Disclaimer: I do not own Thunderbirds in any way I'm just a spectator.
FAITH IN FAMILYCHAPTER ONE – Storm in Paradise
To Alan Tracy it was a day like any other that summer. The sun was shining; the days were warm and the sunsets spectacular. But to Alan this meant little and like so many times that summer he sat outside by the pool waiting for the next emergency call.
Life had been slow for International Rescue over the past month and the only call outs they did receive were for evacuations as the current tornado took hold or for forest fires. But to International Rescue these were annual call outs.
Alan sighed deeply. He was bored of the laid-back paradise life on the Island. He longed to leave and head to the mainland for some fun. Maybe a theme park or two, or a trip to the Nascar races, or go to a rock concert (which he knew his dad wouldn't allow unsupervised). At the current time he was the only person on the whole Island who could find nothing to do!
Although he was now an official member of International Rescue he had not had the chance to go on a mission since then. He was either at school or buried under a mountain of homework as he was fast approaching the end of his mandatory schooling.
A ringing sound filtered out from the depths of the house. "Mmm, dinnertime" Alan said to himself.
Getting up from ground he plodded into the air-conditioned house and down to the kitchen. On his way he met up with TinTin and Fermat who had made their way up from the Thunderbird silos deep below the house. "Howdy stranger, thought you'd forgotten about us", TinTin teased as she fell instep with Alan.
They were currently assisting Brains with his latest bizarre invention.
"Hey guys, how's it going?" Alan smiled at Tin Tin's light-hearted way of saying 'where the hell have you been all day'. She always had the ability to make him smile even when he was in the darkest of moods.
"Well, dad's managed to fix the overload problem, but were having trouble installing the auto-flight software into Thunderbird Two's computer" Fermat answered. "Yeah it keeps crashing the system every time we attempt it" Tin Tin continued as they entered the kitchen.
The rest of the Island's inhabitants were already sat at the table eagerly helping themselves to hamburgers, baked potatoes and salad. Alan took a seat between Fermat and Gordon as he grabbed a burger from the quickly emptying plateful.
Scott and Virgil were talking animatedly amongst themselves and Gordon appeared to be in a surprisingly deep debate with Brains and his father. Surprising for Gordon.
Gordon turned round almost surprised to see Alan already sat next to him, being so engrossed in his conversation he hadn't noticed. "Hey squirt. Where have you been hiding all day I've been looking for you" Alan looked wearily at his brother.
Usually when Gordon wanted to talk to him it was to discuss his latest prank and to decide on a victim. Leaning over he whispered to Alan, "I've got something I need your help with after dinner".
Glancing up at Scott and Virgil on the other side of the table he realized they were both watching him with murderous expressions on their faces. Smiling innocently Gordon quickly muttered an 'I'll tell you later' and turned his attention back to his plate.
Frowning, Alan went back to his own food. He was not in the mood for one of Gordon's pranks or for any of the upheaval they always caused on the Island afterwards. Not for the first time that summer he felt trapped and alone in the beautiful paradise that was Tracy Island.
"So Brains, how are the upgrades to Thunderbird Two going?" Virgil asked after a while. Before Brains had a chance to finish chewing his son answered for him, "we're having trouble installing the software. It could be a f-f-fau-f- glitch in the program but we're not sure" Fermat finished.
At this point Jeff Tracy had finished his own conversation and was listening to Fermat's answer. "Can you fix the problem Brains?" he asked while taking his plate to the dishwasher.
"Ah, we-w-w-well Mr. Tracy I'll have to open up the wh-wh-whol entire program to discern what the problem is. I believe it is s-solv-so-s-so-s fixable but it may take some time" Brains answered. He didn't like giving his employer bad news and the auto-flight program was beginning to be a common piece of bad news he had to give. The program was supposed to enable someone to fly Thunderbird Two without actually being on the plane itself. After the incident with the Hood it was a form of remote control Mr. Tracy had asked Brains to come up with to prevent the vehicles becoming unexpectedly parted from their pilots….or stolen.
"Well keep trying Brains. I want the program installed in all the Thunderbirds once you've worked out the bugs understood?" Jeff answered returning to the table.
Brains nodded, quickly finished up and said his good evenings to the rest of the house's inhabitants, as he probably would not be seeing them again until the following morning.
"Dad can I help?" Fermat asked as he made to follow his dad out the door.
"Sure son but when it r-re-r-rea-r hits nine its off to bed", Brains answered as they left.
"Alan do you wanna go and help them?" Tin Tin asked watching Alan intently. Alan continued to stare at his plate as he poked his salad with a fork.
"Alan?"
She rolled her eyes and adopted a whimsical tone, "Aaaalan".
By this time Scott and Virgil had stopped talking and Gordon and Jeff were both looking at him with raised eyebrows seemingly waiting for his brain processes to catch up with him.
TinTin was getting rather annoyed at his lack of attention and not being able to resist the temptation any longer Gordon leaned over and jabbed a finger in the side of Alan's stomach. Alan yelped, dropping his fork and falling out of his chair with a bewildered look on his face. He had been so deep in thought he hadn't even realized they were all looking at him let alone TinTin trying to talk to him. Gordon keeled over in hysterical laughter at Alan's dramatic reaction, resting his head in his hands on the table. Scott and Virgil smirked to themselves trying desperately not to laugh while Jeff gave Gordon a glare that meant he was not impressed.
"Dammit Gordon what did you do that for!" Alan yelled angrily from under the table. He heaved himself up off the floor back on to his chair.
"Lighten up kiddo he only did it because you weren't listening to TinTin", Scott said still smiling.
"I WAS listening!" Alan argued glaring at Scott who held up his hands in defense.
"No you weren't you were completely zoned out," Virgil replied coolly.
"I was not! It was….I was just preoccupied!" Alan was starting to feel embarrassed that he had been caught unawares.
"Alright then squirt spill it" Gordon demanded. Alan glared at him silently.
"Alan?"
Alan looked back at TinTin at the sound of his name. "Do you want to go and help Brains and Fermat with the upgrades?"
"Maybe later TinTin. I'll see you later"; he got up and walked out of the living area. TinTin's disappointment was evident but she merely smiled trying to hide it as she left following in Alan's wake.
"What's with him?" Virgil asked.
"Not like Alan to disappoint TinTin," Scott continued.
"Guys it's just Alan doing the moody teenager thing, you remember what that's like" Gordon concluded feeling that this answered their questions.
"That's enough boys. He probably just needs some space" Jeff looked at his sons.
"Fine", Gordon finished exasperatedly knowing that it meant he would have less time to collaborate with his partner in practical jokes.
Jeff looked in the direction his son had left, deep in thought, trying to discern what was on his youngest's mind.
TBC
I had to remove this story to make some changes.
Sorry I've moved onto a different story without finishing my other one but I've hit a mental block on it. But I promise I will finish it.
Reviews are most welcome.