Ryan had been sent to a knock-out in Calles Cavern after he had listened in on some of Diesel 10 and Sailor John's planning. But now that Sailor John had a close run-in with Ryan, he decided to go to action immediately. When Ryan had been found, he was immediately lifted out of the cavern with severe damage and was urgently brought to the Steamworks. Needless to say, the other engines were quite badly shaken from this ordeal.
That night, the tramper had arrived as planned, and the munitions were being unloaded, along with the transferred fuel. Diesel, Sidney and Paxton were all there to gather the munitions…only to smuggle them back to Sailor John once they had dealt with the fuel. One single slip-up could spell disaster. Worse still, Sailor John and two of Murphy's lackeys were hiding in secret, armed with rifles stolen from the S.S. Kathryn, planning to shoot the munitions and blow up the tramper's dock.
"I'll be glad to get rid of this lot," Diesel said. Even he was nervous about the dangers this exercise presented.
"Attention! Attention!" called a familiar voice.
"Oh no, here we go," groaned Diesel.
It was General Malcolm. "I need the fuel and munitions as soon as possible! Move aside! You, the black diesel shunter! Move!"
"Eh? What, mean me, mister, do you?" Diesel sniffed.
"Yes, you, mister! Move those trucks of fuel! The munitions come first!"
"We can't move these trucks while the tramper is being unloaded," Salty said fearfully.
"Mind your own business, old diesel shunter! This is my pool, I say what goes!"
Salty grunted dreadfully.
"Move along, Salty. Diesel and Paxton have their parts to play," Sidney whispered.
But Diesel had his own ideas. "Shut up! Salty's right. We are NOT moving our trucks, you filthy scumbag!".
"I want this fuel unloaded now!" snapped Malcolm. "I'm in charge, so obey orders!"
Sailor John did not like the fuss he was hearing from General Malcolm. He was just about to pull the trigger and fire at the munition trucks lined up nearby Cranky and Carly…when he heard a familiar whistle and almost dropped the gun.
"What's going on, General? The schedule says I'm next to transfer these fuel trucks for the tramper." It was Thomas.
"Don't you start, Thomas. Wait your turn," ordered Malcom.
"I'm coming alongside," said Thomas. "This tramper is being unloaded, and it needs my load of fuel. I've got my order's too!"
"Who's orders?!"
"Sir Topham Hatt's," said Thomas.
Sailor John could see everything and was very angry now. He did not plan whatsoever for Thomas to be here. This was completely against his intentions. He did now want Thomas to be destroyed just yet, and he turned to his assistants.
"Hold your fire!" he demanded. But even as he said that, both men opened fire, and hit one of Diesel's fuel trucks, setting it on fire.
"Oh no!" gasped Sidney.
"You IDIOT!" Diesel roared at General Malcolm. "You know what's in our trucks! Sidney, Paxton! Get clear. Those trucks could blow!"
"Emergency! Emergency! CLEAR THE AREA IMMEDIATELY!" The Dock Manager's voice shouted through a loudspeaker.
"Await my orders!" roared General Malcolm.
"Save yourselves! Thomas! Get clear of those fuel trucks and get out of here!" shouted Salty.
"My trucks are clear, but General Malcolm won't tell me what to do next!" cried Thomas.
"I know what to do. Stay still and don't panic!" urged Malcolm.
"General, those trucks are ON FIRE! Let me through! Come on, Salty!" cried Thomas. Salty tried to move…but he couldn't.
"My engine's cut out!" Salty gasped.
"Edward, his engine's out! I'm getting him out of here!" said Thomas as he began to switch to Salty's line to pull him away.
"Thomas! NO!" called Edward. "Get out of there!"
"He's right! Move!" called Salty.
Big Mickey could see the burning trucks. "Go, Thomas, Go! Keep going! The tramper will could catch fire and blow very soon!"
"Don't you move away from those trucks!" Malcolm demanded. "My orders say I am loading fuel HERE!"
