Wires and Things

[Munin]

[member="Spark Finn"]

"No." Munin said honestly.

Did she work against the Sith? Was she a Jedi?

It made sense in a way. She was a force user after all, and Munin knew next to nothing about what the Jedi actually did or even looked like. He knew the stereotype of course, long flowing robes, drab brown, lightsabers...but well, that was only rumor. The Jedi, or rather Individual Jedi had never really been a concern to him and Huginn. They had always been thought of as more of an entity that got in the way then anything else. Not necessarily enemies, just annoyances.

The better question was though...did he care? If she was a Jedi did it matter to him?

He found that the answer was another simple no.

"I work for myself and only myself." He continued on. "I grew up being abused, used, and always dancing to the tune of other peoples music, I don't ever want that again. I do what I do for myself, to make money, to live the way I want to live, do to what I want to do."

 

[Spark Finn]

[member="Munin"]

She watched him closely. Teeth gnawed on the inside of her bottom lip. Bony shoulders scrunched up. He was used and abused. She could relate. People always wanted to use her for her slicing skills. Then when she trained with the force, they wanted to use her for that. Both light and dark.

She and Mumu #Sawyer, had a lot in common. Maybe if he asked, she'd admit it to him.

"Okay," she finally said, quietly. "I'm not a jedi," she admitted, as if she could read his mind. #lolshecouldn't "But the sith have done so much - too much to me, I can't support them." #yesevenCameroninaway

She quarter-turned and took the cup of caf, bringing the rim up to her lips to take a sip.

 

[Munin]

[member="Spark Finn"]

Was she telling the truth? Part of him still didn't quite trust it, if only because it was in his nature to distrust. Yet he found himself wanting to believe her, so once again, despite that voice within his head, he did. "I'm not a Sith."

Most certainly not.

"I don't deal with them." They were too volatile. He had discussed it with Huginn once or twice, and in general while they made it a policy to sell to everyone who had money, Sith were...a bit different. Oh he had no real moral objection to dealing with them, not really anyway, but they were all insane. He'd seen the holo-vids, knew the reputation, and there was no way that he was dealing with anyone so unpredictable. One moment they would pay you, the next turn around and slaughter you. "You don't have to worry."

His arms slid away from her for a second, though his hands didn't leave her, settling on her hips. "I don't have a death wish...and dealing with Sith is one."

That was how he'd always seen it.

There was logic to the decision, much like with everything else he did.

 

[Spark Finn]

[member="Munin"]

She brought the mug down, already feeling its warmth spread through her insides. Warmth spread at her hips too, where his hands were. #touchisstillembarrassing Blue-eyes scrutinized his face - squinting. After another long and quiet moment, she finally relaxed.

"You haven't given me a reason not to trust you, yet."

She took another sip of caf. "And for some reason I'm not worried around you. Not as much as I probably should be." #logical Lips trembled into a brief, small smile. "Do you want some of this?" Fingers held up the warm mug of caf that stood between them.

 

[Munin]

[member="Spark Finn"]

She was right in a way, she probably should have been more worried about him. Oh he didn't plan to hurt her, that was the farthest thing from his mind, but he was still a man that operated in the shadows of the galaxy. He dealt with the underworld, the darker and uglier side of things, the things that most people didn't even want to know existed. That was who he was, and each and every day of his life was filled with lies, killings, and every other ugly thing one could thing of.

No one would have called him trustworthy, no one that didn't pay for his and Huginn's services anyway.

That was what being an information broker was all about. You were a Shadow, something that hid away and simply learned, then took what you learned and sold it to the highest bidder. No one would trust you if you told them what you were...not until they wanted something from you. Munin knew that, and he wanted to tell her that, wanted to tell her that he wouldn't be good for her. That he would get her in to trouble and maybe even get her killed, but he couldn't.

He was a coward, a coward who didn't want to lose her before he even had her.

His fingers tensed slightly on her hips. "Maybe after I shower."

The words finally came, they weren't the warning they should have been. He couldn't bring himself to do it, all he wanted was to pull her closer.

