November 9th, 2062 - 06:46 NZDT
With Ridley becoming a permanent member of International Rescue, staying on Thunderbird 5 with John, more supplies were now required to be sent up. Today is the second of those extra supplies going up and over time there would become a steady string of them being sent up.
"Care package inbound, Thunderbird 5," Virgil announces.
"Copy that, Virgil," John says.
"I hope there are some extra of those products I ordered," Ridley says, "I mean Kayo and Marion have been helpful, but it would be nice to have some of my own." Ridley had gotten a custom suit a few days ago that Brains had designed. It's a similar design to John, except it is blue, like Marion's suit. She has very quickly fitted into her role alongside John and the pair work 16 hour shifts in order to have 8 hours of sleep.
"You've got six replacement circuit boards, eight brand-new CPUs, a dozen power connectors, various supplies for Ridley and two extra cheeseburgers, one with extra pickles," Virgil informs.
"There's not many things I miss about Earth, but this is one of them," John says as he opens his burger container.
"Enjoy," Virgil says as an alarm suddenly goes off.
"Ach! Not now. Really?" John sighs and closes the container. Ridley chuckles and the pair head over the holo-map room.
"What've you got?" Virgil asks.
"A remote air traffic monitor just triggered an alert. There it is," Ridley points to the warning symbol on the map, "Pilot of unidentified high-altitude balloon, you might wanna check your trajectory."
"You're wandering awfully close to the Southern Alps," John adds but the pilot doesn't respond to Thunderbird's 5 call or even attempt to adjust their course.
"Who is this twat?" Ridley sighs, "Attention, pilot of high-altitude balloon, you need to pull up. Repeat, pull up. Are you reading us?"
This time there is a response, but it's of an animated bear that says, "Let's be friends," a laughing in a weird way.
"I don't like the look of this," Ridley notes.
"Virgil, are you still there? I think we have a situation," John says.
5... 4... 3... 2... 1... Thunderbirds are Go!
November 9th, 2062 - 06:49 NZDT
Scott, Marion, Virgil, and Brains enter the lounge as John and Ridley display a map of the balloon's trajectory. The map shows that on its current course, the balloon is going to crash directly into the Southern Alps.
"Sending you the latest telemetry now," John says.
"Wow... Custom made... high altitude helium filled... one of the kind," Brains lists, "I-I can think of only one person who's spend that much money on a b-big balloon just for fun," and he pulls up a picture of Francois Lemaire.
"Ugh!" Scott groans facepalming, "Francois Lemaire."
"If we had a frequent rescue program, he'll be gold status by now," Virgil says folding his arms.
"Lemaire, this is International Rescue. Do you read me?" John asks.
"Lemaire?" Ridley asks but the animated bear only appears, "There it is again. This automated message keeps popping up every time we try and contact the balloon."
"Hm, I don't like the look of that thing," Scott notes, "We need to get on board."
"That balloon's over New Zealand's Southern Alps, practically our backyard. It won't take long for Thunderbird 1 or 7 to reach him," Virgil says.
"Alright, Marion, do you want to take this one?" Scott asks.
"FAB," Marion says and walks over to her chair.
"FAB," John says.
"RAD," Brains says.
"RAD?" Virgil asks.
"That's my catchphrase. Remember?" Brains says looking around at everyone, "It's... N-Never mind."
"Keep trying to contact Lemaire, Thunderbird 5," Scott says, "Marion will intercept him and I'll be prepared to provide backup. Hopefully, he's just asleep at the wheel."
7
Thunderbird 7 pulls out from a hanger underneath Thunderbird 1 to allow Marion to get inside.
6
A crane comes down and lifts Thunderbird 7 onto a platform.
5
The platform starts to move out of the hanger.
4
Marion prepares Thunderbird 7 for flight.
3
The hanger doors open to a flat concrete surface on the back of Tracy Island.
2
Marion makes the last pre-flight checks.
1
The engines start.
