He'd been training for weeks. When he didn't have anywhere to be, he was training on the simulators. He ate, and slept, of course, and made it to lessons in time, but he lived for the Simulations. He could operate the simulator at any of fifteen levels. It was time, they told him.
Time for the real work to begin.
[][][]
Ender walked into the simulator tiredly. Graff followed, equally exhausted. He'd confessed to Ender that the higher ups had expected his training to be complete in a matter of months—not years. Ender was fifteen now, four years after he arrived at Eros. His subordinates had been broken and reformed, and so had Ender. But Ender didn't expect Graff to let him train much longer.
Most of his battles ended with him victorious, but he couldn't seem to gain an edge. They were too evenly matched.
Ender supposed he should be proud to receive even that title, but he couldn't help but wonder what the Strategos had planned.
He only hoped he survived it.
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"I assume Admiral Chamrajnagar has told you his intentions?"
"Yes, Anderson, he told me. Her cryopod is all ready to warm her back up."
"So it's true then. Ender is un-"
"Ender is perfectly capable of winning this war! He doesn't need some... some... ancient demongirl, to help him."
"She's not a demon."
"Everyone has their own opinions. Have you seen her? She's near emotionless, and her fighting skills are.."
"Incredible? Impeccable? Unbelievable? Flawless?"
"Perfect. She'll break him. She'll break everyone. We don't have her team. She'll kill us all."
"Terrified?"
"Anyone with a semblance of sanity would be."
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Fire and Ice
FanfictionEnder's Game. Ender is alone at Command school. Isolated by orders of Colonel Graff. But things don't look good. Graff decides to unleash a military secret held since the First Formic war. An aviator, medic, martial arts master, genius inventor, and...
