February 26th, 2066 - 09:37 GMT
In the weeks following the incident with the tanker in the Southern Ocean, Gordon and Penelope started dating officially. Everyone on the island are both happy and relieved that the pair finally had the guts to admit their feelings for one another as, in Alan's words, "the sexual tension was unbearable." But as Gordon started making comments about him and Kayo, Alan quickly shut up.
With the grand opening of Thunderbird 10 only days away, Scott made the decision to make International Rescue more public. In a world's first, they would attend the prestigious Global Airshow, that Jeff Tracy once took part in, in the TV-21. This meant that for the first time ever, every Thunderbird would be on display for the live TV cameras that would stream the show to millions around the world. It is on cause to be the highest watched airshow of all time.
Understandably, Scott is nervous about show for the cameras, but Marion reassured him that everything will be fine. Scott hopes so as he has a lot going on in his mind with the construction of the Zero-XL also nearing completion and several meetings that he has with the GDF and World Council he needs to plan for.
Scott takes in a deep breath as he puts the TV broadcast on a small screen in Thunderbird 1 as he awaits the cue to see the Thunderbird's appearing on the TV. With one last look down as he collects himself, Scott pulls down the shoulder restraints on his chair.
"International Rescue, status report. Call it in," Scott orders, "Thunderbird 1 is ready."
"Thunderbird 2, standing by," Virgil replies.
"Thunderbird 3..." Alan trails.
"Good to go," Kayo confirms.
"Thunderbird 4, prepared for launch," Gordon jokes.
"Thunderbird 5, receiving," John continues.
"Thunderbird 6 is RAD," Brains shouts.
"Thunderbird 7, ready to fly," Marion smirks.
"Thunderbird 8, has all systems go," Nina states.
"Thunderbird 9, is here," Sally says.
"Thunderbird 10, watching from above," Ridley smiles, "Good luck today."
"Wait," Gordon cries, "Hold everything!"
Everyone pauses and looks over to Thunderbird 4 and some see different holo-screens light up from inside the cockpit before Gordon appears out the back of the submarine.
"Scott, I need you to scan the area," Gordon sniffs, "I think... I think I smell... hot dogs." Scott facepalms as he watches Gordon walk around outside Thunderbird 4 sniffing the air around him and lets out a sigh.
"They seem to be coming from somewhere over there," Gordon continues and points down to the entrance of the control centre of Cloudbase where the spectators and airshow personnel are located. Suddenly, a loud feedback sound is heard and everyone at IR looks around as the announcer starts to speak. Scott looks down at the TV screen and sees that the opening titles were starting. They are about to go live!
"Ladies and Gentlemen of all ages, please make your way inside the viewing boxes. We are about to begin," the announcer states, "The World Airshow is pleased to present to you, on display to the public for the first time ever..."
"Gordon, get your ass inside," Scott growls over the coms.
"Okay, okay!" Gordon groans, "FAB."
"...the Thunderbirds!" the announcer finishes.
"Here we fucking go," Scott mutters over the coms, "The world is now watching."
5... 4... 3... 2... 1... Thunderbirds are Go!
"Normally, I've been told, you'd have to be in terrible danger to get this close to a Thunderbird, but nobody needs rescuing today..." the announcer continues, before joking, "We hope." He pauses as he lets out a little laugh before clearing his throat and progressing, "It's just a little joke, folks. Now, if you check your view screens carefully, you might just see the brave pilots who, well, you know, pilot these amazing crafts. And if you know which is which please inform a member of staff because I have literally no idea."
The announcer continues his commentary of the event as the members of International Rescue get out of their Thunderbirds and start walking around the large platform where they are on display. Alan and Kayo walk over to Virgil who is exiting Thunderbird 2, with Alan having an arm around Kayo's waist. Kayo is feeling a lot happier now that she has spent a few weeks back on Tracy Island and not over in Washington DC in meetings with both the GDF and US Government. It meant that her relationship with Alan has been steadily improving after a couple of rough patches that left either her or Alan upset.
As they reach Virgil, the older Tracy brother licks the tip of his thumb and wipes it on Alan's right check causing the younger brother to recoil in disgust while Kayo stifles a laugh.
"Oh, come on, Virg!" Alan groans.
