2033
February was almost over and was looking quiet for Tracy Island after having a busy Christmas period. Jeff was going over condo plans for when Kathryn and Jude eventually decided to move to the island. That was, if they decided to move to the Pacific after she left the Army. It would be another six months before she was honourably discharged, and he knew that he had to wait until after his daughter retired before being blessed with a grandchild.
He looked up as the klaxon Brains had just installed at the end of January blared. That could only mean the software that the engineer had been working on to alert them to emergencies was working at finding the ones International Rescue could respond to at the present point in time. He filed the plans away and opened up the palm print to change his work office into Command and Control. His eyes scanned over the information that filed across the computer screen.
Brains burst through the office door. "Wh-what do w-we have?"
"Several bomb blasts at Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio. Let's go."
"Is-isn't that wh-where K-Kat-thryn is?"
"I hope not. She's still stationed at Fort Carson."
The two of them made their way into the lift that joined Jeff's office to the hanger that housed Thunderbird Two. "What do we have in the bird?"
"Wh-what do w-we n-need?"
"The Firefly and DOMO."
"Fi-fire fl-fly is on bo-board alr-ready. We m-may n-not need DOMO."
"Better take it just to be on the safe side."
"F.A.B."
As the two of them ran to the green machine, Jeff prayed that whatever the situation was in Texas, he and Brains could make some difference.
TB TB TB TB TB
Scott sat up and turned the TV up. He'd just completed his first semester at Oxford and was working on his second semester (having decided to do some of the papers he couldn't do at Yale at Oxford). At the same time, he'd been 'commanded' to make some connections for the USAF. He was happy enough to carry out those orders.
But what had caught his attention hadn't been his current studies. It was the reports of what had just happened at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio.
"Please," he whispered under his breath. Jeff had rung him at the start of the month, informing him that most of the rescue equipment had been completed. International Rescue was ready to be rolled out, if only in a limited range. Now, he was hoping that his father held up to that promise of using the equipment whenever there was a disaster.
TB TB TB TB TB
Kathryn instantly lowered herself to the ground when the sound of the first bomb blast pierced the quite late winter's day. The unit she was with (she was in her last week of a eight week course conducting Combat Lifesaver training at Fort Sam) followed her example. She stood and looked toward the source of the disturbance. In the distance she saw the faint hints of black smoke rising toward the grey sky. That was when the second, third and fourth bombs went off. Those bombs had been placed for maximum damage, close together.
"Oh, %&*#," she hissed as she rose again after the fourth bomb went off. "Follow me!" she commanded, and started running toward the closest blast sight. The ten new recruits didn't question her, and fell into formation, keeping up with the quick pace she set.
A fifth blast nearly knocked them off their feet as the building ahead of them and to their left sent glass shattering out toward them.
She set her jaw. "Let's put those skills to the test, men."
TB TB TB TB TB
Virgil was listening to the radio while making his way down to visit Jude and hopefully Kathryn for the weekend. The third son of Jeff Tracy had decided to enrol in the Denver School of Advanced Technology for his further education instead of pursuing his hobbies of art and music. He was on the outskirts of Colorado Springs when the news came across that Fort Sam had been bombed. The teen frowned. He hadn't been sure if Kathryn was back this weekend or the next weekend.
It didn't take him much longer to pull into the driveway at Kathryn and Jude's place not far from Evans Army Community Hospital. Jude was at the door, smiling.
Obviously the man hadn't been listening to the radio nor had the television on.
Virgil got out of the car. "Has Kate gotten back from Fort Sam yet?"
"Next weekend. Why?"
"Fort Sam's just been bombed."
"What?" Jude exclaimed.
Sophia came running from a neighbour's house. She was followed closely by her best friend on base – with whom she'd been spending some time with that morning. "Jude! It's all over the news! Fort Sam Houston!"
Jude turned on his heel and strode back in through his front door. He picked up the remote for the television and flicked it on. Shots from the air showing the damage at the Army Base was flooding the screen. Virgil came in behind him and dumped his bag at the door. His eyes, too, were fixed on the screen.
