Scott grinned over at his co-pilot, Virgil. "Smooth as silk."

"Definitely a grandma ride," Virgil returned the grin from behind the protective goggles covering half of his face. Opening up a comm line, his tone was professional. "Palmdale Tower, going to horizontal flight."

"Roger that, HX14, horizontal flight."

Scott flipped a series of overhead switches, then took hold of the yoke. "Whoa, what was that?"

Virgil was frowning at his board, shaking his head. It was the second day of flight tests for the new Tracy Enterprises commercial hoverjet. This was the first transition from hover to horizontal flight test, and the shudder that had run through jet had surprised them both. "I don't know, Scott. My board is green."

"All right, tell the field we're bringing her back in in horizontal mode."

"FAB," Virgil reopened his communication line. "Palmdale, we're bringing her down. There was a problem with transition."

"What kind of problem, son?" Jeff's voice sounded through their headphones as if the man were standing next to them rather than halfway around the world.

"Not sure, Dad. All of my sensors are green, but we felt a definite shudder during the transition."

"All right. Don't try to go back to hover mode. Just land her as is."

"We're way ahead of you, Dad. Scott's on final approach already."

Scott listened to his brother with half an ear. He was already on a separate line with tower control. "Palmdale Tower, I'm going to do a low and slow. Give me eyeballs on this beast, Ted."

"Understood, Scott. We're waiting for you."

Scott licked his lips against the sudden dryness in his mouth. For all of his reputation as a crack test pilot, he didn't like surprises when he was flying. The shudder was definitely a surprise.

For eight hours the previous day, he and Virgil had put the HX14 through its paces in vertical flight. From the get go, he had loved the responsiveness of the machine. It hadn't faltered once, and Scott had been sure that today's tests would go just as smoothly.

He did a pass of the tower from left to right, then flew out over the California desert to do a careful, miles wide bank before taking a second slightly higher pass, showing his underbelly, from right to left. "Palmdale, how do I look?"

"She looks good, HX14. I've scrambled the fire squad just in case. Bring her in, Scott."

"All right, Ted. Standby."

Scott flew out over the desert, again making a wide shallow turn before lining up with the runway. He glanced over at his brother. "Uh, would you consider bailing out? I'll take her up to 5000 feet, spot you right next to the tower."

Before Virgil could explode, Scott continued, apologetically. "Had to ask, man. You know that, right?"

He watched as his brother swallowed his ire. Still, his tone was dangerous when he spoke. "Scott, if you don't have faith in this ship, we can take her up to 5000 feet, and you can jump. I designed this thing, and shudder be damned, it's a safe ship. Let's just get her on the ground so I can figure out what happened."

"Fair enough," Scott replied. Virgil's confidence bolstered his own, and he turned back to the task at hand. He landed the jet with barely a bounce, and ran it all the way out, applying the brakes tentatively at first, then with more authority.

Reaching the end of the runway, he turned the big jet around and taxied her to the hangar, waving jauntily to the fire crew as he passed them by. "Remind me to send some steaks or something to those guys."

"Tell you what. You spring for the steaks, and I'll buy the lobster."

Scott nodded as he brought the jet to a halt. He started in on the shutdown checklist as a herd of technicians swarmed the ship. Sensing his brother jittering next to him, he said, "I'll cover the shut down, you go keep the nerds under control."

"Hey, I resemble that remark," Virgil said, as he scrambled out of his seat.

Scott smiled as he continued flipping switches. It took him a good twenty minutes to complete his checklist, and with a slight frown, he made a notation on his clipboard to get with Brains on ways to automate the shutdown procedures.

He got up from his seat and stretched to relieve the tension in his spine. With a satisfied sigh, he headed for the hatch. He heard the roaring before he ever got to the steps down to the ground.

With a frown, he peeked out of the hatchway. Halfway down the fuselage, he saw Virgil, beet red in the face yelling at a quailing technician. Frown deepening, he hopped to the ground, and hustled to his brother's side. "Virg, calm down, man, before you blow a blood vessel."

Virgil turned a murderous look on his brother. "Don't tell me to calm down! Don't you tell me to calm down! Some effing asshole practically killed us, so don't you tell me to calm down!"

The technician had scurried away as soon as Virgil's attention was diverted. Scott crossed his arms and cocked an eyebrow and waited.

The pose seemed to infuriate Virgil all the more. He turned even redder and gestured angrily at an open hatch. "Look at this. Just look. Some idiot installed a GK3 chip instead of a 6Wx. It overloaded and burned out the entire system. Scott, if you'd tried to take her back to hover, the whole damn ship would have exploded!"

Scott felt his stomach clench at the news, but he didn't let it show on his face. "All right. We'll find out who did it and fire the bastard. Still not worth you having a stroke."

In the face of Scott's calm, Virgil couldn't keep on with his anger. Finally with a sigh, he said, "It'll take weeks to repair this. We don't have the time."

Scott heard the disappointment in his brother's tone. It was a disappointment that he shared. He had hoped to complete the flight tests on the HX14 by the end of the week, because next Tuesday, he was scheduled to fly with Alan and Brains out to Asteroid One to do a repair on their faltering nuclear engine.

"Tell you what. We'll change out Gordon for John before we leave. Has two pluses. First, you can have John as co-pilot when you're ready to test her, and second, well, Gordon on Thunderbird Five. 'Nuff said."

Virgil snorted a laugh, and Scott relaxed a bit. Now that his brother was calmer, he turned to the opened maintenance hatch. "So, didn't you inspect this part of the ship yourself?"

Virgil ducked his head. "Honest to God, Scott, I don't know how I could have missed it."

"Maybe you didn't."

Virgil's head came up at the hard tone. "What do you mean?"

"This is just like Asteroid One. Or did you think we were immune?"

Turning suddenly pale, Virgil covered his mouth. In the year since Asteroid One's nuclear engine had first malfunctioned, an inch-by-inch inspection of its systems had revealed that a crucial control chip had been stolen and replaced with a useless decoy chip.

The theft seemed to point to one technician who had subsequently died in an auto accident. Brains was confident that it was a case of industrial espionage, but the stolen chip had yet to surface as far as anyone could tell.

Scott nodded his head. "We'll get security to review the surveillance tapes, see if anyone showed an interest in this panel."

Jaw working, Virgil nodded. "There's no point in sticking around here. I meant it when I said the repairs will take weeks."

Glancing at the melted wires and warped components, Scott had to agree. Patting his stomach, he said, "Just as well. I've been pining for Grandma's cooking."

With a smile, Virgil said wistfully, "If we call ahead, maybe she'll make us a pork roast."

Scott slapped his brother's shoulder. "Let's get out of here."

The two Tracys walked side by side out of the hangar.

Scott scratched at his stubbly chin and thought for the fifth time in as many days that he should never have agreed to Alan's suggestion of a beard growing contest. They'd been in flight for only a week, but already, he'd had to trim his beard twice.

He had no doubt that he was going to win. Alan's beard was coming in, but oddly, it was the color of Gordon's red hair. As much as the itching made Scott crazy, the reddish color of the beard was making Alan just plain nuts.

Scott glanced toward the third seat in the cabin, and felt a twinge of sympathy for Brains. Where the Tracy genes insured a full healthy growth, Brains' beard was hardly worthy of the name. The engineer had only managed a few scraggly strands. If Scott had known before the flight that Brains couldn't grow facial hair, he would have refused the contest.

"Coming up on final course correction in three… two… one…" Alan intoned, pushing several keys on his computer keyboard to deliver the instruction. "Thunderbird Three to base. Johnny, can you confirm the course correction for me?"

"John's on a break. I'll confirm it for you." Gordon popped into view. Scott carefully bit his lip to keep from laughing. The younger Tracy had dyed his hair to match Alan's sun-bright shade of blond in a show of support. He'd wanted to grow out a beard, but their father had nixed the idea.

Gordon looked down at his computer and frowned. "Uh, are you aiming at the sun, there, Al?"

"Gordon…" Scott said sternly, "Quit fooling around."

"Move." Gordon disappeared from the screen, and suddenly, there was John. "Thunderbird Three, your course is confirmed."

"Thanks, Johnny. I estimate reaching the asteroid in two hours, thirteen minutes."

"I agree. It should be visible to the naked eye pretty soon."

"Uh, not uh, yet, John," Brains said, his eye glued to a camera view. "It is fully visible, but only with uh, magnification."

John suddenly looked to one side. "Sorry fellas, we've got a rescue call coming in. Gotta go."

