I Need More Ramen

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kinsey Starchaser"]

"Yes that kind of swamp." Kurt confirmed.

A lot of people thought of Kalinda as a completely developed place, but it was important to remember that this campus was really only a few years old. The place was still growing and all around them was wildlife of the sort you saw on every planet. It was nice really, mostly because it allowed you to get away from everything if you really wanted to. Kurt generally didn't go out exploring, he'd had enough of that sort of thing, but he did like looking around.

"It's not bad." He assured her. "There's paths."

Though those were muddy too. "Just...don't try to breath. It smells a bit."

 

[Kinsey Starchaser]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

"Gee, thanks," Kinsey frowned, hand coming up suddenly to swat at a sharp sting on her neck. "Forgot the bug spray." This reminded her too much of when she and Xin got stuck on Dagobah and that botched smuggling run. Ended up in the middle of a war between Alliance and...imperials? Sith empire?

She still wasn't too sure.

Ground was beginning to slope down and the duracreet gave way to grass and dirt beneath their feet.

"But it's safe, right? We're just talking about some mud and um, ankle deep water?"

But even if there was deeper water, they'd be staying on a path. Must be staying on a path. She couldn't see flyboy wanting to get his shirt wet.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kinsey Starchaser"]

Kurt nodded. "Yep."

As far as he knew anyway. Kalinda hadn't exactly been clear on that, and since you weren't actually supposed to go into the swamps no one had ever told him anything. Of course for all he knew there were giant monsters lurking beneath the swamps, but he hadn't seen anything.

"Don't worry." He told her. "We'll get through it quickly, just...don't go in the water I guess."

There were probably leeches at the very least.

Without another word Kurt continued forward, cutting through campus until they eventually reached the end of the paths there. Once they reached the edge of the Campus Kurt lead Kinsey across a large plain field, rolling hills eventually ending as a large sectionof trees began to tower over what appeared to be a more marshy area. "There."

He pointed down the ways towards a small inlet within the trees.

 

[Kinsey Starchaser]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

"Oh believe me. I won't be going anywhere near that stuff," she huffed about the water as she walked quickly to keep up with his gait, feet transitioned from grass to something a bit more moist and muckier. The ground clawed and gripped at her shoes, threatening to take them off completely. Vines hung low and trees with roots growing from limbs angled downward like giant beasts in the dark.

Looking over her shoulder, she could still see the glow of the university, quite clearly. But she couldn't hear the thrum of lights or the sounds of student voices.

"I'm surprised the guy who owns this is okay walking about through this muck every time to get to his prized possession." Blues squinted in the darkness, seeing the faint outline of a ship ahead.

"There."

But there was a river between them and the ship. It looked like it was parked on a little island.

"Kark," she swore.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kinsey Starchaser"]

"The guy who owns this usually pays someone else to fetch it for him." Kurt said to her with a knowing smile.

That was why he actually knew where the ship was in the first place, he had made this journey once or twice. Unlike many other students at Kalinda University Kurt didn't have a vast amount of wealth from his parents. His stay here was mostly funded by the generosity of his girlfriend.

Jamie wanted him to be the best that he could be, and she paid for his education. It was a gesture that he appreciated more than he could ever put into words, though it meant he was woe to ask her for anything at all. That was why he generally took oddjobs around campus, something he generally didn't mind doing. Fetching this ship had been one of the times he didn't really enjoy doing the job, mostly because the employers had been a complete and utter dick about it.

"We'll have to swim." He told Kinsey. "Forgot it was high tide."

Without another word Kurt began to strip off his clothes.

 

[Kinsey Starchaser]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

"Hm," hand swatted at another biting bug, smashing it against her arm. Made sense some rich, uppity kid would hire someone else instead of trek through this muck. Wouldn't want to get their shoes ruined. Probably worth as much as his ship. The whole 'we have to swim across' didnt register right away.

She found herself staring not at Kurt undressing but at her biggest fear beyond his shoulder.

Head was shaking before words found their way on her tongue and out her lips. She couldn't stop the involuntary step back even as she tried to keep her swagger and confidence. "Hey, hold up. That's okay. I'll just wait for the tide to go down."

She pushed further.

"Really, I've got it from here. You've helped a TON. So yeah. You might as well head back to campus."

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kinsey Starchaser"]

He perked an eyebrow, stopping as his shirt was half pulled up.

Kurt shrugged, letting the garment drop down before he turned to her. The swamp smelled just about as awful as he remembered, probably even a little bit worse. Vaguely he remembered there being a bog nearby, connected to the ocean. "Alright."

If she didn't want his help, then that was fine.

"The water is going to stay at least waist high, but in about an hour or so you'll be able to cross." Kurt remembered that much, though he thought it would have been easier just to swim. Jamie had been the one to teach him how to swim, something that had taken more than a few days. "You'll need the code too."

He told her. "I doubt he changed it, guy is lazy as kark."

 

[Kinsey Starchaser]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

Tensed shoulders sagged in relief. Good. He wasn't going to fight her on this. He'd probably be as relieved to head back to his normal life as she would be not to have someone see how scared of the water she really was.

Fingers dug a comm off her tool-belt. "Yeah, the guy doesn't strike me as the sharpest tool from what you've described so far." She couldn't imagine growing up in a privileged life. Colony ships always scrounged for any piece of anything and made every available small space functional and practical. They didn't have the luxury to live luxuriously.

She stepped closer to Kurt, glad he hadn't gotten far in taking his clothes off.

"What's the code?"

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kinsey Starchaser"]

"Three three four nine eight six five." Kurt rattled off the numbers without even any real thought to it, as if he had memorized the whole thing.

There were very few things that Kurt was good at, but when it came to starships, he couldn't do better.

"Do me a favor." Kurt said with a light smile. "If you get caught, don't say my name to anyone."

That'd be rather awkward.