June 16th, 2065 - 22:13 NZDT
Ridley does her final checks of the day before clocking out and allowing EOS to manage distress signals for the rest of the night. John had already gone to bed as he had been awake for almost 40 hours and if Ridley wasn't there, he would have probably still be up and working. She did feel sorry for John as recently she had been over to Global One and the construction site of Thunderbird 10. The final tests of the long range emergency signals were currently underway with tests going to the Mars colony on a constant bases now. However, there is still work to be done.
As Ridley is about to leave the communications room, EOS's camera enters the room with her lights flashing red.
"Ridley, it appears that we have a situation," EOS informs.
"Thank you, EOS," Ridley replies, "Sent me to the control room." Ridley floats up through the airlock and enters the large control room in the centre of Thunderbird 5. A large red hologram of a spacecraft is shown with a trajectory of a collision with Earth. "Unknown vessel, this is International Rescue," Ridley calls, "Please be advised, you are currently on a collision course, do you copy?"
"Emergency, emergency. Situation critical," a robotic voice responds.
"Yeah, no kidding," Ridley scoffs and tries to make contact again, "If you don't change direction, you're crashing into Earth!"
5... 4... 3... 2... 1... Thunderbirds are Go!
June 16th, 2065 - 22:17 NZDT
Scott, Marion, Alan and Brains enter the lounge as Ridley and Kayo are displayed in holographic form. Ridley brings up her scan of the spacecraft that shows there are lift signs on board. She had done some checking and has identified the name and mission of the ship.
"This is the Calypso," Ridley informs, "It's 10 year mission was to exit our solar system, gather scientific data from deep space and return back home."
"It's certainly on the w-way home," Brains states, "But much f-faster than it should be."
"What can your scans tell us, Thunderbird 5?" Scott asks.
"For starters, the engines aren't on," Ridley replies, "Meaning there could be a malfunction, or it's out of fuel."
"Or both," Kayo interjects, "That would me they won't be able to slow down as they don't have engines."
"What about the astronauts onboard?" Alan asks.
"Most likely still in deep-sleep hibernation," Ridley responds, "Since it's supposed to take five years to return, the automated revival system doesn't expect them to be in wake-up distance for another two years."
"Well, it looks like we've got a spaceship to catch," Marion says.
"Not to m-mention some astronauts to wake up," Brains states, "And I'd like to be there when they do. The Calypso mission has always been of g-great interest to me."
"Then let's gear up," Scott orders.
"Marion," Ridley suddenly calls, "A tornado storm is forming in the Louisiana area and heading for densely populated areas. I'll need you to take Thunderbird 7 and be on damage control."
"FAB, Ridley," Marion acknowledges and then turns to Scott gives him a peak on the cheek, "Be careful out there."
"Aren't I always," Scott chuckles and goes to sit next to Alan in Kayo's chair.
"Sorry I can't lend a help guys," Kayo sighs, "The GDF are pissed that the Chaos Crew have slipped through their grasp still."
"Just get back in one piece," Alan smiles and presses the button under his chair arm.
5
Alan and Scott descend and start to get suited up.
4
Brains is transported inside Thunderbird 3 via the passenger elevator.
3
Thunderbird 3's blast door closes once Alan and Scott have been lifted inside.
2
Alan and Scott's chairs roll up to the controls with Brains in the passenger seat behind Alan.
1
Thunderbird 3's rockets start up.
Thunderbirds are Go!
June 16th, 2065 - 22:36 NZDT
Thunderbird 3 leaves Earth's atmosphere and heads in the direction of the Calypso. Alan follows the coordinates that Ridley had sent to him and they quickly see it come into view. Alan moves Thunderbird 3 to a safe distance and slows down to run next to the Calypso. However, the Calypso has other ideas and goes rocketing past the small Thunderbird 3 in comparison taking both Alan and Scott by surprise.
"Whoa!" Alan cries, "That's a lot bigger than I thought."
"I can already see we have a slight p-problem," Brains points out bringing up an updated scan of what Ridley had showed them earlier.
"Yeah," Scott comments as he looks at Brains' scan, "I see it, too."
"Uh, care to fill me in here?" Alan asks.
"This ship was d-designed over 20 years ago," Brains explains, "It doesn't have a universal d-docking ring."
"Ugh!" Alan sighs, "Please tell me it at least has an airlock?"
"A v-very large one, as I recall," Brains responds.
"Good," Alan nods, "But I don't see why you can't just grab hold of the ship with Thunderbird 3 and slow it down."
"At the speed we're travelling, the slightest mistake could send Calypso into an uncontrolled s-spin," Brains informs.
"Then here's the plan," Scott starts as he gets out of his seat, "I'll spacewalk over and wake up the crew. Once we have them safely aboard Thunderbird 3, we can gently bump Calypso into a new direction."
"You'll have to make it q-quick," Brains states, "Before long, we'll be t-too close to Earth to avoid a c-crash, no m-matter what."
