The Grand Adventure

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

His immediate reaction was to draw his fathers blaster that he always carried...only...it wasn't there. His hands reflexive twisted though, reaching. The man seemed to laugh, knowing that Kurt wasn't armed. That only made him want to lash out, but he neither had the strength, nor the opportunity.

Duros were known for being quick, more than that they were known for being strong. Their odd bodies were built with more muscles than humans, and Kurt had no doubt that this one could overpower him in a matter of minutes. No, it was best to stay calm, to talk things out. He'd dealt with Gangsters before. Bandits, mobsters, half a dozen swoop gangs. He knew how to talk, he knew how to deal. If they had Kaile, which his words seemed to imply, then he just had to make a deal.

"What do you want?" There was no question if they had her, he already knew they did.

A man like this didn't simply approach a person, didn't just sit down and say their name. They knew who he was, and that could only mean one of three things. It had to do with the races, it had to do with whatever Kaile did when she left, or it had to do with the package that he had delivered on Nar Shaddaa. That was the only thing that Kurt could think of, and each option troubled him more than the last.

"How accommodating of you."

Kurt's hand balled into a fist.

"My organization runs the races around here, you could say we...help the races find an outcome."

"You fix them." Kurt said, immediately understanding things.

"Yes, and this year...well that's proven difficult. We have a lot of new racers, a lot of new faces that are said to be quite good. We have an ace in the hole, but well, he might turn out to be more of a jack if you know what I meant."

Buck. Of course it was Buck. He must have owed them money or something, must have told them who he was. "You want me to race."

"Yes."

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

It's funny how things work out. But that's just how the 'Verse is. Just all connected in that way -- So just because I'm telling you this story doesn't mean I'm alive in the end.

It's that kind of a story, where things just got s-ooo out of control...

PodRacing Circuit
VIP Private Sector
Bahrain

​

"That the girl?" the gruff voice of a flat nosed Duros would inquire with notable impatience.

"Yeah it is," growled out the Weequay, one unconscious Kaileann draped over his arms, the length of her long strawberry-blonde hair swaying lightly with each step that he took. A snicker came from a Dug at the far corner, amused at the red lines and bruises that lined the Bloodhound Gang member's face.

" Sikn imnuld gnavinoe gabiki vali ber surbris?" «"A little girl catch you by surprise?"» came the heavy snicker, this whiskers flowing under the large wide goggles that protected his beady black eyes.

A heavy threatening glare along with the curl of an upper lip would warn the Dug to watch his tongue. A hyena laugh followed, Amoar waddling on past him as Ver, the Weequay set the girl on the couch.

"Cuff her, we don't want her to start trouble once she wakes up."

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

He didn't really have a choice. If they had Kaile, which no doubt they did, they could do whatever they wanted. He wasn't about to leave her behind, and he wasn't in any shape to try and free her by another means. He had no weapon, no information, nothing. For now he would have to play along, do as they wanted.

"I'll do it." Kurt said slowly. "Under conditions."

"You're not really in a pos-"

"I want proof of life before I start the race." That was easy and the most important thing. "After I win, you give me back Kaile and we head off world. I never see your face again and you never see mine"

As long as Kaile was safe he didn't really care about the winnings.

This was a dangerous situation and Kurt had to play it carefully. Push too much and they would say no, too little and they would try to take advantage. He had to maneuver things just the right way so he and Kaile both made it out alive. That was what was important in the end, nothing else really mattered.

"Alright."

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

PodRacing Circuit
VIP Private Sector
Bahrain

Kaile's small wrists were latched together with durasteel cuffs. Her bag was strung beside a small table, forgotten for the present time. Bobo had managed to sneak himself back inside prior tBut it iso being taken from the refresher, allowing him to sit and wait inside his nutrient tube.

"Put her in the refresher, and put a gag on her." came the order, a grunt in answer from the Weequay as he picked Kaile up from the couch.

"Yeah yeah," he would mutter under his breath, sharp teeth flashing with the curl of his upper lip.

"Ygi ghey sikn ghileed wonoo. Bensi ni dhogu vendi cae preiroo bos?" «She's a pretty one. Think we can sell her off after?»

