NOBODY knew who the voice of the mysterious person who had sent the transmission was. The voice was distorted making the identification impossible. However, the intention of striking fear into those who'd heard it was very real. Somehow the person responsible had managed to hack into Base Endeavour's tannoy system and everybody had heard it, dashing Straker's hope of keeping the knowledge of its disappearance a secret. Now there was a strong sense of concern with several becoming fearful of what was potentially going to happen.

"Who made that threat?" asked The World President.

"I'm afraid I cannot answer that, Mr President," Jeff replied. "I'll see if Thunderbird 5 has managed to descramble it."

Jeff contacted Tracy Island and Thunderbird 5 again. "Boys, I take it you heard that threat?"

"Yes, Dad," replied Scott. "John's trying to get a trace on it."

"Afraid it didn't transmit long enough for me to get a fix," said John. "I did get a rough area though. The Central Pacific Ocean. Somewhere between Midway Island and Hawaii."

"Any luck in tracing the Sun-Probe?" asked Jeff.

"EOS is working on that now, but it's taking time, Dad," said John.

Jeff bit his lip grimly. "Keep at it, boys," he said. "Might I also suggest that the rest of you mobilise and get out there to assist in the search?"

Scott stood up. "I was thinking similar, Dad," he said. "I've come up with a plan to use all the birds for this one."

"Even Thunderbird 4?" asked Gordon, surprised.

"Yes, Gordon," replied Scott.

"Very good," said Jeff. "Whatever your plan is, Scott, get to it. I'm going to have my hands full trying to calm the people of Endeavour. From the sound of it that message has spread quite a bit of fear around."

"I'm not surprised," said Hayley. "It certainly gave me the chills."

"F-A-B, Dad," said Scott. "Tracy Island, out."

Jeff nodded and his hologram disappeared.

Scott turned to face everyone. "Okay, as I said, we're gonna need everyone for this. Alan, you go up to Thunderbird 5 with Thunderbird 3 and dock there until further notice. If the Sun-Probe does launch again and make it into space we're gonna need you to pursue it."

"You got it, bro," said Alan, pleased to be getting in on the action.

"Kayo, you and I will launch our ships and go search the area of that transmission," Scott continued. "And we'd better get the GDF in as well in case we need back-up."

"F-A-B," said Kayo.

"Virgil and Gordon, take Thunderbirds 2 and 4 to the area as well and be on stand-by in case we need you to go underwater."

"Music to my ears," said Gordon.

"Can Hayley come as well?" Virgil asked. "She's not been in Thunderbird 2 since she's been here."

Scott thought for a moment. "Of course," he said. "If Hayley wants to?"

Hayley raised her eyebrows at him. "You know how daft that question is, Scooter?"

There was a surprised silence for a few seconds before Gordon and Alan began to laugh.

"Scooter?" laughed Gordon.

"Oh, we are so pinching that!" chuckled Alan.

Scott scowled but continued with his instructions. "John, keep hunting for the Sun-Probe. Alan's on his way to join you."

"Understood," said John.

"And Brains, be on hand in case we need technical support," Scott finished.

"Of c-course," said Brains.

"Okay then," said Scott as he hurried towards the revolving wall panel. "You all know what you're doing. Thunderbirds are GO!"

Tracy Island became a hive of activity as the four brothers, Kayo and Hayley started to make their way down to their respective ships ready for launching. Scott and Gordon went down their express elevators with the robot arms attaching their uniforms as they went. Virgil went down his regular launch tunnel. His bruised ankle had healed quickly and was therefore able to drop down into the cockpit without injuring it further. Alan and Kayo took the chairs down the tunnel before going off into the changing rooms. Once they had got their uniforms on, Alan continued alone to Thunderbird 3 whilst Kayo climbed into the Shadowbike and raced down the long tunnel towards the vast cavern where Thunderbirds 1, 3 and Shadow were housed.

As Scott headed out on the extended walkway to Thunderbird 1, Alan was hoisted up by the yellow crane arm to Thunderbird 3 and the elevator lifted the Shadowbike up into the main body of Thunderbird Shadow. Virgil by now had got into his seat and sat down before selecting Module 4 which was rolled underneath and then the main body was lowered down to lock into place. Gordon and Hayley arrived soon after with Hayley getting a spare blue jumpsuit to wear but with no utility sash as she wasn't technically a member of IR.

Now the final stages of the launchings were taking place with Thunderbird 1 being conveyed up to the launch bay under the swimming pool which was opening up. Thunderbird Shadow was transported up its launch tunnel before stopping to allow the cliff to swing around the turntable it stood on to swivel round so it was facing upwards. The blast shield around Thunderbird 3 closed up to protect the rest of the hangar and Thunderbird 2 was the last to get into position after taxing down the runway and passing the folded back palm trees. As soon as the ramp and blast shield had been lifted into place all five Thunderbirds were ready to go.

