August 12th, 2063 - 09:42 CDT
Kayo runs along through a corridor until she comes across a red beam across a massive drop onto some red matting. Without hesitating, Kayo charges her way along the beam as it starts to break behind her. She jumps as the one in front of her breaks away and she manages to grab onto the other side before carrying on her run. The next corridor has a maze of moving blocks that could crush her, but using her agility, Kayo makes it through in seconds. At the end, she uses her momentum to push herself from wall to wall and get to the top of the ladder. Jumping a gap, she makes contact with the wall and sticks to it before looking up.
"So much for your head start," Kayo scoffs as she sees the Tracy brothers and girls above her, "How's it going up there?"
"Same as down there, only higher," Scott calls from the top, and looks over to John who's acting very tentatively testing the grip of the gloves.
"Come on, pick up the pace! I can move faster than that," Sally shouts from the side line with a stopwatch and clipboard, "They're already twenty seconds behind."
"20.7 seconds, actually. But it's g-good to know my new Gecko gloves are working," Brains nods.
"Maybe I should take the lead for a change?" Gordon jokes.
"Actually, that's not a bad idea," Virgil chuckles and shares a look with Scott before both of them haul Gordon up.
"Hey! What are you doi— Woah!" Gordon cries as gets thrown up the wall, "That's not what I had in mind!"
"Scott, can you lift me?" Marion asks as with the help of Virgil also gets thrown up.
"Me next!" Nina calls.
"This is getting too easy for them," Sally mumbles to Brains.
"It's not supposed to be a race, we're j-just testing out new equipment," Brains states.
"Then let's see how well those gloves really work," Sally states.
"Max, go and s-shake things up a bit," Brains says and Max rolls away to the control unit at the back. At the front, sections of the wall begin to push outwards taking everyone off guard. Ridley is almost thrown off the wall straight away if it's not for Alan acting quickly and grabbing onto her, keeping her steady. Scott stops as the panel he's on is pushed out and Gordon, Nina and Marion go well ahead of him. John suddenly gets hit in the chest by one and is thrown off the wall. Using her quick reflexes, Kayo grabs his right boot.
"Thanks," John sighs, "Gravity's not really my thing."
"That's the idea, but tell Max to take it down a notch," Sally says to Brains. Brains nods and taps on the holo-screen but nothing changes.
"I c-can't. Something is blocking Max's signals. He's out of control!" Brains cries and charges up the ramp to get to Max physically but Max locks Brains out of the control section. The speed of the panels increases, and Scott starts to lose his grip with his left hand. He lets go but the panel under his right hand pushes out and like John previously, he goes flying off the wall.
"Scott!" Marion cries looking down as Scott goes crashing towards the floor.
5... 4... 3... 2... 1... Thunderbirds are Go!
Virgil watches as Scott falls past him and tactically let's go of the wall allowing Scott to grab onto his legs. Before they could both go off the wall, Nina drops and Virgil grabs onto her legs and all three of them come to a stop.
"What's happening to Max?" Virgil asks.
"I don't know, but we need to shut him down, fast. Everyone, Manoeuvre Seventeen, now," Scott orders. Everyone grabs onto each other's legs in the order of: Gordon, Marion, Alan, Ridley, Nina, Virgil, Scott, John and Kayo.
"Get ready to swing," Kayo orders from the bottom and everyone starts to swing side to side, and Kayo watches the panels before calling, "Now!" In the last swing, Kayo lets go of John and goes inside one of the panels as it comes out. This gains her access to the control unit and Max that are both behind the wall. She tries to knock him away from the controls but her starts to fight back and takes a swing at her. "Easy Max," Kayo mutters and jumps underneath him and presses a button which shuts Max down before he could have a slash at her face. Kayo sighs in relief and opens the doors for Brains to run through.
"M-My apologies! It's as though Max had a m-mind of his own," Brains explains.
"It's alright, Brains. No harm done," Kayo says and takes a step backwards and letting her hair down.
"This has never happened before. I'll need to w-work out what went wrong before we can resume any more t-training," Brains says.
August 12th, 2063 - 10:18 CDT
"What a lovely place," Penelope says as she looks out from the front porch, "I can see why you come here every year."
