500 PARSECS ~

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

The pourstone farm was so much larger on the inside than one would think. These buildings normally hung low to the ground, with wide rounded tops to allow the sand and wind flow over them. There was some maintenance to be had when the sand collected too much, but other than that, the property was rather cozy yet impressive. The Lorrdian could tell right away that there had been a lot of work put into the farm, not only in general upkeep but in expansions as well.

They had a few open courts, the small entrance from which they entered leading down towards a pourstone staircase. Much to Kaile's delight, Kurt's father would give them a quick credit tour, more for Kaile' benefit than Kurt's -- although there were a few new things his dad had worked on to improve while Kurt was away.

This was where Kurt's earnings were going, the bulk of them at least. It was amazing. While Kaile ambled along with his father, entranced by the man's gestures and words, Kurt would excitedly walk by Kaile. Every now and then, Kaile would turn her brown eyes over at Kurt, raising her eyebrows in giddiness that was as infectuious as Kurt's own.

This was where Kurt had grown up. Well the later part of his years, but it was clear that his dad was the hard working sort. Kaile immediately took a liking to him, and for a bit, she wondered how it would have been to have a father like Kurt's? Warm, certainly. With a lot of fun, she mused as she caught the occasional glimmer in his eyes.

Yup, definitely like father like son.

He led them down another hatch that led them underground. The natural cooling effect of the pourstone building made the air here a few degrees cooler, a blessing with all that blazing heat outside.

"I love your home, Mistah Meyer." Kaile would compliment it, finding a seat around a large oval table.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

"Thank you."

Was all his father said as they moved into the greater part of his home. There was a fondness in the way that Kurt looked at everything, as though he were living through Nostalgia with every single step that they took. In Truth he was very happy to be home, always was. Many people despised Tatooine. They thought it a ball of sand and hellish heat, a place of not much worth or value, but to Kurt, to Kurt it was his home. Other kids had wanted to grow up on Coruscant or Onderon or any other planet with a mass of wealth and power.

Not Kurt.

He had always loved this planet, it was his home.

"Do you wanna see my pod?" Kurt said to Kaile as they finished the tour, his hand still gently resting at the small of her back, fingers drumming in excitement. "Still in the garage, right?"

His father shot him a grin, then offered a simple nod. One would have guessed there would be another joke, but neither of them joked about Kurt's old Pod-racer. That thing had been most of Kurt's life on Tatooine, and even after leaving home it still meant the world to him. Due to that, the pod was off limits when it came to jokes.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

That got her attention. Fast.

Kaile practically shot to her feet, "Yes!" maybe with a bit more enthusiasm than intended but she wouldn't' be sheepish about it. This was Kaile at her core, perfectly cheerful and eager to have fun. All the more with Kurt when he was practically bouncing in his happy go lucky state. Turning in his grasp, she took his hand, slipping her smaller into his own.

"We'll be right back Mistah Meyer!" she took a step then looked back "If'n you want a slice of that cake right now, please help yourself!" Kaile beamed then nudged at Kurt. "Come on!"

There was a reason she was really excited about this. She'd never ridden on a pod racer before. Seeing Kurt race out on Bahrain was simply amazing and just so thrilling.

"Is it still workin?" she'd ask, her hair bouncing along her shoulders as she kept on with the questions.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

"It better, or else I'm firing my mechanic." Kurt said it with a grin towards his father, grasping Kaile's hand and pulling her towards another end of the building.

The garage was of course stashed away underground as well, the door opening up from below so that the pod-racer was protected from sand storms and everything else. The addition had been rather expensive, but his father had insisted on it at the time, Kurt was now grateful for that. "Me and my Dad built it mostly ourselves."

There was a hint of pride in his voice.

The pod-racer was the same that he had won all three championships with, the one that he had used to earn the favor of the crowd and the scorn of other races. He loved that thing, and although Kaile had seen it before in model form and in the poster that hung above his bed, the real thing was something entirely different. They stepped into the garage, pitch black as it was. Kurt wandered around the room, not concerned about hitting anything or walking into something.

The Pilot flicked the light switch, revealing a massive bulk under a white shirt. He grinned slightly, looking at Kaile and then grasping the white sheet. Slowly he began to unfurl it, pulling it away and revealing his trophy.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

"Whoaaaaaa." there was awe in Kaile's voice, wonder in her gaze, and plenty of appreciation. There it was, Kurt's podracer. It was almost to surreal. She bit her lip, a bit anxious as a chill of excitement ran down her spine. Darting up her big, brown eyes at him, she gave a half squee, bouncing in place and giving a half hop.

"Shiney!" the singular world was drawled out from the former Yum Bunny with reverence. Bounding forward in a burst of giggles and 'wow's', the Lorrdian female went to trace the line of the podracer's side panel. It was just like the miniature. Just like the one on the poster where Kurt stood all proud, hair all tousled, cocksure grin, and devil may care eyes.

