Miss Me?

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

"I can do most of the talking!" Kurt insisted. "We'd get a massive discount!"

Kurt spoke as though he had done something like this before, though he hadn't exactly.

There were plenty of scams that one could run, similar things. Newly weds, on the way to my fathers funeral, my mother is very sick. There were really dozens of variations on the scam and in the end they usually always worked. "It's not like w'ere going to steal the ship, we'll return it and pay for it...just less."

It really only made financial sense.

They had an opportunity to spend less money, and Kurt had always been taught that was a good thing...though then again his parents would very much frown on this particular tactic of saving money, especially his mother. His father might have gotten a kick out of it, but he certainly would never encourage anything like this.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

A twitch of her cheek gave the impression she wasn't exactly comfortable with lying to someone who was willing to offer their ship to them for something they hadn't even exactly planned to get a cheaper rate. It wasn't so much why they were lying, so much as the act itself. Even when she lied to Kurt about knowing how to fly a starship she didn't feel comfortable with it, nor was she good at it, though that situation had been more about pride than benefit.

"I just don't feel good about lying, that's all."

A bite of her lip and a tussle of her hair preceded her following words.

"How about we just see how much it's going to cost. If they're fair I'll split the cost with you. If the price is inflated just because they want to extort a higher fee, then use that story, because I won't feel bad if that's the case."

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

He sighed. "Fine."

It was probably the right thing to do, but that didn't always appeal to Kurt. It would have been easier, and cheaper to do everything his way. Money wasn't really an issue either way of course, splitting wasn't really necessary, not now. It was more of how Kurt was in general. The Courier wasn't cheap, not by any means, but he believed in being frugal. There was a reason that quite a few parts that now belonged to The Messa had been salvaged from one junkyard or another, and it wasn't just because of how expensive starship parts were.

It was simply prudent.

"Let's get going now." Kurt said as he took another bite of his omelette, leaving the food half finished. "I think the earlier we get going the better."

He doubted there would be a rush of rentals, but he wanted to get going to Naboo.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

The blonde smiled. "Oh don't sound so defeated." She said, prodding his side with her fingers. "Besides, you don't exactly look like you're in the shape to be getting married, in case you forgot about your injured back." It wasn't like Kurt hadn't been caught wincing several times whenever his back had shifted in his seat or during their walk.

Jamie made a little scribble in the air towards the waitress to signify that they were ready for the bill, to which the woman promptly handed to the two, taking away the dishes as she headed back towards the kitchen.

"You're gonna be hungry in a few hours. You're gonna wish you finished that omelet. And I'm gonna tell you that I told you so."

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

"Well it's a good thing that in a few hours It'll be lunch time." Kurt said as he stood and pulled a few loose credit chits from his pocket. Despite being on the galaxies second greatest tourist destination the bill was surprisingly low, with Kurt having expected it to cost a hell of a lot more despite their meager meals.

Oh well, he wasn't about to argue it.

"Lets go find that rental place." Kurt said as he took Jamie's hand and gently dragged her to her feet. "Spaceport, first stop."

That was the most logical destination of course, and if there wasn't anything to be found there he'd ask his way around. On Tatooine one could find half a dozen Ship captains willing to rent out their vessel for an easy buck, of course such a thing almost always required something for collateral, but Kurt was more than willing to bet that on a 'civilized' world like Spira things would be much more organized. He imagined that they would have to sign some sort of contract and go from there.

Simple enough really.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

Spoiler

Jamie silently mocked Kurt as she was pulled to her feet, narrowing her eyes, shaking her head, and wiggling her nose at him all in unison before then mouthing the same words he had just spoke. in a few hours It'll be lunch time. Her face returned to normal immediately after and she gave a wide smile to Kurt, allowing him to pull her along and out of the restaurant, back into the busy streets.

"Do you even know where we're going? Or are we just walking and hoping to find a sign or something that points us to the spaceport?"

Did Kurt have some type of eidetic memory? Was he able to recollect the smallest details about Spira and simply lead them back to the spaceport they arrived at days ago? Jamie could hardly remember much larger details about the prior days, let alone what path they might have taken to get to and from. She had quite possibly the galaxy's worst sense of direction. Perhaps that was why she let Kurt lead her by the hand.

