All At Sea
Based upon the story by David Mitten and Britt Alcroft
Adapted by Rachel Ravens
Takes place between TTEQ and TNSDD
A rush of relief came to the island once Thomas and Percy had healed up their disagreements, and they and Toby were closer than ever before.
"I'm glad that you two are finally on speaking terms," said Duck when he saw Percy at Knapford station the day after he and Thomas apologised to each other.
"That is a massive relief, indeed," said Percy. The two engines then heard a whistle, and Thomas was coming into the platform rather quickly; he did of course slow down when the station came close.
"I won!" Thomas cried with triumph. This was followed moments by the sound of a bus horn, and Bertie came up alongside the station on the road.
"You sure got me that time," chuckled Bertie. "Did that feel good to do that again, or what?"
"At least things are back to normal," sighed Annie.
"Agreed," breathed Clarabel. "Now, just as a reminder, Thomas; the only reason we were trying to get you to accept Bertie's challenge was so you'd be back to your old self."
"Oh, come on," laughed Thomas. "You have to admit, that was a fun race."
Just then, the engines, coaches and Bertie all heard a familiar whirring up above.
"Chaps, I've got bad news," Harold announced.
"What's wrong, Harold?" asked Percy.
"I just saw Toby at Elsbridge," the helicopter explained. "He's wheeshing steam in an alarming way."
The six friends' eyes turned worried.
"Duck, do you have much shunting to do?" asked Percy.
"Not at the moment," the pannier tank admitted.
"If you can take my goods, I'll help Toby."
Duck agreed and the tank engines suited action to word; Percy scampering off to Elsbridge. Toby and Henrietta were both standing there anxiously.
"Toby!" Percy called, buffering up to the tram engine. "What happened?"
"Safety valve broke," Toby sighed. "Our passengers are due to leave in two minutes."
"Don't worry," Percy gently shunted Toby to the siding. "I'll look after Henrietta for now and Thomas and I will cover for you until you come home."
"That may not be so easy, Percy," sighed Henrietta. "Our branch line's been getting backlogged with work at the moment."
And indeed Henrietta was right. With Toby out of action, Thomas and Percy had a tough time keeping up with the workload, especially at the harbour, and it came to a head a couple of days later.
"I think we've finally got those goods trains under control," said Thomas.
"Er, Thomas?" Percy glanced to his left, and Thomas looked over to see three more rows of trucks and some passengers to pick up.
"Oh, no!" gasped the blue tank engine. "Now what do we do? We'll never get this all done in time."
"Need some help?" called a voice.
"Duck!" cried Percy. "Thank goodness you're here. If we take one train of trucks each, Thomas can take the last one with his passengers."
"Of course I can," smiled Duck. "Julie's looking after things in the yards for now."
Thomas buffered up to Annie and Clarabel, who were waiting patiently in the harbour's siding and then the tank engines went to grab the trucks.
"Sir Topham Hatt was right." Duck commented as he buffered up to his own line of trucks, "The harbour is busier than ever before."
"At this rate, we may need you promoted up here," Percy smiled, grabbing the last line of trucks and buffering Henrietta to the front of the train. "I wouldn't mind having you working with us permanently."
"Neither would I," chuckled Duck, buffering up to the last train. "But someone is still needed to run as station pilot in the main yards, and I wouldn't want to deprive you or anyone else the honour of your branch lines; that includes Julie if she does end up on one."
"You've earned this multiple times over," Thomas told Duck proudly. "You handle the trucks really well."
"And you run so gently with Clarabel and I," added Annie.
"We just need another station pilot to take over the yards," said Clarabel.
"But who knows where we can find one," sighed Henrietta. "That is if Julie doesn't take the position."
Unfortunately, the engines and coaches had no answers to speak of, but the day passed by quickly for them.
"I've never seen the harbour quite like this," Duck said as he and Percy were now shunting in the crisp and clear night. "It's beautiful."
"It's peaceful to look at," agreed Percy as the moon shone. "I love running down here with the post train in the dark."
"That does sound like fun," Duck agreed. "I wouldn't mind doing that one day."
"Maybe we can swap jobs one day," Percy suggested.
The following day, Duck and Percy came to the harbour as planned, but there was something unusual when they were resting while their crews were having lunch.
"What in Brunel's name…" gasped Duck. "Where did those sail boats come from?"
