SCOTT entered Brains' lab to find the engineer in a bit of a tizzy. He was checking everywhere like he was looking for something. "Everything okay, Brains?" he asked.

Brains jumped and yelped, having not realised Scott had entered. "OH! Oh, S-S-S-S-Scott, it's you."

"Whatever's the matter?" asked Scott. "You're not normally this jumpy."

"Y-Yeah, s-sorry," stammered Brains. "I guess I am a little j-jumpy."

"Dad asked me to see if you're ready," said Scott. "Guessing not by this mess?"

"I'm t-t-terrified I've forgotten something," said Brains. "I'd hate to g-get out there and realise that I have left s-something important behind."

"Well, make sure you've got what's important," said Scott. "Check your bag and see what is there. If you find something missing, try to find it. I can give you a hand if you'd like?"

"I g-guess so," said Brains. "How long do we have before we h-have to leave?"

"You have about an hour," said Scott. "I'm gonna take you in Thunderbird 1 so it'll be a fast journey, but we don't want to keep Hayley and her crew waiting, do we?"

"N-No. Of course not," agreed Brains.

Scott frowned as he noticed Brains wipe some sweat off his brow. "You want me to help?" he asked.

"W-What?" asked Brains, who'd only been half-listening. "Oh, er, no thank you, Scott. I think I should be f-fine."

"Fair enough," said Scott as he headed for the door. "I'll come back if you haven't appeared by the approach to launch time."

Brains watched Scott leave and then glanced nervously at his watch. "Mmmmmm-Mmmmmm," he said unhappily before going back to his searching.

Scott returned to the lounge where Jeff was working. Jeff looked up as Scott entered. "How's he doing, son?"

"Not good, Dad," Scott replied. "He's in a right state."

"And I bet he didn't admit that, did he?"

Scott shook his head as he sat down on a sofa. "Nope," he replied simply.

Jeff put his pen down and scratched his nose. "Hmmm," he said thoughtfully. "I figured as much."

"He's worried about something," said Scott. "But what is what I'm curious about?"

"You know what he's like, Scott," said Jeff. "He wants everything he does to be perfect. I suspect he's just a little anxious to make sure he doesn't forget anything."

"That is kind of what he said," said Scott. "Although…I noticed him sweating. I'm not sure that kind of anxiety would cause that?"

Virgil had also been in the lounge, sitting at the piano. He wasn't playing but was making some minor repairs to it. Hearing the conversation between his father and eldest brother, he decided to speak up. "I don't think forgetting anything is the problem," he said.

Scott and Jeff turned to look at him as Virgil picked himself up off the floor.

"How do you figure, Virgil?" asked Scott.

"I think there might be one or two things that are concerning him," said Virgil. "I mean, he's already concerned for the welfare of The Mechanic for a start. So either he's worried about leaving him whilst he goes out on the mission. Or…" he paused impressively. "He's worried about being in the bathyscaphe."

"Why would that worry him?" asked Scott. "I mean, if he was going to be out there with people who he did not know then I'd totally get that. But Hayley's going to be there. Surely he must feel safe with her."

"Scott, you know how Brains doesn't like confined spaces," said Virgil. "That bathyscaphe might be a similar size to Thunderbird 4 but inside there's more bulky equipment. Space isn't as freely moveable in there. Also there's the uncertainty of how long they're gonna be down there for. I don't think the idea of being down there for more than a few hours sits well with him."

"I guess that depends on how long the process to make plyton takes," said Jeff. "I can understand how he feels." He turned to Scott. "Maybe try and ask him during the flight, son. Talking about it may make him feel better."

"Or make him feel worse," Scott replied. "But I'll give it a go."

Jeff gave a nod before pressing a button on his desk to call John. "Base to Thunderbird 5?"

John's hologram appeared from the portrait. "Go ahead, Dad?"

"John, what's the position of the Floating Dock ship?"

"About thirteen miles from the rendezvous point," said John. "They should be in position in about an hour from now."

"That's plenty of time for Thunderbird 1 to take Brains out there," said Jeff. he turned to Scott. "You'd better go and check her yourself seeing as Brains is otherwise preoccupied."

