Take Off The Mask

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

The sounded like a plan to Myra. In the little girl's mind, Mister Tuggles would need someone to be there and hold his paw. He would be scared, and if she could be there, then maybe he wouldn't be as scared at all!

"Here is your fresh baked bread," the waitress said to the trio's right, smiling at them as she set the platter in between them. Myra eagerly took the brown roll, making a small 'o' of surprise at just how warm they were.

She dropped it on top of her plate but smiled quickly to say she was okay silently. The youngling then carefully split open the roll, enjoying the way steam would rise out of it. With a chuckle, Danger relayed her thanks as the waitress gave them all their drinks as well.

"I'll check on local veterinarians." A Tuggle was still a rather exotic creature. Hopefully, they would be able to find a doctor that would be able to look after Mister Tuggles.

"Your mind seems to be wandering," she managed to murmur to Alric, smiling at him.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

"Hm?" Alric said as he took a small bite of his food. "Well, old people do that sort of thing, Honey."

He joked. "Not all of us can stay both beautiful and sharp like you."

Brownie points plus one hundred for The Tetan.

Alric smiled at Danger, then looked over towards Myra to watch her trying to fiddle with the bread roll even though it was still too hot. He had good memories of Rose doing the same, and if he thought long enough he would remember himself doing the same at that age. It was a very strange thing that children seemed to do. Perhaps it was because they simply forgot about the heat, or maybe it was more that they figured it would go away faster than they thought.

"Wait a second." He said with a smile. "If you eat it now you're gonna burn your mouth."

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

At Alric's warning, Myra paused, although her fingers kept jumping at the residual heat on the bread. "You can take your time sweetie," Danger also emphasized. Smiling at the small tray of butter, the Queen of Trade picked it up and slid it over to the youngling.

"Just be careful, there is no need to rush."

Turning to Alric, she shook her head. "Tryin' to flatter me so early in the morning, Mistah Kuhn?" with luck they would finish this meal rather quickly, then they would be able to continue on to the doctor and get to the bottom of everything.

Their little peaceful existence however would soon turn chaotic.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

They managed to finish eating and pay within half an hour, an occurrences that was truly rare in the Arceneau-Kuhn household. Perhaps Myra felt like she needed to rush with all the people around, or perhaps they were all just rather hungry. Either way they managed to exit the diner within thirty minutes time, Alric leaving behind a tip for the waitress that would likely cause a small heart-attack followed by grand celebration, something he always enjoyed doing.

"Alright." He said as Danger slipped an arm around his waist and practically forced him to lean on her.

"Let's go see that doctor." Myra still looked weary, but Alric smiled. "Knee's hurting a bit."

He leaned down and tapped his own leg. It was true enough, though of course their first priority was for Myra to get checked out, not him. His leg was a lost cause, at least if he didn't want any extensive surgery. Said surgery carried a risk however, and he'd rather live with the pain than end up with a robot leg. "Which way, honey?"

Danger would know which road to take.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

First off, they were not going to walk to the doctor. That was utterly silly considering how large Etti was, to begin with, much the less the capital itself.

"We are getting a shuttle there." Danger made that clear right off the bat. "There is no sense in walkin'" the additional unsaid, 'in your condition,' was pretty clear.

"I requested one while we were back at the restaurant," she told him, green eyes glancing around at the passing shuttles and airspeeders beyond the landing pad for the restaurant.

Just then, one large model VR-700 air speeder pulled up. It was a luxurious model with plenty of space and a comfy interior.

"We will go to the doctor's first and then pick up Mister Tuggles for the vet." a small encouraging tap behind Myra's shoulders prompted the little girl to move towards the shuttle.

"Come on honey, let's go inside."

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

Alric made a 'neh' face behind Danger's back as she and Myra wandered onto the shuttle.

