THE Sun-Probe soared across the vast distance between the Earth and the Moon - a journey that back in the early days of space travel took a few days, but thanks to its ion-engines it would take less than an hour. It was the same for Thunderbird 3 who was continuing the pursuit of the renegade rocket.
Alan managed to get some more speed out of his own ship and slowly but surely managed to close the gap between the two and drew level with the Sun-Probe. He was now able to admire its elegant design for the first time in person and was beginning to question why he'd been so anti-it when it had been announced to make the flypast over Base Endeavour.
The radio beeped and a hologram of Jeff appeared from the projector. "Endeavour to Thunderbird 3. Is the Sun-Probe on course, Alan?"
"Yes, Dad," Alan replied. "Flying straight and true. Am currently flying level with her."
Jeff grimaced. "How long before it gets here?"
Alan checked the calculations. "From what John has worked out - we have around twenty minutes before it reaches the Moon and then another six before it reaches Endeavour."
"Then let's hope the others can find the people responsible and stop this," said Jeff. He then contacted Thunderbird 5. "John, is there any news from Thunderbirds 1 and 2?"
"Not yet, Dad," replied John. "Virgil, Gordon and Hayley are checking the outside whilst Scott and Kayo have gone inside. Virgil and Gordon checked in a couple of minutes ago and so far have found nothing. I am waiting for a report from either Scott or Kayo now."
"F-A-B," said Jeff. "As soon as you have news, let us know."
"If we can't stop Sun-Probe, are you going to evacuate the base?" asked Alan.
"Colonel Straker has already issued an evacuation order to get all the non-essential people off of the base ASAP," said Jeff. "Only a select few will remain behind and will try to take out Sun-Probe with the base's Space-Cannon if need be."
"Just make sure you, Lady Penelope, Parker and the World President aren't among those staying, Dad," said John.
"Don't worry, son. We won't," said Jeff. Although secretly he had no intention of leaving the base whilst people were still there.
John watched as the holograms of Jeff and Alan switched off before turning his attention back to the radar tracks of the Sun-Probe and Thunderbird 3. "Come on, Scott and Kayo. Why haven't you checked in?"
The reason why Scott and Kayo hadn't reported was very simple - they were prisoners. After having been taken down by the tasers from Merridrew's guards. They had been forced to remove their equipment belts and radios and then taken at gunpoint to another of the store rooms where they were made to sit back to back on the floor and then bound tightly together with rope. Two of the guards did the work whilst the other two kept their guns trained on them to make sure they tried no tricks.
Merridrew was also watching with his arms folded. "I have to say, I never thought I'd get a visit from the mighty International Rescue," he said. "Although I do prefer guests to make appointments before they come to visit."
"Quite the effort you're going to to hide your Sun-Probe fandom, Mr…who are you?" Scott asked.
Merridrew went red with fury. "Of course you don't know who I am," he snapped. "Just like the rest of the world, my name has been wiped from the pages of history. You won't be alive much longer so you may as well know. I am Professor Grant Merridrew - genius designer and inventor of the Sun-Probe."
"You designed the Sun-Probe?" asked Kayo.
"Isn't that what he just said?" spat the guard who was tying Kayo's boots together.
"Quiet, you imbecile!" snapped Merridrew. "I don't need you to speak for me. But yes, I am. But have I been remembered for that? No! The World President and Space Agency cut me out. They blamed me for the mission going wrong. They wiped all trace of me out of the public eye and was forced to live in exile - denied my glory and place in the history books. It is time that the world saw the truth and for the World President to pay the price for what he's done to me."
"By destroying Endeavour?" asked Scott. "You'll be killing hundreds including the World President if the Sun-Probe gets there!"
"Correct," said Merridrew. "A regrettable but necessary price to pay, don't you think?"
"No, we don't!" Kayo snapped. "In case you didn't know, Professor, his father's also on Endeavour!"
Scott gritted his teeth. He hadn't wanted Merridrew to know that he and Jeff were related.
"Ah, yes, the great Jeff Tracy," Merridrew said. "As I said. Regrettable, and I'll be sorry for your loss, Tracy. But the World President has left me no choice."
Scott and Kayo tugged at their bonds, anger raging through their bodies as they both wanted to throttle the Professor, but the rope binding their wrists, ankles and torsos were tight and they were unable to break them.
"What about the others, boss?" asked one of the guards once the prisoners were secured. "There were at least three others out there who could still be a problem."
"Find them, Dubois," said Merridrew. "But even if you don't, it'll make no difference. Sun-Probe will soon be approaching the Moon. Nothing can stop her now."
Virgil and Hayley were continuing to make their way around the West side of the island. So far all that they had found was rocks, rocks and yet more rocks. It was the same with Gordon on the other side.
"Gordon to Virgil. Haven't found anything on this side. What about you?"
"Negative, Gordon. Absolutely nothing. I hope Scott and Kayo are doing better than we are."
