THUNDERBIRD 1 came in low over the fields of South Dakota. Checking his instruments, Scott soon caught sight of the GDF Flyer that was sitting in one of the open fields along a long, straight roadway. "Approaching now, Dad," he said.
Jeff grunted a response from the passenger seat. He wasn't feeling up to saying much because he couldn't stop thinking. It was very unusual for him to get called out from Tracy Island by anyone, especially as the person behind this request was none other than Colonel Jennings. Something must be really wrong if she had not only asked to see him in person, but also for them to meet in the middle of nowhere.
Scott brought Thunderbird 1 down and landed close to the Flyer. As they disembarked with Scott heading down the steps after his father, they noticed some GDF personnel searching the area for clues along with what appeared to be the local law enforcement as two Police Cars were there as well. They were checking the area around a small red car that appeared to have been left abandoned at the edge of the field. Judging by the condition of its wheels and paintwork, it looked as though it had been left there for a long time.
"They've asked us out here to look at an abandoned auto?" Scott muttered to Jeff. "This seems like a waste of our time, Dad."
Jeff didn't answer. Unlike his eldest son, he was showing a great deal of concern as he walked towards the blonde-haired woman in uniform who he'd only ever seen as a hologram up until this point. "Colonel Jennings?"
The woman turned around. "Colonel Tracy," she said, giving him a salute. He returned it, despite not being in any uniform himself. "Sorry to have to call you out like this, but I thought you needed to see this." She walked them over towards the car. "Local Law Enforcement came across this vehicle about two hours ago," she said. "Normally this isn't something that even we would get involved with. However, that changed when it was revealed who the owner was."
"Which is?" asked Scott.
"Colonel Casey," Jeff interjected before Colonel Jennings could.
"You recognise it then?" Colonel Jennings asked.
Jeff nodded grimly. "I've been to her house and saw it there," he said. "Any clues as to what might have happened?"
Colonel Jennings shook her head. "Well the car's not damaged so it hasn't been in a crash. It hasn't strayed too far from the road so we originally thought it was a breakdown possibly. But we've given the engine a check and apart from being dusty it's working fine."
"Robbery or potential abduction?" asked Scott.
"Maybe," said Colonel Jennings. "Although there's no sign of any scuffles or that another vehicle or even an aircraft have been here. We did find these two sets of footprints though." She showed them a trail that led away from the car into the field. "These tracks go for about one-hundred metres and then just stop," she said. "It's like they have disappeared into thin air."
"Have you tried contacting them?" Scott asked.
"Yes, but nothing has been heard," said Colonel Jennings. "We tried contacting her daughter but she is not responding either. As of this moment, Martha and Rita Casey are missing people."
Jeff stared down at the footprints. Then he looked back at the car before finally looking up into the sky. "Then where the hell did they go?" he asked out loud.
5!
4!
3!
2!
1!
"Thunderbirds Are Go!"
"HARSH REALITIES"
ALAN walked into Brains's laboratory area and was surprised by the large amount of crates and boxes that were in there. "Wow, Brains! Are you leaving us or something?" he joked.
Brains popped up from behind one of the crates. "W-What? Ah, it's you, Alan. Good," he said. "You are just the p-person I need."
"I am?" said Alan with interest. "What do you need me for?"
"Thunderbird 3 is n-needed for a special mission," explained Brains. "I need you t-take myself and the boxes up to Thunderbird 5 as soon as p-possible."
"Well, Thunderbird 3's ready for launch at a moment's notice, Brains," said Alan. "But which boxes do we need to take?"
"All of them," answered Brains.
Alan blinked and looked around at all the boxes. "Wait…what?!" he said in surprise. He tried to count them but quickly lost count. "How many are there?"
"About t-twenty-five," said Brains as he checked another box.
"Twenty-five?!" exclaimed Alan. "How are we supposed to get all of this into Thunderbird 3?!"
MAX then appeared and lifted a crate onto a trolley. He then warbled at Alan.
"MAX says 'By less talking and m-more working', Alan," said Brains with an amused smile.
