48

Thank you so much for the kind reviews once again. A bit of a later post than usual from me but I hope you enjoy!

Alan and John were home for summer break, the first thing they did was visit Gordon in Sydney. John had signed Gordon's exo-brace with an impressive star constellation annotation of Aquarius (For Gordon's birthday) and Gordon had signed John's cast with…... a topless somewhat lopsided mermaid (Thanks to his current coordination issues) which Virgil hastily scribbled a bikini top on before their dad came back. Gordon was still laughing at John's expression when they left. Despite everything Gordon seemed to be in good spirts - definitely around his brothers at least. It was a tough road ahead for him but he was determined to walk again. Only time would tell.

Their new home was certainly very different from what they had always called home. It didn't have the same warm feeling of the farmhouse with the old scrubbed kitchen table and comfy leather couches in the lounge but the views were stunning and the climate suited them both. They had a gym, pool and games room which made up for the lack of being able to head into town in some ways but Alan in particular missed his friends. Jeff breezed through the kitchen after lunch noticing his youngest sat at the edge of the breakfast bar, looking glum as he scrolled through his phone. Jeff was worried they would get bored here, it was rural in Kansas but at least they still had a small town to hang out in with their friends and the cinema. He felt guilty pulling them away, he'd have to make sure they got time on the mainland when he could. Jeff looked at Alan. "Come on" he motioned for him to follow.

"Why?" Alan sulked. He and his dad were talking again but Alan still hadn't quite forgiven him for withholding Gordon's condition from them. Hence the attitude. Jeff hoped this would go some way towards repairing things.

"You haven't had the tour yet, come and see the machines."

Alan's face lit up; they had been told they couldn't go down unattended as there was still a lot of mechanical work being conducted. He scrambled off his seat and pocketed his phone. They went into the lounge where John was reading a book.

"John! Father's going to show us the machines!"

"Oh? Go on then! I err… take it I can get down there? He pointed to his leg.

"Yes, there's a lift."

He carefully marked his place in the book (Colonising Mars) and popped it on the table before grabbing his crutches. They stood expectedly. This was a good opportunity to test the security.

"Right" Jeff clapped his hands together. "See if you can find the entrances to the hangers."

They both looked around before looking at their father like he was mad. "What entrances?" asked Alan.

"They are all located in this room, go on give it a go! I want to know if they are well hidden to those that don't know about them."

Alan gave his dad a sideways glance with an easy smile as he hopped up the steps. He skimmed his hands along the blank green wall looking for some sort of crevices or buttons…. Maybe the wall was some kind of elaborate hologram? His smile quickly turned to a frown as he pondered where the entrance might be.

John took a bit longer to survey the room before heading over to the portrait of the shuttle that had taken his father to the moon for the first time. He tried to prize it off the wall but it wouldn't give so he ran his fingers around it looking for some kind of release mechanism, one crutch abandoned.

Jeff smiled. "One of you is warm the other is very cold."

Alan groaned in frustration. John looked perplexed. Alan abandoned the wall and headed over to Two lights on the wall further along that were set a person's width apart. "Ok now both of you are warm."

Alan grinned, these lights, they did something! They had to! He noticed they were just above shoulder height. He stepped forwards facing them and went to hold onto them. He heard a click and suddenly he was spinning around. He gripped onto the light fixings tighter as he felt the air become cooler, there was an echoing of drills and hammers before he flipped back round again. The plate came to a stop.

"Woah"

"Alan did you see anything?"

"Just the wall." he stepped off the plate dizzy as Jeff chuckled.

"You were the wrong way round! The sight would have been quite impressive I promise you but not to worry we'll go down another way. You just practiced part of Scott's launch sequence."

"I did? Cool!" Alan looked at the wall, it was remarkable you couldn't even see the joins.

"You said I was warm too…. yet I still can't find it?" John was looking at the picture intently. Jeff walked over.

"You can't really do this one right now in your condition but this is where Virgil will launch from." Jeff borrowed Johns crutch and depressed a hidden footplate at the bottom of the image which caused it to tip back to reveal a Shute. They peered down the dimly lit tunnel. It looked like the slides they used to go on as kids.

"Ahh Virgil's is way cooler than Scott's" Exclaimed Alan.

"I knew the picture did something!" John smiled.

"So, where's ours?" Alan looked round expectantly. Both he and John knew they would be sharing the spacecraft.

"Why don't you take a seat over there and I'll show you?"

Intrigued they did as they were told for once. They sat down together on the sofa that their dad pointed too. Jeff walked up and motioned for Alan to Soot over away from his brother to make room. Jeff settled between them before calling over to Kyrano who was watering the plants. "If you would do the honours Kyrano."

