Chapter 8

TROY SNEAKS IN

ATLANTA was struggling to hold back tears of joy when she saw the Helicopter carrying her father came into view. She was resisting the urge to jump up and down with excitement. However, the professional within her kept her mostly at bay, although Troy and Phones, who were standing behind her, knew that she was wanting to.

As soon as the Helicopter touched down on the ground, a door opened on the right-side and a ramp was lowered to allow Commander Shore to exit the aircraft.

"Father!" said Atlanta with delight. "Welcome home, Father. I knew you'd be back!"

"I knew I'd be back, too, Atlanta," Shore replied, trying to ignore his daughter's happiness and remain professional, at least outside where others could see them that was. He turned to face Troy and Phones. "Let's go to our Quarters. We have work to do!"

They were soon inside the Shore residence and Atlanta made coffee for everyone.

"It's good to have you back, sir," said Troy.

"All thanks to you, Troy," replied Shore. "I'll admit I had nothing to really defend myself with until you sent that recording through."

"I bet the Marshal wasn't too happy about the sudden change in the board's decision?" said Phones.

Shore gave a chuckle. "Oh, Phones, if only I could have had a camera built into my uniform!" he said. "I have never seen anyone look so humiliated in all my life."

"To think I once respected the man," said Troy. "But he's lost that after what he's done to you, sir."

"Yes, well. He won't be bothering us anytime soon," said Shore. "And besides, we have much bigger problems to deal with. Like Titan taking over the Uranium Plant. I have to say, Troy, I'm surprised you haven't sent Stingray out to investigate."

"There's a reason for that, sir," said Troy. "I'm afraid Stingray is currently undergoing major repairs following an encounter with an upgraded Terror Fish."

"What?!" exclaimed Shore.

Phones nodded grimly. "It's true, Commander. Titan is upgrading his fleet of fish to atomic power. We only just managed to destroy it and escape."

"How bad is the damage?" asked Shore.

"Starboard Sting-Missile tube is damaged," said Troy. "Stabilisers and the underbelly require some major attention too. She'll be out of action for about a week."

Shore growled with dismay. "Not once I get back up to the Tower," he said with determination. "The longer Stingray is out of action, the more time Titan has to convert those Terror Fish of his. If he succeeds-"

"Stingray would not be able to survive an encounter with multiples of them," finished Troy.

"As I said, we barely survived one," said Phones. He shuddered. "The thought of facing several of them isn't something I want to even think about. At least…not without you by my side, Troy."

Troy was flattered. "Well, thanks, Phones. I'd be exactly the same."

"Yes, yes!" interrupted Shore. "I'll see to it that Stingray is fixed up sooner than later, Tempest. But in the meantime, we'll have to come up with a plan to take back the Uranium Plant. I might have to recall the other patrol craft to assist you."

"That Plant's got some mighty powerful scanners as part of its defence system," said Phones. "I doubt even with back-up we'd be able to surprise Titan the same way he surprised the Plant."

"You're right, Phones," said Troy. "However, I can remember helping to install the defence systems some time ago. I might be able to sneak past them if I was alone."

"Don't talk nonsense, Tempest!" snorted Shore. "You can't possibly swim from here to there."

"Of course not, sir," said Troy. "But an Albatros could get me to a location just outside the outer defences and then I'd make my way to the plant on a one-man Chariot."

"Troy!" exclaimed Atlanta. "You can't seriously think you'd be able to take on Titan's forces all by yourself?!"

"She's right, Troy," said Phones. "That plan sounds like suicide."

But Troy was having none of it. "I don't plan on taking on Titan's forces at all," he said. "They failed to realise Boyd escaped on that Uranium Tanker. I know the Plant well. I know I can bypass their defences and get access. I have a pretty good idea where Titan is holding the personnel. I intend to find them and let them know that we're aware of their situation and will come up with a plan to repel Titan from the plant. Right now those boys and girls must be very demoralised."

