Earthquake

Based on the Salty Lighthouse episode High Spirits

Adapted by Jonathan Downs, Rachel Ravens and Zack Wanzer

A few days into 1925, Zak and Zeus were finally unleashed from dry dock. Captain Zero had plenty of words to say to them, given that their incarceration had lost him money over the past year.

"You're both very lucky that it's hard to find tugs whose names begin with the letter 'Z'," he said darkly. "Otherwise, I would have had you both scuttled. You're both on dredger duty for the next two months. Do I make myself clear?"

"Y-yes, Captain," said Zeus. "Sorry Captain."

"Yeah, err… sorry, Captain Zero," said Zak.

"Just get out of my sight, you useless buckets of bolts!" snapped Captain Zero.

The two tugs left the Zero Dock, but almost bumped into Zilly.

"Hey, watch it!" snapped Zak.

"S-sorry," said Zilly. "I d-didn't see you t-t-there."

"Yes, well, you'd better watch it in future," said Zeus. "Otherwise, you'll end up as target prac…"

"Hey, you two!" snapped Zebedee. "Leave Zilly alone! He said he was sorry. Besides, you've already been in dry dock! Are you trying for a year in it?"

Zak and Zeus just grunted and left.

"T-thank you, Zebedee," said Zilly. "B-b-but maybe they're r-r-right. All I e-e-ever do is run o-o-off at the slightest s-s-sound."

"Hey, now, come on," said Zebedee. "You shouldn't put yourself down in spite of what those two say. They're just a pair of bullies and bullies are nothing more than cowards. You, on the other hand, could be a lot braver than you realise."

Zilly wasn't so sure, though.


Meanwhile, my tugs (and Grampus) had gathered around for the morning briefing.

"Good morning, Star Tugs," I boomed. "Before I give out the orders, I should inform you that a pair of certain Z-Stacks have finished their 'dry dock' period."

"Oh no! Not Zak and Zeus!" they all groaned in unison.

"I'm afraid so," I replied. "Captain Zero has put them on dredger detail with Scuttlebutt Pete, so be vigilant and try to keep a distance from them. Now then, Ten Cents, fuel delivery for Sally Seaplane. Sunshine, fuel delivery for Lillie Lightship. Hercules, you're on distress calls. Grampus, you are to patrol the harbour and look out for hidden dangers. Warrior, I need to handle an urgent delivery of steel. O.J., you are to look after Lord Stinker. Car floats for you Top Hat. Big Mac, you are to make rock deliveries to a tramp steamer bound for the United Kingdom. Off you go."

As the tugs set off to work, I looked outside to see the medals that Ten Cents, Big Mac, O.J., Warrior, Hercules and Sunshine were rewarded with on the night of the fire.

"I'd better take these inside and give them a good polish," I said to myself. So I went outside, got a ladder and took the medals inside. Captain Zero had the same idea with Zorran, Zebedee and Zob's medals. What we didn't know was that we had made a sensible decision, given what was about to happen.


"Ah, there you go, Sally."

"Thanks for the fuel, Ten Cents," she smiled. "I thought I saw two certain Z-Stacks back in action."

"Unfortunately, you're right," sighed Ten Cents. "And we were just getting on better terms with them."

"You mind how you go," said Sally. "Stay vigilant."

"I will," said Ten Cents. "Thank you, Sally."

Ten Cents started heading back to the Star Dock. He stopped to let Zebedee pass by with some barges, but it was at that moment both tugs thought they could feel the earth shaking. Then, it struck Ten Cents – an earthquake had come to Bigg City. It was causing the water to churn and one of Zebedee's barges came loose.

"Hey, what's happening?!" gasped Zebedee. "Ten Cents, could you secure that for me?"

"Alright, Zebedee!" called Ten Cents as he secured the barge. "I think we're having an earthquake!"

"It looks like we're in trouble," groaned Zebedee.


Zebedee was right. Big Mac had just left the quarry when the earthquake struck. A huge wake washed over his barge, which tipped over and spilt the rocks.

"Och na, nae again!" groaned Big Mac, remembering the time that Warrior's wake caused his barge to tip over and when Big Mac reserved to mark the spot for the crane, the barge resurfaced him underneath.

"Ugh!" he groaned. "A little hulp ower 'ere wid be nice!"

"Hang on, Big Mac!" called Zug. "Zip and I will get Mighty Mo!"

"I think he's back at the bay," said Zip.

"Thanks, guys..."


Zilly had been out on patrol near the old quay and was assessing an old building which was in danger of collapsing. He had heard Little Owl's whistle and was about to warn her to be careful, but it was then the earthquake hit.

