Hello everyone, thank you for all your wonderful comments! I know it's been awhile but I got the inspiration to get back into this and decided to go a bit more in-depth this time around (you may notice a couple of minor tweaks to Chapter 1 too), so let me know what you think :)
- Love Thea x
Who could have guessed that plummeting through the earth, all while spinning like a ballerina in a music box, could make you queasy?
Even though Scott had quickly become accustomed to his unique launch chute, recently his stomach was feeling somewhat... 'sensitive'. As a result, by the time he reached the hangar, to say the eldest Tracy felt nauseous would have been an understatement.
Wobbling slightly, Scott walked across the extended platform to his 'Bird with beads of perspiration perching on his brow and any thoughts that he'd finally overcome his bout of illness thrown out. Admittedly, he was feeling much better, but some of the cold's symptoms were still lingering. Nevertheless, Scott had worked with a lot worse, so without wasting any more time, the field commander heaved his body into the waiting chair.
Muscle memory coordinated his movements thereafter, breezing through the pre-flight checks and after confirming everything was in working order, the pilot signalled to Thunderbird 5 for the green light. Scott waited a few moments until the holographic display of John snapped into life.
"Thunderbird 1, you have clearance for launch." The floating form of his younger brother informed him,
"Thanks John, ETA 11 minutes." Scott responded, already flicking the appropriate switches for the launch sequence.
"F.A.B." With that, John's hologram flickered out, and seconds later Thunderbird One launched into the night sky.
Quickly levelling her out into horizontal flight, Scott thought back to the mission briefing and wondered what exactly they were flying into.
Earlier
"What do we know John?" Scott asked, jogging into the lounge,
"It's definitely a strange one Scott. The mayday call I received was from the automatic distress beacon of a cruise ship, it appears that there was some kind of hull breach and they're taking on water. I've tried to get in contact with the captain for more information, but I'm being locked out of their systems. For some reason it doesn't appear that they are evacuating the ship, what are your thoughts?" John questioned the eldest.
"It does seem odd-" Scott wondered aloud, only to be interrupted as Alan jumped up from the coach, waving his hands into the chair,
"Maybe it's a trap, we haven't heard from the Hood in a while."
"Even if it is, we can't take the risk that there are real lives in danger. Are we sure this isn't a false alarm John?" Scott proposed, crossing his arms and pacing in front of the monitor out of habit.
"EOS is definitely registering life signs on board, we can't get an exact reading, but my best guess would be between 120 to 160 people. Plus, the ship hasn't moved position since the beacon was activated." John replied.
"Ok, I'll head over now and find out what I can. Virgil, you take Gordon and Alan in Two, if the ships hull is damaged we may need Thunderbird 4." Scott ordered, moving to the launch shoot for Thunderbird 1.
Now
Scott didn't think this was one of the Hood's schemes, but he had a bad feeling nonetheless. Clenching the controls harder, he pushed One's speed up a notch. If something wasn't right with this rescue, the sooner he knew, the sooner he could warn his brothers of the danger.
Even as he pulled up overhead, Scott could see the chaos on deck. The cruise ship was listing to the left, and he could make out figures scurrying around on-board in an unorganised fashion, though it appeared some recognised the silver rescue craft as many began to point and wave their arms.
"John I'm at the site, I can confirm the ship is in distress with no signs of an evacuation. Have we heard anything from the captain yet?" Scott radioed the satellite operator,
"I managed to get into their communication systems and tried talking to a Captain Hiligar, but he's insisting he doesn't need any assistance." John relayed, frustration lacing his tone.
"Are you sure you're talking to the captain of this ship? You know, the one that's sinking." Scott asked in disbelief,
"Unfortunately so, he wouldn't give me any more information than we already know, do you want to try speaking to him?" John suggested.
Scott sighed, a crucial part of any rescue mission was communication, and when people refuse to cooperate, it could cost lives. Running a hand through his dark locks, the pilot answered, "Yeah John, I need to find out if there's a reason nobody has started to evacuate yet, I have a bad feeling about this one."
"Me too, just be careful. I'm connecting you now." John said. There was a brief pause before the line was filled with heavy breathing and a mixture of sirens and shouting.
"Look here boy, how many times do I have to tell you we don't want your help!" The heavy breathing became a booming and disgruntled voice.
