Chapter 53: Honesty by Omission

Monday, 27th November 2079

"Tango Alpha Sierra One to Tango Alpha Victor Two. Receiving?"

"This is Tango Alpha Victor Two. Receiving you strength five."

"Tango Alpha Sierra One to Tango Bravo Four. Receiving?"

"Tango Bravo Four. Loud and clear, Scott."

Scott slid his sunglasses back up his nose. "Is everyone fully conversant with the rules?"

"The rules are easy," Gordon replied. "I shoot you both out of the sky and out of the game. It'll all be over in no time."

"Those are the last words of a sitting duck…" Flying TAS1 above the waters of the Pacific, Scott looked out his window at the yellow submarine that was skimming the surface. "And you look just like a duckling too."

"Quack. Quack." Gordon deadpanned. "You can't hide. I can. You won't even know where I'm firing from."

Scott grinned. "Is that a challenge, Brother?"

"You betcha."

"You won't have a chance," Virgil scoffed.

"I've got the best chance. You've got to look above, beside, and behind you as well as below. I've only got to look one way… Up."

"We're more manoeuvrable," Virgil sent his light aerobatic aeroplane, designated TAV2, into a barrel roll.

"Show off all you like, Virg. I'll soon knock you down to my level."

"You and whose navy? I'm the best pilot in the world: you all said that."

"We said you were the best," it was Scott's voice; "until I could prove that I can do your landing. That day's coming and it may be sooner than you think."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah."

The three brothers laughed.

Up at the villa, Jeff Tracy relaxed back in a deckchair, watched the two aeroplanes circling in the sky above the yellow dot in the ocean, and listened to his sons' intra-craft communications. No one may have felt like celebrating Alan's achievement, but he'd noticed that everyone had somehow relaxed since Arnie had been redirected towards Jupiter. It was as if a pressure that no one had really been aware of had been pressing down on them all. It seemed that the events of last Wednesday had had the dual effect of lifting that pressure and switching on the relax button.

Relaxing was precisely what his three sons were doing now. Under the guise of giving Thunderbird Four a test run, Gordon had challenged his two elder brothers to a three-way duel. It was a high-tech version of a paintball shoot-out with Scott and Virgil's aeroplanes and Gordon's submarine using computers to score misses, hits, and "death blows".

"All right," Scott was commanding. "Gentlemen, take up your positions."

Thunderbird Four disappeared under the waves, while the two aeroplanes peeled off in different directions; one out to sea, the other behind the island's scarred peak.

"Care to give us the countdown, Dad?" Gordon asked. "We can't let Scott do it. He might cheat and start his bombing run before he reaches five."

"I do not," Scott sounded miffed, "cheat."

This was a fact and Jeff knew that Gordon knew it as well as he knew it himself. He also knew that Gordon was trying, and most probably aware that he was failing, to unsettle his oldest brother.

Jeff spoke into his watch. "Everyone in position?"

"In position."

"Roger that."

"Ready and waiting."

"Prepare for combat in ten… Nine… Eight… Seven… Six… Five… Four… Three… Two… One…" Jeff grinned. "Operation last one standing is go!"

There was barely a second's silence before an aeroplane flew low past the villa and out over the sea. It skimmed over the water before climbing steeply. "You missed me, Gordon."

"Only just, Virg. Next time you won't be so lucky."

"Neither will you; now I've got a fix on you."

But Virgil was forced to roll out of range when Scott's nimble jet came flying up behind him, threatening to mow him down in a hail of digital bullets.

Seconds later it was Scott's turn to narrowly avoid being 'shot out of the sky' by a water-launched 'missile'. "Keep trying, Water Boy. You ain't gonna succeed."

Gordon didn't have the chance to offer a gloating replay when he had to dive to avoid Virgil, who'd taken advantage of his brothers' preoccupation with each other to attempt a bombing run.

"Epic fail!" Gordon crowed, not wanting to admit that he'd been caught napping.

If Virgil was going to respond he didn't get the opportunity when Scott glued TAS1 to his tail and threatened to blast it off. Virgil responded by looping up and over until their roles were reversed, ready to deliver his own coup de grace. Scott would have mimicked the manoeuvre if Gordon hadn't attempted to cut both his brothers out of the sky in a single burst of gunfire.

