Birdwatching

Grey braced as Sable took the SPJ into the air. With his less extensive flight training, it was his job to go over the instruments and the flight rules for the day. “Circle down to… 10,000 feet, heading 120 degree east. Then the autopilot can take it from there.”

“SIG.” By contrast, he could tell that Sable was no stranger to the pilot’s seat. Even inside the highly advanced SPJ, there was no sign of discomfort or uncertainty. It opened up the question of what their life had been like before joining Spectrum.

“Airspeed steady at 700kph, we can bring her up to mach 2 at 10,000 feet. That makes our ETA… 0930 hours.” Grey sat back in his seat and stretched a little, while Sable raised an eyebrow at the ETA. Even Spectrum’s passenger craft were ridiculous. They also shuffled in their seat a little in preparation for the flight.

“We’ll be making good time then.”

“Mhmm, these are fast aircraft.” Grey glanced over, wondering if it was worth risking a question. He decided it was better than dead silence. “Does it handle differently to what you’re used to?”

He spied a faint eyebrow twitch, but Sable remained stoic otherwise. “It does. Certainly not the kind of speed I’m used to.”

“Were you a military or commercial pilot​?”

Sable was silent for perhaps too long. Long enough that Grey started to give up on receiving an answer. Then they spoke, with no small amount of discomfort. “Air Force.”

Grey raised an eyebrow. A picture was starting to form in his mind. “But not a fighter pilot.” Sable raised a hard eyebrow at him at this assertion and he shrugged. “You said you weren’t used to the speed.”

Sable’s hands tensed slightly. “I did.” They kept their eyes trained forward. “I worked in intelligence. So no, I didn’t fly a lot of jets.”

“Ah, so it was more…” Grey had to focus to pull up the right craft. Not his scene, after all. “AEWs, UAVs, that sort of thing?”

“Mhmm.”

It wasn’t hard for him to catch that Captain Sable didn’t have much passion for their old line of work. In fact, they looked a little tense just talking about it. With that in mind, Grey decided it was only fair to offer something back. “I was a submariner myself, with the WASP.”

Sable glanced at him again. “Dangerous work.”

“So I’ve been told. Fortunately, all I walked away with was a chronic ear ache and some.. Lingering back trouble.”

“And that wasn’t enough to stop Spectrum from taking you for themselves.”

For a split second, Sable’s tone made Grey hesitate, but he brushed past it as best he could. “Actually, I’m pretty sure they caught wind I was stuck in a desk job and offered me this position instead. They knew I’d bite.”

Sable scoffed. “Lucky you.”

There wasn’t a shred of positivity in those words. In fact, to Grey, they sounded a little bitter. It made him eye them carefully as he risked another question. “What about you? What did you think when you received the offer?”

Again, Sable didn’t answer. For a moment, they didn’t plan on answering at all. Then it occurred to them that, maybe, having a bit of the truth circling amongst the other officers might it easier to be left in peace. “I rejected it, at first.”

Grey’s eyebrows hit the roof. “No kidding? Do you mind if I ask why?”

Sable shrugged their shoulders lightly. “Just looked like more military crap to me.”

“You… Can’t have enjoyed your time in the air force if that’s what you thought.”

This time, at least, the huff that escaped Sable was cynically amused. “Ten years of my life I’ll never get back.”

“I see.” Grey settled into a frown, his mind buzzing with each new piece of information. “So why join Spectrum?”

“Colonel White makes an irritating amount of sense.” Sable responded without hesitation, and Grey couldn’t help but smirk.

“You’re right, he does.”

“It’s not a bad thing, I respect it. I know where I stand with him.”

Grey nodded. “The Colonel has earned the respect of every one of us, in some way or another.” He had to stop talking for a moment when he felt the SPJ increase in speed, as Sable throttled up to prepare for mach 2. He straightened up in his seat. “Ah, 10,000 feet. Configuring autopilot now.”

