Disclaimer: I don't own Thunderbirds or Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons.
"I thought International Rescue were good at making quick decisions," Adam sighed, glancing over at the chronometer yet again to see that less than five minutes had passed since his last check. He and Captain Scarlet had been sat waiting in the command room for two hours, since getting the call and subsequent briefing from Colonel White, and there had been no communication from International Rescue at all.
He still couldn't quite get his head around the fact that it was International Rescue the Mysterons had chosen to target, although he supposed there was some logic in taking down a well-loved rescue organisation. The most frustrating aspect, though, was the fact that this was the first time the threat had come against something they couldn't automatically deploy to protect, regardless of the target's wishes.
"Their commander is young," Colonel White told him, not for the first time, and that was just another fact Adam was having to wrap his head around. "While I'd like to hope he's not foolish enough to persist with notions of bravado, it is certainly not out of the realms of possibility."
"Well, we can't deploy until we know where they are – or at least, where the threat is coming from," Captain Scarlet pointed out. Adam knew his friend well enough to see the worry emanating from behind the professionalism. "Do we have any potential locations for either of those?"
The question was directed at Lieutenant Green, who to his credit hadn't ceased working since the threat had broadcast itself across their channels.
"I'm afraid not," the man admitted, sounding rather frustrated. "Whoever created their firewalls and decoys certainly knows what they're doing; I'm still chasing the signals all across the planet. It's even bouncing off of the moon periodically."
"They can't hide their location forever," Colonel White said brusquely. "Keep going, Lieutenant."
"Yes, sir."
"Any unusual activity that might be the Mysterons making a move?" Adam asked, well aware that it wasn't the first time he'd asked since arriving in the room. There had to be some sign of at least one of the two somewhere, surely.
"Nothing has been reported," Lieutenant Green told him, his tone broadcasting that he would very much like to tell him to stop asking stupid questions but couldn't for fear of being reprimanded for insubordination.
"There's nothing we can do until we have a location," Colonel White reminded them. "Until that happens, you will remain on standb-"
"Colonel!" It was very unlike Lieutenant Green to interrupt, but the frustration that had permeated through his responses to Adam had disappeared. In its place was an intense urgency. "I'm receiving a transmission."
"Who is it?" Colonel White asked. "International Rescue?"
"It's not one of the frequencies they were using earlier," the Lieutenant frowned. "This one's less encrypted."
"Answer it and see," came the order. "If it is International Rescue, we cannot afford to miss it."
"Yes, sir." Adam watched as he tweaked a few of the controls. "This is Cloudbase receiving."
The holographic figure that materialised in front of them was young. Bright blue eyes looked tired, and short brown hair was unkempt, but there was no doubt that the man couldn't be older than mid-twenties.
"Colonel White," the man said, eyes latching directly onto their commander and ignoring the rest of them.
"Commander," Colonel White greeted in kind, and Adam started. When they'd said the commander of International Rescue was young, he hadn't expected this young. No wonder Colonel White had suspected immature bravado. "Have you reached a decision?"
The commander sighed, and Adam suspected that if he wasn't rigidly holding himself upright in a clear military posture his shoulders would have slumped in tandem.
"They've destroyed our communications hub," he said.
The ripple that went through Cloudbase's control centre was a tangible thing. They'd had no indication that the Mysterons had even begun their attack, and International Rescue had already been hit?
Adam hated it when he didn't have all the information, and he knew he wasn't alone in that. Beside him, Captain Scarlet had balled one hand into a white-knuckled fist.
The corresponding sigh from Colonel White was heavy. "My condolences for your loss," he said. "He was a sharp young man."
To Adam's surprise, the commander looked a little confused. "We didn't lose any people," he said, "just the hub."
"What about the man you had manning it?" Colonel White asked.
"He's fine," the commander promised. Adam shared a look with his fellow Captain, who immediately joined the conversation.
"Commander," he said, "the Mysterons work by killing people and reconstructing them under their control. If your man survived the destruction, then you should be wary."
"That's not a concern," the commander waved away, and Adam had a flash of despair that the young commander's bravado and naivety would be the death of International Rescue, "because he wasn't there when it was destroyed. We were aware that it was potentially in the line of fire and evacuated him as soon as we finished processing all your data."