"D-dear Neptune!" he cried. "I'm g-going to get o-out of here!"

Zilly raced off and the building collapsed right onto the railway line. It was at that moment and Little Owl came round the bend. Her engineer applied the brakes, but it was too late. Little Owl struck the rubble and came off the rails, coming into a mudbank near the water.

"ZILLY!" she shouted angrily. "COME BACK HERE!" But the submarine was too far away to hear.


As the earthquake rumbled across the harbour, it caused the railway bridge across the canal to buckle. Top Hat stopped just before the bridge when he heard a whistle.

"It's Henney and her passengers!" Top Hat exclaimed. "I must warn her!" Quickly, he sounded both his hooter and foghorn. Henney heard them and gasped.

"Engineer!" she cried. "We've got to stop!" Her engineer didn't need to be told twice. He reduced steam and braked hard. Top Hat watched nervously, but Henney came to a stop, still on the rails and just inches from the bridge, which collapsed completely. Henney and the passengers were safe.

"Thank you, Top Hat," she sighed with relief.


Luckily, Zob had seen the collapse from nearby and alerted Mr. Lloyd.

"Thank you, Zob," he sighed. "All trains have to be cancelled until further notice."

"I guess it's for the best," sighed Puffa.

"Thanks, Zob, and thank Top Hat for us too," said Kirke.

"Indeed," said Porter, "That could have been disastrous if our sister fell into the canal."


I had just finished polishing the medals when the earthquake struck. Luckily, I was in my chair at the time but had clung to my desk for safety. Pictures fell from the wall with the glass on some of them breaking, and papers were scattered everywhere, but there was one thing on my mind – the safety of my tugs.

Then, just as suddenly as it started, the earth stopped shaking. I got a handkerchief and mopped my brow. It was quite a shock, I can tell. I was about to go upstairs to my megaphone to ask if my tugs were okay, but my thoughts were shaken by a loud cry of pain.

"Oooooooohhhhh!"

It had come from the Zero Dock. I left my announcing house and rushed over to the Zero Dock. I went inside Captain Zero's announcing house and was shocked to see him clutching his leg in pain.

"Goodness, Captain Zero!" I exclaimed. "Are you alright?"

"No, Captain Star," said Captain Zero; he was muttering under his breath and trying hard not to swear. "I was just coming down the stairs to put the medals back on the announcing house when the earthquake hit. I fell down the stairs and hurt my leg."

"Don't worry," I said. "I'll call an ambulance to take you to hospital and I'll ask Captain Lucky to look after your tugs while you're away."


The ambulance was there within minutes and Captain Lucky was alerted to the situation. We gathered both Stars and Z-Stacks to the Star Dock.

"Stars and Z-Stacks!" I boomed. "Are you all okay?"

"We're fine, Captain," said Ten Cents. "Or at least I am."

"Same goes for me," Sunshine echoed, and sure enough, the same response carried out from everyone. Captain Lucky and I sighed with relief.

"What about you?" asked Zebedee.

"We're fine," I replied. "But unfortunately, Captain Zero is injured."

"Oh my!" gasped Zug. "Is he going to be okay?"

"He's in hospital, but he'll be back eventually," said Captain Lucky. "But don't worry, Zug. I'll be looking after you for a while and any orders for you will be received at my yard. I hope you will be on your best behaviour. That goes double for two of you." She shot a look at Zak and Zeus, who both gave a sheepish cough.

"What's the damage like out there?" I asked.

"The bridge spanning the canal has collapsed," said Top Hat. "Fortunately, I was able to alert Henney before she reached it."

"Yes, Mr. Lloyd phoned me to say thank you, and Krike and Porter are also grateful," I said. "Good of you to help a friend in need, Top Hat. That's the spirit of my fleet!"

"Several buildings have either been damaged or collapsed completely," said Zip. "We'd better organize a rescue and clean-up operation."

"I quite agree, Zip," said Captain Lucky. "Both Captain Star and I know this is a tough time for all of us, but it's a time to stay calm and work together."

"I'll be in contact with the Salvage Fleet and ask to loan some of their tugs to help out," I said. "In the meantime, let's all get out into the harbour, see who needs help and what can be saved."

"Aye aye, captains," the tugs said in unison.

"And remember – teamwork, that's the word for today," said Captain Lucky. Zob eyed Zak and Zeus with a glare.

But before the tugs could leave, we heard a shrill whistle from Davy Jones.

