Written by Camille Ong
Black. Everywhere he looked, Enders were clad in black. It is not everyday that Enders are out of uniform. But a few days a year, they take out their suits. And today they do it for Jack’s father. All morning activities were cancelled in order for the Enders to come to the Meadow. Today they remember Captain David Finn and his services to ACL163. Some mourn and others tell tales of old memories. But not Jack. Not the son who was left alone. Why should he? There is no point to grieve a man dead for a decade of your life.
After the ceremony, Jack headed for the cafeteria. He quickly spotted the brown haired boy and walked to his table.
“Hiya, Jack”, said the boy greeting him immediately.
“Sam, care to join my training today?”
“Don’t I always?”
Jack smiled at his response. Samuel Gi has been his best friend even before he was an Ender. Sam was orphaned when he was four and Jack had been there for him ever since. And when Jack’s father died and he too was orphaned, Sam was there for him too.
The two of them headed to the training grounds when a sudden eruption shook the gymnasium. Jack and Sam crouched and took cover. Alarms were wailing and the emergency lights had been turned on.
“Jack, what’s happening?”
“I don’t know”, he replied. “Let’s go and check things out.”
They ran out of the building and everything outside was pure chaos. Enders were everywhere. The living were frantically running around, while the dead lay unmoving on the ground. Looking up, Jack saw at least a hundred Venomoths flying overhead. Those creatures have claws, sharp and dripping with poison. One scratch could leave you in the infirmary.
“Avoid them! Get back inside!” Jack shouted to Sam.
“I know, Finn. I studied my aliens,” Sam said grinning before dashing to the forge. Once inside, Sam shut the doors and both of them started to arm themselves.
“We need helmets and oxygen tanks”, Sam said without a hint of humor. The atmosphere made by the Enders must have been breached or else how could the invaders have gotten in? This means oxygen is escaping the planet. “It won’t be long before ACL163 runs out of oxygen and we all suffocate.”
Jack looked over at him and smiled. His best friend was all suited up in Ender gear. Leather made to protect skin from venom. A glass helmet encased his head to secure the oxygen inside. In his hand, Sam held a long sword. They used to call it the Katana back on Earth. Sam Gi was known as the best swordsman, probably the only non-gun fighter on this planet. He wasn’t a mutant like Jack. He wasn’t gifted with powers, but he was still one of the toughest Enders on ACL163.
Jack was dressed in similar attire, only he carried a space gun.
“Let’s go”, Jack said and raced out. However, he stopped in his tracks almost immediately. The situation outside was…calm. No Venomoths can be spotted within a hundred feet. But bodies of the dead litter the ground.
“What the heck? Where is everyone?” Sam looked around the wreckage. True enough, just as the invaders were gone, so were all the Enders. “They couldn’t have just disappeared, could they?”
But Jack wasn’t listening. He was looking at some rubble.
“What is it, Jack?” Jack held up a finger for silence and moved forward. His aimed his gun at…well, nothing.
Then suddenly a girl appeared. Out of thin air, a girl materialized. Jack still aimed the gun at her. She looked at the gun and rolled her eyes.
“Are you really gonna shoot me?”
By the uniform she was wearing, she was obviously a high-ranking Enders. But she was so young. She’s probably just their age. Jack slowly lowered his gun.
“What happened here?”
“Did you miss everything?” She asked. “Venomoths came, killed, and took everyone else.”
“Why did they have to kill then?”
“You don’t observe much, Jack Finn. The dead are all human. They took only the, uhm, gifted”, she said regarding Sam with distaste.
“And you? I’m guessing you’re one of the “gifted”. Is invisibility your power?” Jack said.
“Quite obviously, yes. I’m Sergeant Thalia. Come on, let’s get to the HQ,” Thalia said heading to the headquarters. Sam and Jack had no choice but to follow. When they got there, Sam said:
“Wow, I’ve never seen the HQ so deserted before.”
“Yeah, well if we don’t do anything about this, ACL163 will forever be deserted,” Thalia said while typing on some computers.
“We? Like, just the three of us? We don’t stand a chance.”
“Of course not just us. What do you think I’m doing right now? But we need to get there first.”
With that, the young Enders had no choice but to plan a mission. After doing so, they activated a hovercraft and took off to rescue the others.
