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Since the dawn of sea travel and international trade, piracy has
been a serious problem for merchants and travelers. Armed with powerful
cannons, flying the fearsome skull-and-crossbones banner above their
sleek vessels, ancient sea pirates wreaked havoc upon overseas shipping
for hundreds of years. Legendary buccaneers such as Captain Juan
Tumannie amassed untold fortunes raiding treasure ships and cargo
convoys, until the rise of modern warships and conventional artillery
during the Great War era made such daring enterprises far too dangerous.
Today, sea buccaneering has given way to a whole new form of piracy
spurred on by another of the Great War's important developments:
air travel. "Sky pirates," or "air pirates,"
terrorize the skies as the modern-day heirs of centuries-old pirate
tradition. Airships and machine guns replacing clippers and deck
cannons, bands of aerial marauders attack and plunder cargo planes
over international waters. To suppress these rampant crimes, air
police devote their efforts to arresting pirates and discovering
their secret bases, while coastal cities such as Cape Suzette defend
themselves with anti-aircraft guns and defense fighters.
Swift and elusive as the winds that sweep the seven seas, air pirates
plague the commercial air industry, not to mention the world of
aviation in general. One of the better-known groups — the infamous
Air Pirates of Don Karnage — has gained particular notoriety among
pilots and law enforcement members alike. Roaming the clouds in
their flagship, the monstrous Iron Vulture, Don Karnage's
Air Pirates serve as an excellent example of modern skyway piracy.
Supplementary Material: Contributed by Steven Ganske ("Starkweather")
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