Sunburns & Hyperdrive Troubles

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

Kurt wasn't exactly all that concerned with the fire right about, though Kaile had done quite a good job on it. Instead he was entirely focused on the Bunker and what might be inside. He wanted to explore it just a little bit before the sun went down, and it would take them at least another half hour to get back there in the first place. The young man was practically buzzing with excitement, passing towards Kaile and moving to grab his own backpack from against the wall.

"I found a bunker." Kurt said with a smile.

"Not sure who built it." He continued on. "Saw a symbol that kind of reminded me of the One Sith, but it wasn't them."

He began to talk faster, clearly still excited about the prospect of what he had found and the idea of what might be inside of it. Truth he told he doubted it would be anything significant, but the idea of stumbling onto something, finding something that had not been touched in decades was rather neat, neat enough that Kurt found himself wondering just why it had been left there in the first place. That was something he likely should have been concerned with, but right now he didn't particularly care.

"The entrance is huge Kaile, big enough to fit a walker into." That was significant still, at least in his eyes.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

That's when he really grabbed Kaile's attention. Her eyes went wide in surprise, then his infectious energy hit her along with the realization that they were not alone. This wasn't an isolated island. That made more sense now. Of course! There was no way that such a paradise would be left alone.

"A bunker?!" She began to clean off her feet. Couldn't put on socks with sand on them. That would tear her feet apart faster than going barefoot. "A Sith bunker?!" That made her a bit concerned, her eyebrows furrowing. She began to bite her lower lip in that nervous tick. Shd struggled with her growing excitement and the fact that this could have Sith around.

"Did you see anyone?" She began to put on her socks, feet free of sand. "Well did it seem as if there might be people around?" Unlikely with how long they have been here, but Kaile wanted to know what he knew. Slipping her boots on, she began to tie them.

And the entrance was big enough for a walker? It must be huge! There could be--

Anything. Even salvage!

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

"No, no one there." Kurt explained. "The thing looked like it hadn't been touched in ages, probably centuries. Vines, moss, even a few trees had completely overgrown the thing. The door lock was so rusted out that I was just able to tear out the key mechanism that held the manual release. The electronics were completely shot, there's no way that thing's been touched years."

Kurt put extra emphasis on the word years.

The Bunker was entirely untouched, it was entirely abandoned, in fact. He was more than willing to bet that it hadn't seen human interaction since the time that it was sealed and who knew how long that had been. It was part of why he had been so excited to find, who knew what was in there? Could be anything from a weapons depot to a secret testing facility for a new kind of aircraft.

That thought really excited him.

"No one's been there for a while, Kaile. I mean really, I don't think the things seen people since before you and I were born." That wasn't an exaggeration either.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

Years?!

Her brows rose high at that. That could mean anything. "And it was a Sith symbol?" Kaile bit her lower lip, coming to her feet. The possibilities...

If it has been decades, then this could potentially be some forgotten supply base. Ourpost. Honestly it could be anything. Kaile's mind immediately began to race. She went over and took her backpack. "We will have to be safe about it."

Odd, to hear this from Kaile, but this was a different side to Kaile. Her expression became a bit serious and she appeared to be considering all options. "We don't know of it was abandoned or if it was just decommissioned."

She was still very much excited, she was just checking off mental checklists. "Let's fill your cabteen with fresh water." She gestured for him to hand it over to her.

A cheeky grin would flash at his direction. "If it really is abandoned, then we can potentially salvage from whatever may be there!" This could be great. Might be old tech, but who knows what could still be available.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

That's exactly what he had been thinking.

Whatever was in that bunker was likely worth exploring, especially if they could transport those things back to The Messa and do something with them. He wanted his ship to continue getting better, and if those double doors were any indication this bunker was going to hold some serious hardware. From his belt he pulled the canteen and tossed it over towards her, there being no hesitation in doing so. Most of the water had already been drained from it, Kurt well knowing the importance of hydrating.

"I know we have to be careful, that's why I didn't go right in." He smiled.

"Flashlight is a must." He mused slightly. "Maybe we can get some torches too for extra light, I doubt whatever is left down there in terms of that will actually work. The electronics on the outside were completely ruined, though maybe if we get lucky we'll find something."

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]


Kaile caught the canteen with a small clapping sound, flipping it in her hand with a flash of a grin. Bounding towards the pool, the brunette would ask a few more questions. "What about the layout of the land? Do you think there is a place to land the Messa near it?" That made sense. Even if this was an outpost, there still had to be some sort of clearing for supplies to be delivered from. Some sort of landing pad nearby, especially if it seemed as if these doors were large enough for a walker to pass through.

