Wires and Things

[Munin]

[member="Spark Finn"]

While personally he would have preferred the two-seater, Munin knew it would have been a mistake. "Grab the bigger one."

That was just the smarter play.

Security forces weren't likely to think that two slicers were flying around in a family car, it wasn't stylish, and it certainly wasn't pretty. The infochant wanted every single little advantage that they could get, and that meant even the speeder they were going to be flying. He had no idea if, or when, Security were to catch on, but if they did at the very least they would have a little bit of...stealth, if one could really call it that anyway. His lips pulled into a frown as they made their way across the lot, eyes darting from corner to corner.

Paranoia was slowly beginning to set in.

"Hurry." He said quietly as he spotted a small crowd of people at the corner of the lot. "The faster we get out of here the better."

Munin was pretty sure he didn't actually have to remind her of that, but this wasn't exactly his element. It was easier for him to get away when no one was looking for him, being on the run was something completely and entirely new.

 

[Spark Finn]

[member="Munin"]

"I am going as fast as I can," she grumbled and limped into the driver's seat. Hand hovered over the speeder's controls. Eyebrows scrunched up and face looked like she was eating a sour grape. The speeder purred to live. Eyes snapped open. "I'm driving." She looked at Munin. "Don't forget to buckle in."

#safetyfirst

There was yelling at one end of the lot. A rodian began running toward them. "Here we go!" Converse-foot slammed down on the accelerator. Back pressed into the seat as they peeled out of the lot and up into the gritty air. Speckled-gaze glanced out of the mirror. They weren't being followed. #notyet Good thing it was her left ankle and not her right, or she'd have trouble flying this thing.

 

[Munin]

[member="Spark Finn"]

The snap of the buckle rang out just as she kicked the speeder into gear, the vessel going rocketing off into the proper lanes just a few seconds later. An odd sort of knot began to form in his chest as they went flying away, his eyes closing for half a second.

This was where they were most vulnerable. On the ground they could blend with the crowds, they could tuck into the alleys, even jump into the sewer if they needed to, but up here? There was no where to run. A camera could catch sight of them, a drone could snap a picture, hell even the security forces could spot them. They had to move towards the Southern Hemisphere as fast as they possibly could, and they had to get there without being seen. It was the only thing on his mind right now, the only thing that mattered.

His hand tightened to a fist.

"What planet are you from?" The question was sudden, so much so that Munin was even surprised he'd said it.

He needed something to take his mind off this. Off the stress of running away.

 

[Spark Finn]

[member="Munin"]

Thin-fingers gripped the controls as she weaved them in and out of traffic, driving like any other driver on this level. #aggressive Wind whipped across the top of her hatted-head, threatening to pull the cap off. Speckled gaze spared a glance at Munin #fakename

He looked, terrified.

"We'll be okay," she yelled above the roar of the wind. "And planet?" Thin-lips frowned. She swerved them into an underground tunnel. "I don't remember. Zeltros...Coruscant. Others. I moved around a lot and I can't remember the place I was born, though I wouldn't call it home now. What about you?"

She squeaked through a yellow light.

 

[Munin]

[member="Spark Finn"]

"I..." There was another blank, another pain in his head. Munin cringed slightly, visibly shaking as agony raced over his skull. "Don't remember."

He clutched his head for half a second, flinching as if he'd been struck.

The pain quickly subverted as he dragged his mind away from trying to reach the forgotten memory. He shook for a second, goosebumps rolling across his skin. A frown pulled at his lips, his eyes flickering quickly from his hand and then towards the dashboard of the speeder. His heal lulled, and then finally he managed to refocus himself, answering her over the wind. "I moved around a lot too...the earliest I can remember is here...that orphanage."

There should have been something before that though...something earlier.

Frustration began to brew inside of him. Why were there blanks in his memory? Why couldn't he remember? Why hadn't he ever noticed this before?

