CHRISTMAS Day soon arrived and some level of happiness had returned to Tracy Island. The house had been decorated with all the usual decorations that the family would put up every year and the large tree that stood tall and proud out on the patio glistened in the sun. A smaller tree was inside the lounge, covered in twinkling lights, tinsel and other decorations including little models of the ships. Thunderbird 5's model stood proudly at the top.
Kayo had also regained consciousness whilst Alan had been resting although she was still severely injured and was confined to a bed in the medical bay. She was very happy to see Alan and they had a tearful reunion with Alan apologising not only for not being able to help her but for what he did to Schultz afterwards. Kayo didn't blame him for anything. She, like Scott, admitted that if it had been him or any of the other brothers who Schultz had hurt, she would have done the exact same thing herself.
Normally Christmas Day on Tracy Island would be a quiet and uneventful time. Even with the tree and all the decorations up it was still extremely hot outside so the brothers undertook their annual Christmas Day swim in the pool and surfboarding off the beach. They expected the rest of the day to go smoothly. Little did they know that would not be the case.
Lunch was fast approaching as Virgil and Brains helped Grandma in the kitchen. Normally Kayo would have helped but couldn't because of her injuries. Scott, Alan, John and Gordon were in the lounge with Jeff watching as Alan tried out a new hover skateboard that Jeff had got for him.
"Wow! Thanks, Dad," Alan said when he'd finished trying it out. "This is awesome!"
"Glad you like it, son," Jeff replied. "How are you feeling mentally?"
"Loads better," Alan said. "I don't think the thoughts of what I've done will go away quickly, but I feel better knowing you all have my back."
"Always," promised Scott.
"Schultz is still in hospital," Jeff said. "Yes he has lost both his legs. They had to be amputated. He and his lawyer want your head on a platter, but rest assured, son. I will NOT let that happen. Schultz is a dangerous man with no remorse. Men like that don't deserve to get what they want."
Alan smiled meekly. But before he could say anything, a beeping sound made them all jump. It was EOS calling from Thunderbird 5.
"Sorry to interrupt," EOS said. "But I'm afraid we have a situation."
"EOS, I asked you to forward any emergencies to local authorities," John said sternly. "This is the one day of the year that we need family time."
"Emergencies don't stop whatever day it is, John," Jeff reminded him. "What's the problem, EOS?"
"I couldn't forward this one on to any local authorities for good reason," EOS explained. "This is what I'm getting." She forwarded a live message which appeared in hologram form from the desk. What it showed sent chills down the spines of all present. A female officer pilot of an aircraft appeared.
"Mayday! Mayday! This is Air Force One! We need help urgently! Our orbital thrusters are failing. We are in danger of falling back to Earth! Can anybody hear me? Mayday! Mayday!"
"Since when did Air Force One gain the ability to go into space?" asked Gordon.
"Since they got that brand new ZK-76 Aerospaceliner," Scott replied.
"EOS, put me through to Air Force One!" instructed Jeff.
"Affirmative," EOS replied and connected him through the endangered craft.
"Air Force One, this is Jeff Tracy of International Rescue. Can we be of assistance?"
The female pilot of Air Force One had complete panic in her voice. "International Rescue? Oh, God! We are falling out of orbit! We can't correct or angle. We're going to burn up!"
"Is the President on board?" asked Jeff.
"Affirmative," replied the pilot. "So's his entire family. It's no good! We're going to hit the atmosphere within minutes. There's nothing we can do!"
"Stay calm!" Jeff instructed. "We'll be right up to you. Alan, Scott, I know I wanted you both to rest but-"
"We're on it, Dad," said Scott. He turned towards the chairs. "Let's go, Ala-" He broke off. "Alan?!"
Jeff, John and Gordon looked around. Alan had disappeared. And then they saw the chairs that were used to take the crew to Thunderbird 3 were missing.
"Looks like he's already gone," Gordon said, stating the obvious.
Alan had not waited to hear all of what the pilot of Air Force One had had to say. As soon as he'd heard that the craft was falling out of orbit, he had rushed to his chair and was already beginning the launch sequence. By the time the others realised he was gone, he was already kitted up in his uniform and being lifted via the hydraulic crane into Thunderbird 3. As the blast shield closed to seal it off from the rest of the silo, he was at the controls and ready for launch.
5! 4! 3! 2! 1!
