momslilassassin | Dor'shan, Dorin [Galaxy Far, Far, Away, Sunday morning, Fandom Time] (Reply)

Fresh from the Jade Shadow's sanisteam and dressed in clean robes, Ben joined Ender and his father in the main cabin for their nightly meal of reheated prepackaged meals.

"You know that thing where the sages decide that it's time to die and they just will themselves to do it?" he began between bites of nerf loaf and tuber mash. "One of the Baran Do masters--the senior combat instructor, Charsae Saal--has decided to do it tomorrow. He was working with Ender and me today and invited us all to attend the ceremony."

"Did you talk to him about his choice?" Luke asked.

Ben nodded. "We didn't just blurt out Why have you decided to die? or anything, but Ender asked some questions about the ceremony and I told him that from a human perspective, it was sad when a good person died because they took their knowledge with them. He said he was leaving his knowledge behind."

"Huh," Luke replied.

"What did you learn today?"

"I learned to make a ball float at a constant altitude but not make it be still."

Ben decided that the combat training sounded way more interesting. "You also had a busy day," he said a little dryly instead. "Talking to other Baran Do sages, I was getting a strange sense about Charsae Saal's decision. The students were sad. So were the Baran Do Masters, but it was different."

"Of course it was," Luke said. "Masters tend to have a greater depth of philosophy and understanding about such things--"

"Dad, they were even sadder."

That brought Luke up short. "What's that again?"

"I got the impression that the Masters had even deeper regret."

"Interesting," Luke said finally. "Now I'm certain we need to attend."

