Burn Sky Until We See Lines (One Sith Territory)

[Kaile Vera]

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ONE SITH TERRITORY ​

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C * O * R * E * L * L * I * A * N​

S E C T O R ​

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// The Messa
[member="Kurt Meyer"]


It would have been easy.

It should have been easy.

Things rarely ever did when it came to Kurt and Kaile.

Things were looking up. All they had to do was get out of the Corellian System unnoticed. Normally, a rather easy situation. The Corellian Sector, while frequently patrolled by the One Sith, also held a lot of Trade Traffic. With the reconstruction of Corellia and the series of Arceneau Trade Stations scattered throughout, the chances of picking up a single stealth ship trying to exit the system would have been fairly easy to overlook.

At least, until the jiry rigged stealth system Kaile and Kurt had worked on took the literal poodoo.

To begin, Kaile now understood fully well what Kurt meant that the Messa had an accident. The hyperdrive had exploded. While the bulk of the damage had been picked up, the scars remained on on the inside. Where shrapnel had dug into the bulkhead, where char marks now discolored metal.

Kurt had fixed what he could, but he had been so set at finding Kaile, combined with being by himself to do the repairs, meant that it only went so far.

Now they were traveling without a working cloak.

"We'll just have to navigate like normal. No need to stick out like a sore thumb." if anything, if they stuck to the trade routes... perhaps they would be fine.

It was a Sif courier ship after all.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

Easy going.

That was the name of the game. Don't spook anyone, don't look scary, just go easy. Kurt took a deep breath, his eyes wavering and flashing towards Kaile. It wasn't like they would really know who they were, no one could or would, but it was a scary prospect. The Messa was fast, but he doubted that they could outrun an entire sector fleet, or rather, he doubted that he could dodge his way around that much turbo-laser fire. At a certain point he would get tired, and then...boop.

No more Kurt or Kaile.

"Yeah." He answered her. "Just go easy."

For some odd reason it was far more difficult to act at ease when you were trying to act then it actually was when you were at ease. Did that make any sense? Probably not. Kurt frowned for a moment, shifting his hands on the controls as The Messa slowly floated across the Corellian Sector. Briefly he wondered why the One Sith presence wasn't as heavy here as it should have been, he figured there should have been two and a half fleets.

Maybe it was ATC's involvement here. The Good guys. "See if there's anything on the sensors."

Kurt motioned to Kaile.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

Kaile gave a nod, but not before she let her fingers gently stroke over his hair in a cafune. She meant it in confront, for he seemed nervous and a bit out of sorts. On edge. Honestly they both were. Had been. They had little chance to really talk since his quest to find her, most of it spent with Kaile transferring over and contacting the Big Guy on her decision. Things didn't just end neatly when it came to switching assignments for Kaile.

They had to make sure things were left behind without any need of being suspect. Lives were on the line. Not just hers and Kurt.

He'd done what he can to help, but mostly stayed quiet. Often Kaile wondered what he was thinking, and she realized now that she would be able to ask. Ask and be asked in turn. There was nothing for Kaile to hold back now. She could tell him anything, everything, if he wanted her to. If he asked.

If I took the initiative and told him.

Turning toward the sensor array, Kaile would diligently review it for any potential questionable blips. Not now. Later. When they weren't if this and they could talk without feeling as if the One Sith could come out into real space at the drop of a credit.

"Nothing." She told him. "So far so good."

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

Well, at least they weren't about to get shot down. That was something at least. With all the trouble that Kurt and Kaile had they at least deserved some easy flying for a little bit. Maybe once they got out of One Sith space they could visit a vacation planet...a cheap vacation planet. All of the repairs that they would have to do would actually take quite the credits and Kurt hadn't worked the entire time that Kaile had gone missing. A frown pulled at his lips.

Were the Alliance gonna pay him?

That was a question that he would have remember to ask Kaile, after all, if Kaile was going to live with him and he knew about her backing from the Alliance, didn't that mean they should pay for Kaile's half of the monthly lease on the ship? The idea mulled in his head for a few moments before he quickly shook it away.

Later.

He would ask later.

