A ‘New Captain Scarlet’ story
By jojojojo01
Part 1
Colonel White was feeling a little uneasy.
Not because anything had happened, in fact this morning it was the opposite. Nothing had happened. It had been quiet. Quiet enough that White had been able to participate in his weekly fencing session with Captain Scarlet; and it had been a couple of months since they had been able to do that without any interruptions.
Scarlet had been reluctant during their first sparring session – Scarlet preferred projectile weapons. But since his encounter with the Mysteron replicant of Lieutenant Green’s father, Scarlet had seemed to develop a new found respect for the discipline. White had noticed an improvement in Scarlet’s skill and he found he looked forward to their sessions.
However the uneasy feeling that had by now taken up residence in the pit of White’s stomach had been the only thing to have ruined a perfectly good morning. But unbeknown to the colonel was that a call was about to come in that was going to make his day even worse.
“Yes of course, and you’re sure that nothing has been taken?”
“Certain, Colonel, everything’s accounted for.”
As relieved as the Colonel was to hear that, he was a little unsure as to why The World Security Council had been in touch with him about this situation. Especially when there appeared to be nothing wrong, but they had insisted that White send someone to check it out, which was the reason for his call to the facility.
“Very well, Doctor, but just to be sure, I would like to send some of my men to take a look around your facility. Under the circumstances, Spectrum can’t be too careful, I’m sure you understand that?”
“Yes Colonel, I’ll let our security team know so they’ll be ready for your arrival.” With that the doctor ended the call. Once the screen went black, Colonel White turned to face Lieutenant Green.
“Get me Captains Scarlet and Blue up here right away, Lieutenant.”
“S.I.G, Colonel,” Green replied as she activated the comm. “Captain Scarlet and Captain Blue, please report to Colonel White immediately.”
“Captain Scarlet, Captain Blue,” Colonel White said addressing each man in turn, “I’ve received a report of a security breach at DragonTech Laboratories. The World Security Council has asked us to investigate.”
“DragonTech Laboratories?” Captain Blue looked at the colonel, confusion clear on his face.
“It’s a biotechnology lab. It’s known for developing medical equipment and technology. But what is unknown is its link to Spectrum.”
“How’s that, Colonel?” Blue asked, the confusion still there.
“I have been informed that the lab is being used for top secret research, Captain.”
“And what is it that you need us to do, Colonel?” Captain Scarlet enquired. He could understand the concern if they were using the lab for research. But what he didn’t understand was why they were being asked to visit a lab that was responsible for the development of medical technology.
“As I have already mentioned, the lab reported a security breach last night. I have just spoken to Doctor Raymond Bishop; he is the head technician at the lab. He said that security alerted him to the breach early this morning. However he assures me that nothing was taken or appears to have been tampered with.” White, who had been sat at his desk, rose to his feet and walked around it towards his officers. He could not fail to notice the confusion that remained on the faces of both men. “Due to the nature of the research being carried out there, I have been asked to send someone to check out the facility. I am therefore sending the two of you to make sure that this is nothing more than a false alarm and that there is no threat to Spectrum because of this ‘breach’.”
“Are we allowed to know what it is they are working on, Colonel?” Scarlet asked curiously. He was concerned about what it was that was so important about this lab and if it could be something that could make it a potential target for their greatest enemy.
“Unfortunately, Captain, I can’t answer that. Even I am unaware of what research DragonTech is conducting at their facility. All I have been told is that whatever it is, it is something we should be able to use in our fight against the Mysterons.”
“That makes the lab a perfect target,” Blue spat, anger in his voice. “If they believe that whatever it is that is being created in that lab is a threat...”
“I’m well aware of that, Captain,” White returned, clearly annoyed at Blue’s reaction, although he would admit that he too had felt the same way when he had been told the news himself.
“Do they suspect that the Mysterons are involved?” Scarlet asked the colonel before Blue could say anything else that might get him into trouble with his commanding officer. After spending a lot of time working together, and because of their close friendship, Scarlet could easily recognise when something had gotten his friend all riled up.
“It is certainly possible if they are developing something we can use which can help us defeat them, which is why I need you to go and check it out. But be discreet. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Sir,” Scarlet said.
“Only those with clearance are aware of the real reason why you and Captain Blue are at the facility. As far as everyone else is concerned, you are there to check out the lab as a potential site for the development of new medical technology to be used by Spectrum. Because of this I have asked Doctor Gold to accompany you both.”
