Mike Pearson lay in his cot on the edge of sleep -- he always felt drained after flying his fighter. His eyes slowly closed and he let the darkness engulf him. Mike Pearson slipped away into his nightmares...

No light entered the small room. None had for hours, or were they days? Mike Pearson could not tell. His stomach ached, for he could not even recall the last time he had eaten. Mike barely had the energy to breathe. He prayed for death.

The light faded from the room and, once again, Mike Pearson was alone.

Freeport - A Renegade base

Freeport was the base for one of the slightly more organized Renegade factions, headed by the Captains of Freeport; a selection of the most dangerous criminals, ruthless geniuses, and hot-shot pilots that mankind has ever produced.

Duke Bullwhip was disguised. His black jumpsuit bore no markings that would relate him with the Fugitive Retrieval Agency, and his boots had metal tips. Duke's eyes were two different colors; the left eye was green and the right eye was brown. This was not natural, however. On his right eye, Duke wore a special lens, which would allow him to scan people and see if they could be Needle.

Tom Hunnicut carried a single weapon: a polished dagger with a long blade. Unlike Duke, who kept his blaze pistol concealed, Tom carried it proudly, and knew that the renegades would leave him alone. The two made their way down the corridor and into the Freeport spaceport bar.

With a low "whoosh" sound, the door slid open. Tom and Duke, standing side-by-side, entered the smoke-filled bar. Many of the customers looked like stereotypical members of hover-cycle gangs from the old movies. Duke ignored these gruff renegades, and scanned the bar for Needle. He half-closed his eyes, and looked at the readings that were displayed on the inside of his eye-lids.

No matches were found.

In the corner of his eye, Duke saw motion. He saw a rather tall man exit the bar. He had no way of telling if this was Needle or not, but he had a hunch, and Duke always went with his gut feelings. He swiftly moved out of the bar and into the corridor; Tom followed close behind. The tall figure glanced back and saw that the two men were following him. He broke into a run.

Although Duke was tall, this man was taller and his legs were longer. He bolted down the hallway, and Duke ran as fast as he could, but still trailed the tall man. The running man ran up to a computer terminal in the wall and punched in something on a keypad. The time that the man stopped for gave Duke the time to catch up. As Duke ran past the wall terminal, he heard a "snap." He ignored it, because he was so close to catching the tall man.

Gripping his blaze pistol, Duke leaped through the air in an attempt to tackle the tall running man.

Tom Hunnicut was a few feet behind Duke Bullwhip, and ran at his top speed. When he reached the computer terminal the man had stopped at, he felt a force field smack him in the face. The man had set up a trap, but Duke was too quick to get caught. There are other ways around, he thought. Besides, it'll be easier if we trap him and he has nowhere to run. Tom ran off in the opposite direction.

Duke landed on top of the tall man. He let the lens examine him... A perfect match for Needle Edwards. Pressing the barrel of the blaze pistol to the man's back, he ordered: "Put your hands where I can see them."

The man did as he was told.

"Have you ever heard of Needle Edwards?" asked the bounty hunter.

"No," he replied. "The name is... unfamiliar to me."

"Really?" asked Duke. He pulled the lens from his eye. "Because this lens tells me that you either are Needle Edwards, or you are a clone. And, either way, you're coming back to UE space with me." Duke grabbed a pair of handcuffs and went to snap them around the fugitive's wrists.

Unexpectedly, Duke caught a punch in the jaw. Momentarily stunned, Duke stepped backwards. He caught one of Needle's boots in his face. Raising the blaze pistol, Duke aimed directly at Needle's head. "Not smart, Edwards. You can't win," he said.

Needle revealed that, in his left hand, he held the energy cartridge [the blaze pistol's ammunition]. "I already have," he replied, grinning.

Duke saw Tom, wielding his long dagger, creeping up behind the fugitive. Stall him, thought Duke. "I guess you are too smart for bounty hunters," said Duke.

Needle, seeing Tom's reflection in Duke's eye, braced himself for a hit from behind. Instead, he felt the blade of Tom's dagger sink into his back. The last thing he heard before he hit the ground was laughter.

The Goliath came equipped with two prisoner containment cells. Both were rather simple; they were rooms with a toilet and a cot. Needle Edwards opened his eyes and stared at the gray ceiling of the cell. His head hurt, and his back hurt even more.

"They will never get past my fleet," muttered Needle under his breath.

Alert klaxons began to blare once again in the cockpit of the Goliath...