5! 4! 3! 2! 1!

The peaceful island setting was shattered by the sounds of four powerful craft as Thunderbird 1 rose up from where the pool had been followed by Thunderbird Shadow being released from its turntable holder and dropping down before spinning round to horizontal flight. Thunderbird 3 was next heading straight up towards space and finally Thunderbird 2 lifted up off its launch ramp before levelling out to follow the same courses as Thunderbirds 1 and Shadow.

John went to check on EOS's progress. "Anything yet, EOS?"

"Negative, John," EOS answered, sounding frustrated. "I honestly thought this would be easy."

"It's never easy, EOS,' John said. "That's one thing Dad always taught us. Never expect things to be easy. If they are then something is wrong."

"I see…I think," replied EOS before turning her attention back to looking for the Sun-Probe.

John looked at the big hologram globe in front of him. He too felt the frustration that EOS had. "Where are you, Sun-Probe?" he asked out loud.

Layhu was the name of the island where Professor Merridrew resided. Its vast volcano had been turned into the ideal concealed rocket silo. Merridrew had had it built with the intention of one day regaining custody of the Sun-Probe and it fitted in perfectly once the homing signal had lured it to the island.

As soon as the rocket had been secured into place, Merridrew got his private security team to remove the crew from within and take them prisoner. Harris, Asher and Camp soon found themselves with their hands bound behind their backs and taken to the control room located underneath the house.

"Welcome, gentlemen, and lady," Merridrew said once they'd arrived. "Welcome to my complex."

Asher had no idea who this strange old man was, but Harris and Camp recognised him at once.

"You've got to be kidding me?" Harris exclaimed. "Grant Merridrew?"

"Aww, you remember me?" said Merridrew sarcastically. "I'm touched!"

"What the hell are you doing, Professor?" demanded Harris. "What is the meaning of all this?"

Merridrew's eyes narrowed behind his glasses. "Come on, Colonel. Surely you must remember what happened at the inquiry?"

"Yeah, we do," said Camp bitterly. "You threw a strop when it was suggested the Sun-Probe had a design flaw."

"LIES!" roared Merridrew, making them jump. "MY ROCKET IS FAULTLESS! YOU JUST WEREN'T COMPETENT ENOUGH TO KNOW HOW TO OPERATE IT!"

Harris and Camp were enraged. "THAT'S NOT TRUE AND YOU KNOW!" Harris bellowed.

Asher then broke in after having spotted something very worrying. "Erm, pardon me, Professor, but why do you have a large amount of explosives behind you in crates?"

Merridrew turned to look at what Asher was referring to. A group of four large crates marked DANGER - EXPLOSIVES on them stood in a row against the back wall. "Ah, yes. I almost forgot," he said. He then spoke to some of his assistants. "Get them loaded aboard Sun-Probe immediately," he ordered. "The sooner it's done, the sooner we can launch her again."

"To where?" asked Harris. The crew hadn't heard the threat Merridrew had made over the radio system to Base Endeavour.

"To the Moon of course," said Merridrew. "I am going to show the World President that nobody makes a fool out of Grant Merridrew."

The sudden realisation of what Merridrew was planning hit the three crewmembers.

"You can't be serious?" Camp said. "You're going to use Sun-Probe to destroy Endeavour?"

"Of course," said Merridrew. "I admit I will feel somewhat remorseful for the innocent people who have spent their time building the place, but what I'm doing has to be done to get even with Younger."

"YOU'RE INSANE!" shouted Asher.

"SILENCE!" thundered Merridrew. "I AM NOT INSANE! THE WHOLE WORLD TURNED ITS BACK ON ME! THEY BLAMED ME FOR THE SUN-PROBE'S NEAR DEMISE! I WILL NOT STAND FOR THAT ANY LONGER!" He turned to his security force. "Get them out of my sight!" he snapped. "Lock them in the security room, and make sure they can't break free either."

"You won't get away with this, Merridrew!" Harris said defiantly as he, Asher and Camp were marched away at gun-point. "You will be stopped!"

Merridrew scoffed loudly. "I don't think so, Harris," he said calmly. "Nobody knows where you are. I made sure that Sun-Probe couldn't be tracked. Nothing will deny me my vengeance."

Thunderbirds 1, 2 and Shadow were flying in formation heading towards the middle of the Pacific Ocean. John then called in. "International Rescue from Thunderbird 5. I have two locations for you to check out. The first is to the East of Midway Island where the threat message appears to be sent from."

