John floated effortlessly in the gravity ring of Thunderbird Five as the earth spun slowly beneath him. His teal eyes gazing across the expanse of the earths surface being met with hues of tranquil blue, earthy green and sandy yellow.
EOS was on the edge of his visual periphery observing him silently, her rings a distinct yellow indicating her concern at the silent form of her companion. There had been silence ever since his conversation with Scott had ended an hour ago. Though conversation was quite a loose term for what had transpired, more like a one sided torrential tirade.
Scott was in one word, furious. If John looked down right now he would swear he'd see storm clouds encircling around the island indicating his elder brothers blustering fury.
The moment Alan and Virgil had returned to Tracy Island and the debrief had begun, Scott's face had turned from mild annoyance to downright thunderous, those stormy blue eyes penetrating sharply into him.
A flurry of words had exploded forth. Irresponsible. Dangerous. Irrational.
John had stayed silent, allowing the whirlwind to swirl around him before all became quiet. It was in that moment the astronaut had finally spoken. "Are you done?" Before he subsequently cut the feed and anything else the Commander had to say, putting all ensuing calls from the island to divert.
It was a slight childish move on his part but he needed room to breath and more importantly think. Luckily so far Scott's temper and impatience hadn't had him rocketing himself up here in Thunderbird Three to burst through the airlock and continue. Though how much longer that would remain the case was to be seen.
John took a deep breath his eyes closing as he listened to the soft hum of the Thunderbird around him.
He knew the words of his eldest brother had not been directed towards him, but they had stung none the less as they held a painful truth that left him in a predicament he was unsure how to navigate.
Ridley.
His eyebrows furrowed.
Relationships had never been John's strong suit.
Living on Five meant that he had relatively little personal contact with people. Albeit he talked to many people every day, however it was always in a professional capacity during an emergency, and though it could get emotional, personal never entered the equation. EOS's arrival had helped immensely in providing a companionship which very much suited the middle Tracy and gave his family some peace of mind that he wasn't alone so much anymore, but Ridley, she had been the first human he had allowed into his inner sanctum who was not family. Their weekly games of handball had enabled him to have a contact which had otherwise been unavailable before. Helping him feel a little more in touch with humanity even in the emptiness of space.
Now he had a dilemma, as someone who he had come to cherish as a friend for the first time in years had taken advantage of that friendship. Placing herself and him in danger all to save a space station which could easily be rebuilt.
He felt oddly betrayed and it burned.
"John," EOS's childlike voice brought him back to the present.
"I wanted to inform you that Thunderbird Three just launched from Tracy island. Projected trajectory indicates she will be docking within 4 minutes."
John bowed his head in acceptance. Looked like Scott's patience had run out. He just hoped he hadn't launched with Alan. Last thing he needed was his baby brother being caught in the crossfire between two older brothers.
He started to make his way towards the airlock. He felt it was best to face this head on as making Scott look around Five for him on top of his having come up here due to his muted calls was just going to tick his big brother off even more.
As he glided through the ring towards the airlock he noticed the distinct red hulk of Three approaching. Within moments he was at his destination, waiting for the inevitable storm to enter. The hiss of the airlock sounded and the door slid open, revealing a single tall frame. Piercing blue eyes quickly scouted the immediate area before landing firmly on him.
The pair stared at each other unmoving, locked in silent battle.
A flash of lightning across those stormy eyes and Scott was moving towards him, the whirl of words whipping up again.
"She was out of order John."
"I know."
"She should never have made such a request of you."
"I know."
"She could have got herself killed."
"I know."
"She could have got you killed!"
John felt like he'd been doused in iced water. Everything seeming to freeze for a split moment as it hit him full force the reality of what might have happened. And for what?
He took a deep breath, shoulders dropping as his eyes cast downwards unable to hold his brothers gaze.
"I know." He responded quietly.
The rawness of the confession left him feeling very exposed and vulnerable.
Scott made an exasperated sound as he launched forward the rest of the way pulling John into a fierce hug. There was a slight shake in Scott's frame.
"If anything happened to you, I'd…." His words trailing off as his grip tightened.
This was the real heart of the matter which had ignited his brothers fury. Scott was never more ferocious then when a sibling was put in danger. Even more so when it was done unnecessarily. Their safety and wellbeing was his paramount priority and he had always felt an immense responsibility when it came to them all.
John leaned into his brothers hold as his own arms gripped his brother back. He typically wasn't one for physical contact but right now he needed it. He shut his eyes tightly pushing the thoughts that had been plaguing his mind for the past hour to the side as he anchored himself to his brother.
