Scott didn't know if he was looking forward to this afternoon's tour or not. Gordon had found him in his bedroom and told him Virgil was ready to see Thunderbird Two…
"Just one thing, Scott…"
"Yeah?"
"I asked him…" Gordon couldn't think of a way of phrasing it delicately. "I asked him why he didn't like you. He said that he found you intimidating."
"Intimidating?"
"That you're always ordering people about."
"Intimidating…? Am I?"
"Of course you're not," Gordon tried to reassure him. "Virgil hasn't got to know you properly yet. Just go against the habit of a lifetime and try not to tell us what to do all the time."
"I don't," Scott said indignantly.
"Yes you do. Ask anyone in the family."
"Intimidating," Scott repeated. "I would never have thought…" He sighed. "Well I guess we'd better make a start… Let's go, Gordon."
Gordon stared at him pointedly.
"Are you ready, Gordon?" Scott amended.
"Better, but you've got to work on it."
"What am I supposed to say? 'Alan, would you mind taking the Firefly into that blazing inferno to rescue those people, please?' They'd be dead by the time I'd said that. Not to mention that it sounds stupid."
"Don't be silly. It's your job to order us about on rescues, and, until he's better, Virgil won't be joining us on those. We just don't need the big brother treatment at home."
"Big brother treatment!" Scott said incredulously. "I don't…!" He stopped himself. "Okay. I'll try to remember. Let's get this show on the road. Come on, Gordon."
Gordon looked at him.
"…If you please."
They joined their father and brothers in the lounge.
"You're not all coming," Scott asked, and then worried that it sounded like an order, added, "…are you?"
"Are you kidding?" Alan said. "I'll bet that one look at Thunderbird Two and Virgil'll remember everything. And if he doesn't, I want to see his reaction when he sees her."
"Do you mind, Virgil?" Scott asked.
Virgil shrugged non-committedly.
"Good. Because I'm coming too," John told him.
"Looks like you've got quite a party, Scott," Gordon told him.
Jeff rode along with his sons in the monorail to Thunderbird Two's hangar.
"You would have seen the runway from the lookout," Scott told Virgil. "The hangar is hidden at the end of that." Virgil nodded his understanding.Scott stopped the monorail just before it entered the hangar. "It's through these doors. If you look through… If you'd care to look through the windows on the right you'll see it."
Virgil turned to look out the windows…
The entrance hatch cycled back and the monorail slid through…
Everyone waited breathlessly to hear Virgil's reaction…
"Which is it?" he asked.
There was a stunned silence. Everyone suddenly realised that they'd been secretly hoping that Thunderbird Two would be the key that would unlock Virgil's memory. Then they realised that he didn't even know what he was looking at.Virgil looked at Scott expectantly.
"Ah, that's it there," Scott pointed out the window. "The green plane."
"That's it? It thought it was too big to be a plane. It's huge!"
"76.2 metres long, 18.3 metres high. It's got to be big so it can carry our equipment. She can carry up to 100 tons."
"Remember, I told you it carries Thunderbird Four," Gordon piped up.
The monorail took them down to floor level. "Everybody out," Scott said, "…please." He started to lead them across the hangar floor, stopping by a control bank."It looks even bigger from down here," Virgil commented.
"What do you think, Virgil?" John asked.
"It's… It's…" Virgil struggled to find the right words. "It's very green."
"If you want to complain to the person who chose the colour," Alan said flippantly, "wait till next time you're looking in the mirror."
His father gave him a warning glare.
Virgil looked at Thunderbird Two critically. "Those leg things don't look that secure."
"They're stronger than they look," Scott said. "And they're designed like that for a purpose. John! Push the… Ah, would you mind pushing the button that will lower Thunderbird Two, please?"
John gave him a strange look and pressed the button.
Virgil watched, fascinated, as the mighty plane settled down over her pod. "Wow!"
"Go and… Why don't you go and have a closer look, Virgil," Scott suggested awkwardly.
"Yeah. Come on," Gordon said eagerly and started leading the way. Scott tried to follow, but was held back by John and his father."What are you doing, Scott?" Jeff whispered.
"Trying to show him Thunderbird Two," Scott said in bewilderment. "What do you mean?"
"He means that you're sounding like a prize idiot," John told him.
"Not the way I'd phrase it, but…" Jeff's words tailed off meaningfully. "What's the problem, Son?"
Looking shamefaced Scott told him. "Gordon said that Virgil doesn't like me because he finds me intimidating."
"Intimidating!" Jeff said in amazement.
