#then nearly crashing tb1

[tracyislandinmymind]

John’s skeptical look is outstanding

[tsarinatorment]

TAG Ask Game

10. If the fam HAD to swap Thunderbirds, who would you place with which 'bird?

TAG Ask Game

Well, this is a tough one. Some of these are easier than others, but after some deliberation and switching around, I've ended up with...

Thunderbird One - Gordon Thunderbird Two - John Thunderbird Three - Scott Thunderbird Four - Alan Thunderbird Five - Virgil

(I left Shadow/Kayo out of this because I could not figure out how I'd redistribute all of them and be happy with all of the choices - including them, it came out at TB1=Virgil, TB2=Gordon, TB3=John, TB4=Alan, TB5=Kayo and TBS=Scott, but Virgil felt really weird for TB1)

Now, this is not my first choice for all of them. Originally I jumped straight to putting John on TB3, but then that left Scott on TB5 and I think Scott would go mad if you stuck him that far from the action with no way to intervene (although, let's be honest; none of them except John could really do Space Monitor duty). I also initially had Gordon on TB2, but that left John on TB1, which also didn't feel right.

So, the explanation for my final order

Thunderbird One and Gordon: Thunderbird One is first response, field commander role, initial eyes on the ground and primary strategist. If we're taking Scott out of that role, then it was a toss-up between John or Gordon (I know Alan's TB1's backup in TOS but TAG Alan doesn't feel right for that level of responsibility at the moment). And I know we're all thinking of that scene in SOS where Gordon nearly crashes her, but Gordon is a competent pilot! He just needed practice! Gordon's also a strong strategist, and I think would be more confident in the primary response-in-person role over John.

Thunderbird Two and John: The heavy duty work, the always-preparedness, the ability to react to near enough any situation because the right gear is always on hand. As I said, I initially shoe-horned Gordon in on TB2 because of the close connection between TB2 and TB4, but while he's highly competent with her, I think that barring Virgil, John's the one that would best be able to get the most out of what TB2 can offer.

Thunderbird Three and Scott: I know I make quips about how Scott's not an astronaut, he's just a hotshot pilot who happens to go into space a lot, but quite frankly, Scott's gotta go fast, and literally none of the other main 'birds suit that (which is why I would put him on TBS if I was doing the six instead of the five). Follow Dad's footsteps a little more, few trips to the moon and beyond... Scott could definitely do it. Plenty of room for risk-taking on TB3 rescues, too!

Thunderbird Four and Alan: This is the only one I didn't change from my original inception, and I know it sounds a little weird on the surface. I've mentioned in fics how space&ocean are very mirrored from each other and have the same types of risk, so that automatically puts Alan and John in better stead than their Earth&Sky bros. I honestly have no idea what Scott was doing in TB4 in Signals and I can only assume it was because Alan was needed in TB3. Alan's also the youngest and most flexible of the brothers. And I'll be honest, I just can't see any of the other three in TB4 without remembering a comment flyboy-tracy once made about Scott literally "wearing" TB4... they're all too big for her!

Thunderbird Five and Virgil: So, this was a case of "slap the last two options together", because honestly, I couldn't really think of anywhere to put Virgil except TB2. As for TB5, while I know Alan and Scott both canonically take turns in TOS, and Alan and Gordon both take a shift in Man From TB5... well, Alan was the only option for TB4, so that eliminated him, Scott would go completely stir-crazy sat up in TB5 all the time, and I can't imagine taking Gordon that far away from the ocean, although he probably would be pretty decent at it. But, Virgil. Calm, level-headed, maybe not quite as tech-y as John but still pretty good... I think he could do it. (As for why Kayo in my shuffle around with her and TBS - TB5 is the best 'bird for information gathering, organising spy busts and all the rest of it. Sure, she wouldn't be feet on the ground, but girl could do a lot of damage from space. And a lot of keeping her family safe with those super-computers at her disposal)

[tb5-heavenward]

@drdone @such-a-random-rambler

He'll never forgive himself for not believing it at first.

