Stark Industries, Monday

[endsthegame]

While Ender was wondering what Ben was up to, he wasn't going to let that monopolize his time. He shunted the worry off to a corner of his mind and then set his brain to work.

The rhythm of the code on his screen was kind of absorbing after a while. He got a lot of work done.

[ open! ]

Comments

[momslilassassin]

After class (and a nap), Ben wandered downtown. "Ho, Ender," he said with a slightly tired smile.

[endsthegame]

"Ho, Ben." He pressed a key, saving his code. "You're still walking around in one piece."

[momslilassassin]

"I decided to take your advice on that," Ben replied, nodding. "It worked out well."

[endsthegame]

"You could probably stand to lose at least 25% of your head," Ender replied, and got up from behind the console. He tilted his head at Ben, giving him a look.

[momslilassassin]

"Jacen's still breathing," Ben informed him, "but we rescued the princess he'd kidnapped. It's kind of a family tradition."

He paused. "The rescuing. Not the kidnapping."

[endsthegame]

"Maybe that's why Jacen went bad," Ender said, reaching him on the other end of the room. "Not enough to rescue."

Ben still looked tired. That wasn't really a surprise. "Anything else?"

[momslilassassin]

"I'd jumped to the wrong conclusion. Centerpoint Station hadn't been destroyed--just fired again. The program hadn't been installed until this last operation." He ran his fingers through his hair, then tugged at his braid. "Now Centerpoint Station's gone. I got to watch. No fun."

[endsthegame]

"Who blew it up?"

[momslilassassin]

"They did it to themselves," Ben said quietly. "Our mission parameters were pretty simple: 'let the enemy do the work.' If they'd never tried to use the weapon again, they'd all still be there. We just uploaded code that would change any coordinates they inputted to their own position."

[endsthegame]

"Smart," Ender said.

He was immensely glad he hadn't been involved in pushing that button. That feeling fed into instinct, made him search Ben's face for any traces of the opposite.

[momslilassassin]

Ben looked much older than he had when he'd left a few days ago. "It's war," he said. "No one has much claim to the moral high ground these days."

He let out a long breath. "I'm glad I wasn't part of that infiltration team, though."

[endsthegame]

"The moral high ground doesn't win anyone any battles," he said, "People are always looking for the best way to beat each other unfairly."

He filed away the last part of Ben's sentence. So he'd just watched.

[momslilassassin]

"It's a mess," Ben agreed. "The attack was three-pronged. One group went after Centerpoint Station. Aunt Leia and Uncle Han went after Allana. Dad, Master Sabatyne, and I were the diversion."

[endsthegame]

"Diverting what?"

[momslilassassin]

"Who," Ben corrected. "Allana was being held on Jacen's ship. We had to keep his attention."

[endsthegame]

Hm. Ender's expression sharpened. "Did you see him?"

[momslilassassin]

Ben nodded. "Also not one of my favorite things."

[endsthegame]

"I can't imagine why," he said. "Did anything happen?"

Ender always liked to have his intel, first.

[momslilassassin]

"He blustered, he taunted, and then he set eight droids on us to kill us," Ben replied. "I think he's gotten shorter since I saw him last."

[endsthegame]

"And softer," Ender commented, "I think he at least managed a death glare when I saw him."

[momslilassassin]

"Oh, he was going for the 'I have no idea why you're here' route," Ben said, rolling his eyes. "Because we're secretly really, really stupid."

[endsthegame]

"Like I've said, Jacen's pride might do him in. If someone uses it right."

Ender snagged a seat for himself by the desk; if they were going to talk, it might as well be comfortable. "Or you could just pretend to be even stupider."

[momslilassassin]

Ben nodded. "Dad's exploring it," he said. "Jacen's pride. Not being an idiot. This last plan hinged on Jacen thinking we were coming to kill him when he really wasn't the target at all."

[endsthegame]

"And it worked," he summarised. "Good thing your dad woke up."

[momslilassassin]

Ben nodded. "He's the Grand Master," he said simply. "No one else can do what he does."