| abstract
| - A construction company is about to start a job soon, and at the mobile base camp, the boss of the company, Jansen, finds out that Crablogger 1 is heading in their direction. Crablogger 1 is a gigantic jungle clearing vehicle. Despite the size, it is only operated by two people. They drive the Crablogger 1 up to the base camp. Jansen says that they will be starting their work tomorrow, but tonight, he's going to take them out to see the sights. Later on, Jansen and some of the crew head to a restaurant. The crew mention that they worked with Jim Lucas, the man who designed the Crablogger 1, and how he wanted them to be the first ones to drive it. The owner of the restaurant, Sanchos, then comes out and asks if they'd like something to eat. When they ask to see the menu, Sanchos explains they don't actually have one, but he can fix them up with a special dish. Jansen says he'll have the usual, whilst the others decide to try the special. Maria the cook starts to make the food, but the kitchen isn't very good hygiene wise. The crew discuss the plan for tomorrow: the Crablogger will be producing a lot of wood pulp when it is operation, which will have to be collected by a fleet of trucks. It has been organised for the trucks to keep coming and going, ensuring the Crablogger will not get full. Sanchos then comes in with their food. The crew aren't that sure about his special dish. The next morning, the two drivers of Crablogger 1, McColl and Peterson, have to use a lift to get on top of their vehicle, as the only way inside it is through the roof. Once they are onboard, they begin their job. The vehicle is powered by an atomic reactor, so they have to activate a radiation shield which covers up the glass of the front window. Crablogger 1 moves forward, and the two look at a screen to see what is in their way. Crablogger 1's job is to clear out trees, and it can do this by grabbing them. The arms of the vehicle secure the trees, whilst the chainsaw at the bottom of it cut them down. The arms then feed the trees through the front of the machine, where they are mashed up. McColl and Peterson both think that it seems very hot inside the cabin, but they see that the first truck is needed. The truck transporter moves in behind Crablogger 1. Peterson suddenly collapses -he has suffered from food poisoning. The truck moves in and starts to be fed the wood pulp from Crablogger 1, until it is full up. McColl calls in on home base and states what has happened to Peterson. Jansen tells him to take Crablogger 1 off remote and to shut down the reactor. However, McColl then passes out from food poisoning, and has not done either thing Jansen told him to do. Crablogger 1 starts to veer off course, and is heading straight towards San Martino. Jansen says they need to keep things going -their fuel tankers will have to keep servicing Crablogger 1, and the transporter trucks will have to keep collecting from it. If the machinery jams inside the vehicle, it could create an explosion that would destroy everything within a 50 mile radius. Jansen decides to call International Rescue, and fills John in on the details. He says that Crablogger 1 should hopefully pass a large village, but it is heading straight for the San Martino dam. John fills his father in on the details. Jeff has Scott launch in Thunderbird 1, whilst asking Tin-Tin to find Virgil and Brains. Brains learns about the Crablogger, and says that they need Jim Lucas, who is the man who designed the Crablogger 1. They need to get their answers from him, but he lives in England. By the time International Rescue get to him it could be too late, so Jeff says he has a better idea. Jeff contacts Penelope, and says that he needs her to contact Jim Lucas of Robotics International. She needs to find out the shut down procedure of the Crablogger, as it is a matter of life or death. Scott calls in and Jeff tells him he is getting Penelope to find Jim Lucas, and that Thunderbird 2 is due to launch at any moment. Thunderbird 2 rolls down the runway and takes off, with Virgil and Brains inside it. Crablogger 1 is almost at the village. Jansen had warned the village about what was going to happen, and Gutierrez, a police Sergeant, had had the place evacuated. He contacts Jansen and says that nobody else is in the village but him. He then says he can hear the Crablogger, so Jansen tells him to hurry and get out of there. As he leaves, Crablogger 1 rams through a wall... ...and rips the village apart, smashing through houses without stopping. Meanwhile, Virgil tells Scott they are around 80 minutes behind him. Scott figures out that they will roughly have around 45 minutes to perform the rescue operation before the Crablogger comes to an explosive stop at the San Martino dam. The Crablogger has moved through the village, and it still on course with