Ender's Holmcoming

[Wheatley 24]

(( Listen to the song if you want this to be really awesome. ))

The sun beats down on the man's face. His already blonde hair has been nearly bleached, his skin browned. His face is clean-shaven, and his blue eyes still shine with the ambition, courage and kindness he was once loved for. He leans on the side of the boat, his mouth crinkling in a smile as the tiny dot that he knew was Holm appeared on the horizon. He looks down at his outfit as the chill begins to come onto him. He'd freeze to death if he kept his simple farmer's garb. Still smiling, he went below deck. Passing the captain, the man said, "Hey, captain. You got a good time for us arriving?" The captain replied, "Another month or two at the most," he grinned, adding jokingly, "Better get ready, your highness."

Ender grinned back, opening the doors to his quarters. He opened his drawers, pulling out warmer clothes he used during winter. The man shrugged off his clothes, slipping into his wool undergarments and fur overcoat. He remembered the long winters that Holm endured, then his thoughts returned to the remote farm he had been on for years. Ender's smile faded gradually, as thoughts of his parents returned to him. The way his father would build snowmen and spar with him, the way his mother would tell him stories until he fell asleep, the way they'd...

He stopped, a single warm tear running down his face. He wiped it gently away, opening the door to the lower deck again. Close as they were, there was still work to be done.

"Sir, we're about a week away," the young navigator's apprentice said to Ender. He smiled at the boy, the way his eyes shone when he'd look at a map. Ender thanked the boy, ruffling his hair as he strode toward the front of the ship. "Watch out..." he said quietly to himself. "Ender's coming Holm."