Sunburns & Hyperdrive Troubles

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

"Just those two for now. They're what the issue is with. Maybe we can find a bit of metal to fill the space of that panel too, just so we don't walk over it at night when sleep walking towards the Kitchen. Other than that everything else can wait." The Hyperdrive was the most integral part really, the thing that needed fixing the most. The Reactor was mostly fine, it had just been a problem with the Hyperdrive itself that had been the issue on their way here. A communication error between the Hperdrive, the engines, and of course the Reactor itself. Kurt had since patched that error, but he would need to fix it before he was comfortable with once again setting off to another world.

Didn't want them exploding.

"Shouldn't take too long." Kurt mused. "But I think we'll need a new hyperdrive too."

That could get expensive, though they would likely be able to find something on Raxus. "This one...I had to scrounge parts from the backup drive and it's still not even at full speed. It's stable, and we could keep it, but I think we're better off just finding a new one, or an old one that we can fix up and repair."

That way there wouldn't be any questions about just how effective it would be. Of course there was always the chance that the one they got would be even worse, but at least whatever they found wouldn't have the internal components of a fried sun. That was really the issue with their current drive, the inner systems had experienced and explosion and now most of the drives workings would be shot through, if not entirely ruined by the blast.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

As Kurt spoke, Kaile went leaning back against her chair. A lazy scratch over her sated belly and she was at a good place. A few drops of syrup managed to find themselves over her chest, and she idly took a finger to clean them up.

"I think we have some spare durasteel panels were removed to add the hottub. " They had to rearrange it all and make sure that they adjusted the location so that the tub wouldn't go sliding from place to place. "I left them in the cargo bay, unless you did something with them?' her finger came up and Kaile curled her lips around it, sucking on the wayward bead of syrup gently.

With those spare panels, they could close up that hole for a patch work. Once they were on Raxus, they could salvage more. A new hyperdrive though? That was going to be tricky. "We can see what we find at Raxus first. We'll just have to retweak things to get this ol' girl up to speed."

A thought came to her. They didn't reaaaallly need the blue frilly dress...

"Or we could buy a new one from Vanir?" a new one would make it easier to do the exact same changes and upgrades they had done with the Messa's original hyperdrive. They would know exactly what they would have to do. There wouldn't be a higher risk of what could happen, or unexpected glitches due to incompatibility.

"It would make everything easier in terms of getting her back to where she was. Then sell the old one as salvage?"

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

Kurt vigorously shook his head. "Waaaaaaaay too expensive."

A brand new hyperdrive would be far too much than it was worth.

It would be nice, yes, but Kurt wasn't willing to go that far just to indulge in himself. It was fine to go a bit slower for a while, especially since a new Hyperdrive would be well into the thousands of credits. No, it was far better if they just saved themselves some time and money. Salvage was perfectly fine, especially since Raxus really would have everything they would just need to look a little bit more than they had originally planned. That was fine.

"It'll be fine to use." Kurt said with confidence. "Just not as fast as it used to be...and no backup, hence why we need a new on from Raxus."

Kurt put emphasis on the name of the planet to make a point.

There was no way Kurt was going to be buying a brand new Hypderdrive, it would be cheaper to buy a new ship, not a Varactyl but one of the cheaper ones from CEC or something. It was better that they just look for salvage anyway, with the two of them it would be easy enough to build exactly what they needed and customize it to The Messa.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

Her laughter would prompt an amused mammaquatia from the Lorrdian.

"Okay! Okay!" she held her hands up, biting at her lower lip with an amused glint in her eyes. "Raxus it is!" She shook her head, coming to her feet. Her toe was still a bit sore, but she was able to walk on it. One hand picked up her empty plate, and she took a step towards the pilot. He had the look of the perfect scoundrel, mused hair like so. Shaking her head, she reached down to take his own empty plate.

"Silly pilot," she murmured, bending over close to press a kiss at his temple. It was a light, affectionate peck. "Thank you for breakfast." she murmured, enjoying this little scene. Of sharing a meal together and being on the Messa again. Of being home.

Home.

The rest was a soft whisper by his ear, but meant with every fiber of Kailes being.

"... and thank you for not giving up on me."

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

Kurt smiled, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and pulling her close. It was a nice moment really, with their stomachs full of food and their heads full of ideas. They both knew what was set out in front of them, both knew what they had to do in the immediate future.

"You're welcome." He kissed her temple.