 

[Spark Finn]

[member="Munin"]

There it was again. For a girl who relied on logic and very rarely acted out emotionally, she felt that connection with this man. Logically, she shouldn't. Logically, he should've left her to the guards back on Coruscant. Logically, he should've shot her the first moment he got.

#pffft #asifshewouldveletthathappen

Logically, she should've left him. But she didn't. One hand came up hesitantly, at first. #timid and rested against his chest, careful not to spill the caf as she was pulled closer. Or stepped closer? Maybe both. And suddenly, it was very hot on board.

"You should take a shower."

Besides, she had exploring of her own to do. And she wanted to check out the datachit in the pocket of her new and oversized pants.

 

[Munin]

[member="Spark Finn"]

For a moment it would seem like he hadn't heard her.

His fingers tightened again, just for a split second as he felt her push a little closer towards him. Munin wasn't sure if he had done it or if she had, but he was glad for it either way. He saw the heated liquid in the cup closh around, nearly splash over onto him.

His eyes darted from the cup, then to her.

The infochant wasn't sure what to say, wasn't sure what to do. This...this was unfamiliar. He had no experience with this, the odd tightening in his chest, the strange want to simply hold her and listen to her speak.

He'd been with women before...when he had been younger, less paranoid. When he'd taken an alias and had to play the part, but this...this was uncomfortably real. He wanted everything from her, and at the same time nothing. His fingers flexed one more time, almost massaging, until he finally let go. "Okay."

Munin made the concession.

"I'll be back soon." A stupid thing to say, where was he going to go?

 

[Spark Finn]

[member="Munin"]

"Okay," voice squeaked. #alwaysaroundhim And suddenly it wasn't so hot anymore. She turned and pressed a hand to her flushed face, tying to cool it down.

She finished off the caf and got the insta-mix ready for Munin #Sawyer. Still clutching the blanket, she wandered the rest of the small ship, blonde-haired head popping in the remaining compartments and spaces.

Like Munin, she found the datapads. Settling down next to one of the crates on the cold flooring in the small cargo hold, she took one out and powered it up. One hand fished out the cred-chit. She popped it in. Speckled-gaze scanned the data as it loaded. Eyes settled closed as she let her mind dive into the machine through the force. #mechuderu #entechedmind #technomania #nerd

 

[Munin]

[member="Spark Finn"]

Munin wasn’t too long gone. He found the shower quickly, tossing the clothing on the disused bed in the corner of the room and stepping into the small alcove without a moment of hesitation. The tiny space was actually pretty clean, bright white laminate having not a spot of dirt on it and the showerhead seemingly having been cleaned relatively recently.

The information broker thanked some invisible god for that, shaking his head as he slowly turned the dial for the water.

Cold splashed down but Munin didn’t even flinch...okay maybe a little. He was used to it though. In a childhood like his there hadn’t really been the opportunity for hot water all that much, perhaps once a month or so if he was particularly lucky. It was different now of course, but the memories still lingered, and the cold water didn’t bother him so much.

He washed himself quickly, wiping away grime and dirt before quickly rubbing himself down.

The shower went quick, and within a handful of minutes Munin stepped out of the tiny alcove and onto the cold floor of the ship.

Goosebumps ran across his skin, and quickly he used one of the nearby towels to dry himself off before quickly finding the clothes he had tossed onto the bed. Unlike with Spark, the garments actually fit him quite well, though the pants were a bit more loose then he would have liked. He kept his old sockets despite their dirt, mostly because he couldn’t find any new ones.

Half a heartbeat later and Munin went to go find Spark.

 

[Spark Finn]

[member="Munin"]

It looked like the skinny blonde was meditating - if Munin found her there. Legs were crossed in those over sized cargo pants. Back was hunched over the datapad but her eyes were closed. Brow crinkled as she concentrated. Without using her hands, she set-up a secured transaction to one of her remote SFTP sites. #notraceable #madskillz

If anyone tried to follow her connection, it would take about 100 galactic standard years. And even that was for an experienced slicer.

The data transferred. #alwaysworking Blonde-brows crinkled to match her brow as she came across a very specific piece of information involving two sith lords she had been with under cover with the Sith Tri.

"What?" She breathed, still thinking she was alone.

