Ender Wiggin's Last Game

His Position

Penelope sat in the mess hall for breakfast, listening to the conversations around her. Most of them consisted of questions and theories. "What will it be like when we land? Do you think there will be less gravity!?"
All of this was fine, of course, but it's not what she was looking for. So she moved from one table to the next each day, trying to find more interesting conversation. She sat with a few men for a while, listening to their talk about the old way of politics and all the new developments. What it would be like when they land. She learned about the other settlers, the ones born from the IF soldiers after the war. Because of the time relation, she guessed all their children would be adults now.
She wanted to avoid the younger females. She wasn't looking for gossip, she was looking for intelligent conversation. But recently, she had run out of people to talk to.
    "... Yeah, I heard Admiral Morgan said... and now Admiral Wiggin..." Penelope could only hear bits and pieces, but it was enough. She sat down next to them, listening as their talking died down. She didn't say anything, eating the food she brought to the table.
    She was on her third mouthful when she realized they were all staring at her. Each one watching. She swallowed and put down her spoon. This didn't happen the last time she sat down.
    "Yes?" She asked, looking up at them. They looked between her and each other, wondering what to say. Penelope waited expectantly, until one of them got the balls to speak up.
    "Um... you see, I don't mean to be rude, but..." she trailed off, looking to her friends for help.
    "The tables are sorted by family, see, and you're not..." Penelope almost rolled her eyes. The tables weren't sorted by family, that was just an excuse to make her leave. But Penelope decided to play along anyway.
    "Do you see any free tables?" Before they could turn their heads to look, she continued.
    "I came here alone, without family. Surely you can ignore one measly girl." They looked at each other with a face that said: What does this dumb ass girl think she's talking about? With one eyebrow raised and judging eyes. They all wore the same look. One thing she never had to worry about in Battle School.
    "Where's your family?" One girl asked sweetly. Her friend next to her giggled and looked between her food and Penelope.
    Penelope sighed internally.
    "Earth." She picked up her fork and continued eating. The food tasted worse than usual. The girls gasped.
    "Don't you miss them?" The pity in her voice was too potent.
    "No." She said truthfully. She didn't miss her mother. Some of the girls giggled again.
     "But don't you miss your mom and dad? I know I would." Penelope looked up at them. She needed something to make them shut up. Of course, she could leave, but she needed to know what they knew about Ender.
    "I... I never said they were alive." She looked at her lap, pretending to be ashamed. The giggling stopped.
    "Y-you're not crying are you?" She thought for a moment. Would it help if they thought she was? She decided to try it, making tears well up in her eyes. She held her breath slightly, hoping it made her face a little red.
Penelope shook her head no, but let them see a tear fall.
    "Shit, we're sorry! We, uh... didn't mean to make you cry. Fuck." Some girls tried to comfort her, but she brushed them off. It's not like she was really crying anyway. Not this time.
    One girl finally got the memo.
    "She probably wants to be left alone, guys." They were about to get up and leave when they realized that Penelope was right. All other tables were taken.
    "So... what were we talking about?" Penelope smiled softly. They were gonna let her listen. The plan worked.
    "Admiral Wiggin, I heard he's not allowed to give orders to anyone."
    "What? But he's an Admiral! Not to mention our future governor."
    "That's exactly what I was thinking. It doesn't make sense. It's Morgan's command though, so-"
    "You can't just call him Morgan! What if he hears you? Call him Admiral."
    "Oh shut up Susan-"
    "For the last time my name is not Susan." The girl rolled her eyes.
    "Whatever."
    Penelope stood from her seat, shocked at what she had just heard. Ender wasn't allowed to give orders anymore? What did this mean? She couldn't wrap her head around it. If Ender can't give orders, this might mean he's giving up his position as Admiral. Or worse, his position as governor.

— — —

    "Andrew, what the hell is this?"
    "I'm not sure, Valentine, what do you mean?" She huffed and sat on the end of the bed where Ender was currently seated, doing work on his desk.
    "Ender," she said softly. "why are bending over backwards just to accommodate Morgan's wants?"
    "I hardly think following a command is "bending over backwards." Besides, I don't need to give orders in order to gain trust on this ship." He kept scrolling through the reports on his desk, skimming for important information.
    "Maybe, Ender, But now it's gotten out to the colonists. They think you're resigning as Admiral."
    "No, you think they think I'm resigning. They don't think like you Val." He smirked glancing up at her from his desk. She laughed at him, starting as a light chuckle but growing. She held her stomach and falling the side. After a few minutes, she had him laughing too.
    "No matter how hard you try, Ender, you'll never be more than an overworked fourteen year old!" She managed to laugh out.
"That's the reason you're laughing? I thought I had missed something." He said, wiping away a tear that had escaped. Every time Val and he had a moment like this, he swore he had never laughed so hard in his life.
"You know," she said, fixing her posture. "If anyone hears us laughing like this, they'll never suspect that it's because the great Ender Wiggin had made a mistake."
"They'll think we're teens."
"Just like they should." Ender looked at his sister, smiling wide.

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More chapter for yous to snack on! Viola!
...
I've actually had a rough past few days, but it's a good thing bc now I'm paying attention to this book... 😅

Seriously though, if you have any ideas you'd love to see in the story, I'll gladly add them in. I'm winging this whole thing. There is no plot yet, which makes things dangerous 😏😉

Have another lovely day my sweets <3