Home » The Archives » Chapter 5 » Learning to Live in Paradise
| Re: Learning to Live in Paradise [message #1371 is a reply to message #1370] |
Thu, 26 July 2012 20:27   |
artisticrainey
Messages: 1228
Registered: July 2012
Location: Northern Ireland
Karma:
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Field Commander
Switzerland |
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******Monday, April 16, 2068; Tracy Island; 12:45 p.m.******
All the new recruits finished their individual lunches and made themselves presentable, then they met downstairs at the monorail. "Hey, Elise!" said Callie.
"Hi, Callie. Ready for that meeting?"
"I think so. I hope it won't be just Mr. Tracy and Doc."
They mingled, making small talk, while waiting for the monorail. When it arrived, they all entered. Christopher arrived late and ran in just as the doors began to close. His presence muted all conversations.
The silent ride lasted just a few minutes, but it seemed like an eternity to the riders. When they arrived at the villa, they were greeted by Virgil. "Good, everyone's here. Let's get to the lounge for the meeting." As he led them to the lounge, he gave some reassuring words. "Don't worry; no one's going to bite. This is just to help you deal with the media and anyone else trying to get information from you. Just relax, and if you have any questions, don't be afraid to ask. That's what we're here for."
Nikki breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good to know."
Christopher lagged behind the others. He hesitated slightly, but he took a deep breath and walked into the lounge. He looked around and took a seat apart from the others.
They were all greeted by Jeff, Dianne, Scott, Virgil, John, and Alan (via communications from Thunderbird Five). Jeff said, "Welcome to the meeting, everyone. As you all know, we had a minor security breach in our recent rescue mission at the Tower Bridge. It's been brought to my attention that not all of you have had to deal directly with the media before. With the media becoming more clever at every turn, we need to discuss ways on effectively dealing with them.
"Now, I know that Dominic has had previous experience as a member of LifeFlight. However, things are different because this is a top-secret organization. I understand that some of you are concerned about revealing information by mistake, so now's the time to ask questions."
Kat jumped right in with the first question. "What can we do to avoid the media in the first place?"
Scott answered, "When we're within 20 minutes of the rescue zone, we always ask for security to surround our vehicles. This way, no one can get close enough to the Thunderbirds in the first place."
Brandon asked, "What about people trying to take pictures?"
"We use the photo detector," said Virgil. "Thunderbird One and the Mobile Control Unit are both equipped with the automatic camera detector. When Scott is alerted, he can use a device to electromagnetically wipe regular camera film blank. Brains upgraded the system to work for videotaping and digital cameras also. Videotape is also wiped blank, and memory cards are wiped only from the point the vessel arrives to an hour after we leave."
"How do we keep them away without being rude?" Callie asked. "I'm pretty positive courtesy is part of the IR image."
Scott said, "Whenever someone is approaching you, just say, 'I'm sorry, but you'll have to leave. You're interfering with a rescue.' You can easily do it without facing the person. Then call for security and have them take the offender away." He grinned. "If that offender says, 'How rude,' you simply reply, 'Yes, you were.'" This made everyone, including Christopher, laugh.
Kat asked, "John, have you or Alan ever had to deal with security issues involving the media whenever you're up on Thunderbird Five?"
"Well, we have to keep transmissions to a minimum. We always give our highest priority to anyone needing rescue. If someone's asking for a rescue but stalls, we tell them we'll get back to them and immediately end the transmission. In those cases, it could be someone trying to trace us. What we do at that point is check for other emergency signals in that area. If there are, we continue. If not, we end the transmission. When it's someone just wanting an interview, we calmly decline them and end transmission immediately."
"What can you do when someone being rescued won't cooperate?" Nikki asked. "I'm not sure my hand could take punching someone out again."
Alan laughed. "You're only the second person to knock out someone during a rescue. I was the first. Seriously, though, you have to use your best judgment by how serious the emergency is and how much time you have."
Elise asked, "What happens if we can't find a security person?"
"Then as Field Commander," said Scott, "I haven't done my job. I must make sure security is around during the entire rescue. If you run into the situation where there is no security, contact Mobile Control immediately."
After a few moments of silence, Jeff asked, "Are there any more questions?" When no one answered, he said, "This was a very productive meeting. I think we've all learned something."
Scott glanced at Christopher, who noticed and nodded with a look of determination.
"If there's nothing else," said Jeff, "you're all dismissed. Thank you very much."
Post by TracyFan4Ever on 12/06/2005
  
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