"We've got to look our best," Virgil states as Nina approaches the group and gives Virgil a kiss on the cheek before clinging onto his right arm.
"Virgil's right," Nina nods, "It's not every day International Rescue makes a guest appearance."
On the other side of the platform by Thunderbird 1, Scott, Marion and Gordon were gathering. Brains and Sally had spoken to Scott and would head inside the main control centre and would mingle with the guests and media to save either Scott or Marion doing it. Scott fiddles with his chair before turning around to face the pair in front of him.
"I don't like all this attention," Scott states.
"Relax, Scott," Gordon brushes off, "They're not here to see us. They're only interested in the Thunderbirds."
"Thanks for coming," a voice calls and they turn around to see Penelope making her way over, "I know public displays aren't usually what we do at International Rescue."
"Ugh, this all feels like a waste of time. We should be focused on finding Dad," Scott complains.
"Scott, we can't do anything until Brains gets that drive engine working," Marion indicates, "Meanwhile, we've still got a rescue organisation to run."
"And one of our jobs is helping people feel safe," Penelope adds, "You may not have noticed, but your rescues have attracted a large number of fans, eager to see you in person.
"Wait, we have fans?" Alan asks surprised as he walks over with Kayo, eager to get away from Virgil, who had intended to start combing his hair in front of the cameras.
"Indeed," Penelope says, "In fact, you're going to get the chance to meet one of them right now."
"Oh, do you think they'll want my autograph? Man, I knew I should have practised," Alan jokes and Kayo playfully nudges him in the side.
"You'll be lucky if they even know which Tracy you are," Kayo smirks. In response, Alan just rolls his eyes but smiles back before giving Kayo a quick peck on the lips.
"Ugh," Scott grumbles and looks away from the young couple, "I'm heading back into Thunderbird 1."
"Now walking across the tarmac, we have the lucky winner of our 'Meet a Thunderbird' competition," the announcer suddenly says over the loudspeaker causing the group, bar Scott, to look over to one of the shows staff and a little boy holding a Thunderbird 3 model, "He's... Er... Ah! Tom Colusky."
"Pleased to meet you I'm..." Alan starts but stops as the boy walks right past him and over to Penelope who crouches down in front of him.
"Uh-huh," Penelope nods as the boy whispers into her ear, "That's right. Alan Bartlett Tracy. Hm. His birthday is March the 12th. Uh-huh. And he likes gaming, snowboarding and mountain biking.
"Oh-ho," Alan chuckles and nudges Kayo, "See, he knew which one I was."
"Ooh, do me next," Gordon calls, raising his arm and jumping up and down like a small child himself.
"Mm-hm. Gordon Cooper Tracy," Penelope starts with a chuckle as Tom begins to whisper into her ear again, "Specialises in underwater search and rescue. Mmm, can swim the 100-metre butterfly in 51.2 seconds."
"Did it in 50 flat once, but no one was there to see it," Gordon says dejected.
"You must be a pretty big fan and know all that stuff about us," Kayo states suspiciously.
"Remember, you wanted to meet a Thunderbird, well here they are," Penelope indicates to Tom, "Thunderbirds 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8 and 9."
"Tell us, Tom. Which one's your favourite?" Gordon asks.
"Tom says Thunderbird 1 is awesome because its top speed is 15,000 miles an hour," Penelope relays.
"Yeah, but does it go into space?" Alan queries leading to him getting punched hard in the left shoulder by Kayo, "Hey!"
"But he thinks Thunderbird 2 is good because of its pod module," Penelope continues as Tom whispers some more into her ear.
"Yeah, but can it go underwater?" Gordon asks but quickly backs out, "Oh, it can."
"Thunderbird 3 is cool because of its ion drive particle accelerator," Penelope says.
"And because it can, you know, go into space," Alan laughs but only receives a harsher elbow by Kayo and her famous glare, which quickly shut him up.
"No influence in the decision," Kayo glares.
"But Tom's favourite is... Thunderbird 4," Penelope informs and looks over to Gordon with a smile making Gordon both smile and blush back.
"Thunderbird 4, why?" Alan inquires.
"Because it's the only one you can play with in the bath," Penelope states as she stands up again and Tom shuffles closer to her leg.
