April 16th, 2062 - 19:14 NZST
It had now been a few months since Kayo told everyone about her family connection to The Hood. However, not much had changed on the island apart from Alan now acting a bit more coldly and not talking to Kayo much anymore if he did it was a short answer.
Scott makes his way upstairs with a picnic basket in his hand. He wipes his forehead and bites on a nail as he approaches a door in front of him. Looking around briefly to make sure that no one is there, he raises his left fist to the door. Just as he is about to knock his com in his right ear goes off.
"Scott, are you there?" John asks. Scott groans in disbelief and puts the basket down before answering.
"What's the situation?" Scott replies, before picking up the basket again and walking to his own room to put it away.
"Takes a listen to this," John says.
"International Rescue, this is Ground Sonar D103. Can you hear us? Please, we need help!" a feminine voice cries.
5... 4... 3... 2... 1... Thunderbirds are Go!
"Hmm," Scott muses as he walks into the lounge, "What do you have at the moment?" A large hologram on the table appears which appears to show a large machine that is in the vicinity of where the distress call came from. There are four large supporting legs, with a giant cutter at the front. The ground below shows the damage that it had already done. "Guys, you'll want to see this," Scott calls.
Within a few moments, everyone enters the lounge, with Marion standing next to Scott, Gordon, and Alan on a sofa on the opposite end of the room to where Kayo stands. Virgil sits next to Sally and Brains and Max stand behind everyone.
"This seems very suspicious," Kayo says, "Let's go in strong. Three ships at least, we don't know what we're dealing with."
"Agreed," Marion says, "I don't feel comfortable in only sending Virgil with the heavy lifting equipment."
"Okay, it's decided," Scott states with a nod, "Marion, Virgil, Kayo, get ready to fly."
"Alan, do you want to come with me?" Kayo asks hopeful.
"I think I'll say with Gordon and hold down the fort," Alan responds coldly.
"We could build one right here out of sofa cushions," Gordon chuckles and he holds a cushion up, though everyone looks at him sceptically, "Or not."
"Alright then, Thunderbirds Are Go," Scott announces.
5
Scott, Virgil, and Kayo all descend and get suited up.
4
The three reach their Thunderbird cockpit and begin the start-up sequence.
3
Thunderbird S's platform heads up the ramp and turns to reveal a cliff face, before rotating.
2
Thunderbird 2 taxis down the main runway and comes to a halt allowing the ramp to raise.
1
Thunderbird 1 comes to a stop as the swimming pool above starts to retract.
Thunderbirds are Go!
"Brains, what do you make of this machine?" John asks as the three Thunderbirds head towards The Sahara Dessert. Brains and Alan stand next to each other looking at the hologram while Gordon stays sitting behind them.
"Remarkable, isn't it?" Brains comments, "I b-believe it's a completely self-contained m-mining extraction and refinement facility."
"But a very dangerous one," Alan adds.
April 16th, 2062 - 10:49 EET
"Thunderbird 1, our guess is the machine to be mining for Scandium Ore," John states.
"Any sign of the geologists?" Marion asks.
"No," John says with a shake of his head, "But we can see the machines operator."
"We're five minutes out, where are the GDF?" Scott asks.
"On approach now," John confirms. He watches the holo-screen in front of his as three GDF planes approach and triangulate around the machine. The driver of the machine doesn't seem to acknowledge their presence and continues on. When a warning shot is fired at the machine, exploding in the sky nearby, the bottom of the machine begins to power up in an attempt to extract the ore. A few seconds later a call comes in.
"This is Sonar Vehicle D103, we need help," the same voice from before says, "Anybody?"
"International Rescue receiving you, D103. Help is on the way," John replies before calling the GDF, "Colonel Casey, I've made contact with the geologists. They're right in the path of that machine and it doesn't appear to be stopping."
"Understood," Casey nods. The order for weapons clearance is given and the leading flyer, fires two missiles at the machine. Nevertheless, they never reach the machine as a bunch of electronic bug-like drones to fly out and head towards the missiles and flyer. They make contact and divert both of them away from the machine before heading towards the flyer. The electronics in the flyer is taken out by a system overload as the bugs release a high voltage pulse into the system. Following this, they attack the other two flyers that are in the area, also taking them out before heading back to the machine, which continues to extract the ore.
April 16th, 2062 - 10:54 EET
Thunderbird 1 arrives on scene and sees the last of the drones disappear.
"Stay away!" a robotic voice says.
"Colonel Casey?" Scott asks.
"Stay back Thunderbird 1," Casey says, "We're still assessing the situation. That's an order, Scott."
"FAB. Standing by," Scott responds and calls Tracy Island while he waits, "Brains, are you seeing this?"
