Aboard the Jade Shadow [Sunday, Fandom time]

[momslilassassin]

It had taken a few days to break free of the Kathol Rift, but the minute the ship cleared the interference, Ben had his comlink out to make a few long-needed calls back to various galaxies.

Ender and his dad had been good to talk to--or not talk to--but he needed to reconnect with some others, too--especially Jaina.

[OOC: If you think you got a call, you did! Ping on back!]

Comments

[solo_sword]

Jaina had been finishing up going through some intel reports for about the third time now, and when she got the call, it was probably a good time for a break. She thumbed her comlink on and said, "Solo."

[momslilassassin]

Ben was quiet for a second as he fought back the irrational urge to burst into tears as he heard her voice.

"Jaina?" he said finally.

[solo_sword]

That pause was a little worrisome. "Hey, Ben," she said slowly. "Everything okay?"

[momslilassassin]

"We're all in one piece," he assured her quickly because that was not always a given with their family. "Just a little, um, exiled."

[solo_sword]

"So I heard. And maybe ranted a lot," she sighed. She still wanted to yell at/beat down whoever came up with that punishment. "How's it going?"

[momslilassassin]

"We're not exactly hitting the tourist traps," Ben understated. "Every try to fly through a nebula?"

[solo_sword]

"Not so far. Why are you trying to fly through a nebula?" Really, the answer 'it's Luke and Ben' that popped into her head a second later was probably the right one.

[hoorayimrich.livejournal.com]

Tony was where he normally was, in his lab. Working on some new idea that hit him at three in the morning. It was a thing.

"If you guys were in another cave, I'm not telling Karla. She scares me." That was Tony Stark for: 'Hello, Ben. How have you been?'

[momslilassassin]

"Is a cavern in the middle of a nebula better or worse?" Ben asked.

[hoorayimrich.livejournal.com]

There was a pause before Tony replied. "Better. Nebula has nice ring to it."

[momslilassassin]

"Don't recommend flying through one if you don't like spiders," Ben said. "There were hallucinations."

[hoorayimrich.livejournal.com]

Well now, Ben. That seemed like there was more to that story. That crazy, crazy story.

"What."

[momslilassassin]

"There's a place called the Kathol Rift," Ben said, "and the further you fly into it--which isn't easy to do to start--the more it messes with your brain. You start thinking there are spiders all over the ship. For some reason that's not in the brochures."

[glacial_queen]

Karla had gotten Ben's text, which meant she technically couldn't yell at him for vanishing away inexplicably. She'd also been having disturbing feelings every time thoughts of him had flitted across her mind. Nothing concrete, nothing she could put her finger on, just a nagging sense of concern which differed ever-so-slightly from the worry she usually felt for him.

The most obvious difference between the two was that this feeling made her want to give him a hug, rather than grab him by the shoulders and shake.

"Ben. It's so good to hear from you. Are you all right?"

[momslilassassin]

"I spent the last week in a cavern holding up random objects and hoping they'd speak to me. It was...weird," Ben replied. "Hi! How are you?"

The deflection was strong with this one.

[glacial_queen]

Fortunately, after two years, so was the bullshit radar.

"Please," Karla sniffed. "I know you. That's probably the least weird thing you've done in the past month."

It also was hardly the kind of thing that would make her Black Widow senses tingle, but she was going to ignore that bit for right now. There would be plenty of time to poke and pry at him after the initial greetings.

"Unless you're going to tell me that the random objects came to life and tried to eat your face. Even then, I'd hardly call that weird. For you, anyway."

[momslilassassin]

"There's been surprisingly little face eating so far," Ben said. "Face licking, on the other hand..."

[glacial_queen]

Ben, you have no idea HOW LUCKY YOU WERE that Karla had basically promised Ender that she wouldn't make comments in your hearing.

"Now, I know you're a male and therefore rather limited," she said again, but there are these neat inventions called napkins..."

It was kind of a lame joke, but most of her brain was caught up jokes she wasn't allowed to say.

[momslilassassin]

"Not by me," Ben said. "The aliens we were with communicate using six tongues. Each. They were green. Um, the tongues, not the aliens."

[weetuskenraider]

Ben would be spared any yelling about disappearing by Tahiri, at least; she understood that sometimes these things happened, even if she didn't necessarily like that they did.

"Your reasons for this had better be good, Skywalker," she said lightly. Or mostly lightly, anyway.

[momslilassassin]

Hearing her voice after so many months took his breath away and it was a few seconds before he could speak. "I miss you so much," he blurted.

[weetuskenraider]

It wasn't quite as long on Tahiri's end, but that didn't necessarily make it any easier.

"Boy," she replied with a shaky laugh, "how's that for a greeting to make a girl feel a little better?"

She dug her toes a little deeper into the wet sand -- she'd been standing on the beach when she got the call, ankle-deep into the surf -- and took a breath. "I miss you too, even if you do disappear for a while where it's impossible to call."

Okay, she wouldn't yell at him about it, but that didn't mean she wouldn't give him a little bit of a hard time.

[momslilassassin]

"Well, the first time we were in a hole because Kel Dors are crazy and this time we were in a nebula where all of the circuitry went completely barvy," Ben said. "But I'm sorry anyway."

[weetuskenraider]

"So about the usual, then?" Tahiri asked, sounding more relieved than she realized. "I suppose you're forgiven. Unless something's eaten any of your limbs."

Because that would be something to blame him for, Tahiri. Sure.

[momslilassassin]

"No eating," Ben said. "Way too much licking, but no eating."