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

Kurt gave Jamie a funny look.

"What do you mean? We came form that spaceport like three days ago, of course I know where I'm going." Did she not remember? That seemed rather odd to him, but then again the last day or two had been rather busy for both of them. His injury and her own little lapse in memory had taken their toll on both of them. Perhaps Kurt just remembered better than her because a spaceport was after all pretty much his natural habitat. He was a pilot, and ships were his business. "Trust me, will ya?"

As if by some miracle of the force, a sign popped up overhead that showed a small spaceship along with some scribbling of letters.

Kurt half turned to Jamie with a smirk, though he kept his mouth shut.

He hoped that they would be able to find something good.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

Jamie noticed the sign as Kurt finished speaking. Her eyes rolled back, head tilting to the side. "Okay, okay! I was just making sure."

How did I not see that? The girl's face reddened slightly, the irony of the sign's appearance and her question not lost on her. They had been so many places over the previous few days that the direction and location of the spaceport was quite frankly near the bottom on the list of things she had on her mind, piled beneath their most recent discussions.

That smug look on Kurt's face, the one he often used when he was so pleased with himself was the one thing that he knew got under Jamie's skin. Right or not, whenever he made that face it drove her crazy. With a grunt she continued walking along the sidewalk, looking anywhere but at Kurt's face as they headed towards the spaceport.

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

He slowly dragged Jamie towards the edge of the spaceport, not really interested in any of the hangar bays or the main terminal. He knew that they would find what they were looking for more towards the private hangars that could be found here, where collectors and others stored their vessels. He began to see signs for small businesses, shipping companies, travel agencies, and even a small flight training school. He frowned slightly, then pointed over towards one of the signs.

"Look, that will do." It was one of the larger hangars, an electronic sign hanging over it that read "Ship Repair's By Slif".

Kurt had no idea who Slif was, but if Kurt knew his repair shops then he knew the man would have half a dozen ships laying around that were either about to be repaired, just repaired, or in dire need of repair.

That would be the best place to look, the best place to get something that would at the very least get off the ground. He shifted slightly, his back stiffening and his eyes wandering around the area to see if anyone else was around them or headed to the repair shop.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

"That?" She asked, filled with confusion. "Kurt, that's a repair dock. We don't have a ship to repair." One eye narrowed slightly. "What good is this place going to do us?" If there were ships here, they were likely going to be in need of repair, or in the process of undergoing them. Neither of which were exactly useful to the two travelers. Any ship that might already be repaired very likely belonged to other crew that wouldn't likely be too keen on their ship being given to strangers on a whim.

"Why don't we find a ship that isn't busted?" Both hands fell to her hips, blue eyes looking around the area for anything else that might suit them better. Kurt sure had some strange ideas for getting them off Spira! Maybe it was all that medication getting to him. Perhaps he was still a little delirious from the past few days.

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

He turned towards Jamie, wincing slightly as his back injury reminded him that quick movements were more often then not rather painful. His face contorted for a moment, his eyes closing and his lips turning into a half scowl as the scratches on his back stung wildly. "Ow."

Kurt said quietly before slowly opening his eyes.

"Honey." The Courier began. "Trust me on this. A lot of the time when people have to get fixed they find out that the repair bill is a lot bigger then they expected, so instead of getting it fixed, they sell it. Sometimes the mechanic buys it outright, fixes it up, then sells it. Happens all the time on Tatooine, and I know it happens elsewhere. I don't doubt that Spira is prime location for that, think about how many rich people come here and..."

He stopped for a second, saying the last part more slowly. "Rich people can be a bit wasteful."

Kurt didn't want to insult Jamie, but it was more often then not true.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

Owch. That comment stung a bit more than she'd expected. The term itself 'rich people' sounded somewhat demeaning in its' use. It made her feel like the comments that she'd heard snickered under breath, behind her back, and rumors carried along the wind as a child through adulthood were somehow validated by hearing them come from Kurt. Sure it was a generalization, but she was included in that generalization, even if the intent was to point towards others. There was something incredibly cheap feeling about the whole 'I mean other people, not you' approach that made these types of comments all the worse.

