John awoke with a start at the sound of engines. Thunderbird 1 has
returned! Scott came back!
Apparently all that exertion trying to get the weight off of Virgil had
sent him spiraling into the depths of unconscienceness. Excitedly, he
called, "Hey Virg, Virg, they're here, we have help! They came back!" But
there came no reply.
Scott came in low and hard. He flew over the crater created by the explosion and he could hear comments from his three passengers when they saw the size and depth of it. A soft moan escaped Jeff's lips when he started to see debris from TB2. "Are you ok, father?" inquired Scott. He was very nervous about his dad seeing the shape that TB2 is in. "Don't worry about me, son, I'm ok. I just want to reach Thunderbird 2 and get inside, no matter how bad it looks.
Gordon was the first to see her. The only sound he made was a garbled gasp. Jeff and Brains both saw her the same time. Jeff sat forward in his chair and cried, "Oh my God, John, Virgil!" Scott slowed TB1 and landed her as close as possible to TB2 but at a safe distance.
The four men got out of TB1 and stood next to TB2 looking up at her. They saw that the pod was partially loosened from the main body. Several of the clamps had broken. Her nose was embedded so deep, that all you could see was, "erbird 2" on her side. That sight was the most disturbing because that is where they figured the two men would be.
Scott commanded, "Gordon, get the climbing gear." Jeff looked at Scott, thought for a moment and said, "Scott, this is your specialty, you command this rescue." Scott looked at his dad, and even though he automatically started the chain reaction that snowballs into a rescue, he felt that he needed his father to take charge. "I know what you are thinking, son, but you are much better at thinking on your feet in the midst of a rescue. And that is what we need to think of this as.... just another rescue. I will support you like I always do from Base but this time I won't be a thousand miles away." Jeff smiled at Scott and Scott nodded. Gordon then returned with various ropes, hooks carabiners, pitons and other climbing paraphernalia. They all started off for the hill that has laid claim to the nose of TB2.
The going was rough as the impact of TB2 into the side of that hill loosened the soil and rock all around her. They found that they kept sliding down in mini-avalanches. Luckily they were not at a sheer section of rock, but more of a steep slope, so that the worst that was happening was that they would just slide back and lose ground. Scott was the first to reach the "e" of TB2's name. He banged on her side calling for John and Virgil. But a craft of that size capable of attaining the speeds that she does, has a very thick hull. Even if Virgil and John were in there and expecting the pounding they still won't have heard it. The windows were completely buried, so they couldn't look inside. But they made mental notes that one of the options would be to dig through the earth where the windows would be.
Back at TB1, the radio was crackling "Thunder.1 from ..ird 2, Sco. can you .. me?!"
Walt and Jerry had been bouncing along in the Jeep for 45 minutes now. "Hey Walt, I don't think we are going to find anything. Even if that explosion left a big ol' hole in the ground, it could be anywhere out here." "Yeah," said Walt, "I am beginning to think you are r..........HOLY COW!!! LOOKIT THAT, WOULD YA!" The Jeep had just come around the base of the plateau that Scott initially sat on when the explosion occurred and it nearly slid right into the chasm that sat before them. "WOW, what do you think cause this hole, Walt?" Walt just sat there in utter amazement. They both got out, walked to the edge and looked down. Walt said, "Hey, maybe we could market this as the 'Little Grand Canyon' and get some tourist money to come our way. It would sure help business and the town." "That's a great idea," Jerry answered, "Hey, what's that over there?" he said as he pointed along the edge of the crater. Walt said, "Dunno, let's go take a look". As they got closer, they saw it was a huge piece of black and green metal. "Hey, it's got a number 5 on it. No make that the number 2. Yeah, I think that's right, it is a 2." said Jerry as he reached out to touch it. "OUCH! Dang, it's hot. That explosion was over an hour ago and this thing is still hot." Walt said seriously, "Jer, that is a piece of machine. Some type of machine, dunno what, but I betcha that there was a human attached to it somehow. What's say we take a bit of a look around to see if someone got caught up in the blast?" Jerry answered, "Where do we start?" "I would say we start on the other side of the crater over there" pointed Walt as he just spotted more debris from Thunderbird 2. They jumped into the Jeep and skirted around the crater. They reached another blackened chunk of metal. As they prepared to get out and examine it they saw a larger piece just a few yards ahead which looked either red or orange under the charring. "Hey Walt, that's a jet engine! No doubt, that came off a plane of some sort." Jerry stated with authority. Walt queried, "You sure?" "Sure as tootin......that is a jet engine I say. I'm no expert, but I have gone to enough airshows to know what that is. Besides what else could it be? I betcha a jet got caught in the explosion." Cynical, Walt said "now what would a jet be doing this close to the ground?" Jerry replied, "Dunno. Maybe they caused the explosion? Maybe this is all that is left, the rest disintegrated upon impact in that hole. Think we should call the authorities?" "Not yet, let's look s'more. There is still debris scatted ahead of us." "Walt? You got binoculars in that there Jeep of yours?" asked Jerry. "Sure, under the right rear seat. Why?" Jerry pointed in the direction of where TB2 laid almost a mile away.