"Let's see if we can't speed this up a bit." The Messa was the fastest ship in the galaxy, no way was he going to be cutting across Corellia at the speed of a snail.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

He picked up the Messa's pace and Kaile's own mind began to wander. Her brown eyes went drifting around the cockpit, coming to rest on the carefully set up miniature podracers and the surviving stuffed Nexu that missed the bulk of the blast. Her hand couldn't help but sweep in a caress over the console.

"You did good ol' girl. ". She softly murmured, grateful that the ship despite the blast had managed to keep Kurt alive. She still didn't know what happened, nor had a chance to check out the extent of the damage. There was a sadness at finding that some of the trinkets and decorations she'd made or bartered for had been damaged beyond repair, but all she could really be grateful for is that Kurt was ok.

That was all she was concerned about.

The Messa increased its speed, and as it did, a little more of the angst went with it. Maybe because both were more at ease with speed than crawling through.

"Nothing still." She'd add, still watching the sensors. If they managed going unnoticed, all the better. Turning to Kurt, she watched him for a bit. Her lips thinned. She couldn't help but worry about him. All the bruises and the like. There was a distinct need to want to check every inch herself, assure that he was ok and tend to him.

After this, she told herself.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

Okay.

This wasn't so bad. This wasn't bad at all in fact. Nobody seemed to be taking a second look at them, nobody seemed to care at all in fact. Kurt didn't mind it, in fact this was probably the best case scenario that he could have thought of. Corellia didn't have the same One Sith presence as many other star systems under the yolk of the Sith, some deal that had been made by Alric Kuhn nearly two decades ago. The system instead had a massive undertaking by the then Titan Industries and Arceneau Trade Company, a rebuilding after The Netherworld Event.

That wasn't to say there wasn't anything here, just...less.

The Sith still had to protect their assets after all, and it was that protection that Kurt currently feared. So when he pressed the Messa's controls just a little bit harder, he couldn't help but tense up slightly. The muscles in his arms tightened and his gaze fell onto the controls in front of him, flickering over to Kaile and the sensor systems for a brief moment before once again settling on the viewport ahead of him. Nerves slowly began to frey.

"Okay." He said quietly. "I think ten minutes."

Ten minutes and then they would be out of the gravity well, ten minutes an-

Suddenly there was a stuttering. Kurt's eyes bugged open, a curse escaping his lips. The Messa suddenly began to sputter, reactor levels dropping, engine power flowing down, everything began to slow until finally the engines stopped completely. "Kark."

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

Kaile's eyes immediately went wide, and she frantically removed her belt.

"I'll go check! Wait here!" she told him, the belt buckle jiggling as she shot out of her seat. No thought that the Messa had issues before and blew, just the sudden drop of boots onto the floor and the Lorrdian female shot towards the ladder.

Grabbing the handrails, she went sliding down, locking the sides of her boots to run down the rails. She hit the deck hard, wincing a bit at the pain. Grabbing her hair tie, she haphazardly began to tie it up into a messy ponytail, rushing towards the reactor.

"Come on baby girl," what happened? She went straight to the reactor, past the mauled metal left from the previous explosion. While Kurt did his best to clean it up - much appreciated - the left over warped metal was still as sight to see.

Grabbing a hydrospanner and her servodriver, Kaile got to work.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

Kurt wasn't exactly sure what had happened. The Messa had suddenly and rather simply cut out. That wasn't normal, not at all actually. Vanir Technologies was known for having bad reactors, or rather, reactors that got overworked too fast and tended to explode...but there hadn't been any sign of that. There hadn't been any sensor readings, any spikes, nothing. The reactor and engines had simply cut off. His teeth sunk into his lower lip, his eyes sailing over towards the nearby shipyards.

There was a patrol coming.

"Kaile..." He said the words into the comm-system of the ship. "Kaile get back up here."

She was the trained agent, she could handle something like this...right? Kurt wasn't entirely sure that he could, especially given that he just flew the damn ships, he didn't operate the communication system or anything of that sort. "I think I need you on Comms."

Kurt followed a patrol of starfighters flying off in the distance. He half expected them to turn and head towards him, but of course the One Sith wouldn't care about a single derelict vessel wouldn't be of much interest to a patrol unless it started sending out a distress signal.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

Kaile was in a confused state. It was too quick, just what had...

The crackle of Kurt's voice from the overhead comm drew her attention. Or more importantly, the slight strain and edge of concern in his voice. Shoving her hydrospanner into her mouth, she tucked the other into a pocket. The quick stomp of her boots up the ladder well, popped her head back into the cockpit.