Grey dialed in their destination while Sable spared a glance to monitor his work and, once the autopilot was set up, they waited for confirmation. When the display finally flashed the okay that they could relax on the controls, they did so with a heavy sigh. They didn’t really relax in their seat, however. Grey couldn’t help but wonder, based on what he’d learned, if Sable was capable of relaxing at all. He eyed them carefully, spying the tension on their shoulders, the unwillingness to even turn to look in his direction. “I… Hope you realise we’re not just soldiers. That is, you’re not stepping back into that kind of life by joining Spectrum.”

“… I’ll believe it when I see it.”

“That’s alright. We have a lot to prove to each other, don’t we?” Grey offered a halfway smile and a nod of understanding. “It’s a big adjustment, joining an organisation like this. It’s a tough choice to make.”

“I did make the choice.” Sable responded too quickly, and it caused them to frown. Grey caught the shift in their expression, and with a sigh they acquiesced to the scrutiny. Just a little. “It just didn’t feel like much of a choice, at the time. I can’t imagine the Colonel shows up on people’s doorsteps very often.”

Once again, Grey felt his eyebrows slam upwards. “He came to see you personally?”

“Once he figured out the usual recruitment lines weren’t going to work on me, yeah.”

Grey exhaled and shook his head. “Colonel White is a determined man. If he thinks that something or,” he glanced over, “Someone is a necessary asset, I don’t know what could stop him.”

Sable hummed in agreement. They knew exactly what that necessity was. “When I’m not needed in the field, I’m going to be working on developments and improvements to your electronic weaponry.”

Grey’s lips parted in realisation. The pieces were starting to fit together. “Now, that makes sense. The Mysteron gun is still experimental technology.”

“I can tell.” Sable deadpanned. “It works, but it’s not exactly practical, is it? It’ll be my job to fix that.”

“You mean you’ve already tested it?”

“Of course.” Sable actually looked at Grey this time, even if it was quizzical. “If I didn’t know how to use it, I wouldn’t have asked for it for today’s mission.”

“Well sure, we’ve all had the training, but only Captain Scarlet has actually fired the real thing.”

Sable scoffed again. “Well, I have actual experience in electronic warfare. I think White’s hope is that the operation of the equipment will become my specialty.”

“That’s… Quite the responsibility. Do you think you’re up for it?”

“Wouldn’t be here otherwise.”

“Good answer.”

With the SPJ now in a stable, high-altitude cruise, Grey unbuckled his seatbelt to sit forward and stretch his back a little. He looked at Sable and attempted a more lighthearted smile. “Do you have any initial ideas for the Mysteron gun? A more original name, perhaps?”

“Make it smaller, to start off with.” They replied with a grimace. “It’s so bulky. Not my style, for certain. And the weight of it means it’s impractical for field work. I mean, what if we have to chase a Mysteron?” Strangely, talking about work specifics was cracking through Sable’s demeanour, bit by bit.

“That’s a good point. In its current form, it kinda turns the user into a walking turret. Not ideal for close quarters engagements.” Grey shuffled in his seat to face Sable more fully. “From what I understand, the main bulk of the thing is the central column, but a tonne of shielding is required to prevent the user from being electrocuted.”

“It also makes it impossible to conceal, which doesn’t exactly fit my intelligence background.” Sable wrinkled their nose. “Miniaturising the weapon is one option, but there have to be other, alternative means of delivering the required voltage. I suppose I need some first-hand knowledge to truly judge what we need.”

“I imagine with your briefing, you know as much as the rest of us. Which is frustratingly little, really.”

“A brief can only impart so much. When it comes to information gathering, seeing is believing.” Sable huffed and pinched the bridge of their nose. “I probably shouldn’t be implicitly wishing for us to encounter trouble, but how else are we supposed to learn anything about our enemy?”

“Always on the back foot, that’s where the Mysterons like to keep us.” Grey’s eyes drifted back to the view out of the window. The clouds below were still thick and dour. “I sometimes wonder if we’ll ever understand them.”