Scott felt a twinge of consternation. In the three weeks before lift off, International Rescue had only been called out once, but if this call resulted in a rescue, it would be the third in a week.

Feeling Alan's eyes on him, he barked, "What?"

"Nothing," the blond replied with a smirk in his voice. "Hey, either of you guys hungry?"

Scott completed his check of the navigation boards. There was no reason to believe John's confirmation of their course was inaccurate, but frankly, Scott had nothing better to do.

Truth of the matter was Thunderbird Three did not need two crewmen. When International Rescue was still on the drawing board, Jeff had balked at the idea of his then teenage son being entrusted with the big, powerful rocket. Not willing to let his father crush his little brother's belief in himself, Scott had suggested that Brains build in additional controls to convince Alan that TB3 was a two man job.

If Scott were to be honest with himself, he'd have admitted that Alan was a top flight astronaut. But secretly, Scott had an ulterior motive for not admitting it: he liked flying Thunderbird Three almost as much as Thunderbird One. Almost.

"What have you got, Al?"

"I was thinking we should break out one of Grandma's casseroles. Once we get there, who knows when we'll have time to eat?"

"Sounds like a plan."

"Okay, back in five."

The younger man headed downship to the small galley. Scott glanced over at Brains again, but the man was in full science geek mode, and likely unwilling to engage in small talk.

With a sigh, Scott opened up a link with Earth. "Thunderbird Three to Base. John, you there?"

"Yeah, I'm here, Scott."

"So, what's the action? Is there a rescue?"

"No, it was a false alarm. Some kid fell over a cliff, but local SAR has it under control."

"Good. Listen, can you upload those month end reports we were talking about? I've got some time to kill, might as well be productive."

There was a low comment from off screen, and John suddenly smirked. Scott narrowed his eyes. "What?"

John smiled sweetly and shrugged, "Nothing."

"It sounded like something to me."

Gordon pushed into view. "Actually, we were just talking about various bird calls we hear around the island…"

John shouldered his brother out of the way. "Knock it off. Sorry about that, Scott. He hasn't had his nap this afternoon. You sure you want those reports? Virg said he'd do them as soon as he finished up on Buggy."

Taking a breath, Scott shook his head. "Just send the reports."

"Okay, sure thing, Scott."

Scott glanced over at Brains, but the engineer gave no indication that he had heard the exchange. He knew Gordon would have made some sort of nasty crack, had John not intervened. For the life of him, he had no clue what birdcalls had to do with anything, or what, if anything, he'd done to piss his younger brother off. Sighing, he turned back to his own screen, where the promised reports had appeared. With a sigh, he started in.

A few minutes later, he was glad to set them aside, as Alan entered, the mouth-watering smell of one of their grandmother's casseroles preceding him.

"Gawd, that smells good," Scott said, licking his lips.

"I know. Nothing like a few days of rations to make Grandma's cooking smell all that much better."

Scott nodded as he accepted his zero-grav bowl filled with an aromatic stew. Alan handed a second bowl to Brains who mumbled his thanks, then sat down at his station. He frowned at the report on Scott's screen. "What's that?"

Scott swallowed a mouthful of stew and shrugged, "Month end reports."

Alan wrinkled his nose, but didn't say anything, instead shoveling a spoonful of stew into his mouth. Scott continued working as he ate, and by the time he was done, he had already completed two of the ubiquitous reports.

His brother, who was busy at his pilot station suddenly exclaimed, "Hey look, there she is!"

Scott looked up at the screen, and sure enough there was a small bright dot. As he watched, the dot slowly enlarged, the only visual proof of the speed at which they flew.

"Okay, so we're ready then, right?" Scott asked his colleagues.

"FAB, uh, Scott."

"We were born ready. You know that," Alan responded with a grin.

Scott grinned back and offered his brother a high five. Alan slapped hands with him, and with a look of fierce determination, turned back to his control panel.

Within the next 90 minutes, the asteroid grew from a shining dot, to a mountain-sized behemoth. Scott had known the dimensions of the thing from the reports he had received, but the reality was startling.

Roughly rounded, the asteroid covered the entire field of view and they were still several hundred kilometers out. What had seemed like a great idea several years ago, now looked like folly to Scott. If this asteroid were to hit the earth, the consequences would be catastrophic, as in "worldwide extinction" catastrophic.

Scott ruthlessly suppressed his misgivings. The answer was obvious. Don't let the damn thing anywhere near Earth. His attention was diverted as Alan announced final maneuvers.

Alan took the big ship off automatic control, and grabbed the steering yoke like Thunderbird Three was one of his racing cars. With Scott and Brains looking on, the young astronaut directed the ship in a wide circle, to bring them to the back of the asteroid.

When they reached the 'darkside,' Scott couldn't help his whistle of awe. Alan's course was bringing them fairly close to one of the big nuclear engines driving the asteroid on. The venting port was blasting blue white fire into space, a trail at least a couple hundred yards long, and with a circumference of 212 feet. Scott knew that dimension from his reading.

What his reading hadn't told him was how downright beautiful the exhaust stream would be. "Pretty."

Alan grinned, "Yeah, it is, isn't it?"

Brains, who had been just as entranced, shook it off and snorted. "Alan, can you take us out ten uh, miles or so? I'd like to uh, get a general overview of the uh, engine placement."

"Sure, Brains."

Alan gunned the ship, and within a few minutes, had them well to the rear of the asteroid. Spinning the ship in place, he put the asteroid in the dead center of the scanners. "How's that, Brains?"

Brains was concentrating on the placement of the engines, and he simply nodded, distractedly. Scott and Alan shared an eye-rolling glance, then checked out the view themselves.

From this distance, the ring of mighty engines were mere pinpricks of light on the surface of the asteroid. Scott kept his eyes on the lights in the upper left quadrant, and sure enough, after a few minutes, one of them stuttered and fell dark.

Alan's gloved finger thrust out. "There she is."

Scott nodded, and looked over at Brains. "Brains? Seen enough? Ready to get to work?"

The engineer startled from his scrutiny, nodded. "Uh, yes. Yes, I am. Let's uh, do this!"

Tickled by his friend's enthusiasm, Scott opened up communications. "Asteroid One, this is Thunderbird Three on approach. Can you give us a vector?"

"Thunderbird Three, welcome to Asteroid One. We're mighty glad to see you. Sending vector now."

Scott eyed the transmitted data as he replied, "Thank you, Asteroid One. We'll be with you in uh, eight minutes. Thunderbird Three, out."

Alan nodded his agreement as he concentrated on his delicate dance of thrusters and braking engines. Scott concentrated on his own station, making sure that Alan's moves would put them where they needed to be.

Soon they were flying over oddly earth-like hills and valleys. Scott spotted several geodesic domes that were used for hydroponic farming as well as for living quarters.

As they came in close, Scott saw the Universal Dock standing straight out from the top of a small dome attached by tubes to a much larger dome. Both domes were situated on a large plateau almost a mile from the nearest engine.

Alan had the dock in his crosshairs, and when they connected, there was barely a bump. "Good job, Alan."

Alan smiled at his big brother. "You had any doubt?"

"Not a one. Let's get this show on the road," Scott said as he unbuckled his safety harness. With a practiced push, he floated over to the elevator that would take them to the lower decks where the ship was mated to the base.

All three men boarded the elevator. It was a tight fit, but the trip only lasted a few moments, and then they were spilling out into the ready room. Scott headed straight for the exterior hatch, where he studied the controls to make sure the seal was tight, and a breathable atmosphere awaited them on the other side.

Satisfied, he looked back at his comrades. He felt a twinge at the sight. While both Alan and Brains were squared away, wearing their shipsuits like a uniform, the facial hair gave them both a scruffy look. Knowing he looked the same, he sighed, and asked, "Ready?"

"Absolutely," came Alan's confident reply.

With a short nod, Scott triggered the hatch control and the door slid open. Waiting on the other side were two men, both of whom Scott immediately recognized. One was tall, gray-haired and distinguished looking. The other was shorter with a wild untrimmed beard and an even wilder look in his eye.

The tall man stepped forward and offered his hand. "Welcome aboard Asteroid One. I am Captain Singh. This is Mr. Asbury."

Scott took the proffered hand and shook it. "How do you do. I'm Scott, this is Alan, and this is Hy."

There ensued a short back and forth as everyone shook hands and offered greetings. When the formalities were over, Captain Singh gestured to the tube. "Will you gentlemen join us in a conference room?"

Scott grimaced slightly, "Well, yes, Hy and Alan will join you. I'd rather stay here. If you've got some people that would like to help, we've brought you folks some fresh food that I'd like to get unloaded."