The two pilots peeled off.

The game continued for over half an hour, each of them seeming to be about to gain the upper hand before failing at the last second. That was until Scott and Virgil found themselves on opposite sides of the submarine and zeroing in on their underwater target. For that brief moment Gordon, who had been tracking Virgil's aeroplane, lost sight of Scott's and was hit fair and square amidships. Red lights flashed in his cockpit and alarms sounded signalling his defeat, he, groaning, allowed Thunderbird Four to float to the surface. "You got me."

"Ha!" Scott crowed. "The Air Force will beat WASP any time."

"Two against one; that's not fair. You two were working against me."

"We weren't working together," Virgil contradicted. "It was a fluke shot."

"Fluke!?" Scott exclaimed. "That was skill. Pure skill."

Gordon opened the top hatch and clambered onto the roof of his sub. "I don't believe you. Even if you two weren't working together, you two were working together."

Jeff chuckled at the bemused silence that followed. He knew exactly what Gordon was insinuating, even if his two elder boys pretended that they didn't.

"Believe what you want, Gordon, but you're out of the game. Now…" There was a dramatic pause before Scott continued. "It's the Air Force versus the amateur."

"The New York Hawks have some of the best pilots in the business… If not the best."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah!"

"Bring – it – on."

Gordon lay back in the sun. "Mind if I hang around? Someone's got to be here to pick up the pieces when you two smash into each other." He closed his eyes against the glare.

"Suit yourself, Gordon. This won't take long." Scott lined up his younger brother. "Any last words, Virg?"

"Yeah. Catch me if you can."

Jeff watched, and listened, and enjoyed his sons' byplay. If only his other two boys were here enjoying this game then his world would be complete.

"Dad…"

Jeff looked at his watch. "What can I do for you, John?"

"Uh… Can we talk…?" John seemed unsure of himself. "In private?"

"In private? There's no one else here."

John clearly recognised Jeff's background. "You're by the pool, aren't you?"

"That's right."

"Maybe it would be better if we were in your study."

"My study?" Jeff frowned, remembering last time he'd had a similar call. "There's nothing wrong with Emma, is there?"

"Emma?" John looked startled at the suggestion. "No… Nothing to do with her."

"The company?"

"No."

"You?"

"Dad…"

"All right, John," Jeff conceded. "Give me a minute to get inside and I'll give you a call." He reached out for his walker and pulled it closer.

Over the water the dog fight was continuing, and Scott was beginning to think that maybe he'd underestimated his brother's piloting prowess. He had Virgil on the run when the younger man rolled 180 degrees until he was flying upside-down with the belly of his aeroplane only metres below Scott's. "Now what are you going to do, Air Force? Blow me up and we're both down."

What Scott did next was unexpected. He cut power to his jets, causing his aeroplane to fall back behind his brother's. Its tail rose higher than its nose, so that his gun sights were directly pointed at TAV2's underbelly and he let rip with a volley, before peeling away from the fall out. "Wipe out!"

Virgil, suddenly surrounded by flashing red lights and screaming alarms in his cockpit, allowed his aeroplane's nose to drop and fall as the craft started spinning downwards towards the ocean. At the last minute he righted TAV2. "You win."

"Who's the best?"

"You haven't satisfied all the criteria to make that claim."

"I love a challenge."

"Don't I know it." Virgil flew sedately back to the airstrip, leaving Scott to indulge in a few victory barrel rolls. He brought his aeroplane into the hangar and hopped out, surprised to be met by Gordon. "I thought you were out there enjoying the sun."

"Too hot," Gordon admitted. "So I've brought Four in and given her a wash down."

Virgil started the processes that were normally undertaken after a flight. "Aside from being blown out of the water, how'd she perform?"

"Wonderful." Gordon grinned in delight. "You'd think that nothing had been wrong with her."

Virgil matched his brother's grin. "Just like her skipper."

"This is TAS1," their watches announced. "Requesting permission to land."

Gordon frowned. "Requesting permission? Why does he think he needs permission?"

Virgil winked. "Because he wants to make sure he's got an audience." As both brothers exited the hangar he got on the radio. "Okay, Scott. We're watching. Let's see you do it."

