I’ve been puttering around with a scene from Moonstrike! where Jeff takes his grown children to Mateo Island so they can see the progress being made on the Thunderbirds. In the comics, the Thunderbirds were built there as the facilities on Tracy Island weren’t ready, and weren’t really suitable, either, when you think about it. So, they’re visiting, and Jeff’s showing things off, and Brains is there, and when they get back to Tracy Island, Jeff is talking to his daughter about her proposed role in the organization.  Right now, things are adversarial between them; she went off to get experience with a different company, and he’s peeved about that. So she’s looking at IR with a rather skeptical eye right now. She points out that he’s basically giving his sons their hearts’ desires, and reliving his own glory days, and there’s got to be a better way. 

Now it’s Jeff’s turn, and he’s got to convince her that not only is IR needed, but why he can’t exactly give or sell the technology they’ve developed for the ‘Birds. Then he’ll drop the bomb on her as to what he wants her to do.

So, I need input: what are his reasons? He’s brought up that he’s doing this in memory of Lucille, and that he doesn’t want the family to go through what they did, yadda yadda yadda. I plan on him bringing up the whole governmental thing – them being outside of government controls. And being able to get there faster. He’s already brought up the “equipment in the wrong hands” argument, too.

So, what say ye? Why does Jeff feel he must create IR? What advantages will it have over normal rescue personnel? Why should he put all this money and work into such an endeavor when he could spread the wealth around? Ideas, please?

Crossposted from my live journal.