Life After Death
You were merrily trading back and forth, unaware that a hunter lurked off your port bow. Suddenly, you experienced the gut-wrenching thrust of your escape pod taking you back to Federal Headquarters. Your mind reels. Your life, all your money, and that precious hoard of Tivrenian gemstones....gone in an instant. For a while, the thought of quitting dominates your thinking.
Fear not! Even though taking a pod, and losing everything you had, is a large blow -- not all hope is lost. While being a member of an alliance would be better, since you could request help from your alliancemates to get back into a ship, each race has a free racial ship. It's not the best of ships, only capable of thirty holds, but it's a start.
Your escape pod only has 5 cargo holds, so as hard as it may seem, you'll have to trade with those five holds until you earn enough to buy more holds.
Join in the chat, and ask around quietly to see if someone would be willing to help you out. Be polite about it and don't storm around if someone tells you no. While there are a lot of players that will help you out, there are a lot more who won't. Another tactic is to politely talk to the person who podded you. Ask them what you did wrong, how to improve, and if they would be willing to give you a little cash back to help you out again. Again, there are several players who will be willing, and more who are not.
As a final hint, remember to go to the bank often, put your money in your personal account. This will keep your cash safe in case you take another pod.