It's just---an emergency code from one of his brothers' ships is designed to override everything else aboard TB5. Everything. John's entire station alters itself around him, without warning. Everything else gets remanded to a lower priority, proverbially put on hold, and the center of his focus becomes whichever of his brothers needs his help. Because if one of them trips their emergency code, it must be an emergency.

But it's all relative. TB2 has literally been on fire and hobbling out of the sky, and Virgil stubbornly hadn't keyed his code, nor ditched his bird in the ocean. TB1 has been in a tailspin incline dive, and Scott had just grit his teeth and fixed it his own damn self, with only a little advice from Alan. Gordon's had his bird nearly torn in half around him, and all he'd done was bail. Promptly. And then immediately picked a fight with a literal Goliath of a submersible mech over a hundred times his size. But it's not as though that was a real emergency.

It's possible that this job might have skewed their perspectives. Just slightly.

But Gordon's also the only one who's ever triggered his code without it being a practiced drill. On a sunny afternoon, with TB4 parked securely inside its hangar and John occupied with backing up Scott and Virgil in the midst of earthquake evac, suddenly his commsphere had flared into high alert around him, and John had nearly had a heart attack. It was the first time in years that an emergency had felt like an emergency, and suddenly he'd been new to the job again, desperate and panicking, and afraid for one of his brothers until---

"I just wanted to make sure it worked."

"…to...to make sure it worked?"

John remembers the way adrenaline had been bitter in his mouth and his heart had been pressing against the back of his throat and he'd been almost dizzy from the whiplash of discovering that his little brother was fine, actually. Parked at home on the island, just doing some standard maintenance.

He hadn't even had the decency to be ashamed. " Yeah! Just, you know. Just checking."

"Of course it fucking works!"

John can't remember the last time he'd gotten as angry as Gordon had made him then, just by pushing a few harmless buttons in a particular order. Incandescent, almost unbelievable shock and outrage.

Gordon had just shrugged, far from as apologetic as John thought he should be. "Well, but I didn't know that. Few hundred feet under water, I get into some shit, I don't wanna just take it on faith that the magic buttons do the thing. I was just thinking about it. I wondered. Now I know."

"I knew! You could've asked! Or you could've warned me, Gordon! We test these things, of course we know they work! Jesus, I thought you---"

"Well, but I was just thinking about it. And now I also know you handle it kinda poorly, John. I could've been dying down here. C'mon. Get your act together."

John doesn't remember how he'd closed the call. He might've just hung up. He remembers needing to pause and take some slow, deep breaths to even his heartrate back out, to calm back down and get back to Scott and Virgil, and a real emergency. And the way that the false alarm had been the scariest thing to happen to him since they'd lost their father, and he hadn't even had his father to go to for reassurance.

He'd done it again a few months later. This time Gordon had sworn up and down that this second time was an accident, put it down to stress and overwork and the fact that their emergency codes are exactly that---codes, random combinations of certain function in their Thunderbirds, which when entered in sequence, trip the personal emergency alarm aboard TB5. It's for situations when their own personal safety is at risk---if one of the Thunderbirds were ever hijacked, or in the event of a crash or injury that required urgent intervention. Even after the first time, it still ranks among John's greatest fears, and an emergency call, even if it's a false alarm, is just absolute hell on his nerves.

"One of these times I'm not going to answer."

Gordon had just scoffed. "Liar. Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. I hit blue when I meant to hit red. It's been a long day down here. But I'm fine! And I'll be honest---it might happen again."

Even if he hadn't meant it to happen---even if he'd been hoping for the opposite---Gordon had planted just the tiniest, mustard seed of doubt in his brother. Even years after the fact, even in the circumstances, the first thing John thinks when TB4's emergency code blares around him is that it must be a false alarm. John's not much for superstition, but he's always been oddly susceptible to the idea of things happening in threes. It seems to make sense. Third time's the charm.