"I'm on it, Thunderbird 5," said Kayo.

"Okay, Thunderbird Shadow," said John. "Thunderbirds 1 and 2, head for the location I've sent to your computers. It's in this area where the last recorded heat trace of the Sun-Probe was registered."

"F-A-B," said Scott.

"We're on our way," added Virgil.

John nodded in acknowledgement and as the holograms of Scott, Virgil and Kayo switched off, EOS spoke up. "John, Thunderbird 3 is approaching us."

John looked up out of one of the windows and could see the large red shape of Thunderbird 3 coming towards them.

Alan could also see Thunderbird 5 up ahead. Its large gravity ring was a distinguishing feature amongst other satellites in orbit. Even though he felt sure that John was observing his approach, Alan knew it was still best to radio in and check all was well. "Thunderbird 3 to Thunderbird 5. Request permission to dock?"

"F-A-B, Thunderbird 3. Come right in."

Alan deployed the three grasping arms of Thunderbird 3 and skilfully guided his ship to dock with the space-station. The ends of the arms clamped into small inlets in the gravity ring whilst the nose fitted into the dock bay at the front of Thunderbird 5.

Alan left Thunderbird 3 and joined John in the main control room of Thunderbird 5. "Any luck tracing the Sun-Probe or the mystery transmission?" he asked.

"Actually, yes," said John. He showed Alan the hologram globe in the middle of the room. "This mark here East of Midway Island is where the transmission seemed to originate from. However, we have also finally managed to pick up what we believe to be heat-readings left by the Sun-Probe. However they go to a completely different area to the direct North of Midway."

"Could it be a trick of some kind?" Alan asked. "Someone playing a game with us?"

"I wouldn't say we're the ones someone's trying to mess with, Alan," John said.

Alan was surprised. "Really? You don't think this is The Cabal?"

"No, definitely not The Cabal," said John. "At no point during the transmission did the threat mention International Rescue at any point. Plus that wasn't The Hood trying to scramble his voice either. I managed to unscramble it a little and it definitely isn't him."

"Maybe its that new Mechanic-like guy he has?"

"Hmmm. Maybe," said John. "I'm still not convinced this has anything to do with The Cabal though."

"The Hood's gotten very unpredictable though, John," Alan reminded him. "The threat has been made to Base Endeavour, and Dad is there. Could it be possible that this is an attack against him and that The Cabal is trying to hide that?"

John considered the idea. "Again, it is possible, Alan. you make a good point," he said. "However, this still feels a bit off from The Cabal. I shall reserve judgement until we know for sure."

Alan looked back at the globe and the approximate locations of the Sun-Probe's last reading as well as the mysterious threat signal. "Let's hope we have enough time to stop this," he said.

The threat had caused some fear and uncertainty amongst the people of Base Endeavour and it fell to Jeff, Straker, Penelope and the World President to do what they could to try and ease the tension and make the people of the base feel less unsettled.

Jeff had visited the medical facility where he'd been speaking with Dr Helen Russell. "We ought to be prepared, Doctor. In the unlikely event that International Rescue fails to stop the Sun-Probe, you and your folks could be very busy."

"I'm aware of that, Mr Tracy," responded Dr Russell. "But I would expect that International Rescue will stop this stupid threat before it even starts."

"There's nothing stupid about this threat, Doctor," said Jeff sternly. "No matter how real it is or not, it's got to be taken seriously. The lives of this base are depending on the resolution of it. Even yours."

Dr Russell fell quiet after that and she walked away without a word.

Jeff wasn't impressed by her attitude. He turned to leave.

"Mr Tracy?"

Jeff stopped. He recognised that voice - the one of a young Australian woman. He turned back round and saw a familiar-looking face looking back at him. "Dr Telford?"

Sophie nodded. "Yes, sir," she said. "My apologies, but I didn't wish to-"

"No, it's fine, my dear," said Jeff. "Come. We'll talk."

They went to a quiet spot in the waiting area outside the main medical bays. Jeff could tell that unlike Dr Russell who had refused to take the threat against the base seriously, Sophie was the complete opposite.

"Is it true, Mr Tracy?" Sophie asked, her voice a little shaky. "About the Sun-Probe going to be used as a weapon to destroy us?"

"We're trying to find out how genuine this threat is," Jeff replied. "However, if my experience is anything to go by, the chances are that this threat could very well be real. "

Sophie went pale. "Oh, God…" she said.

Jeff put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, Doctor. My boys are all out looking for the Sun-Probe. We'll make sure nothing happens to anyone here."

"Is Alan out with them?" Sophie asked.

"He's currently aboard Thunderbird 5 helping John to track its location," said Jeff. "And if somehow the Sun-Probe reappears and makes it to space, he has orders to chase it down and destroy it if need be."