He thought for a moment when the last time was that he had actually driven a speeder. Flying and piloting in general had never really been his most vaunted hobby, but he'd enjoyed the occasional speeder trip in his youth. A lingering moment more and the Tetan followed after his wife, stepping into the luxury craft and taking a seat beside Myra and Danger. A yawn slipped from his lips as he tipped his head back, a slow realization hitting him that perhaps he should have slept more.

Perhaps he'd teach Myra to drive one day.

He'd taught Rose how to do so, though Lily had always turned him down. It hadn't been out of any resentment towards him of course, that wasn't Lily at all, she had simply never seen the need for actually being able to drive a speeder.

Part of that was because...well in all honesty he'd spoiled the girls, but the other half was simple truth. His children didn't have any particular need of such skills, hell even he didn't really need to know it. All of the ships he'd ever owned has sophisticated auto-pilots, and for the few times that didn't do he usually had someone else flying. It was funny, that little bit of privilege was something that he'd never really thought about. Probably for the better.

The shuttle jumped off the ground and zoomed towards their destination.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

While Myra would hum quietly in her seat, Danger's hand went reaching over for Alric's. Leaning in close, she gave him a soft smile.

"How are you feelin?" ever the concerned one, the redhead studied her husband's visage for any sign of strain.

"Did you get any ideas lookin' over those schematics for the ship?" he'd said he'd do it while Danger slept, and she was curious if he had any ideas or suggestions. It would take time before they could fully flesh it out, but it was nice to consider.

They'd have to ensure it was large enough for their family as well as for when Lily and Rose would come over. Not to mention Mister Tuggles. A thought came to her. Should they get another pet? Originally, Mister Tuggles had been for Alric. Would he want another Tuggle for himself?

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

"I did." He confirmed. "I added a few things, but it looks good."

That was true enough. "With Myra we'll have to make it a bit bigger though."

Their daughter didn't take up a lot of space generally speaking, she was tiny, but she was an active little critter. Some of that overlapped with Mr. Tuggles of course, the two of them running around grassy fields and the like, but...well he doubted that Myra would always be quite pleased with just running in circles. Adding something in that the little girl could do on her own would be more than worthwhile, especially considering the amount of time they would be spending on the ship.

"Everything else is good though." He said looking at his wife. "We can start constructing soon."

As soon as they wanted, he owned one of the largest shipyards in the galaxy, or at least sixty percent of it anyway.

With both Alric and Danger combimed...well they really had no limitations.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]


That was good to hear. At the very least the only minor items they had to worry in regards to changing was the scale of it. Making the design larger than originally intended wouldn't be an issue.

"We can have the bulk of the construction be at Vanir Technologies if you like." while they could soure the parts that dealt with green technology from Haven Shipyards and PharmaTech. Otherwise, Vanir would have everything else that the new yacht would need.

"Any particular shipyard you would like it built on?"

While Danger waited for the answer, Myra was busy staring outside the viewport at the city. Etti IV was as much as an ecumenopolis as Coruscant or Empress Teta, but the architecture was less harsh than Coruscant, and a bit more streamlined than Teta.

Dozens of air speeder's would zip on by along their shuttle, fascinating the youngling as much as being a little overwhelmed by just how many there were out there.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

”The Foundry would be fastest.” Alric said with a simple ring of truth. Vanir had half a dozen driveyards, but The Foundry was really the crowning jewel in that. The massive independent Shipyard could build dozens of ships inside of a year, an impressive thought considering that building an armada was no small feat at all.

”Though its a bit out of the way.” Again an understatement. ”Maybe one of the closer ones?”

Speed didn’t really matter much. If the ship was finished a week before but they couldn’t get to it for a month...well then there was really no point to it at all, besides, wherever they decided to construct the ship didn’t particularly matter, they would pay extra funds and have ti completed more quickly than usual.

He could do it without paying, but well that would be uncouth.