Thunderbirds are Go!
November 9th, 2062 - 06:55 NZDT
One Marion leaves, Kayo turns on the TV and starts to look through the TV channels. Alan walks into the room yawning, considering he had just gotten up.
"That's strange," Kayo notes as she continues to flick through the channels, "Where is he?"
"3,000 channels and never anything to watch," Alan sighs as he sits down next to her, "Am I right?"
"What?" Kayo asks looking over at him and shakes her head, "No, it's Lemaire and this silly balloon of his. Normally he can't wait get his face on the news and brag about his latest adventure, but I don't see him anywhere. I need to look into this, wanna join me?"
"It's been a while since I've been in Thunderbird Shadow, so why not," Alan jokes and sees Kayo's slight frown, "I'm joking, any excuse to hang out with my best friend."
5
Kayo and Alan descend and start to get suited up.
4
They get into Kayo's Shadow Bike and Kayo drives them to Thunderbird S's hanger.
3
Thunderbird S's platform heads up the ramp.
2
The platform turns around to show the outside of Tracy Island.
1
The platform rotates and Thunderbird's engines start up.
Thunderbirds are Go!
November 9th, 2062 - 07:01 NZDT
Within a few minutes, Marion enters the snowy conditions above the Kiwi Alps. She slightly lowers her altitude to increase her visibility but remains cautious due to the high mountain peaks.
"Lemaire, do you copy? Lemaire?" Marion asks, "Hmm, I've got a visual on the balloon. The internal lights seem to be on but Lemaire's still not answering. Coms could be down, or he might be hurt." Marion assesses what she could do, "I'm going to attach a line and then drag it clear of the valley." She lifts Thunderbird 7 above the balloon and prepares a cable. After a few seconds, she gets a lock on and fires the cable across. Once attached, she pulls Thunderbird 7 up and has some success until the wind starts to pick up, "I've got some serious turbulence up here. It's going to hit that mountain. Taking evasive action."
"Er, Marion, you do see that mountain you're heading right towards?" John asks as Marion fails to change to course of the balloon.
"I see it. Just a couple more seconds," Marion says, and increases her thrust. Again, she pulls Thunderbird 7 up and manages to take the balloon up and over the mountain. "There! Phew! That was too close," Marion breaths but there's another blast of wind and Thunderbird 7 shakes, "Fuck! Another wind blast. Detaching cable." For her own safety, Marion detaches the cable and pulls back from the balloon and keeps at a safe distance. "A grapple isn't going to work here. I need to land Thunderbird 7," Marion says and flies slightly ahead of the balloon before landing on a small flat area on a nearby mountain, "We'll have to pick up Thunderbird 7 later. I'm gonna try something else." Marion leaves her vehicle and heads outside, attaching a jetpack onto her suit as she does so.
"Don't do anything stupid down there, Marion," Scott says.
"Define 'stupid'," Marion jokes, "What do you take me for Scotty?" She jumps of the edge of the cliff and into the wind, opening her glider suit up she floats through the winter wind after to balloon that had just gone past her.
"Er, Marion," Ridley calls, "We're picking up a ton of interference here. Have you changed position? We can't see a thing."
"You could say that," Marion yells over the sound of the wind and open and closes her suit to change her angle.
"You're gonna miss the capsule," John states as the interference decreases.
"I'm not aiming for the capsule!" Marion declares and grabs onto Thunderbird 7's cable that's still attached. She sighs in relief and starts her climb to the top. At the top, Marion slips slightly as the balloon shakes slightly. "Someone needs to give this guy some flying lessons," she mutters to herself.
November 9th, 2062 - 07:14 NZDT
"So, Francois Lemaire, if you're up, up, up and away in your mega-balloon," Kayo muses, "Then who exactly is taking a cruise on your superyacht?"
