Riptide

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

[ Thank you, Ma’am. ]

At the very least they gave her a small cotton swab to wipe away the bead of blood that welled at the tip of her finger.

[ It will just takes a minute to process. ] the medical droid would explain, to which Kaile gave a small nod. The droid gave a small waddle, moving over to the holographic screens that began to display the results.

His ocular flaps gave a small wiggle, and the Medical droid’s head swiveled over to the Lorrdian.

[ You have an acute increase of white blood cells. Confirmation of traces of the Neimodian flu Aurek - One - Besh - Seven. ]

Yup, just what I figured, Kaile thought, giving a nod.

[ I will prescribe a stim for the symptoms -- ]

“Yeah, I thought that was what it was all about. The nausea has been--”

[ - However, there will be no antibiotic regimen in order to ensure the fetus’ survival. ]

“ -- somthin’ awf...ful.” her voice began to wane. The confusion rippling across her features. At first, she wasn’t sure if she heard correctly.

“Wait what?” Kaile would ask again, brows snapping forward.

The Medical droid turned his torso over to her.

[ We are unable to prescribe a full antibiotic regimen.]

“No not that.. The other part.”

The droid straightened.

[ There is no need to be concerned, Ma’am. Your child is healthy. ]

That’s when Kaile blanched.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

His father had always told him he shouldn’t search the online forums. He’d said that a lot of people were bitter and couldn’t stand it when someone younger did better than them. Oddly enough, Kurt had always found that wasn’t entirely accurate. Though there had always been some bitterness, Kurt had found that by and large most people commended or defended him.

He had no doubt that was because of his young age at the time, though he liked to think that some just recognized what actual talent looked like. Still, that had been years ago, and searching his name now just revealed an oddly...nostalgic scene.

There were dozens of posts on a few forums, most of them had the same questions.

‘Whatever happened to that Meyer guy?”

‘Wasn’t he some sort of racing Prodigy? So much for that, just disappeared.’

‘Tatooine still hasn’t had a better racer.’

‘He would’ve been great at swooping racing, way more popular than pods.’

There were a few more nasty comments too, but as his father had always told him he chose to ignore those. His head leaned back slightly, frowning as he read again and again about how Kurt Meyer had abandoned a great racing career when he should have moved to a dozen different planets and won every circuit.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

"I'm sorry, but I think you made a mistake." Kaile began, a slight ribbon of anxiety starting to grow in her belly. There was no way. The Lorrdian gave a half nervous chuckle and a shake of her head.

"I'm usin' the stims." she elaborated, a hand gesturing in response to the Medical droid, who turned back to the holographic screens that displayed all of Kaile's information.

"You have high levels of human chorionic gonadotropin in your blood." it would drone on in a matter-of-fact tone.

That was all gibberish to Kaile, to be honest, and the sudden hike of anxiety kicked into overdrive when it followed up with, "Birth control stims have a success rate of ninety-seven percent dependent on the brand and type. " The droid gave a sweep of his, and he brought up the information on her last menstruation.

"Based on the information provided during your initial screen, the probability of conception is anywhere from four to five weeks."

If there was anyway for Kaile to become paler then, she did.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

He didn't really care that much about what people said. They were probably right in that he could have moved to pretty much any field of racing and been a success, after all it wasn't that difficult to switch from Pods to Swoops, but...well he hadn't wanted to continue racing at the time.

The Boonta Eve Classic was the biggest event in Pod Racing.

No one could argue that, even other planets didn't try to go against it. Maybe it was because of the difficulty of the course or because the Hutt's insisted on it, but Kurt had never known anyone to say any different. At the time he'd just won his third Boonta Eve, and everything connected to racing had seemed...boring. A part of him missed it now, the fame, the crowd, the cheering, it was an experience that many couldn't even begin to comprehend, a rush that wasn't like anything he'd ever felt.

Yet...he didn't really regret his choice.

The Navy had been another kind of rush, another kind of experience.