Though Vanir wasn’t exactly a private company, it being held by several large shareholders, it was by no means public. Shares were mostly controlled by himself and a few others, but still, one had to keep up appearances and that meant paying for the services of his own company. It was just the way of things.

Not that it really mattered.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

"Well, reckon it don't really matter much in regards to distance." Danger was of the same mind as Alric with that. The Foundry at its core now was one of the largest shipyards in the 'verse. With word spreading that Kuat Drive Yards had suffered a massive blow, it meant that the need for independent shipyards would rise. Which meant that the Foundry would be a prime development area for any government or large corporation to build their ships.

Naturally, since Alric was the largest shareholder and owner, using the Foundry would be fine.

"The Foundry would have the space and the speed to build it." he had hired the best shipwrights and builders he could find after all.

"Ain't like we can't travel to the Foundry again." They'd had a trip to the Foundry not too long ago. Myra had a panic attack there but she had been able to work through it. Perhaps introducing her slowly to a fully functional facility would be good for her?

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

He shrugged. “If you think it’s fine.”

The trip would be a bit out of the way of everything else, but that wasn’t really all that problematic when one really looked at it. They had enough resources to get a nice ship for any trip they were going to take, and if they wanted their custom built one to be constructed on The Foundry? Well they could at least trust everything would go right.

The Foundry was overseen by Rigor, a central computing mechanism allowing the once droid to watch and manage everything at all times. A scary thought for some, but organics still had a massive in put on everything. The systems combined allowed The Foundry to produce ships quickly, and cheaply.

Not to mention it was wholly independent, a huge draw.

“I’ll send the schematics then.” It was really all he had to do. “They can begin construction today.”

It was an oddly wonderful thing how both he and Danger’s lifetime labours had now come together to give them...well the epitome of convenience. They could quite literally have almost everything they wanted at the touch of a button. Even Sith Lords couldn’t say that.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

That would work best for them.

"Then it is settled." that was that. It didn't matter how long it took to construct the yacht. For the present time, there were far more pressing matters. Like the well-being and health of both Alric and Myra.

Etti VI had grown exponentially since the time of the Tion Hegemony, the Silver Sanctum, and the Trade Federation. There were a plethora of shipyards from large corporations, some of which included Haven Shipyards, Santhe, Silk Holdings, and several others. Many of these had established themselves decades prior, holding themselves to be the corporate sway of the former Corporate Security Alliance worlds.

Expansion here with Aurum Saccs Bank had taken presence. Saffron had been the one who led the construction of a new headquarters on Etti IV, and under her oversight, discussions with some of the former CSA worlds had allowed the opening of several banking branches.

It was not surprising to see the shuttle fly by a large Aurum Saccs Bank holographic sigil as they flew towards the Soho Sector, an upper class and affluent area for various businesses , residential areas, and shops.

The shuttle touched down upon an open landing pad, allowing the trio to step off at the building that held the medical offices of Dr. Yabub.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

Alric, like Myra, had never much liked Doctors.

He wouldn’t have called it a phobia, but there was something about going to the doctors office that could simply be put as...unappealing. Maybe he felt that it was a waste of time, maybe he felt that he was invincible, despite all evidence to the contrary, but either way he had always felt that rather than going to the Doctor he’d just wait out any pain that came to him.

Such was a foolish approach of course, dangerous and in his case likely deadly. Alric was an old man and he could hardly afford to avoid going to the doctor, especially considering the condition that certain appendages of his were in. ”Let’s go, Honey.”

Alric gently took Myra’s hand and lead her forward.

There was a slight limp to the way he walked, though surprisingly it wasn’t because of the pain in his knee. Instead it was because Myra was still rather tiny, and the old Tetan had to hunch in an odd way so that he could actually properly hold her hand.

An amusing sight really.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

It wasn't a far walk for them to take. One of the attending nurses saw them come in and came towards them. A smile cut her face.

