The outer atmosphere suit was itchy and smelled funny – the price of buying something secondhand, but at least it protected him from the environment outside of the dome. Kibum tried to not breathe through his nose as he picked through the scraps left behind in the heaps of refuse waiting to be processed. They didn’t have a large enough center yet to hold and handle all the large waste in the city yet, which was good for them. So long as they didn’t get caught anyway.

                Another scavenger to your right, Taemin urged over the headset.

                He turned to look and noticed a similarly suited figure popping up briefly before they disappeared once more. “Thanks, Taeminnie,” he responded, chewing on his bottom lip as he returned to his task. “Any luck?”

                “Not much yet,” Jinki answered after a brief pause.

                “Not sure why we didn’t ask your dad for help with this part,” Kibum huffed, slightly annoyed.

                Jinki’s laugh over their shared intercom was soft. “He’s already got a couple warnings from the last time I asked him for help with parts for the ship. Since we’re staying with them, the least we can do is make sure my dad doesn’t lose his job because of us.”

                Kibum wrinkled his nose but didn’t argue. At least they knew the schedule of the collectors so they didn’t have to directly worry about being caught. There were the odd patrols though since it was common knowledge there were scavengers that didn’t mind risking fines or other such punishments for the goods that could be recovered here. One man’s trash was another man’s treasure, after all. Jinki knew that Eric would have an absolute field day if he had permission to scrounge through any of the piles like they were now. As for them, the last thing they wanted to do was add another monetary charge to their growing list of things that needed to be paid off already.

                There’s a weak signal over there, Taemin urged, a blinking light on Kibum’s helmet giving him a direction to investigate in.

                “I still don’t know why we’re trying to find stuff here, anyway,” Kibum sighed, glaring at the blinking spot before he started walking closer. “It’s not like we have a ship-”

                There!

                Kibum flinched when he was interrupted. “Hey,” he grumbled, tapping his helmet and ignoring the whispered ‘Good job, Taeminnie,’ he was certain he heard from Jinki.

                I thought you were going to miss it, the program responded without missing a beat, otherwise unrepentant. See! There!

                The blinking light intensified on his screen and Kibum exhaled. “Yes, I see.” His frustration turned to interest though when he noticed just what he was looking at. “What kind of signal are you getting from it, Taemin?”

                The AI hummed in thought and then conjured up a holo image on Kibum’s helmet screen. Oh! Patrol! Immediately, Kibum and Jinki both fell flat and held very still as Taemin dimmed their signals, banishing the image he’d just pulled up. Can you get into the trash anymore? I think they’ve spotted the scavenger near us.

                “Star shards,” Kibum whispered in worried frustration. But he didn’t say anything else as he wriggled himself further into the pile of metallic refuse and held his breath, waiting for something to happen. “Jinki?”

                Okay for now. Shh, Taemin added in the next second.

                Kibum held his breath and flinched when a sharp siren wailed far too close to them. A small avalanche of debris collapsed nearby, a couple pieces of it tumbling down to scatter over Kibum. In his periphery, he saw a helmeted figure bolting with the patrol bot in hot pursuit. A small humanoid drone, it hovered over everything and easily kept pace with the fleeing person. At least until they got out of immediate sight. And even then, the pair remained motionless as they waited for the all-clear from Taemin.

                “Your responses have been getting better,” he mused into the silence, a quiet smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

                The last visit with Uncle Eric was very helpful, Taemin answered brightly, the sound muted but the energy unaffected.

                “Uncle Eric?” Kibum snorted with a crooked grin.

                He said I should call him that. Is that wrong?

                “No,” Kibum answered with a shake of his head. “Not even a month has gone by since he woke you up and already he’s claiming you as his nephew.”

                “He’s not entirely wrong,” Jinki laughed, the smile evident in his voice.

                “That’s not the point.”

                Patrol coming back!

                Everyone fell silent again as they waited for the drone to move past them. Kibum’s back itched like it had an obvious target but Taemin wasn’t warning him and he didn’t think he had anything to give them away. It was just hard to wait for it to go by.

