And I'm back with another update for you all! I know I said I would bring it in February, but things became a little hectic. Things are evenmore busy in March, so I wanted to get this up as soon as possible. It's long overdue, thank you for waiting and I hope you all enjoy it.

Petra's POV

I strode into the Salamander Army bunkroom to Dink's call of 'Attention!' All of the soldiers hurried to form their lines and I walked among them calmly, checking their conditions to see what all I had to do in order to whip them into shape for the next battle. Even though battles were just to keep senses sharp and use as creative outlets, I was going to take them seriously from here on out to make sure this army was on par with the others. As it stood, I had my work cut out for me. A lot of the soldiers were slouching, their feet weren't together, their shoulders sagged… I resisted the urge to roll my eyes at the complete lack of etiquette they had. It must have been an army of launchies.

Coming back to the front of the room, I noticed that I was still the only female in the army and wondered if there was a curse on Salamander that kept any other girl from entering. Shrugging it off as trivial, I stood to face them and repeated my previous orders to Dragon Army about form. Immediately, they began straightening their backs, many of them lifting their chins and putting their feet together, looking ahead at the soldier opposite them. Maybe they weren't lost causes after all. Many of them were scrawny, still early in their teens. I felt my heart tug at remembering that Ender had arrived in the army the same way. Setting my jaw, I resolved to make these soldiers turn out like him, a scrawny kid in the beginning and a strong soldier in the end.

"Alright, I'm having a meeting with the other commanders tomorrow morning." I called, pacing in front of the doorway, my hands clasped behind my back. It was against training code to pace while talking to your underlings, but I didn't care for code. Bean had been the one to teach me that pacing made the soldiers nervous because they couldn't tell if their superior was watching them or not. I needed to keep these soldiers on their toes that way. "We will be discussing the new battle schedule for the coming week. I expect all of you to be in enough shape to battle with Rat Army by Wednesday. Sunday and Monday, we will go through workouts. Tuesday, we'll run formations. We will run the formations until you see them in your sleep. Am I clear?"

"Yes sir!" they responded.

"Give me three laps around the perimeter of the ship. No slowing down, no stopping. If I see anyone straggling, that's an extra lap for everyone. Move out!" I glanced over to see Dink and Bernard already forming the beginning and end of the line. I knew they would be able to keep these launchies in order when I wasn't around, so I didn't have any worries. As Dink began leading them out, I waited until the majority was out of the bunkroom before I joined them, running at a slightly slower pace beside them so I could watch for stragglers. I knew Bernard would inform me of any, but I just wanted to make sure. It was my job.

As we made our way around the ship, I sighed, letting my thoughts run rampant. I often thought of how Ender was going to find a new home for the Formics. Considering they laid eggs instead of having children like humans, they had a higher reproduction rate. It was really important that he find them a large planet with fertile soil for them to build their underground houses in. It would be nice for it to have a good enough atmosphere for them not to burn up when above ground too long, but I knew Ender would take as best as he could. Besides, thanks to their ant-like nature, the new Formics were likely to spend a lot of time underground anyway. The only question was whether or not there actually was a planet like that out there for Ender to find. He could be out there for the rest of his life looking for something that doesn't exist.

And even if he did find the planet, what if it was inhabited by someone else that proved hostile? He could be walking into any number of dangerous situations and I didn't see him take a weapon with him. Biting my lip against the influx of negative thoughts ready to batter my mind, I noticed that we were returning to Salamander bunkroom and I hurried up to Dink, whispering, "What number is this?"

"No worries, Commander." He said quietly. "This is only the second. We're starting the third now."

"Thank you." I could always count on Dink to have my back. Ever since we met, he had always been there for me, sparring with me and teaching me everything he knew about fighting. When he wasn't teaching me, I was teaching him and we were always innovating on each other's moves to make ourselves better. He was like a brother to me and I knew I wouldn't have made it as far as I have without his help. Considering what the Fleet had done to us, that was a bittersweet thought now. Jogging in place as the launchies passed me, I waited until Bernard had passed before running beside him.

"How are they?" I asked softly.

"No one's fallen behind me yet, Commander." He murmured lowly. "I've seen a few stumble a few times, but they aren't completely untrained."

"Good." I nodded and sped up until I was near the middle, once more watching for anyone who broke formation, broke the line. I was not going to let the other armies see us as weak. I knew what weak armies endured in this Fleet and I wasn't going to let that happen to my soldiers. After Bonzo, I would not subject anyone else to that kind of violence and bullying. That was for school children, not soldiers and rocket scientists. We were better than that and I would prove it. This army had been my home. I was going to make it feel like home again. I had to.

