Visit
Kayo visits Cloudbase - there may or may not be shenanigans. Ao3 link ... At forty thousand feet, you would expect a lot of clouds, the big fluffy ones. But you would be wrong, those are under you. At forty thousand feet you have the high, wispy cirrus and the thin cirrostratus ones. Clouds that bend the light and have rainbows for shadows. This is the rarified height that Cloudbase lives at. It's a secure height, they stay well clear of the flight paths of the commercial aircraft, and if a private or military jet gets too close, they are politely warned off. If they don't listen - well, that's three hours worth of reports.
"Captain Blue says the returns are clear Colonel." Lieutenant Green reported.
"Thank you, Lieutenant." White stood up and stretched. He loved his duty, but hated being chained to a desk. Perhaps a light sparring match with Grey would be a good idea. "I do wonder where our guest might be."
"Maybe she's having trouble finding the base, sir?"
White permitted himself a small twitch of his lips. "I rather doubt that, Lieutenant. But her time is not her own." Green took the mild rebuke with good grace and turned back to his board. Lunch came and went before his board crackled to life.
“Cloudbase Control, this is Thunderbird Shadow, over.”
Lieutenant Green only twitched a little at the feminine voice on the Spectrum frequency. He’d been told to expect it, but it was still just a bit jarring. “Thunderbird Shadow, this is Cloudbase Control, reading you five by five.” “Excellent Cloudbase.” The answer was bright and cheery. “Requesting clearance to land.”
Green blinked at his board, it was completely clear. “Thunderbird Shadow, where are you? You aren’t showing on our radar.”
There was a throaty chuckle. “Sorry about that Cloudbase. Is that any better?”
The board suddenly lit up with the yellow of an unknown aircraft that was far too close to the base. “Colonel!” Green turned to find White not at his desk. “I see her Lieutenant.” White answered, he was standing in the observation tube. A dark grey aircraft had slipped out of the clouds on the stern of Cloudbase to circle around.
Green turned back to his board. “How much clearance do you need for landing Thunderbird Shadow?”
“HUH!”
Green turned to see White step backwards as the grey aircraft hovered outside the observation tube. He couldn’t quite make out the pilot, but he had the impression of a grin.
“Zero, Cloudbase. Just tell me where the hanger lift is and I’ll land there.”
Visit
The dark grey craft looked out of place among the white, blue, and silver of the Spectrum fleet. It had a sleek elegance that just drew the eye. A rapier to Spectrum’s sabers, Adam shoved such fanciful notions to one side and stepped closer to the plane to get a better look. “No touching without permission, Blue.” Adam jumped at the whisper in his ear. Xanthic stood there grinning. “Bastard.” Adam shot back. Gordon rolled his eyes. “I wish.” He sobered, “But I mean it. There’s only two people who can touch Thunderbird S; Brains and Shadow. The rest of us only worked on her with permission or if Shadow was too hurt to do the work herself.”
Adam nodded but his attention was on the graceful craft before him. “What’s her top speed?” “Mach 15 if she’s in straight flight or playing tag with missiles, I don’t know about power dives, I had my heart in my throat for those.” Cobalt came up beside Xanthic.
“You in real time, the rest of us when we watched the footage.” Gordon shivered a little. “That was not fun.”
Adam locked his hands behind his back, Mach 15 was faster than he’d ever gone. He was also sure that he’d never find out why Thunderbird Shadow had needed to do power dives.
Gordon poked his brother. “What are you doing here anyway? I figured you’d be catching up with Shadow.”
“She hasn’t left the Amber room yet. I was hoping you might have something I could ransom her with.”
Adam blinked, Shadow had come on board near the start of his shift in the Information Room, which had been a bit of excitement when Thunderbird Shadow just appeared on the screens. But that had been over six hours ago. He knew the Angels were all interested in the mysterious Shadow, but he’d figured Kayo would have gotten free by now.
Gordon was listing things on his fingers. “Auer for Destiny, Sawahara for Harmony, I just got a fresh box of Delights for Rhapsody, peach fudge for Melody, and Fralinger’s for Symphony. We can get baked goods from the commissary and a basket from the Mart.” His eyes narrowed. “Fresh fruit would be good to fill the holes with.”
“You have Fralinger’s? When the hell did you get that?” Adam demanded. It was Karen’s favorite salt water taffy and stupidly hard to get ahold of. Fralinger’s had very restricted hours.
“I know people.” Gordon grinned. “I’ve got some sarawak for Shadow, but it needs to thaw.”
Scott nodded, his mission mask firmly in place. “Right. I’ll get the basket, baked goods, and meet you at your quarters.” He looked Adam over. “Take Blue with you, he can help to word the trade offer.”
