Categories > Movies > Thunderbirds > A Tracy Secret

Chapter Seven

by andrewjameswilliams 0 reviews

Shortly after his 15th birthday an event occurs that alters Alan Tracy's life forever and leads him to uncover the greatest secret of the Tracy family.

Category: Thunderbirds - Rating: PG - Genres: Angst, Fantasy - Published: 2006-02-19 - Updated: 2006-02-19 - 2846 words

0Unrated
A Tracy Secret

A Tracy Secret

Chapter Seven

Mining Site

South Africa, Thirty Minutes Later


Sitting in the pilot's seat of Thunderbird One Scott made an aerial survey of the mining site prior to landing. It did not look good.

A series of buildings had been literally blown apart, scattering debris and smoke was still rising from the gutted skeletons of the buildings. A number of the other buildings had collapsed and from here he could see the depression in the ground where the top level of the mine had collapsed after the massive initial blast.

Seeing the full extent of the collapse Scott frowned in concern, while he was no mining engineer or a geologist he knew that the explosion and subsequent collapse, not to mention the water that was getting in to the mine, would have seriously weakened the structure of the rest of the mine. It was only a matter of time before another mine level collapsed and another and another in a devastating but simple cascade reaction that would be totally lethal to the men trapped underground.

Scott's hands danced across his instruments focusing Thunderbird One's sensors on the mine and running as detailed a scan as he could on the status of the mine. The information he got back made him quietly groan the explosion had opened fault lines all over the mine, total collapse was inevitable, it was only a matter of time. The sensors didn't penetrate very far into the ground as something in the rocks was breaking up the sensor beams, scattering them but he was able to locate the survivors on the second level. He registered a cluster of lifeforms gathered together but the metals in the rocks were disrupting his sensors so much that he was unable to determine how many there were.

Scott sighed softly. The fact that there sensors were being disrupted and were only effective over short range was going to make this rescue even more challenging that it would otherwise have been.

"Thunderbird One to base and Thunderbird Two," Scott said into the radio.

"Go ahead Scott," John's voice responded instantly from command and control back on Tracy Island.

"Go ahead Scott," Virgil's voice echoed from Thunderbird Two a moment later.

"I've arrived at danger zone," Scott replied. "My initial scans of the mine shows that the blast has opened numerous fault lines, total collapse is inevitable going on these readings. Plus we have another problem some metallic elements in the rocks around here are disrupting our sensors reducing range and accuracy considerably."

Listening carefully for a reaction Scott smiled to himself when he heard someone - it sounded like dad - curse under his breath on Thunderbird Two. Know the feeling, he thought.

"Understood Scott," Virgil answered at last. "That's going to make our job a bit more difficult."

"Yeah. I'm heading in to land now," Scott said. "What's your ETA Virgil?"

"We will be there in twenty minutes Scott," Virgil replied.

"F.A.B," Scott said in acknowledgement even as he started Thunderbird One moving again abandoning his stationary hover position, he moved slowly towards the staging area that local emergency and rescue services had set up beyond the perimeter of the mine.

Twenty minutes didn't give him a lot of time to come up with a rescue plan ready to be put into action when Thunderbird Two arrived, but he'd manage it. He always did and he'd be happy when this rescue was over as they could get back home then and support Alan in his next werewolf transformation which a glance at the clock showed was now only two hours away.

Scott sighed and dismissed thoughts of Alan from his mind for a moment. He had work to do and he was going to do it.

***

Tracy Island


Alan Tracy sat out on the sundeck besides the diving pool gazing out to sea watching the sun as it slowly sunk below the horizon, soon to disappear entirely leaving an afterglow in the sky that, would over a period of about an hour, fade away to be replaced by the star filled blackness of the night. Soon after that the full moon would appear over the horizon and he would again transform into a werewolf.

Alan sighed to himself as he looked at the slowly sinking sun that was casting a rich golden light on this part of the island. He knew that anyone who saw him out here would be surprised to see him. Normally when there was rescue going on he would be in command and control, blue eyes fixed on the screens drinking in the details excitedly. But Alan found that the rescue wasn't grabbing his attention this evening.

Instead his attention was being all taken up by what he knew was going to happen to him tonight after moonrise. As the time of his second werewolf transformation got closer and closer Alan found himself getting increasingly nervous about it.

