There are 11 pirate cards in the sectors, of which nine begin in reserves. If a pirate card is turned up, the opposing player does not immediately reveal the card, but instead tells the player that there is a pirate attack. Each pirate may demand some amount of Astro as a ransom. If the ransom is paid, the flight continues. However, if the player instead chooses to fight, the player rolls a blue combat die, and adds its value to the combined levels of the player's cannons to form its combat value, while the opponent rolls the blue die and adds its value to the value printed on the pirate card (which may be anywhere between 2 and 7) to determine the pirates' combat value.