Sable joined him in staring at the ominous view. “We can damn well try.”

After landing at the airport, Sable and Grey found a Spectrum Saloon waiting for them to take them to the command centre set up inside Suez’s main administrative building. They swiped their IDs against the intercom and were escorted inside by a Spectrum guard. They entered the room overlooking the second checkpoint across the canal. The guard alerted his XO, who had been speaking with the manager of the building at the time. After thanking the manager for his cooperation, she turned her attention to the new arrivals.

“Captains, good to see you made it.”

“Looks like you’ve given us a head start, Lieutenant.” Grey said.

“Yes, sir.” She gestured outside the window. “The four checkpoints are up and running as ordered and two SSAs are overflying the canal. We’ve had a few issues with tankers not receiving the new legislation regarding the size of the vessels allowed through. There have been numerous complaints from both estuary checkpoints.” She stifled a huff of annoyance and clasped her hands behind her back. “We’ve done all we can to contact the shipping companies and get a complete schedule of the ships that should be coming through.”

Sable stood a little behind Grey, arms folded, observing their surroundings. Their eyes became glued to the view outside and they didn’t look over as they spoke. “We’re aware it’s a tall order. It’s also a necessity.” They finally looked over to Captain Grey. “Is there anywhere specific you want to be?”

Grey stroked his chin for a moment before turning back to the XO. “Lieutenant, are there tug boats available to steer ships that might get stuck?”

“Yes, sir.”

“I’d like to supervise a fleet of tug boats. We can potentially use them to block the passage of any rogue ships that come through.”

“Good idea.” Sable affirmed, their attention elsewhere. They walked over to the radar scanner, wanting to understand the equipment they were dealing with. Part of them wished they were in the sky, hands on the controls of a cutting-edge reconnaissance craft, but they had begrudgingly resigned themself to solid ground for their first mission. The imagery of a bird’s eye view in their mind made them look back over to Grey. “Just don’t get tunnel vision. If this place is the target, there’s no guarantee the disruption will come from the canal itself.”

“SIG, Captain.” Grey replied. A member of staff waved him over and he followed them down to the canal where the tug boats were moored. The XO joined Sable at the radar scanner.

“This is an uplink to the scanners on the two SSAs. They’re able to take super high-res photos from above and match the ships to our registry. Once a match has been made, you’ll see the ship number and name appear alongside it on the scanner.” She pointed to a dot on the scanner that was just entering the northern estuary. It had been identified as carrying lumber for a company called Natura Exports. Once a new dot appeared on the scanner, it only took a couple of minutes for it to be identified and the information to appear beside it. A good system. As Captain Sable observed however, they noticed one dot approaching the southern estuary with no identification. They watched, waited a moment, then pointed at it for the XO’s benefit.

“There’s a severe delay happening with this one.”

The XO leaned in and, with permission from the radio operator, pressed a few keys to centre on the unidentified ship. She frowned. “You’re right.” She tapped the operator’s shoulder. “Get on to the southern checkpoint, ask if they have an eye on that ship.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

The XO’s microphone swung down. “SSA1 from Checkpoint S2, we’re showing an unidentified ship approaching the southern estuary from reference W8.”

“Confirmed, Checkpoint S2, we’re showing negative results on the electromagnetic scanners, too. We suspect the ship might be shielded.”

Sable’s brow furrowed. Though rare, sometimes a ship’s cargo would require shielding. However, such ships were always expected, always prepped to identify themselves, and always cleared by the necessary authorities. The people manning the canal likely wouldn’t even need the schedule on hand to know a ship like this was arriving. The mic on their cap flipped down and Captain Grey’s epaulets flashed ominously. He stopped short of stepping aboard one of the tug boats and answered the call. “Miss me already, Captain?”