There was silence. They all looked at Shore who was looking somewhat conflicted. Eventually he gave his answer. "I can't say I don't share the concerns of Atlanta and Phones, Troy," he said. "However…I don't see that we have any other options. If anyone can pull this stunt off, you can. How soon can you leave?"

"As soon as a Chariot and Albatros are ready for me," said Troy.

Shore nodded. "Very well," he said. "I will make the arrangements right away."

The Albatros was a hypersonic aircraft with the ability to land on water as well as any terrain. As it made its way to a drop-off point outside the Plant's scanner range, Troy took every spare second he had to study the plans of both the Plant and its defences. Whilst he remembered helping to install them, that had been some years ago so he felt a reminder was in order.

The Albatros was piloted by Frank and Joe. Frank stayed at the controls whilst Joe went back to check on their passenger. "We'll be at the drop-off in five minutes, Troy."

"Thanks, Joe," answered Troy. "I think that's as good as we're gonna get."

"Do you think you can pull this off?" asked Joe.

"I hope so," said Troy. "I'm taking one helluva risk here, Joe. I need to give the people of the plant some hope. But if I can also get an idea of how Titan's operation is working, it could help us when we come to kick him out."

"We'll keep everything crossed for you," said Joe.

Just then, Frank came over the intercom. "Approaching drop-zone. Get ready, Captain Tempest."

"Right," said Troy.

The Albatros descended and landed on the surface of the Pacific Ocean. They were glad that the sea was a flat calm otherwise landing would have been difficult.

Troy was already in his swim-gear so all he needed to do was put on his oxygen tanks and mask before mounting his Chariot. This was a ride-on underwater craft shaped like a torpedo. It was yellow with a black nose and a touch of red behind it.

"You ready, Troy?" asked Joe.

"Ready," said Troy.

"When you get out of there, just call us and we'll come and get you," said Joe.

"Copy that," said Troy. "Launching now."

A winch lowered the Chariot out of a hatch underneath the aircraft onto the surface. The clamps were released and Troy set off. Once he was clear of the Albatros he submerged and headed down towards the seabed.

For the next two hours, Troy expertly made his way through the network of warning systems, hoping his image would not be picked up by the detectors. Soon he found himself approaching the outer wall of the Plant. "Looks like I've made it," he told himself. "If memory serves, the doors to the Plant don't go all the way down to the seabed. I should therefore be able to slip right underneath. Once inside I'll use the ships in the loading docks for cover." He then had a thought. "Strange. No Terror Fish out on patrol. I'd have thought there might have been at least one."

But Troy had forgotten that whereas he needed specialist equipment and a vessel to move around underwater, the Aquaphibians did not. As he passed a large underwater rock, he failed to notice a pair of Aquaphibian guards that were on the other side.

The Guards were both very surprised to see someone on a one-man sub riding towards the Plant. "Who is that?!" one of them gargled.

"It has to be Tempest!" said the other. "Kill him!"

They set off in pursuit with their ray-guns at the ready. They were fast swimmers, but they were only closing the gap because Troy was only travelling at half-speed.

"Mighty Titan will reward us well for this!" said the first Aquaphibian.

"Shut up!" snapped the other. "He might hear you!"

Unfortunately for them, he did. Troy's mask-fitted hydrophones picked up the gargling made by the Aquaphibians as they talked. He turned his head and saw them closing in on him. "Ha!" he said. "Should have known there'd be something out here." He then turned his Chariot around and then charged at them at great speed. He also turned the Chariot's front headlight on full-beam which blinded them. They threw their hands up over their faces to try and shield their eyes from the intense light, dropping their weapons in the process. Troy then swung the Chariot around, striking both with the back-end of the craft, sending them flying backwards into another outcrop of rock. The impact was enough to end their lives and Troy watched as they sank towards the seabed, realising an inky-black goo from their broken bodies as they went.