"Have you heard from them?" asked Gordon. "I haven't."
"Neither have we," said Virgil.
Hayley shifted uncomfortably on the back of the Hoverbike. "This place is giving me the creeps," she said. "There's nothing out here, Virgil. Maybe we should go back and-"
"DON'T MOVE!"
Virgil and Hayley jumped and looked up to see two of Merridrew's Security Guards - Dubois and Sanchez - standing over them with their guns drawn. But before either of them could react, the rocky ledge that they were standing on suddenly began to crumble beneath their feet. This gave Hayley an idea. She grabbed Virgil's stun-gun and aimed it up at the ledge before shooting it. The ledge crumbled and fell away.
"YAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRGGGGGH!" the two men yelled as they fell down twenty metres into the water below.
"Was that necessary?" Virgil asked as Hayley handed the stun-gun back to him.
"It was either us or them, babe," Hayley replied.
They looked down as the two men resurfaced, coughing and spluttering, and without their guns.
"Are you guys okay?" Gordon asked over the radio. "I heard a scream."
"We're fine, Gordon," replied Virgil. "But it looks like they know we're here. Better get back to the house and check on the ships. I have a feeling Scott and Kayo might be in trouble."
"On my way," said Gordon as he turned his Hoverbike around to head back towards the South-side of the island. He didn't notice a third Security Guard named Patterson had come out of another inland tunnel and had been waiting to ambush him. He'd almost gotten his chance when Gordon had stopped his Hoverbike to talk to Virgil, but was infuriated when Gordon came no closer and instead turned to head back out.
Patterson growled as he aimed his weapon to take a shot at Gordon, but in doing so misjudged where he was standing and missed his footing over the narrow edge of the cliff. "AAAAAAAARGH!" SPLASH!
Gordon heard the scream and splash and stopped before looking back. But he couldn't see what or who had caused it. "Odd," he said out loud to himself. "Must have been dreaming." He then carried on back around the headland just as Patterson resurfaced and pulled himself up onto a rock, cursing under his breath as he watched Gordon disappear from view.
Virgil meanwhile had turned his own Hoverbike around. "Come on, Hayley, let's get back to the front of the island," he said.
"OI!" yelled Dubois from below where he and Sanchez were stuck in the water. "YOU CAN'T LEAVE US HERE!"
"Do we?" asked Hayley.
"It's not the International Rescue way," said Virgil. "But the sea isn't rough." He then called down to the frustrated guards. "You two got yourselves into this mess! You can get yourselves out!" He then zoomed off leaving the guards to shout and curse after them.
They'd only just gotten out of sight of the guards when John called in. "Virgil, have you heard from Scott or Kayo?"
"No, John, we haven't. Haven't you?"
"No. I've just tried calling them separately and neither are answering. I'm worried."
"So are we," agreed Virgil. "The residents of the island know we're here. Two security men just tried to detain us."
"And where are they now?" asked John.
"Swimming," Hayley said swiftly before Virgil could answer.
"I…see," said John. "Virgil, listen. The Sun-Probe is less than fifteen minutes from reaching the Moon. Dad says they're trying to evacuate Endeavour. But it may not be in time."
"We'll find them, John," Virgil said with determination. "You just keep monitoring Sun-Probe. Over and out."
Like the storage room that the Sun-Probe crew were in, the room where Kayo and Scott were was also dimly lit. Only a small orange light above the now locked door gave any illumination at all.
"This is not good, Scott!" Kayo said.
"You don't say," Scott replied sarcastically. "We have to try and get out of here somehow."
"Well if you've got any ideas, I'm open to them," Kayo said as she wiggled her arms and legs in an attempt to free the ropes.
"You can stop fidgeting for a start," said Scott, annoyed.
"I'm trying to get us out of these bonds, silly!" Kayo said with gritted teeth.
Scott sighed and looked around. His eyes fell upon the door. "That door opened upwards, didn't it?" he asked.
"Yeah, it did," said Kayo. "Why?"
"Could we not bump it hard enough and might force it to open?" Scott suggested.
Kayo rolled her eyes. "In case you hadn't noticed, Scott, we're tied up. How the hell are we going to do that?"
"Together?" said Scott. "Besides, we haven't checked in for a while. John and Virgil must have guessed that something is wrong?"
Kayo sighed. "I guess it's better than just sitting here waiting for the Sun-Probe to destroy the Moon."
The Moon was getting larger in Alan's field of view. Normally he found the sight of the Moon a happy one, but not this time. He knew every second brought the Sun-Probe within destruction range of Base Endeavour and the potential global catastrophe that the Earth would suffer if the Moon itself was destroyed.
"Thunderbird 5, no pressure or anything but we're getting awfully close to the Moon now," Alan said. "Haven't you heard from the others at all?"
"Virgil and Gordon haven't found anything but I've lost contact with Scott and Kayo," John said. "The others are going to look for them."
