Space Pirate



Space pirates were robots in the Polaris galaxy created by Percival Tachyon when he was young. Their purpose was to scour the galaxy and bring back materials Tachyon could use to build his Imperial Army. Once their job was complete and the Cragmite Empire was partly restored, Tachyon banished them to Praxus Seven.

After their exile, the space pirates continued to engage in a life of piracy; attacking and looting ships and cities across Polaris, all while enjoying their favorite alcohol: grog.

One of the earliest space pirate captains was Julius MacGuffin from the Andromeda System. Some time later, Angstrom Darkwater took that role. On Planet Merdegraw, Captain Darkwater was beheaded by his treacherous first mate, Romulus Slag, who became the new pirate captain. Years later, Captain Slag and his first mate, Rusty Pete, returned to find the fabled "Lombax Secret", competing against Tachyon's forces, as well as Ratchet and Clank.

Known pirate hideouts were located on Ardolis, Kreeli Comet, Ublik Passage, Merdegraw, in the Voron Asteroid Belt, the Rakar Star Cluster, and the Pegasus Outpost near the Verdigris Black Hole. They often used cutlasses as weapons, in addition to cannons and blasters.

Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction


Captain Slag and Rusty Pete first appeared in Tools of Destruction. Their pirate hideouts were on Ardolis, Kreeli Comet, and the Ublik Passage. They also attacked Ratchet when he was flying Aphelion through space in the Voron Asteroid Belt, Rakar Star Cluster, and Verdigris Black Hole.

After many battles through space and at the pirate hideouts, Slag and his pirates managed to get the Lombax Secret, the Dimensionator, from Ratchet on Jasindu while attacking Kerchu City. Ratchet and Clank then flew to Slag's Fleet in Ublik Passage and infiltrated the pirate forces. Ratchet defeated Captain Slag, leaving only his head, which was kept by Rusty Pete, who named Ratchet as the new "captain" of the pirates. In the end, Pete was shown trying to teach Captain Qwark how to say a pirate "arr" correctly, which Qwark failed to do, much to Pete's annoyance.

Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty
In Quest for Booty, Ratchet was searching for Clank, who was kidnapped by the mysterious Zoni. Ratchet learns about Angstrom Darkwater, a space pirate captain who was somehow connected to the Zoni. Ratchet, accompanied by Talwyn, traveled to Merdegraw, a pirate-infested planet. The two boarded a pirate ship over the Azorean Sea, hoping to learn the whereabouts of Darkwater, the Zoni, and most of all Clank. However, the pirates told them that Darkwater is dead, and then attacked them. Ratchet and Talwyn fought back, but were seized by the pirates. They were placed in a cannon, which the pirates used to send them to Hoolefar Island.

While on the island, Ratchet and Talwyn learned the story of Captain Darkwater. Darkwater, while visiting the Breegus Nebula, met and befriended the Zoni. Their leader gave him a Fulcrum Star, which Darkwater could use to communicate with the Zoni. Darkwater valued his Fulcrum Star greatly, and was very protective of it. He also grew suspicious of his first mate, Romulus Slag. So, Darkwater placed a curse on himself and his crew, so if they died and their corpses were disturbed, they would rise from the dead to defend Darkwater's loot. Darkwater's suspicions were later proven true; Slag lead a mutiny, which had taken the lives of Darkwater and any pirates who stayed loyal to him. Slag became the new captain, and left the remains of Darkwater and his crew to decay at Morrow Caverns.

Later, Rusty Pete arrived on Hoolefar Island. Pete was carrying the head of Slag (which Pete had revived by re-routing Slag's memory banks). Pete and Slag offered to take Ratchet and Talwyn to Morrow Caverns. They accepted, and the four headed off to the caverns.

At Morrow Caverns, Rusty Pete and Slag guided the two heroes through the caves, which were littered with the corpses of Darkwater's crew. When Pete, Slag and Ratchet (Talwyn was accidentally separated from the group) arrive at a ship (containing Darkwater's headless corpse and a treasure map), Pete betrays Ratchet by attaching Slag's head to Darkwater's torso. This activates the Curse of Darkwater, causing Darkwater and his crew to rise from the dead in the form of ghosts and zombies. Slag now had a new body, but he was forced to share it with Darkwater. While Slag and Darkwater fought with each other over control of the body, Pete convinced them to do some pillaging. Captains Slag and Darkwater, their first mate Rusty Pete, and their army of undead pirates chose their first target: Hoolefar Island. Ratchet joined with Talwyn again and escaped from Morrow Caverns.

