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Biography

Official name: Christopher William Turner
Nickname: Chris
Born in: 792 A.S. (27 Years)
Origin: Planet Denver, Colorado
Citizenship: Libertonian


His story


Breaking loose

Christopher William Turner, named after his Libertonian father William Turner. His Bretonian mother Alice Turner died in the hospital on Planet Denver while giving birth to Christopher. William Turner, a famous lawyer in Liberty sued the hospital as he was convinced that the hospital made critical mistakes while Alice Turner was giving birth to Christopher. However, William lost the case which caused him to loose faith in the justice system. William quit his job as a lawyer and started to take matters into his own hands. Via his sources within the justice system William was capable to track cases where the suspect was being set free even though it was obvious the person was guilty. He offered the friends, family or even the victim alone a way to still get the justice they so deeply need. William often took Christopher along with him on his '€˜business trips'€™ where William was going to visit a '€˜client'€™. Usually Christopher had to wait outside while his father went in to '€˜finish a deal'€™. But when Christopher reached the age of 14 he was allowed by his father to watch him at work. At first it made a impact, but after two years Christopher was allowed to pull the trigger himself. Christopher was raised by the hatred of his father. Eventually William became physically unfit to do all these '€˜deals'€™ and he was sending his own son more and more. Eventually when Christopher reached the age of 18 he was William'€™s personal hit-man. Even though Christopher knew he was killing bad people, criminals, murderers, rapists, thieves, he was starting to study about the world around him, behind his fathers back. William often told Christopher about how corrupt people are in Liberty, and how its government was only interested in their financial status other then the welfare of the people. However Christopher started to learn that this was not true at all, that his father was telling him these things because of what happened in the hospital. As Christopher traveled around Sirius he met a lot of people, some provided him information about Liberty. Even though Christopher respected his father for all that he taught him, he still had the desire to cut himself loose from his father and to take control of his own life. It was not easy, and it took him many years to get to this point. But now he was finally ready, at the age of 27 he walked up to his father and told him he no longer had interest in working for him. His father took the news well, he said he knew this time would come, that he has been fighting these criminals long enough. Williams was going to let his son go, and was going to move away from Liberty. There are currently no records known of the possible location of William. The year is 819 A.S. and Christopher now lives in his ship roaming around Liberty, in a search for his calling. Because of his fathers hatred Christopher only knows betrayal, hatred, corruption and ice cold business. He knows no friendship, nor love. Only time can tell what will happen to Christopher next.

''Giving your son a skill is better than giving him one million Sirius Credits.''



Day one

It was Christopher his first day in Liberty after he departed from his father. Knowing he had to go make a name for himself he had no idea where to actually start. He just flew around to see what a daily routine in Liberty looks like, and it surprised him to say the least. There were traders with some high value cargo on board flying solo, and if that wasn't enough they tried to get away after being caught by a criminal. Somehow it looked like the captain of the trade vessel had no fear to let his crew and himself die. It surprised Christopher how strong the criminals have gotten over time. Coming to Planet Manhattan as a criminal used to be considered a suicide run only years ago, but today it seems to be a daily routine. Somehow the Liberty defenses have gone soft, allowing all sorts of scum to break through even to the heart of Liberty.
Christopher also located a Weapons Shop called Cody, who seemed to be selling some sort of prototype weaponry. It seems to be a normal thing to have these prototypes on board ones ship, at least from Christopher's point of view. Not knowing the dangers of these prototypes Christopher decided to stick with the man made manufactured weapon system. Even though Christopher has an eye out on the Liberty military weapons he still carries weapons from the Civilian gun-line until he has proofed himself worthy to the Liberty authorities.
That's what Christopher's plan was next, he needed to find a way to start proofing himself towards Liberty. He got in contact with a Universal Shipping pilot who was willing to let Christopher participate in a combat simulation to indicate Christopher's skills worthy to be hired as an escort for Universal Shipping. He seemed to have passed the test, but it remains uncertain if he will ever be hired.

''I will prepare and some day my chance will come.''



