September 7th, 2064 - 13:52 CET
The past two months have been slightly tense on Tracy Island. The Tracy Brothers knew that the girls were hiding something when they would talk together in hushed tones and would quieten down to a silence if one of the boys approached. They often found that the girls volunteered more for solo missions throughout the month of August with John reporting that most craft would then stop off in London on the way home. The excuse of 'seeing Penelope' had often been used. However, September had finally come around and the holiday season in the Northern Hemisphere had come to an end. Around this time, Gordon went to visit Penelope himself. This was partly due to him attending the funeral of Penelope's Great Aunt Sylvia how had died suddenly before the 90th birthday.
Today, FAB 1 had gone to Northern Africa to take part in the Corona 5,000 race. It was a race also completed by Penelope's Great Aunt many years ago in FAB 0. When FAB 1, pulls up at the starting line, everyone gets out and looks around, taking in the surrounding landscape.
"Ah. Lovely day for a race," Penelope comments before turning to Parker, "Better check number three intake. It's sounding a bit throaty."
"Yes, m'lady," Parker nods and walks over to open the bonnet.
"Looking forward to the race, Gordon?" Penelope asks.
"Meh, racing is more Alan's thing," Gordon replies, picking up Sherbet, much to the dog's delight. The sound of the car door opening again makes him turn and see someone else get out of FAB 1.
"Well, Mr Hunt," Penelope says to the man, "What do you think?"
"I think this puffed-up pink limo accelerates like a fridge and corners like a wheelbarrow," Mr Hunt scoffs and kicks one of the tires, "FAB 1? Huh! You should call it Drab 1."
"You son of a—" Gordon starts but it cut off by a loud whack coming from the front of the car.
"Ow!" Parker exclaims, "Me bloody head!"
"Language, Parker," Penelope glares, causing Gordon to hold back a laugh.
"Honestly, treacle," Mr Hunt interjects, "This bucket of bolts doesn't stand a chance. Why don't you save yourself the embarrassment and quit this race now?"
"It's Penelope, your Ladyship, or if you prefer Lady Creighton-Ward, Mr Cunt," Gordon lists, "Sorry, I mean, Mr Hunt. But never, ever, call her 'treacle.' The person you're talking to never quits."
"Thank you, Gordon," Penelope nods and pulls out a photograph from her pocket for Mr Hunt to see, "My Great Aunt Sylvia won the Corona 5,000 in the original FAB 1 and I'm competing this year in her honour. I intend to do her proud. Now, will you help us?"
"I know I'm good, Penny," Mr Hunt states and receives another glare from Gordon, "But I don't know how much help I can be against... that." Mr Hunt indicates over to another car in a light grey and blue livery.
"Is that the BR2?" Gordon asks surprised.
"Indeed," Mr Hunt nods, "16-gear transmission. 4,000 brake horsepower. Goes from 0 to 100 in 2.7 seconds. And rumour has it, it's got a top-secret turbo computer capable of producing speeds up to 1,000 miles per hour."
"Cor!" Parker exclaims.
"You said it, Granddad," Mr Hunt jokes, "I'd give my gear-shifting arm to be driving that beauty, instead of this... pink monstrosity." He then proceeds to go and kick FAB 1 again but is roughly pulled back by Gordon.
"Don't you fuckin' dare," Gordon whispers into Mr Hunt's ear before releasing him.
"Beggars can't be choosers. Eh, Penny?" Mr Hunt smiles awkwardly.
"Grrrr," Gordon growls along with Sherbet as they watch Mr Hunt enter the driver's seat of FAB 1 in preparation to start the race.
"'he mutts' are h'right," Parker comments to Penelope, "H'I don't trust this bad-mannered pretty-boy with FAB 1 for h'even 'alf a second."
"Mr Hunt does have rather rough edges," Penelope agrees, "But the Corona 5,000 is a pro-am race, and we need a professional driver."
"H'I'm a professional driver," Parker states with slight offence.
"And a very good one, too," Penelope recovers, "But we require someone... with a little more..."
"X-factor?" Gordon jokes.
"Exactly," Penelope nods to both Gordon's and Parker's surprise, "Mr Hunt is one of the world's top rally drivers."
"H'one of the world's top loud-mouths, more h'like," Parker scoffs.
"Are we doing this thing or what?" Mr Hunt asks from the car.
"We'll take excellent car of FAB 1, Parker," Penelope says, "She won't have a scratch on her. I promise."
From Gordon's arms, Sherbet whimpers in worry as he watches his owner get into the car with Mr Hunt. Gordon looks down at the dog before looking at the car and then Parker before reverting his gaze back to the car.