Because there's nothing on the sensors. There's too much interference in the area, TB4's current readouts are just a standby loop of what they were when John last had a good connection, reassuring, green across the board. The same debris clouding the waters and preventing the Chaos Crew from discovering TB4 are likewise muddying TB5's connection, preventing all but the most basic readouts. He has the ship's depth and location and a patent commline, he knows TB4 still exists and that Gordon's still inside---but one of the only things that works when everything else fails is a tripped emergency code.

Still, there's that grain of doubt. that moment of memory for the last time his station had blossomed around him, urgent red with the warning that something was wrong. He'd almost been proud of himself, in the moment, that he'd learned from experience and his heart hadn't leapt directly up to his throat, his pulse spiking and adrenaline coursing into his system. Instead he'd paused a moment. Toggled the comm back on, and cautiously informed his brother, "Gordon, you've activated your emergency code."

"...Gordon?"

"Gordon!"

[vicky82gargoylesfan]

Foreshadowing During Season 3 and SOS Part 2 Theory

Spoilers on SOS part 2, so if you hadn’t read the episode description don’t read.

Foreshadowing

Gordon's rescue has been foreshadowed this season.

Apart from Kayo, Gordon has confronted the Chaos Crew the most, Path of Destructon and Flame Out.

Gordon has been nearly caught up in Fuse's bombs, Chaos part 1, Path of Destruction (even though the bomb is dud) and Flame out.

In Life Signs, even though Gordon wasn't in this episode, Alan says to Virgil "Are you worried about what happening to Dad, happening to you" - So this was foreshadowing the personal rescue.

In Deep Water - Gordon Suit nearly failing and being hit by debris and also Penny being very worried about him.

Theory on Gordon's rescue

I think this episode will have some similarities to the original show episode, Move and Your Dead, Jeff had to keep Alan talking, until his brothers got there.

I assume this will happen in the same area where the Calypso ship crash as Gordon does go to get Brahman but obviously he bumps into the Chaos Crew.

So I think that Gordon will be trapped under some debris from the Calypso ship, he's injured and his suit is failing . I think he will be conscious most of the time but is still in danger of losing consciousness, so his brothers have to get him to keep talking. But I have a feeling he will end up losing consciousness near the end.

Even though TB4 was damaged  in Up From The Depths part 1, it was repaired in Part 2. I think TB4 will be completely destroyed this time round and it may take a few episodes to be rebuilt.

What roles will everyone play, I'm not sure who's in the episode but i'm hoping everyone will be appearing.

I think TB1, TB2, TBS and Penelope's Solar Rig/FAB 1 will appear.

Scott - I think he will be underwater saving Gordon Virgil - He will probably want to be with Gordon, but he has to stay in TB2 and help with the rescue from above. John - I doubt he will be staying in TB5 throughout the episode, he would definitely want to help, but I think he will staying with Virgil. Kayo - I assume she will be Virgil and John. Alan - As we've seen him underwater before (Deep Search), I reckon he will be with Scott underwater helping Gordon too. Penelope - She did some diving in Rigged for Disaster,  she really cares for Gordon so I reckon she will be holding his hand and keep him talking. Grandma - As we only seen her once this season (Flame Out). I know she worries about her Boys going on rescues, so I think she will want to be there on the sidelines hoping Gordon will be safe. Brains - I think he will be on the sidelines but still helping out Parker - Be there for support and holding Sherbert, LOL.

Emotions will be running high in this episode, I reckon some of them will be bit panicky. John and Kayo probably be the calmest, I have a feeling Scott and Virgil may have a small argument and will be Alan be the most emotional. But in the end they will all have to stay focused for Gordon.

I probably end up posting more theory's during the week, when we get more pics, clips and gifs from that Thunderbirdshq account and get more of idea what actually is going to happen in the episode. 

[vicky82gargoylesfan]

SOS Part 1 Thoughts

Wow!!!! what an episode that was and I didn’t expect the little funny subplot too but there is a big reason for it.

