Ender's Shadow

got only five weapons among eight ships. How do you help each other? How do you make do? That's what I was working on. And then I went back to the officers' mess and told them what I learned. What you guys showed me. I learned stuff from them, too. I told you all the stuff I learned from them, right?”
      "Well, you could have told us what you were teaming from us," said Itú. They were all still a bit resentful.
      "I didn't have to tell you. You learned it.”
      "At least you could have told us it was OK not to win.”
      "But you were supposed to try to win. I didn't tell you because it only works if you think it counts. Like when the Buggers come. It'll count then, for real. That's when you get really smart, when losing means that you and everybody you ever cared about, the whole human race, will die. Look, I didn't think we'd have long together. So I made the best use of the time, for you and for me. You guys are all ready to take command of armies.”
      "What about you, Bean?" asked Ambul. He was smiling, but there was an edge to it. "You ready to command a fleet?”
      "I don't know. It depends on whether they want to win." Bean grinned.
      "Here's the thing, Bean," said Ambul. "Soldiers don't like to lose.”
      "And that ," said Bean, "is why losing is a much more powerful teacher than winning.”
      They heard him. They thought about it. Some of them nodded.
      " If you live," Bean added. And grinned at them.
      They smiled back.
      "I gave you the best thing I could think of to give you during this week," said Bean. "And learned from you as much as I was smart enough to learn. Thank you." He stood and saluted them.
      They saluted back.
      He left.
      And went to Rat Army barracks.
      "Nikolai just got his orders," a toon leader told him.
      For a moment Bean wondered if Nikolai would be going to Tactical School with him. His first thought was, No way is he ready. His second thought was, I wish he could come. His third thought was, I'm not much of a friend, to think first how he doesn't deserve to be promoted.
      "What orders?" Bean asked.
      "He's got him an army. Hell, he wasn't even a toon leader here. Just got here last week.”
      "Which army?”
      "Rabbit." The toon leader looked at Bean's uniform again. "Oh. I guess he's replacing you .”
      Bean laughed and headed for the quarters he had just left.
      Nikolai was sitting inside with the door open, looking lost.
      "Can I come in?”
      Nikolai looked up and grinned. "Tell me you're here to take your army back.”
      "I've got a hint for you. Try to win. They think that's important.”
      "I couldn't believe you lost all five.”
      "You know, for a school that doesn't list standings anymore, everybody sure keeps track.”
      "I keep track of you .”
      "Nikolai, I wish you were coming with me.”
      "What's happening, Bean? Is this it? Are the Buggers here?”
      "I don't know.”
      "Come on, you figure these things out.”
      "If the Buggers were really coming, would they leave all you guys here in the station? Or send you back to Earth? Or evacuate you to some obscure asteroid? I don't know. Some things point to the end being really close. Other things seem like nothing important's going to happen anywhere around here.”
      "So maybe they're about to launch this huge fleet against the Bugger world and you guys are supposed to grow up on the voyage.”
      "Maybe," said Bean. "But the time to launch that fleet was right after the Second Invasion.”
      "Well, what if they didn't find out where the Bugger home world was until now?”
        That stopped Bean cold. "Never crossed my mind," said Bean. "I mean, they must have been sending signals home. All we had to do was track that direction. Follow the light, you know. That's what it says in the manuals.”
      "What if they don't communicate by light?”
      "Light may take a year to go a light-year, but it's still faster than anything else.”
      "Anything else that we know about," said Nikolai. Bean just looked at him.
      "Oh, I know, that's stupid. The laws of physics and all that. I just -- you know, I keep thinking, that's all. I don't like to rule things out just because they're impossible.”
      Bean laughed. "Merda, Nikolai, I should have let you talk more and me talk less back when we slept across from each other.”
      "Bean, you know I'm not a genius.”
      "All geniuses here, Nikolai.”
      "I was scraping by.”
      "So maybe you're