***Please read my Christmas story "THE MYSTERY OF ENIGMA ISLAND" before reading this***
THE double doors opened to allow Hayley to walk through. She greeted a couple of soldiers and technicians politely before walking across towards where Colonel Casey was standing talking to another.
"Ah, Captain Madison," said Colonel Casey warmly. "Good to see you back again. How do you feel?"
"Much better, thank you, Colonel," Hayley replied. "Seeing my parents over Christmas on Tracy Island was the boost I needed to get over that ordeal."
"I'm glad to hear it," smiled Colonel Casey. They began to walk along a gantry inside the vehicle lab they were in. "You do seem to be getting quite the fair amount of action lately."
"Don't I know it," Hayley remarked. "I signed up for action, but hadn't quite expected it to be like this if I'm honest."
"Fancy something a little less challenging?" asked Colonel Casey.
"For once I would not say 'no' to that, Colonel," Hayley said.
"That's good," said Colonel Casey. "I had hoped you would say that, for I have just the job for you." She had a tone of mystery in her voice which intrigued Hayley as they headed out onto a balcony on the exterior of the building.
It was night-time outside so it was mostly dark save for a few floodlights located around the site. Hayley looked at the large open yard with nothing in it. She became a little confused. "Err, pardon me, Colonel, but what is my assignment?" she asked.
"You'll see," replied Colonel Casey.
At that moment they heard the sound of a machine somewhere out in the darkness beyond the cover of the floodlights. Hayley squinted, peering out to try and see if she could make out where the noise was coming from. She listened closely too and frowned. Whilst she could unmistakably hear the whirr of mechanics and the hum of a machine's power unit, she could also hear stomping, like large footsteps. Her eyes then fell upon a large puddle that had accumulated following an earlier rain shower. There were ripples appearing each time the sound of footsteps was heard. She couldn't understand why but she was starting to get a little uneasy. Then as she looked back up and ahead across the yard, she saw something that made her freeze. Beyond the yard in the darkness were two white lights that at first she thought were eyes. They were getting closer slowly and were also exactly where the sounds were coming from.
Slowly but surely, the object began to emerge from the darkness. Hayley's eyes widened as it began to become more visible under the yard lights. A huge grey-coloured four-legged machine with two extendable long arms out of its front appeared in the yard before coming to a stop a few metres from where the balcony was.
"Woah…" said Hayley in amazement.
Colonel Casey smiled. "Meet our latest weapon against The Cabal, Captain…The Sidewinder!"
5!
4!
3!
2!
1!
"Thunderbirds Are Go!"
"HIDDEN DANGER"
THE huge expanse of African Jungle stood below as the formation of GDF Flyers descended from the clouds. Two smaller ones were escorting a larger one that had been constructed to convey the Sidewinder to its test area. It had been proven to work fine back at the development base, but now came its real test: to carry out a task in the jungle and see how it would perform in a hostile environment.
Hayley had yet to see inside the Sidewinder but soon was able to once the flight had come into land. The control room was smart and clean, just like the ones on the Flyers, but straight away she noticed something unusual. There were only two seats in the control room; one at the console and one that looked like a Captain's chair further back. "Pardon me, Colonel Casey, but I thought you said this vehicle was to have a three-person crew?"
"It does," replied Colonel Casey. "You and one other will be in here. The third will be back in the engineering space. He's already there right now."
They headed through to the engineering section of the Sidewinder where they found the third member of the crew. Hayley couldn't believe her eyes when she recognised the figure. "Juan?!"
The Mechanic turned around. "Captain Madison!" he said with a grin. "It's been a very long time."
They shared a quick hug. "I know," Hayley said. "You look good."
"As do you, Captain," replied The Mechanic. He then turned to Colonel Casey. "Colonel."
"Mechanic," Colonel Casey answered with a polite nod. "How is the Sidewinder looking?"
"In perfect form," said The Mechanic. "I'd consider this my finest work."
Hayley grinned. "I should have guessed you were the one to create this beauty."
"Good," said Colonel Casey. She handed a digi-pad to Hayley. "This has full details of your planned route through the jungle. It won't be easy and I am sure some damage will be collateral but try and keep it to the minimum if you can," she said. "Captain Rigby and I will be monitoring you from the air. Good luck."
