Thank you!
I appreciate so much the wonderful reviews people have made, especially the people who have reviewed each chapter, thanks. This is the second to last chapter, as I wanted a little more emotion in it than just a rescue. I hope you like it.
"Scott, I am so tired and cold."
"I know, but we have to stay awake, Alan." Scott's voice was as breathless and deep as Alan's as they leaned against each other for both heat and reassurance.
"How… how's it going, Virgil?" Scott asked.
"We about to try and unload the crew of the station. Just stay awake, okay?" Virgil pleaded with his brothers. They sounded even sicker from just having to dress themselves in space suits, which now only contained growing amounts of carbon dioxide as the filters were being used up, and very little pure oxygen, and that oxygen was needed for the transfer from TB3 to TB2.
"We're trying." Alan remarked.
"John, this is TB2. We are going to need as much of your help as possible to do this, everything that you can do with all that damaged equipment." Gordon said from the pilot seat of TB2. Unfortunately, he was flying the craft due to his lack of astronaut training. Virgil, at least, had some training, although he wasn't as good as Alan and John.
John sensed Scott and Alan were having a more difficult time in TB3 than they were letting on, and called his father.
"Dad, we need you to keep Alan and Scott conscious. I think they're about to pass out." Jeff looked very worried about this.
"I…I have got the codes in case we need them." John's eyes wouldn't meet his father's as he said those words.
"Virgil will dock with the satellite in two minutes, leaving twelve minutes to evacuate TB3 and clear the area." This was unreal.
"Send them to Alan. This is the final option. I will contact TB3 now. Good luck, John."
Jeff said the words in a commanding way, but how could he consider giving the order to kill his sons? Was it really his decision? No, it wasn't. Alan and Scott would give their lives for strangers without a thought, but the idea of losing his sons nearly killed Jeff. It hurt to imagine a life without them.
Tin Tin observed Jeff from the corner of the room. Tears stung her eyes and pain shattered her heart at the words that had just been said.
"Alan!" was the only word that escaped her lips, as she begged for her lover's safe return. IR gave so much to the world. Surely it wouldn't all end like this?
"Boys, it's your father, can you both hear me?" Jeff spoke so softly and, unusually for him, emotion seeped from his every word. To save power, they had stopped using the videophones on the watches, but Jeff so wanted to see his sons' faces.
The eldest and youngest heard their father's voice, and feared the worst. The look between the two said it all.
"Boys… I love you, just remember that, whatever happens, I will always love you. We're not giving up yet though. Are you ready?" Alan could feel emotion building up, and Scott looked in a similar way. Thunderbird 3 had lost power to gravity control and both boys at that moment were glad of that, as it meant they couldn't cry.
"Don't tell me I just said goodbye." The thought passed though his mind as Jeff spoke the words.
Scott watched as Alan floated across and entered two sets of codes into a separate computer system, which armed a thirty second self-destruct when a third and final code was entered. Alan and Scott turned and looked down on a breath-taking sight. Earth, or more personally, their home.
"We love you too, Dad. All of you lot."
Alan closed his eyes and spoke those words with masses of emotion and winced at the pain ripping through his heart. Not only was it his family that he was saying goodbye to, but to Tin Tin. Alan thought back to his most perfect moment in time, when time seemed to stop and he could almost live in that moment, but again more pain hit him.
'I wasted it? I always put it off? We walked hand in hand everyday around the Island for years. I put up with constant teasing about my feeling for her, but still nothing. In the end I never said what my heart so desperately felt, 'I love you Tin Tin.'
'The sweetest dreams of her would never do, because I don't want to miss a thing, but just remembering her falling asleep in my arms that night, that perfect night, warms my heart. That night I had realised I loved her. It was just after IR's first mission and I stayed awake for hours that night just listening to her breathing, watching her smile as she was dreaming, wondering if it was me that she was seeing. Our every moment spent together from then was a moment I'd treasure. I remember I kissed her eyes and thanked God we were together, and I was so desperate for us to stay in that moment, forever and ever.'
