k OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF THE TRACY ISLAND CHRONICLES MARCH-APRIL 2012 easter!!! a great big HELLO from NEW STORIES ON > NED COOK! RICOCHET The Management (you know, EPISODE SYNOPSIS #31 those women in… oh, forget it…) lee TIC! decided it would be a great idea if We start our episode with a long slow pan WWW.TRACYISLANDCHRONICLES.COM I did a special NTBS Easter broadcast live from the Central City Zoo. You know the drill — hand across an empty tarmac just before the out Easter eggs, charm the children (and their launching of TELSAT4. Inside the CHRYSEXANTHE’S STORY: PERFECTION mothers). Oh, and also cover the opening of administration building, handsome Mr Fortunately for O’Shea and Lohmann, Tin- the new gorilla enclosure. So, armed with Power sits forlornly at his automated launch Tin’s been hovering over the television and Looking at him watching us fills me with chocolate goodies for the kiddies (some of station waiting out the last four hours of the alerts the movers and shakers at International such warmth. His hair mussed from which I stuffed in my pockets for later), me, launch, while several thousand miles away, Rescue to their plight. Jeff quickly despatches sleep, his broad chest, which I love to Joe and Trixie headed off to the zoo. another handsome man with a bit more the team: Virgil and Brains in Thunderbird snuggle against. I can almost see his Followed by hordes of swooning mothers (I power is also keeping his eye on the Two – their job will be too shoot down the fingers twitching as he watches us, always have that effect on women) and hordes proceedings. We find Jeff Tracy perched aching to capture this scene. I know he of screaming kids (Joe thinks I have an entirely satellite as it re-enters the atmosphere; and different effect on children), and a screaming rakishly on his desk, loudly bemoaning the Scott and Alan in Thunderbird Three to is memorizing every detail to be fact that automation has taken all the fun Trixie (who had suddenly decided I looked like rescue the occupants of KLA. sketched when he is more awake. a giant strawberry Snapple), we entered the out of life. He’s about to launch into one if As Thunderbird Three approaches KLA, Alan new gorilla enclosure to begin the broadcast. his famous reminiscences about the early advises O’Shea to open the outer airlock door. Have you read a work of That’s when things got a little crazy. days of space travel when he’s interrupted He then spacewalks (untethered!) over to the My last coherent memories of that day are of by Miss Tin-Tin Kyrano and her portable Thunderbirds fanfiction that you satellite and rescues the wilted Lohmann from think should be included on the a wailing Trixie giving my hair a last-minute television set, which is currently blaring the airlock, advising O’Shea to suit up before Tracy Island Chronicles? fluff, and the zoo superintendent, Ms Marla ‘Michel and the Asteroids’ direct from pirate he returns. Unfortunately O’Shea turns out to Contact our selection panel Mathers, introducing me to the zoo’s tame television satellite KLA. Tin-Tin is unashamedly be a total wuss and panics. Consequently Alan via email gorilla, Makoko… who turned out be a lusty besotted by KLA’s ‘minty’ host, Rick O’Shea returns to a quivering mess too paralysed with and let us know! female with an eye for news reporters in pink. (cue the sound effects), much to Alan’s fear to help himself, and with both satellite When Makoko dove for my groin I fairly undisguised disgust. Turning to Brains for blacked out, so what happened next, dear KLA and Thunderbird Three locked into a readers, has been reconstructed for the support in the face of Tin-Tin’s overwhelming rapidly decaying orbit, Alan is forced to make obsession, Alan receives a response so inquest via Joe’s shaky camera footage. a hard decision. As Makoko clapped her giant simian hands on classically Aspergers it would put Sheldon Quite how hard we will have to wait to find my waistband and ripped my NTBS-issue Cooper of the Big Bang Theory to shame. out, for meanwhile, Virgil and Brains have trousers clean off my hips, Ms Mathers can be Ignoring the bickering over Rick O’Shea’s discovered that the incoming satellite is heard reassuring the screaming mothers and handsomeness or lack thereof, Jeff continues headed directly for the largest oil refinery on children (and Trixie) that Makoko was only his lecture, taking off on a tangent and vilifying the planet. Of course. being curious. In my delirious state I had the irresponsible pilots of pirate satellites. It’s Assuming that O’Shea and Lohmann are out somehow managed to cover my