"Little Owl has come off the rails and fallen into a nearby mudbank," he explained. "A building had collapsed on the line and she hit the rubble. We needed some tugs to assist with the rescue operation."

"Right then," I said. "Top Hat, collect Frank and Eddie. Ten Cents, collect Little Ditcher. Zip, Zug, Zob, you go with them in case they need back-up."

"Right, sir," the five tugs replied. Zilly overheard that and gasped in horror.

"O-O-oh no!" he gulped. "W-w-what have I d-d-done?"


Further up, a small white switcher with the same shape as Sunshine, albeit with a dark blue sailor cap and a half moon crescent on his funnel, was rescuing a barge which had tossed onto a mud bank from the earthquake. This was Sunshine's younger brother, Moonlight, who was part of the Salvage Fleet.

"Eh, I don't know, man," he sighed. "I've never known an earthquake to hit Bigg City before."

"Well, that's Bigg City for you," said a harbour tug with flames on her funnel and an orange cap just like the one Boomer wore before his conversion into a houseboat. "Always expect the unexpected."

"Mmm-hmm," said Moonlight. "You're right there, Ember."

"Hey, watch where you're going, Stormy!" snapped a harbour tug with the Scorpio water symbol on her funnel and a green sailor cap.

"You were in the way, Scorpio!" snapped Stormy who had storm clouds on her funnel.

"Hey!" snapped another voice, this coming from an ocean-going tug who wore a pink fedora with a red stripe and had the Pisces symbol on her funnel. "Are you two fighting again?"

"What do you think, Pisces?" said Ember, who was Pisces' second-in-command.

"What's up, Pisces?" asked Moonlight.

"Captain Salvage needs us back at the dock," replied Pisces.

"You heard her!" said a switcher with a hail symbol on her funnel and a dark green cap just like Billy Shoepack. "Let's get moving, everyone! Let's get moving!"

"Alright, Hail," chuckled Pisces. "Salvage team, let's move out."


The five salvage tugs arrived at their dock where another tug was waiting – a harbour tug with a sky blue sailor's cap and the Cancer water symbol on her funnel, although her name was Mystic (or "Misty" as she preferred) due to Cancer's negative association with the illness.

"They're here, Captain Salvage," Misty called up to the announcing house.

"Ah, you're all here," said Captain Salvage through her megaphone. "Good. Listen, the earthquake has caused damage in Bigg City Port. Captain Star and Captain Lucky have both asked for our help in the clean-up operation."

"Don't you mean Captain Star and Captain Zero?" asked Misty.

"I think I'd better explain," said Captain Salvage. "Captain Zero was coming down the stairs of his announcing house when the earthquake hit and he hurt his leg, so Captain Lucky is looking after the Z-Stacks for the time being."

"Ooh, that's nasty," winced Moonlight. "I know he's not the most pleasant man, but I hope he's alright."

"It's nothing too serious," assured Captain Salvage.

"Don't worry, Captain," said Pisces. "We'll get down to the port right away."

"I'll let Captain Star and Captain Lucky know you're on your way," said Captain Salvage as the Salvage tugs set off.


Ten Cents, Top Hat, Zob, Zip and Zug had brought Little Ditcher, Frank and Eddie to rescue Little Owl and her train. Then, they heard two whistles as Stormy and Hail came up with another crane.

"Hi, guys," called Stormy. "Captain Salvage said you needed some help."

"Yeah, we're trying to rescue Little Owl and her train," replied Ten Cents. "Apparently, an old building collapsed and Zilly ran off before he could warn her."

"That's the Z-Stacks for you," scoffed Little Owl. "They're nothing but trouble." This earned glares from Zip, Zug and Zob. Ten Cents and Top Hat were not impressed either.

"Seriously, Little Owl!" snapped Stormy. "You're still going on about that accident? It was nearly four years ago!"

"You didn't nearly fall into the drink!" argued Little Owl.

"Alright, that's enough!" said Top Hat. "It doesn't matter whose fault it was! What matters is clearing this mess."

"Was the building empty?" asked Hail.

"It had been empty for years," replied Zug.

"The other buildings could be unstable as well," said Zip.

"Right then," said Zob. "Hail, you go with Ten Cents, Zip and Zug to assess the other buildings. Stormy, help me and Top Hat to rescue Little Owl."

Zob and Stormy positioned Little Ditcher and the salvage crane to lift Little Owl and her cars onto Frank and Eddie, whom Top Hat had positioned.

Ten Cents, Zip, Zug and Hail assessed another building, which had also been empty for years. Both tugs had leased a towline to try and keep it stable.

