Mistaken Identity

Based on the annual story of the same name

Written by Jonathan Downs, Rachel Ravens, Zack Wanzer and James Riddle

It was a dull wintery day in Bigg City Port. A thick sea mist was swirling round, shrouding everything in a damp blanket of fog and making the tugs shiver. Back in the time I'm remembering, this was especially bad as the tugs didn't have radios. Thankfully, it wasn't as troublesome as the night the White Fleet came to Port and were mistaken for ghosts, but getting our work done safely was still a matter of easier said than done.

"Brr!" shivered Sunshine. "It's another one of those afternoons, isn't it, Ten Cents?"

"I'll say," agreed Ten Cents. "Even with my fire, I'm still getting chills. Good thing we got that lot to Lillie."

"Yeah," said Sunshine. "She's the only thing that can help ships in this thick fog. Let's head back to the dock."

My switchers were making good time back home and didn't have too many problems, but the same could not be said for O.J..


"Ugh, my glasses just had to freeze up, didn't they?" groaned O.J.. "It's like trying to see through an iceberg. The sooner I find Scuttlebutt Pete, the sooner I can try to catch my bearings."

As O.J. made his way down the river, he didn't realise he was heading right for a familiar light.

"I say, O.J.! Watch out!" called Lillie.

"Port to stern!" exclaimed O.J. He managed to turn just in time to avoid colliding with Lillie, but the sharp turn had caused his glasses to come loose and fall off.

"O.J.! Are you okay?" asked Lillie.

"Just barely, Lillie," replied O.J.. "What about you?"

"Oh I'm quite alright," replied Lillie. "I haven't had a near miss like that since I was struck by that blind tramper before the Regatta."

"I'm terribly sorry, Lillie," said O.J.. "I swear, I'm blind when my glasses are covered in ice."

"Hmm, just one question O.J.… where are they?" asked Lillie.

O.J. realised that his vision had become blurry. "My glasses!" he exclaimed. "They must have slipped off when I tried to miss you!"

"You're not going to try making your way back to Port without them, are you?" Lillie asked with concern.

"I'm afraid there might not be much of a choice," sighed O.J.. "The others will be needing my help. I'll just have to retrace the way I came up and take it easy."

"If I manage to find your glasses near here," said Lillie, "I'll let you or the next Star Tug who comes this way know."

"Thank you, Lillie," replied O.J. as he trundled slowly away.


While O.J. tried to make his way home, Zip, Zug and Zilly were out and about with their own work. Captain Zero had sent them to see if any lost ships needed a safe tow into port for the right price.

"Do you see any ships, Zip?" asked Zug.

"Not so much as a blowing sail," replied Zip. "Maybe all the other boats are smart enough not to venture out in this weather."

"T-t-there's nothing under the w-w-water either," said Zilly in his usual shaky voice.

"Well, that's just our luck," groaned Zug. "We can't really get much money for Captain Zero."

"It's a pity Zeus has been put on dredger duty again," sighed Zip. "He's designed for this sort of work."

"P-p-plus Zorran, Zebedee, Zak and Z-Z-Zob are busy with o-o-other contracts right n-n-now," said Zilly. "If we d-d-don't find a stranded s-s-ship soon, C-C-Captain Zero will have a-a-angry tears a-a-again."

Just as it seemed hopeless for the three Z-Stacks, they spotted something emerging from the fog.

"Hey, Zug, Zilly!" called Zip. "What's that over there?"

"It's an old boat, Zip!" gasped Zug. "It must have drifted in with the tide."

"W-W-What shall we d-d-do about it?" asked Zilly. "We c-c-can't leave it d-d-drifting loose. It m-m-might cause an a-a-accident."

"Let's moor it over there for now, and tell Zorran about it," said Zug. "He should be back from the logging camp about now."

So that's what the trio did, and they rushed over to find Zorran. Fortunately for them, Zorran was on his way back from the logging camp.

"What are you three doing here?" snapped Zorran. "You were supposed to be answering distress calls."

"We were, Zorran, but we found something," replied Zug.

"An old boat just drifting around," said Zip.

"Did you see anyone around it?" asked Zorran. "Any company logos?"

