Pirate

Pirates (also referred to as outlaws in GOF1), are an independent faction considered hostile by every other faction.

They generally lurk in asteroid fields and wait for their prey, usually attacking freighters or mining ships, but they can often be seen in dogfights with station security forces. The danger level on the System Map (Secure, Average, Risky or Dangerous) refers to the likelihood of the player encountering Pirates.

Pirates and all other factions are hostile to each other in public.

Station Design
Pirates establish their private outposts. These are all identical, carrying the standard pirate paint scheme.

Ship Design
Pirate ships tend to look less polished and bulkier than all other types of ships as they are mostly put together from parts from ships of different factions. Pirate ships are all about functionality as opposed to their appearance, which is a mix of military green and white with red engine flames. They tend to have more weapon capacity than other ships as well.

History
Not much is known about the pirates' history. It is believed that pirates existed when space flight was possible, and made a living by looting other ships. A Vossk commander once conspired with a Terran officer and the Pirates.

Trivia

 * Pirates always use Gram Blasters as their weapons in HD, and Nirai Impulses EX 1 in SD. Pirates are the only NPCs to use Gram Blasters in HD, thus it is very easy to identify them. Interestingly, the firing rate of their weapons is much lower than usual.
 * Many pirate ships appear to be modified and bulkier versions of standard Terran ships. From this it can be inferred that the original designs were stolen, modified and then manufactured and sold en masse at the Black Market in Loma.
 * Similar to the Midorian Confederation, one can find outlaws from all races as Pirates.
 * In GOF2, pirates control the Midorian system of Loma and demand a fee of 2~20% of your cargo's value to let you travel freely through their system.
 * The name "pirates" is inherited from ancient Terran history, which in turn might be a reference to the 1600s, where Pirates plagued the seas.
 * Pirates' space stations are almost always located near Nivelian stations with the exception of Shima (4 pirate outposts, Midorian origin, does not spawn if one buys Kaamo via IAP). This is likely because the Mido Confederation is a relatively young faction meaning that they have yet to sort out a proper infrastructure to control the levels of pirates.
 * In addition, Loma used to be a Midorian system, but was completely controlled by Pirates,
 * Pirates in GOF1 wore a heavy red armor while in GOF2 they still wore some kind of red uniform but no longer wear face-covering helmets.
 * Pirates in GOF1 look like cyborgs with their helmets.
 * In GOF1, the Phantom is the only ship in use by the pirates.
 * In GOF2, Pirate vessels seem to be based on Vietnam War-era aircraft, the most apparent with this similarity is the Mantis.
 * Pirate Outposts (GoF2), Void Mothership and the Valkyrie Station (after completing the Valkyrie DLC) are the only stations that you cannot dock at.
 * In GOF2, when the language is switched to Chinese, some pirates appearing in cutscenes are renamed "Foolish Pirate" (愚蠢的太空盗) for no apparent reason. For example: the second pirate in the opening cutscene.
 * Pirate stations are surrounded by a red haze and are usually quite a far distance from the station, usually below it. You can't enter the station without fighting the pirates (A Nivelian security officer will order you to exit due to the pirate activity and reminds you of a nearby outpost.) and when the pirates are cleared, you will receive a reward of 20000 credits when you dock at a station. This might be an advisable way to get money for expensive tractor beams (Android) and earlier in the game
 * At level 20 in Hard difficulty, regular ships (including pirates) have 720 health points, while Freighters have 3600HP. The destroyable ship with the biggest health pool is naturally the Terran Battlecruiser with its 18000 health points.

Soundtrack Links

 * Interception Part 1 (When encountering 1 or 2 enemies at the same time.)
 * Interception Part 2 (When encountering 3 or 4 enemies at the same time.)
 * Interception Part 3 (When encountering 5 or more enemies at the same time.)