"I'm glad to hear that." There was a genuine relief in Colonel White's voice; Adam shared it. Having a co-worker replaced by a Mysteron was something he wouldn't wish on his worst enemy. He subconsciously glanced across at Captain Scarlet, who was scrutinising the young commander in silence. "What will you do?"
"Our head of security and I are in agreement that our chances of holding off the Mysteron attack are good," the young man said, and Adam saw Colonel White's jaw clench minutely. "Even with the loss of our communications hub, I believe we could survive whatever they have planned."
"You-"
"But," he continued, interrupting Colonel White's agitated response, "the destruction of the comm hub so soon after their declaration proves that, despite what we'd hoped, the Mysterons do know our location." Once again, Adam was struck by how weary the younger man looked. "I stand by my belief that we should be able to survive, but I'm not going to bet my team's lives on should."
"So you'll allow Spectrum to assist?" Colonel White pressed. The young man's posture straightened impossibly further.
"Yes," he declared, although it sounded more like a reluctant admittance drawn from his lips under duress. "I will allow Spectrum to help us defend ourselves."
"I'm glad to hear it," Colonel White responded. "We-"
"Bear in mind that International Rescue co-operates with military organisations, but will not affiliate directly with any and will not share our technology or resources," the commander cut over him. "This is not an invitation to poke around our base to see what you can learn."
"I understand." It wasn't a direct agreement, and Adam was sure the other man could tell, but he was well and truly cornered by the circumstances and they all knew it.
The young commander had to be brimming with frustration at the situation.
"Give us the location and we'll have assistance headed your way immediately," the Colonel continued.
There was some residual hesitation, before International Rescue's commander reluctantly listed off a set of co-ordinates. Over by the computer, Lieutenant Green tapped a command and the location blinked into existence on their world map.
Adam frowned.
"That's inside the Kermadec No Fly Zone," he pointed out. On the north-western edge of it, true, but still definitely inside. "That's an endangered wildlife sanctuary; even military organisations can't get clearance to fly inside."
For the first time since he'd appeared, something that could almost be a grin spread across the young commander's face, emphasising dimples in his cheek that Adam just knew had girls flocking to him. "As long as you approach from the north-western sector, it's not a problem," he promised. "Dr Fisher was more than happy for us to apply for No Fly status using her name and organisation."
"With the speed your craft must launch at, you need assurance of a clear sky," Captain Scarlet surmised, "so you piggy-backed off of an existing organisation to ensure that while staying hidden."
"Precisely," the commander confirmed. "Most of the Kermadecs are genuinely a No Fly Zone, but our location and everything between North and West is International Rescue airspace."
"Very well," Colonel White said. "Lieutenant Green, launch all Angels."
"S.I.G."
"I hope your craft have VTOL capabilities," the commander interjected before the Lieutenant could relay the first instruction. "We don't have runways long enough for conventional landings."
From what little Adam knew of the Thunderbirds, that made sense; thankfully, all of Spectrum's aircraft were capable of both VTOL and VSTOL.
"We'll take that into account," Colonel White answered, obviously not releasing that titbit of security information to an outside organisation – Adam had never worked for an organisation that willingly released specs like that.
"And remember that our location is secret," the commander stressed. "Your people shouldn't expect to see any sign of International Rescue when they arrive."
"Pass that along to Angel Leader, Lieutenant Green," Colonel White said in lieu of a direct answer.
"Yes, sir," the man replied. "Angels One, Two and Three, immediate launch."
The sound of Angel One exploding off of Cloudbase was near enough instantaneous, even as Lieutenant Green continued to fill in the pilot – Harmony, if Adam was remembering the rota correctly – on destination and everything else they knew. Less than a minute later, the twin sounds of the other Angel Interceptors launching resounded.
"Our aerial patrol is en route to you now, commander," Colonel White informed the holographic young man, who looked no better than when he'd first connected. Adam didn't want to imagine the stress he was under, considering his position.
"We'll watch out for them," the young man said.
"Are any of your personnel elsewhere at the moment?" Captain Scarlet asked suddenly. "It's not unheard of for the Mysterons to have a less obvious target in mind. We should be sure to cover all bases."
