April 13th 2058 - 20:57 NZST
Several GDF Fighter Planes trail a large spacecraft that ascends towards the upper atmosphere. The Zero-X. It had recently taken off from the large GDF Deep Space Research Base in Cornwall, United Kingdom, without the permission of the technicians and scientists on ground.
Unbeknownst to them, Trangh Belagant, now known as The Hood, had evaded security and managed to gain access to the ship in his desperate attempt to escape the British Security Forces. It had been surprisingly easy for him to escape the Metropolitan Police after his arrest in London for attempting to rob the Bank of London. This capture of the Zero-X would not only give him an escape, but on the Black Market, the amount he could make from the prototype engines would set him for life.
He remained at a high altitude for a long while until he was over the Pacific and is radar picked up several GDF Fighters arriving to intercept him. He then knew the only escape would be upwards.
The lead GDF Fighter Pilot is a certain Captain Casey and she and her team monitor the prototype engine that hasn't been fully tested yet.
"85% to critical, ma'am," one pilot informs, "Should we arm disruptor missiles?"
"No," Casey replies, "The fallout would be devastating. Open a com channel." The pilot does as is asked and opens a channel for Casey to have contact with the cockpit of the Zero-X. "To the person aboard the Zero-X. This is Captain Casey of the Global Defence Force. You're in the beginning stages of a catastrophic engine overload. You need to power down and land immediately."
They wait for a response but all they get is static from the other end. "No response, ma'am," other pilot states in confirmation, "Do you think it's that criminal London have been talking about? The one they call The Hood?"
"I don't know who it is," Casey growls, "But what I do know is if the engine on the Zero-X overloads..." Casey pauses as she gets to grip with the severity of the situation, "It would be an extinction level event. We need a miracle. Or it's the end of the world."
Suddenly, the rear hatch of the Zero-X opens and comes flying off. The GDF Fighters swerve out of the way to avoid getting hit. They then see someone come through the hatch and onto the outside of the Zero-X. They hold onto the handlebars as they slowly crawl along the length of the spacecraft and towards the cockpit and they fire a grapple for extra support.
"Captain," the first pilot calls, "It looks like there's someone on the outside of the Zero-X."
"Captain Casey, I'm on it," the voice of Jeff Tracy says through the coms.
"Jeff Tracy?" Casey calls in shock, "There's our miracle. Thank you, International Rescue."
"I'm going to try and get inside the Zero-X," Jeff informs, "It's too late to land. We need to take this thing into space."
"Captain, 95% to critical," the second pilot calls, as Jeff arrives at the cockpit entrance and disappears from view again.
Inside, Jeff enters a small room with a large door in front of him and a control panel on the left and right of it. He approaches the right panel and presses a few buttons before the door slide open to reveal The Hood sitting at the controls.
"You're a fool, Hood," Jeff grunts, "You risk destroying our planet to steal a prototype spaceship?"
"With an engine that's rumoured to be faster than light," The Hood replies, turning around to face Jeff, "To me that's worth the risk."
"The engine's about to blow up," Jeff tries to reason, "I figure we have about 30 seconds before our atoms are dusting the Pacific!"
"You know," The Hood chuckles, forcing the two levers in front of him down and getting to his feet, "I've suddenly lost my interest in acquiring this technology."
"Argh!" Jeff cries as he's thrown off his feet. The Hood had increased the Zero-X's climb into space and by throwing Jeff off his feet, allowed him to access the only escape pod on board.
"Have fun dusting the Pacific with your atoms, Jeff Tracy!" The Hood laughs before scowling, "And nobody ever calls me a fool!" With that, The Hood walks inside the escape pod and launches it out. The GDF Fighter Pilots watch as the pod goes flying off and away from the Zero-X.
"Escape capsule deployed," the first pilot notes, "Scanners show only one person on board."
"Zero-X, do you copy?" Casey calls.
"Still here, Captain," Jeff responds as he raises to his feet again and approaches the door into the cockpit again. He goes over to the left control panel which had the override of the emergency lock, that The Hood had activated. Jeff goes through the doors and ruses over to the seat that The Hood once sat at. Scanning the controls in front of him, Jeff gains control of the Zero-X and accelerates away from the GDF Fighters behind him.
"Clear all space traffic," Jeff orders, "I'm coming up."
"99% to critical," the second pilot informs as the trio of Fighters fly out of the way of the Zero-X. They watch as it rapidly gains altitude and away from them. The small spec of the Zero-X getting smaller and smaller as it gains distance. The Zero-X manages to escape Earth's atmosphere and enter space itself before sparking and seeming exploding into a massive ball of fire that could be seen in both Japan and California.
"Colonel Tracy?" Casey wails, "Colonel Tracy, are you there? Jeff? Please respond!"
However, she gets no reply...
5... 4... 3... 2... 1... Thunderbirds are Go!
September 27th, 2065 - 11:05 NZST
In the lounge, everyone at International Rescue had assembled while Brains and Penelope went through the footage of the Zero-X's final moments. Over the past few months, Brains and Kayo had been working tiredly with the information that Braman had collected from outer space and contacted Penelope so she could use her connections to fill in the odd blank or two. They just finished watching the footage from Colonel Casey's Fighter Plane before the recording ends, going to static.
"This remains all the footage we've been able to assemble from the moment of the incident," Penelope explains to everyone.
"And we've seen this a thousand times, Lady Penelope," Scott argues, "Do you really think we are going to learn anything new?"
"Calm down Scott," Marion mumbles to her partner, placing a comforting hand on his leg.
"But we have, Scott," Brains states and brings up a new hologram of Braman.
"International Rescue, please... help me," Braman says.
"This r-recorded message Braman intercepted could only be from J-Jeff Tracy," Brains explains.
"I don't know if you're looking at the same footage I was, Brains," Gordon sighs from his position of the sofa, all plastered and booted up, "But that explosion was pretty convincing."
"I d-don't have all the answers, Gordon," Brains replies and brings up a new hologram for everyone to view, "But I do know we got an SOS. From here, an area of space called the Ortcloud."
"That's two and a half light years away," John comments.
"Why are we sitting here talking?" Alan cries, standing up and pointing an accusing finger towards Brains, "Why aren't we loading into Thunderbird 3 so we can bring my dad home?"
"It would take Thunderbird 3 o-over 10 years to get there," Brains argues.
"Well, if that's the case, how did dad get all the way out there?" Virgil questions.
"Wasn't his accident almost 8 years ago?" Nina asks.
"That, Nina," Penelope starts, "Is what we need to find out first."
"Until we do, no one can know about this," Kayo orders.
"Colonel Casey would want to know," Ridley states, "She sees you as family."
"Especially not her," Kayo demands, "MI6 think The Hood has a spy inside the GDF."
"This is not information we are ready for him to have," Penelope agrees.
