THUNDERBIRD 4 was severely damaged by the impact of the torpedo, but wasn't critically disabled. Despite this, the craft did slowly sink momentarily towards the seabed before Gordon was able to counteract the flooding and make her as steady as he could.
"GORDON!" came several cries over the radio.
"Guys, don't shout!" Gordon shouted. "I'm fine!"
"What happened?" asked Scott.
"Never mind me," Gordon said. "Just get those men out."
John and Brains however had seen on the hologram projectors what Gordon had done and they weren't happy.
"Gordon, you took that hit deliberately, didn't you?" said John angrily.
"Yeah, and?" Gordon asked.
"ARE YOU CRAZY, GORDON?!" bellowed Scott who by now had pulled himself back over the railing and onto the deck of the Liparus. "YOU COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED!"
"Not to m-mention you've almost destroyed Thunderbird 4!" added Brains crossly.
Penelope was equally angry. "Gordon Tracy, if this is true, you are getting one hell of a-" She broke off suddenly, remembering that although she had deep feelings for Gordon, neither were ready to admit them to the others yet let alone each other.
An awkward silence fell across the team before Virgil broke it. "Guys, can we sort this out later?" he asked as he made his way down another deck. "In case you hadn't noticed this ship is now sinking again? We need to get these men out!"
"What about the sub?" asked Alan. "It's still down there."
"Leave the sub to me," Gordon said, turning the damaged Thunderbird 4 towards the Bereznik sub that was still closing in. "I'll make him pay for this."
"No you won't, Gordon!" said Penelope sharply. "Parker and I will handle this. You'd better try and hold the ship in place as best you can…IF you haven't damaged Thunderbird 4 that much?"
Gordon sighed. "I'm never gonna hear the end of this," he told himself.
As Gordon moved his damaged craft over to the Liparus. He extended the grabbing arms and pushed up against the hull of the ship before putting the thrusters on full power as best he could to act in place of the lost airbag. He took a glance out the cockpit window as FAB1 came around the side of the tanker and hurried towards the Bereznik submarine which had now decided it wasn't worth trying to attack again and had now turned to run.
"There she h'is, m'lady," said Parker. "Looks like she's 'eading for the net."
"Not very smart, are they?" asked Penelope. "Full speed, Parker. We'll catch them at the net."
As they closed in, they too became suspicious by the design of the submarine. It wasn't one that they recognised.
"John, this doesn't look like a Bereznik submarine," Penelope said. "It's too small. We'll send you a scan. Perhaps you or Brains might have an idea?"
John and Brains watched as the scan of the mystery submarine came through.
"That's v-very strange," remarked Brains. "I've studied the B-Bereznik navy's schematics for all of their crafts. I d-don't recognise this type at all."
"Neither do I," agreed John. "Although I may have an idea. One of the subs that went missing was an A-class. They had an onboard chamber designed to carry troops and land vehicles." He checked the scan of the mystery submarine along with the one he had of the A-class. "It matches up!" he said. "This could be a secret design of submarine. It's small enough to fit inside the A-class."
"Meaning that's likely to be around here as well," Penelope realised. "This is rather distressing news."
Parker however had noticed something equally distressing. "M'lady! Look!" he cried.
Penelope looked up from her compact and gasped as two small sleek missiles shot upwards from the top of the submarine. Parker prepared himself to take evasive action and to deploy countermeasures. But the missiles didn't come for FAB1. Instead they broke the surface and shot upwards into the sky, alarming everyone who was watching the bay.
The crew on the Dragonfly readied themselves for the incoming attack, but it soon became clear that they weren't the target. The missiles broke off in opposite directions and began to dive towards their actual targets - the two tugs holding the anti-submarine net in place.
"JUMP!" yelled the captains of the tugs.
The tugs only carried crews of five people and they hastily jumped overboard and began to swim away from their boats as quickly as they could before the missiles dived down and struck. Both tugs were blown to smithereens and without anything to hold it in place, the net began to sink which would give the submarine a clear run out into the Mediterranean.
"The net's down!" exclaimed Admiral Hart. "They're going to get away."
"Looks like they're escaping, m'lady," said Parker.
"Not whilst we're here," said Penelope firmly. "Parker, close in and prepare for attack."
"Yus, m'lady!"