"That I order everyone about."
"So you do," John agreed. "But that's you. We expect that from you, not this… this…" he threw his hands up in an expressive gesture as words failed him.
"See, you agree with him."
"So you're trying to make Virgil like you by not being yourself," Jeff said.
"That's dumb, Scott. Really dumb," John stated.
"Well, what else am I supposed to do?" Scott asked.
"Relax and be yourself!" John advised.
"Let him get to know the real you," Jeff added. "He liked you before when he knew you. Give him a chance to get to know you again."
"It's been less than 24 hours," John reminded him. "He's hardly seen you in that time. So relax!"
There was a shout from over by Thunderbird Two. "Hey, Scott!"
"What, Gordon?"
"I thought you were supposed to be taking this tour. There's a man here with an aviation question."
"There y'are," John said. "Right up your street. Go and impress him by being yourself."
"Okay." Scott jogged over to the little group waiting under Thunderbird Two's port wing. "What can I do for you?"
"Why are the wings pointing forwards?" Virgil asked.
"She flies better that way. We'd got her basic design down the way we wanted, with the removable pods, but she wasn't performing adequately in tests. We were just about to scrap the design and start again when you started doodling on the plans and reversed the angle of the wings. She looked better and worked like a charm. Come over here and I'll show you the original designs." Scott led the way over to the workroom that was situated off to one side of the hangar.
John winked at his father.
Scott was digging through a filing cabinet. "Here we go… That was the original plan. A more conventional rear-loading cargo hold."
Virgil looked at the plan. "But then you wouldn't have the flexibility to use the plane elsewhere while your equipment was offloaded. And that style of plane relies on a runway…" he petered out in amazement. "How did I know that?" he asked himself.
"Exactly," Scott agreed. "That's why we developed the detachable pods and modified her to utilise VTOL jets." He produced a second plan.
"VTOL?"
"Vertical take off and landing."
"Oh."
Scott decided that they'd seen enough of Thunderbird Two on paper and it was time to get back to the real thing. He led the way back into the hangar.
Virgil looked up at the scarlet projections at the rear of the craft. "What engines does it use?"
"Two variable-cycle gas turbine engines, 12 variable-cycle turbo-ram cruise/trim jets, four VTOL jets and four vertical take-off chemical rockets in the landing legs." Scott told him.
Virgil looked at him. "I suppose that used to mean something to me."
"Well…" Scott said awkwardly. "What do you think, now that you've got up close?"
Virgil craned his neck, trying to see beyond the outstretched wings. "It's so big, it's frightening."
"Frightening?" Alan asked.
"Yes. Kind of like an iceberg. You know how you can only see the top third… or whatever it is…"
"Eighth," Gordon supplied.
"Yeah. But the bottom seven eighths is the bit you've got to watch out for."
His family was staring at him in bewilderment.
Virgil shrugged and took a step closer. He stretched out a hand to touch Thunderbird Two's outer shell, and then withdrew it. He looked at Jeff. "May I touch it?"
"Of course you can."
Virgil placed his palm on a section. "It's cold! For some reason I was expecting it to be warm."
"She's made of cahelium, which is heat resistant," Scott said. "But you always spoke of her as if she were alive. Maybe that's why you were expecting her to be warm."
Virgil made no comment.
"Do you want to go inside?" Scott asked.
"May I?"
Scott led him round to the door and gained access. "The doors on all our craft are programmed that only members of International Rescue can open them." He confidently stepped inside. Virgil followed with considerably more trepidation.First stop was the interior of the pod. "Now you can see why she has to be so big," Scott explained.
Virgil stared about him with wide eyes. "Wow! It's like being inside one of those Russian dolls. You know, the doll within the doll…"
Gordon tugged him on the sleeve. "Come and look at Thunderbird Four!" he said eagerly.
"Your submarine?" Virgil obediently followed him across the floor of the pod.
"What do you think?" Gordon asked proudly, indicating the yellow sub.
"Ah, um, okay, I guess," Virgil stammered. "What does it do?"
"Oh," Gordon was momentarily crestfallen. "Lots of things."
"It looks… good," Virgil tried, "but I suppose it's more impressive in action."
"Yeah! That's right," Gordon perked up again. "She can dive down to 1½ leagues and cruise underwater at 160 knots."
Virgil gave a low whistle. "That is impressive!"
"I know she's only small, but she packs missiles, rams, laser cutters and grabs," Gordon said excitedly.
Virgil reflected that small was a relative term. Thunderbird Four was considerably larger than him, but definitely small compared to Thunderbird Two.