"N-N-None," replied Zilly. "N-N-Not even a l-l-loudhailer."

"Ah, sounds like a boat like that's good enough for scrap," said Zorran. "Go back and fetch it, and take it to Burke and Blair's. We can make a handsome profit off it."

"Well, it's not a sentient one, so it's fair game," reasoned Zip. "Let's go find it, Zug and Zilly."

"I'll go and alert Burke and Blair," said Zorran.


The sky was getting darker by the minute, and by now, most of the tugs from both my Star Fleet and the Z-Stacks were getting exhausted. They were slowly making their way back to the Star and Zero docks by the light of Lillie Lightship.

"Thanks for the lovely light, Lillie," Hercules with a yawn. "You're shining just as brightly as ever."

"I always do my best, Hercules," Lillie said with a smile as Hercules trundled out of sight. "Hmm… Ten Cents, Big Mac, Top Hat, Warrior, Hercules, Sunshine… oh dear! Where's O.J.? Oh, I hope he didn't get lost on his way to find Scuttlebutt Pete."


I'm afraid it did happen. Without his glasses, poor O.J. could hardly make out the shapes of what was in front of him. Eventually, he came to a stop by the estuary.

"I'll have to sleep out here tonight," said O.J.. "It's a bit chilly, but it'll have to do. I just hope the rest of the Stars found their way home safely." With that, he closed his eyes and went to sleep.


Meanwhile, unbeknownst to us or O.J., Zip, Zug and Zilly were still trying to find the old boat.

"I thought I told you to moor that old boat, Zip," said Zug.

"I'm sure I did," replied Zip.

"Well then, where is it?" asked Zug. "It can't have just broken free all by itself."

"Well, a strong wave could have done it," reasoned Zip.

"Not helping your case there, Zip!" snapped Zug. "We'll be in trouble from Zorran! He was hoping to get some money off of Burke and Blair!"

"S-S-Stop arguing, you t-t-two!" shouted Zilly. "I-I-It's not going to h-h-help us."

"Zilly's right, Zug," agreed Zip. "It's got to be around here somewhere. Maybe we should have tied it up better." Zip then looked ahead. "Hey, Zug, Zilly, look over there!" she called.

"Oh, what is it? Another cluster of rocks?" snarked Zug.

"No! It's a boat's shape," cried Zip. "We found it!"

"Come on, we'd better get it to Burke and Blair's yard before Zorran gets cross with us," said Zug.

It was most unfortunate that I had gone to bed and the Stars, O.J. included, were fast asleep when this was going on. And to make matters worse, poor O.J. had a very unpleasant sleep indeed.


"Hmm? What's going on?" asked O.J..

"Ah, what have we got here, Mr. Blair?" said Burke.

"Why, an old paddle steamer, Mr. Burke," said Blair gleefully. "The last paddle steamer in Bigg City Port!"

"Well, the inevitable has long since come," said Burke. "Time to put this old relic out of the way."

"No! No, I'm not too old to work!" cried O.J.. "My fleet still need me!"

"Well, I don't know about you, Mr. Burke," Blair said evilly, "but I don't see the rest of the Star Fleet."

"I don't see them either, Mr. Blair," agreed Burke. "They're probably too busy to notice this piece of scrap iron hanging around here!"

Much to O.J.'s horror, two tow ropes were forced onto him. "Help!" he cried. "Captain Star, Ten Cents, Hercules, someone!"

"How much do you reckon we'll pay for this tug, Mr. Burke?" asked Blair.

"We'll have to discuss prices with Captain Star later, Mr. Blair," replied Burke with a wicked grin. Both scrap merchants laughed maniacally as poor O.J. was hauled off, still screaming for help.


The sun started to break the surface of the sky, and O.J. awoke to a horrible surprise.

"I… I thought it was just a bad dream last night!" he said in horror. "I'm really here?! Oh, Neptune, what am I going to do?" He took a few deep breaths. "Calm yourself, O.J.. Let's just start up and…" O.J. tried to do that, but his fire wouldn't burn. "Great…" he groaned. "Now I'm stuck here… Oh, I wonder if the Star Tugs noticed I'm gone…"


As the sun continued to rise, the mist and fog began to lift as I arrived for the briefing of my Star Tugs.

