Thunderbirds Are Go!
The Further Adventures
By Lee Homer
Disclaimer: All rights reserved. Set in the near future of 2067, this story collects a series of one-shot adventures told by the Tracy family.
Storm Warning
By Virgil Tracy
It was back in July when we received a call from John. Weather warnings were pretty common during this time of year and storm surges had already battered parts of the United States. There were an area States that saw an amazing record of Tornadoes hit their states. It was known as "Tornado Alley." I was in the lounge with my brothers talking about a ship that we had just saved from a Typhoon off the coast of Japan when John's figure floated before us.
"Okay, John lets have it." Scott sighed. "It's not as if we're exhausted already."
"I'm sorry guys, but we have a situation out in Oklahoma," John replied. "An F4 Tornado has ripped through a police station that was in the process of evacuation. Most of the people were able to make it out but there are people trapped in the basement level."
I studied a model of the damaged building. "It looks like the storm damage has blocked them inside. We'll need the mole. You coming, Scott?"
Scott shot me look of disapproval.
Kayo stood up. "Actually, let him rest. I'll come with you on this one. I'll take Thunderbird Shadow and patrol the area in case another storm cell happens."
"Alright. Thunderbird Two is go again I guess."
I caught a glimpse of Scott miming a message to Kayo. "Thanks."
"I can lip read you know!" I huffed.
After selecting the Pod assembly unit, I took off for Oklahoma. Kayo followed me close behind. I've rarely had to deal with Tornadoes so I had to remember my training in case I was ever get caught up in one. Thunderbird Two has always been sturdy and robust but she wasn't storm proof. She had been into space, dealt with crippling heat from a tower fire, had her engines ripped apart and even been underwater, but a Twister? I didn't even want to find out. As we cruised across the ocean towards the danger zone, Kayo had received more info from John.
"Virgil, we should be able to spot the damage when we arrive. The twister has left a fine path of destruction. Just take a look at these pictures John sent me?"
It was a terrifying sight to behold. The Tornado had torn a path through the town of Boswell. Boswell was a small settlement that had been used in the energy industry. In 2061, A high tech police station had been built there to tackle Energy Pirates. Lady Penelope had to tackle a few of their syndicates in the past. The Police Station sat right in the middle of the Tornado's path. The whole upper level had collapsed on top of the lower compartments. Fire crews had been attending to the multiple fires that engulfed the town. The Tornado had only hit a few energy farms but fortunately didn't take out the main plant. The Orson Company, a large energy company had the biggest energy plant in the area. The plant had been a target for years. Kayo wanted to make sure that pirates weren't using the storm damage to their advantage.
We eventually arrived at the town and began to assemble the Mole. By now, the fire crews were able to get the fires under control so no further action was needed on our part. I set my Thunderbird down close to the police station and made my way towards the Pod's assembly controls. I had the Mole put together in no time at all. As I strapped myself in behind the controls, Kayo messaged me again.
"I've done a sweep of the area, The main plant is okay but I've just been in contact with the local Weather office. Another storm is brewing not far from your position. I'm going to track it."
"FAB, Kayo," I replied confidently. "I'll have those trapped officers out in no time. Let's hope mother nature will be kind to us."
I steered the Mole out of the pod and crawled across the ground towards my chosen drilling position. Angling her down, I began to drill a hold down towards the basement levels. My plan was to drill into the main cell block which was close to where the life signs were. It was the most obvious point to make an entrance. My only worry was that the walls could cave in if I drilled too close to them so accurate distance was crucial. As I made it through to the other side, Kayo came through again and it wasn't good.
"It's worse than I thought. Another F-4 Twister has touched down and it's heading straight for Boswell."
"What!? How long do we have!?"
The look on her face said it all. "I can't be sure but so far my data says that it'll hit Boswell in Fifteen Minutes."
