The Headhunters are a major criminal organization based in the Pyro system that specializes in smuggling, theft, and protection. Originally from the Virgil system, the gang first rose to prominence as smugglers in the 2610s SEY, when they established a fast shipping route from Virgil to Terra through Nyx and Pyro that proved to be difficult for authorities to detect.
By the 2620s, they fully relocated to Ruin Station, where they could more easily avoid encounters with the Advocacy. It was during this era that they adopted the Human skull into their symbolism, and began including motifs of it in tattoos, personal decor, and graffiti. A location marked with a Headhunter skull warned other criminals that the area was under their control. Much of Pyro stayed under their influence until the criminal syndicate the Drop Kings challenged their authority in the 2740s in an effort to expand their smuggling network, resulting in a series of conflicts that caused control of Ruin Station to pass back and forth between the gangs for several decades. The Drop Kings ultimately withdrew when they clashed with another criminal syndicate in 2912. Since then, the gangs are officially on neutral terms, though they maintain a sense of rivalry.