“Understood.”
“And I want regular updates. Doctor Gold will meet you at the Hummingbird. Dismissed, gentlemen; and good luck.”
“S.I.G.,” they both replied in unison before they exited central control and made their way to meet up with Doctor Gold in the launch bay.
“I wonder what this technology could be that even Colonel White hasn’t been let in on the secret,” Blue pondered as they made their way towards DragonTech laboratories.
They had landed the Hummingbird at a local airbase and were driving towards the lab in a car that had been provided for them. Captain Scarlet was behind the wheel; Captain Blue was sat behind him, with Doctor Gold occupying the front passenger seat.
“I don’t know, Adam, but whatever it is it must be something big for them to have kept it this quiet,” Scarlet replied. He had also wondered why no one at Skybase had been privy to this information. Especially considering they were Earth’s main defence against a Mysteron attack. “Although I will admit that this security breach has me concerned.”
“Oh?” Doctor Gold looked over at Scarlet. “I thought they had not found anything suspicious?”
“But for a lab in their position to experience a security breach, which they can’t pinpoint – or that nothing was taken...” Scarlet continued.
“Surely if the Mysterons had targeted the lab due to this research, wouldn’t they have either taken or destroyed whatever it was they had perceived as a threat?” Blue asked, understanding Scarlet’s concerns.
“Unless whatever it is they are working on, for Spectrum at least, isn’t a threat after all” the doctor commented.
“What do you mean, Doc?” Blue asked again.
“Maybe whatever they are working on isn’t effective in destroying the Mysterons so they didn’t see the need to do anything.”
“Or maybe it had nothing to do with the Mysterons at all. Maybe it was someone from a rival company, or a disgruntled former employee-or just a simple systems glitch. Could be anything,” Blue added.
“You could be right – either of you,” Scarlet said nodding his agreement at his companions’ theories. “However we still need answers; even if it does just turn out to be a simple systems glitch.”
“I would still feel better if we knew more about what was going on in there,” Blue muttered, more to himself than the others in the car, as he turned his head to look out the window at the passing scenery.
“Just remember that as far as anyone is concerned we are here to check out the facilities. But we must stay alert, in case there is something more going on here.”
“S.I.G.,” Blue and Gold said in reply to Scarlet’s words.
They continued the remainder of their short journey to the laboratory in silence. Each man contemplating what it was they were likely to face once they got there; what the potential outcomes could be. Not only for Spectrum’s chances in defeating the Mysterons, but on Earth’s chances too. Of course they all realised that until they knew exactly what was being developed at DragonTech and how they could use it in the fight against the Mysterons, their thoughts were nothing but speculation.
‘And I have a feeling they are not going to be very forthcoming,’ thought Scarlet, as he brought the car to a stop at the security gate at the entrance of DragonTech laboratories.
Once they had been cleared through security, the men from Spectrum were escorted to the office of head lab technician, Doctor Raymond Bishop, by Dane Winters, the head of DragonTech’s security. Scarlet was amazed by the size and the scale of the labs set up. However he was also very surprised at how small the security team monitoring the site was. As if he had anticipated the doubts the Spectrum captain had, Winters had spent the walk to Doctor Bishop’s office telling their guests about how his security team were the best at what they did and had had no problems keeping the site secure.
But Scarlet still wasn’t convinced, and he could tell by the look that Captain Blue had given him that he was thinking the same thing. Doctor Bishop, who was sat behind his desk as they entered his office, rose to his feet as they were shown inside. Winters introduced their guests.
“Gentlemen, please have a seat,” Bishop said, indicating the chairs on the other side of his desk. Doctor Bishop was of a medium height and build, with greying hair and wearing a pair of small, round-rimmed glasses. He looked to be in his mid fifties, Scarlet thought. Doctor Gold and Captain Blue took a seat, but Scarlet remained standing - he was feeling too anxious to sit down. Something did not feel right, but he could not pinpoint what it was causing the uneasy feeling he had been experiencing since they had arrived at the facility.