Alan sighed in frustration. "Aw, man. This is cutting it close!"
"That's normally the case, but the stakes are really high this time," said John. "As high as they were when you and Brains went to the Sun to stop that solar flare."
"And the Earth's still getting over that," Alan said. "We cannot let Sun-Probe reach the Moon."
Jeff then joined in. "Sorry to keep pestering you boys, but why haven't we had any updates?"
"Because there aren't any, Dad," John replied. "Virgil and Gordon have found nothing and Scott and Kayo aren't responding to my calls. I fear something may have happened to them."
Jeff cursed under his breath. "Damn it. Trust those two to get into some kind of situation."
"Is Colonel Straker getting the Space-Cannon ready?" asked Alan.
"Not yet," said Jeff. "Evacuation of Endeavour is currently at forty-two percent. Guestimate another twenty minutes before everyone is clear."
"But we only have ten until the Sun-Probe reaches the Moon," said John. "Then if we're lucky, it will be another five before it gets to Endeavour."
Alan then had an idea. "Couldn't I just nudge it with Thunderbird 3 and divert Sun-Probe off course?"
"NO!" came the sharp response from Jeff, John and Brains simultaneously.
"Alan, that p-plan is suicide!" said Brains. "The Sun-Probe is t-twice the size of Thunderbird 3."
"He's right, Alan," said Jeff. "We can't risk it. The only one that would be diverted will be you - to your grave!"
Alan shuddered at those words. "Fine. Holding position," he said reluctantly. "But I sure hope someone comes up with something within the next two minutes!"
It wasn't easy, but Scott and Kayo managed to use their bound feet to simultaneously lift themselves up off of the floor. Now they were up, they just needed to get over to the door. "On my signal," said Scott. With each command they began to hop across the room in the direction of the door. "Hop, and hop, and hop, and hop, and hop, and stop!"
They'd now reached the door but had used up a fair bit of their energy in order to get to it. "Phew. That is harder than I thought it would be," remarked Kayo. "Now what?"
"We throw ourselves against the door," said Scott. "It might take several goes, but it may be enough to eventually get it to open."
"This had better work, Scott," said Kayo. "You want to give the word or shall I?"
"I'll say it," said Scott. "My idea. Get ready. One, two, three!"
Despite being tightly bound by the arms and torsos, they threw themselves against the door as hard as they could - and straight away encountered a new problem.
"OW!" cried Kayo in pain.
"Now what?" asked Scott, frustrated.
"That was my arm where I got stabbed, remember?" Kayo said. "You know it's still healing, Scott!"
Scott gulped. He'd forgotten about Kayo's stab-wound from where she'd been fighting the McGinley brothers the week before. "Could you use your right arm if we turned ourselves around?" he asked.
Kayo winced as she tried to block out the pain. "I think so," she said. "Let's see if we can turn around first."
Hayley cautiously led Virgil and Gordon in through the front doors of Merridrew's house which the Professor had somehow managed to forget was still open after Kayo had hacked the locking mechanism.
"Nice place," remarked Gordon. "Pity whoever lives here is a villain."
"I do wish you wouldn't use that word to describe people, Gordon," remarked Virgil. "Just because some people have stupid intentions and make the wrong choices in life doesn't automatically make them a villain."
"Guys, shush," said Hayley. "We don't know if any more of those guards are about. Make sure your guns are ready."
Virgil and Gordon thought that was a good idea. They took out their stun-guns, checked them and began to make their way across the lounge and through the dining and kitchen areas before seeing a staircase that led down towards the basement. As Gordon and Virgil were wearing their helmets, they decided to use the holographic heads-up displays inside them to search for signs of body heat. They immediately saw several pairs of footprints along the floor that were less than half an hour old and decided to follow them. It took them down a long, dimly-lit corridor to where they saw two large steel doors about halfway down.
"Hey, those could be something," said Gordon quietly. "Worth checking out?"
THUD! THUD! THUD! The sound of something hitting against the steel door on the right caught their attention. Through their helmets, Gordon and Virgil saw the heat-signatures of two familiar figures standing back to back and throwing themselves against the door.
"That's them!" said Virgil as he hurried over to the door. He took out a sonic amplifier and placed it on the door. "Scott? Kayo? Can you hear me?"
"Virgil?!" came the voices of their missing comrades through the device.
"Oh, boy, are we glad to hear your voice?" said Scott.
"Don't worry, we'll get you out of there," said Virgil. "Can you move away from the door? I'm going to cut my way through."
Scott and Kayo managed to hop themselves away to the side of the door out of harm's way. "Okay, Virgil, we're clear," said Kayo.
"Good," said Virgil. He then passed his stun-gun to Hayley. "You two cover me," he said.
Hayley and Gordon nodded and took up guard positions to watch down both ways of the corridor.