"We'll see then." a nod came next. "Tell me about the recent loot?" he asked in question about the most recent acquisition. It was from a planet near them, in the Wild Regions. Zakuul. Many people in the core worlds were willing to pay a pretty penny for artifacts. Gathering smuggled ones from ruins like those gave the gang their credit flow.

"Ni ghey drair lin, groe de ghey sikn imnulkai brosesoe gioo menoe bronesi. Den Zakuul blanedoe ghey brovis sufik dhi heroe pkoe nae vendoe." «We are going through it, but there were a few cases that look promising. This Zakuul planet is providing plenty of items for our sale. »

If they only knew the enormity of truth behind those artifacts. The Dark side of the Force permeating from a single crystal lattice holocron within the depths of a dark stone box.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

The agreement had been struck rather quickly, and everything that had come next had simply been a result of that. Within minutes Kurt had rushed down to the racing area, his eyes folding over the people that were gathered there. He looked for one person in particular, one smug bastard. Kurt knew it had to be him, he knew that it was his fault. He searched furiously, trying to find Buck among the crowd of racers, mechanics, and last minute news crews.

When he found nothing even at Buck's racist stall he let out a curse.

The scum must have ran, must have ditched the scene as quickly as he knew that Kurt was coming down.

The bastard would get whats coming to him though, Kurt would make sure that by the end. As he stood by the Pod Racer that Buck would have used his suspicions were confirmed once again, the man that had approached him in the VIP section walking over towards him with a smug and confident grin. For half a moment Kurt glanced into the podracer, wondering if Buck still kept a blaster hidden in the bloody thing. Even if there had been, Kurt wouldn't have used it, not with Kaiel still in their hands.

"I see you've found your racer."

Ah. So Buck had dropped out, and Kurt would be his replacement. It made sense of course, this way they could say he was simply a substitute. Acceptable to most of the racers and alright with the officials. "Show me she's alive."

The man waggled his finger.

"First, there's been a little change in the plan. Turns out, you're rather good aren't you? As soon as we made the announcement that you're racing the odds were put way in your favor."

Kurt knew where this was going, knew what was about to happen. He wanted to say no, he wanted to spit in the mans face...but his reputation wasn't worth Kaile's life. She had been kind to him, she had saved his life and had never done anything to harm anyone, she didn't deserve to die because he couldn't stifle his ego.

"You want me to take a dive." The man simply nodded. "Keep our deal and I'll do it."

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

PodRacing Circuit
VIP Private Sector
Bahrain

Little would the Bloodhound gang know what manner of artifact they had indeed uncovered. For there, laying within the compartment of the dark stone box was an artifact strong in the Force, but seething with Darkness. It had survived over the millennias, traversed through the farthest reaches of the galaxy, now it was here.

Darth Vitiate's holocron.

Even as a child, Sith Emperor possessed immense strength in the Force, and his abilities began to manifest themselves at the age of six. He used his newfound powers to snap his adoptive father's neck with a thought, and tortured his mother with the Force for months while feeding on her fear and pain. As his powers grew, Tenebrae continued to gorge himself on the fear and suffering of those whom he tortured in public executions. When he confronted his real father, the Sith Lord Dramath, at the age of ten, Tenebrae was able to strip the man of both his sanity and his power in the Force....

****

"Get a recording of her." a gruff voice would order, causing the Dug to shuffle over while a Gand gave a grunt in acknowledgment.

"Demanding a proof of life," the heavy snort would follow, the Gand moving towards the refresher. The Weequay had managed to tuck Kaile off into the corner, one hand cuffed to a handle bar.

A small array would come from his pocket, and the small holoccamera would hover into the air. A quick scan would provide the requested image of the unconscious Kaileann.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

The man smirked, pulling out a small datapad and turning it towards Kurt. The Racer waited for a moment, and then suddenly an image of Kaile showed up. She sat there, her hands bound and a gag in her mouth. The Pilots hand tightened almost immediately, his fingers balling into a fist that just begged to be thrown into the mans face. A sigh wracked Kurt's body, shaking him slightly as he began to slowly take a step back from the Duros.

