Sunburns & Hyperdrive Troubles

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]


Kaile turned to Kurt, her hands tucking in the length of her hair in a twist for the bun at the nape of her neck. There was a troubled expression there, and to be honest, she had no real answer for the pilot.

“Reckon they all have their reasons for ‘em.” she finally said, returning to hover over the sink. She turned on the faucet, using a splash of water to wash her face and get rid of the sweat and grime. It felt cool to the skin, refreshing. For a moment, she thought back of the waterfall. It would be really nice to be able to swim in it right now, laze away the day under the heat of the sun.

Crazy how things suddenly changed.

“When you think about it,” she began, straightening as her hand shut off the faucet. “Reckon most ma’s and pa’s ain’t the sort to be too keen to send their own kids off to war.”

The sound of her approaching footsteps would foretell her arrival, and she appeared upon the threshold a second later. Wide, almond shaped brown eyes would stare upon the courier with a frank expression.

“Too fearful of ‘em not ever comin’ back.”

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

He frowned slightly. He'd fought in the military, he'd been one of the soldiers that might not have returned, a lot of his friends had been those that hadn't returned. It was a sad fact of war that people died, a sad fact that it happened over and over again, but was using Clone's any better. He frowned for a moment, shaking his head. "I doubt these were created for that reason."

Kurt turned the subject slightly.

"I think they just needed an army." The Courier looked towards the ships exit. "Fast."

That was usually why Spaarti clones and the like were created, speed. When someone wanted a military overnight and didn't want to wait for the privilege they created flash trained clones. They were effective enough, at least as effective as the standard droid army anyway, but he wondered if it was worth it. After all, even if they were shells they were still humans, barely, but they were. His fingers gently rapped against the edge of the sofa as he considered that.

"I think about another twenty minutes before they get through." Kurt said changing the subject entirely.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

Kaile didn't know if that was enough reason to cook up an army. Things were rather fudged to begin with. Nothing ever really dealt in absolutes now a days. Just shades of gray. Is there such a think as acting like a god for the greater good?

Honestly, it just settled something awkward in her belly. Made it twist further in knots. Granted, this entire day- almost this entire month - was one bizarre state to the next. Her nerves were shot and she was honestly just running on fumes.

"I-," she began, swallowing hard. Thinking too much was fraying that last bit of focus she had. The only thing keeping her sane.

Things had been easier in the past.

"Then we should use that time wisely."

It was said rather flatly. Enough to make anyone pause who knew her. No contractions in her speech; Kaile was already zoning into herself. She had a tendency to do that when she was shifting into a role. While she was able to work into things rather quickly, she did her best when she psyched herself up. When she let herself be the persona she was supposed to play.

It began with the straightening of her back. Chest out, confident. Proud. There was only so much she could do with the cut in her knee, but the shift in presence was palatable. Her facial muscles relaxed, then set into a narrowed, shrewd gaze.

She was falling into an ‘Imperial’ countenance of an officer she’d once replaced years ago.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

He frowned slightly, watching Kaile.

It was pretty clear to him that the situation had put her off. She seemed hollow, less full. It wasn't pretty. Kurt didn't like it, but he also realized that he couldn't do anything about it. The situation they were in, everything they had done, everything they were going to do simply brought them further down the rabbit hole. They couldn't help it of course, if they didn't continue on they would never get out of here, they would be stuck inside this damn hangar with no way out.

"Alright." Kurt said as he closed his eyes and leaned back.

In his head he began to run through a dozen different scenarios, how he should act, what he should say, everything that he could possibly think of.

This was perhaps the most important moment of his entire life. He had to look, act, and be the superior officers that he had so hated nearly half a decade ago. He had to present a stern front and show what he was capable of, show that he could be serious.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]


“It is like slipping into a new coat.”

Kaile’s voice would drift over to the courier with a clipped accent. Was that Anaxi? Yes, it was. Were Kurt to open his eyes, he would catch Kaile watching him with a contemplative expression.

