February 3rd, 2063 - 03:39 NZDT
It's a quiet morning on Tracy Island, with everyone being asleep, well mostly everyone. Alan is surprisingly awake and looking out of his window. Kayo has been acting strange around Alan recently again and closes off quite easily. When he's been at the pool, several times he's seen Kayo peaking over her book with her sunglasses on. Alan isn't an idiot and knows that Kayo is checking him out, but a little voice in his head says that she isn't interested in him romantically. This frustrated Alan as Scott and Marion's relationship has been developing quite well by the sound of it (literally) and they've only known each over for just under three years. The lack of confidence is a real blow for Alan as he want's something more but doesn't know how to approach it with Kayo seemingly not romantically interested in him.
He sighs and gets out of bed knowing he isn't going to get much more sleep. Maybe he could ask Scott for advice. No, Alan decides, that would be awkward for both of them. That's the problem living on an island with only a few people, there's a limit amount of those you could turn to. Alan still preferred it to boarding school and glad he was pulled out of it after his father's disappearance, but he did wish he had more friends in his life. Alan is the only one of his brothers that didn't have a career before joining International Rescue, which has left his social network lacking. He often finds his brothers on a call with old friends but all he has is Kayo and Fermat. Fermat is usually a no go now as it's so hard to contact him so that leaves Kayo. The closest person in his life and crush. Nope, not going to ask her... just yet.
Alan makes himself a cup of coffee and sits down in the lounge and puts his feet up. Turning on the television, he watches his favourite show, "Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons" and sighs. Kayo is currently out following a lead on The Hood, and she would be the only other person who could be up at this time. As an episode comes to an end, John appears on the hologram, interrupting his show.
"International Rescue. We have a situation," John says.
5... 4... 3... 2... 1... Thunderbirds are Go!
Soon, everyone is in the lounge. Alan says seated with his mug of coffee on one of the sofas by himself. Virgil and Gordon are sharing a sofa opposite him with Scott and Brains standing in front of them. Over at Jeff Tracy's desk, Marion sits with a bunch of documents lying around, clearly using this opportunity to get some extra paperwork done. A hologram of a dam is projected from the table with John and Kayo displayed behind it.
"You're looking at one of the l-largest hydroelectric dams in the world," Brains explains, "And right now its p-power generators are being pushed to the limit."
"That's no exaggeration. I can already see a crack forming," Virgil states.
"Thunderbird 5, what's the status of the workers in the turbine room?" Scott asks.
"Still no contact and the doors seem to be blocked from the inside," John says.
"Ugh, this mission needs all of us," Scott muses, "Gordon, Virgil, Alan, you'll follow me in Thunderbird 2. Kayo, what's Thunderbird Shadow's status?"
"On route to Tracy Island for refuelling," Kayo says, "I'll monitor from the lounge."
"I'll also say," Marion notes.
"FAB, see in you the sky," Scott motions to everyone else.
5
Scott and Virgil descend and get suited up.
4
Thunderbird 4 along with Pods A and B are loaded into Module 4.
3
Alan joins Gordon and boards Thunderbird 2 via the passenger elevator.
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!
February 2nd, 2063 - 09:23 PST
Within the hour, Thunderbird 1 arrives on the scene of the dam and does a quick fly around to assess the external damage.
"If getting into the turbine room directly is a no-go, what's the next fastest way inside?" Scott asks John.
"You see those big, giant overflow pipes?" John questions.
"Kinda hard to miss," Scott notes.
"They're called Penstock Tubes," John says as he observes the schematics of the dam in front of him, "You're looking for the auxiliary entrance to number six. It's at the top of the dam face."
"I wasn't planning on going for a swim John," Scott sighs as he lands Thunderbird 1 at the base of the dam and jetpacks up.
"My scan says it should be dry," John states.
"Okay, I'm on my way up," Scott says and gets inside the pipes before using the ladder to make his way down.
"Scrap in, Thunderbird 4. We're on approach," Virgil smirks.