"F-A-B," agreed Scott as he got up to leave the lounge.

"John, contact Hayley and let her know Thunderbird 1 will be leaving soon."

"F-A-B, Dad. Thunderbird 5, out."

The FD-7's journey from the United States across the Northern Pacific Ocean had been very uneventful. It was not a fast vessel either so for Hayley in particular, it had seemed painfully slow. She and Zoe had spent most of the time going over the B-1 and its control systems, most importantly the Plyton Processor. Zoe was the only person other than her father who fully understood how it worked.

"Do you reckon it'll work after all this time?" Hayley asked Zoe.

"It will. I have faith," Zoe replied. "Daddy built things to last. She'll give us no trouble."

Hayley smiled. Then she felt her watch vibrate. She looked down and on the face saw the words 'Incoming Call - John T5'. "Excuse me," she said and exited the bathyscaphe to take the call. "Hello, John?"

"Hayley, hi," said John as his hologram appeared from the watch's face. "Just wanted to check on how things were?"

"Everything A-okay," said Hayley. "We're not far from the rendezvous point."

"I've been tracking your progress," said John. "Thunderbird 1 will be launching soon."

"Scott's bringing Brains out?" asked Hayley, surprised.

"Yes. Dad felt it was the best and quickest option," said John.

"I see," said Hayley. "I look forward to welcoming him aboard."

"Be mindful of one thing," John said. "Dad says Brains is uneasy about something. Either he's worried about forgetting something or he's afraid of being in the bathyscaphe. It's a bit smaller than what he's used to."

"Ahhh," said Hayley, scratching her cheek. "I understand. Tell your Dad that I'll make sure he's okay."

This made John feel easier. "Will do," he said. "The next call you get will most likely be from Thunderbird 1. Good luck with the mission, and make sure B-1 has an emergency beacon that we can pick up in an instant."

"I've installed that myself," said Hayley. "I don't anticipate we'll have any trouble, John, but we will be prepared no matter what."

"Great," said John. "Thunderbird 5, out."

As the hologram disappeared, Hayley pulled her sleeve down over the watch and looked out across the ocean from where she was on the top hatch of the B-1. The skies were grey and threatening but the sea was still relatively calm. She hoped bad weather wasn't on the way. That would potentially cause problems when launching the B-1 and for the FD-7 itself as it wasn't designed for very bad weather.

Scott was about to go and fetch Brains when he finally emerged from his lab carrying a crate that contained all that he needed for the upcoming mission.

"S-Sorry for the delay," Brains said. "I had to m-make sure I had everything."

"You made it in time, Brains," said Jeff. "Now make your way to Thunderbird 1. The bathyscaphe is almost in position."

Brains let out what looked like a gulp. "Y-Yes, Mr T-Tracy," he said and scurried off to make his way to Thunderbird 1.

"You see what I mean?" Scott said to Jeff and Virgil once Brains was out of earshot.

Jeff nodded. "Make sure he's up for this, Scott," he said. "On your way."

Scott nodded back and headed for the revolving wall panel that led to his express elevator.

Once the wall had turned around, Scott was racing down in the elevator whilst the robotic arms attached his suit to his body. He soon reached the bottom and the doors opened. He walked out on the walkway that extended outwards taking him to the pilot seat of Thunderbird 1 which was waiting outside the craft. As he sat in and was lifted in, Brains was also entering via the hydraulic platform into the cargo bay doors. He too was now suited up in his brown jumpsuit with white helmet by his side as well as his packing crate. Once inside, all doors and hatches were closed and the platform that Thunderbird 1 stood took them up the diagonal tunnel to the launching bay under the swimming pool which began opening as they approached. As soon as it had finished opening and the trolley had gotten them into position, they were ready.

5! 4! 3! 2! 1!

The engines of Thunderbird 1 thundered into life and the sleek, silver craft rose majestically out from the launch bay and rocketed up into the sky high above Tracy Island. It then levelled out and accelerated to full speed, breaking the sound barrier as it went. "Thunderbird 1 is GO!" announced Scott.

As Thunderbird 1 made its way high above the Pacific, Scott didn't fail to notice just how silent Brains was. He took a look over his shoulder and saw he was looking at some holographic blueprints of a machine that he did not recognise. "Is that the Plyton Projector?" he asked.

