BUGGY by BOOMERCAT RATED FRPT

The early days of a new rescue vehicle.

(See Buggy in action later in Whirlwinds.)

Scott Tracy looked up from the control board he was studying. He had sensed his brother Virgil's sudden lack of movement. Virgil was standing silhouetted against Thunderbird Two's open hangar bay door. He was looking out at something that apparently disturbed him.

Scott watched for a moment then with a sigh got up and walked over to see what his brother was looking at. When he reached the open door, he looked out across the sunny tarmac. He couldn't help but snort a laugh at the scene. Between two of the tall palms that lined Thunderbird Two's runway, his brothers Gordon and Alan had set themselves up.

Both of the young men were wearing loud flowered Hawaiian shirts and plaid Bermuda shorts. Gordon had even managed to scrounge up a pair of black socks complete with garters to wear with his sandals. Alan had found one of Grandma's old straw gardening hats, and both had several cameras hung around their necks. As Alan finished setting up the large beach umbrella, Gordon wrestled two folding beach chairs into shape setting them one on each side of a small table that held tall colorful drinks with paper umbrellas.

Having set their scene, the two young men plopped down on their chairs, and finally noticing Scott and Virgil standing there, each lifted at drink in salute. Scott just laughed shaking his head. Virgil looked over at his friend and brother. "It's not funny, Scott."

Knowing his brother was tense over the morning's scheduled test of a new piece of equipment, Scott smiled. "Yes, actually it is. Stop worrying, Virg, it's going to go just fine. You don't see those two worrying about it, do you?"

"Those two are idiots. They're hoping something will go wrong so they can catch it on film."

"Actually, I asked Gordon to film the test." Jeff's deep voice was tinged with amusement as he joined his two sons in the hangar doorway. Getting a good look at his youngest boys' antics, Jeff laughed out loud. "Where do you suppose they got those shirts?"

"Goodwill."

"Nah, Goodwill has too much pride to sell something like that. They must have been dumpster diving somewhere."

"Come on, boys, let's get this show on the road. Brains is anxious to see how it works."

The 'it' in question was a new piece of excavating equipment. Unlike most of the heavy-duty large equipment that International Rescue used, this new piece was almost delicate in comparison. The design had come about as a result of a near disaster at a rescue several months earlier when the Excavator with Virgil at the controls had fallen through a seemingly solid concrete floor. It had been decided that they needed a lightweight machine that could handle the rugged job of excavating rubble without putting any undue pressure on the site.

The design that Brains had come up with, with Alan's help, was certainly innovative. It consisted of a control cabin slung under a series of telescoping legs that could be positioned around the site thereby spreading the stress over a wide area. The main body of the machine, which included the control cabin, was round in shape. The bottom half of the cabin was a large claw. This claw, which was big enough to hold all five of the Tracy brothers, could be raised and lowered by cable to pick up chunks of rubble, then by manipulating the legs, the debris could be shifted to the side.

Virgil had his doubts about the design. He felt that moving by means of the eight telescoping legs was just asking for trouble. At his insistence, Brains had included a set of wheels in the undercarriage so that the thirty-foot tall ball-shaped machine could be driven in and out of its pod home.

Privately Scott thought the tiny wheels at the base of the machine looked ridiculous. He had pointed out that the eight legs were computer assisted, and shouldn't be that hard to handle. He said he would do the initial test run himself, but Virgil would have none of it. Scott handled tests of flying equipment and Virgil handled the land equipment. That was the way it had always been, and always would be.

The three Tracy men walked over to the gunmetal gray test vehicle. The genius engineer, Brains, was in the cabin powering up the various computerized controls. Virgil who was dressed in a fire retardant suit casually swung the crash helmet he was carrying, asking, "Is she ready, Brains?"

