Ender's War

Chapter 15 - Fun and Games

The thickly padded grey and orange Flash suit fit Ender like a glove as he slid it on. The stiffness of the fabric felt unfamiliar and as he slipped on the gloves, he realized that he hadn't worn one of these for over five years. He wasn't bothered at all about being a bit under practiced, though. Everyone else was in the same boat, and he was more concerned with whether or not he should be thankful, or a bit weirded out by the fact that Graff somehow knew his measurements.

Ender picked up the sleekly designed helmet from where it rested in it's compartment, and held it tightly under his arm. The bright orange crest of Dragon Army on the back of it, stood out in the dim light of his quarters as if it were glowing. It wasn't, but it would be once he entered the Battle Room.

"Are you sure you don't want to participate?" Ender stepped out of his Commander's chambers, and faced Valentine who was patiently waiting for him against the wall.

"Me?" She mock laughed. "I know nothing of space battle, and I wouldn't stand a chance against any of you."

"We haven't exactly had occasion to practice, Val." Ender responded slyly. He really did want her to try it. She would get a better understanding of the game, and by seeing how difficult it is, she would realize that he is indeed an expert in his field of work.

He didn't doubt that she already knew that, but with the Martial and the rescue mission being her only in person experiences with Ender, he felt as though she needed to see more to fully understand who he was. And there wasn't a better way than to see him in a Battle and experience his element herself.

"My mind is made." She concluded. " Although, I reserve the right to try it another time."

He did not press the matter any further. It wouldn't get him anywhere, so he chose to take Valentine's declined invitation as a positive. If she had played, she would have had to be in Dragon and - without sugar coating anything - she wouldn't have been very useful.

This game was only for fun, but nobody could blame Ender for being competitive. He could just never find it in him to willingly lose. It wasn't written into his DNA.

"Okay, then follow me. We're going to be late if we don't hurry."

Ender started into a quick jog, and after initially struggling, not expecting him to do anything other than walk, Valentine fell into pace directly behind him. Only the patter of their boots could be heard as they speedily made their way down the corridor.

It took quite a while to make it to their destination, and it wasn't because they had to stop to catch their breath. Well...Valentine was a little exasperated once they did catch up with the others, but Ender had to take several detours to avoid any young prying eyes.

"Commander on deck!" The slightly deeper voice of Carn Carby called out from in front of the door to the Battle Room.

"Took you long enough!" Petra shouted from within the small group of soldiers dressed in Dragon Army uniforms.

"Neh", Ender replied as he came to a stop in front of her. "We went the long way so we wouldn't have an audience."

Crazy Tom stepped forward, smiling, and it was the first time he'd seen Ender in years.

"Welcome back, commander." The young teen, with his hair now dyed a deep red, stuck out his hand, and Ender shook it without hesitating.

"It's been a crazy couple of years." Ender admitted to the group of four soldiers who Dink had assigned to his army.

His group consisted of: himself, Petra, Crazy Tom, Carn Carby, and Shen. Right away, he realized that Bean wasn't there, and he couldn't blame Dink for his choice. Out of his entire Jeesh, Bean was the one who was the most similar to Ender himself. It wouldn't be a fair fight if they were on the same side.