May 10th, 2061 - 21:19 NZST
Within a cavern, hidden behind the stairs in the kitchen transforms a high-tech gymnasium. The rhythmic thud of a punching bag being abused echoes off the walls as Alan dances around the heavy bag, his lean frame a blur of motion as he unleashes a flurry of jabs and hooks. His blonde hair, usually plastered to his forehead by a pillow, is tousled, sweat clinging to it. The intensity in his blue eyes, however, is not born from an International Rescue mission, but from sheer teenage frustration.
"Come on, Alan! Is that the best you've got?" a voice, laced with playful challenge, taunts him.
Alan whirls around, his frustration momentarily forgotten as he focuses on the speaker. Kayo has planted herself against the wall, arms crossed, a smirk dancing on her lips. Her dark hair tumbling down her back in a cascade of dark, silken waves, covering the sharp angles of her face.
"You're talking to the Island Boxing Champion, K," Alan retorts, puffing out his chest with mock bravado, "But if you're so eager to learn, I can give you a few pointers."
Kayo pushes herself off the wall, her movements fluid and graceful. "Please, spare me the pointers, Al. I've seen more action in my pinkie finger than you have in all your training simulations."
She circles him, her eyes sparkling with mischief. Alan feigns a lunge, but Kayo is already out of reach, her laughter echoing through the cavern.
"Oh, you are on, Miss Kyrano!" Alan challenges, his competitive spirit ignited.
They circle each other, a whirlwind of playful jabs and mock punches. It is a familiar dance, a comfortable rhythm born of years of shared adventures, and the occasional playful rivalry.
The door to the gymnasium hisses open, interrupting their playful spar. Gordon, clad in a dripping wetsuit, a pair of goggles perched on his head, grins at them.
"Don't tell me you two are stuck in here again," Gordon teases, "It's a beautiful day out there! Even Brains is taking a break from his workshop to catch some rays."
Alan shrugs, wiping his brow with a towel. "What can I say? Kayo's been dying to improve her right hook."
Kayo rolls her eyes. "Don't listen to him, Gordon. He's just bitter because I keep kicking his ass."
"Right," Gordon chuckles, "Listen, have you seen Virgil around? John just called in, we have a situation."
5... 4... 3... 2... 1... Thunderbirds are Go!
In the Tracy Island lounge, Brains and Max gather along with Gordon, who had eventually found Virgil and brought him along with him. A hologram of John is projected over the table as he plays a recording of a call.
"'Hello, my name is Robert Williams. I'm the warden of Dunsley Fields and I've just discovered an illegal hydro-methane extractor. Yeah, I'll hold'," Robert's voice says.
"That's all there is, guys," John says, "Kinda weird."
"That's setting the bar a little low for weird, John," Gordon states, "This Williams guy was reporting some shady things goings-on. Got put on hold, lost his nerve and hung up."
"Gordon, the call came on an ID blank comm from Dunsley Fields right before we detected an earthquake," John informs.
"So, the comm belonged to the bad guys?" Virgil muses.
"Okay, it's a little weird," Gordon admits.
"Check out these satellite pics. What do you make of it, Brains?" John enquires.
"It appears to be a sonic ejection p-platform," Brains says getting up and looking at the images John is displaying, "And not a p-particularly well engineered one at that."
"Right Brains. But just a minute later it looked like this," John points and shows an updated hologram.
"The control section's sheered c-clean off," Brains exclaims.
"So, some greedy crooks left a machine to suck hydro-methane and now it's trashed. Looks like the problem took care of itself," Virgil shrugs.
"Not necessarily, Virgil," Brains winces.
"The call most likely came from inside the control section," John states.
"And if Mr. Williams was inside..." Virgil trails.
"Exactly. We may have a situation," John explains, "I've run through dozens of reports about these machines. Turns out the hydro-methane gas energy poachers extract with them is worth a fortune on the black market. Scans show that ocean water has started flooding into the caverns below. Any more of this, and Dunsley Fields could become a huge sinkhole. That wasn't an earthquake we detected. It was a cave-in."
"Okay, I'll fly over with Gordon and see what we can see," Virgil says. The pair get up ready to go with Max trying to follow them.
"And where do you think you're going, Max?" Brains asks, "You're on cleaning duty, remember?" Max beeps in sadness.
5
Virgil runs over to the painting of a rocket and gets suited up.
