"Jolly Roger" Drone

The "Jolly Roger" Drone is a lightweight, speedy combat drone used by the Space Pirates. It was originally based on Federation designs and technology, but has been modified from its original plans. Powered by Phazon, it is very maneuverable, at the cost of any significant armor. The Drone's weapon is a laser cannon mounted on the front of it, which resembles an eye. It is first seen on Norion, and they are found in many areas after that. They slightly resemble Sentry Drones. "Jolly Roger" Drones are often deployed in large groups, perhaps to compat their lack of armour.

Their cannon can seemingly be modified to fire different Beams, as one is seen utilising the Nova Beam technology on the Pirate Homeworld. However, in this instance the modification was purely for maintenance purposes.

Logbook entry
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption: "The 'Jolly Roger' Drone is designed for quick aerial maneuvers, but this comes at the cost of survivability. The fragile armor of the unit is vulnerable to weapon fire of any type. The Jolly Roger is based on Federation tech, but has been considerably upgraded. Powered by Phazon, the mechanoid can be a serious threat in battle, especially in groups."

Etymology

 * Jolly Roger is the name given to any of various flags flown to identify a ship's crew as pirates. The one most often identified as the Jolly Roger today is the skull and crossbones. This was used by four pirates, captains Edward England, John Taylor, Sam Bellamy and John Martel. However, plain black flags were often employed by most pirates in the 17th-18th century. The flags were flown to frighten victims into surrendering without a fight, as it conveyed the message that the attackers were outlaws who would not consider themselves bound by the usual rules of engagement -- and might slaughter those they defeated. (Since captured pirates were usually hanged, they didn't have much to gain by asking quarter if defeated.) The same message was sometimes conveyed by a red flag.


 * The name goes back at least to Charles Johnson's "A General History of the Pyrates", in 1724. He cites two pirates as having named their flag "Jolly Roger": Bartholomew Roberts in June, 1721 and Francis Spriggs in July, 1723. While the two used the same name, their designs were different, suggesting that already it was a generic term rather than one for any single design. Neither consisted of a skull and crossbones. Richard Hawkins, captured by pirates in 1724, reported that the pirates had a black flag bearing the figure of a skeleton stabbing a heart with a spear, which they named "Jolly Roger".


 * Many assume that the name comes from the French jolie rouge: "pretty red". During the Elizabethan era "Roger", derived from "rouge", was a term for vagrants who "pretended scholarship" and was also applied to privateers in the English Channel. Another theory states that "Jolly Roger" is a corruption of "Ali Raja", a Tamil pirate. Yet another states that it was taken from a nickname for the Devil, "Old Roger". The "jolly" appellation may be derived from the apparent grin of a skull.