Wow! Just - wow! These new episodes just get better and better!
Scott and Alan, too. They make such a great team, but this was definitely Alan's turn to shine. So, as they settle in for that long ride home, here's Scott's thoughts as he reflects on the little brother who just never ceases to surprise him.
Enjoy! And to everyone here, whether you're on the site, or a writer, or a lovely reviewer - have a great Christmas, and all the best for 2016!
Are We Nearly There Yet?
Aaah, peaceful quiet. Blissful respite from the non-stop grouching of the world's most ungrateful rescuee.
"...thirty six hours... and you call yourselves a rescue service..."
"...don't these awful bars come in any other flavours...?"
"...can't you get your driver up there to make this thing go any faster...?"
"...for God's sake, you don't even have a TV, and... my camera! All my wonderful footage, all lost, and... yes, I'm going to charge you for that too... do you hear me?!"
"Nope, not any more."
A convenient glitch in the cargo comms unit, and... yes, however briefly it lasted, Scott was going to enjoy its every moment.
"snnnorrrrrrrrrrr..."
Well, almost.
Glancing sideways, Scott had to bite down his laughter. With Halley's Comet now out of view, and nothing but space to take its place... yes, his youngest brother was back to doing what his youngest brother did best. Whiling away those thirty odd hours of utter boredom in the much more exciting world of his dreams. And, to his brother's greater amusement, at least he was sitting the right way up this time.
Still living through every moment that his subconscious had taken him, though. A boy who'd been born to fly steered, and turned, and guided his ship of the imagination through every threat that it could possibly face. For any brother, let alone the proudest one on the planet, it was a truly priceless sight.
With or without its matching commentary - he wasn't quite deep enough for that, at least not yet - Alan was smiling too. Just as Gordon was a child of the sea, so the family baby was a child of the stars.
As his more Earth-bound brothers so loved to remind him, their little Astro Nut was John's perfect 'mini-me.' Just smaller. Much smaller. With lighter hair. And, in Gordon's view... y' know, just kinda more annoying. But whatever he'd say in protest, their other Space Case would always be betrayed by a proudly flattered smile.
Right on cue, John's hologram flickered onto the console - any wake up call he'd had planned instantly halted by a raised hand, and a whispered warning.
"Shhh! We're about to get to the good bit."
Grinning too, John then turned his attention from his youngest brother to his eldest. Good bit or not, the narrowed sweep of his eyes said more than any number of words. And not even the patented roll of two others could stop a quiet, more serious question.
"You sure you're okay?"
'Uh-oh.'
Resigned to his fate, Scott sighed, and just waited for it to happen. In place of Smother Brothers One and Two... yes, Smother Brother Three could give them both a run for their cluckiness.
"Scott, you were out cold for almost two minutes."
'Yeah, don't remind me. I was seeing more stars than you do.'
"You are marginally incorrect, John. Scott was unconscious for one minute and fifty three point oh four seconds."
Cue eye-roll number two. Ah, EOS. Bless her sententious little circuits.
Keeping that thought wisely to himself, and thinking that two against one was just a tad unfair, Scott then sighed once more. Yes, he understood their concern. And yes, he appreciated it too, he really did, but... well, he'd heard all this already. At length. And, knowing Brother Nursemaid, Virgil would still be waiting to pounce as soon as they touched down and opened the hatch.
Still, he'd face all that when he came to it. Right now, he had Smother Brother In Space to deal with. Oh, and Smother Nannybot too. Yes, time to assert his big brother authority. Who knows? Maybe it would actually work this time.
"Yes, I know, but Virgil's given me the all clear. I'm fine, John. Really."
Aaaand - bingo. Where injuries and medical matters were concerned, Brother Nursemaid's word was law. If Virgil said he was okay, then no-one had need to doubt it.
To Scott's relief, it had already brought John's smile back to his face again, while EOS' circuits blinked with her own, unique agreement. Phew. Thank God for that. But then a guiding nod helped to explain the real cause for his brother's amusement. Following it, Scott had to grin too.
Still deep in his dreams, Alan was enjoying the ride of his life. From the joy on his face, and a range of sound effects that would have done old Hollywood proud, it was turning into an absolute doozie.
"Whooooo-eeeeee! Ka-bama, ka-bama, ka-bama... oh yeah, baby... we got these meteors beat, and... yeah, scream if you wanna go faster..."
No screaming, thankfully, from either of his older brothers. Just a shared glance, two perfectly synchronised headshakes. Two palms pressed to long suffering foreheads. And equally flawless teamwork, as Alan's hand strayed towards his consoles.
"You are flying her... right?"
"I am now."
Relaxing back into his seat, Scott threw a genuinely grateful grin towards his brother. All close calls, clucking and teasing aside... yes, they were safely headed for home. And - thank you, EOS - nicely down from the thirties to the twenties.
"ETA to Tracy Island now twenty nine hours, eighteen minutes, and thirty three seconds..."
"Or just the straight hours if you want to drop your... uh... cargo off in Sydney first," John added, through a smile that turned to an all out grin at Scott's equally dry reply.
"If he calls me once more, like I'm some damn waiter, he'll end up in the Harbour."
Laughing too, John had to commiserate. He'd only had Fischler on board Five for just over two hours, but... yes, within minutes of the first, that threatened airlock failure had been awfully tempting.
No such luck for Scott, of course, who was still over a day's worth from home. Stuck in a badly damaged 'bird with the passenger from hell. So yes, the last piece of advice that he had for his brother came seriously, straight from the heart.
"Well, I'll be tracking you there all the way... lock her on auto, Scott, and get some rest... you've both more than earned it."
"FAB, John... and thanks."