Thunderbird 3's engines roared and the giant red rocket rose up out of its silo before soaring off towards space. "Thunderbird 3 is go!" Alan said. He then radioed the island. "Thunderbird 3 to base. Sorry for the abrupt launch, Dad, but every second counts on this one. That plane's going to hit the atmosphere any time now."
"It's okay, Alan," Jeff answered. "Good luck, son."
FAB1 was flying towards Tracy Island. It had become somewhat of a tradition for Lady Penelope to spend at least some part of Christmas with the Tracy family. As the island came into view after the long flight, both were very surprised when they saw a smoke trail rising from the island coming from a long but small object that was heading directly upwards towards space.
"How very odd," Penelope remarked. "Is that Thunderbird 3, Parker?"
"H'I believe so, m'lady," Parker replied. "I'm pretty sure h'it was red."
Penelope was worried. "Someone must be in trouble," she said. "Good heavens, I wonder who?"
"Must be someone h'important to 'ave h'a launch h'on Christmas Day," agreed Parker.
Virgil and Grandma entered the lounge. They'd heard the sound of Thunderbird 3 launch and came to see what had happened.
"Did I just hear Thunderbird 3 launching?" asked Virgil.
"You did, Virgil," John replied. "Air Force One is in danger of burning up. Alan has responded, rather quicker than we were expecting."
Grandma cursed. "Seriously! Of all the times! Just as we're about to dish up dinner!"
"Sorry, Mother," said Jeff. "But the President and his family are aboard Air Force One. We need to save them if we can."
"Wait, Alan's gone alone?" Virgil exclaimed, suddenly realising that everyone else was there.
"He left before we'd even got the full brief from the pilot," Scott explained.
Jeff grimaced slightly. "Scott, I think you'd better launch as well. I have a bad feeling about this."
Thunderbird 3 left the Earth's atmosphere and headed around to a location just above the United States. Alan soon caught sight of Air Force One which was now dangerously close to re-entering.
"Air Force One, this is Thunderbird 3," Alan said into the radio. "I have visual contact. What's your status?"
"Engines still not responding," the Captain answered. "We have less than a minute before we will hit the atmosphere! At this angle we'll burn up for sure!"
"Not if I can help it, Captain," said Alan with determination. "Hang on. I'm gonna try to pull you back into orbit."
From inside Air Force One, President Young, his wife Janet, sons Michael and Christopher and young daughter Maggie were strapped in their seats along with the members of staff. None of them knew that help had arrived so were very surprised when Christopher spotted a large red rocket coming at them from outside. "Look, it's Thunderbird 3!" he cried excitedly.
This raised hope for everyone aboard, the President most of all. They watched as Thunderbird 3's grasping arms were deployed and waited to see what would happen next.
Using the targeting computer, Alan locked onto the aerospaceplane and fired a grapple onto the fuselage. "Bulls-eye!" he said. "Now to pull them back to safety." He turned Thunderbird 3 to the right and tried to pull Air Force One gently along with it. But the craft was heavier than he thought and only edged slightly. It wasn't going to be enough to save it. "Come on!" Alan urged. "Come on!"
Brains suddenly appeared on the hologram projector. "It's t-too late, Thunderbird 3!" he said. "There's n-nothing you can d-do for them now! You have to l-let go!"
"Sorry, Brains," Alan replied. "Not today. The Americans can't lose their president today of all days!" And he cut Brains off before he could reply.
Then he had an idea. He detached the grapple cable and moved Thunderbird 3 round behind Air Force One and closed in at the tail section. But he couldn't get as close as he wanted as the craft's engines were still on. "Air Force One, cut your tail engines. I need to grab hold of your tail!"
"What?! Are you crazy?!" cried the Captain. "We'll end up falling to Earth!"
"Trust me!" Alan insisted. "I'll be your manoeuvring jets and guide you through the atmosphere."
The Captain and Co-Pilot exchanged worried looks, but quickly realised that if the President was to be saved then they had no other choice. "Roger that," said the Captain. "Disengaging engines. I hope you know what you're doing, International Rescue."
"So do I," Alan muttered to himself. This was an extremely risky move but he was determined to save the life of the President, even if it meant losing his own in the process.