"H'You said it Bertie, boy," Parker nods catching onto what Gordon was indicating and the dog whining. The pair quickly run over to the car and open the door. "Budge over, m'lady," Parker smiles. "H'us lads fancy h'a bit of h'a drive."
"What do you think you're doing?" Mr Hunt cries just as the lights change to amber.
5... 4... 3... 2... 1... Thunderbirds are Go!
September 7th, 2064 - 14:03 CET
Inside Thunderbird 5, John and Ridley watch the race with close interest. Ridley even munches on some popcorn as FAB 1 moves up several places going briefly into third place. However, a tight corner forces FAB 1 into 7th place and Mr Hunt is unable to keep FAB 1 steady, just like he predicted before the race started. Another tight bend approaches and John grabs a handful of popcorn off Ridley.
"Come on, Lady P," John mutters, "You can do it."
They watch as the pink blur of FAB 1 moves into 5th, with some sparks flying as it goes past the red car. That'll probably leave a mark.
September 7th, 2064 - 14:05 CET
"Ugh," Mr Hunt groans, "We're packed in tighter than sardines. Penny, get on the GPS and map out a new course."
"She can do better than that," Gordon states and presses on his wristwatch and a hologram of Thunderbird 5 appears on his screen, "Come in, Thunderbird 5."
"Thunderbird 5 receiving," John announces.
"John, FAB 1's stuck in traffic," Penelope calls over Gordon's shoulder, "We could use some assistance."
"Happy to help, Lady Penelope," John smiles, "Ridley's plotting an alternative route as we speak."
The hologram of John disappears and is replaced by a map of the circuit and a new dotted line appears on the map indicating the route Ridley has found for them to take.
"Mr Hunt, in 98 yards, take a left," Penelope states.
"That's the wrong direction," Mr Hunt grumbles, "I'm here to race, Penny, not go sightseeing."
"And she's your navigator, not your passenger," Gordon bites, "Please allow her to navigate."
Mr Hunt lets out a sigh but complies and turns to his left while all the other drivers veer off to the right.
"H'a shortcut?" Parker questions, "H'Isn't that cheating, m'lady?"
"Not in a rally race, Parker," Penelope answers, "You can take any path you want. As long as you cross the finish line."
"I hope you know what you're doing," Mr Hunt comments.
"Trust me, Mr Hunt," Penelope interjects, "I may be an amateur, but I'm a very good one. Now, take a right at the next junction." FAB 1 moves along and within moments, re-joins the main route that the rest of the car took. Gordon has a quick glance over his shoulder and sees that there are no cars in sight behind them. Penelope brings up her tracker and sees that they were ahead of them.
"H'It worked!" Parker cries.
"There we are," Penelope says, "Tracking shows we're in the lead. Great work, Ridley."
"We're in front," Gordon smiles.
"No, we're not," Mr Hunt complains, "The BR2 is. We're in second. And second place is first loser."
"Thunderbird 5, just how far ahead is the BR2?" Gordon asks.
"About two miles," Ridley says, "But something's wrong. It's not moving and there's another car with it."
"Another race car?" Penelope questions.
"Impossible," Mr Hunt states, "Everyone else is behind us."
"Well, if it's not a race car, then what is it?" Penelope asks.
"Tourists?" Parker suggests.
"Parker, we're in the middle of a desert," Gordon scoffs, "I have a bad feeling about this."
"Mr Hunt, prepare to pull over," Penelope states.
"Are you kidding?" Mr Hunt asks in horror turning to face the trio and the dog in the back, "That supercharged jet-place on wheels has got itself into trouble and we're going to take full advantage of it. This is our chance to win!"
"H'I's on the road," Parker orders. Mr Hunt turns his eyes back to the road and enters an area of open desert and sees a large dust cloud forming before a purple car pulls away.
"The Chaos Crew," Gordon scowls, "International Rescue, we have a situation." He unbuckles his belt and prepares to get out the car, but Mr Hunt doesn't slow down and goes flying past the BR2, continuing on with the race.
"Mr Hunt! What are you doing?" Penelope cries.
"Winning this race!" Mr Hunt declares.
"Pull over immediately," Gordon demands, "There's a driver trapped inside that car. We have to get her out."
"Forget it," Mr Hunt deadpans, "I'm a racer. I win races."
"Well, we're International Rescue and we rescue people," Parker states.
"FAB 1," John calls, "You need us to launch? Thunderbird 1 or 7 can be there in minutes."
"Negative, Thunderbird 5," Gordon says, "Your favourite aquanaut is right here."