“When you play the part of someone else.” she clarified. “Do not over think it.” it was just a bit of advice that she could give the pilot; she had seen the crease over his brow and the amount of thought he was putting into it.

“It all starts with the mannerisms. Confidence.” for a moment, the old Kaile was back with the ghost of a smile that twitched upon her lips.

“You have that in spades.”

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

He could do this, but he probably wouldn't like it. "I remember some of the admirals from the Republic."

Kurt began.

"They weren't harsh, but they all had this air about them." Pilot's weren't generally known for being serious, most of them anyway. Everything was a big game, a joke, a way to blow off steam. There wasn't anything wrong with that of course, it was natural, but it was a great contrast to the Ship Captains and the Admirals that one interacted with. They were...simply different animals. Perhaps that was the schooling, the things they learned. Kurt didn't honestly know. "More stern."

He mused for a second.

"Like a father that was constantly disappointed." Kurt actually didn't know what that was like, but it was a comparison that one of his squadmates had once made.

It seemed relevant now.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

Kaile slowly gave a nod. She understood what Kurt meant. About the officers being a bit more stern, a bit more… presence. It was the air about them, the way they held themselves. The way they would talk.

“Posture too. You can see it in how they hold themselves.” Kaile would explain, finally moving from her perch under the threshold over to the pilot. Even with her injury, there was a difference in her walk. In her stride. More clipped. More brisk.

Purposeful.

“Even when one is spoken to, an officer holds himself to a higher regard.” the clip of her boots came to a stop just alongside the couch. There, Kaile would study him, still wrapping herself up in what she would have to do, how she would have to act.

Imparting some of that knowledge that she had to him would help them both. It also served to help her keep focused, to think beyond the fact that they could very well die here if this didn’t pull through.

“Give me your best impersonation, then.” she instructed, giving his knee a nudge.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

He frowned slightly, trying to remember back to how those Admirals acted. What he remembered most about them, what really stuck to his mind, was their silence. They usually never spoke unless prompted, and instead they gave a watchful glare, an eye that seemed to reach into your very soul and yank out every single thought that you could ever have. There was an aspect of terror to the way they looked at you, a strange sort of judgement that you couldn't really deal with properly. Kurt tried to remember that look, tried to reach into himself and dig something like that out.

The Courier quickly found that it wasn't in him.

He wasn't stern, at least usually.

He was a joke.

Kurt wasn't a serious person, never had been. Sure there had been moments in his life, a few days here, a week there, but overall he'd never been the type to yell or scream, he'd never been the kind of person that could simply stare at someone and say nothing, it wasn't in him. He had to make jokes, he had to jest, and he most certainly had to bandy words to feel comfortable. He couldn't simply stare at someone and expect them to do something.

His face scrunched for a moment, and then he let out a defeated sigh.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

Kaile heard the exasperated sigh from the pilot. Concern blanketed her countenance and and he would hear her ask, "What is it?"

To a degree, the Lorrdian was able to read Kurt's tells through his body language. While it was by no means a method of learning what was going through his mind, she could understand intent and what emotions were percolating at the surface. It took conscious effort to hide that from a Lorrdian, and Kurt had only barely found out the true nature of his roommates skills.

Nibbling upon her lower lip, the accelaration couch would dip as Kaile sat next to Kurt. Her eyes were filled with worry, as well as a desire to help. She could pick up that it dealt with pretending to be an officer, but even then, there could be a greater concern underneath.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

"I don't think I'm cut out for this." Kurt said simply, his head shaking from side to side.

"I wasn't meant to be an officer." Well, a higher up officer, he'd been a lieutenant after all. "I can't pull of the face, the straight back, the disapproving glare, it just isn't me."

He didn't want to sound like a quitter, but this...it just wasn't him.

Kurt was meant to be one of the rank and file, meant to be one of the guys. His natural inclination was to defy authority, to push back against it and have as much fun as humanly possible. Being an Admiral? Being in charge of things? That simply wasn't something he was used to. The only time he ever ordered someone around was when it was life or death, and even then...his heart had never really been in it. What was he supposed to do?