Alan looks over to his left and sees the yacht travelling in the ocean below. He watches as Kayo turns Thunderbird S around and lands it on the helipad at the back of the boat. Once landed, the pair jump out in unison and see a man starting there with a small scrubbing brush on the ground a few metres in front of him. Kayo smirks and kicks the brush into the air before kicking it into the man's hands. She turns to Alan and does their secret high five before walking away.
"Hey!" the guy yells causing the pair to turn around, "You can't leave that there!"
"What are you gonna do?" Alan asks.
"Give me a ticket," Kayo quips causing Alan to chuckle, and the pair walk inside the yacht. They sneak their way through the corridors, avoiding the staff. Most of the rooms they look in appear to be empty (except for the kitchen) but then Kayo hears muffled chatter and beckons Alan to follow her. They creep up to the door before Alan nods and opens the door allowing Kayo to roll herself in and get ready for a confrontation.
However, all Alan hears is a very monotonous, "What are you doing in here?" he turns the corner and looks in the room to see Francois Lemaire covered head to toe in bandages and Madeline helping him drink from a juice carton. Alan sniggers but stays out of the way to leave Kayo to deal with it on her own.
"I... Er..." Kayo stutters, clearly embarrassed, "Lemaire? Is that you?"
"Mm-hm," Madeline confirms, "That's the last time he'll try roller-blading on the deck of his yacht... In a force-ten storm."
"But if you're here, then who's... Marion? Come in," Kayo calls but only receives static, "Marion, come in. You're walking into a trap. Marion? Marion?"
"Kayo," Marion replies as she struggles to find the entrance to the balloon, "You're breaking up. Repeat transmission."
"Thunderbird 7, do you read me?" Kayo tries, "Lemaire is not in that balloon. Repeat, he is not in there."
"Marion, the balloon is still descending," John informs, "If you don't change course, you'll crash into the valley."
"Anyone could be in there," Kayo says, "Marion, it might be a trap."
"Sounds like I don't have much of a choice, Kayo," Marion sighs and finds the door, "I'm going in!"
"Be careful M," Scott says.
"When aren't I," Marion whispers, "Alright, I'm in."
"What have you got, Marion?" Ridley asks, "Pirates? Balloon rustlers?"
"It's way worse than that, Ridley," Marion says and walks over and scares the person in the chair, "It's a teenager."
"Whoa, gurl! You totally just exploded my heart! Like, kaboom!" the kid says and looks Marion up and down, "In more ways than one."
"Who are you?" Marion asks.
"Brandon Berenger. I help Mr. Lemaire with viral marketing and stuff," Brandon says, "You probably know me by my online handle - B Extreme? It's like way popular and... Do you work with International Rescue? Sweet! I love you guys. Er, wait, who needs rescuing?"
"Take a wild guess," Marion growls.
"Me? Awesome!" Brandon exclaims, "Not every day that the beautiful damsel does the rescuing. You cool with me filming this?"
"If you want to make sure your camera doesn't break, I'd advise against it," Marion snarls, "What are you even doing playing around with this thing?"
"Mr. Lemaire asked me to inflate the balloon so people would think he's still out doing his thing," Brandon explains, "He's, like, hurt or something. But then I thought, 'Hey Brandon, why not take it for a spin too, get some wild footage?' Pretty smart, huh?"
"Pretty something," Marion scoffs, "Why didn't you answer any of our calls?"
"I was getting way too many of my followers calling in," Brandon explains and pulls out a call list of everyone phoning him, "So I switched to broadcast only. Hi!"
"It's no good," Marion mumbles as she tries the controls of the balloon out, "Your altitude adjusters, they're shot."
"Yeah, I think I broke those," Brandon admits, "Then I thought, 'Hey Brandon, this is a balloon, right? Just let it float free, man. What's the worst that could happen?'"
"I don't know," Marion groans pointing out the window, "You could hit a blinking mountain."
"Oh, yeah," Brandon stutters, "Apart from that, though."