"Mr Gordon, Sir, we're h'in the middle of a fucking desert," Parker deadpans.
"LANGUAGE, PARKER!" Penelope yells before turning back to John, "This driver might not have minutes to spare."
"I thought you wanted to win this race for your Great Auntie," Mr Hunt scoffs, "If we stop now, we'll lose for sure."
"Great Aunt Sylvia always said, 'Winning is fun. But some things are more important'," Penelope states, "And, Mr Hunt, this is one of those things."
"Oh..." Mr Hunt grumbles, "Fine." He turns the car around and heads back towards the smoking BR2. Upon arrival, Gordon and Penelope jump out the car immediately and charge over to the upturned car.
"Help!" the driver cries.
"We're with International Rescue," Penelope introduces, "We're here to help."
"Hurry!" the driver calls. Gordon stands up beside Penelope after doing a quick inspection of the car and starts to tug against the door.
"Shit," Gordon mutters and turns to Penelope, "The locking mechanism's disabled."
"Parker," Penelope shouts over to him, who's still standing by the car, "Bring Big Alice over!"
"Come h'on, h'Alice," Parker says as he charges towards the car, "There's work to do. Stand back m'lady and Mr Gordon, Sir." As he reaches the car, he swings Alice back and uses all his strength at pounding the door, only to be reverberated backwards. "Ooh!"
"Ugh, impact resistant glass," Mr Hunt states, "Rated up to 800 miles per hour. No way you'll be able to smash your way in."
"Ohhh!" Parker groans as he shakes his wrist, "You could 'ave mentioned 'hat before. 'Hat Chaos Crew did a number on 'his motor. And h'it's about to get worse."
"Ah! Argh!" the driver cries as the front of the BR2 starts to creak and spark.
"We need a tow." Penelope says and uses her communicator to bring up a hologram of FAB 1 and deploys a grappling cable from the underside of the car which attaches to the driver's door, "Mr Hunt, we need a hand."
"Or rather a foot," Gordon jokes.
"Got it," Mr Hunt replies and gets back into the car and shifts into reverse before putting his foot down on the accelerator. After a few seconds of screeching tires, the door finally rips off and Penelope helps the driver out of her seat. Once she was out everyone ran away from the car just in time to see it explode into a ball of fire.
"FAB 1, come in," Ridley calls, "Gordon, Penny, Parker, are you okay?"
"Yes," Penelope breathes, "Thank you, Ridley."
"But the BR2 will need a number of a good garage," Gordon adds.
"Good call on that rescue, Lady Penelope," John states as the group on the ground watches the other cars race by, "Even Thunderbird 7 would still be in the air. You turned this into a win."
"Ugh!" Mr Hunt complains, slamming the hood of FAB 1, "We're going to lose!"
"Try telling that to Mr Hunt," Penelope chuckles to John."
"That muscle car came out of nowhere," the driver breathes, seemingly in a state of shock still, "They took out my tyres and rolled the BR2. And then they stole the turbo computer. Lucky for me that you stopped."
"Actually," Penelope says and turns to look over to FAB 1, "It was Mr Hunt who stopped."
"Ugh!" the driver moans as she holds her arm in pain. Gordon grabs his medical scanner and has a look at her arm and a grim expression appears on his face.
"Looks like you've picked up a fracture, maybe worse," Gordon notes, "We should get you to a doctor."
"I'll drive you to the race medical centre," Mr Hunt says to the other driver as she is helped into the back by Penelope.
"Mr Hunt," Parker interrupts with a smirk, "Why don't you leave 'his to a professional driver?"
The group all get into the car and Mr Hunt takes a seat next to Penelope who now has Sherbet on her lap while Gordon crouches on the floor near Parker as there weren't enough seats for him to have one. Mr Hunt looks over to Sherbet who growls in response.
"I think he likes me," Mr Hunt chuckles.
"I wouldn't be so sure," Penelope responds.
"H'I'll think you'll find this 'pink monstrosity' 'as a few tricks under h'it's bonnet," Parker says and presses a button under the dash, "Prepare for flight 'ode."
"Steady Granddad!" Mr Hunt states as FAB 1 groans and rocks violently.
"Normally, we, erm, use the smaller tyres," Parker coughs.
"On second thoughts, Parker," Gordon smiles, "I can't believe I'm saying this but let's stick to land, shall we?"
"Yes, Mr Gordon, Sir," Parker sighs as starts to drive back to the camp near the start of the race. On their journey, the pass a small gas station with several lorries parked up in the back. However, what stands out, is a familiar purple car parked up at one of the pumps.
"Is that what I think it is?" Penelope questions.