Gordon frowned at him. "See him do what?" He shaded his eyes against the sun and watched the incoming aeroplane. "Why's he upside-down?"

Continuing on its upside-down path TAS1 had been lined up with the runway, almost as if its pilot planned to land with the wheels uppermost; then, seemingly at the last possible minute before the fuselage made contact with the tarmac, it tilted its nose skyward and soared around in a combined loop and barrel roll before touching down in an almost flawless landing.

Gordon stared in astonishment. "Wow!"

Virgil had to admit that even he was impressed. "It's the first time I've seen it as a bystander."

TAS1 came to a halt just outside the hangar and her pilot jumped out. "Well?" Scott swaggered over. "Who's the best?"

Virgil dutifully got down on his knees and bowed low. "You are the best pilot in the world," he intoned.

"And don't you forget it." Laughing, Scott grabbed his brother by the collar and hauled him upright. "C'mon…" he put his arms about both siblings' shoulders. "Let's go get some lunch before we put her away. I'm starving."

"Who's the most starvingest person in the world?" Gordon mused.

Virgil chuckled. "There's no competition for that one."

Laughing, Scott ruffled both his younger brothers' hair.

They were still in high spirits; teasing and joking with each other as they walked through the house. That was until their noisy procession paraded past their father's study.

"Boys…" A quiet voice from the room pulled them up short.

Scott stuck his head inside the door. "Yes?"

Jeff was seated at his desk; the light from the window behind him placing his face in shadow and making it unreadable. "Would you all come in here?"

Something in his tone warned them that he was in no mood for hilarity and they entered the room in respectful silence, wondering if they were about to be admonished for their morning's antics.

"Close the door."

Gordon did as he was instructed. "What's up?"

"Do you want me to explain?" Surprised to hear John's voice, the three brothers turned to the Space Monitor's video image on the wall.

Jeff, his head down, nodded.

"You guys might want to take a seat," John advised.

Scott did as he was told. "Why?"

"Asteroid 2070SB has been pulled into Jupiter," John began. "It's crashed through the atmosphere into the planet…"

"But that's good news, isn't it?" Pleased, Gordon sat forward on his seat. "It means it can never hit Earth!"

John looked pained by the nature of the interruption. "I'll get there, Gordon, just give me a minute. Okay?"

"Uh, yeah… Okay." Bewildered, Gordon sat back.

"Asteroids and comets crashing into Jupiter is the kind of thing that Jovian astronomers live for," John admitted. "It gives them the opportunity to see beyond the outer cloud layer and catch a glimpse of what's beneath. As you can imagine, a lot of those guys got excited about the possibility of 2070SB crashing and revealing more of Jupiter's secrets, and so they kept their telescopes glued to it, as much as they could, as it got closer. There were major celebrations when it happened."

"Then why aren't you celebrating?" Virgil asked.

"As you know, I'm more interested in deep space objects, but I kept an eye on what was going on out of professional curiosity. That's why I heard that a couple of astronomers recorded a second impact site close to 2070SB's. It was so close that it was almost swallowed by the main crater."

Scott frowned. "A second impact."

John nodded. "Whatever caused this crater was much smaller than 2070SB and not everyone saw it. Those that did decided that the force of impact dislodged a fragment of the asteroid. However as soon as I heard about it I downloaded every image and piece of data that I could."

Virgil looked at him warily. "Why?"

"So I could try to work out how big it was."

"Why?" Gordon echoed.

"As I said, there have been a lot of telescopes focussed in the area and not one of the astronomers using them have reported seeing Thunderbird Three."

"Would they be likely to?" Scott checked. "You've admitted yourself that none of the telescopes available to you are powerful enough to see her. They were barely powerful enough to make out Arnie."

"They saw her on her outward trip. They saw sunlight reflected off her fuselage, or else they saw flares from the course correction rockets. Other telescopes reported interference between them and the image they were focussed on when Three passed through their field of view."

Gordon bit his thumbnail. "How big was this secondary crater?"

