A Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons story in two parts by

Part Two: Trends and Prospects

 

Chapter One:  Cloudbase 2067

Spectrum’s workload continued to increase exponentially.  Black and Scarlet were in demand and quartered the globe successfully performing difficult and dangerous missions that boosted Spectrum’s profile.  The other members of the elite officer corps, minus Captain Indigo who was now seconded to Spectrum Intelligence, provided back-up and undertook some of the less high-profile missions.  Ochre and Brown organised the security for several important World Government events.  Captain Magenta spent much of his time liaising with the Lunar Authorities and working on the mysterious Martian signals with Lieutenant Green. 

Blue and Grey had worked closely together on a painstaking investigation into a case involving suspected sabotage at a major shipyard. After a rigorous debriefing with Colonel White, Captain Blue went back to his quarters intending to wash the grime of the industrial dockyard away with a power-shower, before getting something to eat in readiness for his next duty stint.  To his anger and dismay, Lieutenant Manila was waiting for him inside.

“How did you get in here?” he demanded angrily.

She held up a pass key.  “I wanted to talk to you.”

He held out his hand for the key. When she reluctantly dropped it into his hand he looked around the room and said, “This is a disciplinary matter.  You know the rules about unauthorised access to an officer’s quarters.”   

“Oh, don’t worry; I haven’t touched any of your precious things!  I just wanted to see you – you’ve been avoiding me since the Charter signing party, Adam. I just wanted to talk to you.”

“You didn’t have to do that in here.”

“I didn’t want – or think you’d want – to do it in public.”

“Do what?  There’s nothing to do.”

“I don’t understand,” she wailed.  “What have I done?  If I made a mistake, I apologise.”  He made no reply and in desperation she cried, “Can’t we give it a second try?”

“No.”  It was brutal and final and she gasped in dismay.  Throwing the key down on the table he continued: “We agreed: no strings and no commitment.  It’s time to move on because I don’t think you’re able to stick to that agreement.”  Her dark eyes remained fixed on his face, pleading for clemency, but there was no softening in his expression as he added, “It’d do no good trying again. You’d only get hurt.”

“I’m hurting now!”

“You’d get over it sooner if you stopped trying to drag it out.”

“We had such good times – I don’t believe you don’t want me anymore.”

“Look, it was fun while it lasted: I’ve admitted that; what more do you want from me?”

“It’s true, isn’t it?  I’ve heard the rumours about you and Rhapsody Angel… Is that why you want to ditch me?  You’ve got someone else?”

“You shouldn’t listen to gossip.”

“You owe me an explanation!”

 “I don’t consider that I owe you anything. I was under the impression that you got as much pleasure from it as me at the time.”

Stung by his words, she snapped: “Don’t flatter yourself; you’re not bad, but you’re no Casanova.”

He gave her a mocking smile and shook his head.  “You can tell me it was all faked if it makes you feel better, but it won’t make any difference, except that I’ll revise my opinion of you as an actress.”

She shook her head.  “You bastard… you utter bastard…”

“Yeah. It’s worrying that it’s taken you so long to realise that.  Now, you’d better go before I call security.”

There were tears in her eyes now as she met his pitiless gaze.  “And to think I thought I loved you…”

“I never asked or wanted you to. I certainly never gave you cause.”

“No; you’re right about that.  What is it about the possibility of being in love with someone that scares you?”

When he didn’t answer, she continued:

“More to the point, Adam, what is it about someone being in love with you that you can’t handle?”

His face remained expressionless and his silent anger was unnerving, so with a sniff she turned to leave.  “Don’t worry, your precious reputation is safe.  I won’t kiss and tell.”

“On Cloudbase that won’t make any difference, all the walls in this place have ears. Your visit here will be all round the base by tomorrow.”

She had now realised just how big a mistake she’d made by even trying to appeal to him and a wave of sadness at her own gullibility left her feeling exhausted. With as much pride as she could manage, she replied, “Tough.  You’ll have to deal with it, won’t you? Goodbye, Adam.”

“Goodbye, Lieutenant.” 

He watched her leave, drew a deep breath and swallowed hard a couple of times before he muttered, “Oh shit…”

Sighing deeply, he went to have his shower. 

***

“She was very upset; I’ve never seen Manila cry before, she’s not the type,” Rhapsody reported to her companions.

“All men are bastards,” Symphony remarked dolefully. “Some are obviously more bastard-y than most.”

Rhapsody nodded and sighed.  “I told her to book some leave; get away from here for a few days.  That’s the trouble with Cloudbase, you can’t avoid someone even if you want to.”

“What did she say?” Melody asked.

“She said ‘no, that’d be like admitting she was hurt’; trouble is, she was.”  She sighed and picked up her mug of tea.  Wrapping her fingers around it she hugged it to her chest. 

“There’s no easy to way to break up,” Melody remarked.  “Someone’s always gonna get hurt.”

Rhapsody nodded in agreement, before saying, “But she thought they had a really serious thing going on.  Seems like she was the only one who did.”

Symphony got up and walked to the coffee machine, asking innocently:  “Did she say who it was that she thought she’d got this thing with?”

“You do hear rumours,” Melody remarked, adding prudently when she saw Symphony staring expectantly at her, “but that’s all they are, of course.”  

Symphony frowned and turned her gaze on Rhapsody.  The young Englishwoman shrugged. 

“No, she didn’t.  Why would she?” Rhapsody asked.

 “So the rest of us can avoid him like the plague?” suggested Symphony, adding, “I’d have thought that was obvious.” 

She glanced thoughtfully at Rhapsody. “You know, when I saw her and Captain Blue at the Charter party, I thought she might have a hankering after him… but he seemed more interested in somebody else at the time.”

Rhapsody’s expression barely changed, although she took a deep gulp of her tea and didn’t meet the American’s candid gaze.

Melody glanced at them both and shrugged.  “Blue can be a right ladies’ man, right enough, he’ll sweet-talk anyone - if he’s in the mood; but I wouldn’t say he’s a womaniser… well, I’ve never seen him get pushy, if you know what I mean?”

“Then who does get ‘pushy’?” Symphony asked. “Amongst the captains, at least.”

“Well, none of them really; it is against the regulations, after all,” Rhapsody explained primly, but her expression became more cynical when she added, “Although, that said, I doubt any of them would say no to a quickie up against the bulwarks.”

“Dianne!” Symphony gasped, laughing with surprise.  “And you a real lady too…”

Rhapsody grinned.  “Yes, I’m a ‘lady’ but I’m not simple.  Believe me, once you’ve spent a social season fending off an army of Hooray Henrys – every one of them with more arms than an octopus - you learn to spot them on sight.”

“So, who do we blame for Manila’s misery?” Symphony persisted. “Some jerk deserves to have his butt kicked for making her cry.”

“Hey,” Rhapsody cautioned her colleague, “before you go and beat some poor guy to a pulp, remember I only have her side of it.  Maybe she wasn’t as blameless as she made out?”

Melody chuckled and patted the younger woman’s arm.  “Dianne, you’re just too kind to be let out alone.  You find an excuse for everyone.  This guy’s given Manila her marching orders.  And from what you say, it wasn’t as if they’d only been indulging in nothing more that some heavy petting on the Promenade Deck… I mean… you know – it was the whole 9 yards...”

“Screwing,” Symphony said, sitting down opposite them.  “We’re big girls, Maggie, and it’s okay for us to use naughty words.”

Rhapsody shook her head and sipped her tea. “It just came out of the blue,” Rhapsody flushed at her unintended use of the word, “I mean, she really wasn’t expecting it – that’s why she was so shocked, I guess.  Poor kid, it’s taking her a long time to get over it.  It can’t be easy when you’re on a confined base and keep seeing the ‘problem man’ wherever you go.”  She sighed.  “I just hope whoever it was feels like a right heel for upsetting her so much.”

“Unlikely,” Melody said.  “Guys just don’t think like that.  My brothers were all the same: they’d chase after some girl and make her feel she was special until they saw someone else they fancied and then they’d be off after that girl.  Boy, did they get a shock when they finally got caught by the short and curlies and realised they’d have to stick with one woman for life.”  She laughed.  

“My eldest brother married his High School sweetheart,” Symphony said.  “Mind you, those two were joined at the hip from their first date so it was no big surprise.”

“Aww, that’s kinda cute,” Melody said. 

“No, just typical of Mike to take the easiest way out.  He got lucky early and found a girl who thought he was the bee’s knees.  He never let her go.”

“Don’t you like her much?” asked Rhapsody.

“Oh no; Lisa’s okay; but it took me years to forgive her for the horrendous thing I had to wear as one of her bridesmaids.”

 “I’ve had to wear a few horrors in my time,” Rhapsody said, with a sympathetic smile. 

“When my brothers got married I point-blank refused to wear a dress,” Melody said.  “I wore a pantsuit, like them.”

“But you look lovely in a dress,” Rhapsody said, “especially that marvellous silver one you bought a while ago.”

“Sure I do; I learnt something at finishing school; but not even for my brothers was I gonna wear a dress chosen by a bride-to-be specifically to make me look like a fairy escaped from a Christmas tree.”

Melody smiled as her friends chuckled.

Rhapsody sighed and shrugged.  “We shouldn’t be laughing.  Poor Manila’s really feeling bad.  I hope you girls really don’t mind that I told her we’d cover for her this evening?”

Melody nodded.  “No, that’s okay.  Not like we had hot dates lined up or anything.  Well, I’m assuming we didn’t?” She looked at the other two.

Rhapsody shook her head.  “I’m on duty soon.”

Symphony gave a brief shake of her head.  “Best offer I got was when Captain Black told me that if I was interested, they’re showing some classic movie tonight and he thought he would go along, if I wanted company.”

“He likes you,” Melody said, smiling. “I told you before.”

Symphony grimaced.  “I’m washing my hair.”

“You did that yesterday,” Rhapsody reminded her.

“So?  I like clean hair,” her friend retorted.  “Sue me!”

“Chicken,” Melody remarked with a wink, and to her astonishment, Symphony – bold, brassy Symphony - blushed.

***

Black and Scarlet, field partners on duty, became good friends off-duty, and although Black was the less sociable of the two, Scarlet was always ready to make up the numbers for competitive sports or hands of poker, and was generally well-liked as a result. Captain Grey’s preferred leisure activities were centred around the base swimming pool, and there occasionally, when he had someone to act as safety back-up, he conducted field tests on the miniature aqua-lung he was developing.   Both Doctor Fawn and Captain Brown were considered his closest friends because they were often coerced into assisting him.  Captains Magenta and Ochre, who often worked together on duty, developed a rough and ready friendship spiced by a little antagonism from their years spent on opposite sides of the law.  

The relationships between the officers and the Angel pilots continued to evolve.  Ochre was as likely to be found hanging out with Blue or down in the Amber Room, where the Angels were always pleased to see him, when he was off-duty.  While Magenta’s friendship with Destiny flourished and they often spent time together when they were both off duty, he and Melody had discovered a joint interest in learning foreign languages and now Harmony was teaching them both Japanese.  Captain Blue and Rhapsody shared an interest in movies and were frequently seen sharing enormous cartons of popcorn at the base’s cinema.   Only Symphony seemed divorced from this unconscious coupling although she was happy to join in with the other Angels or provide her skills in creating new hair-styles to help them prepare for a special date.

Colonel White watched it all with a benevolent but slightly jaundiced gaze, aware that because of the stress they were under, his officers needed regular opportunities to relax and let off steam.  He might not always approve of their chosen pastimes but as long as they did not cause a problem he was ready to turn a blind eye to most of them.   Every so often he reminded them that he expected everything else to take second place to their duty to Spectrum, and that when the balloon went up there was nothing that would excuse a failure to meet Spectrum’s standards, but he left it at that.  He just hoped nothing would happen to make him enforce the regulations stringently, but he believed that all of his officers were sensible enough to avoid that happening.

He had discussed it with his wife, who’d heard him out with her usual patience before remarking, “Remember, Charles: although the young tend to find it easy to mistake lust for love they never appreciate being told they’re not ‘in love’ with the adored object while the obsession lasts.  Some of them may ‘fall in love’, which is a different matter because while lust inevitably dies – once it’s been gratified - love doesn’t, and that’s when you get… problems; so you have to tread carefully.   Right now, your problem is that however hard you try and however many regulations you quote, you will never get this genie back in its bottle.”