"FAB," Scott replies and everyone gets their helmets on as Scott prepares for EVA. Scott heads to the back of the cockpit and grabs onto his space-equipped jetpack. Several lessons have been learnt by both him and Brains since the number of times his usual jetpacks have malfunctioned in space. He picks up the controllers and walks into Thunderbird 3's cargo bay. Alan matches speed with Calypso and opens the doors to allow Scott to see his target.
"All right, Thunderbird 3," Scott calls, "I'm ready to cross."
"Yeah, just hold on for a sec Scott," Alan replies, "Sensors are picking up a cloud of space dust just ahead."
"Should I be worried about dust?" Scott asks.
"At the speed we're going, yeah," Alan responds, "Your suit would be shredded."
"That..." Scott trails as he watches the cloud of dust rapidly got past his field of vision, "Would not be good."
"Okay," Alan says, "Just passed it on the starboard side, "You're good to go."
"FAB," Scott replies and activates his jetpack and starts his cross over to the Calypso. He aims his flight perfectly and lands just a couple of meters away from the airlock. Holding onto the side of the Calypso, Scott crawls over to the airlock to open it which sends him into a small room. He closes the airlock once again before opening the inner airlock to allow him to enter the interior of the ship. As he enters the corridor, he sees several old LED lights flicker giving him a sense of unease. He pulls out a stun gun just in case and activates the light on top of his helmet.
"I'm clear of the airlock," Scott informs, "Minimal systems are active. It's running lights only in here." He tentatively walks down the narrow corridor and brings up a map of the Calypso to make his way to the hibernation room. He walks past several doorways to his left and right but the ship is completely silent apart the buzzing of the occasional light and Scott's footsteps. By only taking one right turn, Scott sees a brightly lit room at the end of the corridor and as he approaches it becomes clear that this is the room he's looking for.
"I see the sleep capsules, now to wake up the crew," Scott states. When he enters the room, he pauses and listens to suddenly hear the sound of footsteps coming up behind him. Scott gasps and quickly turns around in alarm and draws his gun.
"Scott?" Alan calls, "What is it?"
"I don't know," Scott responds as he takes to take step backwards further into the room but not taking his eyes off the entrance, "It feels like I'm not alone in here."
Alan and Brains look at each other with confusion and watch the hologram of Scott walk over to the hibernation capsules. While he is trying to hide it, Alan could tell that Scott is currently very frightened about what he is hearing inside. The shaking stern expression on his face, then disappears as his eyebrows are raised. They watch as Scott's hologram turns around only for Scott to let out a huge shriek and his hologram vanishes. Alan and Brains look at each other in alarm.
"Scott!" Alan yells as Thunderbird 3 loses connection with him, "What is it?" There's a tense moment as the only sound heard on board Thunderbird 3 is the disconnection warning. Luckily, it goes green again and Scott's voice is heard once again.
"Ah, it's nothing," Scott breathes, "Just some kind of a robot."
"Emergency, emergency. Situation critical," the robot says.
"And apparently, the source of the distress call," Scott acknowledges.
"It's Braman!" Brains cries with happiness as the hologram of Scott and the robot appear on screen.
"Wait, you know this thing?" Alan asks.
"Know him?" Brains scoffs, "I b-built him! I gave him to the mission as a g-gift. They even added a voice so he can speak." There is a loud screech and Braman starts to sing.
"Sailing, sailing, over the bounding main, for many a stormy wind shall blow..." Braman sings causing everyone to cover their ears from the high pitch noise.
"Well, I think your robot may have a few screws loose," Scott chuckles before approaching the robot, "Braman, can you tell me what happened here?"
"Emergency, emergency. Situation critical," Braman replies.
"Yes, the situation is bad," Scott states, "But I'm with International Rescue and we're here to help."
"Emergency, emergency. Situation critical," Braman repeats and starts to spin around in distress. Scott carefully approaches and presses on the button in the centre of the robot's chest causing Braman to power down.
"Now I see why Max doesn't talk," Scott mumbles to himself.
"What was that, Scott?" Brains inquires.
"Huh? Nothing, Brains, just thinking out loud," Scott deflects. He walks over to the pod he was at before and goes over to the control panel and opens the pods. There is a hiss from the pod doors as they start to open. A light mist fills the room and Scott can make out the figures of the crew start to move around as they start to wake up.
"Colonel Tracy, is that you?" one crew member asks as she tries to work out the figure of the man in front of her. Scott goes to answer but a lump builds up him his throat preventing him from speaking. He quickly clears his throat and looks down is sadness.
"No, sorry," Scott begins, "I'm his son, Scott."
There's a yawn from the other pod and the other female crew member walks over to the pair as the mist starts to clear. "Good morning, sunshine," the second member states and checks her wrist controller, "Why are we waking up two years early?"
"There's been a malfunction on your ship," Scott explains, "Let's get you both up and I'll explain everything."
June 16th, 2065 - 23:10 NZDT
Scott and the two crew members make their way to the cockpit of the Calypso and see the every closing in Earth in front of them. Scott explains everything that he is aware of and also tells them about Jeff Tracy's accident in 2058.
