THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO!
PRIZE CATCH
WRITTEN BY ZARIUS
(Contains spoilers for "Fight or Flight")
John was understandably less than pleased about having to clear his station of space sickness, especially when Brains had let it all out in zero gravity.
EOS found it slightly amusing.
"And I was so sure you'd be able to cover all of his favourite Asteroids" she sarcastically remarked, John carefully amassing as many lumps of vomit as possible into a small collector flask.
Brains had instructed John to talk about this particular subject as a way of keeping his mind off his space-sensitive motion sickness, which he had previously been able to overcome in order for International Rescue to coordinate a successful earth-bound mission.
"I did as he said, just not in the proper alphabetical order" John replied to his faithful A.I, "Brains likes to keep a catalogue, everything put together right. Some slipped my mind, that's all; it's easy to get lost with the little things after spending so much energy navigating your way through much larger mazes"
"Ah, I see, you're content in the knowledge Brains was able to overcome this attention-seeking habit of his when the stakes are higher for everyone"
"How is having space sickness a form of attention-seeking?" John asked EOS.
"It's the same as someone expressing a desire to relieve themselves in the bathroom...I mean, why do they announce it publicly? From all I've learned, the process of releasing fluids or worse from the body seems to project mental imagery in one's head that would not be deemed widely appropriate. It makes you think too much of what the person does in their private, isolated moments. I feel people put these thoughts in other's heads deliberately to keep the focus on them for longer than their present social interaction presently allows"
"EOS, when I'm done clearing up, we're going to have a long chat" John remarked.
"Hey bro" uttered the familiar voice of Gordon Tracy as his holographic image abruptly formed before John.
"Back from your supply run Gordon?" John asked.
"Yeah, and we've got a bit of a surprise for you, direct from an antique story we paid a visit to, a little touch of nostalgia" said Gordon, and produced a box with a mechanical claw inside of it.
"Oh, a prize-grabber, that triggers some playful childhood memories" said John.
"Yeah, well it seemed to trigger everyone here at home in a different way, they didn't want any part of it. Kayo just left it to me and Alan. ..and Alan figures they don't want to play with it because it lacks any prizes to grab"
"I can tell why they're a bit distant, but you'd probably be weirded out by the coincidence" revealed John.
"Alan and I were already thinking of putting in things, small stuff like little candies, those power rings we used to collect in magazines when we were kids etc"
"Sounds like you two really want everyone to have a go at this...maybe I should come down and teach you guys how to be masters at it"
"That'd be swell, I hope Brains wasn't too much hassle up there, you know how he gets with his space sickness" Gordon revealed.
John smiled, sealing up his flask as he gathered up the last of the gravity defiant gunk, "Don't worry, Brains is pretty easy to clean up after. You boys load that prize grabber up, I'll be down shortly"
"Just so you know, Alan's even thought of sneaking in one of Kayo's miniature teddy bears from her room as a means of forcing her to play it so she can get it back" Gordon revealed.
"He never can let go of thinking about her can he?" asked EOS.
"She'll make a prize catch for someone herself one day EOS" assured John.