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."

[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]

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.

[momslilassassin]

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

[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."

[hoorayimrich.livejournal.com]

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

[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?"

[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."

[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.

[momslilassassin]

"To get to the beings who lived in it?" Ben offered. He wasn't sure how much Jaina knew about Jacen's travels. "It seemed like a good idea at the time."

[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."

[hoorayimrich.livejournal.com]

"Ben." Tony shook his head, pushing his laptop away now that focusing on work wasn't likely. "How is your universe so freaking weird?"

[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?"

[solo_sword]

"That doesn't sound like you think it was a good idea now," she said.

[momslilassassin]

"Well, what we learned there is sending us to the Maw, which isn't exactly my favorite spot in the galaxy," Ben replied. "Plus the beings there communicated via licking. Not to be judgmental but yuck."

[momslilassassin]

"We're just lucky, I guess," Ben said. "That's not even starting on the aliens that communicated by licking us."

[solo_sword]

"...Licking?" See, there were good and bad times for that. If you had to lick someone just to say something like 'hello' or 'do you know where I left my keys?' it was probably always going to be a bad time.

[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."

[hoorayimrich.livejournal.com]

"...you're just messing with me now, aren't you?"

[momslilassassin]

"Six green tongues," Ben added. "I think I'm fine with the Aing-Tii keeping to their own corner of the galaxy."

[momslilassassin]

"Six of them. They were green. You can ask Ender."

Ben was so helpful!