 

[Munin]

[member="Spark Finn"]

Munin stepped into the cargo hold, his footsteps not making a sound. He caught sight of the datapad as he came in, though he didn't see the screen.

In truth he didn't really need to.

There were really only one or two things she could be looking at, and if he had to guess he would say that it was the data they had stolen from the Senator's office. Munin had given her the chip back when they had been on Coruscant, though he'd kept his own copy. No doubt she was going over every last bit now. The Information Broker couldn't fault her for that, he likely would have done the same thing. Parsing that data would take him quite a long time though, hence why he usually had a script to do it for him.

"Find anything interesting?" He asked as he came up behind her.

Munin would see it all eventually anyway, then he would decide if any of it was worth selling. No doubt some of it was...likely the majority in fact, which made him wonder exactly why Spark wanted it in the first place. From the way she was he'd already guessed that she wasn't another Broker, though that didn't exactly narrow it down. Slicers could work for anyone, anywhere, they were always in demand.

He couldn't imagine how much that increased when you could also use the force.

 

[Spark Finn]

[member="Munin"]

Her bony butt must've jumped a foot in the air #orafewinches as Munin's voice registered behind her hunched over form. Blue eyes flew open and she tried to swallow her heart back down into her chest. She gasped, one hand flying to her chest. Finally, she found her voice.

"HOLY data-chits - DON'T DO THAT!"

#sneakyninja

She scooted around so she could look up at him without overarching her slender neck. "Yeah. Some stuff. To me." She hesitated. She wanted to trust him. And if he did something with the information she was about to share, it wouldn't matter. "You ever hear of Darth Adekos or Darth Orcus?"

 

[Munin]

[member="Spark Finn"]

"Sith." Munin knew the name of most every Sith that was operating in the galaxy. He didn't deal with any of them, but that didn't mean they weren't important. Tracking the Sith and following their activities was a massive subset of the business that Huginn and he conducted. Quite a few people around the galaxy cared about what powerful Sith were doing at any time for any number of reasons. Some liked to bet on what they were going to do, others just wanted to make sure they did nothing. Sith were important in the current landscape, much like a hurricane was important to the denizens of a tropical world.

"Powerful ones." The Information Broker continued. "They used to be a part of the One Sith before they split away."

He wasn't trying to impress her, the knowledge just kind of spilled from him like an odd data record.

It was his business to know, and had she said any number of other Sith he would have been able to do the same, with Jedi too. Famous figures in the galaxy had a tendency to direct change, and that change was important to people that Munin dealt with. Of course he didn't know everything but he and Huginn prided themselves on being able to establish correlation, direction, and future outlooks for most major players in the galaxy.

It was part of their sales pitch.

 

[Spark Finn]

[member="Munin"]

"Yes and I-," she pursed her lips. She had already taken a leap of faith with Munin #Sawyer but what she was about to say would be another jump. Maybe a steeper one in a way. "I was working undercover. Spying on the Sith Triumvirate. One of the sith that brought me into that organization was a little...obsessed with my abilities. So it wasn't hard to get my foot in the door. That...was Darth Adekos. I ran into another Lord of the Triumvirate, Orcus. He almost locked me away when I refused to entech someone."

Fingers tightened around the datapad and a visible shiver ran through her lithe-form. Beneath the blanket and all. She took a moment to pull herself together. Some memories were too recent and too painful to revisit.

"According to this, Orcus and Adekos are both dead. I had no idea."

What did that mean to her? Freedom? One less nemesis out there. One less sith trying to use her. Affirmation that she got out at a good time? She didn't know yet.

 

[Munin]

[member="Spark Finn"]

That was enough to answer more than a few questions that he'd had. She had worked undercover. Those words alone would have been enough for Munin to make some major assumptions, but the fact that she'd also told him that she wasn't a Jedi...well at the very least she'd sealed herself into a very specific niche. If she wasn't working with the Alliance then she was most definitely working with some sort of do good galactic government.

Unless she hung around Sith for fun, which he highly doubted.

"Oh." Munin said as he squatted down beside her, his eyes falling on hers. He tried to get a better read on her, tell what she was feeling. He could see the confusion in her eyes, the hint of fear when she mentioned the Sith, how her body seemed to try to shrink as she told him about what had happened. Their deaths didn't really phase Munin, after all to him they were just names on a ledger. To Spark however it seemed...significant in some way. "Isn't that good?"

