THERE wasn't a lot that Penelope feared, but snakes was one of them. "D-Did you say…R-R-R-Rock Snake?!" she asked.

"Yeah," replied Alan grimly. "That's what they look like when they're sleeping."

Scott and Gordon looked out at the coiled-up rock.

"Those things breathe fire, don't they?" asked Gordon nervously, which tensed Penelope up even more.

Scott began to look around. "There's another one over there," he said, noticing another coil.

"This is their main habitat," said Alan. "I remember now."

"If we use the drill it could disturb them," Scott realised. He pressed the button again. "John, we have a problem. There are Rock Snakes around here. Is there any way you can program an algorithm for us to identify where they are and how best to avoid them?"

"Way ahead of you on that one, Scott," answered John as a series of rock sections on the radar scanner suddenly turned bright red from the orange that they had been. "I've also found an alternative drilling location for you. It's about two miles North of your position. It'll mean Thunderbird 4 will have a longer journey to reach Captain Taylor and Dr Travers but I'm not detecting any Rock Snakes in that area."

"Then that's where we'll go," said Scott. "Alan?"

"F-A-B," said Alan. "Lifting off again."

Thunderbird 3's thrusters fired once more and the giant rocket lifted up off the ground. It went to a height of about two-hundred feet before moving forwards, nose still pointing directly towards the ground, towards its new marked drilling zone. They had to pass over some smaller mountains in order to reach the other large open area on the other side so they could start drilling. As far as the crew were concerned, they'd managed to avoid disturbing the Rock Snakes. Little did they know that the downward thrust from Thunderbird 3's engines caused some loose boulders on the top of one of the small mountains to fall down and bump into the coil of another sleeping Rock Snake that was located halfway down. The impacts awoke the snake whose head lifted upwards. It hissed as its sinister red eye opened and began to look around for the cause of its disturbance. It realised that whatever it was had come from above so it uncoiled itself and began to slither up the face of the mountain to investigate.

Alan soon located the new drilling spot and landed Thunderbird 3 on the ground once more. This time, feeling sure that there were no Rock Snakes in the near vicinity, he lowered the drill and activated it. The drill began to burrow into the ground and began to make its way down the thirty metres of rock and dirt that lay between the surface and the underground waterway.

"How long do you reckon it'll take?" asked Scott.

"About five minutes, tops," Alan replied.

"Try and reduce that if you can," said Scott. He turned to Penelope and Gordon. "You'd better get ready," he said. "Gordon, did you make the necessary preparations for Thunderbird 4?"

"Anti-acid and chemical spray coatings?" Gordon asked. "Yes, as per Brains's instructions."

"Good," said Scott. "Take up your positions."

"F-A-B!" said Penelope and Gordon together as they hurried out of the cockpit to head to the cargo bay to board Thunderbird 4.

Unseen by anyone, the Rock Snake had reached the top of the mountain and began to look out across the valley. Its big red eye soon fixed upon Thunderbird 3 and it began to watch intently, hissing quietly as it did.

Pierce was shifting through some papers when he got a buzz on his intercom. "Yes, what is it?" he barked.

"Lieutenant, I have Colonel Casey on the line," said the secretary. "She wants to talk to you."

"Good," replied Pierce. "I want to speak to her."

The secretary put Colonel Casey's call through. "Ah, Lieutenant Pierce. How are things?" she asked with a friendly smile.

"All things are fine here, Colonel," replied Pierce. "Been a quiet week. For the most part."

"The most part?" asked Colonel Casey.

"Yes," said Pierce. "It pains me to say this but we had an attempted mutiny during your time away. It was lucky that I was able to quell it before it got out of hand."

Colonel Casey raised an eyebrow. "And who was responsible for this?" she asked.

"One of the medical students, Colonel," said Pierce. "Madison."

"What?!" exclaimed Colonel Casey. "Hayley Madison? Surely there's some mistake?"

"No mistake, Colonel," said Pierce grimly. "She even set off a bomb that destroyed all the windows in the hospital, forcing us to do a mass evacuation. Several patients and staff suffered injuries from the flying glass."

"I see," said Colonel Casey. "And where is Madison now?"

"In the holding cells, Colonel," said Pierce. "Do I presume that when you return from leave that you will be wanting to execute a Court Martial for the offender?"

"Right now I only have minor facts, Lieutenant," said Colonel Casey. "I presume you've filed a report?"

"Yes, Colonel."

"Then I'll be at GDF London HQ tomorrow morning," said Colonel Casey. "Bring your report for me to examine. And make sure that you have Madison brought there too. I want to question her personally."

Pierce was delighted. "But of course, Colonel," he said eagerly. "When do you want us?"

"Eleven-hundred hours I will see you, Lieutenant," said Colonel Casey with a smile. "I am very keen to get to the bottom of this matter. Casey, out."

No sooner had Colonel Casey signed off, Pierce began to rub his hands together with glee. "Excellent," he said. "Madison will get what she deserves!"

Rita watched with folded arms as her mother stepped away from the holo-phone. "Why do I get a feeling there's more to this than he was letting on?" she asked.

