Out of Place
AN – Wow, a great response to the first chapter. Thank you to LMC25, JanetM74, lottie01, islandsandstars and JOTRACY123 for your kind reviews, I hope you enjoy this one as much!
Disclaimer – I don't own Thunderbirds
Chapter Two – Spinning
Everything was tumbling around him as John flew through space. He was flailing, trying to find anything that would slow him down and stop the uncontrolled spinning. A wave of nausea rolled over him and he grimaced, fighting back against the swell of motion sickness. Eventually a thought fought its way into his brain and he managed to direct his energy into switching on the exosuit thrusters. Fingers probed across the surface of the suit until…yes, there! The first press didn't do anything so he hit it again. And again. He was eventually rewarded with a splutter from the thrusters before they roared into life and his spin started to slow.
Eventually he stopped spinning completely and he tried to listen to the frantic voice that had been screaming inside his head for the last few moments.
"John! John, are you ok?"
"Hey Alan," John felt pretty disorientated which was reflected in his voice, but at least he was able to answer. "I'm ok, I think. What happened?"
"That thing blew up! Something flew out of it at us, sent you hurtling away and caused Thunderbird 3 to go into a spin. I think the transporter was blown the other way, it's clear of the asteroid now."
"Better find out if they have any injuries," John replied, still sounding a bit groggy. He tried to force himself to look around at the situation. He had to turn around to find the transporter, it seemed unharmed apart from a blackened section of hull. Given the size of the pulse that hit him, John was amazed it wasn't more damaged but assumed that the majority of the force had been directed outwards. It was also a long way away, a good indication of quite how far he had been thrown before he could get back control. He couldn't see Thunderbird 3 at all, but he thought he may have been moved beyond the far side of the large asteroid by the pulse.
He pulled up his scanner on his wrist guards, breathing a sigh of relief when he saw that actually the rocket wasn't that far away after all. It was heading his way, skirting around the asteroid to collect him. As it neared, he saw that Alan had already opened the airlock doors for him. John engaged the exosuit thrusters and despite lacking power and spluttering madly they just about got him in safely.
His head was still spinning as he made his way into the cockpit, noticing that Brains had taken his co-pilot position. "How are the people on the transporter?" He asked Alan as he sat down.
"I'm just heading over to find out."
"They should be able to open the doors now, I'll be able to board and-"
"Y-you aren't boarding anything." Brains told him severely, giving him a glare over the top of his glasses that Grandma would be proud of. "You've just been flung across space by a mysterious device, you need to sit there and keep still."
"Brains, I-"
"N-no, John." The engineer shook his head firmly. "Y-you aren't going to change my mind. I-I'm sure Alan is perfectly capable of making sure the crew is ok."
"Fine, fine, you win." John held his hands up in surrender, sitting back into the seat.
"I-I'm glad you think so," Brains replied smugly. "I also feel like I should tell you that I informed Grandma of the incident and she insists you accompany us back to Base for a full check over."
John gaped at him, turning to his little brother in supplication. Alan held up his hands in surrender. "Don't look at me, I'm not contravening Grandma's orders. I like my hide in one piece. Now let's go and have a look at this ship." He took hold of the controls again, nimbly manoeuvring the rocket over to the transporter, dodging the asteroid in the process.
John was tapping away on the holograms on his wrist. "Looks like they're clear of the path of the asteroid, now."
"Yeah," Alan looked at it as they passed and shuddered. "That's one big rock."
"A-Alan," Brain suddenly called, looking straight out of the spaceship. "L-look, part of the device has come away from the transporter." He pointed at a metallic object drifting in the path of the asteroid.
"On it," Alan replied, swiftly diverting their course. He swooped up to the debris and opened the nose cone hatch of Thunderbird 3, snagging it as they flew by. He then darted out of the way just as the asteroid came whistling past.
Brains took a shuddering breath as he released his death grip on the seat. "I didn't meant to go get it!"
