I Need More Ramen

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kinsey Starchaser"]

"Wowow, I'm not going anywhere." Kurt said as he threw his hands up.

There was no way he was quitting school, not now.

Jamie had put in a good word for him, and that meant her families reputation was on the line with him being here. That also meant that he was supposed to be doing good at school but...well that hadn't turned out to be that case just yet. Not that he wasn't trying it was just that school was really hard.

"I need a degree." He told her. "And need to learn."

He frowned. "I can't leave, I just need to know..."

What the hell did he need to know? She was sort of right that the professor was gone and the map would also be gone as soon as she left...but would that be enough? He frowned for just a few seconds and thought about things, standing there sort of like an idiot.

 

[Kinsey Starchaser]

"Okay, good," Kinsey nodded and grabbed a few powerpacks from the drawers. Turning, she walked back over to the work table and dumped them on top. Pulling up a stool, she grabbed the fancy hydro spanner and began fiddling.

"Safer here for you."

Back was to Kurt as she hunched over the table. Plucking a pair of goggles from her belt, she put them on as tiny sparks flew. "I'll lay low here a few more hours and then to the starport. Be outta your hair."

She waited a minute and then looked over her shoulder.

"What degree you going for?"

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kinsey Starchaser"]

He supposed that was something, though that meant some Gangsters were probably going to be running around Kalinda University for at least a few hours. That thought made his stomach turn a little bit, but he decided in the end it would probably be okay.

Campus security would eventually get ahold of the situation, and although they weren't an army they could handle a few thugs. At least that was what Kurt hoped. He frowned for a moment and ran a hand through his hair, expelling a heavy breath and glancing over the Kinsey. "Engineering."

It was the only thing he was even moderately good at.

"Starships specifically." Which made things a little harder of course.

 

[Kinsey Starchaser]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

"Engineering, wow," she mused and set the tools down, holding up her finished blaster. Looked like it would work if she got in a pinch, until she could find a proper powercell. Brushing it off with her fingertips, she holstered the weapon back on her side.

"Impressive." She'd grown up on a space colony - a bunch of ragtag frigates and ships glued together from what seemed like tape and velcrow at times. Everyone pitched in. Everyone had jobs and learned trades from all those onboard - whether related by blood or not. No space was wasted. Some of it was skilled labor - like the mechanics she knew and basic ship performance along with basic medical and all the rest. Kriff, she even knew a little about horticulture.

Wouldn't say she'd be able to complete a degree like engineering though.

Hopping off the stool, she turned back to Kurt.

"This place got any temporary cots or something?"

Had a few hours to kill? Might as well take a nap.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kinsey Starchaser"]

"The Garage?" Kurt looked at her with a confused expression. "No."

This was where people went to fix up their bikes and where classes on hands on mechanics went, nothing like sleeping. Kalinda University had plenty of dorms of course, half a dozen of them just within walking distance of here, but there were no beds in the garage. Kurt had found that sleeping on some of the tables was actually quite comfortable, but...well that probably wasn't an option right now.

"Best you could do is one of the mats that goes underneath you when you're working on a speeder." He shrugged.

"No idea where they keep them though." Maybe in one of the lockers. "Plus they're covered in oil and other stuff."

Not something you really wanted to use.

A sigh escaped Kurt's lips. "So...wanna tell me what was on the map?"

 

[Kinsey Starchaser]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

"Not like oil and fluids bother me much." She shrugged. She settled for taking a spot on the floor. Not like she wanted to be dozing or sleeping for long anyway. Just needed to wait this out a bit. Get a teeny bit of rest between killing time.

Legs were drawn up to her chest, arms wrapping around them. Back leaned back against one of the tool cabinets, sandy-brown hair falling across her brow like a curtain. She sighed. The feeling of the datakey in her pocket dug into her side.

"Told you. Can't tell you. Safe for you the less you know."

Plus, she didn't want him double crossing her and going after the jewels himself. Eyes closed as her head leaned back.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kinsey Starchaser"]

Kurt let out a sigh.

He’d never much liked it when other people tried to make decisions about his life for him. It was one of the reasons he’d never done all that well in the navy. His instinct was to get involved, especially when people were in danger. It was simply who he was as a person, sure he might play the rogue...but in reality he wanted to help. That was what kept him going, the knowledge that he could do good.