“There’s a ship approaching from the southern estuary that’s showing up negative on standard and electromagnetic scanners. How are your boats looking?”

“Understood. We have three more tugs ready here and three more at the southern estuary. I’m going down there and taking command.”

To Sable’s left, the radar operator looked up from his phone. “The southern checkpoint reports they’ve identified the ship. It’s a Safeway Waste Exports ship, they were scheduled to come through before the embargo. Obviously they didn’t get the memo.”

“Have they established radio contact?” The XO asked.

“No, ma’am, no reply.”

She gave a worried look to Sable, who tipped their head in acknowledgement as they kept speaking on comms. “Grey, how long will it take you to get down there?” Internally, they were trying to gauge how long it would take for themself to get down there from their current position.

“We’re 60 kilometres from the estuary and there’s a 15kmph speed limit, so that’s 4 hours here to there by boat. If I can take an SPV, I can be there in half an hour.”

“Captain Sable,” The XO piped up, “There’s a Spectrum Helijet available on the roof.”

Sable nodded and mouthed a thank you to her before continuing to speak. “Grey, I’m going to take the Helijet down to the southern estuary. If you want my opinion, I’d want you to make sure those tug boats are organised and ready while I try to get closer to that ship, but if you think you’d be more use elsewhere, I won’t argue.”

“SIG. We may need all the tugs to stop this juggernaut. I’ll muster all the hands I can at the southern checkpoint. Grey out.”

“Still no contact with the ship,” the operator spoke up, “And the southern checkpoint reports it’s increasing speed.”

The XO’s eyes widened. “It’s going to ram its way through.”

“Not if we have anything to say about it.” Captain Sable said and, with a not to those present, walked briskly out of the room towards the roof. The helijet was waiting patiently, those in the area having made sure it was ready to be manned at a moment’s notice. With a flash of ID and a few moments for the workers to haul ass out of of the way, Sable sat down at the Helijet’s controls. They didn’t have long, and every second spent on takeoff procedures felt like another second of tempting fate, but soon enough they were lifting off the pad and the Suez stretched in their vision as they took to the sky. Once they were certain of their control, they contacted Grey again. “I’m in the air, Captain. Flying south now.”

“SIG, Captain, I’m in the SPV headed south. ETA, 22 minutes.”

Sable tilted the controls forward to pick up speed and the Suez below swept into a blur. They could see Grey’s SPV on the road as well, picking up speed. From this height, Sable could just about make out the freighter as it approached the southern checkpoint. The ship passed the coastline and a plume of smoke erupted from the checkpoint. Sable’s epaulets flashed again. “This is Checkpoint South! The freighter has smashed through the barrier and is on its way inland at a speed of 40kmph!” Sable could hear the background noise of people rushing to control the damage and put out the fires. Sable was approaching at a speed of 200kmph and the freighter quickly came into view. It was enormous and carried incredible speed and momentum for its size. Any small boat that got in the way was quickly smashed aside. On closer inspection, Sable realised the freighter’s cargo deck was large and flat enough to land on, and with the chaos on comms in their ear, they made a decision.

“SIG, Checkpoint South. I’m going to land on the cargo deck.”

With steady hands and all the assurance in the world, Sable started to bring the helijet round for the best landing possible. At the right speed and angle, a skilled pilot could make the landing with little to no issue, and if there was one thing Riku could take pride in, it was their skill. Down below, some of the smaller ships had wisened up and were trying to move away with the little time they had, no doubt being warned by the checkpoint operators of the danger. It could only help so much. Sable was the picture of calm as they lined up and began their landing procedures. Landing on a moving target was no small feat, but this one was big, with just enough clearance, and with a dull thud and a faint shake forward in their seat, Captain Sable set the Helijet down on the runaway ship. They took a deep breath before speaking up again. “Checkpoint South, landing successful.” They unbuckled themself from the seat and stood up, their mic falling into place. “Grey, I’ve successfully landed on the cargo deck of the freighter. Given this thing is shielded, I’m going to proceed with caution.”

