A little piece focussing on Scott and Alan and the time in between their leaving. It got dark very quickly else. The music for the last scene with Jeff's footprint really was incredible. It will make a lovely piece to loop on the soundtrack.
"It's kind of like steering a boat on a river except, you know, faster." He left out the more dangerous part. Weaving between a field of asteroids was not the easiest thing to do even with the level of training and experience he had. Not to mention he was flying in reverse with another ship attached to which they were responsible for saving those on board. Yay… perfect ground to avoid messing up.
"Impressive, Thunderbird Three. Remind me to thank you later." He really did enjoy receiving compliments, especially from Scott. There was something about that mentally of gaining praise from the eldest. There was also something to be said for winding up the eldest, for joking especially when the situation was tough. So it wasn't always appropriate or enjoyed but it did help to make light. It was just a little touch of fun.
"Okay. Hey Scott-"
"Later, Alan."
The asteroid was a large problem and as he slowed Thunderbird Three he lost sight of Scott. They were doing well, better when the engines of the Hellius were fixed and able to be cut, but of course an Asteroid was like a wave, it was free to move as it wished, to rock you and tip you on the tide. Thunderbird Three was little more than a boat on the water, rocking and shifting against the forces.
He was used to space travel not always being smooth, but this was extreme and there was little he could do to halt the spiraling travel on such a disastrous line. It was almost bearable except Thunderbird Three was taking quite the brunt edge of a frontal attack by the lumps of rock, the grappling arms scrapping across them, his own systems beeping incessantly at him in warning.
"I can't keep this up Captain, You have to get control of the Hellius."
"We're… working on it."
There really wasn't anything more he could do, steering the Hellius was impossible with them in such a state, his control over Thunderbird Three at a complete minimum for his own endurance. Ahead was another large asteroid; no way around or over it, no way the impact would only result in minor damage. The crash would be exactly that and he couldn't vouch for their odds.
"There's no time. We're gonna' crash!" At first the yellow, speeding blur took him a moment to notice. He thought the elder had gone, but the relief at his return sent joy flooding through him. "Scott!"
The bumper was fully in place, the asteroid was no more. The reassurance was there, clear and calm.
"I got you covered Thunderbird Three."
Hellius regained control and he wasted no time in disengaging, staying close enough to aid immediately if necessary but out of an immediate damage zone, Scott gliding into place beside him. Alan never thought he be that glad to see yellow.
"Glad to have you back Pod Explorer. Remind me to thank you some time."
"Sure thing. Hey Alan-"
"Later, Scott. Later." He was happy his brothers could joke with him and he hoped the laugh showed that, though it was far more a nervous chuckle, a sound just to fill the space, to empty the silence, but the more he thought about it, the more there may not have been a "later" for him to remind Scott to thank him. Not that that would have been the end of the world – the thanking part of course.
Alan would call him a pessimist. He would call it realistic thinking. They couldn't save all of them in one go and International Rescue – well him at this moment, but generally the whole team he was sure he could vouch for – would not stand leaving anyone to die.
"It may not have to. John said there were life support systems waiting for you on Mars, right? It means we just need to land the Hellius on the surface." Great idea, Alan. Burning planet. Transport ship. That combination would work swimmingly like courgette in cake. That was officially Grandma Tracy's worst idea and he'd thought it impossible for the cooking to get any worse. They would be cooked if they tried to land the Hellius.
Not that he was offering any alternative.
"Brains, would my heat shield be enough to cover Thunderbird Three and the Hellius." Yes, officially a crazy Alan Tracy idea moving into motion.
"The chances of the Hellius landing without b-breaking apart are very slim."
"But it's the only option we have." And here he was agreeing, because Alan was right. The youngest may be exactly that but when it came to space rescue he knew his stuff. He knew what he was talking about and thought of things no one else could. He definitely didn't always appear as the youngest anymore.
He would have preferred Scott to return to Thunderbird Three. To be safe with him. If the Hellius broke apart… he was trying not to even think about that. He had to thank Scott and Scott had to thank him. It was necessary they remind each other and he intended to be able to do that. If it meant pushing Thunderbird Three to new limits then he'd do it gladly.
There were two mission targets here.
"Are you sure you're up for this, Alan?"
"It's like dad said. Humanity never got anywhere taking it easy."
