History Main / SpacePirates

** In "Bounty", the Liberator is seized by the Amagons, who engage in criminal activities including smuggling, bounty-hunting, slave trading and piracy. They have their own unique culture that's more like {{Qurac}} In Space rather than the Type 2 version, reminiscent of the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbary_pirates Barbary Corsairs]].
** Servalan predicts that the crew of the Liberator will end up this way after Blake's departure and she's not entirely wrong -- episodes like "The Harvest of Kairos", "Games" and "Gold" basically involve our anti-heroes attempting TheCaper under the [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized guise of stymieing Servalan or raising money for the cause]]. In "Gold" they [[WhatMeasureIsAMook kill a large number of guards from a planet that's not even part of the Federation]].

# The other version does a RecycledInSPACE on [[APirate400YearsTooLate every eighteenth century pirate cliche ever]]. Reasons for including this version will typically be along the lines of "Because SpaceIsAnOcean, it has to have {{Pirate}}s" rather than making any meaningful attempt at justifying their existence. They have Cornish accents and [[TalkLikeAPirate say "Arr!" a lot]]. They have [[PirateParrot parrots]] (probably robotic or alien), and they're DressedToPlunder with [[ArtificialLimbs false limbs]] (probably cybernetic), beards, tricorn hats, and eyepatches (or cybernetic eyes). They may even have ships shaped like [[SpaceSailing boats]], and instead of making their victims WalkThePlank, they set them adrift in [[EscapePod escape pods]] waiting for the oxygen tanks to run out or just [[ThrownOutTheAirlock throw them out the airlock]] without any protective gear. Lacking ropes, they'll beam a BoardingParty over to their victim's ship, or send out a shuttle, or use a TractorBeam. And if the space pirate is an alien or even lives in a universe where Earth doesn't exist, that's no obstacle to them acting like the stereotype of an Earth pirate in the age of sail.

* ''WesternAnimation/TreasurePlanet'', being ''Literature/TreasureIsland'' [[RecycledInSPACE IN SPACE!]], naturally features this kind of character rather heavily, most centrally John Silver and his crew of mutineers. In the backstory, there's Captain Nathaniel Flint, the most feared Space Pirate to ever live InUniverse, whose vast hidden treasure provides the motivation for most of the plot. Due to the extremely open way that SpaceIsAnOcean in the setting, these are all Type 2 Space Pirates.

* ''Film/SpaceTruckers'' has the protagonists go "off-road" in order to avoid being stopped by the authorities but end up getting captured by a giant pirate ship, which literally swallows them. These pirates were of the second, RecycledInSPACE type, complete with cybernetic false limbs and a skull-and-crossbones flag.

* In Creator/CharlesStross's blog, he describes the never-going-to-happen third book in ''Literature/TheEschatonSeries'', including how space pirates work in that universe. Summed up by the working titles of ''Space Pirates of KPMG, or [[Film/MontyPythonsTheMeaningOfLife The Crimson Permanent Assurance]] [[RecycledInSpace In Space]]''.

** The novel ''The Resurrection Casket'' features robotic space pirates, and some extremely reminiscent, not to say {{recycled|InSpace}}, names and/or characters. (Let's just say it involves a young lad named "Jimm" and "Captain Glint's treasure" and leave it there...)

** The Raiders are of the first kind. They were a recurring threat for the first half of the first season, but bit off more than they could chew when they tried to raid the station directly and lost all their fighters before being [[KickTheSonOfABitch annihilated]] by the [[BigBad Shadows]].

** "Our Mrs. Reynolds" episode had a couple of non-traditional space pirates as the MonsterOfTheWeek.

* ''Series/TheOuterLimits1995'': In "Manifest Destiny", Captain Sam Abbott suspects that the UFS ''Rhesos'' was attacked by space pirates who murdered the crew.

** In ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' episode "Gambit", Picard and Riker go undercover to infiltrate a pirate/mercenary crew. Supposedly this episode wouldn't have been made while Creator/GeneRoddenberry was still alive as he had always vetoed the "space pirates" idea.
** The Acamarian Gatherers from "The Vengeance Factor" qualify for this trope, being rootless spacefarers surviving on what they can find or steal.

