THUNDERBIRD 3 continued to follow the course of the SS Thor II, still unaware of its identity. However, they could tell that they were starting to close the gap.

"Another forty minutes and we should catch up to them," said Alan.

"If they don't reach their destination beforehand," said John.

Alan raised an eyebrow. "Destination?" he repeated. "Where exactly could they be headed?"

Jeff cleared his throat and pointed ahead of them.

Alan had been so busy watching the screen for the course of the other ship that he'd failed to notice a large red planet that they were all too familiar with. "Oh…" he said. "Mars…"

"Actually, this could be a good thing," said Jeff. "If they land and leave the spacecraft, they'll be easier to catch. Hold back on closing in, Alan, but keep track of them all the time."

"To make sure they don't see us following," Alan realised. "Got it."

"Should we contact the Colony and see if they can provide us with back-up?" asked John.

Jeff thought for a moment. "Not a bad idea, son," he said. "I'll contact Dr Travers and put her in the picture."


Dr Travers was in the control room of Colony-1. She was pleasantly surprised to receive a call from Thunderbird 3. "Hello, International Rescue. What can I do for you?"

"Hello, Dr Travers," said Jeff. "We could use your assistance."

"After you saved us from the Subterrains, we are forever in your debt, Mr Tracy," smiled Dr Travers. "What do you need?"

"We're currently in pursuit of a spacecraft carrying a dangerous criminal," explained Jeff. "It's on the approach to Mars as we speak."

Dr Travers was surprised. "Beg your pardon, Mr Tracy, but since when did International Rescue start chasing criminals?"

"Well…we're actually trying to rescue the hostage aboard," said Jeff. "But I doubt we'd succeed unless we take down the criminals. Have you ever heard of Johnny Cuba?"

Dr Travers gasped. "Oh, my Gosh! Johnny Cuba is in space?!"

"He was being transported to a secret space station prison when the transport intercepted and responded to a distress call," said Jeff. "Only it turned out to be a trap and the captain in charge is now a prisoner aboard."

"I see," said Dr Travers. "And what can we do to help?"

"We haven't yet laid eyes on the ship he's travelling in," said Jeff. "The one survivor of the attack is in a bad way and hasn't been able to assist us. Do you have any satellites around Mars that could perhaps get us a visual look of it?"

Dr Travers checked the positions of the satellites that orbited Mars. "Affirmative," she said. "In fact it's come into range of one right now. I'll try and get a photo of it for you. Stand-by."

Jeff, Alan and John waited intently for an image to come through on Thunderbird 3's projector. Within a minute it did so and for the first time they were able to get a good look at what the other ship was like.

"Gee…what a heap of junk!" remarked Jeff. "I thought all those had been retired from service?"

But Alan and John were exchanging a look of concern with one another.

"Boys?" Jeff asked once he'd noticed. "What's the trouble?"

"I…think we know who that ship belongs to," said Alan uneasily.

"Although they must have gotten another one from somewhere," said John.

"Who?" Jeff asked.

"The Space-Spies!" said John. "Boris and Gloria Anderson. Alan, Ridley and I have encountered them before."

"I thought they were locked up?" said Alan.

"They were locked up on Global-1," said John. "My guess is they must have been released when it fell to Earth and they managed to escape somehow."

"It's going to enter the Mars atmosphere in about five minutes," said Dr Travers. "Should I send one of my security teams to bring them in?"

"Send one out, but don't engage until we join in," said Jeff. "Cuba is a dangerous man, Sandra. He won't hesitate to use a gun on someone if he sees them as a potential threat."

This sent a shiver down Dr Travers' spine. "Duly noted," she said. "I'll give you its location once it has landed."

"Thanks, Sandra," said Jeff with a smile. He then spoke to his sons. "Well, boys. Looks like the noose is tightening."


The Space-Spy Thor II was getting closer to Mars, its occupants completely oblivious to the fact they were being observed. Cuba's paranoia was kicking in. "I know there's a colony down there," he said to Boris and Gloria. "How do you know they're not tracking us?"

"Our ship is cloaked," said Gloria. "Nobody will know we're even around."