"Because he's lying to me, that's why," said Colonel Casey.

"And you're certain of that?"

"Yes. Hayley Madison is a very gifted young woman. She's served in the Royal Navy and spent time with the World Aquanaut Security Patrol. She's a bright and intelligent person and always knows right from wrong. There's not a chance that she would ever stage a mutiny on this scale. But at least I now know where she is."

"Why would that have been of concern?" asked Rita.

"Because, my darling, Hayley is in a relationship with Virgil," explained Colonel Casey. "Jeff said when the boys went to the accident on the base, Pierce was nowhere to be seen and Hayley had to take command of the base. It would seem that Pierce has taken that to heart and has had her arrested on a false account of attempted mutiny."

"Can you be one-hundred-percent sure of that?" asked Rita.

"I've known Jeff and his boys for a very long time," said Colonel Casey. "And Pierce isn't the most reliable or even competent person on the planet. I have often wondered whether giving him a promotion was a mistake. It would seem that it was."

"Add that to your list of others," muttered Rita.

"I heard that!" snapped Colonel Casey.

"You were meant to, Mom!" Rita snapped back. "If you'd been there for us when we needed you, WE WOULDN'T HAVE LOST DAD! OR NOEL!" With that she turned and stormed away, leaving Colonel Casey angry and upset.

It took longer than expected, but at last the drill of Thunderbird 3 managed to penetrate into the underground waterway. "We're through!" said Alan. "Retracting drill."

Scott called Gordon. "Stand-by, Thunderbird 4. You ready?"

"Ready," answered Gordon.

The drill returned the nose. Alan fired the engines again and lifted Thunderbird 3 up just a few feet before moving a couple of metres to the side whilst he also opened the doors of the cargo bay before landing again. The hoists moved Thunderbird 4 out into the open and began to lower the small yellow submersible down the carefully-drilled shaft before reaching the water. Once the craft was submerged, the clamps were released.

"Thanks, Alan," said Gordon. "Thunderbird 4 is GO!"

It was very dark in the underground waterway. Only the lights from Thunderbird 4 were able to show them the way. Gordon was using the same algorithm that John had sent to Thunderbird 3 which he could use to track their way through the long tunnels to where Taylor and Sandra were trapped.

"Okay, making our way forwards," Gordon said.

"How does it look, Thunderbird 4?" asked Scott over the radio.

"Kind of weird I have to say," Gordon replied. "I think I preferred what Alan and I had to deal with when we were on Europa."

"Let's hope the Rock Snakes can't swim," remarked Alan.

Penelope shuddered. "Guys, you do know I'm afraid of snakes, right?"

"No?" the three brothers all said at the same time.

"You never told me that!" exclaimed Gordon.

"I…didn't?" replied Penelope. "Oh…my bad."

"Relax, Lady Penelope," said Scott. "If those snakes spit fire out of their mouths I highly doubt they'd want to get themselves wet."

Penelope took some comfort in that as Thunderbird 4 made its way through the long, twisty tunnel.

The Tracy jet arrived back on Tracy Island. It was night-time and Jeff and Virgil were extremely tired after their long day.

Walking into the lounge they found only Kayo still up and sitting at the desk looking bored. However she swiftly got to her feet when she saw them. "Mr Tracy. Virgil. Any luck on finding Hayley?"

"No. Nothing, Kayo," replied Jeff. "But we did determine that the base commander Lieutenant Pierce is a nasty piece of work. He's done something with her. We just don't know what."

Kayo's heart sank. She looked at Virgil who'd sat himself down on one of the sofas. She'd never seen him looking so sad. "If only Mrs Tracy would clear me for duty," she said with gritted teeth. "I'd have not only found Hayley by now but I'd have made sure she was here with us."

"It's okay, Kayo. I've brought the matter up with Colonel Casey and she's going to investigate the matter," said Jeff. "There's nothing we can do now but wait for her to get back to us."

Virgil let out a deep sigh. "I'm gonna go to bed," he said miserably. "There's no point in me just sitting here." He got up and walked out the room with Jeff and Kayo sadly watching him go.

"I've never seen him like this before," Jeff whispered to Kayo once Virgil had gone. "He's always been the strongest-minded one of all the boys."

"He's just worried, Mr Tracy," said Kayo. "Although I think it's safe to say we all are."

Jeff nodded. Then he realised something as he sat down in his chair at the desk. "Hang about, why are you on the desk tonight?" he asked. "I thought it was Gordon's turn to do the night duty?"

"Ah," said Kayo, remembering. "The others have all gone to Mars to rescue Captain Taylor again."

"Again?!" exclaimed Jeff. "Lord above. Does that man ever learn to take care of himself? What's he got himself into this time?"

"I'm afraid I don't know, Mr Tracy," replied Kayo. "But John said something about there being water involved. So Thunderbird 4's gone with Thunderbird 3. Scott and Lady Penelope went with Alan and Gordon as well."

Jeff jumped up. "Penny went with them?!"