"Uh, yes, uh, Virgil. Now, you uh, know the plan. E-e-extend the legs, and move to the debris pile at the end of the uh, runway. Lower the claw, b-b-but don't attempt to pick anything up. Now, this is uh, important, uh Virgil. Do not be tempted to pick up anything regardless of how uh, easy it seems."

"Relax, Brains. I understand what you want. I won't let you down."

"W-w-where have I heard that before?"

Virgil took on a look of wide-eyed innocence and mutely pointed at Scott.

"Hey! Leave me out of this! I wasn't even on the island when the Mole was being tested!"

At Scott's mention of the Mole, both Brains and Virgil flinched. The Mole was a deep burrowing machine and was one of the first pieces of heavy equipment Brains had designed. It had actually been broken in on the island, helping to carve out hangars and silos from the tough volcanic rock.

Home on a break from college several years earlier, Virgil had insisted on working with the big machine. Unfamiliar with the controls, Virgil had gone off course when he had come across a vein of weaker rock. The result was still visible as an odd little side cave off the main Thunderbird Two hangar.

"All right, that's enough of that. Virgil, mount up. I want to get this over with." Jeff's voice was firm and got the desired results as everyone started to move to their assigned posts for the test.

Scott started for his control board, then turned back, calling across the hangar floor, "Hey, Virg? Sorry about the crack."

Virgil rolled his eyes, a small grin his acceptance of the apology. Scott grinned back, and as Virgil settled the crash helmet on his head, called out, "Good luck!"

Virgil tightened the chin strap and signed a thumbs up. As he climbed up into the machine's cockpit, Scott turned back to his mock-up of Mobile Control. Setting a headset with attached mouthpiece firmly on his head, he spoke quietly. "All right, everyone, let's have a sound check."

"I read you five by five." Jeff was all business in the master control room of the hangar.

"Reading you loud and clear, Scott." Virgil sounded a bit preoccupied, but Scott was not inclined to call him on it under the circumstances.

"Do you hear him?"

"Why, yes. Yes, I do. Do you hear him?"

"As a matter of fact, I do. Do you suppose that's five by five we're hearing?"

"Oh, I don't think so. I think it's more like seven by three, or maybe eight by two, but not five by five."

"No, definitely not five by five."

"Well?"

"Well, what?"

"Well, are you going to answer him?"

"Oh! I suppose I could, if you're sure you don't want to?"

"No, no, you go right ahead."

"You're sure?"

"Yes, I am. You go right ahead."

Scott had taken the time this little dialogue had taken to bring his computer links to the machine's onboard sensors on line, but now he had had it. He growled, "Enough, you two."

"Yessir. Shutting up now, sir."

Scott sighed. There was no stopping Gordon and Alan when they got in this mood. The best move was to simply ignore them as much as possible.

"Brains? Are you ready?"

"Uh, yes, Scott. I'm ready here."

"Okay, Virgil, it's all yours."

"FAB, Scott. Initiating leg deployment now." With a whine of electric motors, an iris on the top of the ball opened, and a series of thick poles appeared. Scott watched with a critical eye. He had great faith in the stability of Brains' inventions, but it was hard not to see the contraption as top heavy. Sitting on the floor, it looked like a perfect ball, and Scott kept expecting it to roll.

"Whoa, whoa! Shut it down! Virgil, shut it down!"

Scott checked his board, but he couldn't see anything that would make his father abort the test. The electric whine died away, and Virgil voiced Scott's question. "What's wrong, Father? All of my status lights are green."

"Well they damn well shouldn't be. Brains, my sensors say that thing is rotating forward."

"Uh, yes, Mr. T-Tracy, my sensors confirm a rotation of point zero zero two degrees."

"What? Why don't I see that on my board, Brains?

"As we discussed, not all of the sensors are online yet, uh, Virgil. For the purposes of this test, we are uh, going with just the exterior sensors in the hangar a-a-and lining the runway."

Scott let out a breath. It had sounded reasonable enough when they had discussed it in the pre-test briefing, but now it seemed a foolish risk. "Okay, I think we had better shut this down. Having problems this early in the test isn't a good sign."

