momslilassassin | Naboo, then Coruscant [Over a period of days, GFFA-time]

Ender and Ben's house in the Lake Country of Naboo was as spotless and welcoming as always, even if neither inhabitant was currently home. A bit of tinkering by Ben in a moment of boredom allowed the visitors access to the house via face recognition, and the fridge was full of food, if not exactly the color or consistency Earth folks were used to.

Petra	Petra was... jittery. Was that a word? Yes. Jittery. She had come with her Free People of Earth military uniform on, a sidearm on her hip (and more in her luggage). She didn't like spending this much time away from her babies, but some things were more important. Even if it just meant having to pull Dink's stupid ass out of trouble and yell at Ender for a while.
Tony	Tony, meanwhile, had a few very large pieces of luggage delivered with him and a backpack on for when ~~shit got real~~ it became necessary to fight. Which was... probably soon. Look, he knew the score here, people. "Friend of Ben's?"
Petra	Petra threw a glance towards Tony, and thought young kid with a backpack-- but that was a thought she quickly discarded. Everyone she knew who was capable at anything had been much younger than had ever been considered normal. "No," she said, sizing Tony up as she might another combatant. "Friend of Ender's."
Tony	Hey now, he was seventeen now! That wasn't a kid. "Ah," Tony replied, nodding slowly before he offered a handshake. "Tony. Friend of Ben and Ender's."
Petra	For Battle School students, it was downright decrepit! ... He just looked younger. Something about the eyes. "From their school, I guess," she said. A pause. "Petra Delphiki."
Tony	His wide, innocent eyes. Sparkles and sakura petals appeared around him. Tony's eyebrows went up at the name and he nodded. "Fandom, yeah."
Petra	Compared to a lot of the kids Petra knew, he might as well have. "I'm from his old school," Petra replied, as suddenly she realized Tony might not, in fact, recognize her on sight like people back in her own world. "Some of my old... classmates are missing. I'll bet he has something to do with it."
Tony	"Well, this situation just keeps getting better and better." No one could ever yell at him again for his borderline suicidal reactions to fights back home. Never ever.
Petra	"You're telling me," Petra said. She sounded a little snappish. "Look, I know apparently there's a lot going on, but I don't care. I want to get my friends out and get home before Peter accidentally blows up the world." Sorry, Tony. This blow-up was not about you.
Tony	Tony held up his hands appeasingly, taking a careful step back. "Duly noted. I'm sure Peter--actually, I have no clue about future Peter."
Petra	"Feel lucky," Petra muttered.

Tara

Tara was ... also jittery. Optimistic that Ender was findable, but jittery that he wouldn't be. She hadn't asked what to pack, so her unwieldy bag held clothes for several different occasions as well as her spell materials.

She shook off some slight portal dizziness as she stepped out of the portal, then looked around for Ben or anybody else who seemed vaguely familiar.

Valentine

Space travel, Valentine could handle. Space travel to places that were more than a carved out rock with humanity's best attempts to make it seem liveable was something else entirely. So, while Valentine contended with her own nerves, she was able to push them aside quite easily for taking a deep interest in her surroundings. It was a little harder to not start scribbling down notes.

About everything, and that included carefully observing everyone else to glean together attitudes, dispositions, or anything else she might find useful for helping with later.