There was a reluctant silence, as well as a glance over at something – or someone – out of view of the hologram. "If they're looking to destroy International Rescue itself, then this is where they'll come," the commander said reluctantly. "We have agents all over the world, who have gone to ground for the next forty-eight hours, but while we would hate to lose a single one of them, their deaths would not stop us from functioning."
For a man who spearheaded an organisation dedicated to saving as many lives as possible, that was a grimmer outlook than Adam had expected to hear. It almost aligned more with the opinions of the likes of Spectrum, WASP and GDF – military organisations that had to make tough calls on what to sacrifice.
It made sense that International Rescue would have to have some sort of priority stance, but to hear its commander write off any agent deaths as almost inconsequential felt jarring – even if the set of the commander's jaw made it clear that, on a personal level, he didn't want to lose any of his people.
"If you are certain of that, then we will focus our efforts on the location you've given," Colonel White agreed. "As well as the Angels, I am also deploying some of our best men on the ground to liaise with you directly and assist in the case that the threat cannot be stopped by the Angels." He nodded towards Adam and Captain Scarlet. "Both Captains Scarlet and Blue will attend, and in light of your communications hub's loss, I also intend to send over our own communications officer, Lieutenant Green, to ensure contact is maintained."
The commander looked very unhappy at that, but Adam knew that he had no choice but to accept, and he did so, if very begrudgingly.
"We'll meet them on the runway," he said.
"I thought you said you didn't have one?" Adam asked, and those bright blues turned to him.
"I said we didn't have one long enough for conventional landings," he corrected. "You'll see the runway when you approach. As long as you don't bring anything bigger than Thunderbird Two, you'll fit."
Thunderbird Two's exact dimensions, like everything else to do with International Rescue, were unknown, but Adam was pretty certain from what he'd seen and heard that Spectrum didn't have anything the size of the Thunderbird, Cloudbase itself excepted.
"Understood," Captain Scarlet said, pushing himself to a standing position. "In that case, we'll launch now."
"Remain in contact, all of you," Colonel White instructed. "Men, you are dismissed."
"S.I.G."
Despite the seriousness of the situation, and the huge ramifications should they fail and International Rescue – very aptly summarised by the Mysterons as a symbol of hope – be destroyed, there was a part of Adam, as they flew away from Cloudbase and straight for an airspace he hadn't entered since it was declared a No Fly Zone almost a decade earlier, that was childishly excited at the idea of seeing International Rescue's base.
Considering just how strict they kept their secrecy, he thought he could be forgiven for that, regardless of the circumstances.
"How much do you suppose we'll get to see?" he asked his fellow officers as they flew through the air.
"In order to protect them, we will need to see all of it," Captain Scarlet said in a matter-of-fact tone that left Adam wondering if he even cared that they were getting to see International Rescue up close and personal – and hopefully even the Thunderbirds. The commander had never said as much, but if he wasn't worried about the agents on a functionality level, then that meant the location he'd identified as the target had to have something more fundamental than manpower…
There was only one logical conclusion to that, and Adam was looking forwards to catching a glimpse of all four of them – and not just because Colonel White had told them, on a private channel, to see how much information about the organisation they could glean while they were there.
"I want to see their communications arrays," Lieutenant Green piped up from where he was sat behind them. "You two missed it because you only saw the second communication, but the quality of the call in the second one was greatly inferior to the initial contact."
"Really?" Adam hadn't clocked anything unusual, or remotely poor, about the quality of the call. "It seemed fine to me."
"And it was," the other man agreed, "but their first one was at least as high quality as anything we or the other military organisations can achieve, if not better, and their second one was done after their communications hub was lost, so it must have been using their backup systems. I think their technology is far greater than we've ever considered."
"I think the Thunderbirds are a pretty good indication that their technology is ridiculously good for a civilian organisation," Adam shrugged.
"I think it doesn't matter how good their technology is if the Mysterons succeed," Captain Scarlet cut in. "We'll arrive, assess their security measures, and plan accordingly."
Adam shared a slightly sheepish glance with Lieutenant Green. "You're right, Captain Scarlet," he admitted. "How are the Angels getting on, Lieutenant Green?"
In charge of communications, as ever, the man immediately reached for the panel. "Lieutenant Green calling Angel Leader, what your progress?"
