Tracy Log: 03/08/2066
Call received at 13:26, reports of a rambler trapped in an abandoned missile silo some 8 meters below ground.
Call sent by companion (uninjured) stating that the victim had climbed to the apex of the hill- created after the covering of the shelter entrance- in order to film a segment for their YouTube channel.
Upon reaching the top they started filming but the ground they were standing on began to shift, having become unstable due to nearby building work causing heavy flooding in the area.
The platform upon which they were standing -which doubled as a the lid to the silo- crumbled and they fell straight down into the silo.
Thunderbirds 1 and 2 deployed with Scott, Virgil, and Gordon aboard.
Victim knocked unconscious on impact, and didn't regain consciousness until Scott reached the danger zone.
Scott used our jetpack technology to lower himself down in order to assess the victim and secure them for transport.
Unfortunately, due to the nature of the fall and the subsequent injuries, although victim regained consciousness briefly, they were in too much pain. Scott issued painkillers to make them more comfortable, but they succumbed to their injuries before Scott or the team on Thunderbird 2 were able to help.
Reports will be sent, along with our video footage, to the local police force for processing and our standard letter of condolence, as well as resources, has been sent to the bereaved.
John leaned back, allowing the freedom of Zero-G to support his body as he pressed save on his screen and swiped it away.
He could still hear, could still see, the devastation on his brother's face as he reported that their mission had not been successful. Scott had tried to stay businesslike, to report the facts as they appeared, but John knew it was never that easy.
He watched every rescue as standard, ready to help in any way he could, and he had heard the laboured breathing of the victim, their pain filled crying and the wheezing, rattle in their chest.
They had asked Scott for help and he had promised them he would get them out of there. And he had, he'd helped the only way he could, by making them comfortable and holding their hand as their life had slipped away. And then he'd done his job and gotten them out as promised, just not in the way any of them would have wished.
Losses were inevitable, and they were lucky enough that they didn't have to deal with them that often, but that just made it all the harder when it did.
He wanted to be down there to support his brother, knowing he would be beating himself up about it even though there was nothing anyone could have done, but he still had to file the report with the local authorities and alert the bereavement counsellor they kept on retainer in case the victim's family were in need and couldn't provide their own.
Still, he had a secret weapon that he was merciless in deploying when a situation called for it, and this was definitely that situation.
He pulled up his screen again and touched the little symbol of a witch’s hat.
Scott’s eyes flew open as the first pounding notes of a song blasted through the speaker system of the lounge.
There went his peace and quiet. Couldn't a man brood alone in this house without some idiot feeling the need to disturb him?
“Why am I not surprised?” he bitched when his sister-in-law slid into the room and struck a dramatic pose. Please don't let her start to sing. He loved her but his temples were already throbbing and he didn't think his nerves could take it.
Thankfully -if you could count that- she stuck to lip syncing along as Tina Turner blasted out her most famous number.
“I call you when I need you, my heart's on fire,” Selene mimed, holding her hands over her heart as she rocked back and forth on the spot. “You come to me, come to me wild and wild.” She gestured to him to stand up and join her, but he folded his arms and resolutely refused, he wasn't in the mood for such silliness. A man had just died, did she not understand that?
“When you come to me, give me everything I need,” Selene continued as if he wasn't glaring a hole into her, she just gyrated on the spot, her head bobbing. “Give me a lifetime of promises and a world of dreams, speak a language of love like you know what it means.”
She settled into a power pose stance and prepared for the first big moment of the song.
“Mmm, and it can't be wrong, take my heart and make it strong, baby…” She paused in her bouncing sway to make sure he was paying attention before she belted out the words along with Tina.
“You're simply the best!” She pointed her finger directly in his face. “Better than all the rest.” Powerful head pumping. “Better than anyone.” Arms swaying above her head. “Anyone I've ever met.”
She clutched her hands to her heart as she swayed along to the words, miming along for all she was worth. She knew how to give a rousing performance and he deserved it.
I hang on every word you say.”
“No you don't,” Scott argued, but he was beginning to feel a little amused.
“Tear us apart,” Selene mimed then stuck her tongue out at him. “Baby, I would rather be dead.”
Scott's lips twitched, just a tiny bit, but she saw it and knew that she'd got him. He was hers now.
