I am interested, would give me an opportunity to use a quasi-nation of space pirates I've been tinkering with. 

The basic gist of them is that they were a failed human colony that suffered a drastic shift in planetary environment with the arrival of an alien crystal, got abandoned by whatever human empire/faction claimed them, and as a result of losing most of it's population and any outside help they resorted to piracy to survive. The alien crystal terraformed the planet into a (almost) barren hellscape as it replicated itself and grew from the ground like plants, poisoning and consuming any life except those who managed to adapt/mutate to survive from the radiation. Those that survived, emerged from the crisis forever changed, adapted to this new alien environment but no longer able to tolerate the environments they once enjoyed. 

I think they would serve well as a sort of neutral wild card. sometimes helpful sometimes harmful and sometimes harmful to themselves as pirates are not always the most united of folk, though they are wise enough to recognize a threat to everyone is not one to be taken lightly, nor alone. [@CitrusArms] I can give more specific details if you are interested.