***

In the Officers’ Lounge Black and Grey were discussing the mess Ochre had left on the table. 

“He ought to book himself a workroom or a study carrel where he can make as much mess as he likes and clear up when he’s finished,” Black remarked, with a disgusted grimace.  “I don’t mind him making models, but I do object to having my nose assaulted by the perpetual whiff of paint and that glue smells like it was boiled up from old, unwashed socks, if you ask me.”

“Well, you can’t really blame him,” Grey, ever the peacemaker, reasoned.   “The Angels were so keen for him to make each of them a plane and when Symphony asked so nicely, how could he refuse?”

Black shook his head.  “Seems like a lot of bother just to get inside a girl’s panties and it didn’t get him anywhere.”

“I don’t think it was like that. He likes her-” Grey began.

“He likes them all,” Black interjected, with just a hint in his tone that he considered this smacked of a sad lack of discrimination. 

“Well, so do I,” Grey continued, “and they all like him, so I don’t think that, however horny he claims to be, that’s the only reason he made the planes for them or agreed to make one for Symphony.”

“Do you have a favourite?” Black asked suddenly.

Surprised, Grey hesitated.  “Well, not as such.  I mean they’re all very attractive women and –eh – very pleasant people.” He glanced at his companion with an unintended frown on his face.  “Do you?”

Black leant back in his chair and grinned.  “At a pinch, yes, I suppose I do.”

“Care to share?”  Grey said amiably.  “We wouldn’t want to end up wasting our time chasing the same one, would we?”

Black laughed and shook his head.  “Symphony,” he admitted, adding, “I like ‘em with a bit of zest.”

“Oh yes; she fits that bill, all right,” Grey replied.   “And if she catches you talking like that, you’ll be Captain Black-eyes.  Is that zesty enough?”

 “I doubt she even knows I exist – an old codger like me.” Black shrugged. 

“You’re thirty-eight, not Methuselah.”

“I feel like Methuselah working with Scarlet sometimes.  At my age his seven year advantage begins to tell.”

“Yeah, I understand; he’s a little wearing - at times.”  Grey paused and then said,   “Maybe one day he’ll realise that boyish charm will only get him so far?”

“With women it gets him as far as he wants to go – believe me.  I could be invisible as soon as they clap eyes on our handsome matinee idol clone.”

“He hasn’t been romancing the Angels though; well, not to the best of my knowledge.”

“He has a girl in New York, I think, but he’s keeping pretty quiet about it.”

Their conversation stopped abruptly as the door opened and Blue marched in.  He was looking rather preoccupied and barely acknowledged their greetings.

“Problem, Captain?” Grey asked.

“Huh?  Oh no, nothing I can’t handle, but not something I ever look forward to, either.”

“Very gnomic,” Black remarked dryly.

“Like doing your Income Tax return?” Grey suggested, with a genial smile.

“Yeah, but less fun.”  Blue deliberately changed the subject.  “I heard you were in the frame for the Martian Exploration Mission, Conrad; I guess that’s right up your street, eh?”

Black nodded.  “Magenta and Green still haven’t been able to interpret these signals they’ve been monitoring and it seems that the World Government is concerned they may pose a threat to the mining operations and the colonists in Kahra.  Only way to investigate them properly – given that the surveillance satellites haven’t found anything – is to send a manned mission to have a look around.  Should be straightforward enough; I’ve done dozens of similar missions in the World Space Patrol.”

“Kinda wish I could go along,” Blue confessed.  “It’s an ambition of mine to go off-world at some point.”  He glanced out of the porthole at the endless cerulean-blue of the troposphere and the brilliant white of the clouds that carpeted the space below Cloudbase.  “Maybe this is as far as I’m ever going to get?”

“Further than most,” Grey remarked and Blue nodded.

Captain Black shrugged and explained, “Not my choice, Captain.  I understand my crewmen will be from the W S P, although Spectrum will lead on the mission.  Anyway, it won’t take us long; so you’re not missing anything.    Just a quick trip out, a ramble around the red planet and back again.  We won’t get to see the glories of the solar system.”

“Maybe I’ll get a chance to go, some day.”

Grey nodded.  “Spectrum’s off-world authority means there’ll be other chances, I’m sure.  For myself, I’d rather stay on Planet Earth and, given the choice, on the water or under it.  The colonel needs to finalise our partnership with the WASPs – then my speciality will be as valuable as Conrad’s.”

“Do you believe these odd rumours about underwater people?” Blue asked, diverted from his personal problems by his curiosity.

Grey shrugged.  “We haven’t begun to explore all of the oceans yet.  Science keeps finding evidence of other species of hominid that died out, what’s to say that facing being out-competed by Homo Sapiens one of them didn’t take to the water?  Whales did it.”

“I don’t think I could out-compete a whale,” Black remarked sardonically.

“Modern whales are descended from land creatures,” Grey explained.  “I thought everyone knew that?”

“So, there’s mermaids at the bottom of the sea?” Blue said, with a quizzical glance at Grey.

“You tell me, but I’m willing to go and look while Black’s chasing little green men on Mars.”

“There are no little green men – on Mars or anywhere else,” Black exclaimed.  “Take it from me, we – that is mankind – are the brightest and most advanced species in the solar system and maybe for a long way beyond that.”

Blue raised his left hand and spread his fingers with a V-shaped gap between the middle and ring-finger.  “Live long and prosper, Conrad,” he said, grinning.

“Load of old tosh,” Black replied, smiling despite himself. 

“Just because you can’t do it…” Blue said and, laughing, went to get himself a coffee. 

 

Chapter Two

Captain Black’s imminent departure for Mars was the occasion for a small party in the Officers’ Lounge attended by the colonel and Lady Gray.  She had been suggested to the British Government by the World President as a suitable envoy to present the gallant British captain with two awards: one from the Government itself, which was to mark his command of the latest mission of Martian exploration, and the second created to the design of the winner of a venerable children’s TV show competition, was to be left on the surface as a symbol of unity between the planets of the solar system on behalf of the nation’s children – or at least those of them who watched.

 Rhapsody and Ochre were examining the aforesaid symbol of unity, which was about 18 inches high and the colour of gold. 

“I guess the competition rules meant there wasn’t much scope for imagination,” Ochre mused.

“Oh come on, Rick; it was done by an 11 year old and I think it’s a clever concept.  All the national symbols of the United Kingdom and the World Government’s flag and… what looks like the ship logo from the programme.”

“Is it?  I thought it must represent the British naval tradition, or pirates, which some might say was the same thing.”

“Don’t let the colonel hear you saying that.  The programme’s been going for about a hundred years, in one form or another.  Winning one of their merit badges is like getting an Oscar and it’s nice to think it’s still there, inspiring children to design intergalactic symbols of unity and creating a use for empty squeegee bottles, yoghurt pots, sticky-backed plastic and old toilet roll tubes…”

“If you say so, Di.”  He looked at her affectionately and smiled at her misty-eyed expression.  “It says a lot about the Brits that you can get soppy over old toilet rolls.”

She ignored him and continued, “I made my mother a letter rack out of two egg cartons and some pipe-cleaners to their instructions and she used it until it fell apart,” she glanced at him and he gave an impressed nod until she added, honestly, “which was about 3 days later…”

Ochre laughed and she looked up at him, grinning.

“Hey, you two,” Captain Black said, coming over to join them, “you wouldn’t be mocking the symbol of unity, would you?  I intend to take this very seriously and plant it on the Martian surface when I get into the unexplored region.  I’ve been given a special camera with which to film the event and I’m thinking of making a speech.”  His tone was jovial and belied any apparent rebuke. 

“No, Captain; I was laughing at Rhapsody’s confession that she couldn’t make a decent letter rack for her mom out of household waste.”

“I was only little and wasn’t even allowed to use proper glue.” She defended herself with an appeal to Captain Black.  “Americans can talk, can’t they?  Theirs is the ultimate in built-in obsolescence cultures…”

“When I were nowt but a lad,” Black said, bringing his rarely-heard native Lancashire accent to the fore, “there were no such thing as obsolescence.  We had to use up everything or the Military Police reported you to the Government…and you were sent to a camp in darkest Yorkshire to work on your handicraft skills. T’were like being exiled from civilisation and cut off from humanity.” 

He winked at Rhapsody who was sniggering under her breath.

“When you were ‘but a lad’, Conrad, they hadn’t invented steam trains yet, never mind space rockets,” Ochre quipped. Out of the corner of his eye he caught sight of Symphony Angel and beckoned her over. “Come and look at Conrad’s symbol of unity.”

She wandered across, smiling at them all, but focussing mostly on Rhapsody. “Hi, everyone.  Is this the TV show statuette?”

“Yes.  Cute isn’t it?” Rhapsody replied.

“Uh… yeah, I guess so.”  She glanced up at Black and said, “The World Government must be setting a lot of store by the significance of this, if they’re willing to include it in the payload?”

“It’s not as heavy as it looks.  It’s hollow.”

“Let’s hope it doesn’t get buried in a dust storm,” she remarked.

“Or blown away entirely,” Ochre said.  “We don’t want Spectrum accused of littering the solar system, even with genuine symbols of unity.”

“Idiot,” Black said genially.  “There’s a spike to secure it to the surface.”

“Ah, well, I haven’t read the instructions,” Ochre said, with a broad grin.

“Men never do,” Symphony commented, with a smile at Rhapsody, who chuckled.

***

Lady Gray was engaged in conversation with Captain Scarlet.  She wanted to know who he’d be working with whilst Black was away. 

“I’m not sure,” Scarlet admitted.  “It’s possible that I’ll work with whoever’s most appropriate for that mission; after all, the colonel’s made it clear we’re to function as one unit and nothing’s permanently fixed – even field partnerships.”

“I suppose that is the best solution for what is a relatively small fighting force,” she agreed, adding, “Charles has always preferred open teams rather than close-knit cliques in his commands.”  She smiled at the young man and asked, “And do you get along with everyone, Captain?”

Scarlet shrugged, slightly embarrassed by the question, which created the impression that she thought it unlikely he did. 

“I believe so; we’ve rubbed along well enough since we boarded Cloudbase, Lady Gray.  I suppose we all of us can get a bit fractious at times.”  He gave her an engaging smile.

“Oh, I know; but it is nice to hear that everything’s going well.  Cloudbase is a far cry from any ocean-going craft, above or below the waves, I think.  At least, being so vast, there’s room to get away from everyone if the need arises.  I mean to ask Charles to give me a tour of some of the less well-publicised places.  When I was talking to Destiny Angel, she mentioned a Room of Sleep?  Now, I wasn’t sure if that was her charming English or its real name, but I’d like to see it for myself.”

“It is called the Room of Sleep,” he told her.  “We all use it.  If the colonel isn’t free to show you, I’d be happy to.”

“Thank you, Captain.  I may hold you to that.” She smiled as Captain Blue walked past and drew him into the conversation.  “Are you settled in now, Captain?”

“I sure am, thank you, ma’am.  Flying was always my favourite occupation and it’s wicked pretty up here.”

“It certainly is; but, confess, don’t you get just the teensiest bit bored with clouds?” she asked roguishly, waving a hand towards the nearest porthole, from which the view was of endless blue sky with a carpet of sunlit clouds below the base.

“Well, maybe just the teensiest bit,” Blue admitted, grinning.  “But there are millions of people on the planet who’d give their eye-teeth for this perpetual sunshine.”

“How right you are!” she replied, with a smile that brought out an attractive dimple in her cheek. “We should always accentuate the positive, as the song says.”

“I thought you were a surfer, Blue,” said Scarlet.  “Someone, I think it was Captain Grey, told me you spend your spare time surfing and scuba diving? Don’t you miss the sea?”

“Sure; but when I’m not doing that I prefer to be flying.”

“I saw some people surfing in Australia once,” volunteered Lady Gray somewhat distractedly.  “The waves were the size of houses!  I don’t know how they could face them. I can cope in a swimming pool, but waves are a different matter.”

“It’s just practice, ma’am,” Blue said, smiling down at her.

“Have you surfed on any of those big wave beaches?”