Asbury's eyes lit up. Captain Singh wasn't so easily fooled, though. He obviously realized that in addition to offloading supplies, Scott would be guarding his ship. Still, he accepted the necessity and with real warmth said, "Thank you. It is most kind of you. I will send porters."

Singh gestured for Brains and Alan to proceed him down the passageway, and Brains immediately floated away. Alan looked back at Scott to reassure himself that his brother would be all right, and at Scott's minute nod, followed behind.

Captain Singh waited patiently for Asbury, but the man had a question for Scott. "Um, don't suppose you brought us any ice cream?"

Scott smiled. He had known about Chuck Asbury's love of ice cream since he'd first started getting stockholder reports on the mission. "Chocolate."

The man's smile bloomed. "Excellent. Join us for dinner, Scott. We're having chocolate ice cream for dessert."

Scott chuckled, immediately warming to the man. "Sounds good."

With a laugh, Asbury headed down the tube, shepherded by his captain. Scott watched them go, then headed to the storeroom.

48 hours later

Scott watched as Nuclear Engine Number Seven loomed ever larger over him. He was seated with Brains and two engineers from the asteroid's staff in a large lunar rover. At least, his mind insisted on calling it a lunar rover. Alan had pointed out before he left that it was actually an asteroid rover.

The big wheeled contraption was slow, but the trip was less than a mile, and now it was near the end. The engine stood a full two hundred feet above the surface of the asteroid. Scott knew from his reading that it also extended another two hundred feet below the surface.

It seemed amazing that the huge skyscraper-sized machine could be brought low by a computer chip no bigger than his thumb. In the cold darkness at the base of the engine, the rover came to a halt by one of the ubiquitous living domes. This one was dark, but Bill Watts hit the door controls, and the whole thing lit up.

As the four men entered through the airlock, Scott could hear the sounds of machinery powering up. The other engineer, Avi Toric, grinned. "We'll have heat and air in no time."

Scott sighed. "We aren't really going to need it, are we? Bra… Hy, it's not going to take you that long to install the chip, is it?"

From the time they had arrived, Scott had found himself at odds with the people on the asteroid. They were in it for the long run, and had no sense of urgency about the repair. Scott had conceded that once the chip was in place, the asteroid still had several months to go before it was in its final orbit between the moon and Earth.

What he hadn't been able to get across was that he had better things to do, better places to be. He had expected to land, fix the engine and leave, all within a few hours.

The asteroid's crew was more interested in talking. Talking about all the gossip from Earth. Talking all about the families they left behind. Talking about their plans and hopes for the future.

Scott realized that he should have anticipated that people stuck with nothing but their own company for over two years would be anxious to talk with anyone new. If he'd thought about it, he would have brought along Virgil, who was a great listener. Or maybe Gordon, who could entertain people for hours on end.

"Wouldn't you like to tour the facility first?" Avi asked, his attention on Brains.

Brains' eyes lit up, but with a glance at Scott, he shook his head. "Uh, no, we'd better just uh, get to work."

All three engineers studiously looked anywhere but at a suddenly disconcerted Scott. He felt like he was taking away Christmas. He shook his head at the fancy. He wasn't the field commander of International Rescue because he was afraid of making an unpopular decision.

"Well, then, let's get on with it."

In his hardsuit, Brains nodded, and with Watts in the lead, headed for the panel that needed repair. Toric grumbled, "This'd be easier if we had gravity and atmosphere."

Scott shook his head. "I've already told you, we can't wait the three days that would take. We're needed back on Earth."

Watts, who had been using an electronic wrench to open the panel, stopped and shook his head. "Now, see, that's what I don't understand, Scott. I've kinda followed the exploits of International Rescue, and I know for a fact that you guys don't do all that many rescues in outer space. I should think you'd appreciate the chance to get out and do things. I mean, don't the guys that fly Thunderbird One and Two keep score on how many rescues you each do?"

Scott sucked in a breath. Guys like Watts were dangerous. They would jump on any slip of the tongue to speculate about the organization of International Rescue.

Looking the man in the eye, Scott said, "No, we don't keep score on the number of rescues. We do, however, keep score on readiness. I'm not going to put even one life in danger because we weren't ready at a moment's notice." He shook his head. "Just because Thunderbird Three's rescues are few and far between doesn't mean there can't be another right away. As much as we'd like to stick around here, we just can't. We're already so far away from Earth that any rescue would be problematic. We have to get this done, and get back to base. Surely, you can see that?"

All three engineers had raised their eyebrows at the outburst. Scott sighed and shook his head, surprised that he had raised his voice. Brains took the pressure off. "There now, see? You've uh, made him show emotion. You should be uh, ashamed of yourselves."

Brains' amused tone took the sting from the words, and both other engineers snorted, and turned back to their work. Rolling his eyes, Scott found a handhold to anchor himself. He stood back to let the men get the job done.

After months of planning, and days of flight, the actual repair was rather anticlimactic. Once the panel was open, Brains reached in, and pulled out the decoy chip, handing it to Watts, then took the replacement from its padded case, and wired it in. The whole job took less than two minutes. "There. Uh, done."

Brains turned to his fellow engineers, and nodded. "Let's get this, uh, panel closed up, then we can uh, run some tests."

Watts, who had been holding the dummy chip, leaned over to put it in his carry bag, when there was a sudden flash of light. The man screamed, and Scott, watched in horror as blood was sprayed by the force of air escaping from Watts' suit.

Immediately in rescue mode, Scott pulled a seal patch from a pocket of his suit, and pushed hard to get to the man. Thinking quickly, Brains had grabbed the man's arm, and was squeezing with all of his might, trying to minimize the loss of air.

Scott slapped the patch on, grimacing. The flash of light had obviously been a booby trap explosive in the decoy chip. Tiny, but powerful, the explosion had ripped off three of the man's fingers. The seal patch formed a bubble over the hand, stopping the loss of suit pressure, but doing nothing for the blood loss.

"Brains? What do we do?"

In his helmet, Brains' face was as pale as the white suit surrounding him. "We need pressure. We need the pressure shelter. Now."

Scott hit the release on the backpack he had been carrying. The asteroid crew had assured him over and over that the repair was simple, and nothing could go wrong. His insistence on carrying his ER backpack had not endeared him to Chuck Asbury or any of the other designers of the asteroid's systems, but Scott was glad he'd stood firm.

He pulled out the emergency shelter from the pack. It was intended for use when a hard suit wasn't available. It was like a large plastic pup tent that could hold up to ten people for several hours, if there was oxygen enough.

Scott was fumbling to attach a hose to his own suit's air system, when Toric grabbed his arm. "Use this, it's attached directly to the dome's air."

Scott nodded curtly as he took the offered tubing. He glanced at the business end, and pulled a universal adapter from his pack. In less than a minute, he had the shelter half inflated.

"Okay, let's get him in there, Brai… uh, Hy." With help from both Brains and Avi Toric, Scott muscled Watts into the shelter. Pulling Toric out behind him, he tossed in the EMT kit, and sealed the shelter up.

Signaling to Toric, he pointed to a gauge. "Don't let it get above 15 psi."

When the engineer nodded, Scott stepped away and put in a call to his brother. "Scott to Alan, come in."

"Hey, Scott. You guys done yet?"

"We've got a medical emergency. We need the crawler."

"On my way." Alan's professional response told Scott his brother had heard the urgency in his voice.

Scott next called out to a different brother. "Thunderbird Three to Base. John, you there?"

"No, Scott. John is off duty. What can I do for you?"

Scott felt a warm relief to hear his father's voice. The formal language told Scott that his father knew there were other ears listening to this conversation.

"Yes sir, Hy and I are at NE7. Hy replaced the phony chip, but whoever was responsible left a nasty surprise. One of the other engineers was holding the chip when it exploded in his hand."

His father's voice was grave as he asked, "How serious is it, Scott?"

"It's serious, sir. The dome here is not pressurized, and we were working in hardsuits. We've gotten him into the emergency shelter, and Hy is trying to stop the bleeding. He's lost at least three fingers, and the rest is pretty mangled. Alan's on his way in the crawler. These people have a decent medical set up, but I think we'll probably bring him home with us."

"All right. I'll make arrangements at this end. Son, have you checked for any other surprises?"

"That's next on my agenda."

"All right. Keep me informed."

"FAB."

Scott took a moment to check on the wounded engineer. Through a herculite window in the side of the shelter, he could see Brains working on the man's hand. Deciding his friend didn't need an interruption, he turned to the remaining engineer.

