FOLLOWING Alan's grounding by Jeff over his attack on Virgil and Gordon, Scott volunteered himself to take Alan's place as main pilot of Thunderbird 3 should he be available. This was something he'd been looking to do for a long time was to be the one to pilot Thunderbird 3 on a mission and now his chance had come. One of the astronauts from the World-Wide-Space-Station had suffered a malfunction on their thruster pack and had been sent spiralling off into space before anyone could do anything to help. Now Scott along with Kayo were leaving the Earth's atmosphere to go and rescue the astronaut before they ran out of air.
"Sending you the position of the astronaut and the flight path you'll need to reach her, Thunderbird 3," John was saying via the hologram projector. "She has about twelve minutes of oxygen left so be as fast as you can."
"Don't worry, Thunderbird 5," acknowledged Scott. "We'll have her back at the station within five."
"You sound very sure of that," observed Kayo.
"Thunderbird 3's a fast ship," Scott replied. "We'll catch her in no…" He was rudely cut off by letting out an enormous yawn. "Oh, excuse me.," he said.
Kayo and John exchanged glances before looking back at Scott.
"Scott, are you sure you should be flying right now?" asked John.
"Sure, why wouldn't I?" Scott asked.
"You've barely slept for the past few days," Kayo said. "Not to mention you've been out on missions in Thunderbird 1 five times during that same period. You're gonna wear yourself out if you're not careful."
"Or make a mistake you'll later regret," added John.
Scott scoffed. "Nonsense. I'm fine," he insisted. "You won't catch me making any mistakes today."
John and Kayo looked at each other again, both knowing what the other was thinking.
Thunderbird 3 continued on the course sent by Thunderbird 5 and within a few minutes, the icon showing the position of the drifting astronaut appeared on the radar screen.
"We're getting close," said Kayo. "Should have a visual any moment now."
Scott looked around outside through the cockpit windows. "I don't see anything," he said.
"I can," replied Kayo. "Ten degrees to port. Better cut the engines or we'll overshoot."
"F-A-," Scott was once again cut off by another yawn. "B," he finished.
"Scott…" Kayo began.
"I'm fine!' Scott cut her off. "Reducing power…now." He moved the throttle lever.
But Thunderbird 3 didn't slow down. Instead, the boosters roared up to full power and it rocketed off. Scott and Kayo found themselves pinned back into their seats by the G-Force and the already afraid astronaut watched on in shock and bewilderment as the red rescue rocket went flying past before disappearing as quickly as it had come.
John too saw what had happened and he let out a big groan. "Damn it, Scott!" he said, clapping his hand to his forehead.
5!
4!
3!
2!
1!
"Thunderbirds Are Go!"
"BURN OUT"
THUNDERBIRD 3 continued to soar through space at full power, getting further and further away from the Earth as it went. Scott and Kayo cried out as they tried to fight the G-Forces that were pushing them back into their seats. Eventually it was Kayo who mustered all the strength she had to reach over and grabbed the throttle lever before pulling it back fully. Power to the engines was cut and then Kayo managed to push the button that fired the retros, slowing Thunderbird 3 down.
The G-Forces subsided and Scott and Kayo let out gasps of relief as they felt the pressure on them ease off and returned to normal.
"Uhhhhhhh," Scott groaned. "What…happened?"
"Thought you said you were fine?" Kayo said crossly. She pushed up her safety bars and floated over to Scott's seat, removing his safety bars and then using the lack of gravity to move him across to where she had been. "You've done enough," she said firmly. "I'm flying the ship from now on."
Scott seemed too dazed to reply and therefore remained silent.
Kayo turned Thunderbird 3 around and fired the engines again to send them back towards the Earth as well as the drifting astronaut. They soon managed to re-establish visual contact and Kayo brought the ship to a gentle stop and put it on free-float. Then she floated out of the control seat and made sure Scott had got his helmet on before she deployed one of Alan's astroboards. "Thunderbird 5 from Thunderbird 3 - commencing recovery."
"F-A-B, Thunderbird 3," acknowledged John.
The hatch opened and Kayo fired up the engines of the astroboard. It zipped up and out of the cockpit and over to where the weary astronaut was spinning slowly around. "Gotcha!" said Kayo as she carefully got a hold of the astronaut and then brought her safely back to Thunderbird 3. "Astronaut secure, John."