"FAB. I just have one question; if you drop me off, how are you going to get the pods out?" Gordon questions. What Gordon doesn't know is that Virgil proceeds to lower Thunderbird 2 to just above the water and lowers the module slightly using the magnetic grapples to hold it in place.
"Glad you mentioned that. Better hold onto something!" Virgil smiles and opens the module so Gordon can finally see what's going on.
"Hey! What are you...?" Gordon starts but the module is tipped forwards and Thunderbird 4 goes sliding out and skims along the water like a stone before settling beneath the surface, "Okay, that was awesome! But a little more warning next time?"
"It was Alan's idea," Virgil laughs.
"Sorry Gordo'," Alan chuckles and Thunderbird 2 lands at the top of the dam.
"Scott, I'm tracking your location. You should be at the turbine room any moment," John explains.
"FAB," Scott replies as he continues his decent of the pipe, "I wouldn't want to be in here when someone turns on the tap."
Meanwhile, Virgil brings Pod A forward and starts to assemble the relevant parts together. "Gecko pod is go," Virgil announces and starts to make his way along the face of the dam towards the crack that has formed in the centre.
"Virgil, are you sure you don't want me to take the pod?" Alan asks.
"Not this time. I want to get a closer look at the crack," Virgil explains, "If it's small enough, I might be able to seal it with Nano-crete. How's it look on your side, Thunderbird 4?"
"Doesn't look good," Gordon states, "I'm going with cables. This isn't going to slow the leak, but it may stop the whole thing from splitting in two."
"John, are you sure I'm going the right way?" Scott asks as he continues his climb down the dam from the inside.
"Gentleman, we have a p-problem," Brains interjects, "Given the speed of those turbines, the electrical output from the dam should be exceptional, but readings from the bridge show barely a t-trickle of power coming out."
"Meaning?" Scott asks.
"Something inside that turbine room is taking all the power," Ridley yawns as she joins John in the mission control room, "Sorry you guys were talking too loud."
"Scott, I'm detaching something rapidly approaching you from below," John notes as an alert comes up.
"Shit!" Scott calls as he looks down, "A Scorpion Mecha!
"You have to get out of there," cries John but the Mecha goes straight past Scott and carries up the dam.
"It wasn't after me," Scott states.
"I guess that makes me the winner," Virgil sighs as he sees the Mecha approach him while he attempts to fix the crack.
"And you won't like the prize," Scott muses, "This means The Mechanic is here."
"As long as nothing gets in my way, I think I can fix this," Gordon says.
"Gordon, there's a Ray Mecha heading your way!" Ridley calls.
"Argh, a Ray Mecha!" Gordon cries as Thunderbird 4 is attacked with an electric pulse causing Gordon to go off balance, "The Mechanic's not leaving me out of this either. I had to say it."
"Uh, guys. I think I'm about to take that swim after all," Scott mutters as an alarm goes off above him as he sees the rush of water heading towards him. Thinking quickly, Scott activates his jet pack to keep him up.
"It's pulling me off the dam!" Virgil shouts as he engages with the Scorpion Mecha. Alan brings Thunderbird 2 into the air quickly and fires a grapple line at the Scorpion grabbing onto it and pulling it down into the water below.
"Bull's eye," Alan chuckles.
"Nice going, Alan," Virgil says and watches as the water flow increases, "Scott, you better be holding onto something."
"I'm improvising," Scott strains as he holds his jetpack at full power. The water flow eventually stops, and he removes his jetpack, "Good to know these jet packs work under water. Just wish they carried more fuel. Thunderbird 5, I need a full-spectrum transmission blast, every frequency."
"Go," Ridley states.
"To The Mechanic, this is International Rescue. Please respond," Scott states.
"I'm listening," The Mechanic states.
"Then you'll know what I have to say," Scott notes, "There are workers trapped inside that turbine room. We need to get them out."
"No harm will come to them if I'm left alone," The Mechanic replies.
"You're driving those turbines too hard," Scott argues, "It's already causing the dam to crack! If it breaks, that town downstream will be wiped out—"
"He's ended the transmission," Ridley interrupts.