Marion sighs again and tries to steer the balloon as best as she could but they skid on top of another peak which jolts the course of the balloon slightly. Turning around, she shoves Brandon into the passenger chair, "Brace yourself, kid."
"Aw, man!" Brandon complains, "Safety beats, really?"
"Guys," Marion calls, "I'm bringing her in for an emergency landing. Stand by."
"Whoa! Whoa!" Brandon cries as Marion releases the balloon causing their decent to increase, "Ah! Extreme! Whoooo!" They crashed onto a small flat area of snow and skid along it, only coming to a stop at the edge of the cliff.
"Phew!" Marion sighs as they stop.
"Whoo-whoo-whoo! Intense! We totally crashed into the mountain," Brandon laughs standing up but wobbles as the ship starts to shake and tilt, "Whoa! We're rocking! We're rocking!"
"Hey, take it fu— easy. Take it easy!" Marion cries and grabs Brandon's hand forcing him back into his seat, "We're right on the edge here."
"Yeah, gurl, we are on the edge!" Brandon says gleefully.
"No! I mean we're on the edge of the flippin'—" Marion sighs, "Never mind. This ridge is unstable. We're gonna need an extraction."
"You're two peas in a pod," Scott sighs in annoyance, he hates teenagers.
"Well, this pea wants out of this pod and off of this mountain, so if you wouldn't mind," Marion fires back, also annoyed at the situation.
"Okay, hang tight," Virgil says walking into the lounge, "We're on our way."
"FAB," Marion sighs.
5
Virgil runs over to the painting of a rocket and gets suited up.
4
Equipment is loaded into Module 3.
3
Scott boards Thunderbird 2 via the passenger elevator.
"Scott, Virgil, wait!" Brains cries and runs into the hanger.
"What is it, Brains?" Virgil asks stopping the launch procedure.
"RAD, V-Virgil, RAD," Brains breaths.
"Brains," Scott sighs, "Tell me you didn't interrupt the launch so you could say your catchphrase."
"What? No, that's R-A-D," Brains explains, "I'm taking about this. Max hurry up." Max comes charging into the hanger pulling a massive yellow container with the letters RAD printed on the sides in black. Module 3's door opens, and Max pulls the container inside. "My new p-prototype," Brains explains, "RAD, or Rapid All-terrain Descender. This is the p-perfect opportunity to test it out."
"That's great, Brains," Virgil says, "But let's speed it up shall we." Brains nods and he and Max evacuate the hanger and Virgil starts the launch procedure again
2
Thunderbird 2 taxis down the main runway and comes to a halt allowing the ramp to raise.
1
The blast shield rises.
Thunderbirds are Go!
November 9th, 2062 - 07:33 NZDT
"We're on our way, M," Scott calls, "You and the kid try and stay warm."
"FAB," Marion says and ends the transmission before turning to face Brandon, "Brandon, taking this balloon up was a bad idea."
"Didn't you do anything crazy like this when you were my age?" Brandon asks.
"No, actually," Marion replies, "I lived in a uranium mine, so my free time was used to explore the different tunnels and caverns around the mine. Crucially, staying out of anyone's way."
"Whoa! That's so cool gurl," Brandon says and stands up again causing the pod to also tilt along with him.
"We can't stay here," Marion notes and stands up, "Let's go." They get up and head for the exit just as the pod goes past its halfway point and slide downwards, "Jump!"
"Yeah?" Brandon says and gets pulled by Marion off of the pod and onto the mountain, "Whoooo!"
"Marion? Marion?" Scott yells, "Do you read me? Fucking answer please!"
"A mountain adventure, too!" Brandon calls, "Awesome!"
"Brandon!" Marion cries, "Can you just be serious for once in your life? Scott, do you hear me?"
"Marion!" Scott cries, "Thank goodness you're okay. I thought I lost you."
"You can't lose me that easily," Marion smiles, "I can see you, but you won't be able to reach us from there."
"No worries," Virgil says, "Brains gave me something that might help you get down the mountain. He calls it RAD."
