The pirate worlds have always been an essential part of the Republic, necessary and despised at the same time. They take the pressure off inner-world jails by providing a place for scoundrels and ne'er-do-wells to flee, and they provide a convenient place for wealthy, inner-world aristos to conduct less-than-legal business. Savvy operators in the Pirate worlds have understood that this was their role since before the Republic even existed, and have always been sure to offer a quiet marketplace where law-abiding citizen can buy drugs, slaves, and other things their neighbors wouldn't approve of. In return, these Pirate world operators, half crime-lord and half medieval warlord, can rest secure in the knowledge that they are too useful to the Paradise worlds to ever face any serious attempt to bring them to justice.
It's a win-win scenario - for everyone but the people of the Pirate worlds. Theirs is a life of hard labor and a precarious existence, where the will of the local Warlord is absolute.
In this mod you start as a member of a poor farming community on one of the Pirate worlds. Your village has just been massacred by a rogue band of pirate raiders, yet you have managed to steal one of their ships and escape. You have a chance to seek justice, wealth, or perhaps bring true political change to the Pirate worlds.
This is a work in progress, and is not necessarily fully playable yet. Install it at your own risk.