TRACY Island glistened in the Pacific sunshine like it seemed to do every single day. Things were very quiet, although that was probably due to the fact that Thunderbirds 1, 2 and 3 were all out on missions. Scott and Jeff had gone to England in Thunderbird 1 to see the Creighton-Wards so Jeff and Lord Patrick could discuss the restoration of the Tiger-Moth Bi-Plane. Virgil with Thunderbird 2 was helping tackle a Road Train fire in the Australian Outbacks and Alan with Thunderbird 3 had gone to assist a Space-Freighter that was having major engine trouble. Kayo was out on patrol in Thunderbird Shadow as part of her recovery process following her ordeal in the jungle. Despite several questions from the others, she still had no memory of what had happened to her whilst in the Malaysian Jungle. Professor Kwak hadn't either when she'd been questioned. Nor did she have any idea of how she'd managed to survive the XLR-8 exploding after it had passed through the atmosphere. It was all very mysterious.
With everyone else out, that left only Grandma, Brains and Gordon on Tracy Island. Gordon was bored. He hadn't seen Penelope in a while due to how busy they'd both been and it was starting to get to him. At Grandma's encouragement, he went down to see if Brains needed any help in his laboratory. "What's shakin', Brains?" he asked.
"Thank G-Goodness you didn't say bacon," Brains remarked as he appeared from behind a console. "You remember that I'm a v-vegetarian, right?"
"Yes, of course I do, Brains," replied Gordon. "You're the only one on the island who is. What are you up to?"
"I'm just m-making sure I have everything I need to help John with putting his birthday present together," said Brains. "As far as I can tell, I do."
"Sweet," said Gordon. "Guess there's nothing I can help you with?"
"Er, not at the m-moment, but thank you, Gordon," said Brains. Then he had a thought. "Actually…you couldn't get me a c-cup of c-coffee, could you please?"
"Of course I can," said Gordon. That wasn't what he'd hoped to have been helping Brains with, but if it kept Brains happy then that was good enough for him.
But as Gordon turned to leave, both men were startled when Braman suddenly spoke up. "Warning! Warning! Proximity Breach detected."
Brains and Gordon exchanged puzzled looks. "P-Proximity breach?" repeated Brains as he walked over to the tall, bronze robot. "Where is this, B-Braman?"
Braman brought up a holographic projection of Tracy Island and the one-hundred mile exclusion zone that had been placed around the island to warn of any potential intruders. This had been put in place following the Chaos Crew's attack on the island. As Gordon and Brains looked, they saw a small flashing red dot right on the edge of the zone.
"What could that be?" asked Gordon.
"It's p-probably a vessel of some kind," answered Brains. "It doesn't appear to be m-moving very fast. Actually…I'm not entirely sure that it's m-moving at all."
Gordon raised his arm to activate his radio-watch. "I'll call John and ask him to take a look," he said.
"N-No, Gordon," Brains said. "I have a b-better idea." He turned back to Braman. "Braman, go t-take a look at this contact for us, please."
"Yes, Brains," acknowledged Braman in his robotic voice. He turned and began walking towards a launch tube located at the end of the laboratory. Once inside, he turned back to face them as the doors began to close. "Sailing, sailing, over the-" His voice was cut off by the closing of the doors.
"Does he ever get tired of saying that?" Gordon asked.
"It would s-seem he does not," answered Brains. "Although, I'd prefer he say that to 'Emergency! Emergency! Situation critical.'"
"Hmm. Yeah…" Gordon agreed. He began to think back to when Braman had returned to Earth on the Calypso mission. His mayday message, which they'd originally believed to be for the Calypso, had started the chain of events that eventually resulted in the finding of Jeff and bringing him safely home. Something that all of the family were eternally grateful to Braman for.
Braman's upgrades included boosters in his feet that allowed him to fly, which had proven very useful the last time that The Hood had attempted to attack Tracy Island. Now he regularly performed the perimeter patrol rather than having Kayo and Thunderbird Shadow do it. With a whoosh, he shot up the launch tube and out into the skies above the island before heading in a dead Westerly direction towards where the contact signal was coming from.