"This is it!" yup, so maybe she sounded a little bit like a groupie, but it was a groupie of one, and with Kurt preening there, it was doubtful he minded. Kaile's appreciation was genuine, brought by the love of all things build for speed and that she could tinker with. She would take her time, touching and admiring here and there. Like a little girl, she glanced up at Kurt and gave him a look. The sort that asked, 'can I get in it?!'

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

"Yes, it is." Kurt said with a wide boyish grin.

He was glad to see Kaile so excited.

Kurt had had plenty of groupies in the day. Girls that had fawned over him and loved on him like they had met their soul mate. It had been amazing at the time, and Kurt had certainly enjoyed it thoroughly, but things were...well things were different now. It wasn't as fun to go after easy women, the chase was far more enjoyable. He wasn't quite sure where it had changed, perhaps the Navy, but things were different now. Before when he had seen that look on a womans face he would have tried his best to sleep with her, but here? On Kaile?

He was simply glad to see her happy.

"Wanna take it out for a spin?" It should still be working fine. "Should be all clear for another few hours."

There would be a storm tonight, but that was hardly cause for concern, Kurt had spotted it from orbit before they had made landfall. As long as they were back within three hours they would be perfectly alright.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

"Oh my goodness, really?!" that got her from zero to sixty in no time flat. Her eyes went wide, and her jaw fell in growing excitement. She immediately clapped her hands in joy.

"YES!"

Practically bursting with giddiness, she raced back to where Kurt was and lunged herself at him. A tangle of Kaile would ensue. "Yes! Let's go!" her arms wrapped round him and she couldn't seem to stand still. It was as if he'd made her day, just that simple offer. This was Kaile, a simple woman of simple needs.

"How fast can we go?" can I drive it? was asked in Lorrdian gestures but he didn't need to know Kinetic Communication to understand that half shimmy flounce bop. It was as if he'd given the keys to the toy store for Kaile to have free reign.

"Oh this is gonna be fun!"

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

The pod-racer didn't really have a lot of room, mostly because of certain design choices that had been taken during it's construction. That would of course mean that Kaile would rather have to squeeze herself into place, or sit on Kurt's lap, probably the latter given the nature of the pod itself. Kurt wandered over to the small access hatch, a tiny door that was the only opening for the sealed cabin. The metal sheet slipped away with a silent hiss revealing the small racing seat directly in front of the controls.

Kurt's pod was unique, at least among Tatooine pod-racers.

His was the only racer to have a closed cabin, something that he and his father had cooked up in order to reduce the drag that was pressed onto the pod-racer as it went along. It meant that his pod was one of the faster ones just by luck of being better built and designed. He leaned over into the pod and flipped the switch, the engines half jumping to life as they began to warm up, the proton beam bursting into life between the two pods at the front of the racer.

Another second passed and Kurt wandered over to the edge of the garage, pressing a small key that would begin the lowering of a ramp directly in front of the pod. Next Kurt threw himself into the racing seat, waving for Kaile to come sit down. "You'll have to wiggle a bit."

He said it with a smirk.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

"Oh I can wiggle," Kaile said with an impish grin. Her laughter would follow, one long leg sliding over and inside the tiny closed cabin. She opted for sitting in his lap, as that made more sense, ducking her head low and slipping inside to place herself between his legs. One hand went up and over her head, scooping up the length of her hair to sweep it over left shoulder. That way, Kurt wouldn't find his nose being tickled by a stray hair. It also left scant inches between his cheek and her own, her back settling against his chest while her legs searched for a place to rest.

She didn't want to block the controls, so she tried to make herself a smaller frame, but it was hard to quite sit still with just how much excitement and growing adrenaline pumped through her veins.

There were bound to be some sort of safety straps, just in case. If they fit or not between them both only Kurt would know. Her hands came to rest along his thighs, and she gave them a little up and down dribble with her fingers. She was ecstatic about this, and it showed.

"Is this okay?" she'd ask, half turning a bit to try and glance at him only to feel the slight brush of his scruff against her cheek.

"Or do i need to wiggle a bit more?"

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

Kurt could only grin.

"Kaile." His voice was suddenly very stern. "You can wiggle all you want."

The grin on his face was quickly cut away as Kurt grabbed the controls and pushed them forward. The Engines seemed to spring to full blaze within half a second of him pressing the controls forward, the momentum of the pod-racer picking up almost instantly as the two powerful engines simply jumped from the ground and immediately accelerated to full speed. The weight of momentum and gravity pressed at Kurt and Kaile, pushing them back against the chair and squeezing the oxygen from their breath.

That was a modifcation that he and his father has put in.