Spoilers, also some spoilers from the SOS part 2 description.

So they give Gordon a funny subplot in part 1 but in part 2 all shit is going down and poor Gordon will be receiving a beat down from the Chaos Crew. 

The best thing about this episode is GORDON PILOTING THUNDERBIRD 1!!!!!!!!, that was a big surprise.

I love that moment when John catches Gordon taking TB1

Great to see Scott back and on a rescue.

Yes!!!! looks like the 2 female pilots are in a relationship,  

Hmmm, I guess the SOS Brahman picks up before the crew went to sleep, is from Jeff Tracy. I guess we will find out more in Signals 2 parter.

Just love that moment when Alan shouts out Scott’s name when Scott nearly gets hit by the space dust.

I just love the music score, during when Brahman flies and crashes the ship into the ocean.

Even though it’s only a cameo, Virgil finally appears.

Gordon on a computer and Scott watching him, I guess Scott knows about Gordon flying TB1, LOL.

Next week is part 2 and i’m not ready, i’m not ready, please don’t hurt Gordon to much.

[tb5-heavenward]

flight hours

continuing from part 2, mostly concerns philosophical differences with regards to pacifism.

3

None of his sims have simulated the exit procedure from the interior of a cargo plane's cockpit while said cargo plane is in freefall.

Thankfully it doesn't take much theory to know that he needs to get the hell out of the cockpit, and then out of the damn plane. The forces at play are dizzying, both in theory and in reality, because the plane has started into a corkscrew dive, plummeting towards the sea below. John's already dizzy from the impact with the back of the cockpit, the way his head within its helmet had snapped back as he'd been thrown towards the rear of the plane. He at least seems to be dizzy in the opposite direction to the plane's native spin, so that's something. It almost cancels out. And it's put him closer to where he needs to be, as he peels himself off the back wall, hauls himself towards the cockpit door, the reinforced servos in the joints of his exosuit helping him to overcome the immensity of the G-Force, as he powers his wings back on.

Overhead, looking upward through the cockpit door, he can see the blown open hatch at the back of the plane and the infinity of bright blue freedom beyond it. The interior of the plane is dark, cavernous, a hollow space of bare metal, confining and claustrophobic. When he'd gotten aboard, the cargo bay had been filled with miscellaneous black crates, and now it's apparent what they had contained. Even in those first few moments, he'd gotten the sense that something was wrong, and wished he could've had more intel. Should've trusted his instincts.

Neither here nor there, at this point. At least he's got a straight vertical shot up and clear of the plane. As he pulls himself up through the doorway, John manages to find purchase on the bulkhead, levers himself to his feet, unfolding long limbs with the assistance of the exosuit. The suit is haptically controlled, and so flexing his back changes the positioning of his wings, and he extends his hands to wrap his fingers around the dual joysticks that control his thrusters. There's also a secondary switch for his comms, and he toggles this on, announcing, "Thunderbird One, I'm about ready to bail out of this thing. Am I clear?"

"Negative, John, there's about two dozen mechs out here, and they'll tear you apart. Kayo's en route. She'll be here in fifteen minutes. Stay where you are until I can---"

Where John is is in the belly of a cargo plane, spiraling towards the Coral Sea, and while he hasn't ever coded a simulation to match this exact scenario, he's still pretty sure that this is not really a situation in which one stays put. He's got maybe two minutes, tops, until splashdown, and that's presuming that the plane isn't rigged with any other nasty surprises. "...Until you can do what, exactly?"

"Until I can clean up out here!" There's a slight strain of effort in Scott's voice, the one that goes along with him throwing his Thunderbird through its paces, that sort of tactile physicality that John just doesn't share with TB5. He's not quite there yet with the exosuit, either, despite the intimacy of its very existence, and despite the fact that it's going to be the thing that saves him from crashing into the ocean aboard a falling jet plane.

There's an implication in Scott's answer, and it takes John by surprise, because it's not something he ever would've expected from his brother. In fact, it's something he'd have considered a stark impossibility, if it weren't for the situation they're currently facing.

