"Last passenger clear and air pump active," Scott reported.
That was the signal John had been waiting for. With a brief, "F.A.B.," of acknowledgement, he resumed his spot in the mouth of the tube and shut the airlock of the cargo ship.
Making sure he had a tether secured to the evacuation tube's docking clamp, he set to work unhooking it from the ship. It swung free with little effort.
"Evacuation tube free," he told Scott as he seated himself more securely in the opening and held on tight.
"Good man, commencing flight in 5…4…3…"
John counted down with him, bracing his feet against the inside of the tube for extra stability. As he felt the mighty rocket's engines burst into life he had a quick moment to think about how Selene would react if she could see him now. He was perfectly safe, he had enough oxygen left in his tank and they only had to travel across the Moon, the space equivalent of driving five minutes to a shop, but he had a feeling that the thought of him hanging onto the inside of a tube that was being dragged alongside a speeding rocket would put her into a meltdown.
What he didn't understand though, was why she had reacted in such a way when she had found out that he would be staying behind and would meet them there? They had only just met yet she was acting like he was just as precious to her as any one of her friends that she needed to worry about. It was strange, but he had to admit, he didn't dislike it.
As the rocket lifted off he tightened his hold. There was nothing he could do but wait and enjoy the ride. Gazing out of the end of the tunnel over the Moon's surface he felt a wide smile stretching his lips, he'd always loved space, ever since he was a small boy, and the sight of the stars around him never grew boring. His father had been one of the first men on the moon and it always gave him a thrill to think how far they had come in just a few short years.
But all too soon his enjoyable ride was over. He felt the ship slow and the tube change orientation as Scott pulled the rocket up and then brought her down. The landing wasn't as gentle as John would have managed himself, something he would undoubtedly tease his brother about later, but they, and Thunderbird Three, were in one piece and that was all that mattered.
"Ready for docking?" he asked Scott.
"I'll winch, you position," Scott answered immediately.
Using the last of the rapidly depleting fuel in his jetpack, John helped to ease the tunnel back towards Thunderbird Three's hull as Scott collapsed it back enough that it would fit between the rocket and the moonbase.
Once in position, John climbed inside again and locked it in place on the dock of the moonbase. As he worked he made a mental note to congratulate Brains on another brilliant upgrade to their already superior technology.
"Locked on," he called to Scott. "Activate airflow."
"F.A.B."
Almost instantly John heard the telltale hiss of oxygen being released into the tube. The places where it had collapsed in on itself puffed out again, leaving a clear gangway from ship to base.
"Seal reads green," Scott reported. "You are go for entry."
"F.A.B.," John responded before saying to himself, "Let's hope that Alan got through to them."
Locating an intercom on the outside of the dock he pushed the button. A buzzer sounded on the other side, though it was so muffled it was barely audible, and then the intercom crackled into life.
"That you, International Rescue?"
At least they are on the ball with this, he thought before answering out loud, "Yes, this is International Rescue requesting entry."
"Right you are then."
With a wheezing hiss so typical of standard airlocks, the metal doors slid back, leaving him room to slide in feet first.
"Welcome aboard," the operator said. "What's your business then?"
"We received a distress call from a runaway freighter ship that had been converted to carry passengers that got into trouble when the pilot was taken ill," John explained. "We have the passengers and pilot on board and have been told that provisions have been made for the pilot in your sickbay and that we can stay until he gets the all-clear."
The moonbase operator looked a little lost as John recounted his story. "Well, I've not been told anything but to prepare for your arrival, so I'll just go and fetch my supervisor while you transfer your passengers."
"Much obliged, thank you," John said, but the man was already moving. Shrugging it off as the man's eagerness to help, John opened his communication line once again. "Scott, I'm in, you can start bringing them through."
"We're on our way."
While he waited John worked on stripping out of his spacesuit, starting with his helmet. It was always a relief to remove it, it could feel a little stuffy and he always developed the worst kind of nose itch, like it knew he couldn't scratch it. He was sitting in the operator's vacated seat, removing his boots -his suit open with the top half dangling down around his waist- when the man returned with their doctor.
John gestured to the chair. "Hope you don't mind?"
"Not at all," the man assured him, before nodding at his spacesuit. "How long you been in that thing?"
John checked his watch. "Just over three hours now, so it could be worse."
"Not in my book," the man shuddered. "I wore one once, for training you understand, and vowed never to again unless it was an emergency. Bloody uncomfortable they are."