                Okay. Taemin finally gave the all clear and Kibum and Jinki hesitantly got up into a crouching position, looking around for themselves just to make sure. Here’s the signal again, he explained, bringing the image to life on Kibum’s helmet once more. Come closer, Jinki. I can show you too.

                “Coming.”

                “Isn’t this just a cleaning model?” Kibum asked, frowning at the schematic of what the full mechanism would be if it weren’t in pieces already. It was essentially a cylindrical tube that was apparently meant to hover with multiple arms and legs above and below for cleaning and disinfecting purposes. It wasn’t much larger than a Terran but it looked like it could fit nicely into the various ducts that ran through the city.

                “No. I mean, it looks like them, but this seems to be an older model,” Jinki mused, looking on his own screen as he got closer. “These appendages-” he pointed on his screen and Taemin helpfully highlighted the ones on Kibum’s screen, “-are meant for cleaning and disinfecting, yes. But these ones… I believe are weapon arms for neutralizing small, or possibly a bit larger, vermin.”

                “Huh,” Kibum huffed with an uncertain furrow between his brows.

                I think Eric’s latest adjustments helped picked up more signals. I didn’t notice this last time, Taemin explained, spinning the image for them to help the pair better understand what was being discussed.

                “I still don’t see how a cleaning unit is going to help us. Unless we’re trying to get something for Mrs. Lee to help with cleaning around the house?” Kibum wondered, a frown still stuck in place.

                Jinki laughed once but made a negative waving gesture. “She wouldn’t agree to it anyway since she works around these things all day,” he shrugged. “But what I meant by this being an earlier model is that the original versions had to be able to handle vermin in the city. I know you heard about the infestations of old when the dome was first erected. This thing has been here since before we’d gotten everything cleaned up and only needed actual cleaners.”

                “That explains why a lot of the stuff here looks so… aged,” Kibum mused aloud, glancing down at the dingy metals. It wasn’t rusted through as there wasn’t enough oxygen for it to react with the appropriate metals, but it didn’t look new. And really, Kibum thought he knew where Jinki was going with his train of thought, but it was still a questionable idea. “So…?” he prompted, glancing at the other man and then up at the corner of his helmet as if he was expecting to see Taemin there.

                It has a weapons function, Taemin beamed, turning the holo image and circling a particular spot on it like that was supposed to make everything make sense.

                “This is supposed to be our Weapon’s Master?” Kibum asked in disbelief, literally pointing at the image on his helmet.

                “Well, not this exactly, but we could use it as a core component. Not many things have weapon functionalities in the cities anymore. We’re actually pretty lucky to have found it at all since all the actual ship junk is never open to the public,” Jinki corrected, sounding rather excited about the prospect of their find.

                “So it’s got targeting?” Kibum frowned, trying to make it make sense. The programming side of things had never been his forte. Getting his hands dirty? Sure. Electronics… they were a bit of a nightmare.

                “If I’m right, it has the ability to adapt to weapons programs and can be modified with additional programming or perhaps adjusted to be inserted into a different base program. The point is, we have something to work with for our Weapon’s Master… if it works at all though,” Jinki explained and then hesitated as he got closer to the item in question.

                It’s got an active signal so something’s salvageable, Taemin explained deftly, highlighting another section on the holo image to give them a direction to look in.

                “At the very least, we can take it home and my mom can see if there’s anything worthwhile here,” Jinki urged, placing a reassuring hand on Kibum’s shoulder.

                It didn’t feel like much of anything really. Kibum still wasn’t sure they’d found what they were looking for. He knew it had been a fool’s errand trying to search the junk pile anyway, but given their financial situation, it was the best they could do for the most part. They’d spent nearly four weeks looking already and had come across nothing else for a Weapon’s Master or a Medbot of any kind. Better than nothing was still good, right? “Okay,” he sighed, chewing on his bottom lip. “We can at least give it a try to see what happens.”

                “Okay!” Jinki grinned, pumping his arm in a slow victory gesture. “Let’s see if we can get it out of its shell first,” he had to add with another speculative look at the outer casing. There was no way they’d be able to take the whole thing back with them.

