Pirate

Pirates are one of the enemies in Void Bastards.

Appearance
Pirate troops wear some kind of hovering combat armor. Pirate pilots/commanders/lieutenants and the Captain seem to also wear some environmental suits, and all pirates also wear a classic pirate eyepatch over their left eye.

They seem to belong to the same biological race as the prisoners; it's possible that all of them are clones, as they seem to have the same face (with the Captain being only exception, likely due to age) with the same eye being patched.

Pirate frigates
Players can only encounter pirates on a vessel if they meet with pirate frigates on the starmap. If that happens, and if pirates aren't busted by a torpedo, the frigate starts following you (even through warp jumps and portals) and, on the next vessel you enter, they will follow you onboard.

Encounter
Once pirates are close to the vessel, they unleash a "tether" that both keeps the frigate stable near the vessel (where they jam S.T.E.V. and send pirate troops) and allows said troops to enter at its location. Pirate troops then start to chase the player, being guided directly to their location by the frigate pilot/commander.

While S.T.E.V. is jammed the player cannot leave the vessel. Reaching the tether allows the player to release it, destabilizing the frigate - release all tethers to remove the jam effect and be allowed to leave, with all previously tethered frigates drifting around helplessly (they won't chase the player). It is unknown if pirate troops still know the player's exact location without guidance from the now destabilized frigate.

Pirate troops themselves are well armed (their weapon is similar to the Riveter), have high HP, and are very dangerous even on their own - and each frigate sends 3 troopers. They are not invincible, however - sufficient firepower can and will kill them; use hit-and-run, get coffee, subvert some sentries - use everything that can help you. If you kill all pirate troops you can actually loot the vessel as usual, as no pirate reinforcements will appear.