Thunderbird 2 was shuddering violently. Gordon held firm to the railing of the rescue platform and watched the ground beneath them passing in a blur of green and grey. Somewhere beyond the open cargo bay doors was a banging not dissimilar to thunder and his dad had explained that the volcano was erupting – not that it wasn't obvious enough, Gordon thought sarcastically.
Gordon clung to the railing as the platform made another descent, hovering over the three small houses nestled by the river. His heart was pounding in his ears as he sank below Thunderbird 2 and clear of the protection of her wide green belly, each new rumble from the mountain making him gasp in fear. His dad might well have offered reassurances but Gordon was recalling the last time he had been suspended from the cargo bay. He could think of nothing but Kazakhstan and the exploding jet fighter. And the eruptions sounded scarily like gunfire.
"Gord? How's it looking?"
Gordon watched the ground fast approaching and was then aware of small pebbles raining around them. Great. As if to prove things could be worse, they now were. The platform lurched beneath him as Virgil steered out of the path of oncoming debris and Gordon cursed under his breath.
And then the rescue platform met ground, the line slackened and he had a solid footing. He opened the gate and switched on the loud speaker nestled within the control panel. "Hello? We're here to help?"
Nothing.
Gordon opened the comm. link and watched the small dwelling in concern. "John. Do your thing."
It was simply easier. Gordon knew enough to keep the passengers within the cargo bay calm but shouting orders was different; one slight mispronunciation and chaos could be multiplied exponentially.
"Venido con nosotros. Ahora!" Came John's voice over the tanoy. "Le llevaremos a la seguridad." And then, privately through Gordon's earpiece, John laughed. "Dude, you realise I could be saying just about anything to them! I could get you in a whole heap of trouble!"
Gordon frowned, not recognising the jesting light-heartedness in a voice that usually remained calm and focused at times like these. "Whatever." He sighed in annoyance. "Just a simple 'hurry the fuck up' will do fine."
John repeated the command through the loud speaker and Gordon waited with baited breath. He then smiled in relief as the front door of one of the houses parted open slightly, a worried face peering round the edge.
"Come on!" Gordon urged, beckoning them forth.
They hesitated and he couldn't blame them; the ground was trembling, the volcano spewing matter into the sky and now an enormous green plane was hovering over their back yard.
"Quickly, John. Tell them!" Gordon groaned and then suddenly decided to take a chance, deciding he'd heard the phrase enough times over the past ten minutes. "Estamos aquí ayudarle!"
It worked. The three families who had huddled together inside the one house slowly ventured forth, glancing worriedly at the mountain and then in open-mouthed fear at the enormous craft hanging in the greying sky above them.
"Prisa!" Gordon urged, "Quickly! Prisa!"
Another loud blast from the volcano and the families needed no further encouragement. They leapt forth from the house and crowded onto the platform. And Gordon's Spanish for 'I can only take so many of you' was non-existent. A firm hand and a gentle shove gave enough of a message and he closed the gate, trying to ignore the confusion and fear in the eyes of those that were left behind as the platform began it's ascent.
With one last load of frightened but grateful passengers, the area was emptied and the refugees secure in the cargo bay. Gordon relayed as much to Virgil and closed the cargo bay doors, sealing himself and his passengers safely away from the noise outside.
The families huddled together on the floor, Gordon's gentle requests for calm working well. He wanted to reassure them further and wished he could take off his helmet and offer them a friendly smile. But in the current climate he was just too afraid to risk it and so nodded emphatically, hoping his eyes conveyed enough as he regarded them all through the orange faceplate.
"Gord?"
Gordon answered the comm., sighing heavily. "They're all safe and unharmed."
"Good." Jeff replied with relief, "We're heading for the refugee centre. Good job, son."
"Thanks."
It was only seconds before the ride became a great deal smoother. Once clear of the debris, Virgil was able to plot a direct course across to the nearby town and came to a steady halt over the gymnasium car park.
Jeff made the decision to chance a landing and Virgil brought Thunderbird 2 slowly down into a nearby field but leaving the engines idling, just in case.
The ramp lowered and Gordon peered out into the bright morning. Relief workers and emergency personnel were hurrying across the car park to greet them and he wandered out of the hold, beckoning his passengers to follow. He then saw a familiar face among the group of helpers and his heart sank.
"Shit." Gordon groaned into the comm. "Dad. Virg. You'll never guess who's here …"
Scott couldn't see from his position beneath Thunderbird 1 whether Alan had managed to get clear of the boulder in time. He scrambled to his feet, the impact of the enormous rock having unbalanced him and trembled through the craft above him with worrying force.
"Alan?"
When no reply came, Scott glanced up at the suddenly quiet volcano and the black cloud of ash that had darkened their surroundings. Holding his breath, he hurried out from beneath Thunderbird 1 and circled the boulder.