"Well done, Kayo," said John happily. "Take her back to the WSS. I'll let them know you're coming."
"F-A-B," said Kayo.
It took no time at all for Thunderbird 3 to reach the World-Wide-Space-Station and drop the grateful astronaut back into the hands of her own crew. They gratefully thanked International Rescue and then Thunderbird 3 left to re-enter the Earth's atmosphere on the return to Tracy Island.
Kayo hadn't said a word to Scott the whole time. Nor had Scott been able to say anything. She looked at him and could see he was looking rather tired and ashamed. "So, you were fine, hmm?" she asked.
Scott didn't respond. He was too embarrassed.
Jeff wasn't exactly pleased when he heard what had happened on the mission. He wasn't furious, but he did want an explanation. "What happened out there, Scott?" he asked. "It's not like you to make mistakes like that."
"I don't know, Dad," answered Scott. "I guess Thunderbird 3 had a malfunction when I moved the throttle."
"No, we accelerated because you moved the throttle to full forwards instead of to the middle to cut the power, Scott," said Kayo.
Scott looked at her. "Did…Did I?" he asked.
Jeff frowned, worried. He could see that Scott's eyes were looking somewhat heavy. He also looked a bit off-colour as well. "How much sleep have you had these past few days, Scott?" he asked.
"Errrrrrrrrrrrrr," Scott tried to think. "I'm not entirely sure."
"Six hours!" snapped a voice. It was Grandma. "You may not have been keeping a track of how much rest you've been having, but I have. And this mission was proof that it's not on," she said firmly. "Scott, you are going to burn out if you don't rest. Drink this glass of milk and be off to bed, right now!"
"I've been needed, Grandma," Scott said. "I was only doing my-"
"You've been doing more than you should be," Grandma interrupted. "And I won't stand by and watch you make yourself ill. We're already down one person." She shot Jeff a look. "We can't risk anybody else being out of action."
Scott took the glass of milk that Grandma had given him and drank it. "I guess you're right, Grandma," he said. "Goodnight, everyone."
"Goodnight, Scott," said Kayo. "Sorry for being harsh on you up there."
"Ah, forget it," Scott called back as he left the lounge. "You did the right thing." He then walked up the stairs and vanished from view.
"You did indeed do the right thing, Kayo," said Grandma. "Poor Scotty's overworking himself. Of course he wouldn't be like this if you hadn't grounded Alan!" she finished turning to face her son.
"Oh, give it a rest, Mother!" snapped Jeff. "I've already retracted my original punishment and reduced his grounding from a month to just this week. I honestly thought the others could handle it."
"We've been a lot busier than expected," agreed Kayo.
"Exactly!" said Grandma. "Now, Jeff. Whilst I totally agree with you that Alan needed a good talking to after what he did and was to be made sure he knew that he was in the wrong, however you should have just given him a strong warning. It's not fair on the other boys. Virgil and Gordon aren't quite as rushed off their feet as Scott is but still. They're having to handle missions alone without having Alan for additional help. Even Kayo has had to abandon her covert ops in order to help cover for Alan."
Jeff sighed heavily. "Alright, Mother, you've made your point," he said. "I'll sleep on it. If we get any more missions in space, Alan can fly his ship under my supervision. And we'll try and make sure Scott does not go on any missions for the next day or so unless he absolutely has to. That satisfy you?"
Grandma nodded and smiled slightly. "Yes, it does," she said. "Now the same must be said for you, Jefferson. You've been working long enough today as well. Off to bed with you!"
Jeff grumbled under his breath but he did as he was told. "Goodnight, Kayo," he said as Grandma took him towards the stairs.
"Goodnight, Mr Tracy and Mrs Tracy," said Kayo.
"Night, dear," Grandma called back.
Jeff and Grandma left the lounge leaving Kayo to sit at Jeff's desk. As she sat there alone and looking out across at the dim red sky as the sun finished setting, she couldn't help but feel worried for Scott.