The Dragonfly crew were also rushing about, readying their weapons and making radar and sonar sweeps for any sign of the enemy vessel. They were in the perfect position should they get a contact.
"Any contact?" Captain Hart asked Taylor.
"Not yet, sir," replied Taylor. "That pest could be anywhere."
"Concentrate on the area the missiles came from," said Captain Hart. "Even if it's just minor engine noise. No submarine can remain completely silent."
Hayley frowned to herself. It hadn't occurred to her before, but overhearing the Captain's words was making her think back to something she had learned during her time with the World Aquanaut Security Patrol. But try as she might she couldn't remember what it was.
"Hayley?"
Hayley jumped back to reality.
"Are you okay?" asked Friend.
"Yeah, sorry," Hayley replied. "Deep in thought. It doesn't matter."
Now that the net was down, the Bereznik submarine began to increase its speed up to twenty knots and headed out towards the open sea with FAB1 in hot pursuit.
Inside the submarine, its five-man crew quickly realised that they were being followed. "Duìzhǎng!" exclaimed the navigator who was monitoring the radar. "Nas presleduyet...mashina!"
"A car?!" exclaimed the Captain, who unlike the others did speak some English. "Razrushat'!"
Targeting FAB1 via external cameras, the weapons operator launched two sleek torpedoes at FAB1.
"They've seen us, m'lady!" exclaimed Parker.
"Evade, Parker! EVADE!" yelled Penelope.
Parker's expert driving allowed FAB1 to dodge the torpedoes which harmlessly slammed into nearby rocks and exploded.
The columns of water created were seen by the Dragonfly crew.
"Starboard twenty!" ordered Captain Hart. "Head Two-Seven-Nine!"
"Sir, I have two contacts!" Taylor called. Bearing Two-Six-Eight. Range 1,750 yards!"
"Steer Two-Six-Eight!" ordered Captain Hart. "Prepare depth charges!"
The Dragonfly altered its course and began to close in at speed towards the contacts.
The sudden change in the destroyer's course didn't go unnoticed by John on Thunderbird 5. "Er, FAB1 you might want to get out of there," he said. "That destroyer seems to be closing in on you. I think it may have detected you."
"Then we'll have to make this quick," said Penelope. "Parker, target that submarine."
"Yus, m'lady!" replied Parker. He flicked a switch which opened up the grill of FAB1 to reveal its own missiles. He then used the targeting computer to lock onto the fleeing submarine. "Target locked."
"Fire!" ordered Penelope.
Two missiles were launched from FAB1 and homed in on the submarine.
"Xiǎojiě! Xiǎojiě!" screamed the submarine's navigator in horror.
"UBEGAYTE! UBEGAYTE!" bellowed the Captain.
The submarine made a sharp turn to starboard and began to dive to try and escape from the homing missiles coming in at them. But unlike FAB1 who had an expert driver, they weren't so lucky. The two missiles found their mark, completely destroying the portside water-jet and obliterating the steering controls. The vessel began to flood and alarms blared inside the control room. In the panic, the dive controller pressed the button that activated the emergency ballast blow.
Penelope and Parker watched as the submarine began to hastily rise towards the surface. "They're going up, m'lady!"
"Thank goodness," said Penelope. "Come on, let's get out of here, Parker. We'll let the navy deal with them. We cannot let anyone see us."
Parker turned FAB1 away and made a hasty exit from the scene whilst the submarine continued its rise towards the surface.
Taylor watched the sonar scanner in disbelief as she saw one contact fleeing the scene and the other rising up to the surface. "Sir! The small contact just attacked the big one," she said. "Small contact is fleeing. The big one is coming to the surface."
"Position?" asked Captain Hart.
"Bearing Two-Five-Six. Range three-hundred yards!" said Taylor.
"Slow ahead!" Captain Hart ordered. "Revolutions for two knots."
"Aye, sir!" acknowledged Willis.
Captain Hart grabbed the tannoy microphone. "Captain speaking. Enemy vessel surfacing off port bow. Range three-hundred yards. All guns prepare to engage on my order."
The guns turned and aimed at the section of water that was bubbling nearby. Moments later, the enemy submarine broke the surface.
"There she is!" said Friend.
"All guns stand-by!" said Captain Hart.
