Wires and Things

[Munin]

[member="Spark Finn"]

He considered for a second. Munin certainly wanted to know her name, he'd been curious since a few moments after they'd met, but...would it mean something? He wasn't sure, and for some odd reason the thought scared him. There was also of course the knowledge that she would want an answer as well, and answer that he could neither provide, nor really explain.

Even orphans were supposed to have names.

"Yes." The word came even among those thoughts, somehow rolling off his tongue without his control. After he said it he found that he did not want it back, that his curiosity, his want to get to know her overcame that slight tinge of fear that had been running through him. He couldn't have explained the why, nor did he really want to. His only hope was that she wouldn't question him, that she wouldn't demand the same of him. His story was not a pleasant one.

He'd never considered his name to be important.

Munin had carried hundreds of them throughout the years, by his own choice and by others, but right now...he found hers more important then all of them.

 

[Spark Finn]

[member="Munin"]

Chin rested on his chest. #stillkindaweird But she tried not to think about it. Brown-eyes focused on his face. She took in those blue eyes and his blond hair. There was a troubled expression behind those eyes. Looked like a constant storm that he battled.

And she suddenly wanted him to see the real color of her eyes. #notbrown. But he said yes. She gulped. He'd know about the bounty on her head. If he knew w she was. He'd know about other things. Rumors. Thin lips pursed. Then parted.

"It's Spark. Do you still want me to call you Kai?"

 

[Munin]

[member="Spark Finn"]

He smiled.

For some odd reason Munin wanted to believe her. He wanted to take her at her word. In his business that was incredibly difficult. He almost never took someone at face value, he always double and triple checked everything that was said. It was the nature of his business, of being an infochant. If he didn't do it he could sell the wrong information, or worse, the right information for the wrong price/ That was enough to end his career as an information broker. But right now, eh chose to ignore all that.

He chose to believe her.

"I..." He trailed off for a moment. What was he supposed to say? Kai was the name that he had chosen out of a bucket of a dozen, it didn't meant anything. it was tied to half a dozen different accounts, had citizenship on a world or two...but aside from that it was just a name. "Don't have a name."

Even Munin was a lie.

They called themselves Huginn and Munin after an old legend on an outer rim world, it was a story, a tale, the face of their business. They had no real names, no real identities, they didn't need them. They were better off as blanks, no one could find them, no one could identify them, no one could ever pin them down. Some might ask what they called each other, but they had never had a need for it. They were brother and sister, family, what good were names in that?

 

[Spark Finn]

[member="Munin"]

Tension in her shoulders she didn't realize she had uncoiled as he...smiled. There was no judgement in his gaze. No mistrust. And she honestly didn't know if he'd heard of her before. #whew

Brows scrunched up. Didn't have a name? #wut. She pulled up and away a little, to get a better look at his face. Bony-elbows probably jammed into his chest as she propped herself up.

"What?"

 

[Munin]

[member="Spark Finn"]

"I don't have a name." Technically speaking, he actually had several hundred. Alias upon alias upon alias. None of them were well known, all of them were easily forgotten, and half of them had been created before he had even turned eighteen. It was weird in that way, somehow...broken. "Technically I have a lot of them."

He said slowly, but then realized she would probably take that the wrong way given their line of mutual work. "The Orphanage would give us different names when they moved us around, sometimes even when they didn't. One week I was Kai, the next I was Nir, and the week after that I was Darius."

The explanation would at least give her a little bit of context, and would explain that he wasn't simply mocking her. She had given him a bit of trust by sharing her real name, and so he would do the same. Of course for him it was less complicated, and a lot less dangerous. Sharing his 'real' name was an impossibility, there were so many of them, so many falsified records, that there wasn't really anything to tie back to him. For her however that was different. If he dug deep enough he could likely find her origin easily enough, not to mention other details.

"None of them ever really stuck." He shrugged, as much as he could underneath her.

Munin didn't seem to mind the lack of name too much.

 

[Spark Finn]

[member="Munin"]

"Oh," crinkled brows rose in surprise. Would it bother her? Not to know her name? The one she'd been given. Where she came from?