4
Thunderbird 4 is loaded into Module 4.
3
Gordon boards Thunderbird 2 via the passenger elevator.
2
Thunderbird 2 taxis down the main runway and comes to a halt allowing the ramp to raise.
1
The blast shield rises.
Thunderbirds are Go!
May 10th, 2061 - 11:43 BST
Thunderbird 2 flies low in the sky as it approaches the English coastline. Brains has called Virgil and Gordon on their final approach to give them a word of caution when dealing with the hydro-methane.
"...and remember, hydro methane is extremely f-flammable at any concentration," Brains warns.
"Understood. We'll be careful," Gordon nods.
"Approaching now. Let's get a closer look at this thing," Virgil says as they reach the coast and start to fly over the fields of Lincolnshire, UK. The hydro-methane extractor comes into view. It's a horrible looking machine with several spider-like legs coming out the central body. A couple having failed in the cave in and fallen in. The drill at the front of the machine still looks to be active, and red emergency lights flash around. The central compartment of the machine looks badly damaged and they brothers notice one section has clearly come away, presumable the control section, where Mr Williams is trapped.
"Would you look at that," Gordon whistles.
"Brains are you getting this?" Virgil asks.
"Seismic readings b-below ground show that the actuator is still active," Brains replies, "You need to shut it down."
"Agreed," Virgil nods, "But first things first. We need to look for survivors. Wherever that control section is, it's buried now."
"The area's full of flooded caverns," John says, "If you can find a way in, the most direct route would be to go underwater."
"Hear that, Virg? This is gonna be mine job," Gordon says and stands up to walk through the rear door of the cockpit that will lead him down into the module.
"Virg?" Virgil questions but Gordon had already gone. He shakes his head in disbelief as he circles around the extraction machine before speeding away from the machine. Passing over the dusty ground, that have been disturbed by the cave-in, he flies over the cliff and back out over the British East Coast to prepare dropping Module 4. Thunderbird 2's VTOL engines fire bringing it to a hover over the ocean.
"Systems check complete. Docking clamp released," Gordon says, "We are go for module deployment." Module 4 is then dropped into the water and Gordon waits for the hatch to open for him before pressing the button to go at a 45 degree angle. After Thunderbird 4 is released, Virgil heads back over to the platform.
The sonar beeps as Gordon heads deeper into the ocean. He spots a cavern, almost hidden in the rocks and directs Thunderbird 4 inside it. Thunderbird 4's flood lights light up the cave, as it moves through the caves tunnels. The quiet hum of the turbines being Gordon's only comfort. He turns a corner and brings Thunderbird 4 to a complete stop. "Okay, if this is the most direct way in then that control section must be on the other side of the world," he mutters. Just when he's turning Thunderbird 4, the area begins to shake. "Hey! We got seismic activity. It's another cave-in," Gordon updates and starts to dodge the falling rocks. "Whoopsie." He exists the cave system in a hurry and decides to go down another route that he found. "Guys, the cave-ins are shifting some ferrous rock around and it's scrambling my scanners. I'll eyeball our way in as far as I can."
"F-A-B, Thunderbird 4. Nothing too risky till I disable the actuator," Virgil orders, "We don't know for sure that Williams was even in the control section when it broke off."
"Hold on. I've got a signal. Switching frequencies," Gordon says as he starts to receive static interference.
"Mayday! Mayday! Mayday!" a voice says as Gordon switches channel.
"This is International Rescue, we copy. We're trying to reach you through an underground waterway," Gordon announces.
"Underwater Rescue? So, you're in Thunderbird 4!" the voice cries, sounding like one of a child.
"To whom do I have the pleasure of speaking?" Gordon beams.
"I'm Aidan Williams! I'm here with my dad!" the voice states, "A cave in is crushing the room."
"Your dad? Robert Williams?" Gordon enquires.
"Tell him I can't walk," another voice says in the background, presumably Robert Williams.
"Uh-huh. His leg is broken, and the comm was broken and... er, everything was broken," Aidan explains, "So, I made a radio, and I treated my dad for shock."
"Good man," Gordon smiles, impressed.
"Hey, the shaking stopped," Aidan says.
"Copy that. How old are you Aidan?" Gordon asks.
"Eleven next August," Aidan replies.
"Standby Aidan, switching frequencies," Gordon explains before switching back to the International Rescue frequency, "Thunderbird 2, I'm in contact with Robert Williams. He's in the control section with his son."