With no time to waste, I left the Mole and climbed my way over the rubble. Using my exo-grabs, I made way through a dark and eerie cell block. There were electrical cables jutting out all over the place with sparks flying from some of them. The room wasn't as big as I expected it to be. It was easy enough to find the next room and cut my way through the door. I found three police officers huddled in the next room. One of them was trapped under a bit of rubble and the other two had tried to free him from it.
"I'm from International Rescue." I said. "We've got to hurry. Another Tornado is heading this way!"
"I can't move my leg!" The trapped cop cried. "I think I've broken it!"
"Keep calm, I'll have you out in a moment" I replied as I turned my attention to the other two officers. "Is there anybody else down here?"
"We're not sure. We were the only ones down here making sure that everyone else got out before the Twister hit." One of the officers explained.
"Alright, well get to my craft. It's down the cell block on the other side of the wall. I had to make my own entrance. I'll get your friend out."
The two officers headed for the Mole while I used my exo-grabs to lift the rubble. I had to remove it a section at a time. All the while I was doing that, the officer winced in pain. As soon as he was clear, I picked him and carried him out back towards the Mole.
"Hold tight sir. You're going to be okay." I assured him.
As we made our way back to the Mole, we could feel the ceiling above us begin to shake. It felt like a mild tremor that gradually grew louder with each second. My instincts told me that it was an early warning about the incoming Tornado. Once we returned to the Mole, I made the injured officer comfortable. I climbed into the control seat and fired up the motors.
"Okay, everyone. Hold tight. We're out of here."
Kayo came through again with a grave look on her face. I was leaving it fine.
"Virgil, the fire crews had to evacuate the area. That Tornado is almost on top of Boswell. You've got just Five minutes! Get out of there!"
I didn't hesitate. I slammed the Mole into reverse and made a hasty retreat to the surface. The cabin shook around violently. Tensions rose inside the passenger compartment. I tried to get them all to keep their heads about them until we reached the surface. A ray of dim light appeared from above. We had made it. My heart thumped in my chest when my eyes locked on the terrain ahead. Thunderbird Two was behind me and in front of me was this dark, jet black, monstrous supertwister. It moved along the ground at a deceivingly fast speed. From a distance, you could easily mistake it for being slow but it was its wind speed that was dealing the damage. The emergency services had indeed evacuated from the area. We were the only ones left. Cranking the throttle, we headed straight for the pod. The Twister began to gain speed as it ripped its way through a sea of energy plants. Fire swirled around its base creating an eye-popping spectacle. The officers strapped their injured comrade into the medical wing while I threw myself behind the wheel. The sheer winds rattled the hull. Thunderbird Two felt like a tin can.
"Alright, everybody! This is going to get bumpy!" I shouted as I fastened my safety belt.
Alarm bells began to sound in the cabin. We had left it too late. We had been caught in the Tornado's winds and it was now swinging Thunderbird Two around like a paper toy. I kept the thrusters going and gripped the wheel. I knew that the only way we could get out of this was to ride the winds and blast out of there at the right second. This led to a battle that felt like an eternity. The alarms continued to whale, the rivets in the hull squeaked but it wasn't enough to distract me. I seized the moment and slammed down hard on the throttle. Thunderbird Two spiralled out of control for a few seconds but made it to a safe distance. I quickly regained control and pulled us out of a potential dive. We levelled up, skimming the soaked countryside in the process. Thunderbird Two had suffered minor pain damage, but we had made it.
As we flew away towards Oklahoma City, the clouds began to dissipate, greeting us with luscious sunshine and blue sky. Kayo eventually rendezvoused with us at the hospital there to assist the officers with their injured friend. As we flew home, she told me how she witnessed my skills with that Twister. It apparently lost structure and simply fizzled out just west of the town. The individual fires eventually burnt themselves with only minor casualties recorded. The police officer made a complete recovery and returned to work a few months later. I don't know how those guys do it. Each year, they have to deal with massive scale evacuations when a Tornado hits. Mother nature is one scary madam. It's unfortunate that we have to live with her. After updating John with the weather charts we returned home. Hopefully, the town of Boswell would get to sleep soundly that night.
END