28

I'm glad you liked the last chapter with Jeff and the boys! thank you do much for reviewing. Over 80 reviews now I'm amazed! We've jumped a little forwards in time here as we start to see the early formation of IR as we know it.

A month had passed since Jeff had returned home. At first being at home had proven tough but with a strong routine and his international rescue project to work on Jeff was starting to feel a glimmer of hope, there were beginning to be more good days than the bad ones. The hardest part was when the boys had started to return to their education and work. It was just him and Grandma at home now so the house felt even more empty than it had previously. Scott had been the first to return but thankfully he had a new posting at Colorado and not in the UK or Europe so he was close enough to visit at the weekend or when he had a few days leave. Gordon had got posted in the south pacific for a year and was unreachable at times with the strict no communications rule when he was on the sub but he promised he would be in contact when he could. Alan and John had returned to university. Alan was a bit annoyed that Scott had effectively got posted on his doorstep, especially when he kept threatening to swing by. He had promised to gate crash on a night out with his young brother which displeased Alan, he didn't want his much older brother cramping his style with his friends (More to the point he didn't want said older brother sharing embarrassing childhood stories with his uni mates). Scott personally didn't see what the issue was. Virgil still couldn't fly so he stayed in a rented apartment close to the office but once he had passed his license, he promised he would come home and commute in some days with this father.

Jeff initially started working from home twice a week before building up to a full working week. He found he actually quite enjoyed working from home. He had much more flexibility in his day and he enjoyed being able to stretch his legs on the farm during his break. His injuries had all but healed and he was steadily building up the muscle tone he had lost. Working from home also meant he could work on his pipe dream relatively undisturbed. He had made great process during his phased return to work. He now had a fully detailed business plan and had identified his base of operations. Little did his family know but he had brought the island he had been stranded on during his training. It was set to be a private holiday location for the family away from the media. He was going to present it to Lucy when they were away but sadly, he never got the chance to surprise her. It seemed fitting it would become the base of the very operation he was hoping to run in memory of her. He had already planned to take Scott and Virgil there this weekend to scope it out. Jeff had also found out about the issues with velocity one and had been really disappointed until he remembered John's friend Brains. Jeff had attended a presentation of his on thermo nuclear dynamics last year and remembered the boy had been way ahead of his time showcasing some brilliant theory on the subject. So, Jeff was getting ready to have a video meeting with Brains and John today from John's dorm as Brains wanted to discuss the project in more detail based on the information Jeff had supplied (through John) for Brain's to look at. Both the boys were due to finish their education this term. Jeff had funded Tracy college 18 months ago which was a specialist college dedicated to the sciences of astronomy. John had already successfully been accepted to study the main astronaut programme. He would enrol in the late fall and hopefully complete the course within two years all being well.

Jeff settled down at his desk, black coffee in hand. He pulled out a notebook and pen from the desk draw and logged back in. Right on time, John called through. Out of all the brothers (bar Scott) you could always guarantee John would be promptly on time. "Hello John, Brains. I hope you boys are having a good week?"

"Yeah it's been busy but good. How are you?" Asked John.

"Not bad, almost caught up on work and now I'm just trying to avoid the kitchen. Your Grandmother is determined to make me as overweight as that Corgi she used to dote on when you were a child." Jeff rolled his eyes as John laughed softly. Brains smiled nervously.

"Anyway, we're here to talk about this plane design of mine. I sent over the schematics and the fusion reactor design's - any ideas on how I could get it operational Brains?"

"W-Well Mr – aha - Tracy. The design is very im-impressive I must say." Brains paused to push his thick blue rimmed spectacles back on his nose, he was so nervous his sweating was causing them to slip. "The d-difficulty with the - aha -design is the size of the fusion reactor. The smaller it is the easier it is for the p-plasma to e-e-escape simply because the pressure and density of such a reaction c-cannot be easily contained. It then b-bubbles out onto the outside and becomes corrupted mixing with the material of the container, so that when it then seeps back into the container it terminates the chemical reaction rendering it useless as the heat and fuel created become contaminated."

"Ok, I get that. I also heard that the plasma and the sheer heat required to trigger the reaction process can cause the materials that the container is constructed of to degrade an accelerated rate?"

"T-that is c-c-orrect yes. Looking at the current design they are using graphite which typically degrades at a considerable rate when exposed to this kind of radiation which increases the risk of waste product build up. In a smaller reactor this would simply accumulate quicker than the reaction required to maintain the equilibrium of the plasma reaction making it unsustainable. I would s-suggest using Inconel based on the most recent studies it has been proven to be able to withstand the nuclear reaction better with relatively minimal degradation. Then I would aha suggest increasing the surface area by using the spherical tokamak magnetic confinement as the plasma is less likely to escape/leak out of that kind of structure."

"Do you think you could get it to the size currently specified?" Jeff had been taking notes, he can't say he understood it all but he'd got more information out of Brains than he had out of the team of 20 scientists trying to currently produce the one reactor. Jeff was impressed. He would be even more so if Brains could actually get it done.

"N-n-o; b-but I think we could get it to approximately 10ft in diameter."

hmm. That was promising. John also chimed in. "Brains also has a few additional adaptions to the design that you may be interested in." He gave his friend and encouraging nudge.

"I'm listening."

"I-I- I have designed a H-hover jet positioning system which would allow for the craft to land on any terrain, b-based on what John told me she would be a r-r-reconnaissance craft therefore this would allow her to be ready to encounter any unknown terrains. I would also be able to create an effective heat shield allowing her to increase in altitude up to the height of 150,000ft from the current 1,000,000ft."