"You can say that again." He stood up, the floor feeling cold on his feet even through his socks, and carefully lifted his legs out of the suit.
"There you are!" Scott greeted him as he climbed through the hatch. "And here you go." He handed John his uniform boots which he took gratefully.
Behind Scott, the others clambered one by one out of the hatchway.
"This is the guy that needs looking after," Scott said, indicating to the pilot with a nod of his head, taking charge of the situation as he always did. John was more than happy to let him do his thing as he worked on hanging up his space suit in one of the cubbies provided.
"Can you walk okay?" the doctor asked the pilot. "We have a hover chair if you need it."
"I can walk," the pilot insisted. "I feel fine now, better than fine actually. I feel like I've had the best night's sleep in years."
"You still need to be checked out," Selene told him, catching the tail end of the conversation as she thumped down beside Sage.
John didn't know why, but the sound of her voice made something inside him leap to attention and a heart thump a little harder in his chest. He told it firmly to sit down and behave, he was working, there in a professional capacity and was in no position to even think about someone like her in any way but as a rescuee that he would never see again, no matter how much he might like the thought of doing just that. He forced down the happy grin that had formed into something less manic and more relaxed, then turned to face the group as a whole, although his eyes automatically sought her out and locked on before he could stop them.
Selene's eyes widened as she got her first full look at her hero rescuer. Just when she had thought that he couldn't get any more amazing he went and stepped out of that bulky space suit and blew all her expectations out of the water. If she could have ordered him up from a catalogue, made to her exact specifications, he couldn't have been more perfect for her if he'd tried.
She disliked bulky frames, preferring a taller, leaner form but with enough muscles to know they were there and he fit the profile exactly. He looked taller out of of his suit, and when he moved she noticed a lithe gracefulness that reminded her of a dancer. He moved effortlessly, but she just knew that he could put on a burst of speed or lift something heavy without breaking a sweat. Even though his uniform looked basic in comparison to say a police officer's or a firefighter's, it only accentuated his attributes and, while she had never been one to lust after men in uniform, she suddenly saw the appeal. Although in her heart, if she was being honest with herself, she knew that was far from the truth. She'd seen Scott in his uniform as she'd disembarked the tube onto Thunderbird Three and her only thought had been 'Wow, that's really blue'. That had been it, nothing else. She'd seen him as a nice guy but nothing special. Not like his colleague who she couldn't seem to keep her eyes off.
John turned and looked her way, his eyes searching out and finding hers, and she was sunk. There was no more denying it, no more lying to herself. It was clear now that she had developed an instant, undeniable, unachievable, crush on a guy from the most secretive and mysterious organisation in the world. One that no one, not even the government, knew anything about. Wasn't that just her luck? Single for years and a fabulous man walks into her life, one that seemed far too good to be true and was actually nice to her, and he was so far beyond unobtainable he might as well be from an alien planet. Hell, maybe if he had been she'd stand more of a chance.
She blew out a breath, trying to calm her racing heart as she returned his smile. What else was she supposed to do? Damn, they were talking, what was it they had just said? Surely she should be paying attention?
"If you would like to follow Jenny here, ladies and gentlemen, we'll set you up in our staff area where you can help yourself to refreshments and the facilities while you wait," the moonbase supervisor was saying, making a valiant attempt to gather up her friends who were milling around, whispering amongst themselves and generally being as awkward and obnoxious as possible.
Selene looked at them now, seeing them with fresh eyes for the first time. Seeing them as the heroic men who had rescued them probably saw them. As nothing but ungrateful troublemakers who were still trying to argue! Why did I keep hanging out with these people? How could I not have realised how self-centred and egotistical they all are?
"May I remind you that you're lucky not to have been arrested on the spot for trespassing," Scott all but growled, his forehead creasing into an epic frown aimed their way.
They shut up then, but Selene could tell it was out of necessity rather than any hint of shame on their part. How could they be so rude?
"Thank you," the supervisor said with a nod in Scott's direction. "And if you men would come with me, I'd like to clarify a few things before we arrange the details of your departure."
"Sure thing," John agreed easily, though his eyes strayed back to Selene, noticing that she was being uncharacteristically quiet. Was she okay? Not that he had time to ask her, Scott was making his way across the room, following the supervisor, and he had no choice but to follow.
"This way," Jenny, the supervisor's assistant, said, gesturing for them to follow her out of the anteroom and into the base proper. Selene didn't even bother to ask where they were going, she just wanted to get away from the hypnotic blue of a certain man's eyes and have some much-needed peace to think.