Just as Stormy and the two railway tugs finished rescuing Little Owl and her cars when the Salvage harbour tug heard a noise.

"Huh?! What's that… The building!" she cried. "It's collapsing!"

"Moonlight Oceans Above! She's right!" exclaimed Ten Cents.

"Move back! Watch out!" cried Stormy. The four switchers cut their lines and got clear just in time. The building crashed into the water.

"I say! Are you four alright?" asked Top Hat.

"We sure are," replied Zip. "Thanks, Stormy."

"Hey, no prob, kid," replied Stormy. "I'm just glad you guys are alright."

Everyone else agreed.

"I'd better get Little Owl back to the railhead so she can be mended," said Top Hat. "Zob, could you head over to the bridge to assess the damage? I'll meet you there once I've dropped Little Owl off."

"Of course," replied Zob.

"We'll stay here and clear the mess," said Zug.


Meanwhile, Moonlight and Sunshine were helping to steady Mighty Mo when suddenly, an aftershock from the quake almost ripped him from his moorings.

"Hold on, Mighty Mo!" called Sunshine. "We've got you."

"It's no good, sis," said Moonlight. "We need another tug."

Luckily, Zebedee was nearby and decided to help.

"Hang in, you two!" he said, getting his bow in there and he gave a big push.

"It's working!" called Mighty Mo. "I'm holding steady!"

"Okay, just a little more," said Moonlight. "Got it!"

"Thanks, Zebedee," said Sunshine. "We owe you one. Or was it three, considering the two times you helped us before?"

"Eh, doesn't matter," shrugged Zebedee.

"Thanks, you three," said Mighty Mo.

"We'll take it from here, Zebedee," said Moonlight. "You go and see if anyone else needs help."

"Gotcha," replied Zebedee as he moved off.

Zilly watched from afar and sighed.

"I d-d-don't think I w-w-would have done any g-g-good," he said sadly. "I w-w-w-would have j-j-just hid like the c-c-coward I am."


A tramper had tossed onto a mudbank near the estuary as a result of the earthquake. Hercules, Big Mac, O.J., Warrior, Zorran, Ember, Pisces, Scorpio and Misty went to rescue him. They checked on Lillie, but fortunately, she was alright, much to Hercules' relief.

"Right," said O.J.. "We must formulate a plan in order to rescue that tramper."

"Plans are overrated," scoffed Scorpio, charging forward. "It's time for action!"

"Scorpio! Get back here!" snapped Pisces. Suddenly, an aftershock hit and Scorpio found herself going off course. Quickly, she threw an anchor and stopped herself from going into the mudbank.

"Scorpio, are you alright?" said Misty.

"Maybe, we should come up with a plan before taking action," said Scorpio, feeling shaken.

"I've git it!" said Big Mac. "If either Hercules or Pisces tak' up th' leid, th' rest o' us wull tak' th' side push."

"Not a bad idea," said Zorran. "We can keep the tramper steady until we get it to Lucky's Yard."

"Right then," said Hercules. "Let's get to work. You take the lead, Pisces, m'dear."

"Thank you, Hercules," said Pisces, going to the front. Hercules, Big Mac, Zorran and Misty took the left side whilst Warrior, O.J., Ember and Scorpio handled the other side.

"We're all set!" called Warrior. Pisces gave a whistle of acknowledgement and together, the nine tugs got to work to rescue the tramper from the mudbanks. It was harder than they thought and another aftershock hit them.

"Don't give up now!" urged Pisces. Luckily, none of the tugs were giving up. At last, the tramper was freed from the mudbank and back into open waters. Luckily, it had only suffered minor damage.

"Phew! That's a relief," said Hercules. "Well done, everyone."

"We'd better get this to Lucky's before another aftershock hits," said Pisces.


Zilly was at Lucky's where the cavalcade arrived and brought the tramper into dock.

"Well done, dearies," said Captain Lucky. "I'll get to work repairing the tramper first thing in the morning."

Zilly just looked on and sighed.

"Is everything alright, Zilly?" asked Captain Lucky.

"N-n-not really," replied Zilly and he explained what happened with Little Owl.

"Cheer up, dearie," said Captain Lucky. "We can't be brave all the time."

"T-t-that's the problem, though," replied Zilly. "I-I-I'm scared a-a-all the t-t-time."

"I think you're braver than you realise," said Captain Lucky. "You just need a chance to prove it."

Grampus was nearby. "Captain Lucky's right," he said. "I know you're not a bad submarine. You, Zip and Zug wanted to do the right thing and tell us what had happened with O.J.. It was just unfortunate that Zak and Zeus threatened you. Tell you what; I'm going to help Top Hat and Zob with assessing the debris in the canal near the bridge. How would you like to help me?"

