Thank you so much for the views and follows so far! I hope you are still enjoying this one, apologies for the last cliff hanger!

5

"Approaching Thunderbird Five now." Tin-tin announced over the intercom. The camera images flickered into life as Tin-tin started to transmit them. They all gasped in shock, Alan's mouth gaped in surprise whereas Scott's formed a grim line. A small cry escaped from Tin-tin over the intercom.

The most noticeable thing was the shuttered window, the words international rescue obscured by cold steel. "That's meant to be shatterproof!" Alan looked dismayed, what on earth caused this much damage?

"Look at the space scanners - one's completely snapped off. John wouldn't be able to scan for threats in the immediate area and it explains the communications blackout because I can see the antenna's sheared off the bottom too. Tin-tin; can you zoom in? is the docking port still intact?" Scott frowned in concern. This was worse than they could have imagined.

There was a fractious minute of silence, as Tin-tin zoomed in. "Yes Scott, the docking port is still intact."

"Alright then let's get down there."

"Wait!" Alan shouted.

"What is it?"

"There on the screen, is that…. No, no….. it can't be!" Alan glanced at Scott in horror, for on the screen was a small figure near the base of the space scanner trussed up to the frame, his body limp as it drifted like driftwood on a calm sea.

"Alan, suit up - I'll get us docked."

"F.A.B"

Alan scrambled out of his chair to the closet on the left where his astronaut suit was stored. Scott with Tin-tin's guidance on the cameras brought in Thunderbird Three to her usual docking position. With no one to authorise access, Scott had to call the island. "Brains; I need you to override the systems to allow Three to dock ASAP. No time to explain." His hands poised on the levers ready to commence docking.

Some clicking and a pause on the other end of the line. "Ah….no can do Scott. I-It seems that the power has failed and is being diverted to the life systems and secondary control room."

Scott swore away from the mic. "Alright Brains. Standby for further instruction."

"F.A.B"

Scott quickly reassessed their situation. They couldn't dock which meant Alan couldn't walk to John, it also meant they couldn't get him to the medical bay on Five either. They simply had to get to him. How long had he been out there alone? Was he even still alive? Scott's mouth went dry, his chest felt tight. What if they were too late?

"I'm ready Scott."

"Alright, here's what we're going to do. I'm going to position us as close as we can get side on, you'll need to jet pack across, free John and bring him back."

"Gee, I've never jet packed across a void like that before." Alan eyed the distance apprehensively. There wasn't a lot that phased him but he understood the dangers better than most. Look what happened to John and he was one of the most experienced astronauts of the last decade.

"I know, but Tin-tin will have you on a retractable line, anything happens and we'll reel you straight back. You're the best hope we have Alan, the one with the most experience."

Alan nodded with resolve. "Very well, I guess I'll being seeing you." With that he turned on his heel and stepped into the elevator to collect Tin-tin before heading to the mid-section of Thunderbird Three which would open up to the outer atmosphere.

Scott manoeuvred them as close as he dared. She was a big ship so it was a delicate operation although to be fair he thought, he couldn't do much more damage then what Five had already suffered. "We're in position Alan, ready when you are."

"F.A.B" He replied, bravado firmly back in place.

Scott drummed his fingers on the console in a mixture of impatience and unease. Time to see If he could get an update. "This is Thunderbird Three to Base"

"Base receiving you, go ahead."

"Father; the situation is worse than we anticipated with significant damage to Five but that's not our biggest concern. John has obviously tried to conduct emergency repairs but somehow ended up entangled on a line and trapped against the bottom of the scanners. We don't know his condition; we've hailed his comms with no response. Dad, What the heck happened here?"

"From what I can gather, the European space federation decided to test a new missile capable of destroying asteroids and other threats to Earth but instead of reaching its programmed target it mistakenly locked on to one of the historic Elon satellites, resulting in an explosion of epic proportions. It seems Thunderbird Five was caught in the wake of the debris cloud. I will ensure full action is taken for such reckless endangerment." Scott winced. He knew that tone and knew you didn't want to be on the receiving end. Damn good thing too in this instance, it was fully justified. He hoped his dad rattled some cages.

"Right. Well I need to be on standby, I'll radio in as soon as I know more. I'll also send the images across so you can assess the damage yourself."

"Understood."