He asked quietly, his hands reading out towards her.

The infochant hesitated for a moment, he wanted to hold her...but he wasn't sure if it was the right thing to do.

 

[Spark Finn]

[member="Munin"]

Three days ago, when they just met, if he had tried to hold her, she would've flinched. She would've run away, if they weren't in a cramped air vent. #lol But now? She felt herself leaning the last few inches into his embrace. She wanted to blame her fatigue.

That was maybe part of it - for her vulnerability, but it wasn't all of it.

She wasn't a crier, so she didn't cry. She wasn't really an emotional person but she did feel a little...lost. She rested her head against the top of his shoulder and finally spoke. "I think so. I just hope it's true. If it's not, I'll probably have a new bounty on my head in less than a fortnight."

#morevulnerability

Her freckled nose picked up the fresh scent of soap against the skin of his neck.

 

[Munin]

[member="Spark Finn"]

His arms tightened around her, gently pulling her just a bit closer. "I suppose it's harder for you to disappear."

Munin said quietly. It's what he would do if he got a bounty on his head.

He wasn't questioning her capabilities of course, just the fact that she probably didn't want to give up her name. Munin didn't know everything about her just yet, but she had a name, she apparently had a mission, and he was more then willing to bet that she had friends. For him disappearing would have been easy, just drop a name and never use it again. Within a second he would be entirely gone from the galaxy, never to be heard from again. Money was never a concern and neither was anything else really.

The infochant doubted that she would do the same. He very gently kissed the top of her head.

"I can confirm it for you." It would be easy enough, a call or two, a question asked, Munin doubted that it would take very long. "If you want."

He and Huginn had set up more than a few Little Birds within the Sith Triumvirate, they always did that when a new Galactic Government arose. A few times it had been difficult, but with Sith? Sith made it easy. They tended to be so self absorbed that they didn't question the lowest of the low. Slaves and servants were almost never even looked at, and almost too perfectly they also almost always made the best spies. Munin and Huginn abused that fact quite often.

Contacting them now would be dangerous, but he'd do it for her.

 

[Spark Finn]

[member="Munin"]

She made no protest as he pulled her closer. She curled against him, shoulder and the side of her body against his chest. She could feel his body heat add to the warmth she already head cocooned in the blanket. Did she still feel awkward? #heckyes But maybe him holding her was starting to feel more natural. Safe, even.

It was a little scary.

Head shifted on his shoulder to look up at him. Blonde-brows crinkled. She just knew he worked for himself. He took data like she did. But she didn't know why. "How can you...what exactly do you do?"

 

[Munin]

[member="Spark Finn"]

"I'm an information broker." Munin said simply, giving her a slightly strange look. Perhaps he'd thought that she'd already figured that out about him, though in all honesty there was no reason for him to think that. They'd both been rather mysterious about themselves.

"Finding information, selling it, that's what I do." He was sure she'd at least heard of the profession, but he wanted to clarify. "Ever since I was fifteen."

When he and Huginn had left the Orphanage network.

The job had been an easy one to get, they simply hacked into a nearby databank, stole the personal information of everyone in it, then quickly dropped the information on the holo-net to sell it. In one very swift move they had made nearly a hundred thousand credits, enough to live off of for several months. It had been a good start, one that launched a career.

 

[Spark Finn]

[member="Munin"]

"Makes sense," she stifled a yawn against him. Eyelids began to droop. Was her slicing similar to his dealings? She always tried to bring the rich and powerful down. Like that Robinhood spacer tale. But she wasn't completely naive.

She knew Sawyer wasn't safe.

But for her, he said not to worry. But a part of her was worried. The non-sleepy and warm part.

#logical

"Wait. I know we're still trying to figure us out. We just met. But if it didn't work....you don't...I wouldn't have to worry about you using my info....right?"

#morevulnerablequestions

The funny thing was, she knew that he would tell her the truth. And she didn't know how else to phrase her concerns. It was sloppy. But she needed to ask. She already had one bad break up. She didn't need another going in blind.