Fermat's POV:

I listened to Virgil and Mr. Tracy go through pre-flight checks. Mr. Tracy had offered to let me fly Thunderbird 3 to the station but I had turned him down. I couldn't do it this time. I knew I'd end up making all kinds of mistake because of how nervous I felt. It was better if I was just a passenger during this trip.

Alan and I had got back to Tracy Island for summer break only two days ago. It was then that Mr. Tracy had told me, I'd be going up on my solo for Thunderbird 5 within the next couple of days. I had been elated. Tin-Tin had soloed two months ago. She had been ecstatic about it and Alan and I had heard all about her experience from her, and I could tell it had bothered him some. I knew he had wanted to the first of the three of us to solo. I tried to make him feel better, by reminding him that Tin-Tin was on the island all the time. It was only natural for her to do the solo first.

The fact that I was going second hadn't sat well with Alan. My delight at finally getting a chance had quickly faded away as I saw my best friend's face fall. With a mumbled congratulations, he had walked off in the direction of the beach.

Alan had barely talked to me the last couple of days. Had barely talked to anyone for that matter. Instead, he had sulked around the house. I felt bad for him. I knew once again he was feeling that his father was overlooking him. Didn't trust him. With any luck Alan would be allowed to solo soon and this would all blow over.

"You ready for take-off?" Virgil asked looking back at me over his shoulder.

"R-R-Ready," I replied.

Moments later, I was pushed back in my seat, a Thunderbird 3 blasted off of Tracy Island. It didn't take me long before I felt my stomach grow uneasy. My poor stomach just hadn't taken to space flight that well. I had even tried medicine to help the space sickness and it still hadn't worked although I hadn't actually thrown-up again after my second trip. Still, if my stomach wouldn't cooperate, my time on Thunderbird 5 definitely wasn't going to be much fun.

I closed my eyes and kept them closed, willing my uneasy stomach to calm down. I was determined to get through this, feeling sick or not.

Before long we were docking with the station. As soon as the seal had been established the three of us were heading onto the station. Once through the airlock, I made a beeline for the bathroom on the station. My stomach had finally had enough.

"I thought he was over the space sickness," I heard Virgil comment.

"Probably the nerves," Mr. Tracy replied.

If anything else was said, I didn't hear them as I emptied my lunch into the toilet. This was not a good start. I just hoped Mr. Tracy would still let me do the solo.

When I felt like I wasn't go to throw-up anything else, I stood up and flushed the toilet. I splashed some water on my face. Feeling better, though still slightly queasy, I stepped out of the bathroom and headed to the control deck.

John was waiting there in the chair. He turned to look at me as I entered.

"Feeling better."

I nodded.

"Dad said if you didn't . . ."

"I wa-wa-want to do this," I told him with as much confidence as I could muster.

"F.A.B.," John said with a smile. "Things are pretty quiet right now. There are some storm systems heading toward the northeast U.S. that you'll need to keep an eye on. Some severe weather could result from them. I'm also keeping an eye on some seismic activity in the Pacific."

"Got it," I replied.

"There's also some kind of computer glitch with the lighting system. Every so often the lights will dim for a few seconds. I haven't been able to track it down yet. Normally, I wouldn't leave without it being fixed but under the circumstances I don't think it will be a problem. You know these computers just as well as I do. Maybe you'll have better luck tracking it down. If the problem gets worse let me know. I plan on analyzing things down on base. Maybe I can figure it out. Till then, it a nuisance more than it is a problem."

I nodded. I'd definitely be looking into it. I loved problems that needed to be solved.

As if annoyed that John had just called it a nuisance, the lights on the station dimmed momentarily to only come back to full power.

"You ready John?" Mr Tracy asked. We turned to find him standing behind us. Behind him I could see Virgil heading to the airlock.

"Any questions Fermat?" John asked me.

"N-n-n-o," I said shaking my head.

"Then I'm ready to go," John said standing up. "She's all yours Fermat."

"F.A.B."

I watched the three Tracy's leave. I took a deep breath and sat down in the chair John had just vacated.

This was it. This was the last solo I had to complete. The last obstacle standing in my way to being a full fledge member of International Rescue instead of just a member in training.