"Come and have a look inside," Gordon invited, and bounded up to the entrance hatch with the confidence borne of long experience. Virgil was more circumspect. He looked at the rest of the group before following the aquanaut.John looked at his watch. "How long are you going to give him?"
"Yeah," Alan asked. "Once you've got Gordon wound up over Thunderbird Four he'll hold Virgil captive in there for hours."
Scott gave a wry grin and looked at his own watch. "He's got exactly five minutes. We're here to see Thunderbird Two, not Thunderbird Four."
They counted down the minutes. At the end of the time limit Jeff turned to Scott. "Let me give the order this time." He turned back towards the armourglass viewport, through which they could see Gordon animatedly explaining to Virgil some of the highlights of his craft. "Boys! Time to move on."
Gordon's head popped up through the topmost hatch. "Aw. Just five minutes more?"
"Come on, Gordon. We're here to see Thunderbird Two," Scott reminded him.
Gordon pouted. "I was just telling him about the time I rescued those guys from the Fireflash."
"You can tell him that anywhere. He doesn't have to have a live demonstration," John stated.
Virgil had clambered out of the port hatch. He wandered around the sub to meet up with the rest of the group, looking about him as he did so.
Gordon saw him. "He got away!"
"Told you," Alan said quietly. "Held captive."
"Are you going to join us for the rest of the tour?" Scott asked the aquanaut. "Or are we going to leave you to enjoy a little quiet time with your lady love?"
Virgil looked at him in curiosity.
"Thunderbird Four," Scott explained.
Now Virgil looked astonished.
"I'm coming," Gordon grumbled. "Just give me a moment to put the teletype and my wetsuit away."
"Got a rubber fetish too," Alan snickered.
Virgil was beginning to get that familiar confused feeling again.
"We'll meet you in the winch room, Gordon," Scott called.
There was an indistinct reply from inside Thunderbird Four.
Gordon caught up with them as they were exiting the winch room. They continued the tour through the rest of the craft ending up in the cockpit.
"You must remember this!" Alan was almost pleading.
Virgil entered further into the room. He slowly walked over to where his pilot's seat would normally have resided and looked at the controls and gauges that he'd been told he knew intimately.
His family waited with baited breath.
Slowly Virgil reached out for the control yoke. He stopped short of touching it."It's okay, Son," Jeff encouraged him.
Virgil looked at him as if to confirm the implied permission and then placed both hands on the yoke. He tentatively tried turning it. He released his grip and turned back to the expectant group. He folded his arms, hugging them close to him. "Nothing," he said.An air of depression appeared to settle on his family. Their hopes had been dashed.
Virgil was aware of their collective mood. "Now, I've upset you all. I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault," Jeff told him.
"No. But I'm the cause," Virgil said despondently.
"Wrong angle!" Alan suddenly exclaimed.
Everyone looked at him.
"He's looking at it from the wrong angle," Alan gabbled. "He's not sitting down!"
"You're right!" Scott agreed. "Get the testing seat, Alan."
"Right!" Alan took off. He returned a short time later with a pilot's seat. "Help me, John."
"Why wasn't it there before?" Virgil asked.
"The pilot's seat is part of the chute that comes down through the roof," Gordon explained. "This one's for testing purposes."
"Through the roof," Virgil repeated slowly.
No one took the time to explain. They were in too much of a hurry to get the seat set up.
At last they stood back to reveal the newly installed seat.
"There y'are, Virgil!" Alan exclaimed. "Try that."
Virgil did as he was told.
Things didn't seem to be any better.
"Look, why don't we take him for a flight," Scott suggested.
"Just a short one," Jeff warned.
Virgil started to get out of the pilot's seat.
"No, stay there," Scott said. "I'll fly her, but I can control the initial stages from here." He flicked a switch that brought Thunderbird Two to life.
Virgil watched fascinated as lights flashed on on the control panel and the equipment about him started humming.
Scott stood just behind him. "Right. All systems are green…" He checked the radar. "We're clear… Now to move onto the runway… Excuse me, Virgil." He reached across his brother towards a button. "I've just got to open the hangar door. It's hidden by the cliff face…"
...Cliff Face...
Words seemed to reverberate in Virgil's mind. He suddenly felt constrained by the proximity of the control yoke, the computer console, Scott…
With a yell he leapt out of the pilot's seat. He found himself pressed up against the cool of the windows of the cabin and turned back to see five anxious faces looking at him.
He ran a shaking hand over his forehead and eyes. "I'm sorry… I don't know why I did that…" He gulped.
