[b]The Eastern Ocean
100 miles west of Naqah[/b]

The battered wreckage of a pirate ship floated on the water, as the Fourth Expeditionary Strike Group looked on. The relatively small strike group was one of nine that the Ralgon Empire had deployed in this region, and they were almost all meant for only one thing: pirate hunting.

"Sir!" The Commander rushed up to the Captain, who was in command of the strike group. "We've taken seven prisoners. One is the commander of the pirates. We've also captured their ship, and moved all of their bounty aboard as ordered."

"Good. We'll have a good report for Admiral Nefunae when we report back. The Emperor will also be pleased with our work out here, should word reach his ears." Captain Dakkar pulled a small booklet out of his pocket, and annotated the day's events into his personal log. "What is the policy of our prisoners?"

"They're guilty of piracy. We either put them to death, enslave them, or they buy us out, as per the old Emperor's orders." Commander Decker glared at the pirates that were gathered on the deck of the [i]Revenge[/i], the leading ship in the squadron of five that were out here in these remote waters. "Unless I'm mistaken, the new Emperor hasn't changed them."

"Actually, he has." Captain Dakkar kept his gaze riveted on the pirates. "We get all of their bounty, and give them the option of life in return. Their term of slavery depends on how much we take. If they choose death, their share of the treasure pays for the others, because we Ralgons are not thieves. How much treasure do they have?"

"We've already determined that they had just under 5,000 Drachmas' worth of treasure on them. By the looks of it, they had raided a treasure ship recently, and were on their way to their nearest base to stash it away." The Commander looked at his men, some of who gathered around the bound pirates. "I forget what the typical punishment for piracy is, though... or how much they have to pay to get out of it."

"The typical sentence is seven years. Fifteen for their captain, because a leader is doubly responsible, as his men act under his orders." Captain Dakker looked over the pirates. "The fee to buy yourself off is a hundred Drachmas a year. Right now there are seven pirates, and a little under five thousand Drachmas in their name. So, that means three years of slavery for each one... and eight for the captain."

He looked directly at the pirate captain. "Either that, or you choose death and help free what remains of your comrades with seven years' of money. Your choice."

--------------------

They departed, with five of the remaining pirates being sentenced to two years of slavery within Ralgon territory -- and the captain being sentenced to seven. Of course, they would be able to choose their general areas of work. Consequently, they were now able to pay their debts to society in a manner that appealed to them the most -- or the way they hated least, depending on their perspectives.

The Squadron finished its patrol mission, and immediately departed for Imperial borders to assign these slaves to new masters both able and willing to purchase them from the government, and thus make more money flow back into Imperial coffers.