THE Moon wasn't the easiest environment to work in at the best of times. Constructing a base upon it was no exception. Jeff Tracy and Lee Taylor knew that all too well when they'd overseen the building of Shadow-Alpha and a few other structures. Base Endeavour was much larger than Shadow-Alpha had been - three times the size to be exact and had also taken three times as long to construct, but at long last it was finally completed. Every section: Command, Research, Medical, Living and even a Food Farm had been carefully designed and built for the needs of every person that was stationed there.
Even though the base had already seen some active use and a change of command due to Commander Gorski being forced out in disgrace had taken place with Colonel Straker now taking full command after nobody was available, it was time for a big celebration to go ahead. World President Younger was to be one of the distinguished guests who were to be present at the official launching ceremony for Endeavour. However the main guest of honour was to be none other than Jeff Tracy himself. He had originally planned for one of his sons to come with him, but decided against it in case an emergency required them back on Earth. Instead he invited Lady Penelope to be his plus one. This delighted Penelope who was only too keen to attend as well as secretly act as Jeff's bodyguard just in the unlikely case of something bad going on. After The Cabal's attempted attack on IR with the bomb planted aboard Thunderbird 2, they didn't want to take any chances.
The Eagle Transporter carrying Jeff and Penelope moved effortlessly across the vast distance between the Earth and the Moon and took a rather long time even with its high-speed engines. This didn't bother Penelope or Jeff who were more than happy to enjoy the First Class hospitality that the Eagle's crew were providing.
"More champagne, Mr Tracy?" asked one of the stewards.
"Oh, don't mind if I do," replied Jeff with a smile as she topped up his glass. "Most kind of you."
"Take it steady on the champagne, please, Jeff," wanted Penelope with a chuckle. "You don't want me to carry you off this ship because you're drunk."
Jeff laughed. "Don't worry, Penny. I have to do the speech at the opening ceremony later. I can't afford to make a fool of myself."
They shared another laugh just as Parker came trotting up to them. "Ahem. H'excuse me, m'lady. Mr Tracy, sir. But there's h'about to be a special h'announcement about the 'ighlight of today's h'events."
Penelope frowned, confused. "I thought Jeff's speech was going to be the highlight of today?"
Jeff placed his glass down on the table. "I'm only a part of the celebration, Penny," he said. "Ed said to me that they had something very special planned as a treat to all of those who've worked so hard on getting Base Endeavour up and running. However, he wouldn't say what it was so I am very interested to see."
"In that case," said Penelope. "Would you turn the monitor on for us, please, Parker?"
"Certainly, m'lady," replied Parker as he touched a button on the wall of the cabin.
A holographic TV screen appeared beside them and a familiar young female reporter appeared on it. "This is Kat Cavanagh reporting live from the newly completed Base Endeavour. In a few moments I will be watching an announcement by Colonel Ed Straker who says he has got a surprise lined up for the people of the base as a reward for all of their hard work."
Kat's broadcast was being directed across the entire planet by the Global Television Network. Various translator mods in the satellites would automatically translate her natural English language into the language of whichever country the report was being shown in. French, Italian, Spanish, Japanese etc, it was all kindly planned out.
The Tracy brothers, Grandma, Brains, Kayo and Hayley (who was spending her last couple of days at Tracy Island before returning home) were glued to the broadcast. Jeff had mentioned something about there being a special highlight at the event and they along with the rest of the world were eager to learn what it was.
"For the past few weeks, preparations have been made for the big opening ceremony of Base Endeavour," Kat continued. "Arriving very soon will be the guest of honor himself, Colonel Jeff Tracy, making his first official public appearance since he returned from his mysterious disappearance following the incident of the Zero-X. As for the special treat? There have been many rumors surrounding it, the most common one is that of there being a flypast of the base by a world-famous spaceship. What that is though remains to be seen."
Alan had been sitting on one of the sofas beside Grandma when he got up to move over to the seats that were used to transport him down to Thunderbird 3. Kayo sat in the one she normally sat in whilst Gordon was in Alan's. "Better move so I can sit there, Gordo," Alan said. "I'm gonna need it very soon."
