He tried to check every part of his body, to make sure he hadn't broken anything in the impact with the floor.
"Ok, I don't think I have broken anything." he told himself.
The blond astronaut moved on to his feet before attempting to remember why he had woken on the floor of his craft with an aching head.
"What happened?" he asked himself as he swiftly walked over to the communication display, or what was left of it, to try and answer his question. Rapidly seeing that wasn't going to work, he put his training into action. He quickly checked the life support system, and for structural damage to the spacecraft.
"Thank God for that." A sigh of relief was breathed when he saw only minor damage to the structure and no damage to the oxygen supply.
"Right. Next step."
Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap. Jeff Tracy slammed his pen, which he had been using to pass the time, on to his desk.
"I can't take anymore. I need to know what's going on up there." Jeff voiced his frustration to the occupants of the Island. He was about to get out of his seat when a familiar bleeping rang around the room.
Jeff lifted his head and held his breath as he opened the channel to his son whose eyes were flashing.
"JOHN, are you all right?" Jeff found himself letting out a long gasp of air, as his body filled with relief of seeing his child alive.
"Erm, well, yes. I'm not injured. I can't say the same for Thunderbird 5, but, what the hell happened?" John could instantly see the relief of his family in seeing him, but was anxious for his answer.
"We're not really sure, but Brains and Tin-Tin fear someone may know Thunderbird 5's location." Virgil filled his younger sibling in.
"We will deal with that in a minute, I haven't heard from Thunderbird 3. Is she okay?" Jeff questioned his son.
"What do you mean? I-I thought they got away, I never really-y." John stumbled over his words; suddenly remembering their departure was only seconds before the explosion.
"No, they haven't called in. John, can you scan the area?" Jeff found himself suddenly tense at what his middle son had said. Both of them had assumed Thunderbird 3 had gotten away okay.
John felt his blood run cold, as he looked at how damaged TB5 was.
.
"What's happening, have you heard from them?" Jeff looked up as Brains and Tin-Tin entered the room.
"John's okay, he's checking for TB3." Virgil explained to them, as John's blond, and now pale face appeared on the screen again.
"Dad, I can't get main power online yet." John sounded a total contrast to his usual strong-voiced self.
"All right, John, calm down. Try and look out of the window. Brains is going to try and sort out how to get main power back online." Jeff tried to relax his son even through he was scared stiff himself.
"Okay, but I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to see anything." John had never felt so strange. TB5 was completely silent, there was no hum of the air filter or buzz of the communication system, only the swift beating of his own heart.
"Dad, I can't really see anything. No, wait, I…" As the source of all power in our solar system cast its brilliant light on to something metal, John breathed in deeply and sharply.
"John, John, what is it? What can you see?" Jeff, Virgil and Gordon, were about to snap at the quietest member of the family.
"D-dad, Thunderbird 3 looks adrift. It looks like there's been a large explosion, damaging her side. I can just see her engines and the bottom letters of 'THUNDERBIRD 3'." John voice was quiet and soft, and all on Tracy Island could feel the worry in it.
Virgil grabbed the side of Jeff's desk as John spoke, Gordon turned very pale and Tin-Tin and Brains were just in shock. Jeff knew his next question would either bring into life his worse fears, or put them back into his nightmares until another heart-stopping day.
"Is her hull intact?" As a fellow astronaut Jeff knew no one could survive the vacuum of space without a suit.
"I think so, I can't really tell." John's words expressed his frustration of not knowing.
"Right. John, start working on getting main power back online. Brains will help you from his lab. Tin-Tin, Virgil, I need to know where this signal's from; it's the only way to know how to deal with the problem ,and it may tell us what's happening in TB3." Jeff dished out the orders, pushing his worry to the bottom of his mind and filling it with jobs to save his sons instead.
"Gordon, you and Iare going to send the electric signals to Scott's and Alan's watches." As usual, Jeff's orders saw everyone doing as they were told.
"That's 8 times we have sent this now, Dad. Why don't they answer?" Gordon's eyes dipped and his panic showed through as he perched on his father's desk.
"Hey, come here." Gordon found himself in his father's arms in a deep, meaningful hug.
"They'll be ok, won't they?" Gordon asked his father, as if he was a child again. Right now he had none of his usual support system around him, that support system being his brothers.
Jeff looked deep into his one of his younger son's eyes and tried to give words of comfort but he found none. He had never seen Gordon or Virgil like this, and it worried him.
"Let's keep trying, okay?" Jeff released his red-haired son, and turned back to the panel behind his desk.
"Oh God, even Dad's losing hope." Gordon thought as he sent a series of shocks into his oldest brother's watch.