'I didn't want to close my eyes that night. I didn't want to fall asleep because I would miss her, and I didn't want to miss a thing. And I don't now, because I love her.'
Scott watched his youngest brother as he closed his eyes, lost in thoughts. He knew what Alan had meant in his words, and just hoped he would be able to tell Tin Tin.
"Dad…" Scott wanted to say so much, but his voice wasn't working. Images of his Mum and Dad flashed around his head, from Lucille tucking him in as a small child and saying how much she loved him, to the look on his father's face the day he signed up for the Air Force.
"Son, it's all right… I know, we all know." Jeff was so close to Scott because he was the eldest, and he sensed his son's feelings of sadness and despair. In such a tight knit family, in times of despair, words weren't necessary.
"Virgil… look after them, little brother." Scott switched frequencies and spoke to TB2 and TB5.
"Yes, Scott… and you look after the kiddo." Virgil stood in the air lock about to depart TB2, while Gordon was at the helm, hands white from his clutching the controls.
"John." Alan chimed in.
"Thanks, big brother, for everything." John couldn't speak; tears both choked his eyes and lined his face.
"Gordo, take care, you hear me." Scott smiled as best he could, as the world was getting slowly darker, and breathing was taking too much effort.
"We love you." Alan and Scott heard John's voice, so soft and emotional.
"We know." Scott moved towards the door and the self-destruct controls, with Alan following.
"Virgil, Gordo, good luck. It's time." Alan slowly raised his left hand and watched the second hand tick away.
" Twelve minutes." Alan said, his voice empty of emotion as both brothers floated by TB3 escape hatch, ready for whatever was next.
"Come on, come on." The Hood paced around the vast marble floors of his temple urging time to move faster and finish off International Rescue. By using another of his satellites, a spy satellite, he had managed to monitor the progress of his plan. He had been happily laughing until he had noticed TB2's arrival and now he was beginning to worry if IR was going to get out of this. Surely they couldn't survive this master plan?
The Hood thought, if he failed again, would he survive to get his revenge? General X didn't except failure.
The Hood himself had never known the true identity of his man, his boss, only that he was the one person wanting the destruction of IR more than he himself did, if that was possible.
"Thunderbird Two calling radio satellite 589, are you ready?" Virgil breathed deeply and tried not to think about anything but what he had to do.
"Sure thing, but we have never done anything like this before." The dark haired engineer told him in a shaky voice.
"Don't worry, it will be okay." Virgil was trying to convince himself as well as them.
"Gordon, open the airlock, and John, start timing."
"Now!"
The thick silver metal door opened and Virgil instantly saw just how small the satellite was compared to the vast, advanced TB3 that looked terrifyingly close behind it. Virgil set off on his space walk. He had done this only twice before. 'Gordon's brought my Thunderbird close to the satellite, but not close enough,' Virgil thought.
"All right, guys, close your inner door, then open your outer door. I'm nearly there." Virgil spoke softly, but his heart was pounding, and his eyes were focused on the radio satellite's door.
"Virgil, six and a half minutes left." John said anxiously as his eyes were focused on his clock and a small screen.
Back on Earth, the atmosphere in the Tracy lounge was thick, but the only sounds heard were the communication links between the Thunderbirds in space. Jeff sat with his head in his hands, begging for the safety of all his sons. Never before had all five been put in peril all at once. Tin Tin also sat in the corner of the room, her face pale and her eyes unfocused. All she heard was the voices of her family. Brains and Kyrano stood quietly, wishing for the best. All were aware of the ticking of the clock resting on Jeff's desk.
"Come on, we don't have much time." Virgil encouraged the DJs out of the satellite, Virgil knew that with Alan and Scott now in their spacesuits, and the Lithium Hydroxide canisters un-able to filter the Carbon Dioxide from the suits, things were only going to get worse.