“Nope.” Adam stepped back out of grabbing range. “You two are on your own for this one.” Gordon’s eyes sparkled. “Then you don’t mind if we bribe Symphony with her weight in treats to be a partner on any upcoming missions?”
Blue’s glare made arctic ice look warm and cozy.
Scott rolled his eyes at his brother. “I’ll snag Scarlet. He’ll know how to word it for the best chance with Destiny.” He gave Adam a pointed look. “No touching the Thunderbird, remember Shadow came to a deadlock with Scarlet and she can wipe the floor with the rest of us running a fever and a head cold.”
“Don’t remind me.” Gordon winced. “I still have nightmares about that.”
Adam blinked. “Do I want to know?” The answer to that was yes, but it was polite to ask. “She was running a fever of 39C and thought we were the Hood’s goons keeping her hostage. We didn’t want to hurt her, but she had no compunctions about hurting us.”
“Thank goodness for Brains and the tranq guns.”
“Noted.” Adam looked at the sleek aircraft again. “If I asked very nicely, do you think she’d take me for a flight while she’s here?” “I think you’ll have to get in line behind the Angels for that, Blue.” Scott grinned suddenly. “But I will tell you, S is one hell of a plane. Almost as good as One.”
“You’ve flown her? I thought you said Shadow only.” The dimples deepened. “You think I’d let any of my family in a vehicle I hadn’t tested first? The only Thunderbird I haven’t handled is Five, and that’s because I’m not an astronaut. Space rated yes, but not an astronaut.”
“And yet you still nearly crashed Four because you wouldn’t listen to me.” Gordon shot back.
"Yeah, well, I wasn't in the best head space right then." Scott admitted.
Gordon had the grace to wince. "Yeah, a lot of us weren't." He clapped his hands together. "Right! Treats and a trade offer. Spectrum is go!"
Visit
"And why am I the negotiator again?" Scarlet asked in a slightly put out tone.
Xanthic was checking the contents of the basket to make sure everything was as elegant as possible. They'd had to borrow a floor dolly from Maintenance to move the thing. The staff at the SpectraMart had been more than thrilled to get rid of it. Someone had bought it by mistake, didn't want it, and it had been left to languish in the storeroom. It was about half the size of Scarlet's bed.
"Several reasons," Cobalt was checking Scarlet's uniform, making sure everything was parade neat. "You're a decent negotiator, have a rapport with Destiny, Rhapsody adores you, and if they rip your spine out for being presumptuous, you'll get better."
Scarlet blinked several times then tilted his head slightly. "I can't really argue with any of those points." He narrowed his eyes a bit. "Though I feel a bit taken advantage of on that last one."
"Oh, we are so taking advantage of that." Xanthic tweaked the placement of a pear. "You have a talent we don't. So using it is just good tactics."
"If it makes you feel any better, you weren't our first choice. Blue was, but he noped out." Cobalt picked a nearly invisible bit of fluff off Scarlet's sleeve.
"I'm the backup, why?"
"Because two of the five Angels like you and the rest respect you. Surviving their possible ire is just a bonus."
"Remind me to flatten Blue next time we spar." "Will do!" Was the chirped answer. Scarlet was nudged in front of the door to the Amber Room and the handle of the floor dolly put into his hand. He shot the brothers a look, then pressed the intercom. "Captain Scarlet here, I've come to negotiate an exchange."
Rhapsody opened the door, grinning broadly. "An exchange of what?" There was feminine laughter sounding behind her.
"For your most esteemed visitor." Scarlet doffed his RadioCap and bowed. If he was going to play the part of diplomat, he was going to be a diplomat. Besides, amusing the ladies was always a good course of action.
Her eyes sparkled with even more mirth. "Then please, do enter and tell us what you are offering us to part with her company." She stood back and waved him inside.
He stuck his 'cap on his head at a jaunty angle, towed the danegeld in behind him, and only felt a little ridiculous. "Not that anyone outside of Cloudbase would even understand this."
"Oh my goodness!"
"Wow!" "Who do you want us to kill?"
"Capitaine." Destiny looked over the basket and raised her eyebrows at him.
Scarlet put himself into a parade stance, he saw no reason to do so with half measures, even if it was slightly ridiculous. "Destiny Angel, Ladies, Thunderbird Shadow." Kayo was standing next to the ready seats, obviously she had just been talking to Symphony and Melody. "I've been nominated as the 'most likely to survive' negotiator to secure the release of Thunderbird Shadow."
There were laughs all the way around
"Please note, not the most diplomatic negotiator, but the one most likely to survive the mission."
"And if we do not wish to lose Thunderbird Shadow's delightful company so soon?"