"No, Scott. I think we should continue. Let me just try something here."

Scott frowned. Virgil was as cautious a man as Scott himself, but once he got behind the controls of any kind of big machine, he tended to forget the danger.

"What are you going to try, Virg?"

"Give me a minute."

Scott jumped at a sound of metal grating on concrete. Virgil called out, "How's it look now, Brains?"

"The uh, rotation has been corrected, uh, Virgil. What did you, uh, do?"

"I opened the claw's hatch. I figure fully retracted, the claw itself can steady it."

"Good idea, son. All right, let's continue. Virgil, you are clear to re-commence deployment."

"FAB, Dad. Scott? You ready?"

As field commander, Scott had final say on whether the test could continue. He wasn't happy, but he couldn't think of a legitimate reason to stop the test. With the claw barely extended, the machine was balanced on the four heavy prongs. Scott could see that the big machine was steady. He made a note on his clipboard. It was worth noting for when they developed the operating rules. "Yeah, I'm ready. Go ahead and fire her up."

Almost before the words were out of Scott's mouth, the electric whine of the motors again filled the air. The eight legs continued to stretch out toward the top of the hangar. After several moments, Virgil's voice filled Scott's headset. "Okay, we've reached the full extension of the first joint. How's it look out there?"

"It's uh, all clear, uh, Virgil. You may continue uh, deployment."

"I concur. You're looking good, son."

"Okay, Virg, go ahead with the next stage."

"FAB."

For a moment, the legs continued to stretch upward, but then the tips began to swivel downward and a joint was formed. The first length of leg was thirty-five feet. Scott watched his sensor array, but also kept an eye on the machine itself. The action of the extension was smooth and even. The legs continued down and out until they also reached thirty-five feet.

"Second stage complete."

"Copy that, son. You are still good to go."

"Uh yes, I agree. Go ahead with the third stage."

When there was a pause, Virgil called out, "Scott?"

Scott triple-checked his board one last time. The third stage was the most critical. "Give me a moment." Scott wasn't about to rely entirely on the sensors. He went out across the hangar floor and walked around the entire machine, visually inspecting it. Satisfied, he trotted back to his control board and took up his headset. "Yeah, Virg, everything looks fine. Now, if there's going to be any trouble, this is where it will be. Everybody stay alert. You're clear to commence final deployment of the legs."

The motors started up, and again the legs seemed to stretch. A third joint appeared as the legs continued downward, this time angling back toward the control cabin. As they approached the ground, Scott found himself holding his breath.

As the legs continued their stretch to the ground, Scott was surprised at how delicate-looking they were. At the base, where they joined the control cabin, they were massive, but as each section telescoped out, it got thinner and thinner until the final sections were no bigger around than Scott's own leg. He marveled that the thin legs could support the ten ton bulk of the machine.

The moment of truth came when the legs hit the ground with an audible thunk. The electric motors ceased their whine as Scott did his final checks.

Virgil was apparently immersed in his own checks because it was several moments before he called. "Stage three is complete. I have good contact on all legs."

"I read good uh, contact also. Please continue, uh Virgil."

"Hold up a minute, I want to do another visual inspection." Scott once again headed for the big machine, this time checking the stability of each leg. When he returned to his post, he gave the final clearance. "Okay, Virgil, it's as ready as it's likely to get."

"FAB, commencing lift off."

Scott couldn't help but think that the term 'lift off' was especially appropriate in this case. The electric motors built up to a loud teeth-gritting whine, then with no hesitation, the control cabin of the machine rose smoothly into the air. Scott was caught by the sight, and had to shake himself to pay attention to his monitoring.

The machine halted some twenty feet off the ground. Scott knew it could go much higher, but it had been decided for the purpose of the test that twenty feet was enough. "How's it feel, Virg?"