"Toric?"

The man looked up from his scrutiny of the pressure gauge he'd been watching. "It's holding steady at 14.8 psi."

"Okay. How familiar are you with this panel?"

"Very. It's one of my responsibilities."

"Good. Come on over here, and take a look for me. I need to know if anything else is out of place."

The man's eyebrows climbed, but he said nothing as he got up from his crouch and came over to the exposed inter workings of the engine. He gazed into the open panel and started to reach for a bit of wiring, but was stopped by Scott's hand on his arm. "Look, don't touch. We don't want to trigger anything."

Scott watched as the man glanced back at the shelter, swallowing hard. "Yeah. Okay."

It took Toric a good ten minutes to go over the entire panel. Scott had to watch him like a hawk, as the man again and again forgot the danger and reached to touch one component or another. Finally, he shook his head. "If there's anything else in here, I sure can't see it."

Scott had done his own study of the blueprints of the engine, and he nodded his head in agreement. "Okay, well, let's seal this up. No point in taking any chances."

A flicker of light out of the corner of Scott's eye caught his attention. Turning in his hardsuit, he saw the crawler coming to a stop next to the hatch of the dome.

Nodding to himself, Scott moved to the shelter. "Hy, our ride is here. Have you got him ready for transport?"

"We'll need a pod, uh Scott."

Scott bit his tongue. It was an obvious statement, but there was no point in taking the engineer to task over it. He nodded, and opened a line. "Alan, we're going to need the pod."

"FAB, Scott."

By the time Scott had the hatch open, his brother had already off loaded the rescue pod, and together, they muscled it through the opening, and working as a team, they attached it to the emergency shelter.

"Whoa. That's pretty nifty," Toric said admiringly. Scott had to agree. The shelter and pod had been designed to work together, and every time he'd practiced with it, he'd felt that same admiration.

"Standard IR equipment," Alan stated smugly. Scott threw his brother a sly little smile. There was no reason to tell Toric that this was the first time they had an opportunity to use it.

"Hy, you going to need any help?" Alan asked.

"Uh, no, Alan." Through the window, the brothers watched as their friend helped Watts onto the gurney which then slid into the rescue pod. Sealing the unit up, Brains looked up, and seeing Scott's eyes on him, gave a thumb's up.

As the two brothers moved to disconnect the pod, Alan asked curiously, "What happened, anyway?"

"The chip was booby-trapped. It blew up in Watts' hand. Took most of it off."

"Crap."

"Yeah."

Together, Scott and Alan moved the pod into the crawler. Alan started hooking the pod to the crawler's sensors, and Scott said, "Have you got this? I want to get the shelter broken down, get out of here as quick as I can."

"Piece of cake."

"All right." Scott headed back into the dome. He found Brains shutting down the emergency shelter with Toric's help.

"Hy, you head out with Alan in the crawler. Toric and I will finish this."

"All right, uh, Scott." The engineer dropped the corner he was holding, and moved toward the dome's hatch. Scott turned to the shelter. The air had already been evacuated, and it was just a matter of folding it up.

With Toric's help, the ultra thin, tough material was quickly folded into a square small enough to be tucked into its holder in Scott's backpack. Helping him get the backpack reattached to Scott's hardsuit, Toric said, "You know, you guys could make a fortune selling your equipment. I know Mr. Asbury would give you a ton of money for that shelter and pod deal."

Scott shrugged. "Who knows, maybe some day we will."

Toric looked like he'd say something else, but then it seemed to occur to him that Scott had shut him down. With a nod, Scott said, "All right, let's get back to base."

"Okay. Do you think Bill will make it?"

Scott shrugged again. "I'm not a doctor, but I've seen people hurt worse survive."

Toric nodded and climbed into the rover. Scott glanced up at the giant engine, then got the rover underway.

4 days later

Scott stretched finally feeling the knot of tension at the base of his neck begin to loosen. It had been a tough four days flying back from the asteroid. Along with the injured Watts, they had transported one of the asteroid base's doctors, and Chuck Asbury too. Asbury had insisted on accompanying them, saying he needed to be on Earth to insure Watts got the best care. Scott had agreed, knowing how heavy the burden of command was.

But that had meant four days of watching what he said. Four days of evading Asbury's persistent questions about Thunderbird Three and her equipment. Four sleepless nights as he worried about how much Asbury was deducing.

He was pretty sure that the man was trying to figure out exactly who Brains really was. Asbury was a sharp man, and though all three IR operatives were guarding their tongues, slips had happened, and Scott knew Asbury had the name "Brains" to work with.

It seemed it would only be a matter of time before Asbury figured it all out. Scott was dreading the debrief with his father. He knew Alan was as well. And now, as they said their goodbyes, that debrief wasn't far off.

Scott watched as a medical team from the World Space Transit Station hovered around the gurney holding Bill Watts. The three men were being transferred to the space station, and from there would be shuttled back to Earth.

Asbury strode over to Scott extending his hand. He looked a lot more professional since he'd shaved off his beard and cut his hair. Scott could see him as competent peer of his father.

"So, this is goodbye. Remember what I said. Anytime you want to change careers, you just look me up, right?"

Scott smiled as he shook the man's hand. "Right. Take care of yourself, Chuck."

With a grin, the man walked away, following the gurney. Scott watched him go with relief. He jumped when Alan said in his ear, "Man, I thought they'd never leave."

Scott glanced at his newly shaven brother, and grinned. "Let's go home."

"Sounds like a plan." The young man led the way back into the ship.

Scott followed behind rubbing his own smooth jaw. "God, I am glad to be rid of that beard."

"Yeah. Whose dumb idea was it to have a contest anyway?"

"I seem to recall it was yours."

"Nah, I've got too much sense. It must have been Brains."

"Right." Scott scoffed. The two brothers reached the control room, and slid with practiced ease into their seats. By the time they had their preliminary checks done, Brains had entered and taken his seat.

"WSTS, we are ready for departure." Alan advised the station.

"Thunderbird Three you are clear for departure, please do not engage engines until you are two hundred meters out."

"Understood, WSTS. Thank you for your hospitality."

"Any time, Thunderbird Three, World Space Transit Station, out."

Scott watched his navigation boards as Alan backed the big rocket away from the station. As soon as they were clear, and Alan had powered her up, Scott put in a call to Base. "Thunderbird Three to Base. Dad, we've offloaded the passengers, and we're now headed home. We'll be there in about 65 minutes."

"Understood, son. Good job, all of you. We'll see you when you get here."

"FAB."

Scott settled back for the trip home. He was hoping his grandmother had made some apple pie. He was going to need it after his father got through with him.

Alan apparently saw his brother's pensive mood, because he suddenly asked, "So, how long do you think it will be until he figures it out?"

Scott shook his head sadly, "Not long."

"Uh, who figures what out?" Brains asked.

Scott cocked an eyebrow. "Asbury, Brains. He was on to you. It's only a matter of time before he makes the connection between you and Tracy Enterprises."

Brains' face drained of color. "Are you sure?"

"I don't think there's much doubt about it," Alan replied. "The question is, what will he do about it?"

Scott shook his head. "I don't even want to know."

"Dad's gonna be pissed."

"Probably."

"Um, I'm uh, sorry. I, uh, didn't realize… I, uh…"

Scott looked sharply at the engineer. "Brains! This wasn't your fault. This is nothing you did, or had any control over. If anybody's to blame, it's me. I should never have agreed to let Asbury come with us."

"Actually, I think he was suspicious even before we left. I overheard him talking to Captain Singh about the design of Thunderbird Three. He said he thought he could see elements from other ships in her. He didn't say it out loud, but I think he was thinking Tracy Enterprises."

That was news to Scott, and he felt his eyes widen. "Geezus."

"Yeah. Dad is not going to be happy. I don't think he wanted us to go out there in the first place."

Scott sighed. "Well, we'll just have to deal with it."

"Yep."

Brains frowned, but nodded his agreement. The three tired men returned to their duties, and the remainder of the trip home was quiet.

As Thunderbird Three slipped down into her silo, Scott felt a bit of disappointment. Their timing was bad, and they were landing in the middle of the night. Scott knew only his father would be there to greet them, and the debrief would be delayed until the morning.

Scott disliked delays in debriefings, and he knew he wouldn't be able to sleep worrying about it. There wasn't anything he could do about it, though, so he didn't say anything.