"The technology is unlike anything I've seen b-before," Brains says and adds Kayo to the call, "Kayo, are you there?"
"Go ahead, Brains," Kayo says.
"The rescue comes f-first, of course. But if you could help me, get a b-better look at this Earthbreaker machine," Brains remarks.
"If... I were you, I'd be much more interested in whoever's driving that thing," Sally comments.
April 16th, 2062 - 11:23 EET
"What did I miss?" Virgil asks as he arrives in Thunderbird 2.
"Nothing but trouble," Marion informs and looks at his holo-scan, "I've got a visual of the sonar vehicle. It's down at the bottom of that crevice. We can't wait any longer, Virgil. Think you can fish it out?"
"I think I can," Virgil says.
"Okay. Stand by," Scott says and switches frequencies, "Attention, unknown mining machine, this is International Rescue. There are people in danger below you. Be advised we are moving in to retrieve them." There is nothing but radio silence.
"Do we take that as a yes?" Virgil questions.
"Be careful. And make it quick," Marion says.
"I repeat, we are only moving in to rescue the people trapped below you," Scott reiterates to the machine.
"Launching grapple," Virgil announces and begins to lower the grapple. Suddenly, more drones launch and head straight towards Thunderbird 2.
"Virgil, look out!" Marion cries. The drones use their electric pulses to cut the grapple cables and it falls down into the crevice. The drones then swarm around Thunderbird 2, attaching themselves to three of the four vertical jets. The console begins to buzz with electricity.
"Uurgh! I've lost VTOL," Virgil exclaims as a final drone arrives and attaches to the last remaining vertical jet.
"Virgil, get out of there!" Scott yells.
Inside Thunderbird 2, the cockpit goes completely dark as alarms blare all around Virgil. He tries to restart the vertical jets to no avail. Thunderbird 2 heads towards the ground and three of the four drones detach from the jets but one gets stuck. "Diverting all power to out thrusters," Virgil states and manages to regain some height as Thunderbird 2 flies back towards Tracy Island.
"I told you to stay away," the robotic voice says.
"Who are you?" Marion asks.
"I am The Mechanic," the voice announces, "And if your Thunderbird comes any closer, I'll break it as well."
April 16th, 2062 - 17:42 IOT
Thunderbird 2 heads across the Indian Ocean with plumes of smoke following it. The alarms are still blaring in the background, "Three of my four VTOL engines are gone, and half my systems are offline, but I still have horizontal flight," Virgil says, "I'm gonna try and get back to Tracy Island."
"The landing will be way too risky, Virgil," Scott says worried, "You need to ditch her in the ocean."
"This is my ship and I say not a chance," Virgil declares, "Besides, the so-called Mechanic left one of his tools behind. Brains may want to have a look at it."
"Good luck, Virgil," Kayo says, "Okay, Thunderbird 1, what's our plan?"
April 16th, 2062 - 11:44 EET
Thunderbird 1 lands out of the way of the machine and Scott and Marion exit. Scott holds a grapple pack while Marion adjusts in her jetpack and the pair watch as Thunderbird S comes in on approach.
"We're gonna need a little bit of that stealth of yours," Marion smirks.
"With pleasure," Kayo responds with her signature smirk and descends Shadow's arm that and Scott jumps to grasp on it, "Activating optical camouflage." Thunderbird S's reflective panels then turn on, making it invisible and only Scott being seen underneath flying. Behind them, Marion activates her jetpack and jumps straight down into the crevice below before making her way along the bottom towards the vehicle. Thunderbird S heads into the crevice to allow Scott to jump off and fire the grapple pack. This causes two wires to extend out and landing in each side of the crevice. He begins to descend down on another grapple from the centre. From behind the machine, Thunderbird S flies back up and lands on the back of the machine. The reflective panels turn off as Kayo gets out of her seat and onto the machine.
April 16th, 2062 - 22:02 NZST
Inside Thunderbird 2, the electrics continue to spark, with the smoke from outside beginning to fill the cabin. "Thunderbird Two on final approach to Tracy Island," Virgil coughs, "I hope this is going to work, Brains."
"Virgil, hang in there," Brains states.
"Alright," Virgil says, coughing again, "Here it goes." The trees move back and Thunderbird 2 hits the rock in front of the runway, causing the nose to go up into the air and the tail to hit the runway first. Thunderbird 2 goes all the way down the runway before coming to a complete halt. Beneath the trees, water and foam begins to spray out over. "Thanks Brains," Virgil coughs, "Though I think I need to get checked out at the medical bay."
April 16th, 2062 - 22:26 NZST
"What do you think?" Virgil asks, left arm now in a sling.