"Actually pretty good. Just like an elevator. I'm green across the board. Are we ready for phase two?"

"All clear here, uh, Virgil."

"Everything looks fine from here, son."

Scott studied his board for a moment, then checked the placement of the eight legs. He could sense Virgil's growing excitement, but he was determined to keep that excitement reined in. He took his time before responding. "Okay, it's all clear here. You are good to go for phase two. Remember, just take it slow and easy. There's no rush."

Through his headset, Scott could hear his brother take a deep steadying breath. "FAB, Scott. Moving forward now."

The whine of the motors reached a new pitch, and Scott put a note on his clipboard. The sound could be a problem in itself. It made Scott's teeth itch. The sound reached a pitch that was almost supersonic, then the big machine suddenly moved.

Brains had made a study of robotic movement and had come to the conclusion that linking the legs was the best way to handle the movement of the machine. Virgil had a series of complicated controls that allowed him to move the legs together or independently, but there was also a simple joystick that gave control of the individual legs to the computer. Scott could tell by the smoothness of the forward motion that Virgil was relying heavily on the computer assist.

Scott couldn't help but be impressed by the sight. As the machine advanced across the threshold of the hangar door, there was a loud whoop and holler from Gordon and Alan out on the tarmac. "Whoa! Spiderman! Go! Go! Go!"

Scott grinned at the enthusiasm. The machine did in fact look like a huge spider, something that Scott was sure was Alan's idea. As the big machine moved across the tarmac, the legs moved almost delicately. If it weren't for the resounding thud as each 'foot' hit the ground, Scott could have almost believed it was floating above the ground. "Brains, you've outdone yourself!"

"Uh, thank you, uh, Scott. It does move well, uh, doesn't it?"

"It's super!"

"Fantastic! It's even better than I hoped!"

"I want one of my own. Brains, can you build one that's waterproof? Oh, and can skate along the surface of the water?"

"Oh, that'd be so cool!"

"Yeah, and maybe you could have a space one."

"Yeah! It could fling webs! No more EVAs!"

"Uh, okay, e-e-enough. Virgil, what do uh, you think?"

Virgil, who had been laughing out loud, replied. "This is great! Runs smooth as silk, Brains!

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves, son. We still have to test out the claw."

"Yes, Father. Scott, didja see how it moves? It feels like I'm just gliding along"

Scott felt like he couldn't stop grinning. Despite their father's caution, Scott couldn't help but get caught up in his brothers' eagerness. "Yeah, Virg, it looks great. Just like a big spider."

"Hey, Scott, we gotta paint it black! Black with a red hourglass on it!"

"Good one, Al!"

"All right, boys, settle down. We are not building a toy. This is a serious piece of equipment. Brains, did you have a name in mind?"

"Well, uh, Mr. Tracy, I thought perhaps, uh, Buggy would do, seeing that w-w-we already have something called uh, The Spider."

"Okay, guys, I'm at the debris pile. I'm going to set the legs individually."

"All right everybody, heads up, let's not get careless now." Jeff sounded relaxed despite his warning.

"Yes, everything is c-c-clear here."

Scott's eyes had never left his monitors. "You're looking good, Virg. You are clear to set the legs."

"Okay, taking manual control of legs one and five. Computer-assist off. Setting leg one now."

With a board full of green lights, Scott took a moment to watch the action. Without the computer assistance, the leg's movements were much more jerky. Scott knew that, as a matter of pride, Virgil would soon have the big machine running as smoothly on manual control as it did on computer assist.

The first two legs were set without incident. Scott could hear Gordon's commentary as he filmed. Typically, his younger brother was not content to just describe the bare bones of the event. Instead, Gordon was acting as if it were a newscast.

"My God, ladies and gentlemen, it's hard to believe, but the giant space alien seems intent on a path of destruction! Oh, the humanity! It appears to be eating those unfortunate souls in its reach. Oh, there appears to be no hope for Tokyo today!"

