Mar 9, 2016

[Annnnnd we’re back, this time I didn’t bother editing it down much;  I lost a day or two of productivity mucking around trying to pare this down to something shorter, and then I figured heck with it, let’s just let y’all read the whole thing instead of trying to cut it down to a micro-excerpt like I did the last one.  Enjoy!  And keep sharing!  --RRZ]

“Welcome back, Protectors fans, and we hope you paid attention during those valuable commercial announcements.  With our cam-feed back online and the safety of our jumpers accounted for—“

“—how about that action, huh?” Danny cut in again.

“—It’s time to meet the rest of our Low Protectors squad for the season, proudly representing the Lunar Guard;  the lights among the stars, the shield over our worlds, and the guardians of our freedoms.”

“Among others,” Danny Xie gave a knowing wink, never letting her beloved Corps get short-changed.  Ratings thrived on inter-branch rivalry, and she played it up so much Randy was never sure how much of it was sincere versus pandering.

A brief replay loop showed the frantic, mis-aligned, jumper as he flailed and plummeted, then the streak coming in from off-camera, decked out in the same tactical grav-jump gear, limbs in tight, diving, speeding towards the hapless junior officer.

“Next up, ladies, gentlemen, citizens, and patriots, we’ve just got to introduce our hero of the hour;  Petty Officer Isabella Tansel, representing the tactical fighters of the Lunar Guard!”

Zoom, another zoom, then a screen-in-screen display.  The Petty Officer Second Class was tall, but not low-g skinny.  She was broad shouldered, broad hipped, just a big, powerfully-framed, woman.  The Army Tech, Jane, kept her hair long on top and swept back, but Tansel’s was cut as short as most of the men, though still dyed bright pink;  Low Protector candidates, not all of them female, had started the tradition three seasons ago, to protest their low female competitor turnout that year.  The announcers pointedly never spoke of the trend.

“Tansel’s from a Fast Insertion Special Tactics team, the Lunar Guard equivalent of—“ Danny couldn’t be counted on to help herself, “—Marine Force Recon units, or other special forces branches.  The Lunar Guard use Tansel and FIST teams when sister branches are unable or unwilling to provide short-notice boots on the ground, in order to assess enemy situations, assist downed Lunar Guard fliers, or guide orbital bombardment and other long-range fire.”

“That’s right, Danny,” Randy gave another too-perfect smile.  “And Tansel’s one of the Low Protector’s few first-choicers this season.  It’ll be interesting to see how the combat vet handles being on a squad so heavily made up of blue-listers and comparative rookies.”

“Well, we already saw her save one of them from a nasty fall, Randy.”

“Hah-hah, or rather from the landing at the end, right Danny?”

Many viewers, on Flitcast comments, wondered just how deeply Dannielle Xie and Mosi Randhawa loved, or hated, one another.

Cameras drifted against the blue-white skies of New Hibernia, focusing on the next contestant, grav-chute rippling above and behind them.

“And here we have Petty Officer Kelly de la Cruz!  Representing the technical expertise of the Lunar Guard.  Now, she’s a third class, just a hair behind Tansel, who you just met, but she’s no slouch, either, and she’s another longer in-service vet with a lower rank than some of the Lope’s junior officers.”

Her age, rank, height, weight, and other information scrolled on screen.  She had a low-g build, long and slender, and her planet of origin listed a system, not a home-world;  ship-born, then, and probably the child of the same.  Her hair was pink, too, buzzed high on the sides and swept back on top.

“You’re exactly right, Randy.  De la Cruz is another a-list volunteer for the Low Protectors, a Lunar Guard veteran with multiple combat citations and the field experience that goes with it.  She actually began her career with the Guard as a Gunner’s Mate, she received her citation for field repairs under fire while actually being seconded to an Aviations crew—she got fighters in the air while her ship was under attack—so she brings some real versatility to the Lopes this season, with all-around mechanical know-how.”

“How does that compare to Corporal Jane, from the Army, Danny?”

“Jane was an interesting move.  As a Combat Engineer she’s much more ‘combat’ than ‘engineer,’ Randy.  She’s almost a tactical option, as much as a tech, so the Low Protectors are really going to have to lean on da la Cruz for their know-how.”

“In the meantime, we’ve got one last Low Protector to introduce!”  More camera panning, Mosi Randhawa barely on screen before the picture shifted away from him to the last grav-chuting Lope.

“Lieutenant Jason Kalinsky, fighter ace!  He’s a blue-lister, also, and still with less time-in-service than several of the enlisted Low Protectors,” as Randy continued, Kalinsky’s data scrolled onto the screen, “But just a few weeks ago he racked up his fifth kill, and in addition to being cast in this season of The Protectors, Kalinsky got his ace ribbon for his actions at the Battle of Epsilon Secundus—“

“—where de la Cruz also served.  It’s worth pointing out, I think, Randy,” Danny gave him a smile as if that made up for her interruptions, “That Kalinsky’s an ace-in-a-day.  Some see that as particularly praise-worthy, but others may be concerned about the young pilot’s lack of steady output, lack of combat time, and low number of Guard flight-hours logged.”

Kalinsky’s close-ups showed him walking in slow-motion across a Lunar Guard carrier bay, flashing a thumb’s up from a cockpit, and standing in his dress blacks as a senior officer moved down the line, issuing citations.  His straw-blond hair followed the style of several other young Low Protectors, shaved high on the sides, left longer on top, skirting the lines of regulations and enjoying the relative latitude offered by the show.  He had a pink swathe dyed down the middle of it.

The screen-in-screen images faded, replaced by a camera-drone whizzing after the sturdy Morgan-class shuttle the Low Protectors had leapt out of.

“Which does it for our Low Protectors, folks.  High Command put together an interesting team this season, Danny, with only two officers in the mix, and both of them very young and relatively inexperienced.”

They pointedly didn’t comment on young Presley’s grav-chute problems.  They didn’t have to.

“That’s right, Randy, and they’ve got pretty heavy on the ground-game, especially with the inclusion—as you mentioned—of Corporal Jane, who’s essentially a third combat-trooper.  I’m sure I speak on behalf of the rest of the DemFed Marine Corps, Randy,” and here Danny couldn’t help but smile right at the camera, scar crinkling, “When I wish them all the best of luck with that.”