"That certainly complicates things." Virgil mutters, "Any chance of stopping another round of cave-ins?"
"Not from the control section," Gordon says, "Virg, you'll have to shut down that machine from up top."
"F-A-B... Gordo," Virgil acknowledges with a smirk.
May 10th, 2061 - 12:06 BST
Virgil completes his more detailed scan of the extractor and prepares to send the files over to Brains to view from the lounge.
"Alright Brains, I'm linking you in," Virgil informs, "Take a look at this fly-by footage."
"Oh my! What a t-terrible design," Brains gasps.
"Is it... sitting on top of the hydro methane tanks?" Virgil asks.
"Correct," Brains confirms, "A failed attempt to disable the actuator could v-vaporize the whole area."
May 10th, 2061 - 12:07 BST
Meanwhile, Gordon has managed to lock onto Aidan's frequency and is navigating through the caves to get through to him.
"Okay, Aidan, we're on our way," Gordon announces, "Can you tell me anything about where you are?"
"I can hear water below us," Aidan relays.
"Good. That helps," Gordon says, "Now, how mobile is your father?"
"I'll try," Robert strains and tries to stand up with the help of Aiden, but he is unable to and quickly sits backdown with a yell of pain, "I'm sorry, it's too..."
"He can't stand up!" Aidan cries.
"F-A-B, Aidan. Hold on. I'm using sonar to get through these caverns to you," Gordon says.
"Hurry! Save us!" Aidan wails.
"Hey, Aidan!" Gordon interrupts, "Hey! Let's take a deep breath. I need you to stay calm. That's the first rule of any emergency."
"He's my dad, you know?" Aidan mumbles.
Gordon feels like a dragger has just ruptured his heart with those words. "Yeah, I really do. He may be slipping into shock. Keep him still and comfortable till we get there... Urgh! Dead end." Gordon sighs as he turns Thunderbird 4 around again and heads back in the direction he came. "So, Aidan, why don't you tell me how you put together this radio of yours."
"Science camp. Me and Damon, he's my best friend, we're crazy about aerospace! We even found a picture of Thunderbird 3 on the net. And I built a scale model," Aidan explains.
"So much for keeping that one secret," Gordon jokes.
"So, the telemetry relay of my Thunderbird is what I made the radio out of," Aidan explains.
"Nice one," Gordon compliments then sees a further dead end ahead, "Argh!"
"Are you almost here?" Aidan questions.
"Yes! Well, I'll be straight with you. It's slow going," Gordon admits.
"It's going to be alright, Aidan," Robert smiles.
"Okay. Standing by," Aidan says.
May 10th, 2061 - 12:18 BST
Thunderbird 2 hovers next to the hydro-methane extraction platform as Virgil and Brains study the blueprints on their holo-screens.
"Great! The actuator runs on solar power," Virgil groans, "It's covered front to back with energy collective panels."
"That means there isn't any way to shut it down," Brains gulps, "It could start another cave-in at any moment."
"Can't cut the power, can't blow it up." Virgil lists, "Looks like we'll have to move it."
"Move the whole sonic injection platform?" Brains asks, "Why of course! Why didn't I think of that?"
"Cause nobody but me can do it," Virgil says with a smile as he starts moving Thunderbird 2 into position, "That's the beauty of flying the big bird."
May 10th, 2061 - 12:20 BST
Meanwhile, Gordon is still looking for a clear routine into the cavern where the control section is located.
"Easy, easy..." Gordon says as the sonar in Thunderbird 4 continues to beep.
"Thunderbird 4, have you reached them yet?" Brains enquires.
"Not yet. I'm having trouble navigating the caverns," Gordon groans, "Something in the rocks is scrambling our sonar signal."
"If only you could get them to ping you remotely," Brains muses.
"You know, that might be doable," Gordon states as an idea come to mind. He connects Aiden's frequency to the IR one, "Aidan, meet Brains."
"Hello?" Aidan questions.
"Brains, this is Aidan," Gordon introduces, "He's pretty handy. He built a radio from a model rocket's telemetry relay."
"What a resourceful boy," Brains compliments, "Aidan, do you know what sonar is?"
"Sure. Want me to ping you?" Aidan asks.
"Yes. That would be quite helpful," Brains says, surprised.
"I think my rocket's locator transponder still works. Standby," Aidan replies and begins pinging his location.