"Well…it would have been me," said Kayo, trying not to sound bitter. "But Mrs Tracy wouldn't let me as I'm still not clear for duty."

"Well, you're not," answered Jeff. "You will be within the next week I'm certain of that. But Penny? Then again, since when have any of us managed to stop Penelope from doing what she wanted?"

Kayo pondered. "True that," she agreed. "I just hope everything's going okay for them."

Thunderbird 4 had been making its way through the waterways. Gordon and Penelope hadn't said much. Penny kept a lookout whilst Gordon altered his attention between looking out of the cockpit and down at the hologram scanner to make sure they were still following the correct route.

"GORDON!" Penelope cried in alarm and suddenly gripped him tightly.

Gordon also jumped. "W-W-W-WHAT?!" he cried and looked to the left to see what had given her a fright. Something large and sinister seemed to be attached to the left side of the tunnel. Gordon brought Thunderbird 4 to a sudden stop and shone the powerful lights onto it. But it wasn't what they thought it was. Gordon breathed out. "Penny, please don't do that," he said. "That's only a piece of rock."

Penelope went red with embarrassment. "Oh, I'm sorry, Gordon," she apologised. "I guess I'm a little jumpy knowing those snakes are about."

"Are you guys okay down there?" Scott asked over the radio. "You appear to have stopped moving?"

Gordon quickly got Thunderbird 4 moving again. "Sorry, Scott. False alarm," he said. "We're not far now."

Thunderbird 4 continued on for a short distance before Gordon brought the craft to a stop again. "Blast it!" grumbled Gordon. "Looks like a dead end!"

"But this is the way the map's telling us to go," said Penelope.

Gordon looked at the screen. Then he noticed something. The white arrow that was giving them the direction was pointing upwards. He looked up and after adjusting the scan realised what it was. "Ohhhhhh!" he said. "There's an open above us. Hang on." Thunderbird 4 blew ballast and began to rise. Then to their surprise, they broke the surface and found themselves on top of the water in a long open cavern that continued on. "It's too shallow for us to submerge again," Gordon said. "Looks like we're going the rest of the way on the surface."

Thunderbird 4 continued forwards. Gordon had to be slow and careful. The channel wasn't very wide and Thunderbird 4 only just had room to comfortably fit. But it was definitely not somewhere that they would want to be if they needed to make a quick getaway."

"How far are we?" Penelope asked.

Gordon checked the scanner. "Less than a mile," he said. "Just around this corner and we should be at the cavern where Captain Taylor is." They turned the corner and Gordon suddenly brought Thunderbird 4 to a stop.

"What's wrong?" asked Penelope.

Gordon pointed at an archway in front of where they were. "That's what's wrong," he said grimly. "Thunderbird 3 - we have a slight complication."

"What?" asked Scott, irritated.

"There's an archway leading into the cavern where Taylor and Travers are," said Gordon. "But it's too low for Thunderbird 4 to pass through."

"Then dive under it," said Scott.

"We can't. The water's too shallow here," replied Gordon. "This is as far as Thunderbird 4 can go."

Scott cursed under his breath.

Alan looked at the radar scope on Thunderbird 3. "Couldn't you both leave Thunderbird 4 and swim the rest of the way?" he suggested. "You haven't got far to go."

"I don't like the idea of leaving Thunderbird 4 unattended," Gordon said uneasily.

"Gordon, is there anything around there that could be a danger to Thunderbird 4?" asked Scott.

Gordon and Penelope looked around. They couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. There were numerous rocks that were unusual shapes, but none looked like sleeping Rock Snakes. "Can't see anything," said Gordon.

"Then leave her where she is, collect Taylor and Dr Travers and take them back to Thunderbird 4," said Scott. "Hurry it up. The life signs are getting weaker. Especially Taylor's."

Gordon sighed as he knew Scott was right. "F-A-B," he said as he reached for his helmet. "Come on, Pen."

"Right with you, Squid," answered Penelope.

Leaving Thunderbird 4 where she was with her GPS system keeping her in place, Penelope and Gordon exited via the underbelly hatch and began to swim through the shallow water underneath where the arch was and then resurfaced on the other side. They looked around at the vast cavern they were in which could only really be seen properly via the infra-red vision in the visors of their helmets.

"This place is haunting - yet also kind of amazing as well," remarked Gordon.

"I have to agree," said Penelope. "Now where might Captain Taylor and Dr Travers be?"

They looked around and Gordon soon spotted two life-signs across the far side of the cavern. "Over there!" he said, pointing. They both began to quickly swim over towards them.

Taylor was pretty much unconscious due to his air supply being almost depleted, and Sandra wasn't able to stand anymore due to her own oxygen being low. She'd almost given up hope when she caught sight of movement in the water nearby. She snapped to attention and sat up. "What the?!" she exclaimed in surprise as two figures, one in blue and yellow and one in pink and grey emerged from the red water and shone their suit lights down on them. "I-International Rescue?!" exclaimed Sandra. "But…how?!"

"Explanations later," said Gordon. "I'm presuming you're Dr Travers?"

