Eros [Sunday afternoon, Fandom time, NFB]

[momslilassassin]

Ender had wandered off on his own for a while, which meant that Ben now had a chance to really explore Eros.

Wearing his most Earth-friendly pair of jeans and a black t-shirt (and slipping his lightsaber into his backpack just in case), Ben joined the people in the narrow hallways (careful not to bang his head on anything--half-gravity made for a really bouncy experience) and fought back the almost constant feeing of vertigo caused by the way the floors sloped downward.

He wouldn't want to spend an hour more than absolutely necessary here and he noticed a slightly green tinge on the faces of those he guessed were the most recent arrivals. But Ben loved learning about new places--even really weird ones like this--and soon he was searching for a food vendor and people to talk to.

[OOC: For the NPCs what populate Eros...]

Comments

[momslilassassin]

"He's shooting you off to a planet he's never stepped foot on," Ben said. "I'm not sure how much good ass-kissing will do you."

[jeeshboys.livejournal.com]

"I think it's a bloody good excuse to get drunk and give Hyrum the finger," Dink added. "What's he ever done for us, anyway?"

"Made us famous?" Carn suggested, "Made us heroes?"

Dink shook his head, and shot Ben a look that read serious to god. "And how much good has that done us, exactly."

[momslilassassin]

Ben waited to hear Carn's reply. His time had been spent with Ender, after all, who hadn't really gotten a lot out of the bargain.

[jeeshboys.livejournal.com]

"I didn't have it that bad in Australia," Carn retorted, after a moment.

But that wasn't the strongest argument, he knew that.

[momslilassassin]

Ben's lips quirked up a bit. "Which was why you were eager to grab an opportunity to try out somewhere else?" he guessed.

[jeeshboys.livejournal.com]

Carn opened his mouth. Then shut it. Then opened again, sighing. "I trust Ender," he said, "And that's all I'm saying about it."

[momslilassassin]

"I know you do," Ben said with a nod.

[jeeshboys.livejournal.com]

Dink gave them both a shrug.

"So why are you hanging around the market anyway?" he asked, after a beat. "This place is almost crazier than the rest of the planet."

[momslilassassin]

Ben almost said, "So you've been Alessandra and her mom," but decided against it. "It was this or staring at the furniture in Ender's apartment."

[jeeshboys.livejournal.com]

"There are nicer places on Eros," Dink told him. "Or as nice as it gets here, anyway. Have you even seen the inside of a bar since you got here?"

[momslilassassin]

"Ender drinks milk," Ben said a little dryly, "so no."

[jeeshboys.livejournal.com]

"No drinking age in space," Dink pointed out. "You should take some advantage of that. Put some hair on your chest."

"Do you even have any yet?" Carn wondered. Dink elbowed him in the side.

[momslilassassin]

"Three," Ben made up. "There was a small ceremony when they showed. It was very tasteful."

[jeeshboys.livejournal.com]

Carn snickered hard. "Fine," he said, "Let's take the little pinprick to the pub."

[momslilassassin]

"Let me drop a sandwich off to that sad girl peeking out from behind the woman who's glaring at me," Ben said, "and I'm right behind you."

[jeeshboys.livejournal.com]

"Ah, you're making friends," Dink said, dryly, darting a look towards Dorabella. "I can tell. Go go, delivery boy."

[momslilassassin]

"Oh, they're card carrying members of Ender's fanclub," Ben replied with a little eyeroll.

[jeeshboys.livejournal.com]

"Oh, toguro. Stalkers. You have to love those," said what was probably the founding member of the Ender Wiggin fanclub. Or the secretary, if you wanted to count Alai or Shen, first.

[momslilassassin]

But Dink didn't want to maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarry Ender. Or, more pertinently, make his daughter him. Ben had no illusions about who was in charge of that particular pair.

"She gets the sandwich because she wanted it and her mother doesn't want her to have it," Ben said. "So I'm happy twice."

[jeeshboys.livejournal.com]

...God help them all if Alai ever made it up here.

"I approve of that," said Dink, surprising absolutely no one. "I don't get half these people up here, I really don't."

"Well, at least the feeling's mutual," Carn offered.

[momslilassassin]

"Good thing then that you're not staying very long," Ben said with a little grin. "I'll be right back."

Two minutes later and he'd returned. "The mom still glaring?"

[jeeshboys.livejournal.com]

"No, she's trying to charm one of the shopkeepers into a discount," Carn observed. "She's tenacious, I'll give her that."

[momslilassassin]

"Think you could put in a request to get her into your colony?" Ben asked, only slightly teasing.

[jeeshboys.livejournal.com]

Dink snorted. "Like he has that much pull over the colonist manifest," he said. "You'd have to pull a lot of strings to get anyone into another colony. She's Shakespearian now, like it or not."

[momslilassassin]

"Not," Ben said, since he was pretty sure the two guys had already figured out his thoughts on this.