It's a question they've all been asked, something they've all been offered, a choice they'd each had to make for themselves. Scott had made his own preferences loudly and clearly apparent, but even so, he hadn't done anything further to exert his will upon any of his brothers' choices. He'd left The Decision up to each of them.

So John has a question to ask, because the answer to it will change what exactly he does next. He's still hesitant, a little bit uncertain as he asks, "...did you take the upgrade to Protocol Theta?"

There's immediate hostility in the beat of his elder brother's silence, offense taken. And then, though by now John doesn't need the answer, a heated and empathic, "No. No way in hell, John."

And that settles it. John flexes his shoulders again, and engages his controls. "Well," he answers, bending his knees just slightly as he feels the jets at his back whine into life. There's already a countdown to launch running at the back of his mind, and in a second or so he'll be out there in the same deep blue as his brother, facing the same external threat. "I did."

And he launches himself out the back of the plane and into the fray.

As far as Scott knows, Gordon did, Alan didn't. Kayo already had, ever since their first run in with the Mechanic. He hadn't been sure about Virgil or John, but he would've bet no for both of them.

Theta is a weapons upgrade.

TB1 is not---and never will be---a weapon, but after what had happened with TB4 and the Mariana Trench, after the TV-21 and TB3---there'd been a family meeting, though it hadn't been called by a member of the family.

Well. Not a member by blood, anyway.

Brains had insisted that they all be there, and their grandmother too, probably for the benefit of her sage advice and wisdom, but also probably because he'd gone to her with the idea in the first place, to get her approval. It had been late and everyone had been tired, emotionally and physically. There'd been the uncomfortably prescient sense that what they'd gone through was only the start of worse to come. And Brains had brought up the Theta Protocol.

The most fiendishly clever aspect of the Mechanic's mechs is the fact that the weapons best capable of disabling them are some of the most illegal in the world. A simple electromagnetic pulse would make short, effortless work of any of his drones, but their usage is staunchly forbidden by the World Council.

It's still what Brains had offered. He'd put it in simple, purely practical terms, and said that the best defenses in the world could only go so far, and that this would be the only time and the only situation in which he would offer them the option to arm themselves. He'd put it on the table, and left it to the five of them to make their choices, said that they could each get back to him privately, and no one else ever need know what option they'd taken. Kayo had, rather darkly, hinted that it might be best if they kept their choices to themselves unless it became absolutely necessary. Plausible deniability.

Virgil had had his engines torn out from beneath him in midflight, been forced into the choice between ditching his bird in the ocean or crash landing it on the island. Gordon had nearly been crushed to death inside his ship, then seen TB4 ripped in half in front of him. Scott had nearly been murdered alongside his baby brother, burned away to atoms by one of their own ships, turned against them.

He remembers being hazy and exhausted in that specific aftermath, but he'd still stood up in the middle of the lounge, and made some righteously principled declaration about his own personal opinion on the subject. He'd announced the legacy their father had left them didn't allow him to take this option, that they were better than to need to stoop to the Mechanic's level. That he hoped his brothers would give the implications of the prospect some serious consideration, because they would be opening a door they couldn't exactly close again---but also that he wouldn't stop them, whatever they felt was necessary.

Because he couldn't in good conscience forbid his brothers the option to defend themselves.

And even with a swarm of drones bouncing off the hull of his 'bird, even with electrical interference starting to threaten his control of his ship, Scott still feels his jaw set like stone as he watches a blur of blue and goldenrod yellow come rocketing upward up out of the back of the plane, and knows that his brother's made a choice he doesn't agree with.

It's particularly galling as John gets some altitude, and at distance makes an assessment of Scott's current situation. His voice crackles over the comm, almost disbelieving, "Oh boy. You're just in a hell of a lot of trouble, aren't you? Sit tight, Scotty."

"Don't call me Scotty," Scott snaps, for lack of anything better to say.