"Why?" asked Gordon. "I'm comfortable here."
"I need it so I can go to my rocket as soon as the announcement has been made," said Alan.
Everyone looked at each other, confused.
"Alan, what are you talking about?" asked Kayo.
"The flypast of course," said Alan, irritated that nobody seemed to understand. "As soon as Colonel Straker announced that it's Thunderbird 3, I'll be heading straight up there."
Scott frowned. "Alan, the announcement hasn't been made. Whatever makes you think that it's going to be Thunderbird 3?"
"Aw, come ON!" said Alan in frustration. "There's no other famous rockets still flying are there?"
"No, but that doesn't mean that one hasn't been brought out of retirement for a one off special occasion, Alan," said Virgil.
"Really?" said Alan. "I highly doubt that. Name me a single spaceship that it could possibly be. One that is more famous than Thunderbird 3."
"Saturn V," said Gordon.
"Liberty Bell," said Hayley, winking at Virgil who smirked in response.
"Hush, everyone," said Grandma. "Here comes Colonel Straker now."
They all looked at the holographic screen as Colonel Straker took to a stand. "Ladies and gentlemen. People of Base Endeavour and to everyone who's watching back on Earth. First of all I must welcome to all the start of what is looking to be a fantastic day in the history of the Moon - the launching of Base Endeavour and the revelation of what its true purpose is going to be. I will be making a bigger speech later on as well as Mr World President and our guest of honor, Colonel Jeff Tracy. But what I am here to talk about right now is the special arrangement that has been organised by the World Space Agency to treat the good people of Endeavour and to thank them for all their hard work. Now I have heard that a rumor has been going around about the possibility of a flypast of the base by a famous rocket. Well I am happy to say that I can indeed confirm that that is true." He paused as an excitable murmur filled the audience that he was addressing.
"You see!" Alan said. He then glued his eyes to the image of Straker who continued.
"What could this famous rocket be, you're probably wondering? Well, I won't keep you in suspense. I am therefore pleased to announce that the flypast will be performed by what is arguably the largest, most powerful and dare I say luckiest spaceship in human history. It's only ever flown once and it very nearly did not come back."
Gordon burst out laughing. "HA! Gutted, Alan!" he said delightedly. "It's not Thunderbird 3!"
Alan's smug face turned to dismay as he continued to watch Straker on the screen. "WHAT?!" he cried.
Scott and Virgil looked at each other. Then they looked at Brains, Grandma and Kayo. All three of them seemed to have clicked to the realisation of what it was.
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Scott asked them. They nodded.
Inside the flight cabin of the Eagle, Parker and Penelope had noticed a stunned look on Jeff's face for he too had realised what it was.
"The rocket is…" Straker said before making a dramatic pause. He pressed a button and the image of him disappeared from the screens people were watching and was replaced by a large grey rocket that some of the International Rescue team never thought they'd see again. "SUN-PROBE!" announced Straker to a mixture of gasps of excitement from the Base Endeavour people.
"Woah!" said Gordon and Hayley in awe. Kayo, Virgil, Scott, Brains and Grandma all exchanged uncomfortable looks whilst Alan fell to his knees and let out an anguished cry of disappointment.
Alan wasn't the only one who wasn't happy at the revelation of what rocket was performing the flypast. Hundreds of miles away on an uncharted island in the central Pacific Ocean, an elderly man with very little hair and a pair of short-rimmed glasses stood fuming in front of his monitor screen. He shook with fury as he glared at the image of the Sun-Probe. "How dare they steal my rocket! I designed the Sun-Probe! The glory should be mine!"
5!
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"Thunderbirds Are Go!"
