Somali pirates have their sights on another unsuspecting merchant ship.  Their small, fast boats rapidly overhaul the cargo vessel in the dark.  rough sea.  The ship has both radar and vigilant lookouts, but the weather’s not good and it’s a moonless night.  Radar operators find it hard to distinguish small boats from waves.  

The pirates are a couple of hundred feet from the ship when, suddenly, with a roar, a tongue of fire lashes down from the sky, narrowly missing them.  Then they hear a voice, both over their radios and from the sky. 

“Turn about and head back to port.  We’ll be in to see you shortly.   Keep on course and die.  Fire on us and die – and we’ll take out your port as well.”

Search lights flash on from above and the pirates can just see a strange looking craft through the glare, just out of their range. 

It’s an airship, something used to protect convoys back in World War II.  Then they hear another sound.  It’s an AC-130 – that’s where that tongue of fire came from.  It’s orbiting them.  It had its engines on idle as it approached – they never even heard it coming.

“That’s PUFF!” one of the pirates shouts in alarm.  He can blow the **** out of us just like we might swat a fly!”  The pirate also knows PUFF’s other capability – He carries artillery and can easily sink any one of them with one shot.  He’s just waiting for them not to comply. 

The pirates don’t realize it but there’s also another player well out of range.  The airship is “painting” them and a fighter carrying a laser guided bomb can easily destroy their several ships with little effort.

The pirates are met and arrested on their way back to port.  They, at least, will spend some time in jail.