______________________________________________________________________________
As their spaceship flew within view of the Venomoth’s planet, nervousness settled in Jack Finn’s heart. His father, Capt. David, once saved the universe. And even though planet ACL163 is small compared to other Ender planets, this was Jack’s chance to prove his worth. So many times had he failed and was mocked by his peers. Moreover, this was his chance to make his father proud. Within a minute, the hovercraft landed as swiftly as a bird.
“Remember the plan and stick to it,” Thalia ordered, her blue eyes the only thing with color in this barren wasteland. With her power, Thalia clothed the others with invisibility. They made their way into the lair of the enemy. The Venomoths lived in a beehive-likestructure with many turns and secret passage ways. Fortunately, Sergeant Thalia had been there once. She led them into the jail cells and it wasn’t long before they had freed all the Enders.
“I can’t turn them all invisible. They’re too many”, Thalia said as the Enders stood in silence. One of the Elder came forward and said, “Then we must fight.”
"This is their home planet, sir. We will be massacred,” Jack said.
“There’s no other way. We must –“Out of the blue, at least 30 Venomoths entered the chamber. Human Enders would have died fighting without their weapons. But only the mutants were there, they still might stand a chance.
So they charged.
The mutants easily killed off the thirty Venomoths but as they rushed out to the clearing, all hope vanished. More than a thousand Venomoths were flying overhead.
“The whole colony has come,” said one of the Elder. Thalia looked at him and smiled.
“Yes, father. But so have ours.” She pointed to the sky and her fathers sucked in a breath. The Enders looked up and cheered. Hundreds of Ender hovercraft were flying above, all bearing the different symbols of the various Ender planets.
“You should really use that power of your now, Finn,” Sam said. Jack didn’t even hesitate. He looked over to the Enders on foot and shouted to them,
“Prepare yourselves!” He then raised his hands and pulled down. Sam felt a twinge in his stomach, like it was being pulled down too. Jack’s control on gravity pulled the Venomoths down. No longer were they flying but crawling on the ground, which made them slower and much more vulnerable. Nevertheless, they could still shoot venom. With their advantage taken, the Enders charged at the enemy. It was a battlefield. Mutants were all using their gifted powers to slice down the enemies; the hovercraft have landed and more Enders poured out to help. Jack looked to his left and Thalia was shooting down enemies faster than the speed of light. To his right, Sammy was even more amazing. He and his blade were one, killing enemies left and right.
“Well, I might have underestimated you, human”, Thalia said grinning at Sam. Jack smiled at her remark. And him? Jack put years of training to use. And it was because of Jack Finn that the legacy of the ACL163 lived.
______________________________________________________________________________
Red. Everywhere he looked, Sam saw red. For today was a day for celebrating. All morning activities have been cancelled. Enders flocked the clearing. Today they celebrate the day when Captain Jack Finn saved ACL163.
“Jack, what’s happening?”
“I don’t know”, he replied. “Let’s go and check things out.”
They ran out of the building and everything outside was pure chaos. Enders were everywhere. The living were frantically running around, while the dead lay unmoving on the ground. Looking up, Jack saw at least a hundred Venomoths flying overhead. Those creatures have claws, sharp and dripping with poison. One scratch could leave you in the infirmary.
“Avoid them! Get back inside!” Jack shouted to Sam.
“I know, Finn. I studied my aliens,” Sam said grinning before dashing to the forge. Once inside, Sam shut the doors and both of them started to arm themselves.
“We need helmets and oxygen tanks”, Sam said without a hint of humor. The atmosphere made by the Enders must have been breached or else how could the invaders have gotten in? This means oxygen is escaping the planet. “It won’t be long before ACL163 runs out of oxygen and we all suffocate.”
Jack looked over at him and smiled. His best friend was all suited up in Ender gear. Leather made to protect skin from venom. A glass helmet encased his head to secure the oxygen inside. In his hand, Sam held a long sword. They used to call it the Katana back on Earth. Sam Gi was known as the best swordsman, probably the only non-gun fighter on this planet. He wasn’t a mutant like Jack. He wasn’t gifted with powers, but he was still one of the toughest Enders on ACL163.
Jack was dressed in similar attire, only he carried a space gun.
“Let’s go”, Jack said and raced out. However, he stopped in his tracks almost immediately. The situation outside was…calm. No Venomoths can be spotted within a hundred feet. But bodies of the dead litter the ground.
“What the heck? Where is everyone?” Sam looked around the wreckage. True enough, just as the invaders were gone, so were all the Enders. “They couldn’t have just disappeared, could they?”