"Angel Leader here," came Harmony's voice – so it was Harmony in Angel One – "we are on the final approach now. The co-ordinates give a very small volcanic island. There appears to be two visible buildings on it, and the runway is located on a cliff ledge not far from the larger of the buildings. We will scout the immediate area and form a perimeter patrol until you arrive."
"S.I.G., Angel Leader," Captain Scarlet acknowledged. "We should be arriving in the next fifteen minutes. Relay any other relevant information as required."
"S.I.G., Captain Scarlet," she replied. "Angel Leader out."
When Harmony had said buildings, Adam had been expecting something low-key, entirely functional and, if he was honest, pretty sparse and military. He was not expecting, when the island came into view those fifteen minutes later and they greeted the patrolling Angel Interceptors on their way into land, what looked like a billionaire's private home.
"…They were honest about their location, right?" he wondered out loud, looking down at the white and glass villa, complete with large swimming pool – it was a small island in the middle of the South Pacific, what did it need a swimming pool for? – and secondary, equally fancy, doughnut-shaped building a little further up the peak. "I know the commander said not to expect any sign of International Rescue, but this is very extreme. How much money is this place worth?"
If this resort, private island and billionaire's mansion and all, was really International Rescue's, they must have a budget that would make military organisations green with envy.
"This is the co-ordinates we were given," Lieutenant Green confirmed.
"We have no choice but to trust they didn't send us on a wild goose chase," Captain Scarlet added. "Lieutenant Green, try to contact them while we come in to land."
The runway was exactly where Harmony had described, and was definitely too short for conventional landings – if you were anything larger than a billionaire's private toy jet. That being said, what Adam couldn't see was a hangar, or anywhere that said jet might reside. Considering the implication that it was Thunderbird Two's runway – and where could the other Thunderbirds launch from, because the rest of the island looked downright hostile to anything less than a Magnacopter? – there had to be somewhere to store the aircraft, but the runway clearly ended on a cliff edge at one end, and a cliff face at the other.
"Contacting them now," Lieutenant Green said. "International Rescue, this is Spectrum calling."
"Receiving you, Spectrum." The commander appeared instantly over the communication panel. Adam squinted at the hologram, but couldn't see anything wrong or inferior about it at all. "You're clear to land on the runway; we'll meet you there. Tell your Angels to land as well; I want to meet all of you face to face."
So he knew what faces to remember if Spectrum suddenly knew more than he wanted about their organisation, no doubt.
"S.I.G., commander," Captain Scarlet agreed. "We're coming in to land now. Lieutenant Green, pass on the request to Angel Leader."
The commander's hologram stayed with them, the man clearly wanting to keep an eye on them now that they were in his territory – and Adam's mind was still boggled at the fact their cover was apparently a billionaire's paradise – as they touched down lightly on the tarmac, leaving plenty of room for the three Angel Interceptors to settle alongside them. It only blinked out once their post-flight checks were completed and they stood to vacate the craft.
True to his word, the man in person was standing just outside of their wingspan, away from the engines in a way that screamed experience with aircraft. He wasn't alone, however – next to him, and far shorter, because apparently the commander of International Rescue was around the same height he was, Adam noted, stood a young woman with sharp amber eyes and long, dark brown hair tied back severely into a simple ponytail. She couldn't have been much older than nineteen or twenty, but Adam had been a military man long enough to know when someone was dangerous.
Next to her was another taller man, similar in height to the commander and Adam himself, with a shock of ginger hair and bright turquoise eyes that looked almost unnatural. He matched the brief description Lieutenant Green had given on the way over of their original point of contact, and Adam suspected this was the man who had been evacuated from the communication hub just before its destruction. He did look a little rattled, although he was hiding it remarkably well.
On the other side of the commander was an older man, with large blue glasses and a large forehead. He didn't share the projected confidence – acted or genuine – of his companions; this wasn't a man used to being on the front lines. Support staff, perhaps.
The final person, bracketing the nervous older man, was a shock. Mussed blond hair, observant brown eyes, and far shorter than any of the other men – and younger – belonged to a face Adam was well-acquainted with from news coverage of the last Olympics. Gordon Tracy, gold medal winner and current world record champion for the men's four hundred metre butterfly.
That explained some of the money, at least, if there was Tracy involved.