He did wonder thought what would have happened had he stayed the course. Would he be rich now? Dead from a crash? Overdose? Racers inevitably fell into a sort of lifestyle that ended up being rather self destructive. One thing was sure though, he never would have met Kaile or Jamie, and that would've changed his life for the worse.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]


The next fifteen minutes were much of a blur for Kaile. The medical droid gave her a prescription for the Neimodian flu, drugs that would help with the symptoms but otherwise she'll have to wait for it to naturally work her way through it.

"That will be forty-five credits and another hundred and ten for the stims." the attendant, a pretty blonde female with large green eyes smiled up at the Lorrdian.

"Miss?" she repeated again, brows moving forward in concern.

"Oh.. ah... yeah, sorry." Kaile gave a start, moving as in a daze. Picking up her bag, she searched for the credit chips. Sliding it into her wrist data terminal, she quickly typed out the total amount. The amount didn't even register for the young woman, her mind elsewhere as the news of her pregnancy began to settle.

Four to five weeks. Four to five weeks. Her fingers began to tremble, and Kaile felt her heart kick start again.

"Here you go Miss, your prescription." a small brown case was given to her.

"Now you'll need to take this with..." but whatever the woman said in regards on how Kaile should take her medicine seemed to go through one ear and then out the other.

Four to Five weeks. That meant... that meant. Her mind immediately went flashing back.The island and the bunker. What had happened on the beach and then the refresher -- Kurt.

Further back. The Quin. A tiny little cabin. Gold flecked green eyes. Asmus.

Oh my stars...

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

Racing had always been more of a passion then a career for him, maybe that was it. He could have been champion of the galaxy and all, but...well it wasn’t really what he wanted to do for the rest of his life. The crowds were nice, the fame was great, but crossing the finish line wasn’t really as satisfying as other things he’d experienced since.

Well...no that wasn’t the right way.

It was satisfying to win, great, better than some sex he’d had, but…

It was like a piece of him was missing every time he won. It was an accomplishment, but a short lived one. Though winning the Boonta Eve Classic three years running had been a big deal at the time, it wasn’t like he was legendary now. Most people had forgotten him, even though it was only five or so years ago.

It was still spoken of sometimes of course, vaguely referenced or talked about in a cantina, but...well his name wasn’t known in the household anymore. He doubted that would have changed if he’d continued racing, and eventually...eventually that grated on him. He frowned for a moment.

Perhaps he was just egotistical.

His eyes shot to his feet, then he rolled his shoulders. He caught sight of Kaile walking out of the clinic. “Ready?”

No use dwelling on it now.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

"Ah, yeah." Kaile answered, holding the small bag of her prescription medicine tightly in her hand. With the symptoms of the flu and everything, it was likely that the pilot didn't think anything was amiss. After all, Kaile had been tossing up the contents of her belly earlier that day. That she was a few shades lighter and a bit clammy of skin wasn't too much of a concern.

A small nod and the Lorrdian followed along beside him. Exiting the medicenter, Kaile had to blink several times for her eyes to adjust to the bright light of the sun.

If Kurt were to ask her anything, she'd seem a bit dazed, her mind elsewhere. Specifically on just what sort of situation she found herself in.

Or more aptly, what was she even going to do??

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

"Got a job." Kurt noticed that something was off, it was hard not to, but in all honesty he figured that it was the fact that she was still sick. Her skin was blanched white, her eyes were nearly popping out of her head, and The Courier took those two as signs that she was more focused on walking and keeping her stomach in than anything else. It made sense, in a very Kurt sort of way. "It'll take us to former One Sith space, but that shouldn't be too much of a bother."

That was a lie.

"Gotta pick up the package on Elrood then we head over." That was the easy part, heading into former One Sith space...that was more difficult. Things were getting bloody there, with the One Sith having collapsed planets were now fighting and scrapping over whatever they could get whenever they could get it.
Revolutions, Rebellions, and Piracy were common and growing more so day by day.

