So You Want to be a Pirate: Target Acquisition

 Okay, you have a backstory. You acquired a ship through means fair or foul. Now what?

Now you have to go about acquiring a target, a trade perhaps with a small crew, a valuable cargo, and turrets that are conspicuously absent. Now going by encounter tables, you might think pirates just hang around near the sttrlanes waiting for a ship to roll on by and then pounce.

Amateurs.

Attacking blindly is just reckless. Every time you initiate an attack, you are risking your ship and your crew. don't do it lightly. Sure anyone can have their luck dry up and go hungry, but never make a blind attack your default.

Using your ship sensors is the last part of target acquisition. Choosing and researching a target begins in the starport. Spreading money around to brokers, factors, dockhands and even the right officials can give you ship manifests. These are crucial. At 50,000 km, your sensors won't tell whether that ship's hauling precious isotopes or dental floss. A manifest will. The first inkling a trader may have of pirate trouble may be people start nosing around their ship.

Note it's a good idea to practice this in several ports. If all the ships hauling freight or buying trade goods from a certain broker get hit regularly, the law will start asking questions. In practice a couple times a year a broker could tip off a pirate to a juicy cargo they sold, then buy the cargo back from the pirates to sell it again. It's also a good idea to have several sources in any one port. this gives you several possible targets and helps deflect suspicion. 

Your own crew can spy for you if they're inclined and smart enough. they could also reduce risks by discovering which ships are patrol vessels with hidden turrets, prepped for a sting operation. 

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