"Please tell me Katie's not hurt," Sophia managed to say, her eyes also on the shots from Texas.
Jude grabbed his cell phone. Punching in Kathryn's number, all he got was her answer phone. "Kay-see, honey, ring back as soon as you get this message."
The three of them (plus Sophia's friend) drifted toward the couch and sat. Virgil looked toward his brother-in-law and the girl that was becoming another close friend. "I didn't say hi yet."
TB TB TB TB TB
Jeff and Brains looked at each other and the billionaire gave his engineer a reassuring nod. They had agreed that if either of them were communicating with anyone outside of International Rescue (as of yet, the organisation only involved them, Penelope, the Kyranos' and Scott), Jeff would be the one to handle the negotiations. Brains would operate their machinery – and if needed, ferry the wounded people to the nearest medical facility.
Surveying the damage below them, it was hard to determine where that would be seeing as the Medical Facility of Fort Sam Houston had been one of the buildings targeted.
"Take her down gently, Brains. Near the main fires. I'm going to get out there as soon as I can and see what we can do to help."
"F.A.B."
TB TB TB TB TB
General Tyler warily gazed at the mammoth green craft and the man suited up walking toward him. The aging man could tell that the unidentified man was someone who was used to giving and receiving orders by just the style of his walk.
"Excuse me sir," General Tyler said gruffly. "This is a restricted area and I don't have time to have you escorted off my base."
"I have come to offer you the services of International Rescue," Jeff shot back formally. He didn't want to alienate anyone, but he also wanted to make sure that the dream he'd had seven years ago actually had a chance to be used. "We have access to the most cutting edge technology available to mankind to help out in situations like the one you have right now."
"At what cost?"
"No cost, sir. We just want to help."
The general narrowed his eyes. "How and with what?"
"There is equipment within our 'bird that can help put out the fires and we can help locate and rescue people trapped within any of the rubble sir."
"Alright, but you report directly to me. No getting in the way of my medics."
Jeff nodded and moved over to where Brains had set up mobile control – for the moment, the two of them stored the mobile control within easy reach in Thunderbird Two. Until they had more help to actually man the machines, they would only be using the green transport. Communication between them would be on their own radio frequency (one that they were field testing to see if anyone could hack it) within their helmets. Still, when talking to one another, others could still hear what was being said if they were close enough. "Okay, Brains, unload the Firefly and head to the worst hit building. I'll see if I can get some of these pleasant army folk to follow after you and reach people trapped inside."
"F.A.B. Commander."
The billionaire smiled within his helmet. Again, they agreed that to keep their organisation anonymous they would not use any names. Rather, they'd go by designations. But seeing as Brains was a nickname used within the immediate family of the Tracy's, Hiram deemed the name safe to use while he was out on missions. It wasn't like he'd be going on every mission once International Rescue gained more operatives for the machines.
Anyway, Brains thought, he wasn't as famous as his boss. If anyone heard him mistakenly use Jeff's given name while on a mission, then their anonymity would be busted. Jeff was a very recognisable public figure.
General Tyler walked over to where Jeff was giving orders to Brains. The IR commander turned just as Brains moved off to unload the Firefly.
"General Tyler, my man can help extinguish the flames, and it would take us some time for us to get in and find the injured people inside. To better the chances of those trapped within the buildings of coming out alive, would I be able to direct some of the rescue workers to the locations of people trapped?"
"You can do that?"
"That's what this equipment is for." Jeff wasn't fully facing the general as his eyes scanned over the information being given to him at Mobile Control. "Brains, I count nearly 150 people still caught in that building, as well as another 300 caught in the other buildings near us."
"F.A.B., mmm-mist-co-comman-mander."
Jeff turned back to the General. "I am not here to undermine your authority. I just want to help get as many of your people out of those buildings alive. To do that, I am going to need your help."