Sophie felt a little better knowing that. "Will he come here for the celebrations if all is well?" she asked with hope in her voice. "I haven't seen him for a while."

"I don't know about that," said Jeff. "That depends on what happens with the Sun-Probe." He felt bad as he saw Sophie's face fall and look down at the floor as he'd said that. "However…" he went on. "Do you have any leave due anytime soon?"

Sophie thought for a moment. "I have some in about two weeks that I am due to take, sir."

Jeff then thought for a moment. Then he grinned as an idea came to him. "Perfect!" he said. "It's Alan's birthday that week. Maybe you should come by the island and surprise him?"

Sophie's face lit up like a Christmas Tree. "Really?!" she gasped. "Oh, thank you, Mr Tracy. I'd love to visit your island!" Then her face fell again as she looked out of the window in the direction of the Earth which was visible in the distance over the tops of the mountains. "That's of course if any of us are still alive by the end of today."

Jeff became stern. He grabbed Sophie by the shoulders and turned her to face him. "Now, listen here," he said firmly. "I don't believe in pessimism, Sophie. You cannot be thinking the worst in these kinds of situations. Yes, the possibility is there, but fearing the worst won't make things easier. Thinking positive however will help. I have the utmost faith in my boys that this situation will be resolved as simply as possible. Do you believe me when I say that?"

"Of course, Mr Tracy," answered Sophie without even hesitating.

Jeff smiled. "That's better," he said. "You keep thinking positive, young lady. Can you do that for me?"

Sophie managed a smile and then nodded. "Yes, sir," she said. "I promise."

Jeff patted her on the shoulders and then he walked away to head back to the main control building. Sophie watched him go and felt better in herself, but deep down she was still worried.

Jeff returned to the control room to find Straker, Penelope, Parker and the World President back having finished their own rounds. "How are the rest of the base coping?"

"As well as can be, Jeff," replied the World President. "But I think we'd all feel a lot happier knowing what was actually going on with the Sun-Probe."

"Perhaps its time to call Thunderbird 5 for an update?" Penelope suggested.

Jeff nodded. "I was thinking the same, Penny," he answered as he sat himself at Straker's desk again. "Jeff Tracy to Thunderbird 5. Any news, John?"

"Yes, Dad," answered John. "We've found the last known area of the Sun-Probe's heat signature whilst also having made a rough trace of where the threat message came from. However the locations are different from each other. Thunderbird Shadow is going to check the message location and Thunderbirds 1 and 2 have gone to check the area for anywhere Sun-Probe might have landed."

"You don't think it crashed then?" asked Straker.

"No, Colonel Straker," replied John. "If it had then whoever caused it to go off course wouldn't be able to use it as a weapon against Endeavour."

"Very true point," Straker realised. "I was kind of hoping this was just some kind of sick mind game."

"You don't suppose this h'is The 'ood and 'is mugs, do you m'lady?" Parker whispered.

"Given how they set up two thugs to plant a bomb on Thunderbird 2 in order to help them get revenge on Kayo, I wouldn't put it past The Hood to try something like this, Parker," Penelope replied. "Although, there is something about it that doesn't fit even The Hood's style."

"John, as soon as the others find anything of importance, make sure we are informed immediately," Jeff said.

"F-A-B," said John and he signed off.

The World President stood opposite the deck. "Thank you for all this, Jeff," he said. "I appreciate what you and your organisation is doing. I'll make sure whatever's needed to ensure your secrecy is maintained."

"We still don't yet know why this has been done to Sun-Probe, Mr President," answered Jeff. "A lot of questions need to be answered."

Thunderbird 1 was the first to reach the area where the Sun-Probe's signature had been lost. He then began to perform wide-spread radar scans to try and locate anything of interest. "Thunderbird 5, maybe you could narrow the search for me, John?" Scott said. "There's a lot of ground, er I mean water, to cover."

"My scans have picked up a group of islands to the North of your current position, Thunderbird 1," said John. "One of which is larger than the others. Maybe it's worth checking there first?"

"On my way," said Scott as he adjusted Thunderbird 1's course. "Thunderbird 1 to Thunderbird 2. I am five minutes away from checking these islands out. Will report back if I find anything. How far behind me are you?"

"About ten minutes, Scott," answered Virgil.

"F-A-B. What's your status, Thunderbird Shadow?"

"Approaching location of threat transmission, Scott," acknowledged Kayo. "Should have a report in a few minutes."

"F-A-B."