Call of arms

After the simulation test Christopher managed to get a job for the Liberty Navy. It was nothing special, just cleaning up some area of the most annoying criminals alive; Liberty Rogues. While Christopher was fighting off the squadrons of Rogue rookies he realized that the current weapon systems on board of his ship shall not preform as he wishes when facing harder targets. After completing the basic missions for the Liberty Navy Christopher filed in a request for military hardware; The Magma Hammers.
With the request still pending one of Christopher's sources informed him of a possible Universal Shipping convoy. Seemed that Cody, the weapons dealer Christopher located not too long ago, was in need of equipment and seemed to use Universal Shipping as his delivery service. Christopher managed to get in touch with mister Gruzlund of Universal Shipping, and he was interested in having Christopher along for the ride. It seemed they were heading into the Omega systems to gather the supplies. Upon arrival Christopher landed his ship on Gran Canaria to talk with the equipment dealer, while he was getting a nuclear mine launcher of his own he overheard a rumor about his father. A Zoner seemed to have heard a William Turner coming to the Omegas from Liberty. However Christopher had no interest in finding his father, and continued to do what he was hired for. He gave the Universal employees a good impression and they will consider hiring Christopher again in the near future. Still, getting those Magma Hammers is critical for Christopher at this moment. All he can do right now, is wait.

''Weapons are an important factor in war, but not the decisive one; it is man and not materials that counts.''



Unfinished business

The Republic of Liberty have denied Christopher's request for military hardware. This due to the fact that Christopher's reputation is still too grim in the eyes of the Republic. Knowing this Christopher had to adapt his plan in order to increase his reputation among the Liberty people. He returned to Battleship Rio Grande in the Colorado system where he met a Bounty Hunter named Ben Carlson. The Bounty Hunter heard about Christopher's situation and wanted to provide Christopher a way to proof himself. There was a test for Christopher, a mission. It seemed that the Lane Hackers were constructing a new base at the other side of the planet, a man named Russel Fair seemed to be in control of security around the perimeter. It was Christopher's job to take down all Lane Hacker activity, and to destroy the base construction site without any assistance. It seemed that there were six Lane Hacker vessels circling around the construction site. Christopher switched all his electronics off to get closer, once he was in close range he re-activated his systems and surprised the Lane Hackers. Once Christopher cleared the perimeter of Lane Hacker activity he took shots at the construction site, which took not long to explode. With his mission completed Christopher was curious to find out what Ben Carlson could do for Christopher. Upon returning on Rio Grande the Bounty Hunter walked up to Christopher with a enthusiastic look on his face. It seemed that sources within the Bounty Hunters Guild managed to track down the man who financed this Lane Hacker construction site. It seemed to be a Liberty Rogue who went by the name of Bryan Arenson, he was seen in the Galileo system not too long ago. Christopher immediately jumped into his ship and headed for the Galileo system, as expected the Rogue was waiting for Christopher at the given coordinates. When Christopher got in close and started to take shots at Bryan Arenson, they did not returned fire and tried to cruise into the field nearby. Christopher knew that this could lead into a trap and had to take out his target before he managed to get away. When the Rogue was nearly out of range he took a critical hit on his engine, causing a chain reaction of explosions. With the Rogue now dead Christopher once again returned to Rio Grande. This time the Bounty Hunter was satisfied, and he introduced Christopher to Lieutenant Cynthia Harrison of the Liberty Navy. She also had an urgent mission in which she could use a Freelancer like Christopher. A reconnaissance unit had spotted a large Rogue activity near Planet Denver, they expect the Rogues to set up a ambush for a Universal Shipping trade vessel carrying high valued cargo. Christopher was to investigate the scene and confirm what the reconnaissance unit had provided. With a Navy assault wing on stand-by Christopher went to the given coordinates to see if there was any Rogue activity in the area. When Christopher got close to his coordinates he picked up eight hostile signals, Rogues. The intel seemed to be right, there was a large force setting up a trap. With assistance of the Liberty Navy they took on all eight Rogue ships. Without taking any losses themselves all Rogue targets were destroyed and all units were on their way back to headquarters. With the Navy backup now gone Christopher picked up another four hostile targets. More Liberty Rogues under the command of Keith Appelbaum approached the scene, because their backup was too late they wanted revenge. They thought of finding this by engaging Christopher, who immediately defended himself. Because the Rogues fought with rage they lost focus, and therefore got blown up by the blaze of Christopher's ship. After the last Rogue was removed Christopher realized something, since he left his fathers' side 45 people lost their lives because of Christopher. This only motivated Christopher as the people he killed were not deemed worthy to breathe. The Liberty Navy seemed happy with Christopher's assistance, and Lieutenant Cynthia Harrison told Christopher about a special list of pilots who get payed for assisting the Liberty government in cleaning house. Christopher could try and apply for this list on Planet Manhattan, so that's where he headed. With the request still pending Christopher headed out into the city of Manhattan.