"And even if we are discovered, we can get rid of anything that tries to catch us," added Boris. He then proceeded to show Cuba the number of weapons that the Space-Spy Thor II was equipped with.

"Guns and missiles?" said Cuba with interest. "You guys are the best!"

Boris and Gloria blushed whilst Ridley mumbled to herself under the gag. None of them noticed the sly grin appear on Cuba's face.

Dr Travers watched the progress of the Space-Spy Thor II as it entered the Mars atmosphere and made its way down towards the surface. "They're heading for an area about two-hundred miles from the colony," she told the crew of Thunderbird 3.

"Are they going near the Frazer Gorge?" Jeff asked.

"Negative," said Dr Travers. "And before you ask, there are no reported Rock Snakes in that area."

"Good," said Jeff. "These guys are gonna be a problem as it is. We don't want to get in the way of those damn things!"

"How are we going to do this?" John asked.

"You and I will go down there and keep an eye on them until Dr Travers' back-up arrives," said Jeff. "Alan, you stay aboard Thunderbird 3 and be ready to cut them off if they try to escape in their ship."

"F-A-B," said Alan, doing his best to hide the disappointment of being made to stay on the ship.


Jeff and John headed for the cargo bay to set-up the Dragonfly-Pod for the journey across the Martian surface. When the lights came on they were in for a surprise. The Pod had already been assembled for them.

"Thanks, Alan," said John.

"For what?"

"For assembling the Dragonfly for us of course," said John.

Alan was confused. "I haven't assembled anything," he replied.

John and Jeff exchanged puzzled looks. "If you didn't, then who did?" Jeff asked.

"Who cares?" said John. "Are we in Mars's orbit yet, Alan?"

"We'll be entering it in thirty seconds," said Alan. "Better get ready."

Jeff and John climbed inside the Pod with John at the controls and Jeff in the back seat.


The Space-Spy Thor II had already entered the Mars atmosphere and Thunderbird 3 wasn't far behind. Once they were through and several hundred feet above the surface of the red planet, Alan opened the cargo bay doors and John fired up the Dragonfly's engines. The docking clamp was released and it dropped out to start flying under its own power.

"Dragonfly is GO!" said John.

Once the Pod was gone, Alan closed the doors up again and pulled back up to escape the atmosphere and then orbit the planet to await further instructions.

"Well…here I am again," Alan said unhappily to himself. "Alone once again." He sighed. "Dad's never gonna let me loose on my own again after all I've been doing. Everyone hates me. And damn right they should! I've been an a-hole to everyone. I accused Gordon of cowardice and selfishness. But…maybe they're right. Am I the one who's being stupid?" He fell silent for a moment as several different thoughts flooded through his mind. Then a different one struck him. "Hmmm. I wonder how that Dragonfly-Pod assembled itself? Pretty sure I dismantled it after the last time."


The Space-Spy Thor II had reached an opening amongst several large rocks and at the base of one of Mars's many mountains. As the ship touched down on the ground beside the edge, Cuba was still uneasy. He was looking out at all the rocks as though he was looking for something.

"What's the matter?" asked Gloria.

"I'm looking for anyone out there," Cuba replied.

"Don't be silly, there's nobody," said Boris. "Nobody knows about our secret hideout."

"You really need to calm yourself," said Gloria. "Paranoia will get you nowhere."

"I've been on the run for months since those dingo Thunderbirds interfered with my life!" Cuba fumed. "I have no intention of ever getting caught again."

"Neither do we," said Boris. "It seems we have a common enemy?"

"Why, what did they do to you?" asked Cuba.

"Stopped our work and put us in jail," said Gloria bitterly. "And they were helping her!" She pointed at the captive Ridley.

"I see…" said Cuba. "Well, in that case. We shall defend ourselves together."

The Space-Spies nodded in agreement.


Using the directions sent from the colony, John flew the Dragonfly to a location near to where they'd noticed the Space-Spy Thor II had landed. They then exited the small red craft and made their way over to a nearby ridge where they could look over. The Space-Spy Thor II was over on their right. They could see four figures walking down what looked like a carefully carved path through the side of the ridge into the base below. Gloria was leading Cuba down whilst Boris brought up the rear with his gun aimed at Ridley who was between him and Cuba. her hands remained bound tightly behind her back, but the gag had been removed so she could breathe in her helmet, although its radio had been disabled to make sure she couldn't call for help.

