The Grand Adventure

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

He shrugged. "Not right away."

That was certainly true. There was a few months in between him leaving Tatooine and him joining the Republic. Most of that time was a blur, a small square in the circle of his life. He couldn't quite remember everything that had happened during that time, though he did know that more than one rule had been established during it. For a moment Kurt looked wonderingly at the ceiling, as though the odd pattern upon it would hold some secret to his past.

Another shrug rolled over his shoulders.

It wasn't really worth thinking about, especially now. It seemed like a life time ago that he had actually been free of anything. No company, no navy, no debt. His head shook slightly as the railway slowly came to a stop, his eyes sinking through one of the viewports. He realized that they were at the racetrack. Slowly Kurt raised himself up from the bench, pulling Kaile to her feet. He miraculously managed to pull her up, but somehow lean on her at the same time.

"Come on." He said, ending the conversation about his past. "Let's go find Buck."

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

“Rokay,” came her aquicese, candied apple in hand as she bit down on it again. She made sure to stay close to Kurt as they exited the rail, a few of the bazaar patrons getting a bit too excited to reach the Podracing area. You could hear the roar of their engines as soon as the doors of the rail slid open.

It was still a bright day, so a flick of her fingers would drop her sunglasses into place. Short shorts, tanned boots, and that blouse of hers was the perfect get up! With this many people on such a warm day, it was sure to get all kinds of hot.

There were food stands scattered about, streams of podracing die-hards and casual observers mulling in and out. There were stalls for paraphernalia, a few shout out here and there promoting the various racers.

And speaking or racers…

Huge holographic representations of them lined the huge arching entry way. “Golly…” Kaile would state, a low whistle streaming from her lips in appreciations.

“Now that’s some pee-arr right there.” turning to the pilot, she licked her lips off a bit of caramel then asked.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

Kurt began to look up at the screens. He looked for anyone that might be familiar to him, anyone that might look vaguely familiar. The only one that he recognized was Buck, which meant to him that the others were either locals, or new. Part of him thought that it was a good thing. There weren't many racers that he had been friendly with, in fact many of them had absolutely hated his guts. More then a few had called him an upstart and a lucky bastard.

Hard to respect a kid half your age, even when he was beating you.

"Come on." Kurt said dragging Kaile away from the crowd and towards what looked like the back of the arena. There was security on the entrance, and Kurt smiled slightly. He leaned over towards Kaile, a small grin playing across his lips. "Act like arm candy."

It was a nice way of saying 'be slutty'.

Fooling security was easy, especially if you had a pretty girl on your arm that was distracting them.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

Oh that was easy!

"Hold this!" She told him, thrusting her half eaten candied apple at Kurt. He did, quickly thankfully before he dropped it. It was then that the most amusing display began.

They even got a few catcalls.

Being a former Yum Bunny waitress meant you knew exactly what to do in those situations. Without further ado, Kaileann glanced down at her blouse and began to unbutton it. Pop! Pop! Pop! A little jiggle, a bit of a up and lift, and the girls were presenting quite the tantalizing cleavage. While she was no Arceneau, this little girl could hold her own.

She then unbuttoned four buttons on the bottom, tying it up so her bare midriff would show. All in all, Kaile was now all boobs and legs as long as the Kessel run.

"Okay!" She chirped out with a grin, taking off the braids from her hair and fluffing it around so it fell in attractive, just had my loading ramp charged look!

"Ready!"

She then took her candied Apple back.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

Well, she did that surprisingly well.

Kurt shrugged, deciding that it was best not to question and simply roll with it, though it was hard not to stare. He was only human. The Pilot shifted forward, ensuring that Kaile was still looped around his arm and looking rather worshipful at him. That was a key part of this really, she was supposed to be a groupie, a hang on because of his fame. He had had plenty of them back on Tatooine, especially right after his Boonta Eve wins. He had been slightly too young to appreciate it back then though.

A shrug rolled over his shoulders, and a loud grunt escaped his throat.

"Hey!" Kurt called out towards the guard at the door, the man jumping slightly. "Let us through will ya? Got something I wanna show Buck."

His words were accented with a hard smack of his hand onto Kaile's ass.

She jumped slightly and made a tiny 'ooo' noise but other then that simply smiled. The guard looked bewildered for a moment, or perhaps slightly scared. He shifted and then stuttered, waving his hand to let the two of them through into the security area. Kurt grinned as they wandered by him, leaning in to whisper to Kaile. "Easy."

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

The ‘Ooo’ wasn’t just for looks.