#probably. But then again, she left 'home' for survival and never looked back. She made her own identity. She had to. Home was her ship. Home was with Gabe and Ava. Home was everywhere and nowhere.

"This wasn't an ordinary orphanage. They trained you? Slicing? But...you also never answered my question. Even if you have hundreds of names. What do you want me to call you?"

She wondered if he'd create something new for her. Or just pull from the ones he had. Or if he'd give her an answer at all. And surprisingly, she was leaning toward one of those options. Wanting it. #eventhoughwejustmet

 

[Munin]

[member="Spark Finn"]

He frowned for a moment. Munin had never had to pick a name before, not a permanent one. It was odd for him and it seemed a...vulnerability. His immediate thoughts were questions. Would it be permanent? Could it be tied back to him? What if someone found him using the name? What if she told everyone about him using that name and then they somehow connected it to Munin?

Half of them were completely unreasonable of course, but they still crept into his mind.

"I..." He stammered out for a second, his fingers tightening slightly and sliding over her skin. "You pick one."

Was that the right answer? Was there a right answer? Munin wasn't sure, but in all honesty...he didn't know how to pick a name. Sure he had created Aliases before, he had created entire identities in fact, but...he'd never actually chosen one for himself. It had always been a case of necessity, or need, or simple prudence. Everything had its place, including a name. Kai for example was the name of a drifter, a boy from Nar Shaddaa who simply made his living counterfeiting banking cards. It had seemed prudent to tell her that was who he was at the time, but now...now anything that he came up with just felt like another lie that he would be telling her.

He didn't want to lie to her.

Yet another question she posed stuck into his mind, the one about the orphanage. Had they trained him? In a way he supposed they had...but they had...there had been no classes or anything. He frowned for a moment as another one of those blank spots seemed to drift within his mind. "Your choice will be better."

 

[Spark Finn]

[member="Munin"]

She gulped. Cheeks flared. Half because of his request and half because she was keenly aware of his fingers. #fightorflight

"Well," voice squeaked. Throat cleared. Eyes beneath glass lenses focused back on his face. And there he went again. Not answering questions. Did he do it on purpose? Or did he not have an answer? Gaze panned to the small window in the room. It was getting darker. They'd have to go soon. Elbows shifted on his chest.

Mind sifted through names. But all of them seemed to fall short. Or, she didn't know enough about...Kai yet. Whoever yet. Thousand names yet.

"I don't know. I need to think about it more. But we should go."

It implied they'd still have time together. She began to ease back.

 

[Munin]

[member="Spark Finn"]

His head turned up, eyes floating towards the familiar window in the corner of the room. The sun was beginning to fade, and on Coruscant that meant it would be gone within a matter of minutes. The massive buildings obscured most of the lower streets, denying them even the shortest breath of natural light. Only the rich got to see the sun here. He frowned for a moment more, then let his gaze finally fall back on her. "You're right."

If they lingered here too long they'd get caught.

Not because they would be found, no, they could probably stay in the orphanage as long as they wanted, but eventually someone would find someone who saw them go through this district. After that happened Security forces would be all over the places and then getting off world would be impossible. They had to move now while things were still relatively clear, and although they no longer had Munin's smuggler connection, he was sure that once they reached one of the lower starports they'd be able to find someone to take them off world.

"There's a passage in the back." Munin said quietly. "It'll take us onto the street."

From there they could head along the alleyways until they found a speeder, down here no one would really care if something was stolen. "We'll need to get to the southern Hemisphere."

His arms finally unwrapped from around her, his fingers slowly dragging over her skin for just half a second.

 

[Spark Finn]

[member="Munin"]

She nodded and eased off him, standing up. "Right." Half turning away from him, she pressed her long-digits against her face, as if she could drain the red from her cheeks. Quickly turning back, she offered him a hand up, bracing most her weight on her good ankle.

With her other hand, she snatched the smashball cap back on her head. #style #nerd Hair remained down from his earlier work.

"If we find a speeder, I can start it. We don't need to worry about keys. Is your original contact gone?"