"Oh yeah," Alan chuckles.
"Can't argue with that," Gordon beams.
"Ahem, I think you're forgetting one," Kayo pipes up, "What about Thunderbird Shadow?" They turn around to a large blank area of the platform that had been left empty for Thunderbird S, but the craft is nowhere in sight. "It's in stealth mode," Kayo adds.
"Did you even bring Thunderbird S?" Alan whispers.
"I'll never tell," Kayo replies sweetly.
Suddenly, a loud rush of air is heard from above and Tom grabs onto Penelope's arm and excitedly points over to an incoming craft. The group looks over as a white and yellow airplane approaches the long runway of Cloudbase.
"That isn't a Thunderbird," Penelope laughs at Tom's antics.
"Please, give a big World Airshow welcome to the latest high-speed jet from Kwark Aeronautics, the Icarus," the announcer declares, "Designed and piloted by Professor Kwark herself. How about a few words for the crowd, professor?"
A small camera probe approaches the Icarus as the cockpit opens up and Professor Kwark stands up in her seat for everyone to see.
"It's an honour to be here," Kwark states.
Well, there you have it," the announcer says, "Thank you, Professor. Now listen up, because this screen I'm reading tells me that we've got a surprise for you. Our main event, Professor Kwok will attempt to break the world air speed record right before our very eyes. Now, that sounds exciting."
"Aww, I thought we were the main event," Alan sighs.
"Selfless heroism, little bro. Selfless heroism," Gordon mumbles in defeat.
They watch as the Icarus starts to turn around and prepares to taxi up the runway once again. Penelope puts a protective hand on Tom's shoulder to prevent him running off towards the Icarus as she starts to fire up. Alan and Gordon widen their eyes in surprise at the aircraft as it starts to move down the runway, picking up speed at a tremendous pace. However, Kayo narrows her eyes as the Icarus leaves the runway and retracts her landing gear. A gut feeling inside of her told her that something isn't right. The last person to break the world speed record was Jeff Tracy in the TV-21 and even that had almost ended in disaster.
"Look at the Icarus go!" the announcer shouts as the crowd inside the control centre start clapping and cheering at the sight, "The Icarus is a highly complicated jet, with... Erm... Ah! As I'm sure you've figured out by now, I'm not much of a plane person, but I can tell you it's very, very shiny!"
"What's up with this announcer?" Gordon questions.
"Last minute replacement, the usual person got sick," Penelope explains.
"Where'd they get this guy? A dog show," Alan jokes, sarcastically.
"Actually, yes," Penelope replies causing Alan to do a double take before blinking rapidly at the revelation, "Come on, Tom. Let's have a closer look at Thunderbird 4."
"If you ask nicely, I might even let you fire the impellers," Gordon smiles warmly. However, Tom gives Penelope a little tug causing her to drop down again so he could whisper into her ear.
"Gordon, apparently Tom would like to watch the Icarus instead," Penelope stumbles over her words, a little shocked.
"He does?" Gordon asks, "Me too. Hang on, I'll hook it up."
Gordon leads Penelope and Tom over to Thunderbird 4 and opens up the passenger compartment at the back allowing them to enter. He briefly disappears into the cockpit and the holo-screens in the back then flicker into lift as a holo-image of Icarus comes up for everyone to see. Gordon then appears again and crouches down next to Tom.
"There we go. Using Thunderbird 5'd scanners, we can monitor the Icarus' flight path," Gordon informs. The pair watch as the Icarus levels out at 120,000 feet going at Mach 10 before rapidly speeding up again. It goes past Mach 15, then 19, then 20. The acceleration starts to decrease but it is only a matter of seconds before it breaks the record.
"Mach 21!" the announcer calls, "Kwark has done it! Yes, the Icarus is now displaying in aviation history!"
The crowd cheer and celebrate from inside the control centre. On the Thunderbird platform Scott walks out of Thunderbird 1 and looks over to the trailing flight path of the Icarus. Marion rests her head on his left shoulder as Virgil and Nina approach.
"That was Dad's record she just broke," Scott mutters as he hears footsteps from behind him.
"And no one would be more excited to see it broken than him," Virgil states.