Breaking the connection, Scott glanced once more towards his remaining company. Again, he couldn't help but smile. In sleep, his youngest brother was everything that a baby brother was supposed to be. So deceptively innocent. So adorably cute. And as this frustratingly slow trip home continued... yes, how very considerate of him, to provide such priceless entertainment.
"K'pow... k'powie, pft, cha-ka, cha-ka, p'tooie... oh, yeah, baby! Level eight? Piece of cake!"
Level eight?! Damn, he'd barely managed level one, and... mmmm. Cake.
Yes, nothing like leaping for your life through a disintegrating comet to stoke up your appetite. Yeah, he could happily scarf down a whole box of pizzas right now, but... well, some of these ration bars would just have to do instead.
"Ooooh, yummy!"
When he saw the wrapper, though, his face lit up with a delighted grin. God knew how Brains had done it, but... apple pie ration bars! A few taps on the console beside him, and a cup of steaming coffee slid out to join them. To a ravenous, under-caffeinated Tracy, it was heaven. Utter heaven.
A feast fit for a hero, while at the other end of the scale... ah yes, time to check in on their reluctant cargo.
"...and I'm sure that Scott fellow is ignoring me on purpose... probably gorging himself on something much more civilised than these damn ration bars..."
Turning off the feed, Scott let himself smile as he sat back with his 'gorging'. Oookay, fair point. At least he had this hot coffee to go with reconstituted apple pie, but... jeez, did this guy think of anyone but himself? Did he ever stop complaining? Or just stop talking?!
"...so rude too, bossing me around like that... just who did he think he is?"
Apparently not.
God, his poor wife must have a depth of patience that Scott could so easily relate to, and -
"Hey, did he just call you rude?!"
- ah, with his ever impeccable timing, Sleeping Cutie had woken up, with a frown on his face that had his brother on instant 'uh-oh' alert.
"After everything you did for him, he's still complaining?!"
Against the indignation on his brother's face, a wry smile crept a bit further over Scott's. Insulting him was all fine and dandy, if you happened to be related to him. But if you weren't? Oh, yeah, run for the nearest bunker, because Hell had no fury like a ticked off Tracy.
Yes, baby brothers could be kinda protective too - especially when someone had the nerve to insult their greatest hero. So when he saw Alan reach for his console, Scott knew he had to stop this avenging mischief in its tracks, or he'd be facing even more expense.
"Alan, no... don't forget, you've got Mrs LeMaire to consider too... and I think we'd both agree she's suffering more than enough already, without you taking her for an... um... unexpected spin..."
Still frowning, and oh-so-very-tempted, Alan then nodded and retracted his hand - a broadening grin confirming Scott's suspicions that their minds often worked in alarmingly identical ways.
"Hey, maybe we could... you know, just let his seat malfunction when we get to Sydney? I mean, he did just tell us to drop him off, and..."
Warned by a raised eyebrow to forget that little brainwave too, Alan then shrugged - moving just as smoothly onto sensibly safer ground.
"But yeah, you're right, she's real nice... his wife, I mean, and... hey, did you hear her call me amazing?"
Both eyebrows went up at that - quickly followed by just a tad of clarification.
"Us, Alan... she said it to us, remember? Us? As in, more than one?"
Was that going to settle it? Was it hell.
"Yeah, but she was looking at me when she said it... and I was the one who helped her up!"
Halfway through rolling his eyes, Scott then grinned. So, little Sir Galahad wanted to play, did he? Well, fine. King Arthur could go for that too. God knew, they had the time for it.
"Okay, for one? She's already spoken for... and for two, she's also old enough to be your... well, kinda older sister."
Oh, the glare! The pout! Oh, the futile effort not to grin.
Aha! Gotcha!
All that aside, though, Scott knew his brother's unlikeliest admirer had a valid point. Yes, they'd both saved the LeMaires from certain death, but - no, credit where it had to be given. His brother's courage, and skill, and just pure piloting brilliance, had made it all possible.
So, then - time for teasing big brother to get rightfully serious. And at the moment, there was a bit too much distance between them.
Lifting his restraints, Scott then drifted across to where Alan sat, still with that adorable pout. Okay, so he'd never attain his brother's effortless grace in zero g, but... well, that's where a hug came in mighty useful. Not only did it keep you from bouncing around and whacking your knee - again - it also showed that little brother just how much you loved them.
And, of course, he had to say it too - just to be sure.
"She was right, though, Alan... you were amazing back there, and I am so proud of you... prouder, I think, than I've ever been before."
He'd meant it, too. Every word, for all those times in the past when his brother's courage, and skill, and ingenuity had left him both stunned and humbled.
A smile that lit up Alan's face like a Christmas tree told him how much those words meant in return. More would surely follow when they got home, to give the hero of the hour all the recognition he deserved. But, as a rueful sigh reminded him, that hero's homecoming was still an awfully long way off.
"Just wish our engines hadn't taken such a hit, we'd have been back by now, and... hey, I know! I spy with my little eye, something beginning with... H..."
'You...have...got...to...be...kidding.'
Staring at his brother, Scott's face matched those thoughts to utter perfection. After a couple of false starts, so did the patience in his voice.
"Alan, it's behind us now... you can't possibly spy it."
From the way his brother stared back at him, he'd grown an extra head. Or, as that humouring eye roll suggested, maybe he was just going a bit ga-ga in his old age.
"Jeez, Scott, I know that already, and... no, it's HOME! See? That little blue planet, right ahead of us?"
Following the guide of a kindly pointing arm, Scott just sighed. Yeah, he'd always been pretty clueless at I-Spy, while his baby brother... well, he just knew it.
"And since you didn't get it, I get to have another go, so... okay, I spy with my little eye..."
Thankfully unseen, Scott rolled his eyes, while his hand pressed to a slowly shaking head. Twenty nine hours still to go, and... yeah, all of a sudden, it was going to be a looooong ride home.