Enders In Exile

International
Fleet has been my only bride. Like you, I travel as a bachelor."
    Ender grinned at him.
"I think your bachelorhood and mine are both going to be much in
question before long."
    "Our mission is
reproduction of the species beyond the bounds of Earth," said Morgan.
"But the voyage will go more smoothly if we guard our bachelorhood
zealously while in transit."
    "Mine has the safety of
ignorant youth," said Ender, "and yours the distance of authority.
Thank you for the great honor of greeting us here. I've underslept a
little the past few days, and I hope I'll be forgiven for indulging
myself in about eighteen hours of rest. I fear I'll miss the beginning
of acceleration."
    "Everyone will, Mr.
Wiggin," said Morgan. "The inertia suppression on this ship is superb.
In fact, we are already accelerating at the rate of two gravities, and
yet the only apparent gravity is imparted by the centrifugal force of
the spin of the ship."
    "Which is odd," said
Valentine, "since centrifugal force is also inertial, and you'd think
it would also be suppressed."
    "The suppression is
highly directionalized, and affects only the forward movement of the
ship," said Morgan. "I apologize for ignoring you so nearly completely,
Ms. Wiggin. I'm afraid your brother's fame and rank have distracted me
and I forgot courtesy."
    "None is owed to me,"
said Valentine with a light laugh. "I'm just along for the ride."
    With that they
separated and Ensign Akbar led them to their stateroom. It was not a
huge space, but it was well equipped, and it took the ensign several
minutes to show them where their clothing, supplies, and desks had been
stowed, and how to use the ship's internal communications system. He
insisted on setting down both their beds and then raising them
up again and locking them out of the way, so Ender and Valentine had
seen a complete demonstration. Then he showed them how to lower and
raise the privacy screen that turned the stateroom into two sleeping
areas.
    "Thank you," said
Ender. "Now I think I'll take the bed down again so I can sleep."
    Ensign Akbar was full
of apologies and took both the beds down again, ignoring their protests
that the point of his demonstration was so they could do it themselves.
When he was finally done, he paused at the door. "Sir," he said, "I
know I shouldn't ask. But. May I shake your hand, sir?"
    Ender thrust out his
hand and smiled warmly. "Thank you for helping us, Ensign Akbar."
    "It's an honor to have
you aboard this ship, sir." Then Akbar saluted. Ender returned the
salute and the ensign left and the door closed behind him.
    Ender went to his bed
and sat down on it. Valentine sat on hers, directly across from him.
Ender looked at her and started to laugh. She joined in his laughter.
    They laughed until
Ender was forced to lie down and rub the tears out of his eyes.
    "May I ask," said
Valentine, "if we're both laughing at the same thing?"
    "Why? What were you
laughing at?"
    "Everything," said
Valentine. "The whole picture-taking thing before we left, and Morgan
greeting us so warmly, as if he weren't preparing to stab you in the
back, and Ensign Akbar's hero worship despite your insistence that you
were just 'Mr. Wiggin'—which is, of course, an affectation
too. I was laughing at the whole of it."
    "I see that all of that
is funny, if you look at it that way. I was too busy to be amused with
it. I was just trying to stay awake and say all the right things."
    "So what were
you
laughing at?"
    "It was pure delight.
Delight and relief. I'm not in charge of anything now. For the duration
of the voyage, it's Morgan's ship, and I'm a free man for the first
time in my life."
    "Man?" asked Valentine.
"You're still shorter than me."
    "But Val," said Ender,
"I have to shave every week now, or the whiskers show."
    They laughed again,
just a little. Then Valentine spoke the command to bring down the
barrier between their beds. Ender stripped down to his underwear,
crawled under a single sheet—nothing more was needed in this
climate-controlled environment—and in moments he was asleep.

CHAPTER
8

    To: GovDes%[email protected]/voy
From: [email protected]
Fwd: Report on Planet Making
    Dear Ender,
    I was conflicted about
whether to send you this. On the one hand, it is fascinating, even
heartening; on the other hand, I know you have suffered greatly because
of the destruction of the formic home world and reminders might be
painful. I risk the pain—your pain, so it was not much risk
to me,