Needle Edwards snuck up behind the unsuspecting star-pilot. He picked a stick up from off of the ground and placed it against the pilot’s lower back. “This blaze pistol is set to kill,” Needle lied. “One move, and I’ll fire it. Understood?”

The pilot was a young man, and this was probably his first ship. “Y-Yes, sir,” he said. “My w-wallet is in my back pocket,” he stuttered because of fear.

“I have no interest in your petty cash,” replied Edwards. “I want your shuttle.”

“My shuttle?” asked the pilot, who was shocked. “But...”

Needle jabbed his “blaze pistol” into the pilot’s back once more.

“Y-Yes, sir,” the pilot replied reluctantly. He placed his palm on the scanner and the ship’s hatch opened.

Needle brought the stick down over the pilot’s head, snapping it in half and knocking the pilot out cold. He climbed into the small shuttle. A rather inferior ship, Needle thought as he started up the small shuttle. He was used to giving orders to the renegades on his Turncoat, it had been ages since he’d had to manually pilot a ship.

With a low hum, the shuttle lifted up from the ground, and headed towards the heavens. No sooner than the shuttle had lifted off of the ground, ships from the Huron Defense Fleet were leaping forward. They couldn’t possibly know that I’ve stolen a ship, thought Needle. And he was right. The defense fleet ships flew right past his dinky little shuttle.

The shuttle passed through the atmosphere, and Needle saw the target of the defense fleet -- a Turncoat, called the Nadir.

Duke, Tom, and Octavian returned to the Goliath and found that much had occurred during their brief absence. Needle Edwards had escaped and Daniel Wright had been attacked by the infamous renegade.

“Are we gonna report back to the Agency?” Tom asked.

The bounty hunter paused for a moment. The agency wouldn’t like the fact that Edwards had escaped. But that didn’t matter. If the Captains of Freeport got their hands on the Outpost Omega technology... Duke looked over at Octavian. “No,” Duke finally answered. “We’ve got... more important business. Make sure the entire crew is on board. We’re leaving Huron... now.”

Needle Edwards sent a hail to the Nadir.

The famed space pirate’s face appeared on his comm-screen. “200,000 credits and my fleet won’t blow you to bits,” said the Nadir, without even looking up.

“You would demand such a thing from me?” Needle asked.

The Nadir was about to give the order to destroy the puny little shuttle when he looked at the face on his comm-screen. “Needle Edwards! What a surprise to see you in such a ship.”

“Well, I don’t plan on being here long.”