27

Tracy Island, just outside the house, late that same afternoon-

Being a smart girl (and wary of retribution) Kayo skivved off shortly after they'd landed in Thunderbird 3 and flashed through their health scans. No undue physical stress, no hidden pathogens and everyone focused on John meant she could melt away like an ocean fog, thinking: Don't look this way, don't notice me. Funny, how that trick always seemed to work out for her.

She could have gone anywhere, after escaping that noisy, exuberant, tinged-with-pain hangar. Chose to go where no one would think to search: a giant kawaka tree that grew like a towering pillar, right through the balcony overlook. High in its swaying branches, the girl was hidden from sight; able to think. To be by herself for the first time in nearly a week.

A lot had happened in six short days, much of it downright scary (and mostly her fault). Only, she still wasn't sorry she'd ship-jacked Thunderbird 3 to go after John. Just sorry he'd almost got killed two-and-three-quarters times while she did it. And… maybe a little bit sorry that Alan was down there alone right now, facing Grandma and Scott… but not enough to go join him. As the baby of the family, Alan wouldn't get much of a roasting, anyhow. Probably.

Having snagged a protein shake and energy bar on her way through the house, Kay settled her back to the tree's broad trunk, scooched herself into a comfortable sitting position, and started to eat. After six days in space, gravity felt weird, as did sunshine and moisture-drenched air that actually moved. All around her, a warm breeze set long leaves and stringy bark to swaying and clattering, causing the tree at her back to creak like the mast of an old-style sailing ship.

Tanusha let a feeling of normalcy come creeping back as she finished her chocolate-chip energy bar. Up and down were perfectly natural, and she wasn't about to get squashed. Just needed time to adjust, was all. In the meantime, she couldn't get what had happened on Ceres out of her head.

The Mechanic wouldn't be trapped for long. That much, they'd very soon realized. That, and the fact that those asteroid "Havens" were lies, every d*mn one of them… because someone had gotten their first.

Kayo stared out past the heavily forested gorge, watching an ocean of old growth trees and darting, bright-coloured birds. A small, fuzzy pterosaur flitted nearby, pausing to light on a branch and preen his back before rasping aloud, then dropping away in a long, silent glide. After lizards and moths, or some such.

The smells of sea and that ever-wet tropical forest flooded senses deadened by six days in space. Must be worse for John, Kay figured. He'd been a month coming over, and before that a year on barren red Mars. No wonder he'd bolted for the safety of his rooms, needing alone-time before the evening's beachside debrief.

A small golden ant crawled over Kay's leg, intrigued by the crumbs of her energy bar. One tiny bug didn't bother her, but ants were never alone. Having found something interesting, the insect would soon summon friends, and that would end badly. Time to move on. Kayo chewed faster, then opened her strawberry shake and started on that.

What would Alan and John tell the others, she wondered? That Plan Z was a bust? Had been sabotaged, gutted in 2027? That any desperate future refugees making their way to the Arks were totally screwed?

Kayo shivered as the sun dipped behind the mountain, bringing rapid twilight. Here and now, she and her brothers were safe; off of Ceres and back on Earth. Question was, who should be told of the damage, and how could IR reverse all that Red Path's agents had done?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Down in the hangar 3 waiting room, just beneath the round house-

Alan had started out pretty well, with,

"See, what had happened was…"

Only, Grandma surprised him with a sudden, super-tight hug, saying,

"Sprout, I know ya got th' space-rescue bug as bad as y'r brothers is et up ta fly, explore oceans or bust through debris… but there's a time an' a place. One that don't take so many dang chances. Maybe I been holdin' onta you an' y'r sister so hard, 'cause y'r all I got left at home. Maybe I need ta let ya both in on th' family business… but it ain't been easy."

Sally tightened that hug, then stepped away, clearing her throat. Her blue eyes were flooded with tears that she wouldn't let fall because Tracy. Scott had been maybe about to deliver a lecture, but her outburst caught him as much by surprise as it had Alan.

Instead of barking that scheduled reprimand, the tall, handsome pilot placed a hand on their grandmother's shoulder. Stepping closer, he gave the old woman a brief, calming squeeze.

"Steady," he murmured. "No one was hurt, and maybe they got something out of the Mechanic that'll help us find Dad. We're not giving up, Grandma. We'll never give up."

Sally's slim shoulders straightened a bit, and she nodded, reaching up and across to pat Scott's comforting hand.

"I know, Boo. Rescue's our business, no matter who, no matter where, no matter how they landed in trouble, jus' like y'r daddy intended. It's jus'…"

"Hard," Al supplied, scuttling forward to add his own bit of arm-draping comfort. "Because this time, it's personal." He took a deep breath and then said, "I'm sorry we didn't ask first. Only, you guys were real busy at the time and, um… well, there wasn't much time to think."

"Kayo's idea, I take it?" Scott prodded, blue eyes gone all at once rivet-hard and intense.

Alan snorted aloud.

"You mean Shady McFisticuffs? Uh, yeah… Sort of. I mean, she can be pretty persuasive, but I did really want to help her get John."

More family made everything better, right? It was all the fig leaf he had to cover their crime, and it didn't seem like enough. The boy tensed, expecting a shouted tirade, but Scott seemed more worried than angry.

"You could've got killed on my watch, Al. You and Kay could be dead, right now. John, too, if that half-assed space walk of his had gone one-tenth of one percent wronger." And then there was Gordon, who'd been beat up and shot, back in Haven; alive thanks to Virgil and Lee.

Sighing, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand, Scott went on talking. More slowly, this time, as he fumbled to express himself.

"My bad. I should have included you two instead of always shrugging you off. You're Tracys. You belong on the team. But, like Grandma says, it's hard to take risks with the people you care about most. Me, Virge and John… we've been out there enough to make informed decisions. Gordon, too, for that matter… but you and Kay still see all the action and flash. None of the soreness, exhaustion and heartache." Looking down at the carpeted floor, Scott added,

"We lose them sometimes, Al. No words for how much it hurts, when someone who trusted you to pull off a miracle dies, half an inch out of your grasp."

Some Tracy emotional-distress beacon had pulled Virgil into the room as well, now that Thunderbird 3 was deep into fuel-up and maintenance. Picking up the thread of Scott's comment, Virge added,

"Makes it hard to sleep, sometimes. Eyes and voices, y'know? Recovering bodies, when folks 've died before we could get there. Telling relatives something kinder than what actually happened to their dad or their sister or kid…"

The husky cargo pilot looked bleak and forlorn as he sorted that tangle of painful emotions. A little awkward, too; as though he'd stripped off a private layer, exposing deep bruises beneath. Scott nudged him with a broad shoulder, having more sympathy than words. Grandma reacted, as well, reaching up to fuss with his rumpled plaid shirt collar. Virgil shook off the dark mood. Kissed Grandma's forehead and smiled a little. Then, turning back to Alan, he gave the youngest Tracy a searching look.

"It isn't all flashbulbs and fun, Al. I've learned that much since coming home to help out. This time, things worked out for all of us, and maybe we've got ourselves a recruit. Next mission might not go so smoothly, or maybe the one after that. You never know… and there's nothing wrong with staying a kid for a little while longer."

Yeah… Alan could see himself doing that. Staying at home, attending online classes and playing his video games just like he'd always done. But that was before he'd flown a Bird out in space. Before Dad, the Mechanic and Ceres.

The boy bit his lip, but the outcome was never in doubt. He shook his blond head, saying,

"I'm in. I wanna be part of the team. Whatever you guys and Kayo are facing, I'll deal with it, too. I'll pitch in with rescues and help you find Dad."

After all, who did they have but each other?