"That's right," she said. "I'm sorry, I don't believe we've met?"

"I'm Gordon. I think I'm the only one of us you've not spoken to before. And this is Lady Penelope."

Sandra looked at Penelope in astonishment. "Lady Penelope? Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward?!"

"That be me, Doctor," smiled Penelope. She held out her hand. "Pleasure to meet you."

Sandra was staggered as she shook Penelope's hand. "Likewise, but, I had no idea you were involved with International Rescue?"

"It's not public knowledge," Penelope said. "Most think I'm just good friends with the Tracy family. Not many know that I actually work with them. Would like to keep it that way if possible."

"Of course," said Sandra.

Gordon had been examining Taylor. "Man, he's not looking too good," he remarked. "Captain? Captain Taylor, can you hear me? It's Gordon Tracy from International Rescue. If you can remember my name, that is?"

Taylor moved his head slightly and looked at Gordon. His vision was blurry and he could barely hear what was being said to him. "G…Gorgan?"

Gordon sighed. "Never mind," he said. Then he noticed Taylor's left leg. "Oh, man! That's bad."

"What is it, Gordon?" asked Penelope as she came to join him.

"His leg's broken," said Gordon. "There's no way we're gonna be able to carry him back to Thunderbird 4."

"Thunderbird 4?" asked Sandra, looking around. "I don't see any ship of yours?"

"It's beyond that archway over there," said Gordon, pointing. "She's too big to fit through." He activated his radio. "Gordon to Thunderbird 3. Do you read?"

"Loud and clear, Gordon," answered Scott. "Sit-Rep?"

"We've found Dr Travers and Captain Taylor. However, Taylor's badly injured. His leg's broken and-" He broke off, suddenly noticing the red splatters on the inside of Taylor's helmet. "Oh, God!"

"What is it?" asked Scott anxiously.

"There's some red splatters on the inside of his helmet visor," said Gordon. "It looks like blood!"

Alan and Scott exchanged worried looks. Then Alan remembered something. "Wait a second - didn't John say something about Taylor being sick?"

"He might have done," Scott replied. "But it must have slipped my mind. Gordon, are you able to get him back to Thunderbird 4?"

"Over a short distance we could," said Gordon. "Like a few feet, but Thunderbird 4's too far for where we are right now. That archway is too low and the channel's not deep enough to get her under."

Scott thought for a moment. He then had an idea. He knew it was going to be very risky, but right now it seemed to be the best option for them. "Gordon, what I'm about to suggest is going to be dangerous, but I think it's our only chance," he said. "You'll have to remotely control Thunderbird 4 and blast away that arch that is stopping her from entering that cavern. Then you can bring her right up to you and you can load Taylor and then get the hell out of there."

Gordon looked at Penelope and Sandra. They could all tell without saying it that they weren't keen on what Scott had suggested, but they also could all tell that they all knew that it was the only option they had. Taylor was looking very bad, and they needed to get him out quickly if they were to save him. "F-A-B, Scott," he said. He stood up and walked back to the water's edge. He activated his wrist-controller to operate Thunderbird 4. He then selected the targeting computer to lock a pair of demolition missiles onto the rocks above the archway. "Here goes nothing," he said and pressed the fire button.

With a pair of loud WHOOSHES the two missiles were launched from the sides of Thunderbird 4. They hit the rocks above the archway and obliterated them. The entire ground and the cavern around them shuddered as the rocks fell from the roof of the cavern and crashed into the water.

Gordon waited until things had quietened down before moving Thunderbird 4 forwards. Some of the rocks were still in the way but just beneath the surface of the water and Thunderbird 4 easily pushed them out of the way before entering the cavern. He guided the small yellow craft over to where they were before turning it around and reversing it up to the edge of the shore where he could open the rear doors. Now they had a very short distance to move the injured Taylor from where he lay and into the back of the ship.

"Keep him comfortable," Gordon said to Penelope and Sandra once he'd got Thunderbird 4 into place. "I'll get a stretcher."

Whilst they waited by Taylor, Penelope noticed how tired Sandra was looking. "Are you okay, Doctor?" she asked.

"I will be when I can breathe clean air again," replied Sandra as she checked her oxygen gauge. "I'm almost out."

"You'll be able to take that helmet off once inside Thunderbird 4," said Penelope. "Ah, Gordon, well done."

Gordon had returned and he laid the yellow stretcher on the floor and positioned it next to Taylor so that they could move him on to it. "Readu?" he said. "On three. One…two…three!"

Together they managed to move Taylor onto the stretcher, quickly but carefully so as to not damage his leg any further.

"Phew!" said Penelope. "Don't worry, Captain. We'll soon have you out of here."

Taylor began to mumble something and tried lifting his right hand to point at something.

"Easy, Lee," said Sandra before she was hit by a big yawn. "Don't waste your strength."

But Taylor managed to find enough energy to say two words. "Rock…Snake…" he said as his right forefinger seemed to point behind Gordon.