That would make it even easier to salvage what they can and bring it into the Messa. Especially if they didn't have to go hiking through dense jungle every time to do so. They very well may not find anything particularly interesting, but if there was one item larger than what they could both carry comfortably, that would make things difficult. Stepping onto the bank, Kaile went crouching down. Unscrewing the lid of the canteen, she dipped the container to fill it with fresh water.

"We can get some of the extra sticks I found by the fire," she would gesture just about a meter away from the hearth. "Take some of those dried coconut husks, wrap some extra twine to hold it in place and use them as torches."

"We have that one flashlight that I mentioned too." satisfied she had filled the container, Kaile lifted the canteen and secured the cap. Pushing herself onto her feet, Kaile tucked wayward strands of hair behind her ears. Starting at Kurt, she couldn't help but smile. He was excited. Terribly so. Seeing him dig through his bag and making sure he had everything he might need brought a smile to Kaile's face.

"Here," she told the pilot, handing him his canteen. "I'll get to work on some extra torches."

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

"We don't have a lot of time." Kurt said as he walked over towards the waterfall and splashed some of the water from it onto the top of his head, his eyes closing as he washed away from of the sweat and grime that had collected on his head.

The water was cold very cold.

It told the tale of what eh had suspected, that it came from a source deep within the ground, a place deep enough, and cool enough, that the sun and humidity of this world didn't touch it. It was nice, it also meant that the water was likely untainted and untouched by pretty much anything. He frowned slightly, his head drawing back as he stretched through the cold and wandered away from the waterfall again. His eyes set down on Kaile who was quickly working her magic with the creation of torches.

"We want to get there before dark." He explained. "Maybe get out by the time it gets dark too."

He didn't fancy running around the jungle in the pitch black. "We don't know what's in there...or out here for that matter."

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

​

"Well... nothing says we can take a few days to explore it if everything seems alright." they could secure the facility first. Well, actually it was doubtful that they would be able to do much with only a few hours of light. Depending on how large this bunker was, that could very take days. There was no certainty to the condition of the bunker. Much the less, if there was anything still there.

There could very well be security measures there that just needed to be disturbed in order to activate.

"Well, we'll do what we can. If we end up needing to spend the night there, we have what we need to survive the night." Kaile told Kurt, taking those sticks she had mentioned earlier and started to wrap coconut husk on one end along with twine. Her forehead creased, thinking about what this meant.

"If there is one bunker..." Kaile looked heavenward and across the seeming Paradise of the valley. "There just might be more than one..."

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

He shrugged. "I doubt there's more on this island."

Kurt waited for a moment to explain himself, wandering away from the waterfall so that he could hear Kaile better. She really was rather handy, and intelligent. Knew her way around the wilderness just as much as a long r-hydrospanner. The Courier shifted slightly, moving toward towards the fire to warm his hair for a moment and dry it off so the humidity didn't make it all poofy.

"Wouldn't make sense to drag em all into one place." Depending on how large this thing was. "I wouldn't doubt there's others on other islands though."

That made more sense to him. "I doubt it's a secure facility, not a headquarters I think. The doors are way too big for that."

Kurt was really hung up on those doors, but it made sense to him. They were large enough to fit a walker, and bunkers didn't have doors that big unless it was absolutely necessary, it kind of defeated the purpose of having a bunker. The more exposed to the elements, the more could be struck by the enemy. So why have a massive set of double doors to enter your secure facility? Well so that something big could fit through those doors.

Simple logic.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

"Okay." Her hand wound the twine along her second torch. The first was held between her knees. Her brow was furrowed in concentration. "I wish I had those map scanners...." she muttered to herself. She would have to make sure they get to Sullust to pick up any of her mail. Hindsight is twenty-twenty, I suppose.

With a tight knot, she inspected the torch with a critical eye. The only reason she even knew what to do was based on trial and error and being forced into a situation that required surviving in the wild. The crash on Belsavis had taken a toll on the surviving expedition. They had to use what tools they had, create primitive ones, and fight off the feral Esk'Ka. It was a full month before they were able to fix and deploy an emergency beacon, with another few days before they were found by the Protectorate.

That experienced made her a bit more handy with such situations. It was one of the few times that the pilot would see Kaile be so confident of herself. As if she had a purpose. Now that Kurt knew about her past and what she really did, one would be able to pick up the subtle changes when she shifted into that mindset.

"Here." satisfied, she tossed Kurt one torch. Bending down, she slipped on her own pack, tucking in the torch she just made next to it.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

Kurt took the torch and slipped it into the straps of his backpack, it was slightly awkward for a moment, but with some shifting around the torch managed to find its proper place and not be too obtrusive in where it would go. Shimmying slightly the Pilot moved over towards Kaile and then nodded towards the fire. "Let's keep that burning while we go, it won't spread and it'll be a nice thing to get home to when we get back."

It would go down to a simmer of course, but it would still be burning when they were ready to go.