"Who's our third person, Colonel?" asked Hayley.
"Ah, yes," said Colonel Casey. "You have Lieutenant Mendleson. He'll be monitoring the radar, gauges and be in control of the weaponry should it be required. The Mechanic will operate the Sidewinder from here and you, Captain, will give instructions as to where to go from the command chair."
Hayley and The Mechanic nodded to show that they understood.
"Well, I think that's all," said Colonel Casey. "All I can do now is wish you both the best of luck. See you on the other side." She then turned and walked out of the engineering room.
Hayley left The Mechanic to get things ready whilst she headed to the control room where she found a tall man checking over the controls. "Lieutenant Mendleson?"
The man turned, stood to attention and gave a salute. "Captain Madison! Ma'am. That I am."
Hayley returned the salute. "At ease, soldier," she said. "How are we looking?"
"All systems showing green," said Lieutenant Mendleson. "Propulsion is powering up. We'll be ready to move in about two minutes."
"Excellent," said Hayley. She sat herself down in the commanding chair and began to look over the instructions on the digi-pad. The screen showed a map of the jungle ahead of them. Whilst there were some paths going through it, their first objective was to reach a designated location near to the middle where it was believed an enemy guerilla position was housed. It was their task to get to it and eliminate the position before making a retreat on to a rendezvous point on the opposite side of the jungle. "Looks straight forward enough," Hayley said. "Although we're going to have to fell some of the trees in order to get there. I don't really like the idea of that. Guess that's what the Colonel meant by keeping collateral damage to the minimum."
The intercom buzzed. "Engineering. All systems ready."
"Thank you," Hayley answered. "Lieutenant, how are we looking?"
"A-Okay, Captain," answered Lieutenant Mendleson. "Ready to go."
Hayley took a deep breath, made herself comfortable and looked at the big screen in front of her. It was showing what was ahead of the via a camera mounted on the Sidewinder's front. "Ahead slow," she ordered.
The Mechanic could now activate his unique and ingenious method of controlling the Sidewinder. He stood in a holographic frame on a treadmill of sorts. Hologram sensors locked onto his arms and legs and as he began to move his legs, the legs of the Sidewinder started to move as well. When he put his left leg forwards, the two legs on the Port-side of the machine moved forwards. Then when he moved the one on the right forward, the ones on the Starboard-side moved as well. He didn't need to do much with his hands yet but he would do when the time came to use the machine's claw arms which were currently tucked inside the machine's hull.
Slowly but steadily, the Sidewinder began to move forwards, making its way into the jungle. Its big test mission was underway.
The Sidewinder, like Obsidian before it, was a closely-guarded secret. However, little did Colonel Casey know that the GDF weren't the first people to be aware of it. The Mechanic had created the machine and had initially asked Brains whether it would be of any use to International Rescue as a weapon against The Cabal. However, Jeff had politely refused the offer, stating he didn't want to have any what he called war-machines in his fleet, so it was offered to the GDF instead. Brains however was the only person outside of The Mechanic to be given the privilege to examine the Sidewinder's blueprints and be aware of its workings.
Brains sat at his desk in his mobile lab looking over the Sidewinder's blueprints. MAX and Braman were also there, looking somewhat worried, Brains observed.
Brains chuckled after MAX warbled. "D-Don't worry, MAX. I am not going to replace you or Braman with a S-Sidewinder," he said. "However, you c-cannot deny that it is a marvellous piece of engineering."
"So long as its used correctly."
Brains and the robots looked round to see Scott who'd just come out of performing maintenance on Thunderbird 1. "H-How do you mean, Scott?"
"Didn't The Mechanic say he was going to offer such a machine to the GDF, Brains?" asked Scott.
"I believe so, y-yes," replied Brains. "Last I h-heard, Colonel Casey had given it the green light."
Scott made a slight grimace and turned away.
Brains frowned. "Is there s-something wrong, Scott?"
Scott stopped, sighed, and turned back around. "Nothing wrong with the Sidewinder, Brains," he said. "Nor is there any issue with The Mechanic anymore. But its Colonel Casey. Don't you think she's been acting a bit off lately?"