Alan groaned and set to work.
In just under two hours, all twenty-five of the crates and boxes had been moved from Brains' lab and placed into the cargo hold of Thunderbird 3. Now it was time for Alan and Brains to launch. Having already passed through the changing rooms on the chairs from the lounge and had their uniforms put on, the big yellow loading crane lifted them up to the hatch that led into the cockpit. The rollers moved them off the crane arm and curved round so that they were facing the controls as the hatch closed behind them and the large metal blast door swivelled round to seal them off from the rest of the underground cavern.
5! 4! 3! 2! 1!
Thunderbird 3's chemical rockets ignited and the huge red rocket soared upwards out through the top of the launch tunnel before rising high into the sky and heading for space.
"Thunderbird 3 is GO!" announced Alan as the ship accelerated to escape velocity. "Thunderbird 5, here we come."
Scott and Virgil had been in the garden when they heard Thunderbird 3 launch. They looked up at the three trails of smoke that the rocket left behind as it disappeared into the clouds.
"Ah, so they're on their way," said Scott.
"Yeah," agreed Virgil. "I don't suppose you know why they're going up there?"
"No idea," Scott replied. "Brains won't say. Says it's something special though."
"For John's birthday I'm guessing," said Virgil. "That's not far away."
"Must be," said Scott. "Although why Brains hasn't told anyone I haven't a clue. Even Dad doesn't seem to know what it is."
"Odd," said Virgil. "But then again, it's not the first time Brains has pulled a surprise on us all."
Scott nodded in agreement as his watch suddenly beeped. It was John calling. His body appeared in a hologram form out of the face of the watch. "Scott, are you with Virgil?"
"Yes, John, he's right here," said Scott. "What's up?"
"We have a situation," said John. "There's been a collapse at a construction site in downtown Chicago. Reports of workers trapped are coming in. only one rescue team is available to attend and they've asked for assistance."
"Sounds like some heavy lifting is required?" said Virgil.
"Indeed, Virgil," replied John. "You'd better get going. Time is very short on this one."
"F-A-B, John, we're on our way," said Scott as he and Virgil began running up towards the house.
Jeff sat at his desk having a weekly catch-up with Colonel Jennings. "I take it Grafton hasn't given much trouble since he's been in your custody?" Jeff was saying.
"He's tried getting an attorney but we've blocked his attempts," said Colonel Jennings. "No idea why he's even been trying. I highly doubt any respectable attorney would even want to defend him."
"Agreed," said Jeff. "Although when large amounts of money come into it, who knows?"
"True, but I'm sceptical," said Colonel Jennings. "By the way, we've had no breakthroughs on the Casey case, I'm afraid. Any leads we did have have dried up. I'm sorry, Mr Tracy."
Jeff felt his heart sink. "It's been over three months since their car was found," he said. "Such a damn shame. Always happens to nice people, doesn't it?"
"This place is a cruel world, Mr Tracy," said Colonel Jennings. "But if it were a perfect world, we'd all be out of a job."
"There is that, but still," said Jeff. "It's always worse when it's someone you know."
"Agreed. A harsh reality," said Colonel Jennings. She glanced at her watch. "Sorry to cut this short but I have a two o'clock."
"Of course," said Jeff. "Speak soon, Abbie."
Colonel Jennings smiled. "You too, Jeff."
As the Colonel's hologram disappeared, Virgil and Scott came running into the room.
"Whoa, steady boys!" exclaimed Jeff. "Why the rush?"
"Sorry, Dad. We have a rescue to attend," said Scott as he grabbed the lamps of the revolving wall panel and swivelled round out of sight whilst Virgil laid himself up against the rocket painting which tilted him back to his launch chute.
Scott's express elevator took him swiftly down to where Thunderbird 1 was located. He got into his pilot seat via the extendable walkway and once inside started heading up the tunnel towards the launch bay whilst the swimming pool started to move back. Meanwhile, Virgil headed down the chute and dropped down into the cockpit of Thunderbird 2 before closing the hatch above him. He took his seat and selected Module 3 in case the massive yellow grapple was needed and the main body was lowered onto it. The large rock concealing the hangar slid down into the ground to allow Thunderbird 2 to taxi out into the open and along the runway once the avenue of palm trees had folded back before stopping on the ramp which then lifted upwards with the blast shield rising into place behind the main thrusters.