"Y-Yes," Brains answered. "Hayley sent these to me. She said I n-needed to know how the machine works before we g-get down there."

"A good idea," said Scott. "Does it say how long the process takes?" Brains didn't answer. "Brains?"

"What? Oh, s-sorry."

Scott let out a sigh. He put Thunderbird 1 on autopilot. "Fine. Let's do this," he muttered to himself. He got up and walked around to sit on a metal box in front of Brains.

Brains didn't notice Scott at first but then almost jumped out of his skin when he did. "AAAHHH!"

"Brains, calm the hell down!" Scott sighed, facepalming. "Just what the heck's gotten into you?"

Brains looked uneasy. "Gotten…into…me?" he asked, confused.

"Yes!" said Scott. "You've been acting strange throughout the whole build up to this mission. I thought you were eager to get what you need to help The Mechanic?"

Brains lowered his tablet and let out a sigh. He saw no point in hiding his feelings any longer. "I was. Am!" he corrected himself. "But…I d-didn't think that meant I'd be g-going down there with the B-1."

Virgil was right, Scott thought to himself. "But you've been deep underwater before," he said. "You've been in Thunderbird 4 and even solved the secrets of Atlantis. How can this be any different?"

"I wasn't in a c-concealed vessel with no way of s-seeing outside," said Brains.

Scott frowned. "Does the B-1 not have any windows?"

"A c-couple of small ones and a periscope," Brains said. "But that's all."

Scott began to understand how Brains was feeling. "Brains, I get it," he said. "I totally get how you feel now. But think about what the results will be. What matters more to you? Being inside a submerged sealed sub or being able to help save another person's life?"

"He's more than another person, Scott," said Brains. "The M-Mechanic…is my friend. And I would do anything to help him!"

Scott was pleased that Brains suddenly sounded determined. "Good man," he said. "You make sure you put that in front of any fears you might have." He put a caring hand on Brains' shoulder. "Can you do that for me?"

Brains, surprised by this, nodded. "I'll d-do my best, Scott," he promised. "Actually…I'll do more than my best!"

Scott grinned and left Brains to it as he returned to the pilot seat.

The Captain of the FD-7 was watching the radar screen from the bridge. He was getting annoyed. "Nothing!" he grunted and turned to Hayley who was looking out of the window with some binoculars. "I thought you said they'd be here by now?"

Hayley looked at her watch. "I predict they'll appear any minute now," she replied before looking back out to sea.

"Yeah, well there's nothing for more than a-hundred miles around us!" growled the FD-7 Captain. "So where the hell are-"

"There!" said Hayley triumphantly.

The bridge crew watched in astonishment as Thunderbird 1 suddenly dropped out from the clouds and began to hover directly above the ship. "International Rescue to Captain Madison," Scott's voice said over the radio. "Do you copy?"

The Captain went to grab the microphone, but Hayley swiped it away from him first. "Loud and clear. Good to see you, Thunderbird 1."

"Are you ready to receive your passenger?" asked Scott.

"Sure are," replied Hayley. "Send him down." She put the microphone back down and turned to the Captain. "Once we're aboard, be ready to lower us down," she instructed as she handed him back the binoculars and then exited the bridge.

The Captain was speechless as he watched her go and then looked back at the radar screen which was still showing nothing. He then stared up at Thunderbird 1, unable to find anything to say.

Hayley came out on deck and along with some other members of the crew watched as Brains was lowered via a harness towards them. Hayley was ready to help unfasten the harness as soon as he landed on the deck. "Welcome aboard, Brains."

"T-Thank you, Captain," said Brains, deciding to sound as professional as he could in front of the FD-7's crew. He then waved up to Thunderbird 1. "T-Thanks for the lift, Scott."

"Anytime, Brains!" Scott answered over the radio. He wound the harness cable back in and closed the doors whilst turning Thunderbird 1 round whilst still hovering. Then with a thunderous roar and a sonic boom, it disappeared in the blink of an eye as it headed back towards Tracy Island. For Brains and Hayley, that was normal, but it certainly startled everyone else on the FD-7.