Not out of fear.

Caution.

He was on the edge, near being set off. If he struck the man it would very likely ruin the deal. Kurt couldn't have Kaile get hurt, couldn't allow it. He was responsible for this mess and he had to take care of it. If that meant losing? Then so be it. It wasn't how he would have chosen to lose for the first time, wasn't how he had thought it would happen, but that didn't matter. This was for Kaile, this was to make sure that she would be okay. He shifted and turned away from the man, checking on the podracers engines.

"Get ready to give her back after I lose." His voice was stone. "Or else."

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

...Tenebrae's power at the age of thirteen was great enough for Marka Ragnos, the current Dark Lord of the Sith, to acknowledge the teenager's strength and grant him the title of Lord Vitiate. Vitiate soon gained a reputation as a scholar, spending much of the next century studying the secrets of the dark side. He soon gained an immense knowledge of Sith sorcery, becoming one of the most powerful practitioners of both Sith magic and alchemy throughout history, and devised complex rituals to warp reality and life itself…

“Fifteen minutes until the race starts.” gloated the Duros, peering over the dusty balcony onto the podracing circuit below. Dust devils would cut the distant terrain, and the roar and hum of podracing engines was near deafening. The Bahrain Circuit was similar to that of Tatooine, but it had it’s own risks and devil’s run.

For someone unfamiliar to the layout, it could get deadly. Most greenhorns were not successful in seeing its completion.

Overhead, the holoscreen would detail a change in the podracing line up. Buck’s name was gone….

In its place was the Tatooine native few had seen in a while, but to those faithful to the podracing circuit, would set ablaze a torrent of new bets.

Kurt Meyer was after all, the three time Champion of the Boonta Eve Classic.

In the background, the boys began to shuffle out the boxes and items down to the small cargo speeder below. Along with them was the dark stone case that carried Vitiate's Holocron...

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

The track was filled with Podracers now. Sixteen in total, one for each racer and of course with those came mechanics and last minute news reporters. It was all rather exciting, and if it hadn't been for the situation around them Kurt likely would have been thrilled. This was his return to racing, the first time he'd done it professionally in ages. There was something even now that made him a bit excited, a bit happy to be here.

This was his home, in essence, the place where he thrived.

The cockpit was like that, but not quite. Piloting a starfighter was an experience, it was thrilling, and fun beyond all belief...but podracing...podracing was a part of him.

He'd won so many races, earned so many championships, done so many things there that it just seemed right. Being on the track, even if it was on a no name planet with no name racers...it felt right. He smiled slightly as his hand pressed against the cold metal of the podracer, his fingers folding slightly. It pained him that he had to lose, but it was for Kaile. That little bandaid helped things, but it was still a hit to his ego nevertheless. An alarm buzzer went off, signalling that the race was ready to begin.

Kurt shifted, throwing himself into the cockpit and beginning the engines.

 

[Kaile Vera]

...Another one of Vitiate's specialties was in the domination of his opponent's minds, as he was able to dominate the minds of eight thousand Sith Lords and bind them to his will. He then used their combined power to perform the most complex ritual of Sith magic ever performed, ripping the Force from the entire planet of Nathema and absorbing the combined life force of every living thing on the surface. Lord Scourge suspected that the Emperor had not only absorbed the lives of those who had died in the ritual, but was in fact feeding off their spirits to sustain his own throughout the centuries that followed...

Consciousness came in degrees.

It felt as if she had a massive cotton mouth going on. Her lips felt dry, and her tongue was all thick and... ugh... did she forget to brush her teeth?! There was this horrible aftertaste in her mouth and for a second she wondered if things got crazy with Kurt again...

At least, until the very awkward and tingling pins and needles sensation up and down her arms startled Kaile awake. Her big, brown eyes snapped open, trying to blink through the grogginess and the slight headache of getting chloroformed. At least with her training she knew exactly what that was. A glance down confirmed she still had her clothing. Okay, that's one relief. She was in a refresher.... okay.. One door. One window.

What the kriff?!