As Braman flew above the Pacific Ocean and into the Coral Sea, his robot eyes sent a live video feed back to the island where Brains and Gordon could monitor what he was seeing. Neither man said a word as they waited in anticipation to see what Braman would find. "Do you think it's something we should be worried about?" Gordon asked.
"So l-long as it doesn't come any closer to us, then I'm not worried," replied Brains. He looked back at the hologram map. "Odd. It still d-doesn't appear to have moved."
"Could just be a fishing boat then," suggested Gordon.
"Well, whatever it is, we're about to find out," said Brains, turning his attention back to the monitor.
Braman had now reached where the signal was coming from. He activated his retro thrusters and came to a stop, hovering above the water whilst his camera eyes focused on the source of the contact. And it wasn't what they were expecting.
5!
4!
3!
2!
1!
"Thunderbirds Are Go!"
"SINS OF THE FATHER"
GORDON raised an eyebrow. "Well, that's not what I thought it would be," he remarked, looking at the small white and teak boat that was showing up on the screen.
"Agreed," said Brains. "I was expecting something bigger."
"Is it abandoned?" asked Gordon. "I can't see anyone aboard."
Brains spoke into a microphone. "B-Braman. Scan the vessel. Is anybody aboard?"
Braman did so and an infra-red image of the boat was now showing on the screen. Sure enough, there were three life signs coming from inside.
"Hmmm. Very c-curious," said Brains. "The vessel is d-definitely stationary. The engine is off."
"Looks like one of them is trying to do something with the engine," said Gordon, observing the life sign on its own towards the stern of the boat. "Perhaps they could be in trouble?"
"P-Possibly," said Brains. "I'll contact Virgil and see if he can-"
"Don't be daft, Brains," interrupted Gordon. "Virgil's on his own mission. They're only a hundred miles away. I can be there in no time with Thunderbird 4." And with that, he hurried out of the laboratory to head to the lounge.
Brains hadn't had a chance to dissuade Gordon so instead let out a sigh. "T-Thank you, Braman. Return to Tracy Island. Gordon will take it from here."
As Gordon approached the lounge, he made for the fish tank which had the model of Stingray inside of it. He placed his hand on the glass which made a dun-da-da-dun sound as his hand print was recognised, activating his express elevator. Soon he was heading down through the floor whilst robotic arms attached his suit to his body. He then made his way to the sub-pen located at the edge of the cavern where Thunderbirds 1, 3 and Shadow were kept, and it was here where the second Thunderbird 4 was located. This way there was one in the Module for Thunderbird 2 to carry, and this one was a back-up. Gordon dived into the water and swam underneath the craft, entering via the airlock hatch underneath. He then went through the super-quick dryer before entering the cockpit and firing up the engines. He then turned the craft round to the left so that it was facing the tunnel that led out into the ocean.
5! 4! 3! 2! 1!
The twin boosters came to life, pushing the little yellow submersible through the tunnel and out into the ocean.
"Thunderbird 4 is GO!" announced Gordon, setting the course to head West to where the boat was located.
After Gordon had left, Brains had made contact with Thunderbird 5. "John, it's Brains. I n-need you to do something for me."
"Sure, Brains. What is it?"
"T-Take a look at this vessel," said Brains, showing John the image of the boat taken by Braman. "I do not know why, but something doesn't s-seem right about this."
"Is this what triggered the proximity alert?" asked John, looking curiously at the image.
"C-Correct," said Brains.
John scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Well, there's no wake so I'm guessing it's in some kind of trouble?" he asked.
"P-Possibly," said Brains. "Thunderbird 4 is on its w-way there now to investigate. But I'm seeing a m-much more pressing concern."
John had suddenly clicked onto what he thought Brains might be thinking. "That it's an inland pleasure craft designed for coastal and river cruises?"