Seeing the woman he had feelings for in trouble made John seethe with anger. He was itching to go in and rescue her, and Jeff had noticed this. "Easy son, easy," he warned.

"Sorry," John replied. He'd noticed a cave entrance on the opposite side of the crater. "But if we let them in there."

Jeff bit his lip. "Hmm, you could have a point there," he said. Then he had an idea. He used the heads-up display in his helmet to scan the four people. Both Cuba and Ridley showed up as blue. Gloria and Boris came up red. "Cuba isn't armed, but the other two are. How much time would you need to grab Captain O'Bannon?"

"A few seconds provided Mr Space-Spy is not poking a gun at her back," replied John.

"Very well," said Jeff. He pulled out his own weapon from his holster. "I got you covered."

Cuba's constant paranoia was getting on Gloria's nerves. "For the last time, Cuba. Nobody is going to find you out here!"

"When you've been a criminal as long as I have, you don't take chances, Mrs Space-Spy!" Johnny retorted.

"Come on, stop arguing!" grumbled Boris. "Once we're in the cave, we'll be-AAARGH!"

A streak of yellow and blue came swooping down from above as John performed a drop-kick on Boris, knocking him away from Ridley and causing him to drop his gun. John then spun quickly around and grabbed Ridley before carrying her up and away from the ground.

"THUNDERBIRD!" shouted Gloria. She pulled her gun and aimed it up at John.

Jeff had been ready for this and instantly fired a couple of shots at Gloria's feet, causing her to shriek in surprise.

Cuba instantly began to panic. "No! No! NO!" he roared. He grabbed Boris's dropped gun and started shooting along with Gloria up at John before he dropped down out of sight behind the boulders.

Ridley was somewhat in shock by the whole suddenness of what had just happened. She looked wide-eyed at her rescuer. "J-J-John?!"

"Fancy finding you out here," John joked.

Ridley's stunned face then broke into a broad, relieved grin. "Oh, God! I'm so glad to see you!" she said. "Wait, what about my crew?!"

"Your co-pilot is alive just about and aboard Thunderbird 3," said John. "But I'm afraid the two guards were killed by Mrs Space-Spy."

Ridley suddenly turned red with anger. "Oh, she's gonna pay for that!" she fumed. "Cut me free!"

John quickly cut the bonds around Ridley's wrists so she was free to move arms again.

Jeff had managed to keep the distraction up with his shots. But he could feel parts of the boulder he was using for cover being blasted away by the shots from Gloria and Cuba's guns.

Cuba then snatched Gloria's gun from her hands. "GIVE ME THAT!" he roared and began shooting both in rapid succession until both clicked empty. He then threw both to the ground in frustration.

Realising the guns were now empty, Jeff revealed himself to the crooks. He stood high above looking down on them whilst they all stared up at him. Boris was now back on his feet, although somewhat winded by John's surprise attack.

"IT'S OVER, CUBA!" Jeff called down. "WE HAVE THE HIGH GROUND!"

"WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?!" Cuba bellowed back. "HOW DID YOU KNOW WHERE I WAS?!"

"YOUR SHIP WAS EASY TO TRACK!" Jeff thundered. "YOU DIDN'T DISABLE CAPTAIN O'BANNON'S TRACKER SIGNAL!"

Gloria rounded on her husband. "YOU TOLD ME YOU'D DISABLED IT!"

"I SAID NO SUCH THING1" Boris shouted back. "I DIDN'T KNOW SHE HAD ONE!"

As the two Space-Spies started arguing, Cuba turned his attention back to Jeff who'd now been joined by John and Ridley. "ARE YOU A TRACY?!"

"I'M JEFF TRACY! MAYBE YOU'VE HEARD OF ME?!"

The Space-Spies suddenly stopped arguing and turned to face them as well. "J-Jeff T-Tracy?!" Gloria said in shock.

"IT'S OVER FOR ALL OF YOU!" Ridley shouted down to them. "YOU CAN ADD CHARGES OF KIDNAPPING, MURDER AND ESPIONAGE TO YOUR LIST OF CHARGES, SPACE-SPIES! LOOKS LIKE YOU'RE GONNA HAVE COMPANY IN PRISON, CUBA!"