"It's an inexact measurement," John admitted. "I had to calculate it based on the amount of displacement caused by the asteroid's impact. Plus the initial impact caused major disturbance to the outflow from the secondary one, distorting any readings… But… I think I've got a fairly accurate measurement…" He stopped as if he didn't want to carry on.

"What are you saying, John?" Virgil's voice was hoarse.

"I'm saying that," John swallowed, "there is a large probability that that secondary impact was caused by… an object… that was discrete from the original asteroid."

"John."

"I think it may have been Thunderbird Three."

It was what they'd all been expecting to hear, but hearing the words spoken out loud was like receiving a punch in the solar plexus. Winded, everyone took a moment to take stock of what they'd just heard.

"Are you sure, John?" Scott needed confirmation before he could accept what he was being told. "Can you even be sure that this is a secondary impact crater and not just patterns in the cloud cover?"

"Or a bit of Arnie," Virgil offered.

"Or distortions caused by Arnie's impact?"

"Or something totally unrelated to Arnie or Alan?"

John allowed his brothers to offer up their suggestions, but they'd come up with nothing that he hadn't already considered. "The telescopes that saw the crater aren't optical. Each mineral and gas has its own distinctive wavelength. The telescopes observing the craters measure the various wavelengths of the images they receive and use that information to decide what it is they are looking at. These telescopes confirmed that they were seeing the gases trapped in Jupiter's atmosphere… They also saw a flare of what could be a rocket… As for what caused it…" he shrugged. "I can only hypothesise based on the information I have. And that information is that no one saw any evidence of any other material being in the same vicinity at the same time that Arnie was drawn in by Jupiter's gravitational field."

"Could it be spatter from the initial impact?" Scott asked; still hopeful.

"No." John appeared to take a moment to steady himself. "Now, I will admit that Thunderbird Three, when flying head-on towards Earth, does not make for a large visual target. Also, once Alan has set his course and got up to speed he won't need to make any corrections, so no one will see any flares… But…" His hopeful recitation petered out.

"Can we prove it?" Gordon asked. "Is there any way that we can conclusively say that Al… that Three has or hasn't crashed?"

John shook his head. "If I'm wrong, and I hope that I am, the best proof we'll get is when I regain contact with him."

"And how long will we have to wait before we… have to accept the worst?"

"Don't talk like that, Gordon," Virgil admonished.

"I'm just trying to get the facts!"

"We don't know the facts! These are all hypotheses!"

"Just like saving the world by setting off underground charges was a hypothesis! And that worked!"

"But that was Brains' hypothesis. This isn't!"

"Guys! Stop it!" Scott snapped. "This isn't helping!"

His brothers took a moment to regain their composure.

"Sorry, John," Virgil apologised. "I didn't mean to imply that you don't know what you were talking about. I just…"

"It's okay," John soothed. "I understand."

"What's your take on all this, John?" Scott asked. "Honestly."

"Honestly? If I'm honest I'm… I'm thinking the worst, but hoping for the best."

"So you still think there's a chance?"

John took a deep breath. "I've said it before and I'll say it again. Doing this job I've got to be an optimist. And without concrete evidence to the contrary, I'm going to remain optimistic."

"So you don't want us to start thinking about how we're going to get you home?'

"No!" John shook his head. "No way! It's still too soon. Rephrasing Gordon's question, and assuming that Alan set off for home the moment that he'd diverted 2070SB, I estimate that he should be within communication range in a little over three weeks. To be on the safe side I'll make that four. Then I can start thinking about coming home."

"And until then we don't mention this to anyone." It was the first time that Jeff had spoken since he'd called them in and everyone felt almost surprised by the intrusion. "Tin-Tin's been through enough stress at the beginning of her pregnancy. We don't want to put her through any more until we are sure of our facts. Understood?"

His sons understood. And agreed.

-I-R-

-F-A-B-

Thursday, 30th November 2079

It was night; in fact four nights after the Tracys had learnt of Thunderbird Three's possible demise. They'd tried to remain upbeat and as cheerful as everyone else, but the knowledge that the youngest member of their clan might never return was a crushing blow after all they'd done and all they'd been through. Their necessary deception wasn't made any easier by the World President announcing to the planet's entire population that they'd narrowly missed an astronomical collision and that, once again, Planet Earth owed the unknown members of International Rescue a debt of gratitude that could never be fully repaid.