TB TB TB TB TB
Kathryn and her unit had gone through the closest building to them with fire extinguishers and hoses to clear a path for them to get through and to see if anyone was trapped inside. They didn't find any seriously wounded in the building, thankfully. The personal they had found only had minor lacerations and disorientation and needed help getting out. Ordering her unit to pair off and check the remaining rooms in the building (and warning them to keep themselves from injuring themselves in the process); Kathryn went in search of any personal in the basement where they kept their records.
She got half way down the stairs and stopped in her tracks. Most of the fire caused by the bomb was still burning. The only thing that she was thankful for was that she could report the origin of this building's demise had been in the basement – where most of their old, paper data was kept.
"Okay, as soon as you've cleared your areas, get out. This building's still burning," Kathryn ordered through her radio.
She got affirmatives back from the five teams. It didn't take them too long to check over the building and exit. The unit hadn't found any stragglers, so they radioed in that the building was all clear other than the fire in the basement. Kathryn started toward the next lot of buildings that needed to be searched. Her unit followed her.
When General Tyler spotted her and her unit coming to the main disaster zone, he beckoned them over to the command tent.
"Any of you had real medic experience in the field?"
"Yes sir," Kathryn answered. He stopped in front of her and silently asked her where she'd gained her experience. "Combat medic, sir. Two tours: Serbia and Israel."
Tyler nodded and moved down the line. He looked each of the ten recruits over and came back to Kathryn. "Any of these recruits unwilling to follow the commands of a civilian?"
"Not if I led them sir."
"Good. Set your channel to 4. Follow all instructions and get our men out of there."
Kathryn nodded and turned to her unit. "Kelsey, you're with me. The rest of you, split into threes. Watch each other's backs. Get each other to check your work if you're unsure of any medical steps you need to take. Our mission is to help get those people trapped in there out alive."
She switched her radio over to channel 4 and looked over to where General Tyler was talking to a suited man wearing a helmet. The man briefly glanced in her unit's direction before returning his attention to the equipment in front of him. He seemed familiar, but she couldn't place him.
Her radio came to life. "Lieutenant, who am I speaking with?"
Kathryn momentarily closed her eyes. The voice was definitely familiar, yet again, she couldn't place it. "Lieutenant Keith-Tracy sir."
"Are you able to divide your unit into smaller units?"
"Done, sir. Privates Barkley, Small and Nelson will be your liaisons with their group. I'll be leading the fourth."
"Okay. This is what I want you to do…"
TB TB TB TB TB
It took International Rescue three hours to actually get all the trapped personal out of the semi-demolished buildings with the help of other army personal. Jeff took one last look over at where his daughter was busy working on the last evacuees to be brought out of the last building. She had worked her unit hard and had gone above the call of duty to see to it that everyone made it out alive.
He didn't know which way he should direct his feelings as he packed up the last of Mobile Control. Either he was leaning toward fear knowing that his daughter (and any of his sons if they decided to join IR) willingly walked into danger to rescue and help others, or leaning towards pride to know that Kathryn was actually willing to head into danger for the sake of others. Brains came out and helped him load the last of the equipment aboard Thunderbird Two.
General Tyler appeared just as Jeff was heading into Thunderbird Two for take-off. "Thank you sir. We could not have gotten everyone out alive without your help."
Jeff gave the balding man a brief nod. "Thank your medic teams for helping us out to get those people out."
"What do we call you? How do we call you if you're needed again?"
The billionaire smiled in his helmet, even though the general couldn't see. "We are International Rescue. And we'll be listening." Jeff turned and made his way into the green machine. He closed the hatch behind him and made his way to the cockpit. "Okay, Brains. Let's head for home."
Tyler watched the machine lift off before making his way across the makeshift medical field to where the seriously wounded men were being attended. Kathryn briefly looked up when she heard Thunderbird Two leave but quickly returned to her work. She didn't want to lose one person on her watch. And she didn't want to think about the real reason her dad had bought an island.
TB TB TB TB TB
It was nearly five hours after IR had left that Kathryn had a chance of checking her phone. She spotted several missed calls and messages from Jude. There were a few texts from Scott, John, and Hannah, and a missed call from Gordon. She frowned slightly when Virgil's name weren't among her brothers (as she figured Alan would be with Gordon). Or that Jeff hadn't called her either.