"Then what happens next if we can't send out a search party?" Gordon inquires, "Sit around here scratching our asses?"
"Language!" Sally shouts.
"There is one vital piece of information to be found," Penelope continues, "We've seen the incident from every available angle, except one."
"The Hood's escape capsule," Scott realises as Brains brings up a hologram of it for everyone to see.
"It would be loaded with cameras," Virgil smiles.
"If we can find it," Marion adds, "We can get an entirely new view of the explosion."
"E-Exactly," Brains says and does a couple of simulations for everyone to see, "It would be in this area for a water landing."
"Music to my ears!" Gordon calls excitedly and tries to get to his feet.
"Hold your seahorses, young man," Sally says and holds Gordon in place, "You're still recovering."
"On the other hand," Brains continues, "If The Hood's escape c-capsule made it to space, it would have been collected as space junk and d-deposited here."
"The Midpoint Salvage Exclusion Zone," Alan muses wirily, "They call it MSEZ for short."
"Al," Kayo starts, placing her right hand onto Alan's right cheek to force him to look at her, "You and I will take Thunderbird 3 to check it out."
"Sorry, Gordon," Scott chuckles as he looks at his younger brother, "But it looks like Marion and I be the one to take the new Thunderbird 4 on its first swim."
"Then let me co-pilot Thunderbird 2 alongside Nina," Gordon tries, "That's just sitting."
"Gordon!" Sally glares.
"I'd be happy to come along with you two," Penelope comments.
"And we'd be happy to have you," Nina replies with excitement.
"But... But!" Gordon groans.
"We'll create some diversions to explain our actions to the GDF if they get curious," John says and looks pointedly at Ridley due to her connections with the GDF.
"And The Hood, if he's watching," Ridley adds with a smirk.
"FAB," Scott nods, "We have our mission. Find that escape capsule, and then find out what happened to Dad!"
5
Thunderbird 5's Space Elevator's doors are opened.
4
Thunderbird 4 is loaded into Module 4.
3
Thunderbird 3's blast door closes once Alan and Kayo have been lifted inside.
2
Thunderbird 2 taxis down the main runway and comes to a halt allowing the ramp to raise.
1
The Thunderbird's prepare to launch from Tracy Island.
Thunderbirds are Go!
September 27th, 2065 - 12:22 NZST
Thunderbird 3 makes her way towards MSEZ. This would be the first mission that Alan and Kayo have ever been on together in space for a while. Alan wouldn't admit it, but he'd missed their adventures together in Thunderbird 3. This mission would also be the first time the couple would be alone for the first time in months as well. This Kayo constantly away looking for leads on the Chaos Crew and then recently researching Jeff Tracy's crash, it had taken its toll on their relationship. Alan hoped that this discovery of his father could restart their time together.
In the distance, they see the construction of Thunderbird 10 busily underway. It is hoped that by June next year it would be completed and International Rescue could start their operations from there.
"This is such exciting news about your dad," Kayo smiles slightly and looking over at Alan expectantly before looking away again, the smile disappearing, "If only my father was here to hear about this. He'd be thrilled."
"I'm sorry, Kayo," Alan sighs and reaches over to place a hand on her shoulder, "Your father shouldn't have suffered like that."
"Well, he's in a better place now," Kayo sighs.
"I wish I could have a conversation with him," Alan admits causing Kayo to raise a questioning gaze over to Alan.
"Why's that?" Kayo asks.
"Well, I'd still wait a few years but there is a question that I would have liked to of asked him," Alan starts.
"Which is?" Kayo presses but the look Alan gives her makes her quickly realise what he's on about and blushes.
"Scott's thinking about popping the question in a couple of weeks," Alan continues, "I'm happy for them. They deserve it."
"Ugh!" Kayo chuckles dryly as she tries to compose herself, "Before we know it, we'll have little Scott's running around waiting to fly Thunderbird 1."
"Maybe you'll be put on babysitting duty," Alan jokes, using their running joke from over the years.
"You arse," Kayo giggles and punches Alan's outstretched arm that remained on her shoulder. The couple laugh together for a few moments before going into a comfortable silence.
"Maybe book some time off at Westminster and remain on Tracy Island for a while," Alan inquires.
"You think they'll let me?" Kayo asks.
"Say it's family emergency or something," Alan suggests, "I've been working on something for you."
"Alan!" Kayo whines, "You didn't have to!"
"I did," Alan replies, "I've gotta do something for my awesome kickass girlfriend."
"Al!" Kayo cries going all red again and avoiding eye contact. Alan smirks at Kayo's reaction and turns to look to his right and sees a growing object they were approaching.
"All right, we're almost there," Alan calls, "Because of the equal gravity pull from the Earth and the Moon, space junk that gets put here stays here. But, when it does try to float away..." Alan trails as he brings up a hologram of a GDF machine that fires a red beam, he mimics the shooting of the beam and an explosion noise when the red hologram beam disappears again. He chuckles to himself and turns to Kayo, who's trying to cover her growing concern.
"The GDF have a laser cannon?" Kayo questions.
"Ooh, a big one. Absolutely obliterates anything that moves," Alan chuckles but clears his throat and stops when he sees Kayo's worry, "You know, for... safety."
"Well, that makes sneaking in a challenge," Kayo comments.
"Not exactly," Ridley smiles as her and John's holograms appear, "Without giving the reason why, I convinced the GDF to turn off the laser protection system for 20 minutes."
"That should give you enough time to get in, find the capsule, if there is one, and get out," John concludes.
"What if we don't find it in time?" Alan inquires.
"Well, then you'll be the first Tracy's to see what a 50-kilowatt laser feels like," Ridley jokes and winks at Kayo letting her know that she heard their earlier conversation.
"Oh!" Alan coughs, not seeing Ridley's wink.
"She's just kidding," John laughs, "We'll ask for more time, but we don't want to raise any suspicion so, be a quick as you can."
"FAB," Alan replies. He gets out of his seat and makes his way to the back of Thunderbird 3's cockpit and throws his spare Astroboard over to Kayo. Kayo smirks as she realises what Alan's doing and grabs her helmet and prepares for EVA. Once the couple are on their Astroboards, Alan opens the airlock and they race out and into MSEZ.
September 27th, 2065 - 12:31 NZST
Thunderbird 2 approaches the site of where Brains had calculated where the escape pod would have landed in the ocean. Scott and Marion head down into the module to make sure that Thunderbird 4 is prepared for launch. In the cockpit, Nina is showing Penelope around the different controls.
"And... what about this one?" Penelope asks.
"Thrust compensator," Nina replies, "You remind me of myself and my interest in how Thunderbird 2 works. Maybe Virgil will allow you to have a spin in her."
"Maybe," Virgil responds.