”Isn’t that sort of my decision?” He asked her.

It was obvious that she likely wasn’t going to tell him, she’d made it more than clear that she felt it wasn’t ‘safe’, but that didn’t mean much. Kurt knew half a dozen different state secrets that could get him killed, mostly as a result of working with the SIS. Half of it was all dribble of course, but still valuable to some.

”Plus.” Kurt reminded her. ”I’m already involved.”

Those gangsters had seen his face. ”Maybe I can help somehow.”

 

[Kinsey Starchaser]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

One eye cracked open. Then closed. Legs stretched out in front of her. 'Oh?" Arms crossed beneath her chest. Bum rocked back and forth on the duracreet shop floor as if settling in.

"Hmm," low thrum left her throat.

Part of the spacer didn't trust Kurt. The other part did. That small part inside her that knew she probably needed a little bit of help. Although, she hated accepting help from anyone. As Xin Boa and Brak could attest to. Plus, she wasn't in any position to put the Fleet at risk. She was just still trying to pay off her debt and fix up that derelict U-wing.

"You want to help? Help me get a ship in the next hour."

She remained tight-lipped about the map. She wasn't in a position to tell him more even if she completely trusted Kurt. Just like, he wasn't in a position to tell her more about his friend. If he had come with her, she'd probably have to tell him more. But since he was staying here, as he should, everything was need-to-know.

They all had their secrets.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kinsey Starchaser"]

A ship?

He frowned for a few seconds in thought. There weren't many ships at Kalinda University, much less ships that one could buy or rent. Generally people either got dropped off here or they came through the use of Public transportation. He knew that a few people had their own vessels, but as far as he knew that was mostly faculty and other staff members that needed to go on and off world frequently for one reason or another. He considered it.

"Do you have any money?" He doubted it.

For some reason Kinsey didn't really strike him as the type that had enough money for an entire starship laying around. That wasn't any sort of classism on his part, after all Kurt himself could barely afford to pay for food on some nights.

"If not..." He frowned. "How flexible are your morals?"

A good question right now.

 

[Kinsey Starchaser]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

She grunted, a small smile crawling over her lips. Eyes shifted beneath closed lids. "Not enough for a ship." Head turned to the side, still leaning against that tool cabinet. Nice of the university to make shop floors so....comfortable.

Brown-sandy ribbons of hair splashed across her face. Lips pursed in thought. "Whelp. I was just going to steal one but didn't want to get you in trouble, flyboy. Don't wanna get you expelled." Legs crossed. Blue's cracked open as she looked back and up to Kurt.

"But since you said you can make your own choices...."

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kinsey Starchaser"]

"Don't worry about me." Kurt wasn't worried about getting expelled.

He would never admit this to any figure of authority, but he'd stolen more space ships than he cared to admit. There were a dozen or so people on Tatooine that still wanted him dead because of it, and a few more all around the galaxy that would likely shoot him on sight if he gave them the opportunity. Of course that would never happen, but the thought did send a small shiver up Kurt's spine.

"There's a few ships here." He told her. "Most are owned by the staff."

He smiled. "One though is owned by a student, kind of a prick, he'll miss it but lets just say he can afford it."

His dad owned half of Cato Neimoidia after all.

 

[Kinsey Starchaser]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

Shoulders shook as she gave a silent chuckle. "Better to steal from pricks than the single mothers." Not saying single mothers couldn't be pricks too but, you know. "Maybe you could show me where it is?"

She shifted further on the floor and let her eyes close again.

"But after nap time."

Smallest of smiles tugged at the corner of her mouth. Head titled further to the side, one shoulder shrugging up to act as a cradle. A small yawn escaped through her mouth. The professor should be well on his way to the fleet by now.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kinsey Starchaser"]

Kurt perked an eyebrow.

How could she think about sleep at a time like this? He was still tense as all fuck and certainly the furthest thing away from taking a nap. In fact he felt like he could run a marathon right now with all of the adrenaline that was pumping through his veins.

Lips thinned and he shook his head. "Alright."

