*The
stats listed above reflect the older version of the Thief,
except for the Firepower rating, which is from the Cataclysm
era.
The Turanic Raiders survive by two means: raiding orbital
settlements through superior force of arms, and capturing
enemy ships whole. It is the act of stealing entire vessels
whole which has brought the ancient term "pirate"
back into common usage. Using similar control override
systems as those onboard the Taiidani Salvage Corvette, the
aptly code-named Thief-class Corvette is the standard Raider
capture vessel. The Thief is very heavily armed and armored
when compared to a conventional salvage corvette, and
carries twin mass driver turrets mounted on either side of
the forward crew compartment. Its override equipment is
mounted in a well-protected bay in the belly of the Thief,
and grapples onto the target as contact is made between the
two hulls. As the connection is made, the salvaging
equipment drills into the enemy ship's hull and subverts any
and all control systems, rendering the enemy ship helpless
as the Thief tows it back to base.
The larger rear area of the Thief contains a spartan crew
compartment, which holds a strike team capable of burning
their way through a hull and taking a ship by force if need
be. Some tactical analysts believe that some Thief Corvettes
might have replaced this assault compartment with some sort
of sophisticated stealth technology, which allows them to
catch their targets unaware. This theory was raised as an
answer to an ever-increasing number of ships lost to the
Raiders over the past few years. In many cases, the Raiders
struck fast enough that no distress signal or beacon was set
off. Data recovered from vessels recaptured from the pirates
have produced data fragments that seem to show the sudden
appearance of several Thief Corvettes. Further investigation
by both Hiigaran and Republican Taiidan intelligence forces
continues.
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