Troy wasn't proud of what he'd just done, but he knew he'd not had any choice. "Sorry, guys," he said even though they couldn't hear. "But I can't let you warn Titan of my presence." Putting them out of his mind, he continued onwards until he reached the large steel gates that separated the Plant's docks from the open sea. As he remembered, there was indeed a gap underneath the doors that was just about large enough for him to slip underneath. Now he was inside the plant itself and cautiously began to make his way up to the surface. He kept the craft submerged so only his head broke the surface. He looked around. There was no movement to be seen. Ships remained docked in their berths. He looked up at the sky. It was starting to get dark. "Perfect," he said. "The darkness will help keep me covered. Now to find a way onto the docks." He dipped back under the surface and continued on. There didn't seem to be any response to his presence so he felt confident that he'd managed to take out the Aquaphibian patrol before they'd been able to warn Titan.

Troy searched between the ships for around twenty minutes before he finally stumbled across a ladder leading up to one of the quays which was currently unoccupied. "This will do," Troy told himself as he fully surfaced the Chariot. He brought it alongside the wall and then secured it in place with a pair of suction cups attached to thin but strong cables. He then removed his visor and oxygen mask and began to climb the ladder. As he climbed, he realised he couldn't see what was on the dock. "Hmmm," he thought. "There'd better not be a welcoming committee up there waiting for me." He continued to climb until he was just below the top of the quayside then stopped. He drew his pistol from its holster and then cautiously climbed up to peer over the top.

Troy could not believe what he was seeing. Or rather, what he wasn't seeing. There was nobody there. Not a single Aquaphibian anywhere. Not even any of the captive workforce. Troy climbed up onto the dockside and quickly made his way over to some crates to use as cover.

"This is too easy," Troy told himself. "There has to be some patrols. Titan surely can't be in the belief that nobody would attempt to try and break in." He looked up at the buildings around. There had to be security cameras and there would probably be Aquaphibians watching them. All it would take is for him to be spotted once and they'd be on him like a pack of wolves. "I must be careful."

Troy cautiously made his way from building to building, using every piece of darkness that he could find to use as cover. All the while his heart was beating a lot more rapidly than he would like. Things were that tense for him. He'd been using one of the Uranium Tankers for cover when he reached the stern of the vessel and began to sense some activity nearby. Keeping low behind a Fork-Lift Truck, he peered around to see what was going on and then froze. This dock opened out to a much larger area that wasn't used by the ships. It was, however, full of Mechanical Fish. Troy counted at least a dozen of them as more had arrived since the initial attack had taken place. Some looked as though they were being worked on. Others looked like they'd been worked on, and the rest looked like they were waiting their turn.

"That's a lot of Fish!" Troy told himself. "If they all became atomic…wait a minute. What's that one?"

There was an additional fish-shaped craft amongst the others that looked different to all the rest. It was smaller and painted a mixture of red and grey, not the usual green and brown that the regular Terror Fish wore. "I don't recognise that craft," Troy said quietly. "That could be Titan's own personal huh?!" He was cut off by the sound of approaching feet. He realised that the cab door of the Fork-Lift Truck was open. He decided to use it as a place to hide. He then observed and listened as a group of Aquaphibians came past. Then he gave a small gasp when he saw who was with them. It was Titan, and he was walking with another undersea being who Troy he had never seen before. His heart skipped a beat when they stopped nearby, but he kept himself silent as he listened to the conversation.

"As you can see, X-2-0," Titan was saying. "Six of my Mechanical Fish have now been converted to atomic power. Another three are in the process of being converted. It'll take a few weeks but soon all of my craft will be able to run on it. And nothing will be able to stop us!"

"That will be quite the day, Mighty Titan," X-2-0 responded. "But, may I ask something?"

"What is it?" asked Titan with an irritated voice.

"Would my craft be converted to atomic power as well?" asked X-2-0.

Troy frowned. There was something about this other person's voice that sounded very familiar. But like the strange smaller fish craft, he couldn't quite place it.

