The Cost Of Zero-xl

the cost of zero-xl

This was supposed to be a lighthearted bit of silliness, but the fic had a will of it’s own, wanting desperately to be overly emotional, I’ve weeded most of it out, much to the fic’s disgust!  (   ‘lil update on this one, after a chat with @ ak47stylegirl, this is probably going to become a series :-)   )

“Son, can I ask you about these figures?”

Scott was truly taken aback seeing his father at the desk again.  It made him smile warmly to see those familiar broad shoulder silhouetted against the wide expanse of the South Pacific.  

Home.  

Home at last. 

 And everything was right again.

Then Scott backtracked over what had been said and a cold tremor ran the length of his spin – figures? - what figures?

And everything wasn't right again.

They never would be.

“Ah, yeah, right Dad.”  Scott drew his fingers through his hair and knew the moment had arrived to face the issue of the figures.  “We didn't want to worry you about that too soon.”

Jeff's face was contorted into the deepest of frowns. The passive calm in his voice was unnatural.  “I think maybe you should have.”  They had all expected him to go nuclear when he found out.  

Perchance, Gordon came rushing through, desperate for a dip in the pool after the voyage in Zero-XL

“Nice timing Gordon, Dad knows!  We need a family meeting, can you go and get everyone up?”  Scott's voice was quiet, resigned.

Gordon halted, looked at his father, looked at Scott, then out to the glistening pool sadly, his hand half raised to point longingly at it before turning back into the house.

Faces grim, the brothers gathered, sitting with their grandmother.  Their father hadn't stirred yet from his chair at the desk, silently brooding over the figures, but on seeing the last of them arrive, he moved the report to the main holoview and came to sit with them, his question ready now to be asked.

“The Zero-XL bankrupted us?”  

There – he'd managed to actually say the words out loud.  “We have nothing left?” He turned to his eldest in hope.

Scott swallowed hard but couldn't speak, instead he nodded firmly.

Jeff stared from one to another, resting for a long moment on his mother before moving on.

“But there were billions!”

That was an understatement, there had been millions and millions of billions, theirs had been one of the riches family on Earth when he had left.  He could see that they had spent wisely, prudently even, until the Zero XL.

“Everything? All gone?”  He asked one more time.

John lifted his chin, breathed steadily and added, “Not everything Dad. We've held onto the farm and there is enough for us each to have a home, either together or independently.”  Involuntarily he glanced round at his brothers, not wanting to admit that he didn't think he could cope in a small house with any of them for any length of time.

He then realised that his grandmother was staring at him as hard as his father.

“Go on, I dare you to finish that statement!” she snarled.

John took the dare, “And enough for Grandma to chose a nice nursing home... when she's ready.”

Her glare hardened and she huffed a little, realising that these were insignificances against the questions that her son needed answering. 

“Jeff, the boys put everything into getting you home.  It was the right thing to do, and the advances in technology learnt from the Zero XL may yet regain some of the wealth.  But the more important thing was to get you home.”  her voice softened.  “People before property, Jeff.”  

“But everything?”  Jeff repeated bleakly

Scott nodded again, “Tracy Industries, the Island and...” 

The next part was going to be the hardest to say passed the dry lump in his throat, so Virgil stepped in to finish what had to be said.

“The Thunderbirds themselves – the GDF have taken them on, will use them as rescue vehicles and if we're ever in a position to buy them back then it's in the agreement that we can.”

Jeff was stunned speechless.

Pale.

This was a future that he had not ever once conceived.  

His first and only dream was just of being rescued – returning to his home.     

But to find he had lost everything.

No!  He realised sharply, not everything.

His two youngest sons had been quiet through all of this, but both felt the need to contribute.

Gordon leaned forward, elbows on his knees and a deep frown ageing his face. He'd been just a kid, 12, no 14 when Jeff had last seen him.  An earnest boy but such a pain in the butt – Ha!  Weren't they all at that age.  

When Gordon spoke it was in a voice that Jeff was still having troubles recognising.  “Dad, you always said that you would put everything you had into rescuing just one person. Well, we didn't have much choice here, it took everything.”

And Alan added, “Especially when the one person in the whole of space we wanted to rescue was you.”

Jeff cupped his hands and rubbed his forehead hard, he'd aged, he felt it in every bone, but sighing, he sat up and faced them again.  

His eldest, greying now, had taken the strain of running everything for a while till the others had seen his stress.  Strong, totally dependable.  The twins with those same admirable qualities but in themselves like chalk and cheese.  The two youngest, untried before he had left but now with a history of rescues to make any man proud to call them son.

Okay, so his reality had changed but not everything was gone.

He still had his family.

“So where do we go from here?”  The words were slow but he refused to make them sad or defeatist.

“We have until the end of the month to move out, then...”  Scott saw that information strike his father like a mallet but the only way forward was to keep going.  “I've a job training pilots for the GDF.  John is joining their space programme.”

Virgil pipped up quickly, “I've got work with a freight company, flying out of Auckland!”  He'd said with some degree of excitement.  Jeff eyed him with a grin. This son was always happiest behind the controls of big aircraft.  He turned to Gordon, raising one eyebrow questioningly.

“Eh me?  Dive school instructor on Tonga.”

But Virgil couldn't resist adding in “Unless he marries into wealthy aristocracy of course!”

Gordon flushed pink and Jeff tried to work out just what that had meant.  It was the third such comment about Gordon.  Shrewdly Jeff noted it all, there was a lot going on that he needed to catch up on yet, so he didn't pursue it for now, later would be fine.  

Instead he turned to Alan who instantly sat bolt upright, totally ignoring Gordon's discomfort.  This was Alan's chance, “I'm hoping you're gonna let me join NASA education programme now I’ve graduated High School... please?”

Jeff smiled, “Good choice Kiddo, that's what I did and it did me no harm.”

Alan punched the air with a hoot of a 'yes!'.

So this was Jeff's reality, this was his future.

“What am I supposed to do?”  He asked.

The boys shifted awkwardly in their seats.

“Eh Dad, well, we sort of kept the farm for you, the GDF are keen for you to experiment with moister farming.  Brains has developed a new vaporator and thought....”

Jeff put up both hand to stop him right there,  “A moister farmer, who the hell do you think I am....?”

No-one made a suggestion.