"Welcome Mrs. Arceneau and Mr. Kuhn." the petite blonde said in greeting. There was no need for Danger or Alric to introduce themselves. Not only were their faces well known but also the appointment Danger had made allowed her to be prepared. Which was why they didn't offer the former Titan a wheelchair. He was rather picky about that.

"Please, come this way." their first stop was to take care of Alric, seeing as how he would need to sit down and rest.

"Dr. Yabub is waiting for you along with Dr. Mofet." Dr. Mofet was the standing pediatrician that would screen Myra, while Dr. Yabub would see to the care of Alric.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

He started to feel grumpy. ”Thank you.”

The Tetan wouldn’t be rude of course, just because he didn’t want to be here didn’t mean that he had to make everyone suffer. He was also trying to paint a picture for Myra, a good one, that it was better to be polite at all times.

He felt her tiny had squeeze his as they wandered forward.

”Don’t worry, Honey.” He knew that the little girl was anxious about what was about to happen. ”Mom and I will be right there the entire time.”

At the very least she could feel somewhat comfortable, after all what could function as a better safety blanket?

Besides Mr. Tuggles of course.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

The check up wouldn't take too long much to Myra's relief. The little girl quietly held Alric's hand while the doctor went through his inspection of Alric's knee. A medical droid came in to assist, providing a method of scanning the knee and determine what would be the best course of action.

Of course, at the end of it, Dr. Yubub peered at the former Titan and predictably detailed the options that the Tetan could take.

"There is always the option of surgery," he mentioned, elaborating. "However, we cannot confirm just how much mobility we can maintain. The tears on your ligaments are beyond our ability to repair without considering the cultivation of new genetic material to replace it."

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

”Yes I know.” Alric snipped. ”Plus during the surgery there is a high possibility of more damage being sustained to the muscles and ligaments that are in fact still functioning.”

Medical droids had come a long way, but even they weren’t perfect.

At fine points during a surgery like Alric required, every milimeter counted. It wasn’t just the droids moving that was the issue either, rather it was Alric. The muscles within his thigh could spasm or twitch, he could move himself, anything could happen that would render his leg almost entirely useless.

That was simple fact. It was something he’d accepted.

”Sorry Doc, I know there’s not much you can do, and the old ball and chain isn’t too keen on a metal leg in her bed.” He pawned that off on Danger, but the truth was...he wasn’t comfortable with it either. Alric wasn’t at all prejudice against cyborgs, but the idea of becoming one?

For some reason that didn’t sit well with him.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

It was more than that, but the Doctor was smart enough to keep his thoughts to himself.

"Alright Mr. Kuhn, I'll simply submit for a few more tests and prescribe a medication to alleviate any pain you may have." odds were that Alric wouldn't take them unless his knee were bothering him to the extreme. Not the best idea, but Danger knew that was how the stubborn fool thought.

Beside Alric, Myra's little hand grew tighter around his larger one. She seemed uncomfortable, shifting in her seat. A closer inspection would reveal how she appeared to have blanched another shade lighter, her skin appearing a bit clammy. Little did they know that the mysterious illness would be making a show of itself again. Her heart rate increased and as the seconds ticked by, her breathing became a bit shallower.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

Medication wasn’t exactly his thing either. He didn’t like taking drugs that made his wits dim. That was one of the reasons he had so long abstained from the miracle substance that he had Danger had developed so long ago. There was a chance that Aspha could fix all of this, but the risks...they simply weren’t worth it to the old Tetan.

Not now.

”Appreciated, Doctor.” Not really, but he wasn’t about the argue with the man when he was on the cusp of getting out of all of this. He shifted slightly and moved a bit on the table, looking down at Myra to check that she was okay.

Alric saw the way she looked, and worry dashed his heart, though of course he simply thought that she was nervous about her own coming appointment. Myra had never really liked strangers, and doctors? Well they were about as strange as one could get. Weird labcoat, odd voice, and always talking about things you didn’t quite understand.

The Tetan could sympathize with the little girl.