                There’s a panel on the back. If you lift it up, you should be able to open it and remove the processing board at least, Taemin instructed, again giving a visual aid with the holo image.

                “On it,” Jinki nodded, pulling up imaginary sleeves as he got down closer to the unit so he could muscle it into place. Metal bits complained and a small mountain of debris shifted around them, but eventually, Jinki was able to free the bot and turn it over so Kibum could step up for the actual removal process. “Love,” he murmured with a gesture at the panel.

                “My pleasure,” Kibum nodded, placing his hand gently on Jinki’s arm and giving a light squeeze. The other man could do brute force quite well but particularly dexterous things were beyond him at the moment. One day, he was sure they’d get it figured out, but for now, it was best if Kibum handled anything… delicate.

                It didn’t take them long to remove the panel and the relatively undamaged processing board. From there, it was only a matter of getting out of the junk yard without being detected – courtesy of Taemin – and then back to Jinki’s parents’ house to see his mom. If she was awake anyway. She still did the night shift thing so it was anyone’s bet when they’d get to talk to her.

                Luck favored them the following day when she woke up early just to give them a hand. “It is from an earlier model,” she mused, peering at the board from under her visor with holo magnifying imagery. “First gen stuff,” she added with a nod, looking up to peer at Jinki and Kibum with the distorted image from the magnifying glass. Jinki stifled a laugh and Kibum pursed his lips to keep from making a face. She reached out and smacked Jinki on the top of the head lightly. “See how you look with a magnifying lens on your face,” she snorted, well aware of how it appeared.

                “Sorry, mom,” he mumbled, ducking his head to further hide his smile.

                Can we use it though? Taemin asked, his holo form popping up beside them, projecting from the portable unit on Kibum’s chest pin.

                Mrs. Lee jumped slightly and laughed. “I forgot he could do that,” she admitted, placing one hand on her chest with a bright smile. She had more wrinkles around her eyes and mouth now and her hair was graying further, the temples streaked through with silver the most. But she still had a vibrant energy about her. She scratched at her chin with her free hand and nodded thoughtfully. “I could probably update it with modern code from the latest model to make it more compatible with additional programs, but there’s not much I can do about the actual weapons part.” She shrugged helplessly and quirked to the side.

                “Well, that’s something at least,” Jinki encouraged, patting his mother on the shoulder gratefully.

                “Something,” Kibum echoed faintly, the realization bringing him down a bit.

                And something needs a name! Taemin stated with his arms raised in the air, baggy shirt lifting up as he did so.

                “It’s not even a thing yet,” Kibum grumbled.

                “Good idea!” Jinki countered anyway, turning his attention to Taemin. “Did you have a name in mind?”

                Me? he asked in surprise, pointing at himself with a befuddled look on his face.

                “Yes, you,” Jinki grinned, crossing his arms and leveling his gaze on the program. “Isn’t that right, Kibum?”

                “Huh? Oh. Right,” he mumbled, catching up slowly but not against the idea.

                Hmm… the AI hummed, tapping his bottom lip – a sight that looked vaguely familiar to Kibum. Well, I was made with Kibum in mind so… you should be for Jinki, he thought out loud, pointing at the inert board.

                Kibum looked over and saw Jinki beaming at the comment. It made his heart warm in that moment, even if he didn’t quiet know what the point of this was just then.

                Jongki? No, he shook his head immediately, waving the thought aside. Jongin? he pondered, tilting his head to one side. Jongout, he followed, head tilting to the other side with a goofy smile. He waved the names away quickly and bit his bottom lip with squinted eyes. Jongdae! His excitement was pseudo-manufactured as he followed it with, Jongnight.

                “Taeminnie,” Kibum laughed once, crossing his arms and tilting his head to the side as he looked at the program, not missing the way that Mrs. Lee and Jinki were also smiling.

                What? Words are fun! he defended himself with a childish grin. Jong… Jong… Jonghyung? Maybe? No, he continued, shaking his head with a small frown. Jonghyun! He gestured with a triumphant flare of his hand and clapped quickly, signaling he had decided.