"RENEGADE ROCKET"
PROFESSOR Grant Merridrew was a man with a grievance. For the past decade he'd lived a life far beyond the public eye. He was a successful man, striking up a fortune with his Satellite Repair company as well as other small ventures. However his biggest achievement was that he was the designer of the Sun-Probe. However, it had also been his biggest setback as an inquiry into what went wrong on the mission caused him to be accused of not making sure the design was perfected. Furious at such an accusation, Professor Merridrew handed in his resignation and was practically forced into exile, finding a remote island in the Central Pacific where he could not be disturbed. He lived alone save for a few employed technicians who operated his repair drone ships. He had also kept his grudge against the World Space Agency and in particular President Younger who had led the inquiry bottled up, refusing to even mention the subject to anyone that he did interact with. He had also come to the conclusion that what was done was done and the story of him and the Sun-Probe was history. That was until he saw the announcement from Colonel Straker about the Sun-Probe being used to help celebrate the completion of Base Endeavour.
Merridrew stood outside the villa on his island and watched the Sun setting. To most people it was a majestic sight, but for him it was only a painful reminder of the Sun-Probe affair. "I'll teach the President and his Space Agency laptops that I can't just be jettisoned like a spent rocket stage!" he said out loud to himself. "Little do they know that my investments have made me rich. Rich enough to take back what is rightfully mine!" He then went back inside the house and down to an underground control centre where his technicians were working. "Boys, we have work to do," he barked. "My baby is coming home."
The Eagle carrying Jeff, Penelope and Parker to Base Endeavour arrived soon after the announcement had been made. World President Younger and Straker were both waiting for them and greeted them warmly.
"Jeff, you son of a gun!" said the World President, shaking Jeff warmly by the hand. "How the devil are you, old boy?"
"Most excellent, thank you, Mr President," answered Jeff. He looked out of the terminal building at the newly completed base. "My oh my, this place looks superb. You've done a splendid job here, Ed." He then shook the hand of Straker.
"Thanks, Jeff," replied Straker. "However you know I can't take all the credit. Commander Gorski did oversee the majority of the work."
"Yes, well, ahem," coughed the World President. "The less said about Commander Gorski the better?"
Jeff and Straker nodded in agreement.
Jeff then turned to Penelope and Parker. "Mr President. Colonel Straker. May I introduce Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward and her personal bodyguard Parker."
Both the World President and Straker took turns in kissing Penelope's hand and gave Parker a nod of acknowledgement. Parker wasn't offended by this as he wasn't overly keen on conversation with people he'd not met before.
"So, Jeff," said the World President as they travelled through one of the conveyor tubes on a hovercar. "What do you make of our special attraction later?"
"The Sun-Probe?" replied Jeff. "A big surprise that was."
"I'll be honest, I had my reservations about it, Jeff," said Straker. "We on the WSA council all agreed it should be the Sun-Probe because of the achievement it accomplished. However, I am also well aware of what you and your boys went through in order to get it back to Earth safely."
"And that Scott and I nearly lost our own lives in doing so," Jeff added.
The World President was taken aback. "Really? How so, if you don't mind me asking?"
Jeff cleared his throat. "With respect, sir, could we save it for dinner after the ceremony later. It's a part of my life that I struggle badly with."
"Of course," said the World President. "Forgive me for asking, Jeff."
Penelope and Parker looked at each other from a few seats behind. They were all too familiar with the Sun-Probe story as were the rest of the International Rescue team.
The night had passed and the next day had arrived by the time Jeff, Penelope and Parker had arrived on the Moon. This was the actual day of celebration for Base Endeavour and at Cape Kennedy, the Sun-Probe stood grand on its launching pad waiting for its allotted launch time.
The launch was being shown live on television and once again the Tracy family were gathered to watch it. Hayley was quick to note that she seemed to be the only one there who didn't seem apprehensive by it. "Pardon me for saying this, guys," she said, "but what is it about the Sun-Probe you all aren't happy about? I can guess why Alan's unhappy. No offence, Alan."
"None taken," Alan replied. He didn't sound like he meant it but he actually did.
"You are aware of what happened with the Sun-Probe, aren't you, Hayley?" asked Scott from behind Jeff's desk where he was sitting.
"I'm aware of its mission to be the first rocket to ever visit the Sun," Hayley said. "But I never saw the mission live because I was on a training patrol with the W.A.S.P. at the time. Although Gordon wasn't with me for that."
