Ender's War

Chapter 1 - A Hero Once Again

Soldiers turned, hearing footsteps echoing as they came towards their direction in the hall. Peter Wiggin; Ender's obnoxious, self-serving, yet handsome older brother, trudged down the corridor of one of his military command bases. His cadets stood at ease, as he passed without as much as a nod to their presence.

The air had a different quality to it. Peter, who had marched down this hall at least a hundred different times before, was starting to feel less at home in this place than he usually did. The source was obvious to him. Whether it be as obvious to everyone else, he was uncertain. But ever since that day on the highway; a sinking feeling had settled in the pit of his stomach.

He would never admit that to anyone of course. He was too strong for that. Too much of a narcissist to admit that he had been completely at the mercy of Ender Wiggin. The Ender Wiggin who at one point, was the only hope humanity had left. From his point of view, it was nothing more than sheer luck that his kid brother had 'come to his rescue', as so many people had put it. Surely, he would have been able to out maneuver those Warsaw Pact soldiers if given the opportunity. But, as always, Ender's supposed heroics had once again established that he was a hero.

The word tasted foul on the tip of Peter's tongue. Hero was the last word he would use to describe his brother. If anything, he thought he should be considered a child.

What, with his disappearing act and his sudden miraculous return two years later. Peter couldn't even begin to understand what happened with his departure, and why the hell he was not informed about it. He was the bloody head of the International Fleet's counter defence, and soon, he was certain that he would become Hegemon. All that was left for him to do was simply stage an incident. That way, the current Hegemon would die of a terrible terrible accident, and he would "hesitantly" step in when asked.

Of course, being the genius Peter knew he was, he had already managed to work his way into the heads of all the major government officials. If that man decided to keel over tomorrow, they would be knocking on his door within the first few days. He certainly did not need anybody to tell him that it was a genius plan, but Valentine predictably caught onto his antics.

Valentine; his sceptical, genius, sister who just so happened to be his counterpart Demosthenes. Though, he supposed that she never really was his partner in any way that counted. Their partnership consisted of blackmail, upstaging, and pure strategy. Once, she even managed to close all of Peter's back doors. And ever since, he hasn't been able to access any of Demosthenes' resources. Put simply, she locked him out. And what was worse? He had thought she was not smart enough to do it. That was the first time she had proven him wrong. Since then, he has chosen to see her as a worthy advisory rather than his little sister. And so far, she has managed to live up to his new standards.

"Locke?" A familiar voice brought Peter out of his thoughts.

He had been so lost in his own mind that he had not noticed when he reached the B conference room. It became known as the meeting place, where the war generals strategized not too long after the war broke out.

"Hmm?" Peter acknowledged whoever called for him, as he leaned against the doorframe.

"Admiral Wiggin is asking for you, sir." It was former BattleSchool student Bernard. Peter had not seen him in a couple of months, but despite that he knew Bernard was on his side.

He was the only one who Peter succeeded in winning over. The others, he learned sooner rather than later, were stuck under his little brother's thumb. And he also realized that they actually enjoyed being there. Even after Ender disappeared, they did not obey his command. Needless to say, they were hypnotized by Ender's hero act just like everyone else. And that, among many other things, was incredibly annoying. He had not been able to comprehend in all of his years of scheming, what great responsibility came with being a leader. The pressure that would be handed to him, and the criticism.