 

[Spark Finn]

[member="Munin"]

They were nearing a backlot station where they could ditch the speeder and walk a few blocks to get into the spaceport. Speckled-gaze checked behind them. #stillclear She caught Munin #stillcallingyouthat #thirdfourthfifthwalling out of the corner of her eye. He was trembling and he didn't look so good.

"What's going on with you?"

She could relate...a little too well. Seemed like he had been mind-fracked. But was it from a force user? Some other method? She didn't know many people that could help with something like that. If he even wanted help. If she was even right. #toomanyquestions

"Hang on." Foot slammed further on the accelerator. Jamming down on the controls, she dropped a few lanes. Her stomach fluttered above her gut. The sensation made her squirm and a nervous giggle bubbled from her throat.

#likeI'monacoaster

She could see the lot up ahead.

"We can ditch the speeder here."

 

[Munin]

[member="Spark Finn"]

"Alright." Munin still wasn't half sure what was going on. His head hurt, his world spun, his vision still somewhat dizzy. Everything seemed like it was a bit distorted, spinning almost. It was an odd sensation, one that made him want to throw up. His eyes closed for half a moment, his chest rising and falling as he took a series of deep breaths.

"Let's..." He began, his voice catching as she pressed her foot to the break and brought the speeder to a sudden halt.

"Let's get going." Munin continued. "No time to worry about it now, we have to get to the starport."

It wouldn't take them too long from here. The lot that she had picked was only a few blocks away from one of the minor starports in the southern hemisphere. There wasn't much major traffic down here, in fact, there wasn't much at all. The nearby starport was designated for freighters and other heavy bulk ships, designed to take cargo to and from Coruscan't industrial sector. It was rare that people actually came here, but usually when they did it was the poorest of the poor.

It was one of the reason there were such excellent smuggling opportunities here.

No one wanted to ride with the cargo.

 

[Spark Finn]

[member="Munin"]

"Okaaaay," the skepticism was heavy in her tone. Stepping out, her converse shoe got caught. Arms waved wildly in the air but her center of gravity was too far off. The blonde hit the pavement hard.

"Ooomph." #stillaforcemaster #lolol

A hand went up to rub at her head head. The other reached up and tried to get the lace uncaught from the speeder door. Mostly her pride was hurt. But she also knew they couldn't dawdle. She didn't want to draw a crowd.

"Don't laugh," she grunted - mortified. Fingers continued to fumble to get herself freed.

 

[Munin]

[member="Spark Finn"]

Munin honestly didn't have the state of mind to laugh. His head was throbbing with a dull sort of agony agony, his eyes were starting to go a bit wonky, and everything about him just felt...wrong. He did smile though, if only because the situation was getting a little bit too...cartoonish. He walked over towards her on the other side of the speeder, his fingers quickly pushing her own away so that he could undo the stuck part of her laces and pull her free of the speeder.

"Come on." His tone was warmer then it had been a few moments ago.

"We still have to find a ship." Munin offered her his hands. "And it'd be a shame to leave you behind now."

The infochant offered her a slight wink, an easy smile still on his face. It was clear though that he was masking something, the pain that lanced through his head. It wasn't the same sort of stabbing agony that he had felt earlier, it was more like a constant sort net being tossed over his mind. Describing it to a medical professional would have been difficult, and the best Munin could do right now was ignore it.

At least until they got off this damned world.

 

[Spark Finn]

[member="Munin"]

"Thanks," she squeaked. Throat cleared. Hands were in his and she was dragged to her feet. He was wincing. "Yeah, I know you only like me for my glasses." She snorted. Speckled-gaze lingered on his face in a moment of worry. She turned away and focused on the spaceport instead.

Kneeling down, she fixed her laces before standing. Glasses were adjusted. They wove through a few empty streets. Mostly cargo workers. Dock workers and droids, lots of droids. Chin tilted, checking out their options. Thin-lips thinned further in thought.

"Who should we try?"

#riskychoices

 

[Munin]

[member="Spark Finn"]

He didn't recognize any of them.

