Stark Industries, Monday

[endsthegame]

Ender had come to enjoy the quieter weekends Fandom kicked their way. This one had been no different: he'd gotten some decent - for his standards - sleep, he'd gotten work done, and there was nothing in particular that had gone in any way terribly pear-shaped.

That couldn't last forever; he was well aware of it. Preparing for it.

But today, he was coming into Stark's early and looking well-rested, forgoing the desk so he could dive into the back of the store, turn on the holograph, and run some simulations to help out the colonists on Shakespeare.

[[ open! ]]

Comments

[momslilassassin]

"Ho, kreetle," Ben said with a smile, carrying a large sack of burgers.

[OOC: Inconvenient migraines were inconvenient.]

[endsthegame]

"I'm back here," Ender called, tilting his head until he caught sight of Ben.

[[ euuugh. *hands painkillers and a nice dark room* ]]

[momslilassassin]

"What are you working on?" Ben wondered, ambling closer.

[endsthegame]

"The colonists on Shakespeare have been branching out," Ender said. "I'm just collating the new data."

[momslilassassin]

"Anything interesting?" Ben asked.

[endsthegame]

"Too early to tell," Ender said. He manipulated the image in front of him until it shifted back to the familiar scan of planet Shakespeare, now slightly less empty. "Some of the colonists are pregnant, so they're extending camp... here, where there's the most flat land and the least chance of misadventure."

[momslilassassin]

Ben nodded thoughtfully. "Easy pregnancies?" he asked, keeping his voice clinical.

[endsthegame]

"As easy as they're going to get in this environment," Ender said. "We have no indication of whether the measures they've taken against the worms will extend to the babies... never mind what else there might be lurking on Shakespeare."

[momslilassassin]

"Not to sound insanely obsessed with babymaking or anything," Ben said, "but that stuff's kind of critical if the colony is going to expand."

[endsthegame]

"Whether we like it or not, these are the first," Ender said. He sighed. "It's a lot more peaceful out there than your universe, but they are definitely pioneers, with all the dangers that entails."

[momslilassassin]

Ben nodded. "I'm guessing we're bringing a lot of medical folks with us, just in case?"

[endsthegame]

Ender nodded. "They've got battle medics, of course," he said, "And I'm sure some of the kids will grow up to make good doctors, but there's no substitute for a real obstetrician."

[momslilassassin]

Ben looked thoughtful. "Would a meddroid help too?"

[endsthegame]

Ender blinked. Then he said, "Definitely - if you can spare one."

[momslilassassin]

"I can pull a few strings," Ben said. "I don't think we could get a bacta tank, but I bet Lando can get an older droid pretty easily."

[endsthegame]

"Bacta tank wouldn't be useful anyway," Ender noted. "We'd have no way to resupply the bacta, unless portals near Shakespeare are a lot bigger and a lot more stable than the ones we've already found."

[momslilassassin]

"And since my goal is to not need one, it's better to not have one," Ben decided.

That was some mighty sketchy logic there, Ben.

[endsthegame]

"Somehow, I don't see that making you any more cautious," Ender said.

[momslilassassin]

"Probably not," Ben admitted.

[endsthegame]

"But the meddroid will come in handy," Ender said, flashing him a wry smile. "Thanks."

[momslilassassin]

Ben leaned in to kiss him. "You're very welcome."

[endsthegame]

"Mmm," Ender said, touching his jaw and kissing him a second time, lightly. "We might manage to save some lives yet. Actually, I could probably get them some rudimentary schematics for anything that might help them - just nothing too complicated. They don't know your tech yet."

[momslilassassin]

"If they're running out of things to do, sure," Ben said with a little smile. "And finding out what kind of stuff they don't have will make it easier for me to know what kind of parts to bring with me."

[endsthegame]

"I'll ask the current governor what further needs they might have," Ender said, "Communicate it back to you."

He reached over and shut off the holograph.

[momslilassassin]

Ben smiled. "I brought lunch," he offered.

In a shocking change of pace...