"Oh…oops?" Alan grinned sheepishly. "Well we have it now, you'll be able to study it later." He pulled his course back to the transporter. "This is Thunderbird 3 calling Starstreak 36 alpha, are you all alright in there?"
"We can hear you Thunderbird 3, and boy is it good to say that. Yes, all personnel accounted for, some minor injuries but nothing we can't handle now that we can access our medical bay again. Thank you, for whatever it was you did."
"Oh it's no problem," Alan told him, brushing aside the thanks. "Do you mind if we go and collect the thing that caused the interference? We want to take it back and study it in case we ever come across one again."
"Be my guest, International Rescue, you can't take it far enough away for me. And thanks again."
Alan steered Thunderbird 3 up to the strange box, still attached to the hull except for the casing that they'd already picked up. The box was dangling loosely, the pulse seemed to have all but severed it's connection to the ship. Given how much force went into the blast it was astonishing that it was still attached at all.
A quick twist and a kick from Alan was all it took to dislodge it and he managed to stow it into the belly of Thunderbird 3 alongside the retrieved casing.
"Right, time to get this lot home!" Alan told his passengers, turning the spaceship around. The movement caused John's head to spin again and he grasped the seat to keep his balance.
"You ok back there?" Alan asked with concern.
"Just a bit dizzy," John admitted. "Nothing a good night's sleep won't fix."
"It won't be long until we're back," Alan reassured him, setting the coordinates to take them home. "Then you can let Grandma fuss over you for a bit, have some food and head back up."
John settled back into the seat with a sigh. "Do we have any proper food at home?"
Alan shrugged. "Brains has fixed the automatic kitchen module so it should be whipping up dinner as we speak."
"I-indeed, though I'm not sure q-quite why it keeps breaking."
John snorted. "I think you can blame Grandma for that, when she gets the urge to cook for us. I think the module sees what she's doing and breaks in sympathy."
Brains took his glasses off and began to polish one of the lens. "I-I don't think it's quite as s-sentient as all that, John."
John's head hit the back of the seat as he stared up at the ceiling. "Definitely meant as a joke, Brains."
"Anyhow," Alan interrupted, rolling his eyes. "We're nearly there, get ready for re-entry."
The landing was smooth and in next to no time John was being helped down from the passenger compartment while Alan and Brains took the comfy chairs back to the den. John held on tightly as he was lowered by one of the giant mechanical arms that were installed in most of the hangers, feeling slightly woozy again as he was moved back to ground level.
Grandma was waiting for him, tapping her toe impatiently. "Come on, I don't have all day. I promised your father I'd bake a batch of his favourite brownies, seeing as your brothers are insisting on having dinner cooked by that module gadget."
"Oh hi, Grandma." John moved as soon as the dizziness cleared, walking over to where she stood in her trademark purple tracksuit.
"Don't you 'oh hi' me, sonny. Let's see what you've done to yourself by fooling around in space." She pulled out a magnifying glass and started to shine bright lights into his eyes, that John instinctively flinched back from.
"I'd hardly call it fooling around, Grandma." She hmphed in response.
"Well you look ok. I don't suppose I'll be able to persuade you to stay around down here for a couple of days?"
"I'll be fine, Eos will take care of me."
"Hm," his Grandma pulled back and regarded him, her hands on her waist and her head tilted to one side. "We don't bite you know, you should spend more time down here with us. Particularly now your father's back."
"I suppose…" John shifted uncomfortably. The reality was, he was so used to space now that he felt awkward and heavy when he spent too much time on Earth.
"Well you're here for the rest of today, at least. Eos is doing a good job scanning the calls and Jeff's responding to any that need it. You can actually spend some time with your family." She looped her free hand through his arm and marched him up and out of the hanger to the den.