Because John's currently in possession of an illegal piece of weaponry---has been this entire time---and he's rocketing in Scott's direction, grim and determined and apparently spoiling for a fight. Only about twenty minutes ago, Scott had been condescending to him about his skills as a pilot. Now Scott's in trouble, knows it, didn't need it stated. Realistically, he should be glad that he's got his brother for backup, glad that John has options available. Practically, there are about two dozen murderously dangerous mechs teeming around his 'bird, damaging his shields in quick, glancing blows even as he tries to evade them, and he's going to be in pretty serious danger if someone doesn't do something.

But this is still the last possible situation in which he wants to engage the worst pilot in the family.

Well, of course he'd taken the upgrade.

Gordon had too, that was a given. Virgil was resolutely, intensely private about his choice, and wouldn't say one way or the other. Alan had quietly wanted John's opinion on what he should do, and it had been John's opinion that it wasn't something Alan was ever going to need, and he'd been glad to watch his little brother gratefully decline another too-grown-up responsibility.

And Scott had felt compelled to set an example in their father's absence. As the eldest, that's probably his prerogative. John's the second-eldest, and needs to follow no such standard. In fact, there's probably an argument to be made for the merits of devil's advocacy, for offering an alternative to Scott's take on things. For John, it had been the simple consideration of better safe than sorry, and the practical reality that he was also the least likely to ever need to use a weapons upgrade, such as it was. In his opinion, the differences between what they already had and what Brains was offering were academic, anyway. It's not like TB4 doesn't have a nose full of demo charges. It's not like TB2 isn't equipped with some of the most powerful industrial grade lasers on the planet. It's not like Scott wouldn't level a grapnel at the face of anyone who threatened one of his brothers and pull the trigger, if by doing so he could save a member of his family from harm. Not like their father wouldn't have either.

And further to that point, at least in this specific scenario, it's not like they'd be hurting anyone by defending themselves. The Mechanic weaponizes drones, has a suite of mechs that seem specifically designed to disable aircraft; their aircraft. He remote pilots everything, has nothing at risk and nothing to lose when he goes on the offensive. It's an unfair advantage, and not one John believed they could tolerate.

So, carefully constructed and cleverly hidden, his exosuit contains a mini EMP device. Short range, limited output, single use and disposable. Usable directionally or in a radial burst, with only enough power for a limit of two minutes. Very, very illegal. A last resort, in case of emergency.

The sky full of insectoid drones menacing his brother's Thunderbird seems like it constitutes an emergency.

And surprisingly, bringing today's efforts around full circle, it turns out that flying is a great deal easier when it's obviously an emergency than when it is demonstrably not. Weaving in and out and around Brains' preprogrammed drones in their own airspace while Scott tells him that he needs to make his turns a little tidier is one thing. Negotiating his way out of a falling cargo plane and into a sky full of hostile mechs is entirely another. Apparently there are some actual merits to on the job training.

So John doesn't second-guess himself for a moment as he rockets a thousand, two thousand, three thousand feet upward, gets well clear of the plane falling away below him in case it decides to explode, and up above the swarm of drones that fill the air around Thunderbird One. He wouldn't have predicted it, especially after being harangued all day about the finer aspects of his piloting ability, but there's a weird sense of anticipation building up, as he peers down and clinically assesses the mess Scott's gotten into.

It's worse than he'd expected.

John can't help but be a little bit dumbfounded by the fact that there'd been two dozen mechs lying in wait for them, and they just hadn't had any way to tell. He'd known there were drones, had assumed Scott was exaggerating, and hadn't expected more than a handful, but this is a swarm. If he and Scott held slightly less disparate philosophical positions about the weaponization of Thunderbirds, then the current situation would probably be a death sentence for one or both of them.

"Oh boy. You're just in a hell of a lot of trouble, aren't you? Sit tight, Scotty."

His brother's voice is taut, irritated and tense in his ear as he answers, "Don't call me Scotty."

And John can't quite help a grin at that, as his hands tense around the controls again.

continued >>