Brains nodded. "Bingo," he said.
"Hmmm," said John thoughtfully. "That's right in the middle of the Coral Sea. miles from any land. I cannot believe a boat like that would even have the fuel capacity to get that far."
"They don't," said Brains. "That's w-why I am curious to know more. I don't suppose you can f-find out the name of the boat and who it belongs to? I just have this g-gut feeling that something isn't right about this."
"I'll get right onto that," said John. "I'll let you know what I find."
Thunderbird 4 was soon approaching the area where the boat was. Brains got in contact with Gordon. "G-Gordon, I put a Mini-MAX into one of Thunderbird 4's equipment compartments a short while ago. You might want to take it aboard with you."
"Okay…may I ask why, Brains?" Gordon said.
"There's s-something very off about this," Brains said. "That v-vessel isn't supposed to be this far out to sea. I'll need Mini-MAX to take a look at the boat and see if we can learn more about it."
"If you say so, Brains," said Gordon. He looked down at the controls. "I have radar contact with the boat. I'm going to surface and make contact. Hopefully I don't scare them too much by appearing out of nowhere."
Inside the engine room of the boat, which was named the Brisbane Swan, a man with a clean-shaved head and a red and white striped T-shirt and brown shorts was having great difficulty in getting the boat's engine going. "Gah, come on, you stupid piece of-" The engine belched out some smoke causing him to cough and splutter and move outside onto the deck for air. As he tried to get the smoke out of his lungs, he did a double-take at the sight of a yellow object emerging from beneath the surface of the ocean. "What the hell?!" he exclaimed. But as the submarine turned to the right, he saw what was written along the side. "Crikey!" he exclaimed.
Pulling Thunderbird 4 alongside, Gordon poked his head out the hatch on the top of the cockpit. "Hi there!" he called. "International Rescue! Do you need some help?"
"Wowzers!" said the man. "Didn't expect to find a Thunderbird out here. Er, we're having some engine trouble. I know that's not your life of work but I don't suppose you know how to get it fixed?"
"I can certainly try," Gordon said. "Let me get my tools and come over." He dropped back down inside to get a toolbox, and only just remembered about Mini-MAX before exiting the submersible and boarding the boat.
The man greeted him warmly. "G-day mate. Welcome aboard," he said, shaking Gordon's hand. "I'm Ross Anderson."
"Gordon Tracy," the aquanaut replied. "Is it just you aboard?"
Before Ross could reply, the sound of footsteps was heard coming from the lower decks. Gordon blinked in surprise as two young children emerged from the cabin. The first was an eleven year old boy with blonde hair and dressed in a green T-shirt, blue shorts, trainers and a dark blue baseball cap. The second was a fifteen year old girl with a mauve top and jeans shorts with sandals. She too was blonde.
"Dad!" complained the boy. "Why aren't we moving?"
"Oh, my GOSH!" exclaimed the girl, noticing Thunderbird 4. "International Rescue!"
Soon both kids were bouncing with excitement. "Wait, who needs rescuing?" asked the boy.
"I think we do, son," said Ross. "Kids, this is Gordon. Gordon, this is my son Bob and my daughter Toni."
"Nice to meet you both," smiled Gordon. "Now, let's take a look at that engine, shall we?"
As they headed inside the engine room, Mini-MAX neither Ross nor the kids noticed Mini-MAX activate from behind Gordon and make his way towards the main cabin to begin making a scan of the boat for John.
Gordon began to check the engine. Ross and the kids watched him with Bob eager to give Gordon a hand. "Can I do anything, Mr Tracy?" he asked.
"Er, sure, Bob," replied Gordon. "I'll ask for a tool then you find and pass it to me?"
"Sure," grinned Bob delightedly.
Ross stayed back on the opposite side of the engine watching with pride as his children interacted with the International Rescue man.
It didn't take long for Gordon to find the problem. "Ah, here we go!" he said. "Your fan belt has come off. The engine's not getting any air and is overheating."