5! 4! 3! 2! 1!
Thunderbird 1 roared as it lifted up from the launching bay and Thunderbird 2 thundered as it zoomed off the ramp. The two Thunderbirds climbed up and away from Tracy Island before setting their course to cross the Pacific Ocean towards the United States.
"Thunderbirds are GO!" said Scott. "We're on our way, Thunderbird 5. Any updates?"
"Nothing since I last spoke to you, no, Thunderbird 1," answered John.
"Okay, never mind," said Scott. "By the way, John. Alan and Brains will be with you soon."
John gave his brother a funny look. "Excuse me?"
Scott blinked and looked back at John's hologram. "Errr…did I not say that loud enough?" he asked.
"No, I heard you, Scott," said John. "Since when was this decided?"
"No idea, I'm afraid," said Scott. "All I know is Brains wanted Alan to take him up to Thunderbird 5. They launched right before you called us about the situation."
"I…see…" said John, still confused. "Well, thanks for the head's up, Scott. Good luck with the mission."
"F-A-B," said Scott. "Thunderbird 2, I'm gonna fly on ahead and assess the situation. See you when you get there."
"F-A-B, Thunderbird 1," acknowledged Virgil as Thunderbird 1's turbo jets engaged and it rocketed off into the distance. I hope this is an easy and quick mission, Virgil thought to himself. I can't drop out of my date with Hayley tonight.
Thunderbird 5 had been orbiting above the Caribbean as Thunderbird 3 began its approach to the space-station.
"There he is," said Alan. "Think we'd better tell him of our arrival?"
"That's p-probably a good idea," said Brains.
Alan reached to push the communications button then yelped as John's hologram appeared. "Thunderbird 3, you have clearance to dock," he said, and then the hologram cut out.
Alan and Brains exchanged a look. "Well he didn't look too happy," remarked Alan.
Brains gave a small sigh. "I figured he'd n-not be happy that we didn't call ahead," he said. Then he saw something that distracted him. "Ooh…"
Alan looked to the left in the same direction Brains was looking. He saw three large metallic rings sitting nearby with about ten miles between them floating in geostationary orbit, each heading further away from Earth. "What are those things?" he asked.
"Those are d-deceleration rings, Alan," said Brains. "They have a h-holographic barrier within them that can slow down vehicles that are travelling at v-very high speeds."
"Okay…what would be going so fast that it would need those?" asked Alan.
"The revolutionary n-new spacecraft that Kwak Industries has just created," said Brains. "According to Professor Kwak, it's got an engine very similar to the T-T-Drive we used on the Zero-XL. However it is not p-powered by Centurion 2-1. They have supposedly created a n-new kind of high velocity fuel that can be m-made into a crystal to power the engines."
"How fast does she reckon it can go?" asked Alan.
"Any exact speed is impossible to know for c-certain, Alan," said Brains. "But Professor Kwak is going to attempt to do a space-speed record flight from Earth to the Sun and b-back. She intends to do it in l-less than five minutes."
Alan almost choked. "F-Five minutes?! Is that even possible?!" he asked.
Brains looked doubtful. "I'm afraid I am n-not in a position to answer that," he said.
Although he hadn't said it, Alan could tell by Brains's demeanour that he had severe reservations about this record attempt.
Kwak Industries' space testing facility was located deep in the Nevada Desert, several miles from the nearest town. It was here where Professor Kwak had been developing the new experimental superspeed spaceship and the equally experimental fuel that was to power it. Ever since her brief moment in space before the Icarus had exploded, Kwak had been wondering whether she could conquer space speed having gotten the Earth airspeed record. A good few years of hard work and testing had brought them to this moment as she put on her spacesuit ready for the mission. After doing up the zip, pulling on some gloves and collecting her helmet, Kwak walked out of her quarters where a group of her employees were waiting. They greeted her with a round of applause which she accepted warmly and then climbed into a small jeep that would take her over to the launch tower.