The Journey would be anything but safe, but Kurt couldn't afford to think about it like that.

The truth was that he needed money, both to keep living, and to work towards...something. He knew that he couldn't run forever, and although there were problems with moving forward, he also knew that he had to start forming a plan. If not for his own future, then at least for Jamie.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

One Sith Territory and Elrood. That barely registered at the edge of Kaile's hearing. A numb nod followed with a soft, "Alright."

What am I going to tell Kurt? That question seemed to hammer through her mind. It didn't make sense. Maybe the Medical droid made a mistake? It was a rather ridiculous thought to consider. Kaile knew better; it was just that the Lorrdian was dazed. This had come out of the blue and truth be told, the idea of ever having to get in the family way never occurred to her.

That just didn't happen in her position or her occupation!

From the corner of her eye, Kaile barely registered the thoughtful expression carving Kurt's face. Panic rose again.

It felt just like that time before Tatooine when he hadn't known about her real past and what she did. This was different. This was a bit more personal.

Oh stars what should I do?

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

Kurt was going over a small checklist in his head of pretty much everything that they would need on their trip. Sif would fuel up The Messa free of charge...or rather they would just charge him from the money he got on Elrood, and as for food...well they still had some of the ship. Once they picked up the package they could get more.

He made a small note in the back of his mind to ask Kaile if she had enough tea, though right now she seemed to be trying to keep her stomach from coming out of her mouth so he thought it best not to ask her anything at all. Eventually they made it back to the ship, the glowing red paint of The Messa marking it out within the hangar bay.

“Why don’t you go lay down.” Kurt suggested. “I’ll get us to Elrood.”

It was only a few hours from here with The Messa’s hyperdrive running at full tilt, and there wasn’t really any need for both of them to sit in the cockpit anyway. “Maybe take a shower.”

Part of him considered just dropping Kaile off at a nice hotel to let her rest and stay there a while. Their little ship was hardly the best and most comfortable place to recover from a sickness. Alas however, neither Kurt nor Kaile were independently wealthy

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

Kaile's mind was so out of sorts that she completely forgot that she'd suggested they stop by the local mart to gather supplies. By the time they entered the Messa, it was too late. As it was, the pilot's suggestion at laying down seemed to be the tune the Lorrdian was itching to follow.

The shock had a tendency to linger after all, and the news she'd just been given had been a doozy.

"Yeah." another nod. Moving ahead of him, she moseyed on over past the lounge and towards her room. The Messa was still a relatively small ship. There wasn't much to travel when going from one end to the other. With only two rooms, it was a short walk. She went past the hot tub - they'd managed to secure it and add the water recycler during their run to Rakata Beta - then the refresher.

Her tiny room was a sanctuary of hanging star lights and colorful hues. Pillows were everywhere along with trinkets from here and there. Bobo sat on his branch, and those tiny black beady eyes shot over to her in curiosity. He cocked his head to the right, the small creature able to tell something was off.

A hand went outstretching to collect the miniature ysalamir, who immediately went scurrying up her arm. Plopping down on her bed, Kaile lent back, head meeting the cold durasteel.

Eyes wide, Kaile clutched the bag of prescription medication close to her chest.

Pregnant.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

Kurt looked after Kaile for a moment as she zombied her way towards her room.

He of course didn't know what was going through her head, but that didn't mean that he didn't feel bad. For a moment the Pilot considered everything, then popped over towards the kitchen. He checked some of the contents of the fridge rather quickly, then scurried through the cabinets. Eventually he found what he was looking for and threw it onto the counter. The small box contained teabags, supposedly good for the stomach. he left them on the counter as he headed towards the cockpit, intent on returning to them once he'd taken off.

With more of a hop then a climb Kurt scrambled up into the cockpit of The Messa.

It didn't take him long to run through the pre-flight checks, the engines spooling into life before even half a breath passed. He received clearance from the ground crew to fly out, and without a moment of hesitation Kurt pulled the ship up into the air.

