Head in the Stars

Twenty-two thousand miles above the Earth in fixed geostationary orbit above the Pacific Ocean, John Glenn Tracy sat studying a computer screen. It was a satellite image of eastern Indonesia, or what would have been eastern Indonesia if it weren't for the white spiralling mass of cloud that covered it: Typhoon Jago. Forming in the small expanse of warm sea between Kalimantan and Malaysia, the calculated path of the tropical storm put it on a direct course with Singapore. John had been monitoring it for the past day and a half, but there was at least another seventeen hours before it hit land; no need for International Rescue just yet.

On the screen to the right were several images of a forest fire, obtained from news channels and CCTV networks. After a heavy thunderstorm, power lines had been ruptured and brought down on the outskirts of Vladivostok, sparking a fire in the woodlands. But monitoring the transmissions, John hadn't picked up any calls for help, and the images showed no populated areas were in danger. The Thunderbirds had actually been in Russia earlier that day, saving workers on a blazing oilrig out to sea.

Leaning back in his chair he spared a look at the time, well Tracy Island time, to find it was late evening. Being up in space it sometimes felt like time was pretty much non-existent if it weren't for his body clock announcing when it was time to head to bed or his stomach announcing it was time for a snack.

As if on cue his midriff growled and he headed into the kitchen to grab a snack bar. Not half as good as Onaha's cooking, he thought. Coming back into the room and glancing over some notes for his latest textbook, the platinum blonde decided to call home.

"Thunderbird Five to Tracy Island. Come in, Dad."

There was a slight pause before his father's face appeared on the screen on the panel above him and the astronaut immediately took notice of his expression, a mixture of fury and sadness. Nevertheless, the Tracy patriarch grinned as he answered the call.

"Hey, John, I'm just about to turn in. What can I do for you?"

Waving the meal bar pointedly at the screen, John chuckled before replying in a softly sarcastic tone. "I could sure use a pizza. Know a place that delivers?"

"Thirty minutes or it's free right?" Jeff joked back. "Anything else on your mind?"

Taking a brief glance at the screen, the space monitor updated his father on what he'd been keeping an eye on. "What's happening on Planet Tracy?"

Seeing as his mood had stayed the same so far, the second eldest Tracy son was determined to find out what had his father so weary. He looked tired and his eyes were sad, meaning he'd more than likely had a fallout with one of his younger sons. One mental check of the date revealed which son that was likely to be.

"Alan's home for Spring Break."

John couldn't help but smirk. "Yea, I thought I could see a storm brewing in your region."

Alan and Jeff had been falling out for years; the youngster wasn't good at handling being left behind, especially over the last two years. He'd been locked up in boarding school for months at a time, knowing his brothers were part of the world-famous rescue organisation but longing to take part - and he still had another few years to go. As much as he felt bad for the sprout, for now, it was for his own good he just didn't see it. He was only fourteen; Alan deserved the chance at an education that he and Scott, Virgil and Gordon had all been given before joining IR.

"Teenagers," Jeff sighed.

"Well, we've all been there," John reassured him. "And, Dad, you've done a great job since Mom died."

"Thanks, John." The space monitor smiled as he saw the tension leave his father. "Keep an eye out on that Typhoon for us, I'll call Vladivostok and see if they need any help with that fire."

"F-A-B, Dad. Sleep tight." He pressed a switch on the panel that brought up a thermal reading of the Typhoon, allowing him to see its dimensions clearer and programming the screen to alert him if anything changed.

Leaning back and letting out a breath he spun from side to side absently. He'd meant what he'd said to his father about him doing a great job raising him and his brothers, though the first couple of years after the avalanche had been difficult, to say the least.

The year Mom died, twelve years ago, he'd been just twelve years old. Scott had turned fourteen the day after the avalanche; Virgil had been ten, Gordon eight and Alan just three years old. Thinking back, John had to admit his father hadn't done the best job immediately in the aftermath.

Rather than being there for his sons, making sure they dealt with their grief and managed to hold it together, he'd been unable to handle his own grief and so had shut himself up in his study whenever he was home. He'd throw himself into any work he could, anything to stop him concentrating on the death of his wife. Later he would say it was to make sure he got the business deals that had put Tracy Enterprises on the world business map, giving him the money to be able to give John and his brothers the luxury lifestyle they now led, and turn International Rescue from a dream into a reality.

Unfortunately, back then in Kansas, it had meant Scott had had to dutifully step in and take charge of his brothers. Back then it had been Scott who had made sure his younger brothers made it out to three different schools on time, Scott who had tucked them into bed at night and comforted them when they had nightmares, Scott who had prepared tea every night. John as the second eldest and the closest to Scott had done his best to help, taking some of the pressure off his older brother - simple things like the washing and ironing.

But it hadn't been easy; the family had begun to fall apart.

Scott would shout at their father when things got too much, while John had retreated to his bedroom far too often than he should to lose himself in a book or to study the skies through his telescope. Virgil had thrown himself into his art and music, his compositions showing emotions no eleven-year-old should ever have to feel. Gordon had even gotten into fights at school which more often than not led him to be suspended (both from school and his swimming activities), not that their dad knew, it was Scott who'd given that punishment. Poor Alan had been too young to understand what was going on, but that didn't mean he didn't pick up on his four older brothers' mood changes. He would get upset when no one would play with him, or when Scott wouldn't let the toddler disturb his father.

It had taken Scott's teacher demanding to see their father about Scott's sudden academic decline, over a year after Mom had died, that seemed to snap Jeff Tracy out of his own world. Scott had been a year away from graduating high school and having before shown ability which would certainly gain him a place at Yale or Harvard, she'd needed a word to ensure nothing at home came between Scott and his future.

Jeff had been shocked to learn Scott had been skipping classes and failing to do him homework on multiple occasions, heading in a complete dive that was near impossible to pull out of. That had resulted in a massive argument where Scott had poured his heart out to his father about the responsibility that had been solely placed on him without any give from his father. He hadn't wanted to skip classes but it had meant he'd been able to pick Gordon and Alan up from primary and kindergarten. Scott had always refused to let John or Virgil help him with that, not wanting any of them to suffer too just because their dad couldn't be there for the two youngest.

It had caused a huge rift in the family for a while before father and son worked out their differences and eventually, Scott forgave him. It took a year or two for Scott to adjust to not smothering his brothers all the time but when he finally left for Yale and the Air Force he found some well-deserved freedom.

John himself had always been the wisest and most studious of the Tracy boys. He was more than content with his own company which had proved invaluable when deciding on who would pilot which Thunderbird; of course it was also down to the fact that he was a qualified NASA astronaut too...

Despite the rather rough years following mom's death, all of them had followed some part of their parents' achievements. Like their father, Scott and Gordon had joined the military and John had joined NASA, while like their mother Virgil had found a passion for art and music. And in memory of their mother, they had all joined International Rescue, founded by none other than their father.

John greatly admired his father for turning the disaster of the Valais avalanche into something so globally praised as International Rescue. And he knew just how his father felt. He'd seen the pride and satisfaction and hope in his eyes whenever he'd been down on Earth and they'd had a mission. Jeff Tracy was being given peace knowing what they were doing to help the world was being done in memory of his late wife. Despite everything that had gone wrong for them in the past, John couldn't fault his father for that.

Wanting to maintain the strong connection to his family he was currently feeling, the space monitor put out another call.

"Thunderbird Five calling Scott Tracy."

The vidphone was unsurprisingly answered immediately. "Hey, starman, what's up?"