Blue nodded.  “Hawaii and the Gold Coast are old haunts, but I’ve surfed other places too – even Cornwall, once.”

“I went surfing in Cornwall once,” Scarlet admitted.  “I think I must’ve swallowed half the Atlantic before the board hit me and I gave up.”

Blue laughed.  “It’s just a matter of balance, like a riding a bike!”

Lady Gray shook her head.  “Oh, I don’t think so, Captain: you’re unlikely to drown if you fall off a bike.”

Both captains dissolved into boyish giggles and she glanced at her husband with a look of amused triumph. He smiled back; Livy was obviously winning friends and influencing people - again….

***

Captain Scarlet was right; he wasn’t assigned a permanent partner once Captain Black was on his way to Mars.   He went to Buenos Aires with Captain Magenta to investigate a small, but dangerous army of ‘freedom fighters’ who were hacking into government databases, and then to Ukraine with Captain Grey to discuss cross-border security with the local military forces.    When a request for assistance against a vague terrorist threat came from the mighty Saharan irrigation centre at Kufra, in North Africa, Scarlet and Blue went to investigate and although they found nothing suspicious out in the desert,  the American did get a nasty case of sunburn.

“Good job it’s almost Christmas,” Scarlet remarked, as Blue piloted the SPJ back to Cloudbase.

“You think it’s likely that terrorists will take time off over the holidays?” Blue gave him a surprised and very sceptical glance. 

“No; but if you wear a Christmas sweater everyone will think your red nose is part of a ‘Rudolph’ outfit.”  Scarlet grinned teasingly at his companion.

“Yeah, right,” Blue said, with a long-suffering sigh.   “I should’ve got some sunblock from Doc Fawn.  You’d think I’d be old enough to remember by now, wouldn’t you?”

“Don’t you usually tan?”

“Yeah, well enough, as long as I don’t overdo it on day one.  Something must’ve malfunctioned in my brain and forgot to link deserts to sunshine and sunshine to the need for sunblock…”

Scarlet laughed.  He still found the American something of an enigma. He was not the most popular officer to serve with, due to his tendency to play strictly by the rules, but he was respected and – importantly – trusted by his colleagues and subordinates.

Personally, Scarlet knew Blue was a man with the uncanny knack of keeping his finger on the pulse of every event happening around him, and that, therefore, it was unlikely he was unaware of his colleague’s burgeoning relationship with his sister.  Nevertheless, Blue had never mentioned Corinna since they got back to Cloudbase.  In fact, they’d never discussed his visit to Boston or what happened at the Naming Ceremony and Scarlet occasionally wondered if he’d read too much into what he’d seen and heard.   

Consigning his bemusement over his field partner to the back of his mind, Scarlet looked out of the SPJ window for the first sight of Cloudbase.  As he saw the base in the distance, he recalled the recently departed Captain Indigo. Indigo’s flying skills had never been up to the standard required to ensure his continued posting to the base, although Indie had been desperate to make the grade. Blue had willingly given his off-duty time in a vain effort to improve their colleague’s aptitude, but it had proved impossible and Indigo had been reassigned to a terrestrial base, better suited to his skills.   

First Indie and now Black… the elite corps is shrinking by the week, Scarlet mused to himself, as Blue announced they’d be arriving on Cloudbase in eight minutes.   I wonder who’ll be the next to go… whoever it is, I hope that departure isn’t a fatal one. 

***

“I can confirm that the Martian Exploration Craft has landed safely,” Colonel White announced at that morning’s briefing conference.  “We’ve received a signal from Captain Black that confirms everyone on board is A1 and that the systems are functioning to mark one.  They’ll rest until tomorrow and then explore the landing site, but the main work of unloading the Martian Exploration Vehicle will come the day after.  Then the mission can really begin.”

“That is good news, sir,” said Scarlet.  “Please pass on our congratulations to Captain Black and his crew when you next make contact.”

There were murmurs of approval from the officers around the table.

Captain Magenta said: “Has Captain Black been able to decipher any more from the signals, sir?”

The colonel shook his head.  “When the MAVEN 5 satellite is in the right quarter, they plan to triangulate the exact origin of the signals and take the MEV there, mapping unchartered regions of the surface as they go.”

“If Black can send us the MEV recordings, which will be stronger and have far less interference than any we’ve had to work on so far, we – Lieutenant Green and me - should be able to drill down and provide him with some additional information,” Magenta explained.  “I’m convinced that there’s a sub-wave message in there, but we need a more powerful signal to decode it.”

“I’ll pass that on and I’m sure if there’s a way to boost the signal or copy Cloudbase in, he’ll find it.”

“Maybe the Lunar colonies will be prepared to act as booster stations now the official World Government mission’s there?”  Magenta replied.  “When we originally made the request, sir, the Lunar Controller wasn’t particularly willing to engage.”

“Politics,” White explained succinctly.  “The idea of an expanded and growing colony on Mars which would, at least initially, need vast input from the Earth is not popular with the authorities on the Moon.  They fear they’d have to play second fiddle.”

“Isn’t that rather counter-productive?” Blue remarked.  “Once Kahra was established the Moon would be an important staging post.”

“They don’t want to be the staging post, they want to be the destination,” the colonel remarked dryly.   “But that’s a problem for the World President, not Spectrum.   I will forward your request through the official channels, Captain Magenta.   Now, let’s turn to the case and project reviews…  Captain Grey, your report please…”

 

Chapter Three

Christmas on Cloudbase was a surprisingly jolly affair, despite lacking the presence of Black and Indigo, and the elite corps went out of their way to make the celebrations compensate for not being at home with family and loved-ones.   Lady Gray had a rather large, real Christmas tree shipped up to the base and the colonel had it erected in the largest communal space, making the Angels and some of the lieutenants responsible for decorating it.   There were carol concerts and special menus in the canteens, reflecting the differing international traditions that characterised the season; with adroitness you could be celebrating the international culinary delights of the spirit of Christmas from early December to early January. 

There were a few official social gatherings, and one of them was held in the Amber Room to allow as many of the Angels to join in as possible.  The colonel was always wary of too much fraternisation amongst the ranks, fearing that careless talk might leak out into the public media and destroy the enhanced security that protected the identity of his senior officers.  For this reason, other than the elite squadrons, participation at the Amber Room party was limited to the small core of technicians, lieutenants and back-up staff, who along with Manila,  provided round-the-clock support for the Flight. 

Destiny Angel had convinced Lieutenant Manila that she should go along in order to cheer herself up.  The normally gregarious and vivacious woman had been moping around Cloudbase since the break-up of her relationship and the Angels all agreed this was not good for her – or their – morale.    At 1900-hours, Melody and Rhapsody, who were the off-duty officers, collected her from her quarters and escorted her to the Amber Room, where the select gathering was already getting into its stride. 

Captain Ochre came over to join them almost as soon as they arrived, followed shortly afterwards by Captain Grey and Captain Brown. 

Lieutenants Green and Mulberry were in charge of the music and with the arrival of three more young women – which evened up the numbers slightly - they decided it was time to get everyone dancing.  Looking as if they’d been primed to do so, the captains invited the newcomers to dance and all six of them found themselves jostling each other in the small space between the seating.  It was even worse when Rhapsody dragged Captain Scarlet onto the ‘dance floor’ as well.

“You’re not dancing?” Grey asked Symphony, who, although she was in uniform and on duty as Angel 2, was still having difficulty standing still and was tapping her foot to the infectious beat.

“No one’s asking,” she complained, with a smile at him. 

“I’m asking.”

“Then let’s dance.” She laughed up into his dark eyes and stepped out onto the crowded floor with Grey grinning cheerfully at her side. 

The colonel was standing beside Captain Blue who was watching the dancers and he noticed a frown deepen between the younger man’s fair brows. 

“I am sure your turn will come, Captain,” he said, with mild irony and a dry smile on his face.   “Or you could always ask Lieutenant Manila to dance.  I’m sure she’d be delighted.”

The expression on Blue’s face as he turned to reply told the colonel that he’d mistaken the cause of the emotion Blue was feeling: it was clearly some private irritation and not a wish to be part of the activity.  

“I don’t think there’s room, sir, even if I wanted to dance.”  He paused before adding, “Which I don’t.  My sisters’ud tell you I was born with two left-feet when it comes to dancing.”

“Show me a man that wasn’t,” the colonel quipped.  “My wife insisted that I learn to waltz, at least moderately competently.  It seems it is de rigueur in ambassadorial circles, but I have never been any good at… freestyle.”

He raised one dark eyebrow as Captain Scarlet spun Rhapsody round and several people had to jump out of the way.

Blue grinned.  “Nor me.  I can cope with the slow ones, where you only have to prop each other up for a while.”

“An excellent description, Captain; and I’m sure that when the time comes to… prop someone up… you’ll be a big hit. 

Blue shrugged and made no reply. 

After a moment the colonel continued: “Although, at the moment I’d say you’re less than pleased to be here?”

“Sir?”

“I wasn’t born yesterday, Captain.  Whichever of those young ladies it is that’s brought that frown to your face – forget it.  I want no squabbling at Christmas.”

“I never squabble; especially at Christmas, sir.”

“Make sure that’s the truth, Captain.  Merry Christmas.”

Colonel White moved off to speak to a group of male technicians who were lurking hopefully close to a small bunch of mistletoe.

Once the initial excitement had died down and Green started on the less energetic music, Captain Blue danced with each of the Angels in turn.  Shrugging off Manila’s vehement refusal to dance with him - which left Captain Brown certain he was on to a sure thing - Blue went to chat to Doctor Fawn who had wandered up from Sick Bay to join in the festivities.   

“Lieutenant Manila’s the life and soul of the party,” Fawn remarked to Blue, just as Symphony Angel came to join them by the drinks table.  “Although, you run her a close second, Symphony; you’ve hardly left the dance floor.”

“I love to dance, Doc: want to take a spin around the floor yourself?”

“Ah… I’m tone deaf and, according to my wife, I dance like a geriatric wombat… and, before you ask, they’re not known for their terpsichorean skills. ”

She laughed.  “Aww, you guys all say that.”  She glanced at Captain Blue from under her long lashes and raised an eyebrow.  “Captain Blue made the same excuses earlier but when it came to it and Rhapsody got him on the dance floor, he was a good dancer – better than some of the rest anyway.  So, I don’t believe any of you anymore.”

“Well, perhaps he’d enjoy another dance?” Fawn suggested, with an inquisitive look at the taller man beside him. 

“Would you, Captain?” she asked, tilting her head and smiling up at him, a winsome expression on her face and a brightness in her beautiful hazel-green eyes.

“I’d be delighted,” Blue said without much enthusiasm and a glance at Fawn that clearly said ‘you owe me’.

The doctor watched them move out into the crowded space and smiled.  Colonel White, who had been watching this exchange, shook his head at the self-satisfied Australian and quietly voiced the opinion that he should stop playing Cupid before he caused trouble.

“Oh, so you noticed it too?”

“What?” White asked.

“She’s… eh… smitten – yes; I think that’s the word I’m looking for.”

“Is she?”  When Fawn nodded confidently, White glanced at the couple and asked,   “How can you tell?”

“Her pupils dilated when she looked at him and… well, there’s other inborn body-language, if you know what to look for, that indicate an attraction.  Sad to say, I don’t think it was me that was the cause of it.”

“And Captain Blue, is he smitten?”

“I’m not so sure about him… but why not?  Wouldn’t you be?”

“I’m a married man,” White said, with a chuckle. “But if I wasn’t…”

“Precisely; we’re all only human.”

 

Chapter Four

Captain Black was used to cramped conditions but even the Fireball rockets had had more room than the MEV and he was finding it hard to sleep comfortably on the vehicle.   Nevertheless, he was still savouring being back in space and to be exploring the lesser known regions of Mars was something he relished. 