He hated it when Alan quoted dad at him. It was practically code for 'you can't talk me out of this one, Scott'. Why did they have a stubborn streak in their family? He supposed it was a good thing or who knows where they'd all be.
"Activating heat shield. Beginning descent."
He was going to say it for it wouldn't help, however the tone of nervousness, the slight quake beneath Alan's front was clear to him. Whether Captain Taylor picked up on it or not he was unsure, though with his brother-tinted glasses on he could tell. Alan may have suggested the idea yet that didn't mean he had confidence in it. Not at all. He almost sounded as though he was expecting to fail.
All he knew was that Alan never failed.
He made his flight precise. He ensured Thunderbird Three was at the right angle, exact speed and necessary distance to keep the heat shield covering the Hellius to the best extent he could get. That was what he had to hope would be enough to get them through.
"Pressure's climbing fast."
To say he was concerned was an understatement. Maybe he was jumping in too quickly though the beloved rocket was coming under more fire than he knew the pilot would usually allow. It could be disastrous if the other left them, he knew that, regardless it was a risk he was willing to take if Alan was willing to take this one.
"Alan, Thunderbird Three can't take anymore, you have to pull off."
"Just a little bit more."
He would be damned if he did though the strain was taxing.
"Heads up." One of the central panels flew off, taking Pod Explorer with it although at least that was all it took. It hardly boded well though.
It was an obvious bad sign anyone should be able to see that. Alan he knew could, but Alan was a Tracy. He was stubborn and he never gave up. This time though, Scott refused to have him burn.
"You've gotten us through the worst of it. We'll take it from here."
He didn't want to but there was no counter he could put to Scott's point now. Thunderbird Three was crippling under the pressure.
"FAB." It was just a downhearted murmur.
His systems beeping was driving him insane, a reminder that he'd failed Scott, Thunderbird Three, all of the passengers… Red travelled further away from red.
The heat increased immediately. The speed was noticeably too fast without their buffer. It was probably all over.
Blue caught red.
"Alan. You're back." He sounded incredibly questioning but he really hadn't expected the younger to make such a speedy return, or any return at all.
"Sorry Scott, couldn't let you have all the fun."
Well, I wouldn't exactly call this fun, Alan.
The whole experience was terrible; it was bumpy, the ship was breaking apart, you were jolted from your seat several times to the point that gripping it was advisable and practically as sickening as being on a speedboat.
Thunderbird Three speed away, grey plumes of smoke billowing behind, swept by the engines. He'd began to focus so intently on the younger's craft it took him a significant moment to realise they'd halted.
As soon as he moved away he began to feel his stomach sink. The Hellius would likely have broken apart anyway and at the speed it was going previously probably flown back into the ethos, but now it lay smashed and smoking and all he could do was hover above, back and forth, back and forth as though pacing, something hard to do in space.
His levels of worry had risen though. Scott…
"Thunderbird Three to Hellius. Come in Hellius. Scott?" The radio silence was deafening. There wasn't even so much as a crackle, static or breath. There was absolutely nothing like everything and everyone had gone dead. Dead upon impact. Now he wished Scott had just let him say thank you.
Captain Taylor answered for him and the joy in Alan's voice at such a simple thing was miraculous. It made him smile too. They could follow dad now and step foot on Mars. Everyone else went on ahead, but he waited for Alan to land first. This was a journey he wanted them to make together.
To anyone else it would seem small but to them it was the biggest thing in the world.
Their father's actual footprint was still thriving on Mars even when Earth was devoid of his presence. There was still a piece of him out there, connecting them to those left of him on Earth. It was a never ending loop with them quite happily situated in the middle.
"This is the same site your dad and I landed on all those years ago." It was hard to believe something could last, that it could leave such a legacy.
"I was still kind of hoping for aliens." It was true.
"I'm just glad this mission is complete. We got a long ride home ahead of us." That was also true. The whole mission had been an arduous, no stop relay. And Scott still preferred Earth territory. And Thunderbird One.
He was happy to be sat down. It could sometimes give the illusion gravity was present. They'd make a start on the pre-flight checks soon, but a moment would be appreciated.
"Scott." There was something odd in the way the younger spoke.
"Alan."
"You asked me to remind you to thank me later." Except it was a joke now. He chuckled.
"Yes, I did. Thank you Alan for reminding me now and thank you."
"Thank you. And thank you Scott."