"NO!" bellowed Cuba. "NO PRISON! NEVER!" And with that he began to run past the Space-Spies and back up the path towards where the Space-Spy Thor II was located.

Boris and Gloria ran up the path after him. But as they approached the ramp that led up into the ship, they became alarmed when the ramp suddenly rose up after Cuba had entered.

"What the?!" exclaimed Boris.

"WHY DID YOU CLOSE IT?!" Gloria shouted.

"I DIDN'T!"

"USELESS, YOU ARE!" Gloria thundered, grabbing her husband's wrist-controller and pressing the button to open the hatch. But the hatch didn't open.

Suddenly the Space-Spy Thor II's engines fired up and it began to take-off.

"HEY!" the Space-Spies both cried. "WHAT'S GOING ON?!"

It was pretty obvious what was going on. Cuba had spent the time during the flight to Mars wisely in familiarising himself with the ship's controls. Now the Space-Spy Thor II was under his control. He turned the craft around and began to climb away from the ground, leaving the Space-Spies behind.

"COME BACK HERE WITH OUR SHIP, YOU AUSSIE-AARGH!"

They'd been so busy stunned by their ship being stolen that neither of the Space-Spies had noticed Ridley and the Tracy's come rushing over to them. John grabbed Boris whilst Ridley snatched Gloria. They pulled their arms behind their back and Ridley used the rope that had been used to bind her to bind Gloria's. "Let's see how you like it, huh?"

"GET OFF ME!" Gloria shrieked, trying to kick herself free.

John used some zip-ties from inside his utility sash to secure Boris.

"Clearly you two aren't familiar with the backstabbing nature of Johnny Cuba," remarked Jeff. he then tapped his sash. "Thunderbird 3 - we've rescued Captain O'Bannon and have captured the Space-Spies. But Cuba is escaping aboard their ship. You'll have to intercept him."

"F-A-B!" said Alan. "I'm ready for him."

"Are you going to let him get away with stealing our ship?" Boris asked.

"He's not getting away with anything," said Ridley. "And neither are you two."

Gloria fixed her with a hateful glare. "You're gonna die for this, O'Bannon!" she hissed.

"You have the right to remain silent, Mrs Space-Spy," said Ridley. "I suggest you both do that."


Alan was waiting for the Space-Spy Thor II to leave the Mars atmosphere. He wasn't prepared to go over to the ship and try to take Cuba out himself. However, he knew that if he disabled the ship's engines, Cuba would be powerless to do anything until back-up arrived. However, as he watched the scanners, he began to frown with concern as it turned around to head back towards the crater. "Errrrr, Dad?"

"What is it, Alan?"

"I don't want to worry you, but Cuba's heading back towards you."

Jeff, John, Ridley and the Space-Spies looked at each other, confused.

"Why would he do that?" asked Ridley.

John looked up and could just make out the Space-Spy Thor II on the horizon. He tapped the side of his helmet to bring up his own heads-up display. "EOS, hack into the Space-Spy Thor II's systems. I want to hear anything that Cuba might be saying out loud. Patch through to Thunderbird 3 as well."

"Roger that, John," said EOS. Then she let out an electronic gasp. "John! Cuba's powering up the weapons! He's going to use them on you all!"

"Wait, that heap of junk has weapons?!" exclaimed Jeff.

"HEY!" the Space-Spies protested in offence.

"We need to find cover, NOW!" John said urgently.

Jeff quickly saw a solution. "The cave! Run for it!" he barked.

Ridley grabbed Gloria and John took Boris. They along with Jeff ran back down into the crater and across it towards the open mouth of the cave.

From inside the cockpit of the Space-Spy Thor II, Cuba could see them running. He began to laugh maniacally to himself. "Four little piggies, running to their ends," he said evilly.

Alan heard Cuba's words and he felt every part of his body get flooded with fear. "Don't do it! PLEASE!" he cried.

