I don't own the Thunderbirds or the characters, just the ones I made up. Enjoy!

Virgil peered down, trying to get a glimpse of his brother. Shaking his head, he glanced around at the people scattered around the pod bay. He pressed a button on his communicator, and spoke into the microphone. "Mac, can you come out and give me a hand here? We've got to get these people organized."

"Give me a minute. I've just about got this guy stabilized."

"FAB." Virgil moved over to where a large group of people were standing. He cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted over the din. "Excuse me! Excuse me!!" The talked quieted down as everyone turned to look at him. "I need everyone to move back, keep this area clear. We have more people to bring up and need the space. As soon as we get them up, we'll be able to get out of here. Thank-you for your cooperation." He started herding people towards the edges of the ship.

Steve appeared a few moments later, and began to help. Virgil asked about the heart attack victim. "He's fine for now, but we need to get to a hospital sooner rather than later. Anything from the others?" Steve asked.

Virgil shook his head. "Nothing. John went down after them."

"John?" Steve's eyes grew wide. "That's not good, Virgil. He may not be ready for this."

"I know."

"I'm guessing Scott knows what happened." Steve frowned as Virgil shook his head. "I've got things here, go let him know what's going on.

Virgil walked back to the hatch, then took a deep breath. "Op Two to Op One."

"Go ahead."

"We lost contact with the others...Op Five has gone down after them." Virgil braced himself for the inevitable explosion. He didn't have to wait long.

"WHAT? You let him go out there? Are you out of your God-damned mind?!"

Virgil turned and lowered his voice. "I had no choice, Scott. He—"

Scott interrupted him. "No choice? YOU could have gone down instead! He's not ready for this!"

"You think I don't know that?!" Virgil hissed. "He slapped a harness on and was down the hole before I could react, what did you expect me to do?"

"You could have done something! What if Hood attacks him again? Did you ever think of that?"

"Don't you put this on me, Scott! John's a big boy. If he thinks he can do this—"

"That's just it, Virgil! We don't know if he can!"

"Par-par-excuse me..." Brains voice cut in on their conversation. "I would s-suggest that you t-t-two save your disagreement for later. Now is n-n-not the time."

Both Virgil and Scott fell silent. "You're right, Brains."

"Sorry, Brains." Scott added sheepishly.

"Th-Thank-you. The storm is still moving n-north. The cold water will start to w-weaken it, but that is still h-h-hours away. It is going to get w-w-worse before it gets better. H-How much longer until you wrap things up?"

"I don't know." Virgil pinched the bridge of his nose. "We've lost contact with Gordon and Alan. I don't know if they're hurt or if that last lightning flash screwed up the com-link."

"L-L-Let me check..." Brains was quiet a few moments. "It appears that you are cor-cor-right, Virgil. I'll see if I can re-route and try to c-c-contact them from here."

"Thanks, Brains." Virgil sighed as he looked down the hatch. Please, one of you, answer...

John gripped tightly to the safety cable, and tried not to notice the lightning flashing all around him. He clenched his eyes shut as one bolt came a little too close, nearly striking Thunderbird Two. Finally, after what seemed an eternity, he felt his feet hit the deck of the cruise ship. He opened his eyes and glanced around. Spying a set of cables attacked to the deck rail, he quickly unclipped and went in search of his brothers.

"Hey! Hey, you! Over here!"

John turned at the voice and saw a man waving frantically from the stern. He headed in that direction, his feet sliding on the rolling deck.

"We thought you'd forgotten us!" The man yelled over the noise of the storm. "In here!"

John quickly followed the man into the glass lined helm. He pulled his helmet off and seeing his brothers on the floor, he bolted to their side. "What happened?!"

Gordon looked up from where he was kneeling next to Alan. "Big, big wave tossed us around. Alan got thrown pretty badly. His leg's broken. I'm not sure about any other injuries."

John nodded. "Hey there, Sprout, let's take a look at you." He looked down at his youngest brother and winced in sympathy. Alan's left leg was definitely broken. It was bent at an unnatural angle between the knee and ankle. Alan's face was grey, and his breathing was ragged. John looked up at Gordon. "We need to get him out of here." He said softly, his voice urgent.

"I know. Communications are down. I lost TB Two just as this happened." Gordon replied, running his hand over his head.

John nodded, then spoke into the microphone connected to his collar. "Op Five to Thunderbird Two, can you hear me?...Virgil, come in! Still nothing." John shook his head. "We're on our own. We have to get him back to Two."

"I'll go find the basket. Stay with him." Gordon pulled his helmet on and rushed outside.

John put his hand on Alan's shoulder. "Alan? Hey, Al."

Alan's eyes fluttered open. "J-John?"

John smiled. "I'm here, Sprout. We're going to get you out of here. Just relax."

Alan's blue eyes filled with tears. "It hurts, John...it hurts..."

John took his hand and held it tightly. "I know it does. Just hang on." John forced a smile. "Gordon will be back in a minute and we'll get you home."

Alan nodded and his eyes closed. John watched him a moment, then looked up. Several people, some dressed in the uniform of the cruise line, were all gathered around him. John got to his feet. "Is everyone here?"

