TO: IMG Defense Division
FROM: Ishmael Neumann, captain of the Hydra gunboat Prinz Eugen
RE: Persistent piracy in Liberty space
Greetings. As an independent defense contractor with the IMG, I have been tasked lately with the protection of IMG and allied convoys carrying Niobium from the asteroid fields in the Taus to market at planet Manhattan. It seems the decision to contract a gunboat for such seemingly routine security detail showed impressive forsight. Twice within the past two days our gunboat has been pirated on the borders of the New York system by a character who calls himself Captain Sparrow, and his associate (whose name I cannot recall).
On the first occasion (yesterday in the Colorado system), the captain of the Dextros, who I was escorting at the time, opted to pay the $2.000.000 credits requested in order to expediently proceed to Manhattan.
On the second occasion, I was alone and carrying no cargo, having just entered the California system from New York space. Nevertheless, Mr. Sparrow demanded that I pay passage, citing his dislike of the IMG, among other things. However, after a quick consultation with my gunnery officer, I declined to pay, given that I was not protecting any cargo at the time and felt that we could make an escape if necessary. This was not to the liking of Mr. Sparrow or his associate, who engaged me in a running battle.
I admit, it was foolish of me to engage, and I did not do much damage to either of the pirates. I did note their ships and weaponry, however, at least as much as my sensors man could pick up between the jolts and bright flashes. Both pirates were using Liberty Rogue gunboats, and Mr. Sparrow appeared to have a mortar mounted. After several minutes of fighting, during which it became increasingly clear that the odds were against me, we decided to run for it. (I admit, the frantic requests over the internal intercom coming up from the engine room also had an effect on my decision.) After a few tense moments, we managed to engage cruise and evade Mr. Sparrow. We docked nearby at Riverside station, where, I'm afraid, my gunboat will need to sit until at least tomorrow evening undergoing critical repairs.
I apologize for my failure to neutralize the threat, but I found myself in need of significantly better armaments to effectively deal with two pirate gunboats at once. Sorry to take your time with such a long tale, but I would strongly advise IMG traders bringing goods into Liberty space to take extra precautions, as this piracy threat is strong indeed.
