Here comes the next chapter, hope you enjoy!
After letting the rest of his family know his intentions to expel gas from the crippled submarine, Gordon activated Thunderbird 4's drill and moved it towards Stingray's cabin. The drill cut a little circle into the bridge wall and Gordon pressed a button that caused the tool to start sucking the green gas out of the submarine.
He tapped his hand on his control wheel, waiting for all the gas to dissipate. Once complete, Gordon used the thin pipe to fill up the hole in the side with some sturdy waterproof primer that Brains had whipped up beforehand, retracting the pipe back into his submarine.
Gas now gone, Gordon pulled up ahead of the large submarine, shooting Thunderbird 4's lights full beam into Stingray's cabin. From the outset it looked abandoned, and none of the crew could be seen, even after he'd leant forward to see if anyone had passed out and were on the floor out of sight.
Confused, he informed his airborne brother of the news. "This is Gordon calling Thunderbird 2, do you read me?"
"Virgil here. What's up, Gordon?"
"I've just finished expelling the gas but I can't see any of the crew!"
"You can't see any of the crew?" Virgil parrotted, "That's strange. Why might that be?"
Gordon rubbed his chin, "Well, I guess they could've headed towards the airlock when the gas started leaking in. Maybe they passed out in the watertight chamber?"
"That could be. What's the plan of action?"
"I'm going to try and swim across and see if I can board Stingray myself. Maybe the crew are trapped and need assistance."
"Alright, just maintain radio contact with me at all times. Are you definitely sure they're not on the bridge?"
"Yeah, I'm looking in there now. They must be in the back somewhere. I'll swim in through the top level exit hatch and have a look around. They may have been incapacitated by that green gas."
"Okay Gordon, have a look for them. But be careful."
"Always." Gordon replied, grabbing his diving gear and heading to the back so he could get changed.
A few minutes later, Gordon was ready to disembark.
"Alright Virgil, I'm heading out now. I've attached a line to the top of Stingray and am now going to swim across." he spoke into his scuba headset's communicator.
"F.A.B, Gordon. Keep in touch."
The aquanaut opened the airlock and swam out of the hatch, keeping a hold on the line he'd attached between the two submarines. He feathered his way up the line and as he did so, noticed how bruised and scuffled the large submarine looked from the outside. Wondering what could have happened to the sub, Gordon made his way over to Stingray's top hatch which dropped into the floodable airlock.
Opening the airlock door, the skilled aquanaut lowered himself into the chamber and sealed the door behind him. He then waited for the seawater to drain out as the airlock repressurized itself. Once it was safe to open, the aquanaut walked down the length of the submarine towards the bow section.
Gordon looked around the silent submarine. Everything appeared to be dead; the consoles were switched off and there were no immediate signs of the crew, worrying him.
Walking over to the control panel, one of the first things he noticed was that the cabin oxygen tanks were turned off, no longer pumping air into the vessel.
Frowning, Gordon switched them back on and waited a few moments for them to power up and start circling fresh air around the bridge. Confirming it was now safe to breathe unaided via the dials on his breathing apparatus, Gordon removed his scuba mask and oxygen tanks, leaving them on the co-pilot's chair.
Moving into the helmsman's seat to the left, he looked directly ahead through the cahelium bridge window, trying to see if he could spot anything out of the ordinary.
"This is Thunderbird 2 calling Gordon. Do you read me, kiddo?"
Gordon jumped as his watch vibrated. He brought it up to his face. "Hey Virgil. I'm inside the craft. Still no sign of the crew."
"Alright, just keep looking. I'm calling to let you know that Hurricane Graham has made landfall on the Island of Crete."
Gordon felt his heart leap in his chest. "It hasn't."
"I'm afraid so."
"Virg, if you need me-"
"Don't worry about it right now. The area hit is pretty rural and Scott's already assisting the local police with the evacuation so it's all in hand at the moment. If he needs us I'll call you."
"Alright, wish him good luck from me. I'll call you back if I find the crew."
"Good luck, squirt."
Gordon lowered his watch and stood up, leaning over the control panels. He was about to resume his search when something hard struck him on the back of the head. He let out a cry and fell to the floor, his foggy eyes catching a glimpse of a luminescent stranger before everything went black.