"Sorry to hear about your dad," the first crew member says, who Scott had learnt that her name is Asher, "He trained us, you know? One-of-a-kind."
"You look a lot like him," the second crew member, Finn, responds.
"We miss him," Scott comments, looking down at the floor and avoiding eye contact.
"Situation critical," Braman comments as he walks into the room. Scott already regretting the decision to power him back on.
"Ugh! You didn't have too much trouble with him, did you?" Finn asks.
"Ha-ha!" Scott chuckles nervously, "Well, he's unusual."
"He wasn't always that way," Asher states as she gets two cups of coffee from the machine and hands one over to Finn, "He started acting strangely just as we were turning for home. He kept trying to send a distress call for no good reason. When we went into deep space, all of our systems were just fine."
"Here we go," Finn says, accepting the coffee and opening up a detailed scan of the Calypso, "No fuel. The main drive engines burnt out. Hm, great."
"Braman fired the engines?" Asher questions as she points over to the control panel were the activity logs are kept, "It's right here in his activity log. What was he thinking?"
"Okay," Scott starts as he thinks of a plan. He looks back at Braman, who's head clicks as he turns and wonders around the room and checks the systems like he was supposed to do in the first place. "Looks like we have no other choice but to abandon ship. You two can come aboard Thunderbird 3. We'll knock the Calypso off its flight path before it crashes into Earth."
"Ah, ah, no way," Finn scoffs.
"We've spent 8 years on this mission and another 10 preparing for it. These computers store precious deep space data and we're not leaving it behind."
"What she said," Finn adds as Scott looks over to her.
"That could be u-useful for Thunderbird 10's deep space signals," Brains calls over the coms adding to Asher's argument.
"Can't we just transfer the data over to Thunderbird 3's computers?" Alan asks.
"Their s-system's over 20 years old," Brains replies, "It's c-completely incompatible with out."
"So, in other words, not something you can do with a couple of swipes," Alan summarises.
"Then we'll just take everything with us," Scott grunts, "Consoles and all."
Everyone then gets to work. Alan heads down into Thunderbird 3's cargo hold prepares it for when the consoles arrive. He gets a container that could be securely tightened to hold them and make sure that they couldn't go flying around the cargo hold. Using his hoverboard, he then transfers this over to the Calypso's airlock and leaves it there for the crew. Inside, Scott, Asher and Finn get the tools out and start to disconnect the consoles from the floors and walls. Braman goes and brings a trolley that he then uses to transfer next to the airlock from the inside. He takes several trips but with the help of Scott secures it in the large container that Alan had left in the airlock. Before they knew it, the last console is transferred into the container and Asher does one last check to make sure that they've got all the data across.
"I think that's all of them," Asher sighs.
"I'm going to miss this place," Finn jokes.
"I'll make sure our next home has a good view, maybe trees this time?" Asher swiftly replies.
"Hang tight," Scott smiles, "I'll move this across to Thunderbird 3, then come back and get you. I'll be back before you know it."
Scott leaves the couple and heads over to the airlock, in the centre of the ship. He pushes the container through and attaches a line to it. Once its clipped on, Scott fires a grapple line across from the Calypso over to Thunderbird 3 and attaches the container to it. Once secured, he attaches himself to the container and activates his jetpack and starts to fly across to Thunderbird 3. He goes slowly but manages to get halfway across before Alan decides to com in.
"Scott," Alan groans, "We've got another dust cloud and it's coming in fast."
"Will the ships be, okay?" Scott asks, as he looks to his right and sees that Alan is correct about the speed at which the dust cloud is coming in.
"Yes," Alan responds, "But your suit's gonna..."
"I know, I know," Scott interrupts and keeps his gaze of the dust, "How long do I have?"
"About 8 seconds," Alan confirms.
"I'm not going to make it," Scott realises.
"I c-can't look," Brains wails, from his seat next to Alan. He covers his eyes and turns away. Alan watches the holographic image of the dust cloud approach and just before it hits, Scott's life scan disappears due to interference. Alan loses contact with Scott as the dust cloud comes flying past Thunderbird 3 and the Calypso.
"Scott!" Alan yells and gets out of his seat to look outside for his brother. When the dust cloud clears, all Alan can see is the container, just over three quarters of the way across. He then hears a crackling over the coms.
"I'm fine," Scott voices states, "But the other side of this container is gonna need a new coat of paint." Scott had managed to get inside of the container just before the dust cloud hit and is completely unharmed. He gets out again and pulls the container the rest of the way across and securing it down in the area that Alan had prepared earlier. Then, he makes his way back over to the Calypso and collects Asher, Finn and Braman, bringing them safely over to Thunderbird 3. Once they are all in the cockpit, Brains starts to do the calculations to make sure that the Calypso doesn't crash into Monrovia, Liberia and away from Earth instead.
"That was a close one," Asher comments, "But it looks like all of the data drives are intact."
"We have a p-problem," Brains calls.
"More space dust?" Scott guesses.
"Space dust we can handle, this is m-much worse," Brains states, "The deep space d-data may be safe aboard Thunderbird 3, but we've run out of t-time to change the flight path."