The Tracys knew that the world would never know the full extent of their sacrifice.

Tin-Tin, as she'd done every night since she'd asked for directions from John, was standing on the balcony gazing up to where she believed Alan to be. She'd been doing it for so long that she no longer needed to measure the distance to that distant planet. The fact that she could look into the sky and recognise Jupiter straight away made her feel even closer to her home-coming husband.

Content, she sighed. She was well, her baby was well, her family was well, the Earth was well, and Alan was on his way home. Only one thing could make her happier.

"Tin-Tin! I didn't see you there." She turned towards the darkened lounge to see the shape of a figure pushing a walker. "I was about to close up for the night."

"I was saying goodnight to Alan," she responded. "He's up there." She pointed towards the planet.

Jeff turned his walker towards her.

"Two more months and he'll be home. It seems to be such a long time, but I am sure it will fly."

Jeff was silent as he pushed his walker out onto the balcony.

Tin-Tin hugged her baby bump. "And then we can be a family. And not just the three of us," she looped her arm through Jeff's, "but with you and the boys, and Father, and Brains. It will be like it always used to be before International Rescue split up, with us all together to support each other. It will be wonderful."

Jeff looked at her, glowing with happiness and the moonlight and then, unable to face her any longer, looked back up to the treacherous planet hanging innocently in the sky.

She looked at him in concern. "You are quiet. Are you all right?"

"Just tired I guess. It's been a long four months since Doomsday was announced. Even though we no longer have to worry about it, it's…"

"Or Arnie," she interrupted.

"Or Arnie," he agreed, "I feel like it's still hanging over us."

"You must take care of yourself, Mr Tracy," Tin-Tin admonished. She had yet to feel comfortable calling him anything less formal, and Jeff wasn't sure if the use of the honorific in her admonition was lightly teasing or deadly serious. He had a feeling it was a bit of both. "You do not want to make yourself sick again. Think of Alan and think of your grandchild." She rubbed her tummy. "It will want to play with its grandfather."

"I do think of them; both of them. I think of them a lot. I can't believe how lucky I've been and I hope that that kid growing inside you is even luckier." He gave his daughter-in-law's arm a squeeze. "And I can't wait to play with my grandkid either. I've got all sorts of games planned."

Tin-Tin laughed. "Such as?"

"Toy cars, and trains, and building blocks."

"And what if your grandchild is a little girl?"

Jeff was momentarily stymied. "Having had five boys it's what I'm used to. Of course," he gave a grin, "I knew a little girl once who liked to play with toy cars, and trains, and building blocks. And she grew up still playing with them, and knowing what made them tick, and making even bigger and better things until she helped save the world."

Tin-Tin giggled and hugged his arm. "I remember a man who used to enjoy dolls' tea parties." A gentle breeze tugged a lock of her hair free from where it was pinned back from her face. "I had this little low table and you used to sit cross-legged at it and drink cold tea and pretend to hold conversations with my dollies."

"I did that. I won't say that I enjoyed it though." With a tender touch Jeff tucked the errant lock behind her ear. "You've yet to learn what you'll be prepared to do for the love of a child, Tin-Tin. And the rewards you get in return."

She sighed, looking down at her bulging belly. "Soon. After Alan comes home."

"Yes. Soon."

The pair of them stood beneath the stars; each of them caught up in their own, very different thoughts.

"Oh!" One of Tin-Tin's hands went to her abdomen, while the other made a grab for the balcony rail.

With sudden concern for his daughter-in-law, Jeff placed an arm about her waist to steady her. "Tin-Tin? What's wrong."

"Nothing." She appeared surprised… and delighted. "My baby moved!"

"What?"

"My baby moved!" Excited Tin-Tin grabbed his hand and held it tight. "I thought I had felt movement before, but I was never sure until now. All of a sudden it seems real; like it is a real person…" she sighed, looking down again. "My baby is alive inside me."

