Riptide

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

That Kurt could be so laid back about it was strange. Then again, he grew up on Tatooine, a place full of nasty creatures and its own dangers. The man was also an adrenaline junkie. At his nonchalance, Kaile gave a sigh.

"Yeah, but still." she added, going back to sit on her chair, tucking her left leg under her butt as she did so.

"Me?" a finger would scratch at her jaw, and she gave a slight wince. Honestly, it had been rather bland. Until she had her extensional crisis about Kurt, Asmus, and where that left her in life, things became rather lonely when she was by herself. A forced smile came over the Lorrdian's face.

"Just checking feeds..." she began, then a shrug of her shoulder. "Think I caught a bug or something." she'd been tossing her cookies the past few days, odds were that was the issue. Eyes fell to her hands, thumbs playing. She wanted to ask him how things were with Jamie and everything else, but it seemed rather awkward. Instead she changed the subject.

"So what will be the next job?"

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

"Dunno." He said with a shrug. "Need something big though."

To say that he was short on cash was an understatement.

The Courier turned himself around in the chair and wrapped his hands around the controls. The Messa was already drifting on the outskirts of Cartao's gravity well, but it always paid to look around before actually making the jump to hyperspace. God forgive there was an asteroid or something in the way, a hyperspace collision could cause an explosion big enough to wipe out half a sector, and he didn't need to die after just getting off his vacation.

"We'll have to head back to Sif Headquarters, see if I can't nab something." That wouldn't be too bad, they were right around the corner anyway. Not that it mattered much with the Hyperdrive they'd gotten for The Messa. This ship was fast enough to beat most anything.

"We can get you some medicine while there too." It was a trade hub after all. "Or more tea."

Either one.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

"Tea would be good," she agreed with a mild grimace. "Maybe that will keep my tummy from trying to go too crazy on me." as an additional thought, Kaile added with a half grin. "You should probably not stick too close to me. Not sure what sort of bug I caught."

Last thing they needed was for Kurt to get sick too. While she was still under the payroll for the Alliance, her current objective was just on picking up any information about the One Sith and the First Order. It wasn't active intel as much as passive. That was the difference with Kaile. She preferred to be embedded and take the long term approach. At times she wondered if she should just try some of the short covert missions, but that would take her away from Kurt.

Not to mention, mean full black out.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

"Get to bed then." Kurt said with a smile.

He was excited about seeing his friend of course, but if she was sick he didn't want her traipsing about the ship, and not the least because she was spreading germs everywhere.

"You shouldn't be running about." It was true. "Mom always said, blankets heal everything."

His mother had never said anything of the sort, but Kaile didn't know that.

Mama Meyer had always been more of the opinion that medicine cured sickness, though of course that didn't always do the trick either. Rest, relaxation, and sleep were the best cure-alls. Letting the body do its natural work in healing, aided by whatever she could cook up of course. Yet seeing as how his mother was not here, and their selection of medicine was rather limited to what basically amounted to only basic pain meds...sleep was the best option. "Go rest. I'll wake you up when we get there."

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

A quick rub of her face and Kaile gave Kurt a half hearted smile. He had her best interests at heart and Kaile knew that. The problem was that if she went back to her room, she'd be alone again. And being alone again meant that her mind would drift. She'd think back. Wonder and look at her datapad and stare at that frequency number Asmus had given her.

Over four weeks have passed and she had yet to send him any sort of message or call. Half the time she was vacillating between contacting him and then not doing it. There were a million and one reasons why the espion shouldn't; and a handful that told her she should. Not least among them was that she missed him.

"I'm gonna take a sonic," she told Kurt with a half smile, coming to her feet. "Maybe my tummy will feel better after that and some tea." her hand came to rest along his shoulder, fingers curling in an affectionate squeeze.

"I'm glad you are okay Kurt." if something had happened to Kurt, Kaile didn't know what she'd do. "Don't try to run her too crazy," it was a nod towards the Messa.

"We still have a few things to tinker with her."

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

"I know what she can take." Kurt said with a smile, no bite to his tone. It was true thought. The Courier knew better than anyone what The Messa could and couldn't do. He after all had been the only one so far to actually interface with the ship itself.

The Neural helmet designed by Vanir was an...interesting experience to be sure, but one that allowed you to get a real feel for the ship.

The experience was a difficult one to describe, like linking yourself directly to the starship, making it part of yourself. There was an extreme...discomfort to that, after all you were quite literally adding to yourself...like a thousand times worse then getting a cybernetic, or so Kurt imagined anyway. He shook slightly, as if the idea of getting an arm added to himself made him a bit queasy. He kicked the thought to the curb then quickly began to enter hyperspace coordinates.

"No worries." He told her. "I'll get us there safe."

There was no doubt about that. "Go rest, relax."

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

"Okay."

