The explosion didn't kill Captain Troy Tempest but it certainly threw him. It was like a small earth quake: cracking boulders, sending shockwaves bouncing off the rocks, kicking up sand from the sea floor, the device itself firing out shrapnel everywhere along with its pyrotechnics and Troy was sent spinning like a top, almost throttled by the steel wire that undoubted saved his life. He was winded and dazed for a moment before his brain caught up he remembered what happened. The line must have pulled him just out of harm's way of the blunt of the contained impact that should have ripped him limb from limb. But Titan's goons where still coming for him, furious their prey had been left intact despite their little bomb trick. They had nets with them Troy noted with a lurch. Titian obviously wanted his head -quite literally.
Troy, aided by the line still pulling him home, kicked out and started swimming as fast as he could almost sucking the oxygen tank dry trying to get air back in to his lungs. He made it back to stingray by only the skin of his wet suit and with the Aquaphibians practically snapping at his flippers. It was very lucky their swimming was hampered by their heavy sliver guns and they're shooting ability fell drastically when swimming or Tempest felt he would have be done for.
As soon as the airlocks hatch closed over his captain's head, Phones, leaning over in his seat to grasp on his wheel in one hand and Troy's in the other, pulled the ship of the ocean floor and fighting to keep her level, swung her to starboard to escape. But the three brutes that had been chasing Troy now clung on to the hull waggling they're ugly heads and baring sharp teeth through the front glass. One even levelled his weapon aiming at Phones treading water with a leer.
For a split second all Phones could see was the barrel of the gun and he froze. He then felt the yawning lever digging him under the ribs along with the arm rests and heard Atlanta's voice over the radio somewhat distressed. Poor girl must have been yelling horse at the microphone he thought as he yanked the controls, sending Stingray into a spin as the Aquaphibian fired.
"Tower-! tower we're under attack! Initiating defensive manoeuvres!" he hollered into the radio as the shot bounced off the hull with a clang. The shot dented the side of the cabin, but better that then cracking the glass and causing a leak. Or death. The roll also dislodged one of the other reptiles as a bonus even if it did dislodge Phones as well as Stingray scraped against a rock face.
He was quite glad Marina wasn't there with them for a change. Not only would she have been in danger but he would have also looked very silly to her, sprawled across bot seats with his headphones over his nose. Troy always managed to keep Marina safe AND carry danger off with dignity. The later he was doing now. Having raced up into the cabin still in his wet suit and took back command of the sub joining Phones in righting their ship. He had a nasty cut on his brow that was dribbling blood down his collar with the sea water, but he didn't seem to notice as he pulled Phones up into his seat. The ship stopped spinning but as the dust settled the three Aquaphibians where nowhere to be seen. Stingray's mad spiral became an almost lazy circle and then figure of eights as they duo scanned their surroundings.
"That-" Phones coughed after a while. "That ain't what I thought you meant when you said I wanted some action, Skipper."
"You know what, Phones?" Troy retorted, wiping a hand across his fore head absent mildly as his navigator reajusted his hydrophone equipment. "It wasn't what I thought I meant either…"