Jeff watched her face, her expression of joy bringing back memories of his own. "I remember the first time Scott kicked his mother. We were about to go out and he scored a direct hit on her bladder. We arrived at the function late because she had to get changed. I suppose you could say that he's been taking control ever since." He chuckled; Tin-Tin sharing his laughter. "And don't think that you can judge personality by the amount of movement. John might be the quietest now, but he nearly kicked me out of bed several times! Conversely, Alan barely…" Jeff lapsed into silence, acutely aware that his reminiscing about his youngest son could cause him to reveal more than his daughter-in-law needed to know at this time.

Tin-Tin was gazing back into the sky. "I wish I could tell him."

Jeff was glad that she couldn't see his face in the darkness. "I wish you could too, Honey."

"What is my child going to call its grandfather?"

Surprised by the unexpected question, Jeff hesitated. "I don't know. What do you think we should be called?"

"Father has already decided on Datuk." Tin-Tin thought for a moment. "Granddad?"

Jeff screwed up his nose. "That sounds so old!" He gave a resigned sigh. "But then I am old."

"No, you are not." Tin-Tin scolded. "You seem so much younger since you had your operation. I am sure it has given you many more years of happy, healthy life."

"I hope so. I want the chance to enjoy playing with my grandchild… even if does involve drinking cold tea and having one sided conversations."

"What about Poppa?" Tin-Tin suggested.

"Poppa?"

"Would you like your grandchild to call you Poppa?"

"It's better than Granddad," Jeff conceded.

"Maybe Alan will have a suggestion. He will have had plenty of time to think about things like this."

Jeff wasn't about to be dragged into that conversation with its painful undertones. "And what is my grandchild going to call its mother?"

"Oh!" Tin-Tin hadn't appeared to have considered this. "I do not know. Mumia?"

Jeff squeezed her hand. "We both have plenty of time to think about it."

"It will not be as long as we think."

"You're probably right." Jeff sighed. "And my old grandfather legs are telling me that I should be taking them off to bed. If you have a daughter, and she invites me to her dolls' tea parties, I shall expect you to supply me with a chair, Tin-Tin. I think that even if I managed to sit on the floor now I'd never get up again. And as for sitting cross-legged; forget it!"

"I shall remember."

Jeff kissed her on the cheek. "Night, Honey."

Her eyes twinkled like the stars. "Good night… Poppa."

With a light laugh, Jeff turned.

"Before you go, why not say good night to Alan?" Tin-Tin pointed up into the sky.

Jeff pretended that he hadn't heard her. He didn't want to take the risk that she would see his pain and know what he knew. "Good night, Tin-Tin," he said, and continued walking.

-I-R-

-F-A-B-

The next day Tin-Tin recollected their conversation. She remembered how her father-in-law seemed reluctant to talk about Alan and the future… And especially about how he seemed reluctant to talk about Alan at all. She had observed the Tracys in her family go about their day and noted how they were quiet, sombre, and not as upbeat as they had been days earlier… In fact, she furrowed her brow as she tried to make the recollection, she couldn't remember the last time she'd seen them smile or heard them crack a joke…

"You have concerns, My Daughter?"

Tin-Tin decided that it was time to find out the truth. "What aren't you telling me, Father?"

Kyrano was confused by the question. He laid down his watering can and straightened his back, feeling the warmth of the tropical sun beat through the cloth of his shadehouse. "What do you mean?" He turned to his daughter. "I have kept no secrets from you."

Tin-Tin picked one of his flowers and studied it intently. "Something has happened to Alan, hasn't it? Something that no one wants to tell me."

Now it was Kyrano's turn to frown. "I know of nothing."

"Nothing?"

"No. What have you heard?"

Tin-Tin played with the flower's petals, not wanting to see her father's expression. "Nothing. No one has said anything."

"Yet you believe that people are keeping secrets from you?"

"Yes." A petal was pulled from the flower head.

"Tin-Tin?" Kyrano's frown deepened. "Who are they and what is it about your husband that you think they should have discussed?"

Another petal was despatched. "The Tracys."

"The Tracys?"

"Something has happened to Alan and they are not telling me!" Dropping the flower onto the dirt floor, Tin-Tin burst into tears. "I hate not knowing!"

Kyrano hurried to her side to try to comfort his daughter. "Why do you believe that something has happened to your husband?"

"Haven't you noticed? Haven't you seen how quiet they are? Haven't you seen the looks of pity they give me? Haven't you seen the sorrow in their eyes?"