"HOLY COW, Walt you gotta see this!" yelled Jerry peering through the binoculars, "I told you it was an jet plane, better yet, a rocket ship!" Walt grabbed the binoculars out of Jerry's hands "Man, what are those things? Think they are UFO's?" spotting TB1 as well. Jerry looked at Walt in disgust "NO, they are not UFO's, but they could be military. Let's go see." Walt, now getting nervous said, "that may not be such a good idea. Supposed they are UFO's or if they are military, not friendly military. Maybe they are from another country and they were going to attack us but blew themselves up instead?!" I think now we should head back and get the authorities." "Chicken! You been inhaling too much of your own chicken feed in that store of yours. Put a yeller streak right down your back. C'mon, there is only one way to find out what that is and that is to go there. We can go quiet like and hug the edge of the hills, staying in the shadows, ok?" Reluctantly Walt agreed and they headed off towards the two Thunderbirds.
The four International Rescue men studied where the nose was impaled in the hill. They climb up and over scrutinizing every inch of her to find a weak spot where they could get in. Their hike took them over the top and on the other side, out of view of TB1. The ropes came in handy on this side. Walt and Jerry slowly drove out of the shadows towards a deserted TB1. "Jerry? Didn't you say that there was a number 2 on the chunk of metal back there?" asked Walt. "Yeah, why?" "There's a 2 on the big green thing just after 'erbird', whatever than means." replied Walt. "WALT, These aren't UFO's or military. Look at the smaller one over there, underneath it says "Thunderbird 1, and that 'erbird 2' is probably Thunderbird 2. I never saw them for real or pictures of them, but the papers describe those ships in plenty of details. These crafts belong to International Rescue. Dang, we are in the presence of International Rescue!" "Jer, I hate to say it, but take at look at that big one, it is not in the condition I would expect if they were rescuing someone else. I think that one got caught up in the explosion and they are the one's needing the help." Without waiting for a response from Jerry, Walter yelled out. "HELLLLO, INTERNATIONAL RESCUE......ANYONE AROUND?!"
Brains and the Tracys looked at each other at the sound of a strange voice. They were nearly at the tail section of TB2 now, so they hurried on down the rest of the slope and appeared from behind the tail section. "Who are you, and what do you want?" demanded Scott. "Easy son" Jeff whispered, "they are probably just curious people from around here. They probably don't mean any harm". "Ok, father" Scott mumbled quietly. Walt threw up his hands "Take it easy fella, we don't mean to alarm you". "Sorry," apologized Scott, "it's just that we have two members that are in that ship."
Just then, there was another crackle of static on TB1's radio. All six people looked simultaneously at her when Scott bolted towards her. He was inside in a flash. "Thunderbird 1 here, go ahead." "Scott, it's me Alan." Scott, sounding agitated asked, "Why didn't you call on our watch communicators?" Alan, now obviously upset said, "I thought you would be in TB1 or the Mobile Control Center, which has a better radio link. Besides I was keeping the frequency open for the watches just in case John or Virgil tried to contact us". Scott feeling bad said, "I'm sorry Alan, that was a good choice you made. You were right to keep the communications from the watch frequencies open. What can I do for you?" "Well, I, um.....you're at the crash site, and I, um....ummmm, I don't know what it looks like or how bad it is." stammered Alan. Blushing slightly Scott replied, "I'm sorry again, Alan I forgot that you don't know what's going on. We just walked completely around her studying the possibilities. But we don't have a solution yet. There are two guys who....." Another crackle was heard "..bird1 from Th....bird2, ....body, there?" Scott grabbed the mike with both hands, holding tight, staring at it.
Jeff, Brains and Gordon were standing around discussing what the best possible plan of attack would be. The two visitors just off to the side being ignored. With so many rescues under their belts, the International Rescue team had learned to concentrate on what they were doing with so many bystanders constantly watching each rescue.