The former Yum Bunny darted her eyes back and forth as she tried to gather her bearings. She was latched right next to the toilet - not the best smelling place in the 'verse mind you, clearly they did NOT clean it regularly with all the questionable dried yellow stains around... and ugh was that hair b... nevermind, happy thoughts!

A slight jiggle of her wrists confirmed the cuffs. Both hands were basically cuffed around one of the pipes, so she could move back and forth, she just couldn't move out... b-uttt this was good.

She could work with this.

Okay. Think Kaile! Think!

Nibbling on her lower lip, she scooted forward to glance down at the cuffs. OH! She knew this model! A wide grin cracked her face.

Oh yeah, I got this.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

It didn't matter what world he was on, which part of the galaxy he was in, what circuit he was running, the starting buzzer always sounded the same.

It was a long, drawn out drone that seemed to stick to the ears and wail loudly throughout the entire starting post. The crowd cheered, the Dancers danced, and the Pod racers suddenly sprang from the starting like like rocket engines. It happened so instantaneously every time, happened so quickly and with such violence that Kurt could almost have been startled by it, almost. To him, this was home, this was his natural element, and as soon as the buzzer sounded he pressed his throttle forward.

Buck's Podracer wasn't the best, it wasn't the one that Kurt had built back home, but it was good enough.

The pod jumped off the starting line near a full second before anyone else's did, a sign of just how good Kurt's reaction time was. He sped forward as though he had been alerted of the buzzer ahead of time, his body lurching in the seat as he shot forward and onto the circuit. The crowd seemed to erupt into an immediate cheer of 'Kurt! Kurt! Kurt!' crying out the Son of Tatooin's name.

A smile pulled over his lips, though it was a rueful one.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

...As Emperor, he spent much of his rule experimenting even further with the dark side, discovering many lost techniques and increasing his immense power even more. While his body was harmed by the ravaging effects of the dark side, the technique of transfer essence allowed him to move his consciousness, which had been made immortal as a result of the ritual on Nathema, between bodies and sustain his life indefinitely. By combining various Force techniques, the Emperor was also able to imbue portions of his consciousness into infants, transforming those Children of the Emperor into extensions of his will. He could suppress his Children's personas and even their Force-sensitivity, making them the ultimate covert operatives, and further possess them like puppets...

Kaile had a nifty bobby pin.

Don't you dare look down on this tiny piece of durasteel! Most might figure that was stupid, but hey, on your standard Durasteel cuffs? They worked beauiiitfully!

Which is exactly what Kaile was thinking as the unbent bobby pin was carefully slid into the keyhold. "Come on..." she muttered to herself, glancing up and over towards the door. So far so good. She could hear them over the door, talking back and forth.

"The race has begun." a chuckle came out, and Kaile strained to hear the next bit. "So he will take the loss in the race in the place of Buck?" came the first question.

"Kurt Meyer vl breni wokel berdoe si ygi cnous halikae ghey ghul pkoe min imnuld gunvoaedand. Ygi vl ni riss cae nased." «Kurt Meyer will take the loss if he knows what is good for his little companion. He wouldn't risk her neck.»

Wait what?!

Kaile was so startled she almost hit her head against the toilet. Wait - KURT was racing?! Kaile began to anxiously bite her lower lip. That must be why she was here. Why they --

Her brown eyes suddenly narrowed. Buck! It was all Buck's doing! It all made sense then.

Oh she was livid! Absolutely Livid!

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

There weren't a lot of things Kurt knew. He wasn't a mechanic, he wasn't an artist, he wasn't even that great of a courier, but he was a good pilot. Whether it was ships, speeders, or pod racers Kurt simply knew how to fly. It was a skill that had been in his blood since childhood, a skill that he had carried his entire life. No one had ever questioned him in that skill. There was a few times in the Navy when it had come into doubt, a few times where he himself had said he wasn't the best...but on the pod racing circuit?

He was the best.

There was no question to it.

The Pod Racer jumped forward in an instant, driving through the dust and kick up a storm as he flew off the line. He was the first from the line and for Ten minutes it stayed that way. The podracer weaved and barreled through rock and broken stone, cutting through dark corners and slipping along the corners of the track as though Kurt simply knew everything that was about to happen. His grip tightened on the thruster, and slowly he pressed it forward.