Kahra, the ‘capital’ of Mars, was a small, largely mechanised bio-dome colony housing the nucleus of a human settlement.   The inhabitants consisted of a few enthusiastic astrophysicists, seeking to prove that their theories had been right all along, and a phalanx of dour engineers who were entirely devoted to mining whatever resources the planet had to offer.   Although Mars had been mapped by numerous satellites, there were areas shrouded by huge crater walls that remained marked as ‘unknown’ on maps and charts.   From the landing site the MEV had performed exploratory forays on carefully plotted routes, mapping and sampling the surface and the surroundings as it went.  There were strange, weathered formations which WSP Lieutenants Dean and Conway – his two crewmen – had christened ‘rock-snakes’ and within the rim of the bigger crater smaller craters and depressions created an undulating surface.   The terrain seemed less red than the overall surface area and was a dull grey, which baffled Captain Black.  He wondered if some far more recent volcanic activity had thrown up the underlying substrata which had not oxidised as much as the rest of the planet.  It was a fascinating possibility: was this the last site of volcanic activity on the ‘dead, red planet’? 

He sat gazing out at the landscape through the MEV windows, sipping some of the expedition’s coffee ration.  Yesterday – Christmas Day back on Earth - he had planted the children’s symbol of unity on the surface and transmitted the event live to the Global TV networks.   The feedback he’d had was positive and he felt privileged to have been chosen to undertake the mission instead of one of the World Space Patrol officers, many of whom were old friends.  

Tomorrow would have to be the final day of the expedition as their supplies were running low, but he felt sure they’d be able to resolve the mystery of the signals before they left.  He decided that they’d push on over the next couple of ridges before they turned for home and at least from the crest of the more distant one, they’d have a view of what was believed to be the vast plateau inside the crater’s walls.   A feature never before seen by a human: it was what made space exploration worthwhile, for he strongly believed that no remote camera could convey the real splendour and magnitude of a different planet as effectively as the human eye.

He glanced at the chronometer and decided he’d better get a few more hours’ sleep so that he was fresh for whatever tomorrow held. 

***

“Colonel,” Lieutenant Green called across the Control Room urgently.  White looked up from his paperwork.  “Colonel, Space City have reported that the Zero-X rocket has lost contact with the MEV.”

“How long ago, Lieutenant?”

“Ten minutes, sir.  They’ve conducted the standard protocols for a lost transmission and the systems are all A1.”

“Put me through to Commander Zero at once.”

Commander Zero’s worried features appeared on the screen behind the Colonel’s desk. 

“Colonel, I wish this was better news.”

“What’s the present situation, Commander?”

“The MEV went on its final reconnaissance this morning, 0800 hours, Earth Standard Time.  There was nothing to report but Captain Black wanted to survey the terrain beyond the final ridge of the crater they were crossing before they returned to the landing site.   There was time, so they pressed on.   Whatever was over that ridge must’ve been jaw-dropping.  In the last transmission we have from the MEV, Captain Black said, ‘they’re obviously hostile.’”

“They?”

“That’s what he said, Colonel.  Our systems show that the MEV discharged a weapon then, a couple of minutes later, we heard Lieutenant Dean say ‘will you take a look at that’ and then a few minutes after that we lost contact. The full audio files are being transmitted to Cloudbase.” 

“Why did you lose contact?”

“I don’t know.  Colonel, when the World Space Patrol send men into space, our default back-up system’s back-up system has a back-up.  There’s no way every system could’ve failed simultaneously.  No way, except one.”

“They were switched off,” White reasoned.

“Exactly.”

“By the crew?”

“There was nobody else in the MEV, Colonel.  Well, no one we know about.”

“Are there any circumstances when they might have to terminate contact?”

“None.  Of course, there will be audio and visual in the MEV; if we can retrieve it.”

“You think the crew are dead?”

“Right now, I don’t know.  We’ll keep trying, of course, and in 12 hours the Command Module will be in a position to survey the area.  Until then, I can’t tell you any more; anything else would be pure speculation.  I can tell you that the MEV has life support for another 96 hours and I know Captain Black was erring on the side of caution about turning for base, so if they are alive, that shouldn’t be a problem.  I’m in touch with Kahra and we have a Fireball in the area if there’s a need to mount a rescue.”

“I understand.  Keep me informed, Commander.  White out.”

There was silence in the Control Room as Lieutenant Green watched for his commanding officer’s reaction.  Captain Black had worked with the colonel for longer than any other of the officers; the two men were friends – or at least, friendly – and this was the first Spectrum officer to go missing in action.

White became aware of the young man’s scrutiny and looked across the room to where Lieutenant Green was sitting at the long computer and control panel.  He acknowledged the youngster’s concern with a brief nod. 

“Please call all officers to the Conference Room, Lieutenant – code red; I will speak to them together.  I want you to minute the meeting, so please call the relief officer to the Comms desk.”

“S.I.G., Colonel.”

***

“What’s going on?” Captain Brown said, as he joined the others in the corridor leading to the Conference Room.

“Greenie wasn’t saying,” Ochre told him. 

“We’ll find out soon enough,” said Grey, as he keyed in the password to the security door.

“I was right in the middle of something,” Brown protested.

“Yeah, that’s obvious,” Ochre said, with a grin.  “Being improperly dressed on duty will definitely get you extra radar duty…”

Brown checked his uniform, swore under his breath and adjusted his clothing.

The colonel was already waiting for them and once they were all seated around the circular table, he described the news from Space City and that there was no way of knowing what might have happened to their colleagues. Looking at the shocked faces that surrounded him, he concluded:

“Naturally, we’re hopeful that there will be some innocent explanation for what occurred, but we should be prepared for the worst.”

“Is Commander Zero certain that Captain Black said, ‘They’re obviously hostile’?” Scarlet said.  “Is there any concept of who or what he was talking about, sir?”

“Commander Zero has no idea and nor, at this precise moment, do I.  It would appear that Black considered something was about to attack; what or who that might’ve been, we can’t hope to deduce until we see the MEV mission logs and recordings.”

“So the MEV will be recovered, sir?” said Scarlet, forcefully.

White nodded.  “I understand there is an emergency program that allows the vehicle to be controlled remotely.  The Command Module will need to be in the correct position to engage with the landing module before it can be initiated – as far as I understand it.”  He gave a dry smile.  “I’m sure Captain Magenta or Lieutenant Green would be able to explain the technical side of it far better than I can, should you wish to know.”

“We’ll have to wait and see what happened then,” Grey said sadly.  “Poor Conrad; he was so pleased to be going back into space.”

“He knew the risks, Captain; better than any one of us,” White remarked. There was a moment’s silence before the colonel continued:

  “I want you to keep this confidential for the moment.  The time will come when the news will have to be made official, but for the present, this is a Top Secret Code Red briefing.  Dismiss, gentlemen.”

Back in the Officers’ Lounge the captains sat around in a sombre mood.   They were all thinking about Captain Black and the horror of facing danger on another planet with no hope of back-up or rescue.   Whatever had attacked the MEV had been an unknown and unexpected force and whatever the outcome the crew were alone and possibly trapped in a damaged vehicle with their air running out.

“Even facing the scum we have here on Earth has to be better than facing Lord knows what out in space,” Ochre said into the silence.

Brown nodded.  “None of us ever thought they’d face that sort of danger – an attack!”

“Black was so sure there were no little green men, anywhere in space,” Grey mused, a frown on his face.  “So what was it that was ‘obviously hostile’?”

“There’s the theory about those so-called rock snakes being ‘alive’,” Scarlet said.  “I never believed it, but now…?”

“We – mankind – are so sure we’re all the universe has to offer; we get over-confident,” Blue said, shaking his head.  “There’s limitless possibilities in an infinite universe.”

“But there’s never been any indication of complex life on Mars,” Grey reasoned. 

“Maybe whatever they found is man-made?” suggested Ochre.

“By whom? The Bereznians?  They haven’t the technology and even if they did have they haven’t got the money to put something on Mars,” Scarlet replied. 

“I dunno who,” Ochre replied waspishly.  “But something was there and if it wasn’t the little green men Black didn’t believe in, it must’ve come from Earth.”

“Or the Moon,” said Blue suddenly.  “We can’t be sure there isn’t an element of rebellion or protest in the Lunar Colonies.”

“It isn’t a penal colony,” Scarlet reminded him.  “Why would anyone want to rebel and invade Mars?”

“Why do they want to rebel here?” Grey asked rhetorically.  “Their demands make no sense half the time.  All you need is a sense of grievance, the complete conviction that you’re right and the rest of the world is wrong, and enough gullible fanatics to join you.”

***

It was tough working day to day as if nothing had changed.  The silence from the Martian expedition was deafening and rumour and conjecture increased as Spectrum’s personnel tried to come to an understanding of what had happened.  

News that the MEV had returned to the landing module and completed the docking manoeuvre with the Command Module lifted spirits for a while, but when all contact was lost with Zero X, shortly after it confirmed co-ordinates for its return to Earth, there was consternation. 

A high-level meeting between Colonel White and Commander Zero at Space City, agreed that for the time being there were no grounds to attack Zero X; whatever had rendered contact with the MEV impossible may also have occurred on the Mother Ship.  However, every mile of the journey was monitored and the world’s security services remained in readiness to attack and destroy the craft, if necessary. 

The elite officers were almost thankful that a wave of terrorist activity broke out, encouraged and supported by the Bereznians.  They were kept occupied across the globe and the few off-duty spells they had were spent in exhausted slumber.  Yet everyone grew edgier the closer Zero X got to Earth.

***

Destiny looked up from her book as Melody flopped down opposite her with a groan.

“Busy patrol?” she asked.

Melody nodded. “The Bereznians scrambled fighters when a World Government plane strayed into the disputed airspace.  Some peacenik protest at the Bereznians’ support for a terrorist group in Arabia – apparently.   I had to fend them off and escort the jet out of danger.

“I thought the World Government was going to instruct the WAS to close that airspace?”

“They have; but even they can’t erect walls to prevent determined pilots going where they want to,” Melody remarked.  She stretched.  “As soon as Symphony gets here I’m going off duty and heading for the Room of Sleep.  Every time I try to get some shut-eye it seems that about 40 minutes after I doze off the emergency siren goes off and I’m back on duty because it’s all hands on deck for something or other.   This time, I need some serious shut-eye.”

“I think we have all had to resort to the Room of Sleep these past days,” Destiny said, with a nod of her head.  “I was having dinner with Captain Magenta two days ago when the last recall to duty was made.  I had to leave my Charlotte à la Framboise and get ready for an all of the night duty.  Not what I had hoped for as the way to end my day.  I have not seen Magenta since,” she added, with a little sigh of disappointment and a very Gallic shrug. 

“He’s in the Yukon, I think.  At least, that’s where he and Grey started out for.”

“Yes, the Yukon.  I wish the World Government would do something to bring about an outbreak of world peace very soon.”

Melody snorted.  “Banging some heads together would get my vote.”

“You are a believer of direct action?” Destiny asked, with a smile.

Melody shrugged.  “I believe politicians are only human – or almost human in some cases – and that sometimes what they need is a right good bollocking.”

“This word I do not know-“

“Ask Captain Magenta,” Melody interjected, laughing. “He’s been teaching me the Irish vernacular…”

“-But I can guess,” Destiny added hastily, “and I may even agree with you, mon amie.”

 

The SPJ landed and sank into the hangar bays below the runway.  Captain Grey and Captain Magenta disembarked; both looked grubby and exhausted, yet they went straight to the Control Room for their debriefing before returning to their respective quarters. 

It was several hours later when Magenta entered the Amber Room and smiled apologetically at Destiny. 

"You were successful?" she asked.

He nodded.  "Within an acceptable parameter for success anyway," he qualified.  "Nobody died, the hydro-power station is still standing, but the perps got away.”

Destiny gave him a sympathetic look and patted the seat beside her, inviting him to sit.

“Actually, I was wondering if you wanted to get something to eat.  I’m famished.  I could do with some pleasant company; not that Grey isn’t, of course, but you’re much prettier.”

Destiny gave a trill of laughter. “I shall consider that to be a compliment, Patrick, for I am sure it was intended to be one.”

He grinned back.  “So, is that a ‘yes’?”

She looked at the clock. “If you will not expire from famishment, in 30 minutes I can be free to have lunch.”

“I think I can wait that long – but not a minute more!”

They walked up to the Officers’ Canteen together in a silence that was unusual for two such sociable people.   Destiny took his hand as they rode up the escalators to the upper decks; she could see the exhaustion etched into his handsome face and the dark rings below his deep-brown eyes, and she appreciated the fact that he’d sought her out on his return rather than crash out in his quarters, or the Room of Sleep.   She wanted to help him relax so that he could go and get some well-deserved rest.