Virgil positioned his shoulder torch-cutter and began to use the red laser to cut into the side of where the door met its frame.
Merridrew was back in the control room examining Scott's utility sash and the equipment stored within it. "My, oh my," he said. "Our intruders certainly have some impressive equipment. I am looking forward to studying it more closely so I can replicate and use it for my own needs. And also sell to those who would die for equipment like this."
Just then Hartnell called over from his station. "Er, Professor? Problem!"
Merridrew growled in frustration. "What is it now?" he asked as he came over to Hartnell's post. His attention was then drawn by Hartnell's pointing finger to one of the monitor screens showing CCTV footage of the corridor where the storage room doors were located. It showed Virgil using his laser-torch whilst Hayley and Gordon were standing guard. "WHAT?!" thundered Merridrew, banging his fist on Hartnell's desk. "I TOLD THE OTHERS TO BRING THEM IN!" He grabbed a radio microphone. "DUBOIS! SANCHEZ! PATTERON! WHERE THE DEVIL ARE YOU IDIOTS?!"
He got no response for the radios that the three security men used had been lost along with their guns when they'd fallen into the water whilst trying to capture the other brothers and Hayley.
Brock, who was the fourth man in the security team, had remained behind to help Merridrew with the confiscated International Rescue equipment. "Leave them to me, sir. I'll stop them." He then hurried from the room whilst Merridrew continued to watch the feed with Hartnell.
Meanwhile, Dubois, Sanchez and Patterson had finally made it back to the house when they saw the Hoverbikes sitting on the patio outside the front door. "They must be inside!" Dubois said. "Come on! We have to find them and redeem ourselves!" He ran inside with Patterson and Sanchez following behind. All three men felt utterly humiliated by their mishaps and were determined to catch the intruders for Merridrew by any means necessary.
Virgil was by now halfway through the door to the storeroom where Scott and Kayo were imprisoned when an uneasy feeling felt by Gordon caused him to use his infra-red helmet scanner to look through the other door on the left of the corridor. He could now see the heat-signatures of three people inside, also bound.
"Hey, Virg? When you're done, you'll need to do this door as well," Gordon said.
"More hostages?" Hayley asked.
"Yeah, three," said Gordon. "Sun-Probe crew?"
"Has to be," said Virgil. "Just a little longer and I'll be through."
"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!" roared a voice from ahead of Gordon.
Gordon pointed his stun-gun and Hayley whirled around with Virgil's whilst Virgil himself tried to look to his left with his eyes without turning his helmet.
The voice belonged to Brock who aimed his gun at Virgil. "CEASE THE CUTTING!" he ordered.
"Stop talking to them, damn you!" growled Merridrew via an earpiece. "SHOOT THEM!"
So Brock did. His gun fired, and not a stun-shot either. An actual bullet fired from the gun, narrowly missed Gordon's right shoulder and hit the side of Virgil's helmet. Luckily it did not penetrate and bounced off, but it was enough to startle Virgil who yelped and turned sharply to the left without turning off the laser-torch. The deadly red beam scraped along the wall and would have decapitated Brock if he hadn't thrown himself to the floor with a loud, terrified scream. Virgil himself fell to the floor as well before he then managed to turn off the laser whilst an equally terrified Gordon and Hayley threw themselves back against different walls and tried to get their breath back.
Hayley was the first to regain her senses and began to walk furiously towards Brock. "Hey, you!" she said angrily. Brock, still on his elbows and knees, raised his head up just in time to see Hayley kick him hard in the face and knocked him out cold. "That's for shooting at my love!"
Gordon helped Virgil to his feet. "Are you okay, big brother?" he asked.
"Yeah, I think so," Virgil replied.
"What's going on out there?" Scott's voice asked over the amplifier.
Before anyone could answer they heard the sound of footsteps coming from the same end of the corridor that they had come down from the house. They turned to look and saw the three guards who had tried to catch them earlier appear into the light. They were still soaking wet from their respective dips in the sea and were looking like they were ready to end someone.
"There you are!" snarled Dubois. "Now to make you suffer!"
"But we haven't got our weapons!" said Patterson.
"We don't need them!" growled Sanchez. "Our fists are all that we need. RAAAAAAARGH!" he then bellowed as he and Dubois began to charge at the brothers and Hayley. However, they soon realised just how bad their mistake was for Gordon and Hayley were quick to aim their stun-guns at them.
"Oh, shi-" began Dubois before he was hit by a taser-blast from Gordon's gun.
Hayley also fired and hit Sanchez. Both guards cried out in pain whilst Patterson watched on in horror and Merridrew and Hartnell watched in shock from the control room.
"Imbeciles!" cried Merridrew. "STOP THEM!"
Dubois and Sanchez then fell to the floor, unconscious leaving Patterson alone. His confidence gone, he turned and began to run in a panic back towards the stairs. But Gordon and Hayley could tell by just a look at each other that they weren't going to let him escape so they both fired their weapons at the same time and took him out instantly.