"I would have reminded you." He wanted Alan to know he hadn't forgotten. It was in fact, the next thing he was going to utter. Alan seemed to shift. There wasn't really anywhere to go as such though it seemed he wanted to however Scott hardly thought it was to escape him.
"I know. It just seemed appropriate to say."
For a moment he just looked at the younger, Alan clearly picking up on that as he made a prompt start of his pre-flight checks, something they both knew he was capable of alone. Alone. A lone footprint stood upon Mars. No man should be alone in anything. "Is something wrong, Alan?"
"No. Thunderbird Three's fine. I checked the damage-"
"I meant with you." Traditional avoidance techniques. He'd seen them all before. From John to Alan there were incredibly varying responses, certainly interesting ones in Gordon but still he'd seen the whole range and knew the spectrum of each brother well enough to recognise which one was trying what to shrug him off.
"I… uh…" A speechless Alan meant two things: he was actually speechless because some massive development had occurred (usually involving space or the Thunderbirds), or because he didn't know what to say to not incriminate himself towards the question. This was definitely concerning the latter. Eventually the tension in his shoulders dropped and he sighed. "I was joking with you."
To his awareness he hadn't scolded Alan for a thing, only praised. Of course, Alan had joked around with the whole 'thank you' thing, but to his recollection he wasn't angry over it. He decided it was worth reassuring either way because it was clearly bringing Alan down after what he should count as a great rescue. "It's fine."
"What if the chance hadn't come though?" Alan's voice was linear, the waver lingering around still behind. "What if we weren't sat here right now? You wouldn't have the chance to remind me or I to remind you. It's not the saying thank you that bothers me…"
It was the death.
There had been enough of that for them all and Scott knew he was hardly the role model. Only Virgil had seen what he could class as the breakdown of his grief, but knowing he'd buckled was enough. It changed a lot of things in one conversation. He understood the fear. They lived with all the time though that never made it easier.
"I get it, Alan." He really did. He knew the feeling, especially when he didn't travel out with his brothers. It was an immense pressure to bear almost as much as it was to make a life-saving or destroying call. Calls which were always harder to make with family involved. "It's a worry for all of us when we head out on missions."
"You were silent, Scott. Completely silent." There was something blunt in his voice trying fight out against those wavering moments. "No one was talking to me and I… I didn't know what I was supposed to do." The waver was winning. "I thought I was alone."
How would Alan have explained it to them all? How would Alan have spent the time on Mars searching through the wreckage in possible vain hope? How would Alan have coped with what he may have found? They were all questions Scott intended to push away and not answer for the sake of being stubborn.
"You were able to thank me and I you."
"What if-"
"It didn't happen, Alan. You didn't let it happen. You made sure we'd be here now." That was completely true. It wasn't his idea, it wasn't he who was brave enough to try and it certainly was he who was brave enough to come back, to risk something untested in Thunderbird Three. Alan may well have thought it possible, but he was sure Alan had never actioned it himself. "You made sure I was here."
He was thankful for that. He had thought for a minute he would be no more, but Alan shone through as always. He was a torch bright enough to burn through space from the surface of the Earth. He was what the family needed to help them through the dark. Goodness knows the youngest did more than he should. Anyone else of his age would be studying. Alan was already in the real world and there was no stepping back from that: from the good or the bad.
The bad just tended to remain with you longer.
"You did good today, Alan. Thank you." There was no other way to say it as he reached for his helmet, making a note to scrap the saying. He'd remind them all to act of impulse, say what you wanted when. Not to leave it hanging. He wondered if there was anything dad hadn't said to them before he left, anything he would regret having kept. He supposed Alan might have thought the same at some point, that maybe they all had. They knew dad loved him but that didn't make them mind readers. In fact, it made him think how when they said 'goodbye' they were thinking far less permanently. They didn't get a second chance.
"Well, 'thank you's' said." He turned to Alan holding out the younger's helmet. "Shall we say goodbye to dad once more time?"
"Yeah." Alan answered quietly, his voice slowly returning, the strength taking a bit longer. "But not goodbye."
"Agreed." He stood slowly, Alan following steadily with some kind of renewed morbid happiness. They left Thunderbird Three stable, making one last joint venture to the footprint frozen in time.
Thank you for reading.
Also, it would be completely worth checking out 'Sands of Time' by ?. It sums up this episode brilliantly.