by Lee Homer
Disclaimer: All rights reserved. This is a continuation of my original Captain Scarlet and Thunderbirds crossover: War of Nerves.
Chapter One
"This is an SOS Distress call from Mountain Base Kirsksa. We need assistance Immediately. Repeat, we need urgent assistance!"
It was one in the morning, Earth standard time when John Tracy finally climbed into bed after a long and grueling shift. When you served a spell of duty in space, Sleep came in short supply. While he was up there alone in Thunderbird Five, John was the Earth's only link for help. Even in a rested state, his ears did the work for him. He could hear the endless wave of radio transmissions echoing the main control room, but his ears soon picked out one transmission amongst the wall of noise and static. It was a triggered automatic call. Rubbing his eyes, he fastened his robe and went to investigate the call.
"This is an SOS Distress call from Mountain Base Kirsksa. We need assistance Immediately. Repeat, we need urgent assistance!"
John switched open the channel. "This is International Rescue. Can you give me the details, please?"
However, he was met with a repeat of the last transmission. Handling automated distress calls gave him the chills. There was always the chance of these calls being a false alarm, but his job was to report it anyway. Switching channels, he called down to Tracy Island assuming that the Tracy patriarch would still be awake.
The Beautiful rays of the Moonlit up the darkened Tracy Villa. Everyone was asleep except for Jeff who was in the process of shutting everything down for the night. As soon as he reached to shut off the lights, the eyes of John's portrait began to flash brightly. Yawning heavily, he flipped the switch. John's face appeared on his portrait screen.
"Go ahead, John. What's up?"
"Father, I've received an automated SOS distress call from Kirska Base," John explained. "I couldn't get much from the message, but I traced the signal to a remote point in the Andes Mountain range."
"Alright, John. I better wake the boys. Automated or not, we can't afford to not check it out," Jeff replied. "Pass the area onto Scott once he's airborne."
FAB," John acknowledged.
"I heard the call, what's going on?" asked a weary Scott, as he made his way in from the kitchen.
"Ah Scott, we've received an automated distress call," Jeff replied. "Before you launch, I want you to wake up the others. We may need Thunderbird Two."
"OK, Father." Scott yawned. "Perhaps Brains might know what this Mountain base is?"
The rest of the family awoke a few minutes later, quickly grouping in the main lounge. Jeff briefed them all as quickly as his tired mind would let him. All the while he did this, Brains had gotten to work on his research of the base. Jeff needed some answers before he could send his sons out there.
"What have you got for us on this Kirsksa Base, Brains?" he asked him.
"Well, Mister T-Tracy. The Kirska Base was built by the World Air Force as a top-secret weapons testing base," Brains replied as he read a print out of his findings. "However, it was closed down only a year later w-without explanation, but I'd guess that this was to k-keep the press away from its secret projects."
"So It could well be up and running today," Alan theorized. "It makes sense. I mean if one of their experiments were to go wrong and they couldn't clear the base in time..."
"T-Then they could still well be trapped in there," Brains agreed. "Plus due to its location, C-Conventional means of rescue wouldn't be possible."
"Then that settles it. We've got the equipment to do it," Jeff said. "Scott, Away you go."
"Yes, Father," Scott replied as he raced for his launch station.
"Virgil, I want you to take Alan and Gordon with you. You'll need Pod 5 and the Mole. Brains, you go with them too."
The boys sounded off with a "FAB." Thunderbirds were go.
Blasting off into the night sky, Thunderbird One cruised at a high altitude towards the Andes Mountain Range. Thunderbird Two followed close behind with The Mole and laser cutting equipment onboard. John radioed through with the co-ordinates to Scott. Listening to the call, Scott felt the same chills as his brother. Something wasn't right about the message, only he couldn't put his mind on it. This was their first call out since the last Mysteron threat. That happened over a month ago. The long flight time eventually reached it ends when Thunderbird One arrived at the Andes. Banking through the clouds, Scott was met with threatening weather conditions. Thunder rumbled aggressively amongst the thick clouds. Lightning flashed wildly in the distance. It was a perfect set up for a mysterious rescue.
Scanning the mountains, Scott carefully followed the transmission's origin point. As he turned the next peak, he spotted what appeared to be a set of Hangar Bay doors that were embedded in the side of the mountain. A Landing deck protruded from underneath the door almost automatically when Scott made his approach. Factoring in the heavy wind speeds, he gently set Thunderbird One down on the landing deck. He sat there while he waited for his brothers to arrive. The whole area gave him the creeps. The heavy metal blast doors looked impenetrable. Their first challenge was getting in. He looked out of his window to see the unique silhouette of Thunderbird Two cruising towards him from the shadows. Scott gave his brother his landing instructions
"Thunderbird Two from Thunderbird One. Approach from the East side of the base and land on the deck next to me. There should be enough room for Pod deployment."
"FAB," Virgil replied.