Cuba pushed a button. The machine-guns mounted under the nose of the Space-Spy Thor II opened up, raining down high-explosive rounds on the ground behind the fleeing group. With seconds to spare they made it inside the cave and around the sides where the bullets couldn't get them.

"Phew! That was close," gasped John.

"I don't think he's done yet," replied Jeff.

He wasn't wrong. Cuba had stopped the guns and was now using the targeting computer to lock onto the mountain. "Goodbye forever…Jeff Tracy and friends!" He pushed the button. Two sleek missiles shot out from under the ship's stubby wings and slammed into the mountain. The explosion ripped several large chunks out of the rock-face which fell down in an avalanche that completely blocked off the cave entrance.

"DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD! JOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHN!" Alan screamed in terror as he saw on the monitor screen the rocks falling across the cave.

"ALAN!" Jeff's voice answered once the rumbling had stopped. "ALAN, DO YOU READ ME?!"

"YES, I READ YOU!" Alan cried. "ARE YOU OKAY?!"

"We're fine, Alan," said John. "Please stop shouting." He, Jeff and Ridley then looked at the rocks cutting off the cave entrance. Everything was pitch black so both Jeff and John light glow-sticks in white and orange to provide some light.

"Damn," said Jeff. "That's gonna take some shifting."

"I'm coming to get you!" said Alan.

"Stop Cuba. then come for us," said Jeff.

"What? NO!" Alan protested. "I'M NOT GOING AFTER HIM AND LETTING YOU DIE IN THERE!"

"You don't have to go after him, Alan," said John. "Just wait until he's out of the atmosphere and then disable the ship's engines. He'll then be stuck there so you can come down and get us out of here."

"Screw Cuba!" said Alan crossly. "Rescue is my priority! OUR priority! You've said it yourself, Dad!"

"Alan…" It was Ridley who was speaking now. "Do you want Cuba to pay for what he's done?"

"Well…yeah…but…"

"That man is a menace to anyone and everyone," said Ridley. "He's literally just proven how dangerous he is right here, right now! If you let him escape in a spaceship with weapons, nobody is safe! If you want to save everyone from him…you damn well stop him!"

Alan was silent for a moment. He looked out of the cockpit windows and could make out the shape of the Space-Spy Thor II climbing to escape from Mars' gravity. As desperate as he was to save his father and brother, he couldn't deny that Ridley wasn't wrong about wanting Cuba to pay for what he'd done. "I have visual contact with his craft," he said. "I'll disable him and then come and get you."

"F-A-B," said Jeff and John together.


As Alan cautiously brought Thunderbird 3 closer to the Space-Spy Thor II, he hoped he could pull off his attack without being noticed. He wasn't so lucky.

"Well, well, well," said Cuba's sly voice over the radio. "I was wondering where the Thunderbird craft was hiding."

No hologram appeared so Alan could see him. "You're gonna pay for what you just did, Cuba!" he snarled furiously.

Cuba just laughed. "You're welcome to try, Rocket Boy," he said. "You can try and stop me, go save your precious father and brother. You can't do both."

Suddenly there came the sound of a punch and Cuba cried out in pain.

Alan blinked in surprise. "What the hell?"

Cuba fell to the floor of the cockpit and rubbed the back of his head where he'd been hit. Getting over the daze, he turned to look up at the person who'd attacked him. He froze at the sight of the last person he'd ever expected to see. "Y-Y-You?!"

"Hello, Johnny. Been waiting for this."

Alan's blood ran cold and he turned as white as a sheet. "G-G-GORDON?!"

Gordon didn't acknowledge his brother. Instead he began to punch Cuba over and over again, not giving the gangster a chance to take a swing back.

"OW! OW!" Cuba cried. "STOP! ARGH! STOP!"

"YOU'RE GOING DOWN, CUBA!" roared Gordon.

"GORDON, IS THAT YOU?!" Alan exclaimed over the radio.

Gordon knocked Cuba down with a kick. "Yeah, Alan, it's me. I'll explain later. You go help Dad and John. leave this asshole to me!"

Cuba roared and tried to attack Gordon but Gordon punched and knocked him down yet again.