Ben	Ben'd had easier weeks. He hadn't slept since Upekzar--there wasn't much incentive to let his eyes close when all he'd do was relive some of the worst memories of his life--and his arm and ribs were still healing from his run-in with the galaxy's biggest bug. Sorry, Ender, but Ben's ability to love the Formics had just taken a giant step back. He did try to smile at the familiar faces as he entered the room before pulling up a chair. "Ender's on Coruscant," he began without preamble, "and we'll be heading there just as soon as I catch you up on my galaxy's completely screwed-up, well, everything." Trying to be comprehensive but not stupefyingly exhaustive on the details, he gave a brief history on the Sith and how Vestara's Lost Tribe had ditched the Rule of Two in favor of the planetload of people who were working together while also trying to undermine and kill each other. "We don't know exactly how many a 'planetload' is, either," he added, chewing on his lower lip. "There are only a thousand or so Jedi in the entire galaxy. We're assuming we'll be facing at least ten times our number in Sith on Coruscant, hiding among trillions of innocent beings." He pulled on his datapad and fired up a three-dimensional holoprojection of one of the Coruscanti ports-of-entry. "The Sith have placed guards at all of the entrances to the planet, which will be a problem for me to go in without a disguise but not for you guys because you don't ping them as Force-sensitive. They're doing baggage checks because their cover story for increased security is that Jedi are really drug dealers--yes, it's stupid, no, I don't know why anyone is buying that--so Tony, we'll have to come up with something clever to get your stuff through." "The Jedi goal is to infiltrate the planet, take back the Temple and, well, teach them a lesson about not trying to rule the galaxy. Again." He shrugged. "It's kind of a Sith failing. They emerge, they try to take over the galaxy and crush all of us under their stylish boots. As for Abeloth, well, she's an unkillable entity that rides around in a ship that can think and we have absolutely no idea where in the galaxy she is. I'm not feeling optimistic that she won't show up at the worst possible moment in all of this, but there's nothing any of us can do about her, so let's just not worry about it for now. Anyway...questions?"
Tony	"This is revenge for the dragon, isn't it?" Tony was helpful. Really. At least he was working on his phone to set up a remote control for the suit to get it past the ever fun Sith without wearing it on his back.
Ben	Ben lips quirked up slightly. "Maybe," he said. "It was a really elaborate set-up, but I think it was worth it." He was trying to be his normal self, but it wasn't quite working.
Tara	It all sounded fairly grim, but pointing that out wasn't going to do anyone any good, so Tara kept quiet on that point. The only way to get through it was to get started, anyhow. "Will my spell stuff be a problem?" she checked. "I could put a shielding spell over them, if the herbs will make us look like we're weed smugglers or something."
Ben	"Shielding's probably not a bad idea," Ben decided after a moment's thought. "I don't think it'll trigger anything for them in the Force."
Petra	"Can we shoot them?" Petra asked, without preamble.
Ben	Ben nodded. "But don't let that be your first choice," he said. "I know how good you are. They're probably better, at least if their danger sense kicks in."
Valentine	Valentine made a slight note to herself that, next time her brother and his boyfriend got themselves involved in some weird space stuff again, she should remember to bring her Samus with her, but that was mostly on account of the mention of a talking ship. The moment she saw Ben, though, she wanted to do nothing more than give him a hug or something, the sympathy for how worn and haggard he looked pouring out from her. She kept it mostly in her eyes, and in a slight frowning of her eyebrows, as she tried to keep a strong resolve. She shook her head, her head already jumping toward preparing for the mental exhaustion she was going to face because of this. She didn't have a gun or a suit or magic, but she did have her brain. "You know if there's anything..." she said, trailing off, as if to leave it open for whatever might be needed.
Ben	Ben chewed on his lower lip. "I am so sorry," he murmured, moving within hugging distance.
Valentine	See, and once he had moved into the hugging orbit, there was nothing Valentine could do to stop the gravity of her arms pulling him in. "What for?" she asked, in a tone that she hope conveyed that it was a rhetorical question, Ben, not one she actually expected him to have an answer for, because he shouldn't be.
Ben	"Letting my father plan things?" he replied wryly as he held on tightly. "Ender's fine, I know he is--" because he was sure that if Ender wasn't, he'd feel it even this far away, "--but--" But he felt guilty anyway. It was how Ben rolled.

--------------------------------------

The ship that brought Ben and his friends from Earth from Naboo to Coruscant docked smoothly and lowered the landing platform into a sea of sentient beings of all colors, sizes, and number of heads.

Ben, his hair a bright, terrifying yellow gelled up into a double row of spikes, and wearing the latest in Coruscanti fashion (which, unfortunately, meant a skintight black jumpsuit with shiny sequins glued onto it) leaned in to point to a Coruscanti Immigration inspector, his zero-g motility pack emitting small hisses as he twirled in slow-motion cartwheels, demanding identichips and ten-credit “expediting fees.” Behind him followed a pair of Bothan escorts, their snouts wrinkling in disdain each time their superior solicited another bribe. "Those are the guys we have to get past," he said with a tiny smile. "No problem, right? Just remember, no violence. We're not trying to get any attention. Give the guy your documents and any bribe he asks for and meet me on the other side."