Munin wasn't sure if that was because he actually didn't know any of them or because of his current...problems. He frowned for a moment, looking slowly, carefully, and then eventually settling his gaze on one of the signs on the outskirts of the starports. His lips thinned as he read it. "Frak."

The exclamation was sudden.

"We're at the wrong port." He whispered, drawing closer to her as if he were suddenly very weary of being noticed. "This place was run almost exclusively by the Government of the One Sith, and since the One sith are no longer around...this place now falls under the control of the Alliance."

The very people who were hunting them. "We won't find a friendly smuggler here." His gaze flickered towards one of the smaller freighters. "We need to steal a ship."

 

[Spark Finn]

[member="Munin"]

The Alliance. Her face remained straight. She gave nothing away. She knew it was GA run all along. But maybe she didn't really hear it until now? Most of the GA didn't know she was working undercover and betraying the Sith Triumvirate. They might mark her as a traitor on the spot. But that would keep her cover.

However, she also didn't know how many one sith spies were around. If they were caught, that situation could get out of control and fast. Her cover would be blown for sure and she and #Munin might get assassinated. The safest bet would be to keep her cover as Penny and get off world. #thenreset #regroup Probably would be the safest for this mystery dude too.

She wouldn't be able to return to Sith Triumvirate. She had a feeling regardless of what happened in Alliance space, her cover would be blown there anyway. #complicated

"Okay." She was tight lipped. "We can do that. Remember that invisible thing? I'm going to do it again."

 

[Munin]

[member="Spark Finn"]

He nodded. The force was still a complete and total mystery to him, but at this point he was neither going to argue, nor question, that could come later.

Munin refocused himself, taking another deep breath and trying to gain a better look at the situation. There were over a dozen ships currently docked in the starport, more then half of them were bulk freighters, the other half were smaller ships and there was a smattering of a military vessel or two. Munin looked at all of them carefully, then slowly settled on one ship in particular. It was an old VCX-820, ancient by modern standards but still flyable by the looks of her.

"That one." Munin pointed to the ship, drawing her closer so no one noticed that he was suspiciously choosing one of the vessels currently docked. The ship didn't exactly look like the fastest, strongest, or even the most comfortable thing, but that was part of the point. If they stole something newer someone would notice. This thing was practically...well a piece of junk.

"Think you can do your trick with that?" Munin asked quietly. "Or too old?"

He really had no idea how the force worked.

 

[Spark Finn]

[member="Munin"]

Blue-eyes squinted. Her shoulder brushed against Munin's as he drew near. She tried to crush down the instinct to step back and regain her personal bubble space. Lips pressed together into a tight, strain-filled line.

#progress

"I can start her up. We just have to get on board without anyone seeing us." Taking a gulp, her slender digits wrapped around his. "Like before. Ready?" She gave one last glance around. No one was watching and they were partially covered by a shipment of crates. White-current was already weaving around the pair.

 

[Munin]

[member="Spark Finn"]

Was she going to turn them invisible again? "Okay."

Again, he reminded himself to ask her more about the force.

It was an extremely curious thing, and trying to wrap his mind around it all made him somewhat dizzy. Huginn had likely read up on the subject at one point or another, she'd always enjoyed learning about more...mystical things. It was why she was generally the one to handle intelligence on The Sith and Jedi, she simply knew more on the subject, but neither of them had ever actually met a force user. Now Munin had kissed one.

That seemed rather odd to him.

"Ready when you are." Munin said as his hand slowly slipped to take her own.

His fingers slowly interlaced with her own, then he paused for a moment. "Kiss for good-luck?"

 

[Spark Finn]

[member="Munin"]

Eyes darted around. Face was shadowed in concentration. She almost didn't hear him. #almost Eyes widened in shock. Slowly, her head turned to look at him. Blink. Blink blink.

#lolwut

"What?" Terse-whisper left her mouth. "No." As it was, if someone walked by or overheard them, it would look like the air was talking. "Ask me later...maybe?" Cheeks blushed. Teeth gritted as she tried to maintain concentration. With a quick tug, the blonde slicer went to lead him forward.

