Fifty Four - BF
Deep in the hillside of Tracy Island Mrs Tracy, Brains, Kyrano and Tin-Tin cooled their heels. They could hear the radio conversation, but were otherwise shut off from the drama that was happening outside their home.
Mrs Tracy looked at the young engineer. "Can he do it Brains?"
Brains took off his glasses and wiped them, giving himself time to think. "I-I honestly don't know. I-I've no knowledge of anyone landing a p-plane without some kind of visual reference."
"Scott's landed in white out conditions before." Tin-Tin said hopefully, blinking away some tears that threatened to run down her cheeks. Her father held her tightly.
"Y-Yes, but then h-he's had Thunderbird One's instruments to guide him. N-Now he's only got the audible a-alarms."
"Poor Scott." She whispered as the tears flowed. "Poor Alan!"
Kyrano wrapped his arms around her protectively. "Hush my daughter. Mister Alan will survive. Mister Scott will ensure that."
"How do you think he is?" Grandma Tracy asked Brains.
"H-How long has he been unconscious?"
She looked at her watch. "Nearly half an hour. Is that all? It seems so much longer!"
Brains seemed surprised too. "Y-Yes it has. I would be h-happier if he were to regain consciousness, but I'm not t-too worried just yet."
Brains may not have been worried about Alan's present state of health, but he was worried about the possible future health, of not only Alan, but also Scott and Jeff Tracy.
***
Thunderbird One was descending slowly to the ground. Jeff resisted the inclination to act as a one man cheerleading squad and restricted his comments to the height of the craft.
"Only 20 feet to go Scott."
Scott took a deep breath and for a moment turned his attention to the sounds of the VSM and Alan. There appeared to be no change. In a strange sort of way it gave him a sense of relief. At least Alan's condition wasn't deteriorating.
Another deep breath, and activating the VTOL rockets, he started his descent again.
"15 feet."
Scott conjured up a mental picture of how big 15 feet actually was.
"Ten feet... Nine... Eight..."
Something changed, there was a change in the tone of the exhaust gases from Thunderbird One's VTOL jets; there was a change to the vibration in Thunderbird One's hull. Scott knew instinctively that now was the time to cut the rockets.
Jeff was just about to give that order when the VTOL jets stopped ejecting their flames. Thunderbird One continued sinking gracefully towards the ground.
"Three... Two... One... You're down Scott!" Jeff started running towards International Rescue's scout craft.
Scott sat for a moment in disbelief. He'd done it! They'd made it!
"Open the hatch Scott!" his father ordered via the radio.
He fumbled the switch that opened the hatch to the outside world. As it swung open he heard Thunderbird Two's jets as she came in to land.
Jeff was inside and examining Alan, before Scott had a chance to undo his safety harness. "You did well son." Jeff said briefly by way of praise. "Get Brains out here will you."
"Sure. Thunderbird One to Brains."
"Brains here!" he panted.
"You on your way? Alan's still unconscious."
"On m-my way." Brains was gasping for breath.
In the distance Scott could hear pounding feet. They belonged to Gordon and Virgil.
"Nice one Scott." Gordon said as he entered.
"Yeah. We knew you could do it." Virgil added.
"I'm glad someone did." Scott commented.
"Boys get... Good you've got a stretcher. Let's get your brother out of here." They carefully manoeuvred Alan onto the stretcher and then each, including Scott, made their way to a corner.
Gordon went to grab the front left handle and then looked at Virgil. Without a word he went to the other side of the stretcher and prepared to grasp the handle with his left hand. Virgil grasped the left handle with his good right hand.
"All set?" Jeff asked. "Right lift!"
It was a bit of a squeeze, but they managed to negotiate the exit. Brains was waiting for them outside. He bent over Alan and then checked the VSM. "G-Get him to the sick bay!" He stepped back.
The warmth of the sun appeared to have a reviving effect on Alan. He groaned. At once Tin-Tin was at his side. "It's okay Alan. You're safe now. You'll be all right Alan." She squeezed his hand and was relieved to feel him squeeze it back.
"W-What happened?" he asked groggily.
"W-What can you remember?" Brains asked him as he was carried towards the house.
"We were at the rescue. At the hospital. Something fell on me. I was okay. Last thing I remember..." Alan's eyes opened wide. "I was piloting Thunderbird One. How'd we..."
"Shush, Alan." Tin-Tin said soothingly. "Scott flew you home."
"Oh." Alan had closed his eyes again. Then they snapped open again as the words sank in. "Scott!"
"Yeah. And don't ever do that to me again." Scott ordered trying, and failing, to sound stern.
"How'd... How'd you..."
"Don't worry about that now." Jeff ordered him. "Just relax. We'll tell you everything once you've been checked over."
***
An hour later, everything, and everyone, had started to calm down. Alan was instructed to rest up for the next few days. He was moved back to his own room to sleep. The rest of the family group assembled in the lounge.