Tracy Island was unusually quiet the following day. Virgil and Gordon were out on a mission helping the crew of a Container Ship which had caught fire off the coast of Brazil. Kayo was out with Thunderbird Shadow after getting a call from Captain Rigby about a potential Cabal incident. Jeff and Alan had gone to Australia to visit Sophie in hospital. Both she and Hayley have been moved to hospitals in Sydney and London respectively after their ordeal on Victory Day Island to recover properly. Hayley's recovery was predicted around two months, but Sophie's injuries were so severe the doctors were skeptical that she'd ever recover fully. This therefore only left Scott, Grandma and Brains left on the island. Grandma was busy in the kitchen as usual and Brains was working in his lab as usual. Scott was left alone in the lounge where he very quickly became bored. He'd managed to get quite a decent length's sleep over the previous night and he felt fine in himself, but was annoyed that Grandma and Jeff had refused to let him go on the mission to the Container Ship.
Scott tried to read a book, but couldn't even reach the end of the first chapter. "How did this trash get to seven books and become eight movies?" he asked himself as he tossed the book away and slumped back on the sofa cushion before letting out a bored sigh.
Just then the bleeping of John calling from Thunderbird 5 sounded. John's hologram appeared. "Hey, Scott. Feeling better?"
"Mostly, yes, John," answered Scott. "Although I'm not allowed out. Dad and Grandma's orders."
John grimaced a little. "That's a problem," he remarked.
"Why's that?" asked Scott. "Do we have a situation?"
"I'm…not entirely sure," said John. "You'd better see this." His hologram moved to the side and a TV image appeared from the projector in the middle of the table.
Scott sat bolt upright and stared in disbelief at what it was showing. It appeared to be live footage from a News Helicopter showing skyscrapers and a long street below which he recognised as New York. but it was what was moving along the street that was the cause of surprise - a giant brown-coloured boney-like monster with four large and long thin legs and very small feet as it made its way along. Cars crashed into each other and many people could be seen running in terror in all directions as they desperately tried to escape from it.
"What in the world?" Scott exclaimed as he stood up for a closer look. "John, is this low-budget movie that we've never heard of before?"
"This isn't a movie, Scott, it's live," replied John. "I don't know how or why but New York appears to be under attack from this…giant monster."
Scott was bewildered. "This can't be real?" he said. "It must be a trick of some kind."
"I'm inclined to think the same," said John. "However, whatever it is, it's causing mass panic and putting lives in danger. Something has to be done."
"Are the Police doing anything?" asked Scott. "Or have the GDF been called in?"
"Local Police are trying to evacuate but they have nothing to fight this creature with," said John. "The GDF are en-route and are planning to use missiles to put it down."
Scott looked at the footage of the monster and the surrounding buildings. "That'll cause a heck of a lot of collateral damage," he remarked. "Someone needs to get its attention and lure it out into the open so the GDF can take it down. If it is indeed real."
"Thunderbirds 2 and Shadow are unfortunately preoccupied," John said. "And with Dad and Alan away, it looks like it's gonna have to be you, Scott."
Scott looked uneasy. "You know I would in a flash, John, but, Grandma and Dad."
"How much sleep did you manage last night?" asked John.
"About twelve hours," said Scott.
"Then that should be enough," said John. "Lives are at stake and I'll make sure they know that if either of them say anything. Go suit up, Scott."
Scott still felt uneasy, but knowing there were people in deadly danger made him make his decision. "F-A-B," he said and walked over to the revolving wall panel. He went onto the express elevator and began to make his way down to Thunderbird 1 as the robotic arms attached his suit to his body. He then reached the bottom and exited onto the extending walkway before getting into his seat and being lifted inside the craft. Then the trolley began to take Thunderbird 1 up the diagonal tunnel towards the launch bay under the swimming pool which was now starting to open.
Grandma entered the lounge carrying a tray of lasagne she'd just cooked. "Dinner is a-served!" she announced. Then she stopped as she realised the lounge was empty. "That's odd," she remarked. "Where did he go?"
It was at that exact moment that Thunderbird 1 reached the launch bay and was ready for lift-off.
5! 4! 3! 2! 1!
A deep rumbling sound that Grandma had heard many times before began to be heard. She froze, turned and moved quickly over to the lounge window. Then she gasped when she realised that the swimming pool was open which could only mean one thing. "No!"
