Widespread cloning is not something that happens or is accessible to most people within our little universe here in-lore. The current timeline here is some 21-22 years after the end of the original story of Freelancer, the technology wasn't featured in Freelancer, and it isn't a prominent feature of the universe of "Discovery Freelancer", either.
If you don't like the idea of roleplaying that your character was stuck in a pod after you lose a fight, RP that your character's ship was simply severely damaged and forced to retreat, as opposed to having a ship be "Destroyed" everytime you're on the losing end of a "Blue Message"
That said, the initial post in here, seeking to explain how a pod would survive, is pretty cool and nice to have as a reference.