All the gunners readied themselves with twitchy trigger fingers, waiting eagerly to open fire.
But before Captain Hart could give the order, Langford appeared on the bridge with some surprising news. "Sir! I have Admiral Hart on the line. He says do not sink the target."
Captain Hart stared at him, as did Friend, Hayley, Taylor and Willis.
"What do you mean not sink it?" demanded Captain Hart. "Is he on the line?"
"Yes, sir."
Captain Hart grabbed the phone. "Admiral?"
"Rob, do NOT sink that submarine!" ordered Admiral Hart. "I want the crew taken. Alive if possible!" And he hung up before Captain Hart had a chance to reply.
Captain Hart was stunned as he placed the phone back on the hook. For once he seemed unsure of what to do or say.
The gun crews were starting to get impatient. "Come on!" grumbled Seward who was part of the crew in the forward turret. "Give the order, damn it!"
Captain Hart finally found the words he needed to say. He took the microphone. "All guns - keep the target in sight. Do NOT fire. Repeat - do NOT fire! We are boarding her." He turned to Hayley. "Lieutenant - take the boarding crew over. Get the crew of that sub out of there if you can."
"Yes, sir," said Hayley and she hastily left the bridge.
It was lucky for Scott that he kept a spare laser in his toolbelt and was able to finish cutting his way through the door leading into the Liparus's superstructure. "I'm in!" he said with relief. "How about you, Virgil?"
"I'm on the deck above where the crew are," Virgil replied. "I'm going to see if I can raise them." He had found another hatch and tapped on it with one of the jaws of life. "Hello?" he called down. "Can anybody hear me?"
Immediately there came a chorus of frantic shouts from below. "HELP!"
"GET US OUT OF HERE!"
"OH, GOD! THE WATER'S RISING!"
"HOLD ON!" Virgil shouted. "I'M GOING TO GET YOU OUT OF THERE!"
"WHO ARE YOU?!" asked one of the voices.
"I'M INTERNATIONAL RESCUE!" Virgil shouted back. "CAN YOU CLIMB OUT?!"
"NO! THE HATCH IS JAMMED! AW, MAN, WE'RE GONNA DIE IN HERE!"
"NO, YOU'RE NOT! HANG ON!" Virgil yelled. He grabbed hold of the hatch with one of the jaws of life and effortlessly ripped it clean off. He peered down and shone his light through the open hole to see the seven frightened crewmen with the water up to their chests. All were rather surprised at how swiftly Virgil had removed the hatch.
"H-How did you-?" one of them stammered.
"Never mind how," Virgil said shortly. "Climb up to me. One at a time. ONE AT A TIME!" he shouted for he saw them all try to grab onto the ladder at the same time.
Scott had also managed to find the five remaining crewmembers that he'd tasked himself with finding. These included the ship's Captain. "Is anybody hurt?" asked Scott.
"A few cuts and bruises when the windows on the bridge blew out but otherwise we're okay," replied the Captain. "Are we glad to see you?"
"Follow me," Scott said. "Will have you out in no time." He began to lead the way back towards the exit. "Thunderbird 2 I've got my party of crewmen. Have the evac-chairs ready for them."
"F-A-B!" said Alan. He brought Thunderbird 2 into a hover above the stern and opened the hatch under the module again before lowering the evac-chairs down to deck level. They arrived just at the same time as Scott emerged with the Captain and four other crewmembers.
"Climb aboard," Scott said to the crewmembers. He and the Captain helped the other four climb into the chairs facing them before Scott made sure the Captain climbed aboard himself.
"Wait!" the Captain said. "I don't know if anyone else is still aboard."
"There are, sir, but my brother has found them and is bringing them up from below decks," Scott said. "They're in the bow section so the sooner you board and get off this ship the sooner we can pick them up as well."
Reluctantly, the Captain boarded the last chair facing the stern of the tanker and was strapped in. Scott then signalled to Alan who hoisted them up into the safety of Thunderbird 2.
"One group down. One to go," Scott said. He suddenly felt the ship shift and list further over to starboard. "Gordon, what's happening?"
"Scott, Thunderbird 4's losing power," Gordon answered. "I'm not sure how much longer I can hold her up."