"Hmm," Scott sighs and looks down but quickly looks up again as a new voice comes over the loudspeaker.
"Icarus to ground. Icarus to ground. I have a situation," the voice of Professor Kwark calls.
A frown forms on every member of International Rescue and they quickly run to action stations. There is a small area of Cloudbase that was made specifically for International Rescue. In the early days of the organisation, Jeff would use Cloudbase as a refuelling and communications station. Scott remembered the way to the control room and hoped that everything is still in working order as it hadn't been used since the mid-2050s. While they were rushing over, John prepares to link private communications between IR and the Icarus.
"Icarus, this is International Rescue," John calls, "Explain your situation."
"Icarus thrusters is not responding," Kwark explains, "Scramjet is locked at full power. I—I can't slow down."
"The Icarus isn't slowing," the announcer declares to the crowd creating an atmosphere of shock and fear from inside the control centre, "What's Kwark doing? She's in serious trouble. S—S—She's got to bail out! Abandon ship! Get her a parachute or something!"
"Who the fuck hired this guy, he knows nothing about high-speed aerodynamics," Nina growls in frustration.
"Kwark can't bail out at that speed, it's far too dangerous," Marion adds.
"He's going to panic the crowd talking like that," Alan mutters.
"Somebody should shut him up," Scott agrees.
"I'd be delighted," Penelope calls as she enters the control room with Gordon and Tom in tow, "Tom! Why don't you come with me?"
Penelope goes to lead Tom out of the control room but as she goes to grab his hand, Tom suddenly latches onto Gordon and refuses to let go. Penelope frowns briefly but then grins with a twinkle in her eyes as she looks at the sight in front of her with Gordon looking after Tom.
"It's okay," Gordon says, "He can stick with me."
"Right," Kayo calls out as the double doors she walked through crashes against the walls. This causes everyone to look over to her as she strides across the room with a sense of purpose and authority. She heads over to the panel where Alan is standing at and displays a hologram of the Icarus' flight path. "At this speed, I calculate the Icarus can only circle two more times before it runs out of fuel," Kayo informs.
"What happens then?" Nina inquires.
"Then, the Icarus would become the world's fastest chunk of falling metal," Marion replies.
"Guess it's time for Thunderbird 1 to make an appearance," Virgil nods at Scott who rushes towards the exit.
"It's your lucky day. You're about to see a Thunderbird in action," Gordon says to Tom as the pair take a seat in the corner of the room. The doors behind Scott swiftly close as he disappears around the corner.
"Shit!" Alan cries and everyone turns to Alan to glare at him as there is a child present.
"What?" Nina asks, keeping a scowl.
"The Icarus is currently going at Mach 23, but Thunderbird 1's top speed is only Mach 19.5," Alan quickly explains, "He's not going to make it."
February 26th, 2066 - 10:11 GMT
Outside, Scott charges towards Thunderbird 1 and opens up the cockpit, lowering his seat. He jumps into it and immediately starts to press on the controls bringing him back inside. After a few more switches, Thunderbird 1 burst into life. Over the loudspeaker, Penelope takes over from the announcer, who is only making the crowed more worried at this point.
"Ladies and gentlemen, as a special treat, International Rescue will now perform an exciting display of their life-saving techniques," Penelope announces to the crowd's relief.
"Thunderbird 1 is go," Scott calls over the International Rescue coms.
Inside the control room, Virgil and Marion pace around the room trying to come up with a solution to the speed problem. There are several options that could be considered by the chances of any of them actually working were all slim.
"Brains," Nina calls, pressing down on her satchel, "Would Thunderbird 7 be able to slow down the Icarus?"
"I-In theory, yes," Brains confirms, "Thunderbird 7 has a m-maximum speed of Mach 35.19. However, I'm n-not sure that it would have the ability to slow down the Icarus. The craft is s-simply too s-small."
"Great," Marion mumbles, "I'll have her started up as backup. You never know."
"Good luck," Alan nods and watches as Marion leaves in the same direction that Scott had gone earlier.
"I'm plotting an intercept course with the Icarus for Thunderbird 1," Kayo informs everyone and presses her wrist communicator, "Scott, if you can attach Thunderbird 1 to the Icarus, the added drag will hopefully slow it down."