"It isn't just for the view," Gordon states, "Grand Roca Ranch is the perfect location for testing new gear."
"Nice h'of your father to build this little 'ome h'away from 'ome," Parker nods.
"Actually, the Ranch belonged to the boys' mother," Sally says, "It's been in her family for generations."
"It's very quaint," Ridley sighs and rests her head against John before quickly looking up at the sound of electricity buzzing inside.
"Oh!" Brains exclaims. He's kneeling on the floor next to Max examining him. Kayo looks over from her seat at the window and sighs in content as Alan combs the knots out of her hair. Brains stands up and scratches his head, "I still can't w-work out what made Max alter his programming."
"Oh, well, guess we'll just have to start over tomorrow," Nina says and turns on the television in the corner of the room.
"Uh, it's her again!" Marion groans as she recognizes the reporter, "How many times to they have to play this thing?"
"The GDF has refused to comment on events, but how long can their silence continue? With both The Hood and his former henchman The Mechanic, still at large, serious questions remain. How did such a massive escape go undetected, and what exactly was International Rescue's role in all of this? My in-depth report tomorrow, on the Kat Cavanaugh show," the report says. Sally comes inside and immediately turns off the TV and stands behind the chair Scott's sitting at.
"No more screen time today. This is our chance to be together as a family," Sally states.
"Hey, remember when Mom used to take us all horse riding?" Virgil says as he looks up from his drawing he's working on of Nina.
"Oh yeah, especially when Gordon was facing the wrong way," John chuckles, "I think there's a picture here somewhere." Alan looks over to his brother and sighs which Kayo hears and turns to her.
"Alan, are you alright?" Kayo asks.
"I don't really have much to add to the conversation," Alan sighs, "My brothers all have someone to tell a tale to but..."
"I know what you mean," Kayo sighs.
"Oh yeah right, you were away at school most of that time too, weren't ya?" Alan mumbles.
"Yeah..." Kayo trails and sighs again as Alan continues to comb her hair.
"Are you alright, Kayo?" Alan asks.
"Well, you see Al, I kinda have a cr—" Kayo starts before an alarm goes off making her jump to her feet, "We have an intruder."
"I'm sure it's nothing. Probably another stray coyote," Sally states but when Kayo turns the TV on again, it only shows static.
"It's only showing static. I'll need to check it out," Kayo states.
"I can go too— uh, if you need a hand that is?" Alan says and Virgil looks at Alan with raised eyebrows.
"You boys need to prepare for more training. Let Kayo—" Sally starts.
"Actually," Scott interjects, "That's not a bad idea, Alan."
"What?! I mean, sure, cool," Alan smiles.
"We'll come along. Nothing like a little excitement to make one feel at home," Penelope says and makes her way along with Kayo to their respective vehicles. A hatch at the top of the mound behind the ranch opens and Thunderbird S and FAB 1 take off.
"Thunderbird Shadow to FAB 1," Alan informs, "I'm picking up a tripped wire in the northwest section." Alan then hears beeping coming from the controls and looks over Kayo's shoulder to see that everyone has shut down.
"What's going on?" Alan asks.
"Shadow's systems just went down," Kayo growls and tries to get Shadow back under control.
"I c-can't bring it back online! You need to bail out!" Brains states.
"Wait, I can still bring it back to the ground. Not exactly my first rough landing," Kayo chuckles and Alan smirks and watches as Kayo lowers the landing gear. Shadow crashes into the ground and skids along the surface before coming to a stop."Still in one piece. FAB 1, what's your position. Something strange just happened to Thunderbird Shadow, so be careful."
"We're approaching the section now," Penelope says as sees something glinting in the sunlight.
"M'lady look, something's 'out there!" Parker exclaims as FAB 1 powers down like Thunderbird S had done previously, "H'oh! The car's gone bonkers!"
"Crash dive, Bertie. Crash dive!" Penelope says and Alan and Kayo watch from the ground as FAB 1 flies by with the engines stalling.
"'Ang on, m'lady!" Parker cries and FAB 1 hits the ground and skids to a stop.
