Forty Eight - BF
Thunderbird One made a near perfect landing. As it's motors died away Alan unbuckled his safety harness and climbed out of the pilots seat. "We're here big brother. Ready for your introduction to the world?"
"Ready as I'll ever be." Scott retrieved his cane and stood up. He'd been more than a little surprised, all those months ago, when his father had suggested that he resume control of Mobile Control.
"What do you think Scott? Do you want to do it?"
Did he want to do it? Virgil had told him he had to decide what he was going to do with his life and from the moment he'd heard his father's words he'd known exactly what that was. That his father and brothers had faith in him had been a good feeling. That he was going to be doing something worthwhile with International Rescue was an even better one.
Alan stood beside Scott and offered his arm. "May I escort you to the ball?"
"Depends on how good a dancer you are?"
"I'm pretty nimble on my feet." They reached the hatch. "Okay. Here we go!"
The warm sun fell on their faces when they went outside. Scott heard footsteps coming towards them. "International Rescue! Thank g..." The voice petered off.
Scott had a feeling he'd better get used to that reaction. He extended his hand in greeting. "Who do we have the pleasure of dealing with?"
"Oh, uh. I'm Doctor Hughes. I'm the medical officer in charge of St. Helena Hospital."
"Pleased to meet you." Scott said. "We're going to have to get our equipment set up. Where have the emergency services set up their base?"
"In the lecture theatre."
"Okay. We'll move our communications gear into there." Scott said.
"I'll take care of that." Alan said. "You okay?"
"Yeah sure. If the good doctor doesn't mind leading me?"
"Of course." Doctor Hughes allowed Scott to take his arm.
Alan disappeared back into Thunderbird One. Doctor Hughes and Scott started to make their way over to the rescue headquarters.
"We're really grateful that International Rescue are able to help." The Doctor was saying. "One of the seven people trapped has asthma. The dust is aggravating it and she doesn't have her inhaler with her."
"Okay, I'll make sure we have the appropriate medical equipment. Anything else I should know about?"
"One of the others is trapped under a beam. They don't think he's badly hurt, just unable to free himself." They turned the corner. "What we are really worried about is the wall that looks as if its going to collapse onto where they're trapped."
"Okay." Scott was already formulating a few plans. "Once we're set up we can decide on the best course of action."
They continued on walking a few paces. "W-We have met before." The Doctor said hesitantly. Scott tried to remain calm, thinking the man was going to mention a time away from International Rescue. "I was involved with another rescue of yours," Scott relaxed, "but you could... you were..."
"I could see then?" Scott offered. "That would figure. Don't tell anyone else but this is my first time on duty since the accident. Don't panic though, we've put plenty of backups in place."
"Work related?"
"Yeah. I'm sorry but I can't place you. Which rescue was it?" Scott asked companionably.
"I was in charge of the medical team during the rescue from Regnad Corporation. There were seven scientists trapped..."
Scott had stopped walking.
The Doctor turned to face him. "What's wrong. You look as if... Oh no! It wasn't then was it?"
Scott nodded. "Yeah. That's where it happened."
"I'm so sorry. I didn't know. We didn't realise anyone had been injured."
Scott started walking again. "That's okay. We have our own medical personnel. It helps with security."
"We thought your Thunderbirds were staying for a long time. But we didn't consider that anyone had been hurt. What happened?"
"It was when the second generator exploded. I happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time."
"I hope no one else was hurt."
"Not initially. But one of our other operatives did suffer injuries trying to get me out."
The Doctor groaned. "I feel terrible. If we'd only known."
"There was nothing you could have done. Don't feel bad."
"I know it's small conciliation, but they've punished some people pretty severely for what happened." They arrived in the lecture theatre. "Here's your colleague."
Alan got Mobile Control into position. "If you can take care of the set up Scott, I'll go scout about."
"Okay. Thanks Alan."
It didn't take Scott long to get Mobile Control set up so that he could use it. He borrowed copies of maps, site plans and building blueprints and scanned them so that he could read them. He got reports from everyone he could and fed the information into the system via voice recognition software and a Braille keyboard.
Alan came back. "Here's what I saw Scott. Are you reading us John?"
"Sure am Alan." From Thunderbird Five John was getting a visual representation of what Alan was explaining.
Alan started drawing with his finger on a pad on Mobile Control. Scott placed his hand flat on another section and could feel every line Alan made. "Five floors have collapsed. The outer wall is still standing and seems to be only supported by two cross beams." He drew the appropriate lines on his diagram. Scott nodded his understanding. "I was talking to an engineer and he said that the trapped people are three floors below ground, directly under this collapsed section. If that wall goes, it'll probably fall inwards and crush everything and everyone beneath it."
"So we'll need The Domo to hold the wall in place?" Scott asked.
"I'd say so."
"I know Thunderbird Two's got The Mole. I'll double check on The Domo." Scott opened the radio frequency. "Mobile Control to Thunderbird Two."