"Virgil? Gordon? Hayley? What is going on out there?" Scott's agitated voice asked over the amplifier.
Virgil had now managed to pull himself together. "Sorry, Scott. A little unwelcome company out here but we have it under control. I'll have you out of there in a jiffy." He aimed the laser-torch and began to cut through it again.
Scott and Kayo remained where they were and watched as the red laser glow from Virgil's torch cut through the outside of the door. As soon as he'd finished, Virgil lifted his right boot and kicked the door down. He and Hayley then hurried inside whilst Gordon kept a lookout for them in case anyone else turned up.
It took a matter of seconds for Virgil and Hayley to untie Scott and Kayo. "Thanks, guys," said Kayo. "How did you find us?"
"You two hitting the door and our infra-red helmet sensors," replied Virgil with a smile.
"We owe you one," said Scott.
"Come on, guys, later," said Hayley. "We need to get the Sun-Probe crew out."
"Where are they?" asked Scott.
"In the door on the other side, Scayo," Gordon called.
The others looked at each other. "Scayo?"
"Sorry, couldn't be bothered to say both your names," said Gordon.
Virgil scowled at Gordon as he walked out the storage room and set his laser once more before cutting into the door on the opposite side.
The Sun-Probe crew were startled when sparks accompanying a red light began cutting its way through the sides of the door and were initially apprehensive when the door was kicked in. However that all changed when they realised who the people coming in were.
"International Rescue?!" said Harris. "How did you find us?"
"Answers later, Colonel," said Virgil as he and Hayley began to untie him.
Gordon and Kayo went to help Camp whilst Scott went over to Asher.
"Scott!" said Asher with relief. "Oh, am I glad to see you again?"
"Glad to see you too," answered Scott. "Now let's get you all out of here."
"No, not yet!" said Harris as he got to his feet. "We have to stop Merridrew and Sun-Probe."
"Who's Merridrew?" asked Gordon.
"The senile Professor who hi-jacked us," said Asher. "He's loaded Sun-Probe with explosives which he plans to-"
"Crash into Base Endeavour and destroy the Moon in the process?" said Scott. "Yeah, we figured that out."
"How do we stop it?" asked Hayley.
"Merridrew has a control room at the end of the corridor," said Harris. "If we can get in there, we can force his henchmen to either surrender the controls to us or force them to cooperate."
"And the Professor?" asked Virgil.
"Will be getting one heck of a punch when I see him," said Kayo, cracking her knuckles.
"Yeah, well get in line," said Camp.
"Come on!" urged Harris as he made for the door. 'Time's running out!"
Harris was certainly not wrong there. The Sun-Probe had finally reached the Moon and had begun an orbit which would take it over to the location of Endeavour before making its final death-plunge into the middle of the base. Thunderbird 3 was still shadowing with a rather tense Alan at the controls. "Oh, this isn't good," he was saying. "Less than ten minutes to go and we're still no closer to finding out how to stop it."
"Keep tracking her, Alan," said Jeff grimly. "Endeavour is almost evacuated. Straker's having the Space-Cannon readied as we speak."
At Endeavour, a dome-structure opened up and the powerful Space-Cannon that had been used to take out the meteor that had somehow contained the mysterious Moonquaker machine rose up and was positioned with its turret aimed upwards, waiting for the oncoming rocket to get into targeting range.
Merridrew was firm in his belief that the solid steel door that was the main way in and out of the control room was tough enough to keep the intruders out. He'd therefore turned his attention back to watching the Sun-Probe as it reached the Moon. "Finally!" he said gruffly. "Now it's time for the World President to be wiped out of existence!"
Whilst he and his three technicians had been busy, none of them had seen the red laser cutting through the door. CRASH! They jumped and turned as the door hit the floor and the International Rescue team came running in along with the rescued Sun-Probe crew.
"MERRIDREW!" roared Harris. "STOP THAT ROCKET THIS INSTANT!"
"NEVER!" bellowed Merridrew. "VENGEANCE MUST BE MINE!" He grabbed his own gun and began to shoot, forcing them all to dive for cover.
Gordon was quick to retaliate, firing a stun-blast that did not hit Merridrew himself but instead hit his gun, frying it and sending it flying from his hand. Merridrew roared in frustration and quickly realised that he and his men were outnumbered. He turned and legged it across the room towards a concealed elevator on the opposite end.
"STOP HIM!" shouted Kayo. But it was too late. Merridrew had slammed the button and the doors had closed.
Troughton, Hartnell and Baker did not have weapons and so instantly surrendered by raising their hands when they were approached. Clearly they weren't as brave or fearless as Merridrew was.
"You!" Scott barked at Baker. "Where does that elevator lead to?"
"C-C-Cave!" stammered Baker. "I-I-I-It leads o-o-out to the s-s-s-sea!"