"The Calypso's gonna crash into Earth, no matter what," Alan says and brings up a large hologram showing the protectory and runs some simulations, "It's a direct hit, no matter how you look at it."
"And the impact will be in a city f-full of people," Brains adds.
"We may not be able to stop the Calypso from crashing into Earth, but we might be able to control where it crashes," Scott declares.
"That's right," Asher calls, "If we deploy the atmospheric breaks at just the right time, it'll give us just enough control to crash it into the ocean instead."
"Alright then," Alan smiles, "Let's set the Calypso's autopilot and go home."
"Only one tiny problem with that," Finn interjects, "The autopilot's here onboard Thunderbird 3, along with the rest of the Calypso systems."
"Well, we can't have one of us pilot the ship manually," Scott argues. At the controls of Thunderbird 3, Alan and Brains share a look and Brains looks down with a sigh.
"Actually, we can," Brains says and turns to look at Scott.
June 16th, 2065 - 23:56 NZDT
"Hello, Braman," Brains says, as he powers up the robot again from inside the Calypso's cockpit, "It's me, Brains."
"Emergency, emergency. Situation critical," Braman replies.
"Yes," Brains responds, "But we need you to d-do something v-very important for us."
"Braman, we need you to pilot the Calypso into a crash landing somewhere over the ocean. Can you do that?"
"Emergency, emergency. Situation critical," Braman responds.
"Is Braman up for this?" Scott asks Brains with a sigh.
"Yes," Brains states with a sense of unease in his voice, "At least, I hope so."
"That's not a lot of reassurance," Scott scoffs.
"Brains?" Braman suddenly states, "I will pilot."
"Thank you, Braman," Brains says and places a comforting hand on Braman's shoulder, "It was g-good to see you again." With that, Brains and Scott return to Thunderbird 3, leaving Braman in charge of the Calypso.
"Sailing, sailing, over the bounding main..." Braman sings, which is the last thing Scott and Brains here before the cockpit doors shut behind them. They quickly make their way back to Thunderbird 3 and once on board, Alan cuts the engines and watches as the Calypso goes past them and starts to burn up as it enters Earth's atmosphere.
"All traffic, all traffic, please be advised," Alan calls on the International Space Frequency, "Incoming craft on a crash course trajectory. For your own safety, stay out of the way.
June 16th, 2065 - 23:59 NZDT
"For many a stormy wind shall blow ere Jack comes home again!"
June 17th, 2065 - 00:00 NZDT
For miles around people watched as the Calypso broke up into several pieces of debris. It goes rocketing over Liberia and across the Sahara Desert. People from Central Africa to Northern Europe watched in awe as they watched the craft go soaring through the sky like a shooting star in broad daylight. From Thunderbird 3, Alan monitors the flight path of the Calypso and breathes a sigh of relief as it disappears over the central Atlantic.
"The Calypso has hit the water, the city is safe," Alan states.
"Well done, B-Braman," Brains mutters.
June 16th, 2065 - 13:09 BST
A storm grows over the Atlantic waters and from the depths of the ocean the wreckage of the Calypso could be found. In what was once the cockpit sits Braman in the chair. However, despite the water and the surface pressure, his systems remain on and he powers up again.
"Emergency, emergency. Situation critical," Braman repeats, "Emergency, emergency. Situation critical. Emergency... Situation... critical. Emergency..."
His message gets broadcasted on most frequencies. The GDF hear it, the UN Security Council hears it, International Rescue hear it. But The Hood hears it as well.
June 17th, 2065 - 09:42 NZDT
Virgil enters the kitchen after a restless night. Due to Braman's message being displayed on all frequencies, it meant that it was constantly being relayed through the night on Tracy Island, keeping everyone awake. Ridley thought about muting it but John warned against this as it could block out other emergency call as well.
"Emergency, emergency. Situation critical."
He takes a seat next to Gordon who had recently returned from a scolding from Scott about taking Thunderbird 1 out to help Parker find Penelope's dog, Sherbet, only to find that Sherbet was with Penelope the whole time and not at the mansion. This cost Scott his drone as Gordon had crashed it into a tree.
"Couldn't sleep either?" Virgil yawns as he places a cup of coffee in front of Gordon.
"I was up all night with that racket," Gordon groans, "The emergency frequency is supposed to be for, you know, emergencies.
"I kinda feel sorry for Braman," Nina comments as she enters the kitchen with a yawn and walks over to the coffee machine herself, "Saves a city, and what does he get in return? A soak at the bottom of the cold, dark ocean of eternity."
"Well, now that you put it that way..." Gordon trails.
"Do you think it's a malfunction, Brains?" Virgil asks.
"It's hard to say," Brains says from his position in the corner of the room, overlooking the swimming pool, "Something is d-definitely strange about all this. Maybe once I analyse the data from the Calypso, it might tell me more."
"If it's bothering you, I might be able to find a way to filter out his distress call," John interjects as his hologram appears on the dining room table.
"But he'll be sending one," Nina states, "We just won't hear it."