The first port of call was to ring Jude back straight away.
"Paxton residence."
"Sophia. It's Kate."
"Katie! You're alive."
" 'Course I'm alive. I've just been very busy."
"Hang on, I'll just flick on the video." Within moments, Kathryn saw the relieved faces of Jude, Sophia and (surprisingly) Virgil. "We were worried."
"Sorry. I haven't had a chance to check my phone until now. I can't talk long…"
"You look like you've had a rough day," Virgil put in. "I think they can handle it if you take the rest of the day off."
"That wouldn't be such a bad idea, Virg, if the attack was anywhere but the hospital and medic training buildings. They need all hands on deck." She looked over her shoulder at the sound of her name being called out. Turning back to her phone, she gave her family a tight smile. "Look, I gotta go. Someone needs me. I just called to let you know I'm okay. Can you let the rest of the family know?"
Jude nodded. "I love you."
"Love you too," Kathryn returned and switched her phone off. Sliding it into her pocket, she made her way quickly through the makeshift hospital to where she'd heard her name being called out.
TB TB TB TB TB
International Rescue made another seven rescue calls in the next three weeks before Jeff realised that if he and Brains responded to every callout they received, the two of them would suffer from burn out. He made the decision that until they had more operatives qualified to operate the Thunderbirds; they had to limit the number of rescues to one or two rescues a week. It really depended on the nature of the rescues they performed. Of course, Jeff had other work to oversee and Brains had other engineering projects to complete too. Thunderbird 1 needed completion and there were still a few communication systems in Thunderbird 5 to install.
And any rescue operations during the breaks had to be put on hold until Jeff sat his sons down and explained to them his dream. That was one conversation that he hadn't been looking forward to until he felt the time was right. He hadn't really known how to explain to his sons that one of the reasons they had moved to the South Pacific to a remote island was to give him the opportunity of building a rescue operation.
He sighed and looked over his paperwork once more. Spring Break was in less than two weeks, at the end of April. He promised himself that he'd explain his vision to the boys then, in one way or another. Placing the latest file down, his eyes gazed over the last family portrait he had of his wife with their children. Kathryn was nearing the end of her eight years in the army. She'd been promoted to captain after the attack because of her dedication to her job. If he remembered correctly, she worked for nearly 18 hours straight before she was talked into having a break, and only then did she take 5 hours off before getting stuck in again with work. Scott was working hard at attaining his degree in engineering while spending his junior year at Oxford while still working for the Air Force. John was nearly finished his electronics and communications degree (and would be finished over the summer) at Harvard. Virgil was almost finished his first year doing computer science at the Denver School of Advanced Technology. Gordon was in his final year at High School, and was planning joining WASP once he graduates to study Oceanography. Alan, his baby, was not yet a teenager.
It still hurt, looking at that picture, even though it had been nine years and three months since Lucy had been taken from them. The pain within his heart was still as fresh as if the loss had happened only yesterday.
The billionaire sighed and turned back to his work.
TB TB TB TB TB
Alan, Fermat and Gordon frowned as they watched the pink car land on Tracy Island. They had been back on the island for four days already, and the three of them were looking forward to having Scott, John, Virgil and Sophia join them (Scott was flying his brothers and Sophia to the island from Boston). Kathryn and Jude, however, couldn't get any time off until she was discharged in July.
"Who's in the pink car?" Alan asked.
"Why ask me?" Gordon shot back. The twelve-year-old folded his arms and made a face at his closest brother.
"Oh, good," Jeff said from behind them. "Penny's here."
"Who's Penny?" Gordon asked.
Jeff looked at his second youngest son with a glare just as Parker pulled up beside them in the pink Rolls Royce. The man stepped forward and helped Lady Penelope out of the car. Turning to his youngest two sons and Fermat, he introduced his British friend and her butler to the boys.