That smack would smart right across her bum, and let me tell you, it had already seen its fair share use and abuse.

“ow…” she’d wince under her breath. It was all she could do to not start rubbing it. She already had the last batch from Kurt barely fading away. A glitbint Kurt was all go, go, go! Which was fine during but a girl needs some rest and recuperation now and then.

One last bite of her apple, and she tossed it to the nearest rubbish receptacle. A few steps and she was able to walk without looking too funny, at least with some help from the pilot holding on to her.

“Ya’ll gonna need to give some special attention to the goods later,” she’d tell him straight. LIkely to his amusement. “I can bounce back proper but my nethers are lookin’ to protest.”

Ah, crude, sweet Kaileann.

Backstage where the rest of the podracers were at was something straight out of a holodrama. There were all kinds of folks running back and forth. Mechanics, Techies, some media from the HNN. Just all kinds of chaotic.

They slowed, taking it all in. “How you reckon we gonna find Buck?” she asked, scanning around. Could be some sort of staging area for him? She brought back out her datapad, looking for who sponsored him and his Pod’s number.

“Oh he ain’t far t’all.” she said, pointing out where he might be.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

Kurt let out a chuckle.

He still wasn't quite sure what had happened over those three days, or rather, right before he had passed out, but from what Kaile described...well apparently he had had his fun and more. It troubled him slightly, not being able to remember, but he supposed again that it was probably for the better. Remembering likely would have made him anxious, overthink it. Best not to dwell on the past and instead move forward. That had been his motto moving out of the Navy, and it had to be the same now.

"I promise you'll get plenty of attention when we get back." Kurt said quietly as he began to scan the pod bays.

Most races were organized in the same fashion, the podracers were lined up with their vehicles, each given a section and a few droids to help them effect repairs. When everything was ready the racers were moved out onto the field and everything was set up. The whole process took a few minutes and was generally half a show in it of itself. Kurt had never liked this part, it always felt like he was being too closely watched, judged by the crowd.

A shrug rolled over his shoulders.

"Nah." Kurt said to Kaile. "Buck always preferred to start out front."

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]


The crowd only seemed to thicken as they wandered at Kurt's suggestion. More media teams, maintenance crews, and fellow groupies would come and go. Some of the latter clinging tighter than a starfish on an urchin. It was a wonder that some of these podracers could even breathe!

Kaile kept a look out, using the holoimage from the map earlier as a reference ( and the huge hologram out in front) Now where was Buck?

"See him anywheres?" Kaile would ask Kurt, brown eyes darting to and from as they ambled down the line. Finally, a thick crop of blonde hair and a few holocamera flashes drew their attention.

Yup. There he was. Strutting like a half-cocked rooster ready to wander the pen.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

That was Buck alright. There was no mistaking his smug face. Kurt had always thought the man had deserved to be punched more then once, in fact he was certain that more than a few women had done just that. Yet he always had the same grin, the same look of confidence, the same smile that made everyone around him entirely sure that he was a douche. Of course from his earlier descriptions Kaile likely had already put that together, but to Kurt...well the man's appearance really made it stand out.

For a moment the Pilot shook his head, then he simply walked forward.

"Buck!" Kurt yelled the name like a gunshot, and everyone and their mother seemed to turn around just like it had been.

Almost immediately recognition dawned on Bucks face, and surprisingly the same could be said of several members of the Media around him. They stared for a moment, as though they were hawks watching a mous crawl across the grass. Kurt's expression grew stern, and then he realized that this may have been a mistake.

He really didn't need questions about coming out of retirement.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

They were surrounded faster than nerf flies on a freshly shat out nerf turd.

Oh hell!

You can bet your tush that Kaileann immediately went into half panic mode. Kurt might think that it was due to getting a face full of holocameras or hover-droids taking video and that perhaps she was camera sky. To a degree, it held a measure of truth, but it was really more -- oh gorram it, can't have Headquarters seeing my face out in public!

She slid on her sunglasses in a jiffy, and half fluffed and ran her fingers through her hair to cover more of her face. Aww, man...

I'm never gonna hear the end of it if theys find out...

Stage one clinger... coming up!

So her arms wrapped round Kurt, and she buried face and boobs against his arm. But at least she gave plenty of leg for them to ogle to their content.

Kurt? Is that Kurt Meyer?! Wait! IT IS!

Are you coming out of retirement?

Have you've come to settle old debts with Buck?

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

Well, this was awkward.