 

[Munin]

[member="Spark Finn"]

Munin nodded. "He wouldn't stay longer then 12 hours."

That had been the plan. Munin and Huginn chose their Little Birds well, refusing to work with anyone who wasn't at least the semblance of a professional. The plan here had been that Munin would arrive within twelve hours, if he didn't, the smuggler was to leave and not return to Coruscant for at least a dozen cycles. It was to ensure both his own safety, and Munin's. There was no telling what had happened if it took Munin longer then twelve hours to make it back to the Southern Hemisphere, and as always it was better to preserve a contact then do something crazy.

"The starports there are..." He trailed off as he pulled himself to his feet. "Inclined to deal with us."

Munin had never really been on the run before, but he and Huginn had always planned for it. He knew exactly what they would have to do here, and the first step was actually getting to the Southern Hemisphere. From there the rest would fall into place. "We need to find a credit chit machine too."

They would need cash.

A lot.

 

[Spark Finn]

[member="Munin"]

"Okay," brows lofted at his response but she didn't ask. Plopping down on the edge of the torn and dirty mattress, she began lacing up her converse shoes. She flipped the hat on backwards. #nowmadstylin #dealwithitMuMu

She gave a test of her ankle. A little tight but nothing she couldn't work with. Unfortunately, she was never any good at healing through the force. #justtechstuff Standing, she would follow behind Munin as he lead the way to the passage.

"Credchit machine? To pay off our ride?"

And there it was. Looked like they'd be leaving Coruscant together. But for how long, she didn't know. She was already on the run from the Sith triumvirate. She knew she was running on borrowed time.

 

[Munin]

[member="Spark Finn"]

He moved quickly, though making sure every few steps that she wasn't lagging behind. Munin knew that her ankle was still injured, and he didn't want to leave her. Eventually they made it towards a small alcove in the wall where two sides of the room seemed to meet. For a moment he swept his palm over it's side, then depressed a small button that had been hidden within the brick. There was a slight clatter, then a shifting of gears. A smattering of dust rose up into the air causing Munin to half step back as the door fell away. "Yeah."

That would be the easy part.

The harder part would be finding someone that wouldn't double cross them the moment they were out of sight. It would be easy enough to take Munin and Spark on board, then simply throw them to the nearest security depot as soon as they were unable to do anything about it. They would have to find someone trustworthy enough that they could be paid, but someone also willing to break the law of the new government.

It'd be an interesting request.

"Come on." He said as he slipped into the small passage.

 

[Spark Finn]

[member="Munin"]

She eyed the narrow passage dubiously. #anothersmallspace still, all this clandestine stuff in an orphanage - even for Coruscant lower levels, was circumspect. She made a mental note to dig up some stuff about this place on the darknet later. Maybe use her connections.

If they got out of this.

She'd seen too many of her friends die by Sith. Get turned. Or disappear. She wasn't going to let that happen to him, whether he liked it or not. Easing into the passage, she made a choice.

"Wait. Before we go further, you should give me the datachit." Hand reached around in the dark. "It'll be better if I have it, if we get caught. No one will tie you to anything. They'll recognize me. Eventually."

She could take the fall. Better than the alternative.

 

[Munin]

[member="Spark Finn"]

He stopped for a moment, his eyes focused on the end of the tunnel. They could already see the exit, a door that would lead them onto one of the lower streets. His eyes wandered away from it for a moment, catching the slight outline of her hand already held up.

She didn't say the plural of the word, had she forgotten he'd made his own copy?

It was likely, very likely in fact. Their time in the datacenter had been a brief one, and since then so much had happened that even Munin couldn't remember it all. Both of the chits still sat in his back pocket, a reminder of what he had gone through and what he had done it for. A frown pulled at his lips for half a second as he began to think. Did he give her the data? Did he hold onto it himself? Did he give her one but not the other? They were all options, and all of them had their ups and downs.

Eventually he reached back, pulling one of the chips free.

It wasn't that he didn't trust her...oddly enough he did, but if they were going to get caught he wasn't gonna let her go alone, as dumb as that was. "Just in case we get caught..."