"Yes, Mr Tracy" Kyrano slipped behind the desk and pressed the concealed button on the edge. Something clicked below them as the sofa began to drop downwards. "Woah!" Alan gripped the edge of the seat as they descended into who knows where. Jeff was holding on to Johns crutches across their laps whilst John was trying to work out wherever the hell they were going. Jeff watched his sons in amusement his eyes twinkling in the strobe lights as they headed deeper into the abyss. Alan looked above him; amazed at how far down they were. John marvelled at the other couch that was ascending into the gap above, it was identical to the one they were riding on. "I'm guessing that covers up the one in the lounge?" Jeff nodded.

They then moved along sideways like a conveyor belt before then rising again, the sight caused them to gasp literally taking their breath away. They were underneath what could only be described as a giant rocket. The thrusters themselves were taller than Tracy villa. Both boys stared up with a wonder, their father hadn't seen them this surprised since they were young at Christmas. They rose upwards into the belly of the rocket before the silo sealed shut below them.

"Boys welcome to the launch room. This is where you would strap in for blast off."

They hopped up out of the chair curious to check out their first experience of a real spaceship not some mock up in a museum or simulator. They had yet to conduct and space craft flight training at the academy so this was pretty special. John was impressed at how spacious it was in comparison to other similar vessels, his dad had pulled out all the stops to produce his most advanced space shuttle. It really was a fantastic feat of engineering.

"Where does this go?" Alan indicated to the door.

"It's an elevator up to the control room, go ahead and have a look." Alan pushed the button and hopped in excited. John then Jeff followed until they had all reassembled in the control room. Alan sat in the pilot's chair and tried to familiarise himself with the controls from what he knew from other simulators. Thankfully although it appeared complex, he could recognise most of the primary functions including the ion drive and thruster controls. There was a circular radar screen too.

"Say father, these seats are a little odd." Alan was referring to the wide red swivel chairs. There was a lot of space in them to slip about in.

"Yes, one of the interior fitters had seen a luxury space shuttle outfitted with these recently and thought they would be ideal as they obviously were not aware of this shuttle's true purpose, people seem to think I've had it created as some kind of leisure shuttle to take myself to Mars and relive my space days in my midlife crisis. I'm already thinking of having a bit of a refit in here to make it more practical but this will do until all the crafts are complete." Jeff had only been away for under a month with Gordon and only a week passed before Virgil was assigned project manager and in that time Jeff's team had ploughed on and filled in some gaps themselves in the interior design not wanting to halt the project.

"What's the second deck for that we passed dad?" John enquired.

"That's where all the rescue equipment and cargo is located."

"Ahh I see. This is pretty revolutionary, even by your standards."

Jeff smiled. "As far as I know she's the fastest in existence – well once tested anyway. In theory she could reach the sun in just sixty-five hours."

"That's insane!" Alan whipped round to face his father, just how fast did this thing go?

"Just over twenty-five thousand miles an hour" Jeff supplied pre-empting his son's next question. "Let's go and see the exterior now."

They piled back out onto the walkway mid-way up the rocket. Alan leaned on the rails and whistled in appreciation. He was going to have to pass his astronaut training - there was no way he was missing out on piloting this baby! No way.

They took an elevator back to the hanger floor before piling into a monorail carriage. Again, the boys were impressed they had no idea the scale of the operation was this big, their father had explained it to them many times but It was different when you got to see the sheer enormity of it first-hand. The carriage took them away from three and into hanger two where they could see a big green air carrier. "That's Virgil's, right?" John gingerly stepped out of the monorail his father lifting him down over the gap.

"Sure is!"

"Virgil! There you are! Where have you been all morning?" Alan gave him a curious look.

"Well I went to the mainland to visit Gordon, pick up some supplies. Oh, and then would you believe it; this stray tried to follow me home so I took pity on it." Virgil stepped aside as a figure stepped out of the shadows and dumped a kit bag at their feet. Sporting a pair of camos, khaki shirt and combat boots with his aviators tucked into the neck of his tee.

"Scott!" cried Alan and John in unison. Alan took a running leap and hugged his eldest brother who returned the hug fiercely. "Hey kid! How's being an astronaut working out for you?"

"Pretty well thank you, I'm still there if that's what you mean." Scott ruffled his hair affectionately (Alan swatted him away) before walking up to John and grabbing him in a bear hug.

"Heard you got into trouble for once! that looks painful. How's it healing?" Scott held John at shoulder length looking concerned.

"Its fine, should be healed fully in a couple of weeks, it's just a greenstick fracture." John was tired of explaining that it was mostly just the bruising that was the issue not the break. He rolled his eyes at Scott as he adjusted his crutches for him.

"Sorry" Scott muttered catching himself.

"Dad, nice to see you." Jeff gave him an affectionate clap on the shoulder.