Magenta smiled at her concerned expression and kissed her hand.  “Being with you makes it all worthwhile,” he murmured. 

“Patrick…” Her expression softened and she smiled back.  “You are truly un chevalier romantique.  Est ce que vous dites est vrai?"

“Absolument vrai. Je pense que je t’aime.”

As usual, she smiled at his rather schoolboy-French but however inadequate the delivery she was delighted with the undoubted sentiment. “Moi aussi,” she whispered. 

Their intimacy was shattered by the whoop of the emergency siren. 

“Damn and double damn,” Magenta snapped irritably, dropping her hand as if it was red hot.  “Come on, Destiny, let’s get to the Control Room.  With any luck we’ll be able to grab a sandwich on the way to our duty stations…”

***

Colonel White indicated that the members of the elite squadrons should take the seats around his control desk that were rising from the floor as they approached.   He glanced at Destiny Angel and then at his duty screen which confirmed his impression that Harmony Angel was actually Angel Two and should attend the meeting, but as the Frenchwoman was the acknowledged senior pilot, there seemed no reason to exclude her – quite apart from the fierce determination on her face.

Harmony arrived last and Captain Blue rose to give her his seat. 

White flicked a switch opening the wall-mounted screen behind him.   “Ladies and gentlemen, this is the WSP’s space map of the immediate region around the Earth and the Lunar Colonies.  You will notice there is a radar signal on it approaching the Moon very quickly.  That is Zero X.”

“But it shouldn’t reach there for another week,” Captain Grey exclaimed. 

“It shouldn’t, but it has,” White remarked.  “The WSP have been keeping a close eye on it.  They’ve reported to me every day and it’s obvious that the craft has been deviating from its flight path for no reason we can ascertain and that, although its speed has fluctuated, overall it has been steadily increasing.   Yesterday, it increased to something that, technically, is beyond any speed it is capable of.  It slowed again as it approached the Moon’s gravitational field, but there’s no guarantee it won’t use the Moon as a sling-shot to speed up again as it makes its approach to the Earth.”

“What’s its trajectory?” said Captain Scarlet briskly.

 “And where exactly is it due to land and when?”  Captain Blue added, a frown on his face.

“It was always intended Zero X would land at Glenn Field, and it looks to be on the right course to do that.  When it will land is a little more speculative, all we can say is ‘sometime in the next twenty hours if it maintains its current speed and does not alter its trajectory’,” the colonel replied.  He glanced along the row of concerned faces and continued, “Spectrum must be there to protect… everything - and to secure the crew members for debriefing.  I do not want the WSP or the WAAF getting their hands on these men until I know what they have to tell us.”

“There’s still been no contact with them?” Magenta asked.

White shook his head.  “Space City has been broadcasting to them ever since we lost all contact when the landing module docked, but without any response.  We have no idea if the crew are alive or dead, if the ship’s running on automatic or manual or even if it’ll crash land.”

Scarlet leant forward and asked eagerly: “What do you want us to do, Colonel?”

“The Angels will fly as a protective escort from the moment the craft enters the troposphere and follow it down to Glenn Field.  I don’t want the WAAF getting close to it.”  He shifted slightly and his dark brows came down over his blue eyes in an angry frown.  “There are some senior military commanders who feel we should take no chances and blow the craft out of the sky before it lands.  They reason that even if all four men are alive, their deaths account for little compared to the potential danger of allowing whatever they encountered on Mars to affect, or infect, the planet.”

“Callous but correct – if you’re taking the Doomsday scenario position,” Scarlet remarked.

“I’m not taking that position, Captain,” White snapped angrily, turning to stare at his youngest officer who, somewhat startled, sat back upright on his seat.  “That was a peaceful mission and I want to know what the fuck happened on that planet!”

The colonel never swore, although as an ex-naval commander no one doubted that his vocabulary included some ripe expressions, so the effect of his words had an immediate impact.   There was a Mexican-wave of nods from the assembled officers, as the colonel forced himself to calm down and resumed speaking with his usual self-control. 

“Captain Ochre, you will be the Field Commander for the security detail at Glenn Field, and you may take any officer you need to ensure Spectrum takes the crew to the nearest Maximum Security Building and places them in quarantine.  Doctor Fawn, you will lead the medical team and I’ve asked Doctor Giardello to provide a research detail to assist, if necessary.”

“The nearest MSB to Glenn Field?  Where’s that?” Ochre asked, nodding again to confirm he understood his orders. 

“Tallahassee,” Lieutenant Green informed him.

“Not that close then,” Ochre muttered.  “We’ll need to fly them from the Space Port to Tallahassee and then transport them in a Maximum Security Vehicle to the building.  Can you authorise adaptions to the craft to ensure their isolation during the flight and the drive, Colonel?”

  “Of course.  You have my authority to initiate the work.  I suggest you discuss with Doctor Fawn what would be the most appropriate way.”

Fawn spoke for the first time.  “Biohazard suits – for the terrestrial officers and the crew – and containment capsules.  Shouldn’t need any structural alterations as long as care is taken…”

“Excellent.  I want everyone working on this, we must be in place and have everything ready five or six hours before the Zero X is due to land.  Given its erratic flight and speed so far, we can’t take chances.  Nothing must go wrong.” White paused and then muttered, “We may only have fourteen hours to save the Earth…”

***

Unintentionally humming the theme tune to the old cult movie, ‘Flash Gordon’, Captain Scarlet busied himself with plotting the route from Tallahassee airport to the MSB and identifying vantage points for snipers to protect the convoy Ochre was putting together.   Beside him on the desk, a half-eaten BLT, starting to curl at the edges, was proof enough that he was engrossed in his task. 

Across the room, Captain Magenta was creating a secure comms link that it would take any outsider hours to decipher, while Captain Blue handled the delicate task of arranging the flight path for the SPJ and its escort with the civilian authorities and securing priority landing rights at the airport without causing undue alarm. 

Suddenly Magenta gasped:  “Listen, I’m picking up a message and I think it’s from Zero X.  My guess is it is a loop of some kind.  It keeps repeating the same message.” 

“Can you put it on loudspeaker?” Scarlet asked. 

“I’ll get Green to connect us to the colonel,” said Blue.

Magenta boosted some settings and made some additional links and then, over the speaker came a deep, almost expressionless voice:

“Earthmen. We are peaceful beings and you have tried to destroy us, but you cannot succeed. You and your people will pay for this act of aggression. This is the voice of the Mysterons. We know that you can hear us, Earthmen. Our retaliation will be slow but nonetheless effective. It will mean the ultimate destruction of life on Earth. It will be useless for you to resist. We have discovered the secret of reversing matter, as you have just witnessed. One of you will be under our control. You will be instrumental in avenging the Mysterons. Our first act of retaliation will be to assassinate your World President.”

 “Mysterons?  Who the hell are the Mysterons?” Scarlet asked him.

Magenta shrugged.  “Presumably the people who lived in the compound – or whatever it was – that Black destroyed.”

“’Reversing matter’?” Blue mused.  “Whatever can they mean? You can’t ‘reverse’ matter.”

Colonel White’s voice over the comms link betrayed his concern. 

“We can’t know what happened up there until we can raise the MEV or the mother ship.  Our people may have been taken prisoner and these ‘Mysterons’ are aboard the Zero X.  All we know for certain is that the MEV returned to the lander and the lander returned to the mother ship.  The retros have fired and the Zero-X craft is coming home, possibly with our people on it, possibly empty and perhaps, possibly with a crew of little green men.”

“And although I hate to say it,” Scarlet remarked, “they are obviously hostile.”

“We must alert the World President and Captain Grey and Captain Brown must act as his bodyguards until we have dealt with this threat,” the colonel agreed. 

***

  “Spectrum will be there when the Zero-X lands,” Destiny explained to the others.  “The Angels will escort the ship in and keep all craft away until we are sure Zero-X is safe.”

Melody nodded.  “We’ve got a while until it gets here, even though it does seem to be travelling at top speed.  It’s reassuring to know that the colonel’s conferring with the World President and there’ll be a guard assigned to him 24/7 from now until all this is explained.  My guess is, they’ll want him in a Maximum Security Building too when that happens until they know what the whole story.”

“I do not like it,” Destiny said gloomily.  “We are an anti-terrorism unit; no one said anything about fighting little green spacemen.”

“We do have jurisdiction on Earth and in space,” Rhapsody reminded her.  “So I suppose that makes us some kind of Space Police as well as the world’s frontline security force.”

“Oui, I do not mean I do not wish to fight the aliens,” Destiny explained, “I am as ready to fight as everyone.  But, if they have a secret weapon for ‘reversing matter’ we will have a need for an effective weapon or at least, a shield against it.”

Harmony nodded.  “Captain Grey told me that Captain Indigo has already been briefed and he’s meeting with Dr Giardello at Spectrum Intelligence HQ later today.”

“I’m sure the boffins in Spectrum Intelligence’s R&D will know as much about it as anyone,” Rhapsody said, attempting to sound upbeat.    “After all, they’re physicists and so on.  They’ve probably been working on how to reverse matter for years without letting on.”  She looked up and added, “Especially if it’s a weapon.  That’s how it usually works, isn’t it?”

Melody nodded.  “Sure, we’ve nothing to worry about.  Let’s face it, this could all be a gigantic bluff.   If the Mysterons are peaceful, like they say, they might just be rattling their sabres, but I’m sure the World President will be able to sort it all out.  We can rebuild their compound or… build them a completely new one.  There’s always a way to find a compromise with reasonable people.”

“Let us hope so,” Harmony said quietly, “or we might be facing ‘the ultimate destruction of life on Earth’ – they said that too, didn’t they?”

Destiny sighed and crossed herself.  “I shall say a novena, for the men on the space ship and for the whole world.  If Spectrum do not have the answer, we may need all the help we can get.”

***

When the order came to launch all Angels, Destiny was on duty in Angel One.  With Symphony and Melody – the two best pilots amongst the others – she flew escort when the vast ship burst through the atmosphere on re-entry and cruised towards the space port, slowing down as it went. 

The Angel jets had been warned not to get too close and it was an easy order to obey, as the turbulence around the huge ship was enough to deter any close approach.  The scanners showed nothing but a dark shadow on the screen and there was no sign of human activity on board.

“They won’t be waving out of the window, Destiny,” Colonel White’s voice retorted, in response to her radioed report.  “They’ll have been strapped in for re-entry.”

“S.I.G., Colonel,” she replied.    The colonel’s sarcasm was enough to alert her to the fact that he was more anxious than he’d admit, and she knew his frustration was not directed at her personally.  “We will continue to monitor the craft.  Instrument readings show that it is slowing to landing speed at the correct rate.”

“Ground security is ready to go, sir,” Lieutenant Green informed the colonel and Destiny, as Angel Leader.

Two Angel jets sped away towards the space port, and circled around checking everything was in readiness.  The floodlights were on full and Destiny could see armoured vehicles, paramedic ambulances and fire tenders scattered over the outfield.   The authorities were obviously taking no chances. 

“Zero-X approaching the landing zone,” reported Symphony, who was still some distance away, shadowing the spaceship on its approach run. “Speed: A-Okay.  Retros have fired, landing gear is down for first approach.”

 “S.I.G., Angel Three.  Angel Two, patrol intercept position mid-way along the runway.”

“S.I.G.,” Melody drawled in response and turned her plane back towards the designated area. 

Destiny continued her circuit of the space port perimeter until she could see, far in the distance, a dark smudge that was the approaching spaceship.

“All Angels, stand by,” she ordered.

As the gigantic spaceship approached, the deep resonance of its engines filled the air, penetrating even into the cockpits of the Angel jets.  The powerful retro engines had slowed the craft to a speed where it could attempt a landing, although it was still travelling at the maximum approach speed.  Destiny found herself willing them to fire the main landing retros.

Her concentration was shattered by Melody’s voicing snapping a warning over her radio: “Angel Leader, intruder at 9 o’clock!”

Destiny scanned the sky and saw a small aircraft approaching the spaceport at some speed. 