He was supposed to lose, but he didn't have to until the very end.

Kurt's lips thinned slightly, his eyes closed for half a second as he thought of Kaile. In the holovid she had been tied up, her arms bound, his head shook slightly as he tried to shake away the image, his hands shaking with rage. Bright blues looked at the track, his breath catching as he suddenly jerked the controls to the side to narrowly avoid a massive rock in the middle of the track.

"Don't get distracted." He said to himself.

 

[Kaile Vera]

...The Emperor's rituals on Dromund Kaas warped the planet's very atmosphere, creating perpetual lightning storms,and he became a master of manipulating objects and the environment with the Force. The Emperor could conjure storms of Force lightning. The Emperor was able to summon Sith magic, which enabled him to create physical duplicates of himself while battling....

There was more to Vitiate than met the eye. His prowess in the Force, in the methods he took to create not only the Sith Empire but the Eternal Empire as well reflected a man that over centuries managed to succeed where others failed.

His holocron would showcase the wealth of this information and more.

All Kaile was waiting for was that tiny small -- click!

The right cuff went loose, and she quickly reached with her fingers to catch it before it hit the toilet or the wall with a loud clank. Success was in getting herself free!! Woo! One arm pump and a silent 'YESS!' was enough for now. Getting out of this place was next. Who knows what they would have Kurt do! She had to get to him fast!

Her backpack was just alongside the flat shower floor, which she quickly reached for to inspect. "Bobo?!" she whispered, worried over her bestest friend. Tugging the ties out, she peeked in. Relief filled her when she saw two beady black eyes looking back at her. "Oh thank the Force!" she said, securing him back into the pack.

Outside the door, she heard the gang mention that Kurt was presently in the lead. However, if they made him throw the race....

No! She could not let that happen!

Determination lit her expression, and she glanced back up at the single small refresher window...

How high am I?

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

He began to feel a sense of listlessness.

Kurt couldn't quite explain it, he couldn't have said what it was, but as he pushed the throttle forward gain and rocketed forward he couldn't help but...not care. He knew that he was going to lose, he knew that he wasn't going to be a champion anymore, so what did it matter? He could win this track on his own, it wasn't difficult. A single long circuit that stretched for miles. He could win if he wanted to, but he wouldn't. For her he would lose, and he wouldn't regret it.

So where did this listless feeling come from?

It came from knowing that he didn't have any options, that he couldn't win, that he just had to show he was the best in other ways.

There was a tunnel up ahead, a massive geological showing of earth cut via an old river. The Podracers would cut through it and turn back towards the original starting point. Kurt rather liked that, it was an interesting twist and it would allow him to do exactly what he wanted. Kurt's podracer cut through the tunnel, skipping through the opening and pushing into the darkness. For a moment he sailed over the water, gliding above it until a small grin carried over his face.

He saw the camera ahead of him, and then he jerked the throttle to the right.

The Podracer sailed to the right, flying to the wall and climbing up it.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

Kaile slung her pack around her shoulders and back. Okay, I can do this! Small pep talk aside, Kaile narrowed her eyes to see exactly what she had to work with.

It was your standard swing open window. Small, enough for a youngling to pass through, but it was at about shoulder level for her. That was a problem. The first, however, was making sure she could open it wider and determine if she was more than a few floors up.

Oh boy...

It was open half a crack, which meant she should be able to slide the rest of it open. Maybe even by pushing out the sections. However, that would make noise.. and noise.. might get her caught.

Moving up to the window, she used the toilet as a perch for a quick boost. Her small grunt was drowned out but the outside chatter and roar of the podracing patrons, her fingers curling over the edge as she peeked out.

Outside, she caught that she was indeed... several stories up. Feth!

However...

Kaile narrowed her eyes down at the various multilevel canopies that staggered their way from under her window down below. An idea bloomed in her mind.

Oh this was going to get interesting...