"I'll leave the flying to you, Virgil," Penelope laughs, "But helping Nina co-pilot means that it would be nice to know what your ship can do."
"And to see what Gordon does on a day to day basis," Nina whispers into Penelope's ear making Penelope blush. Meanwhile, Virgil brings up a large hologram of Thunderbird 2 and moves it across his console so it's in front of Penelope's chair.
"Instruction manual. In case you feel like a little light reading," Virgil explains and reaches over to access the coms unit, "Hey, Scott, Marion, we're almost to where The Hood's capsule splashdown site would be."
"FAB," Marion replies, "Scott's just powering up now.
"Standby for launch Thunderbird 4," Virgil says.
"Systems check complete. Docking clamp released," Scott says, "We are go for module deployment."
"Happy landings," Nina calls as she pulls the leaver and Module 4 is then dropped into the water. Scott waits for the hatch to open for him before pressing the button to go at a 45° angle.
"Thunderbird 4 is go!" Marion says and launches Thunderbird 4 into the depths below.
September 27th, 2065 - 12:34 NZST
Alan and Kayo go deeper into MSEZ with Alan slightly in front as they run in two parallel courses. They head towards the centre as a starting point but even getting there would take another couple of minutes.
"We've got a lot of space to cover in 20 minutes," Alan comments, "That capsule could be anywhere.
"That laser cannon gives me the creeps," Kayo responds as she looks up and just makes out the cannon above them. While they both knew it is offline, there mere sight of it is enough to send chills down the back of your spine.
As they are about to reach the centre, Alan's instruments start beeping causing him to bring up their vitals. "I got something," Alan calls over to Kayo before the beeping stops again, "Oh, no, never mind. Probably a false echo."
"No," Kayo trails as she brings up her own instruments, "I see it too."
"You think it's the escape capsule?" Alan asks.
"It's a cloaking device," Kayo replies and glances ahead, "I think someone else is here."
"Someone... someone's spying on us?" Alan whispers.
"Chaos Crew," Kayo guesses and gives Alan a cold stare indicating that she isn't joking. They both follow the cloaking signal and make it to a large piece of scrap that has an entrance in the bottom. The couple stop either side of the scrap cylinder and Kayo raises her finger to her lips indicating to Alan to be as quiet as possible. Slowly descending to the base, and the entrance, Kayo fires her Astroboards thrusters into the hole. There's some yelling and groaning before a voice is heard.
"Stop!" the voice coughs and Kayo looks across to Alan in alarm. That isn't a voice they're expecting to here.
"That doesn't sound like the Chaos Crew," Alan voices.
"Whoever you are, come out of there," Kayo orders.
"We know our rights; this is supposed to be free space!" the voice yells. Then two heads appear and Alan sighs in annoyance, recognizing the pair.
"Oh, you're not GDF," a certain space pirate, named Reece answers.
"I know them, it's the Space Pirates!" Alan groans.
"We prefer the term 'resource recovery experts'," Dobbs responds.
"Who are these two?" Kayo asks.
"Messrs Reece and Dobbs, at your services," Reece replies.
"I'm Dobbs," Dobbs adds, raising his hand.
"John and I met them on the Eden ship," Alan mumbles.
"Yeah, we blew it up," Reece continues before adding, "By accident."
"I think this might be a part of it, actually," Dobbs mumbles.
"Oh, the one where you seemed terrified about ghosts?" Kayo smirks before turning to the pirates and speaking again so Alan couldn't respond, "You know that cloaking tech you're wearing is illegal?"
"Oh, it does a lot more than cloak. It can take over any control..." Reece starts to explain before Dobbs elbows him in the ribs, "Ouch!"
"What tech?" Dobbs inquires and Reece catches on.
"Yeah, what tech?" Reece states.
"It doesn't matter," Kayo sighs and rolls her eyes at the pair, "Al, we don't have a lot of time left."
"Wait, Kayo," Alan mutters before yelling as Kayo turns away, "They can help us."
"Really?" Kayo questions.
"We can trust them," Alan says begrudgingly.
"Okay," Kayo sighs and pulls up her wrist communicator, "I've created a secure coms channel, no one else can hear us unless I let them."
"We are looking for an old escape capsule, like this," Alan explains and brings up a holographic image of it.
"Oh, yeah," Dobbs nods, "We know the one. Over in section 7G, by the old thorium reactor."
"Been through it already," Reece says, "Nothing worth taking."
"Maybe not to you," Kayo comments, "Can you lead us there?"
"We could," Reece starts, "But without these, you two might have a hard time getting past those laser cannons.
"We've seen to the lasers," Kayo deadpans.
"Oh!" Dobbs smiles, "Then away we go." The pirates start to exit the bit of scrap that they were hiding in only for Alan's eyebrows to raise at what they were riding on.
"Wait, are those my Astroboards from Thunderbird 3?" Alan questions.
"Er... no?" Dobbs tries to offhand.
"So that's where they went!" Alan laughs, "I thought I left the hatch open." Kayo's instruments start beeping and a large red dot starts to flash on her communicator. Reece and Dobbs then start leading the couple towards the escape capsule. Alan then pauses when he sees Kayo suddenly stop and turns to face her.
"Actually, Alan, you go on ahead," Kayo nods.
"Are you sure?" Alan asks, worried.
"Yes, just be quick about it," Kayo snaps and Alan tilts his head slightly as something is clearly distracting her right now. However, Alan knew better than to argue with Kayo and goes to quickly catch up with the pirates, leaving Kayo by herself.
September 27th, 2065 - 12:39 NZST
Once she sees that Alan is safe, Kayo turns in the opposite direction and follows the source of her new intruder. She stops at an intersection and sees that the source is now very close to her current location before it disappears off her scanner. Moving cautiously, Kayo goes to her right and comes to a stop. The beeping continues going off and when it got loud enough, Kayo shoots herself back across and grabs onto something invisible, slamming it into the side wall. There's a flickering before Havoc's figure comes into view and shoves Kayo off her.
"Havoc," Kayo growls, "What are you doing here?"
"I was about to ask you the same thing?" Havoc scoffs.
September 27th, 2065 - 12:36 NZST
"Virgil, are your scanners showing anything yet?" Marion asks, as Thunderbird 4 heads along the ocean floor.
"Relax, Marion," Nina answers, "This could take a while. It's a big ocean you know."
"You should use Thunderbird 4 to amplify the scanners from Thunderbird 2," Gordon interjects as his hologram appears on Scott's screen, he'd been clearly listening in to International Rescues call frequencies, "Then, if you did a linear sweep while steering in a modified grid pattern..."
"Gordon," Scott interrupts, "Shouldn't you be resting?"
"You're such a mother hen!" Gordon accuses, "I'm bored, and my cast itches... Hold on a minute." Gordon then seemingly picks up a bell and starts to ring it, "Hey, Parker? Feel up for giving me another toe massage?"