The lights dimmed again. If I could solve the computer glitch problem, it would definitely work in my favor. Help to show that I was more than ready to take on the responsibility of being a member of International Rescue.

First though, I had to take care of my still unsettled stomach. Standing up, I made a bee line for the bathroom once again.

Alan's POV:

I dragged my feet I headed toward my Dad's office. After what had just happened in the simulator, my dad was the last person I wanted to face. My actions had resulted in the loss of Thunderbird 1.

I kept replaying the scenario. What had I done wrong? What could I have done differently? No matter how I looked at it, it came down to one thing. Put in the same situation, I would make the same decision. What was I missing?

It wasn't fair. Both Tin-tin and Fermat, Fermat having gotten back from his solo two weeks ago, had done their solo on Thunderbird 5. Had officially finished their training although they still had a lot to learn as Dad kept saying. Me. I hadn't even been giving a chance to attempt it yet. After today, it was possible Dad would never give me a shot.

"You wanted to see me Dad?" I asked as I walked into his office. He was sitting at his desk, John leaning against the edge of it near by.

"Yes," Dad said turning around in his chair. "John and I were just discussing your latest simulator session," he told me. I looked down at the floor, knowing a lecture was about to come. "You'll be starting your solo tomorrow."

It took a moment for his words to register. I looked up to see Dad and John grinning at me.

"But the scenario, Thunderbird 1 was loss. I'd hardly consider that a successful mission."

"It was a no-win scenario Alan," my father informed me. "No matter what choice you made, something would have been loss. You took the information that you had and made the best possible decision that resulted in the least amount of lives being lost. You can't always save everyone Alan. You made the best out of a bad situation."

I was speechless. I had been waiting for a lecture. I thought for sure I had let my Dad down again.

"I can't believe it."

"Believe it Alan. I kept telling you, it was only a matter of time. We just needed to make sure you were ready," John told me.

"You'll take Scott's place tomorrow afternoon. I know your older brother will be more than happy to get off the station," Dad told me.

"Hey Alan, just don't crash the computer system," Scott called over his shoulder as Dad, Virgil and himself headed back to Thunderbird 3. I saw Virgil elbow him in the ribs as the air lock closed behind them.

I turned back toward the main computer console. This was it. My final test. A chance to prove to my Dad that I could do this. Man I hoped I didn't screw it up.

After I passed this last test, I could finally call myself a Thunderbird. All my life this is what I had wanted. This was my dream. A dream that was about to come true if I could only make it through the next couple of days.

I sat down in the chair in front of the console, and took in the instruments. Looking for new possible hot spots and keeping an eye on things Scott had reported to me.

For the first time in my life, I was truly on my own. Didn't have my father breathing down my neck. Always seeming to pick up on the tiniest little mistakes. Didn't have my brothers teasing me. Telling me I was going to screw something up. Didn't have teachers telling me that I could do well in school if I would only apply myself.

It was just me up here. Me and the vastness of space that surrounded me. Looking out at the stars surrounding me, I finally understood John's fascination with outer space. Looking out at the vacuum that surrounded me, I truly understood how awesome it was that we could live up here. Habitat an area that should be inhabitable.

I wasn't sure how long I was standing there but I suddenly realized that I was feeling tired. Looking at the clock I saw that it was almost ten o'clock at night. Switching things to stand-by I prepared to retire for the night. I was just about to stand up when a call came over the radio.

"Calling International Rescue. This is space station Alpha. We require your assitance."

"Space station Alpha this is International Rescue. What assistance do you require," I replied sitting back down in the chair, the surge of adrenaline putting all thoughts of sleep out of my head.

This was my first real rescue on Thunderbird 5 in that it was the first one I would deal with alone. Yes, John had let us participate in them when we were training with him, but it wasn't the same as this. I had always known John would jump in if I did something wrong. Point something out if I missed it. I didn't have that back-up now.

As I listened to my contact on space station alpha explain the situation, I told myself that I could do this. That I wasn't going to let anyone down. Not those aboard space station Alpha. Not my family. And certainly not myself.

After all I was a Thunderbird.

I was a Tracy.