Brains had been closely monitoring Thunderbird 4's stats and was also concerned. "G-Gordon, you are putting too much strain on Thunderbird 4's hull and engines. Structural integrity is down to forty percent and slowly dropping. And your engines are r-registering dangerous levels of overheating."
"She'll hold, Brains," Gordon said. "We've come too close to fail now."
Just then FAB1 appeared. Parker extended the car's front claw and attached it to the hull of the tanker. "Need a hand, Thunderbird 4?" asked Penelope.
Gordon was relieved. "Thank you, Lady Penelope," he said breaking a smile. "What would we do without you?"
"I shudder to think," replied Penelope with a mischievous grin.
"You've changed your tone towards 'im, m'lady," Parker said in a quiet voice so Gordon could not hear.
"Oh, I'm mad at him, Parker," Penelope said quietly back. "But in all fairness, I'd probably have done the same."
"As would I, m'lady," agreed Parker.
The RHIB from the Dragonfly cautiously approached the disabled Bereznik submarine. Hayley was once again joined by Fitzgerald, Wright, Banner and Brace. Shrapnel had also come along as extra with a loaded weapon. Fitzgerald and Wright were also armed with machine-guns like Shrapnel whilst Hayley had her small sidearm. They did not know if the Bereznik crew would come quietly or not, but given how they had not yet emerged from the vessel they were expecting a possible fight.
"Check your guns," Hayley warned. "Be ready to engage if necessary."
They soon reached the submarine and Fitzgerald boarded first. Wright followed him. Then Shrapnel and finally Hayley whilst Banner and Brace remained behind in the RHIB.
Fitzgerald knocked on the hatch. "ROYAL NAVY! OPEN UP!"
No response came from inside the submarine. Hayley took out a smoke grenade. They were all wearing protective armoured suits and helmets that would protect them from any gunfire or gas. She and Fitzgerald gave a nod to each other. Fitzgerald opened the hatch a little and Hayley dropped the smoke grenade inside before he slammed the hatch shut again. They heard a soft pop from inside as the grenade went off. They waited for about a minute to allow the smoke to get through the submarine and hopefully take out the crew. Then he opened up the hatch again and Hayley jumped inside.
Hayley dropped down the tube before landing with a clunk in the control room. Straight away she saw the gas had done its job. Two of the crewmen were slumped against their control consoles. It was the navigator and the weapons operator. The helmsman was missing, as was the Captain. Hayley moved out of the way of the hatch to allow Fitzgerald, Shrapnel and Wright to come down and join her. "It's clear," she said. "Spread out. Be careful."
Fitzgerald, Wright and Shrapnel acknowledged and spread out to begin a search of the submarine whilst Hayley began to examine the instruments to try and learn more about the submarine and where it had come from.
Virgil emerged from the hatch on the top deck of the tanker. It was a struggle for him and the seven remaining crewmembers to climb through the ship due to the heavy list it was on but eventually they managed it. Alan had also moved Thunderbird 2 back to the front and with Scott also coming to assist, they helped the grateful men into the evac-chairs and were hoisted to safety. Virgil then used a grapple hook to hoist himself clear whilst Scott used his jetpack.
"Ship's evacuated," Scott said. "Can you confirm that, Thunderbird 5?"
"I sure can," said John happily. "Scans show no life-signs inside the tanker. Thunderbird 4 and FAB1 - you may let go now."
Gordon and Parker released the grips of their vehicles off the ship and dropped down before moving clear. The flooding of the Liparus got greater with more compartments getting filled with water thanks to the new hole in the side. The one remaining lift bag held the front section up for longer but the stern was soon full of water. Everyone stood back and watched as the one mighty tanker rolled over and slowly slipped beneath the surface. Gordon, Penelope and Parker watched from a safe distance as the ship sank down past them before striking the ocean floor with a loud THUD. "She's down," said Gordon.
"That she is," said Penelope. "We'd better get back before my father realised we're missing. See you later, Thunderbird 4."
"Bye, Lady P. Bye, Parker," said Gordon as he watched FAB1 head off. "And thank you."
Scott's hologram then appeared in front of Gordon. Gordon gulped when he saw the stern expression on his eldest brother's face. "Come up to the surface, Thunderbird 4. We need to talk."
Gordon quivered as he set Thunderbird 4 to head to the surface. He was not going to enjoy what was to come next.