"That sounds excellent. You know Brains I've always been impressed by your ingenuity since I presented you with that mathematics diploma award at Tracy college last fall and your thermo nuclear presentation was impressive . Do you have anything lined up after Harvard Brains?" Jeff waited with bated breath.

'E-e-rr not as such no, M-m-r T-r-racy." His stutter became more pronounced at the slight praise Jeff had bestowed upon him. "I e-e-r was going to stay with -ah- Professor Bainbridge at Cambridge whilst I applied for positions." He was Brain's guardian, a Cambridge professor who had met Brains during his visit to the states and had become fond of the orphaned boy who had been raised in the care system. He took him under his wing and acted as his custodian since Brains was in his early teens. Brain's stutter had led to many dismissing his talents. Bainbridge had worked to build up Brain's confidence especially in regards to public speaking. Brains had really improved and become much more confidence in his own abilities under his mentorship.

"Well, how do you fancy working for me? It's a confidential operation but I'll trust John to fill you in on the details privately away from this call but basically, I require your skillset and knowledge Brains to help produce some of the most technically advanced aircraft and vehicles in the world. You'd effectively be the organisations head technical consultant to design these machines but also use your mathematical capabilities to problem solve in the day to day operations of the outfit too. I have a job description which I have sent you to look at. I don't need to interview because you're the only man I want on my team in this respect."

Brains looked flabbergasted. John could see his hands shaking under the desk. He literally couldn't respond. Mr. Tracy was offering him – Brain's a job! It was more than he could have ever hoped for! The other positions he had been applying for paled in comparison. He knew Jeff Tracy was renowned for his own technical capabilities, he had designed the TV-21 after all which was quite the machine. He realised with a jolt he had been silent for an awkwardly long time. "S-s-orry M-m-r T-t-racy, I am very surprised and grateful for the potential opportunity I will of course look at the role description. When would you need to know my decision b-b-y?"

"There's no rush I am still in the early recruitment phase right now for all roles but within the next month would be preferable." Jeff replied.

"O- o-k, e-er oh look at the time! I'm due for my next lecture. It was good to speak to you Mr. Tracy." Brains hurried to grab his tablet, books and bag.

"You too Brains, thank you for your time and input into this design. I'm really pleased to know we can hopefully get it off the ground."

He smiled before quickly leaving the room. When the door shut John turned to address his father. "Dad! Did you have to headhunt the poor guy so hard? I think you broke him." John grinned. He was pleased his father saw Brain's talent it often inadvertently got ignored because his ideas were simply too complex for most people to comprehend or he couldn't get the ideas out fast enough to maintain peoples somewhat limited concentration spans. John had always had time for Brain's since the first day he'd met him and his other classmates had shunned Brains. John had been the only one to smile and give him a chance. Brains was a genuinely nice person with a lot to share with the world - if the world was patient enough.

Jeff chuckled. "I knew the kid was shy but he was like a rabbit in headlights! I get the feeling he's open to the idea though?" Jeff looked anxious.

"Dad of course he is, your offering him his dream job! he's always idolised the tech that comes out of Tracy industries. I think he will adore the idea of IR too, after all he lost his parents in that hurricane. He will understand the need for such a rescue organisation. I'm sure he will be pleased to know he is helping to rescue people from those kinds of situations."

Jeff nodded. Business concluded he checked in on his son. "So, you don't have a lecture to run off to?"

"No, I have a free period. Don't worry dad I'm not skipping class." He leaned back in his chair.

"Good and you've settled back in ok?" Jeff was worried about how the other students may have been treating him since the incident. There would have been a lot of rumours. Jeff figured he was coping from what he had seen. John had become uncharacteristically withdrawn at home but at uni he seemed to have become more outgoing again.

"Yeah fine, the first week was hard Y'know with the whole condolences thing and people asking the obvious - some people actually cared, others just wanted to know what the deal was. I'm really lucky to have Brains to help me through it, he understands far more than anyone else I've met outside the family."

Jeff nodded. "Good I'm glad you have a friend you can confide in."

"Dad?"

"Yes son?"

"I've been thinking about this IR business and us being operatives. Once I've completed my astronaut training, I thought I would do a stint on the international space station or moon base but seeing as I get to do that in training anyway…... it would be quite something to maintain and manage my own satellite. I know I would cope with long periods in space - it's all I've ever wanted to do, live and work amongst the stars. The only thing that put me off was the lack of privacy or potentially having to live in close quarters with your colleagues as opposed to people you chose to live with. With IR that wouldn't be an issue and I like the idea of still actively being involved in the world below as well as space and making a difference to those in need. I could utilise my communications knowledge too and help construct the programmes you need to monitor them. With that in mind I would like to become your first operative. If you will still have me?" John gave a small smile.

John was pleased to see his father's face light up at his decision. "John! that's amazing news! I'm so pleased! Congratulations on your new role as IR's Space monitor!" Jeff was positively beaming, he had not experienced happiness on this level in many months. He had his first operative! John Grinned back. "Space monitor is a cool job title! You don't mind waiting two years for me then?"

"John I'd wait a lifetime for you if I could. Realistically its going to take at least two to three years to become fully assembled and operational so we have time. The question I want to ask of you is; would you still be willing to commit even if all your brothers didn't join?" Jeff was aware three were still sat on the fence, his biggest concern being Scott. John was the first one to come back with a definite yes.

"It would be a shame if they didn't but I'd understand. To be fair dad as long as I get paid and can make a reasonable living and do my dream job there's not much more, I could want for is there?" Jeff smiled; his son was still so positive despite everything he had been through. Jeff was filled with pride.

"Don't worry son, you'll make an honest living - just remember to treat your manager with respect and work hard if you want to see those Christmas bonuses." Jeff teased.

They both laughed.