Kayo soon caught sight of her destination. In the distance was a very small island. Very small in fact, for it could not have been any bigger than Thunderbird 2. "Strange," Kayo remarked out loud. "This doesn't seem like the sort of place for a criminal's hideout." Then she saw there was a single and rather unusual structure built onto one of the outcrops of rock. It was a tall radio tower with two dishes attached. One was located at the top of the tower pointing upwards towards space, the other was pointing horizontally off in a different direction. Landing Thunderbird Shadow with the claws grabbing a hold of the tower, Kayo clambered out to take a closer look at the dishes. "Brains, it's Kayo. I'm making a scan of this tower for you. What can you make of it?"

Brains watched as the holographic scan of the tower appeared from the projector in the table. "Hmmm. M-Most intriguing," he observed. "It appears to be a r-relay tower. The lower dish is rigged as a receiver whilst the t-top one is set for transmitting."

"Meaning that whoever sent that warning to Base Endeavour has used this as a way to disguise their true location in order to throw anyone searching off the scent?" Kayo said.

"M-Most likely, Kayo," agreed Brains. "That's provided they're n-not too arrogant to think that nobody will be able to trace them."

"So what now?" asked Kayo.

"Hold that thought whilst we get J-John aboard with this," said Brains. "Thunderbird 5, come in?"

John's hologram now appeared. "Go ahead, Brains."

"John, I n-need you to feed this scan Kayo had made into your computer," Brains said. "Then you will need to send out a d-dotted course from the receiver dish and see if there is anywhere it lines up with."

"F-A-B, Brains," said John. "Stand-by." He followed Brains's instructions and soon a red dotted line began to extend out from the scan of the lower dish.

"Well, would you look at that?" exclaimed Alan when the dotted line finally stopped. "That's the same island that Thunderbird 1's heading for!"

"Right under where Sun-Probe's heat-signature stopped," added John. "Good work, Kayo and Brains. Kayo, you'd better get to that island as well. Thunderbirds 1 and 2 may need back-up if this is a villain trap."

"F-A-B," said Kayo. She quickly clambered back down the tower to Thunderbird Shadow and released the ship from it before turning and racing off in the direction of the mystery island.

John wasted no time in forwarding Kayo's find to Thunderbirds 1 and 2. "Scott, do you have a visual on the island yet?"

"Affirmative," replied Scott. "There's one large mountain on this island. Looks like a volcano."

"This doesn't sound remotely familiar," remarked Gordon. "Didn't The Cabal's first hideout have one as well?"

"It did," said Kayo, grimacing at the painful memories of her first encounter with The Cabal. "You know I wasn't convinced that The Cabal was behind this, but now I am having second thoughts."

"Dad is on Endeavour so it's very possible that The Hood's behind this," agreed Virgil. "I don't know of anybody who'd have a grievance against the Moonbase unless anybody else does."

"What about the former base commander who got sacked?" suggested Alan. "Could he not be behind this?"

"Commander Gorski is in prison for negligence," said John. "Definitely isn't him."

"I'm overflying the island now," said Scott as Thunderbird 1 reached the island. He did a full loop of it to see what was visible. "Hmmm. There's a house and landing pad on the West-side of the island," he said. "I'm not sure The Cabal would have something like that."

"Unless it's bait for a trap," Hayley said.

"What about the volcano, Scott?" asked John. "Could it be a concealed rocket silo?"

Scott moved Thunderbird 1 up and over the crater of the volcano. He peered down and shook his head. "Don't think so, John," he replied. "That crater's full of water. Wasn't there a severe tropical storm in this area a few days ago?"

"There was, yes," said John. "Guess it's a dead end."

"Not necessarily," Scott went on. "There is a big satellite dish on the South-Eastern side of the island."

"So the warning message is likely to have come from there even if the Sun-Probe isn't," said Kayo.

"Agreed," said Scott. "I'm going to land by the house and see who is home."

"We'll be with you in two minutes, Scott," said Virgil. "Don't do anything stupid until we get there."

"Me? Do anything stupid?" retorted Scott. "Would I ever?"

Nobody answered that.

Scott landed Thunderbird 1 down on the landing pad in front of the house. It was a large landing pad which meant there would be room for Thunderbird 2 to land as well. Scott's seat lowered him to the ground and he began to make his way over towards the house. As he did, he began to feel puzzled. The island was silent. Not a sound could be heard except for his footsteps on the concrete. The place seems deserted, Scott thought as he walked up the steps to the front of the house. He then peered in through the large veranda windows. It was very smart inside the house with a telescope, big chairs and a sofa and a piano at the far end. It all looked strangely familiar in a way. The only things missing were a row of portraits on the back wall. Nobody's come to meet me, Scott continued to think in his head. Strange - Thunderbird 1 usually gets a lot of attention.

Before he had time to think any further, the rumble of Thunderbird 2's engines drew him away from the house and back down to the landing pad.