An older man stepped forward. "We're the last. There's thirty-seven of us left. The injured and women and children went first. I'm Michael Crane, Captain of this ship." He held out his hand and John shook it. He nodded down at Alan. "You need to get him back to your plane, fast."

"Plane?" Vigil would have a stroke. John nodded. "My other colleague has gone to get the rescue basket. We've lost radio contact with the ship, so I'm going to need everyone to do what I ask. Captain, what is your ship's status?"

"She's got a heavy list to starboard. At the rate she's taking water, I estimate we have less than an hour before she goes down."

Thirty-seven, John did some quick mental calculating in his head, this is going to be close.... "OK, wait here a minute. I'm going to find my colleague." He looked down at Alan. "Please, take care of him, I'll be right back."

John pulled his helmet on and stepped back out into the storm. Looking up he could barely make out the lights from Thunderbird Two. Thank-God Scott has her now. There's no way I could have held her this steady. A sudden movement caught his eye and he hurried over in that direction.

Gordon was struggling with the heavy rescue basket and John quickly grabbed the other end. Together they wrestled it back inside. They paused for a moment inside the doorway. "Anything from above?" Gordon asked.

John shook his head. "Nothing. I'm guessing a lightning strike took out the short range communications array."

Gordon looked mystified. "I thought we had protections in place for that?"

"We do. I'll bet it was damaged when you guys got zapped in LA a few weeks ago, and no one thought to check."

"Terrific." Gordon muttered. They set the basket down near Alan. "Hey, Al. How're you doing?"

Alan's eyes fluttered. "Just...want to...go home..."

"We're working on it." John ran his hand over Alan's forehead, then looked up at Gordon. "How do you want to do this?"

Gordon looked like he'd been hit with a board. "What?"

"How do you want to do this? This is your show; tell me what you want me to do."

Gordon shook his head, not sure if he had heard right. "I thought...I mean..."

John interrupted him. "You figured I'd come down here and take over." He shook his head, and lowered his voice. "You have way more experience in this sort of thing than I do."

Gordon resisted the urge to pinch himself in case he was dreaming, and nodded. "We need to get Alan out first, then start with the others." He turned and rummaged around in his pack, then pulled out a cervical collar. He carefully placed it around Alan's neck. "Easy there, Sprout. We'll have you out of here in no time."

"T-thanks, Gordon." Alan whispered.

Gordon glanced around and beckoned to some of the crewmen. "Hey! Can you guys give us a hand over here?" Two men hurried over, sliding on the uneven floor. "We're going to lift him into the basket. OK, John, you hold his shoulders, I'll support his leg. You guys each take a side. We'll try to do this as smooth as possible. On my count, one...two...three!"

Together they lifted Alan and quickly moved him to the basket. Alan screamed in pain, and both John and Gordon bit back oaths. John took a shuddering breath and clutched Alan's hand tightly as Gordon strapped him in. Gordon looked up. "He's ready."

"How are we going to notify the others?" John asked.

Gordon's face fell. "Damn...hadn't thought of that."

John looked from the crew to Alan to back up at Gordon. "Gords, we have less than an hour before this ship sinks."

"I know!!" Gordon ran his hand over his head. "I don't know what to do, John!" He said quietly.

John placed his hand on Gordon's arm. "We'll figure something out."

Before Gordon could reply, they both heard a crackle come from Gordon's wristband. "Th-Th-Thunderbird Five to Op Four...Can you h-hear me?"

"Brains! Reading you loud and clear, Thunderbird Five." Gordon answered promptly.

"W-What is your situation?"

"Op A is injured and needs immediate medical treatment. The boat is taking on water faster than we anticipated and we need to get the rest of the passengers off. And to add to our problems, we can't reach Thunderbird Two." Gordon told him.

"Is Op A re-re-secure for transport?"

"Yes."

"I'll notify Thunderbird Two. Stand by."

Gordon let out a sigh of relief. "He's going to let the other's know what's going on."

"Told you we'd figure it out." John smiled.

"Yeah, yeah..." Gordon turned to Alan. "Ready, Alan?" Alan's eyes fluttered, but he didn't reply. Gordon scowled as he pulled his helmet on. "Op Four to Thunderbird Five."

"Th-Thunderbird Five here. They're waiting for you a-above." Brains answered.

"FAB. Let's move, John."

John pulled on his own helmet and together, he and Gordon carried the rescue basket out into the storm. A few of the crewmen followed. The lightning was still flashing and the boat tossed wildly from side to side. John noticed that the angle was steeper then when he first came aboard. They made their way over to the railing and quickly attached the basket to the cables. "We can take two more people, plus you." John said to Gordon.

Gordon shook his head. "Oh no, I'm staying here."

"Gordon don't fight me on this. Get Alan up there, then hurry back down with more cables. I'll get the rest of the passengers ready and we can start moving them as soon as you get back down."

"No. You're going up. You said it yourself, I'm in charge." Gordon persisted.

John grabbed his arm. "Look, you want me to come right out and say it, fine. I am not going back up that damned cable in this weather until it's time to head back." He snapped. "Now move your ass, Alan needs treatment."

