April 26th, 2063 - 18:03 NZST
April. The worst month for International Rescue. Most people would think it would be late December, with Christmas and New Year's around the corner but that isn't the case. This April, Penelope had decided to stay on the island for the month to take a bit of a vacation, but to also have a look how International Rescue operates from the side lines. Marion and Kayo had welcomed the extra female in the house and made it somewhat of a nightmare for the boys as they are well and truly kept in place. Gordon had embarrassed himself one to many times as he tries to impress Penelope and have left all three females in tears of laughter which left Ridley a bit jealous that she couldn't join them due to the volume of her workload. Penelope promised to return in the near future so all four of them could hang out together.
Meanwhile, up in Thunderbird 5, Ridley and John were doing a deep clean. Over the past few weeks, the tidiness of the ship had decreased massively, much to Ridley's displeasure. EOS has been helping by diverting minor rescue calls to the local authorities. John makes his way to the bathroom and moves a cabinet before gagging.
"Ugh!" John coughs as he tentatively picks up a mouldy bagel, "I'm not even going to think about how long that's been there." A beeping sound is heard and as John walks out of the bathroom, a hologram of a guide appears.
"Hello? Is anyone there?" the guide asks and looks at John then the bagel. John looks at the screen, then the bagel and back to the screen before throwing the bagel over his shoulder.
"Hey John—" Ridley starts entering the room before getting a bagel to the face, "What the fuck?! Is this mouldy?! I think I'm gonna puke..."
"This is International Rescue. Do you need assistance?" John asks quickly.
"Possibly," the guide mutters, "You see they never checked back in."
"Who never checked back in?" John questions.
"The Pendergast's. Buddy and Ellie Pendergast!" the guide exclaims.
"Ah..." John trails and ends the transmission, "Well, at least they stayed on Earth this time."
5... 4... 3... 2... 1... Thunderbirds are Go!
Scott, Gordon and Penelope are gathered in the lounge talking when John calls in and explains the situation.
"It's been over twenty-four hours, but the Pendergast's still haven't made it back to their checkpoint," John explains.
"That's not unusual for those two," Scott comments.
"I thought the same thing, so I checked the live satellite feed from the camera," John states, "They were searching for Great Horned Apes, but look what its filming now." He displays a hologram of the camera feed, which shows a part of the valley as though it is lying on the floor.
"So, they're either really into dirt or the camera's been dropped," Scott muses, "That's not a good sign."
"Local authorities are too afraid of this place to lead a search and rescue," John continues, "The Guide said you'd have to be 'crazy' to go in after them."
"Oohh, I'll do it!" Gordon cries and puts his hand in the air, "We can't let Buddy and Ellie disappear. They haven't finishing filming season fourteen yet."
"Okay, Thunderbird 5. Gordon and I will fly to the valley and take it from there," Scott states.
"Maybe I could join you?" Penelope asks, "It's been a while since I've seen you boys in action."
"I don't think—" Gordon begins.
"If you want Lady Penelope," Scott interrupts and heads over to the lamps, "Thunderbirds are go."
"Well, at least I get to see more adventures with the Pendergast's," Gordon says before turning to Penelope, "I'm such a huge fan."
"Really?" Penelope asks as she raises her eyebrows at Gordon's antics, "Huh, never would have guessed."
5
Scott descends and gets suited up.
4
Gordon and Penelope are brought into Thunderbird 1's hold and take a seat in the back.
3
Scott retracts the chair inside Thunderbird 1 and closes the hatch.
2
The launch pad starts to move.
1
Thunderbird 1 comes to a stop as the swimming pool above starts to retract.
Thunderbirds are Go!
April 26th, 2063 - 07:48 WAT
"Talk about remote," Scott sighs as Gordon checks data in the back, "There's hardly any info on the Mulokamba Valley. A pilot reported seeing lights in the area, but that was years ago."
"Apparently locals avoid the valley completely. No one goes in or out," Gordon shrugs.
"There's still plenty of activity," John notes from the data on the holo-screen in front of him, which show several areas of concentrated red dots, "I just ran a thermal scan picking up a ton of life scans."
"Did you find the Pendergast's?" Scott asks.
"Negative. There're too many readings to get a lock," John sighs, "And there must be some kind of glitch in my scanning equipment: it's picking up some unusually large life signs down there."