It hadn't been what Kurt had intended, it hadn't at all been what he wanted. The spotlight was nice for a time, but right now? Not exactly something he wanted or could really handle. His stomach was batter but his skin still felt odd and his head began to spin as the flashing cameras began to go off in his face. Eyes rolled up into his head slightly, and then the sudden knock of Kaile burying her face and breasts into his arm pressed him back into full conscious.

He looked at her inquisitively for a moment, then turned to regard the Media.

"No." The pilot said plainly. "Just here to visit an old friend, afraid my skills wouldn't be even half of Bucks right now."

That was a complete and utter lie, he could beat Buck without practice after ten years, but he wasn't going to say that. In fact the statement was meant to alleviate some of the annoyance on the other mans face. Buck never appreciated another person stealing his spotlight, least of all Kurt. It was a tactic that worked, a small smirk returning to the other mans face as Kurt stepped toward and through the Media, Kaile shuffling along. "I'll give interviews for anyone who wants em after the race."

No he wouldn't. "For now let me chat with Buck."

Those terms seemed agreeable to the members of the press, and slowly they moved away from the three.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

Okay! Crisis averted!!

It was all Kaileann could do to wipe her brow in relief. "Well ain't yous a popular fella..." the strawberry blonde would tease, drawing her sunglasses down just an inch so her brown eyes could peer at him over the tops of the frames.

"Should I fear your fanclub next?" she added, mischief in her voice. She was about to add another joke when Buck interrupted them.

"Meyer?!" he said in exclamation, a mix of surprise, greasy charm, and just a dash of annoyance. Like he just got shown up and he wasn't to happy about it. He came over with a swagger, and Kaile gave a half turn towards him. Oh his eyes didn't miss the girls, nor the legs.

Amused, Kaile said with a small gesture pointing up.

"My eyes are up here, sugar."

Oh did that smile ever split wide and was full of cheese.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

"Buck." Kurt tried to say the word without even a hint of the true distaste that he actually felt. "Nice to see you again."

That was one of the biggest lies he had ever told in his life, in fact it harmed his tongue to say it. "We were on world, saw you racing, decided to come visit."

It was a succinct explanation, and one that caused the other man to laugh. Kurt could practically sense the hostility from him, though it was in a way that would mean a fight was breaking out, rather it was envy and jealousy that permeated from Buck. Kurt threatened him, and that could only mean that he was top dog here. That would also mean that Kurt's earlier suspicions had been completely correct. This was a lower division circuit, and judging by Bucks own performance in the past, that meant it was really low. He decided not to say that.

"Great! Gonna watch me win, hehe."

Kurt stopped himself from rolling his eyes.

"Sure." His voice remained steady. "If you have a ticket or two laying around."

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

He had his own charm. Cut jaw, a bit rough around the edges. Any red-blooded woman wouldn't mind playing groupie for Buck.

Then again, most women weren't born and raised a Lorrdian like Kaileann Vera-- and whooowhee! Buck did not like having Kurt here. He didn't like it at ALL.

Oh there was plenty of fake cordiality, but she could read the annoyance, a tinge of anger, and the lance of jealousy practically thrumming off him like bantha fleas.

She saw him tense. Mull, then a rather shady and greasy smile perked on his lips. "I do. " he said, the giving a slight gesture of his hand. "I can get your names on a list. Y'all can come on for the afterparty too."

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

"Fantastic." Kurt said with a smile.

That was all it had really taken, and the conversation was pretty much over with. There wasn't anything more to add. Both of them knew what the other had wanted, and both of them knew that they didn't really like one another. Buck saw Kurt as competition, Kurt saw Buck as ruining his favorite sport. Perhaps that language was a bit harsh, Buck didn't ruin podracing, but he certainly didn't do anything to make it better or help its image.

"Don't worry mate." Kurt said as he turned around. "I'll stay out of your hair."

The pilot dragged Kaile along with him, pulling on her army gently to direct her towards the VIP area. It would be a short walk likely, but he had no doubt that Buck would follow his word. As long as he kept Kurt occupied, there was no chance of taking away his fame. As they wandered away from Buck, two rather large Duros walked by them, one giving Kurt a sidelong glance.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

"Buck ain't too pleased," Kaile told Kurt, ambling away as they drifted past the media and groupies. The VIP area was up ahead, and they'd have to go past the gate and on towards whatever seats Buck would save for them. Probably will take a few minutes, but at the very least they'd could maybe get another drink at the time.