"What's wrong--" a small grunt and she pushed herself all the way up. Brown eyes went wide at the sight of the distant silhouettes. Her lips drew thin, coming to rest besides Kurt's chair. One hand came to rest by the shoulder of the pilot seat, while her torso went leaning forward to check the sensors. It was about that time that the two went on a slow arc, then turned.

Sure enough, they were hailed.

[ Messa, this is Lieutenant Virei for the One Sith. What is your status? ]

Alright then.

Without further ado, Kaile took the comm. Her small hand went wrapping around it. Well, guess it was time to reveal a few of the other bits of interesting. Kaile's expression would relay the following apology. As if she really, didn't want him to find out like this. There was a fear of rejection there.

'Sorry', she mouthed, only to hold out her hand to clasp his. Well, he would find out... one way or another.

He had to see. Know.

She brought the comm to her lips, her jaw working for a moment. She took a breath, straightened her shoulders, and opened her eyes. In the next few seconds, Kaile couldn't dare take her gaze away from Kurt.

[ This is the Messa, Lieutenant, nothin' to worry about. Just working through some hyperdrive trouble. Getting the back up online.]

A pause.

[ Rodger that, Messa. If you require assistance, hail this frequency. ]

The silence that came after was suffocating.

After all, it wasn't everyday that Kaile managed to perfectly impersonate the voice of the man who sat wide-eyed in front of her.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

Well.

What was someone supposed to say to that?

Kurt wasn't lost for words very often, in fact he was almost never lost for words. It was very difficult to make Kurt Meyer shut his trap, that was a fact. Yet Kaile had somehow managed it, though of course, she had managed it in his own voice which was even more impressive. Perhaps...she had taken the words right out of his mouth.

The thought made him smile, though his bewilderment quickly returned after.

"So..." Kurt said quietly. "That's new."

Had she always been able to do this? What else could she do? He frowned slightly, looking her up and down. At the very least he knew that he was still a better pilot than she was, that much she had said. He also took note that Kaile had never lied about any of her abilities, she had just never mentioned them. For some odd reason that thought comforted him somewhat, and instead of being angry or disappointed like he had been last time, Kurt only felt...pure surprise.

"Can you do Glorpa The Hutt?" Kurt asked in half a whisper.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

There was the confusion. The small hint of amusement. Then his bewilderment again.

Yet it was low whispered query that managed to crack through Kaile's worry and make her laugh. Her fingers gave his hand a squeeze, a sign of gratitude and of relief. The comm was set back upon its cradle, and she nudged her way between the wedge of his legs to stand before him. It took a few moments to calm herself, breathing in deep. Kurt would be able to notice that she first would flex her jaw muscles, then the work of her throat.

Another rise of her chest, where she held her breath in. Then with a half grin, said in a deep, boisterous boom that made it seem impossible that it came from such a delicate throat, "Kankay baua, um Jee dayan bai gee wa naoo bmalecana koo". «Among others, but I need to have a voice sample first.»

He would have questions. She was sure of it, and Kaile was perfectly willing to answer them.

Lids fell, a bit sheepish, and she gave a roll of her shoulder. This time, in her familiar melody, "I'm pretty good at mimicry. Been good at it all my life." she bit her lower lip again. That same nervous tick.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

"Yeah." Kurt said. "Lorrdian."

Kurt had been around the galaxy once or twice, had seen and heard of thousands of different things, Lorrdians? Well they were an interesting bunch. Not necessarily the most unique humanoids ever, not in the same range as the Chiss or the Zeltron, but their abilities were still rather interesting. Kinetic communication they called it, like body language on crack. As he understood it, a Lorrdian could pick up an eye-twitch as a meaning to ones soul. It was unique, and explained a whole lot about Kaile.

"Why didn't you ever tell me?" Kurt didn't sound upset, just curious, and also quite a bit more conscious of his own body language.

That would likely remain for a while, until he forgot entirely about it.

"It's not like I'm a racist." Kurt accepted all types, he didn't care. Green, blue, scales, whatever. "I mean the voice thing could be great for."