"No, I was at home when it all kicked off," Gordon said. "But I hadn't officially become a part of IR back then."
"Nor was I," added Alan. "I was still in school."
"Only myself, Virgil and Dad were main members of International Rescue at the time," said Scott. "John had only just become space-monitor of Thunderbird 5 and Kayo had recently moved in with us."
"The m-mission went well up to a point," said Brains. "The Sun-Probe c-collected the matter from a solar prominence but the radiation interfered with the ship's controls. They could not operate the r-retros and turn away. They were on a collision c-course with the Sun!"
"Dad knew we couldn't just let the men inside perish without trying to help them," Virgil continued. "So we devised a two-way rescue attempt plan. He went into space with Thunderbird 3 taking Scott and Kayo with him."
"That was my first ever mission," Kayo added.
"And Virgil and I went to M-Mount Arkin in the Himalayas to try with the transmitter aboard Thunderbird 2," said Brains.
"So you were kind of racing against each other to be the first?" asked Hayley.
"Without the fact it wasn't a competitive thing," said Scott. "There was a slim chance for both of us but by having two different teams attempting, we hoped one would triumph over the other."
Hayley listened with interest. "So what happened?" she asked. "Who succeeded?"
"We did," said Kayo. "We had to go a lot closer to the Sun than we had wanted to but third time lucky we managed to get our safety-beam through and ignited their retros for them. They turned and were able to head back to Earth."
Hayley smiled before looking at Virgil. "Guess you felt your efforts were in vain?" she asked.
Virgil didn't respond. In fact nobody did
Hayley was puzzled. "Errr, was it something I said?" she asked.
"You've probably not heard the second half of the story, have you?" Gordon asked.
"There's more?" asked Hayley.
"Oh, yes," said Virgil grimly. "The danger was far from over. The Sun-Probe was safe, but now it was Thunderbird 3 in mortal peril."
"I didn't know we'd saved the Sun-Probe," Kayo said. "I'd passed out from heat exhaustion by that point and was unable to turn off the beam. That prevented us from firing our own retros."
"I passed out shortly after as well," said Scott grimly. "Then Dad did as well. It was us who were now on a collision course with the Sun."
Hayley gulped. She looked at Virgil and Brains. "What did you have to do?"
"I q-quickly deduced that the safety-beam of Thunderbird 3 was still in operation and was preventing the firing of the retros," said Brains. "I therefore knew we had to work out a formula that we could transmit to counteract the safety-beam and get Thunderbird 3 out of d-danger."
Gordon gave a chortle. "Except when they went to use the supercomputer they found they'd brought diddy MAX along instead," he said.
Grandma and several others scowled at him and he fell silent.
"Diddy MAX?" asked Hayley, confused.
"Yeah, haven't you seen the photo of Brains with his first version of MAX?" asked Alan.
Hayley then remembered. "Oh, yeah, I have," she said. "He looks so cute in that."
"Brains or MAX?" asked Virgil cheekily, causing Hayley to slap him on the arm whilst Alan, Gordon, Scott and Kayo all laughed.
"Yes, well, ahem," coughed Brains as he continued the story. "Luckily, we were able to get- M-MAX to calculate the formula for us."
"Then we tried it out on Thunderbird 2's Transmitter-Pod," said Virgil. "But it still wasn't enough."
"That's where John came in," said Grandma. "He had the idea to send the radio-beam up to Thunderbird 5 and then he relayed it out across space to Thunderbird 3. That did the trick."
"And they came home safely?" Hayley said.
Grandma nodded. "I was so proud of them," she said. "I aged about five years I think due to the fear of losing them, but it all worked out in the end."
Scott then cleared his throat. "Guys, I think it's time," he said, pointing to the hologram screen.
Everyone turned back to it and saw the countdown clock showing there was less then two minutes to go.
"This is it," Virgil said to Hayley. "As much as that ship brings back bad memories, I can't deny that it is a magnificent-looking ship."
"That I have to agree with you on," said Brains.
Scott, Kayo, Gordon, Grandma and Hayley all nodded in agreement as well.
