Naomi stepped off Tracy 2. She took a deep breath. This was going to be her home for the rest of her life.
"Wait until you're top side," Virgil told his fiancé
"You're supposed to be doing post-flight checks," Naomi laughed
"That I should," Virgil agreed "Why don't you head up?" Naomi looked around. To the untrained eye the hanger looked like every other hanger. There were cans of fuel and tools for repairs. Spare parts were neatly shelved. But when you knew the secret of Tracy Island, you would see so much more in the hanger. The door which most likely led to the hangers for the famous Thunderbirds. The tiny alarm in the right hand corner. And the open door leading the Tracy Family home. And the small red haired Tracy.
"Hey Gordon!" Naomi called out, waving at the 20 year old. The red haired looked up and saw the tall 29 year old. He ran down the stairwell and across the hanger to greet her.
"You're here! You're finally here!" He says, pulling her into a tight hug. Naomi embraces the fourth son of Jeff Tracy.
"Of course I'm here. I'll always be here for you,"
"Thank you,"
"No problem. Want to help me with my luggage?" Gordon nodded and picked up the smaller of the two suitcases. Naomi rolled her eyes.
"Come on, I'll show you to your room Miss Winchester," Gordon noticed the movement and decided to be a porter.
"Why thank you," Naomi smiled as she followed the second youngest Tracy Brother to the hanger door and into the house. A tall Malaysian teen ran past the two adults.
"Watch where you're running Tin Tin!" Gordon called out to the teen.
"Sorry Gordon!" The girl told the red head "Sorry Naomi!"
"Virgil's been talking about you and drawing you a lot," Gordon explained when he saw Naomi's confused face "That's Tin Tin Kyrano. She's Alan's girlfriend,"
"I'm staying at her house until Virgil and I get married right?"
"Yep,"
"Anyone else I need to know about?"
"You ask a lot of questions,"
"Of course I do. It was my job,"
"True, true. And to answer your question, there's the Kyrano family; Tin Tin and her parents and then there's Brains. He's the local genius,"
"Other than John?"
"I'd say that they could be an equal match," Gordon thought about his words carefully. The two friends walked out of the Tracy household and onto the porch. Naomi spotted the pool.
"Olympic sized or regular?"
"25 metres," Gordon sighed "Didn't have enough room for an Olympic one,"
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're a spoiled brat,"
"And I'd say that I'm the person caring your luggage and I could easily throw it into the pool,"
"And if I remember correctly, I need to be able to lift someone twice your weight with two hands. I have one hand that I use and quite frankly, if you were to throw my stuff into the pool – you'd be joining it," Naomi shot a murderous glare at the fourth Tracy.
"Okay. I won't throw you things in the pool," Gordon said, filing the knowledge away "I'll just have to do find something better,"
"I'd like to see you try," Naomi said, laughing as they continued their way to the Kyrano household.
Naomi had just finished putting her clothes away in a closet when a loud siren blared.
"At least I now know what Virgil meant by a really loud bell," She muttered as she ran out of the Kyrano household and over to the Tracy house. One by one members of International Rescue flooded into the Tracy living room. Virgil, Gordon and Jeff were present. John was on hologram and the other Tracy's were in America. One for School and the other for business.
"What's problem John?" Jeff asked.
"A 5.6 earthquake has struck Christchurch, New Zealand. Buildings have collapsed and a lot of people are trapped," John explained "This earthquake has caused more damaged than the 5.5 on February 14th in 2016,"
"Gordon, you're taking Thunderbird 1, Virgil and I will go in Thunderbird 2. Tin Tin can run Control," Jeff said. Jeff turned around to see Naomi.
"Any words of advice from our New Zealand expert?"
"Watch out for liquefaction, keep clear of cliffs and other tall structures and be prepared for aftershocks," Naomi replied "Those are the major risks after an earthquake in that area,"
"Thanks for the advice," Virgil said, kissing his fiancé on the cheek before heading off behind a portrait of a rocket. Soon it was only Tin Tin and Naomi in the room.