"He's asking for trouble," Virgil chuckles as he closes Gordon's channel.
September 27th, 2065 - 12:40 NZST
Alan remains cautious as he follows the two space pirates. His mind is constantly focused on Kayo and if she is alright. He knows that Kayo is perfectly able to take care of herself, but that doesn't mean that he doesn't worry at all.
"It's just up ahead past this big hunk of junk," Dobbs calls from the front.
"Alan," Kayo calls suddenly over his coms, "Havoc is here. Find that item. I'll keep her occupied."
Kayo looks up to see Havoc grappling from side to side as she tries to escape her. Kayo, remains on her tail, an advantage of having an Astroboard handy. Havoc looks back every so often and her eyes widen in horror as Kayo stays very close behind her. If it isn't for her agility ability, Havoc would have surely been captured by Kayo by this point. She disappears around another corner and briefly loses sight of Kayo. Kayo, on the other hand, knew exactly where Havoc is. However, when Kayo turns the corner, she is met by a large piece of scrap metal heading straight towards her and it's too late to react.
"Whoa!" Kayo yells as she gets thrown from her Astroboard and into the side of wall. She grunts in pain and briefly holds her ribs but what concerns her more is the whirring sound from up above. Turning slowly to look up, she sees Havoc next to one of the GDF laser cannons and controlling it to be aimed directly at her. Havoc is going to try and kill her.
"Fuck..." Kayo mumbles and reaches for her Astroboard that had landed beside her. It had landed in a position where Kayo could just reach it and activate it to drag her out the way before the laser turns on. Kayo feels the heat of the explosion on her back as she fully climbs on top of the Astroboard and darts off. She dives for cover out of sight and takes a breather, holding onto her ribs again in server pain.
"Thunderbird 5, it's Kayo," she calls, "Havoc is taking control of the laser cannon. We need to shut it down."
"FAB," John replies.
"Alan, Havoc turned the laser cannon back on," Kayo shouts over to coms, "Find cover, now!"
"You are shittin' me," Alan gulps, "That's kinda of a big problem right now!" Alan and the pirates had just entered open space and as a result have no cover to dive for. Behind him, Havoc fires up the laser again and aims it directly at Alan. Luckily, the two beams land either side of him and misses him completely.
"Get over here in front of us," Reece calls, "Our cloaking tech should make you invisible to the laser."
"Ditch the Astroboard!" Dobbs adds. Alan looks over to the pirates and bends his knees before pushing himself over to them. The pair grab onto him and they turn to watch the laser incinerate the Astroboard that Alan once stood on into dust.
"It's not supposed to target little things like that," Reece mutters worriedly, "Only big, giant, dangerous space debris."
"Yeah, well, Havoc's not usually at the controls," Alan responds and the group then descend into another section of MSEZ to hide from Havoc's laser which fires again at the entrance to the sector that they just entered.
"Thunderbird 5, what's the update on the laser?" Kayo asks as she stealthily makes her way behind it out of view.
"The GDF is completely locked out, and I can't access it either," Ridley responds. Kayo raises slightly and sees Alan scanning a section of scrap before the laser fires at the spot he stood at, and he vanishes in a cloud of smoke.
"Alan?" Kayo asks stunned and a lump forms in her throat, "ALAN!"
"Kayo? What's going on?" John calls.
"Alan..." Kayo tries again, trying to call him. Her signal remains static before she gets a call from another frequency.
"We're okay," Alan replies, "The escape capsule didn't come from the Zero-X."
"You bastard," Kayo screams, "Never leave me unanswered ever again."
"Understood," Alan chuckles nervously seeing that Kayo looked ready to kill him herself, "I'll head over to you so we can figure a way out."
September 27th, 2065 - 12:51 NZST
Thunderbird 4 continues along the surface of the ocean floor going in a grid like pattern, such as Gordon suggested, in a radius area of 20 miles around the possible impact zone of where the capsule could have landed. Marion and Nina remain focused on the scanner while Scott moves Thunderbird 4 around.
"Nina, are you getting this?" Marion suddenly states.
"Scanners are picking up something metallic," Nina confirms.
"I see it too," Scott calls from the cockpit, "It's on the ocean floor up ahead."
Marion rushes from the med-bay in the back of Thunderbird 4 to the front to see Scott close in on the object ahead. She presses a button above Scott's head to activate the high beam lights and she smiles as she sees something in black, marked on the side of the object.
"It says Zero-X!" Marion cries, "This is the one!"
"Use the grasping claw," Gordon yells, appearing again on hologram, "But watch your RPMs, or you'll kick up too much silt from the backflow. You'll need plus 5 positive buoyancy to compensate. Double-check your ballast before attaching..."
"Gordon, Gordon!" Scott shouts, interrupting his brother's instructions. He then deploys Thunderbird 4's grasping arms and slowly moves towards the escape capsule, "I know you're trying to help, but could you please be quiet?"
"Right, you're right," Gordon sighs.
"Thanks for the advice though," Marion adds with a sympathetic smile.
September 27th, 2065 - 12:56 NZST
"All right," Alan sighs as he meets up with Kayo once again, "How do we get out of here?"
"You can leave that part to me," Dobbs smiles.
"And me," Reece adds.
"We'll just remotely pilot our ship to the far side of this bit of wreckage. Hop inside, and we'll be out of harm's way before you can blink," Dobbs explains. The group watches as the ship comes into view and heads towards them. Unfortunately, Kayo sees that the ship goes directly past the laser and facepalms before watching the ship disappear in a ball of fire.
"Huh?" Dobbs questions.
"That would be your ship blowing up," Kayo deadpans.
"Again?" Dobbs sighs.
"Now we're really stuck," Reece adds.
"No, I have an idea," Kayo interjects, "I need one of your Astroboards.
"You give up yours," Reece immediately says, turning to Dobbs.
"No, you give up yours!" Dobbs responds.
"But technically they're both mine, so hand one over," Alan adds.
"Ah, he's got a point there," Reece sighs as he hops over to Dobbs' Astroboard, giving his to Kayo.
"And one of those things," Kayo indicates to the illegal piece of tech.
"Your turn," Reece chuckles.
"Ugh!" Dobbs sighs and passes it over to Kayo. Kayo then opens the control unit on the spare Astroboard and inserts the chip inside it.
"I see what you're doing," Alan smiles and bumps hips with Kayo, "Nice!"
"I don't," Reece interjects.
"Me neither," Dobbs adds.
"We're about to give that laser cannon a taste of its own medicine," Alan smirks and looks over to the laser.
"I still don't get it," Reece comments.
"If your bit of illegal tech works as it should," Kayo explains, "That laser won't see a thing coming." Kayo then fires the Astroboard up and throws it towards the laser. Havoc makes several attempts to fire the board down but due to the chip Kayo installed, she is unable to get a secure lock on it. As a result, the Astroboard goes straight into the laser cannon destroying them both.
