THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO!
THAT CRUCIAL MOMENT
WRITTEN BY ZARIUS
(Contains spoilers for Season Two, Episode Three: "Deep Search")
Quarantine.
With Gordon.
For a month.
Thirty days.
With GORDON.
Alan tried to compose himself as Thunderbird 3 rocketed back to Earth, he tried reflecting on all the good he had done with Gordon on this latest mission. He gave the photo of him, Gordon and the rather overenthusiastic pair of explorers they had retrieved, all beaming smiles, a glance or two to remind him of the precious few hours he had spent being genuinely proud of what his brother could become at the eleventh hour.
But even now Gordon's worst excesses were starting to show themselves again. He was consuming cheese shakes at an alarming rate, and allowing the liquid to spill from his mouth, form bubbles due to the minimal gravity, and drift directly into Alan's face.
His binge watching of the thirteenth season, "Into the Unknown" was now well into the seven episode stretch. All those well wishes from the explorers were starting to fade fast from Alan's memory the more their obnoxious act grated on him through the reruns.
He wanted to wait until Gordon fell asleep; much like John had the last time someone tagged along with him. In that instance he had been able to talk a little to Kayo about his own personal fear of ghosts, but Gordon was known to be a night owl, he had an appetite for staying up and staying put, he would dictate when to recharge his batteries.
So Alan only had his own thoughts to entertain himself with, and the one question was one he had spoken aloud when given the damning and disheartening news from Brains that month long quarantine was the price he paid for making a drastic decision.
Why me?
Why?
The answer awaited him back on Earth, as Scott Tracy paid Brains a visit in T3's hanger bay.
"I just read your log entry Brains, seems the little pistons found some enchantment under an alien sea" Scott said, sounding most impressed.
"Indeed Scott, I can't wait to study the visual archives from Thunderbird 4's cameras" said Brains.
"Space sure suits Gordon, he should get up there with T4 more often, we all need to...it's a real good feeling to know that in this great galaxy we call our own, we have some great birds soaring up there"
"My sentiments exactly, though I often wonder why you are trying to fashion Alan into more of a leader above Gordon or Kayo" said Brains.
"Simple Brains, Alan has boundless enthusiasm, that one thing that calms any unnerved individual he comes into contact with on a rescue mission. With his warmth, comedic flare, delivery of self-deprecation, and his desire to make up for any critical mistake in a crucial moment, he can make any mission feel much less dangerous. According to your log, he helped those explorers fulfil their ambitions on the planet before getting them off world safely, life carried on as normal for them. That's the kind of mission statement we need to convey in rescues...that you can resume business as usual even in the face of unprecedented peril"
"You think Alan will dwell on that over a month?" said Brains.
"He's young, he'll dream big like he always does, and who knows? Maybe some of that will rub off on Gordon too; maybe Gordon will even remind him of it from time to time, somewhere in between irritating him. Like all of us, they'll bicker, and it'll reach a boiling point, but they'll also have moments of clarity within the heat of that critical moment."
"Sounds like Alan is being tested in more ways than one" said Brains, "Boiling points, heat of the moment..."
"Yeah, it's a real trial by fire method" Scott joked.