"We have to remember B-Braman is only a machine," Brains adds, "He's not in p-pain, he's not feeling anything." Suddenly, Braman's message changes from the repeated phrase.
"Is anybody out there?" Braman asks, "International Rescue, please... help... me."
"He may only be a machine," Virgil muses, "But that machine just asked us for help."
"Don't worry, Braman, I'm coming to get you," Gordon calls and quickly springs onto his feet and makes his way over to his elevator.
5
Gordon descends and gets suited up.
4
Thunderbird 4 remains in her tank as the lights come on.
3
Gordon steps to the back of his elevator and it drops, like Virgil's rocket painting.
2
The drop splashes Gordon into the tank.
1
He enters Thunderbird 4 as the hidden underwater bay doors open.
Thunderbirds are Go!
June 17th, 2065 - 09:54 NZDT
Down in Brains' lab, Brains starts to go through the data that the Calypso had collected with the permission of NASA, to try and find the cause of what is causing Braman to act differently when the Calypso turned for home. He brings up several holograms of the Calypso and her data and his eyes widen at the amount of information there is.
"My, oh, my!" Brains exclaims, "Calypso's d-deep space data could take me m-months to analyse."
"It's not your job to do that, you know," Sally states.
"True," Brains responds, "But this d-data could be life-changing. Anything could be out there beyond our solar system. Besides, there is something about this sensor data that is h-highly unusual."
"Just remember, we need you here, and not a million miles away," Sally reminds him before turning and walking out of the room.
"Nine b-billion to be precise!" Brains calls after her.
June 18th, 2065 - 17:02 BST
Due to Thunderbird 4 being the slowest Thunderbird with a maximum speed of 169 knots (184mph) it takes Gordon almost two days to arrive in the mid-Atlantic and near the crash site of the Calypso. As he approaches, he turns his high beams on and actives his sonar scanner. It doesn't take him long until he starts to see debris on the seafloor.
"I found some of the Calypso wreckage," Gordon informs Tracy Island, "And of all the places for it to have settled, what's left of the cockpit is inside the Marindata Ventfields."
The Marindata Ventfields are located on the mid-Atlantic Ridge where the Eurasian and African Tectonic Plates meet the North and South American Plates. It is one of the most active volcanic areas on the mid-Atlantic Ridge and were incredibly dangerous. Even Thunderbird 4 could be incinerated if it got caught in a magma splash.
"FAB, Thunderbird 4," Ridley acknowledges, "Be careful in there. Those water vents are boiling hot."
"Yeah, I noticed. Man, this place gives me the creeps," Gordon winces and has a look at his sonar scanner and sees it flickering, "I'm having a hard time getting a lock on Braman."
"Of all the times for him to stop calling for help!" John groans.
"It's not just that," Gordon comments as he gets deeper into the vent field, "I'm getting a lot of sensory interference from all the minerals in the water. Thunderbird 5, can you try giving me a signal boost?"
"Coming right up," Ridley replies and moves around on Gordon's holo-screen.
"I'm going to do an ultra-sonar sweep," Gordon explains, "That should let me see everything down here for a few seconds." He actives the scan and it brings Gordon a large holo-map of the ocean floor, which he quickly saves onto Thunderbird 4's systems. He then has a closer look at the map to see if it had located Braman's exact location but sees something more worrying.
"Er, someone may have beaten us to this rescue," Gordon trails.
"Er, I don't see any GDF in the area," John replies, "Are you sure?"
"I'm pretty sure," Gordon gulps as an all too familiar purple symbol appears on his screen, "It's the Chaos Cruiser." Gordon looks up to the ocean in front of him and sees the arriving purple vessel and stops Thunderbird 4 in its tracks. Seeing two large vents off to his left, Gordon retreats behind them out of view of the Chaos Crew, gaining some distance as well between the two in the process. "I don't think they saw me," Gordon whispers as he shuts down most of Thunderbird 4's systems.
"The interference down there could work to your advantage," Ridley states, "You're pretty much invisible to the Chaos Crew."
"Let's hope it stays that way," Gordon pants, getting flashbacks to his encounter with The Mechanic in the Mariana Trench.
June 18th, 2065 - 04:41 NZDT
In the lounge, most of International Rescue had assembled around the table. They were quietly talking amongst themselves as John and Ridley display Gordon's saved scan of the ocean floor. Kayo's hologram disappears as Alan enters to room as she had to follow up on the Chaos Crew sighting with MI6 immediately.
"Why is everyone up so early?" Alan yawns as he takes a seat next to Marion.
"Gordon went to rescue Braman, and The Hood beat him to it," Marion explains.
"What?" Alan shouts and looks over to Scott, "Why didn't you wake me up?"
"We tried," Scott scoffs.
"Three times," Nina adds.
"I can't just let The Hood take him," Gordon says as he joins in on the conversation, "It's a matter of principle."
"Gordon, you're all alone down there," Virgil sighs, "I'm not sure Braman's worth tangling with The Hood."
"But I have one thing he doesn't," Gordon states, "Braman's exact location. All I have to do is slip in, grab Mr Chatterbox, and I'm gone. Easy!"