                “Why not Jonghyung?” Jinki asked as he finished clapping with Taemin’s excitement.

                Taemin wrinkled his nose and tilted his head to the side. I like Jonghyun. Besides! If you say them fast enough, they sound almost the same! Jonghyun. Jonghyung. Jonghyun. Jonghyung. Jonghy-

                “Jonghyun it is!” Kibum interrupted, clapping once and forcing a laugh. “Now we just need to finish him,” he went on, sighing at the prospect. Naming it was one thing. An easy thing apparently. But actually putting the rest of it together?

                “Well, what about your foster father?” Mrs. Lee asked, directing her attention to Kibum.

                He made a face and looked down. Jinki answered for him, for which he was grateful. “We asked him for help with Taemin here. It feels kind of wrong to keep going to the same source for assistance when we can’t even pay him back yet.”

                “But family’s different, love,” she reminded him, petting Jinki’s hair down in a very motherly gesture.

                She didn’t say it outright, but Kibum knew she was talking about Hajoon’s help with Jinki especially. “Maybe for Terrans,” Kibum nodded in acknowledgement. “But Varium aren’t quite the same.” Oh, Eric would undoubtedly help him if he asked. That wasn’t the issue. He would invariably expect a favor later. The size of which would be determined by just how much ‘help’ he gave in the meantime.

                “I’ll admit to not understanding the ins and outs of what it means to be a Varium, but I still think family is a different story,” Mrs. Lee shrugged, offering a gentle pat on Jinki’s hand and a soft smile for Kibum. “That being said, do you want me to upload the code from the newer model?” She looked between her son and Kibum as she pointed at the board with both fingers.

                “Yes, please,” Jinki answered quickly, giving her a bright smile and leaning close to hug her carefully.

                “Mm,” she sighed in contentment. “I think that’s your best hug yet,” she murmured, winking at him before framing his face with both hands and smiling brightly.

                “Lots of practice,” he answered with a nod at Kibum.

                Kibum smiled shyly and ducked his head with an abashed shrug of his shoulders.

                Lots of practice, Taemin echoed with an emphatic nod.

                “Taeminnie!” Kibum gasped, mouth open in surprise. A glance at Jinki in his periphery showed him to be blushing. And his mother was trying to hide her amused smile with a hand over . “it’s not what it sounds like,” he explained, gesturing at Mrs. Lee with both hands in a mildly embarrassed panic.

                She laughed a little more and then waved her hand in reassurance. “it’s fine, dear. The stars only know how many ‘practicing’ moments this one and his siblings caught my husband and I in,” she added with an unrepentant smile leveled on the now scarlet Jinki.

                “Mom!”

                “It’s really not what it sounded like,” Kibum tried to correct with a helpless laugh, not sure whether he should be mortified, amused, or some combination of the two.

                But you do have lots of practice, Taemin insisted, crossing his arms and looking at the group in frustrated confusion.

                It took them all more than a minute to eventually compose themselves. Mrs. Lee was the first to recover and she wiped the tears at the corners of her eyes with an unrelenting smile. “Okay then. I’ll take the processing board for now to see about updating the coding. If you need it back sooner, let me know. Until then, good luck,” she encouraged, snagging the board with one hand and using her other to cup the back of Jinki’s head so she could kiss his forehead.

                “Thanks, mom,” he murmured, wrapping his fingers around her wrist gently for a second before letting her go.

                “You too,” she added, giving Kibum the same treatment, much to his always surprised delight.

                “Thanks Mrs. Lee,” he whispered, genuine gratitude coloring his voice.

                Her smile softened as she looked down at him before nodding once. “Don’t give them too much trouble, Taeminnie,” she warned with a firmly motherly tone, aiming a finger at the hologram image with a half-smile tugging at .

                I don’t, he defended himself with a pouty frown.

                “Bye boys. You know where I’ll be if you need me,” Mrs. Lee reminded them, raising one brow at Taemin’s answer before she exited the room, still chuckling to herself.