The next few seconds were spent pushing the transparasteel window slides off and down into the first canopy, where they bounced and slide a few meters before coming to a stop.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

Kurt went for style. At this point it was the only way that he could allow himself to do it, the only way that he would be okay with it. The Podracer latched against the wall, his speed and velocity carrying him up the side of the rounded tunnel, over the ceiling and around in a a full three hundred and sixty degree flip within the tunnel itself. The sight was pure showmanship, and the camera that floated in front of Kurt caught every single second of it.

The crowd back at the start began to cheer, roaring loudly as Kurt did his trick.

Of course, two of the podracers that had been right behind him managed to push across the now unoccupied space and overtake Kurt, slashing through the water and exiting the tunnel just as Kurt came back down into proper position. The river beneath him splashed, sending out a wave towards the podracers that were now behind him. He smiled as he saw the two machines in front of him, smiled wider as his earbud sounded with the roar of the crowd.

It was an impressive way to start losing.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

The tough part...

Well, the tough part was wiggling her way through the small window. With Kurt's little flashy gimmick, the roar of the crowd was overwhelming, hiding her grunts and the noise she was making as she boosted herself up.

It was a rather precarious situation to be. She went headfirst, adjusting herself as she brought up one knee. She scuffed it pretty bad, wincing as a large skid scratched her skin. Oh that hurt. That hurt a lot! A series of muttered curses would see her through the rest of the half wiggle movement.

She straddled the window, wincing at the pinch of very tender areas. Ow... okay, just... The next leg swung over, and now she was ass out, legs dangling.

"Bobo... hang... on..." she grunted out, bottom wiggling as she peeked over her shoulder. It was at least a three meter drop to the canopy.

Okay.. one.. two...

She let go before she even go to three.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

He didn't push any further, this was where he had to be.

A part of him still wanted to him, a part of him still had that need to push forward, but he knew he couldn't. it was for Kaile, so she would be released. He could stifle his pride for that, he could swallow the indignation of having to lose. It wasn't so bad really, losing. He knew that it would have happened eventually. He would have returned to Tatooine, entered a race, and he wouldn't have been the best. That would have been different thought. That wouldn't have been so bad, that wouldn't have hurt as much as this. He would have lost because his own skills weren't up to par, not because of other circumstances. His head shook slightly, his jaw clamped down and his features tightened slightly.

Another racer tried to pass him, but before he could Kurt cut to the side and swept in front of him, cutting his pod and slamming him into a rock. The man screamed, letting out a guttural cry as his podracer suddenly rushed into the side and began to skid across the ground. The polarity beams between his pods suddenly cut off and his engines went wild. Before anything happened the man cut the ties between pods and skidded into a halt within his cockpit.

Kurt watched him in the mirror, then focused in front of him again.

"Alright." The pilot said to himself. "Last leg, lets make it look good."

He pressed the throttle forward one more time, pushing the podracer forward and sending himself sweeping forward right on the tail of the two racers in front of him.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

It was like being on a large trampoline.

"WHOA!" she gave a yelp, arms waving wildly as she struck the canopy. She hit feet first, the taunt fabric of the canopy sending her bouncing up again.

Oh geez!

Arms flapping like a Nuna, she adjusted herself and as she fell, struck bottom first. With her legs out in front of her, she only bounced up a bit more, before she started to slide down.

"whoa... oh feth." she began to scramble as she slid down on her right flank, heat off the canopy and the burn of the fabric as she rushed down giving her a heck of a friction burn on her thigh.

Fingers went to wildly grab at the edge, barely catching herself as she slowed to a stop. A gust of wind picked up her hair, and she paused to catch her breath. Her heart was pounding wildly, and she couldn't help but glance up to the window in the event they may have found out she escaped. Nothing yet.

Okay.

Peering over the edge of the canopy, she caught sight of the other staggered blue one. With another grunt, she braced herself, and jumped onto the next. It was a bumbling sight, but eventually, Kaile landed with a bounce down alongside a fabric stall merchant.
In the end, she was an absolute mess. Hair wild, cuts and scrapes, and in quite a heck of a lot of pain.

Kurt!

She had to get a hold of Kurt!

"Sorry! Sorry!!" Kaile would apologize to the vendor, only to ask.

"Do you have a comm I could borrow?!!" the instant pleading eyes of the brunette would strike at the Devanronian vendor.

"Please?!"