There was a job to do.

No time to waste.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

The trip down to Elrood would be a ways, but not as bad as some of the planets in the Outer Rim. One of the boons of being able to take the Rimma Trade Route. With nearly three-quarters of the route under Alliance control and the other quarter under the marshal type jurisdiction of the Kathol Outback, it would be easy flying.

One typically was looking at a day or more of travel on a standard freighter. However with the Messa as fast as she ran, they could shave more than a handful of hours off the trip. One of the reasons they were so keen on
using Kurt as one of their couriers was due to his speed and his efficiency.

Curled up in her cabin, Kaileann was in the process of registering the fact that she was now pregnant. That there was another being somewhere in her belly, growing inside. It frightened her as much as it filled her with awe.

With her shirt scrunched up to just under her breasts, Kaile peered at her bare belly, unable to comprehend the fact that the flat plain could very well be as swollen as a tick in a few months time. That is, if it stayed there.

The nibbling grew worse with every passing second, the tender flesh of her lower lip her new worry stone it seemed. Fingers went dancing over her abdomen, a gentle tap of fingertips.

"Well... " she began, Bobo scurrying to plop by her hip.

"Reckon we might as well say hello then, huh?" Kaile said, looking at her belly as she began to talk. Little did she know that just by acknowledging it so, she had already made up her mind to keep it.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

Elrood was about the same as one would always expect it to be. It wasn’t exactly the most popular planet in the galaxy, though as far as Kurt knew it wasn’t exactly devoid of life either, in truth he’d never actually been to the world. He knew where it was of course, he’d read enough starmaps to find it but...well he just hadn’t ever been there.

One couldn’t blame him, the galaxy was a big place.

He’d only left Tatooine a few years ago, and although he’d visited dozens of worlds in that time he couldn’t hit up every planet, that would be insane. He yawned slightly as they dropped out of hyperspace, the Messa’s expertly engineered engines driving them quickly towards the planet.

There was some freighter traffic around the planet, though not a lot.

Kurt reached over and tapped the comms, signalling ground control that they would be coming in for a landing.

The pick up would go relatively quickly. He had an address and unlike on their destination world he could actually land the ship close to where he needed to go. It was a small boon in a mission that would by the end likely be a massive pain in the ass.

At least he was getting paid.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

By now, Kaile had managed to calm herself down a bit. A bit, being the keyword. Odds were that the Lorrdian was going to need a few days to really let it settle. What tied her in knots was how exactly was she going to tell Kurt.

Even worse, as her hands went gripping the hem of her shirt, there was also the possibility of well... Wide chocolates brown eyes went panning over to the small data chip that contained the holographic map one scoundrel pilot had made for her.

The one she had yet to send a message or comm to for several weeks. An image of Asmus Janes' face went blooming in her mind, the half strained expression that had struggled to keep a smile on his face when they'd said goodbye.

Cup of tea in hand that had been thoughtfully set aside for the strawberry blonde, Kaile took the other batch of pills and injected the stim along her upper arm. It helped with nausea somewhat, but the tea also managed to settle it.

"Whew.. okay... okay." came her nod, a small pep talk to herself. Just... just had to figure out how to tell him.

But that was the difficult part wasn't it?

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

Kurt dropped onto the deck of the ship with a loud clunk. There was alot to do, and the faster he did this the more money they would get in the end...kind of. It wasn’t uncommon for people who got these special deliveries to tip, and although the last time it hadn’t happened, he was pretty sure it had been an outlier.

He found Kaile standing in the Kitchen, though he didn’t linger long. “Hey.”

Came the greeting, though he immediately wandered by her and towards the exit ramp of The Messa. The button was slapped and within a few seconds the ramp began to fall.

“I’m going to go pick up the package.” He jerked his thumb towards the outside. “You can stay here, no need for two of us to show up.”