Thunderbird Two slowly came to a hover position above the landing deck. Igniting his landing thrusters, Virgil set her down slowly alongside Scott's rocket plane. His brothers made their way down towards the Pod while Brains remained in the cockpit with him. His initial analysis of the entrance gave him an idea.
"Virgil. I-I'm afraid we can't use the Mole," he said. "Those doors and no doubt the surrounding w-walls are made with solid Titanium. If we try to drill through it, we'll s-severely damage the drill head."
Virgil looked back at him."Then what should we do? Could our laser cutters do the trick?"
Brains eyes lit up with confidence and little smugness. "Better. I can rig up our laser tank to fire a p-pulse blast at the doors. T-The doors would be able to withstand the blast but the emergency hatchway wouldn't."
"Alright. I'll deploy the Pod and we'll get this thing set up," Virgil agreed as he climbed out of his seat.
Thunderbird Two slowly raided on its four legs revealing the Pod below. Scott joined his brothers with his hoverbike as they finished rigging the laser cutter. Sitting behind the controls, Alan drove the laser cutter tank down the Pod ramp. Brains sat on the side of the tank with the instructions. Scott, Virgil, and Gordon took cover in the Pod while Alan positioned the tank in front of the emergency door. Alan moved the dials for the laser beam, aiming the cannon at the door.
Brains hopped off the tank. "Right, Alan. O-On the count of three, fire a half-power electro charge."
"OK, Brains. You better take cover. Firing in Three... Two... One... Firing now!"
Suddenly, a pulse of electro energy smashed the emergency door into oblivion. Debris lay scattered along the ground. Unaware of the level of radiation, the brothers decided to don protective suits. Brains made his way towards the entrance and took readings using a Geiger counter. All his readings were negative. Everything seemed to be fine so far. Scott didn't seem too concerned about any contaminants. Mounting his hoverbike, He led his brothers over the debris and into the smokey interior. They made their way down a long darkened hanger bay which had been deserted. Alan went on ahead as a scout. He eagerly volunteered to do it.
"This place gives me the creeps," Gordon said as his voice echoed down the dark hallway. "Where is everybody?"
"That's what we're here to find out," Virgil replied. "So far, I'm thinking it's a false alarm."
"Alan, Can you see anything?" Scott asked as his little brother went on ahead.
Alan's excitable reply took them all by surprise. "Hey guys, you better take a look at this! Look at all these lights?"
Puzzled by his discovery, The boys accelerated towards him where they soon caught a glimpse of the strange lights. A beam of light poured through a crack in the door. The lights changed color in quick succession, ranging in a pattern of Green, Purple, and Pink. The boys sat there and looked over at each other. They speculated what was waiting for them behind the door? Brains pulled the manual release switch. They sat there in amazement as they gazed at something they had never seen before. Dismounting their bikes, they stepped inside what seemed to be a highly advanced complex. They were not familiar with the technology though. The pulsating orbs and lights even stifled Brains' expertise
"It's incredible," Gordon gasped. "I've never seen anything like this before."
"What is all this?" uttered Alan. "Look at all these patterns and colors? Brains, What do you make of it?"
Brains was at a loss for words himself. "I-I'm not sure. I don't believe this technology belongs t-to us."
"Are you suggesting that all this could be extraterrestrial?"
"It's the only theory I've got t-to go on, Alan. I've never seen anything so organic looking before."
"Well that maybe, but we've got to investigate this," Scott reminded them. "There could be people trapped here that need our help."
"Scott, I don't think there is anyone here. We have to get out of here and report this," Gordon argued.
"We can't assume that," bickered Scott. "There's something very alluring about this place. Something is going on here."
"We should split up into groups, Scott," Virgil suggested. "Brains, you come with us. Alan, Gordon, you guys check out the West side of the base. We'll check out the Eastside."
Everyone agreed to the idea.
"FAB. At least that way, we'll cover more ground," Scott said. "We'll meet back here in an hour. Keep your radios on and don't touch anything."
As the International Rescue team got to work in their teams, all of them were unaware of the prying eyes that were upon them. They were being observed closely by a shadowy figure.
Heading into a labyrinth of pulsating colors and geometric shapes, Alan and Gordon found themselves lost without any sense of direction. Gordon felt an uneasy sensation as he tried to get his bearings. He could feel the hairs on his neck stand on end. It felt as if he was being watched from a distance. He had no idea how accurate that was. The dark shadowy figure watched their every move, slinking from a darkened floor above them. Stepping into a pool of light, the figure's zombie-like features came into view. It was Captain Black.
Pressing on into the complex structure, Gordon suddenly realized that his brother was no longer with him. Something has caused them to separate. He tried calling out for him, but couldn't hear his voice. The sound of pulsating machinery echoed all around him. Gordon tried his radio and called out to his brothers. There was no reply. Nothing. Only static. That was when the sense of isolation began to set in. Gordon was completely alone.