Stark Industries [after Leadership class]

[momslilassassin]

Ben made his way to his shift after Mr. Summers' class (and a trip to grab coffee. Don't pretend like that surprised you), set up his laptop, clicked onto the news feed from home, and began puttering around the shop as the newsbeing began catching its viewership up as to why watching the frigate Fireborn arrive in orbit around Coruscant was so important: because the Klatooinian terrorist/freedom fighter Grunel Ovin, was being transferred to the galactic center to face justice. The stargazing decks and lounges of the hotel closest to the ship were packed with the curious—some of them, to the delight of news directors, wearing or waving banners with slogans such as FREE GRUNEL or GA OUT OF HUTT AFFAIRS—as the frigate cruised past.

Ben listened with half an ear, at least until he heard the all-too-familiar sound of an explosion. Then he dropped what he'd been holding with a clatter and raced back to the desk.

The frigate, and the hundreds who'd been aboard her, was gone. "Stang," he gaped. The newsfeed showed the terrified, stampeding guests of the hotel as they raced away from the shattered viewport windows, before those images were shoved aside for the final message of Grunel Ovin. It was broadcast from an emergency beacon apparently launched from Fireborn moments before the explosion.

In the message, Grunel Ovin sat, proud and defiant, his green skin clashing with the gray prisoner jumpsuit his naval captors had given him, and gave the viewing audience a victorious smile. “By the time you listen to this recording, the frigate Fireborn will be destroyed and all aboard her, myself included, dead. I have done what I had to do in order to free my people. I have done this thing to make others understand they cannot own us.

“I allowed myself to be captured and taken aboard Fireborn so that I could accomplish the seemingly impossible, and you will never know how I have accomplished it. Understand, though, that every vessel of your navy is in danger. So long as you stand by while we are enslaved and oppressed, you can count on losing your defenders and loved ones by the hundreds and thousands.

“Let this serve as a challenge to all who think they can own sapient beings. You, too, will die at the hands of someone like me, and history will spit on your graves.

“My death also serves as a punishment for Chief Daala, who has always styled herself as an honorable warrior … yet has always behaved as a lackey, first of the Emperor and Grand Moff Tarkin, now of corporations that harvest profits from slaves outside the Alliance and then spend fortunes to buy Alliance laws that allow them to continue their crimes. Lick up their spittle, Chief Daala. I laugh at you from beyond your reach.”

Ben groaned. "Daala is going to flip out."

Stark Industries was open! Please distract Ben from his crappy, crappy galaxy.

Comments

[endsthegame]

See Ender.

See Ender come in with two bags full of lunch.

See Ender see Ben's expression.

"Now what's gone wrong?"

[[ on SP! I know you mind terribly. ]]

[momslilassassin]

"Ho," Ben said tiredly. "Grunel Ovin planted a bomb on the Fireborn and blew it up as it entered Coruscanti high orbit, then laughed at Daala from beyond the veil."

[endsthegame]

Ender registered that, and put one of the bags on the table. "I brought you some spare ribs," he said.

That seemed generally more useful than anything else he could have said to that.

[momslilassassin]

Ben's lips quirked up. "That's probably the greatest thing you could have done, kreetle," he said. "Thanks."

[endsthegame]

"I'd like to think I know you by now," Ender said, putting the container down in front of Ben. "Any word on just how badly Daala is taking it?"

[momslilassassin]

"I'm half expecting to hear her reaction live on the feed," Ben admitted. "I wouldn't want to be Wynn today."

[endsthegame]

"I should check in on him."

Ender found a chair and pulled it up to the desk.

[momslilassassin]

"Give it an hour," Ben said with a smile. "He's either hiding from his comm right now or dealing with Daala."

[endsthegame]

"Probably," Ender allowed. "I should probably send him something, too. He's bound to have done up quite the headache."

[momslilassassin]

"I think he drinks caf," Ben offered. "I don't know about alcohol."

[endsthegame]

"Maybe a fruit basket," Ender said, then released a breath. "Because what we really needed was another short-sighted fool provoking Daala."

[momslilassassin]

"I think at this point, Daala believes the sun coming up wrong might be a specific provocation," Ben said tiredly.

[endsthegame]

"Maybe, but not like this," Ender said, rubbing at his brow, "And if they were trying to give the Senate more reason to impeach her, I think this is overkill - and a kind of overkill that likely cost a lot of lives."

[momslilassassin]

Ben's eyebrow cocked up. "You think Ovin might have been working someone on this to drive her over the edge?"

[endsthegame]

"I think Ovin tried to make a clear point," Ender noted. "I can only speculate on what he was trying to accomplish, but whatever it was, it involved getting to Daala."

[momslilassassin]

Ben nodded. "I could be looking for a larger conspiracy where there isn't any, but one freedom fighter under guard blowing up a frigate?"

[endsthegame]

"Are holding cells on frigates located anywhere near something combustible, like an engine?" Ender wondered.

[momslilassassin]

Ben frowned thoughtfully, consulted wookieepedia then shook his head. "I don't think so."

[endsthegame]

"So then either he escaped somehow, or he had inside help."

[momslilassassin]

"Someone had to have gotten him the holocam, too," Ben added.

[endsthegame]

Ender nodded. "Our mysterious puppet master at work again?" he asked. "Or another faction?" His opinion inclined towards the former.

[momslilassassin]

Ben thought about it. "Who do we have to choose from?" he asked. "because if it's a Sith infiltration of the military, I'm going to be petrified."

[endsthegame]

"Depends on how long they've been around," Ender observed. "From what I've picked up over the past year or so, I'd be more inclined to think of someone a little more... entrenched... in the system."

[momslilassassin]

Ben nodded. "The military has reason to not like her much: she keeps going to the Mandos instead of to them."

[endsthegame]

"Jealousy within the ranks?" Ender mused. "Could be."

[momslilassassin]

"Or at least people amenable to bribery," Ben replied.

[endsthegame]

"I'll do some comparing and contrasting," Ender promised. "We might be able to root out who this is."

[momslilassassin]

"That would be really astral," Ben said, not bothering to hide his relief.

[endsthegame]

Ender opened up the second container of food - that was just sandwiches. "It won't do as much good as it might have done a year ago, but it might at least net us some people over interest."

[momslilassassin]

"And make sure we don't have yet another group of disenchanted people trying to get rid of Daala," Ben replied.

[endsthegame]

"I think the word 'clusterfuck' is probably apt."

[momslilassassin]

"Definitely," Ben agreed, nodding hard.