Okay, a much more meaningful word than Kurt would ever really be able to know. Carefully, Kaile left the cockpit and lowered herself down the rungs.

That sense of vertigo came to the Lorrdian, and she gave a small pause. If she kept still and would breathe through her nose, then it kept nausea at bay.

"Whooo.... okay." A nod. "Okay." closing her eyes, she let herself gather her bearings.

"Tea. Just some tea." if she made a cup, that should settle her belly. The Lorrdian believed that was all it was. However, it was more than that.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

Sif Headquarters wasn't very far from Cartao, and The Messa's hyperdrive would see them there in the blink of an eye. He hadn't been there in quite some time, not since he'd tried to take Jamie there so she could get a job. Something that she had firmly rejected of course.

There was no requirement for Sif employees to ever hit the home joint of course, the head office hardly cared as long as you paid the dues on your contract ship and took a job every now and again. The contract was a loose one, and as long as you followed it Headquarters hardly gave a bantha poodoo what you actually did with your time. Kurt had always found that arrangement to be incredibly freeing, mostly because his previous employer had been the Grand Navy of The Republic.

Couldn't get much stricter...well except maybe the Sith.

"Here we go." The Courier said to himself as he pushed the hyperdrive controls forward.

The Messa's Engines rumbled for half a second, then the ship shifted into a blur and they hopped forward into hyperspace.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

Meanwhile, Kaile was in the galley. It was a small, tiny mess, just enough for Kurt and her to be able to work together to make their meals. Sliding open a drawer, the Lorrdian went reaching up to take a small tin can of tea down. Sliding it shut, the young woman set the tin of tea in front of her.

Warming a cup of water was quickly done through the food processor. Mentally, Kaile was going through what they would need to buy for supplies. It was not really done out of necessity as much as Kaile was trying to keep darker thoughts at bay.

Her entire demeanor since Kurt had tracked her down on Corellia had been noticeably different. While she was still bubbly, the whole ordeal had significantly affected. Kurt didn't know exactly how much yet. Now and then, there was a slight tinge of melancholy in her eyes, and for the longest Kaile believed it was due to her insecurities.

Kurt was no longer sleeping with her. The more he spoke with Jamie, the less and less their usual frolics came and went. Understandably, Kaile didn't fault Kurt; she could see the why and for about it -- but it still troubled her a bit. Especially since he hadn't really told her much about Jamie nor had he mentioned about meeting the woman.

A heavy sigh came.

Or maybe she was just over thinking it?

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

There wasn't really much to think about after jumping to hyperspace, there wasn't much to do either. The galaxy was a big place, and hyperspace was the fastest way of traversing it...but it was still damn slow, not to mention mostly automated.

Whereas normal ship travel around a planet required a bit of jerking the controls to dodge an obstacle or two, hyperspace didn't really need that at all. The simplest explanation for that was...space is big, really big and most of it was entirely empty. A lot of people thought that things were close together in space, that asteroid fields were hard to navigate and that planets were everywhere, but the sad reality was that even in a galaxy as dense as theirs space was still mostly nothing.

Hyperspace was quite literally just a direct straight shot towards where you were going.

There was no brains behind flying through something like that, it was quite literally just going in a straight line for days on end as fast as you possibly could.

When Kurt had first learned that, when his father had explained the concept to him in detail he couldn't help but have been extremely disappointed about it. Sure As a child hyperspace had always seemed extremely exciting to him, he had pictured it as fighting an endless stream of monsters that would come out at him, dodging and weaving through obstacles, but instead...instead he got a bunch of streaking blue lines. Not very exciting.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

"Hey Bobo," Kaile soft hello barely would reach the tiny Ysalimir resting on his branch over Kaile's desk. The Lorrdian had set up the small sunning area for her little friend some months prior, allowing him to sun himself under the light of a special lamp. It allowed him to remain out of his nutrient tube and instead be able to latch onto the miniature feeding tree.

Bobo gave a perk of his head, those black beady eyes watching as his mistress closed the door behind her. The cup of hot tea was warm between her palms, the scent of Aldaraanian Chamomile softly rising from the brew. It would help settle her belly and even help with sleeping; hopefully, that is.

More often than not it was becoming harder to sleep. Kaile was already insomniac, to begin with, which was why originally she'd been so forward with Kurt while on the Messa. After rolling around and having a bit of fun, it was the best way to only be exhausted enough to fall asleep. Now it wasn't so easy at all.

Right foot then left would slip off her slippers, and a knee went sinking down upon her bed. Kaile made herself comfortable, back against the pillows and the bulkhead. There, her eyes went sweeping around her tiny room. She had decorated this place herself. Added the multi-colored miniature lights along the wall. They were a whimsical decoration that she thought were quite pretty. A few knick knacks here and there, plus her custom made holo array that she could access from her bed.

