Bodacious Space Pirates

In a distant future where colonization and space travel are normal, humanity has increased the size of its living area to include the outer ends of the known galaxy. A hundred years prior to the start of the series, numerous colonies in the Stellar Alliance Colony Federation rose up in rebellion against their rulers in an effort to become independent. In order to strengthen its armed forces, the government of one of the recently colonized planets, Sea of the Morningstar in the Tau Ceti system, hired Space Pirates and authorized their acts by granting them letters of marque. During this fight, the Stellar Alliance and the border worlds were absorbed by the Galactic Empire, which left the colonies with their own autonomous governments. Despite the establishment of peace, the Space Pirates continue to be respected members of Imperial society, despite the fact that their activities have been curbed to more civilized pursuits (such as running errands and staging raids for space travelers' entertainment), where their familiarity with the system's wild space comes in particularly handy. When the story starts, their halt of criminal activity is slowly turning them into a local legends.