*** ''WesternAnimation/StarTrekTheAnimatedSeries'' had an episode titled ''The Pirates of Orion.''
** ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' has them appear as a VillainOfTheWeek in several episodes, but one reoccurring villain was the Hierarchy, the most bureaucratic bunch of space pirates you'll ever meet. Unfortunately they had superior technology to Voyager, so the conflict always involved our heroes having to outsmart them.
** The ''[[Series/StarTrekEnterprise Enterprise]]'' itself turned to piracy late in the Xindi arc. After the Enterprise' warp drive was disabled by the Xindi, Archer attacked an innocent freighter to take a needed part. He certainly wouldn't have done it if Earth's very survival hadn't been on the line, and greatly regretted it (even beaming over some supplies to the other ship to make up for it.) To the inevitable WhatTheHellHero moment, all he could say was...
--->'''Archer:''' "[[IDidWhatIHadToDo Because we have no choice]]."
** Early encounters with the Ferengi involved them acting like pirates, even trying to capture the ''Enterprise'' in more than one occasion. And the Klingons, in a deconstruction of their [[SpeciesOfHats 'hat']] of being a ProudWarriorRace, attack and loot undefended colonies which they then claim as great victories.

** ''Series/PowerRangersTurbo'': [[BigBad Space Pirate Queen Divatox]] and her crew are a band of space pirates who roam the universe in a submarine-shaped ship (making them a cross between this trope and SubmarinePirates), and her main motive for being evil is greed. Their [[Series/GekisouSentaiCarranger Carranger]] counterparts, the Bowzock, had nothing to do with piracy however.

** In ''VideoGame/WingCommanderPrivateer'' and ''VideoGame/Privateer2TheDarkening'', space pirates serve as {{mooks}} in the games. The former even has a mission series operating from a pirate base, as a drug smuggler. Although mostly just the "murderous fighter pilots" variety, some of the headshots on the communication screen show the pirates with what look like high tech eye patches, though they could be cybernetic eyes they certainly fit with the theme of the RecycledInSpace variant of space pirate.
** In ''Wing Commander IV'' the first mission set is dedicated to taking out a pirate group that's causing trouble in the area. [[spoiler:They are, per the novelization, specifically there to cause trouble as part of Tolwyn's plan.]]

* The pirate clans in the ''[[VideoGame/{{X}} X-Universe]]'' have gotten to the point (as of ''Terran Conflict'') where they've become [[NGOSuperpower N.G.O. Superpowers]], with capital ships and space stations constructed out of [[UsedFuture kitbashed derelicts]], while using AceCustom fighters with sweet flaming NoseArt. Visually, the Pirates are fully a Type 2; docking at a Pirate station has the announcer greet you with "''Ahoy matey''", and they are often depicted wearing a BadassBandolier, eye patches, and crude cybernetics. Rather than trying to exterminate them (they respawn at their home base), advanced players generally work to befriend them by selling them [[FantasticDrug spaceweed and space fuel]]. Ditto the Yaki, who are space pirates for all intents and purposes, though they use a motif of {{yakuza}} [-[[RecycledInSpace IN SPACE!]]-]. Pirates return in ''Videogame/XRebirth'', but most of the Type 2 traits are either absent or toned down; most of the pirate clans are rogue fanatics (religious, sovereign citizens, etc).

** In the episode "[[Recap/FuturamaS3E20Godfellas Godfellas]]", an unnamed space pirate (with three peg legs out of four, parrots on three of his four shoulders, and eyepatches on two of his three eyes) menaced the Planet Express Ship with galleon-style spaceships and cannons, vowing to send them to "Davy Jarg's locker" if they don't electronically transfer their space-doubloons, and realizing too late that his children are his only ''real'' treasures. What made it even funnier was Leela's explanation on what Space Pirates are: "They're like Pirates... but [[RecycledInSpace In Space]]!"

** The Raiders are of the first kind. They were a recurring threat for the first half of the first season, but bit off more than they could chew when they tried to raid the station directly and lost all their fighters before being [[KickTheSonOfABitch annihilated by the]] [[BigBad Shadows]].

** It should also be noted that their new standard M.O. is more of a performance than an attack: They hit pre-determined cruise ships, put on a scripted show with crewmembers pretending to oppose them, and the "victims" are even compensated for their losses. It's basically a staged insurance scam where the company itself is also in on it.
*** When not engaging in pretending to be Type 2 versions, they also take a variety of other jobs, such as high speed, secure cargo transport or providing space based security.

* The Rocket Men from the ''AudioPlay/BigFinishDoctorWho'' audios "The Rocket Men", "Return of the Rocket Men" and "Requiem for the Rocket Men" are a roving gang of space pirates who use RaygunGothic {{Jetpack}}s to fly and ambush people.

