One. First on the scene- a sleekly shining silver streak with a capable pilot in command. As the swimming pool slides back her red nose appears and before you can blink she's a vapour trail in the sky, heading for the Danger Zone like a rescue dog on a mountain. Estimated time of arrival, ten minutes. Scott's jaw is set, his brow furrowed, his knuckles white as he prepares for horizontal flight. He is calm, collected, completely in control. He suffers no fools and he brooks no arguments and when he gets to the Danger Zone he takes charge immediately.
Two. Steady, reliable, dependable. Like Virgil. Laden with heavy rescue equipment, she arrives at the Danger Zone with minimal fanfare and citizens gasp with relief. They look up and marvel as she lowers gently through the clouds, awed into momentary silence by the sheer size of her and the odd forward angle of her wings. In all weathers, Two hangs in there with remarkable tenacity- she'll get the job done and she'll make it look easy, even when it isn't. Even when Virgil is sweating in the cockpit, tension etched deep into his handsome face. Come on, baby- come on.
Three. Deep beneath the Round House she sits, waiting patiently for her chance to shine. When the call comes in, she awakens with a shudder and roars out of her cavernous hangar like a tiger set free from its cage. Trembling in her eagerness, she breaks free of the Earth's constraints and leaps into the weightlessness of the stratosphere where she is a joyous sight to behold for all astronauts in peril. This is her true calling, but she is happy enough ferrying people and supplies to the space station when she needs to, and she is adored by Alan.
Four. Gordon's yellow submarine. In the indigo depths of Neptune's Kingdom she glides, bright and visible, a beetle scurrying conspicuously across open ground. Her little motors propel her through the eerie quiet of the deep, and startled sea creatures watch as she goes by. In her tiny cockpit Gordon sits with gimlet eyes peeled, trained to spot the smallest details through the gloom. This is his domain, his area of expertise. Several tons of water bear down on him and he is happy where he is, diligently following the beams of Four's headlights through murky, swirling clouds of microscopic plankton.
Five. There she is, silently hanging suspended in space, watching over Mother Earth with all her senses fine tuned and alert. If people knew she was there they would sleep safer in their beds- but the secrets of International Rescue must always remain so, for there are those who would use their technology for evil if they could. John stands tall at his bank of monitors, decoding and deciphering every message that comes through, sifting out the important from the mundane. His is a world of many voices but personal aloneness.
His is also the most important job of all.