Virgil made Hartnell leave his post and checked the CCTV cameras. Sure enough there was a camera in the cave with a water channel in it as well as a red jet boat-like vessel waiting for the Professor who appeared from the elevator. "He won't get far," he said. "Gordon, with me! I think it's time for Thunderbird 4 to play its part in this operation. Rest of you stay here and watch these three!"
"Oh, don't worry, Virgil," said Scott. "We're gonna do what we can to stop Sun-Probe." He then turned to the three terrified men. "And you're going to help us!"
Virgil and Gordon ran outside the house and into the waiting Thunderbird 2. Virgil rushed to the cockpit whilst Gordon made his way into Thunderbird 4. Thunderbird 2's VTOL engines roared into life as it lifted off and began to fly low over the water along the West-side shore of the island.
"I remember seeing a cave entrance, Gordon," Virgil said into the radio. "If we've been quick enough we might be able to block him off."
"F-A-B, Virgil," said Gordon. "I'm in position."
Virgil brought Thunderbird 2 to a stop. "I can see the cave entrance. Here is as close as I can get you," he said. "Dropping the Module."
The clamps were released and Module 4 dropped down onto the surface of the water. The door opened and the ramp that Thunderbird 4 was on lifted upwards. Gordon fired up the turbine thrusters and the yellow sub slipped out. It did not submerge however and remained on the surface before moving in towards the cave mouth.
As Gordon closed in, the red speedboat emerged from within the cave with Merridrew at the controls. He saw Thunderbird 4 approaching and stopped when he saw that it was blocking his escape route. Gordon decided it was at least worth a try to talk him out of it. "Thunderbird 4 to Merridrew. Heave-to - you cannot escape!"
Merridrew didn't answer Gordon's request. He simply made a snarling noise and activated a control. Gordon watched in surprise as the speedboat then submerged and vanished beneath the surface.
"Oh, for crying out loud!" Gordon said crossly and set Thunderbird 4 to submerge as well.
From inside the control room, Kayo and Scott had seen from an external camera outside the cave that Merridrew had submerged in his vessel. "He's getting away!" Kayo said angrily. "I should have gone after him!"
"Thunderbird Shadow can't go underwater, remember?" Scott said. "Besides, he's not going to get far in a craft like that. My guess is he's got a ride nearby waiting for him."
"The Medusa!" said Hartnell. "His own private warship is where he'll be headed."
Troughton kicked him in the ankle. "Shut it, idiot!"
"No, you shut it!" Hayley snapped, pointing Virgil's stun-gun against Troughton's head. "You're going to tell us everything!"
Merridrew's submersible hadn't gone deep, but the deranged Professor believed he was in the clear. "Ha! Those stupid fools," he remarked. "To think they could try and cut off my escape. They'll never find me now." It was then that the dark waters around him were suddenly illuminated by powerful searchlights from behind. "What?! What is that?" Merridrew growled as he turned on the sub's rear-view camera. He froze with disbelief as he saw the shape of Thunderbird 4 chasing after him and closing the gap. "Damn it!"
Gordon watched as Merridrew's submersible began to perform some strange evasive moves in an attempt to lose him. Gordon rolled his eyes. "Run as much as you want, Professor. I can follow you wherever you go." He then saw a pair of peak underwater rock formations and realised that Merridrew was heading for the gap in between. This gave him an idea. He smirked as he armed one of Thunderbird 4's demolition missiles and locked onto the taller of the two peaks. The missile was launched and it soared past Merridrew's sub before slamming into the rock. The explosion ripped out a massive chunk of the rock causing it to topple over onto the other.
"ARRGH!" screamed Merridrew, terrified for the first time in a long time. He yanked back on the joystick and the submersible pulled up just in time and raced towards the surface.
Gordon continued the chase as he realised Merridrew was likely going to use his vessel's superior surface speed to try and escape. He couldn't allow that to happen so he raced up after him. Breaking the surface, Gordon saw Merridrew's craft racing off, but he'd had another idea to stop him. He activated the robotic arms and used a targeting computer to lock two grapple lines onto the aft thrusters of the boat. They were launched and grabbed onto the fleeing vessel causing it to stop dead in its tracks despite a frantic Merridrew trying to get all the power he could out of it. "Did you really think we were just going to let you escape, Professor?" Gordon said sternly.
Merridrew still didn't acknowledge Gordon, but then both became startled when a sudden and powerful force began to pull Merridrew's craft forwards, in turn dragging Thunderbird 4 with it. Gordon watched on in astonishment as a cloaking device deactivated to reveal a large grey warship floating close to Merridrew's boat.
"What the?!" exclaimed Gordon. "An Independence tri-hull ship?!"
