Privateers

A privateer is a private person or ship authorized by a government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping during wartime. Privateering is a way of mobilizing armed ships and sailors without having to spend treasury resources or commit naval officers. It allows Security fleets of Corporations to assist during war times (Union Privateers) They were of great benefit to a smaller power or one facing an enemy dependent on trade: they disrupted commerce and pressure the enemy to deploy warships to protect merchant trade against commerce raiders. There are several Privateer Companies operating legally within the United Stars usually made up of investors hoping to profit from prize money earned from captured cargo and vessels. The proceeds are distributed among the privateer's investors, officers, and crew. It has been argued that privateering is a form of warfare and should be banned in peace times. Other critiques call it Union Sanctioned Piracy as they raid planets and ships in Free and Open Space (Of course the argument that No Union Law exists in Free or Open Space is backed by an Assembly Decission and codified in Assembly Decission 2902-15, ratified last in 5050. Some privateers have been particularly influential in the annals of history. The crew of a privateer (as opposed to a Raider) might be treated as prisoners of war by the enemy country if captured.(Union  Law does make a difference there, if an official document exist proving that the attack, event was sanctioned by a government)[1] Historically, the distinction between a privateer and a pirate is practically speaking, vague, often depending on the source as to which label was correct in a particular circumstance. The actual work of a pirate and a privateer is generally the same (raiding and plundering ships); it is, therefore the authorization and perceived legality of the actions that form the distinction. At various times governments indiscriminately granted authorization for privateering to a variety of ships, so much so that would-be pirates could easily operate under a veil of legitimacy. See also Union Privateers

[1] Of course there are few governments who want to openly admit sanctioning acts of war against the Union for the price of having their crews treated as POWs