Unaware of what was going on outside, Professor Merridrew continued to observe the loading of the explosives onto the Sun-Probe. "How many more to go?" he asked.

Three men sat at monitor screens as they operated the equipment. Their names were Hartnell, Baker and Troughton and they were Merridrew's most trusted men.

"Another two more to go after this one, Professor," said Baker.

"Estimated time of completion is thirty minutes," added Troughton.

Merridrew checked his watch. "Excellent," he said. "I said two hours until Sun-Probe would launch again and I meant it." He then turned to Hartnell. "How are the prisoners?"

Hartnell looked at the security camera in the storage room where Harris, Asher and Camp were imprisoned, hands and feet still bound with rope. "Still and comfortable by the looks of it, Professor," he said. "I see them make no attempt to free themselves."

"Of course they won't," said Merridrew. "They have realised that even if they did break free they have no way of getting out of there until we open the door."

"What do we do with them once the mission is over, sir?" asked Hartnell.

"Release them of course," said Merridrew. "We'll have them bagged and dropped off in a remote area. They haven't seen the outside of our little headquarters so they won't be able to tell anyone where they've even been."

As Hartnell turned his attention back to the cameras, his eyes finally fixed on something that none of them had noticed before. "What the hell?!"

Merridrew, Troughton and Baker all looked over at him. "What is it?" Merridrew demanded.

"Sir…look what's happening out on the landing pad!" said Hartnell.

Merridrew came over to his station and looked at the camera. He stared in disbelief at the sight of a huge goliath coming in to land on the concrete outside the house next to an already landed silver rocket. "What in the actual-?!" he exclaimed angrily. "International Rescue?! WHAT THE HELL ARE THEY DOING HERE?!"

"They must have heard your transmission, Professor," said Baker. "They have to be looking for the Sun-Probe."

"But how?" asked Troughton. "We made sure that the rocket's tracker systems were disabled and made sure the warning message got bounced off a relay to disguise our location!"

Merridrew swore in frustration. "Blast it!" he said. "Commence the countdown procedure!"

"But we haven't finished loading the explosives," said Baker.

"Forget about them!" snapped Merridrew. "What's aboard will suffice. Start the countdown."

"But International Rescue will see it and then come after us!" protested Hartnell.

"WHY ARE YOU QUESTIONING ME?!" thundered Merridew. "DO AS YOU'RE TOLD!"

The three men were unnerved. They weren't used to seeing their boss this angry. They cancelled the instructions to finish loading the last two explosives into the Sun-Probe and instead got ready to start the countdown clock thirty-minutes earlier than planned.

"Professor, are you aware that if we launch now we'll have to do an orbit around the Earth in order to make a trans-lunar injection?" said Troughton.

"We have no choice, Troughton," said Merridrew. "International Rescue has forced our hand." He got a radio microphone. "Security! We have guests outside. Be prepared to welcome them."

Scott reached Thunderbird 2 just as the exit platform lowered from the cockpit with Hayley in front flanked by Gordon and Virgil. "What have you found out, Scott?" asked Virgil.

"A whole lot of nothing, Virgil," replied Scott. "I thought my landing would have brought whoever lives in that house outside."

"Are you sure this island has someone even living here?" asked Gordon.

Hayley raised her eyebrows at him. "Do you really think it would be here if there wasn't?" she asked.

Gordon shrugged. "I dunno. Could be a vacation home and the owners aren't here."

Virgil looked around at their surroundings and the volcano in particular. "That's pretty high," he said. "Are you certain there isn't a concealed rocket silo in there, Scott?"

"Have you ever known a rocket silo to be concealed under water?" asked Scott.

"Yes," said Virgil, taking them all by surprise. "Thunderbird 1's launch bay is under a pool of water."

Gordon and Hayley started to laugh whilst Scott went red with frustration. "That is NOT what I meant," he said indignantly. "And besides our pool is a specific structure with plenty of space around it. That crater is flooded on all sides. Even if there was a concealed hatch under there the water would flood the silo if and when it opened."

"Fair point," said Virgil.

"Should we not check it out anyway?" asked Hayley.

Scott began to walk back to Thunderbird 1. "I'll get my jetpack and head up there," he said.

"Or you can just ask me to take a look?" said Kayo cheekily over the radio.

The others watched as Thunderbird Shadow appeared from behind Thunderbird 2. The landing legs came out and Kayo landed it on the side of the mountain, close to the top.

"Ha. Show-off," chuckled Gordon at how effortlessly Thunderbird Shadow was able to land and stay in position on the rocks.

Merridrew paced the control room as the countdown clock ticked away and his controllers made the final checks for the launch.

