Ship in Distress
Based on the annual story of the same name
Adapted by Jonathan Downs, Rachel Ravens and Zack Wanzer
Lyrics to "Part of Your World" by Howard Ashman
One evening at the Star Dock, I had an important announcement to make.
"Star Fleet, I will be going on holiday for a while," I said.
"Oh, hope you have fun, sir," called Warrior.
"But who's looking after us?" asked Top Hat.
"I've organised for Captain Lucky to do that," I said with a laugh. "Hope that will satisfy you lot."
"Satisfy?" replied Ten Cents. "Oh, she'll be wonderful! Thanks, Captain Star."
"I think she should hire some tugs herself," agreed O.J.. "She looks after us so well."
"She shines really bright, she may as well have 'star' in her name too," agreed Sunshine.
"She is a bricht lass indeed," said Big Mac.
"I hope I'm not up the coast for too long," said Hercules. "It's not every day that Captain Lucky is in charge."
"This will be a glorious few days for sure," said Top Hat.
"I can't wait!" said Warrior.
"This will be exciting," agreed Grampus.
"Are you trying to get rid of me?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. The Stars looked up in shock before I laughed. "No, I can see why you're excited. Captain Lucky's nieces always got excited to see her too when they were little."
"So will we receive orders from her yard?" asked Sunshine.
"Yes, Sunshine," I replied. "The briefing will be adjusted to 6:45 during that duration. When I return, they will return to the usual 6:30."
"Well, have fun, Captain Star," called Ten Cents.
"Thank you, Ten Cents," I said. "I'll see you again in a few days' time. Be good now."
With that, I put my megaphone down, closed the window and got ready to start my vacation.
The Star Fleet reported to Lucky's Yard at 6:45 the next morning ready for the briefing.
"Good morning, Star Tugs," said Captain Lucky.
"Morning, Captain Lucky," the Stars said.
"As you know, Captain Star will be on holiday for a while," said Captain Lucky. "So I'll be in charge until then. Now for your jobs – Top Hat, you're on car floats as usual. Ten Cents, you need to deliver fuel to Sally Seaplane. Sunshine, fuel for Lillie Lightship. Big Mac, O.J., steel deliveries. Hercules, you're to assist Jimbo with bringing a naval ship. Warrior, daily garbage detail. Grampus, you'll be on patrol of the harbour. Any questions?"
None of the Stars said a word.
"Right then, Star Fleet; let's get to work!"
Throughout the day, the Stars were hard at work. They all completed their jobs on time with no fuss or problems. However, Captain Lucky was about to have her lunch when she saw Pisces tow in Ember, Scorpio and Hail, who looked poorly.
"Goodness gracious, dearies!" exclaimed Captain Lucky. "What happened to you?"
"We've taken on bad water," groaned Hail.
Captain Lucky looked all over and sighed. "You three will be in for repairs for a while, I'm afraid," she said.
"Bother," groaned Pisces. "That means we're three tugs down!"
Big Mac, O.J. and Sunshine overheard.
"We could help to do their work while they're mended," said Sunshine.
"That's very kind of you," said Captain Lucky. But before she could say more, the telephone rang and she answered it. "Hello, Lucky's Yard boat repairs… Oh, Hercules? Yes, he can help you for a few days… I'll let the Stars know. Bye." She hung up. "Okay… looks like we're four tugs down… I'm not sure Ten Cents, Top Hat and Warrior can handle the work alone," sighed Captain Lucky. "Wait a minute. I've got an idea!" Then she quickly picked up the telephone.
That evening, she addressed Ten Cents, Top Hat and Warrior.
"Due to Big Mac, O.J., Hercules and Sunshine's absences," she said, "I have chartered two other tugs to come from Massachusetts. They should be arriving tomorrow. I hope you'll make them feel welcome."
It was around lunchtime the next day that Ten Cents, Top Hat and Warrior were at Lucky's when they heard two unfamiliar whistles.
"Looks like our visitors have arrived," chuckled Warrior. Ten Cents and Top Hat smiled and the three Stars looked back.
One of the tugs was a green harbour tug with a red funnel and a purple sailor's cap with red hair sticking out underneath and on top was a mermaid crest. She also had a friendly look on her face. Ten Cents thought she was the most beautiful tug he'd ever seen.
The other tug was a switcher just like him. She was painted purple with a pink hat and looked very energetic. Then Ten Cents noticed that she was the same shape as him, right down to the Eagle Works crest on top.
As the two tugs came to dock, introductions were made.
"Good afternoon," said the green harbour tug. "I'm Ariel, and this is Penny, my best friend."