Once the ship had touched down, and the automatic checks started, the three weary travelers trudged to the couch that would deliver them to the lounge. As they sat, and Scott triggered the delivery system, Alan said, "Cheer up, Brains. It was a successful rescue after all. The asteroid is back on track, and Watts has you to thank for saving his life."

"Yeah, Brains. You did a great job out there. We couldn't have done it without you."

Scott caught a glimpse of condescension on Alan's face, but Brains didn't see it. The engineer slowly nodded, the worry leaving his eyes. "Thank you, uh, Scott for saying so."

"Hey, I mean it, Brains. You really came through for us." Scott stated emphatically, as much for Alan's sake as Brains'.

"Sure you did. If nothing else, you kept those engineers from driving us crazy. And without you there, Watts could have bled to death. You know you're better at trauma care than either Scott or me. Not much better, but better." Alan nudged his friend, getting a smile out of him.

Scott sat back as the couch was raised up on a piston into the lounge. When the floor above them slid back, Scott was surprised at the amount of light that shone through.

As they came up through the floor, Scott had to smile. His entire family, including Tin-Tin and Kyrano, were waiting for them. "All hail the conquering heroes," John said with real affection.

Alan jumped up and grabbed Tin-Tin and swung her around. "Hi baby! Didja miss me?"

Giggling, the Malaysian beauty swatted playfully at him. "A little."

Scott ignored the byplay, and reached for his father's outstretched hand. "Welcome home, son," Jeff smiled.

"It's good to be back, Dad. What's everybody doing up?"

"Are you kidding? We all wanted to see if you could stand up after two weeks of weightlessness." Gordon grinned.

Scott looked over at Virgil, who casually reached out and cuffed Gordon. The two eldest Tracy brothers shared a smile that said a lot more than words.

"Well, enough of this. We're having a midnight feast, so come along, everyone." Grandma took a hold of Alan's arm on one side, and Brains on the other, and led the way into the dining room.

Scott's eyes widened as he saw the table tricked out in its holiday best. Grandma's white linen tablecloth was set with the gold and white china that had come down from her own great grandmother. The crystal was sparkling, and the candles were lit. "Wow. What's the occasion, Grandma?"

"No occasion. It's just nice to have a special meal every once and a while."

"I say we should make it a tradition. Everytime we come back from a rescue, we should have a special dinner," Gordon said, waggling his eyebrows as he took his seat.

John smiled sweetly, "So you're saying not all of Grandma's dinners are special?"

Scott breathed out, relaxing as his brother tried to backpedal. The problem with Asbury would have to be addressed, but he was confident that between his brothers and father they would come up with a solution. The asteroid itself held a promise of metals for a needy world, and now that promise would be fulfilled. And now, there was a great dinner in front of him. At the moment, he couldn't want for more.

Chapter Two

Author's Note: OMIGOSH! I can't believe I forgot to say my thank you to Sam for her amazing support and editing. Even when swamped and overwhelmed with work, she always makes time for me. She is an amazing friend, and I can't thank her enough for all she does for me. And while I'm at it, many thanks to my workmate, Josh, who suggested a space rescue and always listened when I went on about it.

10 days later

Flipping one last switch, Scott sat back in his seat, a small, satisfied smile on his lips. "This is one sweet ride, Virg."

Virgil's own smile was smug. "Thank yew, thank yew vurra much."

The last three days of testing of the new HX14 had gone without a hitch. The hovercraft performed flawlessly once the sabotaged panel had been repaired.

And there was no doubt that it was sabotage. A review of the surveillance tapes had revealed one of Tracy Enterprises' most trusted engineers had stolen the component the night before the fateful test.

Jeff had been particularly devastated because the man had been with him since Tracy Enterprises had been nothing more that a engineering start up run out of Jeff's garage. And it had indeed seemed odd to Scott that a man that he had called uncle since his childhood would turn on them like that.

When confronted with proof of his crime, the man had been shocked and bewildered. It was Kyrano who had suggested that the man be interviewed by a psychologist with a background in coercive hypnosis.

That interview not only uncovered the unsavory truth, saving the man's reputation, but also an untriggered post hypnotic suggestion that would have caused the man to suicide in a month's time.

A closer review of the surveillance tapes showed a shadowy figure at the edge of the frame directing the hapless engineer's actions. Past experience convinced both Scott and his father that the man in the shadows was a criminal called the Hood.

The attack on his employee had angered his father, and with a cold resolve, Jeff had set his security division with the task of tracking the man down. Not for the first time, Scott was glad he was on his dad's side. He figured the Hood's days were numbered.

And so were Chuck Asbury's. When he and Alan had debriefed their father on their belief that it was only a matter of time before the entrepreneur came knocking at International Rescue's door, Jeff had become grim. He had questioned his sons relentlessly, getting every nuance of what had been said, and not said.

Scott, Alan and Brains had all tried to convince Jeff that Asbury was a decent man who could probably be reasoned with. Jeff was unswayed, and Scott secretly felt that his father was unreasonable and prejudiced where Asbury was concerned.

So far, they hadn't heard a peep out of Asbury. He'd been back on Earth for over a week. Although he'd granted interviews to just about any newshound that asked, he'd said nothing to indicate he had any idea who was behind International Rescue.

He'd been effusive in his praise for International Rescue's work, but he still managed to turn any interview into a discussion of Asteroid One, and what its arrival in near earth orbit would mean for the world. But where Scott listened with appreciation for the opportunities Asteroid One represented, his father only heard Chuck Asbury's ego.

Scott knew they would have to deal with Asbury eventually, but for the last three days, he had just been having fun. As Tracy Enterprises' chief test pilot, he always had first dibs on whatever designs Brains or Virgil, or any of the myriad other aeronautical engineers, came up with.

And the HX14 was a honey. There had been a bit of tension the first time they had transitioned from vertical to horizontal flight, but there had been no repeats of that earlier problem. The plane was probably the easiest VTOL craft Scott had ever flown.

Not that he could say that out loud. Not with Virg, who thought Thunderbird Two was God's gift to the world, and to him in particular. Still… "You're going to have pilots all over the world dancing in the streets with this one, kiddo."

Virgil ducked his head, his cheeks coloring. Scott could see his brother's pleasure at the compliment all over his face. Scott had to smile at Virgil's pleasure.

He knew his true compliments were few and far between, and for some reason, even fewer where Virgil was concerned. Scott always thought things between them were just a given, but he could see that saying the words were just as important for Virgil as they were for John or Alan, or even Gordon.

He slapped his brother on the shoulder. "You ready to go walk amongst the mortals once again?"

Virgil's grin widened, and he took off the flight helmet, pulling out a pair of mirrored aviator's glasses. Scott remembered a day now long ago when he had taught his civilian brother the Air Force pilot strut.

When they reached the hatch, the brothers faced each other, one last check that they were squared away. Schooling their faces to impassiveness, they opened the hatch and stepped out into the hot Palmdale sunshine. A crowd of engineers and technicians kept a respectful distance, but still, as the brothers appeared, they broke into raucous applause.

Scott led the way through the crowd, shaking hands, sharing a few words with those he knew, sensing Virgil at his side, doing the same thing. It was a shock when one of the hands thrust out for his attention proved to be that of Chuck Asbury himself.

Scott was far too professional to let the sudden tightening of his gut show on his face. Asbury held onto his hand and leaned forward to say for Scott's ears only, "The job offer still stands, Scott. I'm at the Lancaster Palms. We need to talk."

Resisting the temptation to swallow hard, Scott nodded, "Tonight at eight, in the bar."

"Sounds good." Asbury released his hand and melted back into the crowd. Scott continued through the well-wishers, a lot of his pride and pleasure in a job well done diminished.

Finally they reached Ted Ugami's office, and were able to relax. Ted reached behind his desk and pulled out a traditional bottle of champagne, but Scott frowned. "Uh, Ted, I know this is out of line, but can you give Virg and me a few moments? I need to report in to my dad."

Ugami, another long time employee of Tracy Enterprises, smiled graciously, saying, "Of course. Good job, you two."

Virgil watched Ugami leave then turned on his brother. "What's wrong?"

"Asbury made contact in the crowd."

Virgil's face drained of color. "You're kidding."

"I wish I was. He was just suddenly there, shaking my hand."

"What did he say? What did you say?"

"He wants to talk. I told him I'd meet him tonight."

"Not alone."

Scott gave his brother a look. "You think I can't handle him?"

"Don't be ridiculous. But there's no way I'm not going to be there."

"Let's see what Dad has to say."

Virgil reached out to stop Scott's move for the vidphone. "Wait. Let's think about this for a minute."

