Sorry for the radio silence trying to move and unfortunately the admin is taking up a lot of my time! Good news is next update shouldn't be so far away! In this chapter we start to see some of the repercussions of not having Gordon on the team.
Chapter 19
Penelope's hands felt icy against the soft crocheted wool as she flipped her body to take the impact. She tried to protect her precious cargo but she knew it would be futile. Hitting the water would mean she would go under and where she would probably survive, the child would surely not. Still; she couldn't stand by without trying, watching the child die would haunt her to the end of her days. Better to die trying to save a life then a lifetime tormented by regret and what ifs. She closed her eyes as she braced for impact.
Virgil had been focusing on maintaining a steady position above, while Penny worked to secure the causalities below when he heard the kind of scream that only occurs when someone is moments from death. A high-pitched scream of unadulterated fear. His heart froze in his chest, something had gone wrong, had they lost someone? Not having time for proper protocol Virgil radioed "Penelope respond." The sea crashed and roiled in response; the sound of his own Thunderbird reverberated back faintly through the mic. Virgil remained calm even as he felt the adrenaline start to spike. That couldn't have been her. It didn't sound like Penelope; His Penny didn't scream. "Penelope come in! Do you read me?"
All he could hear was the rumble and crashing of waves along with the muffled thudding of the mic before he heard "Quick grab her!"
Another more muffled voice cut in. "I've got her! but she's slipping I'm losing her boot!"
"Grab her leg! Pull her up!" The stranger panted with the effort. "Come on….. No way! She's got the baby! She did it!"
Virgil heard the cry of a young infant.
He gripped the controls until his knuckles flared white. He instinctively looked to his left but there was no one there. No one to call to assist and he couldn't leave the controls, not with this wind and the platform extended with all those people on board. The autopilot would be too risky. His mouth was dry, his collar wet with perspiration as he was forced to listen to Penelope's fate in the hands of a stranger. He had to think of something and fast.
Suddenly she was swinging like a pendulum, her hair slipping out of its bun messily around her face as the wind whipped it into a frenzy. The back of her head banged into to something hard, killing her momentum as she crashed into the vertical decking. She clutched the baby to her chest even tighter. Dazed; her breathing caught in sharp stunted breaths as the sea below her roared; engulfing the remaining cabin wall. The baby's wailing brought her back from the brink of unconsciousness. "Shhh, it's alright my little darling, I've been in worse scrapes then this, I'll get us out of here…. just you wait and see." She could feel hands clawing at her boots then her thighs as they made a grab for her waist. As Penny was up hauled across the railings, she knew there would be bruises later. As she was pulled up fully, she saw the captain had the mother of the child by one wrist. He strained to pull her up with all his might, his feet locked on the rungs like stirrups. This rescue had gone horribly wrong; she didn't want to call for help but on this occasion she reflected, she was royally up the proverbial creek without a paddle and assistance would be required.
"Thunderbird two to Thunderbird one."
"Thunderbird one receiving you"
"Alan, I need you over here, Penelope is in trouble."
"Trouble! What kind of trouble?" He frowned in concern as he adjusted the mic on his headset. He hated Scott's mic on the chair, it wasn't practical. As soon as he'd set off, he'd shove it out of the way, abandoned behind him like he always did.
"I'm not sure but civilians are having to pull her out of harm's way and I can't raise her on the comms." His brow was creased in concern.
"Alright. I'll try to finish here as soon as I can. I have just located five causalities on a makeshift raft of cargo. I'm acting as a beacon I can't leave till their picked up."
"How long will that be?" Virgil was unusually sharp leaving Alan surprised.
"Their E.T.A is ten minutes."
"Ten minutes is too long!" Virgil wiped an arm across his forehead. "Okay I'll try Scott. Hold the line."
"F.A.B"
"Thunderbird two calling Thunderbird four."
"Thunderbird four, go ahead Virgil."
"Scott; please tell me your finished." Virgil was becoming increasingly worried; he tensed his hands in attempt to stop the tremors.
Concerned at the lack of protocol Scott was quick to respond. "I'm done here, what do you need?"