"Oh!" Penelope states as she gets out the car and places Sherbet on the bonnet, "Sherbet, stay here, and... guard FAB 1." Sherbet barks and Penelope walks over to Alan and Kayo who are approaching. Together, the group of four head over to the object that is glittering in the sunlight, and they see a black box camera at the entrance of a small canyon. Penelope and Parker put hard hats on while Kayo and Alan put their helmets on. They carefully make their way forward until they come to an end where a pile of rocks blocks the view of what's behind. Kayo and Alan go around one side while Penelope and Parker go around the other. Kayo gets ready to pounce but there's nothing behind the rocks.
"Cor! It seems h'our intruder 'as vanished into thin 'air!" Parker says and takes a seat on some rocks before falling backwards into a small cave, "Whoa!"
"Parker!" Penelope yells and Kayo manages to grab a hold of him, bringing him back up.
"Help! Somebody help me!" a voice shouts from the hole and Alan carefully takes a look down the hole, "Please, help!"
"International Rescue, we have a situation," Kayo mumbles into her com from behind Alan.
"Don't move! We're getting help," Alan calls down the hole.
"My legs! I think they might be broken!" the voice says again, and the person tries to get the rocks off her to no avail.
"I recognize that voice. It's Kat Cavanugh - the reporter," Penelope states.
"Try to keep her calm. We'll be there in—" Scott starts but the screen flickers and he loses contact with Penelope.
"We've lost communications," Nina states.
"Another malfunction?" Virgil questions.
"I don't understand what's going on," Brains groans and puts his head in his hands.
"Me neither. But Max, FAB 1, Thunderbird Shadow all malfunctioning," Ridley lists.
"It can't be a coincidence," John states
"You don't think the reporters behind all this, do ya?" Gordon asks.
"I f-find that hard to believe, but anything is p-possible," Brains replies, "Whatever the cause, this must be a system wide problem."
"Well, whatever it is, someone's in need of rescue," Sally adds, "This is no time to stand around."
"Grandma's right. I'll take Thunderbird 1 to the ravine with Marion. Everyone else head to Thunderbird 2 and follow," Scott orders
3
Everyone gets suited up.
2
Thunderbird 2's passenger door drops to allow everyone, bar Scott and Marion, on board.
1
Thunderbird 1's hatch opens to allow Scott and Marion to enter.
"Thunderbirds are—" Scott starts.
Thunderbirds 1 and 2 however, both shut down. "Oh, come on!" Marion shouts. Everyone gets back out and meet with Brains at the bottom of the ranch's hanger.
"I suspect the equipment problem is in the Z-Band network: the communications protocol that links all of our machines," Brains states.
"So, if all our ships are grounded, how are we going to get to the rescue site?" Scott asks.
"F-fortunately, there's still a ship here that is completely self-contained," Brains states and takes everyone to a new section of the hanger and everyone gasps in awe.
"What is this?" Gordon asks.
"This is Thunderbird 9," Brains explains, "It is d-designed to be a ground vehicle that is b-based at the ranch. I'm s-still working on Thunderbird 8."
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Nina states, "Let's get in."
"You guys go ahead," Ridley says and indicates over to John and Brains.
"We'll work get our coms working again," John explains and the three walk off.
9
Thunderbird 9's hanger lights turn on and it rotates into position.
8
Gordon presses a button and opens up the sides.
7
Marion enters at the front.
6
The back opens up and equipment is loaded into the back.
5
Scott gets into the driver's seat.
4
Virgil checks the equipment in the back.
3
Nina gets in behind Marion.
2
Everyone takes their seats.
1
The top of the hanger retracts.
Thunderbirds are Go!
August 12th, 2063 - 10:52 CDT
"Since EOS isn't affected by the m-malfunctions, I've downloaded her to a local memory bank," Brains explains to John and Ridley.
"Hello John, Ridley," EOS says, "You'll be pleased to know all systems on Thunderbird 5 are operating normally. Rescue calls are being forwarded to local authorities."
"That's a relief," John sighs.
"EOS, I need you to do a full system sweep. Look for anything unusual within the Z-Band Network," Ridley explains and they wait for a moment before EOS comes back with the results.
"Scan complete. One anomaly detected," EOS informs.
