Virgil was just particularly cautious when it came to his Thunderbird, even more so now that she was sentient. He might not have known how her new systems worked, but he always made sure to check up on her, just in case.

There was a routine. Virgil would come down to the hangars, humming, sometimes broken notes or a song he’d heard in passing. He’d run a diagnostic scan, then get to what needed fixing. Thunderbird Two remained in craft-mode on day one – she needed a refuel, and a recharge after those back-to-back rescues. Her pilot would ask her things, but she’d merely rumble back in response. Virgil never questioned it in the beginning. He didn’t know what was really wrong…

The second day both Scott and Virgil had come down to the hangars; eldest brother apologising profusely to the heavy lifter. They’d been blind sighted in the sky, and both Thunderbirds had managed to swing into each other; One almost being knocked out of the sky, and Two receiving a large scrape along her side that had stripped paint. Virgil kept insisting it was neither of their faults, but Scott knew how he felt about his craft, and still was guilty about it. Virgil had taken up a roller brush and a large tin of green paint to cover the scrape, looking over his ‘bird carefully.

“I know it’s not causing you any pain but, you’re not usually this quiet, Thunderbird Two,” he observed, prepping the brush. “Has, something else happened? … Did you and Thunderbird One have an argument?”

He knew that wasn’t true – the silver rocket wasn’t sentient. But as he waited for a response from his craft, his expression dropped a little when all he got was a rumble from her systems.

“Huh, not feeling up to chatting again? No worries; shouldn’t take me long to fix this.”

On the third day, it had become obvious that something was wrong. He’d come down every day since to check on her again, and it was still the same thing. Entering the hangar today, Virgil found Thunderbird Two finally transformed, sitting up near the module-storage with her arms resting over her midsection. Her pilot approached cautiously.

“I know you haven’t been ignoring me these past couple of days,” he started softly, feeling golden-orange optics scan over him. “What’s going on, Two? Why haven’t you tried to tell me?”

She lifted a hand, making sure he looked up, and pointed to her neck, mouthing what looked like ‘I can’t’ before giving him a small shrug. Brown eyes acknowledged her quizzically.

“Something wrong in-…? Wait, no… God, I wish I knew exactly how you worked…” Virgil rubbed the side of his head, unsure of what she’d tried to tell him. He had an idea, but-… If she were human, he’d assume maybe she had a sore throat, and had lost her voice. But then-… He looked up again to hear the Thunderbird tapping a finger against the insignia on her chest – a sound to get his attention – then pointed to her neck again, mouthing another word.

Malfunction.

“Vocal malfunction?” her pilot pieced together, and Thunderbird Two nodded. Virgil scoffed at himself. “Of course; I should have known that…! Sorry Two. Can’t believe I overlooked it so often-!”

His arm finally healed, he could actually enjoy them again, and strode down to the pool with a pep in his step. Hopefully he’d have just enough time to do a couple of laps (and maybe relax a bit) before they were called out on any rescues.

Just as he stepped forward to dive into the water, a louder splash sounded out from the sea, down by the shores of the island. Amber eyes brightened as the aquanaut curiously went to investigate. Had something fallen into the water? Was there a creature splashing about in the sea? Was there an intruder on Tracy Island? Gordon half-ignored the last thought, but decided he’d better go down and check it out anyway.

It was a bit of a walk from the poolside down to a safe spot of the shore where he wouldn't slip and fall, but he found he didn't need to go to the water's edge to find what had been splashing about. His Thunderbird stood tall in the water, ripples around her knees where she kept her ground on the sand as it disappeared into the watery depths. The aquanaut hid a laugh in his hand as the craft suddenly twirled around, and landed on her backside in the water, having tripped on something he couldn't see.

"Gordon!" the sub chirped happily, ignoring that she'd fallen, just being glad her pilot had found her. "Look! I found a spot that's the perfect depth for me!"

"So you did." Amber eyes swept over her frame, Gordon grinning as he moved a little closer to the water's edge. "You okay though?"

"Yep! I-..." The Thunderbird suddenly paused, dropping her hands into the water at her sides. Sea-green optics trailed over her pilot, a little sullen in guilt. "Oh... I didn't, wake you, did I? I thought, I couldn't be heard from the villa.."

Gordon shook his head with a laugh. "No you didn't. I was already poolside when I heard you; thought I'd come investigate the splashing though!"

