Home » The Archives » Chapter 9 » Regrouping and Recouperation
| Re: Regrouping and Recouperation [message #132 is a reply to message #131] |
Sun, 22 July 2012 19:05   |
artisticrainey
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Registered: July 2012
Location: Northern Ireland
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Field Commander
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Ned glanced up at the camera and said, "Thanks, Rae. We'll have more from Rae McCormick later in the broadcast." He glanced up at the teleprompter above the stationary camera. "Friday the thirteenth was certainly unlucky for International Rescue. Not only did they respond to a disaster off the coast of Japan, but they also took on the job of bringing a space cruiser in for what ended up as a safe - if imperfect - landing at Cape Canaveral. Here's Sarah Gerrold to tell us the story."
The scene changed to a dark-haired woman standing on what had to have been a breezy, sunny day in Florida. The gantries that marked Cape Canaveral's launch pads were in the background. "The flight of WSA's space cruiser, Yamato, was normal up until re-entry..."
Jacques, coming home in the morning's early hours from an evening of social obligation, heard the televid and walked into the drawing room to find Desdemona watching avidly. "Why are you up at bloody two ack emma?" he asked, checking his watch.
"I wanted to watch this live," was her reply. "Now hush!"
Jacques glanced at the screen and thought for a moment, then sat down in one of the chairs near his sister. He steepled his fingers, and gave his attention to Sarah's interrupted monologue.
"...The crew of two thought they were finished, until IR's little-known Thunderbird Three arrived on the scene."
The screen changed again, to an official press room in the Cape Canaveral complex. Two astronauts, a mustachioed man and a dark-skinned woman sat next to each other, their chairs slightly turned towards each other. The man spoke. The words, "Astronaut Frank Camp" appeared on the screen below him.
"We were really concerned with the situation as it stood. The odds that a system with so many redundancies built in might fail is pretty astronomical, but it can happen. Unfortunately, it seems the odds were against us on that flight. We were glad that International Rescue could make it in time."
The camera zoomed in on the woman, and the name "Astronaut Haley Roberts" appeared on the screen. "Thunderbird Three was so awesome. We could see its silhouette, and it looked sleek, with two or three nacelles. Where our running lights splashed on it, the rocket was bright red. A long, beautiful vessel from our perspective."
Sarah, who sat facing the two astronauts, asked, "What exactly did Thunderbird Three do?"
Camp replied, "The pilot, who said we could call him 'A', managed to get the nose of his craft under ours for just the right amount of time, and changed our trajectory to a safer vector. We were able to bring the cruiser in at a better angle."
The camera angle switched to Haley again. "They were waiting for us on the ground, too. They sprayed this foam-like substance all over the cruiser, and kept us from burning up while the emergency crews pulled us out."
The scene went back to Sarah, standing outside. "The story doesn't end here, though. In the days that followed, something odd turned up in the area surrounding the cruiser's landing zone."
They cut back to the press room, where the astronauts had been replaced with a man wearing an Air Force uniform. The name "General Michael Seese" was now displayed on the screen.
Sarah asked, "What was it you noticed after International Rescue left?"
General Seese straightened his shoulders a touch. "Well, we noticed a marked difference in the plant growth around the landing site. At first, we didn't know why things were growing so quickly, but one of our civilian adjuncts, Professor Callie Spencer, posited that it could have had something to do with the flame retardant that International Rescue had sprayed on the cruiser. She felt that the mixture of the cruiser's fuel with that foam had created a new, super fertilizer. Turned out that, somehow, IR heard about our problem, and conducted their own tests. Lord only knows where they got the samples! They sent Professor Spencer the results of their work, and sure enough, it was exactly what she thought it was. They even pinpointed which parts of the chemicals were reacting. Don't know how they got the information to her; they must have an ear at every keyhole or something! I have to admire people like that. They must have some top minds working for them."
"Were you able to neutralize the effects of the fertilizer?" Sarah asked.
General Seese smiled. "We didn't need to. The compound broke down on its own and, according to our testing, has been rendered totally harmless to the environment. We have passed some of the information along to the relevant authorities in Washington, but we don't foresee any latent effects." His smile turned wry. "It did keep our groundskeepers hopping, I'll give you that!"
"A super fertilizer?" Jacques said, shaking his head. "Is that what you're watching this for?"
Desdemona rolled her eyes. "Of course not. But there may be hints to other technologies that we could use."
He shook his head again, and tuned back in to Sarah's wrap up. "...Spencer could not be contacted for an interview, but her findings are now on file with the Department of Agriculture and the Environmental Protection Agency."
The camera angle shifted, and Sarah ended her piece with, "It's been long known that IR has a covert intelligence network like none other; they are often aware of situations requiring their aid without an official call. Here we have a fine example, not only of the existence of that network, but also of International Rescue's continuing response to issues outside of mere rescue operations."
As the picture shifted back to Ned, Desdemona remarked, "Hm. We could use that network to our advantage."
"If we could design a scenario that would interest IR," Jacques said. He stood up. "Let me know if you find anything promising. I'm off to bed."
Post by Tikatu on 11/1/2006
  
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