Ross looked slightly embarrassed. "Ah, I should have checked that," he said, annoyed with himself.
"Right, Bob," Gordon then said to the young man. "I need a screwdriver, a spanner, and two of those clamps, if you would, please?"
Bob did so, finding the exact tools and handing them to Gordon. Toni meanwhile looked over at her Dad and gave him a warm, loving smile which he returned.
Mini-MAX was busy examining the inside of the Brisbane Swan's cabin. So far, nothing out of the ordinary had been discovered. All the while, John and Brains were monitoring the live video footage from Mini-MAX's camera eye as he scanned the cupboards and drawers to see what was inside them.
Brains was starting to have second thoughts about what they were doing. "J-John, are you sure that we should be doing this? I'm n-not comfortable examining other people's property without permission."
"You said it yourself that something isn't right, Brains," John reminded him. "I'm not comfortable with it either, if I'm honest. But the sooner we can put our minds at ease about it, the better."
Brains gave a reluctant grunt in agreement.
John turned his attention back to the footage from Mini-MAX and then recoiled in surprise. "Woah!"
"John? W-What is it?" Brains asked, concerned.
John hesitated for a moment before answering. "Brains…you need to see this."
As Gordon looked up between doing his work, he noticed Ross appeared to be sweating whereas the kids did not. "Everything okay, Ross?" he asked.
"Sure, mate. Why do you ask?"
"You look a bit sweaty," Gordon answered.
Ross wiped the sweat off his brow. "Ah, yeah. I'm from Victoria," he said with a chuckle. "I'm not that great in the heat. Also fighting with this thing made my blood boil."
"Fair enough," said Gordon as he adjusted the fan-belt inside the engine. "Where exactly are you going, may I ask? This seems quite a small boat to be this far out at sea."
"Ah, we're heading for Bali," said Ross.
"We're going on an adventure of a lifetime, aren't we, Dad?" said Toni.
"We sure are," he said with a grin.
Gordon re-emerged from the engine covering. "Guessing your navigation equipment is on the fritz?" he said. "You're in the middle of the Coral Sea. The nearest land is Rennell Island."
Ross gulped. "W-We are?" he stammered. "Awh, man! How the heck do we get back on track?"
"I'd say head due West and you'll get to Papua New Guinea," said Gordon as he replaced the cover of the engine. "There, that should do it," he said. "Try her now."
Ross turned the starting handle of the engine. The engine coughed. Then spluttered. And then rumbled into life. Everyone gave a cheer before Ross began shaking Gordon's hand. "Oh, thank you so much, mate!" he said gratefully. "You really have saved our lives."
Gordon smiled. "Not a problem," he said. "Hope you find your way there okay."
"Thank you," the two children also said in unison. Tori hugged him round the waste which made him turn a little red but also made his heart flutter.
The children continued to wave as the Brisbane Swan began to sail away from Thunderbird 4 with Gordon waving back until the boat was too far for them to see each other properly. He then clambered back inside his craft and submerged to make his way back to Tracy Island. "Thunderbird 5, this is Thunderbird 4. Mission complete. Returning to base."
"F-A-B, Thunderbird 4," said John. "How were the people on the boat?"
"Ah, it's just a Dad and his kids, John," said Gordon. "Great bunch they were. Absolutely nothing to be concerned about."
"Right," said John. An awkward silence followed.
Gordon looked at his brother. He could see John had his arms folded. "You've got that look again, John," he said. "You know I don't like it. What did Mini-MAX find?"
"I'll let you come up with an explanation for what he found," said John as he brought up some holographic images for Gordon to see. "Firstly - why would a boat need fifty fuel drums?"
"Er, because that boat has a limited fuel supply and it's a long way to Bali from Brisbane?" said Gordon.
"Bali?!" repeated John. "Then they're going completely the wrong way."
"Not anymore," said Gordon. "Their navigation probably glitched. I set them on the right course before they left."
