The raiders attacked both large convoys and individual ships, and it seemed that their numbers could not be matched even by the most well-equipped merchants and travellers. They had perfected the technique of evading scanners until they were closing upon their intended target, and this enabled them to have the element of surprise in most of their attacks. They had grown so successful, in fact, that they began to attack even smaller SkyGuard patrols, and added any captured vessels to their own small fleet. Something had to be done.
[More details on attempts by the SkyGuard to pin down the raiders, but to no avail.]
The raiders were finally stopped by the daring and clever tactics used by Skyguard Captain Dhan Zagrat of Strike Force Alpha of the Third Fleet. The strike force had been hunting for the raiders for several months, but had been unable to find them until they were attacked near Tiras. Zagrat's forces were compelled to flee the attack, and had suffered heavy casualties. They fled to a small asteroid field not far from Tiras' sun. They were too far from the planet to call for reinforcements without bringing down the wrath of the raiders. The raiders searched tirelessly for the remnants of the SkyGuard fleet, but were unable to find Zagrat, who was able to use the chaotic movements of the asteroid field to mask his ships from detection.
After the pirates began to weary of searching the asteroid field, and after losing several of their capital ships to the chaos of the situation, fortune smiled upon Captain Zagrat. A solar flare exploded in the direction of the asteroid field, blinding the sensors of the raiders, who had set them to their highest amplification.
Zagrat, seeing his opportunity, did not hesitate. He led his strike force out of the asteroid field and fell upon the disoriented raiders. Despite their superior numbers, the raiders' dependence on the element of surprise and their sensors hindered them severely in the fight. Zagrat used his fast attack craft to disable the capital ships, and without their leader, many of the smaller raiders broke and ran. Many of the fleeing ships, unable to get their bearings, were smashed to pieces when they encountered the asteroid field. Most of the rest fell under the onslaught of the more disciplined SkyGuard forces. Despite all their training, however, it is the good fortune of the occurence of a solar flare that is widely regarded as the factor that proved decisive in Captain Zagrat's victory over the raiders. Without that key element, Zagrat's force may have been the one to fall, and more ships would have been plundered before the raiders were eventually brought down.
For game purposes, this essay is actually about 1000 words long. 4 successes in Applied Luck.