"We need the GDF here. Fast!" Scott calls.
"Luckily I already called them," John states, "They're arriving now."
"Well, the Nano-crete sealant seems to be working. I just hope I don't run out," Virgil says and watches as anew gash of water breaks through part of the already sealed crack,"Well, this just got interesting. Thunderbird 2, we need to protect that town!"
"FAB. I'll start pushing dirt," Alan replies and flies off in Thunderbird 2.
"I can see the workers. They're okay, but the Mechas are pinning down the GDF," Scott sighs as he makes his way into the control room. He turns to his left and gasps, "Brains, you're gonna want to see this! What are we looking at?"
"Those tiny cylinders are high density supercapacitors," Brains explains.
"So, The Mechanic is charging batteries?" Kayo asks.
"Not just any b-batteries, Kayo," Brains says downcast, "These small devices are storing the output of an entire hydroelectric power plant. Gigawatts of power in the palm of your hand. He's got to be b-building something."
"Something incredibly dangerous," Kayo muses.
"Well, I'm not waiting any longer. I need to get these people outta here," Scott states and fires a grapple line and swings down onto one of the turbines. He turns around and shields his eyes as a Mecha approaches him, but the Mecha is shot down and Scott turns to see a GDF Captain, "Thanks. Scott Tracy, International Rescue."
"Captain Foster," the Captain introduces, "I've got you covered, Tracy. Let's go." The pair set off in the direction of the workers. As another Mecha approaches, Foster opens up her device as fires a grapple line at the Mecha before pulling it down. Scott keeps his focus on the workers as Foster deals with the Mechas.
"Is anyone injured?" Scott asks as the workers shake their heads, "Then I'm going to get you out of here. Are you ready to make a run for it?"
"Not until we shut down these turbines," one worker says.
"All right then, what do we have to do?" Scott asks.
"Get to the manual flow-control valves," he says.
"They're right behind that creepy guy," the other worker points.
"Our covers won't last much longer. Are we doing this or what?" Foster asks.
"Change of plan. We need to reach the control valves behind The Mechanic," Scott explains.
"Understood," Foster nods, "As soon as the path is clear, run. And I mean run!"
"Looks like the GDF got some upgrades," Scott notes as he watches Foster distract The Mechanic.
"Run!" Foster yells.
February 2nd, 2063 - 10:11 PST
"Come on, come on," Gordon strains as he fights with the Ray Mecha.
"Thunderbird 4, unless you want to see what the bright side of this dam looks like, I suggest you get out of there," Virgil says as water continues to break through the crack.
"One more cable to go," Gordon calls as he tries to shake off the Mecha, "Not good. I'm getting pulled in!" The crack in the dam wides and Thunderbird 4 is pulled in, "Whoa!"
"Gordon!" Virgil yells but is also cut off as the water burst through and takes the Gecko Pod out. The Gecko Pod and Thunderbird 4 crash down into the water below and beside each other near the riverbed. "Fancy meeting you here," Virgil chuckles and radios Alan, "Alan, I sure hope you're in position. It's about to get wet."
"FAB. Just finishing up the diversion channel now," Alan states as he moves the last of the dirt, "Oh-ho-ho, it worked!" Before he could celebrate further, the water suddenly floods towards him, "Whoa-oa-oaa!"
In the end, all three Tracy's end up further downstream and washed up on a bank. As the last of the water drains away, Thunderbird 4 and the Gecko end upside down, while the Bulldozer washes up on its side.
"I'm okay, I think," Alan mutters.
"We bought ourselves some time with your cables, but we still need to deal with that crack," Virgil sighs, "Brains, any ideas?"
"As it happens, I have enough Nano-crete sealant to f-finish the job on the way to you now," Brains smiles and if on cue, Thunderbird S arrives carrying Module 5, with its tanks full of Nano-crete
"Wow,I'm impressed," Alan smiles.
"So am I. Brains did a great job upgrading Thunderbird Shadow's engines for your special delivery," Kayo notes.