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

It was the helplessness in his voice that tugged at her heart strings. It was odd, seeing him like this. Typically he was so confident, so able to plow ahead and do what needed to get done. It was so strange to see him react so, say such things. That he didn’t think he was cut out for it.

A nibble of her lower lip worried the flash, and her mind would race with what she could do to help him. If they had more time, she would give him tips of her trade. Lessons on how to slip into a role. However, they didn’t have that time. Not now.

They only had minutes.

“... Do,” she began, licking her lips. Honestly, a thought had come to her…. But… she wasn’t sure how well he would take to it.

“Do you want me to make it easier?”

It wasn’t Lorrdian lessons to say the least. It was the fast-pass version of it.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

He perked an eyebrow. "How?"

Kurt didn't really want to undergo flash training or anything of the sort, he wasn't really the type to take the easy way out. This moment of course was a bit different. They didn't have months or even days to train him and teach him what to do, they didn't even have hours, they had minutes. His eyes flicked over towards the clock that hung on the wall. The twenty minute estimate had been more or less accurate, and of that twenty minutes seven had passed.

Of course there could be more time...but these were clones, clones trained to be efficient, they wouldn't dally.

That meant they didn't have a lot of time.

This was the only idea that Kurt had had, the only one that would actually work, at least in his opinion. He would do pretty much anything to get himself and Kaile out of here, especially since it could have been argued that he was the one that had gotten them into this mess in the first place.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

He wasn’t too keen on what I’m going to suggest.

That was evident enough by the way that Kurt was studying her with a growing wariness. Not that he didn’t trust her, he did, he just wasn’t too aware of what fully encompassed what Kaile was offering.

Oh boy…

“Well,” she began, shifting in her seat, a half twist of her torso so she could fully face him. A slight click click noise came when Kaile began to play with her short nails. She was a bit nervous on how he would react.

“Remember how I said there were ways of makin’ folk think things through the Force?” this may not go over well, especially since Kurt was still new to what the Force actually is and did. He also had been very uncomfortable on what she had elaborated on earlier during their walk.

“I can help you with believing you had a bit of that training. Well… acting like an officer that is.”

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

He blinked for a few seconds. Kurt had absolutely no idea what she was talking about, not really anyway. The force was still a rather enigmatic thing to him, really more of a collection of rumors and silly statements that all seemed rather baseless to him. Of course Kaile had shown him what she could do, or rather, she'd shown him small things, but the idea that she could overwrite his mind? That she could just make him think something that he hadn't originally?

Oh no.

He didn't like that at all.

"No." Kurt's head shook. "I don't think I'd like that."

He knew that Kaile was just trying to help, knew that she just wanted what was best...but this wasn't something that he wanted to do. If anyone was allowed in his head it would be Kaile...but he didn't want anyone there in the first place, The idea was just a bit too much for him, a bit too far. "I know you want to help, and I trust you more than anyone...but..."

It was clear that Kurt was scared of the idea, not of Kaile, but more the concept itself.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

I figured as much.

The thought alone came with a small nod of her head, as if speaking outloud her thoughts. "Okay... It was just an idea. To give you a bit more confidence." she would elaborate, turning away from the courier as she directed her attention over to a spot on the bulkhead. One of the open panels of the Messa that still required getting fixed and tied down. Much like the hot tub that was secured by chains. They still required a water recycler for it.

There was still so much that we have to do to this old girl...

"If we had more time.... I would be able to instruct you on things. Cues and clues..." Kaile nibbled her lower lip.

"Maybe I should take point...."

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

He frowned slightly. "Maybe."

Would that work out better? I mean...why would an Admiral need to talk anyway, the Stormtroopers were beneath him, right? Yeah. That made sense, they could pull that off as long as Kurt could maintain the stiff upper lip. A frown appeared on his face, his head shaking even as he agreed with Kaile.

"Okay." He said slowly. "But...we don't do a lot of talking, either of us."