"What do you think, Brains?" Scott asks as a hologram of Brains appears next to Gordon, "Is there anything of value that The Hood could find in Braman?"
"I agree with Gordon," Brains replies, "We should n-not let The Hood take him."
"I'm not taking any changes either," Kayo calls as she reappears, "MI6 has given me and Captain Rigby permission to intercept The Hood as soon as the Chaos Cruiser hits the surface."
June 18th, 2065 - 17:47 BST
"Alright then," Gordon mutters, "I'm going in." He actives Thunderbird 4's engines on low power and starts to make his way towards Braman's location. Gordon also keeps lighting to a minimal as he is aware that the Chaos Cruiser is probably still lurking nearby. To stay covert, Gordon travels on a slightly longer route around to meet Braman, keeping amongst the larger vents in the area. However, he has to exit his cover as he approaches Braman, sitting in his chair in an open area.
"There you are," Gordon smiles as he closes in and extends Thunderbird 4's grasping arms out to grab onto him. He slowly reaches in and gets Braman into a firm grasp. "Got you!" Gordon breathes. But the victory is short lived.
"Sailing, sailing, over the bounding main..." Braman starts after being silent for over an hour.
"No, no, no, no, no, no!" Gordon cries and tries to shut Braman down to shut him up but it's too late and the lights of the Chaos Cruiser flash brightly into Gordon's eyes blinding him.
"For a wind shall blow, til Jack comes home again..." Braman continues in what could only be described to Gordon in this moment in time as a demonic voice.
Gordon's adrenaline starts to kick in and immediately fires up Thunderbird 4's engines to make an escape. Braman however, continues to sing and Gordon knew deep down this meant that escape would be impossible. Though he doesn't let this deter him and goes flying off towards the European Coast to make his escape. If he could make it to Gibraltar, he'd be safe. He keeps Thunderbird 4 close to the ground to make it more difficult for the Chaos Cruiser to stay on his tail. Despite this, while Gordon had to go around the underwater mountains, the Chaos Cruiser could go straight through them and starts to gain on Gordon. Gordon stays focused but a sickening feeling grows in his stomach that this isn't going to end well. The lights of the Chaos Cruiser got brighter and brighter from behind him.
They suddenly dip again and the alarm from Gordon's console let him know why. Two torpedoes had been launched from the Chaos Cruiser's silos. Watching his scanner, Gordon prepares to manoeuvre around them so they would crash into each other. However, to Gordon's surprise they go flying past him. "Huh?" Gordon mumbles to himself in confusion but then lets out a gasp as he sees their actual target. Up ahead, a large underwater mountain stood, and the torpedoes where heading for a direct hit. He takes a sharp right to go around just as the torpedoes explode sending huge rocks comes crumbling down around him. Gordon gulps as he realises it is no use. He is going to be hit. Acting quickly, he grabs onto his helmet and puts it on activating the life support systems before being thrown to the side as Thunderbird 4 gets hit.
The impact crushes Thunderbird 4.
Half-awake and in huge amounts of pain Gordon reaches for his console one last time pressing a button before unconsciousness hits him.
"Gordon?" John calls over the coms, "You've activated your emergency code."
"Gordon?" Ridley quivers as Thunderbird 5 receives no response, "GORDON!"
5
Virgil runs over to the painting of a rocket and gets suited up.
4
Thunderbird 4's pods are loaded into Module 2.
3
Scott and Alan board 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!
June 18th, 2065 - 17:51 BST
International Rescue release a CODE RED statement to the public and close down operations. Kayo is immediately informed of the situation from Thunderbird Shadow and so it Penelope from FAB 1's emergency channel. The GDF become concerned as it is the first time since that faithful day in 2058 since and International Rescue had issued a CODE RED statement.
Penelope orders Parker to drive while she finds out what is going on and tries to make contact with Tracy Island. It takes three attempts at ringing before someone answered increasing her concerns about.
"Nina, what's going on?" Penelope demands but is only met by her tears and sobbing as she fails to put any words together, "Nina?"
"Penelope..." Marion hiccups as she stands beside Nina in hologram form, "There's no easy way to say this."
"What's wrong?" Penelope asks.
"It's Gordon..." Marion trails, making Penelope instantly on high alert.
"Send me the coordinates," Penelope demands.
"Pen..." Marion tries.
"Give me the fuckin' coordinates," Penelope growls as her own tears start to form in her eyes. After a few seconds she receives them and looks back at a broken Marion, "Have you heard anything from him?"
"We're not hearing a thing," Marion chocks, "The boys are on their way."
"Tell them I'm coming," Penelope replies and ends the call before Marion could argue, "Parker!"
"H'already h'on h'it, m'lady," Parker responds.
June 18th, 2065 - 17:53 BST
Kayo arrives with the GDF in the vicinity of the Chaos Cruiser just at it breaks the water and goes flying off.
"All GDF craft," Rigby orders, "Arm disruptors and fire at will!" The GDF fire their disruptors at the Chaos Cruiser only for the Chaos Cruiser to fire their own missiles and destroy the disruptors before they could get anywhere near it.