"Damn it!" John punched the metal struts of TB5 with his anger.
"Calm d-down John, breaking your hand won't do S-Scott and Alan a-any bloody g-good, w-will it?" The usually tolerant scientist was losing it with his friend. Both had been trying for nearly 4 hours straight to get main power online in the giant space station.
"Maybe we should take a break w.." Brains couldn't even finish his wise suggestion before John butted in.
"I CAN'T do that! We have to get her back online to help Alan and Scott." John breathed deeply. It was really getting cold on TB5 without power, but John wasn't about to complain.
"I owe Scott so much. After our mum died, he did everything for us, especially me because I was so upset. I can't let him down when he needs me! And Alan's my little brother; I miss him enough anyway. I can't let either of them down, and I won't, not now." John explained as much to himself as to Brains why he was so desperate to know his brothers' conditions.
"You k-know, John, I have no s-siblings by blood, b-but when I s-s-see you five t-together I wish I h-had. John, A-Alan and Scott know how hard you'r ew-working to s-save them, b-because its e-exactly what they w-would be doing if t-they were in your p-position." Brains words filtered around TB5 feeling like a blanket on John and his riot of emotions.
"Thanks, Brains, but I think I'm going to try and keep you annoyed at me because you don't stutter as much." John smiled his thanks to one of his best friends.
"Let's get this baby working. I'm going to try just to get half the power through the main systems and leave out the minor ones. We'll deal with them later."
"Good i-idea, J-John. Try a-and push all her power t-though one o-of h-her p-power g-generators, and l-lets s-see w-what we g-get." Brains really hoped this would work because they were out of options.
"Come on, baby." John prayed.
"Brains, she's coming online! We did it." John and Brains felt a momentary wave of relief before concentrating on the next task.
"M-Mr. Tracy, w-we h-have p-power t-to Thunderbird 5, but only half of her systems a-are w-working." Brains reported as he ran into the lounge.
"That's great! Well done, boys."
"John, scan TB3 for life signs." Jeff ordered.
"COME ON, I WANT MY ANSWER" The booming voice yelled out commands.
"I-I j-just don't know sir, she seems to be intact, and they have got some power back." The voice was quiet and petrified.
"WHAT!" How can this be? It should be destroyed, and Jeff Tracy's son as well!" The Hood was not going to tolerate another failure.
"Fire the weapon again! Finish the ship off." The Hood ordered.
"Sir, the weapon needs time to re-power. It's already been shot twice." This man now feared for his life knowing the Hood's vast power.
"It won't be the only one being shot twice if you don't finish International Rescue off." The Hood snatched up the small man and pushed him against the wall.
"WAIT, you did do something, let me show you." The Hood released his grip on his 'servant'.
"You see, the exact moment we fired the weapon on Thunderbird 5's power source, Thunderbird 3 was departing from the station."
"SO?" The Hood was feeling defeat visiting him again.
"Sir" He stated slowly, worried about the response he would get.
"Instead of hitting the space station we hit the space craft." An evil smirk of happiness spread over the Hood's face.
"We hit Thunderbird 3?" The 'servant' nodded.
"This is even better than planned! What's the ship's condition?" The Hood's luck had held all along.
"She looks adrift and she's badly damaged." he replied.
"When will the weapon be back to full power?" The Hood's mind was set. Two crafts and three of HIS sons would die, and Jeff Tracy will not even know who killed them.
"Erm…well…t-t-there's a small problem about that." The 'servant' felt the powerful demon eyes of the Hood on him again.
"I don't accept problems." He gripped his 'servant' again.
"Well, I might have to contact the weapons designer to find out how long it will take to re-power. I only thought it was just the once we were firing." The Hood reached for his weapon.
"WAIT, but I know another way you can finish International Rescue, and this way it's going to be more painful for the rest of them. Also it will look to the whole world like International Rescue caused the death of innocent people." The Hood smiled
"Tell me more."
"I'm going to have to contact the engineer in England." The fear was subsiding in his voice.
"Go right ahead, but don't disappoint me." The Hood gestured to the communication display.
"I'm going to finish you, International Rescue." The Hood chuckled.
After hearing the news from John, Jeff Tracy decided to find out who was behind this plan to destroy IR, and more importantly, his sons. Brains had given him the name of the man who had designed the weapon they thought was used to fired at TB5, and now he was going to get a little International Rescue visit.
"What are you going to do, Dad?" Gordon quizzed his father.
"I think we need to find out who sent that signal before they do it again." Jeff informed his son.
"And I have just the person for the job."
"International Rescue Headquarters calling Lady Penelope in England. Come in, please."