If the craft couldn't tell where he was headed by his outfit and the towel slung around his shoulders... The ocean was starting to look mighty inviting. And he didn't particularly feel like trudging back up to the pool... For now, the aquanaut sat himself on a rock next to the water, dipping his feet in and just watching his Thunderbird enjoy herself.

"... It's weird being in water not in my craft-form," the sub observed, lifting a servo and watching the water run off her digits.

"You're gonna be more salty than normal," Gordon commented with a snicker. "And don't even get me started on the sand-!"

Thunderbird Four let out a soft huff... and tossed a handful of water at him. Gordon yelped and nearly slipped off the rock, spluttering as the water hit him like a tidal wave. It certainly felt like one-! He sat there, dripping and stunned, for a moment before swiping water out of his eyes. His sub looked a little shocked herself, before bursting into giggles.

"You can be sandy with me!"

"Hey no fair! I can't splash you back!"

The Thunderbird continued her giggles; she might have been the smallest of the crafts, but she had still had advantage over their human pilots. She didn't notice Gordon get to his feet, and back up to take a running leap into the water, chanting 'cannon ball!' as he landed. An attempt was made - the water merely only splattering against the sub's arm. He surfaced a second later, floating on his back to stare up at the yellow Thunderbird, her frame shading him from the sun. He felt warmly comfortable at her side, knowing she was keeping an eye on him, so she didn’t accidentally move and sweep him away in the water. Who said you couldn’t be friends with a giant robot-?

Gordon rolled over and changed position, treading water so he didn’t slip under and blindly tried to find a submerged crook of metal he could find his footing on. He found one in her hand as she lifted it to gently aid him; the aquanaut then tilting his head at her.

“What made you decide to come out here anyway?”

“I was… maybe a little bit bored…” Thunderbird Four sheepishly admitted. Gordon had broken his arm, which meant she’d been grounded unless one of the other brothers piloted her for a rescue. What made her decide to come out to the water today, she was still thinking about. “Needed to get out for a bit. Poke around the island… explore.”

She could have done it any other day, now that she thought about it. But… something about today told her she’d eventually meet up with her pilot… and she had! Craft and pilot could enjoy the water together, where they belonged.

“I stopped here cause, something about it felt special. When I transformed, I wasn’t expecting to be able to stand! I thought there’d be another drop-off, like every other part of the island!”

She laughed, and Gordon lightly joined her with a laugh of his own. That was true, and the ocean was pretty deep to begin with! He suspected his Thunderbird would have likely sunk to the seafloor had she not figured out how to float. The aquanaut turned and swam over to a spot he could grasp onto metal, before hauling himself out of the water to climb his Thunderbird. The sub sat quietly as she let him, waiting until he was sat on her shoulder before she moved freely, sitting more comfortably as the water shifted around her.

“… Why have we never done this before?” Gordon then asked softly.

“I guess, there was never an opportunity to,” Thunderbird Four answered, peeking at him from the corner of her optic before looking back over the horizon. “I’m glad you’re my pilot, Gordon.”

He did at least stop when John called out to them. He turned to look back at Virgil, black hair slightly windswept from the run his younger brother had taken after him.

“You did good keeping up, Vee!” he praised.

“Yeah but, we gotta go back,” Virgil insisted, pointing back to where John was waiting a few paces away. “Johnny says he still can’t see Dad.”

“We won’t go too much farer!” Scott admitted, taking a few steps forward before he broke into a run again. His younger brother let out a noise that half sounded like a whimper and a groan, before following. John dropped his hand when he watched his older brothers run off, fidgeting with the sleeves of his sweater. Did he go after them? Or wait for Dad to catch up and come find him? He looked back in the direction they’d come, turquoise eyes scanning along the path before he made up his mind to go sit by a tree. He’d wait there.

“S-Scott! Slow down!” Virgil was calling after his brother; the two of them still in their run through the trees. “This is farer!”

“No it’s not!” Scott called back, turning a little to glance over his shoulder. “It’s the same! We-…!”

He was abruptly cut off when he stumbled on a tree root and tripped, letting out a soft cry of panic. Virgil was quick to stop before he ran into him, concern in his brown eyes when he found his big brother had ended up on the ground.

“You okay?”