Alan was horrified by what he was hearing. Fear flooded through his veins yet again. This was even worse than knowing his Dad and brother were trapped in a cave down on Mars. "Why am I sitting here?" he asked himself out loud. "Gordon can't take Cuba out all by himself!" He put Thunderbird 3 on autopilot and grabbed his helmet and Astroboard. He put the helmet out and hastily exited through the airlock before surfing across to the Space-Spy Thor II. "Hang on, Gordo, I'm coming!"


Gordon's attacks were relentless. Cuba couldn't seem to find a chance to counter. With each hit, his face got more bruised and bloodied. "S-Stop-argh!" he spluttered.

"THAT was for endangering your kids!" Gordon said furiously after a left hook. Then he gave a right. "THAT was for leading us astray with your deception!" Another left. "THAT was killing those agents!" Another right. "And THAT is for attacking my DAD AND BROTHER!"

"I said STOOOOOOOOOOP!" Cuba roared, suddenly swinging his left arm around and knocking Gordon back. He collided with one of the control panels and was not able to recover in time before Cuba was on him

Now his focus had returned, Gordon finally realised just how dangerous a fighter Cuba was. Cuba was fast despite his bruised and blooded face. He kept punching Gordon in several places. He couldn't hit his face as he still had his helmet on but his arms, waist, chest and legs all took numerous punches and kicks and Gordon soon found himself feeling pain in several places. Then he fell to his knees, wind knocked out of him.

"Idiot boy," snarled Cuba. "Did you really think you had a chance of taking me down?"

POW! A streak of blue and red appeared out of nowhere and Cuba was knocked off his feet. Gordon blinked in surprise as Alan landed between the two. "One on one, he can't," he said. "But let's see you try and take two of us on!"

Gordon picked himself up. "You actually came to help me?" he asked.

"You'll die if I don't," Alan replied.

Cuba was slightly dazed again by Alan's attack but he was starting to get back up again. "One? Two? I don't care how many of you there are!" he spat. "I could kill you both and your brothers without breaking a sweat!"

"I don't think so!" said Alan and he lunged at Cuba, hitting him with a punch. Cuba staggered away and was punched by Gordon.

Now they were tag-teaming against him and before Cuba had a chance to even process the previous hit, he got hit again. Despite his boasting, he couldn't seem to pull himself together quick enough to launch a counter-attack. That was until he got Alan directly in his sight. He roared like an angry bull and charged forwards, grabbing Alan by the waist and slamming him hard into the back wall of the cockpit.

"AAAAAAAAARGH!" Alan cried in pain as he felt Cuba's grip tighten so hard that it felt like his ribs were going to break.

Hearing his brother's agonised scream was the final straw for Gordon. With his own bellow of rage, he grabbed a metal pipe off the wall at the side of the cockpit and swung it at Cuba's head.

"OWWW!" roared Cuba as the hard impact caused him to let go of Alan and fall away. He dropped to the floor and put his hand over the back of his head which was throbbing. When he brought it back around, he found blood on it from the gash Gordon had given him. He stared at it, seethed with rage and then looked over at Gordon who was still holding the bar. "You DIE FOR THAT!" he bellowed.

"Ah, shut the hell up!" Gordon spat. As Cuba got to his feet and lunged towards him, Gordon swung the bar round again and knocked Cuba back across the cockpit where he crashed painfully into the instrument panel. Gordon could see that with each attack, he was getting temporarily weaker, but also angrier which seemed to bring his strength back.

Seeing Alan sitting on the floor by the back wall and rubbing his sides in pain told Gordon that this had gone on for long enough. He dropped the bar and went over to his younger brother. He held out his hand. "We're ending this," he said. "Want to help me, Al?"

Alan hesitated. He looked at Gordon. He hadn't forgiven him for all that had happened, and yet here he was offering him a chance to work with him. Alan then looked over at Cuba who was starting to recover himself. He was an intimidating opponent, but like Gordon, Alan had had enough and wanted it to end. "Yeah…I do," he said at last and took Gordon's hand to allow him to pull him to his feet.

Cuba spat some blood out of his mouth onto the floor. "I'll break you in-" he began to say as he started to run forwards. But he didn't get to finish his sentence as he saw two blue fists approaching his face at speed. POW! Alan's left hand and Gordon's right struck Cuba simultaneously and with a cry of pain, Cuba was knocked over backwards where he fell and banged his head on the control panel. He let out a groan and then collapsed into unconsciousness.