Alan however remained sulky. "Thunderbird 3 is better," he muttered to himself.
The Sun-Probe stood glamorously on its launch pad with its grey paintwork glistening in the light of the late morning Sun. Even though it had been mostly kept inside a secure rocket silo for the past decade it had been given a thorough examination and maintenance check to make sure it was still in good working order. The time for its launch was now fast approaching.
Inside the cockpit of the giant rocket were two men and a woman known as The Solarnaughts. Sitting in the middle and in command was Colonel Tom Harris, the man who'd led the original Sun Probe mission. This was to be his last assignment before retirement. On his right was Bill Camp who, like Harris, had also been on the original mission. On his left was Amanda Asher, who had not been on the original mission because she had been aboard the Calypso during its mission to reach the outer Solar System. She was there to honour her brother Kevin Asher who had been on the original mission but who had sadly passed away the year before. Having not been around to have witnessed the actual Sun Probe mission, Asher felt it was absolutely necessary for her to be there.
"How are we looking?" Harris asked.
"A-Okay," said Camp.
"Check," finished Asher.
"Good," said Harris before speaking into the radio. "Sun-Probe to Control. All final checks completed and report A-Okay. We're ready to go."
"Roger, Sun-Probe," answered Controller Branson in the Mission Control Building. "All ground checks are also complete and are green. All systems are go. T-minus one minute and counting." He pressed a button that sounded an alarm warning across the entire complex warning anyone still within the vicinity of the launching pad to clear the area. Branson then made an announcement over the tannoy. "This is Mission Control. All launch systems are green. Commencing final countdown in thirty seconds."
The red support tower on the right side of the Sun-Probe began to slide back signalling to those who were watching from a spectator stand in the distance that the time had come.
From inside Base Endeavour, the live footage of the Sun-Probe was being shown in all areas so that all the personnel whether on duty or off could still view it. Amongst them was Dr Sophie Telford who sat with her eyes glued to the screen. She had butterflies in her stomach.
Jeff, Penelope, Parker, Straker and the World President were in the main control room of Endeavour as they too watched the screen eagerly for the launching.
"Any moment now," Jeff whispered to Penelope.
"How exciting," Penelope replied, also feeling the buzz.
Parker on the other hand felt uneasy looking at the Sun-Probe. "Rather them than me," he said quietly.
A few moments of tense silence fell across anyone and everyone who was watching the broadcast. Then Branson's voice was heard again as he commenced the final countdown whilst at the same time a small mooring gantry on the left-side of the Sun-Probe began to tilt away with the umbilicals breaking away. "Ten…nine…eight…seven…six…five…four…three…two…one…ignition!"
A thunderous roar was heard as the Sun-Probe's chemical rockets ignited. Huge plumes of smoke spread out from within the blast ducts situated underneath the launch pad. Then the clamps holding it in place were released and it began to rise upwards. Everyone watching was in awe as the majestic spacecraft climbed up and away from Cape Kennedy, soaring off into the sky as it made its way towards the upper atmosphere where it would escape into space and then set course for the Moon.
"Lift-off A-Okay!" Branson reported. "Mission Control to Base Endeavour. Sun-Probe launch has been a success. She's on her way to you now!"
"Excellent," said the World President. "Well, ladies and gentlemen, I think a little drink is in order before the ceremony. This way, please."
Now that they knew the Sun-Probe was on its way, everyone could now start getting ready to take up their positions within Base Endeavour so that they could get a good view of the rocket as it passed overhead.
The Sun-Probe continued to fly straight and true towards space. All systems were still green and the crew felt that they could begin to relax a little. The automated flight-path that the Sun-Probe was programmed to follow would do the work for them.
Suddenly, all the lights that were green turned red and an alarm began to ring in the cockpit.
"What the?" said Harris in surprise. "What's going on?"
The three crewmembers tried to operate the controls but found that they were locked.
"She's not responding!" cried Asher. "We've lost control!"
Camp tried desperately to operate the controls on his side but he too couldn't get them to work. "It's no good, skipper. She's a renegade!"