''Proving yourself in a field where the casualty rate is so notoriously high is an ongoing challenge.''



Greed

After a long night out on Planet Manhattan Christopher took his ship out for a spin. While in orbit of Planet Manhattan he picked up transmissions between a unknown contact and a Interspace trading vessel. Something did not felt right for Christopher and he got closer to investigate. When he got close he could clearly make out that a guy named John Woodpecker was now shooting at the Interspace trading vessel, who desperately tried to get away. Christopher informed the captain on board of the Interspace trading vessel that he was willing to get mister Woodpecker off his back for only a small fee. This was his chance, if only he is being given the 'go ahead' Christopher would finally have his chance to actually prove himself to Liberty. However, the captain on board of the trading vessel did not replied and kept heading towards the Navy academy named West Point. He actually made it there too, and Woodpecker kept firing at the trading vessel even though he was taking a lot of fire himself from the station and a Navy patrol nearby. When Woodpecker started to launch multiple mines it caused to make impact on not just the Interspace trading vessel, but also on the base and many nearby ships. Somehow Christopher felt like he needed to do something. So even though nobody was willing to pay him he went in to remove Woodpecker, away from the academy. There was a firefight, which was rudely disrupted by a Navy dreadnought calling for a cease fire. Christopher thought the dreadnought would take sanctions against Woodpecker for his violence. Seemed Christopher misjudged the situation as the commander of the dreadnought no longer responded as he claimed to be planning an attack on a Rheinland strike force. Christopher started a conversation with Woodpecker, seemed that this man was once working as an escort pilot. But he was convinced that these 'traders' are selfish greedy people with no interests in things outside of their own concern. Knowing the trading vessel got away Christopher ended the conversation and headed for Los Angeles. He hired a hotel room downtown and started to re-think his steps. Somehow nobody seems to be willing to give Christopher a chance, and no matter what actions he takes there seems to be no progress in his career as Freelancer. As of this moment Christopher is stuck, he does not know where he belongs and if he even belongs somewhere, plus there's no progress for him in creating a reputation of his own. Christopher now wonders if Woodpecker had a point.

''The be-all and end-all of life should not be to get rich, but to enrich the world.''



What lies behind the stars

With Christopher still being stuck on how to proceed further he knew he had to get out, away from Liberty. He knew that exploring would do him good. He would be on his own, he would explore star systems which would be good to know in case he would be hired as an escort. His plan was to travel to the Tau systems, then through Kusari towards the Sigma system. Then he would take the Omicron systems to get to the Omegas, then simply back to Liberty via Bretonia. And so Christopher headed out, not knowing what will happen to him and what would be at the other side of each jump. He seemed to have discovered the Tau systems at the right time as there were hardly any patrols, via information he gathered from people that lived there on bases Christopher managed to find Freeport 10 in the Tau 37 system. He decided to stick around and spend the night in the Freeport, he met some people in the bar. A Bounty Hunter told him his valuable stories of how he survived operations inside Omicron Alpha, the heart of the Outcast empire. The next morning Christopher made his way back out of the Tau's, only this time it was different. Many Outcast patrols intercepted Christopher and engaged him, it was hard getting out but Christopher still managed to reach Kusari alive. Still he was out of harms way, patrols of Golden C and Blood Dragons kept coming, when Christopher fought his way to Honshu things seemed to calm down. He jumped into the Tau systems and explored a few important sectors, most of the Sigma systems were abandoned and quiet. There was some trade traffic and a few patrols, but the view was unbelievable. In Christopher's opinion the Sigma systems are one of the prettiest ones. He jumped into Omicron Theta and took a small break at the Freeport, this system seemed to be crawling with Bounty Hunters so it was a pleasant visit. One of the Bounty Hunter told Christopher a way through the Omega systems all the way towards Bretonia, he also told Christopher about the danger in the Omega's. There are a lot of radiation pockets inside several systems, and there's a continues war going on between the Red Hessians from Rheinland and the Corsair Empire from the Omicrons. Christopher was determined that he would make it through and made his way through the Omega systems. Like the Bounty Hunter said there were a lot of radiation pockets, and many patrols of Corsairs and Red Hessians. He noticed a high amount of mining vessels in the Omega 7 system, which were bothered by a Red Hessian. Not caring for either one of them Christopher made his way into Bretonia, and from there back home in Liberty without much trouble. The radiation damage Christopher's ship had damaged only his communication device as his local channels were busted. Even though Christopher did not gained any contacts or much experience of what the stories are around Liberty he still mapped a lot of Sirius, which is always good to have. This was a pleasant break for Christopher. He realized that there are many separate worlds inside the Sirius system, and most of Christopher his interest goes towards Liberty. Now it's time to figure out a way to survive in Liberty.