"Yes!" Kayo celebrates.
"All right!" Alan yells.
"Now I get it!" Reece laughs.
"I don't," Dobbs says in confusion.
September 27th, 2065 - 12:58 NZST
"All right, I've made contact," Scott informs Thunderbird 2 as Thunderbird 4 latches onto the Zero-X escape capsule, "Reversing engines for extraction but I'm getting some major resistance here. Throttling up to maximum."
"That capsule is caught in sea sludge!" Nina realises, "You've got to let it go!"
"And lose our only clue to finding out what really happened to my Dad?" Scott questions, "Not a chance."
September 27th, 2065 - 12:59 NZST
"Kayo to Thunderbird 5, alert the GDF that Havoc got away," Kayo calls as Alan flies them both on an Astroboard back to Thunderbird 3, "And they're gonna need a new laser cannon." They pause outside of Thunderbird 3 as Alan goes to open the airlock but is met by a warning. "Alan?" Kayo questions.
"It's supposed to open automatically when we approach," Alan says, confused, "We're locked out!"
"Alan!" Kayo yells and forces him to duck as Thunderbird 3's engines fire up and it flies off towards the Moon, "Look out!"
"What just happened?" Alan questions and looks at Kayo both with scared expressions across their faces.
"Thunderbird 3's been stolen!" Kayo realises.
"She's getting away in Thunderbird 3," Alan growls, "We have to do something!"
"Kayo to Thunderbird 5," Kayo calls, "We need a priority override on Thunderbird 3. Havoc just stole it."
"It's no good," John sighs, "She must have some kind of jamming tech."
"We can't access the controls remotely," Ridley replies.
"Oh, this is, like, my worst nightmare," Alan quivers in fear, but turns around as he hears the sound of engines, "And now it just got even worse!"
"The Chaos Cruiser," Kayo grumbles, "It could be Fuse coming back to finish the job." Then the tip of the cruiser dips for Alan and Kayo to see that Reece and Dobbs had actually stolen the Chaos Cruiser from Havoc.
"Need a lift?" Dobbs asks.
"Reece? Dobbs?" Alan laughs.
"We saw Thunderbird 3 fly off without you," Reece informs, "So figured Havoc must have took it."
"Meaning she must have left her own ship hiding somewhere," Dobbs adds.
"And we're good at finding things," Reece continues.
"The only thing we're not so good at, right at this moment, is..." Dobbs trails.
"Figuring out how to stop!" Reece cries as the Chaos Cruiser comes flying towards the couple on the Astroboard. Alan and Kayo's eyes widen as they watch the cruiser come straight towards them.
"Whoa!" Alan cries as he activates the Astroboard and starts charging away from the Chaos Cruiser as Reece's poor piloting skills make it difficult to keep Alan and Kayo out of harm's way
"Argh!" Kayo yells as she tries to hold onto Alan's shoulders as he takes them into MSEZ. The tight curves and narrow spaces inside MSEZ didn't deter from Reece somehow excellently navigating the Chaos Cruiser around despite having now control over the craft.
"Whoa!" Alan exclaims as a piece of scrap is clipped by the cruiser and narrowly avoids hitting him in the face. Unfortunately, Reece's luck would run out and after several complete 360 turns, he accidently accelerates the cruiser and it goes into the back of Alan's Astroboard. The couple on the Astroboard go slamming into the windscreen of the Chaos Cruiser before sliding up it and onto the top. Alan lets out a grunt as he hits the top of the cruiser quite sharply but manages to hand on. Kayo on the other hand, stays on the Astroboard and lets out a groan as her ribs start hurting again from her encounter with Havoc. However, she is now in the safety of being behind the Chaos Cruiser rather than in front and gives chase. She watches Alan who is holding onto the roof of the cruiser for dear life.
"I'm not sure this is any better!" Alan complains.
"Just try to hold on!" Kayo calls as she closes in on the cruiser.
"What the fuck do you think I'm doing!" Alan yells.
September 27th, 2065 - 13:04 NZST
Thunderbird 4 slowly starts to move towards the ocean floor as the sea sludge pulls both him and the Zero-X capsule under. Scott continues to try and pull the capsule out but it only makes the situation worse. Marion notices this and tells Scott to stop pulling while they work out a solution to the problem.
"I've never seen anything like this," Scott comments, "The sea floor is pulling us in."
"It's sea sludge," Gordon sighs, "This stuff is seriously bad news. It's like quicksand, but even worse. If the capsule gets sucked under, we may never get it back."
"But we need the escape capsule's camera," Marion states, "It's our only way of finding your dad."
"We're sending down the rescue claw," Virgil calls and nods to Nina to send it down. Nina nods as Virgil picks up the module again to allow Nina access to the module's controls. She then actives the rescue claw and starts to send it down towards Thunderbird 4's position. Using the holo-map of the ocean in front of her, she starts to guide the claw downwards until it comes to a stop.
"Er... We have a slight problem," Nina stutters.
"What?" Virgil asks.
"They're too deep," Nina replies, "The claw's not going to reach."
"Try to hang on a little longer," Penelope tries to reassure from the passenger seat behind Virgil," We'll find another way." Her reassurance isn't a lot for Scott and Marion.
"We'll do our best," Marion mumbles.
September 27th, 2065 - 13:07 NZST
Kayo reaches out to Alan and manages to grab a hold of his hand and steady the Astroboard next to him.
"Whoa!" Reece cries, "Hey! Hey, hey, hey! Hey, Dobbsy, I need some help here!"
"What do you think I'm doing?" Dobbs responds as he goes to the back of the cockpit and tries to let Alan and Kayo in, who are right next to the entrance hatch at the top of the cruiser.
"It looks like you're trying to open the door!" Reece states.
"Exactly!" Dobbs replies.
"Oh, come on!" Alan mutters as he furiously taps at the control panel that is next to the hatch, "Open!" The Chaos Cruiser then goes crashing into the side of some scrap metal before bouncing off again. Fortunately, the impact jolts the hatch and opens it. Alan guides Kayo inside before going inside himself and closing it behind him.
"What's happening in there?" Kayo asks as the couple find themselves trapped in a small room between the hatch and the cockpit door.
"Oh, everything is fine," Dobbs responds as Reece guides the cruiser out of MSEZ and into open space.
"No, it's not!" Reece yells as the cruiser starts to spin around again, then a loose Astroboard going flying into the windshield, blocking Reece's view of what's in front of him.
"Yeah. No, no, it's not," Dobbs wails as he turns around to see what Reece is doing, "Hey, Reece, I found your Astroboard."
"Don't you mean MY Astroboard?!" Alan exclaims.
