#it's quarter to midnight and I've been awake since 5am so night y'all

[flyboytracy]

Scene Unscene - The Long Reach

We’re on day four of Earth and Sky week, gosh. It’s been hella fun reading everything that people have written. Ya’ll have made my heart gurgle for Virgil this week :D

Here’s my contribution to Earth&Sky2021 Day 4 || Scene Unscene and that moment aboard the Zero XL before they launched in search of Jeff.

☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆.。.:*・°☆

“Then it’s time to fly. We’ll leave the Zero-XL here and take the Thunderbirds to the planetoid.” Scott decided, but it took a couple of minutes to get the fleet ready for a launch into the unknown.

Scott spent those minutes staring at the projection of the planetoid as John and Brains discussed concepts he barely understood and couldn’t concentrate on anyway.

All Scott could focus on was the planetoid deep in the Oort Cloud. It was barely the size of the sunsoaked island they’d left behind and looked pretty much how Scott had felt since the day his dad disappeared; jagged and broken and ready to break apart at any moment.

If anyone could survive on such a desolate rock it would be Jeff Tracy, the greatest hero of the age and Scott’s personal idol for as long as he could remember. All he’d ever known was his dad, standing so tall against the bright blue skies of Kansas summers. All Scott had ever wanted was to be as tall as his dad and he’d achieved that before hitting his twenties, but he was still only half the man his father was.

Scott had managed to come to terms with that by focussing on International Rescue instead. Missions took up most of his time and his family took up the rest of it which only left him an hour on every second Wednesday to wonder what dad would think of his decisions. Would he understand? Scott had always been able to tell himself that dad wasn’t perfect and he’d understand that sometimes, to keep playing, Scott had to choose the least of a few bad options. He’d been able to tell himself anything he’d needed to hear when the anxiety and self-doubt threatened to drown him. But now only a few miles and a massive cloud of icy space debris lay between him and his commander and Scott could feel himself begin to slip beneath the surface into an ocean of doubt all over again.

But then a hand upon his shoulder pulled him out of his thoughts and Scott didn’t even need to turn from the projection to know who it was. He could recognise the weight of that hand anywhere and didn’t bother with words. Sometimes words weren’t enough. What words were big enough to encompass what they were about to do?

It was the mission of a lifetime. Dad might’ve been the first man to step upon an alien planet and he’d founded International Rescue, but he’d never led a mission onboard experimental technology that’d taken them two light years across the universe to a tiny little planetoid. He’d never been faced with the very real possibility that they might be too late and he might be taking his little brothers to their father’s grave. They were about to get an answer after eight years spent screaming at the sky and Scott could barely breathe from the pressure.

Thus he did what he’d always done and got to his feet because Virgil’s presence meant he’d finished the final checks and the Thunderbirds were safe to fly. It was time to go into the unknown.

He wouldn’t be going alone. The hand on his shoulder promised him that, as did the look in those brown eyes and the tiny but confident smile that played about his little brother’s mouth.

Whatever lay ahead, they’d face it together. Scott promised his brother without even bothering to open his mouth. He reached out instead to cup the back of Virgil’s head and pulled him close ‘til Virgil’s forehead rested against his own and the universe went quiet for a moment. The ever-present buzz of anxiety stilled and Scott couldn’t even hear his own heartbeat pulsating in his ears. If he closed his eyes he could pretend they were back home and he could practically feel the solid ground beneath his feet. He could feel the earth spin and the warmth of sunlight on his face just like when they were kids and the world was theirs to explore. Every part of him ached for the childhoods they’d lost but at the same time he hungered to give the last remnants of Alan and Gordon’s back to them.

It was time to go. Scott buried his little brother in a hug, squeezing him so tight his bones almost popped before letting him escape to his ship.

“Thunderbirds are go!”