"Was like yalls two cocks in a fighting ' pit." A thought. " he's sure pretty though." She said genuinely, perhaps a bit sadly. Ain't pretty on the inside, though she mused. And still wasn't too keen on his parting smile.

The thought of drinks however brought up another necessity. That's when Kaile started to scan around. "See the 'freshers anywhere?" She had to pee somethin' firce!

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

He raised an eyebrow, but decided to leave that comment alone. "He didn't like that I was back."

Obviously Kaile already knew that.

"He wasn't as good as me." He'd already told her that before, but he wanted to reiterate that point. It was important that she understood the motivation behind Buck, why the reception had been so cold. "He's made himself a little niche here, he's like the top of the charts. With me coming in he's scared he'll lose that spot."

A shrug rolled over his shoulders. Of course what Kurt didn't know was that Buck needed to be on top here. He had made a deal with the local criminal syndicate that ran the circuits on this world. He would win every single race for them and "collect" the prize money and in exchange they would ensure he lived relatively comfortably. Of course, that only worked when he could actually win every race. The Syndicate never had to pay out or face public outcry and Buck could live relatively comfortably. What neither he, nor the syndicate had expected were the influx of new racers from around the galaxy, good racers.

So as Kurt and Kaile wandered towards the VIP section, unbeknownst to them, Buck was making a deal.

"Over there I think. You check I'll go find out seats." He smile and very gently patted her on the ass again, grinning.

 

[Kaile Vera]

Kaile would bat at his hand after the smack, shaking her head but the grin that lingered otherwise belied any real irritation at that. So while Kurt went off to check for their seats, the Lorrdian went to take care of some business.

The 'fresher wasn't too far off, save for being rather crowded. Not uncommon, considering how crazy these events could get. There was a little line, so it took a bit longer before she got her turn. Sending off her deposit with a flush, Kaile adjusted her shorts. There was a slight sound of protest and a few low murmurs outside, but Kaile didn't pay it any mind, at least until she slid open the door to exit.

Where there had been three females waiting, there were none. The small communal refresher rather empty. Did I really take that long? For a moment she felt bad, taking the few steps over towards the small embedded sonic cleanser that would clean her hands. Water was a precious commodity, and on dust worlds like this, you didn't waste it on sanitation if you didn't have to. Technology did just fine so far with that.

The joyful tune of a soft hum would resonate around the young woman, a particularly catchy tune. Off to her left, behind her, the entrance to the bathroom slid open again. "Yous in luck, looks like you've the pick of the --" what had been said all helpful like was abruptly cut off as large meaty hand suddenly took hold of one arm, jerking her back. The other slapped over her mouth to snuff her cry of alarm, a damp fabric covering her nose.

Unfortunately for Kaile, her 'instep, solarplexis, ball grab twist routine' didn't work well for her then.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

The seats were easy enough to find. There was a man standing by the doors and all he had to do was mention Buck's name. Apparently the old cretin had been true to his word and as soon as Kurt got there the atendant simply showed him the way without any muss or fuss, it was nice really, simple. Now all he needed to do was wait for Kaile to get back and then watch the Race.

Easy peasy.

This was much simpler than he had thought it would be. The feeling in his stomach was mostly gone, the pain, the blanched skin, gone. It was nice to feel...normal again. The sun came down from out of the clouds, not as hot as Tatooine of course, but instead a pleasant warmth that spread all over him. He smiled slightly, his lips turning up as he began to truly enjoy himself. Of course, as luck would have it, that joy quickly began to face away as a man sat beside him.

"Sorry, mate, Seats Taken." He didn't sound harsh, just matter of fact.

"No Mr. Kuhn."

His eyes popped open as he heard the sound of a Duros talking.

"I'm afraid its not. Your companion won't be joining you."

 

[Kaile Vera]

"Getyourgrummypawsoffofme!"

If anything, Kaile gave the guy a few new bruises and a new bloody nose for the Weequay's trouble. However, there was only so much she could do with Bobo. Once she started to struggle, he fell off her shoulder in the scuffle, and that brought a rather nasty shock to her system as it flirted with, well feeling the Force again.

Honestly, it was better than it had been in the past. At least she only felt nauseated, and the vertigo wasn't too bad. Years before, whenever Bobo happened to slip past her grasp, she'd fall to the floor in a fetal position at the overwhelming sensation of having the Force anew. It was only through years of contact with Bobo and practicing that helped her get to a manageable level.

It just didn't work so well when someone was trying to chloroform you.

Which, ugh... was what ended up happening. All she needed was a few whiffs and then she went limp.