Scott asked the question with a look. Virgil shook his head. "You know that Dad hates Asbury. If we tell him about this, he'll nix it outright. He won't want any meeting to happen without him there. You know he won't."

"Yes," Scott conceded. "So?"

"Scott, come on. You know what will happen. Nothing Asbury says will make any difference. Dad has already made his mind up about the man. Now, if he's really as reasonable as you and Brains say he is, you and I can talk to him, get him to agree to keep quiet, and present it to Dad as a fait accompli. It's worth a shot, anyway."

Scott found himself nodding his head. "Yeah. I don't know what it is about the guy that Dad can't stand him, but I have to agree, it's affecting his judgement. All right, we'll try it. But let's call Dad anyway. I want to let him know how great that hoverjet is."

That brought the smile back to Virgil's face. Scott reached for the vidphone to give his dad a glowing report.

5 hours later

Scott looked up from where he leaned against the hotel bar when his brother nudged him. Following Virgil's gaze, he saw Chuck Asbury striding across the floor toward them.

Standing up straight, Scott faced the man, his face impassive, his stomach roiling. Asbury smiled, reaching out to shake his hand as he approached. "Scott. Good of you to meet me."

"Chuck. This is my brother, Virgil."

Asbury's smile widened as he reached for Virgil's hand. "You're listed as chief designer on the hoverjet you men were testing. That's a nice piece of work."

Virgil nodded curtly, not sure whether to accept the compliment. "Thank you, Mr. Asbury."

"No, please, call me Chuck. Listen, can we get out of here? Go some place private, where we can talk?"

"What's there to talk about?" Virgil asked pugnaciously.

"Virg," Scott said, quietly. "Where did you have in mind, Chuck?"

Asbury shrugged. "I'm not that familiar with Palmdale. You guys know any place good to eat?"

"I'd rather not do this where we could be overheard, and most of the restaurants around here are family-style."

"Well, I haven't eaten. Tell you what. How about we get a bucket of chicken, find a nice dark spot where we can watch the stars. See if we can spot Asteroid One?"

Scott nodded warily. "Sure, why not?"

The three men left the bar and went out into the parking lot. With the sun down, the air had rapidly cooled, and Scott took a deep breath. "You want to follow us? The car we have is a two-seater."

"No, let's take my car," Asbury said, looking down the driveway. Within a moment, a large limo pulled up, the driver hopping out to get the door.

Although Scott was well used to being chauffeured around when he was with his father, he didn't much care for it on his own. It was ostentatious, and frankly, he preferred to be behind the driver's wheel himself.

With a sigh, he nodded, and both he and Virgil climbed into the backseat with Asbury. Asbury settled into the soft leather, and playing good host, said, "Chicken okay for you? We can stop for burgers if you prefer?"

"Chicken's fine. Can we get this over with?" Virgil asked, an impatient frown on his face.

Asbury's eyebrow went up, but he nodded, and held up a finger, picking up a phone handset. "Peter, we need a bucket of chicken, then head over to that park we found the other night."

Hanging up the phone, Asbury stated baldly, "You fly Thunderbird Two. Scott, you fly Thunderbird One. Obviously, the pilot of Thunderbird Three is your brother Alan. From that, I've deduced that swimmer brother of yours, Gordon, pilots Thunderbird Four. That was an amazing job he did in the Black Sea the other day, by the way. I haven't quite figured out what your brother John does, but I know he's shown up on rescues occasionally. How am I doing so far?"

To his surprise, Scott felt the tension that had been building in his neck and shoulders dissipate. He realized he was relieved to have it all out in the open. "All right, you figured it out. Now what?"

"Now… Well, now, I was hoping you'd let me funnel some funds to you to help the cause."

Scott sat back, his eyebrows climbing up his forehead. Virgil frowned. "There's no profit potential here, Asbury. International Rescue does not charge for its services."

Asbury's face had gone hard. "Your daddy must be so proud of you. You sound just like him."

Scott shook his head. "All right, enough. Chuck, what do you mean, 'funnel some funds'? What would you expect in return?"

Asbury took a few deep breaths. "Scott, you aren't the only person in the world who knows right from wrong. Ever since International Rescue opened its doors, I've been following your exploits. At first, I didn't get it. I thought there had to be an angle you were playing."

Asbury shook his head, then continued. "It didn't take long to realize there was no angle. Nobody looking to make a buck would have entered the Dzundas Mine. Or would have taken on the Sun Probe disaster. You guys are real heroes. You do what needs to be done, despite the politics. You do good in the world." He shrugged, "I just want to be a part of it. I've made more money than you can imagine. I've set up a few charities, kept trying in my small way to do the right thing. When I see someone else doing the same, I want to support it. I just want to help you."

"We don't take outside contributions, we don't need to." Virgil shook his head.

Asbury smiled wryly. "Oh, I have no doubt about that. Your father makes money just by breathing. But still, I was hoping you'd let me help anyway."

"And if we refuse? I don't think it's any secret that our father is not a fan of yours."

"No, he's not. I have to tell you, the feeling was pretty much mutual until I realized his connection with International Rescue. I've always considered your dad a hidebound prig. If someone were to try and tell me he was behind the Thunderbirds I'd have laughed in their face."

Scott shook his head. "You know, I don't really understand that. Spending time with you on Thunderbird Three, I would have thought you and Dad would be natural friends. But Virgil is right, Dad really hates you."

Asbury ducked his head, then nodded, "Well, if I'm honest with you, he has every reason to hate me."

Scott was taken aback. "Oh?"

Embarrassed, Asbury looked him in the eye. "Yes. Actually, I'm a bit surprised he never told you the story."

"What makes you think he didn't?" Virgil cocked his head to one side.

"Because you wouldn't be talking to me if he did," Asbury sighed. "All right, listen. When I was very young, I had some early success. I was too young to handle it, and as a result, I was an arrogant ass. I had more money than God, and no one to say no to me. When I saw something I liked, I went after it. Unfortunately, one of those somethings was your mother. I know you lost her early. I don't think you can possibly understand exactly how beautiful and wonderful she was. Your dad was on the moon when I made my move. I was rich, handsome, and it never occurred to me that Lucy wouldn't immediately fall for me, and dump Jeff."

Scott fought to keep his jaw from tightening. Intellectually, he could understand anyone falling for his mom, but his heart only heard that this man had tried to hurt his family.

Asbury was lost in his memories. "Of course, your mom was as wonderful as I said. She not only said no to me, but she woke me up to some very unpleasant truths about myself. It took me quite awhile to get past the hurt, and in the meantime, I was nasty about it." Asbury looked Scott in the eye. "I don't think I will ever overcome my shame at the whole incident. When I look back on it now, I realize your mother was only trying to help me grow up. Believe me, I'll honor her memory for the rest of my life."

Scott sat back, jaw working. It was Virgil who snorted derisively, "If what you said was true, my dad would have ripped out your heart."

Asbury nodded. "Yeah. There was a point at which I thought he was going to tear me to pieces. But Lucy stopped him. I don't know what she said to him that day, but he walked away. I've been very careful to stay away from him ever since."

"And now you want to hand him money?" Scott said, shaking his head.

"Well, no, actually. I was hoping I could funnel it through you and your brothers Gordon and John."

"What do Gordon and John have to do with this?"

With a little smile, Asbury said, "You didn't know? Both of your brothers bought stock in Asteroid One. A hell of a lot more than you did, actually."

Virgil pulled back from his brother, his eyes wide. "You bought stock?"

Scott waved it off. "Just a rooting interest, Virg." He turned back to Asbury. "John and Gordon bought stock, too?"

Asbury nodded, "Yes. Like I said. They joined together and bought a quarter interest."

Virgil whistled low, but Scott nodded. It made sense. The asteroid was just the kind of thing that John would be interested in, and he could have easily persuaded Gordon to kick in with him. Virgil frowned. "Wait a minute, when did they buy this stock?"

There was a short knock on the window of the car, and Scott realized they had stopped. Looking up, he saw the chauffeur holding a distinctive red and white paperboard bucket. Asbury rolled down the window and accepted the bucket with thanks, and the back seat was instantly filled with a mouth-watering smell.

Rolling the window back up, Asbury returned to their conversation. "In the spring of '24. They got it cheap, back when everyone thought I was a crackpot."

Scott and Virgil shared a look. That was the spring when Gordon had been injured in a WASP hydrofoil accident. John hadn't even graduated college, but he had aged into his trust fund, and Gordon had backed into his because of the injury.

