Ta'a Chume'Dun, Hapes, Hapes Cluster, Friday evening

[momslilassassin]

Ben leaned against the balcony of their suite in the Fountain Palace and sighed softly. Hapes really was ridiculously beautiful, and while he preferred Naboo because of the lack of constant political posturing, he did enjoy getting to show Ender and Val off to Tenel Ka, who flatly refused to believe he was old enough to have a baby of his own when she could still remember changing his bottom.

The laughter from her guards at that had almost made the embarrassment worth it. "I think it's time for dinner soon," Ben called into Ender. "It's hard to gage here by the sun because it never gets fully dark."

Comments

[momslilassassin]

Ben looked thoughtful. "I don't know," he said. "I mean, for a lot of generations, they shouldn't. Only two and they hate each other? Constantly scheming for more power? I don't get it."

[endsthegame]

"Either they are tapping into something in the people we don't understand, or there's something else going on," Ender mused.

Don't turn into Kreia now, Ender.

[momslilassassin]

Ben finished his dessert, looking intrigued. "Like what? Not that I think Vestara's taking my comm connections."

[endsthegame]

"That there's something else that wants this to keep happening," Ender said. "Something that feeds on conflict."

[momslilassassin]

"Another Abeloth?" Ben said, biting his lower lip. "Could be. There's a lot of galaxy out there."

[endsthegame]

"You have to wonder," Ender said. "This is the first peaceful lull in how long?"

[momslilassassin]

"A long, long time," Ben admitted, frowning.

[endsthegame]

"Maybe sending Abeloth off closed the door on something," Ender said, "Or maybe something's still waiting.

[momslilassassin]

Ben pressed his lips together. "Well, the Force is neither good nor bad," he said. "It just is. Light and dark must be in balance."

[endsthegame]

"When you put it like that, the insinuation is that the Force itself thrives on conflict," Ender noted. "Just a balanced amount of it."

[momslilassassin]

"I'm not entirely happy about that," Ben admitted, "but it doesn't feel wrong. We don't grow without conflict."

[endsthegame]

"True," Ender said quietly, "But sometimes I wonder how much time your universe has had to grow, between conflicts."

He looked towards Tenel Ka, wryly. "Sorry. Sometimes we get carried away."

[momslilassassin]

Tenel Ka smiled. "It feels very much like my young adulthood. Anakin and Jacen Solo would argue like this through most meals."

"I didn't know that," Ben said with a sad smile of his own. "Makes sense, though."

[endsthegame]

Ender reached out to touch his shoulder instinctively. "I didn't know either of them well, unfortunately."

[momslilassassin]

Tenel Ka's eyes turned shadowed. "They were headstrong boys," she said with a tiny smile, "each convinced they were always right."

[endsthegame]

"And since their individual Right was always slightly different from the other's Right, they fought," Ender said, smiling faintly. "That's a story I know."

[momslilassassin]

"That is a story as old as stories," Tenel Ka agreed, "but they always thought they had a twist to it."

She glanced down into her lap. "Eventually, they were right."

Ben bit his lower lip. Tenel Ka didn't get to talk about Jacen much.

[endsthegame]

"Is that how you feel about it?" Ender asked quietly.

Again, avoiding anything specific.

[momslilassassin]

Tenel Ka looked him straight in the eyes. "I think there is far too much going on in the present to dwell on things better left in the past."

[endsthegame]

"Of course," Ender said, as he refused to look away. "There are things about the past that leave tenterhooks in the present."

[momslilassassin]

Tenel Ka looked at Ben and smiled. "I see why you chose him. He sees clearly."

Ben smiled. "He really does."

[endsthegame]

"At best, I have a slightly better prescription than some," Ender said, mouth quirking. "But thank you."

[momslilassassin]

"You are very welcome," Tenel Ka said. "I am still not pleased that this one is old enough to have chosen a life partner and have a child, but I like you."

[endsthegame]

"I apologize for our aging," Ender said wryly, "Though I can assure you, it's going much slower than it could be."

[momslilassassin]

Tenel Ka looked amused. "I have heard," she said. "Stasis, correct? Because you do not have lightspeed?"

Ben had the grace to look embarrassed. "I'm not as vocal about that as I was," he said.