Doctor Bishop returned to his seat and indicated for Winters to return to duty, he then looked at each of the Spectrum men in turn before he spoke. “I understand the reason why Spectrum felt the need to send you here gentlemen,” he began, getting straight to the point. Although he had agreed to the visit, Bishop was obviously not thrilled about it, yet he tried to keep the bitterness out of his voice as he continued. “But as I told your Colonel, nothing was taken. So I’m inclined to believe that this was nothing more than a false alarm. We have technicians in as we speak checking the system for any glitches, and I have both security teams reviewing their logs and video feeds for anything suspicious.”
“Both security teams?” Blue asked the doctor.
“Yes, Captain Blue. We have our own in-house security force that is under the command of Dane Winters, whom you have already met. But since we began working on this project for The World Security Council, we have had to install a separate security team to watch over the project - it was part of the contract,” the doctor explained. “Unfortunately, when Dane found out about it, he wasn’t very happy.” He paused before he added, “Let’s just say it has created some friction.”
“Anything we should be concerned about, Doctor?” Scarlet asked, alarmed, at least that would explain the underlying hostility he had sensed from the security guard.
Could he have been the reason for the security breach?
“Oh, nothing like that, I assure you,” Bishop replied dismissively while waving his hand in the air. “Dane has been a security guard here since before we became DragonTech, back when we were starting out; in our Dragon Pharmaceuticals days. But he is a little old-school. He didn’t like it when I informed him that a new team was being brought in to deal with C Zone. That’s where the project is being housed. I think he felt like I didn’t trust him or his men or that I was stepping on his toes or something.”
“But The World Security council wanted you to have a separate team?”
“Like I said it was part of the contract. They installed a small Spectrum security team to work permanently on the site while the work is being done here; and because of the terms of the contract we were forbidden to disclose the truth to our own security team. Because of this, Dane felt like I had betrayed him.”
“Winters did not mention that there were any Spectrum security here,” Blue said again.
“That’s because he hasn’t been told they’re from Spectrum. As I’m sure you’re aware, Captains and Doctor, the project we are working on is extremely top secret. Only those working on the project know what it is or even who it is for.”
“Even our commanding officer doesn’t know what’s going on here,” Gold commented. Bishop nodded his understanding. He was well aware that the Commander of Spectrum’s Skybase had not been given the details of DragonTech’s project. Not that he understood the reason why that was.
“Because of the nature of the project, the security team from Spectrum are here under a pseudonym. As far as our team are concerned, your men belong to a company called Rainbow Securities Limited.” Blue gave a slight chuckle, amused at the name they were using.
“When can we check out the facility?” Gold asked. Looking at both Scarlet and Blue, it was obvious to Doctor Bishop that they were anxious to check over the facility to find out what had happened. But Gold still wasn’t happy that they were not cleared to be given more information regarding the project itself.
“In a few moments, Doctor, we are just waiting for...” As if on cue, there was a knock on the door. “Come in!” Bishop called to the person on the other side of the door. The door opened and a young man entered. He was dressed entirely in black with a black baseball cap covering his red coloured hair. His uniform was like the one that Winters was wearing, however instead of the dragon which was DragonTech’s logo this man’s jacket bore the logo of a rainbow within a circle.
“Ah, Lieutenant, thanks for joining us.” The lieutenant gave a quick nod, and then looked at the Spectrum officers. He stepped towards Scarlet, his hand out in front of him.
“Captain Scarlet, it’s an honour, Sir,” he said. Scarlet reluctantly shook the other man’s hand. Blue tried to hide a smirk at his friend’s obvious discomfort, but failed. Scarlet glared a warning at him.
“Thank you, Lieutenant.” Scarlet cleared his throat. “This is...” he began to introduce his colleagues when the lieutenant beat him to it.
“Captain Blue and Doctor Gold,” the lieutenant continued, his enthusiasm radiating off him, despite the circumstances. He reached his hand over to them and shook theirs just as he had shaken Scarlet’s. “I have already been briefed on the reason for your visit, sirs,” he said by way of explanation. “I will be escorting you over to C Zone.”
“Thank you, Lieutenant...?” Doctor Gold asked.
“It’s Amber Sir. Or Alex, if you’d prefer.”
Suddenly the communication panel on Doctor Bishop’s desk buzzed. “Lieutenant, if you could escort our guests, I’ll meet you over there. I need to take this.” He pointed to the panel on his desk by way of explanation.
“Yes Doctor,” the young lieutenant said. “Captains, Doctor, if you would like to follow me.”
“S.I.G.,” they said as they followed Amber out of the office and through the building to the exit to head over to C Zone.