"Looks like one of the transmitter nodes has been modified," John states.
"That's B-back inside the hangar. I'll check it out," Brains says and starts to walk off.
"Should I come too?" John asks.
"You better stay in case the system comes b-back on. Just keep Max out of trouble," Brains says and leaves.
August 12th, 2063 - 10:57 CDT
Thunderbird 9 comes to a stop at the entrance to the hole and everyone jumps out and heads over to Alan and Kayo.
"What's Kat's condition?" Marion asks.
"Scared. But she's keeping still, as instructed," Kayo informs.
"Getting her out is not going to be easy," Nina notes.
"What if we use a jet pack?" Scott asks.
"Too risky with all these tech failures," Virgil states, "Plus, those rocks don't look too stable to begin with."
"Then I guess we'll just how to watch our step," Scott says and begins to head down the tunnel, holding onto the walls on either side. He also has a rope around his waist which Virgil is holding, per Marion's request. The Gecko gloves help with Scott's grip, and he looks down at the gap before jumping over to where Kat is located and kneels down next to her, "It's alright, I'm here to help you." He looks up at the sunlight streaming down from a hole in the ceiling and shouts back up, "Virgil, it looks like there's another entrance higher up."
"FAB, I'll have Gordon check it out," Virgil says and turns to Marion.
"Try not to move," Scott assesses, "You'll be fine once we get you out of here."
"You know who I am, don't you?" Kat sighs.
"Yeah, I do. And we know what you've been saying about us," Scott adds.
"I'm surprised you didn't just leave me here to rot," Kat says.
"Right now, you're someone in a tough spot that needs help. Who you are or what you've done doesn't matter," Scott says and glances at Marion who's made her way slightly in, "Here comes Marion now."
"I'll start rigging a system to lift you both out using Thunderbird 9," Marion states, "We'll take it one step at a time." Gordon gets into Thunderbird 9 and drives round to the top entrance to the hole. He reverses, with the back facing the hole opening the back of the vehicle up to present a crane. Alan, how also joined him, rips a seat out and they attach it to several ropes and start to lower it into the hole.
"You're risking your life to save mine," Kat states, "All of you."
"You know that's what we do, right?" Scott chuckles, "It's the 'Rescue' part in 'International Rescue'."
"Even when I was out to ruin you?" Kat asks.
"I'm trying not to take that personally," Scott says as he grabs the seat.
"Scott, are you ready?" Nina asks and watches as Scott uses his body to prevent some falling rocks from landing on Kat.
"Clamped in and ready to go, Nina," Scott replies, "Let's do this."
"Chair winch is ready," Alan says.
"Retrieval winch is ready," Gordon adds.
"Rockslide winch is ready," Kayo states.
"Okay, this is gonna happen very quickly," Marion calls down.
"Kat, all you need to do is relax and we'll take care of the rest," Scott says.
"Uh-huh," Kat mumbles.
"Gordon's line has too much twist. Stand by for a second," Virgil shouts.
"Alright," Marion says and they both disappear from view. Kat grabs onto Scott's arm as she prepares to be moved. Kayo and Penelope double check their rope when there's a beeping sound.
"Kayo, can you hear me?" Ridley asks.
"Guys! You got the comms working!" Kayo replies as she sees holograms of John and Ridley appear on her communicator.
"Long story. Short version: The Mechanic is here," John growls. Everyone looks at each other in shock and anger at The Mechanic entering their personal home.
"Thunderbird Shadow?" Kayo asks.
"Should be working fine now," Ridley confirms.
"You go. I'll handle this," Penelope says and allows Kayo to rush off and go. Alan looks over at Kayo running off and worry is clearly shown on his face. Parker then approaches Alan from behind and taps him on the shoulder.
"H'allow me, Mr Alan, Sir," Parker says and Alan breathes a sigh of relief and gives Parker a thankful look before running after Kayo.
"Should we go back for a ship?" Nina asks.
"Negative. These rocks are gonna slide at any moment. This is our only option," Marion says as she looks over at the rocks, "Scott?"