"Is Ridley around?" Penelope asks.
"Erm..." John trails, "I'll get back to you on that one."
"Keep trying to locate the Pendergast's," Scott says and starts to descend, "Approaching the valley now."
"Do you have visual on the ground?" John asks.
"Uh, not exactly. That's one thick set of clouds," Scott states, "I can't find a clear spot to land."
"Then we need someone on the ground," Gordon says and gets up and makes his way to the cargo bay doors, "I'll air drop through the clouds and survey the valley on foot. Couldn't be simpler."
"I'll join you," Penelope nods and the pair put their helmets on.
"Dive chute secured. Open the auxiliary hatch," Gordon says.
"You're clear," Scott says as he opens the hatch, "Ready to go 'Into the Unknown'?"
"FAB!" Gordon smiles and he jumps from the cargo hold before opening a yellow parachute. Penelope does the same from behind him.
"Dive chutes deployed," Penelope says, "Now to make a nice soft landing."
"Right, you are milady," Gordon states turning to look at her before turning back. He has to do a double take as he realises where they're going to end up, "Oh, no! Oh..." Gordon crashesthrough the trees leaves until the chute catches and he is left hanging over the river. He takes a deep breath and watches as Penelope gracefully ends up on the riverbank beside him and places her hand over her mouth to stop herself from laughing."Okay..." Gordon grumbles, "Not exactly soft but it could have been worse." As if on cue, the branch holding Gordon up begins to creak and he drops slightly.
"You just had to say something, didn't you?" Penelope giggles as she watches Gordon struggle to get himself free. The branch creaks again and the pair hear rustling in the bushes.
"Huh!" the pair say, and Penelope gets ready for a fight. Suddenly, a female she doesn't recognize comes through the bushes from the opposite bank.
"Ellie!" Gordon yells and the female looks up and grins at who she is seeing in the tree.
"Gordon Tracy!" Ellie shouts.
"In the flesh!" Gordon smiles and indicates to Penelope, "This is Lady Penelope, and we're here to rescue you." The branch creaks again, causing Gordon to fall a bit lower.
"Um, could you possibly throw us a rope?" Penelope asks, still holding back her laughter.
"Here you go," Ellie smiles and grabs a rope from her belt and throws it over to Gordon, who catches it.
"Thanks," Gordon calls before the whole tree begins to tip over, the roots pulling up from the ground. Gordon yells as he starts to fall forward and gets out of his parachute beforeswinging across towards the rocks on the other riverbank, where Ellie is. The tree falls into the river below and Gordon climbs up with the help of Ellie, "Thanks. Is Buddy with you?"
"I was hoping you'd seen him," Ellie says as she throws the rope back over to help Penelope swing across, which she does effortlessly, "We got separated when the creatures attacked us."
"You found the Great Horned Apes?" Gordon asks as he and Penelope take their helmets off.
"I don't know what they were! It all happened so fast," Ellie stammers, "We heard something in the bush charging for us. We went for cover and got separated. Next thing I knew Buddy was being dragged off! I've been looking for him ever since."
"Scott, did you get that?" Gordon asks.
"Ellie, this is Thunderbird 1. We'll get you out as soon as possible," Scott replies.
"I'm not going anywhere without Buddy," Ellie states, "He's still alive, I'm sure of it. And he needs our help."
"Scott, I think you should hold off on landing Thunderbird 1," Gordon says, "You can monitor our position while we look for Buddy and airlift us out once we find him. Like the old days with mission control."
"FAB," Scott laughs.
"Don't worry, Ellie. We do search and rescues all the time. Couldn't be simpler," Gordon chuckles as they make their way deeper into the rainforest and trips over "Shit!" Penelope manages to catch him before he lands face first in the mud and Gordon rubs the back of his head with embarrassment, "Sorry, didn't see the hole."
"Er, Gordon," Ellie mutters, "That's a footprint."
"Oh..." Gordon states looking at the large footprint and the bushes start to rustle.
"Did you hear that?" Penelope asks and looks ahead at where the sound came from.
"Something's there," Gordon whispers, "John, are you reading a life sign nearby?" The trio go back-to-back and start to circle each other on the spot in the silence that falls around them.
"Yeah but judging by the size it had to be a glitch," John states as the bushes continue to rustle.
"Nothing's wrong with your equipment, John," Gordon says as there's a growl.