"Impressive engineering. I'll b-begin a system analysis immediately," Brains announces.
"It would take a lot of money to build that Earthbreaker," Sally says and places a hand on Virgil's good shoulder, "I don't know who this Mechanic fellow is, but I'll bet dollars to doughnuts he's getting some help from The Hood."
"Grandma, the bastard is in prison," Alan glares.
"Watch your mouth young man," Sally points, "I've sent our London Agent is on her way to pay him a visit."
April 16th, 2062 - 12:31 EET
Scott is finishing his analysis of the vehicle when he hears a familiar sound of a jetpack approaching. He turns to see Marion heading towards him and she tries to land next to him. On instinct, Scott reaches out and grabs onto her, helping her land.
"Still need practise I guess," Marion says with a blush.
"Yeah," Scott says and awkwardly removes his hands from around her waist and starches the back of his neck. Turning back to the vehicle, he bangs he foot on what appears to be the door. "Stay clear of the roof. I'm going to cut it open," Scott calls and cuts a hole and pulls the metal out of the way.
"International Rescue," Marion says, "Don't worry, we're going to get all of you out of here."
"Get us out? How? You see that thing?" the guy in the driver's seat says, "It's about to swallow us whole! You need to stop it that machine!"
"Don't crack up on me, Vic," the woman who called says, "This is International Rescue, they know what they're doing."
"These are harnesses," Scott says and Marion passes them to him, "Start putting them on." He throws the harnesses down and helps the woman get out of the truck.
"I'm not leaving!" the driver, Vic says, "They're sucking up rocks like popcorn out there!"
"Vic, listen to me," Scott says jumping in and landing on the passenger seat, "You'll be attached to this line. The only place you're going is up." He turns to smile at Marion who nods.
"It's okay to be afraid," Marion adds, "but can we count on you to trust us?"
"Err..." Vic trails.
April 16th, 2062 - 12:38 EET
"I'm inside the Earthbreaker," Kayo says into her wrist communicator as she makes her way along the main bridge of the machine towards the room where The Mechanic is in, "Scanning is active." Blue waves emerge from the communicator, "Are you getting this, Brains?"
"Yes. I'm analysing the structure now," Brains replies.
"FAB. I'll start working my way to the top," Kayo says. She slowly makes her way upwards towards the main control room places explosives at key points which she'll detonate on her departure. Eventually, she comes to the main door and presses the button next to it which opens to reveal The Mechanic, with his back turned to her. He notices her presence.
"Not another step," The Mechanic says.
"Shut this thing down!" Kayo demands.
"The explosives you planted on your way up to me have been disabled," The Mechanic deadpans, catching Kayo off guard.
"Brains, we may have a problem," Kayo mutters but her signal is blocked.
"I told you to stay away," states and increases the intake again.
April 16th, 2062 - 12:46 EET
Outside, Marion feels a slight pull as the strength of wind increases. The pull causes her to turn around and look up at the machine, "Shit!"
"Vic, please, we have to go," the female calls down.
"It's okay," Scott says and sighs, "Vic, buddy, I'm sorry I have to do this." Before Vic could comment, Scott starts to cut out the seat Vic's sitting on causing him to yell. When the chair is separated, Scott gives Marion the thumbs up, and she starts to retract the grapple. She watches as everyone gets clear with Vic attached to the grapple by his seat, still yelling as the line wobbles. The polarity sphere of the Earthbreaker's intake is now so large, the grapple is starting to be pulled inside it. Marion starts to make her way back to Thunderbird 1 along the bottom of the crevice and behind her the solar vehicle is eventually pulled inside the Earthbreaker.
April 16th, 2062 - 12:48 EET
In the Earthbreaker, Kayo rushes towards The Mechanic who activates a robot fly which enters from behind. Kayo yelps in surprise and tries to duck beneath it as it jumps at her, starting to make her way back out of it. She runs as quickly as she can in the attempt to escape the bug, back out onto the bridge. She shuts the hatch, but the bug pushes it open and continues to give chase, another joining the fray. They buzz with electricity. Kayo looks around and sees a metal bar off to her right and flings herself over, sliding down a pole before running between two tanks. The bugs go straight past her as she presses herself against it as much as possible to say hidden. After a few seconds she activates her wrist communicator, "This guy's untouchable Brains. You better have something for me."
"I do! I believe The Mechanic is using n-null point energy in a recombinant distribution matrix," Brains explains.
"I have no idea what that means," Kayo deadpans.
"You don't need to," Brains says, "Just find a d-data cable. Anyone will do."
Kayo looks around cautiously and sees a data cable right above her. Carefully, she makes her way on top of one of the tanks she was hiding between, "Now what?"