"Thunderbird Two. Go ahead Mobile Control." Virgil's voice was as clear as if he were standing there. "Receiving you strength five."
"What equipment do you have on board?"
"We are carrying both 'Mole' and 'Domo'."
"Good. Thanks. Mobile Control out." Scott brought up a map. "Alan, double check this for me will you? We've got a flat area here," he pointed at the map, "where The Domo could work from, and The Mole could start tunnelling from here."
Alan looked over Scott's shoulder. "Looks spot on to me."
Doctor Hughes cleared his throat. "If you'll excuse me, I'll go check on my team."
"Fine. Thanks Doctor." Scott listened to the Doctors footsteps recede. "Okay, we're all set. All we need is Thunderbird Two." Scott took a deep breath and opened the channel that linked him to Thunderbird Two. "Mobile Control to Thunderbird Two. Come in Virgil."
"Thunderbird Two. How's it going?" Scott's use of his name had caused Virgil to relax procedures a little.
"So far so good. Everything's working well, Alan didn't crash Thunderbird One, and I'm feeling good."
"So you should be. You've been practising hard enough. Now you're back in the saddle again it'll be like old times."
"What's your ETA?"
"16 point two five minutes. Any instructions?"
Scott felt the map on Mobile Control. He didn't know how Brains had done it, but somehow he'd got it set up so that the map could be felt in 3D. "Come in to land at reference 18G-5. I'll give you further instructions soon."
"F-A-B."
Scott shut down the communications link. He DID feel good. He was in control. He knew what was going on. Thunderbird Two was on its way and he knew that Virgil was confident in his ability to do the job.
Virgil was, in fact, a mess of nerves. Scott didn't know that it was Virgil who had suggested that Scott be reinstated in the role of Rescue Co-ordinator. The battle had been won, but Virgil knew that should Scott make a mistake, Virgil would have no one to blame but himself. And a mistake could mean the loss of innocent lives.
Flying with Virgil in Thunderbird Two, Gordon noticed his brother's apprehension. "He'll be fine, don't worry. Look at all the practise he's had. John'll keep an eye on him. And Scott's not too proud to ask for help if he needs it."
"Yeah, but what if he doesn't realise that he needs it?"
"Relax will ya. You're the one who said we've got to let Scott do things for himself. He'll be fine."
"Course he will." Virgil said with a sudden burst of confidence. "I don't know what I'm worried about. It's Scott we're talking about after all."
Thunderbird One made a near perfect landing. As it's motors died away Alan unbuckled his safety harness and climbed out of the pilots seat. "We're here big brother. Ready for your introduction to the world?"
"Ready as I'll ever be." Scott retrieved his cane and stood up. He'd been more than a little surprised, all those months ago, when his father had suggested that he resume control of Mobile Control.
"What do you think Scott? Do you want to do it?"
Did he want to do it? Virgil had told him he had to decide what he was going to do with his life and from the moment he'd heard his father's words he'd known exactly what that was. That his father and brothers had faith in him had been a good feeling. That he was going to be doing something worthwhile with International Rescue was an even better one.
Alan stood beside Scott and offered his arm. "May I escort you to the ball?"
"Depends on how good a dancer you are?"
"I'm pretty nimble on my feet." They reached the hatch. "Okay. Here we go!"
The warm sun fell on their faces when they went outside. Scott heard footsteps coming towards them. "International Rescue! Thank g..." The voice petered off.
Scott had a feeling he'd better get used to that reaction. He extended his hand in greeting. "Who do we have the pleasure of dealing with?"
"Oh, uh. I'm Doctor Hughes. I'm the medical officer in charge of St. Helena Hospital."
"Pleased to meet you." Scott said. "We're going to have to get our equipment set up. Where have the emergency services set up their base?"
"In the lecture theatre."
"Okay. We'll move our communications gear into there." Scott said.
"I'll take care of that." Alan said. "You okay?"
"Yeah sure. If the good doctor doesn't mind leading me?"
"Of course." Doctor Hughes allowed Scott to take his arm.
Alan disappeared back into Thunderbird One. Doctor Hughes and Scott started to make their way over to the rescue headquarters.
"We're really grateful that International Rescue are able to help." The Doctor was saying. "One of the seven people trapped has asthma. The dust is aggravating it and she doesn't have her inhaler with her."
"Okay, I'll make sure we have the appropriate medical equipment. Anything else I should know about?"
"One of the others is trapped under a beam. They don't think he's badly hurt, just unable to free himself." They turned the corner. "What we are really worried about is the wall that looks as if its going to collapse onto where they're trapped."
"Okay." Scott was already formulating a few plans. "Once we're set up we can decide on the best course of action."
They continued on walking a few paces. "W-We have met before." The Doctor said hesitantly. Scott tried to remain calm, thinking the man was going to mention a time away from International Rescue. "I was involved with another rescue of yours," Scott relaxed, "but you could... you were..."
