Me, again. It's been pointed out that my chapters are sort of short, so I decided to add a bit more. Truly appreciate your comments and reviews, Creative Girl, Tikatu and Guest (and, that question will be answered soon, promise). Hugs and get-well wishes for Bow Echo, a very good friend. Edited.

31

Tracy Island, early afternoon-

As the house shuddered and boomed in the grip of a powerful, unnamed tropical storm, John Tracy took a shower upstairs. He'd meant to be quick, but standing there numbly under the blasting hot water, he was just too tired… too vacant… to leave. His head ached, and every muscle felt outlined in fire. Wanted to fall asleep right there and then, but the shower helped, as did the chance of very soon, actual rest. Just planted both hands against the smooth white tile and thought about nothing at all.

He might have stayed in there forever, surrounded by soap-fragrant steam and warm jets, only Virgil hammered hard on the bathroom door, growling,

"Hey! Save some hot water! People are waiting, out here!"

So, John cut off the shower and toweled himself roughly dry. Next, he got into jeans and an old black tee-shirt, and left the head. (But not before nailing Virge in the face with a soggy-wet towel, for making him hurry. Had his younger brother been less of a shambling sleep-wreck, they'd have scuffled, but neither had the energy. Later, though, with compound interest.)

Then came the fun part; finding someplace more or less private to lie down. John just wasn't comfortable sleeping in front of others. Only with Kayo or Ridley could he relax enough to drift unconscious. And with Eos, of course… but that was different.

The AI used a repair mech to direct him to an empty closet, far down the long upstairs hall. There, John made a nest for himself from out-grown clothing and folded tablecloths. Then, he didn't so much fall asleep, as plunge from a steep, dark cliff into total oblivion.

…for about thirty minutes. After that, he awoke with an idea, and Eos' soft ping in his earpiece. Pre-arranged signal, because he had things to do.

"Yeah," the astronaut muttered, stretching as much as that cramped, dark space would allow. "I'm up, Pretty Girl."

Felt weird, not getting her physical feedback through his environment suit. Like the AI was a ghost, or something. Add that to his mountain of reasons for preferring Thunderbird 5. Up there, he was almost never out of uniform, unless Ridley…

Right. Back to business. Shoving away that brief stab of affection and longing, John got to his feet, and then opened the closet door. It was nice and quiet outside in the hall, where ten unknown people and Virgil were passed out asleep. He put the closet back in order before leaving it, only retaining one tablecloth to cover his brother with. People got cold when sleeping. He knew that.

Virgil mumbled, rolled over and pulled the bright checkered cloth tighter around himself. Also spooned a grey-haired, matronly female sergeant, but John did not see fit to interfere. Brotherly duties only went so far.

Storm must 've been right on top of them, John decided, as he edged his way out of the crowd. Even through metal shutters and thick, heavy walls, he could hear thunder, surf and wild, shrieking wind. Maybe that meant it would pass them, soon?

Very carefully, avoiding attention, he made his way down through the packed house, and back to Brains' lab complex. See, Gran Roca ranch held their official training center, but the house had been first, and still had a smallish simulation room on the first sub-floor. Not much used, anymore, but good enough for John's purpose.

Pressing his hand to the door's palmprint scanner, he allowed the locking mechanism to identify him, murmuring,

"Thanks," when it opened the door. He'd always been fond of machines and computers.

There was a small antechamber inside, with a wall panel into which you could input your training requirements. Only, instead of choosing, say… 'Space Rescue, level 15', or 'Mantle Exploration Disaster, level 9', John said,

"Eos, take over control. I need… let's see… back upstairs, in geo-synch, over Antarctica, and fully shielded. Meet me inside, Sweetie."

His earpiece pinged once more, as a short burst of "yes" and "okay" and "Roger" poured through the device, from every transmission his AI could co-opt.

Door number two opened up, then. John began to step through it, but ended by floating inside; back home, back in uniform, and free of gravity's crushing d*mn fist. (In simulation, at least.)

He could feel his own heartrate and tension drop, as he soared across the big, humming, softly-lit dome. Somersaulted once or twice, just for the h*ll of it, before getting to business.

Well, almost. Eos manifested herself physically, a thing she'd done twice before. Now, she glided over to join him, smiling all over her anime-beautiful face.

"John," she greeted him, accepting a quick, tight embrace.

"Hey, Pretty Girl,' he replied, tangling a hand in the back of her auburn hair, so that he could bring her in for a top-of-the-head kiss. She smelled good, like some kind of flower. "I'm going to need an uplink to the Hive Ship."