John frowned. "I see…" he said, uncertainly. "Anyway. There's these."
The next image showed some passports in a drawer.
Gordon scowled. "Why were you even examining their gear, John?!" he said crossly. "That's an invasion of their privacy!"
"Your conclusion of the passports, Gordon?" John asked.
Gordon growled to himself. "They're going on vacation, damn it!" he snapped. "Why else would they have them?"
"And lastly," said John, bringing up the third image. "If they're going on vacation, why do they have one of these aboard?"
Gordon stared at the image. It showed a large rifle. "Because they could end up somewhere dangerous?" he said. "Seriously, John. What the hell? This is totally out of character, for you!"
John didn't seem to be bothered by Gordon's anger one bit. "All I'm gonna say is…I hope you're right, Gordon." And with that he signed off, leaving Gordon speechless and furious.
Thunderbird 2 returned to Tracy Island shortly after Thunderbird 4 had. As Virgil entered the lounge, he found a rather grumpy-looking Gordon at the dinner table with a half-eaten bowl of noodles in front of him. "Hey, bro," he said. "What's up with you?"
"Ugh, don't, Virg," said Gordon with a grimace in his voice. "I'm just mad."
"About what?" asked Virgil.
"With John," said Gordon. "And Brains actually."
Virgil gave a puzzled frown. "Why, what happened?" he asked.
"They got Mini-MAX to examine the personal belongings of the boat I was helping earlier!" said Gordon furiously. "That is totally out of order! And out of character too!"
Virgil was taken aback by this. "That…seems odd," he remarked. "But I'm sure they had their reasons for it."
"SCREW THE FREAKIN' REASONS!" Gordon burst out, taking Virgil by surprise. "THEY HAD NO RIGHT TO DO THAT! THAT FAMILY HAVE DONE NOTHING WRONG!"
"Woah, calm down, Gordo!" said Virgil. "Nobody's saying that they have."
"Well, John seems to think they might have!" said Gordon crossly. "He showed me images of passports and a rifle that they have on board! It's obvious why they're on the boat. Passports for vacation and the rifle are there for self defence!" He paused to catch his breath. "I tell you something, Virgil. I am seriously considering ripping up John's birthday card and not giving him his present-"
"Hey, come on! That's going a little too far, isn't it?" said Virgil.
"Not as far as he's gone, Virgil," said Gordon. "There is no way I can forgive him for this! NO WAY!"
"Keep your voice down, young man!" said Grandma, who'd just returned from cleaning upstairs. "You'll disturb the dust mites and I've just spent ages getting rid of them."
Gordon grumbled to himself as the communicator on the table beeped.
John's hologram appeared from the projector and Gordon instantly turned his back in disgust, refusing to even look at his brother.
"Hey, John," Virgil said, trying not to show how awkward the atmosphere had become. "What's up?"
"Trouble, I'm afraid, Virgil," replied John. "Gordon?"
Gordon didn't answer. He kept his back firmly towards John and refused to say anything.
"Gordon, answer your brother!" demanded Grandma.
"No!" Gordon snapped defiantly. "I will not!"
Virgil and Grandma exchanged uneasy glances whilst John looked confused. "What have I said, or done?" he asked.
"Er…something about looking at the belongings of people on a boat Gordon was helping?" Virgil asked. "Is this true, John?"
"Yeah…it is," replied John. "And believe me when I say I wish Gordon's ideas about the items I showed him were true."
"They are true," Gordon said with gritted teeth.
"But, I'm afraid my suspicions were justified," John continued. "This is why I'm calling. I need you to go and get them."
Gordon finally spun round, full of rage. "WHY?!" he bellowed. "WHAT THE HELL HAVE THEY DONE?!"
John kept his cool, despite Gordon's fury. "I'm sorry, Gordon," he said. "You've every right to be mad, but I'm afraid Mr Anderson has committed a crime. A very serious one."
"Such as?"
"He's kidnapped his kids…"