Titan pondered. But to X-2-0's surprise, he didn't disagree. "I do not see why not, X-2-0. Although you will have to earn it. Complete this one mission for me and I will see that it is."

"Oh, thank you, Mighty Titan," said X-2-0 happily. "What is the mission?"

"You make one of your infiltrations of Marineville," said Titan. "I'm sure the trial of Commander Shore has been concluded. I want to know what state Marineville is in now that he is no longer in charge and that Captain Troy Tempest is trying to run it instead."

Troy was in disbelief over what he'd just heard.

"And Stingray, your Majesty?" asked X-2-0.

"Ah, yes, Stingray!" said Titan. "You can see whether it's undergoing repairs. Maybe try and 'get involved' with it, if you can. Maybe make the repairs last just a little bit longer? Hmm?"

Troy could feel his blood pressure rising like a volcano about to erupt. Was he really hearing this right? Had a spy of Titan really been able to infiltrate Marineville so many times without being detected? How was that possible?

X-2-0 gave a chuckle. "It shall be done, Mighty Titan." He then walked away from the group. Titan took another look at the fleet of Terror Fish before heading off towards one of the buildings. The Aquaphibian guards spread out to conduct their own patrols.

X-2-0 walked past the Fork-Lift Truck, not noticing that someone was inside, watching him. As soon as the coast was clear, Troy emerged from the vehicle and stared after X-2-0 who was walking along the dock he had come from. His brain was hurting as he tried to think. "Your voice," he said. "I know your voice. But from where? Where?!" He was so busy trying to think that he'd momentarily forgotten why he was even there. He closed his eyes and tried to think back. And then it hit him. "No…No way! It can't be!" He quickly looked over at the smaller Fish craft. His mind travelled back to an incident where he and Phones had returned to Marineville to find a small Fish-shaped craft sitting in Stingray's pen with Marina tied up inside of it. That too had been painted in the same colours. Then he remembered Professor Sanders, the man who had tried to get Marina to speak only to trick him into making a recording of the procedure for re-entering Marineville. He did not look the same, but the voice was exactly the same. Then he began to remember other times he'd heard the voice. The film producer when Johnny Swoonara had come to visit Marineville (a time Troy often tried to forget) had tried to kill Troy and he also had the same voice. He remembered chasing him with Phones out to the Island of Lemoy where they'd encountered an elderly man living there. Now he thought about it. This elderly man had an almost identical voice as well. Not only that but there'd been another time when they'd visited Lemoy with someone helping to supposedly look after Duke Dexter. This man also had a very similar voice. Troy found himself in a state of disbelief. Was this all the same person, in disguise each time? Why hadn't he realised this before? And now he had been ordered by Titan to return to Marineville to cause trouble again? Troy found himself gritting his teeth with anger. Instead of continuing on his mission like he was supposed to, Troy found himself setting off after X-2-0.

X-2-0 had no idea that he was being followed. He had a few preparations to make before he left for Marineville. He was busy thinking about how much better his craft would be powered by atomic energy like the rest of the Terror Fish. "Heheheheheheh," he chuckled. "At last the Mighty Titan is seeing me for what I truly am. A loyal servant who deserves to be rewarded for what he achieves. It's about time, too. Too long has Titan treated me like a piece of sea-slime! I am at last on the verge of greatness and respect."

"Professor Sanders?"

X-2-0 stopped dead in his tracks. Slowly, he turned around and saw a shadowy figure standing about ten metres away. "Wh-Who are you?" he asked nervously. "I th-think you might have confused me with someone else?"

"Oh, I'm not mistaken," said the figure. "Your voice is pretty distinctive...X-2-0!" It then stepped into the light so that X-2-0 could see who it was.

X-2-0 gave a gasp of surprise. "TEMP-" But he was silenced by a blast from the stun-gun that the figure was holding. X-2-0 fell to the floor. The last thing he saw before passing out was the furious figure of Captain Troy Tempest standing directly above him.