"Okay, on my mark. Ready..." Scott says and everyone prepares to retract the ropes from Thunderbird 9's unit, "Mark!" Penelope retracts the winch that moves the rocks pinning Kat down, and this allows Scott to quickly move her onto the chair. Kat screams in pain and Parker takes it as his cue to start retrieving his cable. "We're clear," Scott announces, and Gordon is the final on to bring the cable it but slower than the other two.
"See? That wasn't so bad," Gordon mutters and Virgil and Nina help wheel Kat in.
"Easy for you to say, little brother," Scott says and is helped up by Marion. Soon, everyone is out of the cave and Gordon gets a stretcher out of Thunderbird 9 to secure Kat.
August 12th, 2063 - 11:13 CDT
Kayo flies her and Alan towards the ranch and they both watch as The Mechanic's ship takes off from one of the silos.
"We have eyes on The Mechanic. Should Kayo pursue?" Alan asks.
"Negative. He could have counter measures, and we don't want you getting shot down," Ridley states.
"Don't worry, EOS is tracking his movements and we've alerted the GDF," John adds.
"FAB," Kayo sighs and reluctantly breaks off from her chase.
August 12th, 2063 - 11:26 CDT
Everyone is safely back at the ranch and Virgil and Nina assesses the extent of Kat's injuries. Scott explains to her what will happen in terms of getting her to a hospital. Kayo stands alone on the balcony overlooking the desert landscape in front. She sighs and doesn't hear Alan approaching from behind.
"So much for making memories here," Alan states.
"Fucking hell!" Kayo cries and goes to punch Alan in the face out of reflex, but thanks to several years of sparing with her, Alan manages to dodge the hit.
"Woah! Take it easy, K," Alan smiles.
"Bloody hell, Al," Kayo breathes.
"Sorry," Alan chuckles, "What you doing out here by yourself?"
"Nothing..." Kayo trails.
"Oh," Alan sighs, "I thought— never mind."
"What?" Kayo asks.
"Did you want to finish that conversation from earlier?" Alan winces, scared of her answer.
"What conver— Oh," Kayo realises, "Sure."
"You know I prefer it when you have your hair down, right?" Alan states indicating to Kayo's hair which isn't in its usual ponytail.
"I've noticed," Kayo chuckles and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear, "So... I've been meaning to tell you this for a while, but I've felt that I haven't deserved it."
"Deserved what?" Alan inquires, "Kayo, you deserve everything you want. You've been dragged through the mud more than anyone else combined."
"Happiness, Al," Kayo sighs, "But a lot of people have made me realise that maybe I do deserve it."
"Such as?" Alan asks.
"Well, surprisingly I remember Gordon's the most," Kayo chuckles.
"Really?" Alan laughs, "The joker got serious?!"
"Yeah," Kayo giggles, then sighs looking away from Alan, "I just hope I don't scare you."
"Now you're joking," Alan says, "Kayo, you've never scared me, and never will."
"You sure I can count on that in the next ten seconds?" Kayo asks.
"Absolutely," Alan replies.
"I have a crush on you," Kayo winces and turns fully away from Alan.
"Wha..." Alan gapes in shock. A million thoughts go through his mind.
"See," Kayo sighs, "I've scared you. Sorry, I've gotta go."
Kayo starts to rush back inside when the cogs in Alan's head finally turn, and he instinctively reaches out to Kayo and grabs her hand. "Wait!" Alan says and pulls Kayo in closing the gap between their bodies. Alan could hear both of their heart beats going millions of miles per second. Hammering into their chests, wanting to explode outwards. He lifts his right hand and brings it to Kayo's face. Kayo sucks in a breath and before she knew it, she felt the warm lips of Alan Tracy on hers. She stiffens initially at the contact before melting into it and returning the kiss. They stay there for what felt like hours, but in reality, it's seconds. They finally break away when they need to take in air. They feel each other's hot breathes on their skin and they make eye contact before smiling widely.
"Wow," Kayo says overjoyed.
"You have no idea how much I wanted to say that to you as well," Alan smiles.
"Wait... you mean?" Kayo asks.
"For a spy you're pretty slow," Alan chuckles, "Yes, I have a crush on you too."
They stare at each other again before melting into another kiss. Finally, they've reached happiness.