"Oops. Never mind," Dobbs replies.
Reece dips the Chaos Cruiser down slightly to allow the Astroboard to slide off. When it does, Reece and Dobbs let out a scream as they see a large spacecraft with supplies for Thunderbird 10 head straight towards them. Reece barrel rolls to the right only to see another Thunderbird 10 marked spacecraft in front of them and must barrel roll to the left of that. There's a brief gap but it becomes clear that Reece had got themselves trapping in a shipping lane and going in the wrong direction.
"I think we would have been better off outside this ship," Alan groans as both he and Kayo are thrown around inside with no idea of what is going on outside.
"I think I've got the hang of it now!" Reece shouts.
"I should be flying this thing," Alan cries and slams the door with his fist, "Not locked up in here!"
September 27th, 2065 - 13:16 NZST
Virgil returns to the cockpit after heading down into the module. Nina had pulled the rescue claw back into the module for Virgil to have a look at trying to extend the cable to help Scott and Marion in Thunderbird 4. Nina turns around expectantly as Virgil walks back into the cockpit but is met with the shake of the head.
"There's no way to extend the cable," Virgil sighs and takes a seat again, "Scott, you're either going to need to let go of the capsule, or get sucked down into the sludge along with it."
"There may be one other option," Penelope calls from behind causing Virgil and Nina to turn around, "What we need is another submarine, so why don't we use Thunderbird 2?"
"Well, for starters, this isn't a subma—" Virgil begins.
"Wait a minute, why don't we?!" Nina interrupts and immediately contacts Brains, "Brains, can Thunderbird 2 operate underwater?"
"Well, yes, t-technically it can," Brains explains, "But not without considerable challenges, including m-mortal danger."
"We're going under," Virgil replies and turns to the girls and gives them a nod of approval, "See what you did there? Thunderbird 2 IS a submarine."
"Well," Scott interjects, "Whatever you have to do, do it fast."
"We don't have much more time!" Marion adds as they watch the last bit of the capsule disappear under the sea sludge and the beginning of Thunderbird 4.
"Thunderbird 2 has an airtight f-frame," Brain explains to Virgil, "But you'll need to close down all of the air intake valves. The c-camber locators will have to be turned to p-positive." As Brains continues to explain, the three inside Thunderbird 2 move around to complete as instructed hastily wanting to head down and help Scott and Marion. "Reconfigure the combustion chamber valves, and, finally, make sure you hold you b-breath," Brains states causing everyone to look at each other in alarm, "Just k-kidding." Brains waves his hand in apology while every breathes a sigh of relief.
"Here we go," Virgil informs and lowers Thunderbird 2 to rest on the ocean surface, "We're floating."
"Flooding the module," Nina states and brings up the holo-map she had up earlier and presses un the underside of Thunderbird 2's hologram to open up the module doors, "This should give us enough weight to take us under."
"There's a word for this, you know," Virgil says as the underwater world unfolds in front of their eyes.
"Sinking?" Penelope suggests.
"Exactly," Virgil chuckles, "Thundersub 2 is go."
"Decent holding steady," Nina calls as she monitors the vitals, "10 metres per second."
"Hang in there, guys, we're on our way," Virgil informs.
September 27th, 2065 - 13:27 NZST
"Argh!" Alan groans, "So, this is how it's gonna be? They get to do all the flying and chasing, and... and we're stuck in the airlock?"
"At least you're stuck with me," Kayo smirks causing Alan to roll his eyes. Kayo then brings up her wrist communicator and opens a channel, "Thunderbird 5, anything on Thunderbird 3?"
"It's not much," John admits as he scans over a new hologram of the Chaos Cruiser, "But when Dobbs hacked into the Chaos Cruiser, I was able to use its tracking hardware to get a lock onto Thunderbird 3."
"Well, onto Havoc," Ridley laughs before pressing on a few things, "I'm sending you her destination."
"Fuck me..." Alan mutters, "She's going to the Moon!"
"Reece," Kayo yells through the door, "We've got a lock on Havoc. Lay in a course for the Moon."
"Er... Erm... I don't know how to operate the navigation computer!" Reece cries.
"Then point us at that motherfucker and punch it!" Kayo growls in frustration.
September 27th, 2065 - 13:32 NZST
Thunderbird 2 reaches just over three quarters of the way down towards the bottom of the ocean floor. The three inside look around in awe at the beauty of the ocean landscape.
"Wow," Nina comments, "I can see why Gordon likes being an aquanaut so much."
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Penelope sighs but an alert comes up and stops the slight relaxation that had covered the room.
"We're taking on water," Nina calls.
"This must be the mortal peril part Brains was talking about," Virgil responds, "Nina, take the helm. I'm going to have a look."
"What will you do?" Penelope asks as she watches Virgil walks past her and opens the door at the back of the cockpit to head down.
"Don't know," Virgil admits as he pauses in his stride before looking to his left, "Look for a bucket."
"Make it a big one," Nina chuckles at the weak joke.
"Er... guys," Scott's voice rings out over the coms, "I don't mean to sound dramatic here, but we're going under."
"We're almost there, guys," Penelope replies.
"Virgil, I'm showing the leak in aft thrust assembly has stopped, but you have a new one in the landing strut housing," Nina informs.
"Which one?" Virgil asks.
"Erm... all of them," Nina stutters.
"As long as we get Thunderbird 4 and get out of here, I don't mind a little wet," Virgil responds as he rushes around Thunderbird 2's interior to fix the constant leaks.
"Guys, I hope you've got a brilliant idea," Marion calls, "Cause I cannot see out the back anymore."
"Deploying grasping claw," Nina replies, "It should be close enough to reach you now."
"Come on, come on," Penelope mumbles to herself as she watches Nina navigate the claw down on the holo-map. It had picked up the signal of Thunderbird 4 and now displayed it along with Thunderbird 2 which helped Nina guide the claw downwards. She makes contact with the ocean floor and it soon disappears under the sludge.
"Marion, the claw's under," Nina states, "Can you see it?"
"No," Marion sighs, "It's pitch black outside. I can't see a thing."
"How far down are you?" Penelope asks.
"39 feet below the seabed and falling," Scott responds.
"Hang on," Nina says, "I'll find you."
September 27th, 2065 - 13:38 NZST
The Chaos Cruiser approaches the Moon as off to the left, Reece notices something and turns the cruiser in the direction. He quickly manages to catch up with it and sees a red rocket with three thrusters and smiles in delight.
"'Avast, me hearties," Reece declares, ""Prepare to board!"
"That means we're gaining on her," Dobbs translates for Alan and Kayo.
"FAB. We're standing by," Kayo acknowledges. However, Thunderbird 3 suddenly stops and turns around. Her engines fires up again and she starts heading straight towards the Chaos Cruiser.
"Hey, Reece?" Dobbs points.
