I absolutely did not have a New Years Resolution aimed around the idea of going back to church again. I used to go to church regularly, but life got in the way many years ago and I haven’t made a habit of it. I watched church through various means over the years, even before the government lockdowns stopped people from going in. The reasons are many. But the first week of the New Year had me feeling a strong urging to go back to church the old fashioned way. So I did. And this Sunday, I went to my first Sunday School since my old Membership classes thirty years ago. Two weeks in a row now, and I have to say that attending church via the boob tube is nowhere near as good as going in person. A congregation is meant to congregate.
The First Battle of New New York inspired three movies and a full network series within a year. The networks were desperate for a good story to tell, and the fact that they could link it back to the Battle of Fort Wichita made it even better. They say some of the prettiest actresses in the business portrayed Rosalie and Rosalind. I know I’m biased, but I thought they were pale imitations of the real thing. And not a one of them really got the characters right. And the less said about the me they had in the series flashbacks the better. I didn’t wear all white back then for one. All of that said, the films and series were entertaining and fun to watch, and they further boosted Space Force recruitment numbers, making them a rousing success by that measure as well.
New New York was one of the New England Federation’s greatest concentrations of economic and industrial might beyond Earth. The trinary system also had a massive population base, so the Space Force sent Rosalie and Rosalind to recruit as many young men and women as they could. They were on the Rikers Planet penal colony when the Shang penetrated the system defenses and initiated Winter Protocol bombardments on every major colony. They convinced the prisoners to help the guards defend the planet, and led a ragtag fleet of fighters and armed shuttles into orbit to help the planetary defenses fight off the Shang bombardment ships. It was a truly inspired move on their part.
Rosalie and Rosalind did not apply to join Cowboy Squadron when we asked for new blood at Alpha Centauri. They didn’t talk to me about it at the time, but I agreed with their reasoning when they told me later. They’d grown up with me, and we’d done everything together most of those years. They needed to chart their own path. To prove to the brass that they really were as good as their tests said they were. That they didn’t need anyone to hold them up. Death can make people question everything. So they went out and they answered those questions for everyone. Ally and enemy alike.
The Battle of Fort Wichita opened up a world of possibilities for Rosalie and Rosalind. They made ace in one battle, which brought them to the notice of the news networks. Their looks and personality did the rest, and they quickly gained fame on Earth and beyond. The Space Force decided to use that fame and sent them on recruitment drives all throughout the Core Worlds. It’s amazing how quick young men will volunteer if a pretty young lady asks them to. Make them twins, and the Space Force was beating the volunteers off with sticks. Sometimes literally. So many volunteered that the Space Force academies couldn’t even train them all.