Ninety percent of a pod-race was the very beginning. Getting a good start could put you ahead of everyone else, getting a bad start put oyu in dead last. It was much easier to maintain a lead than it was to build one, Kurt had learned that during his first race. "Hang on."

His words were strained with lack of oxygen, and with a sudden jerk Kurt turned them out and away from the farm and towards the desert.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

Just like that, Kaile found her body flung back due to the massive amount of momentum and G forces. The air seemed to squeeze out of her lungs, as if she were on that super fast carnival ride she had once been in during her time on Coruscant. She had worked as a carnival attendant during a fete week, and they had just come out with the Krypton.

Her stomach had felt as it was plastered to her spine, but the sheer adrenaline rush-- intoxicating.

It was the exact same sensation now, and o-ohhh, did it feel AMAZING.

Kurt must have had it worst, since Kaile's weight was flung back upon him, but he didn't complain a peep. No, his voice while strained, gave her a shiver of goosebumps when they fell by her ear. Her hands had to clutch at his thighs, holding onto dear life, but just the feeling that came as they took off.

Oh, it was like they were soaring through the desert.

The first few seconds she couldn't even think. She couldn't process anything beyond speed. That is when the adrenaline kicked in. It burned through her veins, and made everything seem to pop with vivid clarity. Stars, did she love this! No wonder Kurt enjoys it so.

Her whoop went echoing in the cabin, the desert whizzing by the small view ports in a streak of golds, Browns, orange and blues.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

The pod took a hard left, banking so much that the engines nearly caught up in a well of sand as they dashed out into the beige deserts of Tatooine.

Many people would have called this foolish, some would have called him an idiot, but Kurt knew the deserts. This was his home, and although the sands of Tatooine were ever changing he felt as though he could always feel the current. It was a gift that few people had, rare even among the tuskens, those who thrived within the desert sands and lived within the deepest canyons. He wanted to show Kaile his world, all it had to offer and more. Most would have gone to Mos Eisley or Anchorhead.

Most would have gone anywhere with a modicum of civilization.

Not Kurt.

No, Kurt knew that Kaile had seen all of that before. She had seen cities, towns, and even expos. Hidden deep within Tatooine, tucked away within the oceans of sand and hidden beneath open blue skies were beautiful sights to behold. Massive canyons and ancient gorges, dug by tectonic shifts and ancient rivers that had long since been dry. This was what he wanted to show Kaile, and as he pushed the pod-racer forward, pressing the overdrive, it was clear he wanted to get there quickly.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

There were no roads. No stop signs. No air highways to mitigate traffic. Just the Kurt at her back, the rumbling engines ahead, and then the push of just a little bit more speed. Cones of dust and sand were left in their wake, and every once in a while, Kurt would bank sharply, giving her belly that freefall sensation as she laughed and held on tight.

This was crazy. Not very healthy in regards to maintaining longevity. There very well might be the Nine Hells to pay, but right now it was just them and the endless possibilities as they tore through the dunes and out towards the canyons.

There might be a few Tusken Raiders here and there, but it ain't like this was Kurt's first rodeo.

"FASTER!"

By the other side of the bank of sand, Kaile was hollering faster. That ecstatic cry would only encourage the pilot, feeling the rush of adrenaline and speed pump through her veins.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

Faster wasn't hard. Kurt's pod-racer had been built with afterburners and sub-burners, two set of thrusters alongside the main thrusters and of course the sideline engine that sat on the back of the closed pod itself. Some had called Kurt a cheater for using those, but they had never really taken into consideration the other cheaters in the race. The ones that threw hydrospanners, but flamethrowers on their pods, and did half a dozen other nasty things just for a chance to mess up their opponents.

Kurt had never gone for that.

Instead he and his father had gone for the race, for the speed. They had worked hard on Kurt's pod, making it the fastest and most aerodynamic pod-racer in the galaxy. He didn't cheat, he simply outraced the others. That was how he had won his three championships, that was how he had succeeded where others had failed so many times. He never focused on the others, never worried about them or even gave them a second thought.

It had always been about the race.

Kurt turned his wrist, the afterburners suddenly jumping into life and the Pod rushing forward, a wake sand bursting into the air.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

Kaile's hands shot to the side, where the closed cage bars would serve as handles. She felt her body kick back, and she simply hanged on tight. Every time Kurt would swerve, she felt the shift of his muscles under her, the flex of his arms. Her heart was kicking into overdrive and she felt his jump start.

Stars....

The Lorrdian couldn't help but simply close her eyes, and let herself fall back into the sensation of the Pod bursting forward. Her body would vibrate, and everything just seemed to tingle. Bits of pleasure arching and that giddy high taking her higher. This was heaven. Had to be. It was addicting. The right corner of her lip quirked, and little bits of grain of sand would fall over them that had managed to catch.

Maybe this is what it felt to be free.