“… Yeah,” the older softly huffed, taking his hand when he offered for help up. In their moment of pause, the two took a second to brush themselves off, sending dust and dirt off in small clouds as they patted down their clothes.

“John didn’t come with us?”

“Mn-mn. I tried to tell you,” Virgil insisted with a shake of his head. He watched as Scott started wandering again, but didn’t make a move to go after him. “Come on, we gotta go back, Scotty…”

“Just, a little longer…” Scott mumbled, slowing down his wandering as he approached the clearing on the other side of the trees. Virgil begrudgingly followed, speeding up to catch and pull his brother back when he stepped to the cliffside. There was a river running below them, and a waterfall off in the distance… possibly the one they’d recently had a picnic at.

“Can we go back now?” Virgil urged.

Scott was peering over the side of the cliff, as best he could without leaning out too far, trying to get a better look at something. He almost hadn’t heard his younger brother’s question. He just, couldn’t quite see-…

“Scott!”

Virgil had let out a soft gasp as he watched his brother slip, tried to grab him, but they’d both been pulled down by gravity. Scott clung to his little brother, but there was nothing else to grab on to…

It had happened so fast, but suddenly their fall was cut short; both still landing slightly harshly on the surface underneath them. With a tight grip still on Virgil, Scott blinked, looking up at the shadow cast over them. He could only squeak out a gasp.

“Are you alright, little ones? You’re lucky I was here.” Visored eyes watched them; the silver rocket keeping her tone low as she scanned over them. “Wasn’t too much of a fall hm? Could have been worse if I hadn’t spotted you.”

“Giant rocket lady…” Scott mouthed in a whisper. Virgil carefully unburied himself from his brother’s side, peering round to see who had spoken; brown eyes widening.   

“Who…?”

“Scott! Virgil!” Dad had come running; Dad had heard them! Dad was here, and he’d brought John, who’d been gripping onto his back for dear life when he’d started sprinting at the sound of a scream. Chest heaving to get his breathing back under control, he stared astounded at the scene before them. “What…?”

Virgil had expected the question by now. He’d make some sort of musical noise to pass the time during maintenance. And his Thunderbird would always inquire the melodies. He personally loved her curiosities in music, one day promising to play her a few tunes from the piano.

“Just a song…” he started, glimpsing over one of the scans as he walked past.

“Captain, it’s not ‘just a song’,” Thunderbird Two lightly poked. She had been listening; it definitely wasn’t just all that. Virgil softly scoffed.

“If you’d let me finish… It’s, just a song I used to listen to with my mother… It’s her song.”

The Thunderbird quietened at that, softening her engines as best she could out of courtesy. She hadn’t quite been expecting that answer... She hadn’t heard much about the boys’ mother – they rarely spoke about her at all. But she did know they’d all been fairly young when she had passed. Being a machine, Thunderbird Two didn’t quite understand the feeling of loss, but she had to imagine it hurt something awful…

“Sorry…”

“You’re fine, Two,” Virgil reassured, a soft chuckle escaped his lips as he paced her module. “I know I… we don’t talk about her as much as we do Dad but, we definitely should. I feel like, some of us are starting to forget her…”

He turned to input a few details into the monitor behind him, frowning at some of the data already on the screen. Well that was something he’d have to get Brains to check later… Fingers swiftly moved as he typed, and he started to hum again unconsciously.

“It sounds like it’s a sad song…” Thunderbird Two spoke up suddenly, softly. She didn’t mean to keep interrupting him; she wanted to hear the whole song out. But, something felt different about this song, and know that she knew it related to his mother, her curiosity was getting the best of her. Unnatural for a ship, but not a Thunderbird.

“Can you, tell me some things about her? Your mother?”

Virgil lifted his hands from the keys, breath caught in his throat as he paused. He then swiftly put in another command and moved away from the monitor, leaning up against the side of the module as he exhaled.

“She’s who encouraged my musical talent, you know… She’d be at the piano at any given opportunity, plunking for inspiration or playing a few notes of a song,” he started, tilting his head back a little as he spoke. “This song in particular, it was by one of her favourite artists. She taught herself the piano track to it, and would sing it to us before she tucked us into bed. It’s, not so much sad, as it is, reflective, in a way.”