"I'm not sure," Percy admitted. "I've seen them during my time up here before, but I've never asked."
Duck then gazed longingly out to sea. "It must be fun to sail out to far away lands. Where do you think would be the most exciting to go, Percy? China? Brazil? Africa maybe?"
"Don't be silly, Duck," laughed Percy. "Engines can't go sailing. We can't float."
"Maybe not," Duck admitted, "but I still think it would be fun to imagine. Just think, Percy, we could be travelling abroad to anywhere we wanted, meeting all sorts of new friends."
"Well, I do like meeting new friends," Percy smiled. "That I can't really deny."
Suddenly, the tank engines were interrupted by a buzzing noise, and a familiar white shape landed on the helipad.
"Good day, chaps."
"Oh, Harold!" cried Duck. "I can't see the boats now."
"Oh, sorry about that, Duck," said Harold. "That's the regatta. Lots of boats, lots of racing. It's great fun. I hover round in case I'm needed."
"Do you go to the horizon?" asked Duck.
"Yes, and beyond."
"There's a beyond, Harold?" asked Percy curiously.
"Sort of," chuckled the helicopter.
"Do you go to other places at sea?" asked Duck eagerly.
"Certainly," Harold explained. "I can land on ships, anywhere, anytime, if there's enough space for me to do so."
"That must come in very handy, Harold," Duck commented, he gave a wistful sigh. "And it must be fun to travel out to sea."
"It sure is," smiled Harold. "I'd best be off. Goodbye."
Duck and Percy then got back to work, shunting trucks.
"Traveling far away from the island to parts unknown," Duck said with a smile. "I do wonder what that would be like…"
Duck was suddenly on the water, floating away into the distance.
"The sun sure is bright today," Duck hummed. "And the winds so calm."
"Next stop: Brazil." said his driver; now turned captain in his vision.
"Ooh!" Duck said eagerly. "I wonder what I'll see over here."
There were more sailing ships floating by, and the people happily waved to Duck.
"It's good to see you too," Duck smiled, whistling cheerfully.
"Earth to Duck!"
Duck blinked and snapped back to reality. "Wh-what did I miss?"
"You've forgotten a brake van for your goods train." Percy explained.
"Whoops!" gasped Duck. "How did I miss that?"
"Seems like this regatta has gotten you in a daze," said Percy. "I know it's fun to imagine, but I don't think Toby would be pleased to see his side of the harbour in a mess when he comes back."
"No, definitely not," Duck agreed. "At least I wasn't trying to play 'Hunt the Trucks' like Bill and Ben do."
"We don't need another engine doing that." laughed Percy.
Back at the regatta, things were going very smoothly.
"We're winning," said the captain of a boat with bright green sails. "At this rate, we'll reach our destination by tomorrow."
"Let's not get too excited," chuckled the first mate. "We've only barely started the regatta. We don't know who's going to win."
"Maybe not, but I still have high hopes," said the captain.
Suddenly, the winds tugged harder at the boat's sails.
"We're getting more speed," the captain said with triumph.
"Watch out," cried the first mate. "We're about to crash into the other boat!"
The captain and first mate quickly tried to change direction, but the captain then slipped on some floorboards that had just been splashed.
"Ouch!" he yelped. He had landed on one of his arms, and in trying to get up, there was a slight crack.
"Oh no!" cried the first mate. He rushed to the bow and got out the flags, waving a signal to Harold, who was hovering overhead.
"Hang on there, chap!" Harold called, coming in close, but not too close as his propellers could blow the boat off course. While he did that, other crew members quickly secured the sails and anchored the boat.
"Up you go, Captain," said the first mate, and Harold safely landed on the boat so the captain could board.
"I'd take him to hospital," said Harold, "but I'm needed to continue patrolling the regatta."
"Then I'll signal the railway for help," said the first mate.
Duck and Percy were still shunting trucks, when they heard a loud blaring noise.
"What's that?!" asked Duck.
"It's an emergency." explained the driver. "I'll check with the harbourmaster."
He rushed back a moment or two later.
"A man taking part in the regatta hurt his hand."
"Oh no!" cried Duck; Percy too had a worried look.
"How can we help?" asked Percy.
"Duck," said his driver, "we're to take the captain to hospital. Harold's bringing him over now. Percy, you continue your work and alert Harold if you see any more trouble from the rails."
