So lonely...

[McNeo]

On his way to Rhineland, still in Cambridge, Stuart encountered some Corsair legionnaires. It should have been no challenge, but in his emotionally fragile state, the Legionnaires punched through his shield and started damaging his hull with their low-power weapons. He had no choice but to run, as he could concentrate on nothing else than his desperate state of mind. Even this proved to be a challenge for Stuart in his agile Ravenclaw, as his ship bent and buckled under a hail of cruise distruptors.

A naval cruiser patrol intercepted the Corsair legionnaires as they were about to finish Stuart off, and saved him and his ship. With the ship integrity failing, he made an emergency landing at Freeport 2. If he couldn't even perform against Legionnaires, how was he going to get past the Hessians in Omega 7?

He decided to chance it. He had to chance it. He had no other choice. But first, the repairs had to be completed. Extensive repairs, which cost him a small fortune. The engine manifolds had to be replaced, as did the fuel injection system. The gold wireing had to be totally reinstalled due to its massively damaged state, and the cockpit had to be examined with ultra-sound imaging to detect any structural failures.

Anxious in the station's bar, surrounded by shifty figures and people dressed as criminals, he hid his ID card the best he could. An Ex-bounty hunter was never in favour with any of those that frequented the freeports, especially those border world types.

Stuart's anxiety showed plainly for all those around him to see. They could see the desperate look in his eyes, hear the constant tapping of his feet, and feel his darkened mood as it perforated the atmosphere of the bar. Finally, after drawing the gazes of the figures in the Bar and knowing he was in mortal
danger, Stuart jumped up and ran out of the room. He reached the temporary residence reservations desk and hurriedly rented a room for a few nights.

As soon as Stuart got into his newly rented room, he opened up the viewscreen and selected the option for inter-system communication. He looked up Rick's residence on Bonn station, but it was found to be uninhabitted, with a short message telling him that Rick Deckard was on Planet Gran Canaria. In Omega 49. The message desination was automatically corrected and Stuart began speaking.

"Rick, I need to meet you. Desperately. Please, I can't get off this blasted station because of the unlawful types that hang around here. I had to even be rescued against a small wing of Legionnaires by the Bretonian military! Please come to Freeport two, I need your help..."

A small 'ping' noise was heard, and the message was delivered. Hopefully, Rick would see it soon. Stuart's sanity depended on it. Everything depended on it. How could he live his life not being a fighter pilot? It was the only life he knew, the only skill he possessed.

As Stuart undressed and got into bed, he almost started to cry again. This time, however, he just turned over, and fell asleep. Still, tears formed as he was sleeping and were absorbed by the bedsheets. This fiasco had broken into his subconcious mind too. It was only a matter of time before he lost his sanity, conciously and unconciously.