January 15th, 2053

"I miss John."

"Alan, Dad just left to drop him off."

"That was forever ago!"

Scott sighed, "It was five minutes ago."

Alan glared at his oldest brother, "Liar.  Grandma, what time is it?"

She quickly agreed with Scott: "Alan, it's been five minutes."

The young blond groaned.

Virgil and Scott shared a knowing gaze.  It was going to be a long year.

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"Mr. Tracy, it's an honor to meet you."

Jeff smiled.  There hadn't been a single person here who wasn't in awe at his presence, but that didn't mean the recognition got old -- living on a tiny island didn't offer much in terms of fans. "Nice to meet you, too.  This is my son, John."

The ginger tore his gaze away from the room around him and smiled at the woman shaking his father's hand.  She appeared genuinely happy, something John noticed quickly by her wide, welcoming smile.  She looked as if she were somewhere in her thirties, and wore a clean, gray blazer with a matching pencil skirt.  Her brown hair reached down to about her mid-neck, and was styled in a professional manner.  Maybe it was because she worked at NASA, or perhaps it was because he was over-the-moon at being in NASA HQ, but he got the odd feeling that he would like her.

"Nice the meet you, John." She offered him her hand.  "My name's Lydia Gregg.  I'm going to be your mentor throughout the program."

The fourteen-year-old smiled politely as he shook her hand.  "Hi."  Even though he got a good feeling about her, it didn't mean they were immediately best friends.

As if sensing his unease at the new stranger, she smiled kindly and spoke, "Don't worry, we'll be spending plenty of time getting to know each other.  Don't feel like you have to immediately like me."

John relaxed at that.  She understood.  She understood exactly.

As Dr. Gregg went back to talking with his father, John gazed in awe around him.  He was at NASA Headquarters.  He was at NASA Headquarters.  He was in the lobby at the head of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and he was dying to explore the grand room.

All around him were small models of rockets and space crafts, each with their own holographic information page.  Along the edges of the room there were pedestals housing holo-projectors, each one projecting a set of informative slides.  He watched as the slides changed from afar, unable to read what was on him.  Needless to say, he was itching to go and read each page and bullet-point around him.

"John?"

The teenager's head snapped down from where he was intently observing the ceiling, determined to take in every detail about the room.  "Yes, ma'am?"

Dr. Gregg smiled at him, sensing his want to explore. "You can walk around.  We won't be heading to an office for another few minutes, and your dad and I have some things to talk about."

John nodded excitedly, before looking around himself, trying to figure out where to go.  He quickly decided and headed towards a projection on the far side of the room.

Once his son was out of earshot, Jeff spoke.  "There are a few things you should know..." The father then explained everything to Dr. Gregg, highlighting how John had lost his mother a few years ago, and telling her that the loss had hit him particularly hard.  He explained how his son hadn't really come out of his shell until a few months ago, and cautioned her on the whole subject.  He finished by adding, "We lived in Maryland when she left us, and he hasn't been this close to the place since we moved."

Dr. Gregg smiled sadly.  "I think we'll be okay, Mr. Tracy; I understand.  And if something happens, we'll call you.  Don't worry."

Jeff gave a small nod, before turning to see if he could locate his son.

"John!" Dr. Gregg called to the eager teenager, who was reading one of the pages of a information slide as fast as he could.

"Come on, son.  We're going to her office."

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After receiving his itenerary and biding farewell to his father, John was walking with Dr. Gregg down a long hallway, boardered by conference rooms.  He was beyond excited for the year to come.

For the next two weeks, John would be at Headquarters, learning about the history of NASA and the politics behind the organization.  Then, they would fly to California, and begin their trip back to HQ, spending a month at each of the original ten field centers: Ames Research Center, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Armstrong Flight Research Center, Glenn Research Center, Marshall Space Flight Center, Johnson Space Center, Stennis Space Center, Kennedy Space Center, Langley Research Center, and Goddard Space Flight Center, in listed order.  Finally, on December 1st, they'd be back at Headquarters, where they would wrap up John's trip and get him home in time for Christmas.

He was so excited, he was nearly bouncing as the pair walked down the hall.

"So," Dr. Gregg started. "John Glenn Tracy.  That's a name I approve of." She smiled. "We also had a Scott Carpenter apply."

John chuckled. "Yeah, he's my brother."

"Oh?  Did he make it?"

John shook his head sadly. "No." He thought of all the training Scott would be doing with their dad this year. "But he's happy where he is."