"Yeah?" Reece questions before looking up again and yelping in shock."
"Hard to starboard. Er, hard to port," Dobbs mutters fearfully, "Whichever is faster!" Reece turns slightly to portside and narrowly misses contact with Thunderbird 3 but throws Alan and Kayo around in the airlock in confusion.
"Bloody hell!" Alan grunts and grabs onto Kayo, holding her close, "We're turning. Why are we turning?!"
"What are you two doing?" Kayo growls.
"What we do best," Dobbs replies, "Running away."
"In case you hadn't noticed," Reece continues, "Thunderbird 3 is a lot bigger than what we're sailing."
"He has a point," Alan mutters.
Outside, the Chaos Cruiser closes in on the Moon's surface but Havoc had managed to turn around Thunderbird 3 again as is quickly hot on their tail. Thunderbird 3's grasping arms then are deployed and go around the Chaos Cruiser much to the alarm of Reece and Dobbs.
"Ah..." Dobbs cries, "We can't outrun a rocket."
"You may not have to," Alan calls, "I have a plan, but it's gonna take some expert flying. Are you up for it?"
"No," Reece replies.
"Yes!" Dobbs responds.
"I mean, yes," Reece nods over to Dobbs who gives him a glare.
Just as Thunderbird 3 is going to grab onto the Chaos Cruiser, the Chaos Cruiser turns down into a nosedive towards the Moon. It travels along the surface of the Moon away from Thunderbird 3. However, Thunderbird 3 reacts, and the grasping arms are retracted once again, giving chase. Alan brings up his saved map of the Moon and displays in on his wrist controller for Kayo to see. It shows Alan's planned flight path for Reece and the location of Thunderbird 3 that is once again closing in on them.
"It's gaining on us!" Dobbs cries.
"Trust me," Alan smiles, "Keep to the flight path I gave you."
Thunderbird 3 closes down to a distance of a couple hundred metres before the Chaos Cruiser takes a sharp left. Havoc reacts quickly and takes the hard turn and keeps close the cruiser. They remain on a sharp turn but the Chaos Cruiser then changes angle to one that is too small for Thunderbird to follow. Unbeknownst to Havoc, this meant that Thunderbird 3 is heading towards straight into a communications field. This allows the Chaos Cruiser to gain some ground again as Thunderbird 3 has to slow down to navigate the field. Once Havoc escapes, she increases the speed of Thunderbird 3 to faster than before. As she closes down on the Chaos Cruiser, she deploys one of the grasping arms and fires it at the cruiser and attaches a line successfully to it.
"Oh, she's got us," Dobbs moans as they start to be pulled in.
"Are you alright, K?" Alan asks as he watches Kayo grunt holding onto her ribs again.
"I'll be just fine, Al," Kayo smirks weakly and opens the hatch again. Luckily, the grasping arm hadn't covered it allowing her to escape. Alan quickly follows her out and they look up to Thunderbird 3 above them.
"Now's our chance," Alan states.
"Are you ready for this?" Kayo asks.
"Are you?" Alan replies and gets out his magnetic suction cups. Kayo grabs onto him and they start the climb up the grasping arm. As they fly over Captain Taylor's and Jeff Tracy's old Moon Base, Havoc starts to spin Thunderbird 3 around in an attempt to throw Alan and Kayo off the grasping arm. However, Brains had overengineered the suction cups like most of his designs and the couple manage to stay attached, with them pausing to ensure that Alan doesn't lose his grip.
"Whoa!" Alan and Kayo yell. They then watch as Reece and Dobbs are flown out of the Chaos Cruiser. If it wasn't for the Moon's gravity, while weak, they would be goners, thrown into space with no ship. Thunderbird 3 soon stops spinning afterwards which allows Alan to continue his climb. It doesn't take them much longer until they reach the top and they crawl along to the top of Thunderbird 3's hull, next to the top of the cargo bay doors.
September 27th, 2065 - 13:52 NZST
Meanwhile, on board Thunderbird 2, Nina continues to have difficulties in finding Thunderbird 4. The rescue claw has now gone over 65 feet into the sea sludge below with no signs of connecting with Thunderbird 4. Marion watches from the medical bay on board for any sign of the claw but it remains pitch black.
"Come one," Nina mumbles, "Where are you?"
"Readouts now show me 70 feet under the surface," Scott informs.
"Then I should be close," Nina smiles.
Marion then sees something out of the darkness before a loud bang echoes through Thunderbird 4. "Nina, stop!" Marion smiles, "You just made contact."
"Close the grabbing claw," Scott orders.
"Okay, but I'm going in blind," Nina states as she closes the grasp on the claw.
"That's it," Marion calls, "I think you've got us."
"Only one way to find out," Nina mumbles and starts to pull to claw in, "Reversing thrust."
"65 feet. 60 feet," Scott beams as he looks at the control unit in front of him, "Unless we're magically rising on our own, this is working."
"We have to do this slowly," Virgil informs as he enters the cockpit once again and takes a seat next to Nina looking over at the vitals of Thunderbird 2, "That sea sludge is a non-Newtonian fluid. If Nina pulls too fast, it will clamp down like a vice and crush the capsule."
"And us along with it," Marion states, "Go ahead, take your time."
September 27th, 2065 - 14:01 NZST
"Havoc has control over all the systems," Kayo calls as Alan carries her over to the tip of the cargo bay door, "Any ideas how to get inside?"
"Oh," Alan smiles and opens a secret panel with the palm of his hand, "With a little hidden feature Brains installed for situations just like this." He pulls the single level inside the panel across and the cargo bay doors start to open allowing for Alan to access the inside of Thunderbird 3.
"I'm wondering, Al," Kayo starts as Alan helps her inside the cargo hold, "Did Brains install that manual hatch release for situations just like this, or because you keep locking your keys inside?"
"Only twice!" Alan groans and Kayo lets out a smirk that makes Alan feel even worse and mentally thinks that he should really go ask Brains for a spear set of keys as well. He gets to the door panel on the inside and shuts the cargo doors once again. He then goes to open the airlock that would gain them access to the cockpit but then the panel shuts down. Alan grunts in frustration and starts to bang on the unit only for Kayo to pull him away.
"Argh! I'm sick of locked door," Alan sighs.
September 27th, 2065 - 14:05 NZST
Inside Thunderbird 2, Penelope notices a silent warning appear on the unit next to her and opens up a hologram to see what the problem is.
"Guys, we're losing engine power," Penelope shouts.
"That sea sludge's grip is stronger than concrete," Nina comments.
"We've stopped moving," Scott calls and there's a loud clunk, "Is everything okay?"
"Well," Virgil explains, "It turns out just because Thunderbird 2 CAN go underwater, doesn't mean it SHOULD."
