Chapter 13-Searching
Scott maneouvered Thunderbird 2 over the choppy waves of the Pacific Ocean. The bulky, but extremely sensitive craft reacted easily to his light touch. No wonder Virgil loved flying this bird, it handled like a fighter plane, but had the power of giant transport.
"Looks a bit rough Gordon." Scott spoke into the mike to his brother who was in Thunderbird 4, nestled in Pod 4 of the ample cargo bay.
"We can take the ride." Gordon's voice sounded flat, for the life of him he couldn't come up with a joke or funny thing to say. Why should he? He stroked the familiar controls of the submersible. He never said anything anyone, but the launch from Thunderbird 2 was always rough on his back. It never failed to bring a twinge of pain. His hand hovered over the expensive six speaker stereo system that had been cleverly installed in the small cabin. Gordon liked to think of himself as an old movie-vid hero dashing to the rescue with suitable background music welling up around him. He had a taste for the old classics that his brothers constantly teased him about. He deliberately chose the rather dark theme to "Blade Runner". The beat of the tympanis was in time with Scott's countdown.
"Five (boom boom boom) - four (boom boom)- three (boom boom)- two (boom boom boom)- one..." Thunderbird 4 slid down the ramp to plunge into the wild waters of the Pacific and slid swiftly through the waves like a speeding dolphin towards a small tropical island.
Penelope pushed back the hood of her white fur parka to gaze at the mountain peak that was shrouded in gray cloud. Roils of cloud seemed to gather itself and darken before their very eyes.
"Looks like a storm m'lady." Parker eyed the weather uneasily. He was basically a city dweller, the wild outdoors wasn't his forté, but where his lady went he followed.
"Yes, I believe the elements are quite against us Parker. We should reach the ranger shelter in about an hour, but I'm afraid we must hurry." As if to punctuate her words the wind began to pick up and howl through the trees.
"Of course m'lady." He shouldered the heavy backpack and followed Lady Penelope up a path more suited to goats than denizens of West London.
John eased the little jet into the stratosphere dipping into the gray blue area where the atmosphere ended and space began. He felt more at ease in space than ever on earth The sheer infinity, the grandeur always made him feel so small and yet so much a part of it all. Gordon had once called him star struck, not realizing how close he was to the truth. Sometimes when he slept on Thunderbird 5 he dreamt of the stars singing to him, telling him things that his mind could only wonder at and never understand.
Jeff Tracy lay in his bed with his arms folded under his head and stared at the ceiling. Tin Tin was handling the communications while he was resting, or supposedly resting. The boys and Lady Penelope would not reach their destinations for hours yet, maybe longer. He'd had a long talk with Alan on Thunderbird 5 just before he went for a rest. The picture had seemed funny at first with little bright dots of light drifting around his younger son's head. He had thought it interference until he realized that Alan was crying, the tears suspended around his head like small diamonds in the near weightlessness conditions of space. In between sniffs, the youngest Tracy had delivered clear and precise reports as to the positions of his three other brothers and Lady Penelope. He added weather reports and prognoses and with a breath of relief said that there were no emergencies that would pull International Rescue away from their own agenda.
Jeff let his own tears sting his eyes. Not yet would he allow himself to grieve. He had to be strong for everyone. One of the worst episodes of his life had been losing Lucille, and even worse than that his complete breakdown of grief that left his boys to cope alone. Scott and Virgil had literally kept the younger boys together sacrificing their own childhood to responsibility. Had he failed his sons again? He fell into an uneasy sleep.
Scott maneouvered Thunderbird 2 over the choppy waves of the Pacific Ocean. The bulky, but extremely sensitive craft reacted easily to his light touch. No wonder Virgil loved flying this bird, it handled like a fighter plane, but had the power of giant transport.
"Looks a bit rough Gordon." Scott spoke into the mike to his brother who was in Thunderbird 4, nestled in Pod 4 of the ample cargo bay.
"We can take the ride." Gordon's voice sounded flat, for the life of him he couldn't come up with a joke or funny thing to say. Why should he? He stroked the familiar controls of the submersible. He never said anything anyone, but the launch from Thunderbird 2 was always rough on his back. It never failed to bring a twinge of pain. His hand hovered over the expensive six speaker stereo system that had been cleverly installed in the small cabin. Gordon liked to think of himself as an old movie-vid hero dashing to the rescue with suitable background music welling up around him. He had a taste for the old classics that his brothers constantly teased him about. He deliberately chose the rather dark theme to "Blade Runner". The beat of the tympanis was in time with Scott's countdown.
"Five (boom boom boom) - four (boom boom)- three (boom boom)- two (boom boom boom)- one..." Thunderbird 4 slid down the ramp to plunge into the wild waters of the Pacific and slid swiftly through the waves like a speeding dolphin towards a small tropical island.
Penelope pushed back the hood of her white fur parka to gaze at the mountain peak that was shrouded in gray cloud. Roils of cloud seemed to gather itself and darken before their very eyes.
"Looks like a storm m'lady." Parker eyed the weather uneasily. He was basically a city dweller, the wild outdoors wasn't his forté, but where his lady went he followed.
"Yes, I believe the elements are quite against us Parker. We should reach the ranger shelter in about an hour, but I'm afraid we must hurry." As if to punctuate her words the wind began to pick up and howl through the trees.
"Of course m'lady." He shouldered the heavy backpack and followed Lady Penelope up a path more suited to goats than denizens of West London.
John eased the little jet into the stratosphere dipping into the gray blue area where the atmosphere ended and space began. He felt more at ease in space than ever on earth The sheer infinity, the grandeur always made him feel so small and yet so much a part of it all. Gordon had once called him star struck, not realizing how close he was to the truth. Sometimes when he slept on Thunderbird 5 he dreamt of the stars singing to him, telling him things that his mind could only wonder at and never understand.
Jeff Tracy lay in his bed with his arms folded under his head and stared at the ceiling. Tin Tin was handling the communications while he was resting, or supposedly resting. The boys and Lady Penelope would not reach their destinations for hours yet, maybe longer. He'd had a long talk with Alan on Thunderbird 5 just before he went for a rest. The picture had seemed funny at first with little bright dots of light drifting around his younger son's head. He had thought it interference until he realized that Alan was crying, the tears suspended around his head like small diamonds in the near weightlessness conditions of space. In between sniffs, the youngest Tracy had delivered clear and precise reports as to the positions of his three other brothers and Lady Penelope. He added weather reports and prognoses and with a breath of relief said that there were no emergencies that would pull International Rescue away from their own agenda.
Jeff let his own tears sting his eyes. Not yet would he allow himself to grieve. He had to be strong for everyone. One of the worst episodes of his life had been losing Lucille, and even worse than that his complete breakdown of grief that left his boys to cope alone. Scott and Virgil had literally kept the younger boys together sacrificing their own childhood to responsibility. Had he failed his sons again? He fell into an uneasy sleep.