"Okay." She answered Kurt quietly, one hand covering the back of the other while she stood otherwise silently. She knew he didn't exactly mean to insult her, but it was still done. To her it was the sort of statement that could hardly be redacted once said. It was an honest thought. Even if there was an apology, it wasn't like that wasn't what he believed, so there was no two ways about it. What Kurt thought was what he thought.

"Let's go."

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

He of course hadn't meant to insult her, not at all. He didn't judge people who had more money than him nor did he hate or dislike him. There had been an aspect of that on Tatooine, resentment towards those with the credits to do something or leave, but Kurt and his family had never felt it. Envy wasn't fitting to who he was. To Kurt it was simply a fact of life that the rich tended to...forget the value of things. They tossed things away when they could have easily been fixed.

It was the way of things.

Kurt slowly reached out and grabbed Jamie's hand, gently squeezing it and then pulling her along with him into the shop. "Hello?"

The Courier called out into the hangar, the massive space being filled with half a dozen ships along with a dozen more which were in a half state of repair. Kurt scanned the hangar, his eyes falling on the different vessels, a loud whistle escaping his lips as he saw some of the vessels located within the hangar. There was an H-Type Nubian Yacht, a firespray, an old Punworcca. Kurt gaped slightly, seeing the ships and leaning into Jamie.

"That last one is really strange." He whispered. "It uses Solar Sails to go into hyperspace instead of a hyperdrive."

 

[Jamie Pyne]

Jamie wasn't overly taken with starships, who made them, or what they each did. To her they all just got you someplace. Some were faster than others. Some bigger, some smaller. Some were meant for war and others for transport. That was about the extent of her interest in the subject. Kurt had far more vested interest in the matter given his background and general intrigue by them. Truthfully, her mind was still brewing on the backhanded comment from moments ago.

"Mhmm." Was all she said, looking at them each with relatively passive indifference.

It really didn't matter to her what he wanted to take, so long as they didn't fall apart mid-flight.

Oddly though, there wasn't an immediate response from a serviceman or clerk. His voice echoed through the open expanse of space, but not a soul returned his call. Were they on lunch break? Why would they leave the doors open if that were the case? Maybe they were inside a ship and couldn't hear him call?

The blonde broke away from Kurt's hold and wandered away a bit, poking her head around to see if she could see anyone.

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

Kurt watched Jamie for a moment, then slowly wandered towards the ships at the corner of the Hangar.

The ship that interested him most was the H-Type. It was a vessel that should have been familiar to even Jamie, given that it was built and designed on Naboo. Admittedly the ship had lost quite a bit of it's luster, the bright chrome sheen of the hull having dulled to a drab gray, the support struts being rusted out and many of the ships more appealing features having seen far better days. Kurt slowly began to inspect the ship, popping his head under the struts and checking out some of the tighter alcoves of the vessel.

He let out a soft hum as he did so, finding an odd sort of peace.

"She's an old one."

A voice suddenly rang out behind him Kurt jumping slightly and smacking his head against one of the metal plates. "Ow!"

The voice had come from a very large Besalisk man that had somehow managed to sneak up behind both Jamie and Kurt. The huge alien wore a large apron, his skin colored with flecks of oil and dirt.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

Jamie turned quickly around hearing the voice as well as the resonating clank of Kurt's head against a portion of the ship's hull. The impact and the following groan made the blonde flinch, as if somehow feeling that momentary burst of pain herself. A pull at her lips drew them back to the left, revealing a bit of the whites of her teeth as her eyes shuttered partway.

That had to hurt!

Facing what she assumed to be the serviceman, judging by his oil and grease covered apron the girl gave a small bow of her head and a slight bent at the knees, for a proper introduction. "Hi there. We're sorry to disturb you. My name is Jamie." She gestured towards Kurt as she wandered back closer to the man. "He's Kurt."

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

Pain flooded him, and he began to believe that Spira was out to get him. "Hi."

The word was paired with a groan as well as a rub of his head. Thankfully his back had stopped hurting, probably due to the sweet release of bacta within the patch that was still sticking to the wound. He shifted slightly, his hand catching on the edge of the support strut so that he could hold himself up. Eventually he decided that they would have to get off this planet simply so that he would stop gaining more and more injuries, otherwise he'd end up in a wheelchair.