The den was much busier than when John had called into it earlier. Virgil, recovering after back to back missions with some much needed sleep, had finally got up and was sat on one of the sofas engaged in a discussion with the oldest brother Scott. Scott had been on his own mission to rescue a stranded yacht but now was sat on the edge of the coffee table opposite Virgil. Both looked up and waved when John entered. Alan was making his way down from the bedrooms, having managed to squeeze in a quick shower after their rescue. Brains wasn't there, but John expected he'd already taken the device they recovered to the lab to check it out.
His father was sat behind his desk. And wasn't that a joy to see, after eight long years without him John was far to used to seeing Scott's lanky frame sat in his father's chair instead. But to see his dad back where he belonged, that was something special.
"How was your appointment?" He asked, referring to his father's rehabilitation earlier that day.
Jeff Tracy looked up from the paperwork and graced his middle son with a smile. "Hi there John, it's nice to see you in person. It was good thank you, there is still a long way to go but they think I'm making good progress." Even as he said it John could see the tightening of his expression that suggested despite the physio's assurances it still wouldn't be soon enough for Jeff.
"You'll get there, sooner than you know." John reassured, earning a smile in return.
"Thanks son. How are you? Alan said you were hit by a pulse or something."
"It was a bomb, I think." Although John still wasn't sure exactly what it was. "It was obstructing the controls of a transporter that was in the path of an asteroid. I'm ok, a bit shaken up but nothing a decent sleep won't cure." John did feel tired too, the mission had taken more out of him than he had realised.
His Grandma came up the steps from the kitchen. "Dinner's ready," she announced to the room. "Can someone go and tell Brains and Gordon?"
"I'll get them," Virgil offered. "Gordon didn't get back that long ago so I think he's still in the hanger, I'll grab Brains on the way."
"Thanks Virgil," Grandma smiled at him. "Now come on you lot, I know it isn't quite the same as one of my homemade specialities but it'll still taste ok."
"Sure, Grandma," Scott smiled at her, his athletic figure striding across the den easily. Alan jogged to catch up with him, chatting about something that required elaborate hand gestures as they went down the stairs together. John smiled at the sight of him before turning back to his father.
"Coming, dad?"
"Sure thing." Jeff slowly stood, leaning on the desk for support but waving off John's concerned gaze. "The physio is pretty tough and takes it out of me, I usually seize up afterwards. Nothing to worry about, I just can't move that quick."
"I'm not much better tonight," John confessed as they slowly made their way down together. "The rescue took it out of me today, I don't get stuck into that many and I'm not in the same kind of shape the others are."
"Hmm," Jeff studied him, a calculating expression on his face. "I might talk to Brains about getting some resistance machines installed on Thunderbird 5. I know you have gravity, but that alone isn't enough. You need to build proper muscle mass to support your joints and ligaments."
"Might not be a bad idea," John agreed. He'd thought of it himself in the past, but it never was enough of a priority to ask Brains to ditch something else in favour of working on it. But given his dad's experience of the lasting long term effects of being in minimal gravity, maybe John would actually get around to asking about it.
By the time they reached the kitchen table, the rest of the family were there. John slipped into a space between Scott and Alan while Jeff sat at the head of the table. Brains jogged into the room and sat in the empty seat opposite John, Gordon and Virgil on either side of him.
"S-sorry I'm late, I lost track."
"That's OK Brains," Grandma smiled at him. "We know how you are when you get caught up in something. How are you getting on with that thingummy you boys found? Shame it self destructed."
"T-that's the thing." Brains had been about to eat a forkful of pasta, but he paused with it halfway to his mouth. "I don't t-think it did self destruct."
"What do you mean, Brains?" Alan asked, curiosity displacing his hunger momentarily. "We saw the thing detonate when we interfered with it."
"Well," Brians paused dramatically. "I d-don't think it detonated, more that it operated. It seemed to d-do exactly what it was supposed to do. B-but I don't know what that is!"
As he said this, he waved his arms excitedly. The drama of the moment was completely spoilt by the pasta flying off his fork and hitting Gordon in the face. The whole table hushed as they watched the pasta slide down the aquanaut's cheek, leaving a trail of red sauce before it plopped down onto the table with a splat.
