WHAT IS THIS?"
"It's a slave collar," says Galiria. "A gadget made by the Thalasian's slavers. The cube on the side contains detonite... enough explosive to tear your head off. Any attempt to remove the necklace... 'Boom'. And the necklace has a special system. Only Shiraz alive can remove it. And if Shiraz does not touch the necklace for a week 'Boom' again."
Space Ishtar remained stunned for a few seconds and understood why so many pirates were waiting for her awakening. The demonstration of her talents against the Bodyhunters had left them amazed... it would be more accurate to say that they were terrorized by her abilities.
"Why" asked Ishtar, however.
Shiraz shrugged his shoulders.
"I already answered... how can I trust you? You can kill us all with one hand."
"That doesn't mean I'll do it."
"You can leave here, free, with 100,000 credits. But if you want to be part of my crew you have to prove that I can trust you. If you look at it from my perspective, you should understand me. And from your point of view... if you don't intend to betray me, you have nothing to fear."
Furious, Space Ishtar made a big effort to keep calm.
"And how can I prove that you can trust me?"
"Find Celis Mott's treasure"
"Sorry?"
Shiraz began to tell a story.
It was a 'beautiful' story, at least for a pirate Mott was a famous pirate. He unified all the pirate factions in his sector into a single fleet that roamed and raided the Nanth'ri Route. Mott authored a set of rules for piracy conduct called Ship's Articles which would become, with modifications, widespread among pirates even after his mysterious disappearance.
As the pirate prince paused to drink a sip from a bock of luum that Galiria had just served him, Ishtar crossed her arms on her chest. Her expression was not very enthusiastic.
"Well, this great and noble pirate is dead. But what do I care?"
"Celis Mott happened to have hidden his treasure. But he did not disappear without leaving clues leading to his fortune. His former lieutenant, Marka Dun, now lives on the planet Plagen in the Plax system. Dun is an old friend of Brock's. I want you to escort Brock and Galiria to Dun and help them to convince Marka Dun to give me Mott's treasure. If you bring back the treasure, I'll take off your necklace and return your ship to you."
Space Ishtar's already sour mood darkens further.
"Because I'm not going to Plagen with the Jumper?"
The pirate shook his head.
"Let's say it's an extra guarantee. But not everything is so gloomy... you Galiria and Brock would have a double share of the treasure. And you will deserve it.
Appendix
The Piracy in Star Wars
Piracy is a very ancient problem in the Star Wars universe. The Biths, a specie with a million-year-old civilization, has records of space raid dating before the apparition of humans in space and even before most of the elders' cultures of the galaxy.
Organization:
Contrary to what most people believe, pirates don't work like planetary gangs. A pirate leader rarely imposes himself as the head by force. Most of the time, he was elected by the crew of his ship. The rank of pirates ranges from 'single share' (pirate hand receiving only one share of the loot) to captain (receiving ten shares of the loot).
Pirate gangs are often formed like pseudo-kingdoms, led by "kings" or "emperors".
Piracy in Star Wars is not monolithic.
To be very succinct, there are different careers as pirates:
Thugs: the stereotype of the brutal pirate who lives only for looting, the spice, the violence, and who dreams only of attacking the ships carrying the richest cargoes. The Thugs tend to have blazing and brief careers... ending in a final explosion.
Desperate: The Galactic Civil War is a terrible time for the Galaxy, the Empire devastates entire planets, ruins peoples, and many individuals find themselves reduced to famine. Many desperate people become pirates just to survive. Typically, these types of pirates live this life until they have saved enough to resume a normal life.
Professionals: A gang like Shiraz's is a good example of professional pirates. For the crew of an ordinary trading ship, falling on this kind of pirates is almost good news. They never kill without reason, do not sell men of crews to slaveholders, and rarely steal ships or personal possessions. The goal of this kind of pirate is to accumulate profits without going overboard and attracting too much attention.
Draftees: some pirates have a very simple method of recruitment; they forcibly get to work crewmen from the freighters they captured. Like the enlisted members of the imperial fleets, they are competent spacers but little motivated. Generally, the pirate leader releases them after a while and they resume a normal life. Some people take a liking to this life and become professional space pirates. This is exactly what happens to Ishtar in this episode.
Misfits: individuals who have no place in normal society.
Holovid Pirates: Piracy in Star Wars generates myths and legends. Some pirates have become celebrities... and obviously many have sought to imitate them. This kind of pirate is flamboyant but not violent. Most of them take foolish risks for minimal gains and die quickly. But there are some exceptions.
Pirate's honor
Pirates are generally seen as cruel, violent, and willing to kill at the slightest provocation. Strange as it may seem, this reputation is generally false. There are a few gangs run by lunatics who rape and slaughter for the sheer pleasure of violence, but these kinds of gangs are usually ephemeral.
The reason is simple.
Pirates who kill spacers have a very large bounty on their heads, money that attracts the attention of Bodyhunters. And their reputation makes them the black sheep of anti-pirate agencies, sector protection forces, and the Imperial Navy. Therefore, the Shadowports refuse their presence (too much risk of reprisal). Hunted and without support, the bloodthirsty pirates are quickly eliminated.
Because of this and - simply to avoid premature death- most space pirates adopt a code of honor.
a) Do not steal (individual crew assets), only the Prize (cargo) may be taken.
b) Do not fight other pirates and privateers; they are your brothers and sisters. Respect their allegiances.
c) Respect those who fight against you.
d) Do not destroy for the sake of destroying.
To conclude, it should be known that the reputation of a pirate is often his best weapon. A bloodthirsty and dishonorable pirate will see his prey struggle to the end and local patrols will put him at the top of their Most Wanted list. A pirate like Gunda Mabin (Gunda the Terror) has a 50,000 credit bounty on her head and is even hunted down by the Hutt cartel (she attacked their ships). After only two years in the space pirates business (busy torturing, slaughtering, and destroying for pleasure) all Shadowports in the galaxy now refuse her presence.
On the contrary Beyla Rus AKA "The Gentleman Pirate" has made his whole career on the premise that one can engage in piracy without ever using deadly weapons, and being polite, and courteous. The bounty on his head is only 15,000 credits (alive). He has friends in every Shadowport in the Outer Rim. The advertising page of a cruise ship crossing his hunting sector has even pointed out a possible boarding of the ship as a 'local tourist specialty' and with the popularity of Rus attiring tourists, this cruise line has become very trendy.
(1) Pinnaces: These ships were designed to escort ships that did not have the necessary infrastructure to maintain real fighters. Although capable of fighting fighters if necessary, they are mostly boarding ships with a plasma torch near the airlock to cut the hull of the intercepted ship. Formerly intended for customs and other official military agencies, these ships - long outdated- are still used by pirates. The most common Pinnace model is the Uliq Abaha Ltd. #2 Warpod.
(2) The Subpro C-73 Traker is an antiquated fighter. In the Coreworld it is only found in museums. But copies continue to be made on some archaic worlds of the Rim. The Toscan 8Q was manufactured by Shobquix Yard, it is an old ship just as archaic as C-73. Uglies are non-standard fighters. They are built by patching wrecks with other wrecks. Most are a mix of rebel fighters (most often Y-Wings) and imperial fighters (most often TIE fighters). They are notoriously known to be as dangerous to... the pilot as to the opponent.