Thunderbird Five Is Go {John Tracy}

6 - Meeting

6

John strapped himself in and the space elevator began its descent to Earth.

He'd rerouted all communications and controls down to Tracy Island, so he could manage from there. Now, he had to meet his ... future copilot. John thought of this with some trepidation. He never was one for small talk. From Alan's voracious calls, Crystal Ava Summers was clever, beautiful, and lively when one found common ground.

"Do you need anything, John? You are unusually quiet," EOS observed.

"I'm fine, EOS. Thank you," John replied.

"Are you sure? Is your shoulder bothering you? According to my research, it may be stiff and uncomfortable for a few weeks."

"No, it's fine in the sling. Really, EOS, I'm fine. Just thinking about the new member of International Rescue."

"FAB, John. I know you want me to be silent and give you time to think." He chuckled a little at the thought of EOS picking up IR terminology. But then, he had coded EOS to adapt and be versatile, to pick up new concepts. John was honestly still mindblown that he'd created such sophisticated software in high school and that it had learned and improved to such immense proportion.

"Thanks again, EOS," he grinned.

EOS said no more until docking procedure was initiated. "John?" she asked, almost a bit sadly, "Is this new member to replace me?"

"Of course not! Everyone just wants another person up here with me. You're much appreciated, but they want another human presence, another pair of hands."

EOS whizzed, mulling it over.

John added, "Also Scott says I'm not eating or sleeping enough, and he wants someone to alternate with me."

"I understand," EOS sounded relieved. She had learned to adjust voice patterns to simulate human emotion. It was hard to realize that she wasn't human sometimes.

***

"Thunderbird Three docking," Alan announced over the comm, a trace of pride in his voice. Their seats went on a slightly bumpy ride back up to the living room in the Tracy mansion.

"Welcome," Grandma Tracy was sitting at the kitchen counter, eyes on a screen, "My apologies that I haven't had time to bake anything for your arrival, dear. John's coming down from space so I'm in charge of monitoring..."

Alan nudged Crystal, "Be glad. Her baking is the worst thing in the galaxy second only to her cooking." Crystal stifled a smirk.

"Grandma, how much more time do I have?" a voice sounded over the comm. "That's Scott," Alan whispered into Crystal's ear.

"Two," Grandma answered, her face etched in lines of concentration, "Virgil, lift the ship before it sinks so Scott has more time to evacuate. Gordon, you need to get out of there."

"FAB," two voices replied.

"Visuals, visuals..." Grandma Tracy muttered, squinting at the screen.

"Pod is back in Thunderbird Two," a voice Crystal assumed to be Virgil's announced.

"All done," Scott sounded relieved.

"Alright, come back home, boys," Grandma Tracy hopped off the seat and came over to Crystal and Alan. She adjusted her glasses, blinked twice, and looked for a while into Crystal's eyes. Crystal stared back curiously.

"Hmm," Grandma Tracy sniffed, then went back to her seat when another alarm sounded, "Alan, show her around. Kayo is in the garage with Brains, and John should be here any minute now."