Gordon turned on the charm he inherited from his father. Jeff scolded the 17-year-old, but Lady Penelope laughed it off and accepted the praise. She'd said that it was nice for a change having attention from younger men (though from the look of the mischievous glint she caught in Gordon's eyes, she would still class the teen as a 'boy with a Peter Pan complex') rather than from the older men she usually spent her time with.
The six of them heard the roar of approaching engines and Jeff said that his older sons would soon join them on the island. Within an hour of getting each of his children (and guests) settled in their prospective rooms, Jeff called the boys to a family meeting in his office.
Scott, being the first to arrive, asked, "Is this about your dream, Dad?"
"We'll wait until everyone arrives." Jeff sat at his desk just as his other four sons joined him and Scott. Each of them took a spot on the two couches in the room.
"What's this about?" John asked.
"Why did you want us all home now?" Virgil put in.
"I wanted to share with you a dream that I have had for seven years now. And one of the reasons I had for us moving here. I am sure you have all heard about International Rescue?"
"Is that the people that help out at disaster zones?" Alan asked.
Turning to his youngest son, Jeff simply said, "Yes. Years ago, I thought 'what if there was someone with equipment that could have saved Lucy?' At the time, there was no one. I had already built a company that made millions then, so I began asking 'what if that someone was me?'"
John frowned and looked toward Scott, and then toward Virgil. Scott smiled slightly. The 21-year-old was able to fit the final pieces to the puzzle together. Jeff had hired Brains to engineer the IR craft, and that was one of the main reasons they lived in relative isolation.
"I hired Brains to engineer what we now call the Thunderbirds. The two of us created International Rescue and are the ones behind the recent rescues. It is the reason Kyrano, Onaha and Tin Tin live with us – they were the first people we rescued before we'd even completed building the 'birds."
Each of the boys were silent for a long while before Scott broke the silence. "Once I'm finished with my studies, I'm moving back to the Island to help out. I'll be done in another year."
Jeff smiled at his firstborn. "Thank you, Scott." Turning to his other sons, the man took in a deep breath. "There is no pressure for you to join in this vision. In fact, I am not going to ask you. I want you to have a life outside this island."
Ever the practical one, John asked, "How do you hear about the disasters?"
"At the moment, Brains has set up our communications hub to scan the major news networks for any signs of disasters and that gets filtered through this office. Depending on what we need and if the two of us can cope on our own, we'll respond. Most of the time, we can."
"Communications hub?"
"Thunderbird Five – currently in orbit and able to sustain life."
John's eyes widened at the prospect of an actual space station. Although his major wasn't astronomy, the night sky still held a strong hold over him.
"How do you get there?" Alan asked.
"Thunderbird 3 – our rocket. I'll have to take you on a complete tour of the 'birds tomorrow."
"Does Kathryn know about this?" Virgil asked. "She's a medic. Wouldn't that be helpful for a rescuer?"
Jeff turned to his middle born son. "She found out in February. For some reason, she recognised my voice."
Gordon snorted. "Did she tell you to find some way to disguise it?" Scott laughed at the comment, and soon all five boys were laughing, just imagining that conversation their father had with their sister.
TB TB TB TB TB
Kathryn tried to get down to Florida for Gordon's graduation, and could only manage to get the three days before the 17-year-old's graduation off. Sophia wanted so much to join her sister-in-law on the trip out to Florida but the girl had her final exam right in the middle of the trip. Jude also had shifts at the hospital during the time so Kathryn had to make the trip on her own.
Jude could tell something was bothering his wife when she returned to Colorado Springs.
When Sophia asked to head out to a friend's place for the night, the teen hadn't gotten a reaction out of her brother. She smiled, knowing that if she'd asked the same thing the same time last year, he would have exploded. After a close call with drugs and making some dumb choices at a few parties, Sophia had grown up a lot.
It had also helped having Kathryn sit down with her and explain a bit more of her own past – really, who would have known the sensible, reliable Sergeant Kate had a run in with the wrong crowd (twice) when she first started to look after her brothers. And she had gone out with someone who was just using her, thinking that she could get them money for the drugs he'd wanted. The worst of it, Sophia saw, was a faded scar on Kathryn's stomach from a beating from a supposed 'boyfriend' who'd attacked her with glass from a broken bottle only three short months after her mother's death. When Kathryn had told her (and Jude) about the scar, it was the first time she'd related to anyone about what had happened.