Virgil rolled his eyes heavenward in a silent thanks. "Scott its Penelope; somethings wrong! She was helping passengers onto the platform and told me she would let me know when it was ready to come up but it's been twenty minutes and I heard a scream and now I can't get hold of her at all." The words rushed out.
"Alright, take it easy. Give me your coordinates and I'll be there."
Virgil reeled them off. "Scott can you maintain this open line with me, I'll ask Alan to inform base and to keep this line clear."
"Will do." Scott hung up. "Gee, must be pretty bad to rile Virgil up like that, I best hotfoot it over there." He had already dropped off the crew from the ship with the nearest life boat vessel. He was only minutes from the wreck now as he had been on his way back to see if he could assist in anyway until Virgil was ready to collect him.
The waters became even choppier as he approached the stricken ship, the rain had also started to plummet splashing the windscreen in golf ball sized droplets. Scott could just make out Thunderbird 2 above with a very overcrowded platform. His eyes quickly assessed the scene directly below where he could just make out a small group of people resting on top of the silver railings that would have once formed the stern of the ship, the water was starting to lap over the last of the remaining deck. If the ship broke away, they would be expelled into the sea. As it was, they were moments away from being submerged. Scott usually controlled the mission but had delegated to Virgil whilst he was tied up below water. Time to take the lead - they had to act fast. He flicked open the broadcast to all thunderbirds and base.
Thunderbird four to Thunderbird two. Get that platform up now! it's at capacity!"
"But!"
"No buts; do it Virgil. I've got the others - or will have. Can't waste time talking. Get the platform up and Standby. Alan; do one more sweep of the area for final casualties."
"F.A.B" They intoned both knowing better than to question Scott simply by his tone.
By Now Scott had steered himself into position as close as he dared. He flicked the controls to automatic so that Thunderbird four wouldn't stray from her current location before quickly zipping to the hatch and slapping the open button. It hissed before releasing upwards. He jumped up onto the ladder, his head popping out from the hatch.
"Hey!" He waved his arms at the group of people. He could see Penelope looked disorientated but sat upright and one of the men was holding a bundle of blankets as high as he could. Scott immediately dived back in the sub before throwing out a yellow buoy. As he ripped the cord it automatically inflated into a raft. He tied the cord to one of the external rings on four's bodywork with a secure double figure of eight knot. He pulled on it to double check it was secure. "Hop on!"
One of the guys swapped holding the baby, passing it to a younger more lithe looking man. He lined up his jump knowing he had seconds left before he was in the water. He pushed off into the air before landing into the raft, he bounced slightly causing Scott's heart to freeze thinking the guy was going to bounce straight out into the water with the baby before he managed to grab a rope on the side of the raft and steady himself. He sank further into the raft checking the baby.
"Nicely done!" Scott yelled across the gale and torrential rain. The guy flashed a smile despite everything, he was just so relieved to have made it. Scott turned his attentions back to the group. The ship had now well and truly gone, they were all scrabbling in the water, Penelope was barely keeping her head above but the life jacket served to keep her afloat. One hulk of a man who looked to be a civilian helped pull Penelope along whilst the captain brought up the rear with a young female. They all swam for the raft as fast as they could, the rain and saltwater lashing into their eyes. Scott was already drenched to the skin, his legs dug into the top rung to give him support. Within minutes all four of them managed to drag themselves on to the raft helping support each other. Once satisfied he had everyone, he made to move. He was worried about the baby in this weather but it would be too risky to get it on board, better to stay in the raft, he noticed the swaddled bundle had immediately been transferred to the young woman who was sobbing her heart out in relief holding the baby against her breast as she leaned into hug Penelope who awkwardly patted her back.
"I'm going to tow you to the nearest lifeboat, hold on!"
He hopped back down, skipping the ladder completely before quickly diving into the seat. He called ahead to the life boat he'd already been dealing with and gave a quick summary of his passengers. Then he switched back to the IR transmission. "Thunderbird four to Thunderbird two I have Penny as promised. I don't know her condition yet but she's responsive and was able to swim to the raft." Scott heard an audible sigh of relief. "Base, I'm dropping these guys off with the Italian water search and rescue, then Penny and I will be ready for collection by Virgil once he's dropped his passengers off."