Brains turned his attention to the B-1 which was sitting on a platform between the two hulls of the FD-7. The talk with Scott had made him feel better, but upon seeing the bathyscaphe for the first time, he began to feel uneasy again.

Hayley noticed this and decided to be straight with him. "If you'd rather stay up here and monitor, you can," she said.

Brains blinked in surprise. "They've t-told you?" he asked.

"Brains, I'm in command of B-1," Hayley said simply. "If you're onboard, then I have a duty for your welfare. I will not take you if you aren't comfortable with being aboard."

Brains thought hard. But then he remembered what Scott had said and he also thought about The Mechanic, still stuck inside the ice. "I'll be c-coming," he said, as determinedly as he could.

Hayley nodded. "Let's get started," she said.

Brains and Hayley were soon inside the B-1. She introduced Brains to Zoe. It would be only the three of them in the B-1 as that was the amount of crew the bathyscaphe could hold.

"Are we ready?" Hayley asked.

"All set," said Zoe.

"Let's g-get this done," finished Brains.

Hayley then called up the bridge of the floating dock. "B-1 to FD-7. We're ready. Lower away."

The cranes had already lifted the B-1 up to allow the platform underneath to retract. Then they began to lower the craft down into the water slowly and carefully. Soon it was completely submerged and lowered to about fifty feet beneath the surface. Then the cranes halted.

"We've stopped," Brains said in surprise. "We can't be d-down already?"

"No, Brains, the trench is far too deep for the ship to lower us all the way," Hayley said. "Luckily, it does not need to. Releasing clamps."

The clamps that were attached to the hull of the B-1 were detached and it began to drop steadily downwards. Then Hayley activated its stern thrusters and it began to make its way through the darkness. It had a pair of powerful headlamps on the bow which allowed Hayley to see where they were going via a camera also on the front.

"10,000 feet," said Hayley. "All systems are normal."

The B-1 continued to descend with Hayley making adjustments to the course as it went.

Zoe and Brains observed the camera feed on another monitor. All they could see was the glow from the lights and nothing else. "Won't be long before we start seeing the underwater mountains," Zoe remarked.

Brains was watching like a hawk for he felt he would need to tell Hayley to evade at some point.

"20,000 feet," said Hayley.

It was a very long way down indeed. A lot deeper than Brains felt comfortable with. However, he felt confident that with the area being out in the very depths of the Pacific, the chances of anything or anyone else being out there were very small.

Soon the mountains began to appear and Hayley used the holographic radar screen to steer the B-1 in and around them. Her skills as a pilot were quite impressive and Brains found himself a lot more at ease. "How d-deep are we going?" Brains asked.

"The Kendrick Trench is 35,000 feet beneath the surface," replied Zoe. "We must be approaching it now."

"30,000 feet," said Hayley. "Not far to go now."

The B-1 moved between a pair of twin peaked rocks that was about double the width of the bathyscaphe itself. None of them could have noticed a tiny little device fixed to one of the rocks which turned on a red light as they passed through. Soon the lights began to show a large crack in the seabed. It was here where the B-1 had been on its ill-fated mission where the undersea earthquake had caused it to fall down into the seabed and become badly damaged which had resulted in the loss of Professor Darren and his assistant Chuck. This began to make Zoe and Hayley feel a little emotional. They exchanged looks. Neither had to say it, but they both knew what the other was thinking. Brains noticed this, but decided it wasn't his business to ask.

A piece of flat seabed soon came into view. "That looks as good a place as any," Zoe said. "Put her down there."

"Roger," acknowledged Hayley and skilfully placed the B-1 down on its four legs onto the seabed. "How long before we can start the process, Zoe?" Hayley asked.

"I'll just double-check the equipment again," Zoe replied. "But I reckon five minutes, maximum."

"Great," said Hayley.

Brains came over to her. "Is the radar scope c-clear?" he asked.

Hayley checked. "Sure is," she replied. "Nobody down here but us."

Brains breathed a sigh of relief. "T-Thank goodness," he said. He adjusted his glasses. "Quite the p-pilot you are," he added.

Hayley was surprised by the compliment. "Why…thank you," she said.