As the main thrusters of Air Force One were cut, Alan moved Thunderbird 3 right in and grabbed hold of the tail section with one grab and the two rear stabilising wings with the other two. He then turned Air Force One to port and directed it at the correct angle for allowing it to pass through the Earth's atmosphere without it burning up, so he hoped. Within seconds of doing this the orange glow of fire appeared as they hit the atmosphere and the heat shields on both ships began to do their jobs. The G-force became intense and both ships were shaking hard. Alan and the pilots of Air Force One grimaced but held themselves for they'd experienced this many times before. For the rest of Air Force One's occupants however, this was their first time experiencing anything like it and so several, including Janet and the children began screaming in terror. Bottles and glasses in the cabinets began falling over and breaking as they had not been secured in the panic by the stewards. The President had to shield his wife and children from getting hit by any whilst his security team did what they could to protect him.
On Tracy Island, the entire family plus Lady Penelope and Parker watched anxiously on the hologram image as Thunderbird 3 guided Air Force One through the atmosphere.
"How's he looking, Brains?" asked Jeff.
"It's g-going to be c-close, Mr Tracy," replied Brains.
"Come on, Alan," Kayo whispered under her breath. Her heart raced like everyone else's.
Thunderbird 3 and Air Force One had now made it through the upper atmosphere and were passing through several cloud layers.
"We've made it through, Air Force One," Alan said. "Try your engines now."
The Captain tried to restart the malfunctioning engines. They did start, but not at the power levels they were hoping for. "International Rescue, we've got power back," the Captain said. "But we're only producing half the thrust required. We don't have enough to pull out of this dive!"
"I'll level you out until you're able to restore full power," said Alan. He adjusted Thunderbird 3's jets to level both ships out. But nothing happened. Alan tried again. The jets were firing, but they weren't levelling out. "Come on!" Alan urged. "Why aren't you levelling out?"
Brains reappeared on the holo-projector. "Alan! Your manoeuvring jets aren't p-powerful enough to level you b-both out!"
"Oh, no!" they then heard the Co-Pilot cry out in alarm.
Alan looked up and gasped. They'd broken through the cloud lawyer and could see land below. Worse still it was a city that they were heading for. Even from high above, Alan knew which city it was. "Washington!" he cried. He tried the jets again! "Come on, baby!" he urged Thunderbird 3. "You can do this!" But try as he might, Thunderbird 3 and Air Force One still weren't pulling out of the dive. Alan suddenly came to a realisation. There was nothing he could do to save himself or the people aboard Air Force One. they were getting too close to the ground to pull up in time. What he said next sent horrified chills down the rest of his family and the International Rescue team. "I….I can't do it! I'm gonna crash!"
Penelope grabbed Gordon's hand. Kayo's hand flew over her mouth. Virgil, Brains and John exchanged horrified looks and Grandma grabbed hold of Jeff's arm. Everyone had lost their voices and found that none of them could say anything to Alan.
But then, they all heard another voice. A voice from someone who was not currently on Tracy Island. "Need a hand, little brother?"
Alan looked up and saw a streak of silver race past Thunderbird 3 towards the front of Air Force One. It was Thunderbird 1. "SCOTT!" Alan cried, almost crying with joy.
Scott moved Thunderbird 1 above Air Force One. He opened the underside hatch and fired a grapple cable onto the top of the cockpit. The clunk made the crew inside jump.
"What was that?!" exclaimed the Co-Pilot.
"Alan, Thunderbird 3 isn't powerful enough to level this ship out in the atmosphere," Scott said. "But with assistance from Thunderbird 1, we should be able to pull them out. You ready?"
"Oh, I'm ready, Thunderbird 1!" said Alan, his confidence rebooted. "Call it!"
They could see Washington getting very close now. They could just make out the locations of the White House and the Capitol Building. People on the ground had started hearing the roar of the engines and those who weren't already outside had run out to see what was causing it. They were alarmed when they saw the two Thunderbirds and Air Force One diving towards them. Several panicked and started to run.
"NOW!" yelled Scott. He fired Thunderbird 1's thrusters and began to pull upwards. Alan did the same with Thunderbird 3's and soon Air Force One began to level out.
The engines roared as they soared over the city at almost rooftop level. It was very close, but at the very last second they were able to pull the aerospaceplane out of the dive and up into the clear blue skies again and to safety.