That would be for the best. "We give identification codes, bark some Orders for them to get to work, then head to the Officers Quarters."

Kurt looked up at Kaile as if she were gonna say something, as if she should say something, but then quickly looked away.

He was still trying to figure all of this out in his head, he was still trying to plan and plot exactly what would happen and how they could best go along with it all. This should have been his area of expertise, this should have come easily to him, but instead the Courier felt as though he was more useless then ever.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

"I have done this before Kurt."

It was said gently and quietly. There was no bite to her words, Kaile could understand that he was worried. She was too, if she was being honest. This could literally be the last few hours alive. What if they don't make it? What if something goes wrong?

A fine trembling came back to Kaile. It was so hard for her. So difficult. Because right now, she had so many things racing through her mind. Normally, she'd be okay. She'd be put together. There had been previous deep undercover missions she successfully completed. This could very well be no different. However, in the wake of what had occurred with Kurt... what came after... and then.

Her throat bobbed as she swallowed hard, her throat going dry.

Turning to the pilot, there was a faint shimmer growing in her eyes as she stared at Kurt. As she went through her feelings, let her self for once, really, really dig down to why she was so upset. Why it all seemed to just topple over like a house of sabaac cards. Then how things had gone in the Quinn.

Yet it was so confusing and she didn't know even how to start. In the end, she blurted it out.

".. Y'know."

Pause.

"I love you. " her voice cracked out, low and quiet. A bit strained. Granted, the true definition of it was really up in the air. It was the only way she could express it, whatever she felt. But she had to say it. After everything, and if they were going to die here... After Asmus...

She was going to say it.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

Kurt dropped to his knees in front of Kaile, slipping his arms around her and holding her in a tight hug. "Hey."

Their relationship was undoubtedly an odd one. It wasn't love in the way that most people would have thought of it, not romantically at least, but it was a strong tie between the both of them, a knot that had been crafted and carefully honed over the period of months that they had been together. In many ways they were family, in many ways they were each others only friends, and in many ways they were the only family that the other had.

It was sad, but it was also true.

"It's okay." They were on death's door. "You know I won't let anything happen to you. You know I feel the same way."

He squeezed her gently then pulled back.

"I know things don't look too great right now, I know it'll be tough, but I know that we'll make it through this." Did he really believe those words? Part of him didn't, in truth he half expected for both of them to fail. The other half of him told him different however. It stared back into the Abyss and got ready to jump.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

Kaile gave Kurt a wobbly smile. Her mouth felt like cotton and honestly, she was trying her best to blink away the sting that had caught her eyes. Things had been so wretched lately. With everything going on, it was hard to really think past and put a fix on the emotional upheaval they'd both been on.

"Okay." she managed to stammer out. She'd have preferred another hug, but with what was going on, well, she wasn't even sure how to handle things any more. Regardless, she knew by the squeeze of Kurt's hands and the expression on his face, the truth in his eyes, that he felt the same way.

They were all each other had, at least, when one digs down to the foundation. Kurt had his family yeah, but this was different. It took all the commotion of the past three weeks for Kaile to be able to understand it, admit it.

Say it.

Saying things were important. Kurt was important. If they didn't get out of this... well, at least she had told him that.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

They would make it through this, one way or another. Even if he had to end up gunning their way out, then that was what he would do. Slowly Kurt stood and back away from Kaile, checking his coat for a moment before shifting slightly and scooping up the Blaster that he had put down earlier. He slowly checked over the weapon, making sure that the weapon was functioning correctly and that it's power pack was properly in place. He frowned slightly, then slowly slipped the blaster beneath his coat.

He shifted slightly, then closed the Admiral's jacket.

"We got this." There was a hint of confidence to his tone, though whether or not it was false was difficult to tell.

He was relatively sure that they could make it through this, even if he wasn't confident in himself.

That was how much he trusted her, how much faith he had in Kaile. His own performance wouldn't be good enough, but hers would be. This was what she did, this was what her job was. All they had to do was play their respective parts to perfection. She would be the mouth, he would be the face. It should work.