Brains pondered. "Perhaps," he said. "But m-maybe you could elaborate a bit more?"
"First the OCT Station, then Obsidian, now the Sidewinder," said Scott. "Colonel Casey's putting a lot of resources into finding The Cabal, and in almost every case, something has gone wrong with said creation. She is putting lives in danger by doing it, too. Kayo almost got killed trying to protect Obsidian."
"The Cabal are a d-dangerous group of people, Scott," Brains said. "If I was in her shoes, I'd w-want to have any kind of resource that could potentially help bring them to justice."
Scott sighed again. "Maybe, but I think she's getting a little too obsessive over it. After all, we have not heard anything from The Cabal in a long time. Not since the Obsidian incident. They do that, haven't you noticed? We have an encounter, then we don't see or hear anything for weeks, then they pop up again. It just feels…strange to me."
"Who knows w-what goes on in that deluded m-mind of The Hood," said Brains. "I've already h-had the misfortune of tackling one of his mind games when trying to free The Mechanic from his control."
"All I want is The Hood and his pathetic followers behind bars forever," Scott said as he began to walk away towards the elevator that would take him back up to the villa. "I am getting beyond sick of having enemies when all we should be doing is saving lives!" He then disappeared without another word.
Brains looked at his robot friends. "Now that is something that I d-do agree with," he said grimly.
For several years, groups of resistance fighters had been rebelling against numerous local governments within Central Africa. One of these was believed to be hiding out in the middle of the jungle where the Sidewinder was having its final testing. It was hoped, by Colonel Casey at least, that the two forces would meet one another and show the rebels that they weren't as superior as they believed they were, despite being heavily armed. Whilst the GDF tried to help keep the peace around the world, there were still those who opposed them.
The Flyer that had brought the Sidewinder had left the area to refuel at a GDF base in the neighbouring country leaving the other two to monitor the area and the progress of the Sidewinder. The presence of the Flyers had not gone unnoticed by the rebels who were hiding out amongst the thick canopy of trees, keeping well out of sight from any clearings where they'd made camps.
Keeping as quiet and as still as possible, the rebels listened with apprehension as the sounds of the Flyers could be heard above.
"Do you think they know where we are?" one of the rebels asked their leader.
"No, I don't think so," the leader answered. "Do not worry, my brothers and sisters. No people of power will find their way to us."
Some rebels were positioned in look-out nests up in the trees. Some were higher than others and one of them had noticed something strange. One of the other trees nearby seemed to have lifted up a little bit and then toppled over out of sight. The rebel was about to report it when one of the Flyers came into view. He ducked down and then got onto his radio. "Kreegar, I have GDF Flyer in my sights. Shall I engage?"
The leader was quick to cut him out. "NO, you idiot! That will give us away! Hold your position!"
The rebel cursed in his native African language at not being allowed the chance to take a shot at what he considered an enemy. But then his attention was quickly drawn away by a rumbling sound coming from down below. He peered out of the nest and then his eyes widened when he saw a large metal claw appear out of nowhere and grab onto the tree. In fact there were two claws, and before he had time to even get hold of his radio, he felt the tree get literally pulled up out of the ground before it began to topple over, taking him with it.. "Ahh…Ahhhhhh…AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGHHH!"
The scream was heard by the rest of the twenty-strong group who looked around in alarm as they also heard the tree crashing to the ground.
"What was that?!" asked a female rebel fighter.
"EVERYONE, LOOK SHARP!" bellowed the leader. "WE HAVE HOSTILES!"
All guns held by the rebels and on a couple of stolen military trucks were manned, checked and readied for a fight. However, none of them were prepared for what it was they were about to come face to face with.
The sound of splintering and breaking wood and the felling of large trees was getting louder along with what to them could only sound like heavy footsteps. Sweat began pouring down everyone's faces as they kept their weapons trained in the direction of where it was coming from. Other lookouts in nests tried to get a visual on whatever their attacker was, but the dense trees kept it hidden.
Suddenly with a groaning rip, two of the trees were pulled up and then fell away to reveal two large white lights staring back at the rebels. They were unable to fully see what it was, but they were all feeling the same emotion right now - terror.