"Then Kwark should be able to eject safely," Scott continues, getting onto the same wavelength, "FAB." Scott then flips a switch to his right and the cargo bay doors underneath Thunderbird 1 open up and the main attaching cable is lowered. He then opens a new channel with the Icarus, "Professor Clark, this is International Rescue. Hold tight. We're going to attempt to latch onto you."
"No, I only have limited manoeuvrability at this speed," Kwark informs.
"Leave the manoeuvring to me. My aim's pretty good," Scott responds.
February 26th, 2066 - 10:18 GMT
Inside the control centre, the tension builds, with Alan being especially worried for his brother.
"It's gonna be like catching a cannonball in mid-air," Alan states.
Kayo swats Alan's arm and points over to Tom who is currently in conversation with Gordon.
"We don't want to scare the kid," Kayo whispers harshly. Alan frowns and turns back to the monitor in front of him. The Icarus should be coming into Thunderbird 1's view at any moment.
"Here we go," Scott announces as the distance between the two craft go from 1,000s of metres to 100s, "Firing tow cable." The cable is fired with great precision and makes contact with the centre of the Icarus. Scott lets out grunt as Thunderbird 1 makes a sharp turn due to the speeds involved and is beginning to be dragged along by the Icarus. "Ugh! Bullseye."
"Scott," Alan calls, "It's working, the Icarus is slowing down."
"Mach 22.5... 21.7... 21.2," Kwark states as they begin to slow down. But all is not well. The Icarus starts to shake and the tow cable between Thunderbird 1 and the Icarus starts to go tauter than before with a springing sound being here. It is clear that the tendons at the ends of each cable were starting to fail. "International Rescue, something's wrong."
"Kayo... Alan, what's happening?" Scott asks.
"The drag of Thunderbird 1 has made the Icarus unstable," Kayo informs, "Scott, Brains has told me you've got to detach or you'll both come down.
"Ugh," Scott grunts and releases the cable before closing the bay doors, "FAB."
February 26th, 2066 - 10:23 GMT
"So, anyone got any ideas?" Kayo asks.
"I could try to trap the Icarus in a nano net," Virgil suggests.
"No chance," Nina explains, "At that speed, the Icarus would rip a hole right through it."
"Thunderbird 3 could catch up with the Icarus," Alan suggests, "She can reach .25 the speed of light."
"But not in atmosphere, only in space," Virgil counters, "In atmosphere she can only do Mach 13."
"So, send the Icarus into space," Alan replies.
"Kwark is wearing a high-pressure flight suit. She could survive a short space flight," Kayo agrees and starts to do the calculations on the large monitor that covered the back wall before letting out a frustrated sigh, "Hmm. Won't work. At that speed, the Icarus can only climb by fractions. It couldn't achieve the angle to jump into space."
In the corner of the room, Tom tugs on Gordon's arm. Gordon lowers his head to allow Tom to whisper into his ear about an idea. After a few moments, Gordon sits up right again and shakes his head, with a small frown forming on his face.
"A ramp?" Gordon questions, "Sorry, Tom. This isn't like jumping something on your bike, and anyway, we don't have anything to make a ramp out of."
However, Virgil and Nina jerk their heads over in their direction before turning to each other, seemingly having a silent conversation between them. Virgil then smiles and nods his head in agreement. The couple then turn back to Gordon and Tom.
"Clouds! We could use clouds!" Nina exclaims.
"Clouds?" Alan inquires as Virgil closes all the windows that Kayo had opened before creating a quick simulation to show everyone.
"Not clouds themselves," Nina explains, while Virgil works at the computer, "But the air pressure changes they create. They could bump the Icarus enough to send it up through the atmosphere and into space. Just like a ramp."
"Thanks, Tom," Virgil states and the couple quickly head out towards the platform, "It's a great idea."
February 26th, 2066 - 10:27 GMT
They race onto the platform and Virgil presses onto his wrist controller and lowers the passenger platform of Thunderbird 2. The couple hop on, and they quickly disappear inside Thunderbird 2. Once inside, Virgil races to the pilot seat while Nina heads down into the module to configure the equipment. Doing the pre-flight checks, Virgil then spins Thunderbird 2 around 180o before firing up the main thrusters. Over the loudspeaker, Lady Penelope continues her commentary of the rescue.