Ratchet and Talwyn landed on Hoolefar Island to warn the local Hoolefoids of the upcoming pirate raid. When the undead pirates came, the Hoolefoids took shelter while Ratchet defended the island.

After repelling the undead army, Ratchet and Talwyn traveled to Darkwater's personal sanctuary, the island of Darkwater Cove. When Talwyn gets captured by the pirates, Ratchet escapes the island.

Ratchet later boards another pirate ship over the Azorean Sea, in order to stop the pirates from conducting another raid (this time against the Zoni dimension), as well as to rescue Talwyn and take the Fulcrum Star. Ratchet fights a final battle against Slag and Darkwater, who took turns attacking Ratchet. Ratchet defeated the two captains, causing them to once again bicker with each other. Slag and Darkwater fall overboard into the water, thus getting rid of Darkwater. On the other hand, Rusty Pete jumps into the water to save Slag. Pete accidentally leaves the Fulcrum Star behind, which Ratchet takes to find out Clank's location.

Rusty Pete (who narrated the game's story by reading it from a storybook out loud to Slag) is shown to be sitting on a small crate in the middle of the sea with Slag, who once again lacks a body. Slag, who was uninterested in listening to the story, commands Pete to grab an oar and row the crate until they find a new body for Slag.

Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time
During the events of A Crack in Time, Rusty Pete and Captain Slag could be heard on their space radio station, Pirate Radio, hosted on Ardolis.

There were still reports of space pirate raids against ships across Polaris. However, it is mentioned that the Valkyries were twice as dangerous and ruthless as the pirates, and that they have recently been conducting more raids than the pirates.

While traveling through space, Ratchet may have the option of helping a certain Vullard, who explains to him that his ship was attacked by space pirates.

PlayStation Move Heroes
The Space Pirates return in the crossover game PlayStation Move Heroes as once again enemies, this time helping a "mysterious duo" who have been stealing parts from the Ratchet & Clank, Jak & Daxter, and Sly Cooper universes.

Ratchet & Clank: Issue 2: Friends with Benefits


A Buccaneer helped Clank escape from his prison cell in Vartax Detention Facility, and is later freed by Clank. The pirate later got the other inmates to riot, in order to keep the guards busy while the duo escaped.

Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One
A living Buccaneer appears as one of the objects strapped to the King Sepiad, he can sometimes been seen flailing to get out.

Types
Common space pirate types include:
 * Buccaneers
 * Hardy Buccaneers
 * Corsairs
 * Swabs
 * Rogues
 * Hot Head Pirates

After Rusty Pete inadvertently activated Darkwater's curse, undead space pirates appeared. They looked like normal space pirates, but resembled animated skeletons with a ghostly green light emitting from them, and were stronger. These zombie pirates would often suddenly appear from nowhere to attack. Darkwater was also undead, though he was a ghost rather than a zombie.

Another type of space pirate is a Pirate Doorkeeper. These disembodied pirate heads do not serve any actual combat purpose, though they are in charge of locking doors and restricting access to pirate-controlled areas.

Pirate Crews

 * Slag's Crew
 * Darkwater's Crew

Leaders
A list of known space pirate leaders, in chronological order:

Others

 * Bartender
 * Greasepalms McGee
 * Iron Crotch Caruso
 * Puffy Pants Wallis
 * Shamus McSoggeybridges
 * Sprocket
 * Fred

Trivia

 * Pieces of space pirates could be seen at various locations in A Crack in Time, including a pirate treasure chest and Pirate Doorkeeper's head located on Torren IV, and a Rogue's head in the Nefarious Space Station trash compactor.
 * There was a space pirate skin for every character in All 4 One.

Appearances

 * Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal (robotic pirate ghosts)
 * Secret Agent Clank (fictional & non-robotic)
 * Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction
 * Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty
 * Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time
 * Ratchet & Clank: Issue 2: Friends with Benefits
 * Ratchet & Clank: Issue 3: Lost and Spaced
 * PlayStation Move Heroes
 * PlayStation Home (firing range)
 * Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One