Alan helpfully supplied the sound effects of screaming people when he could stop laughing long enough to do so. Scott chuckled. Gordon had a talent for mimicry, and right now he sounded exactly like newsman Ned Cook.

"But wait! What is this? Godzilla! It's Godzilla, here to save us all!"

Scott glanced up to see Alan holding a large plastic dinosaur close to the lens of the camera. Scott opened his mouth to bring the two moviemakers back to business, when both Brains and Jeff erupted simultaneously. "Virgil! I have a fault in the primary computer for the number six leg!"

"Primary c-c-computer is offline! Virgil! Initiate e-e-emergency shutdown!"

Jerking his head back to his control board, Scott was aghast at the line of red lights overtaking the previously all-green board. "Shut it down! Virgil, shut it down!"

"Scott, I've lost control of legs two, six and eight! Attempting to assert computer assist..."

"No, Virg, just shut it down."

"I have a cascade failure of the primary computers. Secondary failing also. God, Virgil!" Jeff's voice was strained.

Scott watched in fear as the thirty-ton machine tottered about like a drunk. Gone were the smooth movements that had so impressed him before. Now the legs all seemed to have separate agendas. Scott ripped off his headset, leaving a babble of reports from his father and Brains behind as he started running desperately toward the ungainly machine. Swaying, it started tripping over its own feet. Scott's heart climbed up in his throat as he realized that Gordon and Alan were right in the machine's path.

Yelling as he ran, Scott saw his brothers dive to the side as one of the legs came down on their table and chairs. By this time the machine was so off-balance that what happened next was inevitable. Looking for all the world like an oversized animal, the giant spider-like machine fell over, snapping off several of the legs, and rolling off the edge of the tarmac.

As Scott ran, he called out to where Alan was giving Gordon a hand up. "You guys okay?"

Alan looked up. "Better than he's gonna be when I get my hands on him!"

Scott had already tuned out as he concentrated on reaching the downed machine which lay tangled up in sections of its legs. As Scott approached, he sucked in his breath. One side of the main cabin had been crushed. Various segments of the legs were sputtering with sparks and a thin trickle of smoke was coming from a crack in the main body of the machine.

Scott reached the crumpled machine, calling out, "Virgil! Virg, can you hear me?"

He heard a muffled response and breathed a sigh of relief. At least his brother was conscious. Scott climbed around the heavy machine to where a small round porthole was situated. Looking in, he found his brother looking out.

Virgil was coughing and looked as if his nose might be bleeding. As Scott looked on, he gestured to the interior of the machine, which Scott could see was rapidly filling with smoke. Nodding his comprehension, he moved around to where the hatch should be. All he found was crumpled metal.

Finding a bent edge, Scott tried to pry it the hatch open, but there was no way to get a good hold on it. Alan came rushing up to help, and seeing what Scott was doing, lent his strength to the task, but it was no good, the hatch was jammed tight.

Looking for another way, Scott moved to a spot where the smoke seemed to be trickling through. He reached to grab at sides of a rent in the outer hull of the machine, but then snatched his fingers back at the heat pouring through. His stomach knotted at the realization that Virgil could suffocate or be burned before they could reach him.

Alan finally gave up on the hatch and was making a circuit of the machine. "What do we do, Scott?"

"I don't know, but we've got to get him out of there before he fries."

Scott moved back around to the porthole. It had seemed a good idea at the time. Because the operator actually relied on monitors and computer screens, it was deemed that a window was unnecessary. Only now, could Scott see the flaw with that plan. The porthole was far too small to act as an escape hatch.

To Scott's dismay, Virgil was no longer at the porthole. Scott could just make out his brother's legs through the haze. Virgil was on the floor and not moving. Scott called out to him, but there wasn't so much as a twitch.

They were running out of time. "Alan... We need cutting tools and a full EMT kit with oxygen. Hurry." Scott's voice was filled with the urgency of the situation.