"I-I-I suppose I c-c-could," said Zilly and the two submarines set off.


Just as Grampus and Zilly were nearing the bridge, the latter spotted something in a small dock near another building. As Zilly got closer, he realised what the object was.

"D-D-Davy Jones!" he asked. "W-w-what are you d-d-doing here?"

"This building was damaged by the earthquake," explained Davy Jones, "and these aftershocks haven't helped. Fortunately, no one was inside at the time, but it's been closed off for safety reasons. I was helping to assess the building but I ran out of fuel. Could you ask Top Hat or Zob to tow me back to the dock?"

"O-o-of course," replied Zilly, but before he could go and get them, another aftershock hit. The building was starting to collapse. Zilly yelped and wanted to run away, but then he realised that Davy Jones could be crushed. Then, the Z-Stacks' submarine put on a brave face and tossed a towline onto the Coast Guard Messager. Zilly revved his engine to full power and dragged Davy Jones away from the building just in time as the building hit the ground with a loud crash.

Top Hat, Zob and Grampus heard the crash and were amazed.

"I say!" exclaimed Top Hat. "Did Zilly just save Davy Jones?"

"He did indeed!" said Zob.

"Well done, Zilly!" cheered Grampus. "You're a hero!"

"A-am I?" asked Zilly.

"You sure are," replied Davy Jones. "Thank you, Zilly. You saved my life."

For the first time that day, Zilly gave a small smile.


That evening, everyone gathered around the Star Dock with myself, Captain Lucky and Captain Salvage full of praise.

"You were brave and bold and showed no fear," said Captain Lucky. "Even though there was some damage and some injuries, you helped everyone who was in trouble."

"But one member of the Z-Stacks was really brave today," I said. "Zilly, you saved Davy Jones from being crushed by that building and we're all proud of you. When Captain Zero comes out of hospital, we'll be sure to tell him just how brave and selfless you were today."

"T-t-thank you, C-C-Captain Star," said Zilly.

"Three cheers for Zilly!" said Sunshine.

"Hip hip hooray! Hooray! Hooray!" everyone cheered.

"We're all proud of the way you handled this," agreed Captain Salvage. "Sometimes unexpected things happen and that's when we need to help each other like you all did today. Now, we'll all have another busy day clearing the mess tomorrow. For now, let's all get a good night's rest."


Over the next few days, the Stars, Z-Stacks and Salvage Tugs worked hard to get the harbour rebuilt after the earthquake. They were all proud of the way they handled the earthquake; however, Zilly was the proudest of all. Whilst he was scared, he still rescued Davy Jones from being crushed to death.

When Captain Zero was discharged from hospital and came back to work…

"Well, Zilly, I must say," he said. "I'm quite impressed by your bravery."

"Oh… th-thank you, sir," he said quietly.

"The mayor of Bigg City has informed me that you will receive a medal for it," continued Captain Zero.

"Congratulations, Zilly," said Zip.

"Although," Zug said quietly, "I know someone who will not be happy to hear this."


"I don't believe it!" fumed Little Owl, who was still cross with Zilly for running away before warning her. "Yet another idiot Z-Stack maneuver and Zilly gets rewarded just for saving Davy Jones!"

"For Great Railway's sake," groaned Puffa. "It's not Zilly's fault about what happened to you!"

"She'll learn her lesson about not trusting the Z-Stacks one day," sighed Porter.

Needless to say, Little Owl was reluctant to attend Zilly's medal ceremony, but Mr. Lloyd had warned her not to let her childish behavior spoil Zilly's special day.

Zilly was still nervous and jumpy because he was that sort of submarine, but since that day, we had gained new respect for him, especially Davy Jones who was forever grateful for the submarine saving his life.

The End


Arthur's notes: Sorry this one took a while to come out. We had to come up with several characters for the Salvage Team. One of them was Moonlight - who we came up with early on - the others are Ember, Aries, Scorpio, Mystic "Misty" (based on "the commander and the leader", "the joy and the laughter", and "the toughest fighter"; try to guess who is who, and what show they're based on), Hail and Stormy. Their boss is Captain Salvage, who is also based on a certain character from the same show. Zak and Zeus are finally out of Dry Dock, while Zilly gets a redemption story to himself too. This is also solely based on an episode of Salty's Lighthouse which surprised me that this one seemlessly fit into TUGS.

Tune in next time to see one of our tugs Kidnapped...