"It sure is," Gordon smiles.
"Parker, I believe this would be an excellent opportunity to stretch out legs."
"Oh, no thank you, m'lady," Parker declines, "I went before the race."
"No..." Gordon mutters and shakes his head in disgust, "That's not what she meant."
"Oh?" Parker questions then his eyes widen in realisation, "Oh! FAB!" Parker then makes a right turn and pulls up outside the gas station and hides FAB 1 behind a couple of the lorries. Gordon then jumps out and walks over to the car, carefully checking his surroundings. He makes a dash for Spoiler and hides behind it. He then looks through the window as sees the turbo computer. He grabs the door handle and if by sheer luck, the door to the car opens and he smiles to himself.
"Ohhhh. Unlocked?" Gordon mutters, "Honestly! Don't they know there are thieves about?" He then runs back to FAB 1 and jumps in. Parker immediately puts his foot to the floor and drives off just as Havoc comes out of the gas station with some snacks in hand.
"Byeeeee!" Penelope yells over as FAB 1 drives off, away from a furious Havoc. The race was on. FAB 1 is able to reach the speeds of up to 260 miles per hour and Parker goes at the fastest he dares due to the sand road conditions.
"The 'oodlums seem to want their stolen property back," Parker comments.
"I'm not in the mood to return it," Gordon states.
"Parker, take evasive action," Penelope orders. Parker nods and increases his speed and takes a sharp right turn. The Spoiler however wouldn't give up and starts to gain on FAB 1. Despite being International Rescue's best driver on land, Parker is unable to keep the Spoiler away from FAB 1 and Havoc rams the front of her car into the back of FAB 1.
"Oh!" everyone cries from inside as FAB 1 shakes from the impact. Parker narrows his eyes and veers to the side causing the Spoiler to almost fully taking over as Havoc clearly isn't expecting this. In response, she slows down slightly and tries to put FAB 1 into an uncontrollable spin. Luckily Parker has allegedly managed to escape the British police before so manages to keep control of the car.
"Give it some gas, Granddad," Mr Hunt demands.
"No," Penelope states, "Not gas, Parker. Smoke." Parker complies and flicks open the emergency control panel and presses the far-right button. This causes smoke to start to emit from the otherwise unused exhausts. In response, the Spoiler accelerates in front of FAB 1 and starts to block Parker from being able to overtake.
"Watch it!" Parker growls and starts to swerve out of the way of sonic charges that Fuse starts to throw out of the passenger window. "Oh! Yeah!" Parker exclaims and he has a few near misses with the charges.
"Left! Now right! Sharp left. Right, hard," Mr Hunt commands from the backseat as Parker continues to move out of the way of the charges.
"No one likes a back-seat driver," Gordon says, "Nor a commentator."
"Parker, flash your headlights," Penelope suggests.
"H'I'm flashing, m'lady," Parker responds and turns FAB 1's headlights onto full beam. That combined with the shining desert sun now behind them seems to have an impact on the Spoiler as it suddenly swerves out of Parker's way with Havoc seemingly losing control of her car for a brief second and slows down to an almost stop before speeding up again. After a few more minutes, the Spoiler catches up with FAB 1 again and slams itself into the right side of FAB 1.
"Argh!" everyone cries from inside the car, with the BR2 driver saying it in a bit more pain. The Spoiler then pulls away before slamming itself back into FAB 1's side.
"Ohhh!" Parker shouts as even he starts to lose some control of FAB 1. A third hit from the Spoiler sends FAB 1 swerving left, right and centre but Parker still manages to stay on the same protectory. The swearing however does allow the Spoiler to take the lead again blocking Parker from driving away again.
"Parker, do something about this!" Penelope exclaims.
"H'I aaaam, m'lady," Parker wails as he tries to concentrate on regaining full control of FAB 1.
"Ohh!" Gordon groans from being thrown about due to not having a seatbelt on, "Thunderbird 5, we've got a tail we badly need to shake. Any ideas?"
"Erm... Ridley?" John asks unsure.
"There's a Maglev track leading to a tunnel up ahead," Ridley explains, "The pan-desert express trains about 45 seconds away."
"That'll do perfectly," Gordon smiles and turns to Parker, "Parker, bear right." Parker nods and goes to the right while the Spoiler continues going straight ahead. The right turn sends FAB 1 up a steep hill onto a narrow winding road. For any typical road user going 210 miles per hour would be fatal but not when the driver is Parker.
"I do love it when the trains run on time," Penelope jokes due to the lack of trains that do run to time back in Britain.
"Uh, I'm not sure we're gonna make it!" Parker yells.