''If you wish to advance into the infinite, explore the finite in all directions.''



Show thyself!

Christopher was sitting in his cockpit thinking of a way to earn his money. He knows that there's a lot of competition around him, Mercenaries, Freelancers, all of them looking for work. Christopher was thinking of a way to stand out of the crowd, if he managed to do so only then would he be recognized. He looked at his communication device which fried his local channel frequency, and that's when it struck him. Christopher immediately launched into space and switched on his system wide frequency. Among all the other chatter Christopher shouted 'Freelancer for hire, who's interested?'. Of course he didn't received answer at first, so he flew to the Texas system to do the same thing. With no success there he flew back into New York, this time with success. A member of the Independent Miners Guild named Ian Desari was looking for an escort and replied to Christopher's message. They made a deal for his payment and headed out right away. They went from Liberty, to the Omega's, to Kusari, to Rheinland and back to the Omega's. Being in Rheinland as a Liberty citizen did hardly bothered Christopher, mainly as he has got nothing against the Rheinland people, and also because Christopher is there just for business and not for some shootout with the Military. Christopher does not support the war between the two houses, and sees no reason to get involved. The trip went well, there was only one contact in the Sigma system. A Corsair tried to push his luck, but Christopher got the trade vessel passed him safely. With a successful contract done Christopher headed to Aland Shipyard to spend the night, there he realized that if you just show yourself you'll get noticed. So once Christopher is back home the first thing he will do is making sure people hear him.

''A willing helper does not wait until he is asked.''



Home sweet home

Things started to look up for Christopher, his theory seemed to be very effective. He was being hired regularly by Libertonian organizations. All jobs variated from one and another, some were assassinations and others escort jobs. Christopher was also deemed worthy by the Republic of Liberty to be added as a Freelancing Bounty Hunter, taking bounties for the Liberty authorities. He was now getting paid by the Liberty government for each known criminal taken out. However one organization stood out of the crowd, mister Gruzlund of Universal Shipping Incorporated liked to hire Christopher on a regular basis. He was escorting Universal convoys to wherever they were going. So Christopher was flying all over Sirius along with the elite shippers of Liberty. Christopher got a good impression of the people working in Universal Shipping, and he finds their way of working highly professional. He seemed to learn a lot from these people, as the escorting and protecting of the attending personnel caught Christopher's interests.
With money flowing in Christopher started to look around for a place of his own. Up till now Christopher has been spending the nights either in a cheap hotel or in some cases his own ship. With only a limited amount of funds available to him Christopher managed to find a small place on Planet Houston in the Texas system. Because of the prisons in orbit of Planet Houston there are a lot of ex-convicts trying to make a new start on Planet Houston, most of them fail staying doing so. However Christopher got familiar with the police officers who were assigned to his neighborhood and therefore created his own security bubble. Even though the planet is not the most luxury one, Christopher was still satisfied of finally having a place of his own.

''Home is where you can say anything you please, because nobody pays any attention to you anyway.''