Kurt told her with a wave of his hand. There was no use in arguing with her, at this point it would only be counterproductive. They had to wait here for a bit anyway, and if she wanted to sleep she couldn't get into anymore trouble. Best to just go along with it.

"I'll look around." He told her. "Make sure no one stumbles on you."

 

[Kinsey Starchaser]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

"Mmhm," she muttered, not exactly hearing him or paying attention anymore. It'd been a long day. Not too much sleep being prepped by Wesseq the night before. Kinsey wasn't sure why the duros felt comfortable enough sending her on a mission without Xin or Brak but she didn't question it. Not since the debacled heist.

Mouth opened slightly and her breathing became more even. Seemed like she was almost comfortable. It was definitely clear she was used to sleeping about anywhere and without much.

An hour passed and then another as she drifted off.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kinsey Starchaser"]

After a little while Kurt gently nudged Kinsey.

He didn't say anything, mostly because he had nothing to say, but it had been three hours since she'd initially gone to sleep. Kurt had spent most of that time wandering around the science building picking things up and inspecting them. He'd found some neat gadgets every once in a while, though ultimately none of it had been taken.

He wasn't a thief after all.

Finally he had decided that it was time for Kinsey to go, not because he wanted to get rid of her or anything but because he knew eventually security would start making the rounds through the buildings. He didn't want to have to explain why some random girl was sleeping on the floor of the science building garage.

That conversation would have been too awkward even for him.

Best to get her out of here.

 

[Kinsey Starchaser]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

Kinsey snapped awake. Hand unconsciously went down to her blaster. Sleepy-gaze focused on Kurt. Fingers eased off the handle. Palms drifted to her face, rubbing the fatigue away. "Time to go?" She grunted. Fingers pushed light brown hair behind her ears. Sleeve came up and rubbed at her face.

Pushing off from the ground, she stood and stretched.

"Alright. How far to the hangar with the prick's ship?"

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kinsey Starchaser"]

"No hangar." Kurt said.

There wasn't really much that he could do or say at this point to stop what he had set in motion earlier. A part of him wondered if this would screw him over, but...well Kurt knew exactly what he had to do in order to not get caught.

That was something. "He keeps his ship off campus, in the woods."

It was how he'd managed to keep it.

"It's night time now." He glanced towards a window. "We need to sneak out and steal it."

 

[Kinsey Starchaser]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

"Alright." Palms pushed against starburst-blues one more time. It was strange working with him again. She hadn't seen or worked with him much on Jethro's ship. She and Thrukk had been a pair, going on most off-ship missions together while the others seemed to make sure the bird could push off when needed. Brought back memories, though. Memories of camaraderie and something that...for a second...had seemed more like a family than her actual flesh and blood.

It had been a time when she'd had a home just escaping Sage Bane. Where she'd felt mostly safe, though, she'd still been fairly young. Still too young.

"Les go," she found her swagger again. Walking over to the door, she flipped the switch for the doors to open and stepped out into the night air. Campus was still bustling. Meant the nightlife of the students would be out. Should provide them with enough cover from campus security and any lingering gang members to make it.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kinsey Starchaser"]

Kurt pointed towards the left. "That way."

They would be walking for quite a ways before actually getting to where they needed to go. The ship was kept off campus mostly because it drew the eye more than...anything else. The thing was ostentatious as all kark, and many people hated the man for it.

"We'll have to be careful." He told her. "The campus gets a bit swampy over there."

Not dangerous really, not more so than anywhere else but easy to get lost in.

 

[Kinsey Starchaser]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

Hand absently patted the datacard in her pocket. Yup. Still there. Not like she wouldn't have felt it if Kurt had decided to get all handsy in her sleep. She usually woke up when she needed to.

Head turned to the side, blues swiveling to the pilot. "Pardon. Swampy? Like waist water, bugs, and vines?"

Hard to believe any of this could get like that in the middle of all this duracreet and buildings. A group of students laughed loudly as they passed, many of them clutching red, plastic cups. She could smell the alcohol in the air from here. The campus lighting cast a warm, bright glow to ground around them. And the buildings with lights on looked like stacked up stars in the distance.

But she couldn't swim so this swamp thing might be a problem.