Lieutenant Amber led them outside to where an electric powered car was waiting for them. They climbed in, with Amber taking the wheel.
“It’s much quicker taking this thing, rather than walking, considering how vast this facility is,” he explained as they pulled away heading towards C Zone, “although the Zone my men and I patrol is actually the smallest in the entire facility.”
“So,” Blue asked, “how is it that you know who we are?” Blue was seated in the passenger seat. Amber looked over at him, his face a mix of what to Blue looked like confusion and maybe guilt?
“I told you already, sir; I was briefed on your visit.”
“Yeah, but the way you approached Scarlet back there...” Blue pointed over his shoulder at Scarlet who was seated behind him, “you obviously know more about us than a simple briefing about our visit.”
“Okay,” the lieutenant replied, a little sheepishly “I was given a full briefing by The Council before I had taken up this posting.”
“What exactly were you told?” Scarlet asked. There was a hint of annoyance in his voice as he spoke. Amber went on to tell them how he had been briefed about what had happened with Scarlet and Black’s first encounter with the Mysterons on Mars, as well as reports on some of their other encounters with the Mysterons since that day. Captain Blue was beginning to think that from the way he spoke, that Amber was under the impression that they led a glamorous, action packed life living up on Skybase. At least, it seemed, the young lieutenant had not been informed of Scarlet’s ‘indestructibility’.
“Ah. That explains why you looked a little star struck,” Blue commented with a chuckle in his voice.
The younger man’s face flushed slightly with embarrassment. “It’s not every day you get to meet a legend.”
“So what do you know about the work being carried out in the lab?” Scarlet asked, changing the subject. The hero-worshipping thing was starting to make him feel uncomfortable. He noticed his friend trying his best to stifle a snigger and nudged the back of Blue’s seat in warning.
“Nothing. Just that they are working on something which can be used to help us defeat the Mysterons. But what that is exactly, I couldn’t tell you.”
Amber brought the car to a stop and the four of them exited the vehicle. Amber wasn’t kidding when he said that C Zone was small. Compared to the other buildings they had passed upon their arrival, the building in C Zone being used for the project was relatively small. A very obvious ‘Authorized Personnel Only’ sign was emblazoned on the door, which had a 9 digit keypad next to it. Lieutenant Amber typed in a 5 digit code into the pad and the door buzzed, followed by the sound of a mechanism unlocking. Amber opened the door and indicated for them to go inside.
Once through the door, they were met by another guard in a ‘Rainbow Securities’ uniform. Amber introduced him as Sergeant Moss.
“Sirs,” Moss said, “I understand that you have already been through the facility’s security checks. But I’m sure you will understand that we have our own checks and procedures which need to be followed.” He indicated the DNA scanner which was on the wall behind them. One by one, Gold, Blue and then Scarlet placed their palms on the scanner.
“Sergeant, could you go through what happened last night with our guests,” Amber said to Moss, while he looked at the mobile communication device which was in his hand. “I’m needed in the control room.”
“S.I.G.,” Moss replied. They all then watched as Lieutenant Amber walked up the corridor then turned a corner out of sight.
“So,” Scarlet began, “what exactly did happen here last night?”
“We experienced a breach in our security system. A proximity alarm sounded over on the south side of the building, but by the time we got over there, we couldn’t see anything suspicious. Plus nothing appeared to have been tampered with or disturbed. We contacted Doctor Bishop and he came down to the lab to make sure nothing was missing.”
“And everything was where it should be?” Gold asked. Moss nodded in acknowledgment.
“What about security footage? Did anything show up on that?” Blue added.
“We are still in the process of examining all video recordings, but our initial findings haven’t revealed anything...” Moss’s communication device beeped. “Excuse me,” he said as he went to answer it.
Blue turned to Scarlet. “So, do you think it is just a simple systems glitch? Or are you still suspecting ‘foul play’ on the part of the Mysterons?”
“I don’t know, Adam,” Scarlet replied.
“I for one am hoping that it is just a simple systems glitch,” Gold commented.
“You and me both, Doc,” Blue agreed.
“Sorry about that, sirs,” Moss said as he returned to where the Spectrum officers had gathered. “Lieutenant Amber has asked me to escort you to our security control room. He believes he may have found something you should see.”
“I’m guessing we don’t get our wish, Doctor,” Blue whispered to Gold as they followed Moss down the corridor towards the control room.