He moved over towards Kaile, offering her his hand so that she could pull herself up. Her palm interlaced with his own, Kurt pulling her up and to her feet. She gave a small bounce as she landed, Kurt smiling at her and motioning towards where he had come from. The Bunker was only about thirty minutes away, faster now that he knew the way. Before he left Kurt wandered over to the fire, very carefully using a nearby stick to fish one of the burned and charred pieces of wood out of the fire.

He threw the piece of charcoal up to cool it, then caught it again.

"To mark our way." The Courier said with a wiggle of his eyebrow.

Kaile wasn't the only smart one.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

Kaile beamed.

"What would I ever do without you?" she teased, giving her typical crinkled face smile and a dart of her tongue at his direction. it was a great idea, and it only gave more evidence on how well they complimented each other in such a situation. Adjusting her back for comfort, she took a few extra seconds to make sure everything was in place. Chocolate brown eyes then shot over to the pilot, and she gave a grin.

"Alright sugar, get your tuckus in motion," her hand came about to give Kurt a playful smack on his left cheek. She gave a small leap bounce forward. In her full gear, she had the Morp gun holstered on her thigh, her boots, the shorts and the thin blouse. At least it would all be breathable material, however, Kaile had the feeling that at the end of this, they would both be stinking to high heaven.

"Okay, on go on and take point." a small gesture would motion for Kurt to take the lead. This of course, was because he knew where they were going. It had nothing to do with the view. Totally, nothing. Devilry shone in her brown eyes and an impish smile grew. One last check and secure of their base camp aside, and they were off.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

Kurt did go first, though by now the path was well and truly marked. The Jungle was a resilient thing, but Kurt hadn't exactly been subtle as he had walked to and from the bunker. The path that he had carved was pretty clear, broken vines, shattered trees, and trampled down plants were a clear indication of where Kurt had been walking.

He moved quickly, a spring in his step.

"I'm almost entirely sure its a weapons depot of some sort." Kurt told her. "Or vehicle depot, I think. Ships, walkers maybe. I can't think of anything else really needing doors that big except for a testing facility, but this is a bit of a weird place to have a testing facility, unless they were making something...big."

But what?

It really was an odd little mystery, one that Kurt was eager to solve.

 

[Kaile Vera]

​

[member="Kurt Meyer"]​

​

Kaile had to take a longer stride to keep up with Kurt's own, although the pilot would pause every now and then to allow the Lorrdian to catch up. A small grunt and an an exhale would blow out of her cheeks, her free hand coming up to push the wayward strands of hair away from her face. A smile locked upon Kurt in thanks, his tug drawing her up against him for a more stable platform.

"...That could be something." Kaile would answer, mulling on her own. She dug into what she knew about the Sith, but then again, this could be someone else entirely. She only knew current One Sith tendencies and movements. If they were dealing with an era of the Sith prior to.. "It could be anything really."

"A storage facility. A small outpost. Maybe even a rogue research facility." big steps came as they moved throughout the undergrowth of the jungle. Their only benefit was that Kurt had already traveled this route before. The thick canopy overhead prevented the bulk of the sun's rays from filtering through. So while they didn't have the hot baking sun on them, it also trapped more humidity. It didn't take long for Kaile to feel the saturation of moisture and her own sweat upon her flesh and her clothes.

"I'm just worried that if it is the latter... what we may find. Most were known for researching and producing terrible things..." if this was a biochemical facility, then they would be at a disadvantage. Anything could potentially kill them.

"Were there any biohazard signs?" that was standard.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

"No." Kurt said. "I don't this its a biological facility of any sort, unless there's...rancors on this island, which I doubt. There were no markings that indicated any sign of life and no claw marks on the duracrete so I doubt they had giant monsters down there either. I think this was more technological than anything."

He mused slightly. "Though it's good to think of everything."

Kurt continued his traipse through the jungle, stamping down plants and making sure to hold branches and vines out of Kaile's face. He offered her a smile each time she passed him by, quickly jogging ahead of her afterward and then continuing on the path that he had earlier forged. The Jungle was still oppressive as the nine hells, seeming to bear down on him with such heat an intensity that he was about to collapse. The water helped, but the humidity really was a bit much.

"Only a little further." Kurt said as the jungle began to thin.

He could barely make out the structure of the bunker beyond the tree-line, the odd hints of duracrete sticking through the green.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

"This... " Kaile would huff out, blowing out hot moist air from her mouth, "Is worse than Belsavis!"

Everything was sticky. She felt sticky. It was sticky in places that shouldn't be sticky unless encouraged to! A small pool of sweat had collected between her breasts, saturating her swimsuit top underneath. Things were most defiantly going to start chafing soon enough. What made it a bit more annoying were the small gnats that flew here and there, attracted by the scent of their perspiration.