"Are you sure?" John asks.
"Trust us," Penelope says and points over to a giant lizard over on a rock, metres away from them and licking its lips, "Run!"
"What are these!" Ellies yells as the creature hisses and follows them in the undergrowth.
"It reminds me of that episode from that old TV show called Attack of the Alligators," Penelope screams.
"Guys, what's going on down there?" Scott asks.
"I don't know!" Gordon yells as the creature hisses close behind them in pursuit, "Let me put it this way, my pet-store nightmare just came true. We can't stay down here, Scott! Can you see us?"
"This fog is getting worse. I can't see anything. I—" Scott says annoyed before dodging a large turret of rocks which are appeared in front, "Woah. Did you find a place to land Thunderbird 1?"
"Negative," Penelope says as they continue to run, "The tree canopy's too thick."
"What on Earth...? Do you see what I'm seeing?" Ellie suddenly says and Gordon looks either side of them.
"That depends," Gordon asks and picks one of them up as they run, "Are you seeing tomatoes the size of Thunderbird Four?"
"And peppers. And cucumbers," Penelope adds.
"This is no ordinary jungle!" Gordon states throwing the tomato aside so he can pick up the pace, "We're running through a super-sized vegetable garden. Wait a minute, if these are someone's crops, there might be a structure nearby."
Penelope opens up her communicator and does a scan of the area, "I'm picking up energy sources." They run up a slope and see some bio-domes becoming visible in the distance.
"You're right. Something's in that direction," Ellie points.
"Keep moving towards it. Let's see if we can shake this tail," Gordon orders. The creature closes in on them with a snarl.
"There it is!" Penelope says as the doors of one of the domes open allowing them to enter.
"Quick, get inside!" Gordon says and the doors close behind them, "Gordon to Thunderbird 1. We're safe for the moment."
"But how? Who sealed the door?" Ellies asks.
"That would be me love," a voice says, and everyone turns around to see Buddy sitting on some steps with a remote control.
"Buddy! You're alive!" Ellie cries and runs over to kiss him.
"Aw. Easy does it!" Buddy smiles and envelops Ellie into a warm hug.
"Are you hurt?" Ellie asks.
"Just a few bumps and bruises. Luckily the beastie grabbed this fella when he dragged me here," Buddy indicates to his amputated right leg, "I managed to wriggle free, and well, here I am!"
"Any idea where that is exactly?" Gordon asks.
"Orchard Industries," Buddy replies, "I saw the name on some equipment."
"Thunderbird 5, can you check on that?" Penelope asks.
"Searching," Ridley says after finally joining John again in the mission control room,"Orchard Industries claimed that they could greatly increase the size of crops, but they were shut down years ago."
"Does it say why?" Gordon asks.
"The GDF found out that the owner, Dr Orchard, and The Hood were friends. And there were reports of secret facilities in hidden locations," Ridley explains.
"That must be where we are!" Ellies exclaims, "A lab tucked away in a valley the locals are too afraid to enter."
"According to the files, they were experimenting with a new type of growth serum," John notes.
"Well, that explains the humongous plants out front," Buddy says.
"And if the reptiles ate those serum filled plants, which would explain how they got so big," Penelope muses.
"Scott, please get us out of here," Gordon begs.
"I'm working on it. I still can't find a landing spot for Thunderbird 1," Scott sighs, "Your evacuation needs to be somewhere out in the open."
"In other words, we'll have to run for it," Penelope states, "And try not to be fast-food along the way."
"You might not have to run mate," Buddy says and starts to walk away causing the other to follow, "I found something tucked away in one of the other rooms. This way. I'll get us there." He points up the stairs and they enter a corridor, "The labs are connected by these passageways, but stay alert - they're crawling with beasties." They continue on before hearing something. Gordon steps in front of everyone and puts a hand to his lips.
"Shh," Gordon quietens them and points down to the hall in front of them where the sound of one of the growling creatures is heard, "We need a detour: fast!"
"The vents!" Penelope whispers and opens one of the panels and climbs up, helping everyone else to go the same. They watch as the creature passes where they once stood, and Gordon goes to sneeze but holds it back after receiving a glare from Penelope. The creature disappears and Gordon goes to sneeze again but Penelope elbows him in the ribs and he stops for a few seconds before actually sneezing. The creature returns in a snap, growling fiercely.