Without another word, Gordon turned back to the cables and quickly attached one to his vest. He watched as John fitted the harnesses on the two men, then checking Alan once more, told Brains to pull them up.

A few moments later, the cables went taut and John watched his brothers and the passengers move slowly upward towards Thunderbird Two. The lightning illuminated the air around them and he winced, crouching down on the balls of his feet.

John peered up through the rain, until he saw the brief flash of light which meant the hatch had opened and the others were inside. He hurried back to the main cabin. "We're going to be able to move you up five at a time. I need you all to cooperate and we'll get this done as fast as we can." John quickly separated the men into seven groups. "My colleague will be back shortly, until then, just hang on."

John turned away from them and spoke into his microphone. "Brains? What's going on with the communications systems?" He asked quietly.

"I'm not s-s-sure. I've run a d-d-diagnostic and can't find the problem!" Brains sounded exasperated.

John closed his eyes, visualizing the computers up on Thunderbird Five. "Did you try to re-route through the central core system?"

"Yes. It d-didn't work."

"What about readjusting the power feed?"

"Still nothing."

"It's the guidance processor, Brains, you know it is."

There was a few seconds of silence. "You're r-r-correct. I believe it was damaged more than I thought during the last rescue." Brains sounded subdued.

"Don't blame yourself. Shit happens, trust me." John got a tired sounding chuckle from Brains. He took a deep breath. "Try adjusting the feed through a satellite. Piggy-back the signal. If you send it directly to the radio receiver, rather than through our own security systems, it should work." He lowered his voice. "Use the USAF satellite. Type in this code..." John rattled off a series of numbers. "It'll blend into their signal and they won't be able to hear or trace us."

Brains was quiet a few moments. "I don't understand...h-how do you know that?"

John blushed, though no one could see him. "It gets boring up there some days. I had to find something to do."

"I s-see." Brains replied, though it was clear he didn't.

"Look, just trust me."

Long moments went by and John began to get fidgety. C'mon Brains...

"Thunderbird Two to Op Five. John, can you read me?"

"Scott!"

"I'll take that as a 'yes.' What do you think you're doing down there?" Scott's voice held more than a touch of anger to it.

John sighed. "Now's not the time, Scott. We need to get these guys up. Where's Gordon."

"He's on his way back down now." There was a short pause. "And we will be discussing this on the way home."

"FAB." John said resignedly. He looked up as Gordon came in the door. "Gordon's here, I'll check in later. Op Five, out." He made his way to his brother's side. "Alan all set?"

Gordon nodded. "Steve's working on him." He gave John a baleful glance through the helmet visor. "Seems you've pissed everyone off by coming down here." He drawled.

"Back off Gordon." John growled. "We have a job to do."

Gordon held up his hands. "Just thought I'd mention it." He took his helmet off and surveyed the crowd. "We have six harnesses to bring you up. Please stay in your groups as we load you up. I promise we'll get you out of here as soon as possible."

The captain stepped forward. "I'll go last. Get the others off first."

Gordon nodded. "Yes, sir." He beckoned to the group closest to the door. "Let's go. We don't have much time." He and John led them outside and fastened them into the harnesses. "Bring 'em up, Virg." Gordon called.

A few moments later, the men began the trek upward. Seeing his brother flinch during a flash of lightning, Gordon turned to John, "You go back in and get the next bunch ready. I'll take care of things here."

John nodded and disappeared inside. The pattern continued over the next forty-five minutes. As soon as one group went up, John readied the next. Soon there were only himself, Gordon and the captain left. By now the deck was tilted crazily, the starboard railing nearly completely under water. Captain Crane took one last look at his ship, then fastened the harness around his chest. Gordon and John quickly snapped into theirs. "We're done here, Virg. Get us up." Gordon commanded.

"FAB."

With a slight jerk, the three men began their ascent into the air. John clenched his eyes shut. Thank-God we're done. I don't think I can take much more of this. Suddenly when they were a little more than halfway up, they stopped.

"Virgil, what's going on?" Gordon asked.

"I don't know! The winch is still turning! Are you guys stuck on something?"

Both Gordon and John twisted in the air, looking down at the sinking ship. "There!" John pointed. Gordon followed his finger. The cable was hanging off the side of the ship, hooked on what, they couldn't see. "Pull, Virg! Maybe it'll come loose!" They moved upwards a few inches, then froze. John could feel how taut the cable had gone.

"It's no use. Whatever you're snagged on, it's tight."

"Damn." Gordon muttered under his breath.

"What's happening?" Captain Crane shouted.

"We're stuck on something! They can't pull us up!" Gordon replied.

"Can you cut the cable?"

"No, they're made to be almost unbreakable." John answered, his mind whirling.

"Then how do we free ourselves?" The man asked.

Gordon shook his head. "I don't know!" He turned to his brother. "Any ideas?"

John took a deep breath. "Only one." In one fluid move, he shoved Gordon away from him, then John unclipped his harness.

It took Gordon a moment before he realized what was happening. "John! NOOOO!!!!!" He yelled as he watched his brother drop into the darkness below.