Jeff sat at his desk, grateful to have his family safely under the one roof again. "Scott," he said, "that has got to be the most amazing bit of flying I've ever seen. I'm proud of you."
Scott lowered his head modestly. "Yeah, well. You do what you have to do. What I want to know though," he looked back up, 'is why Thunderbird Two couldn't undertake an air-to-air transfer."
"Better ask 'The Claw'." Gordon gestured towards Virgil.
"Virgil?" Jeff queried.
Virgil explained about his arm locking up. "It's starting to feel better now." He finished lamely.
"Why didn't you tell us?" Scott demanded.
"I thought you had enough to worry about."
Jeff shot Virgil a look that clearly read 'I'll talk to you later!' "Go get cleaned up and out of your uniforms boys. Virgil! Get that arm looked at."
Scott stood up, thrusting his hands into his pockets. He felt a piece of paper. "Hey! With all the excitement I'd forgotten about this." He handed the note over to his father. "One of the doctor's at the hospital thought that this guy might be able to restore my sight!"
"Restore your sight?! Are you sure Scott?"
"He didn't give any guarantees, did he Virgil, but apparently this doctor... whatever his name is..."
Jeff read the paper. "Professor Bunsen."
"Professor Bunsen is some kind of genius and has done a bit of work with retinal burns. The doctor said that if I have any chance of seeing again, that's the guy to do it."
"Do you want to try?" Jeff asked, knowing the answer.
"I certainly don't want to find myself in today's situation ever again. Yes I want to try."
"Okay, Scott. Go get washed and I'll give him a call."
"Great!" Feeling top of the world, Scott left the room, closely followed by everyone else.
Everyone except Virgil, who'd been beckoned to by Jeff. "Father, I'm sorry I didn't tell you about my arm, but I thought it'd loosen up by the time we got home, and I'd got Gordon to fly Thunderbird Two so I thought I wasn't causing any problems and I didn't foresee Alan..."
Jeff held up a hand. "I'm not going to tell you off son. You're right, there was nothing else you could do. I just wanted your opinion on this doctor that was talking to Scott."
"Oh. He was the head doctor at the hospital. I guess you don't get that position by having a screw loose. He seemed genuine to me. He was grateful for what we'd done and wanted to help in return."
"Okay. Thanks. How's the arm?"
Virgil managed to move his thumb slightly. "Better than before. I've got some movement back."
"Go ask Brains to look at it."
"F-A-B."
Deep in the hillside of Tracy Island Mrs Tracy, Brains, Kyrano and Tin-Tin cooled their heels. They could hear the radio conversation, but were otherwise shut off from the drama that was happening outside their home.
Mrs Tracy looked at the young engineer. "Can he do it Brains?"
Brains took off his glasses and wiped them, giving himself time to think. "I-I honestly don't know. I-I've no knowledge of anyone landing a p-plane without some kind of visual reference."
"Scott's landed in white out conditions before." Tin-Tin said hopefully, blinking away some tears that threatened to run down her cheeks. Her father held her tightly.
"Y-Yes, but then h-he's had Thunderbird One's instruments to guide him. N-Now he's only got the audible a-alarms."
"Poor Scott." She whispered as the tears flowed. "Poor Alan!"
Kyrano wrapped his arms around her protectively. "Hush my daughter. Mister Alan will survive. Mister Scott will ensure that."
"How do you think he is?" Grandma Tracy asked Brains.
"H-How long has he been unconscious?"
She looked at her watch. "Nearly half an hour. Is that all? It seems so much longer!"
Brains seemed surprised too. "Y-Yes it has. I would be h-happier if he were to regain consciousness, but I'm not t-too worried just yet."
Brains may not have been worried about Alan's present state of health, but he was worried about the possible future health, of not only Alan, but also Scott and Jeff Tracy.
***
Thunderbird One was descending slowly to the ground. Jeff resisted the inclination to act as a one man cheerleading squad and restricted his comments to the height of the craft.
"Only 20 feet to go Scott."
Scott took a deep breath and for a moment turned his attention to the sounds of the VSM and Alan. There appeared to be no change. In a strange sort of way it gave him a sense of relief. At least Alan's condition wasn't deteriorating.
Another deep breath, and activating the VTOL rockets, he started his descent again.
"15 feet."
Scott conjured up a mental picture of how big 15 feet actually was.
"Ten feet... Nine... Eight..."
Something changed, there was a change in the tone of the exhaust gases from Thunderbird One's VTOL jets; there was a change to the vibration in Thunderbird One's hull. Scott knew instinctively that now was the time to cut the rockets.
Jeff was just about to give that order when the VTOL jets stopped ejecting their flames. Thunderbird One continued sinking gracefully towards the ground.
"Three... Two... One... You're down Scott!" Jeff started running towards International Rescue's scout craft.
Scott sat for a moment in disbelief. He'd done it! They'd made it!