"Excellent. P-Processing the signal now, Thunderbird 4," Brains says.
Gordon brings up a map of the caves the he has been exploring. At the moment it only displays the tunnels which Gordon has already explored — all being dead ends. At the top of the hologram is a yellow terrain and Thunderbird 2's location. Suddenly, a red pulse envelops the whole hologram and the tunnel network suddenly expands massively. The red pulse then shrinks down to a small dot and Thunderbird 4 automatically provides a black-dotted line from its current location to the location of the control section.
"Got him. Setting my new course and locking the nav," Gordon says, following the new course. The sonar beep gets stronger until Gordon finds and area where he can surface, which so happens to be below the ledge the platform is sat upon. "Okay, that's as far as I can go by water," Gordon states as he puts his helmet on, "I'll have to beach and go by foot from here." Gordon then puts on his scuba-suit on, equipped with oxygen tanks and helmet, before existing Thunderbird 4 from the rear.
"B-Be careful down there," Brains warns, "The cave-ins have probably released a lot of hydro methane."
"F-A-B," Gordon acknowledges. He walks along the rock at the bottom, before looking up. "Thunderbird 2, how's everything top-side?"
"Not so great. I may have a little problem with my brilliant plan," Virgil says, "The platform is a little too big for Thunderbird 2 to move." Virgil then lands Thunderbird 2 a safe distance away from the platform before getting out, "I'm going to have to cut this thing to size." He puts his exo-suit on and heads towards the platform just as the ground above becomes unstable again and begins to shake.
In the cavern, more rubble pours into it as the tremor shakes the whole room. A large boulder is dislodged and knocked off its perch by small rocks. Gordon has to run back towards the water and jumps into it to get out of the way. He is just in time as the rocks tumble down to avoid being hit. Eventually, the rock fall stops again which allows Gordon to safely climb the cliff face up to the ledge and is standing on a rock a short way up from the ground. "It's like being inside a rock crusher," he comments.
"Has it stopped?" Brains asks.
"Feels like it," Gordon says as he notices the haze of gas that is surrounding him, "You were right about the hydro-methane. It's everywhere."
"T-Try not to ignite it. If it blows up—" Brains starts.
"It will be like the 4th of July?" Gordon questions.
"More like doomsday," Brains offers.
"Good to know," Gordon says as he looks up again, "Looks like I've got some climbing to do." Gordon then fires his grapple gun up to the top before clipping it to his belt and starting to climb. "Almost there."
"Good. My dad's looking bad," Aidan says.
"Just hang on," Gordon responds and continues to climb as he tries to avoid any loose rocks that could crush him at any moment from above. After another near miss from some medium sized rocks, he groans in frustration and decides to comm Virgil to see how his brother is progressing. "Virgil, that rigs gotta move soon. The control section can't take another cave in."
"F-A-B," Virgil acknowledges as he climbs up a small section of the central hold to get a better angle to fire his laser cannon that is strapped onto his shoulder. He fires it towards one of the machines spider-like legs and cuts it clean off, leaving a satisfied grin on his face.
Below the surface, Gordon has managed to get to the control section. He notices that most of the door is hidden by rocks and is forced to use his hands to get rid of them. He is glad that Brain overengineers all their equipment as it allowed Gordon to have full confidence in letting go of the grapple line and use both hands to clear the rocks. Once the rocks have cleared, he starts to tug on the door that seems to be wedged shut. He gives the door one good kick before tugging at the door again. That seems to have the desired effect as the door suddenly swings open.
"Aidan!" Gordon smiles.
"International Rescue!" Aidan cries.
"Hi. It's Gordon," Gordon introduces, "Time to get you out of here."
"It's good to see you," Robert groans in pain.
"Take it easy," Gordon states, "Okay, we're gonna need to lower him on my cable. I need to lengths of ropes."
"One 3m and the other 4m for an improvised rescue harness," Aidan catches on.
"Nice!" Gordon says impressed.
"I already found some stuff over there," Aidan directs over to the rope.
"I'll get it on him. Keep him comfortable and hydrated," Gordon says and hands Aidan a flask, "Small sips." Aidan then hand the flask to his dad while Gordon goes to grab the rope.
"Gordo, you better be gone!" Virgil says cutting the last bit of the drill. By this point, Gordon has starting to lower Robert down. He had given both Robert and Aidan a mask to protect them from inhaling the hydro-methane. When Robert is about three-quarters of the way down, the cave begins to shake again.