A deep breath lifted her shoulders, but that wave of loneliness quietly percolated in her mind. Weak, the young woman carefully activated her holoarray. A few swipes of her finger and Kaile enabled the activation of the small datastick she had installed earlier. One last tap, and then suddenly the lights in the room would dim.

Within moments, a holographic star map bloomed in front of the young espion. It was of Denon. Ever so carefully, Kaile let her finger guide the map down to Sullust. The stars changed. They always did, but this particular map was special.

Asmus had given it to her.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

Kurt leaned back in his chair, letting a yawn pass his lips as he looked into the depths of hyperspace.

They said that staring into hyperspace made one mad, or at least brought them closer to it. Kurt had never really understood the reason behind it, though he'd seen it happen before. People couldn't handle the infinite numbers. The lines that drifted across hyperspace weren't lines of course, they were planets, stars, nebulas, everything that made galaxies bright. They were moving so fast that they were supposed to be completely imperceptible.

To most, they were.

Following the lines with your eyes was impossible, trying to place your vision in just one place equally so, yet there was a pattern to it all. Most wouldn't have seen it of course, and even Kurt had difficulty with it, but he knew that it was there. His father likely would have espoused it to some sort of mathematical theorem, a Jedi might have claimed that it was part of the path of the force, but Kurt had never really thought about it.

All he saw was a pattern, and the beauty within that pattern.

He didn't need an explanation, he didn't need some story behind it.

He just liked watching.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

Asmus had made this map for her. In it were secret Hyperlane routes and other interesting tidbits of information that he didn't have to give her. But he did. Staring at the stars as they shifted in view and readjusted in perspective took her back to the Quinn, to when he had shown her his view of the stars.

There was bittersweetness in that. A slight pang of ache in her chest. Where would he be now? Had he already decided on an academy? Part of her wanted to desperately com him, to ask how he was doing. Yet another part of her would warn her against it. While Kurt and she had reconciled, Kurt at least had come to know the real Kaile in the year they were living together.

Asmus didn't even have that. The Lorrdian often became anxious about it, and a flash of the hurt Kurt's face had displayed back on Tatooine was enough to prevent her from wanting to tell anyone else.

It wasn't right for Kaile to barge herself in Asmus life when he had so much planned out for his future.

They were in different worlds.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

It felt good to be back on The Messa. His ship had been something he'd always taken pride in. Even when it had been the old VCX Kurt had always defended his home vehemently. The thing had been a piece of junk of course, prone to breaking down and having a tendency to randomly burst into flames at the oddest of times. Part of him had been glad when the Sith had blown it up, but...well another part of him still missed the old piece of junk.

A very small part.

He closed his eyes for the time being, letting out a deep sigh of relaxation. There wasn't a lot to do now. He was home. Sure the place still needed some work, a tweak or two on the hyperdrive, a shift of the engines, simple stuff, but that would come when they had a little bit more money in their pocket.

Hopefully he would find something at HQ that he could do, something that would put a lot of money in his pocket. Those jobs tended to be a little bit more dangerous.

It wasn't exactly worrying, but the last one of those jobs he'd taken had eventually lead him towards some outer rim slum world delivering a necklace to someones Mistress. That had been...interesting to say the least. The woman had been rather grateful, but he was pretty sure that her bodyguard had gotten the idea of stabbing him in the throat more then once while he'd been there. Kurt shuddered slightly and put the thought from his mind.

It would be different this time.

Hopefully.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

Sullust glimmered slightly in the holographic map. Not too far along the Rimma Trade Route would be Eriadu.

Asmus' homeworld.

Biting her lower lip, Kaile brought up the planet with a light tap. What resulted next would leave her speechless.

[Files unlocked] went flashing across the holographic display, starting the Lorrdian that she almost spilled her cup of tea.

"What..." confusion would bloom across her face, only for her eyes to widen as the query that included Eriadu began to play hidden media files. The first strings of, [ Closing time...] started to play from the speakers on the array.

It was one of the songs Asmus and she had listened to back on the Quinn. Memories came flooding back, the four days spent with him. How he had done his best to make her feel better and everything in between.

"You brilliant fool." the strawberry blonde murmured, unable to help the sense of melancholy that coated the joy.

Their trip to Sif Headquarters would take a while, but for the present time, Kaile would stay in her room. Instead of resting, she'd quietly listen to the specially made playlist a pretty faced scoundrel had created for her a while ago.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

Kurt awoke with a start several hours later, a loud beep rushing through the cockpit as The Messa's navicomputer alerted him. His popped open almost immediately, quickly folding towards the control panel to check if anything was wrong with the ship. He frowned slightly as he noticed the count down timer to their arrival, hand reaching out to tap the button that would shut off the alarm. He shifted in the seat slightly, a bit uncomfortable due to the position he'd fallen asleep in.