The canyons were up ahead, with a dip turning left towards Begger's Canyon or right towards Jundland Wastes. A few banthas would perk their heads as they flew like a bullet across the sand.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

The desert seemed to melt and flow away, the sands became thinner, the dunes became smaller, and slowly everything around them began to flatten out.

These were the canyons.

The great bowls cut from the limestone rock of Tatooine. The Tuskens often made their camps around here, relatively safe from the massive sandstorms, though sometimes home of monsters and beasts that even they feared. Kurt had spent weeks out here as a child, living within the sands. His friends had often joined him, they had made a life of it, an odd few weeks of vacation after his months of training of the Boonta Eve. Kurt loved it out here.

It was always so quiet.

That was what Kurt enjoyed about the desert, the silence that reigned here. It was more beautiful than any sound he could have heard.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

With every meter they cut through the flat expanse of limestone, the more Kaile felt herself be lulled by the experience of it all. There was something mesmerizing about it. She found herself lost.

Maybe it was the way that it would take her just a bit more to get oxygen into her lungs, perhaps the incredible speed made that little bit of lack of oxygen give her that slightly buzzed feeling. Whatever it was, it made Kaile feel great. Made her feel as if Kurt, the pod, and her were one entity, streaking across the rust colored canyons with a carefree sense most folk in the 'verse would kill for.

Maybe it was her Lorrdian nature, her natural ability to mimic, but with every shift and swerve, with every rise and fall of Kurt's chest, perhaps even the beating of his heart, Kaile found herself melting in tune to it. A steady match of rhythm at Kurt's inward calm. A man in his native land was an entirely different creature, revealing facets that might not have been revealed before.

In this, Kurt was at his natural state. A little wild, but bred to be as far reaching as the Dune seas, and just as equally adapt to survive it. Tipping her head back, she felt the scruff of his jaw, the warm breath of his breathing, and imagined her hair streaming behind her within the wind.

If anything Kaile could dream.

Tall boulders and deep ravines rose from the right. The Wound was nearby. Far more dangerous territory, but nothing Kurt had not handled before.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

A loud, long breath escaped him. The wound was the most dangerous part of Tatooine, or rather, it was one the places that even Kurt was weary of visiting. Though the massive canyon was beautiful and stretched for miles, there was a rather large presence of Tusken Raiders within the huge cut of land. Kurt had never minded them, really, they were friendly enough if you knew how to talk with them, at least most of the tribes, but there were some...well Kurt wanted to avoid them at all cost.

As soon as they reached the edge of the canyon Kurt suddenly pulled on the left control.

The small lever pulled back, and suddenly the left engine simply cut, before quickly bursting forward instead of back.

The massive, and rather sudden, burst of energy from the pod caused the racer to jack knife left, sending the cockpit containing Kurt and Kaile flying up...and over the edge of the canyon before Kurt suddenly pushed the control stick forward again and pressed the pod forward once again. They rocketed forward for half a second, rumbling several dozen meters forward before Kurt suddenly pulled on the control sticks one more time and brought them to a full, and rather jarring stop.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

Her world spun.

Kaile had been in some sort of trace when Kurt pulled off his trick. Lucky that she was right against him to sense the flex and shift of his muscles, the way he had tensed before. It was her only warning.

Her lids went snapping open, and she gave a sudden shriek as if she was merely part of a hovercoaster ride. Her fingers had a white knuckle grip on the cage bars, and the sudden force of the jackknife had her ---

Ohmygoodness!

Her teeth knocked together as they landed, and she felt her body jerk left and bounce back. Dust swirled around the pod, sand rising as everything came to a halt. Laughter along with that last minute jump in adrenaline had Kaile's shoulders shaking on Kurt's lap.

"Oh stars!" she gasped out, tears in her eyes as she trembled. It felt as if every limb was on overdrive, and when she let go of the bars, her hands were still trembling. Not in fear, just an overwhelming of her senses.

Plopping back against him, she couldn't stop laughing. Her heart was at her throat and her ears had a slight ring to it from the engines.

"That... that was amazzzzzzing!"

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

Kurt smirked, his hands falling away from the controls.

He hadn't quite meant to do that, but it had worked out in the end. His head was empty, as it always was when piloting the pod racer. There had been no thoughts, no worries, no concerns of any sort. It was better that way, helped him focus and achieve a state of mind most could have only wished for. It was like he became a part of the pod-racer, more like it was an extension of himself than any vehicle. It worked with fighters too, and The Messa, but the pod always did it best.

He just felt in control.

"What'd you think?" Kurt said as he gently scritched his beard against the side of her face, a hand moving to pull a small switch on the side of the enclosed space. A hiss rang out as the air began to leak from the sealed cockpit, the door folding back and up and a wave of stark, dry Tatooine air rushing into his lungs.

His other hand gently poked Kaile in the side, index pressing right above her hip.