Ender's War

Chapter 20 - Picking up the Pieces

The glass was smooth and all encasing. Valentine gently glided her fingers across the surface, as she paced along the boundary. She walked so close that the edges of her shoes repeatedly grazed the bolts that were holding it to the ground. Those didn't deter her from her path, however. She could have cared less about anything that was happening outside the medical wing. Her mind was occupied with what was happening inside.

For the first hour she had felt sick. She had watched as both of her brothers were taken away, and proceeded to witness the extensive repairs that were being done to their bodies. Yet no matter how much it hurt to see the physical damage they had inflicted on the other, she could not look away. The alternative would have been much worse.

Graff would want to talk to her. He had made that abundantly clear after seeing the state both of her brothers were in. From the look on his face. Valentine didn't think he could believe what happened. This surprised her since the man claimed to know her brother well. If that was truly the case, wouldn't he have predicted an outcome such as this from their encounter? Either way, she didn't want to be stuck in his office talking about her brothers when she needed to be with them.

She knew she couldn't do anything more than the doctors were doing, but she felt comforted with the possibility of them being aware of her presence. Wouldn't that be enough? Valentine wasn't scared, or emotional as some low ranking I.F. Officials expected her to be. Almost immediately after they were first admitted, the doctors assured her they would both survive. That gave her some relief, but Valentine remained silently frustrated.

Why couldn't they have had a civil conversation for once? She repeatedly thought to herself while waiting for updates. Better yet, why don't they listen to me? She had told Peter to stop, but like always he ignored her completely. Sadly, she had become used to that.

The slight and repetitive movement of a hand caught Valentine's eye, and brought her out of her thoughts.

It was Dink. He was standing facing the glass a couple of feet away on her left, and was clutching his right hand with his left.

"You should get that looked at." She broke the silence that had fallen over them ever since they'd gotten there.

"Maybe later", he replied and smiled slightly. He continued to stretch his fingers, and rub his right hand with his left in an attempt to ease the pain. "They don't need to have to deal with me as well. I'll survive until they're done."

Valentine nodded in understanding, and came to a stop from her pacing beside him. "Thank you for getting in the middle of it. I don't think Peter would be alive if you didn't."

At this Dink shrugged. "Any of us would've done it." Then he smiled momentarily again. "Besides, it was for the Admiral's own good."

"I couldn't agree more."

Valentine wondered what would've happened if she hadn't gotten Dink in time. Alai and Han Tzu didn't want to interfere. They'd reasoned that Ender was their commander, and they weren't about to go against him. She would have tried herself, but she was too smart to butt in. Both of her brothers were stronger than she was, and she wasn't about to put her own life at risk. Having met Dink once in the past, Valentine had reasoned that we was the more independent among the Jeesh members. She was right. And thank the forbidden Gods she was. She knew that killing Stilson and Bonzo had damaged Ender, but killing Peter would have destroyed him.

There would be no coming back from that, and if it happened the I.F. would have lost their last hope. More importantly, Valentine would have lost both of her brothers.

"Ender'll be back to planning the war by next week, I'd imagine." Dink joked.

"Probably. If the doctors can keep him down for that long." Valentine replied with the same mild sense of humour.