"G-grab hold," Brains says, "Don't worry, it won't harm you. The sensors in your glove are connecting you to the machine. And that will c-connect us to the machine. J-John, we need some help from EOS."
"We're standing by," John says, sharing a look with EOS. After a few moments, EOS is able to shut the machine down.
"Kayo, I've no idea what you did, but thanks for doing it," Scott says.
Kayo opens her mouth to reply but hears a whirring sound and looks up in horror to see one of the bugs sparking heading directly towards her. At the last moment, she jumps out of the way but causes Thunderbird 5 to lose connection with the Earthbreaker.
"We've lost the connection," EOS announces.
"Kayo, are you alright?" John asks concerned.
"Not really," Kayo grunts as she narrowly manages to avoid a blast of electricity. She jumps across to a ladder that leads up a level, "But The Mechanic is becoming his own worst enemy."
April 16th, 2062 - 12:56 EET
Scott finishes helping Vic out from the chair when they see the machine powering up again. It begins to move forward towards them. "Run, all of you. Get as far away as you can," Scott demands. He watches them take off away from the crevice and he turns around himself but runs along the crevice edge in order to make his way back to Thunderbird 1. The active saw follows him as The Mechanic attempts to bring it downright upon him. "Kayo, I could really use some more of what you did before," Scott yells.
"I'm trying," Kayo says sprinting along the bridge with the bugs still trying to zap her from behind, "This guy knows how to multi-task." She slides down the last bit of the bridge before turning and sliding down the ladder and kicking the waiting bug. This disables it completely and next to her a bolt of electricity from the other bug is released causing her to jump left in order to get over the bridge and slide down to another cable, with she grips onto.
"We've regained the connection," EOS announces.
"Good. That entire machine is one big neural link. Everything is connected. Find out whatever controls the drive system and shut it down," John orders.
"Searching..." EOS says with blue lights, "I believe I have found— No! Stop that!" EOS shakes her head from side to side for a moment, with her lights changing to pink, orange, red and green, "The Mechanic gained access to my system. I had to sever the link. I'm sorry John."
"It's not your fault, EOS," John states, "Kayo, you're on your own down there."
Kayo climbs up and looks over the handrail of one of the bridges, just after another bug went by and notices the main connection of the cables. "Brains, I need your help. I've got something." She runs over and gets orders from Brains on which ones to disconnect. Once enough were disconnected, she runs over back to where The Mechanic stands and pulls the rest of the cables out behind him. "You'll be pleased to know our engineer is very impressed with your handiwork here."
"He's a clever one. But not the only one with Brains," The Mechanic says.
"You know him?" Kayo questions, "Who are you really?"
"I'm just cog in the wheel," The Mechanic states and presses the device in his hand.
"Scott, Kayo, I'm picking up a massive power build up inside that machine," John calls over the coms, "I think he's going to blow it up."
"How fast can you run?" The Mechanic chuckles.
"Kayo, get out of there now!" John cries.
"Give my regards to Brains," The Mechanic calls over his shoulder as Kayo dashes away to get back to Thunderbird S.
The Mechanic watches in front of him as he sees Marion fly Thunderbird 1 and pick Scott up before flying off again. He glares at the Thunderbird before making his own way off the Earthbreaker.
"Climb in. Quickly!" Marion calls to the people who were in the truck and now were a distance from the crevice. Soon after they got in, the machine blows up, with an escape pod flying outwards in the debris.
"Thank you, International Rescue," the woman says onboard Thunderbird 1.
"Any time," Scott smiles.
"I sure hope not. I never want to be in the kind of fix where I have to see you people again," Vic comments, "No offense."
"FAB," Scott and Marion say with a chuckle.
April 16th, 2062 - 23:58 NZST
"Way to stick the landing, Virgil," Scott says.
"Well, I expect Thunderbird 2 to make a f-full recovery along with Virgil," Brains says as he closes the hologram he has in his hand, "I am however, a little concerned about The Mechanic. That machine of his was most impressive and not in a g-good way."
"Any idea who he could be? It seems like he knows you," Kayo says, after taking a cautious seat near Alan.
"I haven't a clue. Behind that m-mask could be anyone," Brains says.
"Well, if The Hood is pulling his strings, it's gonna be twice the fun for all of us," Sally states, "We'll have to keep on our toes."
"Whatever The Hood and his Mechanic have planned it's nothing that International Rescue can't face," Scott says, "Our first order of business: find out how he's controlling The Mechanic and talking to the outside world. Then, we shut him down."
April 16th, 2062 - UNKNOWN
The Hood starts to chuckle as his right eye glitches gold.