Then the familiar red nose cone of Thunderbird 1 began to rise up out from the launch bay followed by the rest of the rocket. It rose up out of the launch bay and soared off into the sky leaving a long trail of exhaust in its wake. Grandma literally dropped the tray and the crockery and food ended up all over the floor but she did not seem to notice as she ran down the stairs to the kitchen and burst out through the doors before standing on the lido and stared up after the supersonic Thunderbird which was now a tiny dot in the sky and flying away. She was shaking with anger and let out an infuriated growl before storming back inside.
It came as no surprise to Scott that he was going to get a call from a very furious Grandma within moments of him taking off from the island. As soon as he radio began to beep he braced himself. "Here it comes," he said to himself.
"SCOTT CARPENTER TRACY!" bellowed Grandma who was red in the face. "WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU ARE GOING?!"
"New York, Grandma," replied Scott calmly. "I'm going to help with a situation."
"I'm not interested in excuses, Scott!" snapped Grandma. "Your Dad and I gave you a direct instruction this morning. STAY…AT…HOME!"
"Turn on the New York news, Grandma," said Scott. "Then you'll see what it's about."
"I DON'T CARE WHAT'S GOING ON IN NEW YORK!" thundered Grandma. "YOU GET YOUR AS-"
Scott swiftly flicked a switch and Grandma's hologram disappeared. That's going to land me in the dog house, he thought with a sigh. But I can't let those people suffer any more than they are. He then put Thunderbird 1 onto autopilot for a moment as he moved to a nearby control panel. He opened the cover and then punched the innards before closing it up again. He shook his hand as he felt the impact through his glove but he put it out of his mind as he closed the cover. And Brains, I also apologise for breaking that and you'll have to fix it later, he added to himself as he went back to the control seat.
Grandma burst into Brains' lab. "BRAINS!"
Brains had been experimenting on something he'd been making for Kayo. he jumped and banged his head on the underside of his workbench. "OW!" he exclaimed. "M-Mrs T-Tracy? With all d-due respect, please don't b-barge in here without-"
"Never mind all that!" snapped Grandma. "You need to override and bring back Thunderbird 1."
Brains stared at him whilst in the middle of adjusting his glasses. "Excuse m-me?"
"Scott has defied Jeff's and my instructions and has launched Thunderbird 1," said Grandma. "I need you to override the ship and bring it back."
Brains looked uncomfortable. "Is S-Scott on his way to a mission?" he asked.
"Brains, I gave you an instruction!" Grandma said, voice slightly raised. "Now do it! Please," she then finished.
Brains quivered a little as he went over to his computer and went to select Thunderbird 1. In the event of the ships or even the pilot's going rogue, as unthinkable as that could be, Jeff had given Brains the instruction to fit all the Thunderbirds with an override system that could allow them to regain control of the ship and either bring it to where they wanted it, or in the very worst case, self-destruct it. It was something that Brains was very fifty-fifty over. Whilst he agreed they should have a way to regain control of the ships should any of them be stolen, he was very reluctant to do it if one of the brothers was aboard. However, the dangerous tone and look on Grandma's face made him relent. But when he tried to access Thunderbird 1's systems, he found that he could not. "W-What?" he said. "S-System not functioning?"
"What are you talking about?" asked Grandma.
Brains ran a diagnostic. "Oh, dear," he said. "It would seem that Scott has d-disabled the override."
"I thought the boys weren't supposed to know where they were?" snapped Grandma.
"They're not," Brains replied. "But Scott m-must have seen me install it possibly."
Grandma banged her fists on the table in frustration.
It was night-time in New York and normally the bright lights of the many skyscrapers would be a sight of awe for Scott as he approached the great city. But this time he took no pleasure as he could see a few plumes of smoke illuminated by searchlights originating from fires that had been caused by the rampage of the monster as many vehicles had collided and some had even burst into flames. There were many casualties but so far there'd been no reported deaths.
As Scott overflew the island of Manhattan, he began to search for the monster. But after a few minutes of looking, he realised that it was nowhere to be found. "Thunderbird 5, I'm over the city now," Scott reported. "But I can't see the monster anywhere. Do you have anything?"
"Afraid not, Thunderbird 1," replied John. "All news coverage seems to have lost sight of it. Maybe it has moved off somewhere else."
"Keep searching for it, John," said Scott. "It has to be somewhere. I need to find a person of high authority to talk to and let them know we intend to assist them."