Angel Two swooped in and over the open airwaves, Melody issued a challenge:

“Unidentified craft, you are entering restricted airspace.  Identify yourself or be considered as hostile.”

Destiny came along the other side of the small craft and on the closed radio link said to Melody: “I think it is a news reporter; the tail logo is for Universal Media Corporation.”

“TV21?” Melody gasped, “Those jerks get everywhere!” She repeated her warning and this time there was a response.

“We’re authorised reporters for Universal Media.  We’re here to cover the return of the Mars Mission Craft.”

“This is a restricted area,” Melody repeated.  “There is a 50 kilometre exclusion zone – everyone was told that this morning - and no authority has been given for any craft to enter it at this time.  You are advised to leave immediately.”

“Zero-X is almost here; what’s your panic?” the reporter asked. “We won’t get in the way, but this is too big a scoop to walk away from.  On whose authority are you telling us to leave anyway?”

Destiny cut in.  “We are Spectrum aircraft.  We have the authority to shoot you down if you do not comply with the orders we give.”

“Oh, right, sure you would shoot us down, lady.  That’d look swell on the main Universal News broadcast: Spectrum shoots down unarmed civilian aircraft.  You won’t do it.”

As a response Melody fired a warning shot across their trajectory.

“I will not warn you again,” Destiny said firmly.  “Leave at once.”

“You’ll have to shoot us down!” the reporter exclaimed.  “There must a story here for Spectrum to be acting so gung-ho!”

The radio link was closed down and the small craft jinked away from the escorting jets and increased speed towards the landing strip.  Melody fired a second warning shot, closer than the last and increased her speed in pursuit.  As the shell exploded to the left of the plane, it veered right and it was only due to Melody’s lightning reflexes that there wasn’t a mid-air collision.  Angel Two screamed upwards away from the space port and the reporter’s plane continued downwards approaching the landing strip from the other direction to the lumbering Zero-X, the pilot counting on his plane’s manoeuvrability to avoid a collision.  

Moments later, Angel Two swooped in and Melody fired a third shot, which exploded on the grass verge adjacent to the runway.  Sods of earth were sent spinning across the tarmac. 

“Angel Two, hold fire!” Destiny ordered, as Zero-X’s main retros fired and the gigantic craft prepared to land.  “Angel Two, abort chase!  Abort chase!”

But Angel Two continued after the intruder’s jet, which increased speed in its determination to avoid the smaller, faster fighter plane. 

“Melody, return to station, immédiatement!” Destiny rapped out, angry at being ignored. 

“Angel Leader, red alert!” Symphony reported. “Unidentified craft is approaching the centre of the turbulence zone.  When Zero-X fires retros again, they’ll be hit.”

“Angel Two withdraw.  This is a direct order, Melody Angel.”

This time Melody obeyed and pulled out of her attack dive, banking steeply as she gained height and speed. 

But the media jet continued towards Zero-X, the warning lights about inbuilt wing cameras flashing as they recorded.  They obviously intended to film the moment the wheels touched down from alongside.  As they approached, the spaceship fired its landing retros and the smaller plane was tossed in the resulting turbulence. 

“Ah non,” Destiny gasped. 

The media jet was attempting to gain height, but it had been swept under the gigantic wing of the spaceship.   As Zero-X’s wheels touched the ground the small plane clipped the wing and, out of control, spun under the vast bulk of the spaceship. 

The pilot was still active at the controls and Destiny picked up the ‘Mayday’ call from the plane.  The smaller craft rolled clear of the main body of the spaceship just before the landing wheels support struts snapped and the fuselage crashed onto the tarmac.  Sparks flew as the metal grated against the landing strip, but the media plane was clear and by some miracle it didn’t catch fire.

The emergency tenders, lights flashing and sirens wailing, had rushed towards the landing strip as soon as it became clear what was happening and the area was soon covered in flame retardant foam.  Paramedics struggled to get the three men out of the media plane before anything exploded. 

With a heavy heart, Destiny reported to Cloudbase.  “Zero-X has landed, Colonel.  There’s been an incident with a press plane – a crash.  The emergency crews are dealing with the situation.”

“The Zero-X crew, are they on board?”

“I cannot tell, Colonel.  There are too many people and machines down there.”

Colonel White groaned.  “Very well, Angel Leader.  Return to Cloudbase.  Leave the ground security to Captain Ochre.”

“S.I.G.,” Destiny replied wearily.

***

Back on Cloudbase, Colonel White postponed their debriefing while the situation remained unresolved, but Destiny, relieved from Angel One by Rhapsody although her shift wasn’t over, knew that she had something to do that would not wait. 

She took Melody to one side and asked her to accompany her into the small, private office adjacent to the Amber Room.

Melody followed her in with a self-assured swagger, and dropped her flying helmet on the narrow desk.

Destiny turned on her. 

“What do you think you were doing back out there?  You disobeyed my orders, not once but more times!”  She drew a deep breath as she struggled to retain her temper.  “I was – I am still – the mission commander. On appropriate times I will accept advises and reasoned dispute of an order, but in the heat of actions, you do as I say to do – as soon as I say to do it! This cannot happen again.”

“I’m sorry, Destiny,” the American said, and she looked so contrite now that she was away from the scrutiny of the others that Destiny was inclined to believe the apology.  “I was sure I could get them out of the way; I never thought they’d try to get so close to Zero-X.  I made a mistake, Destiny; we all do, from time to time.  I’ll include it in my report and if there’s any blame arising from it, I’ll accept my punishment.  I am sorry.”

“I do not talk of blame, Melody, but of a trust between us.  To follow the media jet was a call of our judgement and we can all make a wrong call, as long as we learn from it.  But an order is an order and must be obeyed without any question.  When you are Angel One and I am under your command, as it will be one time very soon, I will obey your orders.  Do I have your word that you will do as much?”

“Sure you do, Destiny.  I was wrong, I admit it and I’m sorry, Honey. It won’t happen again.”

Destiny gave a relieved sigh. “Then we have no quarrels.  I will report to the colonel that the matter has been dealt with between us, in my report.”

Melody nodded gratefully.  “I’m just glad no one was hurt and I hope they found the crew in the Zero-X were okay in there.”

“We should hear about that very soon.  Come, I wish to have a drink.  I will have to relieve Rhapsody all too soon.”

***

Captain Ochre’s report was brief and succinct.  “Zero-X was empty.”

“Please explain yourself fully, Captain,” the colonel said with exemplary patience.

“There was no one in it. It was empty. There was signs of the crew: their gear and their possessions, but no sign of them.  Just like the Marie Celeste,” Ochre said in response.

“You mean you’re saying it came all the way back from Mars on auto-pilot?” Symphony asked suddenly.  “Because, if that’s what you’re suggesting, Ochre, I’d like to know how the Martian Exploration Vehicle got back to the Mother Ship without a crew aboard and why, once it had docked, the anchor-man on the main ship decided to jump out into space.”

“Symphony,” the colonel interrupted her, with a frown on his face.

“Well, where else did he go?” she retorted. 

“That will need investigating,” Colonel White agreed smoothly.

“Then I suggest you also examine the auto-pilot programming, sir; because that ship’s landing was safe, but not textbook.  The retros fired too late and – in my opinion - not often enough.  It had to slow down much too late in the procedure for it to be an auto-pilot landing…”

“Like you would know,” Ochre muttered.

“Excuse me,” she snapped in response, “I was following the damn thing, I could see what was going on.  That was a manual landing, or I’m no pilot!”

“These are valid observations and areas that will need researching,” White said firmly, effectively closing the argument down.

“So, what has happen to the crewmen?  Where is Captain Black?” Destiny asked.

“That’s the $64,000 question,” Ochre said, with a wry nod towards her, “and I don’t know the answer.”

Captain Magenta looked up from the notepad he’d been doodling on and said, “The message we received said ‘one of you will be under our control’.  Now, it could be that whoever that individual is, he killed the other crew members on the way back to Earth.  Space would be the ideal place to hide the bodies, after all, the chances of anyone finding them is minute.”

“Yes,” White said soberly, “that had occurred to me.”

“C’est terrifiant,” Destiny murmured.  “To be trapped on a spaceship with a murderer…” She shuddered delicately.  “Those poor men.”

“What will happen now, Colonel?” Ochre asked. 

“The World President must be taken to a Maximum Security Building.  I think the one at Futura is too obvious, but the one in New York has excellent communications and he should be safe there.  I have ordered Captain Brown and Captain Scarlet to rendezvous with him and escort him there.  Thereafter, one or other of them will be with him every moment. The building will be on High Alert for 24 hours a day while the rest of us investigate what is going on and just who the Mysterons are.”

“How can we help, Colonel?” Destiny asked. 

“The Angels will overfly the Presidential convoy.  I want every precaution taken to keep President Younger safe until Spectrum has this threat beaten.”

“S.I.G, Colonel,” everyone replied with fervour. 

***

Destiny was back on duty when the order came to fly escort to the President’s convoy.  She led the other two duty Angels out over the American east coast and they spread out to ensure no overhead threat could get close enough to succeed.   Everyone was aware that it was possible that somewhere there was an agent of the Mysterons, almost certainly armed and definitely dangerous. 

Grey and Indigo were back at Glenn Field conducting a forensic search of the Zero-X craft.  Magenta was on Cloudbase with his team, analysing and re-analysing every message from the Martian Expedition and all the data logs as well, in case there was something they’d missed, and Ochre was acting as back up security in Futura.   Captain Blue was in London, co-ordinating the ground forces from Spectrum: London, the international HQ.

 Scarlet and Brown had driven to rendezvous with the World President in order to accompany him to the Maximum Security Building in New York, where, even as they travelled, the local Spectrum security teams were checking the building and all of the alarm systems. 

Along the route, the roofs of the buildings were lined with Spectrum agents, all armed and with orders to shoot to kill.  The President and Captain Brown were travelling in one of Spectrum’s chunky Maximum Security Vehicles, surrounded by a steel wall of SPVs and Saloon cars. 

Destiny swooped low over the convoy, her radars and scanners sweeping the route ahead for anomalies that might indicate a danger, while Melody and Harmony flew as her outriders, scanning the far horizons for incoming aircraft.   It was a routine and uneventful journey.  The MSV pulled up at the Maximum Security Building and Destiny ordered the others to fall in ready to return to base after a final detailed sweep of the area. 

They had completed three-quarters of the patrol when a massive explosion ripped through the air.  The Security Building was engulfed in a dense cloud of smoke as the foundations collapsed and the huge building imploded.

Immediately the radio airways went frantic with alerts and messages.  Sirens wailed mournfully in surrounding buildings as blast-strewn glass rained down on the streets.  Water hydrants spouted fountains of water, turning the smoke and dusty debris to a river of mud as it flowed over the area.  Emergency lighting came on, flickered momentarily, and then went off with minor explosions along the pavements.  One of the accompanying SPVs, which had been buried in the initial blast, edged its way slowly out of the rubble, by using the powerful bulldozer blade situated under its distinctive white ‘snout’. 

“Sacre bleu,” Destiny muttered, flying over the wreckage with a heavy heart. 

“What’s happened, Destiny?” Colonel White asked anxiously; the video links to Cloudbase had been taken out when the explosion happened. 

“The Maximum Security Building is completely destroyed,” she reported sadly.  “There are no survivors.”

“Can you see any reason why this has happened?” White demanded.  “Are there any unidentified aircraft in the area?”

“Non; we have the airspace locked down.  On the ground it is chaos, Colonel.  They will need many hours to return to normalcy.”

“S.I.G,” White replied, “return to the airport, Destiny, and await further orders.  Plan B will now take effect.”

“The World President?” she asked uncertainly.

“Captain Scarlet will ascertain his whereabouts and fly him to Cloudbase.”

“If he survived,” she murmured.

“Pray that he did and that Captain Brown did his job properly,” the colonel replied. “Everything should be all right.”

***

Destiny ordered the others to get into formation and they flew to the nearest airfield to await the arrival of the Yellow Fox Tanker, driven by Captain Ochre.  The World President emerged with Captain Scarlet at his side and was whisked into Spectrum’s hangar bay and on board an SPJ in record time.  The three Angels flew escort as the plane headed for Cloudbase, now mid-Atlantic, at top speed.