Scarlet gestured toward the massive basket. "Hence the bribe, or danegeld, or whatever you want to call it." More laughter from everyone but Shadow. Who was watching carefully.
Destiny made a show of tapping her lip in thought. "Two more hours of her delightful company."
Scarlet blanked his face. "It's already been six." There were murmurs of disbelief at that. "Captains Cobalt and Xanthic would like to spend some time with Thunderbird Shadow as well."
"Allors! It has been six hours, truly?" "Truly."
Destiny turned to Shadow. "My most profound apologies, I did not realize it had been so long."
"To tell the truth, I hadn't either." Shadow headed for the door. "So is that enough to 'buy' my release?"
"Bien sûr! You are more than welcome to visit us anytime however." Destiny gave Scarlet a look. "You will see her safely to the others?"
"You wound me. Of course I will." He held his arm out for Shadow to take.
She gave him a small smile as she took his arm. Scarlet doffed his cap to the ladies and escorted her out.
"Shadow!" Came out of two throats.
Scarlet dodged out of the way as Shadow engulfed in a multi-coloured hug.
It might have been the middle of a corridor of the most advanced military post, off or on the planet, but for two brothers and a sister, it was a tiny bubble of space to reaffirm the bonds of family. The hug broke apart, but not far: Xanthic’s arm was curled around Shadow’s waist and Cobalt’s arm was interlinked with Shadow’s on the other side. It was well known on Cloudbase how tactile Cobalt and Xanthic were, so it surprised no one that Shadow was as well.
“I’ve - “ Shadow started but was cut off by a chime, then a squawk from Xanthic. “Hagfish! I’m due on duty.” He hugged his sister again. “Breakfast?”
She looked at Cobalt. “I hadn’t planned to spend the night.”
“There’s an empty guest quarters, I’m sure the Colonel won’t mind. Especially if you share any ‘alleged’ gossip with him.”
The smile was in her eyes but not on her face. "I've got something better than gossip for him."
Visit
White met Thunderbird Shadow in his office. He was quite sure she'd learned a great deal about Spectrum in general, and Cloudbase in particular. But he was comforted by the fact that she was on their side. "Sir?" Cobalt was everything formal.
White touched a control, "You can enter, Captain."
Thunderbird Shadow entered first, her gaze swept the room: noting him and location, possible weapons, and the exits. It was rather like having the newly minted colour captains meeting with him for the first time.
He rose. "Thunderbird Shadow, it's a pleasure to meet you." He gestured to a chair. "Thank you Captain, you are dismissed."
"Yes sir." Cobalt nodded and left without the glance that White had been expecting.
"So Thunderbird Shadow -" She held up her hand. "Shadow will work just fine, Colonel White. The whole thing is a bit of a mouthful." She grinned.
"Noted and thank you." White compared her grin to the one Magenta would sport with an especially juicy bit of news. "So what can Spectrum do for you?" She pulled a piece of paper out of a pocket of her flight suit. "I was hoping to spend the night." she held out the paper, "I also have a list of code phrases from Five about the situation on Tracy Island when 'Feather' happens."
"A good thing to have," he looked the list over; Downfall: We can get away under our power and are in no real danger Skyfall: We might need help or an escort Thunderfall: Worst case - we can't escape and are in active danger
"Appropriate names." He nodded. "It is my hope that only the first is used." He set the paper aside. "You are more than welcome to spend tonight, or any other you need here on Cloudbase Shadow. I already have a demand from the Angels that you be permitted to visit again. I also think that two of my Captains would be glad to see you as well."
Her smile lit up her entire face. "Actually meeting the Angels and delivering that to you was the reason for the visit. Seeing my brothers is just a bonus. They both could have been on missions."
He nodded. "Very true. So how did you find our Angels?"
"If I'd known about the Angels before I joined IR, I'd have tried out for them in a heartbeat."
"So any chance of you joining Spectrum?" He was certain what the answer would be, but he was interested in seeing how she responded. "In a different life, at a different time, the answer would be yes. But this is the life I have, so, with regret, the answer is no."
"As I expected, but you would have made an excellent Angel." He stood up. "If you'll forgive me, I have a great deal of work ahead of me." She stood and he walked her to the door. As the door opened, White, "Lieutenant Green, please arrange for an escort to take Thunderbird Shadow to the V.I.P. guest suite."
"I'll be glad to take care of her, sir." Cobalt literally appeared next to Green.
White arched his eyebrow and tilted his head slightly, which usually made his Captains shuffle like small boys. Cobalt just stood there, waiting. White let the moment stretch, then nodded. "That would be good, Captain." He turned to Shadow. "Thank you again for the information, it will prove to be quite interesting."
"The Lady and I are glad to help." She graced him with a smile that lit up her eyes. Then she turned to Cobalt. "So, you're going to be my escort?" "Yes'm." He held his arm out.