"Good to see you too son, this is a wonderful surprise. I had no idea you were coming home!"

"Yeah thankfully the tour from hell ended prematurely thanks to locating the enemy base and obliterating it. So, I've been granted early leave for two weeks in light of everything."

They all walked companionably over to the elevator at a slightly slower pace than usual to allow John to keep up. The lift started downwards with a clunk before opening on the hanger floor. "I take it you've been to see your brother?" Jeff asked.

"Yep flew straight into Sydney yesterday and went and said hi to him and grandma before I convinced Virgil here to pick me up and surprise the lot of you and by the way little brother…. I ain't no stray." He bumped Virgil playfully on the shoulder, he was in a cheeky somewhat good-natured mood, it was good to be home, he hadn't seen his family in over six months and found he's missed them terribly. At one point he wasn't sure he was going to make it (A dark shadow flittered across his face) but he wasn't going to dwell on that today, not when he had such good company. He turned around walking backwards so he could face his brothers as they crossed the hanger. "So I get the feeling this is your first time down here?"

"Yeah, dad took us to see the space shuttle, now we are going to look at Virgil's air craft carrier."

"You mean you've left one till last?" He looked mortified.

"They haven't seen four yet." Jeff informed him.

Scott dismissed his dad's comment by waving his hand. "Personally, I'd just skip these two, the best one is in the hanger next door, he threw a thumb over his shoulder.

John laughed; Alan shook his head. "What do you mean skip over these two? I'll have you know that without my air craft carrier you won't be doing a lot of rescuing Scott, its not like you can lift transport say a submarine in it or an underground tunneling machine."

"No, but by the time you get there the rescue will be over and I'll be landing back here as your going out. Mach 19.7 Virgil against your measly 7.82"

"Speed's not everything Scott" –

"Boys! That's enough, you've only been here all of five minutes. In all seriousness these are rescue craft not your personal thrill rides."

"Yes father" Virgil and Scott chorused. Jeff was in front and didn't see them fooling around behind him as Scott whispered about virtual and horizontal flight capability whilst Virgil boasted about torque. They started to rough house causing John and Alan to smile at each other. It was good to have him home. Alan sniggered when Scott made a crass joke about being able to get his up quicker which caused Jeff to whip around. Scott and Virgil broke off from their conversation and smiled innocently – well as innocently as a dog that's raided a bin. Jeff frowned at them before turning around again to greet their resident engineer.

"J-John l-let me get you a chair." His friend scrabbled for his desk chair and swivelled it over to him.

"Thanks Brains." John gratefully took the seat. It was great to be living with his best friend again, John missed his roommate at the academy and this was by far the best thing about living on the island. It was like they were in uni again.

Jeff took them through two's specs and brought Scott up to speed on her disastrous first test flight. "Could have done with you here for that one" muttered Jeff. Scott was a trained test pilot and therefore had he been flying he might have identified the fault earlier but Virgil would get there with practice. They all chatted for a time about where they were currently at with two's pod assembly being the last thing to complete. They then headed to velocity one's hanger where she was sat proudly. Scott was still in awe of her, he couldn't wait to take her out again.

They headed back up for lunch outside on the veranda, it was only there that the others noticed how tanned Scott was. "That's quite some tan." Alan remarked looking Jealous.

"The desert was hell on earth, this is the first week I haven't been red from a heat rash. I'd rather be pale any day than baked like a potato day in and day out. Scott took a drag on a cigarette.

"I thought you were going to give up at the start of the tour?" John pointed out.

"Yeah well that was before the tour went to shit, this is stress smoking." He blew out a plume of smoke over his shoulder.

"That's what you said last time" Reminded Virgil.

"Well there won't be a next time because after this stint I'm done."

There was silence around the table. Jeff looked up from his paper "Is that what I think it means?" Jeff dared to hope just for a moment surprised at his son's flippant remark. He had been torn for nearly a year over this decision, it was unlike Scott to just change his mind.

"Yep" he stubbed out the cigarette. "No more air force for me, I've thought long and hard and as much as I love flying fighter jets, I've had one to many diabolical tours so I figured why re-enlist when I have the opportunity of a life time here and could make a real difference in the world. So, if you'll still have me, I'd like to be considered for the position you offered.

The other boys watched the conversation with interest. Virgil thought his brother had sounded strained the last time he'd spoken to him and was concerned about his welfare. Mavi's death had hit him hard, then Gordon's accident. It wasn't hard to see how his brother had come to this conclusion but he knew it wouldn't have been easy for him. He adored his Job, his squadron and had served for many years. Virgil knew his brother would be sorely missed.

"Scott, I know what a difficult decision this has been for you and what you are giving up. I would love to have you on board son, it's the best news I've had in a long time."