                Kibum looked at Jinki before he swung his attention to Taemin and laughed once. “You are terrible, Taeminnie!”

                Still confused, Taemin shrugged. “What? You are always hugging,” he defended himself, counting down the places on his fingers. “On the couch with TV. In the kitchen with food. When you’re standing close enough for it. Sometimes on the bed. Almost always when you sleep. And maybe when you don’t sleep at night but I don’t know what happens when you leave me in the bathroom,” he admitted with a far too innocent shrug. Coming from anyone else, Kibum would have had doubts, but considering his programming, it was entirely probable he really was that innocent still.

                “Your speaking skills are getting better, but your tact is not,” Jinki laughed, thoroughly amused by the answer. Taemin just shrugged helplessly with a rather lost expression on his face. “Still. We do need to figure out what to do about the current possible program.”

                Kibum knew they did but he didn’t want to. “Ugh,” he groaned, slouching on the chair and hanging his head with a scrunched-up face. He heard Jinki get off the bed and shuffle over before arms slide around him and held him close.

                More practice!

                “Taemin,” Jinki shushed with a gentle warning note to his voice. “It’s alright, love. We can start asking around the Hub and see if anyone has any leads?” he suggested, patting Kibum’s back with light taps.

                “We could,” Kibum nodded, stifling a sigh. “I just don’t want to openly advertise that we’re nowhere near being ready to get back on our feet with the fate of our contract hanging in the balance.” His shoulders slumped just a bit more and he quietly admitted, “I don’t think I can start from the ground up again.”

                “Kibum,” the other man sighed, cupping the back of his head tenderly as he cradled him close.

                It wouldn’t be from the ground up. I’m here this time, Taemin grinned, drawing their attention with speculative looks.

                “What do you mean, Taeminnie?” Kibum asked, a small, fragile seed of hope struggling to take root.

                He shrugged first, suddenly aware that he was on the spot to provide an answer. But then he tilted his head to the side with a speculative look on his face. I’m not saying I have all the answers. Or can find all the answers. But right now, I’m a standalone program. If you give me access to your personal browser, I can help, he explained, pointing at Kibum’s chest.

                “Isn’t that illegal?” Jinki wondered hesitantly, a deep furrow between his brows.

                Not exactly, he hedged with an innocent shrug. Looking around is fine! What happens after you find something… he trailed off, hands drifting to either side as he looked down.

                Kibum snorted at the implication. “That has to be a remnant of Ercite.”

                “Agreed,” Jinki laughed, a genuine smile on his face. “Or possibly Eric.”

                “That would fit too,” Kibum nodded. “Okay. I’ll give you permission to look around,” he confirmed with a level look at Taemin. “But if you find something, you have to let us know first thing. Got it?”

                Yes, sir! Taemin beamed, giving him a quick salute.

                “I can’t tell if this is a terrible idea or a brilliant idea,” he admitted, looking up at Jinki with the uncertainty he couldn’t hide.

                “Maybe a bit of both,” he responded with a hesitant smile. “I guess it’ll depend on what he finds, if anything.”

                “Fair enough,” Kibum agreed with a slow nod. “Now… how do I give him access to my personal browser?”

                Jinki opened his mouth to say something and then stopped, one hand raised but motionless. “I don’t actually know. We could try to look it up but that might be too obvious,” he admitted with a slight frown.

                They both glanced at Taemin who seemed to expect them to know the answer by the excited look on his face. When they turned to look back at each other, they murmured together, “Eric it is then.”

 

(a/n: Goodness! I'm so sorry for the delay! This summer was not particularly restful or productive for me. I got overwhelmed with work for most of it and right when I started my two week vacation (literally), I came down with Covid. I've got one more week left though and I'm truly hoping to get some serious writing time in to at least wrap this up. We're so close to the end and I hate the fact I left it hanging for two months like I did. Thank you so much for being patient in the meantime and please bear with me as I try to get back into it. Also, feel free to wish me luck with making headway in the days to come! 

Other than that, I do hope you've all been well and that your summer was great and / or at least enjoyable in some way, shape, or form. Happy reading!)