"You can load the fuel after we're all clear. Salty, what should I do with him?" asked Thomas.
"Give up on him, Thomas," said Salty. "We don't want any more of his orders."
"This is a mutiny! Bring him back immediately! You will unload the fuel! Obey orders! Obey orders! Orders is orders!" shouted Malcolm. But Thomas took Salty anyway and started making his move to get somewhere safe.
Sailor John was gaping in panic. For once, he wanted Thomas to get out and save himself…so he could kill him later as planned. But suddenly, another gunshot fired at the tramper as it slowly moved nearby Cranky and Carly. The tramper's fire began to build on deck. Then a sudden explosion blew Cranky's base.
"Oh no! Cranky's going down!" wailed Diesel.
"Look out everyone! He's going over!" called Salty.
"Cranky! CRANKY!" wailed Carly.
Cranky suddenly saw a chance to save the engines and threw his hook out to the tramper and caught hold. Then as he slowly toppled over, he pulled the tramper along as much as he could…until he toppled over to the side and bumped into Carly…who then bumped into Big Mickey! They both fell back on their side while Cranky kept falling.
"CRANKY!" yelled Thomas. "CARLY! BIG MICKEY!"
Cranky fell right down and leaned over just in shallow water.
"That was too close!" gasped Thomas.
"It took real skill to make that move," Salty said gravely.
"He saved us all for sure... But the fire's getting out of control!" said Thomas.
"The Dock Manager will be calling the Search and Rescue Centre. Belle and Flynn should be here any minute. Just wish they were here now..."
"Belle and Flynn won't be able to much against this! LOOK AT THAT TRAMPER!" called Paxton. The tramper's fire grew bigger and bigger,
"Grease and Oil!" Sidney gasped. "Those were truly big explosives!"
"There's more to come yet!" huffed Diesel. "Just you wait. We could have succeeded for Sailor John if that miltary twit never arrived. What's on board will rip her apart."
Suddenly, a spark from the explosions landed in one of the fuel tankers Thomas had brought. The fuel tanker caught fire.
"Thomas! One of your fuel tanks caught fire!" shouted Edward.
"And it's fully loaded! I must get it away!" Thomas shouted as he made haste towards the tankers.
"No, Thomas!" shouted Salty. "Stay back! If it blows, you'll be taken with it!"
"I'm doing it for all of you!" called Thomas, as his driver hastily uncoupled the burning from the rest of the train.
Meanwhile at the Search and Rescue Centre, Belle and Flynn had received the call of emergency and were on their way. After a while, they saw an orange light in the distance.
"What's that?" asked Flynn.
"What, Flynn?" asked Belle.
"That. The orange light dancing around the bend," said Flynn.
"FIRE!" they shouted together as they sped down to the rescue.
But by now, the fire had spread to the tramp steamer with the munitions, setting them all up in flames. The tramper blew up from the inside, and the fire began to spread to other dangerous chemicals through the docks, creating a threat of the fire spreading out further to the island. Thomas could feel the heat from his burning tanker building.
"It's really hot," he panted.
"Diesel! Look at Thomas!" called Paxton. "What is he doing?"
"Don't know. But better him than us," smirked Diesel.
Thomas kept pushing as fast as he could to get the burning tanker out of the docks. He didn't bother getting coupled up to it. If he did, he wouldn't be able to escape if the tanker exploded. At that moment, Belle and Flynn rushed to the docks, followed shortly by the fire brigade.
"Ahh! About time you arrived!" said Salty. "Stop the tramper's fire!"
Belle and Flynn got to work and started spraying water all over the fire. The fire brigade helped as well, and finally, the danger began to subside.
Just outside Brendam, Thomas was still shunting the burning tanker away, but he could see it was about to blow any moment. He left the tanker in a siding and just began to reverse…when suddenly, the tanker blew up and all Thomas saw was orange and yellow lights, and he heard an ear-splitting boom.