Ben	It happened at nightfall behind the main temple: a pyre had been built upon a raised hearth that reminded Ben a little bit of Mara's funeral. The fuel would be different, of course: wood wouldn't burn in an oxygen-free environment. The first hour was like the galaxy's most morbid cocktail party as Charsae Saal circulated among the Baran Do and other guests and food and drinks were served. Eventually Charsae Saal stood up on a benchlike platform made of combustible material and addressed the crowd: "Thank you all for attending. There is no lonelier thought than the idea that you might die alone; there is no more comforting thought than that you might die gently, among friends. I now take that step, moving aside so that others may succeed me. I pray that I will be remembered fondly. I will remember all of you fondly."
Ender	Ender had walked around for a little bit, but by the time Charsae Saal had started his speech, he had once again inched towards Ben. He was standing by Ben's side now, face tilted upwards, and thinking. Why would a society that didn't have an overcrowding problem do this, he wondered. What could they possibly gain from letting such repositories of knowledge go so early? "It still doesn't make much sense," he murmured.
Ben	"Not at all," Ben agreed softly. On the platform, Charsae Saal flipped his hood up to shroud his eyes, then laid down and placed his hands on his chest. His breathing slowed. Ben could feel his presence in the Force fade, become smaller. In moments it was completely gone, though his body still lay on the platform. Four Kel Dors approached the platform with a coffin and lowered it carefully over Charsae Saal's body. A moment later, they lifted it clear of the platform, where the top portion of it had adhered to the casket's underside. They carried the casket to the pyre and stepped back. Mistress Tila Mong approached to within a meter, then extended her hand: a crackle of lightning leaped from her fingers and ignited the pyre, engulfing the entire thing in purple flames.
Ender	Ender had no Force-sense to speak of, and so he could not tell that the Baran Do was dying. Instead he had focused his eyes on the slow even movements of Charsae Saal's chest until those had practically stilled. Something still felt off, but he couldn't tell what. As the flames rose up, his brow furrowed. It still failed to come together in a picture that made sense.
Luke	"It always annoys me to be lied to," Luke said softly, coming up behind them as the crowd began to file out.
Ben	Ben looked startled as he ran though a list of things his father could be talking about. "I haven't lied to you!"
Ender	There was a... brief moment when Ender looked up, startled, and gave Ben a look that said really? Then he shook his head, and looked to Luke. "So this really isn't what it looks like."
Ben	Luke gave Ben a searching look before steering them through the gates. "Charsae Saal didn't die and they didn't cremate him. He merely vanished in the Force. Ben, have you ever met anyone who could conceal himself in the Force like that?" Ben grinned. "Other than me? And you? And Jacen? And--" Luke nodded. "They put an ordinary casket on that pyre and burned it. Usually I don't care about other people's secrets but this might have something to do with what Jacen learned here. So we're going to a restaurant for oxygen breathers, having a good meal with our masks off, and then we're coming back here to find out the truth."
Ender	Somehow, Luke's words stirred up an echo of it's my job to root around other people's secrets so loud that it took Ender a second or two to snap back to the present, though his expression had remained the same. "Funny," he said, "We wound up at the planet of stage magicians."
Ben	Ben's lips quirked up. "They must be really hard up for entertainment to fake the deaths of their sages."
Ender	"Maybe it's the helium atmosphere," Ender suggested, "Makes it harder to juggle."
Ben	"And the way their mouths are probably makes it tough to really excel at the art of balloon animals," Ben added. Luke stared at them both.
Ender	Ender shot Luke a glance that was only a question for all of a fraction of a second; then his face morphed into the smile of an amused teenager, inviting him to take it as an 'oh, those old people' kind of thing. "They'd never be able to pitch a decent circus here," he said, looking back towards Ben.
Ben	"Probably just as well," Ben decided as they entered the restaurant, "since clowns are kind of terrifying."
Ender	"I didn't know you had a phobia," Ender said, "Should've put that in our roommate agreement."
Ben	Ben laughed as he pulled his mask off of his face. "Should've had an agreement at all."
Ender	Ender removed his own mask a moment later. "Would've saved me from dealing with all your droid parts all over my side of the room," he replied.
Ben	"You mean standing on screws doesn't wake you up?" Ben said, pretending to be shocked.
Ender	"No, but a certain kind of coffee does," Ender said. Not that Luke would get that injoke. The host waved them over towards a table, and Ender trudged after him obediently.
Ben	Ben burst out laughing, and Luke glanced at the both of them, looking puzzled and slightly concerned. "It's caf now, kreetle," Ben said, sitting down. "And an entire galaxy that doesn't believe in soy."
Ender	"Such a cruel universe," Ender deadpanned. He sat down, too. "What have you gotten me into, small fry."
Ben	"First dinner," Ben said. "Then a bit of breaking and entering. Just another night with the Skywalkers."
Ender	"If I see any rancors, I'm out of here."
Luke	"They need oxygen to breathe," Luke said, pretty sure he was missing something here. "But if you insist on it, we'll try to give Dathomir a skip."
Ender	Ender glanced towards him, playful-teenager smile still on his face. (It was... at least partially a mask.) "I've already been there," he said. "Ben wound up locking me in a cave."
Luke	Luke arched his eyebrow up at his son, whose cheeks turned red. "Ben has strange ideas of what's appropriate," Luke said. "I blame Han."
Ender	"Considering that we were being attacked by several rancors at the time, I'm not really protesting," Ender said, who was mostly saved by his inability to blush except under severe duress. "I'm not really a lightsaber combatant."
Luke	Luke nodded, still looking a little appraising. "How are you with being sneaky?"
Ender	"Passable," Ender said, with a brief, slightly-over-the-top-if-you-knew-him smile. Honestly, he didn't know for sure why he was trying to fool Luke just yet -- except that he didn't really want questions.
Luke	And just as Luke was better at reading people and putting things together than his son was, he was also better at keeping his own counsel. This was going to be a long trip with just the three of them, and there was no point in pushing something--and "something" was as close to a definition as he could get to the emotions he was picking up--to the point of making it uncomfortable. He smiled at Ender. "Want to come break into the Baran Do temple with us, then?"
Ender	"I don't think I have anything else penciled into my schedule," Ender said, well aware that banter was at least one of the main forms of communication around here. "So I guess I'll give it a shot."
Ben	"Good," Ben said, grinning. "Now pick something you've never tried from the menu."
Ender	"Just so you know, that conversation about not poisoning Tony, that goes for me, too," Ender said, picking up the menu and scanning it. Idly. He didn't actually much care what he'd eat unless it actually was poisoned, and he had a lot to think about.
Ben	Ben reached over and flipped a few pages into the menu for Ender. "This is mostly for humans," he said quietly.
Ender	Ender'd have to talk to Jane as soon as he had the chance. Find out what she'd learned - how far she'd gotten. And that might be part of the reason why he was putting up a front here. Luke couldn't know about what he was trying to do. He blinked up at Ben a second later, doing his best not to look like he'd been jolted out of a quick mental tangent. "The non-poison section," he said, glancing up at Ben over the menu with a quick smile. "Thanks."
Ben	Ben gave him a quick, concerned look, but then smiled back. "No problem," he said. "Anything with nerf in it is pretty safe." Every now and then the weight of having his friend from an entirely different galaxy with him in his struck him, and this was just such a moment. Even if it was for only a year, he wanted Ender to feel comfortable.
Ender	Ender picked some random dish that said it had nerf in it. He hadn't really looked into the specifics, and he sincerely didn't care. "I'll keep that in mind," he said, putting the menu down. "Anything else I need to remember not to order?"
Ben	"If it has 'delicacy' in the title, it's generally a good thing to skip," Ben advised.
Ender	"I think that goes for any universe," Ender said, shutting the menu. "So what's the plan?" Considering his experiences with Skywalkers, part of him was sort of expecting there not being one.
Luke	Ender was wise in the ways of Skywalkers, it was true. "Hop over the fence and take a look around," Luke said. "Maybe we'll learn something from the pyre if we can get closer."
Ender	So, in other words, 'show up and we'll see what happens'. A Skywalker plan indeed. "I didn't spot any visible guards when we got there," Ender noted. "Are these people likely to have some kind of built-in security system?" Okay, slightly less with the ordinary-teenager there, but going too far wouldn't help either.
Ben	"Probably one set up to follow our every move," Ben said, nodding. Luke gave him a bemused glance. "You watch too many holodramas."
Ender	"Actually, it's possible," Ender said, shooting Luke a slight look. "Though not that likely - they seem to have 'don't question the pyre' fairly well-ingrained with the locals, and they don't get a lot of visitors."
Luke	Luke nodded. "I think it's probably unlikely, too," he said, "but it's good to be careful. I hadn't noticed cameras in the temple in our time there so far--have either of you?"
Ender	"Nothing that I've seen," Ender said, but he was looking at both Jedi expectantly now. "Doesn't mean they don't keep tabs some other way."
Ben	"Probably not electronically," Ben mused as their food came. "Learning lightning-based powers probably fries out the circuitry more than they'd admit to us."
Ender	"Force-masters," Ender said, sitting back as he got his nerf-whatever-it-was served to him. "I have an inkling which way they'd lean."
Ben	"Keeping their secrets to themselves?" Ben popped a bit of nerf steak into his mouth. "Never."