There was no avoiding it he knew, when the moon came up he would change into a werewolf whether he wanted to or not as he couldn't control the transformation like his father and brothers could yet. It was the inevitability of his change that was bothering him, that he was going to change form soon. He couldn't help but wonder if the metamorphosis would affect his mind as well as his body this time. When he changed would he still be Alan Tracy?

Alan knew that the fear that when he turned into a werewolf he wouldn't be himself anymore was foolish and irrational. Dad and his brothers had all told him that they remained themselves when they changed into their werewolf forms, but try as he might Alan couldn't shake off his fear.

Alan sighed again and looked at the setting sun as it vanished beneath the horizon. Soon, he thought, I'll know soon if that irrational fear of mine is just that an irrational fear.

Alan relaxed back on the chair he was sitting in only to suddenly sit bolt upright again as a sensation unlike anything he'd felt before suddenly began to fill his body. It was a strange internal warmth, mixed with a sensation that was similar to the tingling sensation he'd experienced before his first transformation but different at the same time. And there was something else a feeling like there was something building up inside him in the core of his being, somekind of energy.

Confused as to what the strange sensation inside him was, but knowing somehow that it was linked to him being a werewolf Alan stood up and headed inside to speak to John. He hated to bother his brother during a rescue but he needed to know why he was suddenly feeling like this. Unknowingly moving with the same silence and grace that his father and brothers moved he headed towards command and control.

***

Command and Control


John frowned as he studied the screens with Brains trying to find away to quickly adapt there sensors to scan the mine better before Thunderbird Two reached the danger zone in a few minutes from now.

They weren't having much luck. They couldn't come up with anything to adjust the sensors without reconfiguring circuitry and rewriting filter programs which was something that couldn't realistically be done out in the field as it would time, time that they did not have.

"There is nothing we can do about the sensors is there Brains," John said.

"I'm a...a...afraid that you are r...r...right John," Brains replied in agreement. "We can't c...c...counter the i...i...interference from the m...m...metals in the rocks in the time that we have."

John nodded and sighed to himself it looked like this particular rescue was going to be one of the long ones and considering the timing of the rescue he knew it would not sit well with dad or with his brothers, especially with Scott.

"Mobile control to base any luck with those sensors," Scott's voice abruptly said from the speakers.

"Negative Scott sorry," John replied honestly apologetic. "We have tried everything we can think of and there is no way to adjust the sensors in the time that we have."


"Damn. Understood John. Thanks for trying guys," Scott replied.

"No problem Scott. What's your status there," John asked.

"We have one possibly lucky break. The mines escape shaft is still largely intact from the second level down it's only blocked on the surface and first level where the collapse occurred. If we can use the mole to tunnel into it we will have access to the whole mine."

"Using the mole would be risky," John pointed out.

"I know but I see no alternative."

"There isn't one," John agreed.

"I better get ready to brief the others on our course of action," Scott replied.

"Good luck."

"Thanks we're going to need it on this one." With that Scott cut off and John sighed and leaned back in his seat.

It was at that moment that he felt a familiar tingling in his head accompanied by a buzzing in his left ear, which was facing the door. Alan was approaching and feeling a familiar sensation inside him he smiled guessing why Alan was coming back to command and control. He looked towards the entrance a few moments before his younger brother appeared from around the corner and walked into command and control.

"John can I talk to you," Alan asked.

"Sure squirt," John replied. "Brains do you mind taking over here?"

"No I don't m...m...mind," Brains replied as he normally ran command and control and he'd known from the moment John had stayed behind that he wouldn't stay in command and control for long. Not with Alan due to transform into a werewolf again soon. Brains wouldn't be surprised if he didn't see John again for the rest of the night, he wouldn't be surprised if John changed into a werewolf with Alan tonight in fact he would be surprised if he didn't.

"Thanks Brains," John said standing up. Brains just smiled and returned his attention to the screens and the data displayed on them. John turned to Alan. "Come on."

John led the way out of command and control back into the hallways and corridors of the villa complex. Alan followed and they made there way through the villa back to the main room and ultimately out onto the sundeck where they sat down at the patio table.

"I can guess what you want to talk to me about," John said. "You've got a strange sensation inside you?"

"Yes you feel it too?" Alan asked.

"Of course I do," John replied. "All werewolves do. Though I can ignore it if I want to, just like you will soon be able to. After this month it won't bother you unless you let it."

"It's a weird feeling John," Alan replied. "What's causing it?"

"Basically your body knows instinctively that there's a full moon tonight," John explained. "What you can feel is the approach of moonrise. Your body is starting to react to the changes in the air. Some of the feeling is that the rest is your body is preparing itself for the coming transformation."

