This was an idea that crossed my mind while raiding some Tombs and Towns on Starbound. What if we could add a random event where there's a space pirate raid? The initial event would be the pirates invading a settlement (NPC or Even your own base settlement) and after the pirates are defeated, they drop a reverse warp beacon, that brings you to their ship, for you to fight through the pirates, and pillage them in return! At the end there could be a Super-Mini-Boss of sorts of the Pirate Captain, weaker then the "Sector Bosses" depending on your sector, but stronger then the mini-boss monsters you find on the planets. When all is said and done, you get to loot the enemy pirate ship, probably lots of Valuable ores/Bars/Pixels maybe even Space-Pirate themed Tech! As well as very space-pirate themed collectibles and furniture to adorn your ship or base with! Granted I would imagine the pirates would be fairly strong, (Not impossibly strong mind you for whatever sector your in) so that you could make the entire deal worth it. Though I would also suggest to be cautious while doing this, as the reverse beacon may-or-may-not break (Depending on how the developers might want it to work) and if you fail, then you'll have to wait until the next time you find a pirate raid to be able to fight the Captain.
I think you might be interested in my race idea, the Voleurites. I don't mean to be all advertisey, but essentially, they are space pirates. Either way, I am very fond of the idea!