"O-oh my…" Brains stuttered. There was a silence while Gordon just looked at the offending carbohydrate with a confused expression, before Jeff let out a huge guffaw. That started the whole table laughing, even Brains joining in with an awkward chuckle.
"Oh Gordon, your face," Jeff chortled a few minutes later, once he'd managed to regain some control. "I haven't laughed like that in…well, about eight years! Thanks Brains, and don't worry about the device – if it's safe in our lab it can't cause any more damage. Mum's checked you all out as well, so I say let's just make sure we know how to deactivate it properly next time in case we find another."
There was a general noise of agreement, although Brains still looked perplexed. The conversation turned to more normal themes, including what the boys planned to do the next day and how they were going to celebrate Christmas this year.
By the end of the meal John was pleasantly full and feeling even more sleepy than before. He wasn't the only one either, Alan was yawning widely and Brains was beginning to space out.
With a groan John stretched and stood up. "Well that was delicious, but I'm beat. I'm going to head back up to Thunderbird 5."
"Are you sure you won't stay here tonight?" His Grandma asked him, slight furrow of concern on her brow.
"I'll be fine," he reassured her. "And Eos will be the first to tell you if I'm not."
"Well ok then, but you get up to bed young man. You do look beat. In fact," Grandma stopped and surveyed all the faces around her table. "You all do, you should call it an early night."
Jeff smiled, amused. "Well you heard your Grandma. Off to bed."
"And you, son," Grandma told him pointedly. "You're the worst of the lot."
John left, chuckling at his dad's offended expression as he began to argue back. John wasn't going to argue, he was beginning to feel dead on his feet. He was even more out of shape than he realised. He struggled even to stay awake on the short flight up in the space elevator, only Eos peppering him with questions and snippets that she'd heard whilst monitoring communications that day kept him with it.
Even Eos noticed that he was exhausted though, as she chided him into bed as soon as he was back on Thunderbird 5. Gratefully, he accepted her offer to continue to watch communications while he slept. With a groan, he folded down his bunk and stretched out on it.
"Goodnight John," Eos told him fondly, dimming the lights in the bedroom section of the gravity ring.
John yawned widely. "Night Eos. See you in the morning." Pretty much as soon as his head hit the pillow, he was asleep.
Despite how tired he had been, John found himself woken up far too soon. There was something bright and warm hitting his face, disturbing his slumber. That was odd. Eos was normally very considerate about making sure the station was dark enough for him to sleep properly, she complained that he wasn't getting enough as it was. He tried to burrow back down into the quilt to hide from the light, but it was no good. He was awake now.
And because he was now awake, John knew that something was wrong here. He didn't usually have a quilt, he just used simple sheets as the station was climate controlled and warm enough already. He also slept on a fairly hard bunk, but now he was sleeping on a soft mattress. He opened his eyes, squinting at the bright light hitting his face from where it came through…a skylight? Something was very, very wrong. He slowly sat up, looking at the small bedroom he found himself in. The ceiling was low and slanted, it was obviously in an attic room of some sort. The skylight showed him a bright blue sky outside, small white clouds dotted around the blue.
A movement next to him brought all his attention crashing back into the small bedroom. The bed in particular. A woman had rolled over towards him in the bed, her arm brushing against his thigh which was still thankfully clad in uniform. She had wavy brown hair that was splayed out on the pillow, framing her face. She had particularly striking features, not classically beautiful but not a face you would forget in a hurry. As John watched her, her free hand gently caressed his thigh, causing him to flinch away from her.
"Scott?" She murmured, still half asleep.
"Um…hi." John replied awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck.
The speed with which the woman opened her eyes and sat upright was impressive. John had a split second where he looked into her wide, surprised eyes, noticing that they were such a light brown that they were nearly golden. The next moment, a right hook caught him completely by surprise and knocked him backwards off the bed and into darkness.