Waiting at the entrance to the launch chamber was Dr Alisha Merritt, an African-American scientist who had helped Kwak to develop the fuel and ship for the attempt. "Are you ready, Professor Kwak?"
"Ready as I'll ever be, Dr Merritt," answered Professor Kwak.
Together they walked inside and headed to the chemical section where the liquids that would be used to create the fuel crystal were housed. A technician named Diaz was waiting for them. "Good morning, Professor!" he said cheerfully. "You ready for the crystal mixture?"
"I sure am, Dr Diaz," replied Professor Kwak. "Give me the numbers."
"Of course," said Diaz as he typed eagerly into a computer. "Red - 0.75." A machine poured a red liquid into a container. "Green - 0.41." Now a green liquid was poured in. "Orange - 0.97." Finally some orange liquid was poured in and Diaz took the container off before placing the lid on the top. "Here you go," he said. "Just twist the top."
Professor Kwak twisted the top of the container and with a flash of light, the liquid morphed into a colourful crystal. "Wow…" she said in awe. "Thank you, Dr Diaz."
"My pleasure, Professor," said Diaz. "Godspeed you on your record attempt."
"Thanks," she said before leaving with Dr Merritt.
As they headed down the corridor towards the hangar where the spaceship was located, Dr Merritt began to express her concerns. "Are you sure you're ready for this?" she asked.
"Of course. Why wouldn't I be?" Professor Kwak asked back.
"This has never been done before," said Dr Merritt. "What if something happens up there?"
"Has the XLR-8 passed all the simulated tests?' Professor Kwak asked.
"Sure it has," replied Dr Merritt. "But-"
"Then you've nothing to worry about, have you?" said Professor Kwak with a smile. She was about to push the button on the door in front to open it when Dr Merritt darted around in front of her and grabbed her arms.
"Gemma…I have everything to worry about!" she said in a shaky voice. "If something does go wrong…I think you know what that means? You're going to be millions of miles away from Earth even for a very short time. If you get into trouble…nobody's gonna be able to help you. Not even International Rescue."
Professor Kwak sighed and put down both her helmet and the crystal container before taking hold of Dr Merritt's hands. "Alisha…you think I don't know about the dangers? I'm not Langstrom Fischler. I don't take chances without thorough testing first. You know that as well as I do." She squeezed Alisha's hands tightly. "I fully intend to come back. I promise you."
The two ladies shared a kiss. Alisha tried hard not to worry, but deep down she couldn't prevent it. She knew that Professor Kwak also felt a little nervous. It was only natural to be on something so dangerous, but they had to be professional about it.
Thunderbird 3 was soon docked with Thunderbird 5 and Alan and Brains made their way between the two ships. John greeted them a lot more warmly than he had done over the radio. "Hey, guys. Great to see you."
"You've changed your tune, John," observed Alan.
"Yeah, sorry about that," said John. "Don't think I'm not happy that you've come to visit, I'm delighted. It's just I wish you'd said in advance that you were coming."
"S-Sorry about that, John," said Brains. "But I w-wanted to surprise you."
John gave a chuckle. "Well this visit certainly has done that," he remarked. "EOS, put the coffee on, please?"
"Of course, John," answered EOS.
The three men headed to the relaxation area aboard Thunderbird 5. "So what brings you up here?" John asked. "You know you could have come up in the space-elevator if you'd said you were wanting to come, Brains?"
"Normally I w-would have, yes," said Brains. "But on this occasion I had to c-come in Thunderbird 3."
"And why's that?" asked John with interest.
"He wanted to bring you some boxes, John," said Alan. He showed John the camera feed from inside the cargo hold of Thunderbird 3.
John looked curiously at the boxes. "I didn't think I needed a supply run just yet," he said. "But thanks all the same, guys."
"Oh, those aren't s-supplies," said Brains. He handed John a small box that he'd brought in with him. "Happy B-Birthday, John."