Life changes

With a new home on Planet Houston and an all right career as a Freelancer Christopher still had a feeling he was incomplete. All his father ever taught him was to have a income and a roof above his head, Christopher strongly believed that if he accomplished doing so he would feel at rest. But the current feeling Christopher had was far from it, and so he went back to downtown Manhattan to visit the bar. Christopher did not know why he wanted to go to Manhattan and not just went to visit a bar on Houston, but at least doing so felt right. Christopher arrived at the bar and sat down to get himself a few beers. After he had a few he heard two people walking into the bar, Christopher turned to look. Two Universal Shipping pilots entered as they seemed to be done for the day. Watching the two Universal employees blow off some steam Christopher realized what a tight group those people are. That's when it struck Christopher, because of his childhood he was unfamiliar with love nor friendship. The feeling Christopher had was the feeling of missing out on this love and friendship, a feeling of wanting a family, a group he could belong to. Christopher remembered the kindness of the Universal Shipping employees towards Christopher, and he could also remember mister Gruzlund offering him the chance to join the company himself. Christopher kept observing the two Universal pilots, who were playing cards at the table. When they left hours later Christopher knew what he had to do.

''There is nothing wrong with change, if it is in the right direction.''



Jeffrey Adams

Today was the day, Christopher was going to apply for Universal Shipping. For all his life he was taught that you shouldn't work for any organization as their bosses only gain from your work. But nonetheless Christopher was determined to do this. He had it all figured out, first a training course in the Department of Security, and then striving to become just as good as the other pilots. Christopher arrived at Trenton Outpost, he had to wait for the Chief Security Officer to come get Christopher. While observing his surroundings Christopher realized what a massive corporation Universal Shipping actually is, there's a lot going on all day long. While Christopher was still observing there was a voice in the background, 'Is that him?' a mans voice asked. The secretary complied and the man approached Christopher. 'Hello, my name is Jeffrey Adams and I'm the Chief Security Officer. You must be Chris?' Christopher acknowledged and they went into Jeffrey's office. Jeffrey sat down and told Christopher that he had already heard about him, to Christopher's surprise. Jeffrey continued to explain, it seemed that Jeffrey was looking for a replacement as he wanted to step down as Chief Security Officer for personal reasons. Jeffrey went to his father James Adams to seek for guidance as he did not know any suitable replacement as of now. His father James Adams then informed Jeffrey about a man named William Turner who only recently came to live on the same planet, and who had a son that William speaks highly off. Jeffrey then went to visit William Turner to speak about his son. It seemed that William Turner kept an eye out for Christopher, and knew that he was the right guy for the job. Of course Jeffrey wanted to see Christopher for himself before making any decisions, and so it was convenient that Christopher wanted to apply before Jeffrey managed to reach Christopher. And so Jeffrey and Christopher sat there to talk for hours, about their experiences and opinions. And at the end of their long conversation Jeffrey Adams offered Christopher the chance to start a training period, not only to become a escort pilot but also to replace Jeffrey Adams as Chief Security Officer of Universal Shipping Incorporated. Christopher was stunned by Jeffrey's offer, but they both took a leap of faith as it remains unknown if Christopher would do well as a Chief Security Officer. However the decision was made and Christopher was to report to Jeffrey the very next day.

''Sometimes it's the smallest decisions that can change your life forever.''



Learning the ropes

As intended Christopher walked with Jeffrey Adams for a couple of days. Each day Jeffrey let Christopher do more things on his own, and so with each day passing Christopher became the new Chief Security Officer more and more. Christopher his childhood taught him a lot about strategies and marketing on a market full of violence. However, Christopher did not learned how to lead and command. Even though the Department of Security is a civilian group their responsibilities are big enough to master the required skills in order to be an effective Chief Security Officer. And so at daytime Christopher was walking with Jeffrey to learn about protocols and skills a Chief Security Officers needs to have pinned down, at nighttime Christopher was studying about the art of a leader. Not just a lack of knowledge but also a lack of social skills held Christopher back. President Araevin Teshurr met up with Christopher when he heard about the replacement for Jeffrey Adams, as it seemed Araevin Teshurr was also from Planet Denver and so he had something in common with Christopher. Araevin Teshurr wanted to get to know his new Chief and spend a couple of hours with Christopher in the bar on Trenton Outpost, and found out how closed up and cold Christopher really was. Araevin Teshurr found out by talking to Christopher that they could teach each other a lot. As it seems that Christopher his' social skill was low, and Teshurr's knowledge about combat was low. They both had a long way to go, but this conversation was the start of what was going to be a good friendship.

''When the student is ready, the master appears.''