“I can see you! Be careful, Captain, we’re lining up the tugs. You’re gonna feel one almighty crash in, by my estimate, about three minutes.”

They briefly glanced at the Mysteron gun, then shook their head and opened the door. “SIG, I’ll get moving then.”

Sable exited the helijet and their boots hit the metal shutters of the deck. As they climbed down do the walkway, their shoulders flashed once more.

“Captain Sable, I’ve been informed of the situation.” Colonel White’s voice cut through their thoughts. “It is imperative you stop that ship; it’s carrying nuclear waste. You must reach the bridge and cut the engines. The ship should have hazmat suits available. Do not enter the cargo area without one.”

Sable rolled their eyes and scowled. That was going to eat into valuable time. They were already a kilometre inland and approaching the second checkpoint fast, they didn’t have time to put on a hazmat suit and look for a bomb. “SIG, Colonel, I’m already on the cargo pad and looking for a way in. Sable out.” They stopped in front of the door to the bridge and switched their comms to their field partner. “Grey, once I’m inside communication might be spotty. I’m going in.”

The door that led from the walkway to the bridge was windowed and Sable had to duck to remain unnoticed. They could see one man at the helm and three other crew lying either dead or unconscious around him. That was likely their Mysteron duplicate, meaning the bridge was safe to enter. Even Mysterons could be killed by radiation. Based on what Sable knew of duplicates, they guessed he would only have the combat skills of the original helmsman. For a moment, their hand rested on their sidearm, but they dismissed the idea. A last resort, if only for the mess it could make. Then they risked another glance through the window to try and get a good look at the interior. He looked singularly focused on his task, even if the door made a noise to draw his attention, Sable judged they could clear the distance and engage him whilst maintaining some level of surprise. Well, as much surprise as could be maintained after landing a helijet on the ship.

Nonetheless, something had to be done now.

Sable pushed the door open with an unceremonious groan and bolted into the space, across the room, over the bodies on the floor and between the control consoles, intent on ramming straight into the man. Shocked at the sound, the Mysteron released the wheel and spun around, attempting to counter the incoming blow, but Sable’s shoulder slammed into the man’s gut before he could mount any kind of defense. The pair slid over the ship’s wheel as they fell, causing it to spin, and the ship veered harshly to the right. Winded, the Mysteron did not attempt to escape from Sable’s grapple. Instead, he pawed at their face, trying to dig his thumbs into their eyes.

“You’re too late, Earthman.”

Sable’s eyes met his, barely flinching at the hands on their face, and they bared their teeth in a hiss. “Good. No mercy, then.” They pulled the Mysteron back up by the scruff of his shirt, braced on hand over this face and the other against his neck, and slammed his skull against the cold hard floor. One good crack and the man’s eyes rolled back into unconsciousness. Just as Sable was about to relax, the entire ship quaked and threw them across to the far right of the bridge as the bow of the ship scraped the canal’s concrete edge. As they staggered back to their feet and put their eyes back on the Mysteron, their shoulders flashed to herald Grey’s voice. “Sable! What’s happening in there?”

“There was someone at the helm. He wasn’t happy to see me.” Sable said as they leaned down, removed the belt from the man’s uniform, and rolled him onto his front. He wrapped the belt securely around both forearms against his back and tightened it up.

“Are you alright? You need to stop those engines, you’re five minutes max from the tug line!” Grey warned, not that Sable needed it. The metal panels beneath their feet were vibrating from the hull of the ship screeching against the concrete. They hauled themself back towards the wheel. There had to be some kind of emergency break somewhere. Even replying to Grey fell to the wayside as they stepped back over to the main controls where, finally, they spotted it. They spared the outside just a moment’s glance before they braced themselves against a steady surface and slammed down the emergency cutoff. The thrum of the engines came to a sudden halt, leaving only the shriek of the hull against the concrete outside. Through the bridge windows, Sable could see people fleeing from the canal’s edge. Debris floated on the water where the freighter had crashed through several docked ships. Slowly but surely, the ship came close to a halt, still ungrounded but now just drifting sideways.