Kurt trailed off, giving her a wide smirk to show that he wasn't mad.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]



He knew what she was. Well he was as smart as a whip. She knew that a long while already. However, the smirk that frosted her lips would wane expected subtle tension of his body.

Kaile took a breath and gave a small sigh, giving his hand another squeeze. Was it in comfort of herself or for him? Perhaps both.

"Reckon because more than a handful have a start like you," she would gesture at him with a small uncurling of her fingers, directed at his entire being. "You're already conscious about what I can read off you."

It was true, once it was found out she was a Lorrdian, the majority became more self-conscious about their actions. Their mannerisms. "I oft get asked if I can read what one's thinkin' in their mind. That fear that I could glean theys secrets theys keep deep inside a very real reality to them." she would elaborate, her voice taking on a slight inflection.

"Theres things I can do. Things that I can't." she would add quietly, her fingers starting to fiddle with his, the roll of her thumb against his forefinger. "Things I can tell without you wantin' me to know and things that I reckon you don't even know yet."

Brown eyes would rise to meet his gaze again, "And there's more to me than just that."

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

He looked at her. "What more is there?"

Kurt asked her slowly.

There was no fear in his voice, no apprehension of judgement, but curiosity. They likely didn't have time for all of that now, for her to tell him all of her secrets, but he was more than willing to bet that they had time for at least one. Perhaps he had been missing out on a great many parts of Kaile, perhaps she was a good a pilot as he. There was doubt in him towards that notion, mostly because his own narcissism would never allow anyone to be a better pilot.

Yet it was entirely possible that Kaile was a better combatant than him, that she was a better shot than him, that she could slice through the most secure system and not have trouble. For the first time since Sullust it hit Kurt that...she was a spy.

It hadn't really ever struck him, at least not on the whole, but Kaile was an operative for the Galactic Alliance. She knew how to kill, likely better than half a dozen people that Kurt could list himself. She was one of the people that Kurt and the others had always sort of...feared. That realization hit him harder than any of her secrets could have, the idea that Kaile could be a killer. His eyes set on her for a moment, then he came right out and asked it. "You're not...an assassin are you?"

That would be the twist of the century.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

What more was there?

Plenty. Everything. Nothing.

One of the things that he likely hadn't noticed yet was that Bobo wasn't on her. In fact, Bobo was currently perched on his little nutrient log. Kaile took a deep breath, about to begin to explain about the Force. Then his sudden query threw her entirely off --

"Wait.. What?" she was visibly startled, and gave a double take. Her jaw dropped, then closed, and she immediately began to shake her head in the negative, her hand slipping from his to deny that with a waving shake no.

"No..no. Nononono... no." came her quick denial, her expression aghast at that. Kalie was a spy, but she would never harm anyone deliberately. That wasn't where her talents lay. It was a valid question in hindsight, considering everything going on and all the revelations, but the agent wanted to squash that idea as soon as possible.

"No, that's not what I do at all." she assured him, one hand reaching up to push back the wayward strands of her hair. "I'm typically an embedded agent." she would explain, elaborating further, " Long term. Blending in with the locals and a passive gatherer of information." well, to a degree, "Unless I receive activation orders to do any hacking packages or slice into datasystems for a specific target."

He already knew she was good with her hands, with the ship and everything else.

"Yum Bunnies for example... I was there for the past six months gathering intel on Techno Union movements."

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

Oh. That made a lot more sense. Kaile didn't seem the type to actually go around the galaxy and straight up murder people, that actually seemed quite impossible. He frowned slightly, looking up at her. So she was an information gatherer rather than an assassin, someone who went around and gathered intelligence on targets for other people to do the assassinations. It was a good job really, as far as intelligence work went, in fact someone very much like Kaile had likely done the same for him at some point.

Starfighters needed targets after all.

"Well." He was about to start when an alert cut him off.

"Oh right." Kurt said as though he had completely forgotten. "Let's fix the ship, then you can tell me all...everything...about...yeah you know what I mean."

They didn't exactly have the time to talk about everything right now, the patrols were still out and about and eventually they would get curious. Plus, someone had to go and fix the reactor. The Pilot wanted to guess that he was likely at fault, his messing with the Hyperdrive had likely skewed some sort of line to the reactor.

"Let me go check." Kurt said standing up.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

Kaile's brown eyes went following Kurt as he stood.