But Jack wasn’t listening. He was looking at some rubble.
“What is it, Jack?” Jack held up a finger for silence and moved forward. His aimed his gun at…well, nothing.
Then suddenly a girl appeared. Out of thin air, a girl materialized. Jack still aimed the gun at her. She looked at the gun and rolled her eyes.
“Are you really gonna shoot me?”
By the uniform she was wearing, she was obviously a high-ranking Enders. But she was so young. She’s probably just their age. Jack slowly lowered his gun.
“What happened here?”
“Did you miss everything?” She asked. “Venomoths came, killed, and took everyone else.”
“Why did they have to kill then?”
“You don’t observe much, Jack Finn. The dead are all human. They took only the, uhm, gifted”, she said regarding Sam with distaste.
“And you? I’m guessing you’re one of the “gifted”. Is invisibility your power?” Jack said.
“Quite obviously, yes. I’m Sergeant Thalia. Come on, let’s get to the HQ,” Thalia said heading to the headquarters. Sam and Jack had no choice but to follow. When they got there, Sam said:
“Wow, I’ve never seen the HQ so deserted before.”
“Yeah, well if we don’t do anything about this, ACL163 will forever be deserted,” Thalia said while typing on some computers.
“We? Like, just the three of us? We don’t stand a chance.”
“Of course not just us. What do you think I’m doing right now? But we need to get there first.”
With that, the young Enders had no choice but to plan a mission. After doing so, they activated a hovercraft and took off to rescue the others.
______________________________________________________________________________
As their spaceship flew within view of the Venomoth’s planet, nervousness settled in Jack Finn’s heart. His father, Capt. David, once saved the universe. And even though planet ACL163 is small compared to other Ender planets, this was Jack’s chance to prove his worth. So many times had he failed and was mocked by his peers. Moreover, this was his chance to make his father proud. Within a minute, the hovercraft landed as swiftly as a bird.
“Remember the plan and stick to it,” Thalia ordered, her blue eyes the only thing with color in this barren wasteland. With her power, Thalia clothed the others with invisibility. They made their way into the lair of the enemy. The Venomoths lived in a beehive-likestructure with many turns and secret passage ways. Fortunately, Sergeant Thalia had been there once. She led them into the jail cells and it wasn’t long before they had freed all the Enders.
“I can’t turn them all invisible. They’re too many”, Thalia said as the Enders stood in silence. One of the Elder came forward and said, “Then we must fight.”
"This is their home planet, sir. We will be massacred,” Jack said.
“There’s no other way. We must –“Out of the blue, at least 30 Venomoths entered the chamber. Human Enders would have died fighting without their weapons. But only the mutants were there, they still might stand a chance.
So they charged.
The mutants easily killed off the thirty Venomoths but as they rushed out to the clearing, all hope vanished. More than a thousand Venomoths were flying overhead.
“The whole colony has come,” said one of the Elder. Thalia looked at him and smiled.
“Yes, father. But so have ours.” She pointed to the sky and her fathers sucked in a breath. The Enders looked up and cheered. Hundreds of Ender hovercraft were flying above, all bearing the different symbols of the various Ender planets.
“You should really use that power of your now, Finn,” Sam said. Jack didn’t even hesitate. He looked over to the Enders on foot and shouted to them,
“Prepare yourselves!” He then raised his hands and pulled down. Sam felt a twinge in his stomach, like it was being pulled down too. Jack’s control on gravity pulled the Venomoths down. No longer were they flying but crawling on the ground, which made them slower and much more vulnerable. Nevertheless, they could still shoot venom. With their advantage taken, the Enders charged at the enemy. It was a battlefield. Mutants were all using their gifted powers to slice down the enemies; the hovercraft have landed and more Enders poured out to help. Jack looked to his left and Thalia was shooting down enemies faster than the speed of light. To his right, Sammy was even more amazing. He and his blade were one, killing enemies left and right.
“Well, I might have underestimated you, human”, Thalia said grinning at Sam. Jack smiled at her remark. And him? Jack put years of training to use. And it was because of Jack Finn that the legacy of the ACL163 lived.
______________________________________________________________________________
Red. Everywhere he looked, Sam saw red. For today was a day for celebrating. All morning activities have been cancelled. Enders flocked the clearing. Today they celebrate the day when Captain Jack Finn saved ACL163.
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