"Oh, wow!" Penny cried excitedly, looking at Ten Cents. "Another Eagle Works switcher! I've got a brother! I've got a brother!"
"Nice to meet you both," the Star switcher said. "I'm Ten Cents. These two are Top Hat and Warrior. Hang on! Did Penny say she was built at Eagle Works like me and Hercules?"
"Ah, but of course," said Top Hat. "You must be two of the tugs Hercules met before he joined our fleet."
"Oh yes," said Ariel. "Venus said that Hercules was transferred to the Star Fleet after the Great War."
"I remember that," said Penny. "It was after he and Venus saved the SS Clearwater from… Wait! Hercules is my brother too? I can't believe we didn't realise that."
"Well, to be fair," assured Top Hat, "there was a war going on at the time. I suspect certain things like that would slip under the radar."
"Yeah, there's that," agreed Penny.
"Captain Star is away on holiday at the moment," said Warrior, "so Captain Lucky is looking after us. She should be out at any moment."
As if on cue, Captain Lucky stepped out of her announcing house.
"Ah, Ariel and Penny! Welcome to Bigg City," she said. "I hope you both had a safe journey."
"We did, thank you," replied Ariel. "We left early this morning."
"Excellent," said Captain Lucky. "Ten Cents, Warrior and Top Hat, show Ariel and Penny and report back to the Star Dock for a rest. They'll probably want it after their long journey."
Ten Cents, Top Hat and Warrior showed Ariel and Penny around the harbour.
"Your harbour is just beautiful," Ariel commented.
"Oh, thanks," smiled Ten Cents. "Sometimes we get contracts for working at Up River, Sunshine's old home, but I love being at Bigg City."
"Coming here all the way from Massachusetts was quite a long trip," said Ariel, "but well worth it. Oh, there were quite a few beaches where people were collecting seashells, making castles, swimming in the ocean… I sometimes wish I were a human."
"Heh, well, that's something to think about," chuckled Warrior.
"I bet you dream about it a lot," said Ten Cents.
"I do," giggled Ariel. "I would have long, red hair and be dancing and have a beautiful dress. That would be silly for a tug to look like that."
The two had to laugh, and the others joined in.
"Well, I'm glad to meet an awesome brother, Ten Cents," said Penny. "And I hope Hercules and I connect too."
"I'm sure you will," said Ten Cents. "He and I bonded the moment we met."
"Hey, Ten Cents!" Penny called. "Last one to Lucky's is an exploded fuel barge." Ten Cents winced at that comment.
"Is it something I said?" Penny asked worriedly.
"I'd better explain," said Top Hat. "There was this naval tug named Bluenose who prioritized orders over common sense and this caused a fire during the Naval Manoeuvers a few years ago. Admittingly, I was something of a coward that night as I disobeyed an order from Finbar to attend the fire whilst my colleagues all attended the fire. Ten Cents made the bravest move of all – he pushed a burning fuel barge out to sea and it exploded just as he started reserving."
"It nearly took him with it, but Grampus found him and brought back to safety," continued Warrior. "Unfortunately, Ten Cents developed shell shock from his near death experience as was evident with the White Fleet incident a couple of months later."
"Oh, that's awful!" gasped Ariel. "Poor Ten Cents!"
"Oh, I'm so sorry, Ten Cents," said Penny. "I had no idea."
"I guess you weren't to know," sighed Ten Cents. "Anyway, Bluenose was executed via Final Firing and his remains were used as target practice. He was then replaced by a diesel tug named Jimbo, and he's far more pleasant than Bluenose was."
"That's a relief," said Ariel. "I wouldn't like to have met that Bluenose."
"Neither would I," said Penny. "He sounded like a bully."
"That's exactly what he was," agreed Top Hat. "A pig-headed bully."
"Perhaps we'd better head to Lucky's," said Ten Cents. Everyone else agreed and set off.
The five tugs set off to work the next morning. Warrior showed Ariel the quarry.
"Ariel, this is Mr. Stone, the quarry manager," said Warrior.
"Welcome to Bigg City," said Mr. Stone. "Glad you'll be helping today. We need all the help we can get without Big Mac."
"I hope I get to meet your brother soon," said Ariel. "You must miss him."
"I do," said Warrior. "But I'm glad for your help."
"I have a lot of sisters back home," said Ariel. "I do miss them, but I know they can hold their own."
"That's good to hear," smiled Warrior.
Ten Cents and Penny took supplies to the waterworks and sang a little song as they went.
"I love working with my brother, all the livelong day."
"And I love working with my sister, right here in the bay."
"And you hear our whistles blowing."
"We're happy as happy can be."
"It's great having a new friend in your family!"
"Aww," smiled the manager. "Welcome to Bigg City Port, Penny."