"Oh, thank god!" Scott sighed in relief and fell to his knees beside Alan.
Alan rolled off of the scientists' still form and smiled up at his big brother. "Dude, that was close!" He glanced behind them and shook his head in wonder as he saw the small mini-van sized chunk of rock that had skidded a deep trench into the ground not a few metres from him. "She would have been totalled, man!"
Scott groaned slightly, "Who gives a crap about the plane, dude! You were nearly toast!"
Alan shrugged and turned back to look down at the scientist who was lying awkwardly beside him.
Marcus groaned and rolled slowly onto his back, reaching up to clutch at an obvious lump on his forehead where he had met the ground.
"Sorry." Alan offered quietly.
Marcus frowned up at him. "Are you joking?!" he laughed suddenly and took Alan's outstretched hand to pull himself upright. "Thank you." He breathed, his smile growing as he saw the size of the boulder. "So very thank you!" Marcus repeated merrily, shaking Alan's hand.
Alan nodded and again offered a shrug of modesty but he then caught the proud smile on Scott's face and he grinned happily.
The volcano had now gone quiet. Aside from a few tremors through the ground beneath them, the place was suddenly still. Scott looked up at the vast dark cloud of ash and whistled in awe.
"That was … astounding." Marcus muttered beneath his breath and shook his head slowly. He then saw his colleagues emerging from the research centre and he scrambled to his feet. "Please tell me we got readings! Have we captured all that data?" He asked hurriedly as he broke into a run and headed inside the centre.
Scott looked at Alan and saw the same thought in his younger brother's eyes.
"Geek!" They both observed in unison.
Alan giggled mischievously and got to his feet, brushing the dirt from his uniform.
"Mobile control from Thunderbird 2."
Scott opened the comm. "Go ahead, Dad."
"You guys okay?"
Scott smiled warmly at Alan. "Yeah, we're fine. You?"
"We're just about done here. We'll meet you back at base."
"Understood."
"Safe trip." Jeff signed off.
Alan watched Scott in interest. "Well?"
"All done." Scott affirmed, "Let's pack up and go home."
"Cool." Alan nodded and headed towards the research centre to check on the team within.
Jeff watched the last of the refugees hurrying down the ramp and merging with the crowd of aid-workers and emergency service personnel.
And press.
His heart was suddenly racing. He met Gordon who was waiting at the top edge of the ramp and, from the relative safety of the shadows, Jeff peered down at the film crew and the reporter hastily interviewing the frightened refugees.
Gordon pulled off his helmet and breathed a sigh of relief as cool, fresh air washed over his flushed face. He wiped at his damp forehead and groaned slightly. "They need to move clear so I can raise the ramp." Gordon muttered wearily, his gloved fingers hovering over the control panel beside him.
Jeff nodded distractedly, watching the reporter in interest.
"Why'd it have to be her, anyhow?" Gordon considered aloud.
Jeff turned to look at him. "I thought you liked her. Isn't that why you went to her?"
"No!" Gordon laughed suddenly, "She was the obvious choice! And about the only name we could think of in a hur - " And suddenly it sank in. Oh god. Dad knew.
Jeff nodded slowly, a frown settling over his eyes. "It's ok. I'm glad you did."
Gordon stared at his father in confusion. This was not quite the reaction the four of them had anticipated. In fact, the lack of full force angry explosion from their father had given them a clear signal that he in fact could not know that it was they who had called the press.
"Okay, at first I wanted to tear the lot of you limb from limb but …" A slight smile pulled at Jeff's mouth and he reached out to pat Gordon's shoulder. "It has actually been good." He turned his gaze back down at the slowly departing refugees and rescue personnel. "And she really took a risk to help us, standing up before the firing line as she did." He laughed suddenly, "Not that I'll chance thanking her. The woman's insufferable enough as it is!"
Gordon chuckled in agreement, watching his father in relief and welcomed surprise. But maybe Onaha was right; they had all been changed because of what had been through.
Jeff stepped further back into the concealing shadows of the cargo bay and nodded to Gordon; the main crowd had moved clear and now only the film crew remained. They angled their camera towards the craft and Lisa began her concluding monologue.
Gordon gasped as he saw the direction of the camera and his hand moved to the waiting device nestled inside the door. A firm hand on his arm stopped him from scrambling the camera, the cell phones, the PDAs and anything else electrical in the area. He turned and watched his father slowly shaking his head.
"Let her get another exclusive." Jeff offered softly, "It's the least we can do."
Gordon paused in doubt for a moment but Lisa had already begun and she was just close enough for them to hear her closing prose.
"The scientists have already begun investigating this latest eruption and the early warning system invented here at this research station has proven its effectiveness. Thanks to the Thunderbirds, all the endangered families have been safely brought to the shelter here at Cano Negro and the army are now en route to help with the clear up and continued evacuation. This is Lisa Lowe for IWN in Costa Rica."