She moved closer until she was directly in front of him and carried on lip syncing along, pantoming the moves.
“In your heart, I see the star of every night and every day.”
She grabbed him by the hand and dragged him to his feet, ignoring his protests.
“In your eyes, I get lost, I get washed away.”
She kept hold of his hand, but stretched out their arms so that she could spin herself in against his chest in what she thought was the slickest move ever. He automatically grabbed on, holding her in case she fell.
“Just as long as I'm here in your arms, I could be in no better place…”
She wound up to the next line, tipped her head back onto his shoulder, eyes closed as she belted out the words like a woman possessed. “You're simply the best.”
She swayed from side to side, forcing him to move with her or lose his balance. “Better than all the rest. Better than anyone, anyone I've ever met.”
She felt the shaking of his shoulders as he started to laugh, but she couldn't hear much over the music. Not that that mattered, she knew her plan was working.
“Ooh, I'm stuck on your heart, I hang on every word you say.”
She wound her way out of his arms again in true ballroom dancing fashion but kept hold of his hand.
"Don't tear us apart,no, no, no. Baby, I would rather be dead!”
Scott span her again and she latched her arms around his neck, moving together now. This time he joined in, actually singing, which she now joined in with, uncaring as to how bad she sounded.
“Each time you leave me, I start losing control,
You're walking away with my heart and my soul.
I can feel you even when I'm alone, oh baby, don't let go!”
They danced a haphazard path around the coffee table and up the steps to a clear spot of floor just in time for the next part. They bounced around, Scott mimed playing a saxophone as Selene did her best Tina Turner gyrations -if the woman herself could move like that in her 70s Selene had no excuse to let the said down.
“Ooh, you're the best, ooh.”
Arms were waved as they sang. Selene had managed to grab Kayo's discarded hairbrush off a side table and was using it in her best teenage girl sleepover fashion.
“Better than all the rest. Better than anyone, anyone I've ever met.”
Scott took her outstretched hand and wound his fingers through hers, allowing her to swing his arm around as they sang the next lines.
“Ooh, I'm stuck on your heart, I hang on every word you say. Don't tear us apart, no, no, Baby, I would rather be dead!”
She let go of his hand and threw her head back to scream the next line.
They broke apart to dance on their own as the music pumped winding up for the finale. Scott was fully in the grove now, his face losing the haggard sadness she'd seen when she'd first entered the room. They were karaoke masters, they knew how to match actions to the words and they did it with style.
"Ooh, you're simply the best. Better than all the rest. Better than anyone, Anyone I've ever met!”
They bounced on the spot, singing at the top of their lungs, heads thrown back as they let the music and the fun of the moment wash away the disappointment and sadness of the day.
“I'm stuck on your heart, baby. I hang on every word you say.” Heads bobbed, fingers clicked, booties shimmied, hips gyrated as they let themselves go. “Don't tear us apart, no, no, no. Baby, I would rather be dead!”
Selene was very out of breath now, and why shouldn't she be, she been carrying this performance after all, but he was worth it. They bounced back together again, and she grabbed his hand, squeezing it tight to make sure he was fully understanding the reason behind her song choice.
“Oh, you're the best. You're better than all the rest
Better than anyone, anyone I've ever met.”
She locked eyes with him as the song wound down and spoke the last words directly to her very best friend in the entire world, and thankfully he was right there with her. “Ooh, you're the best.”
She was there to catch him in a huge hug as the music died away, leaving them panting for breath. The man could run the length of the island but make him dance and he'd be puffing like an old steam train in minutes.
“Beer?” she offered, kissing the top of his head where he'd faceplanted her shoulder.
It took him a moment, but finally he mumbled, “Yeah, that’d be good. Thanks.” That last word meant everything to her and told her that he appreciated her efforts more than he would probably admit.
She nodded and gave him another squeezy hug before she let him go, confident that she'd made her point. He was the best, the best brother, the best friend and the best rescuer out there. And whenever he doubted himself she'd be there to kick his arse until he realised the error of his ways.
John smiled to himself as he watched the live lounge feed. His wife was certainly unconventional in her approach but she got the job done.
And, until he could get home he knew his brother was in the best hands now. She'd make sure that he remembered that he was the best.