"A-A-A-A MONSTER!" cried one of the male rebels in fright.
The sudden sight of the giant attacker caused several of the rebels to panic and start running away.
"GET BACK HERE!" screeched the leader. "COWARDS!" He then turned to those who had remained and grabbed his radio. "OPEN FIRE!"
The remaining rebels began shooting with rifles, side-arms, mortars and the machine-guns mounted on the tops of the vehicles. But no matter what they did, nothing was slowing the advance of this mysterious object.
Inside the Sidewinder, Hayley and Lieutenant Mendleson could see through the computer scanner where the rebels were hiding. "I count fourteen hostiles, Captain," said Mendleson. "Three in the trucks, two up in the trees, the rest behind the fallen trees. I can use the attack computer to target them all and eliminate them as soon as you give the command."
This made Hayley somewhat conflicted. She had instructions to eliminate the nest of rebels, but deep down she knew that this was against what International Rescue stood for. Despite working for the GDF, it did not feel right being the ones to take lives. "Not yet, Lieutenant," she said. "I don't want blood on my hands if I can help it. Mechanic, stop us here."
"Yes, Captain," acknowledged The Mechanic and he brought the Sidewinder to a stop.
"Activate the tannoy speaker," Hayley said to Mendleson. "Make sure the translator is on as well."
Mendleson wasn't quite sure what Hayley was trying to achieve. "With respect, ma'am, I don't think they will do as you wish," he said.
Hayley looked back at him. "Probably not," she said. "But it won't hurt to try. Tannoy, please?"
Mendleson gave in and turned on the Sidewinder's tannoy speaker. As Hayley spoke, her words were translated into the language that the rebels were speaking. Her words made all of them stop their attacks.
"Attention, rebel group," Hayley said. "This does not have to be this way. There are better ways at solving your country's needs than meaningless violence. Stand down and discard your weapons. Let us end this peacefully. Please," she finished, hoping that might sway things in her favour.
There were a few moments of silence. The rebels were indeed taken aback by this, having not expected it to be even offered to them. The rebels all looked in the direction of their leader, wanting instructions. Hayley, Mendleson and The Mechanic waited as well. The next move had to be the rebels.
"Please surrender," Hayley muttered to herself.
The rebel leader then stood up from behind the fallen tree where he and several others had been hiding behind. He lowered his weapon and then stepped over before slowly walking towards the Sidewinder. "NO SURRENDER!" he screamed and began shooting at the giant machine once more before bellowing and running towards it.
The Mechanic was quick to counter this attack despite it having no effect on the Sidewinder. He used his right arm to operate the right arm of the Sidewinder. It swiftly grabbed the rebel leader and lifted him up off the ground he was now screaming in terror having not expected it to have grabbed him like that. The Mechanic then swung the arm around and released the grip, sending the leader flying off and screaming into the trees where he disappeared from view.
This divided the remaining rebels. More now began to flee for their lives, realising this was a machine that they stood no chance at defeating whilst about seven misguided men and women remained, all standing to their feet and firing everything they had at the Sidewinder.
Hayley sighed heavily. "Damn it," she cursed. She then knew what had to be done. "Take these ones out," she ordered.
Mendleson quickly programmed the weapons of the Sidewinder, including top and below-mounted pulse-guns to start shooting back at the rebels. Huge explosions ripped through the rebel camp, taking out those daft enough not to try and flee. Those in the trees were also trying to shoot with the Sidewinder's top-mounted cannon taking them out by blowing the branches off the trees themselves.
The rebels on foot were swiftly dealt with, but those in the armoured truck and jeeps were still going. The two jeeps came bursting out from the undergrowth and raced towards the Sidewinder, machine-guns blazing hard. The thick armour of the Sidewinder meant that the bullets just bounced harmlessly off without causing any significant damage whatsoever. However, The Mechanic was getting annoyed at being fired upon. "Insects!" he growled and used the Sidewinder's claws to grab one jeep each. He lifted them both up, gave them a shake to throw the occupants out and then slammed the two jeeps into one another causing them to explode. The rebels that fell were injured, but still able to pick themselves up or help each other up before running away. This only left the armoured truck which was now preparing its top-mounted cannon which was now being aimed towards the Sidewinder.
