Adapt, outsmart, get creative, earn cash. Repeat, die to random ship fire, start over. Adapt, outsmart, get an actual gun, make several trades to both sides (whichever has the most cash at the moment), join a mercenary faction. Blow myself and the mercenary faction up when our ideals diverge. Start over, join a trader faction, steal from the trader faction, get scrapped by Kingdom/Empire soldiers, start over. Make my own faction, CONQUER HALF THE GALAXY! POWAH, UNLIMITED POWAH! Get thrown down a shaft by your apprentice, start over. Make another faction, CONQUER HALF THE GALAXY AGAIN! Get trapped in my own space station castle as it's blown up--in the words of Oda Nobunaga: It was inevitable!
O-Obviously I'm of the pragmatist approach...