Ender's War

Chapter 7 - The Rescue Mission: Part One

Two Years Ago

One, two, three...... One, two, three.... One, two three....

Heavy breathing followed.

One, two, three..... One, two, three.... One, two, three....

More silence. More waiting. More anticipation with every passing moment.

Was this what the world had to be like now? Now that Ender Wiggin, 'The' Ender Wiggin, had been banished from the planet once and for all. Was hope really reduced down to two... political rivals? Not only were they each other's political opposition, but they held completely different viewpoints on everything. Including, their beliefs regarding the results of the Court Martial that occurred not so much as a month earlier. To a lot of the world, it was scary to watch. But to Valentine, it was downright disastrous to endure.

So, as she prepared to stand in front of the world, she counted. Not out loud of course, but subconsciously to pass the time. They had been waiting forever and even she, who was normally quite patient, was getting a little fed up with the pace. Nonetheless, she adverted her attention to looking around the elegantly decorated room.

It was beautiful; it had to be for the cameras, but she didn't care about the decorations. Yes there were expensive curtains, two fancy podiums: one of which she was standing behind, and all sorts of technical lighting, but that wasn't what was important. Frankly, Valentine could care less what she looked like. She was more concerned about the information she needed to put out into the world. And the spotlight that she would have to fight to get away from Peter.

That's right. After the entire planet watched Ender Wiggin disappear into the sky less than a month ago, immediate arrangements had been made for a worldwide press conference. You don't even have to guess with who. It became more than obvious not twelve hours after their little brother's departure that Val and Peter were gaining public momentum. With the outburst during Ender's last day to back them up, it was no surprise that things would soon be escalated.

Valentine turned to look at the slime known as her brother, her thoughts still swarmed with mixed emotions toward his revelations not too long ago. She was greeted with a dashing smile that Peter had gotten way too good at doing. If she did not know him better, she would have actually believed in its legitimacy. But then again, nothing with Peter was ever actually legitimate.

She returned his smile with a hard glare that she made sure burned into his eye sockets. He was positioned behind a podium a couple of meters away, but she knew that he got the idea. So much so, he made a point of breaking her gaze within seconds. Though, Val did not turn back to the front. She wanted to examine the snakelike features of her opponent. Not because she thought that it would give her an advantage or anything, but because it helped ease her troubled mind. It allowed her to tell herself that she is capable of overcoming Peter's influence once again. That somehow, she could protect him from spreading his influence over the entire world.

She knew she was dreaming by thinking of such things, but she could not just stand there feeling completely helpless.

"Okay. We're ready to get this thing started." A young man with a rather dapper looking suit on stepped in between the two.

Valentine smiled and nodded without looking over at Peter.

The young man, whom she noticed had a head full of curly blond hair, smiled and gave them both a thumbs up. Peter must have showed his approval somehow as well, since the man walked away to prepare the cameras.