"Are you alright, Virgil," Jeff asked solicitously.
Virgil nodded. "I-I'm… tired..." He looked up. "W-Would you mind if we continued this later?"
"If you'd prefer to, that's fine," Jeff reassured him.
"Sure," Scott said with forced cheerfulness. "I'll take you for a flight tomorrow."
"Would you mind if I went back to the house?" Virgil asked shakily.
"Come on," Gordon offered. "I'll show you the way."
They were no sooner out the door, when Scott started defending himself. "I swear I didn't touch him! I wasn't even looking at him!"
"Calm down, Scott. We were here. We know what happened," Jeff said soothingly. "No one's blaming you."
"Then what happened?" Alan asked.
"He was fine, wasn't he?" John said.
"Seemed to be," Alan said. "It must be Scott. He got too close. That's gotta be it!"
"Alan!" Jeff said warningly.
Scott looked depressed.
"It's not your fault, Son," Jeff reiterated.
"So now what do we do?" John asked.
"Now we give Virgil some time alone. He hasn't had much sleep since before the rescue. He probably is tired…" Jeff thought a moment. "I'll think I'll go and see Brains, then we need to have a meeting and discuss International Rescue. Alan, will you go and tell Gordon when he's finished with Virgil?"
"Sure thing," Alan made a movement as if he were going to leave the cockpit, hesitated, gave Scott a comforting pat on the shoulder, and then left on his errand.
"And I thought things were going so well," Scott said despondently.
The meeting took place in the study. They were idly discussing things while they waited for Gordon to make an appearance.
"Maybe I'd better be the one that goes back to Thunderbird Five," Scott suggested.
John stared at him. "Why!"
"It's obvious I'm making Virgil uncomfortable. He gets on better with you and Alan. Let him get used to the household routines and then we can worry about how he reacts to me."
"Now you're being really silly," John said.
Jeff was shaking his head. "No, Scott. While Virgil's out of action I want the best men available for each craft. That means you piloting Thunderbird One, and John on Thunderbird Five."
"I'll go back to Thunderbird Five," Alan volunteered.
"It's not your turn, Alan," John reminded him.
"No… But I think I'd be happier there," Alan admitted. "This is too weird for me at the moment." The others looked at him. "Don't shoot me! I'm being honest, okay!"
"Okay, Alan," Jeff acknowledged. "Your viewpoint is noted."
"I don't mind staying," John offered, with a sideways look at his older brother.
"No. I think we should stick to the established routine," Jeff said. "Keep things as normal as possible, for Virgil's sake. It's only three weeks until you two are due to change rotation, so we'll keep to schedule. Any comments?" He looked at his sons.
They made none.
"Right," Jeff took that as an affirmation. "Tomorrow you head back to Thunderbird Five, John."
"Yes, Sir."
Gordon entered the room. "I told him that he needed some sun, so he's having a nap on a deckchair." He looked at his family. "Any idea what happened back there?" His answer was a collective shaking of heads."I asked Brains," his father told him. "He's as flummoxed as the rest of us."
"So, what's the situation?" Gordon asked. "Do we carry on as if nothing's happened?"
"More or less," Jeff agreed. "John's heading back to Thunderbird Five tomorrow. You'll have to take control of Thunderbird Two. If we get a rescue that requires Thunderbird Four, Alan will pilot Thunderbird Two."
"Okay," Gordon agreed easily.
"I know this past day has been difficult for us all," Jeff said. "But, for Virgil's sake, we've got to try and behave as we normally would."
"That's not going to be easy," Scott noted.
"I know. We've already got changes that are affecting us all. We've got to try to minimise the affects of those changes. And try to find something that will restore Virgil's memory…"
Later that evening found the Tracy clan in the villa's theatre.
"Why are we here?" Virgil asked.
"I thought we'd take the opportunity to reacquaint you with some of your past history," Jeff told him.
"He means home movies," Alan groaned. "How embarrassing."
"Where shall we start?" Jeff asked.
"How about the beginning?" Gordon suggested.
"He won't remember being born," John said. "Try something later, Dad."
"Okay. I'll pick something out at random."
The lights were dimmed. They settled back to watch the large screen.
The first shot was of a tree. The tree was standing at an odd angle. It suddenly swung upright as the camera's orientation was corrected. A small boy ran across the screen from right to left, his shock of red hair contrasting sharply with bright yellow t-shirt. He disappeared out of shot."Hi, Gordon. Bye, Gordon," Alan said.