John took the box and looked at Brains in bewilderment. "Errrr…thanks, Brains…but you're a few weeks early," he said with a chuckle.
"Yes, I know," Brains smiled back. "But it will t-take us a few weeks to set it up so I thought we'd s-start early seeing as things are relatively quiet on the rescue front."
"Well it was until I sent Thunderbirds 1 and 2 out to Chicago," said John. "That's how I knew you were coming. Scott told me."
"Ahhh, that explains that then," remarked Alan.
Three cups of coffee appeared through a hatch in the wall. "Thanks, EOS," said John.
"My pleasure," answered EOS. "Oh, by the way. Professor Kwak is about to launch her space-speed record attempt if you're interested in observing?"
"Which is exactly why I wanted Thunderbird 5 to be positioned here," said John. he turned to Alan and Brains. "Looks like you got here just in time," he said. "We should be able to see Kwak's ship leave the Earth's atmosphere ready to begin the attempt."
Alan looked out of the window and could see the deceleration rings in the distance. "If she makes it, that'll be quite something," he remarked.
Brains was still sceptical. "I do hope Professor K-Kwak has gotten her calculations correct," he said. "This is as experimental and dangerous as Tycho Reeves's Hypercar. But unlike that, if something goes wrong, we won't be able to help her."
"Thunderbird 3 is in space though, Brains," Alan pointed out. "That'll give us the edge if-"
"At the speed and distance she's going, Alan, even Thunderbird 3 won't be able to help her," John said.
Alan fell silent as he began to realise just how much danger Professor Kwak was putting herself in.
The XLR-8 was the name of the ship that Professor Kwak was going to use to make the superspeed in space record attempt. It was as sleek as the Icarus, carrying the white and yellow livery and had four powerful booster engines at the back. It was mounted on a moving platform that was currently horizontal. As Professor Kwak climbed into the cockpit, some technicians placed the fuel crystal canister inside the power section of the craft.
Professor Kwak closed the canopy and put on her helmet before starting to press buttons to begin the start-up procedure. She moved a small lever on her left which set into motion the crawlers that moved the platform carrying the XLR-8 forwards towards the vertical launch tower as a warning buzzer sounded.
Dr Merritt had gone to the Mission Control room to oversee the operation. The movements of the XLR-8 towards the launch pad were viewed on the many cameras located around the site.
"XLR-8 to Mission Control, do you copy?" Professor Kwak said over the radio.
"Copy, XLR-8," said Dr Merritt. "All systems here are green. You're good to go, Professor."
"Roger that," said Professor Kwak. "Space Speed Record, here I come."
The platform was starting to lift the XLR-8 upwards to place its launcher onto the vertical launch tower. As it did so, a male controller began initiating the final countdown. As he did so, all eyes were on the cameras showing the XLR-8. Alisha in particular could feel the swarm of butterflies swirling around in her stomach.
"T-Minus ten…nine…eight…seven…six…five…four…three…two…one…ignition!"
Professor Kwak pushed the green 'Launch' button which ignited the engines of the XLR-8. It rose up the tower and soared off into the sky, leaving four trails of smoke behind it as it went. Faster and faster it went as it lived up to its name and accelerated to escape velocity to escape from the Earth's gravitational pull.
From their position aboard Thunderbird 5, Brains, John and Alan could just make out the shape of the XLR-8 as it left the Earth's atmosphere and slowed down ready to begin the test.
"There she is," said Brains.
"The moment of truth is here," agreed John. He crossed his fingers. Alan noticed this and did the same. Brains then noticed them both do it and decided to do it as well.
All three men stood in silence as they waited to see what would happen next.
Once clear of the Earth, the XLR-8's normal engines powered down and Professor Kwak adjusted the controls. "Control from XLR-8. Send me the Flight Plan, please."
"Roger that," said the controller who'd initiated the countdown. As he spoke, a holographic showed Professor Kwak the position of the Earth and the Sun and in a red dotted line the route she needed to follow. "Your mission is to accelerate through deep space, slingshot around the Sun and then pass through the deceleration rings before landing back on Earth. Your estimated flight time is four minutes, thirty-eight seconds."