* In the Russian audioplay ''Space Opera'', the protagonist Sebastian and his alien friend Byron end up being lured into a pirate trap after receiving a distress call from a woman whose ship is under attack. Their ship is boarded, but the duo manages to disable them with knockout gas (Sebastian puts on a gas mask, and Byron is immune). They end up rescuing the woman, Mona. It turns out that Byron's mate Isolde has also been captured by pirates and put in a zoo. The knocked-out pirates are put on their ship, and Byron sets its course for the nearest Guard station, figuring the pirates are likely wanted men.

* The Uralian Space Pirates, from ''ComicBook/{{Crusader from Mars}}''.

* Karkat and company are kidnapped by a crew of type-one space pirates in the ''FanFic/GoldenAge'' series. This is apparently a bit of a problem in the Alternian Empire.
* In the RecycledInSPACE ''Manga/OnePiece'' fanfic [[https://www.wattpad.com/story/73183752-gone-supernova Gone Supernova]] the Straw Hats, Kid Pirates, Heart Pirates and other crews are reimagined as Space Pirates instead of sea pirates.
* ''Fanfic/RocketshipVoyager''. When it's suggested that K'Zon space pirates might have been responsible for abducting them from the other side of the galaxy, Captain Janeway is surprised as ThisIsReality and criminals have more cost-effective ways of making money. The K'Zon are revealed to be TheRemnant of a collapsed galactic empire who bully former subjects into paying the same tribute, without any of the benefits. The Briori, who control a galaxy-wide PortalNetwork, hire them as mercenaries to raid planets for technology and biological specimens they wish to study. Ironically they also hire the K'Zon to guard the convoys they send through the portal network from space pirates, so it's as much a protection racket as anything else. Nee'Lix says it's not unusual for a K'Zon sect out raiding to attack another sect on guard duty, and it's rumoured the Briori secretly encourage this [[DivideAndConquer so the sects won't join forces and seize the portals for themselves]].

* Disney's ''WesternAnimation/TreasurePlanet'', being ''Literature/TreasureIsland'' [[RecycledInSPACE IN SPACE!]], naturally features this kind of character rather heavily, most centrally John Silver and his crew of mutineers. In the backstory, there's Captain Nathaniel Flint, the most feared Space Pirate to ever live InUniverse, whose vast hidden treasure provides the motivation for most of the plot. Due to the extremely open way that SpaceIsAnOcean in the setting, these are all Type 2 Space Pirates.

* In ''Film/AdAstra'', the now-colonised Moon has no borders, but rather than leading to a spirit of international cooperation the surface has become a No Mans Land with countries [[NoBloodForPhlebotinum seeking control of the Moon's resources]] giving safe haven to privateers who take hostages and launch random attacks. The protagonist has to be escorted to his launch site by US soldiers, and even then their convoy of Moon buggies is attacked by an armed group driving unmarked buggies.

* In ''Film/TheAmericanAstronaut'' the Blueberry Pirate [[OnlyElectricSheepAreCheap steals and bootlegs fruit]] across the solar system.

* Yondu and the Ravagers from ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy2014''. Although we never see them actually do any pillaging on-screen, they are described as (and act like) a group that will steal anything, and everyone else treats them as such. [[spoiler: When they deploy in force for the finale they seem to be on an even keel with the force Novacorp has protecting their capital. The sequel has the rowdier elements mutiny and kill off Yondu's loyalists; he and his first mate then wipe out the lot of them in one bloody fight with some help from Rocket. It then reveals this was only one independent faction out of a hundred, and not even the biggest one.]]

--->''We'll contest each star Union wants''\\
''This is war and not some bureaucrat's game''\\
''And we hear you're calling us pirates now-''\\
''Well, screw you all, we'll '''earn''' the motherless name!''
---->— "Mazianni", lyrics by Creator/MercedesLackey

* ''LightNovel/BodaciousSpacePirates'' (aka ''Mōrestu Pirates''), as might be deduced from the title. The anime is definitely of the second variety, with the tons of {{Shout Out}}s to other similar shows, including ''Anime/CaptainHarlock''. Then you read the light novel, the original story, and figured it is probably one of the most, if not the most, hard sci-fi space opera in anime, manga, Japanese game, light novel history. Not surprising, it is from an author that is in the group of "Space authors group" and is involved in building a real life rocket that went to space.