"I could see then?" Scott offered. "That would figure. Don't tell anyone else but this is my first time on duty since the accident. Don't panic though, we've put plenty of backups in place."
"Work related?"
"Yeah. I'm sorry but I can't place you. Which rescue was it?" Scott asked companionably.
"I was in charge of the medical team during the rescue from Regnad Corporation. There were seven scientists trapped..."
Scott had stopped walking.
The Doctor turned to face him. "What's wrong. You look as if... Oh no! It wasn't then was it?"
Scott nodded. "Yeah. That's where it happened."
"I'm so sorry. I didn't know. We didn't realise anyone had been injured."
Scott started walking again. "That's okay. We have our own medical personnel. It helps with security."
"We thought your Thunderbirds were staying for a long time. But we didn't consider that anyone had been hurt. What happened?"
"It was when the second generator exploded. I happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time."
"I hope no one else was hurt."
"Not initially. But one of our other operatives did suffer injuries trying to get me out."
The Doctor groaned. "I feel terrible. If we'd only known."
"There was nothing you could have done. Don't feel bad."
"I know it's small conciliation, but they've punished some people pretty severely for what happened." They arrived in the lecture theatre. "Here's your colleague."
Alan got Mobile Control into position. "If you can take care of the set up Scott, I'll go scout about."
"Okay. Thanks Alan."
It didn't take Scott long to get Mobile Control set up so that he could use it. He borrowed copies of maps, site plans and building blueprints and scanned them so that he could read them. He got reports from everyone he could and fed the information into the system via voice recognition software and a Braille keyboard.
Alan came back. "Here's what I saw Scott. Are you reading us John?"
"Sure am Alan." From Thunderbird Five John was getting a visual representation of what Alan was explaining.
Alan started drawing with his finger on a pad on Mobile Control. Scott placed his hand flat on another section and could feel every line Alan made. "Five floors have collapsed. The outer wall is still standing and seems to be only supported by two cross beams." He drew the appropriate lines on his diagram. Scott nodded his understanding. "I was talking to an engineer and he said that the trapped people are three floors below ground, directly under this collapsed section. If that wall goes, it'll probably fall inwards and crush everything and everyone beneath it."
"So we'll need The Domo to hold the wall in place?" Scott asked.
"I'd say so."
"I know Thunderbird Two's got The Mole. I'll double check on The Domo." Scott opened the radio frequency. "Mobile Control to Thunderbird Two."
"Thunderbird Two. Go ahead Mobile Control." Virgil's voice was as clear as if he were standing there. "Receiving you strength five."
"What equipment do you have on board?"
"We are carrying both 'Mole' and 'Domo'."
"Good. Thanks. Mobile Control out." Scott brought up a map. "Alan, double check this for me will you? We've got a flat area here," he pointed at the map, "where The Domo could work from, and The Mole could start tunnelling from here."
Alan looked over Scott's shoulder. "Looks spot on to me."
Doctor Hughes cleared his throat. "If you'll excuse me, I'll go check on my team."
"Fine. Thanks Doctor." Scott listened to the Doctors footsteps recede. "Okay, we're all set. All we need is Thunderbird Two." Scott took a deep breath and opened the channel that linked him to Thunderbird Two. "Mobile Control to Thunderbird Two. Come in Virgil."
"Thunderbird Two. How's it going?" Scott's use of his name had caused Virgil to relax procedures a little.
"So far so good. Everything's working well, Alan didn't crash Thunderbird One, and I'm feeling good."
"So you should be. You've been practising hard enough. Now you're back in the saddle again it'll be like old times."
"What's your ETA?"
"16 point two five minutes. Any instructions?"
Scott felt the map on Mobile Control. He didn't know how Brains had done it, but somehow he'd got it set up so that the map could be felt in 3D. "Come in to land at reference 18G-5. I'll give you further instructions soon."
"F-A-B."
Scott shut down the communications link. He DID feel good. He was in control. He knew what was going on. Thunderbird Two was on its way and he knew that Virgil was confident in his ability to do the job.
Virgil was, in fact, a mess of nerves. Scott didn't know that it was Virgil who had suggested that Scott be reinstated in the role of Rescue Co-ordinator. The battle had been won, but Virgil knew that should Scott make a mistake, Virgil would have no one to blame but himself. And a mistake could mean the loss of innocent lives.
Flying with Virgil in Thunderbird Two, Gordon noticed his brother's apprehension. "He'll be fine, don't worry. Look at all the practise he's had. John'll keep an eye on him. And Scott's not too proud to ask for help if he needs it."
"Yeah, but what if he doesn't realise that he needs it?"
"Relax will ya. You're the one who said we've got to let Scott do things for himself. He'll be fine."
"Course he will." Virgil said with a sudden burst of confidence. "I don't know what I'm worried about. It's Scott we're talking about after all."