"Thanks, Kayo. You're not a moment too soon. Let's get to work," Virgil smiles.
February 2nd, 2063 - 10:29 PST
"This will shut off the water flowing though the Penstock Tubes," the first worker says at the reach the controls.
"And shutting off the water will stop the turbines. Got it," Scott nods and watches the worker start to shut them off but sees an electric pulse off to his right and pushes the worker out the way, "Guess that's another way to stop the turbines."
"No matter," The Mechanic says as he looks up at the supercapacitors, "I got what I came for."
"So, did I. It's time to go!" Scott yells as the ceiling of the control room starts to come down on top of them.
"No argument here, pal!" the second worker says.
"We're leaving!" Scott shouts over to Foster.
"I'll take care of The Mechanic," Foster argues.
"He's not worth it. You don't have to be a hero!" Scott cries.
"I'll leave the hero business to you, Scott Tracy. My business is a very different kind..." Foster trails and brings out a control panel to remove the disguise, "Unfinished."
"The Hood!" Scott snarls.
"You've been masquerading as a GDF officer all this time just to find me?" The Mechanic chuckles.
"I consider it a public service. Though I admit, I expected more of a challenge when I did," The Hood muses.
"Now I know who I'm dealing with I'll make it one," The Mechanic responds and activates another electric pulse and fires it at The Hood.
"Sorry, pal, I really don't want to stick around for the light show," the first worker says to Scott, who continues to watch to two criminals interact, "If you know what I mean."
"You're right. Come on," Scott sighs and turns his eyes away only to see their exit blocked by falling rocks, "Is there another way out?"
"Only one," the second worker says and indicates upwards to the pipes. Scott fires a grapple up as The Mechanic and The Hood continue to fight. Scott allows the workers to go up ahead first and before he follows, he places a camera down facing the action in front of him.
"Brains, I need you to keep an eye on things here," Scott states.
"RAD," Brains replies.
February 2nd, 2063 - 10:33 PST
"This Nano-crete is stronger than concrete," Virgil states, as he uses the supply from Module 5, "The dam will be good as new when we finish."
"Yeah, if The Mechanic doesn't bring the whole thing down first," Scott states, "He's fighting The Hood in there remember."
"As if this day couldn't get even more interesting," Gordon groans.
February 3rd, 2063 - 05:34 NZDT
Brains watches The Mechanic and The Hood through the camera that Scott had set up. Both had paused in their conflict but remained poised.
"You should have left well enough alone," The Mechanic states.
"I never forgive. And I never forget, but I have to give you credit, whatever you have planned has made me quite curious," The Hood smirks.
"You haven't figured it out yet," The Mechanic laughs, "It was your idea."
"Project Sentinel?" The Hood questions and raises his eyebrows
"Sentinel?" Brains mutters.
"You must be joking," The Hood scoffs, "I decided that was far too extreme. Even for me."
"I, on the other hand, have no such reservations. It would have been me building it for you, after all. Now there's nothing stopping me from picking up where we left off!" The Mechanic cries as rocks begin to tumble around him causing him to get distracted allowing The Hood to start charging at him.
"Except me!" The Hood yells and knocks The Mechanic off his feet.
February 2nd, 2063 - 10:36 PST
"I'm almost to the top. How are you doing Gordon?" Virgil asks.
"Still pumping. By the way this stuff washes off right?" Gordon questions.
"No, that's the point," Virgil replies.
"Oh, just checking," Gordon responds, his voice going slightly higher.
"You didn't get any on Thunderbird 4, did you?" Virgil grins.
"Let's focus on the positives, shall we?" Gordon nervously chuckles, "Like, we save a whole town today!"
"Brains is not going to be happy about this," Virgil states.
"I know," Gordon sighs.
February 2nd, 2063 - 10:37 PST
Scott and the workers exit through the top access point and are greeted by GDF Officers. Scott charges straight over to the one who looks to be in charge.
"What's your name?" Scott asks.
"Lieutenant Rigby, Sir," he replies.