"Oh, this day will be lovely!" Sunshine said happily. "The waters are calm today."

"And there's no fog, mist or ice around either," agreed Hercules. "Though there may be some ships lost at sea from the previous night."

"Good thing we have you with us then, Hercules," said Ten Cents admiringly. "The Star Fleet wouldn't be the same without you."

"We all have our part to play, ol' darling," Hercules said with a chuckle. "I'm sure Lillie would have been working overtime last night."

"You're right," said Ten Cents. "Sunshine or I may have to bring her more fuel this morning."

"That's exactly what I was hoping you'd say, Ten Cents," I said. "You're to take fuel to Lillie Lightship today. Sunshine, you're to take some to Sally Seaplane. She's going to be looking out for any ships that might have gotten lost at sea."

"You can count on both of us, Captain Star," replied Sunshine.

"Hercules, you need to be ready in case any ships need towing in," I continued.

"Of course, sir," said Hercules.

"Top Hat, you're on car floats today," I said.

"Right, Captain Star," said Top Hat.

"Big Mac, you're to take steel to the rail bridge," I continued. "A tramp steamer rammed into it last night and it needs repairs."

"Aye, sir," said Big Mac. "This fog 'n' mist caused enough problems as it is."

"Warrior, you're on garbage detail as usual," I said.

"Great, thanks, sir," called Warrior.

"And O.J.," I called, "you're… er… O.J.?" The Stars looked around the dock anxiously.

"That's odd," said Warrior. "Where could he be?"

"It's nae lik' him tae miss th' briefing," agreed Big Mac.

"Now, m'dears, let's not get into a panic," insisted Hercules. "Maybe he moored up somewhere else for the night."

"Well, it would be normal for you to do this, Hercules, but the rest of us?" asked Top Hat.

"The mist and fog last night made the ocean like pea soup, Top Hat," replied Ten Cents. "Maybe Hercules is right."

"He'll probably be in after we head to work," said Sunshine.

"That's most likely, Sunshine," I agreed. "Now, you lot head out and keep your eyes peeled for O.J.. If one of you finds him before I get a chance to speak to him, tell him he's to help with picking up some logs from the Logging Camp."

"Yes, sir," said the Stars and they moved off.


Despite Hercules' assurances, he, the rest of the Stars and I couldn't help but worry. O.J. just wouldn't miss a briefing without any explanation. On his way up the coast, Hercules was running ahead of schedule and decided to have a chat with Lillie Lightship.

"Good day, Lillie m'dearest," called Hercules.

"Good day to you too, Hercules," said Lillie. "Another day up the coast, I imagine."

"It sure is," replied Hercules. "Probably some ships that got lost last night. Speaking of lost, you haven't seen O.J. at all, have you? He wasn't at the briefing this morning."

"I did see him yesterday," said Lillie. "He was looking for Scuttlebutt Pete when…"

Just then, there were some bubbles coming up to the surface followed by a trail of water.

"Grampus!" Hercules and Lillie chuckled.

"Hello, you two," said Grampus. "Er, I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

"Oh, not at all, Grampus," replied Lillie.

"We were talking about O.J.," said Hercules. "Have you seen him anywhere, ol' darling?"

"Well, not O.J. himself, but I did find these," said Grampus, showing Hercules and Lillie some glasses.

"O.J.'s glasses!" gasped Hercules. "How in the Moonlight Ocean Above did they get here?"

"That's what I was about to tell you," said Lillie. "He lost them after narrowly avoiding a collision with me yesterday."

"This is more serious than we thought," Hercules said gravely. "Grampus, could you please report to Captain Star? I've got to answer ship distress calls."

"On my way," said Grampus. "Bye, Hercules and Lillie."

"Toodle-oo, Grampus," called Hercules.

"Bye, Grampus," said Lillie.


No sooner had I got the message, I had O.J.'s glasses kept in Lucky's Yard to keep them safe and told Grampus to alert the Star Tugs to find O.J once they'd finished their jobs.

"I hope he's alright," worried Warrior. "It's not good for someone with farsightedness to be without glasses. I asked Jack, Lord Stinker and Mr. Krieger, but they didn't see him."