This was the Medusa - a former Independence-class three-hulled warship that Merridrew had purchased when it had been retired by the US Navy and renamed it to his own liking. It had become his own personal protection ship and it was now his only escape route thanks to the cloaking tech he'd had installed on it. The mystery force that was pulling both Merridrew's vessel and Thunderbird 4 was that of a giant electromagnet attached to a crane arm on the port-side of the ship. Gordon then watched in alarm as a rotating missile battery was raised from within the bow of the giant ship which pointed down towards Thunderbird 4. A red targeting beam shone down on the yellow submersible which caused Gordon to snap out of his surprised trance and kicked Thunderbird 4 into full reverse. He then had to make a violent turn with the manoeuvring thrusters as a missile was fired at him. Then again as another was fired.
"AAGH!" Gordon yelped.
"Give it up, International Rescue!" ordered Merridrew over the radio. "You cannot withstand the firepower of my ship!"
"VIRGIL?! A LITTLE HELP HERE?!"
Lucky for Gordon, Thunderbird 2 appeared seconds later. Virgil could see the Medusa and the weapon on the bow. He knew instantly what needed to be done. "Hang on, Thunderbird 4!" he said as he then dived his ship towards the Medusa.
Neither the crew of the Medusa or Merridrew had any idea of Thunderbird 2's presence until the red laser in the forward fuel-intake pipe struck the weapon launcher and destroyed it. The angle he was at made it also possible for the laser to slice through the crane arm as well causing the electromagnetic to cease its magnetic pull and also fall into the water. Thunderbird 2 roared over the top, taking them all by surprise.
Gordon grinned. "Thanks, bro!"
"Don't mention it!" replied Virgil. "Now you might want to put two fish into the bow of that warship before it can attack you again, huh?"
Gordon's grin grew larger. "F-A-B!" he said and targeted the front of the Medusa. Two more missiles shot out from the sides of Thunderbird 4 and skimmed across the surface of the water before slamming into the bow of the ship. The resulting explosion ripped the bow clean off and caused a huge amount of flooding, which sent the crew into a panic.
"Emergency! Emergency! Abandon ship! ABANDON SHIP!" the Captain's voice was heard to shout over the ship's tannoy.
Merridrew could do nothing but watch in absolute fury as the now burning Medusa began to sink whilst the crew ejected in escape pods before it slipped beneath the waves completely.
Virgil brought Thunderbird 2 into a hover above Merridrew's craft and fired the grapple cables down to lift it out of the water. Gordon released those from Thunderbird 4 and then pulled up alongside where he saw an utterly furious but defeated Merridrew sitting in a huff with his arms folded in the cockpit. "It's over, Professor," Gordon said.
Merridrew huffed. "You've only stopped me, boy!" he spat. "But you won't stop Sun-Probe!"
"I wouldn't be too sure about that, Professor," said Gordon. He then called up the island. "Scott, we've got the Professor. What news do you have?"
"News is hopefully good," Scott replied, having retrieved his utility sash. "We've cut a deal with these three technicians here. They're gonna help us put an end to this crazy plan of Merridrew's in exchange for some reduced sentences - if they can convince a judge that is."
Hearing this made Merridrew even more angry. "NO! STOP THIS AT ONCE!" he bellowed, banging his fists against the canopy of his vessel. "I DEMAND IT! YOU CANNOT DENY ME MY REVENGE!"
"Professor, do us all a favor, will you?" Scott said slowly before shouting "SHUT THE HELL UP!"
Merridrew was stunned into an infuriated silence.
Despite John and Alan's pleas for him to leave, Jeff had stubbornly refused to. He remained inside Endeavour along with the World President and Straker. The three men watched anxiously on a large radar screen as the icons of the Sun-Probe and Thunderbird 3 drew closer and closer.
"Sun-Probe will be in range in forty seconds, Colonel," reported Lieutenant Ellis.
The World President mopped his nervous brow. "May God have mercy on us all," he whispered to Jeff who nodded in agreement.
"Commence targeting," ordered Straker.
Lieutenant Harrington was at the controls of the Space-Cannon. She used the targeting sights to locate the Sun-Probe and established a lock. "Target acquired."
Jeff spoke into his watch. "Thunderbird 3, get clear. The Space-Cannon will be firing any moment."
Alan quivered as he cut Thunderbird 3's own engines and brought his ship to a stop whilst the Sun-Probe continued on towards the distant lights on the lunar horizon which he knew belonged to Base Endeavour.
On the lunar surface, the Personnel Carriers that had been used to evacuate all non-essentials from the base passed right under the Sun-Probe's flight path and those looking out of the windows, including Penelope, Parker and Sophie all saw the giant grey rocket zoom overhead.
"Oh, Parker!" gasped Penelope. "It's too late! She's made it here!"
"Sun-Probe in sight," said Ellis. "Prepare to fire. Ten seconds. Nine. Eight. Seven."
Each count from Ellis made Alan's spine shiver even more. But then he saw it - a pair of orange jets fired from the middle of the Sun-Probe and the spaceship started to make a change in its flight-path. "Wait, what is happening?" Alan asked. He fired up Thunderbird 3's engines again and moved in quickly for a closer look."