As Alan ran toward the open hangar bay, Scott saw his father coming at full speed, with Brains right behind. Jeff went immediately to the porthole. "Where is he? Is he all right?"

"He's on the floor, Dad. He was conscious a bit ago, but the cabin was filling with smoke. Brains, I need the fastest, safest way to cut into this thing."

The engineer was pale, but nodded. "Uh, the uh, best way would be through the h-h-hatch."

"What about through this porthole? We've got to get this damn smoke vented somehow."

"Uh, no, uh a-a-actually, the porthole would be the uh, worst option. It's not glass, you see, it's a polymer blend with a tensile strength ten times greater than steel. The area around the uh, porthole is filled with delicate equipment and uh..."

"Screw the equipment, we've got to get to him fast!"

"Easy, son. We'll get to your brother."

Scott bit back his reply. Despite the confident tone, Jeff had a fearful look in his eye, and Scott knew he was on the edge.

At the sound of running feet, Scott turned away to find Gordon and Alan approaching, laden down with cutting torches and other gear. For Alan to have returned so quickly, Gordon must have run to gather the equipment as soon as the accident occurred. Scott sent a silent thank you heavenward for giving him brothers with brains.

Scott let out a breath, and grabbed one of the oxyhydnite torches. "Gordon, you're with me on the hatch. Alan, you and Brains figure out some place to drill a hole and get an oxygen line in. Dad, I'll need you to get suited up to go in and get him."

Scott turned to the cutting gear, confident that his orders would be followed. Within moments he had started to cut through the damaged hatch. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Gordon keeping pace with him.

It seemed to take forever to cut through, but in truth, it was only a few minutes when Alan cried out a curse. "Shit! Scott, you guys need to hurry. We got the oxygen line in, but it's just giving fuel to a fire!"

"Cut off the oxygen, son."

"Already done, but that fire is still burning."

Scott listened to the conversation. He and Gordon were three quarters of the way to the bottom of the door frame. "This will have to be good enough. Gordon you take the top, I'll take the bottom"

Scott began cutting his line across the portal to meet up with the still glowing line that Gordon had cut. Gordon started the same cut at the top. Scott concentrated on the task at hand, resisting the temptation to move faster than the torch could cut.

Alan didn't help matters, calling urgently. "Scott..."

"Scott... you have to hurry it up. The fire's advancing down the wall."

"Scott..."

"Shut up, Alan!" Gordon gritted out. Scott appreciated it. He was concentrating so hard himself that he felt if he even took the time to answer, he would lose time that Virgil didn't have. The last few inches were the hardest. From experience, Scott knew the cut had to be complete or the dense hatch would not move.

Finally they were through and Scott reached to grab the still red hot metal. "Scott! No! Here, take these!"

He looked over to see his Gordon offering a pair of heat resistant work gloves. Grateful for his brother's foresightedness, he snatched the gloves onto his hands then again reached for the cut metal. This time his brother grasped the hatch with him, and with their combined strength, they muscled the heavy door out of the way.

Almost before the hatch had cleared the doorway, a heavily-suited figure brushed by Scott, startling him. He had been so focused on his task that he hadn't even noticed his father had put on the fire retardant rescue suit. Scott would have followed his father through the hatch but for Gordon's restraining hand on his shoulder. Scott tried to shrug it off, but Gordon held fast, putting some muscle into it. "Scott, we've got to let Alan through."

Scott barely registered what his brother was saying. He heard Gordon yell something to Alan, but his total attention was on the hatch.

His father reappeared with his brother Virgil in a fireman's carry. Scott went to take a step forward, but was again pulled aside by Gordon who let Alan through with a hover stretcher. Jeff gently placed his son on the stretcher, and Brains came forward with an oxygen mask. Scott would have moved in. But Jeff held out a restraining arm, saying quietly, "Let the man work."