“That’s it, you’ve done it!” Grey’s voice brought their attention back to the present. “Alright, we’re making our way over, we’ll pull the ship to a safe distance.”

Heat clung to every atom of existence as the sun hung in the awful position that depicted afternoon. Summer in Australia was no joke, and the sweat had accumulated to the point that Scott could slick back his hair and it would stay stuck, even with the lack of hair gel he had time to put on in the morning before he was off to rescue. His body felt like a giant oven, and with another swig of electrolyte, Scott stared ahead at the disaster zone. The collapsed skyscraper looked relatively small from where Scott sat within the concrete jungle, somehow peaceful even if lives had been stolen. A deep sadness hung over the city, or, some sort of sorrowful gloom that seemed to brew within Scott’s stomach. Perhaps, it was due to the amount of loss he had seen today, or the fact his stomach was simply empty. 

He slowly climbed back into his silver-grey ‘bird after he bid his farewells to the rescue teams that still would work tirelessly into the evening. As the holographic display slowly flickered into life, Scott transferred his grips to control the dart-shaped craft. A sonic boom and pilot and ship would be back to Tracy island in mere moments. The unsettled churn in his stomach didn’t seem to cease, not for post-flight checks and neither for his shower. Scott appeared from his bathroom with a clean set of clothes and a tired smile.

‘Scott!’ A chorus of 3 voices woke the older brother just a tad more as he walked out to the sunken lounge.

‘You want to watch a movie?’ Alan grinned, ‘we’re trying to get John down but he refuses.’

‘Sure, I’m down. What movie?’ Scott settled into his usual position beside Virgil, his younger brother looped an arm around his shoulders and a sigh released tension he didn’t even know he carried. 

‘Star Wars,’ Alan grinned. Made nearly over 100 years ago, Alan sure liked the old movies and it wasn’t something Scott would say no to. Who was he kidding, he’d probably fall asleep before they’d even been introduced to Luke. 

‘Is this just another attempt to get me down?’ John asked, clearly a little apprehensive of one of his favourite pieces of old fictional media being shown when he wasn’t down.

‘Well, you’ll miss out!’ Alan sighed dramatically.

Virgil’s fingers drummed a steady pattern onto Scott’s shoulder with his fingers, a cheek stuck out in thought as John and Alan bickered about something, Scott was slightly too tired to care. Though, Virgil held a tight expression.

‘What’s wrong?’ Scott whispered, his voice lost amongst the two astronauts. If he listened enough he could tell it was something about watching the movies via release date or chronological order. 

‘Something feels… I don’t know, off?’ Virgil shrugged, worry danced within brown eyes.

‘I feel it too,’ Scott mumbled, a tired nod.

‘It’s okay, it’s probably nothing,’ Virgil mentioned, his thumb rubbed over Scott’s shoulder, ‘you sleep. I’ll keep an eye on this lot.’ ‘Thanks,’ Scott mumbled, though he didn’t plan to sleep. Well, as his father would say, sometimes things just never go to plan.

-*-

Scott was awoken by a jab in the ribs and some horrible klaxon which sounded nothing of what they were usually woken by for a rescue. His eyes blinked as he watched the holographic TV turn from something about Anakin Skywalker to a bright blue screen that made Scott wish he was still asleep. ‘This is an emergency GDF broadcast, please do not turn your device off.’

He sat straighter at this, eyebrows buried themselves into each-other and what Gordon dubbed his ‘brother lines’ deepened upon his expression. ‘What's going on?’

‘Don’t know,’ Gordon crossed his arms, ‘they better hurry we got to the good part.’