Scott ignored the man's rudeness and answered in what he hoped was a professional and not an accusing tone, "Good evening sir, I'm the field commander of International Rescue, am I correct in assuming this is the captain of the currently sinking cruise ship?"
"I don't care which of you I'm talking to, this is my ship, and I don't know how you've managed to breach our communications, but I can assure you, I will be reporting International Rescue to the GDF for the unauthorised access of our private systems!" The gruff man responded.
Scott heard a quiet snigger in his headset, giving away the fact that John was still listening in. Ignoring his useless threats, the field commander continued, "Captain Hiligar, we received a distress beacon from your ship, we know your hull has been breached, and you're taking on water. We're also aware that no one has attempted to leave the ship, is there something preventing you from taking evacuation measures?"
"I-I - No, everything is fine! We have already started repairs, and there is no need to evacuate, so you can just run off home." Hiligar fumbled, obviously hiding something. In the background, Scott could just make out the mashing of keys under the wailing alarms.
"I'm sorry Captain Hiligar, but I can't do that. I'd like for you to grant us access to the ship's mainframe so my people can run a diagnostic test to see what the problem is. In the meantime, you need to begin evacuating everyone on board, can you tell me if anybody requires medical attention?"
"WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE!? Listen to me boy, this is my ship. I don't know what kind of authority you think you have, but I give the orders around here, so I suggest you turn around and go -" The voice at the other end was cut off by a loud metal groan and more yelling. The situation was clearly deteriorating and time was running short.
"Captain, it sounds like things are getting worse down there. My people need access to your systems, and I need to know if anyone's injured. I can assure you, our only intention is to protect the lives of everyone onboard." Scott reiterated,
"No, no, everybody is fine, and you don't have the authority to access our private systems!" Captain Hiligar argued back once more,
"Captain, with all due respect, I don't care. Your ship is going down, and if you don't shut up and start cooperating, then you're putting the lives of everyone on board at risk. Now, I'm going to ask you one last time - give my men full access to your systems." Scott words came out calm and commanding, but John could hear the carefully concealed fury behind them.
"Why won't you just leave?! I'm not allowed to -" There was another groan of metal over the line, and Scott could see the ship lean slightly more to the left.
"Captain, you need to give me access now!" Scott's demand was followed by a stretch of silence by the captain, and if it wasn't for the panicked voices echoing in the background, the pilot might have thought the man had hung up.
Finally, Scott heard a growl of displeasure before Hiligar spoke up, "... I still don't think this is legal." His complaint was followed closely by loud typing and a burst of static as the captain cut off his feed.
Taking a deep breath and forcing his body to relax in an effort to relieve the pounding in his head, Scott connected to the island. "John, Brains, please tell me you're in."
"Y-yes Scott, I'm pulling up the d-diagnostics now." Brains answered,
"I've just sent you the ships manifest, there are a total of 150 people on board, 37 of which are members of staff." John followed up,
"F.A.B. I'll head down to the ship in a minute and keep One hovering nearby."
"Good luck, that guy is two parts arrogance to one part stupidity. You've got your work cut out for you with him." The space monitor quipped,
"Tell me about it, although I'm starting to suspect someone else may be pulling his strings. Either way, I'll know more once I'm on board, in the meantime John, can you link everyone up?" Scott asked, feeling the pressure of the situation pressing at him to take action.
"Feeds are open." John confirmed as the holograms of Virgil, Gordon and Alan blinked on.
"Thunderbird 2, what's your ETA?" Scott requested, planning the best way to secure the unsteady ship and safely evacuate everyone on board.
"Seven minutes out." Virgil's voice rang clear over the line.
Scott gave one last glance at the ship below before issuing his orders, "Alright. Virgil, drop off Gordon a good distance from the ship, I don't want the force of the Pod hitting the water to destabilise her any further. As soon as Four is down, I'll need you to hold the ship in position and send down the rescue platform. I'll coordinate things on deck and start sending any injured passengers or crew members Alan's way. John, I need you to keep an eye on the weather front moving in from the south and let me know if it looks like it's going to cause a problem. Gordon, find out what's happening with the hull breach. If the damage is minimal and the fuel tanks haven't been affected, it might just be a simple patch and pump job."
Multiple confirmations of F.A.B. came over the line, and with the reassurance that everyone knew what they were doing for the moment, Scott cut the connection.
It was time for a trip outside.
We all know how that went last time... ;) Sorry this took so long to update, Chapter 3 anyone?
- Love Thea x