"Come. On."

She lead them toward the ship. It wasn't too far. It shouldn't be a problem. It was more of the inside that worried her.

 

[Munin]

[member="Spark Finn"]

The hint of a smile touched his lips. "I will."

He would, too.

Before he could say anything else however Spark began to drag him towards the ship. The journey wasn't an especially long one, just a couple dozen meters, but it was slightly...harrowing. Starports were busy things, especially ones that usually dealt with the delivery of industrial goods like this one. There were dozens of workers, trolleys, and droids all working to unload starships and get everything organized. In the first few steps of their walk they had to dodge half a dozen of these, in the next they were in the clear, and then again they almost walked right into a transport droid.

It went on and on like that until eventually they managed to stumble onto the on-ramp of the ancient VCX. Munin half let out a sigh of relief, but wasn't quite ready to let go yet. Stepping in front of Spark he pulled her towards the cockpit.

The ship was old, and he knew exactly where they needed to go. He had made it a point to memorize the layout of most starships, at least the ones that he could get the blueprints for. The VCX series was ancient, and thus their design was public knowledge to whomever wanted it, he hadn't even had to slice into the system to get them. He frowned for a moment as they stepped into the cockpit, fingers slowly slipping from Spark's, almost as if regretted doing so.

 

[Spark Finn]

[member="Munin"]

Face relaxed momentarily as they entered the cockpit. The white current shroud in the force instantly dropped. She slipped into the co-pilot's seat. One hand pressed against the control panel of the ship. Blue-eyes closed as her mind lurched forward through the force - traveling along the tech and coding of the ship.

#itwasold

Blonde-brows furrowed in concentration. With a sudden hum, the ship came to life. Panels lit up followed by overhead lighting. The ramp began to close and engines fired.

"Can you fly it?" Eyes remained closed. They didn't have much time. If the owner didn't notice the ship the port authority would and its unscheduled departure.

 

[Munin]

[member="Spark Finn"]

"Yes." He wasn't the best pilot in the galaxy, far far from it in fact, but he could fly a freighter well enough to get them off Coruscant. It wasn't like that anyone would actually chase them, after all this freighter was tagged with a legitimize ID code and it would hopefully take a few moments for anyone to notice they were actually gone. Hopefully.

Quickly, Munin jumped into the pilots seat besides Spark, wrapping his fingers around the controls and running through pre-flight checks as fast as he could. The ship jumped to life surprisingly quickly given it's relative age, the engines getting hot within seconds and the reactor spooling up quick enough that some of the weapons and shields even came online. Munin didn't have time to be impressed though, and before Spark could say another word the Infochant was already pressing the controls forward to push the ship off the ground.

There was a loud creak then a sudden lurch as the weight of the ship lifted off it's landing gear.

A moment more passed, then suddenly Munin felt the odd drop of his stomach which signified their lifting into the air.

His fingers tightened around the controls, his eyes focused forward, gaze filtering the best path through all of the traffic within Coruscant's sky. He took them through the most obvious route, heading towards dozens of other ships heading off world. "Get the hyperdrive ready, somewhere far away."

The further they went the better.

 

[Spark Finn]

[member="Munin"]

Eyes snapped open and fingers fumbled with the crash-webbing, tugging it tightly across her torso and shoulders. #safetybeltsppl #safetyfirst Where could they go? They just needed a temporary spot. Obviously all Alliance space was out. So was sith - anything sith. Outback might be out too.

Too many complications.

Sulon crossed her mind. But she wasn't ready for that yet. And she wasn't ready to face Gabe yet. #soon

Fingers typed across the keyboard. "We're set. Kessel should be far enough away." Glasses were adjusted and her jaw set. They didn't have many options. She didn't have many options. Still, there was a lot she didn't know about him. #noname

"Unless....you have somewhere else in mind?"