‘This is not a drill. This is an emergency GDF broadcast. A bioweapon has escaped GDF labs containment. This has the potential to destroy lives. Spreadable like a virus, this bioweapon has the ability to cause people to go mad. Currently, extreme measures are being put in place to ensure your utmost safety. The weapon is drawn to light and sound, especially at night when there is not a lot of it around. Please refrain from light and sound after 6pm until the GDF are able to get this back within containment.’ The message was mechanical, the deep unsettled feeling in Scott’s gut returned as it repeated a couple of times, before it finally shut off.

‘Did you get that John?’ Scott had stood up, when? He didn’t know. His heart drummed in his ears and his body screamed at him that something was wrong. The GDF had not warned International Rescue on anything about this, it felt weird. Perhaps even untouched with reality. His hand balled into a fist and found it sweaty again, despite the much cooler environment of the villa with the aircon on.

‘Affirmative, Tracy Island. I have tried to contact Colonel Casey now, but that doesn’t sound good.’

‘What, is this like, turning people into zombies or something? Why such a big deal?’ Gordon frowned.

‘I thought the GDF went against biological warfare. It would be too devestating. Dad told them not too ages ago when the question was raised,’ Scott ran a hand through his hair. 

Colonel Casey’s holographic projection flickered onto life in the lounge, ‘Colonel Casey!’

‘John I really don’t have the time-,’ Casey began.

‘I know, it must be hectic but what is going on? A bioweapon?’ John pressed, his face neutral but Scott knew enough about John to see the wariness of his younger brother.

‘Yes, a bioweapon has been released from containment. It’s.. bad, people go crazy when vulnerable to it, it’s like a virus that takes control of the brain, and slowly eats away at it. People become feral… it’s a big deal. I advise you to listen to the requirements we’ve put in place,’ Colonel Casey said all too quickly.

‘We’re in the middle of nowhere, on an island. Surely the light and sound rule doesn’t apply to us? We still have a rescue organisation to run,’ Scott countered.

‘Yes, and you can still do that, but we wish you to not do a rescue anywhere past 6pm for the timezone the rescue is in, you must understand this is very dangerous, Scott.’ 

‘I understand, but people still need our help.’

‘And you can help them, but please keep the lights out. While we don’t mind obviously, you are in the middle of nowhere and one of our closest allies, but we have automated GDF fliers who will strike down places with light past 6pm local time.’

Scott’s eyes narrowed, ‘but can’t you just make an exception-’

‘Look Scott I have so much on my hands I will have no time, so the answer is no,’ Colonel Casey shot back as the holographic projection flickered out.

‘Well that's not creepy at all,’ Alan mumbled.

‘Something feels off about it,’ John admitted, ‘but let's not stir up anything. Let’s just listen to them.’

‘For now, yes. But there are people out there that could need our help,’ Scott frowned, ‘we don’t get to choose if we risk our lives to some virus, we have to help.’

‘We do have a choice though,’ John mumbled.

‘Dad would have wanted us to continue on!’ Scott took another step forward to his younger brother's hologram.

‘Yes, but we need to see the strength of this thing before we actually act, Scott.’

‘F.A.B,’ Scott finally resigned, he took a step back in defeat.

‘Speaking of, we have a situation that may be brewing. A GDF bridge to a secret facility is currently under immense stress and is falling apart. A GDF soldier is stuck in the armoured van, and is in a fine balance before he falls.’

‘Alright, Virgil, Gordon, Alan, you’re in Two. We’ll need the pods to stabilize that bridge. I’ll double time it to your location and get the soldier safe,’ Scott ran towards his launch chute, a chorus of F.A.B’s ran throughout the villa, ‘thunderbirds are go!’

-*-

The roar of engines felt reassuring against the pressure that clasped tightly over Scott’s head and the tight clench of his hands to One’s controls to gain a tad of reality. The broken bridge finally showed up underneath his feet, barely intact, the soldier hung off the side of the truck. It was now that Scott realised it was raining. The sky suffocated from the thick fog; rain berated the bridge like it personally wished it to fall. ‘Thunderbird Two, stabilise that bridge, Alan, Gordon, in the pods. I’m going after that worker.’ Scott let his ‘bird hover in the air with her VTOL’s as he got the harness for the soldier and jet-packed himself down. 

