Author's Notes:

Specifically, to Grimlock:

Adam is full of surprises. I still don't know all about him myself. It'll come out eventually--it was supposed to come out in this chapter, but it just didn't.

This started out as part of the "Your Song" series which I haven't updated in seventy billion years, and evolved into this on it's own. I felt kind of weird making up my own characters, but they're not Mary Sues (Marty Stus?) or anything like that, just necessary evils. Title is loosely derived from Ender's Game, because that's what inspired me.

Italics denote the alliance guys talking. (or, later, flashbacks)

'...' denotes thought, which is only necessary for our psychics.

Feed me! kaylee@kikiroxxorz.com

Pairings are: (Simon/Kaylee, Mal/Inara, Jayne/OC and River/OC) but they're not truly important to the plot.

~*~

“The subjects have been surprisingly cooperative.”

“We upped the sedative combo. They are surprisingly difficult to convince of things, which means that the inauguration must take place quickly. 31657798--”

“The boy.”

“The boy has been taken to the Memory room, and the girl…her eval results are still pending. Evelyn will have them in two hours’ time.”

“The Memory room, sir? You’re not--”

“I am.”

“But sir, the room’s test subject--”

The agent smiled and took a folder from the young woman. “Evelyn is early,” he remarked, scanning the document. “Evelyn, take 89775316 to Memory room 2-A, please.”

“Sir, the last person from the Memory room…she…she died, sir.”

The agent stared. “What did you just say?”

“I said that the last person in the Memory room died of complications relating to the procedure.”

The agent glared. “We do not have people here,” he said coldly. “We have weapons.”

~*~

“89775316?”

Ainslee looked up. She was too weary to fight back.

“I’m going to take you to Memory room 2-A now,” said the lady, who was smiling.

“No-o,” Ainslee said slowly. The sound of her own voice scared her. She curled into a ball, hands clamped over