"If that time is correct then the record is ours," said Professor Kwak.
"XLR-8, you are clear for superspeed launch," said Dr Merritt.
"Copy, Control," said Professor Kwak as she pressed some more buttons. "Here we go. See you in five minutes."
The heads-up display appeared in the cockpit front window revealing the holographic red dotted line to show Kwak the route she needed to follow whilst the engines switched to the superspeed mode and began to power up. Professor Kwak lifted the flap to the blue button marked 'Superspeed', hesitated for three seconds, and then pushed the button.
In the blink of an eye, the XLR-8 vanished from the sight of Alan, John and Brains leaving a blue, white and purple line of glow in its wake from the spot where it had been less than a second before.
"WHOA!" exclaimed Alan and John together.
"Oh, m-my!" exclaimed Brains.
"That…was quick!" remarked Alan.
Professor Kwak could feel the immense G-Forces pushing against her as she held onto the XLR-8's joystick tightly. She had to make sure that it didn't go off course, even by a foot otherwise it could end badly for her. The display kept a marker triangle of which she used to keep the Sun in as a place to aim for. Everything around the outside of the ship was glowing the same white, purple and blue mix that those inside Thunderbird 5 had seen and the rumble it was making felt very powerful.
"Approaching 50% power," said Dr Merritt who was watching the XLR-8's systems on a computer back on Earth.
Professor Kwak glanced at the fuel stability gauge. "Fuel is stable," she reported. "Increasing speed to Point-6!" She pushed up the throttle lever beside her. The rumbling and vibrations increased as the XLR-8 picked up speed.
"60% power reached," said Dr Merritt over the radio.
By now the glare of the Sun was becoming too much for Professor Kwak's eyes despite wearing a tinted helmet visor. Fortunately she'd thought ahead on that one, flicking a switch which activated a special filter across the glass of the cockpit windows. This greatly decreased the glare from the Sun allowing her to not get her eyes damaged by it. She'd also reached the point where she needed to perform the slingshot. She moved the stick to the right and the XLR-8 turned sharply before starting to head around the Sun at a safe distance so as not to melt. As it made the pass around, it tilted up on its left side until it was almost directly on its side.
"Increasing speed to Point-7!" said Professor Kwak, moving the throttle lever again.
Once again, the XLR-8 shuddered as its speed increased even more. Soon it had completed the pass around the Sun and was zooming at an incredible speed back towards Earth. If anyone had been nearby to see it, they wouldn't have seen anything except the flash of glowing light it made as it went.
"70% superspeed reached!" said Dr Merritt.
"Fuel stable," said Professor Kwak as she levelled the XLR-8 out and whooshed back across the vast amount of miles between the Sun and Earth. She was now going so fast that couldn't have even noticed if she'd passed Mercury or Venus. The dotted line on the display was all that was guiding her back towards Earth and the three deceleration rings that would now be instrumental in slowing her down. "Approaching…Point-8," she said whilst straining under the pressure. "Pushing…to Super…SPEEEEED!" She thrust the throttle forwards again.
BOOM!
The blast was powerful. The XLR-8 shuddered violently. Alarms wailed in both the cockpit of the XLR-8 and the Mission Control room, sending everyone into a state of concern.
"Control from XLR-8! Mayday! Mayday! I'm losing control!" Professor Kwak said over the radio.
"Talk to me, people!" said Dr Merritt urgently. "What's going on?"
"Failure of Engine One!" said a controller.
"Course off by four degrees!" said another.
Professor Kwak and Dr Merritt both checked their controls. The loss of the outer left engine had caused the XLR-8 to deviate from its course. Kwak gritted her teeth and strained heavily as she tried to turn the damaged craft back on course as its remaining engines screamed.
John, Brains and Alan had also realised something was wrong and had hurried to Thunderbird 5's control room. "EOS, status!" said John.
"Engine failure on the XLR-8," said EOS as she brought up a holographic cross-section image of the XLR-8 and showing the problem that had happened.
