Author's Note: Prompt suggested by Bandit


P is for Persevere


The lights flashed and Blade had to do his best not to flinch. He forced his eyes to scan the landscape in front of him as he tried to identify potential fires so that he could stomp them out before they had a chance to spread. This was his battlefield, and like every battle, he was determined to find to squash things quickly.

"How does the Piston Peak Air Attack Team feel about leading the pack in this year's Fire Operations Fitness Challenge?"

At the question, Blade could feel his mouth go dry and he suddenly had an extreme urge to go start a proscribed burn so that he could usher the pack of media off of his base. Yes, there was only three of them and yes, Blade had handled much bigger press briefings back when he was an actor…but that had been back when was an actor. That had been nearly a lifetime ago and Blade would have been perfectly happy to never speak to the press again in his life. Luckily for the media, the vehicle on the tarmac was significantly more willing to open his mouth.

"The whole team takes immense pride in their work. As a park, we are very proud of their achievement."

Superintendent Jammer seemed to be approaching this particular press conference completely differently. The ranger was giving a genuine smile and open answers that actually encouraged the reporters to probe further. The old vehicle seemed genuinely oblivious to just how wound up the helicopter beside him was getting…which only caused Blade's anxiety to spike further.

"What types of training did they participate in to achieve this high level of physical fitness?"

Jammer smiled brightly. "Would you like to see it in action? Because I am sure that Blade can arrange for the Smokejumpers to demonstrate some of their firefighting training exercises."

There was a host of affirmative murmurs, which left Blade with two avenues forward. The first was two protect his people and stop that line of inquiry here and now…the second, well, the second involved throwing his smokejumpers to the wolves. Given the fact the smokejumpers had eaten all of the cinnamon rolls before Blade had gotten back from his patrol this morning, the decision was clear…it was time to throw them to the wolves.

"If you would give me a moment, let me the captain of the smokejumper team on the radio. I am sure that she would be happy to allow you to observe some of their training exercises." Blade tried to give his best customer service smile before excusing himself from the group so that he could make the call.

"You have got to be kidding me."

Blade cleared his throat. "You probably should have thought about it earlier this morning."

Dynamite said some very unladylike things over the radio, but in the end, conceded. Especially when Blade indicated that she was welcome to drag the reporters on a 'hike' to get a real sense of what it is to be a firefighter.

As Blade watched the reporters rolling off base under the raucous guidance of the smokejumpers, he couldn't help but let go of the breath he had been holding. Settling heavier on his tires, he couldn't help but muse that sometimes the answer wasn't to persevere…some time it was to delegate the problem away.


End Note: What are your prompt ideas for the letter Q?