Tony	Tony was really trying to take Ben seriously about this. He was. It just wasn't happening, though. But he nodded, putting his phone away for the moment and adjusting his own clothing. It was... not his usual jeans and a t-shirt. Which was throwing him off completely. Drab colors and looking like if a western costume had sex with a tunic, if you asked him. But it worked.
Ben and the Evil Sith!	Ben turned to look at him and gave him an encouraging smile, then disappeared into crowd--he was creepily good at that--as the inspection officer, a man with light violet skin who looked like he'd never smiled in his life--approached. "Identichip!" he snapped.
Tony	One day he'd totally be used to strange skin colors. One day... "Yes, sir," Tony said, holding it out helpfully.
Evil Sith!	The man ~~who totally doesn't look like this icon~~ snapped it up and began scanning through the data. "And the expediting fee, Mr..."
Tony	"Stark," Tony said with a sigh, digging out those credits he'd gotten. The exchange rate was just terrible here. Terrible..
Evil Sith!	The ~~evil Sith~~ Totally Legit Immigration Official pocketed the bribe quickly as his escorts looked annoyed. "System of origin?"
Tony	Of course he was legit! It's not like it was easy to just take over the infrastructure of an entire government--waaaaaait. "The Tingel Arm." That was the worst sounding place ever, if you asked Tony.
Evil Sith!	And somewhere the ~~eeeeeeevil Sith~~ Totally Legit Immigration Official had never once heard of. Blame being on an isolated planet for three thousand years. "Of course!" he snapped. "I have heard of that." Not true. "What brings you to Coruscant?"
Tony	Worst. Liar. Ever. "...it's not the Tingel Arm?" IT WAS LEGIT REASONING.
Evil Sith!	Was he supposed to laugh at that? It seemed like he should laugh. If only he knew more about the Tingel Arm. "Heh," he laughed unconvincingly. "And your luggage?"
Tony	But he knew all about it! Tony held out a bag that contained his phone and spare credits. Maybe a few mints were in there as well. The suit was going on it's own. Well, on it's own with an incredibly advanced navigation system that would put it somewhere he could hunt down as soon as they were where they needed to be.
Evil Sith	"No clothing?" The Sith looked at what Tony was wearing. "Probably better that way."
Tony	...heeeeey. "Tragic fire destroyed everything else," Tony informed him seriously. "Very tragic."
Evil Sith!	If there was anything a Sith knew less about than the Tingel Arm, it was expressing sympathy. "...oh. Move along."

Tara

The outfit Tara had picked out -- a plainer, feminine version of Ben's -- seemed functional on the rack. The high-necked gray jumpsuit fit close to her skin, so she could run in it if she had to. (She tripped enough over her regular clothes that she realized this was a real concern.) It also blended well with the rest of the young women passing through the immigration point.

She just couldn't shake the feeling she was basically walking around in her underwear. She kept tugging at the sleeves and folding her arms over her stomach as she stood in line.

But her nerves might have actually helped: The immigration officer seemed annoyed enough by her stutter that he waved her through after a cursory interview and the usual bribe.

Valentine

And this was where Valentine's observations and tendency to want to soak up culture like a sponge would serve her well, she imagined. And perhaps she might have taken a little enjoyment out of pretending to be what she supposed would come off a bit like a bumpkin from Naboo, all wide-eyed and excited and somewhat flighty at her first trip to Coruscant.

And a good portion of the fascination was genuine, to boot.