"u-uh, Mr. Tracy, I think the f-f-fastest and easiest option is to b-break the clamps holding the p-p-pod to T-T-TB2. We will just let it f-f-fall out of the way, then we w-w-would have easy access through the b-b-back entrance into the c-c-cockpit area." Jeff looked up at the huge ship. Many of the clamps had already been broken. The action would damage the pod even further, but from what he could see, it is so badly damaged, it really won't make that much of a difference. Due to the angle and height, the pod would probably take about two to three rolls before coming to rest. That would take it plenty far from TB2 so as not to hinder any rescue operations. He would feel better though if he had something to lift everyone up to the doorway once the pod was gone. That way if Virgil and John needed help getting out, they could simply be put on the lift. He suddenly turned to the two men, "Is there a town near here?" Jerry answered, "yes, just about 30 miles, thata way." He said pointing towards the southwest. "Do you have any type of construction equipment or heavy machinery?" Jeff inquired. "Why, sure, ol' Walt here has a feed and grain farm store. He's got tractors, backhoes, buckets and front-end loaders out back of his store. I got me a hardware store. I can get you anything you need for cutting, supporting or chaining", said an eager Jerry.
Jeff looked at Gordon and Brains and said, "Let's go shopping".
It took several moments for him to answer, "John, Virgil, is that you!!" He turned to yell out the viewport, "DAD! I think I heard from John and Virgil".
John heard Thunderbird 1 land, and he scrambled to find the flashlight and shoot it towards the hole that the auger made. Just as he was about to grab it and aim it in that direction, Virgil awoke. He didn't say anything, but he turned his head to look around and John saw that movement. He scurried back towards Virgil. "Virg, don't move, you are pretty badly banged up. You are pinned under the Mole, we don't know all that is wrong with you. Just stay perfectly still, ok?" Virgil looked at him with rheumy eyes, "What happened, did a rescue go wrong? Where are we?" The words came out in barely a whisper. "Did we save anyone, did we lose anyone?" With that, Virgil moved ever so slightly which was a mistake. He groaned loudly, then yelled, "JOHN!" He then passed out. John sat right there next to Virgil, holding his hand. The one that he just freed up not too long ago to get to Virgil's watch com. He decided to try it again since he knew that Scott was right outside. "Thunderbird 1 from Thunderbird 2, Scott can you hear me?!"
Scott came in low and hard. He flew over the crater created by the explosion and he could hear comments from his three passengers when they saw the size and depth of it. A soft moan escaped Jeff's lips when he started to see debris from TB2. "Are you ok, father?" inquired Scott. He was very nervous about his dad seeing the shape that TB2 is in. "Don't worry about me, son, I'm ok. I just want to reach Thunderbird 2 and get inside, no matter how bad it looks.
Gordon was the first to see her. The only sound he made was a garbled gasp. Jeff and Brains both saw her the same time. Jeff sat forward in his chair and cried, "Oh my God, John, Virgil!" Scott slowed TB1 and landed her as close as possible to TB2 but at a safe distance.
The four men got out of TB1 and stood next to TB2 looking up at her. They saw that the pod was partially loosened from the main body. Several of the clamps had broken. Her nose was embedded so deep, that all you could see was, "erbird 2" on her side. That sight was the most disturbing because that is where they figured the two men would be.
Scott commanded, "Gordon, get the climbing gear." Jeff looked at Scott, thought for a moment and said, "Scott, this is your specialty, you command this rescue." Scott looked at his dad, and even though he automatically started the chain reaction that snowballs into a rescue, he felt that he needed his father to take charge. "I know what you are thinking, son, but you are much better at thinking on your feet in the midst of a rescue. And that is what we need to think of this as.... just another rescue. I will support you like I always do from Base but this time I won't be a thousand miles away." Jeff smiled at Scott and Scott nodded. Gordon then returned with various ropes, hooks carabiners, pitons and other climbing paraphernalia. They all started off for the hill that has laid claim to the nose of TB2.
The going was rough as the impact of TB2 into the side of that hill loosened the soil and rock all around her. They found that they kept sliding down in mini-avalanches. Luckily they were not at a sheer section of rock, but more of a steep slope, so that the worst that was happening was that they would just slide back and lose ground. Scott was the first to reach the "e" of TB2's name. He banged on her side calling for John and Virgil. But a craft of that size capable of attaining the speeds that she does, has a very thick hull. Even if Virgil and John were in there and expecting the pounding they still won't have heard it. The windows were completely buried, so they couldn't look inside. But they made mental notes that one of the options would be to dig through the earth where the windows would be.