"Open the hatch Scott!" his father ordered via the radio.
He fumbled the switch that opened the hatch to the outside world. As it swung open he heard Thunderbird Two's jets as she came in to land.
Jeff was inside and examining Alan, before Scott had a chance to undo his safety harness. "You did well son." Jeff said briefly by way of praise. "Get Brains out here will you."
"Sure. Thunderbird One to Brains."
"Brains here!" he panted.
"You on your way? Alan's still unconscious."
"On m-my way." Brains was gasping for breath.
In the distance Scott could hear pounding feet. They belonged to Gordon and Virgil.
"Nice one Scott." Gordon said as he entered.
"Yeah. We knew you could do it." Virgil added.
"I'm glad someone did." Scott commented.
"Boys get... Good you've got a stretcher. Let's get your brother out of here." They carefully manoeuvred Alan onto the stretcher and then each, including Scott, made their way to a corner.
Gordon went to grab the front left handle and then looked at Virgil. Without a word he went to the other side of the stretcher and prepared to grasp the handle with his left hand. Virgil grasped the left handle with his good right hand.
"All set?" Jeff asked. "Right lift!"
It was a bit of a squeeze, but they managed to negotiate the exit. Brains was waiting for them outside. He bent over Alan and then checked the VSM. "G-Get him to the sick bay!" He stepped back.
The warmth of the sun appeared to have a reviving effect on Alan. He groaned. At once Tin-Tin was at his side. "It's okay Alan. You're safe now. You'll be all right Alan." She squeezed his hand and was relieved to feel him squeeze it back.
"W-What happened?" he asked groggily.
"W-What can you remember?" Brains asked him as he was carried towards the house.
"We were at the rescue. At the hospital. Something fell on me. I was okay. Last thing I remember..." Alan's eyes opened wide. "I was piloting Thunderbird One. How'd we..."
"Shush, Alan." Tin-Tin said soothingly. "Scott flew you home."
"Oh." Alan had closed his eyes again. Then they snapped open again as the words sank in. "Scott!"
"Yeah. And don't ever do that to me again." Scott ordered trying, and failing, to sound stern.
"How'd... How'd you..."
"Don't worry about that now." Jeff ordered him. "Just relax. We'll tell you everything once you've been checked over."
***
An hour later, everything, and everyone, had started to calm down. Alan was instructed to rest up for the next few days. He was moved back to his own room to sleep. The rest of the family group assembled in the lounge.
Jeff sat at his desk, grateful to have his family safely under the one roof again. "Scott," he said, "that has got to be the most amazing bit of flying I've ever seen. I'm proud of you."
Scott lowered his head modestly. "Yeah, well. You do what you have to do. What I want to know though," he looked back up, 'is why Thunderbird Two couldn't undertake an air-to-air transfer."
"Better ask 'The Claw'." Gordon gestured towards Virgil.
"Virgil?" Jeff queried.
Virgil explained about his arm locking up. "It's starting to feel better now." He finished lamely.
"Why didn't you tell us?" Scott demanded.
"I thought you had enough to worry about."
Jeff shot Virgil a look that clearly read 'I'll talk to you later!' "Go get cleaned up and out of your uniforms boys. Virgil! Get that arm looked at."
Scott stood up, thrusting his hands into his pockets. He felt a piece of paper. "Hey! With all the excitement I'd forgotten about this." He handed the note over to his father. "One of the doctor's at the hospital thought that this guy might be able to restore my sight!"
"Restore your sight?! Are you sure Scott?"
"He didn't give any guarantees, did he Virgil, but apparently this doctor... whatever his name is..."
Jeff read the paper. "Professor Bunsen."
"Professor Bunsen is some kind of genius and has done a bit of work with retinal burns. The doctor said that if I have any chance of seeing again, that's the guy to do it."
"Do you want to try?" Jeff asked, knowing the answer.
"I certainly don't want to find myself in today's situation ever again. Yes I want to try."
"Okay, Scott. Go get washed and I'll give him a call."
"Great!" Feeling top of the world, Scott left the room, closely followed by everyone else.
Everyone except Virgil, who'd been beckoned to by Jeff. "Father, I'm sorry I didn't tell you about my arm, but I thought it'd loosen up by the time we got home, and I'd got Gordon to fly Thunderbird Two so I thought I wasn't causing any problems and I didn't foresee Alan..."
Jeff held up a hand. "I'm not going to tell you off son. You're right, there was nothing else you could do. I just wanted your opinion on this doctor that was talking to Scott."
"Oh. He was the head doctor at the hospital. I guess you don't get that position by having a screw loose. He seemed genuine to me. He was grateful for what we'd done and wanted to help in return."
"Okay. Thanks. How's the arm?"
Virgil managed to move his thumb slightly. "Better than before. I've got some movement back."
"Go ask Brains to look at it."
"F-A-B."