John loved spending time up on Thunderbird Five. He loved the peace and quiet, and the view of the stars. This love for the stars had led to him to start writing astronomy text books. He was also a member of a few online chat forums that were about space and the stars. His handle was two_of_five. It was a Star Trek reference based on his being the second of five brothers. Through one of these forums, he had met a woman called Louisa Collins, Lou, who used the handle Artemis_GoddessOfTheHunt.
When they had first started talking a little over a year ago, Lou had almost completed her Sophomore year at MIT, where she was studying Astronomy. He had met up with her whenever he could. With his father's permission, John had arranged for Lou to visit the island and to find out the family secret. Scott had gone up to Five last week, to be relieved by Brains and Fermat in a couple of weeks.
x-x
John was sat in the airport lounge with Lou and his dad. Lou was absently braiding her long, light brown hair as they chatted. John smiled as Alan, Fermat, and Tin-Tin joined them.
"Everyone, this is Louisa. Lou, this is my youngest brother Alan, his best friend Fermat and Tin-Tin, Alan's girlfriend" John made the introductions, having greeted everyone.
"It is a pleasure to meet you all" Lou replied and they all greeted her. They had time to get a bite to eat before the flight back.
x-x
They landed in the hangar and were met by Tin-Tin's parents and Brains. John had then showed Lou to his room and they quickly changed; John into cargo shorts and a polo shirt, Lou into jean shorts and a vest top. The couple soon joined the others by the pool, well, Gordon was in the pool, and Lou was introduced to everyone that was on the island. Scott's absence was explained as him being away for work.
x-x
"There's something I need to tell you. Whatever happens between us, you cannot tell anyone what I'm about to tell you. It's not just me you could put at risk, but the entire family" John said as he led Lou to his dad's office. Lou nodded. John sat at the desk and tapped a few controls, calling Scott, as Lou stood behind him.
"Hey John. Everything ok?" Scott asked as he answered the call.
"Hey Scott. All's fine" John replied. "I called as I would like to introduce someone to you. This is my girlfriend, Lou. Lou this is my older brother, Scott. He is currently covering for me on Thunderbird Five. International Rescue's orbital monitoring station."
"The Tracy family is International Rescue" Lou said after a moment. Both Tracy's nodded. "Huh. Not what I was expecting to find out" she muttered to herself. "Wait, you said orbital?" the two Tracy's nodded again. "As in, in space, orbital." Lou's eyes lit up when they confirmed this. "Any chance I could go up for a visit?"
"I don't see why not. If you really want, I could talk to Dad about training you to be one of the Monitors" John replied. Lou just grinned. They chatted for a bit longer before saying their goodbyes.