"You know," Brains said with a chuckle. "You'd make a very g-good pilot for Thunderbird 4." He then walked away to give Zoe a hand.

Hayley gazed after him, stunned. Is Gordon getting tired of working for IR? No, don't be stupid, she thought to herself. She shrugged it off and went back to checking her equipment.

In next to no time at all, Zoe had completed her checks. "We're ready," she said.

"Great," said Hayley. "Shall we, Brains?"

"Yes. Of c-course," said Brains.

"All yours, Zoe," said Hayley. She pressed a button.

A powerful extraction drill was lowered out of the underside of the B-1 and began to burrow into the seabed. As it did so, it dug up pieces of rock and put them into the main tank of the Plyton Processor. Once that was full, Zoe switched off and retracted the drill. The tank with its strong glass viewing window was now almost full of pieces of rock dug up from the ocean floor. To Brains and Hayley, they didn't look any different to any other rocks that they'd seen before, but that was only part of the process.

"Stage One - complete," said Zoe. "Now for Stage Two - applying seawater reaction. She moved a lever.

The B-1 had two little nozzles mounted one on each side of the hull towards the front. The one on the port-side began to suck seawater into the tank where it filled up around the pieces of rock until it was completely full. It then went very cloudy and dark concealing the rocks from view. Then the water began to get pumped out again via the nozzle on the opposite side. There were no harmful effects so the ocean wasn't in any danger of being polluted. The water level in the tank began to drop down as it was pumped out. Brains and Hayley gazed in amazement at what was now inside once it had been fully drained. The pieces of rock had been dissolved into shiny turquoise-coloured gems.

"W-Wow!" gasped Brains in amazement.

Zoe opened the tank's hatch and took the gems out. "There you go, Mr Hackenbacker," she said as she handed them to Brains. "Plyton."

Brains looked like a kid in a candy store. His eyes glistened like the gems themselves. "Ohhhhhhhh, beautiful! Just b-beautiful!" he said excitedly. "Thank you so much, D-Dr Darren."

"Please, it's just Zoe."

"Okay, Z-Zoe."

"Is that going to be enough, Brains?" asked Hayley. "Or will you need more?"

Brains looked over the newly-formed plyton again. "I will n-need more than this," he said. "M-Maybe three more loads from the machine. If that's n-not a problem?" he added hastily.

Zoe grinned. "It most certainly isn't," she said. "The more my father's machine gets used the better. I'll just reset everything and-"

CRASH!

"WHOA!" everyone exclaimed as the B-1 shuddered suddenly. They'd been so busy getting excited over the plyton, they'd not been paying attention to the sonar screen. Hayley dashed over to look at it. Her eyes widened at the sight of a contact that was showing up on it. She couldn't tell what it was, but it was big. Very big - at least the size of Thunderbird 2 if not bigger.

"What is it?" asked Zoe.

"Brains, secure that plyton!" Hayley ordered. "Zoe, shut down the machine! I gotta get us out of here!" She powered up the B-1's engines and it lifted up off the seabed to begin moving forwards.

However, it didn't get more than ten feet before it was suddenly grabbed by something and forced to stop dead. The three inside froze in fear as they felt their craft being lifted upwards by something.

"W-W-W-What's h-h-happening?!" Brains stammered.

Zoe scrambled up to one of the portholes in the bathyscaphe's conning tower to peer out. She let out a gasp of horror at the sight of a giant object moving about outside. "Oh, my God! HAYLEY, SOMETHING'S GOT HOLD OF US!" she yelled as she scrambled down the ladder. "GET US OUT OF HERE!"

"I'M TRYING!" Hayley shouted back as she struggled with the controls. "DID YOU SEE WHAT IT IS?"

"A CREATURE OF SOME KIND!" shouted Zoe as she tried desperately to secure the Plyton Processor. "I THINK IT WAS A GIANT CRAB!"

Brains had secured the plyton in a special case. Then he scrambled up to the conning tower himself so he could have a look. "Ohh, m-m-my!" he exclaimed as he saw some bright lights coming from the object. "IT'S A M-M-MACHINE!".