Gordon, Sandra and Penelope exchanged confused looks before looking around in the direction Taylor had been pointing. They suddenly all froze, for there was a glowing red light in the darkness about twenty yards away. It seemed to be getting closer. Gordon and Penelope shone their torches in the direction. "AAAAHH!" they all cried when the torches illuminated what the source was. The red light was the eye of a Rock Snake, and it was coming towards them, hissing angrily.

"MOVE!" yelled Gordon, grabbing one end of the stretcher. Penelope grabbed the other and along with Sandra they sprinted as fast as they could into the back of Thunderbird 4 just as the snake fired one of its deadly fireballs at them. It landed a mere few inches away from where they'd been moments earlier. Once inside, Gordon and Penelope placed Taylor's stretcher into place and Gordon hastily punched the button to close the rear doors. "STRAP IN!" he ordered as he almost dived into the cockpit and grabbed the controls. "Run, baby, run!"

Penelope and Sandra only just managed to fasten the safety-belts and lower the bars of their seats in the rear passenger bay just as Gordon activated Thunderbird 4's engines. The thrusters fired and pushed the craft away from the water's edge just as the snake fired another ball which landed in the water right where Thunderbird 4 had been.

They hadn't moved far before Gordon suddenly noticed two more red lights on the opposite side of the cavern. These were Rock Snakes as well, and within seconds they too were spitting fireballs in the direction of Thunderbird 4. "AHHHH!" Gordon yelped as he adjusted Thunderbird 4's course to avoid getting hit.

"Gordon, what's going on?" asked Scott over the radio. "Your movements are erratic."

"Scott, there are Rock Snakes down here!" Gordon cried. "They're spitting fireballs at us!"

Scott and Alan were alarmed.

"Oh, no!" said Alan.

"Gordon, get out of there!" barked Scott.

Thunderbird 4 soon reached where the low archway had been and hurried out into the narrow channel as he headed for where it got deeper. He thought they'd managed to escape from the Rock Snakes. They had - at least from the three that had been in the main cavern. But not from the two that were residing next to the narrow channel which he and Penelope had failed to notice when they'd passed through earlier. Their sinister heads were raised and their eyes fixed upon their target.

Gordon saw the two snakes and began to quiver. He knew there was absolutely no chance of getting past them without avoiding them. He tried to make Thunderbird 4 go faster, but at the range they were, the snakes couldn't miss. The first snake spat its fireball which struck Thunderbird 4 right slap bang on the left side. The impact was felt throughout the sub and Gordon, Penelope and Sandra all yelled in terror as the fireball from the second snake struck the left side of the cockpit and the force pushed Thunderbird 4 into the rocks on the other side. Gordon was scared, but he knew he had to get them through no matter what. He backed Thunderbird 4 away and got ready to charge forwards again when the two snakes fired again, scoring more hits, one on the bow and the other right above the cockpit. Gordon was livid. "STOP…SPITTING…AT ME!" he screamed and used the targeting computer to lock onto the snakes. He slammed his thumb on the shooting button and two more demolition missiles darted out from the sides of Thunderbird 4. They struck the Rock Snakes right at the neck and the resulting explosions obliterated them.

Not knowing where the three they'd encountered in the cavern were coming after them or not, Gordon reapplied power to Thunderbird 4's thrusters and raced to where the channel went deeper. As it turned out, the first snake they'd encountered had reached where the archway was. It saw Thunderbird 4 making a run for it and spat another fireball in its direction. It would have scored a direct hit on the rear doors but the submarine dived into the deeper water with seconds to spare. The Rock Snake snarled at missing its target before its eye then fell upon the remains of its two dead comrades that had been destroyed by Thunderbird 4's missiles. Now utterly furious, the snake let out an almighty screech that echoed all around the caverns. And somehow, this was heard by all of the Rock Snakes that were on the surface. Within moments of the screech being heard, they all began to wake up and began looking around for signs of danger.

Now they were underwater, Gordon felt safer but he continued to race Thunderbird 4 back through the water in order to reach the grapples that were attached to Thunderbird 3. Soon he caught sight of them and after getting his ship into position, the grapples locked into place. "We're back, Thunderbird 3," he said. "Winch us up."

"F-A-B!" said Alan. "Hang on!"

Gordon, Penelope and Sandra all felt a sharp tug as the winches began to lift Thunderbird 4 back up the shaft drilled by Thunderbird 3 towards the surface and the waiting spaceship.

"Almost there," said Alan. "Just a few more seconds."

Just then an alarm started on the control panel.

"What is it?" asked Scott.

Alan checked, and he saw something that nearly caused his heart to skip a beat. "Uh-oh!"

"What?" Scott asked urgently.

"I think the snakes know we're here," said Alan.

Scott looked at the scanner. All the contacts that represented the Rock Snakes seemed to be moving - in their direction. And one was very close.

At that moment, Thunderbird 4 emerged from the shaft and was hoisted back into the cargo bay of Thunderbird 3. The doors closed the second it was inside.

"We're in!" said Gordon.

"Get us out of here, Alan!" ordered Scott.