Bernard's POV

Sunday and Monday passed fairly well. We had these launchies out late making sure they were understanding the workout routine. A few of them woke up this morning complaining about aches and pains, but that was to be expected. And Dink and I told them so. Our workouts are more rigorous because we want to be as good as we can get and when we figure out what that is, we want to surpass it. I actually hadn't understood the meaning back when I was first training under Ender, but after a while, I noticed that I was pushing myself harder than I ever had before and soon, I was also getting what mattered: results.

Now, we were explaining the formation techniques to the soldiers and, as expected they were looking at us funny. I remember doing that often while in Dragon Army. It was hard to understand the formation concept unless you were already in the Battle Room, but these squirts needed to understand the general concept of what we wanted them to do. Just setting them loose in the Battle Room would be cause for upheaval, I knew. It was the same as when I was a launchie… back when I had also first met Ender, actually. How fast things change.

Petra and Dink finished giving their plans and Petra began splitting the soldiers into groups. Usually, there would be the commander and five faction leaders, but no one aside from Dink and I were prepared enough to lead, so it Petra, Dink and I were the faction leaders with Petra also acting as commander. Because of this, our sections were bigger than usual army sections, but we knew this. We had planned our battle strategy out specifically because of the bigger portions. I waited patiently for the Commander to finish choosing sections before standing in front of my own.

This was the part of training I always loved most, the Battle Room. Having the gravity sucked out from under me made me feel weightless, as if I had never been part of Dragon Army to begin with. My guilt was cut away, my pain, my anger, all of it was just… gone along with gravity. While in the Battle Room, I was free to be younger and less inhibited. If I wanted to shoot, I would shoot and it would be fine because nothing could touch me when I was floating in air. Turning to the room, I waited for Petra's signal, watching Dink lead his portion in and letting them get adjusted before leading mine in as well.

I took a deep breath and grinned at the weightless feeling that accompanied letting it out, floating toward where my faction would be. Shouting out instructions, I made sure to remind them that I wouldn't be able to do that in the middle of an actual battle. They shouted their affirmatives and we watched Petra lead her faction in, some of them moving to their places while others looked around in mild confusion. I heard Petra shout her orders calmly, still hiding behind the face of the commander. She hadn't let it slip since our first training back with Dragon Army and I was actually beginning to worry about her a bit.

I knew she was having a hard time coming to terms with everything. Between Ender abandoning us to do who knew what and the duty of being a commander because neither Dink nor I were cut out for that responsibility, it must have been a lot for her to handle. I know Dink said that she had cried and gotten some of it out, but I see her sometimes. The times I'm just lounging around and my eyes pass over her face, spotting a flash of sadness before she's back under the mask of the commander. I can't say I blame her for wanting to hide her pain. This stupid Fleet messed us all up.

My eyes narrowed at that. I thought about my time here as we all began running exercises. I had admired this place once upon a time. I had looked up to the sky, praying with all my might that I would be chosen to come up, that I would have a chance to be a hero like in the stories my grandfather would tell me. I had always thought that the people running the Fleet were also heroes, doing what they were to protect Earth and ensure the safety of everyone and that they would train me to be like them.

I resisted the urge to spit at the thought.

I didn't want to be like them, not anymore. The Formics had waited for us. They had waited for us to attack them. They were defending themselves, but these people had convinced us that they were a threat. These people… they were cowards. They were a bunch of senile cowards hiding behind children to do their jobs for them. I never wanted to be like them.

As we got into the full swing of practice, I began feeling that weightlessness again, a small smile coming to my face as I motioned to my faction. We all practiced the maneuvers, Petra and Dink moving their own factions in accordance with my own. We had picked up a few things from watching the footage of the Formics. If we looked like we were disorganized, the enemy would lower their guard. It would make winning and gaining rank easier. As time wore on, the troops began getting the hang of what we were supposed to be doing and I had to hand it to them for getting it after the first day.

At last, Petra called for us all to head back through the portal. Dink and I counted heads while Petra watched them come through. Once everyone was on the deck, Petra turned to them. Her cold brown eyes surveyed us for a few moments before rolling in slight annoyance. Normally, I would be upset, but I had come to find that it was a sign to show she was trying not to lose face, but wanted to express praise.

"That was pretty decent." She called, clasping her hands behind her back. "Perhaps you all aren't terribly hopeless after all. Jog toward the showers and get cleaned up soldiers. You did well today. We battle tomorrow. Dismissed."

Immediately, everyone took off for the showers, pleased with the amount of praise they had received from their commander and eager to get cleaned up. I took one last glance at the Battle Room before I followed the troops out. I always longed for that weightless feeling nowadays. The feeling that nothing could touch me, I was light as air. It was the only thing that kept me sane after what these people did to me. It was my only peace of mind and I welcomed it.

I just wished Petra could find that weightless feeling again too. But she couldn't. Her weight would always be heavier than mine.

There you are. I actually read back through the entire fic to make sure I could still catch the sense of despair within all of the main characters as well as their attempts to be strong for the soldiers around them. Drop me a review and tell me what you think, yeah?