Ben	Ben, dressed in the dark blue robs of a Senate page--and the blue head tails of a Twi'lek--glanced at the chrono on the wall and twitched. The other Jedi were delivering their packages to Sith Vestara had helped point out, well, now, and they were still in the anteroom of Senator Suldar--really of the Sith High Lords, just waiting. Hovering before them was a float pallet bearing a large crate wrapped in glitterfilm, and in her hands Vestara held a silver tray bearing a small envelope addressed to MY DEAR FRIEND KAMERON. He glared at the security guard. "Five more minutes and we're going whether or not the Senator is ready to see us," he murmured.
Tony	"That a good idea?" Tony asked, not at all scratching his own ridiculous costume. Look, you gave him a choice on a species to dress up like. Of course he was also going to pick Twi'lek. A pretty, pretty Twi'lek.
Valentine	They shouldn't all be Twi'leks, should they? ...They were all pretty much Twi'lek. Let's face it, it was pretty much the best option. Valentine fought down the urge to smack Tony's hand down away from his head. "Only if you don't have a better one."
Vestara	Vestara wasn't being a Twi'lek, she was being a Falleen, and she glared at Tony. "Hands away from the head tails," she hissed before walking over to the guard. "Have you announced our presence?" she asked. "I have," he replied, sounding bored. "And did you mention that our gift is a peace offering from Senator Wuul?" she added. "So all of the work he's currently doing to line up support for the Tibanna gas tax increase is pointless. He's ready to capitulate." Vestara knew that no real Sith would be able to reject the idea of a vulnerable enemy. She pointed to the gift. "This was his graceful way to concede." The guard looked at the four of them, then nodded. "Follow me."
Ben	They arrived in the office of the Sith High Lord--Ben could tell by the way Vestara was appraising the decor that it held some sort of hidden Sith meaning but Ben just saw it as ugly and kind of oppressing--and began setting up the coffee machine. Ben glanced at his chrono. In about a minute, Sith would begin dying all over the planet. Just then, the Senator--Sith--Sithator? strode into the office, accompanied by a redheaded assistant and several bodyguards. He stared penetratingly at Vestara, and Ben's heart dropped. He took what he hoped was a casual step back to stand in front of Valentine, but didn't reach for his lightsaber, hidden beneath his Senate robes. The Sithator reached for the envelope. "Do you really think I don't know who you are?" he asked casually, and as quickly as that, the guards had pulled vibroblades and lightsabers on the four of them. Ben sighed quietly. Great. Time to improvise.
Tony	"Next time I ask to play with your lightsaber, I better get a yes," Tony informed Ben, ignoring the innuendo inherent there as he tugged the damned head tails off and slapped the button to activate his armor. He took a careful step to block Valentine as it assembled around him.
Valentine	Valentine didn't exactly need the Force to be able to tell exactly when Plan A was about to fail, so neither of the boys had to move very far, because Valentine had already shifted to where she figured she'd be safest. No one needed to remind her that fighting wasn't exactly her forte. "I don't suppose," she noted, "we could all just put down the weapons and talk this over?"
Ben	The Sith High Lord moved toward the fancy coffee maker and began reading the note aloud. "'Did you truly think we didn't know who you are? Surrender or die. Decide now.'" The High Lord lifted his eyes to glare at Ben, but before he could speak, the muffled voices beyond the security door gave way to cries of alarm. The sizzle of clashing lightsabers began to sound outside the door. "If you’re going to surrender, I’d recommend doing it soon," Ben said, clearly trying to hold Workan’s attention inside the room. "You don’t have much time." Workan’s eyes narrowed. "I am not the one with a parang to his throat." A hint of cockiness came into Ben’s voice. "No, but you are the one who drank two cups of cafasho in Senator Wuul’s office yesterday morning," he said. "You’re already dead, High Lord Workan." That was a lie. There'd been nothing in the caf in the Senator's office.
Tony	"We don't joke about our coffee," Tony chimed in, bringing up targeting systems in the suit. Because he had no clue if Ben was telling the truth or not.
Ben	"Well, unless we're telling them that non-dairy creamer is a legitimate thing to put into it," Ben replied. "Because ew, no." The Sith High Lord gave him a "what the hell are you talking about" look.
Valentine	"Blasphemy," Valentine agreed emphatically, figuring they might as well keep playing up the confuse the hell out of the guy angle while they could. "I mean, what is that stuff, anyway? It's could be worse, though; it could be instant. A little freeze-dried Taster's Choice."
Tony	"I just threw up in my helmet a little bit," Tony added.
Ben	"Can't really blame you," Ben admitted, smiling past the blade at his neck. "Enough!" Workan cried. "Is trying to annoy me into killing you all a Jedi trick?" "No, that's all Ben," Vestara said, sounding a little annoyed. And that was when the compression wave from a grenade explosion outside the office blew across the room. "Down now," Ben called, pulling his lightsaber out and aiming it squarely at the man who'd been holding a blade on him.
Tony	Tony kept Valentine at his back, arms crossed over his chest as that nice shield he'd been working on activated to keep them from being cut into nice, portable pieces. "We really need to work on our comedic timing," he informed the group with a sigh, firing at a nearby bad guy once the shield gave way. Look, it wasn't meant to be a long term thing, okay?
Ben	"Next time, we'll try knock-knock jokes," Ben said, slicing down a Sith as his father walked through the door (well, where the door had been. It was now a nice smoking hole) and pulled his lightsaber on Workan. "Perhaps our note wasn't clear," Luke said. "Would you like to surrender now?" Ben gave Val a shrug of "eh, parents."