"RAD?" Marion asks, "Like that catchphrase he's been trying to use?"
"No, that's R-A-D. I know," Scott chuckles, "But if this thing works, we won't forget it. Stand by."
The bay doors of Module 3 open and Virgil starts to lower the yellow container.
"Looking good Thunderbird 2," Marion says. However, a gust of wind knocks the box out of Thunderbird 2's grasping claw and sends it flying into the mountain. It then rolls down the side of it and lands on the other side of the cliff. The rubble from the impact falls on Marion and Brandon causing him to slip.
"Argh!" Brandon cries and Marion reacts quickly and grabs onto his arm, pulling him up.
"Ah," Virgil groans, "Sorry about that. Air's a little choppy up here. I'll try to retrieve the RAD." He moves in closer but the whole mountain starts to shake due to the thrust from Thunderbird 2's VTOL engines.
"It's no use, guys," Marion sighs, "The mountain's too unstable. We'll have to reach the package ourselves."
"Sorry, Marion," Scott says, "Good luck."
"Erm, c-c-couldn't you just use your cool j-j-jetpack and fly us over?" Brandon chatters due to the cold.
"Carrying both of us with these crosswinds?" Marion questions, "Not a great idea. You up for a little mountain climbing, Brandon?"
"Ok... Ok... Ok..." Brandon stutters.
"Yeah, just nod," Marion says.
"Mmm. Yep," Brandon nods and with a bit (a lot) of help from Marion they start climbing the mountain.
"Keep moving Brandon," Marion calls.
"I'm just gonna t-t-take five here, okay?" Brandon says drowsily, hyperthermia becoming an increasing worry Marion had for him.
"NO!" Marion yells, "Don't fall asleep! Whatever you do, don't fall asleep!" Thinking on her feet, Marion quickly uses her double grapple rope and creates a zip line for her and Brandon to glide across and they get to the other side. The impact of crashing into the snow, woke Brandon up slightly. "Augh!"
"Thanks, g-g-gurl," Brandon mutters.
"We made it to the package," Marion informs Brains, "Can you tell me what I'm looking at?"
"It's activated by v-voice recognition," Brains explains, "All you need to say is 'deploy'."
"Deploy?" Marion asks and falls back as the container bursts wide open, and a while spherical object inflates. It then separates into two and in the centre a door opens up showing a small room inside.
"Oh and remember to step b-back quickly before it opens up," Brains adds.
"Thanks for the tip, Brains," Marion sighs as she gets up and whips the snow off her suit.
"Awesome," Brandon says, "Whoa, this thing is crazy. What does it do?"
"It is designed to make a r-rapid descents over difficult terrain," Brains explains.
"Er, Brains," Marion pauses, "This thing only seems to have one seat."
"Oh, yes," Brains says, "Did I forget to m-mention that?"
Marion groans and indicates Brandon to go in first and get into the seat. Once she gets inside, RAD closes up again becoming a sphere.
"Cosy. I like it," Brandon says and winks at Marion who only scoffs.
"I really need to get off this mountain," Marion growls.
"Now, Marion," Brains says, appearing on the hologram in front of them, "As you haven't used the RAD before, I'm going to talk you through the controls f-first. It works like a gyroscope mounted on a gimbal."
Suddenly, the RAD shakes as snow falls on top of it and Marion looks at the warning on the controls. "Uh, yeah, this is gonna be a case of learn on the job, Brains," Marion says and pulls the leaver and the RAD starts to roll. They pick up speed quickly and start rolling around inside making both Marion and Brandon dizzy.
"Engage internal stabilisers," Brains offers and Marion does so, which stops the spinning on the inside.
"Ah! That's better," Marion sighs. She continues to pick up speed as an avalanche starts behind her. Concentrating to the max, she ignores any comments made by Brandon and manoeuvres around drops and small gaps. Overhead, Virgil flies over in Thunderbird 2, while Scott pilots Thunderbird 7 to a meetup point at the bottom of the mountain. From the other direction, Alan and Kayo arrive in Thunderbird S.