"Then you'd better get to Times Square, Scott," said John. "That's where the monster was last reported seen."
"F-A-B."
Hardly anybody seemed to have noticed that Thunderbird 1 was even flying over Manhattan. Scott soon found his way to above Times Square and put his craft into a hovering position. He then donned his helmet, opened the hatch, lowered the seat and then pushed himself out before letting his jetpack glide him gently down towards the ground. He had to keep his ship up high so as to not endanger any of the surrounding buildings. Scott soon reached the ground and landed on the road. He looked around at the devastation and was disturbed by what he was seeing. Smashed up cars, broken windows. A bus had driven into a café. People were lying injured on the ground and worst of all the emergency services were struggling to get through the pile ups. It was nothing like he'd ever seen before. He'd been skeptical about the monster even being real, but he could not deny that something had definitely caused all of this carnage and whatever it was needed to be found and stopped.
Making his way along through the wreckage of cars and other things, Scott soon found a young male Police Officer guiding some frightened women and children to safety. "Excuse me!" Scott said. "Who's in charge here?"
"Captain West!" the Officer called back. "He's over there. Black suit, red tie."
"Thanks!" said Scott and he made his way further on towards the middle of Times Square.
He soon caught sight of the man in question who was standing with his head inside a Patrol Car and talking into the radio - probably to headquarters. But before he could get close enough, he was stopped by a man with blonde hair and a pinstriped suit with a pink tie.
"Where do you think you're going?" the man asked. Scott was surprised to find the man was British and not American. "This is a restricted area."
"I need to speak to your chief," said Scott. "Is that him?"
"So what if it is?" asked the man. "Who are you?"
"I'm with International Rescue," said Scott. "Heard about the monster attack and came to help."
"We didn't ask for your help," said the man rudely. "Nor do we need it. Now do us a favour and get lost."
Scott scowled. "I don't like your tone, Mr…whoever you are."
"Detective Julian Graham," said the man. "And I will have you moved by force if need be!"
Scott had had enough. "Stop being awkward, please," he said. "Just let me pass." He tried to walk around Julian but the detective grabbed him by the arm. "I said…leave!" he growled.
Scott pulled his arm clear. "Don't touch me!" he snapped.
"I'LL ARREST YOU IF I HAVE TO!" Julian suddenly shouted.
"JULIAN!" Both men looked to see Captain West staring at them both. "Control yourself!"
"Sir, this man is refusing to leave!" Julian said.
"Pardon me for arriving uninvited, Captain," Scott said. "I'm Scott Tracy with International Rescue."
Captain West was surprised. "Wow. That's what I call service!" he remarked. He held out his hand. "West. Pleased to meet you. You heard about the monster?"
"Yes, and I thought you could use some help," said Scott. "But your colleague here told me that I was not wanted and that I should leave."
West scowled at Julian who was giving Scott a dirty look. "Julian, may I remind you we're in the middle of a crisis situation here. We do NOT turn down offers of help! Especially from someone like International Rescue."
Julian snorted. "He's not from International Rescue," he said. "Where's your Thunderbird?"
Scott pointed upwards. "She's up there," he said simply.
West and Julian looked up and could now see the unmistakable shape of Thunderbird 1 hovering above them illuminated by the searchlights.
West gave a chuckle. "What more proof do you need?" he asked.
Julian didn't respond.
West turned back to Scott. "I'm sorry about that," he said. "I can't suggest what you can do to help as this is the sort of thing that should only happen in the movies. You know what I'm saying? King Kong. Godzilla. Cloverfield. Monsters aren't supposed to trash up this city in real life."
Scott looked around. "I know what you mean," he said. "I'm sure we can sort this out, Captain. I've got Thunderbird 5 scanning the city for any sign of the monster. Although I don't suppose you have any idea where it went after it attacked here?"
"Not a clue, I'm afraid," replied West. "It was last seen heading towards the Hudson. But nobody can find it. Maybe it's gone back into the ocean where it belongs?"
"Maybe," said Scott. "But there's a chance it could come back again. "I'll take a look around here and then do a sweep from the sky. See if I can see anything."
"Good," said West. "The GDF has orders to destroy it if it's discovered."