"Dinna fash yirsel, Warrior," assured Big Mac. "We'll fin' O.J. 'n' bring him safely hame."

"What's this about O.J.?" asked Zob; he and Zebedee had come from the opposite direction.

"O.J. didnae shaw up fur th' briefing," explained Big Mac. "Grampus fun his glasses near Lillie Lightship."

"That sounds serious," Zebedee said in concern. "We'll help you Stars find him. But don't tell Zorran or Captain Zero."

"Thank you," Warrior said gratefully.

The four tugs headed off in separate directions. Little did they realise that Zip, Zug and Zilly had overheard their discussion.

"Uh oh… Zug, did we really do that?"

"No, of course not!" insisted Zug. "This is just a coincidence that O.J. went missing the same time we found that old boat." But he wasn't so sure.

"W-W-Well, it was r-r-really foggy last n-n-night," said Zilly.

The three raced back to the Zero Dock, unaware that Zak and Zeus had overheard everything. They both had wicked grins on their faces.


When Zip, Zug and Zilly got back to the Zero Dock, they found Zorran talking to Burke and Blair.

"So, the old boat that your switchers and Zilly found, Zorran, is it ready for us?" asked Burke.

"Yes, the boat's in your yard," replied Zorran. "Zip, Zug and Zilly towed it in there last night."

"Zug, Zilly, should we say something?" whispered Zip. "What if we did mess up?"

"If we did mess things up, we'd better fix this before Zorran, Captain Zero, Captain Star and the Star Tugs find out!" whispered Zug. "Come on, we'd better check the breaker's yard."

"R-r-right behind you…" whispered Zilly.

Before the trio could slip away, however, they had a nasty encounter with Zak and Zeus.

"So we hear you might have sent O.J. to the breaker's yard," said Zeus. "Good job, you three. All you three have to do is keep quiet and we'll get more work from the Star Fleet."

"No!" said Zug. "It's not right! Scrapping another tug – that's where we..."

"Now, listen here, you little runt!" Zak said menacingly. "Either you keep quiet about it, or there will be two switchers and a submarine found dead in the harbour from an 'accidental Final Firing'."

"Y-y-you wouldn't dare!" Zug, Zip and Zilly squeaked in fright.

"Oh, we would," said Zeus. "So, zip your lips!"

The two Zero switchers and submarine didn't want to be given the Final Firing, so they said nothing.


A short while later, Zorran was on his way over to the logging camp, when he caught sight of something floating, moored to a post.

"'Ello, 'ello, what's this wreck doing out here?" said Zorran. "Wait a second… isn't this that old boat Zip, Zug and Zilly said they towed to the Breaker's Yard? Ugh! Don't tell me they left it here and dreamt they towed it there! Right, I'll have to get this to the breaker's yard." So Zorran attached a towline and, still grumbling, set off with it. He nearly ran into Zebedee, who wasn't watching where he was going.

"Watch out!" cried Zebedee.

"You watch it!" snapped Zorran. "Why are you looking in corners?"

"Oh, er…" Should I tell Zorran after all? he thought. He did try to help find Ten Cents after the munitions incident. However, he saw Zak passing by and bit his lip. "I… got into an argument with one of the Stars," he lied at last. "They are in a right state today."

"Of course they are," muttered Zorran. "If that is the case, watch your back around O.J. at the logging camp. I have to clean up Zip, Zug and Zilly's mess."

Zorran left and Zebedee eyed the ship. "I have a terrible feeling…" He rushed off.


Big Mac was still looking for O.J. when he saw Top Hat and Sunshine.

"Ony news, Top Hat, Sunshine?" asked Big Mac.

"I'm afraid not," sighed Top Hat.

"Ah told Sally to be on the lookout for O.J.," said Sunshine. "But so far, neither of us had any luck."

"Ah saw Puffa at th' rail bridge earlier," said Big Mac. "Bit he didn't see O.J. either."

"Neither have the other engines," sighed Top Hat.

"No sign of him on our ends," said Frank.

"Yeah," Eddie put in. "But we'll keep our eyes open."

Just then, they heard Zebedee rushing up.

"Zebedee, what's wrong?" asked Top Hat.