"Aw crikey!" Buddy yells as everyone start moving the vent as fast as they could while the creature attempts to break through the panels. Gordon lags behind, checking over his shoulder ever few seconds to check he isn't going to become the next snack. Just as the creature breaks through, Ellie, who's in front, reaches the end of the vent at a silo.
"We're out of tunnel," Penelope says.
"And there's no turning back," Gordon notes as he sees the creature advancing from behind, "Jump!" They fall through the tunnel and through the gate on the other end.
"See! I told you I'd get us there!" Buddy groans as they all end up in a heap on the floor. Gordon looks up to see a canal.
"It's a hover boat," Gordon states as he gets to his feet, "We have a hover boat!"
"And this canal can take us all the way to the river. If the boat was working that is," Penelope notes and watches as Gordon gets on the back of the boat and tries to start the motor. The motor splutters repeatedly and doesn't start.
"Sounds like the engine manifold needs reconnecting," Gordon muses, "I just need a hypo-spanner to fix it."
"Well, the good news is I know where to find one," Buddy smiles.
"And the bad news?" Gordon asks.
"You have to get through that," Buddy points. They walk to a balcony and look down a pit where a hydro-spanner is seen but two creatures roam the area.
"You had to ask," Penelope says and everyone ducks down as the creatures start to growl.
"Okay, no reason to panic," Gordon stutters, "I'll just drop down, grab it and climb back up without disturbing our scaly friends."
"Couldn't be simpler," Penelope chuckles nervously.
"I'm beginning to hate that expression," Gordon sighs and looks up and sees a hook above them, "Then again, you might be right. We just need a few cables from my tool belt." They have Gordon connected to the cables, hovering above. He signals to Buddy to start lowering him down, but the cable slips through Buddy's hands unexpectedly and Gordon goes flying down before Buddy could grab the cable again. Gordon's descent is halted around three quarters of the way down. After a moment to collect himself again, Gordon signals for them to try again and winces as the creatures below growl. The connecting hook begins to pull and strain against the metal of the balcony. Gordon reaches down and manages to grab the hypo-spanner. He signals again to be pulled back up and Penelope and Buddy start to pull him up. The metal bar that's holding the hook, however, decides to give up and Gordon is sent crashing back down and lands on the ground. "Argh!" Gordon cries and lands with a thud, he lifts his head and see both creatures staring right back at him.
"Crikey!" Buddy yells.
"Gordon!" Penelope and Ellie cry as they run to the edge of the balcony and look down.
"Not good... Definitely not good," Gordon mumbles to himself and gets himself to his feet and starts to retreat. The reptiles growl and start bobbing their heads, "Er, what's with the head-bobbing?"
"They only do it when they're about to eat," Buddy calls.
"These things eat bug, right?" Gordon asks as he speeds up his retreat without turning his back on them.
"You look like a bug to them, mate," Buddy says as a failed reassurance.
"Okay, okay," Gordon says as the creatures advance, tripping over and rolling himself back to his feet. He is eventually cornered by both reptiles, "Sit, good lizard... I'm not very tasty!"
"Hey! Over here!" Penelope yells distracting the creatures and causing them to turn in the direction of the others while Gordon makes the wise decision to run.
"Yeah, come and get us, you overgrown amphibians!" Buddy calls and he and Ellie join in waving their arms around.
"They're reptiles, love," Ellie whispers.
"Sorry, common mistake," Buddy replies and watches as Gordon makes it to the top of a pile of rubble, "Heads up, Gordo'!" The reptiles go after him again, but Gordon uses the cable that's still attached to him to swing across to the balcony where a very grateful Penelope grabs him and pulls him into a hug.
"I thought I lost you," Penelope mumbles into Gordon's shoulder.
"Hey," Gordon says pulling away and forcing Penelope to look at him, "It's okay, I'm here, I'm alive."
"Glad you're still in one piece," Buddy states interrupting the moment and getting a slap from Ellie as a result, "Ow!"
"Erm... guys!" Gordon suddenly says and points, "Run!" They rush out and back to the hover boat with the reptiles in hot pursue of them. They go through a doorway and with the help of Penelope, Ellie manages to force it shut trapping the reptiles on the other side. Gordon rushes over to the hover boat and starts to do his repairs.
"The repairs will only take a few minutes!" Gordon states and everyone hears the sound of vent covers rattling.
