Thank you so much to everyone that has - it really means so much to me!
Chapter Two is much longer than its predecessor - advanced warnings for language!
Gravity had never been John Tracy's friend.
He despised the way it made his limbs feel sluggish and heavy when he was Earth-bound: How the pull on his body often distracted him enough to cloud his thoughts.
How it was now responsible for grasping hold of his two older brothers, dragging them both down as the fragile ground beneath their feet had crumbed away.
"Virgil!"
And yet, as he floated there in the weightlessness of space, listening to the shouts over the open communications channel, he found himself loathing the fact that he wasn't right there in the danger zone to offer any physical assistance: How all he could do was watch helplessly as the bold green icon representing Virgil on his holographic map of the area descended further down the steep contours before coming to rest on an out cropping. How just mere seconds after that, the deep blue icon that represented Scott seemed to follow suite, slowing in a slightly more controlled manner near Virgil's location.
His role on board Thunderbird Five was both a blessing and a curse.
"John."
The space monitor flinches as EOS' child-like pitch pulls him out of his uncharacteristically anxious musings and back into the present. He can already tell from her flat tone of voice that his comrade has less than good news.
"Biometrics on Virgil's suit have picked up blunt force trauma to the chest," the A.I. stated. "I suspect he will require medical assistance."
"Isn't Scott down there with him?" John frowns, checking the icons on the hologram again. He can see that Gordon appears to be safely within the confines of Thunderbird Two - probably securing the two explorers before gathering any necessary equipment required to retrieve their stricken brothers.
"I do not believe the decision was made entirely by choice," EOS replied. "Sensors in his flight suit have picked up trauma to his right shoulder."
John blinked for a moment before it clicked in his head.
Ah, yes.
Brains had recently upgraded their uniforms during their last bout of downtime. The spectacled genius had nestled some extra sensory nanotechnology into the fabric of their suits; allowing for increased biometric data whilst out on the field.
Technically, it was all still in the trial and testing phase.
John was not taking any risks.
"Thunderbird One. Do you read me?"
There was a beat of silence before he heard their Field Commander respond over the open communications channel.
"Fuck... That really hurt."
The tension in John's shoulders eased somewhat at the sound of his eldest brother's voice, cringing a little at the colourful choice of words from the ex-Air Force pilot. He had not missed the sharp intake of air, followed by the hiss of pain that had preceded it.
John frowned, lithe fingers dancing across the holographic panel before him. Scott's utility sash must have sustained some damage, disrupting the video feed. At least the audio seemed to be working...
He paused for a moment before tentatively approaching his next question.
"Are you okay?"
"I've walked away from worse, Thunderbird Five."
In spite of his worry over his brothers' current predicament, John managed a faint smile. "Point taken."
Scott was notorious for having an 'act now, worry later' attitude. Whilst it meant he had honed some impressively sharp reflexes and reaction times, it also had him throwing himself unnecessarily into the path of danger more times than his siblings cared to count. It was a reckless trait that he seemed to have developed from an early age - most probably as a form of outlet after their mother had passed away. And one that, despite numerous talks from his brothers - usually Virgil - did very little to curb any future risk taking; which, on bad days, ended in a trip to the infirmary.
John ever wondered if Scott knew just how lucky he was on particularly nasty days. He also often worried about what would happen when said luck finally ran out...
"John!"
EOS' voice was sharp, volume raised, expressing concern.
"Virgil!"
Scott's voice was almost in tandem; equally as alarmed over the comms.
"Virgil! Wake up! ...Shit!"
More of Scott's wonderful vocabulary. But John was hardly paying attention to the finer details as an alarm blared from the remote biometrics screen situated just off to his right.
"John! I need Gordon down here with the life support kit! Priority One!"
There was a rare, uncharacteristic hint of panic in the their Field Commander's terse voice.
The space monitor was quick to discover the cause.
He was no medic, but he had seen the live biometrics screens of his fellow teammates and family enough to know what a normal electrocardiogram looked like. And the disarray of electrical impulses emanating from Virgil's suit - especially next to the standard signals from Gordon and Scott's - was enough to simultaneously send chills down his spine and constrict his chest, his breath hitching in his throat.
"Virgil has gone into ventricular fibrillation," EOS stated. "Scott is applying manual cardiopulmonary resuscitation but it is impertinent that Gordon reach your brothers with the immediate life support equipment as soon as possible."
John felt winded as EOS' words drove home; confirming the disorganised, neon green line dancing before him.
It took him a further five seconds to finally tear his eyes away from the screen and patch through to Gordon.
"Gordon! I need you to drop everything and get to Virgil and Scott! Now!"
Another tense ending! I'm so sorry!
Also, Virgil fans, please don't kill me! D:
Please do leave a review if you're still enjoying this ^^;