"I have seen." Kyrano spoke softly. "But they have said nothing to me."

"Why? Why won't they tell us?"

"They worry," Kyrano reminded his daughter. "They worry about you and they worry about your baby. They do not wish to cause either of you harm. And they know that if you asked me that which you have asked me, I would have to speak the truth."

"And they haven't told you anything?"

"No. Nor have they requested that I tell you nothing."

"But they'd have to tell you if you asked, wouldn't they?" Tin-Tin clung to her father's hand. "If you asked Mr Tracy, ah, Jeff, he would tell you the truth. If you asked him about Alan he would have to tell you?"

"Yes. If I asked Mr Tracy for the truth he would tell me the truth. But, Tin-Tin," Kyrano brushed a tear from her cheek, "are you sure you are prepared for the truth? What if you do not want to hear what Mr Tracy tells me?"

"How long can they keep it from me? They must tell me sometime. Better to know the truth now than imagine the worst."

Kyrano's voice was quiet. "And if what he tells me is the worst, are you sure that you want to know?"

Tin-Tin inhaled a shuddering breath. Then she nodded.

"Very well," Kyrano kissed his daughter on the forehead. "I shall go and ask."

"Thank you, Bapa."

Kyrano found Jeff working in his study. He was greeted with a smile that didn't reach his friend's eyes. "Mr Tracy."

"I wish I could convince you to call me Jeff, Kyrano; then maybe Tin-Tin would be more inclined to call me something less formal."

"It is about Tin-Tin that I wish to speak with you."

Jeff frowned. "What's wrong?"

"My daughter is of the opinion that you, and your sons, are keeping information from her."

"Information?" Kyrano noted the wariness of Jeff's reply. "What kind of information?"

Kyrano hesitated. He no more needed to receive bad news than his daughter did, and he wanted to spare her pain; but there were two sides to this coin and if the unthinkable had happened, then a father and brothers should be allowed to openly grieve for their lost kin. "You have always been honest with me, Mr Tracy."

This time Jeff looked surprised. "Yes, Kyrano, I have."

"And I have always been honest with you."

This time there was a slight hint of humour in the other's reply. "We have both been guilty of honesty by omission, but yes, I have no doubt that you always have been honest with me."

"Then if I were to ask you a question, you would answer me truthfully."

The wariness returned. "Of course."

"Mr Tracy…" Kyrano began, "Jeff… as I know you have long regarded my Tin-Tin as your daughter, so I have had the pleasure of regarding your sons as my own. I may not yearn for Mister Alan as only true flesh and blood can yearn, but I fear for him and long for him to return. Part of my longing exists because I know that Tin-Tin longs for him; both for herself and her unborn child, as I know you know."

Jeff frowned as he tried to unwind the circular statement.

"Tin-Tin fears that you have information about her husband that you and your sons are keeping from her. She believes, as do I, that you have knowledge of what has happened to him after his success with the asteroid." Kyrano took a deep breath. "I am therefore asking you to tell me the truth. What do you know of what has happened to your son?"

"The truth." Jeff placed the pen he'd been holding onto his desk. "The truth is, Kyrano, that I don't know what has happened to Alan. I don't have answers, only questions. If I could say conclusively that this has happened to him, or that that had happened to him, then I would tell you the truth. But I don't have the answers that you, or Tin-Tin, or anyone in our family needs from me." He looked down at the pen. "I wish I did; for my own peace of mind, if nothing else."

"You are fearful for your son?"

"I've been fearful for him since the moment that I heard that he was to head off into space."

Kyrano bowed. "Then that is what I shall tell my Tin-Tin."

Jeff looked up sharply. "You can also tell her that I'm sorry. I wish I could tell her more; even if it meant one or more of us were going to get hurt."

Kyrano bowed again. "I know this. I thank you for telling me the truth. I shall leave you in peace." With his characteristic dignity, he withdrew from the room.

Jeff sighed. What was that phrase he'd used? Honesty by omission? He'd told Kyrano the truth, but he'd also kept certain facts from his friend.

Honesty by omission. Would that lessen the pain when the truth was revealed?

Or multiply it?

To be continued…