Ender's War

Chapter 30 - Ender's War

Deft fingers worked to unfurl Ender's shirt sleeves, smoothing them out across his forearms. A navy blue bullet proof vest with the International Fleet's insignia was placed overtop the basic crewneck he'd been sporting since the previous night. A military grade jacket of the same colour, donning several pockets along the front was secured overtop of it. Next came a pair of tactical military gloves, some cargo pants that matched the jacket, and a pair of midnight black combat boots. A black balaclava was draped over his head, followed by a navy blue helmet with the I.F. insignia on the right side. Finally, a second vest, one with even more pockets, was fastened over-top of the jacket. This one, had a small dragon army insignia over the left breast pocket, right under a scroll of words that told everyone that he was the Commander. Admiral Wiggin was stitched in small orange lettering. It wasn't obvious enough to make Ender a target on the battlefield, but it was big enough so that those standing close to him knew exactly who he was.

After he was done with his gear, Ender took a moment to look around at his comrades. They were all in various stages of putting on the same gear, with slight adjustments depending on their team and rank, and they looked more determined than ever.

This is it, Ender thought as he moved through the crowd to stand at the hatch of his team's aircraft. I've already given them their orders. Now it's up to them.

Peter joined him a few minutes later, looking amongst the crowd of a few hundred himself. "Most of them are probably going to die."

"They know that."

"Good. They're dying for you."

Ender let out a huff of air. "They're going to die so the Second Warsaw Pact doesn't gain control of the entire world."

"It's the same thing."

The loud clash of metal on metal could be heard as each aircraft closed its doors behind its group of soldiers. Ender's door was the last to shut. It closed right behind both him and Peter after they determined that their surroundings were clear.

"Everyone is ready for departure, Commander." A young launchy addressed Ender from behind after he had finished buckling himself into his seat.

Ender looked up at the young boy. August. He'd make sure to remember that face. The young soldier probably wouldn't make it back. Ender would try to remember all of them. As many as he could. Because they trusted him, and he owed them that much.

Ender nodded once, and said a simple "thank you. He turned on his ansible and connected both himself and Peter to the I.F. network through their earpieces.

Unlike before, they both had two earpieces for this. Ender had made sure that every one of his team leaders were equipped with the same. Neither Ender, nor Peter or any of the other leaders could afford to be distracted from their communications. That alone could result in their downfall.

As a repercussion, Ender and Graff had also ensured that in each cluster of 50 soldiers, twenty-five of them were provided one earpiece. That way, if things went south on the ground and their team leader was killed, a group could maintain communication with command to relay their situation.

They had not told anyone what to do if all their coms were cut off. Both Ender and Graff knew that if a team got to that point, there was no way they'd survive anyway.

"Dink, Fly, Alai, are you there?" Ender spoke into his coms, addressing three of his team leaders.

All three, in succession answered his call. "We're all ready over here." Dink answered, his voice echoed through the line. "We will move on your command," Fly confirmed, while Alai simply said, "Awaiting your instructions, sir."