"No! It's another earthquake!" Aidan yells.
"Aidan, first rule in any emergency?" Gordon asks.
"Stay calm," Aidan says and watches as Gordon manages to get Robert safely to the bottom, unclipping the harness and bringing it back up. Once it has reached the top again, Gordon connects it to Aidan and prepares to lower him down.
"Don't worry Aidan, just take it steady," Gordon says as he starts to lower him down.
"The actuator's clear. Let's move this thing," Virgil says over the comms to let Gordon know what he is doing as he takes off in Thunderbird 2. At this point, Gordon himself is scaling down the wall with small pieces of rocks and debris falling. Suddenly, unbeknownst to Gordon, the platform tips to the side as Thunderbird 2's VTOL engines make it more unstable than it already is. It only comes to Gordon's attention when a large boulder comes out of nowhere and takes out his grapple. Not amount of overengineering is going to stop that rope from breaking away from the rocks it is connected to. Gordon finds himself in a free fall and rapidly closing in on the ground.
"Gordon!" Aidan yells from the bottom as he watches his rescuer plunge towards the ground.
Fortunately, Gordon is used to situations like this and keeps himself calm when reaching into his pocket to grab his grapple gun and a new line of rope. He fires the new line of rope to what he sees as a secure section of the cave wall and attaches his gun to his tool belt. He spreads out his arms and legs to allow air resistance to slow him down as much as possible and he comes to an abrupt stop, inches from the ground, and only a couple of feet from Robert and Aidan.
"That last quake weakened the rock. Move!" Gordon orders and runs over and helps Aidan with getting Robert into Thunderbird 4. Rocks start to come down quite fast as Virgil begins to pick up the platform with the magnetic cable. He strains with the weight of it, but then manages to secure it.
"Perfect timing," Virgil says but the victory is short lived as the green warning levels of hydro methane gas registering on the holo-screen suddenly turn up to the maximum of seven bars, all red with alarms beeping, "Maybe not so perfect. Thunderbird 4, that actuator must have regulated the pressure in the hydro methane tank. It's gonna blow!"
"Belts on," Gordon shouts as a boulder lands dangerously close to Thunderbird 4.
"Cool," Aidan says, sitting down as Gordon navigates Thunderbird 4 out of the cave, carefully avoiding the rocks. He pulls Thunderbird 4 back into Module 4 but is still in danger of the rocks that are falling from the above sea level cliff side.
"We're not out of it yet," Gordon says, "Virgil, no need to cut it close or anything." He then hears the jets of Thunderbird 2 approaching from the west.
"I've got you. Brace yourselves," Virgil calls as he picks Module 4 back up with the cables. He then takes Thunderbird 2 away just in time to see the cliff giving way and accelerates away from the area just as it explodes.
Everyone inside Thunderbird 4 makes it up to the cockpit of Thunderbird 2, with Gordon helping Robert to sit down in the passenger seat behind Virgil.
"You're going to be alright dad," Aidan says.
"Yeah. Well done son," Roberts smiles watching as Gordon sits down himself in the co-pilots chair.
"There's a hospital just ten minutes away," Virgil explains, "We'll get that leg set for you."
"Thunderbird 4, this is Thunderbird 5. Great rescue," John says appearing.
"We made it, but whoever's behind this got away clean," Gordon says.
"Not quite," John explains, "I've been monitoring the frequency that Mr. Williams' call came in on and found a crew of hydro-methane poachers trying to transmit new instructions to that injection platform. The local authorities are rounding them up now."
"Johnny! Did you just bust a crime ring from orbit?" Gordon asks.
"Well, Brains helped. And don't call me Johnny," John says.
"Damon is going to be so jealous that I got to meet you guys!" Aidan cries, "To bad it's because I needed saving. You never want something bad to happen to your dad."
"No," Virgil mutters solemnly, looking across to Gordon.
"You sure don't." Gordon mumbles, looking back at Virgil.
"If our guests would prefer, we have very good m-medical facilities on Tracy Island. Perhaps this brilliant young man would like a tour of my lab?" Brains enquires.
"F-A-B!" Aidan squeals.
"F-A-B? What does it mean?" Robert asks and the group laughs, "I'd really like to know."
"Dad!" Aidan moans.
"Always wondered," Robert states innocently.