** Yuri himself turns pirate at one point [[spoiler: after escaping from a PenalColony in the Large Magellanic Cloud]].
* [[AllThereInTheManual According to the manual]], Juno and Vela, protgonists of ''VideoGame/JetForceGemini'', lost their parents to space pirates.

** [[SixthRanger Twokaizer]] and his family from ''Series/KikaiSentaiZenkaiger'' are an inter-dimensional variant. Originally coming from an AlternateReality [[PlanetOfHats world of pirates]], they established themselves as the first World Plunderers[[note]]"Kai-zoku/界賊", pirate("海賊/sea plunderer") but written with the kanji for "world" instead[[/note]] after obtaining inter-dimensional travel technology, and basing their home in a crocodile-themed GiantMecha spaceship. It's also worth noting that due to having encountered the Gokaigers themselves in one of their inter-dimensional travels, the family ''[[{{pun}} pirated]] their suit design to make the Twokaizer suit'' out of admiration.

* In Creator/CJCherryh's ''Literature/AllianceUnion'' works, the Mazianni started as the Earth Company's navy. When the Company decided that the war against Union wasn't cost-effective, Conrad Mazian and his captains felt that they'd shed too much blood to just be called back, and that they'd continue the fight on their own — and if a merchant ship had resources they needed for that aim, they'd hand it over if they knew what was good for them.
-->''We'll contest each star Union wants''\\
''This is war and not some bureaucrat's game''\\
''And we hear you're calling us pirates now-''\\
''Well, screw you all, we'll '''earn''' the motherless name!''
--->— "Mazianni", lyrics by Creator/MercedesLackey

** On the other side of Earth, the [[StarfishAliens knnn]] might qualify, if they had enough concepts in common with oxygen breathers to be able to formulate the idea. They used to force their way onto stations and take what they want; after lengthy negotiations through t'ca/chi intermediaries, now they take what they want and leave something behind. Among oxy-breathers, the kif, who see every action as a bid for dominance, turn out to make excellent pirates.

** Some ''Star Wars'' pirates play more to the clichés than others. For example, the space pirate Raskar loves every swashbuckling trope there is, and even carries a "lightfoil" (a relatively low-quality, short-hilt lightsaber otherwise mostly popular among Sith-wannabe noblemen of the Tapani sector) despite unauthorized ownership of anything that could be seen as "Jedi paraphernalia" being a death penalty offense in the Empire.

** Type 1 space pirates had the misfortune of encountering them: in the series ''Captain Harlock SSX'' a group of space pirates calling themselves the Space Wolves attacked a small colony ship and murdered almost everyone on board only to have Harlock ''[[OneManArmy board the ship and slaughter them all alone]]'', while the ''Anime/QueenEmeraldas'' OVA features the Alfress fleet engaging in acts of piracy only to be attacked by Emeraldas because they [[FelonyMisdemeanor dared flying a red Jolly Roger (her own flag)]] (the first time she let them go with a warning and a pained butt, but the second time she unveiled [[MoreDakka the ludicrous amount of hidden weapons of her ship]], including [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill multiple]] {{Wave Motion Gun}}s and exterminated them).

*** It gets even crazier. The titular Gundam has X-shaped thrusters (though they're actually practical), a beam cutlass and daggers instead of the standard saber, a beam gun shaped like a flintlock pistol, a targeting lens shaped like an eye patch and an extra antenna on its head modeled after a feather. Apparently just sporting the Jolly Roger insignia on its forehead wasn't enough for Hajime Katoki.

** As if regular orks weren't crazy enough, Ork Freebooter bands are type two space pirates, and like hats and bandanas and fly the Jolly Ork. Examples include flash git Kaptin Badrukk, the richest ork in the galaxy with a coat of gold armor forged from the false teef of other kaptins he's defeated, while the ''VideoGame/DawnOfWar II'''s Retribution expansion gives us Kaptin Bludflagg, who cuts through scores of Imperials, Chaos cultists and aliens, culminating in a battle with a daemon prince and an inquisitor on the same day, all so he can claim said inquisitor's nice hat (because she'd refused to give it to him as payment to kill the daemon prince in the first place). And in the end he even gets out of it with an even better ship than before.