Thunderbird Two listened intently, playing the song silently along her processor so she could try and picture what her pilot described. She could only imagine…

“I’d sit with her when she played; sometimes John was with us… She taught me right-hand, then left, but for some reason I struggled so much to put it together at first.” The laugh that left her pilot’s lips had the Thunderbird rumbling softly. He didn’t have to, but she was glad she’d gotten him talking. The conversations they had between each other during her maintenance checks did always seem to make them go faster.

“Maybe… Maybe I can play it for you one day, Thunderbird Two…”

She always thought she’d be rescuing a human from these conditions… not her fellow Thunderbird… It had been fine; it was fine… up until someone had rigged the warehouse to explode, and Thunderbird Four was trapped inside. Scott, Virgil and Gordon had done their part, getting everyone clear from the already collapsing structure. Thunderbird Four had still detected a life sign, and disappeared back inside. Thunderbird Two had been their shield…

Golden optics matched the colour of the flames as she scanned through them, searching for any sign of the sub. She denied the Tracys any suggestion of getting close, and urged them to focus on their human rescuees. She had to find her sister craft…

“Two, someone else could be in there!” Virgil had argued, still decked out in the Jaws. “We need to get back in, and find them-!”

“I’m not risking any of you any further,” the Thunderbird rumbled in warning, hoping her words were not up for debate. “Besides… Four will protect them…”

Their human partners had done all they could; there was no way any of them could stand to the fire – it was her turn to keep them safe. She only hoped the sub had done the same if there was in fact another being in the building with her…

Thunderbird Four was small in comparison to her, even with their newfound robotic abilities. The warehouse had been pretty big, but even the cargo ship still couldn’t fit inside. Now with half the roof-panels missing, and flames pouring out of any exit they could, Thunderbird Two could see more of what she was working with. She’d already emptied one tank of flame retardant on the disaster, but it’d take at least the three tanks she had for the fire to settle.

“Thunderbird Four, do you copy?” she tried, keeping her scans running as she commed the smaller craft. “Thunderbird Four, please respond!”  

Behind her, Gordon heard the call through his own comm, and tried not to be distracted by it. He’d already been worried enough when his cybersleeve became devoid of anything from his craft… Thunderbird Two had been right; all they could do for now was focus on the rescuees and make sure they were all okay. The aquanaut knew his own Thunderbird, and the lengths she’d go to. She’d be alright… he hoped…

From her knelt position, the cargo ship surveyed everything; where the points in the fire were the weakest, what beams of the warehouse were at risk of collapsing further, where the humans were behind her… but the one thing she was looking for, wasn’t on any of her scans. It made her core tighten. Whirring as the nozzles on her hips transformed, and she fired another round of retardant at the burning structure again. They could withstand the fire more than a human could, but even she could feel the grit of ash each time she cycled a vent of air. It was beginning to sting.

“Thunderbird Four, do you copy?!” she called again, sounding desperate. More static… but very faintly, she’d finally picked up a signal. Just beyond the area she’d recently sprayed. The flames there had died down significantly, and weren’t climbing the wooden columns of the structure anymore, but there was still risk of something triggering them up again. She’d have to tread carefully.

“Captain, I think I found Thunderbird Four.”

Virgil looked back hearing his title; brown eyes hardening as he gave a sharp nod.

Thunderbird One finds the snow magical... when she's able to enjoy it. In her robot-mode, her wings are more sensitive to her environment, and unfortunately take on the cold more quickly. Her favourite things are a soft snowfall, and identifying the different tracks and trails in the snow on the ground. As for Christmas, she loves the idea of it, particularly the being with family, and cosying up somewhere warm parts.

Thunderbird Two, is indifferent about snow. At first it had her curious (and keeps to herself the fact she was absolutely delighted when she found out she could draw shapes in it-), but she doesn't give it a second thought much these days. After rescuing the scientists from the glacial ice shelf though, she's become a little weary of ice specifically... Christmas still confuses her. She's not entirely sure what it's purpose is yet.

Thunderbird Four adores the snow. It's her childish wonder of course >w< Gordon has made a list of all the snow-related activities, and of course Four wants to try all of them (even if she is too big for some-!). Her favourite thing so far is making snowmen! She knows to be careful in making them, in case she squishes them. One day she'll make one as big as she is. Also, she might be a little disappointed it never snows on Tracy Island... Her reaction is the same for Christmas; she wants to try all the festive traditions! xD She really wants to try gingerbread... Humans make it look so tasty...