Eos pushed away just a bit, by pressing against his uniformed chest with both hands. In this manifestation, her eyes were lavender, and wide with concern.

"In simulation, John, or reality?"

He smiled at her, briefly; making swift dimples appear.

"I'm betting that I can use one to affect the other, Eos. Count on it, the Mechanic hasn't locked this backdoor."

Cocking her head to one side, she considered. Then, his AI said cautiously,

"The idea has possible merit, John Tracy. I cannot predict how long he will fail to notice your intrusion, however, so speed shall be very much of the essence."

"Not a problem, Beautiful," he told her, confidently. "In sim, you can jack me up to your response times. Let's see him keep up with that."

Eos nodded, shifted a few variables, and made it so. Then, a bit shyly, she said,

"It is customary, is it not, to offer a kiss for luck?"

"I dunno," he replied carelessly. "Except for Kayo and Grandma, all I have is brothers. Sometimes I get a good luck punch, or back-slap, but that's about it."

She drew closer once more, saying,

"Then I shall begin a tradition. Good luck, John."

And she gave him a very swift, gentle kiss; a brush of soft, parted lips on his own, as they floated together in sim. "Be safe and fortunate, always."

"Or, better yet, sneaky and smart," he corrected her, smiling once more. "It'll work, Eos. It has to."

Turning his mind back to the matter at hand, John set Eos slightly away, then gestured to call up a virtual viewscreen and keyboard. Responsive to his need, the screen popped into existence, displaying a view of the Antarctic wasteland, below.

"Increase magnification," he ordered, tapping a few keys. "Focus on Ross Island."

The image altered obligingly, zooming in on a barren, ice-locked island with two large volcanoes… and an odd midair ripple, where none should be. The cloaked Hive Ship.

"Huh," John grunted. "His tech needs work."

"Or else the Mechanic expects to be found, by someone of sufficient intellect and hacking ability," Eos cautioned. "Be wary, John."

The astronaut glanced at his nervous AI, who floated beside him in Thunderbird 5, looking very much like the perfect female.

"My friend needs me," John told her. "I'm getting him out of there, Eos. I'd do the same for you. Now, ready with that uplink?"

She nodded, still computing and shifting variables with tremendous speed. Then, at her unstated command, a glistening pathway sprang up between his station and the Hive Ship.

In less than a breath or an eyeblink, several things happened together. John put a bit of himself through the link, in the form of a digitized silvery icon. Jaeger saw and responded… but so did Kane.

To John's VR senses, the Hive Ship was a gem-studded network of electronic pathways; one of them harboring Jaeger's faint, reddish gleam. The battle-intelligence surged briefly, very much like a downed pilot waving his shirt at a passing rescue plane.

Meanwhile, Ship's defenses began raging through every line in the network, seeking to cut off escape. They were just a beat slow, thanks to Eos, who burnt up connections and blasted at processors. Behind that sh*t-storm, John could sense the Mechanic's furious advance, like an avalanche of roaring metal and flame. Poisonous, mind-locking countermeasures followed his wake, riding each strand like a blizzard of mechanized spiders. Very much, they were looking for blood. His.

The smart, safe thing to do was retreat, but he couldn't; not with Jaeger still trapped there, right in the cross-hairs.

"John!" Eos shrilled at him, as she fired blue-screen viruses deep into the attacking Hive Ship.

"I know," he snapped back, coding as fast as he could. "Almost… there."

For one hundred-billionth of a second, he made contact with Jaeger. Only, this time, there was power enough to charge up and strengthen the fading AI. Jaeger didn't have to seize physical hold; he zapped along the bridge formed by John's consciousness, and the uplink. Good. Awesome.

Not so good, the Mechanic could follow the same path, like lightning riding a ground wire. John had time enough just to think/shout: "Eos, now!"

…and found himself knocked back to the floor of the blank simulation room, heart thudding, breath rasping… with a flare of red light nearly melting the screen of his wrist comm.

"Eos," he called out, was rewarded by a ping from his earpiece. "What did you do, shut down the power and internet access?"

If so, they were going to have a house full of bored, hot, angry people on their hands… but no Mechanic in the works, so, yeah. Good deal. His wrist comm hadn't stopped vibrating, hadn't stopped glowing bright, garnet red. John tapped at it, saying,

"Good to see you, Buddy. Sorry it took so long." Because a few hours for him was an eon for Jaeger, who had every right to be angry. "When you feel up to it, there's a situation on Mars you could help me take care of."

And just for that moment, with Jaeger back, and Eos pinging Morse code advice in his ear, life felt pretty d*mn good to John Tracy.