The terror that had filled everyone inside Air Force One soon faded away as they realised they were no longer crashing. Cheers erupted and President Young embraced his family. Better still, the pilots were able to get power back to the engines and Thunderbirds 1 and 3 were able to disengage from the craft and allow it to continue on its way.
"We can make it back to base," the Captain said gratefully. "Thank you, International Rescue! Merry Christmas!"
"Anytime, Air Force One," said Scott. "Thunderbird 3, let's go home!"
"F-A-B!" said Alan, with the grin the size of a Cheshire Cat on his face.
Scott and Alan received a heroes welcome when they returned to Tracy Island.
"Well done, boys," Jeff said. "Mighty fine work there. Especially you, Alan."
Alan blushed. "Hey, I had to do something, right, Dad?" he said with a shrug.
Just then John piped up. "Hey, Alan. President Young's about to make a Christmas speech. You might want to turn the TV on." He appeared to have a slight twinkle in his eye.
Confused, Alan turned the holographic TV on located from within the table. Everyone watched as the image of President Young appeared.
"My fellow Americans. We have reached that time of year again where we get together with our loved ones and have a fabulous time. But today hasn't been an ordinary Christmas for me or my family. In fact, I was very nearly unable to make this broadcast at all. It had been planned to spend out Christmas Day in orbit above the Earth aboard Air Force One. but things went wrong. Our engines malfunctioned and we began to fall to Earth." He paused for a moment before continuing. "The engines wouldn't respond. Our angle of descent was wrong and we were moments from burning up upon re-entering the atmosphere." He paused again. "Why am I still here? Why are my family still here? Well, it's simple. My family and I are alive today because of two words. And those two words are - International Rescue! They heard my pilot's mayday call and gave up their own Christmas to come to our aid. Using two of their magnificent Thunderbird machines, they were not only able to guide Air Force One through the atmosphere without burning up, but they were also able to pull us out of the dive that we were in. one that if we'd not pulled out of would not only have been the end of our lives, but would have taken thousands of innocent ones on the ground had we crashed into Washington. I would therefore like to dedicate my speech to the brave men and women of International Rescue and all the hard work they do for the people of this planet. Not just to the American people, but to all walks of life. Every country. Every continent. It doesn't matter who you are, or what you've done. If you're man, woman, child, black, white, Asian, Australian, Canadian, British, Norwegian, Dutch, German, French, Italian or so forth. It doesn't matter. I know that if you are ever in danger and there's no other hope of rescue. They will be the ones to come to your aid. To the young man who was flying Thunderbird 3 - I salute you. Thank you for our lives once again. Merry Christmas to everyone at International Rescue. Thank you."
Nobody said a word. They were too busy trying to take in what the President had said. Especially Alan.
"Well…" said Gordon, breaking the silence. "That happened."
"If the incident at Spoke City did damage our reputation in any way then that has certainly repaired it," agreed Virgil.
"Just watch Schultz's lawyer try and do anything now," grinned Kayo.
"I can't believe any jury or even a judge in the world could convict one who saved the life of the President of the United States," added Penelope.
Grandma gave Alan a big cuddle. "That's my boy!" she said proudly. "You see? I told you things would get fixed."
Jeff clapped his hands together. "Parker, could you get us all a drink? I think a toast is in order."
"Right h'away, Mr Tracy, sir," said Parker and happily left to collect the drinks.
Alan was overcome by all the praise. "Guys, please," he said. "I may have gotten Air Force One through the atmosphere, but the mission would have still ended in failure if it hadn't been for Scott." He turned to his biggest brother. "I don't know why you bothered after all the trouble I caused."
Scott smiled. "You made a mistake, Alan. And so did I," he said. "Neither have us have slept well in the past few weeks. I guess it finally caught up with us. Come here." The eldest and youngest brothers embraced which brought a tear to both Grandma and Penelope's eyes.
"All the s-same," Brains chimed in. "I know n-now that I need to make s-some improvements to Thunderbird 3's manoeuvring j-jets so they can p-provide more thrust when w-working in the atmosphere."
"Not today, Brains," John said, placing a hand on the engineer's shoulder. "Save it for a later date."
Parker then returned with the drinks and handed one out to everyone. Once everyone had been given one, Jeff cleared his throat and raised his glass.
"To Alan - the hero of Christmas Day!"
"To Alan!" everyone repeated in unison.
Alan looked around happily, happy tears filling his eyes. "Best Christmas ever," he said to himself.
THE END