She turned back to White. "It's lovely to see proper manners, well done Colonel." She moved and took the offered arm.
Visit
The trip to the V.I.P. was far shorter than Kayo was expected. Cobalt opened the door and bowed her in with a small smile. She kept her face impassive, this was an old game between them. She walked in and came to a standstill. The appointments were in line with a better class hotel, not exceptional. The view however, was incredible. The outer wall was one giant window, showing the vast expanse of the sky and the clouds that passed under and around the flying base. She took several steps toward the window.
"It's quite the view." Scott said softly. Kayo laid a hand on the transteel as she peered out. "It most certainly is."
Scott chuckled and turned to make sure that the door was locked, and found himself spun around and pinned up against that same door. A peridot gaze searched his face, then he found himself on the receiving end of a soul searing kiss. He let himself melt into it, it had been far too long since they’d been alone for more than a few stolen moments.
Kayo finally pulled back, nipping at his lower lip as she did so. “Hi.”
“Hi, yourself.” Scott knew there was a broad grin on his face. “Miss me much?”
“I missed you every moment, of every minute, since I last had you in my arms.” He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. “That much huh?”
Kayo plucked his ‘cap off and tossed it to the side. “That much and more.” She arched an eyebrow at him. “You said something about several hours alone?”
Scott swallowed hard, that throaty purr did things to his system. “As many as I can give you.” Kayo stepped back, hooked a finger into the ring of his zipper, pulling him with her as she started to pull it down. “Then we’d better get started, <handsome>.”
"Ma'am, yes Ma'am!"
He let Kayo deal with his gun belt while he pulled his undershirt off. When he came free of the material, he found her staring at him. Her face an unreadable mask. “Tanusha?”
Her hand came up and ghosted over still red scars on his chest and then down to the long one his stomach. “I really wish you’d learn not to dodge to your right.” The plea was barely audible.
He caught the hand and placed a kiss on those fingers. “I’m trying <beloved>, I really am.”
Her lips twitched. “You are trying in so very many ways, <handsome>.” She gently pulled her hand free to hover over the raised and bumpy skin on his right shoulder. “Had to make a quick exit from a moving vehicle.” He answered the eyebrow arched in question.
She shook her head and leaned in to kiss it. “I think I’m going to have to learn your body all over again.” The throaty purr was back. Scott heaved a mental sigh of relief, though what she was going to say when she saw the new scar on his upper thigh was slightly terrifying. However, that was in the future… “You <beloved> have too many clothes on.”
She gave him one of her very rare, teasing grins. The one that lit up her entire face. “Are you going to try and do something about that?”
He caught her hands and grinned back. “Oh, I’m going to do more than try.”
Her eyes gleamed as she pulled to get free. His grin broadened and he tugged her closer so he steal a kiss. Only to find himself midair for a moment, then he landed back first on the bed. Kayo straddled his waist, and pinned his hands above his head. "More than try huh?"
"You cheated." But he couldn't stop smiling.
She nuzzled his jaw. "Of course I did." She kissed him, long and slow. "Much better without the beard."
He just tried to gather his scattered thoughts. "G-glad to hear that. But you're still over dressed." She pushed up into a sitting position. "I thought you were going to try to do something about that." Her grin was teasing.
He grinned back, brought a leg up, around her waist, and flipped her onto her back to straddle her waist. "So, about that try. . ."
Visit
"Cloud, do you know where Cobalt is?" Gordon rolled his neck and winced at the dull crack from the base of his skull. Yeah, this was sleep on the floor session.
I do, Captain Xanthic.
Gordon finished pulling his undershirt off and squinted at the ceiling. There were no cameras in quarters, but looking up was now a habit among the residents of Cloudbase. There was something about the AI's tone. "Which is?" I am sorry, Captain Xanthic, I have been asked not to tell anyone.
That got both of Gordon's eyebrows going. "I see." He balled the shirt up and tossed it into his laundry basket. "Can you tell me where Thunderbird Shadow is?" There was a very long pause, nearly a minute, before Cloud answered. I am unable to do so, Captain.
Gordon nodded, a smile curling his mouth. "Uh-huh. When they are finished getting to know each other again, please tell them I want to see Shadow too."
I believe that is within the parameters I was asked to conform to.
"Thanks, Cloud." He looked at the clock, yeah he had time for a shower and to get to the commissary before the lovebirds did, not he'd say a word about that on Cloudbase. Scooter and Tan had kept their relationship so far under the sonar, that not even whales would notice it. He shed the last of his clothing and went to the head. Maybe, some day, it wouldn't have to be a secret. Gordon hoped with all his might that day wasn't too far in the future.