Ellis too had noticed something strange. "Colonel, something's happening," she said after stopping the countdown. "The Sun-Probe's changing course."
Straker came over to her radar station. "What?! How?!"
Alan pulled up alongside the Sun-Probe again in Thunderbird 3. "Thunderbird 3 to Endeavour. Sun-Probe's retros have fired! She's starting to climb away out of orbit!"
John too had also noticed the change in direction. "I don't believe it!" he said. "The others must have managed to get to the controls!"
Just then Scott's voice was heard over the radios. "Thunderbird 3 from Thunderbird 1. Alan, you might want to fall back. Sun-Probe is about to meet her end."
Alan did so and brought Thunderbird 3 to a stop once more. He then watched on as the Sun-Probe began to accelerate away from the Moon, its chemical rockets were on full power as it continued to climb higher and higher, gradually getting smaller and smaller as it went.
Scott, Kayo, Hayley and the Sun-Probe crew watched as Merridrew's technicians charted a new course for the Sun-Probe as it made its way away from the Moon.
"She's broken the Moon's orbit," said Kayo.
"But will she get clear of the Moon in time?" asked Hayley anxiously.
For the next twenty seconds, nobody said a word. In the control rooms on Layhu, Tracy Island, Thunderbird 5 and Endeavour and in the cockpits of Thunderbirds 2, 3 and 4, everybody waited anxiously to see or hear what was going to happen next.
BOOM! A colossal bright white light illuminated the entire area above the Moon as the Sun-Probe exploded in a fireball before disappearing for good.
Troughton let out a sigh. "It is done," he said.
A sadness filled the three Sun-Probe crewmembers at the knowledge their great ship was gone.
Alan too found himself feeling rather sad at seeing the destruction of the giant spaceship. Despite his earlier disliking of it, he'd come to realise just how special it had been to so many people and he felt very ashamed of himself for his actions the day before.
"Thunderbird 3 from Endeavour. Alan, what just happened?" Jeff asked over the radio.
"It's okay, Dad," replied Alan. "Sun-Probe has self-destructed. The danger's over."
Hearing those words made everyone at Endeavour breath relieved sighs. Straker turned to Ellis. "Call the Transports," he said. "Tell them they can come back. The danger has passed."
"Yes, sir!" said Ellis happily.
Captain Rigby arrived at Layhu just in time to see Thunderbirds 2 and 4 arrive back. Thunderbird 2 lowered the escape craft of the defeated Merridrew onto the landing pad whilst Thunderbird 4 towed in the escape pods from the sunken Medusa. Scott, Kayo and Hayley along with Camp, Harris and Asher waited with the now captured technicians and the four security men for the GDF soldiers to take them into custody. The technicians went with a respectful silence knowing that they would get better treatment thanks to them being the ones to divert the Sun-Probe away from the Moon and remotely set off the explosives that had been placed aboard to stop it. The four security men gave more resistance but were quickly subdued.
Merridrew on the other hand, made no attempt to hide his newfound contempt for International Rescue, "A plague on you all," he cursed. "Because of you the World President still lives. He needed to pay for what he did to me!"
Scott stepped forwards. "Listen to yourself, Professor. I can remember seeing the live footage of the inquiry. Nobody said that Sun-Probe definitely had a fault. It was merely a suggestion. You overreacted and for that you've been harboring a grudge without even giving people a chance to express their opinions. You were not to blame for what happened to the Sun-Probe in space. The radiation from the Sun caused the problem. But what happened here today. That IS your fault - and for that, you must face the consequences."
Merridrew mumbled some bad language under his breath as he was made to walk away to the waiting GDF Flyer - still refusing to accept that what he'd done was wrong in his mind.
Rigby turned to face the IR team. "Never thought I'd have to take in people with no connection to you or The Cabal," he said. He then turned to Hayley. "I hear you made quite the soldier down there, Madison?"
Hayley shrugged. "I only acted with instinct, Captain," she said. "I also won't stand to have Virgil get shot at."
Rigby gave a smile. "I've no doubt," he said. "I can see why Colonel Casey would want you to join me as a second Field Officer. Hope you make your decision soon." He then nodded to the others and headed back to the Flyer, leaving Virgil rather uneasy.
"Can we go home now?" asked Gordon. "I don't think there's much else we can do here now?"
"Agreed," said Scott. "Let's get out of here."
The people evacuated from Endeavour were now able to return now that the threat of the Sun-Probe had been neutralised. Now they really did have something to celebrate - their survival.
A grateful World President shook Jeff warmly by the hand. "We owe a lot of gratitude to you and your boys for what they've done today, Jeff," he said. "Endeavour should be dedicated to you."
Jeff smiled. "Not to me, Mr President," he said. "To International Rescue - and especially the five best sons a man could ever have."