He hesitated as he spoke, the chit coming from his pocket, his eyes looking at it for half a moment, then towards her hand. Slowly he reached out, his fingers curling around the small piece of metal...then he suddenly took a step forward. She would feel the chip in her hand, then his fingers wrap around her own. Munin tugged at her, sudden and unexpected. He pulled her into a tight embrace and kissed her, not waiting for her to say a word.

 

[Spark Finn]

[member="Munin"]

Munin was back-lit by the exit. She honestly didn't know if he'd give her the datachit. Not because he didn't trust. Well, she hoped it wouldn't be because of that. But maybe for another reason? A sigh of relief barely made it out of her throat as her fingers curled around the tech when she suddenly felt herself pulled forward.

All angles and limbs body landed hard against his chest with a surprised squeaking ooommmpphhh.

She kissed him back, longer than the first time. #moresurebutstillfeelingitout #omgee She pulled back breathless and forever blushing furiously in the dark. "I really...," #stillneedtobreath, "need to come up with a name for you." She waited in the dark in his arms, a moment longer. Once they stepped outside, things would get complicated again. She needed a few more seconds of uncomplicated.

 

[Munin]

[member="Spark Finn"]

He smiled, half an inch from her lips. "More romantic without one, no?"

Huginn had always told him that romance could be found in mystery, but then again Huginn only knew about romance from the one or two books she'd read about it. His sister had never really been interested in romance, she'd more read those books because they'd been the only ones in the orphanage. As soon as they'd been able to both Huginn and Munin had gravitated more towards tech manuals then anything else. Still, they both had always enjoyed a good read.

Back at the orphanages it had been one of the few ways to get out, if only for a time.

His arm tightened around Spark for half a moment, his smile barely showing in the feint light that was coming from the end of the tunnel.

The Infochant didn't know if they would be caught, didn't know what they'd found outside in those streets, didn't even know if they could make it off world, but at the very least he knew that he got this. That was enough for now.

 

[Spark Finn]

[member="Munin"]

She snorted. "Romantic? No." But she didn't pull away from his embrace. She leaned against him a moment longer before she snapped out of it and stepped back. Datachit found its way into the pocket of her skinny jeans. She did not remember that he'd made a copy. Or perhaps she never saw the copy.

#happilyunaware

"Come on. Let's go. Frank?" She tried out a name but crinkled her nose, trying to conceal the snort. "I'll keep trying." Squeezing passed him, she pushed open the door and slipped out onto the streets. It wasn't as crowded as before but there were still plenty of people out.

 

[Munin]

[member="Spark Finn"]

Munin didn't wait to follow after her. Despite his gesture, and her own, they were still on a time table. If the Security forces hadn't already they would be distributing picture of both Munin and Spark all over the place, and that would lead to disaster, especially if there was a bounty. People down here would sell their own mothers if it meant making a profit, never mind some strangers they'd never met before. With that in mind Munin went following after her, stepping into the streets and quickly moving.

His eyes took a second to readjust, shifting to the bare neon light until he could fully see again. The street wasn't as full as it had been, though there were still pockets of people at almost every point. Munin watched everyone carefully as they passed them by, careful to not attract too much attention but also taking measure to avoid any potential pickpockets or muggers. "There."

Munin nodded his head towards a nearby alleyway.

"That will cut through the center of the district." He told her quietly. "On the other side we'll find a lot. Some people park speeders there."

Or they did ten years ago.

 

[Spark Finn]

[member="Munin"]

Slender neck craned to look where he mentioned. Glasses were adjusted. Backwards cap was still on. "Okay," gaze remained partially down - disinterested, but not weak. The weak were prayed on too quickly down here. Someone shoved into her shoulder but she ignored it. The credchit was still there.

#gottadisguisemylimp

She walked next to the blond as they entered the alleyway. Speckled-gaze saw two speeders up ahead. One looked like a dilapidated speeder for a small family. The other was a two-seater. #neongreen

"You got a preference?" She murmured close to him.