Zeriatin then demands that Hawk steal four Company fuel ships from a depot on Regulus V, but as an incentive, the boy must remain at the station. Hawk refuses to leave Peter behind, but agrees to steal the ships. He orders his crew member Amanda (Patsy Pease) to take Peter home in one of ships once the job is pulled off. Hawk returns to Peter's cabin, but finds the boy missing and races back to the bar. In the meantime, Peter spots the bounty hunters and escapes down a maintenance shaft. He makes it to a vent grating outside the tavern just as a barroom brawl ensues among belligerent spacers. Unfortunately, Hawk is unable to hear Peter's cries for help over the ruckus and the bounty hunters capture him. Thinking Zeriatin has taken Peter, Hawk confronts him, but just then, Zariatin is alerted that the bounty hunters are making an unauthorized departure which Hawk believes can only mean that they have the boy. Hawk immediately give chase, but the hunters soon encounter the Company robot ship. Programmed for self-defense, the ship reacts to being fired upon and destroys the bounty hunter's ship. Peter manages to get away in an escape pod which is later picked up by Hawk once Flightplan senses he is still alive. Back on course to Regulus V, Hawk teaches Peter how to fire the ship's lasers using asteroids as target practice. Once at the planet, Hawk's crew go after the tanker ships and Hawk says his goodbyes to Peter. After a battle with security robots, Hawk's crew succeeds in taking the ships, but nearby, the Company observes the theft with the robot ship and orders it to follow the convoy. Meanwhile, Amanda breaks off to take Peter home, but her ship is ambushed by starfighters sent by Zeriatin and crashes on a nearby planet. Afterward, Amanda is killed by Zeriatin's thugs and Peter is captured. He is taken back to the station and brought before Zeriatin who tells him he will be ransomed back to his parents and his friends will be killed. Having returned to the station, Flightplan tells the others, to their disbelief, that he senses Peter is still somewhere aboard and goes looking for him. He finds and rescues the boy, but is shot by Zeriatin's guards as they try and flee. Peter gets away and finds Hawk in the bar with his two remaining crewmen. The station now comes under alert as the robot ship closes in.