the dam. Scott lands Thunderbird 1 near the mobile base and lets his father know on how much time they've got to try and get inside Crablogger 1 and shut down the atomic reactor. He thinks they will be able to get inside Crablogger 1, but they will need to know how to shut the reactor down before they actually can do it. Back in England, Penelope and Parker arrive at Robotic International's main office. Penelope tries to get the information she wants out of a guard, but he refuses to tell her, as she won't tell him what it is that is so important that she must tell Jim Lucas. With no choice left, Penelope gives a signal and Parker uses a beam to knock the guard out. Penelope gets the personal file of Jim Lucas, and finds out his address. She and Parker then leave and head towards Jim Lucas' home. Meanwhile Thunderbird 2 has landed. Scott, Virgil and Brains roll out in a crane vehicle, and follow the path of destruction Crablogger 1 has made. Back in England, Parker slows down. There has been a car crash and Penelope says they must stop to help the man thrown out of his car. She calls for am ambulance whilst Parker gets the first aid kit. As they do this, Scott drives up alongside Crablogger 1 and uses the crane to send Virgil and Brains up. The two get onto the roof of Crablogger 1. Virgil starts using a laser beam to cut through the hatch, but Brains contacts Scott and tells him they'll need the info about the reactor soon. Penelope and Parker have done some basic first aid for the injured driver, but an ambulance is on the way. They decide to continue with their original mission, and drive off. Meanwhile Jensen reports the Crablogger is getting dangerously close to the dam, but the staff there are evacuating. At the dam, the last transport truck leaves, and only Gutierrez and the dam boss Manuel are left. Manuel doesn't want to leave without gathering his papers, but Jansen contacts him and says he must go now. Once the Crablogger hits the dam and explodes, it will cause all of the water to be released and flood them. As Crablogger 1 continues forwards, Virgil says he is nearly through the roof, but they are going to need that info soon. The two break through the roof and drop down inside, where they see the crew. Brains doesn't dare start touching the reactor controls yet, so Scott decides to have the two crew members taken out of the vehicle. Back in England, Penelope and Parker arrive at the address of Jim Lucas. With no time to waste on explaining the situation to him, Parker unlocks the door and Penelope goes inside the house. She finds Jim Lucas, points a gun at his head and wakes him up. He wants to know what is going on, but Penelope tells him there is no time. She places a recorder on his pillow and tells him to state the sequence for shutting down the reactor. He begins to speak. Meanwhile John reports to Tracy Island, and says that the two crew members of Crablogger 1 have been taken out of it and are now on their was to hospital. As Jim finishes, Penelope throws the recorder to Parker before shooting Jim with a tranquilizer. Parker plays the recording to John, who sends it to Brains and Virgil. Brains carries out Jim's instructions, but they state that it will take 3 minutes for Crablogger 1 to come to a stop, and they realise they may not have enough time. Crablogger 1 continues on. Virgil opens up the radiation shield and he and Brains see that they are on moving very close to a ledge. This presents a new problem: if Crablogger 1 falls, the highly explosive fuel inside it could go off, so they need to get the tanks emptied, and fast. Scott heads out in a fuel truck. Crablogger 1 comes to a stop, right at the edge of the ledge. Scott arrives in the fuel truck, and sends forward the pumps. Virgil and Brains connect them to the Crablogger's fuel tanks. The heavy weight of Crablogger 1 causes the ground underneath it to start to give way. Virgil and Brains continue to empty the vehicle's fuel tank, and manage to get them completely clear. But then the ground gives way a little bit more, and Crablogger 1 falls. Virgil and Brains jump off it and are safe thanks to their hover packs. Crablogger 1 falls down and crashes into the ground and explodes. Back inside Scott's truck, Brains says it was quite a bang, but Scott says it could have been a lot worse if they hadn't shut down the reactor and emptied the tanks. The next morning, in England, Jin Lucas gets his paper and sees the front page story: his Crablogger has been destroyed, and International Rescue have saved many lives. He realises that was why that woman who came into his room wanted the way to shut down the reactor. As he says this out loud, his wife is listening and is more concerned over the fact he just said something about another woman being in his room!
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)