"Please direct your attention to the view screen as Thunderbird 2 prepares for a thrilling take off," Penelope calls.
Thunderbird 2 starts to slowly move down the runway in an effort to gain horizontal speed as fast as he could to avoid wasting the little time that is left before the Icarus comes crashing down to Earth. Once Thunderbird 2 has accelerated enough, and with the runway length disappearing rapidly, Virgil activates the VTOL thrusters. In an instant, the large green Thunderbird takes off and follows a path that John has calculated from Thunderbird 5 that will be on an intercept course with the Icarus.
"Thunderbird 2 is go," Virgil informs.
"I'm almost out of fuel," Kwark states, "International Rescue, whatever you're doing, you better do it fast."
"Virgil, what's the plan?" Kayo inquires.
"I need to spray a layer of water vapour across the Icarus' flight path," Virgil explains.
"Okay, but you only have one shot," Alan states, "This is the Icarus' last run."
"Marion, prepare Thunderbird 7 in case this fails," Kayo orders, "We will need someone to extract Kwark."
"FAB," Marion replies from Thunderbird 7's cockpit and fires up her thrusters before taking off in a similar direction to Thunderbird 2.
February 26th, 2066 - 10:31 GMT
Nina rushes out of the module and jumps into the co-pilots seat next to Virgil. She presses a few buttons on the control unit in front of her before turning to Virgil.
"The drop-down turret is ready," Nina states.
"FAB," Virgil says and pulls a lever, "Activating water cannon."
Water vapour starts to fire out of the turret, creating a large trail of vapour that hangs in the atmosphere. Virgil takes Thunderbird 2 back and forth a few times before a larger cloud starts to form. Soon, a ramp shape begins to form, just like in the holo-diagrams that Virgil showed everyone earlier.
"The Icarus is inbound," Nina informs.
"Thunderbird 2 moving out," Virgil confirms and leaves the scene to avoid any collision with the Icarus.
"Professor Kwark," Nina calls, "When the Icarus hits that cloud layer, get ready for heavy turbulence."
"Got it," Kwark replies.
Everyone watches as the Icarus zooms directly into the cloud that Thunderbird 2 had made before disappearing. The crowd inside the control centre gasp in shock as they wonder what is happening with the Icarus.
"Come on, fluid dynamics," Gordon mumbles as he and Tom look at the monitor. Alan and Kayo had disappeared from the control room to make their way into Thunderbird 3. After a few tense seconds, the Icarus appears at the top of the cloud, now increasing in altitude, "It worked. Way to go, Tom. No need for fuel now. Momentum will do the rest."
"Okay, Thunderbird 3. We're up," Kayo nods across to Alan as the couple's seats pull up to the controls.
"Let's give this crowd something to cheer about," Alan jokes and fires up Thunderbird 3. A large plumb of smoke erupts from the base of Thunderbird 3. With no blast doors surrounding the Thunderbird, like on Tracy Island, the smoke spreads out covering a large portion of Cloudbase, preventing anyone from seeing anything out their window. The large space rocket launches and heads into space. As Alan works at the controls, Kayo sits working on a flight trajectory and hands the communications.
"Professor Kwark," Kayo calls, "You're about to lead the Earth's atmosphere but don't worry, your suit will protect you." Kayo watches on her screen as the Icarus levels off and faces the sun. "Guess you didn't think you were going to be an astronaut when you woke up this morning," Kayo jokes, "How's that suit holding?"
"Pressure's good," Kwark informs, "But I only have a minute of air left."
"Don't worry, Professor," Alan interjects, "Thunderbird 3 is on its way."
"Icarus in range," Kayo says as they see the Icarus appear in front of them, "1,000 metres and closing."
Thunderbird 3 charges towards the Icarus. They watch as the Icarus starts to spark and shake. Alan grits his teeth and adds more thrust to Thunderbird 3's main engines. Inside the Icarus, Kwark lets go of the controls as they go haywire, with sparks of electricity going everywhere. Behind her, she smells smoke.
"The Icarus wasn't designed for zero pressure flight. It's coming apart," Kwark cries.
"We only need it to hold together for a few more seconds," Alan grunts and turns to Kayo, "Deploying grasping arms."