Scott thought for a moment. "So, you're thinking you can funnel the money as stock dividends?"

Asbury nodded. "What do you think?"

Virgil shook his head, saying, "I'm not sure it's such a great idea to do business with you, considering what you tried to do to our family back then."

Asbury just looked at him. "Think of it as atonement for my sins."

Scott sat back, thinking about it. With his head cocked to one side, he asked, "How much money are we talking about?"

Asbury smiled, obviously relieved that Scott at least would listen to him. "I've spent the last week or so going over my books, and I figured I could contribute 250 million in the first year. More once the mines on Asteroid One are in full production."

Virgil's jaw dropped, but Scott shook his head. "There is no way my father will buy that as stock dividends."

"Well, what do you suggest?"

Scott's eyes narrowed. "You know, you never did say what would happen if we turned you down."

Asbury shook his head sadly. "If you turn me down, I will have even more reason to regret my foolish actions with your mother." He looked Scott in the eye. "There's no extortion here, Scott. If you say no, then that money will go to other causes. I have no intention of outing your family. The secret will go with me to my grave. Here's the thing… I actually meant it when I said I intended to atone for my sins. Although I know Jeff never will, I hope you can forgive me."

Scott scrubbed his face with his hand. "All right. I believe you. But understand, I will not lie to my father. Not even for a quarter of a billion dollars. Virgil and I are heading home. I'll talk to my brothers. If we can come up with a way to convince my dad, then we'll call you and work it out. If not, then I'm sorry, you'll just have to live with it."

Asbury nodded, satisfied with Scott's decision. "Thank you, Scott. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it."

Scott shook his head. "Don't thank me yet. Off the top of my head, I can't think of anything that will convince Dad, but I'll try."

"Fair enough." Asbury glanced out the window of the car. "Oh, we're here. Come on, guys, let's do some stargazing."

Two days later

Perched on a corner of the billiard table, rolling the eight ball between his hands, Gordon smiled in disbelief. "Okay, let me make sure I have this right… A man who tried to screw over Dad, who tried to score with our mom, wants to make up for it with money. And you're good with it?"

Scott sighed. Looking around at the faces of his brothers, he wasn't optimistic that he could win this battle. While Alan at least looked thoughtful, Gordon despite the jocular tone had gone stiff when Scott had explained why their father disliked Chuck Asbury so much. And John? Well, John looked absolutely murderous. Not even Virgil seemed willing to back his play.

Shaking his head, he tried for a tone of reason. "I didn't say I was good with the circumstances. I just believe Asbury when he says he realizes it was all a mistake."

"No. A mistake is when you forget to pick up your brother after school. A mistake is when you put the wrong grade of oil in your car. He knew our mother was married. That was deliberate." John's tone was deadly.

Scott cocked his eye at his brother. "Come on, John, are you trying to tell me you've never done anything that you've regretted afterwards?"

Gordon shook his head. "I'm with Johnny on this one."

Alan entered the conversation for the first time. "Are we sure Mom and Dad were married at the time? Could this have happened when they were just dating or something?"

Virgil shook his head. "No. He said that he waited until Dad was on the moon before he made his move."

"That's not what he said, Virg." Scott shook his head.

"That's what I heard him say."

"He said he made his move while Dad was on the moon. He didn't say he waited."

"Either way, Dad didn't go to the moon until after you were born."

Scott shrugged having to concede the point. "Okay. Guys, understand, I'm not happy about the whole thing, but apparently unlike you guys, I can think of things that I regret, that I would change if I could. I spent a few days with this man, and he isn't a monster. I think we should at least consider giving him the opportunity to support International Rescue. Alan, what do you say?"

Alan shot his big brother a look. "All right, I'll say this. If you hadn't told me about him and Mom, I would have said yes right away. Hell, yes. Like you say, I spent enough time with him to see that he's a good man. He takes care of his people, he thinks in terms of saving the planet." He shrugged. "You threw me a curve with this thing with Mom, but, well, it was a long time ago, and from everything you guys have ever told me about her, I have to believe she would say forgive and forget, so I'll go along if everyone else will."

Not exactly a resounding endorsement, but Scott would have to take what he could get. He nodded his head, then turned to Gordon. "What about you? What do you say?"

Gordon had been watching Alan thoughtfully as the young man had spoken, and now as the center of attention, he responded, "I don't know the guy, but I do trust Al's judgement, and yours, too. I'll tell you what, you convince Dad, and I'll support it."

"Gordon…"

Smiling, Gordon shook his head. "It's the best I can do, Scott. Take it or leave it."

Accepting his brother's decision with a nod, he turned to the monitor where John was listening in from Thunderbird Five. Scott could see the answer in the rock hard look on his brother's face. "John?"

"No."

Scott knew better than to push it, but he couldn't help himself. "No? You won't even consider it?"

"No." The answer was flat and final.

Scott nodded his head, then turned to Virgil. His stomach sunk at the look on his best friend's face. With his mouth turning dry, he asked, "Virg?"

"I'm sorry, Scott. I just don't see any reason why we should help Chuck the Fuck Asbury ease his conscience at the expense of our father's peace of mind. Like I told him, we don't need the money, so what do we get out of it? Nothing."

Scott could sense Gordon shifting at his back, buying Virgil's argument. To forestall a change in the votes, Scott spoke quickly, "Okay, I understand where you're coming from, but you know, the only vote that really matters here is Dad's. I've got three votes that say I at least talk to him about it, so that's what I'll do. I'll let you guys know what he said."

Scott stood up to leave, and there was a general shifting about in the room as his brothers also rose. As Scott headed for the door, John said, "Gordy, call me, I want to talk to you."

Scott stopped dead in his tracks. "What about?"

John's face had not lost any of its hardness. "That's between me and him."

Feeling his jaw tighten, Scott took a breath, and turned to Gordon, who had his own game face on. "Don't do anything. Talk all you want, but don't do anything until we've worked this out."

Scott watched as his younger brother considered the demand. He felt relief when the aquanaut lost the tension in his shoulders, and said, "Sure thing, Scott."

Nodding curtly, Scott left the room.

Scott finally tracked his father down to a lounger at poolside. "Dad, can we talk?"

Jeff, who was still wet from a dip in the pool, opened one eye, and seeing his son's serious demeanor, opened the other eye. "Of course. What's on your mind, son?"

Scott sat down on a lounger next to his father. Too tense to kick back and relax, he sat forward, his hands clasped between his knees. "Dad, Virg and I ran into Chuck Asbury in Palmdale."

Jeff shot straight up, eyes wide. He glanced around at the pool deck, and said tersely. "Not here."

Scott got up and followed his father back into the house, already regretting having said anything. In the lounge-cum-office, Jeff said, "Wait here."

Letting out a deep breath, Scott watched as his father disappeared down the hallway. Too nervous to sit, Scott walked out onto the balcony and looked out, not really seeing anything. After a few minutes, he heard sounds of his father's return, and he turned back to see Jeff fully dressed and looking grim. Sighing, Scott walked into the room and sat in his usual place on the couch.

Jeff, his face bleak, pulled out a bottle of scotch and two glasses. Scott raised an eyebrow, as it was only mid afternoon, however he took the glass when his father offered it.

Putting the glass on the desk untouched, Scott said, "Dad, relax, I think it's going to be all right."

So stiff that he looked like he'd shatter at a touch, Jeff practically snarled, "What did the man say?"

Scott refused to tense up. Crossing his legs, he sat back on the couch. "Well, he said a lot of things, but the salient points are that he wants to donate 250 million dollars to International Rescue, and that if we say no, he will not tell the world about us."

"And you believed him?" Jeff said, scornfully.

"Yeah, actually I did. Look, he told us what went on between him and Mom. He says he regrets it, and would like to make up for it. He's not a bad guy, Dad. He's just a guy who made a mistake, and is sorry for it."

"He told you? He told you what?"

"He said he made a play for Mom while you were on the moon. He said she shut him down, and that Mom wouldn't let you kill him."

"Is that all he told you?"

"Uh, yeah. Well, he did say he was nasty about it, but he didn't go into specifics."

"And so, you think I should just forgive and forget and let him horn in on our operation?"

Scott swallowed. The diamond hardness in his father's voice had him doubting the wisdom of even bringing up the subject. "I didn't say that. I just said that I believed his sincerity."

"Sincerity. Well, let me tell you exactly what happened. You know from the history books that the Sagittarius mission was a failure. The command module's systems crashed at a crucial time, and we almost didn't make it home."

Scott nodded. He was intimately acquainted with the story of the doomed mission and his father's heroism.

