Jackers

[dragoner]

In the world of frontier trading, usually a group of individuals who make their living setting up and then robbing unsuspecting traders. Can rob by force or wits, either way a force to be avoided. Sure signs are guns, excessive talk and lies, large groups of similarly dressed/similar looking people involved in a transaction.

Couple of jackers shot out one of my back thrusters last night when I sped out of their set-up.

 

[wbnc]

I use the term in a lot of scenarios..usually a Jacker in my games use trickery or sabotage to get aboard and disable a ship at a critical point. Usually they have inside help picking targets and getting the travel routes,cargo manifests, an passenger lists, of a likely target ahead of time..such as a corrupt port official, or shady Broker.

this sort of criminal is a lot harder to deal with than a typical "Heave to , and prepare to be boarded" type.Those guys you can run from fight, or jump away from...if the Hijacker is already aboard...and you don't know it..then it's a different problem all together.

They send someone aboard as a passenger, or new hire/working passenger..that person disables the ships drives, or some other bit of sabotage to render a ship vulnerable.

If hes not detected he stays with the ship, and quits the next port "First trip with you guys and we get jumped..Heck no..You guys are jinxed, I'm out of here."

if he gets caught I usually include a blackmail bomb hidden in the guys luggage, or hidden aboard ship..."Touch me and I blow the ship." at which point the inside man tries to intimidate the crew into dumping cargo and waits for his buddies to pick him up.

 

[Condottiere]

Wouldn't usually associate cyberpunk with Traveller, and would really suspect that millenia of experience would make cyber security pretty much a given.

 

[wbnc]

Wouldn't usually associate cyberpunk with Traveller, and would really suspect that millenia of experience would make cyber security pretty much a given.

I think you mean Hackers...and in a millennia, the hackers have been just as busy as the systems security guys..

 

[dragoner]

I use the term in a lot of scenarios..usually a Jacker in my games use trickery or sabotage to get aboard and disable a ship at a critical point. Usually they have inside help picking targets and getting the travel routes,cargo manifests, an passenger lists, of a likely target ahead of time..such as a corrupt port official, or shady Broker.

That is a cool way to do it. I googled "jackers" and found a definition in the urban dictionary, modified it a bit and posted it here for flavor. I think it is a west coast US term originally.

 

[-Daniel-]

I have always thought of the term "jackers" in terms of "car jackers". Someone who uses a weapon to intimidate you into giving them your car. So with that in mind the whole idea of "ship jackers" or "cargo jackers" just feels like a normal progression of that particular criminal trend.

I sub-category of piracy in my mind. :mrgreen:

 

[dragoner]

I sub-category of piracy in my mind. :mrgreen:

Pint sized pirates without a ship. :wink:

 

[Condottiere]

Mini-skirt pirates.

 

[Askold]

Mini-skirt pirates.

You rang?

 

[Condottiere]

Lost in translation.

 

[wbnc]

I have always thought of the term "jackers" in terms of "car jackers". Someone who uses a weapon to intimidate you into giving them your car. So with that in mind the whole idea of "ship jackers" or "cargo jackers" just feels like a normal progression of that particular criminal trend.

I sub-category of piracy in my mind. :mrgreen:

Certain criminal organizations used to run entire gangs dedicated to hijacking tucks. Using some of the methods I mentioned on a lower tech scale.....

I learned the tricks they used from an irrate trucker form soewhere up north where this group of ...Broken nosed no-necks originated from. The guy park his truck a few miles down the road from my store...while he was eating lunch someone came along and drove away with his truck....

he looked out the window of this diner,and saw his almost new Peterbuilt Semi, and his load of Jack Daniels whiskey driving off into the sunset without him..and then spent the next ten hours pissed off and swilling down coffee in the corner both of my store theorizing on who set him up......

A few ears later I tried the idea out in a game and the crew of an unfortunate free trader watched in horror as their pretty ship and load of radioactives lifted, nosed up, and took off like a rocket for the sky...two armed shuttle in hot pursuit..at least until they turned back due to "mechanical difficulties."

Of course a few months later they tracked down their ship and promptly opened an entire case of WOMPAS$ on the gang who tole their ship...Lucky for them they had enough in the bank to pay for transport back to the backwater scout base, where one of the players had parked his S-type.

 

[alex_greene]

I sub-category of piracy in my mind. :mrgreen:

Pint sized pirates without a ship. :wink:

Like one of these?

 

[alex_greene]

one of the players had parked his S-type.

Sounds like the basis of a gloriously, uniquely Traveller insult.
"Go park your S-Type somewhere else!" - i.e. "Take a hike!"

 

[dragoner]

I sub-category of piracy in my mind. :mrgreen:

Pint sized pirates without a ship. :wink:

Like one of these?

Women?

 

[alex_greene]

Pint sized pirates without a ship. :wink:

Like one of these?

Women?

Redheaded women with Companion training who appear on the ship, mysteriously married to the Captain and who aren't Inara Serra, yes.

Mal never did get a divorce.

 

[dragoner]

Yes, and who would not want Inara over anyone else.

 

[Condottiere]

Cake, availability plus enjoyment.

 

[Askold]

Mal never did get a divorce.

Mal didn't get married either if I understood correctly. She was just scamming him. That buddy of his might have gotten legally married with her but I'm not sure about that either since viewers aren't told details about how she got him into the scam.