"Don't need to tell me, Scott!" snapped Alan as he slammed on the power to the thrusters. Thunderbird 3's engines roared into life once more as it lifted up from the ground and began to tilt from pointing downwards to face upwards whilst the grasping arms retracted.

The Rock Snake that had been disturbed by the rocks shaken loose by Thunderbird 3 earlier had been coming to investigate when it got alerted by the screech made by the one underground and quickly realised that what it was looking at was something dangerous. It therefore tilted its head back and fired a ball at Thunderbird 3.

"AAAHHH!" Alan cried as the fireball narrowly missed them. "Not today, Rocky!"

"Alan, look!" said Scott.

Alan looked ahead. The mountain range was a short distance away and they could see hundreds of red dots that were the eyes of many snakes, all watching them, burning with anger at the loss of two of their own.

"As I said, not today!" said Alan. He pointed Thunderbird 3 upwards and fired the main engines. The red rocket soared up towards space, leaving the angry Rock Snakes far below. Several of them tried spitting balls of fire up at the escaping ship, but Thunderbird 3 was already out of range. There was nothing they could do about it now.

Alan and Scott breathed sighs of relief as they escaped the Martian atmosphere. "We made it," Scott said to those in Thunderbird 4. "The danger's over."

Gordon, Penelope and Sandra all breathed sighs of relief as well.

Thunderbird 3 re-entered the Martian atmosphere and headed down to the Colony where Sandra and Taylor were transferred to the medical facility. Sandra was discovered to have a bruised back following her fall but apart from that she wasn't too bad. Taylor on the other hand was a totally different story. Now his helmet was off, Penelope and the brothers could see just how bad he looked. Whilst for Penelope this was her first encounter with the Captain, Scott and Alan in particular were shocked by what they saw. They were even more shocked when Sandra revealed what he was suffering from.

"Captain…how long have you had this?" Scott asked.

Taylor had regained his senses now he was able to breathe properly again. "I was first diagnosed with it when I was last on Earth," he explained. "Doctors made me have chemo and radiotherapy and all that jazz, but I refused to let it be the end of me. I kept myself busy, trying to forget it was even there. Then when you came to me to ask for help in getting Doc Travers and her people to Mars, I jumped at the chance. I thought I'd beaten this wretched disease by coming out here and staying. But it seems that I haven't." He gave a small chuckle. "You know, boys, your dad was right. He told me that smoking would be the death of me. I just laughed it off. I realise now that was the wrong thing to do."

Alan turned to Sandra. "You can cure him, right?" he asked anxiously.

"I can try," said Sandra. "But it won't be easy. We do have the equipment. But it'll depend on how far ahead it's advanced since it was last treated." She then gave Taylor a stern look. "Provided that he doesn't try and goad any more Rock Snakes into finishing him off first," she said, folding her arms disapprovingly.

The brothers and Penelope all stared at Taylor, who looked down at his lap, ashamed.

"Is this true, Captain?" asked Gordon.

Taylor sighed. "Yeah…it is," he said.

"But…why?" asked Alan.

"Because I've been through so much, Alan," said Taylor. "I've seen many things. Done many things. A lot of those were with your dad. I don't want to be remembered as being yet another victim of this wretched illness. I wanted to go out in a blaze of glory - just like Alphie did."

"Alfie?" Penelope asked.

"Shadow-Alpha Base," Gordon replied. "Where he resided on the Moon before Scott and Alan saved him the first time."

Scott glowered at Taylor. "So you thought getting yourself blown up by a Rock Snake was a better way to go?" he asked, disapprovingly.

Taylor looked even more ashamed of himself. "It would have been a first, Scott," he said. "But I realise now that it wasn't the right thing to do. I'm sorry, everyone."

What anger the others had been feeling up until this point receded upon hearing Taylor's apology. Even Sandra began to feel sympathy for him. "It's never too late to have hope, Captain," she said as she passed Scott to stand beside Taylor. "I'm always willing to help the people in this colony. And I will do my damn best to try and help you beat it. You have my word on that."

Taylor looked surprised by this. "Really?" he asked hoarsely. "After all that I did?"

Sandra broke a smile and placed her hand on his right arm/ "Of course," she said. "Plus, it's what Paul would want, I'm sure?" She looked back at her son who was standing at the end of Taylor's bed. He gave Taylor a friendly smile and wave.

Taylor broke a smile too, realising that he really did have people there to take care of him. "Thanks, Doc," he said gratefully.

Sandra nodded. "Right, everyone, I think the Captain needs some bedrest, so if we could all head out in an orderly fashion, that'd be much appreciated. Thank you."

Everyone began to leave the medical bay.

"Scott?" Taylor said suddenly. "May I talk to you alone?"

Scott turned to Sandra. "May I?" he asked.

"Of course," said Sandra. "But try not to be too long, please."

Scott nodded and he headed back to Taylor's bed whilst Sandra ushered the others out of the ward.

"Could you pass me my uniform?" Taylor asked. "I need something from one of the pockets."