The Courier wasn't entirely sure what the future held for him, wasn't entirely sure what he would do as the months, or even years passed on by, but at least he knew what he would do tomorrow. At least he knew what he would do the next day, at least he knew what he would do next week. For a man on the run that was something. Kurt knew what was immediately ahead of him on the road, and right now, what more could he ask for? He had Kaile, he had Jamie, and he had The Messa.

Even for a selfish man that was enough.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]


Hours later, Kaile was holding an extra panel of durasteel on one end while Kurt held the other. The explosion had managed to wreck one out of the three that they had, but after measuring it out, Kaile felt that they would be able to make due with the two.

Deciding that it would be prudent to wear clothes while they were actually fixing the Messa, Kaile slipped on a white tank top and some shorts. Slippers were a definite yes, especially after Kurt reminded her that she should wear them, otherwise her other toe might fall victim and he would most definitely laugh at that.

With her hair up in a ponytail, Kaile was set. Now they just had to get to work.

"Careful, watch your back." the Lorrdian told the pilot, slightly canting the durasteel panel to the right to slip through the door.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

Kurt was already elbow deep beneath the floor, his arms pulling at things within the hyperdrive and rearranging wires. He wasn't quite sure where everything was or even what he was doing, but at the very least he would be able to not explode them.

As a precaution Kurt had shut off the reactor, not wanting anything he did to backfire on them.

"Okay." He said quietly as he pulled another wire free. "I won't be moving for a while I think."

There wasn't a lot that he could do really, just rewire the drive so the same thing that had happened over Corellia didn't happy again here. The thought made him cringe slightly, how The Messa had just shut down all of a sudden. If that had happened while they were being chased, or worse, while they were still in atmosphere it would have been disastrous. The Messa was not designed for a crash, and he was pretty sure that if they ever had to land anywhere under duress they would be lucky to make it out even half alive. "Can you hand me the hammer?"

Some of the outer casing of the drive had been bent into itself.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

Kaile carefully set the plate down, giving a little grunt. "Aye, one sec." she told him over her shoulder, bending down to make sure that it wouldn't slide. Once she was satisfied, she straightened. Padding over to the toolbox, the sound of shifting tools and the like echoed before she found what she was looking for.

Taking the hammer, she strode over to Kurt. Crouching down on her haunches, brown eyes would peer over at the half sunken form of Kurt under the hyperdrive.

"Here you go," she offered it to him, handle first. "How are things looking?"

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

"It's pretty much all my own fault." Kurt commented quite plainly. There was no denying that the entirety of the issues that The Messa was experiencing were due to him and what he had done in his quest to retrieve Kaile back from her mission with the Galactic Alliance. He knew well what he had done, and he knew that he also couldn't entirely fix it. That was the problem really, as far as starships went he was no engineers, just a guy who knew how to tinker. "It'll be fine though."

It would be, at least Raxus anyway. "We can make it to where we want to go."

Kurt began to bang on the outer hold of the Hyperdrive.

"The only thing that worries me is that some of the wires lost their coating." That was a trouble. "If there's a bit of a rumble they could spark."

He would just have to fly a bit more careful than ordinary, not a huge deal, especially since they wouldn't be flying into combat any time soon. As long as he kept The Messa going flat and even there wouldn't be an issue with the hyperdrive or anything else.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

"Hmm..." that would be a risk factor. A spark could start a fire in the Messa, and they would be worse off. "I think we can pick up a bottle of Plastiray." she was talking about the spray on coating and insulator for stripped wiring. It was a product made by Browncoat Arms & Industrial. Something very handy to have around in the event of such a need.

"Unless you think we still have some left?" that was a thought. Question was, if it was one of the victims of the explosion. "Let me go look." she pushed upon her knees, standing up. Kaile was already ticking away at a mental list of other items to add onto her datapad. The explosion had destroyed or ruined a good portion of their supplies.

Passing the hot tub, Kaile gave a half smile. It was one of the few items that managed to avoid being damaged. Her fingers went skimming across the side of it. A thought came to her.

"Will we be going back to Tatooine?" she asked him. They had traveled to go visit his parents and to start on the first few projects for the Messa. The Tracktor shroud , the stealth field, and the water recycler for the hot tube. There had been also the mention of what they could do for fuel with Tibanna, something that Jonas and his wife could potentially help with considering what they did for Kurt's podracer. Her sudden departure ended all that...

Did Kurt do any of it?

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]


Plastiray was a good idea, actually probably the best idea. They would sell it at the nearby trade station and it would ensure that they didn't explode on their way to the junkyard world. He mused for a moment more as he bashed the hammer against the outside casing, creating enough room with the hyperdrives old box to allow the wires a little bit of wiggle room. Giving the object a satisfied nod he slipped the Hammer back onto the platform above himself and then spoke back to Kaile.