Alan and Gordon were left panting for breath after this. Eventually they then looked at each other.

"You good?" Gordon asked.

Alan panted a couple of times before answering. Yeah…I'm good," he said. "Gordon…?"

"Yeah?"

"Forgive me for asking such an obvious question, but…how the hell did you get here?!"

Gordon started to laugh. "I was wondering when you'd ask that," he said. "I'll explain after we get Dad and John out."

Alan gulped. In all the action, he'd almost forgotten that his Dad and brother were still trapped in a cave on Mars with Ridley and the Space-Spies.


It had been a while since Jeff and John had heard from Alan and were starting to get worried.

"Surely he should have been down here to get us out by now?" asked Ridley.

"I hope he hasn't tried to apprehend Cuba himself," said John.

Jeff was about to answer when they all heard the rumble of rocket engines outside. "There he is!" he said with relief. "I wasn't worried," he added quietly to himself.

It was another five minutes before they heard the sound of a vehicle outside moving the rocks. Soon the rocks were cleared by the unmistakable sight of the red Pod, having now been reconfigured from a Dragonfly into a Bulldozer.

"Attaboy, Alan," said Jeff.

Alan then appeared. "Dad!" he said happily, throwing his arms around his father.

Jeff gave a laugh. "At ease, son," he said.

"Good to see you, little brother," said John as he too had a hug with his youngest brother.

"Thank you, Alan," said Ridley. "What about Cuba?"

Alan smiled and with a proud "Ta-da!", he stepped back and held his arms out to show them.

Jeff, Ridley and John blinked in astonishment to see Cuba sitting about thirty metres away from where the edge of the rockfall had been. He was bound hand and foot with zip ties and didn't appear to be making any effort to free himself which was unusual. After ushering the Space-Spies out and making them sit by the entrance, they all walked over to Cuba. He lifted his head and looked at them. He didn't say a word, but his expression showed the contempt he had.

"Jesus…" exclaimed John. "He's taken a hell of a beating!"

Jeff looked hard at his youngest son. "Did you do this?" he asked.

"Errrr…actually no, I didn't," said Alan. "Well…I may have caused one of those bruises, but he did the majority of it." He gestured over his shoulder towards the Pod.

Jeff, John and Ridley looked over, and two of them almost fell over in surprise when they saw who was walking towards them.

"Hey, Dad. John," said Gordon. "Glad to see you both alive."

For once in their lives, neither Jeff nor John could think of anything to say.


At Ridley's request, all three prisoners were loaded aboard Thunderbird 3 and she gave Alan a location to head for. She withheld the actual coordinates and forbade any of the International Rescue team to know whereabouts they really were.

The location they ended up at turned out to be the new HEX Space-Station Prison and soon the guards had transferred Cuba and the Space-Spies from Thunderbird 3 into their new cells.

Ridley and the Tracy's watched with satisfaction as Cuba was practically thrown into his. Even as the doors were closing, he tried to run back out to attack them. The doors closed just in time and he ran into them.

"Welcome to your new home, Mr Cuba," said Ridley. "I do hope it matches your standards of expectation?"

"I'll break your necks for this!" Cuba growled furiously. "YOU CAN'T HOLD JOHNNY CUBA!"

At that moment, a metal door slid down from the ceiling, sealing him completely off from the others.

Boris was a whimpering wreck when he was put into his cell. "No! No! Please don't lock me away!" he sobbed, tears streaming down his cheeks. "I just want to go home. I'll go straight. Anything! PLEASE! Please, just…let me go." He then fell to the floor sobbing his eyes out.

Gloria was put in a separate cell to her husband. She wasn't a wreck, but was not afraid to show her own hatred for her captors. "I'll get you for this, O'Bannon," she said. "Mark my words. I will have my revenge on you."

"Yeah?" said Ridley with confidence. "You keep telling yourself that, darling." She gave a cheeky wink as the doors sealed a livid Gloria from their view.

Ridley then turned to the Tracy's. "Thank you for this," she said. "There'll be no need to take me or my team back to Earth. There's other transport ships we can take."