* Pirates in ''VideoGame/FTLFasterThanLight'' fly hijacked ships painted with purple stripes and a Jolly Roger best described as an "octopus skull". Sometimes, they'll carry slaves; damaging the pirates can lead to them offering to free a slave to get you to leave them alone. Some other pirates will bribe you with goods to get you to avoid attacking them, although you can attack them and get a better offer in response, or kill them outright and steal their goods. Additionally, there are sectors that are controlled by pirates, and thus have a high pirate encounter rate compared to other sectors. The player can also engage in piracy of their own. For example, you can steal supplies from civilians, attack mercenaries who offer their services or even ships who made the sin of insulting you. [[WellIntentionedExtremist Of course these actions could be seen as necessary to save the federation.]]

* The Space Pirates in FourX RealTimeStrategy game ''VideoGame/SinsOfASolarEmpire'' will periodically send out attacks against the players. They'll attack whichever player has the currently highest bounty on their head (which would make them more like privateers, but really, the line between them is blurred quite a bit in real life). They can, however, be disabled. The pirates are a combination of the two types. Their actions indicate that they are the former type, [[http://delta-3462.deviantart.com/art/The-Affairs-of-Corsairs-113058534 but their ships indicate the latter]] Please note the SpikesOfVillainy and holographic jolly rogers.

* ''WebAnimation/RedVsBlueTheChorusTrilogy'': These guys work for Locus and [[spoiler:Felix]], they act as their personal {{Mooks}}, and have access to high tech gear that outclasses everyone else on the planet. Though they're status as pirates seems to be an InformedAttribute, as they function just as a generic group of mercenaries.

* In ''Videogame/VoidBastards'', space pirates are very dangerous enemies that can be encountered later on in the game attempting to scavenge the various derelict ships that you might be on. While you can potentially avoid an encounter by shooting their shuttles down with a torpedo, if not then be prepared to deal with some pissed-off [[ViolentGlaswegian Scottish women]] in power armor.

* ''WebAnimation/BeeAndPuppycat'': The space outlaw who fell in love with a princess from Puppycat's story.

* ''VideoGame/ImperiumNova'' has a mechanic for houses to fund piracy around one or more planets, it is frequently described as being "broken".

* ''WebVideo/MightyMoshinEmoRangers'', a fan parody of ''Franchise/PowerRangers'' and emo culture, has an episode where the Emo Rangers battle the Rave Pirates from outer space, who have come to infect earth teenagers with their "New Rave"

* ''WebAnimation/RedVsBlueTheChorusTrilogy'': These guys work for Locus and [[spoiler:Felix]], they act as their personal {{Mooks}}, and have access to high tech gear that outclasses everyone else on the planet. Though they're status as pirates seems to be an InformedAttribute, as they function just as a generic group of mercenaries.

* Captain Kaliko and her oil-rig raiders in the ''Totally Doctor Who'' animation [[Recap/DoctorWho2007TDWASTheInfiniteQuest "The Infinite Quest"]]. Baltazar in the same story fits the trope to some extent, even having a robot parrot. In some respects he seems an Expy of the Captain from "The Pirate Planet" (see above), with his first scene having him try to turn Earth into diamonds, but is more villainous.

* ''Machinima/RedVsBlueTheChorusTrilogy'': These guys work for Locus and [[spoiler:Felix]], they act as their personal {{Mooks}}, and have access to high tech gear that outclasses everyone else on the planet. Though they're status as pirates seems to be an InformedAttribute, as they function just as a generic group of mercenaries.

** As if regular orks weren't crazy enough, Ork Freebooter bands are type two space pirates, and like hats and bandanas and fly the Jolly Ork. Examples include flash git Kaptin Badrukk, the richest ork in the galaxy with a coat of gold armor forged from the false teef of other kaptins he's defeated, while the ''VideoGame/DawnOfWar II'''s Retribution expansion gives us Kaptin Bludflagg, who cuts through scores of Imperials, Chaos cultists and aliens, culminating in a battle with a daemon prince and an inquisitor on the same day, all so he can claim said inquisitor's NiceHat (because she'd refused to give it to him as payment to kill the daemon prince in the first place). And in the end he even gets out of it with an even better ship than before.

** Early encounters with the Ferengi involved them acting like pirates, even trying to capture the ''Enterprise'' in more than one occasion. And the Klingons, in a deconstruction of their [[SpeciesOfHats 'hat']] of being a ProudWarriorRace, are shown to attack and loot undefended colonies which they then claim as great victories.

** Early encounters with the Ferengi involved them acting like pirates, even trying to capture the ''Enterprise'' in more than one occasion.

