Wires and Things

[Munin]

[member="Spark Finn"]

"Kai." He lied, frowning for a moment, standing in the alleyway he almost completely forgot about being chased. The small, compressed space was nearly as bad as Point Nadir had been. A large covering of grime hung over everything, the subtle stench of Urine clung to the air, and everything seemed...gross. His skin crawled just standing there, and the idea of touching anything within the place made him want to wretch. The idea of...he couldn't even think about it.

Spark said something to him, coming out from behind the dumpster with her shirt turned out a different way and her pants rolled up in an almost comical fashion. He watched her for a moment, his expression remaining neutral as though he hadn't a thought in the world.

Of course, he was actually just trying to suppress the distaste he had for their current surroundings.

"No." He said quietly, already moving forward so that they could get out of the alleyway and into something a little bit less crawling with death. "No ship. I got here by way of a smuggler, he operates out of the southern hemisphere where the Alliance hasn't completely secured everything yet. He should be there for another day or so though."

Munin checked his chrono, nodding as if in confirmation. "If we can make it there we can get off world."

The trip without a speeder would take the better part of several days, but with a shuttle or...well really anything it would take just a few hours. They would have to find some sort of transport.

 

[Spark Finn]

[member="Munin"]

Kai

#yeahright

She was already moving out back into the crowd with Kai. Then again, maybe that was his name. There was a green smashball hat sticking out of a tourist's backpack. She snagged it on the way and flipped it over her head. She found the small spaces between people. shifting and changing directions without being swept away from Kai's side.

She was glad he hadn't asked her name because she might've told him the truth.

A neutral expression remained on her face as he let his opinion of the Alliance be known. Her own ties to the alliance were currently....tenuous at best. And he kept using the word, 'we.' He still hadn't left her.

And she still hadn't left him.

A grimace flickered across her face as she tried to match his pace. Her ankle was already beginning to swell. Must've been a sprain. Small fists clenched at her sides. But she didn't complain.

"How far is it?"

 

[Munin]

[member="Spark Finn"]

"Far." He said looking her up and down, eyes quickly flicking towards the odd hobble that she had going on for a few minutes. He looked at her, sympathy crossing his face for half a second. He realized that even if they could walk all the way there she would never make it. There was something wrong with her leg, or her foot. He frowned and then eyes her, shifting slightly so they moved a little bit around the crowd instead of actually going through it.

"We need a speeder." Munin moved closer to her.

If he was going to go through a crowd...he was going to be closer to the one person he felt somewhat comfortable around. "Or a shuttle."

His lips thinned slightly as he stopped, his hand reaching out to suddenly wrap around her arm and pull her close. His head ducked low and his eyes shifting slightly to look past her. Just beyond her, to her back, was a patrol of Coruscant Security officers, each heavily armed, one brandishing a holo-image of Spark and Munin that had been captured in the halls of Republica 500.

Chit.

 

[Spark Finn]

[member="Munin"]

She stiffened when his arm wrapped around her. Touch was to Spark as germs were to Munin. But maybe it was more surprise in this instance. The stiffening of her shoulders as her ankle wobbled slightly. She stumbled against the stronger frame of Kai biting back a yelp.

#squeal

Thoughts drifted to her ex, Coren, for a moment. And she wondered why she thought about him now. Was it just because Kai and Coren both had those blue eyes? Speckled gaze focused beyond Kai. There were speeder taxis, just over there. Lined up for a caf break.

#perfect.

"How do you feel about a speeder cab?"

 

[Munin]

[member="Spark Finn"]

"Can't steal anything someone will notice." He said the words just as the Security Forces began to move past where they were, his head half ducking into her neck. "They'll be alerted and can look for that vehicle using the cameras."

Surveillance was one of the greatest aspects of Coruscant. Unless you were in the lowest levels of the planet you would find cameras, holo-drones, and pretty much all kinds of surveillance equipment all over the place. It was a security measure on a planet of a trillion people, something that held people accountable. It made hiding rather difficult, and meant that if you were on the run you had to keep a low profile, or stay very low to the actual surface of the planet.