The weather was on full display now, fat droplets obscured the vision upon Scott’s helmet, as he fitted the harness on the rescuee, the bridge gave an awful groan from underneath them. Before the bridge could give away from Virgil’s grasp, Scott managed to clear him and the soldier before the bridge toppled to the ground.

‘Eeesh, the GDF are not having a good day,’ Gordon commented that Scott was very lucky the soldier he had rescued didn’t hear. Silence felt like it wrapped around his neck and pulled it in a tight grasp, the sense of oncoming dread he had felt all day returned as Thunderbird One landed on the side of the bridge and let the worker go. 

The hackles on Scott’s neck rose as Colonel Casey walked towards him with a look of utter disgust. ‘I’m sorry about your bridge,’ Scott gave a weak smile.

‘International Rescue,’ Casey’s mouth twitched, ‘I told you not to respond to rescue’s beyond 6pm local time.’

The rain repetitively threw fists at the ground, thunder rumbled in the background as if it too sensed the tension.

‘It wasn’t 6pm when we got here,’ Scott countered.

‘That shipment was highly classified,’ Casey beared her teeth.

‘We were not aware of that, it was declared a rescue. John asked if we could help and the worker said yes.’

‘International Rescue can’t continue in these times. You’ve clearly already pushed boundaries, Scott,’ the Colonel’s gaze was like daggers. Though the rain couldn’t get to the pair under the cover of the nose of his Thunderbird, Scott felt a shiver electrify his spine.

‘What? You’re grounding us?’ 

‘Yes. You work at the will of the GDF and I feel that boundary has never been set for you boys. Your father would agree with me when I say this, Scott. This bioweapon is way too dangerous, we aren’t sure what it’s fully capable of, but its mortality rate is,’ Casey wrinkled her nose and put her palms out in a motion that said ‘don’t know.’

‘Permanently?’ Scott took a stride forward.

‘No, not permanently, but until further notice. Now get back to the island and shut the lights off so that the GDF doesn’t lose our best ally,’ Casey’s smile was sweet as she patted Scott on the shoulder, ‘listen you don’t want to hear it as much as I don’t. This is for your safety. Your little brother's safety.’

‘Fine,’ Scott bit back his snarl, ‘F.A.B Colonel.’

‘Good, now go home,’ she waved and Scott felt a sink in his gut. He slowly clambered into Thunderbird One and punched it home.

-*-

‘They’ve shut us down?’ Virgil blinked in uttermost belief.

‘I guess the question now is,’ Scott said as he looked at all of his brothers which included John who’d come down for the news, ‘do we want International Rescue to continue?’

The lack of light over the island felt odd, unnatural. There was always a dull holographic glow from something that required a rescue, a brother up and about or even a family movie. Far away from civilisation, light pollution was non-existent, the room was barely visible, darkness coated them in a thick cloth.

‘What if they’re right, we’ll just stop for a bit then start up again?’ Alan asked, a slight tremble in his voice as he clung to Virgil’s arm.

‘While I think they’re right, when have we ever cared for our lives when it comes to helping others?’ Gordon tilted his head.

‘We haven’t,’ John agreed, ‘but I’m with Alan, this may be dangerous, we need to see how it goes.’

‘International Rescue hasn’t backed down from a fight, we need more information on this bioweapon which Kayo and Lady P are investigating but I think we should continue. We can’t back down now, not when the world needs us,’ Scott gave a shrug.

‘I think we continue, imagine all the scared terrified people,’ Virgil whispered. 

‘We continue then,’ John whispered as if he didn’t believe what he said himself.

‘We continue,’ 5 voices agreed in the dark.