"Ah so this feeling of something building up inside me is the werewolf in me getting ready to come out?"

"In a manner of speaking yes. The closer we get to moonrise the stronger the feeling will get. It will only stop when the moon comes up."

"And that's when the transformation will take place," Alan said trying to hide how nervous he was about turning into a werewolf again.

"Its okay to be nervous Alan," John said reading Alan like a book. "Its perfectly natural to be nervous as its only your second transformation."

"Am I that obvious?" Alan asked.

"If you know what to look for," John replied, "now what else is bothering you about the coming change. Don't try to deny it I know something is bugging you about it." Alan sighed.

"Its stupid," he replied.

"Let me be the judge of that Alan. Tell me what's troubling you?"

"Promise you won't laugh."

"I promise."

Alan sighed knowing that he was not going to get out of talking about this and truth be told he didn't want to get out of it. He took a deep breath to steady his nerves. Then he told John everything.

***

Thunderbird Two

Mine Site, South Africa

A Few Minutes Later


Virgil along with Jeff and Gordon listened intently as from mobile control Scott outlined their course of action.

They would be using the Mole to drill down into the mine and gain access to the escape shaft. Then two of them would leave the Mole and descend the steps in the escape shaft to those deep levels which had yet to be flooded and start level by level guiding the miners up towards the second level.

Meanwhile the third would start loading the mineworkers already on the second level aboard the Mole and start bringing them back to the surface. It would take awhile to get everyone back to the surface as the Moles passenger/cargo compartment had a maximum capacity of 26 people in sardine can discomfort, but it was the only way that they were going to get the miners out of the doomed mine.

"Are there any questions," Scott asked over the radio once he had finished the briefing for the rescue plan that he had worked out. Virgil looked over at his father and younger brother. Gordon and Jeff shook their heads they had no questions.

"No Scott there are no questions," Virgil replied. "You've covered everything."

"Okay," Scott replied and Virgil gave a small smile hearing the relief in Scott's voice. "Then lets get this thing started shall we?"

"F.A.B," Jeff, Virgil and Gordon replied in unison all eager to get going. The sooner they put their rescue into operation the sooner they would be finished and could go back home to Tracy Island and Alan.

Without speaking again they all stood up from there seats and left the bridge of Thunderbird Two for the primary pod bay where the Mole and a few other machines and bits of equipment designed for industrial and underground rescues were stored primed and ready to be used. On the way they grabbed helmets and breather packs that would both hide there identities from the miners they would be saving and feed them clear air as they didn't know what the atmosphere was like in the mine.

***

A Few Minutes Later


Virgil sat beside Gordon in the front compartment of the Mole as their father manipulated the Moles controls as they moved away from Thunderbird Two to drilling position.

They had briefly talked amongst themselves and decided who would be doing what during this mission. They had decided that Jeff would remain with the Mole and start bringing the miners on level two back to the surface while Virgil and Gordon descended to the lower levels of the mine.

His eyes focused on the displays Jeff guided the Mole into the proper position then pressed the control that stopped the Moles transporter.

"Mobile control from Mole. Have reached drilling position," Jeff said into the radio.

"F.A.B you are clear to commence drilling," Scott responded instantly from mobile control.

"F.A.B," Jeff replied manipulating the controls of the Mole with expert hands.

A humming noise abruptly filled the Mole as the transporter lifted the rear of the Mole up making the nose of the mighty drilling machine drop downwards so it was pointing at the ground. The humming noise changed pitch becoming deeper and more powerful as the Moles motors started up and the drilling heads at the front of the Mole began turning, slowly at first but rapidly picking up speed until they were nothing but a blur of rapidly spinning superstrong and sharp blades.

A series of dull thuds - that were almost lost in the sound of the motors - sounded in the Mole as the locking clamps holding it to the transport sled disengaged. The Mole dropped clear of the transport sled its drill heads tearing into the sun baked earth as if it was tissue paper. A plume of earth and dust shot up into the sky as the Mole vanished beneath the ground on its way to save the miners trapped beneath the surface.

Sitting in his seat in the front compartment of the Mole Gordon quietly sighed to himself as his thoughts briefly turned away from the rescue to Alan back on Tracy Island. I hope he's all right, he thought knowing in that just over an hour and a half Alan would change into his werewolf form for only the second time in his life. John will look after him, Gordon reassured himself and with effort turned his attention back to the mission though one last thought crept through, I know he will.
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