He thought about all his brothers would be doing this year.  Scott would be in the bulk of his training, he would be with NASA, Virgil would start his training, Gordon would be swimming, and Alan... well, Alan would be Alan.

John chuckled.  It would be a heck of a year.

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May 10, 2053

"That's so cool!  You're at your own NASA center!"

John chuckled. "Alan, it's not mine, I'm just named after the guy it's named after."

"Same thing."

John chuckled again.  Dr. Gregg walked into the room and made eye contact with her pupil, who smiled.

"Alan?" She asked.

John nodded, making his mentor grin.  She loved the fact that his four brothers, like himself, were named after Mercury astronauts.

He called Alan just about every week, making sure to keep the blond ball of energy updated.  They had missed their call last week, meaning this was his first call home since he landed in Ohio.

Because of this, he was telling Alan all about the Glenn Research Center, explaining the advanced engine research they were doing there.

"Like Thunderbird 1!"

"Yeah, but more for rockets and spacecraft, not jets."

"That's still awesome.  Rockets are better than jets anyway."

John chuckled. "Don't let Scott catch you saying that."

At this, Alan went off on an excited spiel about all his eldest brother was doing in training.  The red-head grinned widely at hearing all this, his brother rocketing off stories about how much Scott was learning.  From the sound of it, he was enjoying himself as much as John was, which was saying a lot.  He really felt like he was persuing his passion, and if Scott was too, then they were both where they belonged.

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July 5, 2053

"John?  This is an old colleague and friend of mine, Dr. O'Bannon."

The ginger and his mentor were in one of the labs at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

John grinned and nodded politely to the round man in a lab coat. "How do you do?"  Slowly, his time with NASA was improving his social skills.

The researcher chuckled.  "Very well, thank you.  How have you been likin' it here at JSC?"

John's eyes lit up.  Out of all of the field centers so far, this was his favorite. "Oh, very much, sir."

"He just got out of the 0GSim," Dr. Gregg supplied, an air of pride in her voice.

"Oh, really?" Dr. O'Bannon seemed interested. "How'd you do?"

"Pretty well, I think." He glanced at Dr. Gregg, who nodded. 

"It was like he was at home.  I think he even thought better in 0G."

Dr. O'Bannon chuckled while John beamed.  Dr. Gregg was right: in 0G, his thoughts, just like his body, didn't feel weighed down by gravity.  He felt much more at ease, his body and mind free of tumbling over his own feet. "Well, I'm impressed," Dr. O'Bannon continued, "Oh, here.  Meet my daughter.  She comes and helps me out some days in the office." He gestured to a young teen with short, dark hair who had just walked into the lab. "Ridley, this is John Tracy.  He's here with that NASA program you couldn't apply for."

Ridley gave a small wave as she took her place by her father, coupled with a smile. "Hi.  How are you?"

John found himself smiling in response. "Great."  He wanted to ask why she couldn't apply, before realizing it was probably because her father worked with NASA.  That's so cool...

"Here, Ridley, why don't you show him around a bit while Dr. Gregg and I catch up?"

The brunette grinned. "C'mon." She grabbed John's wrist before he could protest. "I know exactly what a NASA nerd like you wants to see."

"What?  But-" John floundered for words as he was drug out of the lab, staring back at Dr. Gregg, hoping she'd rescue him.  He should have known his hope was pointless, as she sent him a wide smirk and a small wave, letting him know that indeed he'd be stuck with this grabby teenager for at least a few hours.

As soon as they were out of the lab he pulled his hand back and looked around, desperate for some sanitizer.  Ridley didn't seem phased.

"Come on!" She cried, barreling down the hall.

"Wait- where are we even going?" John had no choice but to abandon the search for his germ-killing savior and race after her, not wanting to get lost in the massive complex.

She turned and grinned at him. "Don't you want to see the O.G. mission control?"

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"Houston, we have a problem." Ridley giggled as she spoke into the mic.  She collapsed into one of the rolling chairs and pressed down the button that would, if it were almost a century ago, make the mic live. "We are go for launch!" She cackled happily, spinning in the chair.

John let out his own small chuckle as he looked around at the space.  "Whoa...  This can't be the real thing, can it?"

Ridley scoffed. "Of course not.  That's under so much security it's ridiculous.  Trust me; I've tried to get in."