Harris tried urgently to make contact with the ground. "Mayday! Mayday! This is Sun-Probe. I repeat - this is Sun-Probe. We've lost control of the ship! Control, are you receiving us? Over!"
They waited anxiously for a reply from Mission Control but nothing came.
"Negative, skipper," said Asher grimly. "Radio contact has been lost."
Then they felt the Sun-Probe starting to tilt to the right like some kind of magnetic force had grabbed onto it and was pulling it over.
"We're going off course!" exclaimed Camp. "The ship's got a mind of its own!"
Harris gritted his teeth. "There's nothing we can do, guys," he said. "Our fates are up to Sun-Probe now."
Parker poured the last of the bubbly into Jeff's glass having already filled up Penelope, the World President and Straker's glasses beforehand.
Jeff turned to face the others. "Well, lady and gentlemen," he said. "Is it too early to share a toast?"
"I think not," smiled the World President. "To Endeavour or the Sun-Probe?"
Jeff thought for a moment. Then he smiled. "To the Sun-Probe and the brave men who flew in her," he said.
The others agreed and clinked their glasses together. They were just about to take a swig when a loud buzz from the intercom on Straker's desk went off causing them to jump and the World President spilled his down the front of his suit. "Oh, for the love of-" he cursed.
Straker answered the call. "Straker here," he said.
A hologram of Lieutenant Ellis appeared out of the intercom. She was looking concerned. "Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, Colonel, but we have a situation," she said.
Jeff, Penelope, Parker and the World President all stopped dead and looked over at the desk at Straker who also now had a worried frown on his face. "What's happened?" Straker asked.
"It's Sun-Probe, sir," said Ellis. "We've lost contact with her!"
Straker led his guests back into the main control room where they approached the central observation table. "What the hell do you mean you can't find it?" he demanded.
"Sir, we've contacted all Tracker-Stations to get a lock on Sun-Probe's position," said Ellis. "They all gave us the same result. The Sun-Probe's track stops about here, in the upper atmosphere."
"Could it not just be a blind spot and that she's made it to space without it registering?" asked Penelope.
"Not likely," replied Jeff. "Spaceships get tracked entering and leaving Earth's atmosphere every day and never has anything like this been reported before that I know of."
"Maybe she's gone ka-bloom?" suggested Parker which caused the entire room to fall silent and everyone except Jeff to glare at him.
"No, Parker, I don't think that's likely either," Jeff said, breaking the awkward silence. "Has any kind of explosion been detected?"
"If there has, neither our scanners or any of the Tracker-Stations have picked it up, Mr Tracy," said Ellis.
Straker ran his fingers through his hair and exhaled before turning to Jeff. "Jeff, I know you're here as a guest of honor," he began, "but I don't suppose we could ask for the assistance of your boys in finding out what is going on, can we?"
"Absolutely, Ed," replied Jeff. "As a matter of fact I was about to offer our assistance myself. Where can I make contact with them?"
"You can use my desk," said Straker as he guided Jeff back to his office. "Lieutenant, keep us informed of any updates!"
"Yes, sir!" said Ellis.
Straker led them back into the office and quickly adjusted the radio set on his desk before inviting Jeff to sit in his chair. "All yours, Jeff," he said.
Jeff sat in the chair. "I wouldn't be surprised if they're not already trying to learn of what's happened," he said.
"I was going to say, John would probably have been tracking it, wouldn't he?" said Penelope.
Jeff nodded. "More than likely," he said. He pressed a button on the desk to make the call. "Calling International Rescue. Jeff Tracy here."
Jeff's call was picked up by Thunderbird 5 and relayed down to Tracy Island.
"Hi, Dad," said Scott. "We were wondering when you'd call."
"I presume that you know the reason why I am calling, Scott?" asked Jeff.
"The disappearance of the Sun-Probe?" Scott said. "You'd be correct."
"John's been trying to track the Sun-Probe's flight-path and see if he can find out where it went," said Virgil.
"And so far I am nowhere closer than the Earth Tracker-Stations are," said John. "What we do know is that she made it to the upper atmosphere and then all traces were lost."