"And if possible I'll lure it out to an open area where collateral damage will be minimal," said Scott.
West nodded. "Good luck," he said. "I'll have my channel open in case you need to talk to me."
Scott nodded and began to make his way back down the road. Julian followed, still unhappy about him being there.
"I thought the purpose of International Rescue was to save lives in danger?" Julian said.
"It is," Scott replied.
"But you're too late this time," said Julian. "The monster attacked and now look at all the people who are in distress. Where were you then, huh?"
Scott felt the anger building inside of him. He wanted to turn around and punch Julian in the face, but he quickly felt that perhaps that's what Julian was trying to goad him into doing so he could be made to leave the scene. He took some deep breaths and did his best to ignore Julian's remarks. It was then that he began to notice something strange. The road was damaged due to the many vehicle accidents that had occurred, but there seemed to be something that should also have been there that wasn't. "Did you see the monster?" he asked.
"Not in person but we saw the news footage," Julian replied.
"How big would you say it was?"
"I don't know. Fifty feet tall? A hundred feet long? I wasn't able to measure it," Julian said.
"Meaning it would be pretty heavy?" said Scott.
"Yes, it would," said Julian. "What's your point here?"
Scott turned to face him. "A creature of that size would surely leave footprints behind in whatever it stands on, wouldn't it?" he asked. "Any car its foot would land on would be crushed for sure. And yet…I don't see any crushed vehicles…or footprints in the road for that matter." He activated his jetpack. "I'm going to take a look around from the air. Maybe you should try and see if there are any kinds of tracks it could have left for you to follow, Detective?" He zoomed up back to where Thunderbird 1 was hovering.
Julian watched him go before starting to look around him. At first he didn't want to take what Scott was saying seriously, but it was as he looked more closely at his surroundings did he begin to realise what he meant. There were no visible footprints anywhere in the tarmac, and the only damage the cars, vans and buses around had were those from having either crashed into each other or into a building, lamppost or anything else that happened to be in the way. Not one looked as though it had been stepped on by a large creature's foot. That is strange, Julian thought. Very, very strange. Then as he looked around, his eyes fell upon a nearby building. It was empty due it being under refurbishment and being night-time the workforce should be home. But Julian could see a very faint light coming from ten floors up accompanied by the flickering like someone kept moving past it. Curiosity getting the better of him, he decided to investigate.
As Thunderbird 1 made its way over to the Hudson River, Scott was still quietly fuming over how rude Julian had been.
"Everything okay, Scott?" asked John.
"Apart from potentially getting grounded in place of Alan and being told to go away by a stuck-up cop, I am fine, John," Scott replied.
"Yeah…I've had my ear chewed off as well by her," John said. "Plus Brains isn't too happy that you knew where the override system was."
"I already telepathically apologised before I broke it," said Scott.
"Hmmm," said John. "By the way, I still haven't found any trace of the monster. I'm listening to all radio frequencies in the area and to see whether it appears again."
"I suspect it will at some point," said Scott. "Although whether that is here or somewhere else remains to be seen."
Before John could reply, a radio transmission caught his attention. "Hold on, Scott. I might have something," he said. He listened carefully and was disturbed by what he heard.
"All units! All units! Emergency red! Monster near Liberty Island! Repeat - monster near Liberty Island! It's going to attack the ferry!"
John hacked into the footage from the Police Helicopter that had made the report and nearly jumped back in surprise. "Scott. Liberty Island, NOW!"
"On my way!" replied Scott.
Thunderbird 1 was already over the Hudson River when John told him to get to Liberty Island and with his ship's great speed he was there in seconds. He soon located the Staten Island Ferry and all its terrified occupants for a horrifying sight stood a short distance from its position. Searchlights from Police and GDF aircraft were shining down on the monster - only it wasn't the same one that had been seen attacking Times Square. This was ten times bigger with long tentacles that splashed about in the water around the ferry. It had huge glowing orange eyes and a mouth full of vicious sharp teeth. It was slowly making its way forwards with each tentacle landing dangerously near the ferry.
Scott on the other hand found himself staring in disbelief at the creature for he recognised it immediately having seen it before.
"Scott…" John said over the radio. "You know what that is…right?"
"Yeah…" replied Scott slowly. "It's the Kraken!"