An older boy with dark brown hair wandered on and set about laying a blanket on the ground in front of the tree.
A hand, holding a cloth, appeared and wiped down the camera lens. Then a face squinted into the lens, withdrawing before the camera had a chance to focus on it.
Most of the Tracys watching burst out laughing.
"Nice one, Dad," John commented.
On screen the older boy had disappeared. He was back a short time later, carrying the redhead, who was now wearing flippers and a swimming mask. The elder positioned the younger on the blanket and proceed to divest him of his nautical gear. He then attempted to carry the flippers and mask out of shot.
Young Gordon burst into tears and held out his hands for his toys.
"That's Gordon all right," Scott commented. "Other kids his age had security blankets. He had flippers."
Trying to keep the peace the older boy returned the flippers to young Gordon who happily clutched them to his chest.
"Isn't there any sound?" Mrs Tracy asked.
"Later," Jeff grunted.
The older boy had disappeared again. When he returned, he was dragging another, this time blond haired boy, who was slightly younger than himself. The blond boy was obviously protesting as he clutched his book.
"You were a real bookworm, weren't you, John," Scott said.
"Still am," John conceded.
The older boy tried to remove young John's book.
"Let me guess," Virgil said. "That's got to be Scott." The family laughed at the comment.Jeff noticed that Scott's laugh rang hollow.
Young Scott had managed to claim John's book and had taken it out of shot. John poked his tongue out at him, waited till his back was turned and then dashed off to reclaim the book again. He returned to his place on the blanket, settled down cross-legged and proceeded to immerse himself in the hardback.
The camera wobbled unnervingly.
Young Scott had returned carrying a baby. The blond haired tot was placed on the blanket. He began to crawl at speed towards the camera.
"Always the camera hog weren't you, Alan" Gordon teased.
"Oh, you were so cute!" Grandma Tracy leant forward, and pinched Alan on the cheeks.
"Thanks, Grandma," Alan said flatly as he rubbed his face.
Scott, the boy, was trying to convince Alan, the baby, to stay on the blanket.
A young woman, in her early thirties, with chestnut brown hair wandered into view. A little boy with similar coloured hair was clutching at her hand. He spied Scott, who had removed John's book again, and ran over to him, smiling in delight.
"Who's the woman?" Virgil asked.
"That's your mother," Jeff told him quietly.
"I haven't met her yet have I. Where is she?"
The room fell into silence. Silence that was broken as young Jeff Tracy discovered the sound controls on his camera. "… has sound."
"Jeff!" Lucille Tracy scolded lightly. "Didn't you read the manual first?" She picked young Alan up and cuddled him.
"Didn't have time," young Jeff conceded.
Lucille pouted, showing that she didn't totally believe him.
"You stand there, Ma," young Scott instructed.
"Of, course, Darling," she agreed. "Come on, Jeff. We want you in this photo too."
"Father, you stand beside Ma," young Scott said and Jeff Tracy, younger, darker haired and without the facial creases of maturity and worry, finally come into view. "You can hold Gordon. I'll look after Virgil."
The chestnut haired boy took his hand and looked up adoringly.
Virgil looked at the figure on screen. So that young boy was him. But why was no one was willing to answer his question about their mother?
Finally everyone on screen was settled to Scott's satisfaction. Jeff holding Gordon, and Lucille holding Alan were standing on the blanket. In front of them stood Scott, Virgil and John, who'd finally been persuaded to leave his book alone. Jeff juggled Gordon, retrieved a remote control from his pocket, gave the command "Smile!"… And the picture froze.
A photo, recording their happy family for ever more.
The screen went blank and Jeff turned off the projector. They sat in awkward silence.John was the first to speak. More out of a need to release the tension than for any other reason. "You were always up to date with the latest technology then, Dad?"
"Was this before or after you went to the moon?" Alan asked.
"A couple of months before," Scott told him.
"And they let you go?" Alan turned and stared at his father in dismay.
"Alan! Sit down!" His grandmother swatted him gently on the back of the head.
"I believe, Virgil, that you asked a question," Jeff said quietly. Once again the room fell into an uneasy silence. He continued. "Your mother died a short time after that film was taken. She, and your grandfather, were killed in an avalanche.""Oh," Virgil said, at a loss to say anything else.
"It's part of the reason why I thought of creating International Rescue," Jeff finished his explanation.
"Oh," Virgil said again.
"I'm sorry, guys," Gordon said. "That's one bit of information I didn't think to tell him."
"It's okay, Gordon," Scott said. "You couldn't think of everything."
Virgil wished he had.