Though that came with its own dangers.

"We have to take something someone won't miss for a few hours." He said the words into her neck, a heated breath flowing over her skin as his eyes flickered up towards the passing guards. He slowly pulled back from her as they turned their backs, walking away towards one of the distant Alleyways.

Munin was exceptionally good at running.

Once he and Huginn had left the orphanage they'd spent quite a bit of their time on the run. This was something he had an expertise in.

 

[Spark Finn]

[member="Munin"]

Cheeks blushed at his proximity and the tickling sensation of breath along skin. #Ittickles! She had to physically keep herself from batting him away. Or shoving him away. She knew why he was close. She caught the authorities out of the corner of her eyes.

Brows furrowed in thought.

She wondered if she could get every camera. Technopath all the angles to get them to where they needed to be. It was too risky. Even masters had limits. Kai was right. He may have pulled away but she still leaned on his arm for support, her ankle still throbbing like a charging rancor.

"Someone would notice anything we'd steal. Eventually."

But the thing was - thefts went on in Coruscant all the time. The authorities didn't have the resources to check all the calls. Especially down deeper. "Maybe we should go a few levels lower?"

 

[Munin]

[member="Spark Finn"]

He nodded slowly. That was the smartest thing to do. The lower you went on Coruscant, the less anyone cared about what happened. Near the surface of the planet it was all horrible monsters and creatures that you could never imagine, a little above that were the slums, and above those were where the poor lived. If they could make it to those levels, they would be golden. Security Forces rarely patrolled down there, and most of the surveillance had long ago been completely vandalized and destroyed.

"There's an orphanage." He said quietly. "It's a couple of dozen levels down from here."

He remembered it well. "It'll be abandoned. We can rest there until your leg is better, then find another way off-world."

That would be for the best.

They didn't need to take the Smuggler he'd arranged, there would be plenty waiting. If they made their way across the planet they were more than likely to catch attention, but if they waited for a day in the lower levels things might die down a bit. The Senator only had so much pull, and keeping security forces searching for just two people right after an invasion? That was a waste of resources even the Alliances couldn't afford. Waiting would be best.

 

[Spark Finn]

[member="Munin"]

She pulled back, releasing his arm. Speckled-gaze studied him quietly. She stayed there probably for what was a hair past normal and getting into the socially awkward zone.

#alotofquestions

What orphanage was he talking about? How did he know about it? Why was he willing to wait with her?

"If you think you'll have a better shot on your own, you can leave me. But you just have to give me the data card back. Or make a copy." She grinned but it quickly vanished. "I'm dangerous to be around."

Said the gangly blonde girl with glasses.

#ButI'mbeingserious!

 

[Munin]

“Leave?” The option hadn’t really occurred to him until she’d mentioned it. Perhaps it was because he was growing sentimental, or perhaps it was because he simply hadn’t considered it, but Munin found it curious either way. He frowned for a moment, looking at her and then back towards where the guards had gone.

Leaving her now would be easier.

Much easier in fact. He could get off world and book it towards the smuggler, travel through the underground and then steal some sort of vehicle. That of course was assuming he could actually force himself through the muck and grime of the Coruscant underworld.

A frown pulled at his lips, and he considered for a moment. “No.”

What.

“No I don’t think I will.” He said the words slowly. He told himself it was because she could still be useful, because she was a force user and they always held some sort of knowledge, because he could do something with her. Yet, in a flicker of doubt, he realized that he wasn’t ready to leave her side just yet. “Come on.”

Slowly Munin pressed his hand onto the small of her back, guiding her forward. “What’s your name?”

 

[Spark Finn]

[member="Munin"]

Dark-brows lofted in surprise. She thought she had him pegged the moment he raised that blaster in her face back in the server room but he kept proving her wrong. She didn't flinch away from the hand at her back, but her fists clenched at her sides.

#touchytouch

Still, it was becoming more familiar from him. That in of itself was a little disturbing. She limped along, tugging the cap further down as the pair made their way to a public lift that would descend further into the lower levels of the city world.

"Penny."