Back at TB1, the radio was crackling "Thunder.1 from ..ird 2, Sco. can you .. me?!"
Walt and Jerry had been bouncing along in the Jeep for 45 minutes now. "Hey Walt, I don't think we are going to find anything. Even if that explosion left a big ol' hole in the ground, it could be anywhere out here." "Yeah," said Walt, "I am beginning to think you are r..........HOLY COW!!! LOOKIT THAT, WOULD YA!" The Jeep had just come around the base of the plateau that Scott initially sat on when the explosion occurred and it nearly slid right into the chasm that sat before them. "WOW, what do you think cause this hole, Walt?" Walt just sat there in utter amazement. They both got out, walked to the edge and looked down. Walt said, "Hey, maybe we could market this as the 'Little Grand Canyon' and get some tourist money to come our way. It would sure help business and the town." "That's a great idea," Jerry answered, "Hey, what's that over there?" he said as he pointed along the edge of the crater. Walt said, "Dunno, let's go take a look". As they got closer, they saw it was a huge piece of black and green metal. "Hey, it's got a number 5 on it. No make that the number 2. Yeah, I think that's right, it is a 2." said Jerry as he reached out to touch it. "OUCH! Dang, it's hot. That explosion was over an hour ago and this thing is still hot." Walt said seriously, "Jer, that is a piece of machine. Some type of machine, dunno what, but I betcha that there was a human attached to it somehow. What's say we take a bit of a look around to see if someone got caught up in the blast?" Jerry answered, "Where do we start?" "I would say we start on the other side of the crater over there" pointed Walt as he just spotted more debris from Thunderbird 2. They jumped into the Jeep and skirted around the crater. They reached another blackened chunk of metal. As they prepared to get out and examine it they saw a larger piece just a few yards ahead which looked either red or orange under the charring. "Hey Walt, that's a jet engine! No doubt, that came off a plane of some sort." Jerry stated with authority. Walt queried, "You sure?" "Sure as tootin......that is a jet engine I say. I'm no expert, but I have gone to enough airshows to know what that is. Besides what else could it be? I betcha a jet got caught in the explosion." Cynical, Walt said "now what would a jet be doing this close to the ground?" Jerry replied, "Dunno. Maybe they caused the explosion? Maybe this is all that is left, the rest disintegrated upon impact in that hole. Think we should call the authorities?" "Not yet, let's look s'more. There is still debris scatted ahead of us." "Walt? You got binoculars in that there Jeep of yours?" asked Jerry. "Sure, under the right rear seat. Why?" Jerry pointed in the direction of where TB2 laid almost a mile away.
"HOLY COW, Walt you gotta see this!" yelled Jerry peering through the binoculars, "I told you it was an jet plane, better yet, a rocket ship!" Walt grabbed the binoculars out of Jerry's hands "Man, what are those things? Think they are UFO's?" spotting TB1 as well. Jerry looked at Walt in disgust "NO, they are not UFO's, but they could be military. Let's go see." Walt, now getting nervous said, "that may not be such a good idea. Supposed they are UFO's or if they are military, not friendly military. Maybe they are from another country and they were going to attack us but blew themselves up instead?!" I think now we should head back and get the authorities." "Chicken! You been inhaling too much of your own chicken feed in that store of yours. Put a yeller streak right down your back. C'mon, there is only one way to find out what that is and that is to go there. We can go quiet like and hug the edge of the hills, staying in the shadows, ok?" Reluctantly Walt agreed and they headed off towards the two Thunderbirds.
The four International Rescue men studied where the nose was impaled in the hill. They climb up and over scrutinizing every inch of her to find a weak spot where they could get in. Their hike took them over the top and on the other side, out of view of TB1. The ropes came in handy on this side. Walt and Jerry slowly drove out of the shadows towards a deserted TB1. "Jerry? Didn't you say that there was a number 2 on the chunk of metal back there?" asked Walt. "Yeah, why?" "There's a 2 on the big green thing just after 'erbird', whatever than means." replied Walt. "WALT, These aren't UFO's or military. Look at the smaller one over there, underneath it says "Thunderbird 1, and that 'erbird 2' is probably Thunderbird 2. I never saw them for real or pictures of them, but the papers describe those ships in plenty of details. These crafts belong to International Rescue. Dang, we are in the presence of International Rescue!" "Jer, I hate to say it, but take at look at that big one, it is not in the condition I would expect if they were rescuing someone else. I think that one got caught up in the explosion and they are the one's needing the help." Without waiting for a response from Jerry, Walter yelled out. "HELLLLO, INTERNATIONAL RESCUE......ANYONE AROUND?!"
