by A21 Reporter Andy Clems
Spectrum’s latest operation against the Mysterons proved to be the setting of a spectacular leap of faith for Captain Blue.
Captain Blue, real name Adam Svenson, and Captain Scarlet were escorting a shipment of vital electronics from a manufacturing plant outside Paris to Spectrum’s remote testing centre in Finland. The Spectrum officers were mounted on Raid Bikes, riding in convoy with the shipment in an armoured transporter truck. The shipment, code-named Ark, arrived at the freight terminal at the New World Air and Space Corporation’s airfield without incident. A Spectrum-operated Condor freighter aircraft was waiting for the convoy with Captain Indigo and Lieutenant Maroon at the controls.
The truck was loaded into the Condor’s cargo bay, and Scarlet and Blue followed on their Raid Bikes, securing the vehicles in the hold. The driver disembarked and followed the Spectrum men to the passenger compartment for takeoff. With clearance granted from WASC control, the mighty aircraft hurled itself down the runway and lifted off with a roar from its powerful engines. It didn’t take long to reach optimum altitude, at which point Captain Scarlet contacted Skybase to confirm they were airborne and he was going back to the hold and keep an eye on the Ark to make sure it was secure.
Making his way to the cargo hold, Scarlet spotted the truck driver acting suspiciously near the rear of the vehicle. When he questioned the man, the driver’s eyes blazed green and he drew a gun and fired at Scarlet, who barely got out of the way in time. Hearing the commotion, Captain Blue bolted from the passenger section, gun in hand and burst into the hold. Seeing Scarlet in a tight spot, he drew the enemy’s fire with a spray of laser bolts and rushed to his colleague’s aid. Realising the driver had been a Mysteron replicant since the start of their mission, Scarlet and Blue fought back in an attempt to draw the alien foe away from the vital equipment on the truck.
The enemy dived behind cover at the rear of the aircraft and has he did so, he blasted the controls on the cargo door. As the door slid open amid the sound of warning klaxons, the Mysteron agent took aim and fired at Scarlet, catching him in the chest. Gripped with pain, Scarlet had time to fire back, knocking the Mysteron out the open door, before Scarlet collapsed to the floor. As Blue tried to check Scarlet’s wounds, he stopped in his tracks as he saw the Ark payload slip from the back of the transporter and fall towards the open hatch, where it was sucked out into the void outside.
At Scarlet’s urging, Blue mounted his Raid Bike and blasted out of the bay after the precious cargo. Pushing the machine into a near-vertical dive, Captain Blue managed to gain on his target, now only a mere thousand feet from the ocean below. Launching a powerful tow cable, he was able to snag the magnetic line onto the Ark’s container and check its descent slightly. As the sea ruched up to meet him, Blue applied full braking flaps on the wings of the Raid Bike and pulled back hard on the controls. With barely inches to spare, the plummeting bike pulled out of its dive and leveled out, under Blue’s control once again.
Reports from Skybase indicate Captain Blue’s efforts were praised by Colonel White and Captain Scarlet’s injuries are well on the way to being completely healed. When asked for comment about his daring aerial stunt, Captain Blue replied, “It was just another day on the job.”
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