"After Raxus." Tatooine was a bit far away, like on the other side of the galaxy.

"My parents will expect us to come back." His father especially. "Plus we need to finish the hot tub, can't handle water right now."

His father hadn't managed to isntall the filtration system yet, though he had tried. In the end though Kurt had shrugged his work off for the time being, telling the old man that he would be back so that he could finish. Jonas had of course understood, smiling and nodding as his son had told him of his intention of going back for Kaile.

That was the past now of course, and both of his parents were aware that he'd gotten her back already.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]


The clang of the hammer against the hyperdrive would resonate throughout the ship. Even Bobo in Kaile's room wasn't so excited about it, tucking himself against his nutrient log to try and avoid the harsh sound. To say he was grateful when Kurt ceased was putting it lightly.

Kaile flicked on the light within the cargo hold, where she went over towards the wall lockers that secured their tools and maintenance supplies. It was a small set up, they only had so much room with the Messa. However, everything inside it was neatly latched down, each in their shadowed place mark. There were a few things that they kept as organized as this. The tools and the refresher were by far the most organized. The kitchen was next, but as it saw a good portion of the damage, the Lorrdian would have to redo some of the work.

Popping off the security bolts, Kaile unlocked and opened the locker. "Yeah.. I reckoned as much."

There was a long pause. Then, Kaile's muffled voice would ask in a cautious tone.

"They... are okay right?" Did they know about me? Had Kurt told them what little he knew then? What did they think of me now? Before she knew it, Kaile was biting her lower lip again. Moving a few bottles around, she confirmed that there wasn't any Plastiray. They'll have to purchase it at the Arceneau Station.

"No Plastiray."

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

"Shit." Kurt said. "Alright, we'll make due. Any tape?"

Tape would be nice too, or rather, it would be good enough to last the two of them until Raxus, or at least he thought ti would be. Even if the wires went naked it wouldn't be that big of a deal, he could pilot The Messa in a steady enough fashion that they wouldn't run into any trouble, and worse came to worse Kaile would have to drop down and hold the wires apart while he flew...though that probably wasn't the greatest idea ever. He chuckled at the thought, then shook his head.

"They're fine. My dad was a bit worried after you left, and after she heard the story my mom was concerned that something happened to you, but after I got back to The Messa it kind of got obvious what happened. After that...well everything fell together. Now they're just happy we're both safe." He hadn't mentioned that Kaile was a spy, of course, but he had mentioned that she was safe.

His parents were good people.

They wouldn't have cared if Kaile was the daughter of the Sith Emperor himself, as long as she was a good person and Kurt liked having her around they would never fault her for her actions, she was only human after all.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

Now tape was something they had. Kaile spotted a couple of the black electrical tape near the back of the wall locker. Stretching her hand, she went reaching in for them. They will likely be going through it all, but they had no other choice.

"We have tape!" she yelled out, her voice echoing down the hall. "You need anything else?" she asked, making sure that she didn't need to make another trip. While she was there, Kaile scanned around to see if she would need anything herself.

As Kurt explained that his parents were okay and that they weren't upset with what had occurred, Kaile gave a sigh of relief. Her shoulders fell as the slight tension she had built up melted. Her forehead fell forward and would rest against the cool durasteel of the wall locker. A small smile would frost her lips.

Okay. So they were okay.

Kaile had worried that perhaps she had potentially disappointed Kurt's father with her leaving. She had asked to be taken to Anchorhead only to bid her farewell. He had been so confused then, and concerned. The memory set a pang in Kaile's heart, recalling how strange it had been to stare into blue eyes that were a mirror of Kurt's, set in a wizened tanned face that was so much like the pilot.

The Lorrdian had apologized profusely, but Kaile had still felt a bit of shame and guilt at leaving in that manner. It was a relief to hear that disappointment wasn't the case.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

Tape was good.

Something at least.

Kurt took the tape and slipped it around his index finger, thanking Kaile as he moved beneath the expanse of the metal covering on the deck and reached out for the wires. He was glad that he had shut off the power to the reactor, especially since the current normally running through these wires would have been enough to kill him eight times over with a Hutt holding on to him. Grabbing one of the wires and unfurling the tape with his teeth Kurt slowly began to wrap the wire.

"Nope." He said, fully knowing that the tape wouldn't last for long.