Brains and the Tracys looked at each other at the sound of a strange voice. They were nearly at the tail section of TB2 now, so they hurried on down the rest of the slope and appeared from behind the tail section. "Who are you, and what do you want?" demanded Scott. "Easy son" Jeff whispered, "they are probably just curious people from around here. They probably don't mean any harm". "Ok, father" Scott mumbled quietly. Walt threw up his hands "Take it easy fella, we don't mean to alarm you". "Sorry," apologized Scott, "it's just that we have two members that are in that ship."
Just then, there was another crackle of static on TB1's radio. All six people looked simultaneously at her when Scott bolted towards her. He was inside in a flash. "Thunderbird 1 here, go ahead." "Scott, it's me Alan." Scott, sounding agitated asked, "Why didn't you call on our watch communicators?" Alan, now obviously upset said, "I thought you would be in TB1 or the Mobile Control Center, which has a better radio link. Besides I was keeping the frequency open for the watches just in case John or Virgil tried to contact us". Scott feeling bad said, "I'm sorry Alan, that was a good choice you made. You were right to keep the communications from the watch frequencies open. What can I do for you?" "Well, I, um.....you're at the crash site, and I, um....ummmm, I don't know what it looks like or how bad it is." stammered Alan. Blushing slightly Scott replied, "I'm sorry again, Alan I forgot that you don't know what's going on. We just walked completely around her studying the possibilities. But we don't have a solution yet. There are two guys who....." Another crackle was heard "..bird1 from Th....bird2, ....body, there?" Scott grabbed the mike with both hands, holding tight, staring at it.
Jeff, Brains and Gordon were standing around discussing what the best possible plan of attack would be. The two visitors just off to the side being ignored. With so many rescues under their belts, the International Rescue team had learned to concentrate on what they were doing with so many bystanders constantly watching each rescue.
"u-uh, Mr. Tracy, I think the f-f-fastest and easiest option is to b-break the clamps holding the p-p-pod to T-T-TB2. We will just let it f-f-fall out of the way, then we w-w-would have easy access through the b-b-back entrance into the c-c-cockpit area." Jeff looked up at the huge ship. Many of the clamps had already been broken. The action would damage the pod even further, but from what he could see, it is so badly damaged, it really won't make that much of a difference. Due to the angle and height, the pod would probably take about two to three rolls before coming to rest. That would take it plenty far from TB2 so as not to hinder any rescue operations. He would feel better though if he had something to lift everyone up to the doorway once the pod was gone. That way if Virgil and John needed help getting out, they could simply be put on the lift. He suddenly turned to the two men, "Is there a town near here?" Jerry answered, "yes, just about 30 miles, thata way." He said pointing towards the southwest. "Do you have any type of construction equipment or heavy machinery?" Jeff inquired. "Why, sure, ol' Walt here has a feed and grain farm store. He's got tractors, backhoes, buckets and front-end loaders out back of his store. I got me a hardware store. I can get you anything you need for cutting, supporting or chaining", said an eager Jerry.
Jeff looked at Gordon and Brains and said, "Let's go shopping".
It took several moments for him to answer, "John, Virgil, is that you!!" He turned to yell out the viewport, "DAD! I think I heard from John and Virgil".
John heard Thunderbird 1 land, and he scrambled to find the flashlight and shoot it towards the hole that the auger made. Just as he was about to grab it and aim it in that direction, Virgil awoke. He didn't say anything, but he turned his head to look around and John saw that movement. He scurried back towards Virgil. "Virg, don't move, you are pretty badly banged up. You are pinned under the Mole, we don't know all that is wrong with you. Just stay perfectly still, ok?" Virgil looked at him with rheumy eyes, "What happened, did a rescue go wrong? Where are we?" The words came out in barely a whisper. "Did we save anyone, did we lose anyone?" With that, Virgil moved ever so slightly which was a mistake. He groaned loudly, then yelled, "JOHN!" He then passed out. John sat right there next to Virgil, holding his hand. The one that he just freed up not too long ago to get to Virgil's watch com. He decided to try it again since he knew that Scott was right outside. "Thunderbird 1 from Thunderbird 2, Scott can you hear me?!"