Presumably he had something to do with the submarine – Thunderbird Four.
It was difficult to tell what designations any of the other four held, beyond the commander, because to his surprise, none of them were in uniform. Gordon was in a bright Hawaiian shirt with board shorts, while the commander and communications officer were in casual shirts and jeans. The older, support, man didn't look like he had any idea what fashion was, with the tweed jacket and slacks look, and the girl's idea of casual was apparently something tomboyish and easy to move in.
"Before we talk," the commander said, stepping forwards slightly, "we need to confirm you are all who you say you are." He held up a small, handheld medscanner. "Based on your information, we modified this to primarily x-ray people. I trust none of you have any objections?"
He didn't actually wait for them to say anything before the yellow light flashed across Adam and Lieutenant Green, and then danced across to where Harmony, Rhapsody and Destiny had joined their ranks.
It didn't miss Adam's attention that the commander had skipped Captain Scarlet, and from a glance at his fellow Spectrum members, he was far from the only one. Lieutenant Green was frowning fiercely.
Five holographic skeletons shimmered into existence above the ginger man's wrist, and the man gave his commander a sharp nod. At that, some of the tension visibly bled from the commander's shoulders.
"We had to be sure," he said. Adam didn't think it was an apology, even if it was an explanation. "Welcome to our base." He spread his arms to encompass the volcanic, billionaire's paradise – and no, Adam wasn't going to be getting over that one any time soon, even if there was a Tracy involved – half-heartedly. "There will be no tour, guided or otherwise; you'll be given the information that you need, and nothing more."
"Understood," Captain Scarlet replied, "but the more we know, the more certain we can be that we've covered everything."
"I'm sure we can find a balance," the girl said sharply.
Adam didn't really want to keep calling her the girl in his head the entire time. "Introductions would be a good place to start," he commented. "And surely this isn't all of you?"
"The others are sheltering in one of our bunkers and staying out of the way," the commander said firmly. "One may appear if necessary, but the others will remain out of sight."
So these five were the anti-Mysteron defence from International Rescue, were they? Adam had been hoping there'd be more hands.
"As for introductions," the younger man continued, "I'm Scott, commander of International Rescue. This is Kayo" – he gestured at the girl – "our head of security. John" – the ginger – "is our communications specialist, and Brains" – that was a nickname if Adam ever heard one – "is one of our engineers. Gordon is our head aquanaut, and formerly a member of WASP."
Adam hadn't known Gordon Tracy was former military, and wondered if Captain Grey knew him. That was something to file away for later. It gave him some hope in their potential competence in the event of an attack, though; military people tended to understand when to obey orders.
Hopefully the rest of them did, too. He wasn't too sure about the commander – Scott – yet.
"Captain Scarlet," the man in question said, "and this is Captain Blue" – Adam dipped his head - "Lieutenant Green, and Harmony, Rhapsody and Destiny Angels."
"Nice to meet you," Gordon chirped – chirped – breaking the stilted atmosphere for a moment. Adam blinked, stymied, and wondered if he should revise his thoughts about competence.
"What is the current situation?" Captain Scarlet asked after a moment. "We understand you've already lost your communications hub; have there been any other attacks?"
"Not yet," Scott told them. "So far, that's the only attack we've received."
"Is there any chance of repairing your communications?" Lieutenant Green asked. "From what I can gather, it's highly advanced and might be able to shed light on their plans."
"No," John said, a little stiffly. "The hub will need rebuilding from scratch, which would take far longer than twenty-one hours. Our backup system is running what analysis it can, but it doesn't have the range or abilities of the hub."
There was something a little odd about the way he was saying the hub, as though he wanted to call it something else, Adam noticed, but now wasn't the time to push on that. Another thing to be filed away for later analysis.
He got the feeling there would be a lot filed away for later analysis by the end of the mission.
Well, last week's chapter certainly got a reaction :D The pacing of this fic is attempting to follow an episode, so it's a little bit faster than I normally write, hence the ending of chapter two. This chapter contains some worldbuilding that has its basis in Gumnut's Kermadec AU, so big thanks to Nutty once again for letting me paddle around in the shallows of that!
We're now settled into the fic's main povs - from now on, the majority of the fic will alternate between Scott and Captain Blue.
Thanks for reading!
Tsari