"Sure," replied Scott. He brought the torso part of the uniform over to Taylor who reached into one of the pockets and took out what Scott recognised as a cigarette lighter. He frowned as he felt sure he'd seen it before - or at least one that looked like it.

"I need a favor, son," Taylor said. "Two actually. First of all, can you give this back to your dad? I've had it for about twenty years and haven't had the chance to return it. Thought it was about time that I did."

Scott took the lighter. "Of course," he said. "And the second?"

"Please don't tell Jeff about my illness," Taylor said. "Get him to call me when you get back home. I want to be the one to tell him myself."

Scott understood. "I'll do that, sir," he promised.

Taylor smiled. "Attaboy," he said and he held out his hand. Scott took it without hesitation and gripped it tightly. "Sir, just in case. It's been an honor to have worked with you."

Taylor grinned. "The honor was always mine, Scott," he said. "Jeff couldn't have raised five better boys than if he'd tried."

Hearing those words from his dad's best friend filled Scott with immense pride.

Colonel Casey sat at her desk reading the tablet that contained the lengthy report that Lieutenant Pierce had done following the incident at Base Tangmere. She'd been very intrigued to read it, and now she was feeling herself getting more and more angry the more she read.

Pierce had been expecting to go through the report in detail and was therefore somewhat confused by the fact that the Colonel had remained completely silent from the moment she'd started reading. There were a few points that he was particularly keen to talk about and was starting to get impatient. "Ahem," he said in the most discreet way that he could. He then waited, but Colonel Casey continued to read on in silence without even acknowledging that she'd heard him. "A-hem!" he said again, a bit louder.

Colonel Casey raised her head and turned to look at him. "You got a frog in your throat, Lieutenant?" she asked.

"No, Colonel," answered Pierce. "I just wanted to discuss-"

"Shut up," Colonel Casey said, not aggressively. She then went back to reading, leaving Pierce taken aback.

Outside the office in the waiting area, a rather unwell-looking Hayley sat in a chair, waiting. She felt awful. Pierce had not given her much to eat or drink over the past couple of days. She felt sick and miserable. Worst of all, she felt intimidated sitting with her hands cuffed behind her back whilst four very tall and stern-looking Guards watched her.

Finally, Colonel Casey reached the end of the report and placed the tablet on the desk. Pierce waited intently for her to start asking questions about it. Instead, she reached for the intercom on her desk. "Send Madison in," she instructed.

"Aren't we going to discuss my report, Colonel?" asked Pierce as she stood up.

"We'll get to that," said Colonel Casey as the doors opened and Hayley was marched in. immediately, Colonel Casey was horrified by the state Hayley was in. the prison uniform she'd been given clearly hadn't been cleaned before it had been given to her and she looked somewhat ill. "Good grief!" she exclaimed in disgust. "Get those cuffs off her this instant! And you, get her a glass of water! On the double!"

The soldiers immediately did as they were told. One removed the cuffs from Hayley's wrists which were now rather red from where they'd been cutting into the skin and another went to get Hayley a glass of water.

Pierce couldn't understand what was going on. "Colonel, we can't be giving the prisoner privileges!" he protested.

Colonel Casey gave him a sharp glare that silenced him but she said nothing. The soldier handed the glass to Hayley who almost gulped down the water in one. The soldiers then left, leaving her with Pierce and the Colonel.

"You look like hell, Madison," Colonel Casey said. "I never thought we'd be in this kind of situation."

"You and me both, Colonel Casey," answered Hayley, her voice rather hoarse and croaky.

"You understand the seriousness of the situation, don't you?" Colonel Casey asked.

Hayley nodded. "Yes," she said, sounding disheartened.

"Gross insubordination. Disrespecting a superior officer. Attempted sabotage of a construction site. Mutiny. These are all extremely serious," Colonel Casey said. "And for these kinds of things I take the appropriate action."

Hayley looked at her lap in shame. She quivered, waiting to hear the potential punishments that she was going to get.

"And I would take action for this - if not for the fact that it's all complete nonsense," said Colonel Casey.

Hayley blinked and looked up. Pierce had had his arms folded with excited anticipation for Hayley's dressing-down, now dropped them in astonishment. "What?!" they both said together.

"Well for starters," said Colonel Casey, looking through the tablet at Pierce's report. "I knew for a fact that the 'Disrespecting a superior officer' had to be false. Madison, you might be a medical student, but that does not mean that your rank of Captain was taken from you. So technically, Lieutenant, you were the one who was disrespecting a superior officer. She outranks you!"

Pierce stared, dumbfounded. "But, Colonel, I-"

"Furthermore," continued Colonel Casey. "The report says that you had Madison arrested following her repeated attempts to get International Rescue called to the scene. You said you were able to rally the work crew to use their crane to rescue one of their own trapped in an upturned digger. And that Madison tried to sabotage the rescue by setting off a bomb."

Hayley stared at Colonel Casey before giving Pierce a dirty look. "You lying scumbag!" she hissed.

"SILENCE!" shouted Pierce furiously. "I WILL NOT BE SPOKEN TO LIKE THIS!"