Petra	Petra's fingers twitched over her sidearm. No, she wasn't supposed to call attention to herself - she knew that, and for the most part, she'd kept it under control. But after the way they'd managed to break into Coruscant (or was that onto? It was strange thinking that she was standing on a whole different planet, in a whole different universe...) she was starting to get paranoid. More paranoid than usual. "Are you sure this is going to work?" she asked. "It sounds like mumbo jumbo to me."
Tara	"Um ... no. I'm not that sure at all, but it's ... what we have," Tara said, sounding distracted and probably not that reassuring as she spread the map Ben had given her out on the floor. "C-could you hold my hands and chant? It -- helps me to have somebody else to focus with. Even if it seems .... mumbo-jumbo-y." This was true. It was also true that Tara figured that if Petra was helping with the spell, even grudgingly, she couldn't send out quite so much negative energy.
Petra	Petra shot her a dubious look. She wrestled with the instinct to say that's stupid; an inclination she came very close to giving into. "Toguro, if you think it'll help," she muttered. She reached out for Tara's hands with a firm, Amazonian grip worthy of her looks. "But if you're going to try and sell anything to Satan or nature gods or something, I'll have you know I'm an atheist," she added.
Tara	"It's fine. I, I don't think gods care much if you believe in them or not." Tara hoped this was true. She squeezed Petra's palm, reassured somewhat by the strength in the other girl's hands, and drew a deep breath before she began chanting the words of the Bu'Shundi ritual as she concentrated hard on the thought of Ender. Occasionally she left time for Petra to repeat after her. Eventually, the sand she'd scattered on the map began to coalesce in one spot, then to glow. Tara looked over at it. "Is that a place it makes any sense for him to be?" she asked. "I -- feel like it worked, but ... I'll feel better when we find him."
Petra	"I'm not from around here," Petra said. Her eyes were fixed squarely on the little glowing pile, wondering if this was some strange parlor trick, or a holograph of some kind. "It's Ender. He goes where he thinks he needs to go, with no regard for normal people's logic." There was slight affection in those words, but also several years' worth of frustration.
Tara	Tara smiled the slightest bit as she scrambled to get her supplies back into her bag. "I know," she said. "But I was asking more -- if it was saying he was underwater, or in the middle of a volcano, or something, it p-probably means something went funny." Or that they were looking for a body, but that thought was unnecessarily grim. She looked at the map again, squinting at the little pile of dust. "Hmmm. Well, he's ... not underwater." She wasn't familiar enough with the map, or with Coruscant, to be sure of anything else quite yet.
Petra	"That's a relief," Petra said. She swallowed back a sarcastic comment about the magic - that wouldn't be useful - and bent over the map. "Maybe you should've taken one of those 3D holos."
Tara	"Magic's kind of ancient," Tara said, prodding at the sand. It indicated a neighborhood, but didn't seem to want to stay on the surface. "I ... don't know how it would work with holograms." She shrugged a little, moving to roll the map. "So that's a place to start, anyhow. When we get closer there are other things I could try."
Petra	Petra sighed, and released a few Japanese curses. "Fine," she said, "But stick close to me, and try to be as unassuming as you can." She had some experience at this; she just needed to brush off the newly-learned habit to rely on the weight of her sidearm hidden at her hip.
Tara	It was a good thing Tara wasn’t the sarcastic sort, or she would have had a few responses to that. As it was, she just nodded solemnly and glanced around the room to make certain she hadn’t left anything behind. She spoke a single Latin word to ensure the magic wouldn’t leave traces someone else could follow – it never hurt to be a little paranoid. Then: “Let’s head out.” She tried not to sound nervous, and almost succeeding at it.
Petra	Petra shot a glance in her direction. "If we run into anyone, I'll keep us safe," she said, not without - some - sympathy, and walked straight past the girl, waiting briefly for her to catch up.
Tara	"Thanks," Tara said. She could usually take care of herself, but it was still nice to have protective people around. And then she stepped quickly beside Petra, trying to look utterly unremarkable.