** In ''VideoGame/SuperMetroid'' they even get to do some actual piracy by boarding the space colony and pilfering its precious Metroid cargo, although they spend the rest of the game firmly entrenched on Zebes. ''Super Metroid'' is also notably the first ''Metroid'' game to portray rank-and-file Pirates (namely Zebesians and Ki-hunters) onscreen, as opposed to just the Pirate leaders Kraid, Ridley, and Mother Brain.
** At the beginning of ''Super Metroid,'' Samus investigates the ransacked Ceres Space Station and confronts [[ArchEnemy Ridley]] just before he makes away with the Metroid hatchling.
** And in ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime3Corruption,'' Space Pirates are seen literally using {{Boarding Pod}}s to crash into and raid a fleet of capital ships on their way to take a Federation base on the planet the fleet is protecting. Besides the whole [[TakeOverTheWorld Take Over The Universe]] thing, this is played close to the modern RealLife version.

* ''{{Manga/Gintama}}'': Harusame is a type one pirate syndicate.

* Otter pirates are recurring {{mooks}} in ''Videogame/{{Magical| Vacation}}Starsign'', whom the space police say do not fall under their jurisdiction.

->'''Palutena:''' The story doesn't end there. See, there's also this space-pirate ship... \\
'''Pit:''' Wait, what? \\
'''Palutena:''' You know, a pirate ship ... in space.

* Yondu and the Ravagers from ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy.'' Although we never see them actually do any pillaging on-screen, they are described as (and act like) a group that will steal anything, and everyone else treats them as such. [[spoiler: When they deploy in force for the finale they seem to be on an even keel with the force Novacorp has protecting their capital. The sequel has the rowdier elements mutiny and kill off Yondu's loyalists; he and his first mate then wipe out the lot of them in one bloody fight with some help from Rocket. It then reveals this was only one independent faction out of a hundred, and not even the biggest one.]]

---> '''Watney:''' I've been thinking about the laws on Mars. There's an international treaty saying no country can lay claim to anything that's not on Earth. By another treaty, if you're not in any country's territory then maritime law applies. So Mars is international waters. Now, NASA is an American organization, it owns the Hab. But the second I walk outside, I'm in international waters. So here's the cool part; I'm about to leave for Schiaparelli Crater where I'm going to commandeer the Ares IV lander. No one gave me explicit permission to do this, and they can't until I'm on board Ares IV. So I'm going to be taking over a vessel in international waters, which by definition... makes me a pirate. Mark Watney: Space Pirate.
** After NASA re-establishes contact with Watney, Vincent Kapoor is informed that Watney is claiming to be a space pirate, and insisting that he be addressed as "Blondebeard". Rather than be stricken by the latest absurdity, Kapoor [[StrangeMindsThinkAlike starts to go off on a verbal tangent about maritime law...]]

* ''TabletopGame/{{Spelljammer}}'' setting for ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' has the Pirates of Gith, an entire ''[[PlanetOfHats race]]'' of Space Pirates, a third offshoot of the Githyanki/Githzerai. Additionally, the game also has plain ol' human Space Pirates who act pretty much identically to regular stereotypical pirates. Furthermore, the entire point of the setting is flying around in wooden sailing ships in space, and in the introduction to the setting the author mentions that they designed the setting's rules with the thought of a pirate standing on the deck of his ship--[-in space-]--as a guiding image.

* ''Literature/TheStarDiaries'': {{Parodied|Trope}} in "The Twenty-eighth Voyage", when Ijon Tichy tells of his grandfather Euzebius, who chose a career in interplanetary piracy. Euzebius would lure rockets off course by "scatter[ing] tiny flashlights along the Milky Way", then fall upon the duped and plunder them. Because of his habit of simply chucking dead bodies into space, over time there formed a cloud of corpses forever orbiting his black rocket. Ijon Tichy also [[DeconstructedTrope mentions that interplanetary piracy in generally unprofitable]] and therefore practically inexistent; indeed Euzebius (says Ijon Tichy) had no material motives in the first place, but was [[JustifiedTrope a Romantic idealist who wished "to bring back the venerable Earth tradition of piracy on the high seas"]]. Since Euzebius would frequently wait for years for rockets to prey upon, and therefore suffer terribly from boredom, he would after a completed robbery give back his victims all their belongings and let them travel on, then overtake them again to board and plunder them another time ("this would happen six, even ten times in a row").