"Rigby, hod your fire!" Kayo demands and flies ahead of the GDF, "They have a way around your disruptors. We'll have to find another way to bring them down." The GDF keep their distance from behind Thunderbird S and from their left they see Thunderbird 2 and FAB 1 arrive on scene to find Gordon.
Inside the module, Scott and Alan assemble the yellow submarine pods that are designed normally to support Thunderbird 4 in larger underwater rescues. Once their pair are inside their designated pods, Scott makes contact with FAB 1.
"The submarine pods are assembled," Scott explains, "Thanks for helping us, Lady Penelope."
"Don't give it another thought," Penelope says flatly after regaining some composure on the flight over, "Full speed ahead, Parker."
"Right you h'are, m'lady," Parker replies and gives FAB 1 straight into the ocean. Virgil then drops Module 2 into the water and Scott and Alan wait for the hatch to open for them before Scott presses a button to send both pods into the water.
"Submarine Pods are go!" Alan declares and they charge after FAB 1. It doesn't take them long for them to arrive at the source of Gordon's emergency beacon but only see two large molten rocks in front of them. "Holy shit!" Alan exclaims, "Thunderbird 4 is under that?"
"Oh, this is a lot worse than I thought, Marion?" Scott calls.
"Sensors are still picking up a pulse," Marion sniffs as she appears in holo-form, "But it's weak."
"How's Grandma doing?" Scott asks.
"As about as well as you could expect," Marion replies before ending the call to allow Scott to focus on the task in hand.
"We're going to have to work together on this," Scott states, "Alan, you and I will carefully lift the chimney. Lady Penelope, the second Thunderbird 4 is in the clear..."
"I'll get him," Penelope interrupts.
Scott and Alan then manoeuvre the pods to go either side of the large rock and they look across at each other once they both make contact with it. They uniformly give each other the nod and activate the 90° engines and start to lift it up.
"I see the ship!" Parker cries, "Now, m'lady!" A circular hole opens up in the floor of FAB 1 and Penelope jumps down and through before swimming towards Thunderbird 4.
Through the cracked glass and twisted metal, it is a miracle that Thunderbird 4's hull hadn't ruptured. "Oh, Gordon!" Penelope sighs as tears start to rush down her face at the sight. "I'm on my way!" she informs Scott as she gets close to the wreak.
As Gordon had put his helmet on before impact, it made rescuing him easier as Penelope could cut through the cracked glass and access him before safely transferring him over to FAB 1. She cuts through a large chunk and slowly removes the glass so the change in pressure on his body isn't so rapid that it would cause further damage.
Once fully removed, Penelope swoops in and puts an arm around her shoulders. "I have him!" she chocks out. Seeing him like this would certainly haunt her for the rest of her life. Scott gets a good look at Thunderbird 4 and decides there's no saving the craft. When Alan gave him the thumbs up to let him know that Penelope had cleared he responded with a nod to release the rock and leave Thunderbird 4. The pods then promptly return to the surface with FAB 1 just behind them.
"Hurry, Parker," Penelope sobs as she cradles Gordon's head, "Please."
"H'on h'our way, m'lady," Parker replies, "Gordon will be h'alright. I just know it."
The group regather in Module 2 and Scott helps Penelope put Gordon on a spinal board. Alan then brings over some medical equipment to assess the extent of Gordon's injuries. Scott then calls Sally as she would be best qualified to give a medical assessment, seeing as she was a doctor. Marion stands by her as their holograms appear on the med-bay table.
"Doing the med scan now, Grandma," Scott informs, "Stand by."
"Receiving," Sally mumbles.
"I can have him back on the island in less than 10 minutes," Virgil says determined.
"Virgil, no," Sally sniffs, "Forget about Tracy Island. You need to get that boy to a hospital. Now!"
June 18th, 2065 - 18:16 BST
In the skies above the Atlantic, the chance on the Chaos Crew continues with the periodic fire of missiles from the Cruiser. Due to Thunderbird Shadow's agility and stealth, Kayo easily gets the missiles onto her heat signature and away from the huge GDF Flyers. She gets them far away from them before doing evasive moves to get the missiles to crash into each other. However, in one case a missile gets too close to her and before she could react, the lead GDF Flyer swoops in and takes a hit from one of them.
"Rigby!" Kayo growls, "You didn't need to do that."
"I figured I owed you a few," Rigby responds as he assesses the damage to his craft, "Also, I don't think your family could go with another injury today.
"Don't do that again," Kayo replies, "I don't need dead GDF officers to be result of my actions."
She then fires forward and rapidly closes into the Chaos Cruiser before firing two electronic disablers at the purple flyer and making contact with it. It seems that the Chaos Crew noticed what Kayo had done and it starts to do several barrel rolls to shake them off. Kayo watches from a distance and sees one of her disablers come back flying towards her but the other seems to have remained stuck to the Cruiser.
"Huh," Kayo scoffs, "I only need one." Pressing a button on her console, she starts to gain control of the Chaos Cruiser in hope to fly it into London with the Chaos Crew and The Hood trapped inside. However, just as she's about to take full control she sees something open at the back.
