After a reign of nearly 300 years, humanity's interstellar empire-the Galactic Union-is beginning to crumble. The process of decay is slow. The end will not come in the foreseeable future, but cracks in the social structure are beginning to appear. Some of the fringe worlds have all but seceded from the union. The boldest of these planets openly violate the laws laid down by the Tripartite Congress and its principal executive, the Central Controller. The star fleets of the Galactic Navy, and the elite soldiers of Star Guard are sometimes called in to quell these uprisings, but all too often they must turn their attention to the pirate fleets that appear in increasing numbers. As a result, the Central Controller has approved the drafting of Letters of Marque, granting certain well armed starships the title of Privateer. These legalized marauders have license to openly loot, pillage, and plunder any planet or starship declared to be in rebellion.