All the engines looked to where the explosion came from and knew it was Thomas.
"Oh…Heavens…" gasped Edward.
Sailor John heard the explosion and saw the burst of light too. Then he turned to the two lackeys.
"Come back with me! NOW!" he yelled as he seized them both and disappeared into the night.
Then at that moment, the tramper sounded off with one more booming explosion, and began to capsize. It sunk into the water and with one final blast from its smokestack, it sunk out of sight. But by then, Belle, Flynn and the Fire Brigade had managed to stop the fire from spreading any further.
"Well done, Belle and Flynn!" called Paxton.
"But…where's Thomas?" asked Edward.
"Oh, matey," said Salty. "Who knows? But that was very noble of him to do for us…"
Only five minutes later, as the smoke died down, the Dock Manager made an emergency call to the SPD. Phelps was the first to answer the phone in his office and hear everything that had happened. He listened to everything very carefully…then felt anger creeping up inside him.
"Thank you, sir. We'll be right over tomorrow morning," he said before he hung up.
"What is it, Dan?" asked Gallagher. It did not take long for Phelps to tell him what happened and about fire across the docks…all because of General Malcolm's hasty, stubborn and reckless orders. The chief was most incensed by the news when they told him everything too.
"Okay, Dan," said the chief. "This needs to be addressed first thing. Tomorrow morning, I think it's time we get a court order to place Malcolm on probation, and, if necessary, demote him."
"Excellent solution, chief," said Phelps.
The next morning, fog was covering all of Brendam Docks. Salty and Porter were there. After hearing about what happened, Gordon and Henry came by too to see what had happened, accompanied by the Mayor of Sodor. General Malcolm was there too, wringing his hands in worry for what happened that night He did not expect or intend to put the engines in such danger.
"Thomas should have been back by now," said Porter.
Salty looked down gravely. "He must have sacrificed himself for us all. Everyone salute the No. 1 Blue Tank Engine…for saving us all from-"
"Wait! I know that whistle!" said Porter. Then out from the fog, Edward appeared. And just behind him, he was pulling…
"THOMAS!" cheered all the engines. Thomas came out of the fog with Edward. He was sooty, and burnt in some areas…but then, just over his right eye, a thin, but clean scar was drawn. Added to that, his buffers were completely melted off.
"Thomas, how did you ever get out of that mess?!" exclaimed Henry.
"Well, just as I started reversing from my tanker…it blew up! I thought for sure I'd be blown up with it. I didn't think I'd survive…but thanks to the fire brigade I did. They put out the fire before it could spread further and melt me down completely...and then Edward found me and brought me out here again!"
"You are the luckiest...cleverest and the bravest engine around, Thomas!" cheered Salty and Porter.
"Well, I've done many different jobs," said Edward. "But never did I think I'd be hauling Thomas out alive after such a frightfully dangerous chaos! You deserve great honour and praise, Thomas! You really are our No. 1!"
But then, all the engines turned onto poor General Malcolm.
"YOU, General. WHAT the flaming HELL were you thinking?!" snarled Gordon.
"My orders were final," said General Malcolm. "Our military course needed the munitions and fuel quickly…"
"You almost KILLED everyone here!" huffed Gordon.
"Me?!" complained Malcolm.
"Yes, you killer!" shouted Porter. "Cranky, Carly and Big Mickey are all out of proportion…all because of YOUR orders! What kind of army allows a general like THIS?!"
Suddenly, a familiar car sped up and stopped right by Thomas and Edward. Phelps and Gallagher stepped out and approached the General.
"General Malcolm. As of this morning, you're on probation, threatened with demotion," Phelps said as he handed Malcolm the probation order, signed by the judge that morning.
"…Whatever for?" Malcolm asked.
Phelps did not move a muscle as he spoke. "Basically for being asshole. But specifically for endangering all of Brendam Docks and for conspiracy to violate the military code."