It only took Scott a moment to realize what his father was telling him. Although it was an accident, Brains would take all of the blame for the situation onto himself. Jeff was giving Brains an opportunity to redeem himself in his own eyes. Of course, no redemption was needed as far as Jeff and his sons were concerned.

Scott scrutinized every movement that Brains made, ready to swoop in and help at the slightest indication of trouble. After a few rushed agitated motions, Brains paused, and with a relieved smile looked up at the hovering Tracys. "He's in good s-s-shape, considering. He just got a lungful of uh, smoke. He should be waking up any uh, moment..."

Brains was interrupted by Virgil coughing. The coughing continued in a spasm that made Scott ache just to watch it. Curling up in an effort to relieve the pain of it, Virgil batted at the oxygen mask covering his nose and mouth. The action drew five hands as all present moved to stop him from dislodging it.

"Just leave it on, Virg." Scott touched a control on the side of the stretcher to firm up the support, then sat down on the edge helping his brother to sit up.

Jeff crouched down in front of his son, searching his face with anxious eyes. "How do you feel, son?"

Gasping, Virgil replied, "I'm okay, Dad. Like Brains said, I just got a little too much smoke."

"Well, you better be okay, because Gordon and I are gonna whup your ass. You wrecked our table."

Scott looked up at Alan standing with crossed arms. He saw Gordon, with eyes wide, take a giant step away from the youngest Tracy brother, divorcing himself from the claim. Scott and Virgil responded to the challenge in unison, "In your dreams, little boy!"

"All right, that's enough. Virgil, you lie back. Scott and I will get you up to the sickroom. Alan, you and Gordon clean up this mess. I want it all under cover in the hangar before dinner. Come along, Brains."

Having laid down the law, Jeff took one end of the stretcher and Scott took the other, and with Brains in tow, headed back to the house.

Several months later, the new revised Buggy was ready again for testing. Brains had traced the failure back to a single computer chip and had subsequently redesigned the entire system with triple redundancy. He confidently predicted no future problems.

The tiny porthole had been replaced with a panoramic window equipped with explosive bolts to blow the entire window out in case of emergency. The hatch was replaced with one that could be opened manually from both the interior and exterior of the craft.

Brains also installed a series of airbags that would insure the operator's safety should it ever roll over. Virgil confided to Scott that he thought it was a case of overkill where the safety measures were concerned. Scott told him just to live with it for Brains' sake, but privately felt there could never be too much safety where his brother's life was concerned.

The day of the test, even Virgil had to laugh, when looking out across the tarmac, he found his younger brothers had foregone the beach tourist look in favor of a sandbag bunker and army helmets.

Despite the knot of uneasiness in Scott's belly, the tests went off without a hitch. The huge spider-like machine passed every task set it with flying colors. By late afternoon, Scott had to seriously rein in Virgil's excitement. Everyone else was exhausted, but as was typical, operating a big machine just got Virgil high.

After a short argument, Virgil agreed it was time to pack it in. He moved the big machine into the hangar and with the long legs retracted, drove it up the ramp to its new cradle in pod five. As the pod clamps were securing it, Virgil stood staring at it with a slight smile. Scott came up to stand next to him.

"It's a great machine."

"I don't know, Virg. I'm going to have to see it under fire before I'll agree."

"Scott, it was an accident. Brains worked out all of the flaws and then some."

"Yeah, I know, I know. Still, I aged about a decade watching that thing go over." Scott grew quiet, the memory of the accident suddenly strong in his mind.

Virgil, as always attuned to his older brother's moods, cocked his head to one side. "So... what do you say we go tweak a brother or two?"

"What do you have in mind?"

With a grin, Virgil gestured toward a locker. "I happen to have a couple of paintball guns over there. They want to play war? We'll teach them how to play war!"

The brothers went over to the locker, and the somber mood lifting, Scott laughed and reached for one of the guns. "Dibs on the runt."

With a high five, the two brothers headed for the tarmac.