That was certainly true, and Kaile was probably still sick so staying on the ship was a far better idea than lugging herself out and about on Elrood. They had no idea what kind of filthy germs these people carried around with themselves and Kurt didn’t want Kaile ending up more sick because her immune system was already fighting something. “I’ll be back!”

The Courier said as he swaggered down the ramp.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

"I--" Kaile opened here mouth but found herself quickly closing it shut. Biting her lower lip, her shoulders sank, and she simply gave a small wave of her fingers to the retreating figure of the pilot.

"Alright." fell the low hush from the Lorrdian, her mused hair falling from a half upright topknot in a messy affair over her shoulder. Tendrils of stray hair framed her heart-shaped face, making her eyes appear even larger than they normally were. He would be quick about it, she knew that much. While Kurt enjoyed a rather carefree lifestyle, he'd been maturing a bit in the past few weeks than he had in the past. No one could ever say he didn't have a great work ethic.

Tucking the blanket she had draped over her shoulders a little bit tighter, Kaile followed the path Kurt had taken to close the ramp shut. All that time hadn't given her any idea on how exactly to break the news to him. Truth be told she was scared. This was more than just about her past and what she did as a job.

A groan came in. A job -- once headquarters found out... Then what? What will I do? Another rush of panic an apprehension swarmed in her belly like a nest of wasps.

There weren't any embedded agents who were pregnant!

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

Kurt left Kaile behind on The Messa, thinking that perhaps he should pick up some local herbal remedies or something to help her feel better. The thought was quickly crossed out however, with a reminder that he had no money.

It was funny in a way. Growing up he’d never really much worried about money, at least not in any significant way. There just hadn’t been a place for it. His parents had always made sure that he wanted for nothing, and any concerns of money they’d had were hidden well away from Kurt’s prying ears. Of course he’d eventually given him his earnings from the first Boonta Eve, but that wasn’t really relevant to his own financial woes.

Now...well he didn’t exactly worry about money, but it was a thought.

Obviously everyone liked having money, but for Kurt it was more of a side thing. When he had cash he generally spent it, usually on himself and now more so on Kaile and Jamie. He wasn’t very good at putting things away, mostly because he always tended to invest it in The Messa or The Coil or another project.

He frowned slightly as he walked out of the space port and into the street.

The courier looked at his datapad, pulled up a map, and then quickly typed in the address of the pick up spot.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

Turning back towards the lounge, the Lorrdian bit her lip. "Okay... okay." she tried to calm herself down a bit. Time to think about this practically. Bare feet would take her over past the acceleration couch and back towards her room. I can check on the holonet. Start researching about - her throat bobbed - babies and pregnancy.

The amount of agents who were still very much active in espion work with kids was, well unheard of to Kaile. One didn't simply play an embedded agent well due to attachments - she found that out with Kurt and.. well Asmus. Thinking back to the scoundrel made her picture his laughing face. How was he? she wondered. Where would the Quinn be?

Stepping into her cabin, Kaile quickly sat down on her bed. Bringing up her holoscreen and keyboard, the young Lorrdian went to work.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

There wasn’t a lot to see on the way, at least not that Kurt was interested in anyway. Most people likely would have taken time to see the sights, but all Kurt could focus on was the paycheck coming his way. Just getting the package would get him a quarter of the total pay, five thousand credits.

Some would have balked at that number, said it would barely cover daily expenses, but to Kurt it was a whole lot of dough.

It was also exactly what he needed. If they were going to make this trip into One Sith space they would need a few things for The Messa, not the least of which was fuel. Only the best for his baby of course, not of that crap they peddled on the lesser trade stations.

These were the things Kurt thought about as he headed towards the meeting point, his eyes following the map as he wandered.

Eventually he found what he was looking for, lips thinning as he stumbled upon a small alcove that contained the marker on his map. “This doesn’t look sketchy.”

Slowly the pilot wandered forward, heading towards a small metal door. He walked up towards it, hand unconsciously floating towards his blaster as he slowly leaned forward and knocked on the durasteel. He was half expecting to get shot.