[@CitrusArms]Oh yeah, spaced a bit and forgot about your crystal. I based the crystal, which in my case I settled on naming it Phircyn, pretty heavily on Tiberium from Command & Conquer to give the basis of how it functions. 

It is capable of replicating itself on a molecular level by bombarding foreign elements with radiation until they form a proton lattice with the right qualities to become more Phircyn. Visually this can be seen as Crystals, typically green, growing out of cracks/fissures in the ground or over things such as rocks or buildings. This carries over to organisms as well, growing inside, out of, or over any living thing that has direct contact with any amount of Phircyn long enough for the process to occur. In most cases (~96%) this is fatal within a few days as the victim as their body slowly crystalized. In some cases, radiation from Phircyn encourages a beneficial mutation in the host as their body is altered genetically to allow a beneficial relationship with Phircyn rather than be consumed by it. These individuals do not merely survive but thrive, able to sustain themselves off of the radiation of Phircyn as well as being invigorated in the presence of it. However they typically will not be able to survive long if cut off from Phircyn. 

While it is extremely hazardous, it has found uses as an energy source, an easy way to harvest metals/minerals when refined since it leeches these materials when it 'grows', and weaponry. Though because of the threat it poses to those not yet assimilated to the crystal, it is a very risky game to play as failure to properly contain it can doom an entire planet.

I am willing to make some concessions but at the core the space pirates are defined by something terraforming their planet from a hospitable colony to a planet void of life and with turbulent weather as well as adapting to this force, mutating into something no longer Human. If the crystal needs changing, whatever it changes to needs to still satisfy this background or I'll need to think of something else.