Jeff nodded to Gordon, signalling that it was time to raise the ramp. He then looked down towards the crew and saw the camera and sound guys heading off. Lisa however was waiting at the base of the slowly rising ramp and turned to peer up inside the craft.
Jeff stepped out of the shadows and waved, hoping to convey all that he needed to in as little interaction as he could. He saw her smile warmly and then her face was filled with concern. Jeff nodded and headed inside the cargo bay.
"Virg!" Jeff called into his wrist comm. "Get her up and out of here!" He broke into a run and beckoned Gordon to follow.
"Dad?" Gordon urged worriedly.
"Did you not hear her warning?" Jeff offered quickly, jogging through to the flight deck. "The army are headed this way and we can't risk being here."
Alan couldn't breathe. Taking her to London was one thing. This was quite another. He had the permission, even the encouragement of his eldest brother. And he couldn't breathe.
"Hey …" Scott leaned across to place his hand on Alan's shoulder. "Just relax into it. You're doing fine."
Alan let out his withheld breath with a sudden burst of excited – and yet terrified – laughter and glanced at his elder brother. "Are you kidding?"
Scott nodded in understanding. "It's okay. Dude, you've proved you can handle her. It's me that has trouble letting go of the reins. You're fine …"
Alan grinned in delight and turned his full focus back to the white cloud layer over the Pacific.
Scott smiled happily and looked away, trying not to watch Alan and make him more nervous. It was a surprise that the brash little upstart was even nervous but also strangely comforting that Alan wanted so much to impress and so was being very careful. But low, straight and steady was boring. Scott knew that. And he knew Alan must have been thinking it.
"Wanna try a roll?"
Alan gasped and the thus far smooth journey wavered momentarily. "You – what – hey?"
Scott laughed gently. "Only if you want to."
Alan gave an instant wide grin of a reply.
"Okay." Scott nodded and took a deep breath. "Keep your altitude and pitch steady, we don't want to spin out. Now … heavy on the starboard thrusters, slacken off the port and …"
Slowly Thunderbird 1 banked left and then Alan corrected and she moved into a gentle turn. A slow slide of sky view becoming cloud surface and a dizzying moment of disorientation and she was back upright and still heading steady.
Alan whooped in delight.
"Not bad." Scott laughed, nodding with enthusiasm. "Little shaky as you moved into it but good recovery and nice steady balancing. Good."
Alan was breathing fast, gripping the controls tightly and grinning so wide it seemed his head might split in two.
"Not bad at all." Scott continued, "We'll get you some more flight time in her and you'll be – WO!"
It was perfect. Instantaneous and smooth. When the craft was again righted, Scott gasped in shock and delight. He turned and met Alan's smug grin.
"Oh, no way, dude!" Scott groaned slightly, his smile faltering. "The second you get cocky, you are down."
Alan's shoulders fell, along with his happiness.
Scott saw the disappointment and hurt and his heart sank.
Silence fell between them. Silence except for the ominous hum of the very powerful engines behind them.
"I'm sorry." Scott offered eventually. "Didn't mean to be quite so pseudo-dad there."
Alan shrugged a response.
"You're good, Alan. Honestly. You pick it up so naturally and - " Scott sighed and then laughed suddenly. "You just better not get better than me. Got it, bud?"
Alan's smile returned and he glanced at Scott with renewed merriment. "Got it."
Penny headed up the ramp towards the office and could hear his voice from within. She paused at the door and listened as John chatted merrily about the successful mission. When a natural pause in his seemingly one-sided conversation then arrived, she stepped inside and waited at the door.
Brains had already scurried down to the lower levels to upload the diagnostic programmes and post-mission debriefing that he and the two Thunderbirds craft would initiate upon their return.
John was facing away from her, gazing at the nothing of the reverse of the window shielding and mumbling quietly. He had not apparently sensed her arrival and Penny stepped into the room and headed up onto the raised central control platform.
"Hey." John turned to her and smiled merrily.
Penny nodded. "They on their way back?"
"Yup. Scott's only about 5 minutes out."
"Good. We were waiting for them before starting breakfast." She glanced down at the location maps and comm. channels and frowned as she realised that most of the hardware was simply monitoring the approaching craft. The comm. was off. And yet he had just been chatting so animatedly …
"What?" John asked in interest.
Penny turned back to him, her heart racing. "Who were you talking to?"
"Mom." John answered easily. He then saw her recoil slightly and he realised his error too late. "My – I mean – myself." He quickly corrected.
Penny regarded him in silence as tears gathered in his eyes. He then closed away his feelings and quickly stood, making some remark about not being needed now that the two craft were almost home, and fled from the room.
Tbc …