"Oh, m-my!" said Brains. "Looks like the strain of the s-superspeed was too much for it after all! I was afraid that this would h-happen."
"What can we do?" asked Alan.
"What can we do, Alan?" asked John. "Nothing! She's going far too fast for Thunderbird 3 to catch."
"But she's coming towards Earth!" Alan said. "I don't need to catch up to her. I can intercept her."
"No, Alan, you can't!" said Brains. "Even if you tried, you'd n-never be able to catch it when it passed. It's too d-dangerous and far too fast for you!"
Alan grimaced. "Well, I ain't just sitting here and waiting for her to die!" he snapped. "I'm going out there!"
"Alan, stop!" protested John. But it was too late, Alan had left the room to make his way to Thunderbird 3. John tried to follow his brother but Alan shut him out of Thunderbird 3 before disengaging from the space-station and firing Thunderbird 3's main engines to head on an intercept course with the out of control XLR-8. "He hasn't got a chance at saving her, has he?" he said to Brains who'd also caught up.
"Not a c-chance," agreed Brains grimly.
The XLR-8 was spinning around out of control. Sparks emitting from the broken engine. Professor Kwak had to use all her skills as a pilot to try and regain any kind of control. But it was next to impossible to achieve. "It's no use," she said. "She isn't responding."
"Gemma, eject!" urged Dr Merritt. "It's your only chance!"
"Negative. I'm still going too fast," Professor Kwak replied. "I'll be ripped to pieces! I can do this!" She strained and struggled. She was approaching Earth rapidly, but at the wrong angle to hit the deceleration rings. "Okay...I take it back. I'm not gonna make it!" she cried.
"Oh, yes, you are, Professor!"
"Who's this?" demanded Dr Merritt.
But Professor Kwak recognised the voice. "International Rescue?!"
Then Thunderbird 3 was spotted off the starboard side. "Don't worry, Professor. I'm here to help you," said Alan.
"International Rescue! I'm glad to see you," said Professor Kwak. "But I fail to see how you're gonna be able to help me this time."
"Don't worry, I have a plan for that," said Alan. He banked Thunderbird 3 around to the right and pushed it to full speed with the ion fusion engine to match a similar speed to what the XLR-8 was doing.
"What exactly is this grand plan of yours, Alan?" asked John once he and Brains had gotten back to the control room and established contact with Thunderbird 3..
"Easy," said Alan. "I'm gonna attach a grapple to the XLR-8 and pull it back on course so that it flies through the rings."
"Alan," Brains cut in, "the c-chances of you succeeding in this are-"
"Oh, screw the calculations, Brains!" Alan interrupted. "Just let me try it! Please," he added, fearing he had just sounded rude.
Professor Kwak watched anxiously as Thunderbird 3 drew closer in front of her. Alan deployed the grasping arms and got ready to fire once it was ahead of him. It hadn't been going as fast as it had been before so he was able to match its speed a bit better even though it was still going faster.
"Steady…Steady…" Alan said. "FIRE!" He launched the grapple from one of the arms. And it missed. "Agh, DANG IT!" he cursed.
"You see, Alan," said John with a roll of his eyes. "Too difficult."
"Not helpful, John," growled Alan. "Brains, is there nothing that can be done?"
More alarms began sounding inside the XLR-8 and Dr Merritt was quick to see what the cause was. "Gemma, for God's sake, eject before the craft explodes!"
"Explodes?!" a chorus of answers came including Professor Kwak and the International Rescue team.
Brains checked the holographic schematic. "Wait, she's right! The f-fuel crystal has become unstable!"
"How long until it explodes?" asked John.
"According to this, less than a m-minute," said Brains.
"I'm still going too fast to eject," said Professor Kwak. "Please get your ship away from me, International Rescue or you'll be caught in the blast."
"I caught you last time, Professor. I can do it again," said Alan with determination.
But Brains suddenly had an idea. "Wait a moment. A shockwave! That's it!"
"It is?" John and Alan asked together.