Malcolm was still holding to some of his stature. "I've got no problem with the military code, Phelps. The only problem here is you."
"And YOUR problem is your mouth." Phelps drew the recording panel, given to him by the Dock Manager just as they arrived, and played it.
"I need the fuel and munitions as soon as possible! Move aside! You, the black diesel shunter! Move!"
"Eh? What, mean me, mister, do you?" Diesel sniffed.
"Yes, you, mister! Move those trucks of fuel! The munitions come first!"
"We can't move these trucks while the tramper is being unloaded," Salty said fearfully.
"Mind your own business, old diesel shunter! This is my pool, I say what goes!"
Phelps suddenly clicked the panel off and snapped his fingers to Gallagher. "Cuff him!"
"Yes! Take that infernal, savage ANIMAL with you! I WILL NOT HAVE HIM NEAR MY ALLY!" Gordon roared. He was so angry, he was shaking and sparks leapt from his funnel as Gallagher marched over and cuffed Malcolm's hands behind his back.
Henry steamed up too to speak out against Malcolm's utter stupidity. "If I may, Mr. Mayor, you would do well to teach the General to hold his tongue when our engines' lives are on the line!" he hissed.
"General Malcolm, you dishonor me," the Mayor said angrily.
General Malcolm began to protest, but was quickly stopped. "I KNOW MY PLACE!" shouted the mayor. "It is time you learned yours! Phelps, Gallagher, take the General back to the military field. As part of his probation, see to it he reports immediately to the reconditioning camp!"
"Yes, sir," said Phelps. With that, General Malcolm was escorted to Phelps' car and placed in the back seat. At that moment, a small platoon of soldiers came by to see what had happened and they were surprised to see the General in handcuffs.
"W-what's going on? What's happening, Mr. Phelps? General Malcolm, what happened?" they all asked frantically.
"Most of the munition and fuel was lost, all three cranes collapsed, and Thomas was almost killed…all by my disgraceful doing."
"What? What did you do?" asked one of the soldiers.
"I ordered the fuel to be transferred with the munitions. When you break the law, you pay the price." With that, Phelps and Gallagher drove away to put General Malcolm to proper business…
Back at the Dieselworks, Diesel, Sidney, Paxton and Diesel 10 were all idling in silence, while Sailor John was waiting furiously for any word on the fire across the docks…when Seymour Murphy radioed in on him.
"Johnny," said his voice.
"Seymour? What news from last night?" asked Sailor John.
"Thomas is alive. Melted buffers, soot, mild burns, and a scar over his eye. He survived at the very least."
Sailor John sighed with relief. "Thank you, Seymour. Over." He then turned to the two lackeys who had shot the tramper and caused the explosion.
"You IDIOTS!" he shouted. "How DARE you disobey me and almost cause Thomas to die!"
"You wanted Thomas dead, did you not?" asked one of the lackeys.
"That is MY JOB! YOU HEAR ME?! MY JOB!" shrieked Sailor John. "I cannot trust you anymore, and for that, you have lost every last chance you had!"
He suddenly seized one of their guns and shot them both dead. All the diesels, except Diesel 10, widened their eyes and shuddered to themselves.
"We must move on to the next step, Diesel 10," said Sailor John. "Before we take Emily, we need to cut off their authority. We move to Sir Topham Hatt and his family next. The engines will be worried and lost without him. I'll leave that to the doctor."
"Very good," said Diesel 10.
Again, this is clearly a TUGS "Munitions" adaptation, and it was a fairly messy chapter to do corrections and adjustments to in post editing. But either way, yes, I gave Thomas a scar. Why, you probably all asking? Cause I thought it would be interesting, and no it won't be a permanent scar, I know scars can't fully heal, but these are engines we're talking about, not humans. Therefore, I'm pretty sure that the engines don't share the same healing process as humans. Anyway, that's that done, next chapter is obviously dealing with the aftermath of these events, and the really begins to start. So leave your reviews and we'll see you with the next chapter.