"Fuelling completed," said Troughton.

"All systems read green," added Baker. "Remote guidance system is locked in. She's ready to go, Professor."

Merridrew looked at the countdown clock. It was showing seventy seconds to go. "Drain the crater and open the silo door," he ordered.

Kayo had left Thunderbird Shadow and began to climb the rest of the way whilst Hayley and the three brothers waited for news by their own ships.

"I'm nearly there," Kayo reported. "Just a few more metres and I'll-"

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

The strange wailing sound made everyone jump and it seemed to echo all around the island.

"What on earth is that?!" exclaimed Hayley who was holding her pounding heart.

Then came a rumbling sound that was coming from the volcano.

"Kayo, what did you do?" Scott asked.

"Nothing!" Kayo replied sharply. "But whatever's causing that rumbling is coming from within the crater! The whole mountain is vibrating!"

Then came a whooshing sound and to everyone's surprise several plumes of water came cascading out of small outlets in the side of the volcano before heading down towards the bottom.

"Errr, aren't volcanoes supposed to have lava coming down the sides, not water?" asked Gordon who was rather bewildered.

Another rumbling and a humming sound could now be heard from inside the volcano. Whilst nobody could see, this was the silo door which had now been revealed due to the water being drained away was now opening up.

"Silo door is open," said Troughton. "Fifteen seconds to lift-off."

Merridrew exhaled as he looked through the reinforced windows at the giant. "May God be with you on your errand of necessary destruction, my child," Merridrew said to the Sun-Probe. "Show the World President and his pathetic space buddies what you're capable of."

Inside the store room where they were imprisoned, the three captive crew of the Sun-Probe could also hear the sirens and the rumbling of engines.

"Sun-Probe…" Harris said, his heart sinking like a stone. "She's going to launch."

"And there's nothing we can do about it," added Camp bitterly.

"All those people on Endeavour," Asher finished. "This is going to be a slaughter."

"Don't give up hope, Asher," said Harris. "I reckon there'll be someone out there who will be able to save the day."

Kayo had continued to make her way up to the top of the crater. But now an even greater rumble had stopped her in her tracks. "Errr, guys, I don't like this," she said nervously. "I think something's about to come out of the crater!"

"Kayo, get away from there!" John said urgently over the radio. "Heat readings from within the volcano are going critical!"

"Is the volcano erupting?" Alan asked.

"No, but I have a pretty good idea what the cause is though," replied John.

As Kayo began to abseil back down the mountain towards Thunderbird Shadow, they all heard a voice over a tannoy coming from within the volcano just as a few faint plumes of smoke began to appear.

"Ten…nine…eight…seven…six…five…four…three…two…one…blast off!"

A thunderous roar was then heard from within the volcano and the plumes of smoke got thicker. As the Tracy brothers, Hayley and Kayo watched on in alarm, they saw the giant grey shape of a familiar rocket slowly rise out from within the volcano and begin to climb up into the sky as it made its second ascent towards space.

"SUN-PROBE!" gasped Virgil, shouting over the roar of the ship's chemical rockets. "WE'VE FOUND IT!"

Scott wasted no time in getting on the radio. "Thunderbird 5, did you get that? We've located the Sun-Probe! Can you establish a tracking pattern?"

"We see her, Scott. Way ahead of you," said John as he used his hands to create an algorithm that he hoped would be able to track the rocket. "Trace scanners have locked onto Sun-Probe."

"How many are aboard?" asked Scott.

John ran a scan of the Sun-Probe. "Nobody," he replied. "No life-signs detected."

"No, but look what she IS carrying!" said Alan in alarm. He pointed at a set of red dots on the scan that had a specific symbol marked on them.

"My God…" exclaimed John. "She's been loaded with high-explosives!"

"But a r-rocket of Sun-Probe's size would be more than enough to destroy Base Endeavour!" said Brains. "Why has it been l-loaded with explosives? This makes n-no sense at all!"

"There's enough explosive aboard that ship to blow the Moon in half!" said John.

"Which would bring uncontrollable chaos to the world!" Virgil realised.

"I KNEW IT!" said Gordon angrily. "Damn The Cabal!"

"I couldn't agree more, Gordon," said Kayo, who had just swooped down from the volcano on her airbrake wings to join them. "It's time we bring the GDF in and take them down once and for all."

"Guys, this isn't The Cabal!" said John. "At no point in the warning were we mentioned. Whoever it is behind this has a grievance with Base Endeavour, not International Rescue."

"Come ON, John!" said Gordon. "Dad is on the Moon and by destroying it would bring no end of misery for all of us with the disasters we'd have to face!"