"Oh, yes, we are, Parker," Mr Hunt declares, "Now, listen to me. Shift down to seventh. Now floor it." FAB 1 speeds up again to 250 miles per hour just as the Spoiler appears behind them. Up ahead the road disappears. A rockslide had damaged it badly and now a huge gap is left in the road.
"We're running h'out h'of road!" Parker exclaims.
"Trust me," Mr Hunt states, "I know what I'm doing."
"It's a bold move," Gordon admits.
"I'd better alert the train driver," Penelope adds.
"Now..." Mr Hunt says slowly before calling, "Turn!" Parker takes a sharp right turn and ends up on an empty flatbed at the back of the train just before it entered the tunnel. The Spoiler on the other hand isn't expecting this and Havoc has to slam her foot on the brake to prevent going off the edge of the cliff.
"Well, this is unusual," Penelope comments.
"The Chaos Crew aren't idiots," Gordon says, "They'll be waiting for us at the other end of this tunnel."
"Mr Hunt, I owe you an apology," Penelope states, "Maybe FAB 1 isn't up to the job."
"Ah, it's not the car's fault, Lady Penelope," Mr Hunt admits, "This thing wasn't built for speed, it was built for— Well, frankly, I've no idea what it was built for."
"Not built for speed..." Gordon mutters to himself and looks over to Penelope how catches onto an idea.
"What would happen if we put this gizmo into FAB 1's engine?" Penelope asks the BR2 driver.
"Total overload," the driver explains, "It would divert all power to the motor. The car batteries would be dead within minutes."
"But would it make it faster?" Gordon questions.
"Sir, it would turn this thing into a rocket," the driver confirms.
"And that's exactly what we right now," Penelope replies.
"That and a hospital," Gordon chuckles, "What do you say, Mr Hunt?"
"Just show me where you keep the spanners," Mr Hunt responds. Parker then opens the bonnet of FAB 1 and tells him where the tools are kept.
September 7th, 2064 - 14:59 CET
As the train exits the tunnel, Mr Hunt, who is now in the driver's seat, puts his foot on the accelerator and just as Gordon predicted, the Spoiler appears from behind a blind bend and is right on their tail once again. Just as the Spoiler is about to make contact with FAB 1, Mr Hunt activates the turbo accelerator and speeds away from the Chaos Crew.
"Uh, Lady Penelope, this is Thunderbird 5," John suddenly calls, "We've got a problem." Up ahead another cliff collapse leaves a large gap in the road. They're trapped.
"It's like a miniature Grand Canyon," Parker comments.
"It was a good run," Mr Hunt agrees, "But it looks like this race is over."
Penelope looks a little downcast and pulls out the photo of her Great Aunt. She then smiles slightly and looks back at Mr Hunt, "Didn't I tell you before? Creighton-Wards never quit."
"You don't mean..." Gordon trails in shock.
"Yes, Gordon," Penelope nods, "I most certainly do. Mr Hunt?"
"But— But..." Mr Hunt stutters but accepts he isn't going to change her mind, "Yes, m'lady. Here... we... go!" Much to everyone's surprise Mr Hunt accelerates FAB 1 further and goes over the edge of the cliff. The car seems to suspend in mid-air as if it was in flight mode. After several heart-stopping seconds, FAB 1 crashes down on the other side of the gap and escapes the clutches of the Chaos Crew.
September 7th, 2064 - 15:13 CET
Mr Hunt drives back down the side of the cliff and speed off towards the finish line. Surprisingly, he eventually catches up with all the other cars in the race as they also approached the final straight before the finish line. He manoeuvres his way through the other cars and gets himself in the lead.
"We're in the lead!" Parker exclaims, "You did it!"
However, just before the finish line, Mr Hunt drives off to the right and enters the race camp where there is a medical tent and drives FAB 1 to a stop outside of it.
"The finishing line's up ahead, Mr Hunt," Penelope states, "I thought you wanted to win."
"Winning's fun, Lady Penelope," Mr Hunt replies, "But some things are more important. Didn't anyone ever tell you that?" Penelope smiles and Gordon exits the car to help the BR2 driver out of the car and helps her seek the medical attention she needs.
"Sorry I ruined your race," the driver says to Gordon before turning to Mr Hunt, "Thanks. I owe you one."
"Ah, don't thank me," Mr Hunt responds, "Thank Great Aunt Sylvia."
"Indeed, Mr Hunt," Penelope agrees, "Indeed."
This chapter was made in memory of Sylvia Anderson, one of the co-creators of the original Thunderbirds TV Show
1927-2016