Petra	It went well, for a while. Petra could easily identify Sith patrols as they went along - it was something in their stance and something in their eyes - and she gave them wide berth, all in all. "Okay, here we are," she said, an indeterminate amount of time later. She stepped forward onto the platform and eyed the other platform jutting up from a giant spire just up ahead. A city this large... kuso, it threw her off her game, made her dizzy. She was careful not to show it.
Tara	"Great, so he's ... probably somewhere in one of these buildings." Given how large they were, it was perhaps unsurprising that Tara sounded less than enthused by this. "There's this little glowy ball thing I could do, but probably it's, um, not the best way to stay inconspicuous. How did you want to start?"
Petra	Petra shot her a look that couldn't have said wait, what? better if she'd tried. "You're the one with the hocus pocus," she said, pacing towards the edge of the platform. "This place... it has to go down hundreds of floors."
Tara	"Yeah, but ..." Tara didn't really have a good but for that -- she was just used to deferring to other people -- and her voice trailed off into a sigh. She squinted around before pointing at one structure. "We could start with that building," she decided, both because it seemed closest to what the map had shown and because it had the closest unguarded entrance she could see. "It just ... has a feeling. I'll figure out the rest of it when we're inside."
Petra	Petra shook her head, muttered something in Russian under her breath, and set off in that direction, taking the bridge across to that next platform. "Here's hoping no one on this planet locks their doors," she said, approaching the entrance.
Tara	"You can't pick a lock?" Not that Tara was a genius at it, but three years on Fandom had her thinking it was about as common a skill as scrambling eggs. She reached out to the door and pulled on the handle. "Anyhow, they ... didn't lock this one." And then they were inside. Tara paused for a minute, half expecting troopers to swoop down on them before they went any further.
Petra	"I was trained to command armies, not pick locks," Petra said, taking good care to shut the door very carefully behind them.
Tara	"I'd feel a little better if we had an army backing us up," Tara said in a low voice, and peered down what seemed to be a large storage space, with narrow paths winding between crates and heaps of disparate objects. She didn't see Ender. She didn't really see anybody. "I'm going to do the tracking spell," she decided. "The light's ... teeny. I can zap it fast if somebody spots it."
Petra	Petra thought that over for a moment or two, then cast a wary look into the storage room. "Fine," she said, "But hurry up, please. I'll stand guard." She stalked back towards the door.
Tara	"You'll need to follow me when the light starts going to Ender," Tara called in a low voice, then drew a deep breath to settle herself before reacing into her satchel for a premixed potion. She poured a few drops on her hands and rubbed them together, then held them spread before her as she spoke in Egyptian. Min, hear my words. Show these humble travelers the way to him who we seek. A shimmer arose from her palms and rolled itself into a ball, which began bouncing merrily through the storage space to mark a trail. "Petra, come on!"
Petra	Petra was about to answer when the door in front of her was flung open. "...Who are you?" the strange man asked her. There was a malevolence about him; she didn't like it. "Just a dockworker," she said, and didn't go for her gun. Yet. The man peered over her shoulder. His eyes went briefly big.
Tara	Tara, on her part, swore under her breath as she scrambled to undo the spell before the man noticed the light. It hurt to see good work wasted. "Two dockworkers," she added, going to stand beside Petra. "Just ... heading back to the ... docks." Her voice got higher-pitched as she spoke and began to worry about how much the guy could have seen.
Petra	"What was that?" the man demanded, glaring at Tara the whole while. Well, Petra reflected, this was going to get ugly. It was obvious he wasn't going to just let them slip out quietly. "Just a torch," she tried anyway. It'd give her more time to formulate a plan of action.
Tara	"It's a new model," Tara added, which might have been a mistake as she was a terrible liar. She tried to look dock-workery anyhow.
Petra	The man - Sith, Petra presumed - did not look terribly impressed. His hand slid down towards his belt-- And Petra wasn't going to take any chances. She yanked out her sidearm and fired a bullet into the man's foot. His reflexes might have been fancy and Force-fueled... hers weren't so bad either. "Run!"
Tara	Tara didn't think as she moved. She held up a hand and uttered a brief binding spell aimed at freezing the Sith in place. Then -- before she had time to even check if it worked -- she was off, zig-zagging between piles of blankets and some kind of food that smelled a bit like vanilla as she looked for another entrance. Her heart pounded as she went; she hoped Petra would be close behind.