"Well Lieutenant, The Hood is down there. We can't let him or The Mechanic leave with those power cells," Scott explains.
"Seal off the area," Rigby calls into his radio, "Nothing gets outta here."
Moments later everyone hears a rumbling sound coming from the reservoir and The Mechanic's ship comes flying out.
"Kayo?" Scott calls.
"I'm on it," Kayo replies and follows after in Thunderbird S.
"The seal on my side is complete," Virgil announces, "No more cracks."
"Same here. No more leaks," Gordon states as he surfaces in Thunderbird 4 that is covered in Nano-crete.
"What do you see down there, Scott?" Virgil asks
"Aside from a big mess, nothing," Scott sighs, "No sign of The Hood, no sign of the power cells. Somebody got away with them."
"Not so fast," Kayo replies coolly.
"Please tell me you got the power cells?" Scott asks.
"I got the power cells," Kayo smirks, "I noticed one of the GDF fliers heading in the wrong direction, so I followed it instead. The Hood was aboard with these."
"You don't happen to have him tied up there with them, do you?" Rigby asks into Scott's communicator.
"He crashed the ship and got away," Kayo replies with slight anger in her voice, "But not before I could pluck these from the cargo hold. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go help Alan."
"Why? What's wrong with Alan?" Scott asks as he watches Thunderbird S put the batteries down.
"Oh nothing," Kayo says and ends the transmission. She flies over to where Alan is waiting in the Bulldozer and lands next to him, "Well, well, well... what do we have here?"
"I'm going to owe you for this, aren't I?" Alan sighs.
"Oh, I dunno," Kayo smirks as she gets out of Thunderbird S and walks over to him, "Depends on what you have to offer."
"A month's supply of Jacques Torres Chocolate," Alan winces, knowing it's Kayo's favourite chocolate.
"Hmm," Kayo thinks and is about to agree but Alan decides to up the ante.
"A year's then," Alan states, "As well as a spa week to Aja Malibu, California."
"Wow Alan," Kayo smiles and successfully hides the blush that is trying to force its way onto her cheeks, "You do know how to make a girl swoon. Deal."
February 3rd, 2063 - 07:19 NZDT
Everyone makes it back to Tracy Island and gathers in the lounge. Marion still sits at the desk with multiple holograms around her, and she doesn't look so happy. Scott and Virgil sit on one of the sofas across from Alan and Kayo. Alan is currently braiding Kayo's hair, while she relaxes and slips on a hot chocolate (that Alan made). She seems a bit agitated with the resurfacing of her uncle so soon after he had escaped prison. Gordon sits on his own looking at the floor and Brains paces back and forth.
"Honestly, I'm not surprised to see The Hood back. But I hope we never have to get between those two again," Scott states.
"Does he look angry? He looks angry," Gordon mumbles and puts his head in his hands, "It's about Thunderbird 4, isn't it?"
"It's not about Thunderbird 4, G-Gordon," Brains denies, "This is much, much worse."
"Good!" Gordon says happily sitting up but then puts the act back on, "I mean 'oh no!'"
"Marion has seemed to have w-worked out what The Mechanic is trying to b-build," Brains states and everyone turns to Marion.
"I've decoded every scrap of data from The Hood's operation that mentions a 'Project Sentinel'. I got exactly one hit, attached to this schematic," Marion says and pushes a schematic over to the main monitor and walks over to join everyone, "This is only a small part of what will likely be a larger machine."
"What is it? Some kind of engine?" Alan asks.
"It's a laser. The most p-powerful one I've ever seen," Brains sighs, "In the wrong hands, it could be devastating."
"You're forgetting one important thing," Kayo says as she sips on her drink again, "We still have the batteries."
"That's some comfort Kayo," Marion says, "But I suspect it won't stop The Mechanic for long."
"Well on that cheerful note, who wants to help me chip the Nano-crete off Thunderbird 4?" Gordon asks and stands up to look around the room. No one volunteers and Gordon gets worried, "Anybody? Somebody? Please? Max?"