"Got it!" said the two tank engines firmly, and Duck was off in an instant.
The pannier tank made it to the siding and met up with Harold a few moments later.
"Good to see you again, Duck," smiled the helicopter, landing on his helipad.
"Thank you for the lift, Harold," said the captain gratefully as he was led to dry land.
"My job is to stay at sea in case of any more danger. If not, I'd take this chap to hospital myself." Harold explained.
"Of course, Harold," Duck waited patiently for the captain to board his cab. "Percy's going to keep a lookout for anything unusual while he's shunting."
"Glad to have you two around," Harold replied warmly as he took off back into the sky.
"Okay, Duck," said his driver, "fast and carefully as you can."
Duck obeyed and started to coast along the line. He passed by Thomas, Annie and Clarabel at Elsbridge.
"Hey, Duck," called Thomas. "Did you forget your train?" he called cheekily.
"Hospital patient onboard!" Duck explained and he was gone.
"Oh my!" gasped Thomas, his expression becoming serious at once. "I hope the patient is going to be alright."
"Buffers crossed," Annie said anxiously, and Clarabel could only agree with her friends.
As Duck carried on, the captain gave a grateful smile.
"You're running very well," he complimented. "Do you take passenger trains too?"
"Only if one of the other engines is being repaired or if the line's busy," Duck admitted.
"You should definitely consider taking passengers more often," smiled the captain.
The pannier tank engine eventually came to the station near the hospital, where Bertie was waiting.
"Thank you for the ride, Duck," said the captain as he got off to board Bertie.
"Hello, Duck," greeted the red bus. "You looked splendid flying along the line. No wonder they call you Great Western."
"Well, that was the railway I originally came from," Duck said modestly. "Thank you, Bertie. Hope the captain gets better."
"I'll keep you updated," said Bertie as he rolled away.
"You know," Duck said to himself, "engines are happiest when their wheels are firmly on the rails."
That evening, when Duck and Percy finished their shunting, they stayed a bit longer by the quay. The air was warm and the sea calm. Duck glanced up at the sky.
"Look!" he exclaimed to Percy, seeing something flash across the sky. "A shooting star!"
"Don't be daft." laughed Percy. "It's just Harold. See? He's got his patrol lights on."
Something then fluttered down toward Duck, and his driver picked it up.
"It's a flag from the regatta," he said proudly, showing it to the pannier tank. "It says 'well done, Duck', and Harold's giving it to you as a present."
"That was kind of him," whispered Duck to Percy. "He may have whirly arms instead of wheels, but he seems to understand just what an engine needs."
The next morning, Duck, Percy and Thomas were all at the harbour in the early morning before beginning their shunting.
"You know you two," said Duck, "I still wonder what's out there on the horizon."
"Don't we all, Duck," chuckled Thomas.
"But," Duck admitted. "I enjoy being with my friends more, and sometimes, the best adventures we have are the ones we dream about."
"Still, that doesn't mean they can't become a reality," said Percy. "Who knows? Maybe one day, we could all travel the world to places we've never seen."
"We can only dream," said Thomas.
But little did the trio know, that one day, their dreams may just come true after all…
The End
This episode was really good, one of, if not, the best of the original bunch for Season 3. Is it the best episode in the season overall? Well, it comes close. I think I can name a couple of RWS adaptions that were even better. But we'll get to them when we get to them. Spoiler alert, one of them is due to be in a mashup with two other adapted RWS stories for TV, but if I mention them, I'd give away what the story is about.
I had a bit of trouble with this one, but I'm happy with it. Like with nearly all of these one-shots, I'm trying to keep it on a tight ship; aka, whenever one of the previous episodes ends, I somehow connect it up to the one I'm working on. I also gave an explanation as to why Duck is at the harbour on Thomas' branch line; Toby's broken down. We also get a hint to a certain quarry diesel with the "Hunt the Trucks" game, and again, it's teased when Duck's going to get a branch line. Spoiler alert again, that won't be in the next one-shot I write up, but the one after.
The bit with going abroad is a nod to what Zack has planned with Thomas, Percy and Duck. Thomas had already gone to Africa in his BWBA rendition - due to his chemistry with Nia - , and he has plans for Percy to go to China - a nod to a future The Great Race rewrite where Percy has accomplished a great feet in the shunting challenge - and Duck to go to Brazil - where he runs into some problems with Raul and Gustavo.