Petra	Petra's eyes went briefly wide as the man in front of her stopped moving. That reminded her suddenly of the childish awe she'd felt, what felt like another life ago, when Karla used her own hocus pocus to keep an eye on the progress of her-- She heard shouting behind the frozen Sith. No time to keep thinking on it. She turned around and made a run for it, into the building, pushing down the urge to call for Tara. She'd find her. Probably. Did they really have to make this place such a maze?!
Tara	Tara had the same question. After she was out of the storeroom and through a door and down a hall and past a well-dressed alien who seemed disinclined to follow the running human, she found a door marked NO ENTRY and pushed on it. It lead to an incongruously bland white-walled staircase. Tara listened, but heard no footsteps behind her. No one had followed her. But that included Petra. Even if she had the energy for more magic -- and she wasn't sure she did -- another spell would still be a risk. Better to conserve resources. She sat down gingerly on a top shelf, chin in hand, and waited. For ... something.
Petra	Perhaps the Force was listening in; perhaps it was some kind of God taking pity on Tara-- Or perhaps it was a cheerful, sarcastic AI who'd nestled herself firmly in Coruscant's systems months ago, who'd been monitoring Tara and Petra's progress since they'd set foot on the planet. Who had kept Ender updated, ready to act, ready to-- "Ah. There you are." The voice that accompanied the words sounded congenial, friendly even, if a little rushed, and floated up from the lower reaches of the staircase. "Tara, am I right?"
Tara	"Yeah," Tara said, and wiped a hand across her blotchy face to compose herself. "You're -- Ender's friend. You v-visited last fall." She remembered it, a crisp day on Selkie Peak watching Karla play at sparring. Universes away. She managed an apologetic smile. "I'm m-not going to remember your name right now. It's, um, kind of been a long day, so... but. I am Tara. Nice to see you again?"
Alai	Alai's mouth curved up; it was a gentle smile. "My name is Alai," he said, "and I don't blame you for being a little shaken - this planet's demons definitely have their ways." He extended a hand to her. "You're about three hundred levels up too high," he added, "so I humbly suggest we get moving before Ender gets cranky."
Tara	"Alai," Tara repeated with a wobbly smile, and took his hand to stand while she tugged at the sleeves of her jumpsuit with the other arm. She seemed more composed by the second, though mostly through force of will. She might have felt better if she thought Alai was referring to actual demons. "Hi. I, um, I lost Petra," she said. "One of the S-sith guys saw us, and ... I think she ran one way and I went the other. Is somebody coming after her too?"
Alai	"Stone Girl knows how to look after herself," Alai said. And he had faith that if she ran into trouble, Ender would have long since contacted him about it. He nodded towards the stairs-- up, not down. What? You never knew if someone was spying on you. "Come," he said.
Tara	Go up to go down. Race around to find someone and have him send an emissary to find you. It was a backwards kind of day. "I don't understand," Tara said, as she began to climb the stairs anyhow. "So ... Ender knows people are looking for him."
Alai	Welcome to the life of anyone close to a Battle School student, Tara. "He knows," Alai agreed. "But right now, he feels this is safer - and more important."
Tara	"I'm ... not really seeing how this is safer," Tara said, so low it was almost under her breath. She raised her voice before she spoke again. "What's the plan?"
Alai	"The plan is to minimize the damage this crisis will do to this planet, more I cannot say," Alai said, shooting her a friendly smile. "Or if you're asking after our escape plan -- we've got our ways of staying mobile."
Tara	"Ben and Tony -- you have ways to get them out too, right?" Tara checked. "Look, I get that you're doing ... secret government stuff. I do. But -- I don't want to be here and not know what's going on. At least most of it."
Alai	"I'm sure Ender will tell you everything," Alai said, as he rounded up and went further up the stairs. "But we can't talk here. Too many patrols."
Tara	Okay, that was actually a reasonable point. Tara nodded and sat on her curiosity for the moment. "He doesn't" -- and Tara took a few steps quickly here -- "mind that we're here?"
Alai	"He said something about 'having gotten used to meddlesome friends'," Alai said, shooting her a wry look. "So I think he's okay with it."