"Well done, Scott. Alan's conducted two sweeps and reported no more casualties. Wrap it up then head home."
"F.A.B"
Scott was able to quickly off load their very grateful passengers before stepping out to help Penelope on board. He scrabbled down the edge of Thunderbird four to help her up. With some difficulty he managed to get her into the little dusky yellow sub. He sat her down on the gurney and almost called the boat back but she protested, slapping his hand away lightly as she shivered. "Lady Penelope, you really should see a doctor."
"I'm fine Scott, just a bang to the head and rather cold but otherwise fine. Nothing a cup of tea won't sort."
"Hmmm" He finished shining a torch in both her sky-blue eyes, his fingers relaxed their firm grip on her chin. "Where did you hit your head ?"
"Back here." She felt the bump and winced. Scott looked to where she indicated. Sure enough, there was a cracking bump. He grabbed an ice pack out the first aid pack, snapping it against his leg, before wrapping it in a cover. "Hold that on your head for the journey back, I'm still not ruling out a trip to the doc."
She took the ice and gave her best stare of contempt at such an idea. Scott rolled his eyes before turning back to the chair. She pulled the blanket he had left closer around her. "I don't need mollycoddling."
"Molly what?"
"Stop fussing."
"Ohhhh; I see. You think I'm bad? Wait till Virgil gets hold of you. You gave him quite the scare." Scott emphasized. Penelope groaned; leaning against the hull. Scott flashed her a wicked grin, there was no way she was going to get away without being fussed over.
Once the pod had safely docked Scott ushered Penelope out and sat her down in the sick bay – much to her disgust. He was still soaked through, the polyester of his uniform starting to chaff uncomfortably. Scott had already made Penny change into his spare uniform as he was worried about her being too cold. She had a clear air of defiance, her elegant chin pointing upwards. He appraised her sternly as he sat her on the bunk with her straggled wet hair and borrowed clothes, the glint in her eyes did not fill him with confidence that she was going to stay put. "Don't make me strap you down."
"I'm not sure Rose would approve."
Luckily for him he didn't blush easily. He shook his head, now he had all kinds of wild – uncomfortable thoughts he did not need. His hands had tightened on her shoulders for a moment too long. He quickly withdrew. He could still her laughing as he tried to pull himself together.
"Just stay there and try not to hit your head again." He managed to bite out before he disappeared. Penelope laughed once more before wincing in pain. She reapplied the ice pack.
Scott grabbed a quick change into a spare uniform of Virgil's (There was no way he'd fit Gordon's) and slipped into the main cabin. Virgil looked over his shoulder. "Where is she?" Scott noticed the immediate tension in the line of Virgil's shoulders and the strained quality of his voice. Scott sloped down in the co-pilot seat exhausted before leaning over to flick the flight controls to him.
"Sick bay. You're welcome to her. Stubborn as a mule! No immediate signs of concussion but a nice lump forming on the back of her head, Neck is a bit stiff, I suspect whiplash but she attributes it to the cold."
"OK, I will see if I can persuade her to co-operate, thanks for getting to her in time." Virgil would never be able to explain how much rescuing her meant to him.
"Anytime, you know we'd all do anything for Penelope. She's like family."
He nodded in response before swallowing hard. He wasn't capable of forming a more adequate response.
Virgil headed down the well-trodden route to the sick bay his mind whirring with horrible images. Scott had explained (whilst waiting to be collected) how Penelope had seen a mother clinging to the railings let go of her baby. She had no time to react and before she knew it, she had jumped to grab the child with no line, no regard for her own safety. Images of her being swallowed by waves with her head bobbing up before submerging after the child she had lost kept looping on repeat in his head. That golden halo of hair fanning on the surface of the sea as she was rocked by the tide face down. He knew if the baby had hit the water Penelope would have searched and searched with every breath left in her body. He shook his head trying to clear his fears. The danger had passed; she was safe.
He'd made a cup of tea on his way down knowing she would want one. As he rounded the corner his grip failed, the mug shattering at his feet, spraying tea and ceramic shards in all directions. "Penelope!" He rushed through the clear doors as they hissed open, pulling her lifeless form into his arms. "Penelope" He tapped her shoulder as he tried in vain to rouse her. "Penny!"