Scott smiled. It was nice to be able to give his dad something positive to look forward to after their latest tragedy.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Scott was lying in his room glad to be in an actual bed and not some horrible camp bed. It was good to be somewhere he knew was completely safe. Initially as he first settled down, he still felt tense but after half and hour he had fully relaxed more than he had in months. He felt the knots in his back unwind, felt his shoulders sink fully into the mattress and the gentle breeze of the air con on his bare arms. He closed his eyes and reflected on the day's events. He had seen Gordon last night and again before they left this morning. Scott hadn't known what to expect or how Gordon would be feeling. It was a long time since they had seen each other so he had been a bit worried it would be awkward initially to make conversation, after all it's a bit hard not to mention the obvious but Gordon had been very open and frank about it from the beginning immediately putting Scott at ease. "Well, long time no see brother; I would stand up to greet you but it's a bit awkward right now you know?" with a wan grin. Scott had chuckled as he sat on Gordon's bed and gave him the chocolate's he had brought. They'd talked about his treatment plan and the physio he was going to start undertaking in the next week once the brace was off. Scott really hoped Gordon would heal and be able to join them in international rescue. He didn't want him to feel left out.

"Gordon I'm so sorry I couldn't make it back, when I heard about the accident, I was so worried for you. To find out you'd been unconscious for three weeks was a hell of a shock and know look at you! Your doing amazing all things considered." Scott gestured at him sat up and chatting away. Although Gordon was a lot thinner and still trapped in a frame he looked remarkably well if a little tired. The bags under his eyes concerned Scott a little but he guessed it would be pretty exhausting and uncomfortable with the amount of healing his brother still had to do.

"Don't worry about it, I know you would have been here if you could. I'm just glad to see you made it back in one piece after what happened to you. How are you feeling?"

"Yeah fine, my leg healed weeks ago and luckily the smoke inhalation was minimal." Scott rubbed at his calf absentmindedly.

"No, I mean how are you really; emotionally? I know you and Mavi were close, I also know you lost others. The last time we spoke I could tell it was affecting you. I hope you talked to someone." Gordon gave him that intense look with those amber eyes that Scott always struggled to refuse.

Scott's jaw became tense; his face set. He stood up and looked out of the window. He hadn't been asked directly since the therapist on base during his standard psych eval after a traumatic experience. He crossed his arms debating what he wanted to say.

"You know although I'm coming to terms with this." Gordon gestured at his legs. "I wasn't expecting the emotional trauma to be so hard; the paralysis is almost secondary." Scott looked at him surprised.

"Really"

"Yeah physically I know what my limitations are and my full chances of recovery which I am told are somewhat reasonable now, it's something physical, something tangible that I can focus on. I've a clear plan of action and a goal to work towards with milestones to hit - but mentally? I've got no idea the degree of damage caused or how long it will take to heal. I keep waking up at night panicking thinking I can't breathe because there's a tube down my throat that's no longer there. I became so reliant on that tube it was my whole lifeforce for three weeks and then it was just gone. I know it's stupid but I've become really anxious about my breathing when I rest, I wonder if I'm going to wake up again when I close my eyes." He wrung his hands together in his lap. Scott looked at him in concern.

"Have you spoken to anyone about this? They could help you here with therapy."

"Did it help you?" Gordon quizzed throwing the topic in a 180 back to Scott.

"Yeah, it did." A haunted look passed over him as Mavi's face floated before him that gorgeous wide smile of hers, his mind then flashed to her screaming in the jet, then her coffin…. The moment he saluted and handed over the folded flag to her mother at her graveside. He sat down abruptly almost missing the chair.

"Scott I've been honest with you I want you to be honest with me." Gordon was firm.

This was not how this was meant to go down. He was supposed to be supporting his brother not the other way around, his troubles paled in comparison. Just then a nurse came in and advised it was time for one of Gordon's physio sessions. Scott smiled weakly with a hasty goodbye and a promise to visit again soon before he left. He could feel Gordon's eyes on his back with the promise of unfinished conversation that would be had at a later date hence in the morning Scott had ensured he visited with Grandma so the topic could remain firmly off the table. Scott needed to get his head straight if he was going to help his brother. He tossed and turned the short bout of relaxation gone as his mind continued to go over that conversation and how uncomfortable it had made him. He was glad to be home but it was hard to adjust, the free time allowed for the trauma to surface at unexpected moments catching him unawares like on the flight back with Virgil earlier where the cockpit suddenly felt claustrophobic, he could smell the smoke like it was happening right then. Or when he was talking to Alan at dinner, he brought up his last track day and it painfully reminded him of his last off campus catch up with Mavi. He could see he was going to have to keep himself busy on these two weeks to keep his mind in check. He rolled over one last time frustrated at himself before he drifted into an uneasy sleep, wondering if Gordon was still up too.