An appreciative smile shone up at the pilot as he held out another branch for her to trudge under. He was always so thoughtful. Taking her canteen out, she took a sip of water, following up behind Meyer as they leveled out and proceeded into a downward trail.

"Oh really?" Kurt gave a nod, then gestured out towards the tree-line. Under the bright afternoon sun, Kaile could barely make out odd hint of duracrete through the thick jungle ferns and vines.

"Golly... if you weren't looking there specifically, you'd have missed it," she said with mild wonder. "Think that was on purpose or just overgrown?" Kaile would mull aloud, catching up to Kurt. She passed him the canteen if he wanted a sip, her eyes panning a little bit beyond and around the bunker's area to see if there were any flat areas that would indicate some sort of landing pad.

From this direction, she couldn't really discern anything. Maybe there was a pad on the other side?

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

Kurt nodded along as Kaile spoke about the planet being worse than Belsavis. The heat was oppressive and just plain horribly, getting to a point where Kurt was tempted to simply strip down and simply run back to the cove to jump in the water. He hoped that the Bunker would be cooler, perhaps regulated with its airflow somehow, though that seemed like more of a pipe-dream than anything else. Letting out a loud sigh he finally pushed through the last of the jungle and stumbled into the clearing, pulling Kaile along with her until the bunker was finally in sight.

He took a sip from the canteen. "Dunno."

Kurt told the truth, really not knowing, though he would suspect that it wasn't actually by design. The bunker was large enough that it didn't matter if someone spotted it, rather it was meant to withstand a heavy amount of firepower. The more he looked at it, and the more he thought about it, Kurt thought that the entire installation might have been designed to survive all out war.

"This thing could withstand a bombing run from an entire squadron." Kurt told her as they moved closer to the bunker. "Probably more with a shield."

Orbital bombardment?

Kurt thought that the bunker could even withstand that.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

"A bombing run?!" Kaile would cap the canteen and secure it back on her hip. A thought came to her. "You think it might have a shield too?" Well anything was possible now.

"If that's the case..." more considerations. Brown eyes followed down as they turned towards the last leg of the trip. This portion of the jungle was a bit more unstable, but Kurt would hold out his hand to help the young woman make it to his side. Once past it, it started to clear up. There were more flat grasses here, as if perhaps this small open area had been purposely left clear for a reason.

Maybe this was where all the shuttles had used as a landing spot? It made sense. However, the vast undergrowth confirmed what Kurt had told her. This had been abandoned for years. As they neared, Kaile was able to pick out a few bits and pieces of rusted over metal under fronds of vines. Must be some sort of vehicles. They were in terrible shape. Not worth really digging for salvage.

Kurt called out her name, and she turned towards the pilot. He stood there among a small clearing leading up to the bunker.

"Is that it?" with a rush, Kaile bounded forward. He had been busy here, that's for sure. A lot of the brush had been cleared away. He also hadn't been kidding.

The enormous double blast doors were large enough for a walker to pass through.

"Good golly..." she gave a half turn around in wonder. "This is amazing!"

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

Kurt followed after her, though he moved more slowly across the clearing. It wasn't that he was paranoid, but they were still moving out in the open without a clue about the predators that made their home on his island. The Courier simply wanted to make sure that he was aware of what was out there, what could fall upon them and kill them at any moment. His hand remained on his blaster for that reason, his fingers slowly flexing around the wooden grip even as he met Kaile at the bunker.

The massive double doors were still open when he got there, half fallen into the walls and the ground when they reached the entrance. It was clear that they hadn't opened all the way, a mechanical failure with ancient and rusted gears likely. That didn't matter of course, there was more than enough space for him and Kaile to pass through. "Yeah."

He said to her.

"Not sure what could pass through there, but whatever it was sure was big." Kurt said as he moved forward and past Kaile, heading towards the door before half turning. "Flashlight?"

They would use the flashlight first, the torches later in case they ran out of battery or something. The flashlight would provide better illumination, and thus a better view of what exactly was in the opening of the bunker, hopefully the inside would be better preserved than the outside, allowing them to get a good glimpse of all the things inside.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

"Huh?" Kaile was so distracted that it took her a second, "Oh, yeah, sec." she told him, swinging her backpack off to start digging through one of the pockets of her backpack. Untying the ties, she would glance up, "Be careful." there was concern in her gaze.

Taking the heavy flashlight out, she turned it on and handed it over to the pilot. "Here you go."

"We should save the battery and use the torches if it seems like we'll be in there a while." they couldn't quite charge the powercell out here. But using it to check out the first bit would be fine. Moving along beside him, she adjusted her backpack. To make a point, she took her torch and held it in one hand just in case.

Peeking over Kurt's shoulder, the curious Lorrdian tried to get a better look.