"Okay," she said, aware that he was right. "I'll stay up here checking the controls - and in case we get comm'd again." Kaile told him, taking a step back for him to walk pass. Her fingers gave a slight curl, a desire to reach out to touch him building up. Maybe it was because this was still a little bit surreal, that he'd come searching for her. That he'd done all he did the past two weeks, over every obstacle he had.

He came back for me.

Kaile never had anyone do that for her. Much the less, she never expected Kurt to. It would prompt a warm feeling that bloomed and spread like being kissed by the morning light. Was this what it was to have home? Is that what it felt to have another there? If it was, Kaile didn't mind it.

No, if anything it made it all the more precious to her.

"Be careful," she'd say, giving in and brushing her fingers across his chest. "I've been workin' on an idea that I'll talk to you later about. Something to hopefully prevent what happened with the reactor and the hyperdrive again.."

Another soft dribble across his chest and Kaile up-tilted her face to flash him a faint smile, and that dimple.

"Holler at me if you need me. "

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

Kurt reached up, smiling at Kaile and then placing a single finger on her nose. "Boop."

She was still worried about everything, he could tell.

There was a look on her face and within her eyes that told of concern. Of course that concern could just be for his various injures. The fact that his face was shattered into bits and that he had several broken ribs probably didn't help her worry, but the bacta treatments had been helping, and everything else? Well everything else seemed to be working out just fine as well. He shifted slightly, slipping from Kaile's grasp and heading over towards the ladder.

He didn't want her to worry.

He didn't want anyone to worry.

They would get the hyperdrive back online, they would get out of Corellia, and then they would continue doing what they did. Sif was likely eager to have him get back to work, and in truth his cash supply was running a tad bit low. He would have to take a higher paying job in order to make up for what he had spent. Shimmying into the downstairs area Kurt stepped over to the engines fuel containment system, beginning to fiddle with wires and fuel lines.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]


The reaction was instantaneous.

The small, affectionate, silly press of his finger against the tip of her nose brightened her expression. A sense of relief that relaxed her shoulders and ease the slight tension along her spine. Her fingers twiddled playfully as he left down the stairwell, and Kaile drew a deep breath into her lungs.

She shut her eyes, scrunching them tight and simply digging in, enjoying that sensation of her muscles tightening only to relax with her exhale. Her lids snapped open, and a certain sense of determination fixed itself within the depths of her chocolate brown eyes.

“Okay,” alright. Okay! There were things to do. There was more that Kurt and she had to talk about, but that could be done later. Right now, both had to focus. Both had to get the ‘ol girl back on her feet.

Peering out into the viewport, Kaile saw the distant One Sith Patrol slip a little further away. That gaze went drifting towards the shipyards that lay beyond in the distance. A thought came to her then. Opportunity.

Turning to her sensor, she scanned the surrounding areas. Then began to check to make sure they had everything set.

Flipping the overhead comm, she kept it open to talk to Kurt over the loudspeaker.

[ Pendin’ how bad, we’ll need to stop for parts to get the Messa back in shape. ]

Seeing how Kurt was now in it.

[ I can see about funds from the Alliance to help along with that. ]

Kaile normally had her own stipend, but if Kurt was working as well, she knew that would afford them a higher rate.

At the very least, to help out with the Messa.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

Well now that was something.

Kurt and Kaile were...well for lack of a better word, poor. He was sure that Kaile didn't make much as an agent, even though he was also sure that she had an expense account that she could draw from, and Kurt himself? He was lucky to break even at the end of every month. It wasn't so bad that they would starve to death or anything, but the two travelers didn't have the luxury of overspending on things, especially when they needed to buy parts and pieces for The Messa. That was why they were so keen on tinkering with everything themselves. Small subtle changes were things that they could fix and upgrade with just a bit of junk they found.

"i was thinking Raxus." Kurt called over the intercomm.

Raxus Prime was a bit out of the way from where they currently were, but the planet was the undisputed master of Junkyard worlds.

Anything, everything, they could ever want would be found there. There was a hint of danger in going of course, the planets massive acid oceans and huge acid storms were something of a concern, but if they used EVO suits and a bit of care they should be alright, plus, Kurt had only been there once before and he had always wanted to go again. The planet was unique, interesting, you never knew what you were going to find in those piles of junk.

They just had to get out of here first.