So lonely...

[McNeo]

Stuart Payne was sitting at the bar on Cambridge research station, on a seat close to a window. Three pints of beer had been finished, two of which were sitting upright on the floor. The third empty glass was in his hand.

He had been staring with solemn disbelief out of the viewport, into the depths of space, for over thirty minutes. He felt so lonely. Never had he had anyone that truely cared for him. He had so many secrets, that even his sister did not know. He yearned for emotional fulfillment all of his life, but now more than ever. All he ever did was fly, sleep, fly, then sleep again, with the occasional meal in between. He could never find the love of his life that way.

"Why does everyone else have to be so lucky?" He whispered to himself. "Why am I so unlucky?".

Stuart continued to stare out of the window, pondering how lonely he was, over and over in his mind.

He started to find 'reasons' for his lack of a steady companion. He started blameing his career as a fighter pilot, and his past of a bounty hunter. But wasn't it true that Roy had managed to find his love, deep within Outcast space, of all places. Stuart didn't even know how his once-leader, Aiden Patrick, came across the love of his life.

Stuart started to feel sorry for himself again, his mood sinking into a miserable abyss. Leaning his head back on to the table behind, he closed his eyes, and they started to water. Slowly, the water accumulated, and tears began to fall from his cheeks.

He was finally broken, not by Corsairs, Outcasts, Hessians or any of the other groups of criminals. He was broken by himself.


A day later


Stuart had recovered his mood, but the need to find a companion for the rest of his life had driven him to the only possible course of action. He had no idea how to meet his target, but all he could do was search. Such emotional fragility needed to be fixed as fast as possible, or more miserable nights would be spent in the bar.

He was resigned to search every possible avenue of opportunity. The four houses, Corsairs and Outcasts, Zoners, and the various miner corporations. He needed to do somthing.

He greeted the deckhand with no remenant of the fraility shown a day earlier on his facade, and jumped into his fighter, which flew out of the vaccum chamber as soon as the docking bay doors opened. He didn't know which way to go, or where to start, so he just flew in the first direction that came to mind.

He could be searching in such a manner for the rest of his life. Indeed, his life, he felt, was not worth living anymore. He had no friends, a family that hated him, and no one to comfort him.

Lonely...

An idea popped into his mind. Why not visit Rick? He was the closest person Stuart had to a friend. Many nights spent drunk together, maybe he knew what Stuart needed to know. A fools errand, maybe, but he needed to try.

Every avenue of opportunity. Now, at least, Stuart had a starting point.