Fire and Ice

Chapter 5 [] Ender

"Go left, Bean!"

"I've got you covered Alai!"

"Everyone regroup!" I yell. Today's battle takes place near an asteroid belt, and it's more challenging than ever. The formic fighters duck and dodge our lasers, hiding behind asteroids for cover and then lunging out to attack us when we think they've disappeared. A small group of formics is left, as well as an equal number of our fighters. It took many losses on their part to get it that way.

"Take your fighters and fan them out in an arc," I command, followed by the usual chorus of 'yes sirs' followed by whatever I've just told them to do. A large arc forms around the enemy fighters, trapping them between debris and a hard place.

"Fire!" Lasers go off on our side, but return lasers follow. They have two fighters and we have th...ree? A new ship appears on my screen from nowhere, lit up in IF blue, and wipes the remaining fighters off the map. Cheers erupt around the room as the lights come on. My screen stays pulled up, and I watch the ship disappear... only for my screen to relocate showing it in a different sector of space.

"Ender," I hear Graff call gruffly. Everyone else immediately quiets, wanting to hear what he needs to tell me. "You'll wanna come see this," he says, cryptic as usual, then makes for the exit. I hop up and hurry to follow him, leaving my confused jeesh behind me.

†††

Man, it feels good to fly again! Deep space was always my favorite area to fly. Being stuck Earthside for a hundred-some-odd years is coming back to bite me in the butt. My difficulty flying slaps me in the face, harder than when I was trying to recover muscle memory of hand-to-hand combat.

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Graff leads me to an airlock. We're given masks and oxygen tanks by stern soldiers, and told to be careful. They salute Graff, then step back into the hallway. The doors slam shut behind them, one, two, three. Graff flips our oxygen switches on, then gives me what looks like a bracelet. I put it on, and a motorbike appears, handlebars stemming from my now closed fist, seat perfectly tailored to fit underneath me. I look over at Graff, and find he has one too.

"Prepare to leave airlock twelve. Doors open in T-minus thirty, twenty-nine, twenty-eight..." a mechanized voice calls out. I feel something attach to my belt loops, then scamper up my back towards my neck. It locks onto my neck, right where my monitor was so long ago, and quickly encompasses my head with a sturdy helmet.

"Five... Four... Three... Two.."

One. The airlock doors snap open, and my bike takes off out onto the planetoid's surface after Graff's.

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We ride across the planetoid's surface for a few minutes until we reach a planetside space dock. It looks fairly new, and probably isn't connected to the normal facilities. Graff leads me towards the airlock, and the doors snap open instantly to welcome us.

We pass through a field that slows us down before reaching the door. The doorway looms overhead, and I look up to see the different layers of the airlock doors. Our bikes pull to a stop just inside the airlock and the doors snap shut. I try to dismount my motorbike, but as soon as one of my hands releases the handles the bike folds itself back into my bracelet, the helmet following suit soon after. Graff clears his throat and holds out his hand expectantly. I sigh deeply, and slowly hand the bracelet back to him. He tucks it into an inside pocket, and walks toward the entrance to the facility to hang his oxygen tank up.