Adjustment

Everything was going pretty fast for Christopher, from being daddy's personal hit-man to leading a security devision. The sudden change in sides made Christopher loose identity, it felt like he was completely starting over again. Everything Christopher's father told about the Liberty government is now false, or so Christopher believes. Yet, going against your father and leaving him like that even though his father understood it was still an difficult time for Christopher. Adjusting to this new situation was going to take time, not just the new job but also the teamwork and people skill was going to be completely new. Araevin Teshurr and Christopher usually had long conversations while they sat and drink in the bar. Conversations about Christopher his past, and issues he was currently struggling with. Teshurr was really capable to interact with Christopher, mainly due to him also having a different childhood. With each day passing Christopher grew as a person, he was getting better at his job and better at interacting with people. Teshurr managed to crack Christopher open in one of their long conversations, that was the first time Christopher was really opening up. Feelings was something Christopher had to put aside, as business was far more important then emotions. Ever since that conversation Christopher was struggling with himself, trying to identify what he was feeling and what to do with it. Now that Christopher had analyzed what his issues are it was now time for him to adjust, and most importantly to grow. And so he went on each day experiencing everyday life as an Chief Security Officer. He started to get to know his personnel and Christopher took the Department of Security up to the next level. So was Trenton Outpost becoming a big target for trouble, beside the few criminals who desperately tried to get attention there was also an AI cruiser approaching Trenton Outpost. Christopher accompanied by two of his Junior Cadets F.Dering and R.Jones approached the cruiser who soon identified Universal Shipping as hostile and opened fire. Together they took it up against the cruiser, having it take quite some damage. After this attack Christopher realized how well everything was coming along.

''Growth means change and change involves risk, stepping from the known to the unknown.''



Justin Scroll

Everything was running well within the Department of Security, even though Turner now had full control over his Department Jeffrey Adams checked in to see how it was going about once a week. Jeffrey provided the role of advisor for Christopher so making new decisions will go smoothly. But the day emerged, the day that would change everything. Christopher was working in his office when there was somebody knocking on the door, it was Justin Scroll. He is an man with an interesting, yet incomplete background. When he applied for Universal Shipping Incorporated everyone knew that this man was not like the others, he was special. It was Christopher his job to run an security check on him. And so Christopher located an report made by researchers of Planetform, the report was not complete but still sufficient. Justin Scroll was genetically aged by an android of unknown origin, possible using data collected from his deceased mother. Christopher could understand the confusion Justin was probably going through and saw no reason not to hire him. After this Christopher went back to work, not knowing what was about to happen. Justin Scroll made big progress within the Department of Trade and so he flew up high within the ranks. He became Supervisor, and now had the responsibility to organize and run official recognized trade convoys. As Justin recognized his new responsibility he quickly decided to visit Christopher soon.
And so he did, Justin Scroll visited Christopher at his office. Justin asked if he could participate in the training program of the Department of Security in order to gain more knowledge about the job people within this department do. All to benefit his skills at being a Supervisor, Christopher could not refuse. And so Justin Scroll joined the Department of Security to attend the training program. Christopher took Justin with him and got Justin all set up. While they were working together Christopher was starting to get a clear picture of Justin, and knew that this man is still very scared but he yet knows he needs to earn his salary in order to survive. Justin his job within Universal Shipping sure helped him out on a lot of grounds, but then it happened.
Justin Scroll seemed to have issues with his short-term memory, and reported that he feels something is not right. He went to visit the companies doctor but left the station before the doctor could show Justin the results. There were multiple complications, the one causing for his memory loss was Alzheimer's Disease. Everyone in Universal Shipping was put on the look out, and members of the Department of Security were searching for Justin Scroll. That is when Christopher received a call coming from the Milwaukee, it was Captain Ray Finch. It seems that an Bretonia Armed Forces recon wing spotted Justin Scroll in Newcastle not too long ago, and Ray was capable to get in long-range contact with Justin. Christopher immediately got into his ship and launched, heading for the Newcastle system. Something clearly set Christopher off, this was the first time he cared about nothing else but the safety of Justin Scroll. It was shortly after Christopher arrived in Newcastle that he picked up Justin his signal, who was roaming around in open space. It was clear that Justin did not know who and where he was, and Christopher brought him up to speed and quickly set course back to Trenton Outpost. After Christopher delivered Justin back to the medical bay he had to go back to work, but curiosity made Christopher keep track of Justin from an distance.
Christopher now is aware of Justin his issues, and is now considering bringing him an solution.

"A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out."