Dr Fawn met the SPJ and insisted that the World President have an examination, something to eat and some sleep, before he continued his journey to London – the designated default Maximum Security Building.   Although Doctor Fawn made no secret of his dislike of anyone relying on using the Room of Sleep, he felt that on this occasion its use was justified. 

“I want to make sure Younger hasn’t suffered too much by way of being caught in that blast,” he explained to Destiny, as they shared a tea break in the canteen.  “He and the colonel are anxious to get him to London, but the man’s had a real and very bad shock and I’m not sure yet that he hasn’t been traumatised.”

“The escape tunnel worked its job?” she asked, between sips.

Fawn nodded.  “Younger saw smoke coming from Captain Brown’s collar, and he activated the emergency escape.  His chair was whisked away and hurtled down the bomb-proof tunnel to the safe house across the street.  Very clever idea.”

“Oui,” she replied, “but I am desolated that someone’s mind is… déformé enough to imagine such a thing would be necessary within such a building designed to be the most secure of all.”

“I know what you mean, but you have to remember, if we can be warped,” – she nodded and pointed to show that was the word she’d been seeking –“then so can the terrorists and although they may have a lot to gain, we have everything to lose.”

“A sad truth,” she agreed, and then to change the subject asked, “Who goes with the World President?”

“Captain Scarlet,” Fawn said, “the other captains are still away.”

Destiny paused and then asked quietly, “Why do you think Captain Brown changed sides, Docteur?  I hope it was nothing we did to make him hate us all.”

Fawn shook his head sadly.  “That is something we may never know.  Alan Stephenson never struck me as a fanatic about anything, except his damn collection of clocks.”

***

The guards outside the Room of Sleep examined Destiny’s pass most thoroughly before they let her enter.  Inside, the gimbal-slung couches were empty, apart from the one on which the World President was sound asleep. 

She was glad Colonel White had told her that she would lead the Angel Squadron during the World President’s flight to London. Her junior pilots would be Rhapsody and Harmony, both excellent pilots but without the experience of military action.

“What’s needed here is a cool, experienced military mind,” White had explained, “and that is why I am appointing you and Scarlet as the Field Commanders.”

And she agreed.  They were the best trained military officers left on Cloudbase – if not in the whole of Spectrum.

It surprised her that Captain Scarlet was not here too, getting some sleep before the mission started.  He’d barely spoken to her when she’d passed him in the corridor on her way here, and he’d looked almost distracted. 

‘Perhaps this is his way to mourn for his comrade?’ she mused, as she elegantly slipped onto the couch and lay back to stare into the pulsating light above her.  I hope… he…can…remain…ale…rt………….

***

In his previous employment, Captain Ochre had had cause to examine crime and accident scenes and, although it was not something he enjoyed, he believed himself to be inured to the shock and the strange combination of disgust and pity for the victims that invariably followed it.    Now he steeled himself against the worst as he followed the police officer who had reported the crash to the roadside and peered down into the ravine. 

He could see the wreckage of a sleek, red car partly burnt-out following an explosion caused – presumably – by its impact with was now a large, smouldering tree.  Spectrum Saloon cars – the workhorses of the Global Patrol Fleet – were distinctive but they were not unique and Ochre wasn’t going to accept that this was an SSC until he was sure about it.  He led the scramble down the cliff to the crash site.

On closer inspection he felt sure the car was an SSC and this was confirmed when he found the identification code.  It was legible – just – and a check on his data-pad confirmed that it was the car assigned to Captain Scarlet and Captain Brown on their way to rendezvous with the World President.

Ochre frowned: Brown and Scarlet?  He knew Brown had accompanied the WP to the MSB and been killed in the subsequent explosion.  Scarlet had been off-site dealing with security and he’d been able to lead the rescue mission that recovered the President and escorted him to Cloudbase.    That being so, how the hell could their SSC be a smouldering wreck outside of New York? 

A metallic glint caught his eye and with a gasp of surprise he saw the body of Captain Brown splayed out on the hillside, the metallic zip of his uniform catching the sun.  He bent over the man and, steeling himself, touched the bruised and discoloured flesh.  Although he had no doubt the man was dead, his police procedural training was so ingrained that he automatically went through the motions.  

So, if this is one of the two officers, where’s the body of the other one?

He ordered the police to search for any signs of another vehicle leaving the crash site – any evidence of terrorist activity that could explain Brown’s actions and this strange ‘accident’.  He began to search the crash site, walking slowly around the wreckage scanning the ground and so it was that he noticed some strange marks, as if something had been dragged away from the car.  He followed them to a clump of tangled scrub vegetation where they disappeared.  Undeterred, he pushed aside the rough branches unheeding of the sharp thorns that tore at his uniform and scratched his exposed skin.

This body was also quite obviously dead and had been for some time.  Captain Scarlet may have survived the initial crash and escaped the explosion that followed it, but he’d been seriously wounded and burnt.  Ochre swallowed bile and looked away.

Moments later his professionalism reasserted himself and he opened a channel to Cloudbase.

***

Colonel White’s confusion was only momentary and all of the implications of Ochre’s information hit him squarely.

“Captain Scarlet is with the World President.  He must be an imposter too!”

He gave succinct orders and Lieutenant Green saw the concern on his commander’s face as Destiny acknowledged them.  Spectrum had inadvertently placed the World President’s life in jeopardy again and – whatever the cost – it was down to them to protect the world’s leader. 

 

Chapter Five

The Angels sat in a protective huddle around the weeping Destiny.  Any captain brave enough to approach had been warned off with three Medusa-like stares, so Captain Magenta and Captain Ochre were sitting on the other side of the room feeling unsure whether to leave or to remain offering silent sympathy.

Magenta said quietly, “I never thought the colonel would have been so callous as to ask her to identify the body,” adding, as Ochre glanced quizzically at him, “Scarlet’s, I mean.”

“She was the only one who saw ‘Scarlet’ with Brown, flying the World President to London, ejecting over England and driving to the London Car-Vu.  She was also the closest witness to what happened between Scarlet and Blue, so I guess he didn’t have much choice.”

“Yes; but the poor girl.  After falling 800 feet there can’t have been much left of Scarlet to identify.”

“What I want to know is – who was that guy who kidnapped the World President? I mean, we all thought he was Scarlet, but it can’t have been.  Scarlet was dead by then in the car crash.”

“No terrorist group has claimed responsibility,” Magenta replied, not attempting to answer the question.

“Yes, they have,” said Ochre suddenly.  “Those ‘Mysterons’ said ‘one of you will be under our control’ – that must’ve been Scarlet.”

“Which Scarlet?” Magenta said.  “Dead Scarlet or Assassin Scarlet?  Either way it doesn’t explain how there are two of them.”

Ochre thought hard and eventually said, “We have no idea what they meant by ‘the power of reversing matter’, but maybe they organised the crash that killed Scarlet and Brown and then ‘reversed matter’ so they weren’t dead any more.”

“Casually leaving two bodies for us to find?  It doesn’t make any sense whatever way you look at it.  Besides, having announced that they have this unlikely party trick up their sleeves, it’s tantamount to saying ‘here we are!’”

“Hell, I don’t know, Pat.  We don’t even know who these Mysterons are, but I bet you that somehow they’re at the root of all this.”

“It’s as good a guess as any for the moment,” Magenta agreed, without sounding too convinced. 

***

In Cloudbase Sickbay the duty nurse was making her rounds.  She glanced through the panel on the door of the morgue and gasped. 

There were two stretchers each with a body laid out on it in readiness for Doctor Fawn to perform an autopsy. Now one of the bodies had shifted and its right arm was hanging down.  As she watched, the fingers flexed as if sensation was returning to them. 

She almost ran through the wards to Doctor Fawn’s office and stood in the doorway, clinging to the doorframe for support.

“Doctor, it’s Captain Scarlet – one of the Captain Scarlets – he’s alive!”

Fawn looked sternly at her. “Calm down, Nurse; of course he isn’t.  I’ve been a doctor for more than a decade and I’m 100% certain that I can tell when someone is dead.  Take it from me, Scarlet, both of him, is dead.”

“Yes, sir; but does he know that?”

Shaking his head, Fawn led the way back to the morgue.  He peered through the observation panel and after a moment, turned back to the nursing officer.

“I owe you an apology, Nurse.  You’d better fetch some of the emergency nightwear and get an isolation room ready to receive… Captain Scarlet.”

Her expression clearly said ‘I told you so’, but she merely replied, “Yes, sir, Doctor.”  She hurried away.

Fawn turned back to the window.  Scarlet was sitting up on the trolley, holding his head and looking – understandably - very confused. 

“I definitely need a holiday and possibly even a refresher course.  How could I have made such a rookie’s mistake?” Fawn muttered to himself, before opening the door and confronting his latest and most unexpected patient.

***

Colonel White asked Captain Blue to report to him in his private office adjacent to the Control Room.   He was, to the colonel’s perceptive gaze, looking unusually sombre when he saluted and said: “You wanted to see me, sir?”

White nodded and indicated the seat alongside the workstation.  “Yes, Captain.  I want you to debrief me about the events on the London Car-Vu.”

“You have my report, sir; I don’t think there’s any more I can tell you.”

White consulted the document he had before him for a long moment.  Blue shifted in his seat until the colonel raised his eyes and asked:

“Scarlet and the World President were standing on the west side of the sky-park, on the satellite dish gantry, when you arrived?”

“Yes, sir.  Destiny had alerted me to the fact that Scarlet had the President at gunpoint and it certainly looked as if the President was being held against his will.”

“You were forced to take evasive action using the hover pack you were wearing?”

“Yes, sir.  Before I left the SPV I gave helicopter A42 orders to shoot Captain Scarlet, if they arrived at the west side of the sky-park before I did.  I reminded them to take care not to hit the President, of course, as he was very close to Captain Scarlet and to winch the President to safety if they were successful.  They acknowledged my orders; I had no reason to suspect they were hostile at this point.  When I was out of the SPV, I ordered them to attack as they had better cover and they didn’t acknowledge those orders.” 

Blue paused and added, pensively, “Maybe that’s what triggered my suspicions but at the time, it never consciously occurred to me they might attack me.  I know that as soon as they did target me I was ready to dodge their attack run.  I alerted Destiny Angel that they were to be considered hostile, and she acknowledged that, sir; so I knew it wasn’t a fault in my communications network that was responsible for A42’s silence.”

White nodded, indicating that Blue should continue.  “What happened then?”

“While A42 was out of the way, I moved in towards Scarlet and the President.  I couldn’t risk not attempting a rescue; if A42 got lucky and hit me, I presumed they’d airlift Scarlet and the President from the Car-Vu.”

“The Mysterons’ threat had been to assassinate the World President.  Do you have any idea why A42 or Scarlet didn’t just shoot him?”

Blue shook his head thoughtfully.   “No, sir; I don’t, but it seems that once the President escaped the explosion at the MSB, their plan did change.  I’ve no idea why and I’m guessing they haven’t said?”

“No, there’s been no further communication from them.  Please continue: you were approaching the satellite dish gantry?”

“Yes, sir.  Scarlet and I exchanged shots but I didn’t hit him.”  Blue sighed.  “It was tough taking aim; I was using the hover pack and wary of hitting the World President, so I think I overcompensated and aimed too far left.”

“That’s understandable, Captain.”

“When A42 completed its turning circle, it came in for a second run.  I used the hover pack to dive over the edge of the sky-park and try and find some shelter underneath.  It was the only cover there was.  I ordered Destiny to come in for attack because I knew I couldn’t dodge the bullets for much longer and I felt there was an urgency around rescuing the President.”

Blue raised a hand to his eyes as the all-too-vivid memories played out in his mind. 

“After the third attack run, I began to go back up to the sky-park.   A42 was still on my trail, it turned sharply after that run.  I couldn’t see Destiny Angel but I heard the jet engines and the shot.   I saw smoke and knew A42 was hit.  It was a damned good shot; she’s an excellent pilot, sir.”

“Indeed she is, Captain.”

“What happened next was not her fault.”

“What did happen next?”