Lieutenant Amber looked up from the console in front of him as the door opened. Moss entered followed by their visitors. Scarlet could not help but notice the concerned look on Amber’s face.
“Is there a problem, Lieutenant?” Scarlet asked as the uneasy feeling he had experienced earlier retuned with a vengeance.
“We think we may have found the cause of the security breach,” Amber said. “But I would like your opinion, Captain?” He stepped aside so that Scarlet could get closer to the console to examine the video footage for himself.
“What have you found?” he asked looking down at the screen. The image showed an empty lab – well, empty of people anyway. There was a bench that was set up with computers and other equipment which Scarlet did not recognise. This was located in the middle of the room. He could also make out what looked like a water tank, which was half the height of the room, over to the left hand side of the screen. Something then caught Scarlet’s eye, but before his brain had a chance to register what he had seen... it was gone.
“Can you play that again?” he asked. Another guard who was sat at the console hit a button and the footage rewound. “There!” Scarlet said, urgency in his tone.
“What is it, Paul?” Blue enquired, stepping behind Scarlet to look over his shoulder.
“Keep your eye on the left hand side of the image,” he told his friend. The footage played again, both men watching the left side of the screen. “Hold it there!” he snapped. “Did you see that, Adam?” Scarlet asked over his shoulder at Blue.
“Was that what I think it is?” Blue responded, his mind struggling to comprehend what he had just seen.
“Yes, Adam, I believe it was.” Turning back to Lieutenant Amber, Scarlet demanded, “We need to check out that lab, right now!”
Lieutenant Amber escorted Captains Scarlet and Blue to the lab that moments ago they had seen on the video footage. He removed a key card from his pocket and swiped it at the control pad next to the door. The door beeped as it unlocked, allowing for the men to enter. Amber told the captains that he would be waiting outside if they needed him for anything. Doctor Gold had stayed behind in the control room, but he was watching everything through the live video feed.
Cautiously both entered the lab, Scarlet taking the lead; this was in case there was anything which posed any kind of threat. He thought that if he was in the front he may be able to provide some sort of protection for his friend.
“Well, everything appears normal, I guess,” Blue commented as he took a look around. “I mean, it looks like it did in that footage we just watched” he added.
“Over there.” Scarlet pointed to the water tank on the far left side of the room. “That’s where the anomaly was on the feed.”
Slowly both men walked towards the tank, again Scarlet taking the lead. They looked around them as they went, keeping their eyes open for anything which may seem suspicious; although nothing grabbed their attention.
“What do you suppose this is all about?” Blue asked his friend, as he walked past him to peep into the water tank. Looking closer, he noticed what appeared to be small black specks of dirt floating in the liquid. But as he continued to watch, it seemed, to Adam at least, like they were moving around together almost as if they were in some kind of formation. It was as if whatever it was, was alive.
“What the hell?!” he exclaimed, his sudden outburst drawing Scarlet’s attention away from whatever it was he was looking at. While Blue had been looking at the tank, Scarlet was having a look around by the bench which contained the computers and other laboratory equipment.
“What is it, Adam?” Scarlet asked as he approached his friend and the tank and stopped beside him.
Suddenly there was a high pitched tone emanating from the control panel attached to the water tank. This was followed by what sounded to the men like a timer counting down.
“What the...” Blue exclaimed again.
“We need to get out of here...fast!” Scarlet yelled over the noise which was coming from the tank, as he pushed Blue towards the door. As both men turned to move back toward the door the panel let out a loud, droning ‘BEEP’. Automatically they both turned back to look at where the sound was coming from.
“That doesn’t sound good,” Blue commented, his voice barely audible over the deafening sound.
“Adam, get down!” Scarlet yelled, hoping Blue could hear him over the noise which seemed to be getting louder. He lunged forward in an attempt to push his friend out of harm’s way as an eardrum-shattering explosion rocked the lab, the force of which threw both of them forward.
The explosion had originated in the water tank’s control panel and it had been powerful enough to have destroyed the tank itself. Shards of shattered glass were sent flying around the room, embedding themselves into anything they came into contact with, including Scarlet’s back. As the explosion hit, as well as the glass, Scarlet could feel the flames burning the skin on his back as well as the backs of his arms and legs. Before he even had time to react, the floor came up to meet him with a sickening thud.
Then darkness devoured him.