"Could she have destructed?" asked Jeff.
"Negative," replied John. "All sight and sound links were stopped at the same time. No detonation signals were detected."
"Could it have made it into space and some dust storm caused its locators to malfunction?" suggested Gordon.
"No, Gordon," answered John. "It must still be in Earth's atmosphere."
"But it can't have just disappeared," said Kayo. "It has to be somewhere."
"Keep at it, John," said Jeff. "There's a lot of people here at Endeavour who will be disappointed if she doesn't show up. Not to mention there are three people aboard that rocket who's lives could be in mortal peril."
"Wait, there's people on the Sun-Probe?" asked Alan.
Everyone looked at him. "Well of c-course there are, Alan," said Brains. "How else d-do you think the ship knows where it's going?"
Alan shrugged. "I dunno. I thought it was under remote control or something."
"Alan, were you not even listening to the broadcast before it took off?" asked Scott.
"Of course he wasn't," said Grandma severely. "He was too busy sulking because Thunderbird 3 was not picked to perform the flypast."
"Grandma!" Alan hissed as he tried to conceal his embarrassed face behind his knees.
Jeff looked at his youngest son sternly. "Alan, put your legs on the floor and look at me!" he barked. "I don't know where you even got such an idea but I am disappointed that you even came up with it. Thunderbird 3 is a rescue ship, not something to be flown around to entertain people! Remember that."
Alan sighed. "Yes, Dad," he said. "Sorry, everyone."
"Good," said Jeff. "Sorry to everyone for me having to say that as well. You all better be on stand-by. If the Sun-Probe really is in trouble, you might be the crew's only chance of survival - wherever it has even gone."
Professor Merridrew walked out onto the beach outside his villa. He looked up into the sky to see something that he'd not laid eyes on for over a decade making its way down towards the island. It was the Sun-Probe, now standing vertically upright again and using his guidance rockets to gently bring it down towards the concealed silo that had been built into the extinct volcano that dominated Merridrew's island. Merridrew gave himself a triumphant grin of satisfaction knowing that the homing signal he'd relayed from his island had worked and had caused the Sun-Probe to be remotely guided straight to his location. "Welcome home, my greatest creation!"
John had had Thunderbird 5 moved to an orbit directly above Cape Kennedy where he could study the predicted flightpath of the Sun-Probe and then compare it with the actual movements it had made prior to contact being lost. With the help of EOS they tried to scan the entire atmosphere for any traces of ship movements that could give them a lead to follow. Several options came up and EOS had to make several rapid calculations which she could do much quicker than John or even Brains could have done. But soon even she came up with a blank.
"I have plotted all flight movements both on Earth and in space around this area," EOS said. "But I still cannot trace which one might be the Sun-Probe."
John sighed. "Our scanners are far more sophisticated than the ones used by Earth Tracker-Stations and even the ones on Endeavour as good as those ones are. If we can't find the Sun-Probe, then nobody can."
Brains then piped in with an idea. "John, use the High-Density Atmosphere Scanner. That automatically traces infra-red heat signatures."
"And whilst we might not be able to track Sun-Probe by its physical body we might be able to detect the heat that it would have left behind!" John realised. "Brilliant, Brains! EOS, start the scan immediately."
"Right away, John!" said EOS. But then she stopped. "Hold on - I'm picking something up."
"Wow, that was quick," said John.
"Oh, I haven't started the scan yet, John," EOS said. "I've picked up a transmission. I think you need to hear it."
"P-Put it through to us as well, EOS," said Brains. "If it's related to the S-Sun-Probe we need to know."
EOS relayed the signal she'd picked up down to Tracy Island and put it on speaker so that everyone as well as John on Thunderbird 5 could hear it. And what they heard sent chills down their spines.
"Attention, people of Base Endeavour and Cape Kennedy. There is no point in me introducing myself as I suspect none of you will have even heard of me. And if you have then you've forgotten. I have Sun-Probe. In two hours she will be launched again - destination, the Moon! She cannot and will not be stopped. Endeavour will be destroyed!"