Gladly, it didn't need to. The tape was really only a temporary measure, and while it was insulated he doubted very much that it would hold for longer than a trip or two. That was enough though, enough to get them to Raxus. From there they would be able to get a new hyperdrive, and once they had that, these wires, and any others that Kurt might have missed wouldn't even really matter anymore. That was the beauty of repairing the ship on your own, you knew exactly what you were getting.

Wrapping the wire fully, Kurt let out a deep breath.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

Crouching down beside him again, Kaile peeked in low to see how he was doing.

"That work out?" Her head was bent slightly to the side, the mass of her thick dark hair flopping over to trail from her ponytail. Wide brown eyes would watch him with curiosity. She still had the panel to set, but if he needed her help, she was willing to provide it. Smaller hands and all.

"I can get you some zip ties to keep the wires away just in case." beyond that, all she had to do was go back towards setting the panel. A hand would extend to help him up if he required it.

So far things were moving along. The reactor would be next, but that didn't have to be taken care of right away. They still had a couple of days to relax and enjoy the scenery. The few hours on the beach alone had already produced a soft glow on Kaile's skin, a growing tan that brightened her face. Kaile may not be beautiful, but she had a charming personality that brought out an inner glow. One that was slowly coming back to the Lorrdian with every second spent on the Messa with Kurt again.

"We'll need to get creative for our dinner after this," she told him, flashing him a grin. They had a very limited amount of supplies. "How are you at fishing?"

Considering he was born and bred on Tatooine.. Kaile had a feeling that would be a skill the pilot would do well at.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

"Nah, they'll be fine like this. They're bound to touch even if we zip tie them apart, plus the ties would really only rub off the tape and then we'd be back to square one." He mused out loud, thinking about what else they could do.
Eventually he settled on the fact there was not much else they could do.

"Fishing?" Kurt poked his head out from beneath the metal panel, giving her a flat stare. "You think I know about fishing? Yes. Of course. I'm a Master of it in fact. We used to go fishing all the time, me ol' pa and me. Head out to the great oceans of Tatooine and cast our lines. When that failed we'd head to the rivers, catchin' the fish and flayin' them all day long. My what a joy that was."

His Thick Tatooine drawl flicked from his tongue as he looked at her, grinning wide. "You'd be surprised Ma'am, what I can do with a rod."

Kurt bit his lip, stifling uproariously laughter.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

Her sudden bark of laughter resonated with that with Kurt's.

Ohmystars!

She had just sat herself down to start on the paneling when his thick drawl and hilarious line came. Her stomach quivered. Her ribs hurt, and she had to brace herself flat with her hands to make sure she didn't fall over.

"...Oh, is that a fact Mistah Meyer?" her chuckle made her shoulders shake, and a slight flush rush over her cheeks. Oh my goodness! When Kurt went off like that, it was just one joke after the other. "I'm sure surfin' the Dunes Seas did plenty for trolling for Krayt Dragons and the like."

"Working that rod of yours must have taught you all kinds of skills." a smirk twitched on her lips, "Do you perchance adhere to the catch and release program?"

Bending forward, she took the panel and set it down. Adjusting it over the hole, she began her work.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

"No no. We'in don't be doin that." He mixed his accent with some regional dialect from the southern hemisphere of Tatooine. The people who lived down there were generally considered the loners, the ones who lived within the deserts and never really tried to make the effort to ever go outside their own comfort zones. Good people, really, but ones that you could hardly pin down or even talk to, their accents so thick that even natives of Tatooine strained to understand.

"We eat what we catch." He snapped his fingers at her. "Until there'in be nuffin' left."

Kurt tried very hard not to laugh.

The serious answer was that of course he'd never actually caught a fish, nor been fishing a day in his life. There wasn't an opportunity for something like that on his homeworld, and the few times he'd traveled away from it? Well sitting by the river with a stick didn't really startle him as the most enjoyable activity ever. Even when he had been in the navy fishing hadn't really been an activity that had been taught...or done. Sure they had covered basics for survival, but had he actually done it?

Nope.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

I really shouldn't do it.

Yet her fingers twitched in reflex. One that came up because she had been practicing more and more with the Force. Becoming reacquainted with what she could do and what she couldn't do without Bobo. Moving back and forth within his bubble, strengthening herself. So when he kept up on the jokes and being silly, the desire to smack him with the pillow by the acceleration couch bloomed with such a strength within her.

This was the other part of her that she wanted to tell Kurt about. What else she could do. Much like her Lorrdian history.

"Ain't no need to worry," she told him, glancing over towards him slyly. "I reckon you won't even have to lift a finger." It would be so easy to. Her eyes settled upon the pillow. It would be so easy to. Sooo easy...

"I have some tricks of my own I can use to get some food on the table."