"I'm not sure we have that long!" Buddy yells.
"It's in the ventilation system!" Ellie exclaims as she hears a growl from one of the grates and takes a closer look before jumping back as a reptile appears, "Whoa!"
"Almost there," Gordon mutters as he continues to work. Ellie blocks the entrance of the grates before turning back to Gordon. "Come on. I'll give up Celery Crunch Bars for a year if you'll please just start!" The crates that Ellie put in place start to wobble.
"Hurry Gordon!" Penelope says and the engine finally starts.
"Yes! Hop on and hang tight," Gordon announces and everyone gets on the boat just as the reptiles break through. The boat is lowered into the canal and starts to move.
"Alright! Now that's what I call an adventure!" Buddy exclaims then jumps to the side as a reptile appears from the side of the river.
"It's not over yet," Penelope mumbles and looks either side of the river where tons of the reptiles are lined up. Gordon steers around the ones that had gotten too close to the river for his liking.
"Easy. Easy," Gordon mutters as he sees a reptile sitting on an overhanging tree and breathes a sigh of relief when it doesn't attack them, "Yes!"
"Er... Gordon... they're closing in fast," Ellie points out.
"Um... I'm more concerned about that," Gordon points to a large tomato that is blocking their path.
"Whoo-ee," Buddy exclaims, "That tomato's bigger than a whale's pyjamas."
"Guys, I need you at the back of the boat," Gordon says and everyone goes to the back of the boat, "Get ready to jump."
"Sure," Penelope breathes, "Just tell us when."
"Now!" Gordon cries and puts the throttle right down and they lift off and over the tomato before landing in the water again.
"Nice one!" Buddy shouts.
"You knew that would work?" Ellie exclaims in wonder.
"More like guessed," Gordon says sheepishly and then turns to the engine as it starts to splutter.
"The engine's toast," Penelope states.
"Huh...?" Gordon wonders as he looks ahead before looking very alarmed, "Hover boat to Thunderbird 1. We're about to be really, really out in the open."
Scott moves in closer tracking Gordon and Penelope on his sonar scan that is displayed in front of him. He sees the waterfall marked on the map, which is to his left and picks up the pace.
"We'll get one shot at this," Penelope says.
"Are you both ready?" Gordon asks the Pendergast's knowing Penelope is.
"As ready as we'll ever be," Ellie says.
"Too right, Els," Buddy nods.
"Alright then," Gordon replies and calls Scott, "Scott, can you give us something to grab?"
"FAB. Lowering cargo net," Scott announces.
They rapidly approach the fall and Gordon allows thePendergast's to hold onto either side of him while Penelope gets onto his back and raps her hands around his neck. As soon as the hover boat starts to reach the edge Gordon gets ready to jump.
"And... jump!" Gordon states and everyone does just as the hover boat hits the top of the waterfall and plunges into the basin below. Thunderbird 1 swoops down and picks up everyone's lift signal and tracks their decent before calculating where they would land and gets out his cargo net. He swiftly catches them and regains altitude taking everyone away from the rainforest.
"Hang tight, guys, I'll bring you in," Scott announces.
"What an adventure!Too bad none of it was recorded!" Buddy sighs
"Maybe not today, but season fifteen is just around the corner!" Ellie says.
"Oh, you're doing another season! Oh wait 'till I tell Alan!" Gordon exclaims.
"I just hope we have enough material," Buddy comments, "Occasionally we're told our show is too far-fetched."
"Really?" Penelope says sarcastically, "I never would have guessed."
April 27th, 2063 - 00:27 NZST
It's late in the evening and Scott, Gordon and Penelope were the only ones on the island still up. Kayo had recently left in Thunderbird S tracing a lead on The Mechanic in Venezuela.
"GDF hazmat teams have begun removing all traces of the growth serum from the area," Ridley says.
"And the... uh... local wildlife?" Scott asks.
"They're sending specialists to transport the reptiles from the valley. They'll be sent to refuges and monitored around the clock," John nods.
"Good to hear," Penelope smiles.
"Think you'll join me... I mean us on a rescue mission again, in the future?" Gordon asks.
"As long as you don't pull any stupid stunts then yes," Penelope says.
"Sweet!" Gordon celebrates and smirks as he looks over at Scott, "Just don't pull my hair out if you get angry at me."
"GORDON!"