"I'm sorry we couldn't have done anything for two of them," said Jeff.

"You wouldn't have gotten there in time, Mr Tracy," said Ridley. "Don't blame yourself for that. I guess I will have to face the music for what's happened. Colonel Jennings could well take my job for this. And I wouldn't blame her if she did. I screwed up badly."

John put a comforting arm around her. "Whatever happens, Captain. We'll back you up."

Ridley gave John a warm smile. "I know you will," she said, batting her eyelashes at him.

Jeff and Gordon gave each other knowing smirks. But Alan felt his heart sink. Seeing a form of love between John and Ridley only caused him to think about Sophie again, and what could have been.


Thunderbird 3 left The HEX to begin the long journey back to Earth. The four Tracy's sat in silence as they went. Then Jeff finally broke the silence. "So…Gordon?"

"Yes, Dad?"

"When are you going to explain to us how exactly you got out here and why?"

Gordon shifted in his seat. He'd been waiting for someone to ask this. "After Kayo refused to tell us what the GDF were planning to do with Cuba, I started thinking," he began. "A criminal that is as dangerous as Johnny Cuba should not be kept in a regular prison. I did think Aquatraz, but then again we know that even that hasn't been able to fully keep The Cabal secure. Then I thought…space. It seemed the most logical explanation. Then when I overheard John's frantic call about Captain O'Bannon, it made me wonder if perhaps Cuba was behind it. I can't fully explain it, but there was something in my mind. A niggle. A hunch. So I snuck away to Thunderbird 3 whilst you were gearing up."

"Well that explains that," said John. "But how did you manage to get aboard the Space-Spy ship? Wait! Was it you who configured the Dragonfly-Pod for us?"

"I did," said Gordon. "Then I clung onto the back whilst you flew down there. I gotta admit, I'd have lost my grip if not for the gecko gloves. Thanks, Brains. Then I observed from a distance and then snuck aboard the Space-Spy Thor II in case Cuba tried to use it as a means of escape. Which he did. I then waited until we were out of Mars's atmosphere and then I made my move."

"That was damn stupid, Gordon!" snapped Jeff. "Cuba is a very dangerous man. He could have killed you!"

"Yeah…I know, Dad," said Gordon. "He may well have done if Alan hadn't shown up to help. He saved me."

"And then…he saved me from getting crushed by Cuba," said Alan, although it sounded as though he didn't want to admit it.

Jeff looked from Alan to Gordon and then back again. "Well…" he said. "After a situation like that, I do hope this means you two have buried this damn stupid feud that you two have had recently?"

An awkward silence followed this. Jeff and John waited patiently for one of them to respond.

Gordon then broke the silence. "I never wanted anything to happen between me and Alan," he said. "I know I messed up when I made that remark about Sophie. I was an idiot. I'm sorry, Alan."

Alan looked solemnly at his lap. He pressed the autopilot button and took his hands off the controls.

Gordon couldn't see Alan for he was sat behind him, but Jeff and John could, and to them it looked like Alan was about to cry. And then, he began to sniffle.

"You're not an idiot, Gordon," Alan said in a shaky voice. "I am. I had resentment for you ever since Christmas and the way you shut yourself away from us all. I thought you were a coward and a disgrace to this family. But…" He paused to wipe the tears from his eyes. "But I am. I've been the very things that I accused you of being. You tried to make amends when we went on that snow exercise with Kayo, and I threw it back in your face. I've been freakin' horrible to you, Gordon. And yet, you still saved me from Cuba." He turned in his seat to look over the back at his brother. "Why did you even bother?"

Seeing the sadness in Alan's face made Gordon sad as well. "Because you're my brother," he said. "That's why."

Silence fell upon the cockpit again. Then Alan suddenly leapt out of his seat, ran around and threw himself onto Gordon, hugging him tightly and sobbing into his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Gordo," he said hoarsely between sobs. "I'm so, so sorry."

Gordon couldn't find anything to say. Instead, he just put his own arms around his younger brother and rubbed his back to comfort him.

Jeff and John looked at each other. They didn't need to say anything. It was clear to them both that the feud that had almost fractured the Tracy family had at long last been resolved.