"Sorry, Gordon and Kayo but I agree with John on this one," said Scott. "Brains, I don't suppose you have any idea who this island belongs to? We need to find them and make them stop this madness."

"I've been checking on that, S-Scott," said Brains. "You're on the island of L-Layhu. It's p-privately owned and belong to one Godber Mitchem. He r-runs a satellite repair company called Mitchem Mechanics."

"Is he at home, do you know?" asked Scott.

"N-No idea, I'm afraid," said Brains. "M-Might I suggest you try the doorbell and see if anybody is there?"

"I'd have thought our arrival would have alerted the residents here," said Scott. "We'll check the island out. Thunderbird 5, what's the status of Sun-Probe?"

"She's just leaving Earth's atmosphere," said John. "Alan, you know what to do?"

"F-A-B, John," said Alan as he hastily made his way out of the control room. "I'll shadow her in Thunderbird 3."

Alan returned to Thunderbird 3 and disengaged from Thunderbird 3. He reversed his ship away and used the manoeuvring thrusters to turn around and get clear of the space-station before heading off in the direction of where the Sun-Probe was.

It didn't take long for Thunderbird 3 to catch up to where the Sun-Probe had gotten to. As it approached, Alan saw the famous rocket for himself for the first time. Despite his earlier resentment of it, he found himself a little bit awestruck by how magnificent it was. He quickly remembered the situation they were in and refocused his mind. "International Rescue from Thunderbird 3. I have a visual on Sun-Probe. She's adopting an Earth Orbit Position."

"She is?" asked Scott over the radio. "I thought she'd be heading for the Moon?"

"She's not in the correct position to head for the Moon, Scott," answered John. "My guess is she's getting ready for a TLI."

"What's a TLI?" Hayley asked Virgil.

"Trans-Lunar-Injection," Virgil replied.

"All the coordinates agree with the assumption, John," said Alan. Suddenly he saw the Sun-Probe's rockets fire once more and it began to accelerate out of orbit and away from the Earth - directly towards the Moon. "And she's broken away. Woah! It's got ion-fusion engines too?!" exclaimed Alan.

"They're n-not quite as powerful as Thunderbird 3's, Alan," said Brains. "You should have no problem with k-keeping up with it."

Alan nodded. "Got it, Brains," he said. "Going in pursuit, now!" He fired Thunderbird 3's own ion engines and began to race off after the renegade Sun-Probe.

Scott turned to the others. "We're wasting time standing out here," he said. "We need to find whoever is here. Virgil, take Hayley and Gordon with you and search the island with the Hoverbikes from Thunderbird 2. Kayo, will you accompany me in searching the house?"

"F-A-B," said Virgil and Gordon whilst Hayley nodded in agreement.

"Right with you, Scott," added Kayo.

The team split up with Kayo and Scott heading towards the house whilst Virgil, Hayley and Gordon hurried back inside Thunderbird 2 before soon exiting through a hatch in the top on their Hoverbikes. Both were red with Hayley riding behind Virgil.

"We'll check the West-side of the island, Gordon," Virgil said. "You check the East."

"F-A-B," said Gordon as they went their separate ways.

Scott and Kayo soon reached the front door of the house and peered inside. Nothing had changed from when Scott had looked inside the first time. "How are we supposed to get in?" he asked.

"I could always try picking the lock," said Kayo.

Scott gave a slight chuckle. "Where's Parker when you need him?" he joked.

Kayo ignored him and used an electronic lock-decoding device from her utility belt to unlock the door and it slid open. They slowly crept inside, a slight feeling of apprehension crept through their bodies as they entered. The house seemed even more silent than it had been outside. They looked around the lounge area. It all seemed very normal, and yet it didn't at the same time.

"This is too quiet," Scott remarked. "I don't like it."

"Scott, look at this," Kayo said.

Scott came over to where she was standing. There on the wall in front of them was a magnificent painting of none other than the Sun-Probe itself.

"Wow," Scott remarked. "Whoever is behind this really must be a fan of the Sun-Probe."

"FREEZE!"

Kayo and Scott jumped as four men in security uniforms suddenly appeared out of nowhere, having been hiding from within each corner of the lounge since before the International Rescue pair had entered. All four were armed with stun-guns. Kayo went to reach for her own stun-gun, but before she could even touch it, the four security men fired theirs. Two stun blasts hit each of the targets, one in the torso and one in the legs.

"GAAAARGH!" yelled Scott and Kayo in pain as they fell to the floor. They weren't knocked into unconsciousness and remained awake as the four security men slowly closed in and surrounded them.

Then a fifth man joined them. An elder man who neither Scott nor Kayo had ever seen before. "A visit from International Rescue!" said Merridrew. "I am honoured - and soon you'll both be dead!"