After a while the two broke apart, Scott however keeping one hand on his shoulder. An obvious means to reassure himself his brother was before him and physically fine.
John did nothing to push him away.
"You alright?" Scott asked.
"I'm…I'm not comfortable with what happened."
He felt a gentle squeeze to his shoulder.
"That's okay John."
"I just need time to think...to reassess."
His brother nodded slowly.
"Well you'll likely get your wish." Scott stated.
John looked at him quizzically.
"I spoke with the GDF before I came up here."
Ah. That explained why his brother had been delayed to launch.
"What did they say?" John asked hesitantly.
"They were not happy with what happened, Aunt Val particularly was not pleased. She apologized on behalf of the GDF that such a request was made and promised that it won't happen again." Scott paused for a moment, sky blue eyes assessing him carefully before he continued. "She further informed me that O'Bannon has been suspended and demoted as punishment for her actions."
"Demoted?!"
John knew she'd get in trouble but he thought it would only be a suspension. Demotion was quite a severe punishment, especially for a first time offense.
"She failed to follow a direct order, John. The chain of Command has to be followed, meaning all direct orders must be adhered to regardless if the order came from herself. By her failing to see it through she undermined her own Command." Scott explained.
"Like how you sometimes don't follow your own?"
John eyed his brother carefully. It wasn't a rebuke just a fact. Scott was more the one for commanding then being commanded. It was just how he was built, a natural leader.
"Perhaps. However as much as I love my 'bird, I'd sacrifice her in a heartbeat rather then place another life in danger to save her. That's the difference." He affirmed. "No-one would of blamed her for the stations destruction. In fact the GDF already laid blame for that part on Fischler, his space license has been revoked effective of immediately. There really was no logical reasoning to what she asked of you. I can only hazard a guess that it was out of some newly appointed officers pride at their first command which impelled her."
John considered this carefully. He had been wondering about Ridley's reasoning himself before Scott had come up. Her refusal to leave with impending danger coming and bargaining her own life to save the station had baffled his sense of logic. It was very different from the levelheadedness he was accustomed to when dealing with her.
Was pride the reason? Her not wanting the new station destroyed on her watch at a slight chance it could place a mark on her record?
He looked around Five. Like his brother, as much as he held sentiment for his own bird' he could not imagine asking someone to risk their life to save it. Yes she would be a hassle to rebuild, but rebuilt she could. When you stripped down to bare basics she was wire and metal very different from blood and bone.
His eyes came to the ringed form of EOS who has been carefully watching the exchange her lights moving between yellow and orange then back to yellow as John's gaze fell on her.
A realization hit him that had his blood go cold.
Scott noticed his brother stiffening under his hand, followed his line of sight to EOS whose lights were tinging blue at her uncertainty to why she was now the focal point of the Tracy's attention.
"Don't worry John. EOS is backed up on the island servers every day just as you setup and stipulated, so nothing would of happened to her."
"I know." John replied before his tone got icy. "But Ridley didn't."
Scott's eyes widened fractionally then hardened to this information his gaze moving between EOS and John.
Though Ridley was aware to EOS's existence she was not to the in's and out's regarding the AI. John had done this as a protective method to ensure EOS's safety in case her existence was accidentally leaked there would be little to no information on her that Ridley could impart to the GDF if ordered to do so.
This meant however, that it wasn't just John she had risked, but EOS too.
His brow creased as a cold fury took grip within his heart. He might have been able to forgive her with putting his life in danger but EOS….that was another matter entirely.
"I see." The elder Tracy commented. "That makes my decision even firmer then."
"Decision?"
"As the Commander of iR I've decided to revoke O'Bannon's rights to enter Thunderbird 5 for the foreseeable future. She broke our trust, yours especially. That will have to be re-earned before I entertain the idea of her stepping foot in here again."
John nodded mutely in agreement as his eyes remained fixed on EOS.
Scott sighed, a hand ruffling through his hair.
"Come home John, just for the night." He beseeched, hand squeezing his shoulder once again. "We'll make hot coca, get the blankets out, sit on the terrace and gaze up at your beloved stars. Just like when we were kids. You can even use that new device you've been concocting to bring EOS along with you."
The corners of John's mouth twitched upwards.
It was a typical ploy of his big brothers. His own way of making amends for earlier without exactly saying it. But it was more importantly his way of saying that he was here if John needed him. Providing him a comfortable setting where if he wanted to confide and talk further he could.
"I'll go fetch it then." he replied, accepting the offer with a smile.
Scott grinned back as EOS's lights flickered green.
The astronaut felt some of the heaviness inside begin to ebb away. No matter what relationships grew fraught he knew that he would always have his brothers…..and his brothers were more than enough.