"Marion, you might wanna hit the brakes before you run into the base camp," Ridley calls.
"Brakes? Brakes? Brakes?" Marion says looking around, "Brains?!"
"Here they come," Kayo says.
"They're coming in pretty fast," Alan states.
"Huh? We're not slowing down fast enough," Marion complains as she presses every single button in front of her, "Brains? Is there anything else we can do?"
"Erm, l-like I said... it's only a prototype," Brains offers.
"Hey?" Marion says turning to Brandon, "Do you want to have a go?"
"Seriously?" Brandon asks.
"She's all yours," Marion replies and hands the controls over to Brandon.
"Whoo-hoo!" Brandon cries, "B Extreme at the controls!"
"This better work," Marion mumbles and presses the button at the back to open up the RAD. She activates her jetpack and jumps out opening herself up with the glider suit to slow them down. When it has little effect, she turns around and activates her jetpack again at full thrust.
At the bottom of the mountain, Alan and Kayo stand in the path of the RAD watching it comes down the mountain. "And... stop," Kayo says as the RAD comes to a gradual stop in front of them.
"We're down. I'd call that test run a success. R-A-D, Brains," Marion says as she lands.
"R-A-D, Marion," Brains says.
"I'm so glad you're okay," Scott mumbles as he tackles Marion into a hug.
"Wow, if this is what happens when I'm in danger maybe I should do it more often," Marion jokes and Scott only glares at herm "I'm joking... obviously." Scott smiles slight and pulls Marion in for a kiss.
"Hate to break you guys up," Virgil interrupts, "But what happened to Marion's number one fan?"
Brandon then exits the RAD and groans in discomfort before falling to the ground.
"Feeling a little motion sick, I think," Marion chuckles.
"This hardware was all for me?" Brandon asks as he sees all the personnel around him and the 3 Thunderbirds.
"Uh-huh," Alan and Kayo sigh.
"Oh, man, I swear it won't happen again," Brandon mumbles as he realises the consequences of his actions, "I'm really sorry I borrowed Mr. Lemaire's balloon."
"Well at least you gave me something to laugh at," Alan chuckles and receives an elbow in the ribs, curtesy of Kayo, "Ow! Come on, it was funny."
"You can tell him yourself," Kayo says to Brandon, ignoring Alan and bringing up a hologram of Lemaire for Brandon.
"Oh, hello, boss," Brandon stutters, "Erm, sorry about, like... everything."
Lemaire could only mumble in anger, so Madeline comes over to answer for him, "He has only one thing to say to you after pulling a crazy stunt like that. You're promoted to chief test pilot."
"What?!" Scott and Marion cry and Kayo raises her eyebrows in shock. Marion facepalms and walks away as she couldn't stand to hear anymore.
"Mr. Lemaire recognises a fellow adventurer when he sees one, Brandon," Madeline continues.
"Awesome! This is off the hooooook! Let's go back to my boss' yacht and celebrate. You think this rad RAD ball can work on water?" Brandon asks with a giggle before calling over to where Marion had wondered off to, "FAB, gurl! I don't think she heard me. Marion, is it? I'll just go and talk to her."
"Oh no you don't," Scott says, grabbing onto his arm, "Hey, Virgil you seem to like Brandon, how about you take him home?"
"Erm..." Virgil stutters.
"Thank you!" Scott says and walks off after Marion to go back in Thunderbird 7.
"Walked into that one Virgil," Alan chuckles.
"Don't you have to deal with a Kayo that's pissed off at you?" Virgil asks and walks off.
"I—" Alan starts but he couldn't think of an answer. He looks over to Kayo who's standing next to him with her arms crossed, "This is gonna be a long ride home, isn't it?"
"Hm-mm," Kayo smirks.
"Shit."