Long answer to bonus question has already been written and published. "Speaker for the dead" by Orson Scott Card. I am restraining myself from giving a summary here. I don't want to spoil your couple of weekends spent well. Be sure to read the introduction as well.
I must have stopped reading it fairly early, because looking at the cover I don't remember any of it. I remember the first book, however -- that super guy they brought back for Ender's training and the planet and all. It's been a few years, though. Good thing I kept all the books.
I think Orson Scott Card wrote "Speaker for the Dead" first and decided he needed another book just to set up the backstory. That book became Ender's Game, and he found it a bit ironic that he's remembered more for the prequel than the book he really felt compelled to write.