"The Chaos Cruiser is opening a hatch," Kayo informs the GDF, "They're throwing something out." She watches and sees a robot fall out the back, "No! It's only Braman. The Hood's trying to distract me. He knows I have him."
"K-Kayo!" Brains cries as his hologram appears in front of her, "Save that robot!"
"What?" Kayo scoffs, shocked that Brains would want to save that bunch of scrap metal.
"There's no t-time to explain," Brains states, "You have to grab him."
"I'll lose my control lock," Kayo argues, "The Hood will get away!"
"This is m-more important," Brains cries, "Please trust me."
"Argh!" Kayo growls and starts a nose dive towards the ocean If Braman hit the water at his current speed, he'd be completely obliterated upon impact. It takes her no time to catch up to the robot and extends Thunderbird S's grasping arms. She pulls them forward and opens the claws. Slowing down a bit as they near the water, she manages to get Braman in a firm hold and levels off, skimming the surface of the ocean and start flying back to Tracy Island for Brains to have a look at him.
"This machine better be worth it!" Kayo cries.
"He will be," Brains reassures, "I'm certain. B-Bring Braman back to the island as soon as you can."
"I will, Brains," Kayo sighs, "Once I've explained to both MI6 and the GDF why I let the Chaos Crew get away."
June 19th, 2065 - 02:43 AEST
Ridley and John arrive at Sydney Hospital after taking a trip across to the mainland via Thunderbird 6. After asking a couple of doctors for directions they arrive in a room with 'Gordon Tracy' marked on the door. They walk through and find most of International Rescue there looking at a now conscious Gordon in a hospital bed all bandaged and plastered up. They slowly make their way over to his bed and stand next to Penelope.
"How is he?" Ridley asks.
"He'll live," Gordon croaks out.
"At least you didn't break your sense of humour," Nina laughs dryly.
"Just about the only thing I didn't," Gordon replies hoarsely.
"Hey, you sound like Horse now," Virgil jokes causing Gordon to roll his eyes.
"He'll be off his feet for a while," Sally explains to Ridley before turning to everyone else, "But that's nothing some rest and Grandma's home cooking can't fix."
"Maybe I could just stay here at the hospital instead?" Gordon coughs with a worried expression on his face, "We're only talking a few months, right?"
"Okay, everybody out," Sally orders, "Gordon needs some sleep."
"We'll be back to check on you later," Scott smiles with an arm wrapped tightly around Marion's waist before the pair leave. Only Penelope remained in the room, standing like a statue and staring at her feet. These a small silence before Gordon decides to break it.
"Hey," he whispers, "Thanks for saving my life today."
"I'm sure you would have done the same for me," Penelope waves off and looks around at everything but Gordon.
"Well, it is my job, you know," Gordon jokes weakly and reaches out and grabs Penelope's hand making her finally look at him with surprise. A light blush forms on her as she looks down at their intwined hands.
"Get better soon," Penelope smiles shyly, "If I'm not mistaken... I believe I owe you a cup of tea." It is now Gordon's turn to raise his eyebrows in surprise as Penelope walks away, taking one last look at Gordon before leaving the room.
"Did Lady Penelope just ask me out?"
June 19th, 2065 - 06:48 AEST
In Brains' lab, Brains, Kayo, Max and Braman were gathered. Brains is stilling at his desk going through the data that he had extracted from Braman's memory bank. Max whirs and beeps in curiosity at Braman, circling around him and getting a close look at this unfamiliar robot.
"Max, this is your b-big brother," Brains explains.
"So, what exactly are we looking for?" Kayo demands, cutting to the chase.
"I've extracted the relevant data from the Calypso's d-deep space mission, but I believe B-Braman is the key to understanding it," Brains explains and brings up a hologram for Kayo to view, "Here it is."
"Emergency. Emergency. Situation... critical," Braman repeats.
"That's the same distress call he's been making over and over," Kayo growls and folds her arms in annoyance. She leans on the wall next to her and looks between Brains and Braman.
"Yes, but you see," Brains starts, "This c-computer code proves that the message didn't originate with Braman. He's been repeating an SOS from someone else. The d-data logs from the Calypso show that it was p-picked up at the furthest point in the deep space mission."
"But that would mean that the distress call was coming from outside this solar system," Kayo says confused and walks around to stand next to Brains, "That's impossible!"
"Wait!" Brains cries and starts to rapidly type, "There's something else in the SOS signal. It's heavily encrypted."
"I see it!" Kayo adds as she takes a closer look at the hologram in front of her, "Brains, that's one of our encryptions."
"I can d-decode it," Brains states, "F... A... B-B!" There's a tense pause and Brains slowly looks and faces Kayo with fear in his eyes, something Kayo has never seen from Brains before. "K-Kayo... this could only come from one p-person..."
Kayo's eyes then widen in realisation at what Brains is getting up and looks back at the message in alarm, "Jeff Tracy!"
"He may still be alive!"
"Is anybody out there? I'm all alone..."