Bloody Hands || E. Wiggin

024

It has been a month since the time I talked to Ender. I haven't seen nor heard from him. The teachers have been training us with a force like no other, but we are doing well.

Today, we are told, will be different. "Today's simulation," a teacher calls as we get into our simulation positions, "will be almost like a real battle. You will have a different commander." The teacher looked at me. "Lara, please take a seat next to Bean. Today, and the days following, you will be a squadron leader. Now, everyone please take out your head sets."

I did as I was told, taking a seat next to the other squadron leaders and putting on my head set. Immediatly, I could here a conversation through them.

"Infact, they can hear you right now," I catch someone say. "Put on your head set and you can hear them."

We hear a rustling and then a silence, which is broken by Alai. "Salaam," he whispers, making me crack a small smile.

"Alai," came Ender's voice through the set.

There was a laugh. "And the dwarf."

"Bean."

A flow of names was released. I waited my turn. "Don't forget me, snot face."

There's a chuckle. "Hello Lara."

We begin to tell him about all that we have done and simulated. He doesn't say a word until we have finished. "From what I've heard," he says, "it seems like you all have done exceptionally well. But now it's time to exceed even that."

And so the simulations began. Each squadron leader commanded individual fighters. Each squadron leader was commanded by Ender.

Through out the course of the next weeks, we fought large battles and small battles. We carried big fleets and little fleets. Sometimes we lost and sometimes we won, but we worked hard. We were happy to have Ender back, even if we couldn't see him yet.

For three weeks we worked. Ender got us responding quicker and quicker until we had reached a crazy speed. Bugger speed. Looking back on all the battles, Ender used each fighter like a bugger ship. He followed the same patterns as a bugger. We had matched them, and I was over the moon.

But soon, things became more difficult. Ender told us that his teacher would now be programming the simulations and that he would be ruthless, making them harder and harder.

"You must work to your limit," Ender explains to us over the head set one day. "Because you will be worked to your limit. You can not give up, because in a real battle you can not drop everything and go home."

More weeks passed. At first, the simulations were fun. We won again and again. But Ender was right. The simulations got harder. I was tiring. We all were tiring. Even Ender. I wasn't sure what was going to happen next.

One batte was particularly bad. Before the battle, squadron leaders were trying to keep up the moral. I remember saying, "Everyone makes mistake, but we have to learn from them."

Ender said balndly, "And sometimes we don't."

The battle was horrible. Petra leader her team too far into the enemy lines. Only when she was in danger did she realize no one had her back. Only two of her fighters escaped.

Our exhaustion was showing.

The next day we won. Same with the next, all up until the last day. Examination day.

It was finally time for us to prove ourselves. Examination day would determine if we were finished with our training.

And by god, I hope we had.