“A42 spiralled out of control.  It hit the Car-Vu and fell through the internal support structure where it exploded.  It didn’t take an engineer to see that the Car-Vu was structurally compromised and liable to go at any minute.   The sky-park listed and there was no way down as the spiral roadway collapsed.”

“I can see that you must’ve faced great personal danger,” White said quietly, as the younger man took a moment to regain his composure. 

“I offered to take Scarlet down to safety if he threw away his weapon.  His response was to start firing at me.  He’s a good shot, Colonel, but he missed.  Then the whole sky-park lurched.  The President nearly fell, so I had no choice but to go and get him.”

“But at any time Scarlet could’ve shot the President at point-blank range?”

Blue nodded.  “Yes, he could’ve.  We exchanged half-a-dozen shots before I got lucky.  I hit Scarlet’s chest or shoulder and he lost his grip and fell.  Screaming.  I was concentrating on getting to the World President before he lost his grip, so I didn’t see where Scarlet fell.”

“Quite right; your priority had to be the President,” White reassured him. “You say you didn’t see where Scarlet fell, but you heard him cry out. We can assume from this that he was not dead when he fell?”

Blue nodded.  “I winged him, that’s all, but it was enough to make him lose his grip.   I reckon it was the fall that killed him, sir; or if not that then the tonnes of debris that showered down from the Car-Vu.”

Blue obviously considered he was being held responsible for Scarlet’s death and he was anxious to clear his name.  “I did give Scarlet a chance to surrender, Colonel; maybe the President can confirm that?  He also fired first, sir, on both occasions.  I did not intentionally kill him, although I would have done.  It was a case of him or me, and I had the World President’s safety to consider.”

“Understood, Captain, and relax; you’re not on trial here.  You have acted with exemplary courage and I know the World President is unequivocally grateful to you for saving his life.  There is talk of an award.”

“I was doing my job, sir,” Blue said sharply, distaste at the idea of receiving a medal for killing a colleague obvious in his tone.  “I don’t relish being implicated in Scarlet’s death.”

“How would you feel if I was to tell you Captain Scarlet did not die, Captain?”

“Like you were pulling my leg, sir.  Is it something you’re likely to say?”

Fighting the urge to smile, White replied, “Actually, Captain, it is.  Doctor Fawn has informed me that Captain Scarlet is alive and – if not exactly well – recovering.”

Blue looked profoundly sceptical. “I find that hard to believe, sir.”

White continued as if his officer had not spoken.  “What’s more, the bullet wound – or the site of it – has completely healed.  There’s nothing to show where you hit him.”

“But we’ve only been on Cloudbase for six hours!  Even if Scarlet survived the bullet wound and the fall and being buried under tonnes of concrete – the injuries wouldn’t – couldn’t – heal that quickly.”

“I agree and therefore, I am forced to conclude that this Captain Scarlet is an alien – a Mysteron in fact.”

“They can mimic humans?”

“It would seem so.  Doctor Fawn is currently making vigorous tests and detailed examinations of our …guest.”

“That would explain why this… thing kidnapped the World President; it’d never seemed something Captain Scarlet was likely to do.” Blue’s voice trailed into silence as he reviewed the strange circumstances they found themselves in.

Colonel White waited; he had already had cause to trust his officer’s judgement.

Blue looked up and straight at his commander.  “Where’s the real Scarlet, does anyone know?”

“Ah; you haven’t heard.  Captain Ochre discovered a wrecked SPC and two bodies: one we believe to be Captain Brown, but we will need an autopsy to confirm its identity, but the other is most definitely Captain Scarlet.  Those bodies are in the morgue.”

***

Fawn stood aside while Blue stared down at the body Captain Ochre had bought to Cloudbase from the crash site. 

“Is this Scarlet?” Blue asked him.  “Is this the man we worked with, the man we knew?”

“My examinations and test results show that this is the body of Paul Metcalfe, Captain Scarlet of Spectrum.”

“Ochre brought him from the crash site of the SSC he’d collected with Brown?”

“Yeah; the body has never been left alone since it was discovered.”

Blue nodded and stepped away so that Fawn could close the capsule.

“You were friendly with him?” the doctor asked sympathetically.

“Not especially; I liked him, trusted and respected him and honoured him as a soldier.  I knew no reason not to be his friend.”  Blue did not consider Scarlet’s relationship with his sister was relevant to the issue under discussion and, as it was second nature to him not to talk about his personal life, he said nothing more.  

“Follow me.”

They walked through the wards in silence to one of the isolation rooms.  Fawn opened the one-way observation window and invited Blue to look.

Captain Scarlet was sitting on the bed reading a newspaper.  A dressing on his forehead was the only sign that he had recently suffered any injury.

“I’ve examined him: done DNA and blood tests, eye scans, dental records, fingerprints, you name it,” Fawn explained.

“And?”

“That is Paul Metcalfe, Captain Scarlet of Spectrum.”  Blue’s glance flickered towards him as Fawn continued, “There was, but is no longer, any sign of a gunshot wound, trauma or injury.  Even the head wound has healed.  The dressing could come off really, only I don’t want him thinking he can go back on duty.”

“No one could have survived that fall, Doc.  This must be an imposter?  A doppelgänger?”

“Possibly, if you discount the fact that I dug your bullet out of his shoulder and that he was certainly dead when he arrived on my medical wards.  I may not have been practising day-to-day medicine for some years, but I know a corpse when I see one.”

Blue shook his head. “The colonel thinks he’s an alien.”

“He could be right; but as far as medical science is concerned he’s as human as you.”

“No, he isn’t,” Blue replied.  “I’m certain that if I’d fallen from the Car-Vu I’d still be in the morgue, with no chance of walking out.” 

He looked at Fawn who gave a slight nod in affirmation of the statement. Blue almost begged him to provide an answer to the mystery: “How did he survive, Doc?”

“He didn’t.  He was dead.”

“Excuse me if I can’t get my head round that, right now.”

“You and me both,” Fawn admitted, as he closed the observation window.

***

“Black, Brown and now Captain Scarlet,” Rhapsody was saying, “Spectrum has really taken a hammering.”

“There are officers waiting to step into the gaps,” Melody consoled her.   “We all know the risks.”

“Of course,” Rhapsody agreed.  “But we were so proud of ourselves after the Durban mission and everything was looking good and now… “

“We saved the World President,” Harmony reminded her.

“Only after we’d put him at risk,” Rhapsody replied. 

“Not intentionally,” Melody retorted.

“Do you think he’ll consider that?  Spectrum’s Maximum Security Building blows up around him and then his bodyguard kidnaps him.”

“And a Spectrum officer rescues him.”

Rhapsody nodded.  “Thank God for Captain Blue.”

“What of the Zero-X crew?” Harmony said to the room in general.  “We still have not found them.”

“Why bring the Zero-X back if not to deliver Mysterons to Earth to fight us?” Melody reasoned.  “Camouflaged as humans.”

“But Scarlet and Brown weren’t on Mars and yet we’re being asked to believe these aliens created perfect copies of them.”

“But if they did create copies, those copies are now dead,” Harmony reasoned, “so they have failed.”

“I wonder,” Melody said, “if they see it that way.” 

She glanced up as the door slid open and Symphony hurried in, obviously bursting with news.

“Hey, everyone; guess what?” she said, as she reached the seating arena.

“Couldn’t possibly, after a day like today,” Rhapsody answered, with a wry smile. “Do tell.”

Symphony sat down, although she was almost too hyped-up to sit still.   “I was talking to Captain Magenta and you know Ochre brought two bodies back to Cloudbase and Blue brought Scarlet’s body back from the Car-Vu?”

“Yes, I was there,” Rhapsody said.

“Well, the Car-Vu Scarlet’s not dead.”

There was a stony silence until Melody said: “Magenta must’ve been joking.”

“No, he wasn’t, he really wasn’t!  The colonel’s interrogating Blue about what happened.  Fawn’s confirmed that Scarlet’s alive!” Symphony insisted in the face of this universal disbelief.

“Thank goodness Destiny’s in Angel One while this silliness is doing the rounds,” Rhapsody said.  “She was bad enough before and it’d be cruel to play this trick on her, Symph; remember, she saw Captain Scarlet’s dead body.”

“I’m not playing a trick!  Magenta swore it was true.”

“And Magenta can be as much of a joker as Ochre, when the mood takes him,” Rhapsody reminded her.  “If it is true, let the colonel tell us all.  I hope everyone has enough sense not to tell Destiny this before then.”

Symphony pouted sulkily.  “I bring you the news of the century and you complain that I’m lying.”

“Not you, Honey,” Melody assured her, “Magenta.  It’s that Irish blarney of his again.”

“Well, I believed him,” Symphony said.  “We’ll just have to wait and see who’s right, won’t we?”

***

The colonel called an emergency meeting of all of his elite officers, ordering one of the field lieutenants to man Angel One.  Rumours were racing around Cloudbase: the most popular – and plausible - one was that the Captain Scarlet who had kidnapped the President was an android look-alike and Doctor Fawn was going to be able to rebuild and control it with a special computer Magenta and Green were creating.

With unexpected consideration, White had spoken to Destiny before the meeting and she was able to listen to his announcement with composure:

“Doctor Fawn has confirmed that Captain Scarlet is fully recovered.  It seems that this Scarlet is indestructible.  He will be our weapon against the Mysterons.”

The colonel left the conference room before his officers, wisely allowing them the opportunity to reflect and informally discuss the news he’d given them.

“So, Scarlet’s a Mysteron and the Mysterons are out to get us,” Melody said.  “Why does that mean we should trust him?”

“The colonel does,” Grey replied, “and he’s not an easy man to con.  I say we can trust his judgement and, therefore, we trust Scarlet.”

“Aren’t we being a bit over-confident that he’s free of their influence?” Symphony said.  “I’d like nothing better than to believe it, but… we know so little about the Mysterons, how can we be sure?”

“We can’t,” Blue replied, “but because we know so little about the Mysterons we have to work with Scarlet and hope he can provide us with effective information that’ll allow us to build up a strategy to defeat them.  They’ve threatened to destroy all the life on Earth, and Scarlet’s the one link we actually have with them – as far as we know.  We have to watch and make use of him against them, if we can.  The result of failure is too dreadful to contemplate.”

“Who’s going to partner him?” Rhapsody asked, “Given that his last two partners died-“

“We don’t know Captain Black’s dead,” Ochre interjected.

“We don’t even know where he is,” Grey reminded them.

“Okay, let’s call Black ‘missing in action’, but Brown’s dead,” Rhapsody reasoned.  “So who’ll take Scarlet on now?”

“Me,” Blue replied.  “I reckon the colonel thinks that as I’ve killed him once I can be trusted to do it again at the first sign that he’s betrayed us to the Mysterons.”

“And can you?” Symphony asked.

Blue gave her a look of reassurance.  “If I have to, but not a moment before I believe it’s the only course of action open to me.  It’s trite but true that ‘the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the one’.”

“You sad little Trekkie,” Ochre muttered, but not unkindly. 

For a split second Blue’s sombre expression lightened and a smile played at the corners of his wide mouth.

“I guess Captain Scarlet is my responsibility for now, at least.  If anyone has to suffer for my actions at the Car-Vu, it should be me.”

“But you didn’t kill him, Blue,” said Grey, “If this is a Mysteron reconstruct they killed the real Paul Metcalfe and you – quite rightly – destroyed their replica.  Or, you tried to,” he amended.

“He says he doesn’t remember anything after the car crash,” Blue explained.  “He doesn’t know what happened on the sky-park or what he’d done to be there.  I believe him.   So, I think he deserves a chance to prove he’s genuine and I’ll give it to him.  One chance.”

Destiny stood up and said: “For myself I know what I saw in the morgue and I know that the body I saw was of Paul Metcalfe.  How am I to deal with the man who is the living ghost of the man I knew? Forgive me, but this is difficult for me.  I hope with time I shall feel more comfortable about it all, but I cannot deal with it now.” 

She pushed past the officers on her way out of the door.

“It’s gonna be tough for her,” Ochre said, as the door closed behind her.

“For us all,” Rhapsody amended.  “I liked Paul; he was fun.  So, I suppose I’m with Captain Blue on this: one chance.”

There was a general murmur of agreement and, avoiding each other’s scrutiny, the officers went about their business. 

 

The End

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