"Sorry If we intruded." The Courier started. "We're looking for a ship."

The older Alien smiled slightly, shaking his head.

"No intrusion. Get's lonely workin down here and I appreciate the company."

Kurt let out a sigh of relief. Besalisk's weren't known for their anger, but he never wanted to be on one's bad side. "Do you rent out any of these ships?"

 

[Jamie Pyne]

"Not typically." The man replied. "That one there on the far right you see is a bit of a project of mine. Have struggled to get all of the necessary parts to complete her. She's a bit of an antique, though I'm sure you already knew this." Her nodded towards Kurt. "Given that you were having a look-see." A small chuckle and the alien crossed its' arms, gazing at the two before him. "The other two, well, they're just abandoned. Made the repairs and the owners never picked up. I guess that makes them mine now." He began bobbing his head side to side, mentally counting. "Been about 10 years since I last saw either one. I reckon they're dead, or broke. Spira's a good world for gambling."

Jamie listened quietly. This was hardly her area of expertise, so unless directly asked a question there was little she could add to the conversation. Perhaps keeping a silent appearance was better than making a fool of herself anyway.

"Reckon you need a ship, be why you're asking about it, yeah?" He curled his hand along his chin. "Find yourself stranded as well with your lady friend here, partner?"

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

"Sort of." Kurt looked over towards Jamie. There was a powerful temptation to lie to the alien, to go with the story that he had earlier crafted, but he knew that Jamie would disapprove, and that was something he'd had enough of as of late.

A sigh escaped his lips, his back straightened.

"We came here for a short vacation, we've been apart for a really long time and were hoping to have a good time...but..." Kurt pointed to his back. "I got injured and thing haven't exactly worked out the way that we had wanted it to. So instead of sticking around the place where we've made some mistakes, we decided that we might go to Naboo. Her parents live there and well...I've never met them before so we though it'd be a nice trip"

The alien nodded, apparently understanding. "But, As I'm sure you know public transport from Spira to Naboo is basically non-existent so we were hoping to re-"

The old Besalisk raised his hand.

"Say no more, i understand. Young love. My wife and I were the same way once, travelin' all around the galaxy and seein the sights. Ships have always been my passion, she just followed along on my trips."

The old man let out a heavy sigh, smiling and looking up at the Nubian. There was a slight shake of his head as he looked back towards Kurt, then towards Jamie. He took both of them in for a moment, as if he were trying to measure something about them. Kurt flashed the old alien a smile, though that didn't seem to help the situation any. Instead he looked at Jamie, then back towards the old Nubian.

"Tell you what. I can't rent you a ship, but I'll sell you the Nubian for a credit."

Kurt's eyes bulged nearly out of his head. "Wha-"

"Now, she ain't perfect, not done like I said, but she'll fly and get you to Naboo, maybe last you a bit longer if you know your way around an engine."

"N-no, we couldn't!" Kurt said. "The thing is worth way more then tha-"

"Look, I ain't ever gonna fix this thing up completely, and I'd rather have it do some good in the galaxy."

Kurt shifted slightly, looking towards Jamie.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

Jamie partially smirked before her hand raised to cover her own mouth in effort to hide the smug look she had donned. Had they been alone perhaps she would have rubbed it in Kurt's face a little bit. Lying wasn't always, if really ever, necessary. Their plight was honest and true. The evidence on Kurt's back and the way the two looked at one another was enough to speak volumes without actually saying a word. Of course, getting a ship for basically free put a wide smile on her face all the same, but there was something more rewarding about having it given in good faith than by deceit.

"You are very kind. I can't express how grateful we are that you would even offer it to us in the first place, let alone sell it for a credit." A wiggle of her nose indicated a thought had popped into her head.

Snapping her fingers she discovered a way to repay the man in the future. "If you find yourself on Naboo ever, my family will be sure to offer you some of the warmest hospitality you'll find this side of the galaxy! Anyone at the space port should be able to point you to Pynewood south of Theed. You will be hard pressed to find finer accommodations, save for perhaps the palace itself." It was rare that she would bring up her family name or nobility so openly, but the man had just offered them a several thousand credit ship for nothing. She owed the man at least something in return.

[member="Kurt Meyer"]