After eleven endless minutes, the Goliath set its course for the jump point that led out of Riomor. The entire crew had been silent since the power came back online, each of them mourning for the loss of Chris Quinn. Duke Bullwhip and Tom Hunnicut were at their usual posts in the cockpit.

�Sir,� said Tom, glancing over at the Goliath�s skipper.

Duke turned his head. �Yeah?�

�Incoming transmission, sir. Text only.�

�Put it up on the monitor,� said Duke.

Tom nodded. He pushed a few buttons on his computer console. A black screen with white text flashed on to the comm-screen.

It read:

At first Duke didn't quite understand the message. The truth of Omega? he thought. Then it hit him. Outpost Omega. The Battle of Sol. It all fit together.

Duke only had one �old friend� who knew about the hidden frontier outpost -- Octavian Augustus. During the days of the Voinian War, the United Earth was recruiting mercenary star-pilots to help fly against the Voinians. Duke Bullwhip and Octavian Augustus were two such mercenaries. They piloted a Helian called Dragonslayer. They offered their services to the United Earth government, and got caught up in something they would have rather avoided...

Was it really Octavian, though? The two mercenaries had gone down their separate paths years ago. Why, after all this time, would Octavian contact him? Because, Duke answered his own question, who else could he tell about Outpost Omega without being �erased�? He decided to take the chance and go to Huron. The crew had been overworked lately, anyway. They could use a few days of shore leave.

�Plot a course for Huron in the Huron system,� Duke ordered.

Tom simply nodded.

He pushed a button on his wrist comm-unit. �Attention all crew members,� he said into the comm-unit. �This is your captain. There has been a slight change of plans; instead of returning to Sol with the prisoner we will stop for a few days on Huron. Something has... come up.� He pushed another button on the wrist comm-unit, disconnecting it from the ship�s P.A. system.

�We�re meeting Octavian Augustus,� Duke said to Tom as they entered the Shark�s Tooth Tavern, Huron�s spaceport bar; �an old friend of mine.�

The bar got its name from a large shark tooth that its owner had discovered. Its size indicates a shark that would dwarf even Earth�s own extinct megaladon. This could be expected on a world such as Huron, however, for it, and its wildlife, were considerably younger than Earth. In one corner of the bar sat �privateers� who were watching, and, in their turn, being watched by, the UE officers that occupy the other side of the bar. Between the two groups, locals spoke in hushed whispers, but both sides were ignoring them.

Duke and Tom sat down at a table near the privateers. Duke placed a hand on his blaze pistol, he was ready to act if this was a trap. With a low �whoosh� the door to the bar opened. In walked a bald man who was about six feet tall. His left eye was a prosthetic, and was a shade of onyx black. Another renegade, thought Tom, but then he noticed Duke waving the man over. That�s Octavian!? he nearly jumped out of his seat.

The man with the prosthetic eye -- Special Agent Octavian Augustus -- sat down at the table. He extended his hand to Duke.

Duke shook his hand. �It has been too long, old friend,� he said.

�Far too long,� Octavian agreed.

�This,� Duke nodded at Tom, �is my copilot and a fellow bounty hunter, Tom Hunnicut.�

�Pleased to meet you,� Octavian said, extending his hand.

Tom (still uncertain about this stranger) shook his hand. He noted that Octavian�s grip was unusually strong.

�Time is of the essence, Duke. We will get reacquainted later. The renegades have learned the truth about,� he lowered his voice, �Outpost Omega. A raid is planned.�

�A raid?� Duke laughed. �They�d never get past Omega�s defense fleet.�

Octavian shook his head. �With the combined forces of the Captains of Freeport, and the Nadir, they stand a good chance of getting past them. Outpost Omega is well-armed and well-protected, but they are also naive. The jump points into the nebula are hidden, and it gives them a false sense of security.

�When a supply ship hyperjumped into the system, the renegades caught the hypertrail and followed it in. The defense fleet obliterated them, but, when the ships didn�t return, their curiosity was piqued. They had to find out the answer to this mystery. The Nadir sent a large portion of his fleet in, and they discovered the wonders of Outpost Omega. The portion of his fleet was, too, obliterated, but one scoutship made it back unnoticed.

�Security has been undoubtedly tightened at the frontier outpost, but, with the threat apparently gone, they will not be ready for a full onslaught of renegades. I must warn them. And you,� he pointed to Duke Bullwhip, �must help me.�

�Anything for you, old friend,� Duke replied.

�Not for me,� Octavian corrected. �For the entire galaxy. You and I both know what goes on at Outpost Omega, and we both know what would happen if radicals like the renegades came across even a small fraction of such advanced technology.�

Tom frowned. He was totally lost.

Duke noted Tom�s expression. �All will be explained in time,� he said to his copilot. �But, like Octavian said, time is of the essence. We must get back to the Goliath.�

Needle Edwards stood in his prisoner containment cell. Using a piece of metal that he broke off of his cot, he�d managed to remove his handcuffs. He knew that Duke and Tom (the only two who posed a threat to him) were gone. Free from his shackles, he only had one more obstacle, the force field.

He heard footsteps. One of the oafish Krait pilots was approaching! Needle had his plan all worked out. When the pilot (Daniel Wright) was within earshot, Needle began to groan in pain, and he threw himself on the floor.

�Uh-oh,� said Daniel. Duke and Tom wouldn�t like to have the prisoner die in the single hour that they�d left the ship. �Are you okay?�

Needle�s only response was a groan. �Help me,� he whispered.

Daniel glanced around. �God damn it,� he swore to himself as he deactivated the force field. �Why do I have to do everything?�

No sooner than the buzzing of the force field had been silenced, Needle was on his feet. He jumped through the air and tackled the pilot. Needle was tall and lanky compared to the muscular pilot, but the element of surprise was his main advantage.

�Mike!� he yelled, seeing Pearson enter the hallway.

Needle kicked Wright in the forehead, knocking him out cold. Pearson was running, but Needle had already opened the hatch and had one foot towards freedom.

�Dan?� Pearson asked, trying to wake the pilot. �Dan!�

Needle took off and ran away from the Goliath.