"I saw Zorran with an old boat," gasped Zebedee. "He said he was 'cleaning up Zip, Zug and Zilly's mess'…"

"Haud oan!" said Big Mac, a sense of dread coming to him. "Ye dinnae suppose…"

"Oh, Moonlight Oceans Above! You're right!" Top Hat cried in horror. "They must have taken O.J. by mistake! Big Mac, go and alert Captain Star! Sunshine, get Peeper Pipes! I'm going to rescue O.J.!" Top Hat got Frank and Eddie tied off and then the three Star tugs quickly took off. "If any of you see Zob, ask him to take Frank and Eddie for me."

"Will do," called Big Mac, Sunshine and Zebedee.

"I don't believe it!" growled Zebedee once the Stars had left. "If the Stars' fears are right…" He bit his lip. "I'd better find Zip, Zug and Zilly, fast!"


By now, Burke and Blair were at the Breaker's Yard and they, along with their manager, Jebediah Broke, were pretty excited when they saw who the boat was.

"Well, what do you know?" Mr. Broke said. "After all these years, we finally have the last remaining paddle steamer in Bigg City Port!"

"I suggest we give him a Final Firing," said Burke. "Then Captain Star will have no choice but to sell him for scrap!"

"I agree, Mr. Burke," said Blair. "After all, he can't protect one of his tugs if they're already dead!"

"That's a great idea," agreed Mr. Broke. "I'll go and get the Black Water."

It didn't take Mr. Broke long to find the Black Water. O.J. was terrified. "I'm never going to get out of here alive…" he sobbed.

"Now then, gentlemen," Mr. Broke said to Burke and Blair, "how many drops shall we put in? A few drops or the whole barrel?"

"You will put no drops in at all!" shouted a voice. Everyone looked to see a familiar railway tug; a switcher, harbour tug and coast guard also pulled up alongside.

"Top Hat, Sunshine, Big Mac?! Is that really you?" O.J. asked.

"No, it's a floating burger, hat and drop of sunlight," Big Mac remarked before turning serious. "Of course it's us!"

"We've been looking everywhere for you!" added Sunshine.

"Am I glad to see you," O.J. said with relief. "I can't move, and my fire won't start."

"Burke, Blair and Mr. Broke," Top Hat said sternly, "you will let O.J. go this minute, or Peeper Pipes here will have you arrested for the illegal scrapping of a sentient tug, and your yard will be shut down!"

"Oh, er… on second thoughts, we'll wait for that boat the Z-Stacks were bringing us," gulped Burke.

"Y-yes," said Blair. "We, er… already discussed plans with Zorran."

"And I do not want us to get fined or jailed…" winced Mr. Broke. The trio backed away.

"And I expect you to pay me a fine!" I boomed from Big Mac's deck. "I told you before and I'll say it again – O.J. is not for sale!"

The scrap dealers wisely slipped into the back of the scrapyard.

"Thank you, everyone," said O.J.. "And, Top Hat, I'm sorry we were cross with you for what happened that night of the fire. I suppose we were so worried about Ten Cents that…"

"No, O.J.," interrupted Top Hat as he tossed a tow rope. "I'm sorry for putting myself first that night. You and the others had every right to be cross with me. Now, allow me to tow you back to the dock."

"I'll send Davy Jones to deal with you three," Peeper Pipes snapped at the scrap dealers. He trailed after the Star Tugs. "O.J., do you know how you arrived in the scrapyard?"

"I'm afraid not, Coast Guard," O.J. admitted. "After I lost my glasses in the fog, I moored up somewhere for the night, and when I woke up, I somehow ended up here."

"Ah think we have a rough idea, Coast Guard," Sunshine said quietly.


Zip, Zug and Zilly were now feeling worried. They had wanted to do the right thing, but they were frightened out of their minds by Zak and Zeus.

"Ugh! Why is it that on that foggy night, that boat just had to show up and get lost?" asked Zug.

"You mean this boat?"

Zip, Zug and Zilly looked on in shock to see Zorran with the old boat.

"Oh, so that's where it was," said Zip. "You were towing it the whole time."

