Chapter 14

John Tracy pressed himself into the forefront of his consciousness with all his might. He fought for vision, and saw an image that terrified him as the memories of what he had done returned. He had been shearing lumps of metal off the launch platform for Thunderbird 1 with a laser grinder, and forming figure-eight building blocks. This was no easy task, and he was covered in soot and his shirt was holed like a net where lumps of smouldering metal had melted through. The skin underneath was perfectly healed. In front of him were a group of creatures. Perhaps as many as ten mechanical spiders with insect-like heads lay before him, composed of the same shimmering blue metal as Thunderbird 1; the Infiltrators. John had bitten a hole in one of his fingers to allow some nanobots to surge onto the metal, replicate, and form new Infiltrators. They seemed to be breathing; rising up and down on their mechanical legs, and listing from side to side. The eight appendages each creature had looked like they were made from motorcycle chain; the pieces that John had been making. He was weakened; the nanobots had used the components from his blood to create the biological parts of the Infiltrators, and had not quite replaced as much as he had lost. John's mind cried out in pain as he was bombarded by electronic thoughts. The creatures could hear him, and he them. John's body knelt down and one of the Infiltrators scuttled over to him. It climbed onto his chest, and drove a probe into his neck. He felt a curious, cold sensation surge around his body as it was filled with more nanobots to replace those he had given to form more Infiltrators. His body grabbed a pistol, and set off toward the corridor leading to the Thunderbird 2 hangar and Brains' laboratory, following behind the Infiltrators. The barrage of commands began again. The sentience in his veins was forcing him once more into the corner, and this time he felt as though he were being crushed; like he was in a room where the walls were coming in and he was powerless to stop them. He hoped he was headed for Thunderbird 2, but recoiled in horror as he headed for the corridor as he was finally pushed back into his metal cell.

"Kyrano! They're cutting their way in!" Jeff held up his handheld device to see about a dozen life signs crowded into the corridor space behind bulkhead 4. "They're coming fast!" He turned to his watch. "Scott! John's on his way in. And he's got company!"

"We're on our way, Father!"

"FAB, Scott!"

Jeff looked over at his comrade. "Kyrano! Get ready!"

"Ready, Mr. Tracy!"

Jeff himself picked up a machinegun and two pistols, and took position with Kyrano behind one of the benches. As they lay in wait, one of the control panels exploded in a shower of sparks behind them.
"The security system!" He looked at his watch again. "Scott, we can't open any of the doors!"

"We'll get to you, Father!"

Jeff looked at the device again. They were now 2 bulkheads away, and he and Kyrano could here the sound of laser cutters coming from the door. In only a few moments, they could see the metal on their side of the final bulkhead door turning red, and then disintegrating. When the hole was about eight inches in diameter, several spider-like creatures flew through it. They landed only a few feet from Kyrano and Jeff, who immediately began shooting at them. Jeff succeeded in causing some damage, but it seemed only to slow them down, and not stop them. Kyrano focussed his beam, and managed to char the creature's legs. More were coming through the hole. In a flash, Jeff had a moment of mental clarity through the dizziness and nausea caused by his ever worsening head injury. He remembered what Brains had said that the nanobots would do; have John create more Infiltrators. And he recognised the pearlescent blue metal they were made of. Normal gunfire was not going to destroy the alloy they had used to build Thunderbird 1. He looked around frantically for something to use. He found a blowtorch, and lit it. He turned up the gas and found himself equipped with a flame thrower, about six feet in length. The creatures appeared only slightly damaged by it, but fearful nonetheless. Jeff waved it in an arc around himself and Kyrano to keep them at bay.

Suddenly, a hail of gunfire came through the hole in the door. A bullet grazed Jeff's arm, and he dropped his flame thrower. In a flash the nozzle was extinguished by the Infiltrators, and pulled from his reach. He backed into a corner, pushing Kyrano behind him. His mind raced, thinking about what else he could use. One of the creatures jumped up at his chest, and threw him to the ground. Another jumped for Kyrano. Both men fell to the ground, and the creatures pawed at them, trying to get to their necks."Don't let them do it, Kyrano!" cried Jeff. As his arms flailed about him, one struck a dewar, and he had an idea. He reached up and pulled on the handle. The lid immediately fell off, and liquid nitrogen poured onto the creature. It was instantly frozen, and Jeff managed to roll away to the side before much could spill onto him. One of his hands was a little burnt. He kicked the creature, and it shattered. He pulled on the dewar and did the same to Kyrano, who he then lifted up onto the bench. Jeff stayed on the floor. The rest of the creatures came closer, and Jeff did not notice that the hole in the door was getting bigger. When the creatures were at his feet, about to pounce, in a single, agile move, Jeff lifted himself up onto the bench, and threw over two dewars of liquid nitrogen. A cloud of mist quickly filled the room, and all the creatures froze to the spot. Jeff paused for a few seconds, and heard a faint, crisp, tinkling sound as his breath froze in the air and the resulting ice clattered to the ground. He pulled a fire axe from the wall and began striking out at the creatures, shattering their frozen bodies, although they were now rather difficult to see. He was confident he had killed all of them, when the mist began to clear. The exertion had been tough on Jeff, and he slid down to his knees onto the floor, clutching at his head which had begun to bleed profusely again. For a few moments he had no touch with reality.

Kyrano jumped down from the bench to help Jeff. But as he did, the mist had cleared enough for him to find himself looking across the room at John Tracy. He smiled wickedly, and headed for the power grid controls. Seeing Jeff, incapacitated, Kyrano followed John across the room. He did not react. As Kyrano approached, John had both hands on the control panel. Without looking, John swiftly brought up his forearm to make contact with Kyrano's face. Kyrano was thrown across the room.

Jeff came back to his senses to see his friend lying dazed at the opposite end of the room. He saw his son at the power controls, and as his vision shifted in and out of focus, he saw that he was trying to override the security lockouts Brains had placed on the system. Jeff rose, and crept towards him. John did not react. Jeff found his pistol and held it in front of him, his arm shaking.

"Stop it, John!" he said.

John gave no reaction.
"I said stop it. I can't let you do that, John." Jeff fired a warning shot. Still there was no reaction. Jeff began to cry. "I love you, son!"
Kyrano ran at John again, and was again tossed across the room. When he got up this time, John drew his gun and shot him in the shoulder. Kyrano stopped in his tracks, and looked over at Jeff. He took another step, and John aimed at him again.
Jeff fired his own gun, and caught John in the upper leg. Now John turned to face Jeff. He took aim at his father.

"I'm sorry, John! Forgive me!" cried Jeff, and squeezed the trigger again. He struck John in the chest, but it did not stop him. A full-scale firefight ensued. Jeff was struck in the arm and shoulder. John was shot several more times in the chest, but carried on fighting like it was a mere scratch. Jeff stood a final time, with tears streaming down his bloodstained face, and emptied the rest of his magazine in John's direction. Both men fell. Jeff clutched at his arm and felt a hot bullet in his bicep.

When the gun smoke cleared, John was lying on the floor in a pool of blood. Jeff crawled over to him. His chest had four bullet wounds, and his abdomen had also been hit several times. Jeff went to lift his head, but he was so slippery with blood that Jeff couldn't manage it.

"Dad?" said John, almost too quietly to hear.

"John? Is that you?" said Jeff, frantically.

"Thank you, Father!" said John, and his head lulled to one side. His eyes were still open, but he breathed no more.

"Not again! Not again! John! Speak to me!" Jeff screamed and slapped John's face. "Speak to me, boy!" he said, quietly. "Speak to me!"