"Just focus at the door of Thunderbird Two and don't look anywhere else." Virgil said as two older men floated past him, but the third looked unsure.
"Please, we have to hurry." Virgil couldn't keep the begging edge out of his voice as he grasped the arm of the light-haired man.
John moved swiftly to the radio." Four minutes, Virgil!"
"Alan, Scotty, you okay?" John wiped the cold sweat from his blond-haired head.
"We… are…just a-about here, J-John." A shiver went down John's spine hearing his brother so breathless and sick.
"Gordon, we are about to enter TB 2." Virgil's voice seemed to bring a bit of relief to his family, as one worry lifted.
"Gordon, get ready to move her." Virgil said as he pulled himself through the airlock and slammed his fist onto the red button that locked the outer door.
"Move her, Gordon!" Virgil quickly pulled off his helmet and revealed his chestnut hair and hazel eyes to the crew of the satellite while giving strict instructions of where to go sit and put on their seatbelts.
"John, how much time?" Virgil said as he pulled his helmet back on and listened with intense concern to his brother.
" Less than two minutes. Hurry, Gordon!" John voice was doing nothing to help Gordon remain calm as he moved Thunderbird Two around as swiftly as possible and edged her back. Unfortunately, it was taking too much time, as she wasn't really built for space travel.
The blue eyes of the IR pilot were alarmed and heavy in Thunderbird Three. The self-destruct device was no longer necessary as the crew were safely abroad TB 2, but they still had little time before the collision. Gordon had one minute, thirty seconds to get the satellite out of the way. If not, then we are finished, he thought as he eyes began to close.
"Gordon! " Virgil snapped over the radio.
"We're too close the explosion! It could blow us to pieces, never mind Thunderbird Three!" Gordon said to his brother in a panicked voice.
"Gordon, you don't have the time, we're going to have to take that risk. Blow it up! That's an order!" Virgil yelled, clasping a metal bar preparing himself for the impact of the explosion, praying it wouldn't be too severe.
Gordon's hands had never been as shaky and sweaty as he reached out and pushed the red button that was the weapons systems. " Let's hope this is enough."
The blackness of space was disturbed for a few passing moments by an explosion that lit the area around it, and sent a shock wave ripping through both sister ships.
John Tracy's eyes didn't want to look up and reveal which ships remained, but he knew he had to when a small begging voice came through from his father, seconds later.
A deep gust of air forced its way through John Tracy's mouth as he released the breath he didn't know he had been holding.
"They're all right! " Hearing John's voice was a moment Jeff would treasure; it was so thankful and relieved, he could almost cry.
"Thunderbird Two and Three, are you all right?" John said a little less cheerfully but very hopeful.
"Yes, Johnny, we are all right. I'm heading back to pick up TB 3, ETA two minutes." Gordon said, just as relieved, and Virgil found his mouth wouldn't work as he sat, with a smile on his face, on the floor of the airlock.
"Okay, Gordo." John breathed deeply and suddenly felt a lot better.
"Scott, Alan, you're going to be all right. You're not going to crash." John filled in his brothers, but no message was returned.
"Scott? "
"Alan? "
Every IR member shuddered at the voice that came through, it was so soft, so weak, so breathless, nothing like his usual voice.
"Oh, my God.." Jeff heard the message and his chest seemed to tighten again. At the same time John's feet gave way and he collapsed on the floor, but barely noticing he had fell at all. Virgil's panic of being so helpless returned and a single tear ran down his face. Gordon begged and pushed Thunderbird two to go faster to reach his brothers. In every IR member's head, the words just spoken from Thunderbird Three replayed again and again.
"He's… stopped… breathing…"
Thanks Tikatu may wonderful beta reader.
I am no scientist, so I am sorry if some of the details are wrong, I did do some research and put it into the story but it might not all be correct.
Song words are used in describing Alan's dream by Aerosmith - I don't want to miss a thing. Great song!