"I was only towing it for the past few minutes, Zip!" Zorran said angrily. "Why didn't you three tow it to the Breaker's Yard?!"

"B-b-but we did tow it!" insisted Zilly.

"We found it last night, moored it up, then came back to collect it," agreed Zug.

"I guess we got lost and towed another boat in by mistake," said Zip.

"Well, it better have been another old boat like this one and not O.J.!" snapped Zebedee, pulling up alongside.

"What?!" gasped Zorran. "Is that what you were really doing, Zebedee? And you three, what in the blazes were you thinking?!"

"I-it was dark and foggy," stuttered Zug.

"No light to g-g-guide us, and…" gulped Zip.

"A-a-and, we couldn't f-f-find it," stammed Zilly.

"So you three were the reason O.J. was in Burke and Blair's yard!" said Top Hat, as he pulled up with O.J. in tow. Big Mac (still carrying me on his deck), Sunshine and Peeper Pipes came alongside.

"Uh, Zug, Zilly, are we in trouble?" asked Zip.

"What do you think?!" everyone else (myself included) snapped. Then, Zak and Zeus came along.

"We told you three not to tell them what had happened!" snapped Zeus. "Now we're going to have to enact our threat of an 'accidental Final Firing'… Wait… did I just say out loud?"

"You… idiot…" growled Zak.

Zorran's face went bright red. "RIGHT!" he roared at the top of his boiler. "PEEPER PIPES, YOU SORT THESE TWO OUT! I'LL DEAL WITH THE REST!"

Zak and Zeus tried to escape, but Peeper Pipes chased after them. Zip, Zug and Zilly gulped. Zorran turned his attention to Zebedee.

"As for you, Zebedee, why did you lie to me?!"

"Well… Zak was passing us, and he wouldn't have taken it well," he trailed. "Zob was in on this too."

"Oh, that I understand," sighed Zorran, his expression softening. "Look, Zebedee, I may be devious, but scrap isn't a line I'm willing to cross. Because of the situation, I can understand why you lied, and the fact you helped the Stars was commendable. I won't tell Captain Zero about what you did."

"Thanks, Zorran," he smiled weakly.


"You two are to be docked for the rest of the year!" snapped Peeper Pipes. "Threatening three sentient watercraft vehicles with a Final Firing is never acceptable."

"B-but I'm the Z-Stacks' only ocean-going tug!" stammered Zeus.

"And Zebedee and Zorran need help…" gulped Zak.

"You two should have thought of that before you made those threats!" Peeper Pipes said firmly.


When Big Mac, Top Hat, Sunshine, O.J. and I got back to the Star Dock, we told the other Stars everything. I was back in my announcing house.

"O.J.! Oh, are you alright?" asked Ten Cents.

"Thankfully, yes, but it was quite the close call," O.J. sighed. "Thanks again for rescuing me, Top Hat, Big Mac and Sunshine."

"We were just doing what any responsible tug would do for a friend, O.J.," smiled Top Hat. "We're all glad you're okay."

"Ah can't believe Zip, Zug and Zilly would try to do that to someone, even one of their rivals," said Sunshine.

"Judging by whit we overheard Zorran and Zebedee talking tae Zip, Zug 'n' Zilly aboot, this soonds lik' an honest mistake, Sunshine," said Big Mac. "Bit even sae, Ah thank oor lucky stars we git thare in time."

"So am I, Big Mac," agreed Warrior.

"By the way, O.J.," said Hercules, "I think Grampus picked up something when Lillie and I saw him this morning."

"What was it?" asked O.J..

Little Ditcher was brought forward by Ten Cents and lifted something onto O.J.'s face.

"I believe these are yours, O.J.," said the A-frame crane.

"My glasses!" O.J. exclaimed with delight. "Oh, give my thanks to Grampus for finding them."

"We're glad you're safe, O.J.," I said happily. "You're to go for a quick checkup and counseling session at Lucky's and then I need you to go to the Logging Camp for me. Can you do that?"

"Yes, sir," replied O.J..

"The rest of you, back to work," I said. "And Top Hat, Big Mac and Sunshine, good job on rescuing O.J.."

"Yes, well done," the other Star tugs said, their ill feelings towards Top Hat from the night of the fire fading in an instant.