But before anyone could say anything else, the giant object swung its arm around and released its grip on the B-1. The yellow bathyscaphe went spiralling across, rolling over and over and causing its occupants to get thrown about like they were inside a washing machine. Then it slammed into an underwater cliff and was hit hard before sinking back down to crash onto the seabed and come to rest on its starboard side whilst a number of boulders, loosened by the impact, crashed around it.

The giant crab-machine stood on the edge of the large crack in the ocean floor with its front looking over at the B-1. Through a powerful monitor screen, a group of three men watched with satisfaction.

"They're out of the way," said Techno. "Shall I finish them off?"

"No. I don't think that will be necessary, my boy," answered The Hood. he then turned to the man on his left. "Satisfied, Grafton?"

Grafton rubbed his hands with glee. "Very satisfied," he said. "The riches of the Kendrick Trench are now ours. Commence mining."

"Hell, yeah!" said Techno with delight as he set his Techno-Crab to start digging into the ground to extract materials.

Hayley opened her eyes weakly. Her head was pounding. Everything was blurry and out of place as she tried to focus her eyes. She tried to sit up but her back was hurting. "Brains? Zoe?" she said. "Are you okay?" No response came from either. As Hayley looked around the upturned control room, she saw that both Brains and Zoe were laying motionless nearby. Brains had lost his glasses and had a nasty gash on his head. Hayley felt the back of her head and realised she too was bleeding from a cut she'd sustained from hitting it on something. "Must…get…help…" she said as she pulled up her sleeve and pushed the face on her watch. She then realised that she was right next to the emergency beacon button for the B-1. Using what little strength she had left, she reached up and managed to push the button before passing out.

John had been looking over the holographic globe when the alert came through. He went to check and let out a small gasp. "Hayley's emergency beacon? That's not good." He pushed on the signal icon to try and make contact. "Thunderbird 5 to B-1. Come in?" No response. "Hayley? Hayley, do you read me?" Still no answer. "EOS, scan the area. I want to know what's going on down there."

"Affirmative, John," said EOS. "Scanning now."

John watched anxiously as EOS scanned the deep ocean where the Kendrick Trench was located and soon the holographic scan image mapped out what was going on. "Oh, no…" said John, fearful for those who were aboard. "Tell me there are life-signs!"

EOS scanned the sunken B-1. "Confirmed!" she said. "Three life-signatures and they're all out cold."

"Check the bathyscaphe for damage whilst I get the others launched!" ordered John. "I'm sounding the red alert!"

It wasn't just Thunderbird 5 that was picking up a distress signal. Located ten miles inland from the dockyard where the FD-7 had departed from was a large military base. This was Marineville - the headquarters of the World Aquanaut Security Patrol. Located in the middle was a big building with a large round control tower on the top. Inside were Commander Shore and Atlanta. Both were startled by the sound of an emergency signal coming from a large map on the control room wall. Commander Shore took his hoverchair over to inspect. "Atlanta! We're getting an emergency SOS signal!" he said. "Triangulate its position!"

"Yes, sir!" said Atlanta. She pressed some buttons on the control desk. Then she gasped. "Father! It's coming from the Kendrick Trench!"

Commander Shore turned his chair to face his daughter. He looked very serious. "Then the B-1 is in trouble again!" he said. "Find out if any of our craft are in the area, and try and raise them if you can, Atlanta!" He then turned to the third person in the room who was sitting at the control desk opposite Atlanta. "Fisher! Get me International Rescue! We're gonna need to work together on this one."

The peace and tranquillity of Tracy Island was shattered by a wailing alarm that could be heard throughout the house. "Red alert! Red alert!" said a robotic voice.

Jeff, Grandma and the four remaining brothers were startled into action. They all ran from their respective areas to the lounge where John was ready to brief them. "International Rescue - we have a major situation!"

"What is it, John?" asked Jeff.

"No time to explain," John said. "We need Thunderbirds 2 and 4 launched immediately."

"Where are we going?" asked Gordon.

"I'll explain once you're airborne," said John. "Oh, and we may need all hands for this one."

Jeff turned to his sons. "Boys, get to Thunderbird 2. You as well, Scott. Thunderbird 1's only just started refuelling and it would waste precious time to stop the process."

"Agreed," said Scott. "See you in Thunderbird 2!"