John rolled his eyes.  Of course someone like her would want to touch and ruin a historical relic.  He decided to change the topic as he walked around, taking in all the detail put into the copy. "So how'd you know I was a NASA nerd?"

She seemed unimpressed with his question.  "Come on, you look smarter than that... Why would someone who wasn't a NASA nerd apply to spend almost a year with NASA?"

John shrugged.  "I don't know... the research opportunity?"

Ridley rolled her eyes. "I was right, wasn't I?"

"Whatever." Once again, he changed the topic. "Your dad works at NASA?  That's so cool..."

"Yeah." Ridley giggled. "But he's just a researcher.  I'm gonna be the real deal.  An astronaut!"

John raised an eyebrow.  "Researchers are the brains behind everything the astronauts do, though.  They're just as important, if not more."

"Pfft, sure.  I'd like to see a researcher spend two minutes in the 0GSim."

John sighed.  When was Dr. Gregg going to save him from this insufferable girl?  Whatever.  He might as well make the most of his afternoon: the replica was pretty cool.

With that, he took a seat in one of the highly-detailed chairs.  Fresh out of the 0GSim, and in one of the coolest places on Earth, he wasn't going to let some teenage girl ruin his afternoon.  He was at NASA, for Pete's sake.  He was on cloud 9.

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December 25, 2053

"Is it my turn yet?"

"No, Alan, you just opened one."

The boy brushed his hand through the air in the direction of his dad, speaking in a dramatic, mystic voice. "No, I did not..."

Jeff chuckled. "Your little mind tricks won't work on me, Master Alan!  Here, take this to John."

Alan giggled as he took the large, wintery-wrapped cylinder from his dad and walked over to John.

The ginger had been home for a little under a month now and was currently celebrating Christmas with his family on the island.  He missed NASA and had Dr. Gregg's number, but his family was grateful to have him back.  He was happy to be back as well, having missed his brothers greatly while away.  A year was a long time, and it showed.  Scott was developing into a great pilot, Virgil started his own training for International Rescue, Gordon made some important and rather impressive swimming cuts and was now training in the pool everyday, and Alan, well, Alan became obsessed with Star Wars.  Unfortunately, a year hadn't done much for their grandmother's cooking, but the poor food didn't show in his dad's and Brain's work.  They spent countless hours in the labs and workshops under the house, designing tools and hangers and everything International Rescue could possibly need.  He was proud of his family, and happy to be home.

Alan handed the gift to John, who was a little surprised by how light it was.  He found the tag as Alan sat back down and read it aloud.

"To John, from-" he looked up, confused, to his father. "International Rescue?"

"Wait," Scott interrupted. "That's pretty vague..."

"Yeah.  Who technically is 'International Rescue' in this sense?" Virgil chipped in.

"Aren't we all?"

"It could just be those training to be part of it, technically..."

"But that includes me, and I have no idea what's in that," Scott spoke, pointing to the wrapped tube.

Jeff cut into the technical conversation between his boys, amused but exasperated: "It's from the entity of IR!"

"So, no one knows what it is." John concluded, looking to his father.

"Just open it!"

John chuckled to himself as he began to meticulously peel off the paper, revealing a cardboard cylinder.

"Oh my gosh!" Gordon's eyes widened.

When all of his brother's looked at him, wondering what he saw that they didn't, he laughed. "Just kidding; I have no idea what it is."

John continued to open it, and when he revealed the cap on the end, he popped it off and reached inside.  Confusion on his face, he pulled out a roll of papers.  Tossing the tube away, he rolled open the papers and immediately recognized the style.

"Blueprints?"

His brothers appeared just as confused as he was, cranning their necks to see what the plans depicted.

John spotted the title after trying to make sense of the images, but this didn't help him clear his confusion.  "Thunderbird 5?"  They had 1 and were working on 2, but what happened to 3 and 4?

The images clicked into place and his confusion about the numbers was rendered unimportant.  His eyes lit up. "It's a space station!" His hands ruffled through the other papers excitedly, taking them all in.

Jeff chuckled. "I didn't want to print out every single one," he said, referring to the blueprints. "Brains will share the whole file with you this afternoon."

John's eager hands halted and he looked up to his father. "So - so, it's m-mine?"

Jeff nodded. "Well, when it's finished it'll be yours.  I figured we wouldn't want all that experience at NASA to go to waste-" The father could barely finish his sentence before the young teen engulfed him in a hug, two simple words making the whole scene perfect.

"Thank you."