"Always happy to help a fellow Star," Top Hat said proudly.


Meanwhile, things weren't quite as smooth sailing for Zug, Zip and Zilly.

"Thanks to that stunt you three pulled with O.J.," snapped Zorran, "Captain Zero has had to pay Captain Star a hefty fine for attempted scrapping of one of his Star Tugs! And once again, he is having one of his moments." Zorran paused and they could hear angry sobbing from the announcing house.

"W-we didn't mean to," said Zug.

"W-we'll apologise to O.J. when we next see him," agreed Zip.

"H-honest," insisted Zilly.

"You'd better!" snapped Zorran. "You three are on dreger detail with Scuttlebutt Pete for a good few months, do you hear me?!"

"Y-yes, Zorran…" Zip, Zug and Zilly said.


Later on, Zip, Zug and Zilly were on dreger detail when they saw O.J.. He had finished his session with Captain Lucky and was on his way to the Logging Camp with Big Mac.

"Listen, O.J., we're really sorry for the mixup," said Zip.

"Indeed," said Zug. "Once we figured out what went wrong, we tried to put things right."

"B-But," said Zilly, "Z-Zeus and Z-Zak t-t-threatened us."

"If those two were here," grunted Big Mac, "I'd give them choice words!"

"Agreed," O.J. huffed. "Well, at least you apologised for it. Still sore that you mistook me for a boat worthy of scrap, but the fog can play tricks on the eyes."

"At least ye're safe, O.J.," said Big Mac. "If ye ask me, scrapping shuid ainlie happen tae non-sentient boats lik' th' yin that wis fun yesterday."

"On that, we have to agree," said Zug.

"The less we talk about Burke, Blair and Mr. Broke, the better," agreed Zip.

"I-I-I wonder what Davy J-J-Jones has to say to t-t-them," wondered Zilly.


Davy Jones was having some stern words with Burke, Blair and Mr. Broke.

"If this happens again!" he said sternly. "You three will be facing a hefty jail sentence! Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes," the three scrap dealers said.

"Good," said Davy Jones as he turned to leave.

"Perhaps I should have become a newspaper editor," Mr. Broke muttered to himself.

"And that would make us what, movie producers?" snarked Burke.

"How do you expect us to do that?" asked Blair. "We don't have hands."

"One can dream, can't they?"


That night, all my Star tugs were moored up in the Star Dock.

"After last night, I don't know if I can sleep properly," sighed O.J..

"We're all here, O.J.," assured Warrior. "You're well and truly safe."

"Indeed, m'dear," agreed Hercules. "You're among friends now. We won't allow anything bad to happen to you."

"Thank you, all of you," said O.J.. "I'm glad that we all have each other."

"And Top Hat," said Ten Cents, "we're sorry for our harsh words towards you. You really are a true Star."

"And I'm sorry for being selfish that night," said Top Hat. "I think after this, we should put this whole messy business behind us."

"Good idea," smiled Sunshine. "Let's all get some sleep. Good night, lads."

"Good night," the other Stars said, closing their eyes one by one.

I'm pleased to say they all had pleasant dreams that night. Though the topic of scrapping does spook them, understandably so, they knew I would never try to sell them to Burke and Blair. And if any of them ended up in their yard, I would not rest until all my Star tugs were safe and sound.

The End


Arthur's notes: You don't know how excited I was for this one. I wrote this as a writing exercise quite a while ago now, and has a lot of changes from that version. Zebedee and Zob get involved with the search for O.J.; Peeper Pipes and Davy Jones get in on punishing the criminals; Zeus and Zak's darker traits are shown; we have a 'good guy' moment from Zorran (feeding into a redemption arc for him); Zilly was with Zip and Zug; Sunshine, Top Hat and Captain Star get involved with rescing O.J. (and the stakes are ramped up); and we meet Burke and Blair's owner. O.J. also goes in for a consoling session with Captain Lucky. Some of the narration in certain areas is slightly changed, as well as some minor dialogue changes. I love this version of the story a lot more than my first pass, and I hope you do too. Oh, and there's a Salty's Lighthouse joke in this story.

Next time, a couple of the Z-Stacks become heroes in Run Aground.