"F-A-B!" acknowledged Virgil, Gordon and Alan as they hurried to their respective suit-up areas.

Virgil was the first to arrive inside his craft, dropping down from the launch chute. He closed the hatch and hurried to his seat where he selected Module 4 from the computer. The conveyor rolled the first three underneath Thunderbird 2's main body before it was lowered down onto it and clamps locked into place. He then glanced back over his shoulder as the elevator platform rose up from the floor with Alan, Scott and Gordon arriving and finishing adjustments to their suits before taking their respective seats. Scott sat in the co-pilot seat next to Virgil with Alan in the seat behind him and Gordon in one behind Virgil. Thunderbird 2 then began to taxi out of the hangar and along the runway past the avenue of folded-back palm trees before being lifted up on the launch ramp.

5! 4! 3! 2! 1!

The twin boosters roared into life and it began to climb away from Tracy Island. "Thunderbirds are GO!" said Virgil as they picked up speed.

Scott then made contact with Thunderbird 5. "Okay, John, we're airborne. What are we dealing with?"

"Saving our own, I'm afraid," John answered. "I picked up a personal emergency beacon. It's Hayley."

The brothers all exchanged worried looks. Virgil went pale. "Is she okay?" he asked anxiously.

"I don't know, Virgil," answered John grimly. "I've tried to make contact with both her and Brains but there's no response. They are alive though. EOS has managed to locate them, but the B-1 is on its side. Something bad has clearly happened."

"Another earthquake?" asked Alan.

"That'd be far too coincidental if it is," remarked Gordon. "John, are there any other ships in the area?"

"Let me check," said John as he ran a deep scan of the area around the Kendrick Trench. "Woah! Yes, there is!"

"What is it?" asked Scott.

"I can't tell," replied John. "But whatever it is, it's big."

"How big?" asked Alan.

"Size of Thunderbird 2 I'd guesstimate," said John.

"Oof!" remarked Scott. "I think we might need some back-up for this. Can you bring in the GDF?"

John didn't answer for a moment. He appeared to have been distracted by something. "I don't think that will be necessary," he said. "I think Dad's already taking care of that given who he's currently talking to."

"Yes, Sam," Jeff said to the hologram of Commander Shore. "My son John also picked up the distress signal and my other sons have just launched in Thunderbird 2 to head to the scene to recover the bathyscaphe."

"Our scanners are detecting that they aren't alone down there, Jeff," said Commander Shore. "Clearly there's another party trying to take the riches of the Kendrick Trench for themselves. I'd recommend we work together on this one."

"I agree," said Jeff. "If you can deal with whoever's caused this incident, my boys will recover the B-1 and those inside."

"Deal," said Commander Shore. "I'll have my closest patrol craft head straight to the area. Over and out."

Commander Shore then turned to his daughter. "Atlanta, have you found a craft anywhere close?"

"Yes, Father, I have," Atlanta replied. "Stingray is about ninety miles to the South."

"Excellent!" said Commander Shore. "The best we've got! Have Captain Tempest divert to the Kendrick Trench and tell him to protect International Rescue and the B-1 at all costs!"

"Yes, sir!" acknowledged Atlanta. She then opened a radio link. "Marineville calling Stingray. Do you read me, Stingray?"

The hologram of Captain Troy Tempest appeared on the monitor screen. "Stingray to Marineville. Go ahead, Atlanta?"

"New orders, Troy," said Atlanta. "Proceed at full speed to the Kendrick Trench. The B-1 has been attacked by an unknown craft. Please go and protect International Rescue whilst they recover it from the seabed."

"P.W.O.R.!" acknowledged Troy. He then turned to his trusted best friend and co-pilot Lieutenant George Sheridan who sat beside him. "Rate Six, Phones. Steer Zero-Zero-Zero."

"Aye-aye, Skipper," acknowledged the man with the headphones on. "Rate Six. Zero-Zero-Zero."

Stingray - the sleek, silver, blue and yellow superfast flagship of the World Aquanaut Security Patrol, turned to the left and began to head North. It dived deep and its mighty powerful propeller-thruster spun rapidly to push it at the incredible speed of six-hundred knots towards the Kendrick Trench.