The three grasping arms are released from the sides of Thunderbird 3 and come around to face forwards. Alan adjusts Thunderbird 3 slightly so one of the arms is directly behind the Icarus. "Almost got it," Alan shouts. He manages to grab onto the Icarus, but the failing aircraft continues to break apart. A large part of the Icarus breaks off and hits the grasping claw that had attached to the Icarus' engines, detaching Thunderbird 3.
"There's no time. I have to eject," Kwark replies. The couple watch as the cockpit opens up and Kwark's pilot seat flies out. The Icarus continues to head forward at beyond Mach 24 before exploding. A large, brightening fireball erupts and from Earth it looked like there were two suns for a moment.
"Shit," Alan cries and exits his seat, going to the back of the cockpit to collect his Astro-board, "Kayo take over the flight controls."
"FAB," Kayo responds and hops into Alan's seat.
"Surfs up," Alan mumbles to himself and exits Thunderbird 3, "Astro-board-style."
Alan charges towards Kwark's chair before he sees her separate from it. The chair goes in one direction while Kwark goes off in another. Holding down on the switches on his belt, Alan propels himself towards Kwark as she spins rapidly uncontrollably. As he closes in, Alan reaches out and grabs onto Kwark.
"Gotcha!" Alan sighs in relief.
"Alan, what's your status?" he hears Scott call into his com, but Alan decides not to reply as he focuses on getting Kwark into Thunderbird 3 before her air runs out. Kayo pulls Thunderbird 3 up alongside Alan, and opens the cargo bay doors, allowing for Alan to enter inside Thunderbird 3. He then reaches for his satchel and presses down on the IR logo.
"This is Thunderbird 3. We have Professor Clark. This rescue is wrapped and rolled," Alan announces, not knowing that his com unit had been connected to Cloudbase's loudspeaker system.
"They did it," the announcer says, "International Rescue did it."
"Ladies and gentlemen, we present to you the Thunderbirds," Penelope adds.
"Well, Scott, can we?" Gordon asks as he joins everyone else alongside Tom on the platform with the other Thunderbirds.
"Okay, just this once," Scott sighs and every member of IR, including Brains and Sally wave to the crowd in front of them and take a bow.
February 26th, 2066 - 16:49 GMT
It is now the evening, and everyone had headed home, except for Professor Kwark and International Rescue. Kwark walks alongside Scott and Marion as Scott prepares to take off in Thunderbird 1 and head back to Tracy Island.
"Thank you, International Rescue," Kwark says, "I guess it's back to the drawing board for the Icarus."
"You're welcome, professor," Scott replies, "We're just glad we were on hand to help."
"And look on the bright side," Marion adds, "For a moment, the Icarus was the official fastest jet in aviation history."
"We managed to give the fans quite a show," Penelope says as she approaches the group. This causes Kwark to give off a small smile before frowning.
"What do you mean official fastest jet?" Kwark inquires.
February 26th, 2066 - 16:50 GMT
Over by Thunderbird 4, Alan and Kayo were keeping an eye on Tom as Gordon packed away Thunderbird 4's equipment. Tom is perched on one of Thunderbird 4's engines and holding onto Kayo's upper right arm.
"Come on, Tom," Alan starts, "Now you've seen the Thunderbirds in action up close, is Thunderbird 4 really still your favourite?"
Tom thinks for a moment before shaking his head. Alan smiles and looks at Kayo smirking.
"Ah, ha, ha! I knew it!" Alan celebrates, "So? Which one do you like?"
"I like Thunderbird..." Tom trails before turning around and pointing to a blank area of the platform, "Shadow."
"Thunderbird Shadow?" Alan cries is disbelief and Kayo lets out a laugh before high-fiving Tom, "Thunderbird shadow? Are you kidding me? It isn't even here."
"Thanks, Tom," Kayo smiles and gives Tom a hug, "I knew I liked you for a reason."
"Fans who needs them?" Alan grumbles and starts to walk away onto to hit something hard and fall to the floor. "Ow!" Kayo and Tom laugh hysterically as Alan rubs his forehead.
"Maybe Thunderbird S is here after all," Kayo giggles.
"Motherfucker," Alan whispers to himself.