curiosities, not long before his predictions are made and can be seen on the video cowering behind of the satellite. Virgil and Brains are preparing a polystyrene rock. Makoko, as it turns out, reality, as back in Mr Power’s office, the to shoot the incoming space junk out of the automated launch of TELSAT4 has gone was more interested in my pants pockets than sky when suddenly the satellite’s transmitters in me – well, the easter eggs I’d stuffed in horribly wrong. Advised by his supervisor to burst into life. Understanding this to mean them before I’d left the office. abort the mission, Mr Power contacts the that O’Shea is still aboard the station, they The last thing visible on the footage is Makoko International Space Control (ISC) to alert them find they can’t bring themselves to shoot him with her great gorilla lips covered in of the danger, and they provide him with the down in cold blood. Unable to contact Base STORY CHALLENGE chocolate, and my pants being waved coordinates of a ‘safe’ (ie, empty) place in for advice (Thunderbird Five is still off the air), triumphantly over her head. There’s also the space in which to blow the rocket up. they wrack their brains for a solution, finally ‘OUTSIDE LOOKING IN’ unmistakeable sound of Joe sniggering, As you can imagine, the ISC are unaware of deciding to simply knock the satellite off Authors are asked to take any original although he somewhat predictably denies it! the movements of pirate satellites, and the course. It will still crash, and O’Shea will still Thunderbirds episode, or part of an location they choose for the destruction of be dead, but the refinery will be saved along episode, and rewrite it from the point TELSAT4 happens to be the same area that with their consciences. of view of someone outside the action. satellite KLA is passing through. The rocket Bringing Thunderbird Two into alignment It can be a news reporter, a victim, a blows up a few hundred metres from satellite with the satellite, Virgil attempts to knock it THIS ISSUE: bystander’s point of view, or even a Hello from Ned Cook....................1 KLA, ripping a hole in the side and kicking it off course using one of TB2’s wings. After minor character from the episode into a crash dive for Earth. several heart-stopping false starts Episode Synopsis..........................1 itself, as long as that person is in no PennySpy’s Episode Guide...........3 Inside the satellite, O’Shea and Lohmann (a accompanied by some stimulating bongo way pivotal to the action. media partnership that puts Ned and Joe to drums, Virgil finally hooks the wing under the Thunderbirds the Comic..............7 shame), pick themselves up from the floor and satellite, only to discover that the two craft Challenge entries must be kept to a Thunderbirds comes to TV21......9 scratch their heads in consternation. Despite are now jammed together and headed for 10,000 word maximum limit and are Brit Sci-Fi Event Report..............12 the incident, O’Shea proposes to continue on certain dooooom! due NO LATER THAN Monday June 18 Mr Bondon’s Briefcase ...............14 as though nothing had happened. Lohmann, Fortunately the satellite breaks free at the 2012, midnight US Pacific time. Stories Article: Canon to the right.........15 however, is disturbed enough to cut last minute, crashing to the ground as, job should be emailed as an MS Word transmission and go outside to survey the done, TB2 takes off for Base. Down-faced (.doc) or Rich Text Format (.rtf) file to FICTION: Boogeyman..................17 damage. He’s outside for a total of three because they were unable to save O’Shea, [email protected]. minutes before he discovers the satellite is Virgil and Brains return home to find Alan and Entrants will be posted via the TIWF completely screwed and attempts to re-enter Scott laughing gaily in the lounge with Tin- YahooGroups list from Wednesday via the airlock. Unfortunately though, the Tin and Jeff. Soon discovering that O’Shea had June 20. inner door is jammed, leaving Lohmann indeed been saved and that the broadcast STAFF: If you have questions or need further Contributing Editor - trapped in the airlock with a dwindling supply they heard must have been automated, their clarification, you can contact us at Samantha Winchester of oxygen. Panicked and with a radio too attention is diverted by Tin-Tin’s portable TV [email protected]. damaged to call for help, O’Shea reactivates and O’Shea broadcasting his thanks to the Contributing Editor - GillyLee the television transmission beacon to send out world. It escapes no-one’s attention that Format & Contributing Editor - Lee a call for help.