"SILENCE YOURSELF!" thundered Colonel Casey. "RIGHT THERE, YOU ARE BEING DISRESPECTFUL TO HER!" She lowered her voice. "You wanted me to say something about your report, Pierce. Well here it is. It's the biggest load of crap I have ever read in my entire life! It's full of nothing but lies and made-up information."

Pierce looked outraged. "Y-You cannot be serious?!" he spluttered. "Where is your proof, Colonel?!"

"Where's yours?" asked Colonel Casey, raising an eyebrow. "Besides the report I don't see any actual physical evidence of what Madison has done. Whereas I on the other hand…"

Pierce froze, suddenly realising what this meant. "No…" he said almost silently.

"I have these," Colonel Casey said, touching a button on her desk. A series of holographic images appeared from a projector behind her desk. "Security footage," she said. "Showing the rescue operation. Your report makes no mention of International Rescue, or the unexploded World War Two bomb that was discovered in that pile of soil. Furthermore, I cannot see you being present at any point during this operation. It has clearly fallen to Madison to take charge in YOUR ABSENCE!"

The sudden raised voice caused both Hayley and Pierce to jump.

"I AM APPALLED, LIEUTENANT PIERCE!" Colonel Casey continued to shout. "MY OFFICERS ARE HONEST AND RESPECTABLE PEOPLE! I'VE HAD SEVERAL PEOPLE SAY TO ME THAT GIVING YOU A PROMOTION WAS A MISTAKE! I see now that they weren't wrong."

Pierce was now shaking with anger himself.

"You came here with the intention of landing Madison in a hell of a lot of trouble," Colonel Casey went on. "Well, congratulations, Pierce. YOU are the one in major trouble. In light of this, I am therefore placing YOU under arrest pending Court-Martial. GUARDS!"

The doors opened and the guards walked back in.

"Take Mr Pierce to the holding cells and keep him there," ordered Colonel Casey. "And someone please get Madison some clean clothes and her belongings back from wherever they have been placed."

"Yes, ma'am!" said the soldiers as two of them pulled Pierce's hands behind his back and placed the handcuffs that had been on Hayley onto Pierce's wrists.

"YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME!" yelled Pierce, trying to break free. "GET OFF OF ME!"

"GET HIM OUT OF MY SIGHT!" thundered Colonel Casey as the guards dragged the kicking and screaming former Lieutenant out of the office.

"YOU'LL REGRET THIS, CASEY!" bellowed Pierce. "MADISON! I'M NOT DONE WITH YOU! YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS!" The doors were then closed as his voice soon faded away.

Hayley and Colonel Casey looked at each other. And then, as the realisation of all that had gone on finally sank in, Hayley found herself shaking, and she burst into tears. Colonel Casey grabbed a tissue and handed it to Hayley who took it gratefully and blew her nose on it. "I'm sorry, Colonel," Hayley said miserably. "I'm usually stronger than this."

"It's okay, Hayley," soothed Colonel Casey, rubbing Hayley's shoulder. "It's all over now. He can't do you any harm any more."

"God, I was so scared," Hayley said. "All the while I was in that cell - I hoped that Virgil would come and break me out with a Mole-Pod. He probably doesn't even know what I've been through."

"No, but he has been worrying and searching for you," Colonel Casey said. "He and Jeff went to Base Tangmere where Pierce lied to them saying you were at another base. They soon realised they'd been fooled and brought the matter to me. I knew something wasn't right once they'd told me their story and the security feed can confirm what they've said. Pierce clearly let the power go to his head whilst he was in charge of the base and he did not take kindly to being challenged."

"I did what I thought was best, Colonel," said Hayley.

"And you did," smiled Colonel Casey. "I am very proud of you. You know, if you change your mind about being in the Medical Corp, I could always use another field officer to work and assist Captain Rigby. Is that something you'd be interested in?"

Hayley thought about it. She had been very keen to be a medical officer, but the thought of being a leader again sounded just as tempting. "Um…can I think about that, please?" she asked. "Right now I think that I need a break. I want to see my parents…and Virgil."

"Of course," said Colonel Casey kindly. "Take a month off. I'd say that should more than make up for what you've had to go through."

Hayley grinned with relief. She stood up and gave Colonel Casey a handshake before giving a salute. "Thank you, Colonel," she said gratefully.

Colonel Casey smiled as she returned the salute. "The pleasure is all mine," she said.

Pierce was practically thrown into the cell allocated to him at Parkmoor Scrubs Prison where he was to be held until his Court-Martial. He wasn't afraid to say what he thought of the guards as they had to force him in and then slam the big steel door behind him. "Curse Casey! Curse Madison!" he fumed. "I waited so long to be given a command position. A position of RESPECT! AND IT'S BEEN TAKEN FROM ME!" He paused, as an evil smirk spread across his face. "However…those security images showed me that Jeff Tracy was at the base when the bomb was being dealt with, and that Madison has close links with one of his sons." He pulled up his sleeve and tapped his innocent-looking digital wristwatch. "This is Chameleon calling Silver Swan. Get me the boss. I have something he's gonna want to know."