"We're having a little 'might burn out our engines and get stuck down there with you' problem at the moment," Nina struggles.
"It's not worth it," Scott sighs, coming to the realisation that Virgil and the girls were in severe danger, "I'm going to release the capsule."
"Scott, no!" Virgil orders.
"We can't risk losing Thunderbird 2 under here," Scott states, "Thunderbirds 1 and 7 wouldn't be strong enough to pull you out and we'd lose you!"
"You let us worry about that," Nina responds, "We are not missing this chance to find out what happened to your father." Nina then puts more power towards Thunderbird 2's thrusters to keep them online. "Come on!"
"Good job, babe," Virgil smiles as Nina manages to start the lift again and get the engines under control once again. After a few tense minutes, the yellow thrusters of Thunderbird 4 appear out of the sludge then a window and Marion's smiling face. Before they knew it the whole of Thunderbird 4 emerged out of the sea floor and the capsule not far behind.
"Now, that is a better view!" Scott smiles. Nina pulls Thunderbird 4 all the way in and Penelope closes the module doors behind them.
"Capsule secured," Penelope says.
"Let's get outta here," Virgil orders before all the engines go offline and Thunderbird 2 starts to sink to the ocean floor herself.
"Engines are completely flooded," Nina growls.
"Marion, we're too heavy. We need that water out of the module," Virgil explains.
"Already on it," Marion replies and gets her helmet on before exiting out the back of Thunderbird 4 and making her way to the back of the module where the valve pumps are located, "I'm pumping it out now, but it may take a minute."
"This could get messy," Nina strains as Thunderbird 2 closes in on the ocean floor, "Impact in three... two... one!" With a large thud, Thunderbird 2 crashes down and rests on the seabed.
"Oh..." Penelope sighs and presses a button, "Hold on!"
"Huh?" Virgil and Nina question in confusion as they hear inflating coming from the outside of Thunderbird 2 and then see they are raising towards the surface.
"Inflater bags deployed," Penelope smiles and looks over at Virgil and Nina's questionable gaze, "I thought we could use a lift."
"Ha!" Virgil chuckles, "Inflator bags. Right! Lady Penelope, you're welcome to join us on missions any time."
"Hey, Nina, Virg," Scott calls over the coms, "Did you think to try the inflator bags?"
"Ha-ha," Virgil laughs sarcastically as Penelope tries to hold in a giggle, "Very funny."
September 27th, 2065 - 14:09 NZST
In space, Thunderbird 3 starts to move away from the Moon's surface and upwards into the emptiness of space. Havoc realises the Chaos Cruiser and brings in the grasping arm. She then turns Thunderbird 3 around to face the Moon's surface again before cutting the engines. The airlock in the cockpit then opens and Havoc exits through it and fires a grappling cable over to the Chaos Cruiser and disappears inside.
"What has she done?" Kayo asks worriedly and she sees Alan's face turn to an expression of horror. An alarm starts to ring out inside the cargo hold before Alan and Kayo are flung to the back of the space, to the opposite end to where the cockpit is. They crash into the wall and Kayo lets out a cry of pain and hisses holding onto her ribs. Alan does a scan of Thunderbird 3 and tries to regain access it her again.
"She's set us on a collision course!" Alan informs. He then graves onto the handrails and darts off back towards the bay doors control unit to open them again. Kayo tries to move but is unable to move due to her injures and silently hopes that Alan is able to stop them crashing in time. She looks up and sees the cargo doors open again and watches as Alan hops outside again.
Alan looks up and sees that Havoc has left the cockpit airlock open and uses his suction cups that he left next to the control unit to crawl along the outside of Thunderbird 3 across to it. He makes it over to it and propels himself inside and over to his seat. He pulls the safety arms over to protect himself and grabs the controls.
"Please, oh, please, oh, please, pull up!" Alan mumbles to himself as he pulls all the way back. He sees a crater rapidly approaching and Thunderbird 3 starts to lift just as he enters. Thunderbird 3 skims the bottom on the crater and starts to lift again just as Alan comes to the end of the crater and a steep climb is presented in front of him. Alan grunts and he tries to pull back on the controls further and closes his eyes. His bird is still going at very high speeds and is unsure that they are going to make it. Fortunately, luck is on his side and Thunderbird 3 successfully exits the crater and is away.
"Woo-hoo!" Alan celebrates and sets a course for home. Once the route is set, he heads down to the cargo hold to make sure Kayo is alright. He finds her in the position he left her in and helps her to her feet. Kayo weakly smiles and latches onto Alan.
"Death was really staring us in the face, huh," Kayo mumbles.
"Are you okay?" Alan asks and takes Kayo's helmet off, cupping her face.
"I am now," Kayo winces, "Probably got a couple fractured ribs though." Alan gives her a look of concern before rapping her into a loose hug, being careful of her ribs. They make their way to the cockpit once again and Alan helps Kayo to take her seat next to him.
"Thunderbird 3 to Tracy Island," Alan calls, "We have our ship back."
September 27th, 2065 - 21:55 NZST
In the lounge, everyone at International Rescue had assembled once again. It had taken a few hours, but Brains had taken a hand of the Zero-X capsule as soon as Thunderbird 2 had arrived back on Tracy Island. He worked as quick as he could and extracted the camera information and put it on file. Brains stands in front of everyone and flicks through the files on his tablet, trying to find the right one that would give the new view that they are looking for.
"I hope this was worth it, Brains," Scott sighs as he sits down next to Marion who snuggles up immediately, "Did you find anything?"
"This is the explosion we thought we saw," Brains explains showing the previous footage from Casey's GDF Fighter Plane, "But there is m-more. When I integrate the new footage from the escape capsule, we can see this."
Everyone goes silent as they watch the footage from the capsule. They see the explosion from another angle but when the capsule dips to head back down to Earth, there is a large contrail going from the centre of the explosion and into deep space.
"And... what are we seeing?" Alan asks as he runs his hands through Kayo's hair.
"This isn't an explosion, Alan," Brains beams and brings up another hologram that he created to demonstrate what they've just seen, "It's an aftershock. The Zero-X rocket launched, right here."
"It actually worked," Virgil breathes.
"It's T-drive engine was so p-powerful the Zero-X literally disappeared in the blink of an eye," Brains concludes.
"So now we know where Dad is..." Alan trails.
"And how he got there!" Gordon finishes.
"But how do we bring him back," Marion asks.
"We b-build a new Zero-X," Brains explains.
"Yes!" Alan celebrates at the prospect of a new spacecraft.
"It won't be easy to construct its T-drive engine, and it won't be q-quick with most of our resources going across to T-Thunderbird 10," Brains states, "But it's the only way."
"Then let's do it," Nina smiles and watches and the Tracy Brothers go and stand in front of where Gordon is laying down on the sofa.
"Let's bring Dad home!" Scott states.