"Yes!" said Brains. "Professor Kwak, on my command, I w-want you to eject the fuel crystal."
"I'm sorry, what?" said Professor Kwak. "But the XLR-8 will still get caught in the shockwave!"
"Precisely!" said Brains. "And if my c-calculations are correct, the shockwave should p-push the XLR-8 back in line with the deceleration r-rings."
Dr Merritt couldn't believe such an idea had even been suggested. "Are you crazy?! That'll never work! Gemma, don't listen to them! You'll be killed!"
To everyone's surprise, Professor Kwak had decided to try Brains's suggestion. "I'll be killed if I don't try, Alisha," she said. She flicked a switch. "Opening fuel hatch. Tell me when to eject it, International Rescue."
"Okay," said Brains, watching the numbers like a hawk. "Be prepared to eject fuel c-crystal in five…f-four…three…two…NOW!"
Professor Kwak pushed the button. The canister with the fuel crystal in was ejected out of the left side of the XLR-8. Two seconds later it detonated and caused a big shockwave that pushed the XLR-8 over the right, and straight through the first deceleration ring. Immediately it began to slow down. Then it hit the second and slowed down even more before finally passing through the third and slowing right down.
Alan, who'd been flying at a safe distance whooped with delight. "It worked!" he said.
"It certainly has," agreed John. "Well done, Brains!" He high-fived the engineer. "How did you know that would work?"
Brains cleared his throat awkwardly. "I d-didn't," he replied. "There was a f-fifty-fifty chance of that working."
The XLR-8 had slowed down, but Professor Kwak had quickly realised that she wasn't out of danger. The craft was starting to make some unsettling noises and was vibrating heavily as it began to descend towards the Earth. "Control and International Rescue! I've slowed down. But I don't have control! I'm caught in the Earth's gravity!"
Alan saw that the XLR-8 was heading down at a dangerous angle. "The XLR-8's gonna burn up at that angle!" he said. "Hang on, Professor. I'm coming!" He turned Thunderbird 3 and dived after the falling spacecraft.
Soon both ships were hitting the upper atmosphere and the orange flame that came with re-entering began to cover both ships.
"Thunderbird 3, your angle is t-too deep!" said Brains. "You n-need to abort!"
"Not a chance, Brains!" said Alan stubbornly. "I told Professor Kwak that I'd help her and I'm going to!" He gritted his teeth and tried to ignore the juddering vibrations that Thunderbird 3 was making. Soon he could barely see the XLR-8 through the orange glow of fire.
John finally had had enough. "No!" he said loudly. He pushed Brains out of the way and began pressing a series of holographic buttons.
Brains noticed instantly what he was doing. "J-John, are you trying to hack Thunderbird 3's controls?!"
"Not trying, Brains," said John. "Have done!" He pushed a button.
Suddenly, Alan felt his controls start reacting differently to what he was trying to do and gasped in alarm as Thunderbird 3 turned sharply away and began to climb back out into space. "What?! No-no-no-NO!" he exclaimed. "I don't have control!" It didn't take long to realise why he no longer had control. "DAMN IT, BRAINS!" he roared. "WHY HAVE YOU TAKEN CONTROL AWAY FROM ME?!"
"He hasn't, Alan," said John with a stern expression. "I have."
Alan's mouth fell open but no words came out. He was speechless. Then he looked back out of the window down at the burning trail of fire as the XLR-8 continued to fall through the Earth's atmosphere.
Inside the cockpit of the XLR-8, Professor Kwak found herself getting hotter and hotter until she felt as if she was going to pass out. "Burning…up…" she only just managed to gasp.
And then…it happened. BOOM! A huge explosion was seen from both Thunderbird 3 and Thunderbird 5.
"NO!" screamed Alan before the fireball then slowly faded away into nothingness.
John pushed a button. "XLR-8 from International Rescue. Do you copy, Professor Kwak?"
Dr Merritt was also calling frantically. "Professor Kwak? Gemma?! Gemma, can you hear me? Answer! GEMMA!"
But the only answer that anybody got over the radio, was a deep and bone-chilling silence.