Tracy Island.
A Few Days Later.
(Gordon's POV)
It had been a peaceful few days since the accident in New York, the thought of all those who had died by the Hoods hands still on our minds, but we knew there was nothing we could do about it, the Hood was out there somewhere plotting god knows what and the GDF were chasing him down. Alan had healed up well and was moving around more, he couldn't stop talking about the Innovation Race he went to and told us in detail about most of the cars before Scott had to stop him from fangirling,
Thunderbird 5 scheduled Maintenance Due.
The computer announced to the Vila as we sat in the living room after Alan's detailed explanation of the race cars. Thunderbird 5 had been fitted to run on automatic for the last six years and at least once a year John, Alan or I took Thunderbird 3 up to run system checks to make sure everything was running smoothly.
At the start it was rocky, we couldn't get a proper schedule down which resulted in us losing vital systems all the time, then John came up with a rotation system so we didn't have to worry as much, he even programmed it into the computer to remind us every year. This year it fell to John to fly up to maintain the systems onboard Thunderbird 5,
"well I guess I've got to go" John says as he stands up and heads towards dads old office, we make our way down as well to see John off
"Activate Command and Control" Scott says
Activating Command and Control.
The computer announces as the room converts from dads old office to International Rescue Command Centre, John makes his way over to his large portrait on the wall as the picture slides across to reveal the elevator to the silos,
"what does the primary sweep report?" John asks
"some systems require an update to match our current systems on the island, and the archive network looks like it needs either rebooting or a backup archive" I say looking over the system report
"anything needing major repairs?" John questions
"section 1 - A and 2 - C require power cable refitting and Section 1 - D and 2 - A need oxygen pump replacements" I list off as I read through the computer notes
"anything else?" John asks
"doesn't look like it, you might catch more in your secondary scan of Thunderbird 5" Scott says looking over my shoulder
"Alright, this should only take about a few hours but nothing more" John says entering the elevator
"we'll see you when you return" Virgil says
"be careful" Scott adds
"he knows what he's doing, but still come back safe" I say
"see you when you get back" Alan says as John faces us with a smile on his face
"don't worry, I'll be fine" John remarks
"you better be" Scott counters
"Thunderbirds Are Go" John says pressing the button, the door closing and the elevator heads towards the silos.
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Sydney International Airport.
Sydney, Australia.
(3rd Person POV)
The airfield was busy as planes came and went and thousands of people moved between the city, the airport and their flights to anywhere. On the tarmac was a refitted Fireflash to store only cargo, this special Fireflash had eight cargo bay doors, six large doors on the central part of the plane and one large door on each wing where the passengers lounges would normally be. This Fireflash was being loaded with a special shipment, the engine pieces for the 0 - X Mars Spacecraft.
Loading of the plane was going as planned as five of the eight cargo doors had been sealed shut and the remaining pieces of the engine were currently being loaded into the final sections of the cargo hold. In the cockpit the pilots prepared to launch Air Terranean flight 236 for its journey to Tokyo Japan,
"Atomic Drives?" the captain questions
"Green" the co-pilot answers
"Automatic Computers?" the captain questions
"Green" the co-pilot responds
"Hyper - Sonic Drives?" the captain checks
"Nominal" the co-pilot answers
All Bay Doors Are Now Sealed.
The computer announced to the pilots as they finished up their final checks before taxiing to the runway,
"pre-flight checks completed" the co-pilot says
"Sydney Tower this is Air Terranean 236 requesting permission to taxi to active runway" the captain calls over the communications link
"Air Terranean 236 you are cleared for Taxi and Take Off on the active runway" Air Traffic control answers back
"Air Terranean 236 cleared for Taxi and Take Off on active runway" the captain confirms as the pilots throttle the engines to get the plane moving towards the runway.
The plane moves onto the runway and lines up with the centre line before beginning its take off roll down the runway. The plane picks up speed as it continues before the pilots begin to lift off the ground,
"V1 and rotate" the captain says as the plane ascends above the rest of the runway, the pilots heading out towards the pacific ocean
"V2, positive rate gears up" the co - pilot says as he presses the button to retract the landing gear, the wing tip landing wheels getting tucked away under the end section of the wing under the strobe lights, the forward landing gear disappearing into the underside of the plane. Fireflash continues to climb as the pilots turn the plane to face the direction of Japan, receiving commands from air traffic control as they do,
"Sydney Tower, requesting permission to go Hyper - Sonic?" the captain asks over the communications link
"Air Terranean 236 you are cleared for Hyper - Sonic flight, switching to frequency 2 - 9 -5 - 0" air traffic control says
"cleared for Hyper - Sonic and switching to frequency 2 - 9 - 5 - 0" the captain confirms as the co-pilot activates the Hyper - Sonic thrusters and the plane rockets through the sky towards its destination, the captain tuning the radio communications frequency to the confirmed bandwidth. Fireflash flies towards Japan at its record speed breaking through the sound barrier, as always with Fireflash the flight wouldn't take that long to complete which was good considering the cargo on board.
_______________________________
Thunderbird 3.
(John's POV)
I boarded Thunderbird 3 and was now finishing the last of the checks before launch, the last thing to do was the open the main silo door and head for Thunderbird 5. I reached above me and flipped a blue switch to open the door to the silo,
Opening Silo Door.
The computer announces as I see the door open as the library seals off its sections and splits into the three sections revealing the silo, the process doesn't take long and soon the door is open,
Silo Door Now Open.
Thunderbird 3 Ready For Launch.
The computer states as I start the engines and pre - burn the mega - thrusters, after warming up the engines I begin the count down sequence pressing a green button,
Launch Sequence Activated.
Firing Main Boosters In 10 Seconds.
The computer counts down as the boarding ramp disengages from Thunderbird 3 and the fuelling lines detach from the bottom of the ship,
Firing Main Boosters In:
3...2...1...0...
The computer counts down as the mega - thrusters fire pushing Thunderbird 3 up and out of the silo, plumes of smoke fill the area as I leave the Island behind,
"Thunderbird 3 is go" I say over the commlink
"alright John be safe" Scott says as I continue to move further up into the earths atmosphere, I press a small sequence of buttons and switches to fire the secondary boosters to give Thunderbird 3 more push as I begin to see the horizon line of the earth and the darkness of space begins to fade in.
As I continue forwards I begin to move up into earths lower orbit and move closer to the geostationary orbit Thunderbird 5 currently resides in. I continue until Thunderbird 5 comes into view of me and I begin the docking sequence,
Commencing Docking Sequence.
The computer states as I line up Thunderbird 3 with the docking bay door of Thunderbird 5, being careful not to damage either vehicles, it doesn't take long before I put through the access key to activate the docking clamps on Thunderbird 5 locking Thunderbird 3 in place,
Docking Completed.
The computer confirms as I make my way towards the main door connecting me to Thunderbird 5, it was time for maintenance and the faster I completed this the faster I could get back to my brothers back on earth.
TO BE CONTINUED...
YOU ARE READING
Thunderbirds: A Hood Over The World
ActionAn accident involving Alan, similar accidents of the same nature and the escape of the Hood from Ultra - Security Prison leads to an event that could end in utter disaster.
