Ender's War

Chapter 30 - Ender's War

"Converge on your respective bases when I give the order."

"Yes, sir." All three responded without hesitation. That alone was why he'd assigned his jeesh members as team leaders. They'd worked under his command numerous times before. They wouldn't disobey his orders, or question his choices. They had become a well oiled machine with complete trust in him. Ender would give them a command and they would carry it out. It was as simple as that, and because of their loyalty, the operation couldn't go any smoother.

"They're such ants." Peter grumbled from his position on his left.

Ender spared his brother a glance, and was only slightly surprised to see the smirk on his face. He didn't comment. Instead, he asked him, "Are the troops ready?"

Peter was in charge of monitoring their group. He handled all communication between them, while Ender focused on the big picture. It ensured that their assault on Wroclaw wouldn't be neglected in favour of the war itself. It had been a win-win situation for Ender work wise ever since Peter had agreed to work with them.

He wouldn't have thought it possible before, but things were different now. Peter was an asset, one he was thankful to have.

Peter spoke into his own earpiece before answering. "Yes. They're waiting on your call."

Ender nodded before clicking a few buttons on the ansible control panel in front of him. The aircraft buzzed to life underneath his fingertips, and he turned to Peter. An unspoken understanding crossed between them as they both grasped their controls. They were going to work together on this. Truly. And they were going to come out of it alive together too.

"Dink, Alai, Fly. We are a go."

* * * * * * * * *

A warm hand wiped the sweat laden hair from Alai's forehead. He gazed up at the scorching sun from underneath his helmet. His chest heaved from overexertion and his hands ached from the time he'd spent gripping his assault rifle as if his life had depended on it. It did.

Someone was talking to him. He couldn't tell who it was. Their face was blocking out the sun, creating a halo of light around a dark silhouette. Alai squinted, their mouth was moving but no words reached his ears. He couldn't hear anything accept the incessant ringing from the constant cascade of gunfire. Thirty-four soldiers. The words slipped through the haze. Was that how many he'd taken down himself? He'd lost count after the first few. It had been at that point when things had started to get out of control.

They'd opted for an air assault paired with a ground approach from an elevated area. Ender had advised against any other strategy, wanting to preserve his soldiers lives as much as possible until they could overwhelm their adversaries at their headquarters in Warsaw.

It was an oddly conservative move for Ender. Alai, who had known him since the beginning, had been all too aware of Ender's overly sacrificial nature. Perhaps, the team leader had found himself thinking, Ender had become more compassionate than what he used to be. After all, people grew, and even though Alai had been more than willing to follow Ender into the depths of hell before, he found himself feeling relieved that he was now following a different, more openly humane Ender Wiggin.

The Ender before, the one who had eradicated the Buggers at the young age of 11, he had terrified Alai. That Ender had been ruthless, appeared uncaring, didn't seem to put the lives of others into consideration, and was not someone who any of them spoke to outside of a professional capacity. Since then, Alai had, when both Ender and himself were not busy, spoken to his Commander about things other than war.

And Ender...well, he'd shown him and the rest of the jeesh that he was indeed a human being with feelings. He did care for each of them, and even though he didn't want to lead this war, he was going to do it for everyone else. This Ender, he was selfless.