"Ugh." He said as he stretched slightly.

They would be arriving at the planet in half an hour, The Messa having drilled through hyperspace as quickly as Kurt had expected. He reached over to the holo-communicator, typing out a quick message to HQ to let them know that he would need to land and refuel at HQ. Sif of course had its own miniature starport for those who actually went back to Headquarters. It wasn't anything huge, just big enough for a bulk cruiser or two and a few freighters.

Great help for when you didn't want to deal with planetary clearances.

He let out a yawn and threw the small tablet back on the console, reaching over to touch the button for the Messa's internal comms.

[Kaile] He didn't know if she was sleeping, but the comms were loud enough that it would probably wake her up. [We're gonna be there in half an hour. You can stay on the ship if you like.]

No need to get her out of bed just for this. Getting a job form HQ was rather easy, all he had to do was go inside, request one of the 'big' ones, and then they'd sift through his profile to see what was available and what he was qualified for. Easy, but also not a guarantee. They may not find anything that suits him, or they may find something that he didn't want to risk. Unfortunately Kurt had no way of knowing until he landed at HQ and actually checked.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

Kaile was actually passed out. The hours spent listening to music managed to help her finally fall into unconsciousness. Kurt wouldn't receive a reply, but one could assume that the Lorrdian was getting her much-needed rest.

A simple message to tell her where the pilot went off to would be enough. That is if she wasn't tossing her cookies into the toilet again.

It was mid afternoon at Sif Headquarters, so there were plenty of employees and clients wandering around the spaceport.

The switchboard for new jobs was inside, and one could simply use their ID to enter and then search for specific jobs.

One particular job dealt with transporting a package out to the Unknown Regions through First Order space.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

Kurt shrugged when he didn't receive a reply, shifting in the pilots chair as The Messa dropped out of hyperspace and swooped towards the planet below. The Journey was a quick one, passing fast enough that Kurt half fell out of his chair when he realized he'd already hit atmosphere.

As always with his ship though the passing was a swift one, and surprisingly smooth.

The extra intertial dampeners that Kaile and he had added to The Messa had really been doing their work lately, apparently some of the rewiring they had done finally allowed the system to properly operate. He smiled slightly as he brought the ship into the starport, landing with only the slightest creak of landing gear. He lingered in the pilots chair for a moment, half checking over systems before slipping out of the cockpit and dropping onto the deck of the cargo hold.

He wrote a quick note for Kaile telling her where she was, though in truth it looked more like a kindergartner had scribbled a picture of a house.

Kurt then quickly dropped the ramp of The Messa and headed into Sif HQ.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

Consciousness came in degrees. Blinking rapidly, Kaile slowly pushed herself up on her elbow. The music was still playing. She'd set the volume low enough to be a comforting lull, setting it on repeat to shuffle the songs. It took her a moment to register the time. A glance at her wristcomm told her that several hours had already passed.

"Oh damnit." were they here already? Sliding her bare feet off of the bed, the Lorrdian stood a bit too swiftly for her own good and ultimately regretted it.

One hand went to slap over her mouth, cheeks slightly bulging as nausea hit her again. It was a shuddering wave of disgust, her diaphragm prompting her to gag then heave.

Kaile barely made it to the refresher, stumbling down onto the floor as her face came forward to retch. Oh stars, it was getting worse. If there was one sensation she hated in the entire 'verse, it was throwing up.

The strawberry blonde gave a pitiful moan, pushing the button to flush away the remains. She gave a wipe of her mouth with the back of her hand, feeling the aftershocks of unsteady nerves run up and down her spine.

"Okay... " she breathed out. Maybe stopping by medical would be in order while Kurt went looking for a job.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

Kurt wandered through headquarters without further ado, not really bothering to check in with anyone or do anything that would take too much time. He wasn't here to socialize after all, he was here to find a job. That meant heading towards the front office and talking to a clerk.

While the job board was fine for ordinary jobs, big ones required actual conversation.

He stepped off the turbo-lift with a yawn, walking along the hall until he finally reached the clerks area. There were three of them, each positioned behind some sort of glass. Two were occupied with Kurt's fellow Sif employees, and the third was reading a book. The Courier nodded his head and wandered over toward the third, knocking on the glass to catch the woman's attention. She looked up for a brief moment, disinterest, then quickly did a double take.

"Kurt!"

She cried with a wide smile. "Belinda! How are you?"

The woman gave him a broad smile, aged and motherly looking, with gray hair that ran down to her shoulders. She seemed rather pleased to see The Courier, though she was clearly also coming down with something, looking a little worse for ware.

"Well, I've been better. Caught a cold or something."

The Courier nodded. "That's a shame. Say, could you look through some of the big jobs for me? Need a little extra cash."