Alan jetted across the expanse, everything seemed like it was in slow motion out here which frustrated him to no end. His whole being was geared towards speed at the best of times. Now he was propelled with a fresh sense of urgency, the radiant Earth to his left was inconsequential in comparison. He remained fixated on his goal as he gravitated across. John was still motionless from what he could tell as he drew closer, he could see he was completely ensnared around the post, strong cables bit into his brother's suit all round. "I really hope it's still intact. Please be intact." Horrible flashes of a cold frosted corpse, platinum hair plastered to alabaster skin, tinged blue lips lashed across his minds eye. Alan swallowed back the bile as he rounded into position. He secured his own line to what was left of the metal hatched frame before grasping John's shoulders with his hands. He tried to look at the gauge on his wrist but he was too trapped for it to be visible. He forcibly shook John but there was no response. Alan hesitated one hand on the visor. Be brave for his sake. He flipped the blackened exterior up quickly to reveal the clear screen underneath.

John was unconscious, his face devoid of emotion. A prominent lump to the side of his forehead was the only clue as to why. Concerned about lack of oxygen, Alan wasted no more time and set about freeing him. It would be a delicate job, he couldn't just laser his way through. The wire was embedded all over so he ran the risk of nicking the suit. Alan's other worry was that if he cut the wrong part too soon his brother would be free to drift off into the expanse. Alan fumbled at his belt for the wire cutters.

"Alan, any news?" Scott's voice cut through the silence.

"He's unconscious, at least I think he is, I can't see his stats. I need to cut him loose now, then reassess." Alan's hands trembled but his voice remained steady.

"Okay. Report in soon."

"Will do." With a deep breath he started to make the first cut across John's torso. He needed both hands to have enough pressure to snip through. He strained with the effort before it sliced the corded cable in two. Ten minutes later he was down to his final two cables. Trouble was he couldn't do it one handed so he added a secondary line to his waist before attaching it to John's front. He began to snip at the second to last wire, venting his frustration through gritted teeth. "This is taking too long!" John hadn't so much as twitched. He pulled at the last of the cable in a mad frenzy as it tumbled away John's prone form lifted upwards. Stowing his cutters Alan quickly reigned him in.

"Ok I've got him. Heading back now. Scott, can you bring her in closer? I reckon if you come in at forty degrees north, you should align without hitting Five."

"Adjusting our course now." Alan concentrated on guiding their way across, his movements becoming increasingly restricted as he tried to hoist John up out of his line of vision. With a spurt of determination, he pushed himself on at the sight of TB3's open hatch. Once he within a few hundred metres of his baby he felt himself propelled forwards. Startled he quickly broke into a sigh of relief as he realised the winch had been activated. He was mighty relieved when his feet touched the edge of the airlock. Alan strained under John's full weight as the lock pressurised, he laid him down on the floor. As soon as the lights signaled the all-clear Alan chucked his helmet and gloves off. Tin-Tin and Scott rushed with a stretcher and first aid kit.

They worked quickly to stabilise him, carefully removing his helmet and beginning to cut away the suit to be able to gain better access. He was deathly cold to the touch as Tin-tin began to secure a blanket around him. Scott immediately set a pulse oximeter while Alan was assessing his airways. "He's breathing but irregular." Alan announced.

"SpO2 is below fifty eight percent." Scott scrabbled for the oxygen mask to find Tin-tin was already applying it. He gave her a brief but somewhat strained smile. Together they got John strapped in before Alan and Scott then lifted him up, heading towards the medical bay. Scott's wrist comm beeped as went. He answered it one handed.

"We couldn't get hold of you."

"Yeah, sorry Dad, it's all hands-on deck down here." Jeff could see the taught line of Scott's shoulders under the strain of something. He should call back but he had to know.

"Well, how is he?"

"Not great." There was a muffled bump in the back ground before a quick glimpse of a familiar light blonde mop. The camera came back up to Scott's worn features as the clamour continued in the background. "He's unresponsive with low oxygen levels and what appears to be a minor head injury. We'll know more once we've scanned him. Five's inaccessible so we can't use the medical facilities there and I suspect its inhabitable anyway but we won't have time to assess the full extent of the damage. Our resources are limited here, we need to return John to the island as a matter of urgency."

"Alright son, thanks for the update. Safe journey and God's speed."

"Thanks, Thunderbird Three out."

Jeff spun to his left. "Kyrano, Virgil. Ensure the medical bay is primed. Gordon, I want you to monitor communications with Thunderbird Three. I have a bone to pick with this so-called space federation."

Virgil and Gordon exchanged worried glances.

"Dad, its Christmas your unlikely to get anywhere." Gordon pointed out in the hopes of deflecting his irate father.

"Trust me, I will. If they've got time to launch an unsanctioned missile, they've got time to answer the damn phone." He growled.

"You know what? I'll use the comms in the control room." Gordon turned on his heel "Well, well out of the danger zone." He huffed under his breath. Heads would roll this afternoon it would seem, something that Gordon was fully pleased about. You go dad. He just prayed John would be okay. It didn't sound good. He hurried to the control room to await further news.