"Anything I can do to help?" Naomi asked
"Of course," Tin Tin replied "But it might not be for a while. So tell me more about the Christchurch area,"
"Well its part of the Canterbury region. The super 18 team is the Crusaders and their colours are red and black. Christchurch is known as the Garden City of New Zealand and was home to the Christchurch Cathedral which they had to demolish a few years after the original Christchurch Earthquake. They didn't know there was a fault line under Christchurch until the first quake hit. And it was also the first place to encounter liquefaction," Naomi explained "They've been plagued with quakes ever since,"
"It's hard knowing your country is in danger and you can't do anything to help," Tin Tin said "But International Rescue will be doing everything they can to help,"
"I know. I'm just worried about the aftershocks. The February 22nd Earthquake was an aftershock. It was bigger and caused more damage than the first,"
"You were right about that liquefaction Naomi," Gordon said into his head piece "It's everywhere,"
"And it's getting on my bird," Virgil huffed. He could hear laughter from the two female members of International Rescue through his head piece.
"We'll clean it later Virg," Naomi promised "Any success on finding anyone?"
"We've managed to find a group of people under a pile of rubble," Jeff answered "We attempting to do the rescue now,"
"I don't think that's a good…" John's thoughts were cut off as Tracy Island shook a little "Idea,"
"John?" Naomi asked quickly "Do not tell me that that was an earthquake we just felt,"
"You asked me not to tell you that," John said "Epicentre was off the coast of Christchurch. And it was stronger than the first,"
"And what about tsunamis?" Naomi asked
"None for Tracy Island yet but there's a few for the Australian coast," John replied
"I can take Thunderbird 3 out if we need to," Tin Tin says. John's hologram frowned.
"Have you guys made contact with the others?" Tin Tin and Naomi looked at each other.
"Op 6 to Commander, come in Commander," Tin Tin said into her head set
"Op 7 to Op 3, come in Op 3," Naomi nervously said into her own "Pick up,"
"I'm sure they're fine," John said "I'll call Scott and Alan so that they know what has happened. I'm sure that they will be fine. Probably just a communication error,"
"We'll keep trying,"
Three hours later the sound of jets was heard over Tracy Island. Both Naomi and Tin Tin rushed down to the hangers. They were just in time to see Thunderbird 2 roll into the hanger. Naomi sighed. The way that her fiancé had talked about his bird was like her Uncle Dean talk about his wife. There was only two ways that Thunderbird 2 could have come home. Number One was if Virgil was flying her. The other way was if Virgil was hurt and one of his brothers or father was flying. The second way rarely happened. Virgil was just as stubborn as his bride-to-be. And he hated it when someone was flying his bird.
"They're alright," Naomi whispered "There's no way Thunderbird 2 would leave without Virg,"
"Well no one could have been seriously hurt," Tin Tin said, checking the hanger log "Thunderbird 1 is already parked,"
"And there's no scratches on it," Gordon said "Virgil and Dad are fine as well. Although Virgil wants Dad to take it easy with his left arm for a next few days,"
"Well go and get cleaned up. You've got liquefaction all over you," Naomi said
"And Mum will kill you if you drag… that… all over the house," Tin Tin agreed "Let us handle your brothers," Gordon smiled as he walked off to the showers.
"So was it your end or our end that closed of communications?" Virgil asked from behind.
"Well we still had John on the line and Thunderbird 5 runs off Tracy Island so it must have been your end," Tin Tin says "Also go and have a shower, I doubt your wife-to-be will hug you otherwise,"
"Take as long as you want," Naomi said "We've still got Scott, John and Alan to inform,"
"Better you guys than me," Virgil said "Also – Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets or Star Wars episode 1?"
"Harry Potter. Popcorn or Hot Chocolate?"
"Both,"
"It's a date then," Naomi smiled. Virgil followed his immediate younger brother's footsteps to the showers.
"You two make a great couple," Tin Tin commented
"So do you and Alan," Naomi said "Oh don't look so surprised. I know exactly who each brother did. So of course I know that you're the best girl for the baby of the family,"
"Thanks. So what were you working on back in the lounge?"
"Just something that I was working on when Virgil was in hospital after the whole DC Bombings case. Let's just say that if my idea comes to life, it might just make our jobs a little easier," Naomi replied "But I still need to get a few signatures from the FBI Director, the Commander of International Rescue and few world leaders before it can work,"
"Just another day at the office then?"
"I suppose so,"