#that'snotmyname #don'tcallmeStacey #don'tcallmeElle

Unlike most lightsiders, she was an excellent liar. She had to be to survive. Growing up drifting and working the darknet. It came a little too naturally sometimes. Head cocked to the side to look up at his face. "How do you know about this orphanage? How do you know it's a safe place to go?"

Maybe safe wasn't the right word. More like, safe from the narqs.

 

[Munin]

[member="Spark Finn"]

He frowned for a moment. Munin was almost entirely sure that it wasn't her real name, if only because he had lied to her himself. She didn't strike him as an idiot, and only an idiot would have told him her real name. He smiled slightly at the that thought, guiding her by the palm on her back Munin headed towards one of the alleyways that sat across the stairs. It was darker than most of the other alley's not as well illuminated with most of the cameras pointing the other way.

There was a reason for that.

The Alley lead towards one of the lower levels. It used stairs instead of the typical transport methods like a lift or a speeder car, and quite honestly the authorities didn't seem to care, after all, who actually used stairs in their day to day life?

"I used to live there." Munin said simply.

It was the truth. He used to live there, before he'd been moved to the orphanage off planet, the one where he had met Huginn. It had been pretty common practice back then, moving orphans around from planet to planet in order to keep them from getting a bit too comfortable.

 

[Spark Finn]

[member="Munin"]

"Oh? You never knew your parents?" Curiosity craned her neck all the way to the side so she could study his face. She hadn't either. In a way. Wasn't not being wanted the same thing?

Glasses were adjusted as she paused at the top of the stairs. Wait. What? #STAIRS #noNOnononoNO

She froze and was unable to be moved by any hand at her back. Head was already rapidly shaking in the negative. "There's no way I can...," ankle was already throbbing. She took a step back still shaking her head. A nervous laugh bubbled from her throat. "I mean unless I jump on your back there's no way I can get down those. And there's NO way that's happening so....yeah, no."

 

[Munin]

[member="Spark Finn"]

He frowned for a moment, shifting to look at her. The stairs were the only way to go. They couldn't take a taxi, couldn't steal a speeder, and the lifts were all watched by cameras. There was no way they'd be able to go another way. Munin looked at her, the slightly redness of her cheek, the look in her eyes. Was she scared of something? He frowned for a moment, looking down the stairs as they curled into a bit of darkness beyond the lights in the street. "There's no other way."

The infochant took a step closer to her, casting a quick glance at the dirt clinging to the wall.

"Look." He said pointing back out towards the crowd, a pack of guards shuffling through it just as he made the motion. They were still questioning people, and now drones had joined the search, probes that displayed his and Spark's pictures. "We can't go back out there. All we need to do is head down these stairs, take three lefts, and then go straight for half a mile."

The way he rattled off the instructions made it seem like he'd taken this path before. "I'll carry you until we get to the bottom. Like I did in the tower."

That would be straining, the stairs went on for quite a while, but he was pretty sure that he could make it. She was pretty small and lanky, and when he'd carried her before there hadn't been too much trouble. It was really the only option they had.

 

[Spark Finn]

[member="Munin"]

Ordinarily, in a situation like this, #lollikewhatsituationlikethis? she'd just use the force to strengthen her muscles enough to just make it down. #onmyown However, it was too risky with other potential force users around. That was the difference between white current and other things. White current couldn't be sensed as easily - if at all.

She pushed her back against the staircase wall. Head panned from the stairs and back to Kai. There and back to him. She saw the guards. And the probes. "You're going to...carry me again?" Voice squeaked on the word carry. Brown eyes widened further and she shook her head again.

 

[Munin]

[member="Spark Finn"]

He frowned for a second. Was something wrong. "Yes."

Munin was usually the one that refused to touch people, in fact, the only reason that he made the suggestion to carry her was because...well he figured he was probably already doing sometime in the next few weeks from the infectious diseases that he'd picked up in the Vent's. There was really nothing he could do at this point, and honestly he'd prefer to die in a comfortable bed back home with Huginn taking care of him rather then the disgusting, dirty streets of Coruscant.

"Unless you can fly." He pointed out. "Not really sure the force allows that."