Even after all the horror stories from Kathryn's own teenage years (and then having the strength to go on and look after her brothers), the choice for all the parties and drugs was left up to Sophia. Kathryn wouldn't stop her from making the same mistakes as she did, but the older woman would definitely help her to get through the fall out afterward if it came to that.
Jude looked up at his sister as she was about to exit and called out, "Usual time?"
"Yeah, I'll be back by 11. If not, I'll make sure I call – or get my friend's mum to call earlier," Sophia returned. At least she knew her brother cared (and wanted what was best) for her.
The man looked toward his wife and gave her a small smile. Sophia had made a few mistakes since Kathryn had returned from Israel, but the teen was turning out rather well. "You okay?" he asked.
"Yeah. It's just been tough dealing with a teenaged girl." Kathryn reached out and laced her fingers through his. "She's pretty fantastic, don't you think?"
Jude smiled fully. "That she is. Thanks for your help the past couple of years. I couldn't have done it without you."
"You're welcome. I'm going to say the same thing about Sophia as Dad said about me: even if nothing worked out between us, I still would have stuck around for her sake." He snorted and she laughed slightly. "Well, maybe not. Not with my track record anyway."
"I'm just glad you've let us in. Are you ever going to tell her the truth about that scar?"
"Who said I was lying about it?" she asked, perfectly straight faced. "That particular boy did leave me with a scar – obtained by a shard of glass."
"Yes – on your shoulder. You retaliated by kicking the family jewels."
Kathryn laughed that off, knowing that laughter was the best way to start any deep conversation the two of them were to have. "The bastard deserved it. There was no way I was going to give him money to fuel his drug addiction. I did learn something from my mother. And it was the wakeup call I needed to get back to reality."
"The fact that your brothers needed you just as much as you needed them?"
"Yep. They were my safety net."
"So what's got you thinking now?"
"What are we going to do once my enlistment's up? Sophia's really happy and settled into the school here. I'd really hate to move her for her senior year at High School."
Jude sat up and asked, "Why? Do you have an offer to move to a different trauma centre?"
"Not exactly a trauma centre but yes, I have an offer. For the both of us. I told the person who made me the offer that I'd have to talk it over with you, and with Sophia, before giving them my final decision."
"Where would that job offer take us?"
Kathryn looked down at the floor before gaining her courage to look back up at Jude. "Tracy Island."
The paediatrician frowned. "I thought that your family lived on their own island and that most of your brothers were past the stage of needing a paediatrician."
"That's not what Dad had in mind for us. Yes, he'd like us to work with a new charitable trust he's setting up in Peru, but he'd be employing us to help out with another project of his."
"How long term are we talking about with this 'project'?"
"That's the tricky part. It will be for as long as we're willing to participate. You remember how back in February, I helped out International Rescue at Fort Sam?" At his nod, Kathryn continued, "Well, I recognised the commander's voice. And I worked out one of the reasons Dad moved the family to a remote island that no one really knows the location of."
"Don't tell me he built International Rescue?" She nodded. He snorted slightly. "At least your family isn't boring. He wants to recruit us for the rescue work, doesn't he?" She nodded again. He shifted closer to her and wrapped his arms around her. "How long do you think he'll leave the offer on the table?"
Kathryn relaxed into his arms. "For as long as it takes for us to come to a decision. It's not just the two of us in the decision, but Sophia too. We've got to decide what's best for her too."
"That's a lot to consider."
"At least Dad's not pressuring us for an answer."
Jude laughed. "I'll give him that."
TB TB TB TB TB
Alan crossed his arms in anger just as John dropped him off for school. It had been months since he'd received any quality time with Jeff and the 13-year-old had been looking forward to making the trip back to school with just his father.
