Author's Notes: This selection of stories aims to show how different people interact with or view the Tracy brothers, whether they know they are the Thunderbirds or not. I thought it would be interesting to see them in lots of different perspectives and to see what people learn from them! I hope you enjoy the first chapter!

Chapter One: Social Snakes and Ladders

The invite had arrived through the letter box about four months ago. Gilded lettering on expensive stationery pronounced that there would be a Charity Ball and Auction held at an expensive London hotel in aid of a well-known children's charity. The invite had gone on to announce that special speakers would include some prominent business people associated with the charity. And that tickets would start from £500 per person.

The thing with charity galas though, thought Cassandra, as she gazed around the room filled with individuals of 'high net worth' according to the invite anyway, is that many of the people here seemed to have spent far more money on themselves than on the charity they were supposed to be raising money for. Sure the ticket had cost £500 but to most of the people in the room right now that was a mere sum. Probably no more than they would spend on an evening at a fancy restaurant. The cost of the clothing in the room was likely astronomical, let alone the price of the jewellery and accessories being flaunted. Cassandra could readily admit that she often spent what was probably too much money on material belongings (often unavoidable with a mother obsessed with climbing the social ladder) but the guests milling about the room seemed to have taken it to another level. From where she was sat, Cassandra could hear snippets of conversation from the tables set out around the room. Discussions about who had the most expensive dress, suit or the highest social standing really could bore her to tears. Was there no-one here actually interested in discussing the ground-breaking new research being carried out to help produce cures and treatments for the children suffering this terrible disease?

Luckily, at the moment, the man her mother had been attempting to introduce her to (was it the son of Lord and Lady Wintermore or had it been the brother of the CEO of Gelmedia Systems Ltd.) had disappeared to find some refreshments. Cassandra knew there was a reason she usually avoided these things, but she'd forgotten quite how detestable she'd found them. She had managed to evade all attempts in the last few months of her mother to force her to attend these high society parties, but as the heiress to a vast estate, there was only so much rebellion you could get away with, thought Cassandra forlornly. Anyway, at least at this one, the speakers promised to be interesting and there was going to be some benefit to the charity, if not the amount that these people could obviously afford.

From the raised stage at the front of the room there was a sudden movement as a man walked towards the microphone set up at the front of the stage. As the director of the charity he made a quick announcement to ask everyone to find their seats before the first speaker took to the stage. Cassandra sent a quick thank you any deity that existed that she would no longer have to interact with the deadly dull man heading back towards her with a cocktail in each hand (she was now pretty sure he was in fact the cofounder of Miltech or the heir to the McGorn estate, either way, she had no wish to spend the rest of the evening with him talking about the time he got to play croquet with King William of the United Kingdom).

Anyway, once everyone had found their seats and settled down at the tables, the director gave a brief introduction about the work of the charity and then left the stage to make way for the first presentation. A few speakers later, the fundraising officer left the stage to a ripple of applause from the audience to give up the stage for the spokesman from Tracy Industries. Cassandra wasn't entirely sure what he had to do with the charity, but the man (Scott Tracy, Tracy Industries' ambassador for the charity, supplied her programme) walked onto the stage with a look of determination on his face. He certainly cut a dashing figure in his United States Air Force dress uniform and there were undoubtedly a lot of nudges and whisperings going on between the eligible young ladies in the room, and some of the older, not so eligible ladies too.

Once he started speaking however, there was complete silence, Cassandra learnt that Tracy Industries had helped to sponsor some of the research the charity had recently undertaken and he spoke about it with a passion that was so very different from the other chairmen and CEOs that Cassandra had spoken to this evening. You could tell that this was important to him and his business ideals. That Tracy Industries was there to help people, not just in the products and machines they produced, but also, as privileged individuals financially, they should help those they can with grants for research. The fact that he could talk about the research the business' money had funded in detail proved to Cassandra that he was actually interested in the progress the charity was making, reminding all those in the room of the reason why they were here. Not to mingle or to match make or to rub shoulders with potential business partners or clients, but to help.

Later that evening, after mingling with enough people to last a lifetime, her mother trying to match her with what seemed like every bachelor in the enormous function hall and her father rubbing shoulders with plenty of potential partners and clients, Scott Tracy's words came back to her, from then on, she was determined that with her wealth and status, she would try and make a difference in the world. That the endeavour to help was the most important part. After all, as he had said at the end of his speech, we should never give up, no matter the cost.

Author's Notes: Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it! Look out for the second chapter which should be up soon! I'd love to know what you thought about the story in a review, what I could improve and what you liked and what you didn't like! Many thanks,

AdamantBee x