"Lieutenant!" Hayley barked, directing his attention towards the armoured truck. Mendleson tried to reprogram one of the Sidewinder's pulse cannons to fire upon the truck but the truck fired first. However the projectile never reached its target, for the Sidewinder grabbed it with its left claw, much to the astonishment of Hayley, Mendleson and the three rebels inside the truck.
"Impossible!" exclaimed the group's second-in-command who'd taken command following the defeat of the leader.
"Mechanic?" Hayley asked through her radio.
"Not letting these morons damage my machine too much, Captain," The Mechanic said.
"Nice catch," said Hayley. "Maybe they'd like it back?"
The Mechanic was surprised by this, but felt happy to agree. "With pleasure," he said with a smirk. He then used the holographic arm control to throw the projectile back towards the armoured truck.
"NO!" screamed the rebels inside as it landed underneath the vehicle and detonated, flipping the truck over onto its back and trapping them inside.
"Nice one, Mechanic," said Hayley. She turned back to Mendleson. "Is that all of them, Lieutenant?"
"Yes, ma'am," replied Mendleson. "The others have fled. Shall we pursue?"
"Negative," said Hayley. "I think we've proved this machine is a force to be reckoned with. Head to the rendezvous point."
"Roger."
Whilst all this had been happening, Colonel Casey and Captain Rigby had been observing the operation from the safety of their Flyer.
"That thing's like a creature from another planet," remarked Colonel Casey.
"And nothing stood in its way," added Rigby. "I'd say the Sidewinder's been a success?"
Colonel Casey nodded in agreement. "It's performed better than I could have hoped for, Captain," she replied. "The Cabal will get a nasty surprise should they come up against this."
The Sidewinder continued to make its way through the trees and soon reached the edge of the jungle where it walked out onto the open expanse of desert that was on the other side. It came to a stop once clear of the trees.
Hayley noticed from the screens that one of the Flyers had landed and the soldiers aboard had managed to round up and arrest the rebels who had fled from them. The other with Colonel Casey and Rigby in was hovering overhead. "Sidewinder to Colonel Casey. Operation complete. How did we look, Colonel?"
"Magnificent, Captain," Colonel Casey replied over the radio. "Mechanic, that's one hell of a fine machine you have created for us."
"Thank you, Colonel," answered The Mechanic. "She performed just as I thought she would."
"Excellent," said Colonel Casey. "You have all done well and deserve a rest. Head for Rendezvous Nine where the Carrier will meet you and take you back to base. Will see you back there. Colonel Casey, out."
Hayley turned to Mendleson. "Plot course for Rendezvous Nine, Lieutenant," she said. "Mechanic, take us on."
The Sidewinder began to set off again whilst the two GDF Flyers left the scene. The one loading the rebels had taken them all on and was heading away to the nearest city to hand them over to the local authorities.
"Quite a machine, isn't it, Captain?" Mendleson remarked.
"In many ways, Lieutenant, yes," said Hayley. She fell silent for a moment whilst she reflected on those rebels who had either gotten life-changing injuries or were even killed as a result of their actions. Whether she would ever know the exact numbers she didn't know, but she deeply wished that they had just surrendered peacefully.
Suddenly there was a jolt and the Sidewinder seemed to wobble slightly.
"What was that?" asked Mendleson.
Hayley opened the radio link again. "Mechanic, is everything okay?"
"I'm not sure," The Mechanic replied. "I seemed to lose footing under one of the right legs. It felt like the ground shifted or something."
"The terrain is rough," Hayley said. "Could it have been a chunk of rock?"
"Maybe," The Mechanic replied. "But I'm not sure if-"
Suddenly, alarms began blaring throughout the Sidewinder as red warning lights started flashing. Mendleson began checking the instruments to try and find out what was wrong.
"What's going on?" Hayley demanded.
"I-I-I don't know, Captain!" Mendleson replied. "The instruments are going haywire and-"
That was as far as he got for suddenly the Sidewinder lurched violently and everything began to turn over. Before anyone could realise what was happening, they were tumbling around and crashing down before the whole machine came to a sudden stop, and everything went black.