"When we got home, we were quarantined for a week. I could only talk to your mom over the phone. From the beginning, I could tell she was upset. At first, I assumed it was because of the situation. I kept telling her I was fine, and she'd smile, but I could tell her heart wasn't in it. By the end of the week, I had convinced myself that she had decided to divorce me. That she couldn't take the pressure of my being away."

Scott felt his heart tighten in his chest. Even knowing that his mother had never wanted to leave his dad, the thought of it still hurt. He could see that hurt reflected on his father's face as Jeff recalled the memories.

"When we were released, I almost didn't want to go home. I didn't want to face the reality of losing her. Of course, staying away wasn't an option, so as soon as I was free, I drove home and marched up that front walkway. I'll tell you son, at the time, I was so devastated that all I could do was yell at her. I told her if she wanted to leave she could, but that she wasn't taking you with her."

Scott gasped in shock. Jeff shook his head, sadly. "Asbury wasn't the only nasty one. I just… screamed… at her. I was a total bastard, and then she started to cry. She didn't say a word, she just cried."

Jeff put his head in his hands. "It was the worst day in my life when I made my Lucy cry. I stood there in my righteous indignation, and I watched the most beautiful woman in the world weep. It didn't take long for my heart to truly break. I'd thought it was broken earlier when I thought she was leaving me, but that was nothing compared to seeing her tears."

Jeff looked up at his son, his eyes wet. "I've never forgiven myself for that day. I'll never be able to forgive myself for that day."

Scott swallowed against the hard knot in his throat. "Dad…"

Jeff held up a hand. "No, it's okay, son. Watching your mother cry, I came to my senses and realized I would do anything to keep her. Anything to make her happy. I took her in my arms and spent the next half hour apologizing over and over and over. When she finally stopped crying I told her how I was so afraid of losing her that I let myself believe she wanted to divorce me. She uh, disabused me of that idea. Then she told me the reason she had been so upset was because Chuck Asbury had come on to her, and when she said no, he'd gotten onto his blog and lied about it, saying he'd had sex with her, and that she was an easy lay."

"He did WHAT?"

"Yes. He told all of his little geeky cyber friends that your mother would sleep with a dog given the chance. Our phone had been ringing off the hook with assholes making lewd offers. Even as we sat there, the phone rang, and some jerk started to leave a pornographic message before I ripped the phone out of the wall."

"Dad, he never said anything about that. Believe me, if he had, I would have kicked his ass."

"I wanted to. I would have, but your mother just wanted it all to go away."

Scott nodded understandingly. "What did you do?"

Jeff smiled wryly. "We got an unlisted number, and I told my friends at NASA all about it."

Scott smiled slowly. "Cleared it up, did it?"

"Oh hell, yes. In those days, NASA was like a family. A family with some very tough members. Asbury and a lot of his cronies lost their government contracts, and Tor Winters cleaned house in Houston, fired a whole slew of people. Your mother felt bad about people losing their jobs, but I convinced her it was for the best. I told her if they stayed, I'd be forced to murder them all."

Scott snorted, and Jeff grinned. The grin faded and Jeff shook his head again. "Your mom never really understood how much people there appreciated her. Tor was as incensed as I was about the whole thing. He was a good man."

Scott nodded, having grown up on stories about the legendary head of NASA. "Okay, Dad, I get it. Asbury was an asshole, and we don't need to do business with him. I'll give him a call, give him the bad news."

"Wait a moment, Scott. We need to figure out a rock solid way of making him keep his mouth shut."

Scott looked his father in the eye. "Dad, whatever he was thirty years ago, I believe now he is a decent man. He told me he has no intention of outing International Rescue, and I believe him."

Jeff shook his head. "That's not good enough, son. I understand what you are saying, but I don't trust Chuck Asbury any further than I can throw him. We need some sort of hold over him. Some way to guarantee his silence."

Scott shrugged. "Well, I wasn't going to mention this, but I think John and Gordon have exactly what you need."

Jeff blinked. "John and Gordon?"

"Yes. It turns out they bought a quarter interest share in Asteroid One."

"They did WHAT?"

Scott winced as his father roared. "They bought a quarter of the shares back when Asbury was just starting it up. Dad, keep in mind, they had no idea about Asbury's history. Neither did I. I bought a couple hundred shares myself. It seemed like a good investment at the time."

"I've never hidden my dislike of that man. Yet you went behind my back and went into business with him?"

Scott crossed his arms. "Why yes. Yes I did. Come on, Dad, you've always encouraged us to be independent. Why should it surprise you when we are? You know how John feels about outer space commerce. It was a natural for him. And I just bought it on a whim."

"And Gordon?"

Scott waved his hand. "You know Gordy. Where business is concerned, he does whatever John tells him to do. That way he doesn't have to think for himself."

Jeff snorted, shaking his head. Scott smiled. "Whatever the reason, those shares now mean we have leverage."

Jeff slowly nodded his head. "But how do we do this without telling your brothers why?"

"It's too late for that. I've already told them all about what happened in Palmdale."

"Oh? And what did they say?"

"Let me put it this way. Johnny won't have any problem with shafting Chuck Asbury. Gordon basically said he'd go along with whatever was decided."

Jeff nodded, understanding how his sons' minds worked. "What about Alan and Virgil?"

"Well, Al was like me. We spent time on Thunderbird Three with the man, we saw him as a decent guy. He said he was okay with it, because he figured Mom would want us to forgive and forget. Virg was practical about it, of course. He said there wasn't any advantage in taking the money, and he didn't see any reason to help Asbury clear his conscience."

Jeff looked his son in the eye. "Your mother might have said she forgave Chuck Asbury, but she never forgot what he did."

"Yeah, I can see why she wouldn't."

"All right, then, let's get the boys in here and talk this over."

Scott nodded, ready for the discussion.

Two months later

Scott sat back in his pilot seat, shutting Thunderbird One down. Sighing, he stretched. It had been a long day. The rescue had gone well, without any major issues, but still, it had taken the better part of twelve hours to get to all of the people trapped in the high rise building.

He knew his brothers were just as exhausted as he was, and he was going to insist in delaying the debrief if his father had already scheduled it. He was tired enough to let the moving catwalk carry him from the hatch of Thunderbird One to the wall with the trick sconces that would deliver him into the house.

Once in the house, he saw that his father was not at his usual post at his desk. Stepping further into the room, he spotted Jeff out on the balcony, leaning on the railing. Scott moved up beside him, taking a deep breath of the warm evening air.

Jeff glanced over. "Welcome home, son."

"Thanks, Dad." The two men stood in companionable silence, watching the stars come out. Scott's eye was caught by one near the far horizon. Gesturing at it, he said, "Asteroid One is getting close to its final orbit."

Jeff barely looked. "I suppose."

Scott sighed. His father still couldn't see anything good about the project. Despite that, Jeff had ordered his stockbrokers to secretly buy up any stock that came onto the market. The elder Tracy was determined to get a controlling interest as a hedge against Chuck Asbury ever threatening to spill the beans on International Rescue.

Two months earlier, when as a family they had decided not to accept Asbury's money, John had laid out a plan to bankrupt the man. Even Jeff had been taken aback at John's vindictiveness. To Scott's relief, Jeff had forbade John to put the plan into action, telling him they would only enact it if Asbury actually reneged on his promise to keep quiet.

Scott had been delegated to let Asbury know the family's decision, but given the information his father had disclosed, found he couldn't do it. It was Alan who had let the man know in a carefully worded email.

Asbury had accepted the decision with good grace, and so far, there hadn't been even a rumor that he had information on International Rescue. Scott had a growing confidence that his original assessment of the man was right, and the long ago incident with his mother was an aberration.

Asteroid One itself had already started up its mining operation, surprising the geologists with the abundance and variety of metals to be had. If his dad hadn't already been doing it, Scott would probably have been buying more stock, simply as a good investment.

Feeling an itch start up between his shoulder blades, Scott straightened up. "I'm going to hit the showers before the guys get home."

"All right, son. We'll hold off on the debrief until tomorrow morning."

"Yes, sir. I'll see you later."

Jeff nodded, still staring off into the distance. Scott headed for his quarters and a badly needed shower. Soon enough his brothers would be home, and this evening they'd talk and maybe play poker or something. His life would continue as it had for the last few years, and at some point in the future, it would change. Maybe he'd man the desk, maybe he'd find his own version of his mother, and have a flock of kids of his own. Maybe in the future he might even forgive Chuck Asbury. But not now.