Honestly Munin had no idea how the force actually worked, or really what one could do with it.

He'd seen the holo-reels of the destruction Sith and Jedi could dish out. He'd seen them throw entire tanks, lift starfighters, blow up shield generators. He knew that Force Users were capable of amazing things, things that most people would say were impossible, but he had no idea if the limits or logics that applied. For all he knew Spark could only use the force every fifteen seconds or else she would pass out. The infochant made a note to ask her more later when they were safe.

Slowly he held out his hand, prompting her.

 

[Spark Finn]

[member="Munin"]

There was a crack in her stubborn, scared, and awkward stature. "No, I can't fly! That's just...," voice trailed off. It wasn't crazy, was it? What she could do with machines was....#crazy. Worried gaze zeroed back in on the stairs, then back to the closing-in guards and droids.

#Eeeeep.

Brown-eyes settled on his hand. More in resignation. Very slowly. #reallyslow She pushed off from the wall and stopped in front of him.

"Okay, fine." She mumbled. "Let's just get this over with." Hand moved forward, not sure how he wanted her to...grab his shoulder? She hesitated and just stood there, awkwardly. Because that was the definition of Spark Finn for social situations. #awkwardqueen

 

[Munin]

[member="Spark Finn"]

Munin took a step forward towards her, his fingers wrapping around her own for half a moment before he took another step forward and scooped her up. The motion was swift, faster then one would have expected from him. His arms swept beneath her, one just beneath her knees and the other behind her lower back. Munin lifted her into the air and hefted her for half a moment, letting her arm slide around his shoulder so that she could hold on to him.

"Hang on." He told her, urgency still in his voice.

The Infochant didn't want to wait around for the Guards to catch them. They were still very wanted fugitives, and even a brief glimpse of anyone that looked like Spark and Munin would likely be thrown towards the Security Guards. That was just the reality they lived in.

"Don't worry." He said with his most charming smile. "I won't drop you."

That was a promise.

 

[Spark Finn]

[member="Munin"]

"Eeep," she bit back a louder yelp as he scooped her up. Arms tightened around his neck. Her ankle already felt better. #relief Thin lips thinned as she held him at arm's length and saw that smile.

#sucharogue

But, she actually trusted him. And that was saying a lot for Spark Finn. As he stepped toward the stares, she gave one last worried glance over her shoulder at the steep descent. Trying not to think about awkwardness, she curled her arms around his neck a little tighter and pushed half her face into the top of his shoulder, promptly closing her eyes and clinging to him for well, her life.

#dramatic

She would blush for weeks after this.

 

[Munin]

[member="Spark Finn"]

Munin began their trek down the stairs as fast as he possibly could.

He didn't want to wait for any of the guards to catch sight of them, and he certainly didn't want to stand there in the muck and grime of the alleyway. They had quite a trip down the steps. He quickly moved down the stairs, taking two at a time. The staircase was not beautiful, in fact, it looked like it hadn't seen any traffic in what appeared to be months. There was a thick coating of grime on everything, the stairs themselves were blackened with soot or perhaps generally just trash, and graffiti was painted on every wall.

It was really telling of Coruscant itself.

Munin didn't say anything for most of the trip, in fact, for almost all of it his eyes were pinned ahead of him.

"There." He said quietly as he slowed down, using a nod of his head to indicate a small fork within the stairs. "See it?"

 

[Spark Finn]

[member="Munin"]

What?! He wanted her to open her eyes? #gulp One eye cracked open. Then another. She was looking behind them, up the stairs he had just jogged down, her bony and gangly-limbed body jostling slightly against his chest. Very cautiously, she pulled her head away from its buried position and tilted her chin slightly to look beyond his profile to what lay in front of them.

Her grip around his neck didn't loosen though.

"Yeah. Our first left?" They had three, if she remembered correctly. It was darker down here, not as many neon flashing adds. And the air smelled moldy and of other things. Nose crinkled. But it reminded her of home. She survived in places like this most her life, always glued to a holopad.

Maybe that meant the stairs were almost done. Foot flexed, testing any pain in her ankle.