That wasn't going to happen when Jeff had asked Scott to deliver the boy back to the Roosevelt School of Learning for Boys a fortnight before summer was over. And to Alan, having big brother Scott deliver him to school without a formal apology for either ignoring him or teasing him had driven the resentment of all Tracy men deeper.
It just wasn't fair. Once Scott, John, Virgil and now Gordon had left school and had started branching out into their own fields of interests had Alan feeling like he was just the 'excess baggage.' He felt like the little brother that they found no time for, or an easy target for their teasing.
Fermat frowned, and shrugged it off. The twelve-year-old was an only child, and didn't really understand the distance that had grown between the Tracy siblings. If he'd had any siblings of his own, he was sure he wouldn't have let anything get in the way of having a close relationship between him and his brother or sister. When the boy brought the situation up with Alan, the blond had snapped at him and said that it was no concern of the genius. The younger boy sighed and decided to let Alan sort out the problem – if the Tracy was willing to admit that anything was the problem.
TB TB TB TB TB
John found that working full time for NASA was completely different from studying. He'd completed his university papers at the end of August, and graduated early September. The only one from the family who'd made his graduation was Kathryn (who'd only just retired her commission four days before he graduated). He smiled as he thought of those few days Kathryn had spent with him. She'd made a point of visiting each and every one of her five brothers over the first three weeks since her 'retirement' from the army. It had been good receiving the one on one time with her. It had been years since she'd been able to do that. In fact, the last time that anyone (other than him and Virgil) in the family had spent any quality time with Kathryn was before she entered the army in 2025.
But now, three months after he'd graduated, he was struggling to fit into the environment that he was working in. He was the youngest graduate working for NASA being only 20 at his last birthday. The closest person in age to him was a 24-year-old from Arkansas, and the two of them weren't all that close.
He sat with his table computer and called Jude – of all his family members, John thought Jude would be the one to understand the situation the best. After all, Jude had started his paediatrician practice at 21 – being one of the youngest doctors to graduate from the University of California-San Francisco. Usually, if people wanted to be a qualified doctor, it took 8 long years of study – and the average age of entrance to medical school was 19. Jude had been 15 at the time when he entered medical school, and had finished his training within 6 years. The man was very smart. At least when it came to medicine. He could be rather dense when it came to other things.
"Paxton."
"Hi Jude."
"Hey, spaceman."
John groaned at the name. "Did you pick that up from my sister?"
Jude smiled through the camera. "And what if I did?"
"Well, only family get to call me that. How's Katie doing?"
"And here I thought you were calling me. Aren't I family?" John returned Jude's smile and nodded. Jude's grin grew further. "Anyway, in answer to your question, yes, Kate's doing fine. We all are."
"That's good. Hey, I have a question. How did you manage to cope being the youngest doctor wherever you were working?"
"The first year was the hardest for me, being employed at San Francisco General. I was the youngest there by more than 8 years. It was lonely. But once I started working with the Army- I found that my age didn't matter as long as I got the job done. There were medical personal working at Fort Sam that were my age. I decided that how old I was didn't matter, but what I knew and what I could bring to the team."
John took that response in. "Thanks Jude. That helps a lot actually. More mind over matter."
"That's it exactly."
"So did Kathryn or Sophia tell you what Dad was up to?"
"It's hard not to know what's happening on the Island, seeing as Dad gave us a proposition at Gordon's graduation."
"And what did you say?"
"Sophia didn't really like the idea of moving schools for her senior year, so we've put off moving to the island and taking up a role in the Tracy Charitable Trust set up in Peru. We'll eventually move to take that position up. In the meantime, we're sticking to Colorado Springs and Evans Military Hospital."
John snorted. "Yeah, I don't think I would have liked the prospect of moving schools for my senior year either. But it's always nice having that option open to work for Dad."
"It is." Jude's eyes darted to something above his phone's screen. "I've got to go. Patient requires my attention. Talk to you later."
John said, "See you later," just as the screen went black. He took a deep breath and resolved to make the most of this first year out of University. He'd agreed to take up a one year contract with NASA before returning to the island and entering the services of his father.