"Thank you," she replied. "I think I'm going to love visiting here more often."
"And I'm going to love having you visit," grinned Ten Cents.
Meanwhile, Delta Queen was on her way when she felt something wrong with her engine, so she sent up a distress flare. Cappy saw it and rushed up.
"What's up, Delta Queen?" asked Cappy.
"I'm having engine trouble," replied Delta Queen. "I need the Stars' help to bring me into port."
"I'll inform Captain Lucky right away," replied Cappy.
Ten Cents, Top Hat and Penny had finished their jobs and returned to Lucky's Yard when Cappy raced in.
"What's up, Cappy?" asked Captain Lucky.
"Delta Queen's having engine trouble," called Cappy, "and she needs to unload her cargo. We need Ten Cents, Top Hat and Penny to assist."
"Oh boy!" cried Penny excitedly. "A rescue mission! This should be fun!"
"Alright, settle down, Penny," said Captain Lucky. "You three had better get out there and bring Delta Queen."
"Right, ma'am," said Ten Cents. "We'd better get her load out first and then bring her into the Star Dock."
"What is her load?" asked Penny.
"Delta Queen is owned by O'Donnells, which sells potatoes from Ireland," explained Top Hat.
"Ah, I see," said the purple switcher as the three tugs set off to the rescue.
They were halfway to the harbour mouth when they heard an unwelcome whistle.
"Oh no!" groaned Top Hat. "Here comes trouble!"
"Look who we have here," sneered Zeus. "My buddy Hercules' scrappy little brother, that overgloried hat stand and… what's this? The switcher who wrongly assumed Hercules and Venus would get together?"
"Oh, great!" groaned Penny. "Zeus is here!"
"Hello, Zeus," Ten Cents said with a frown.
"And what are you three up to?" asked Zeus.
"If you must know," retorted Top Hat, "Penny, Ten Cents and I are going to rescue Delta Queen. She's broken down on her way here."
"She should have asked me and my mates to rescue her," boasted Zeus. "Not two of the falling Stars and some purple birdbrain."
"Say that again about my sister," warned Ten Cents, "and I'll… Oh, what's this?! Nantucket's in quarantine again!"
"WHERE?!" exclaimed Zeus in fright, glancing to his left as Ten Cents and Top Hat guffawed at him whilst Penny looked confused. "What the–?! GRRR! I'll get you for that, switcher!" With that, Zeus huffed away.
"Bravo, Ten Cents!" chortled Top Hat. "That shut him up real good!"
"What was all that about?" asked Penny.
"I'll explain on the way," said Ten Cents as the three tugs continued on their way.
Soon, they arrived at the spot where Delta Queen was waiting.
"Oh, aren't I glad to see you!" said Delta Queen.
"Don't worry, Delta," said Ten Cents. "We'll help you into port and get you to Lucky's for repairs."
Top Hat hitched a line to the front of Delta Queen whilst Ten Cents and Penny took up the side to guide her.
"We're ready when you are, Top Hat!" called Ten Cents.
"Then, let us proceed!" said Top Hat, and the cavalcade set off.
Zeus had formulated a plan to make sure Delta Queen was rescued by the Z-Stacks.
"If I create a wake powerful enough to throw those two switchers off course," he said to himself, "me and the other Z-Stacks can rescue the tramper."
Little did Zeus know that someone had overheard him.
Meanwhile, Ariel had taken a delivery of rocks Up River. There, she met Sunshine, Moonlight, Misty and Stormy.
"It's great to meet you, Ariel," said Sunshine. "Hercules told us about you."
"Mmm-hmm," said Moonlight.
"It's nice to meet you, too," said Ariel.
"Thanks for coming to help Ten Cents, Top Hat and Warrior," said Sunshine. "Big Mac, O.J. and Ah are covering for Ember, Scorpio and Hail after they took on bad water and damaged their pipes."
"But I thought we got our water via the sea," said Ariel. "With the salt filtered out, of course."
"That's what we thought too," said Misty. "So why did they take on bad water?"
"And why aren't we feeling poorly as well?" asked Sunshine.
"Unless," said Stormy, "someone sabotaged them whilst they were asleep."
"Girls, look," whispered Moonlight. The tugs looked to see Zak with a barge of compost.
"This is perfect," he cackled. "Filling Scorpio, Ember and Hail's boilers with compost was a stroke of genius. The more Salvage Tugs I can fill with compost, the more the Stars will have to help the Salvage fleet. And then the Z-Stacks will have the harbour to themselves!"
"Looks like we've found the culprit," Stormy said darkly.
"Hmm," said Ariel. "Hey guys, I have an idea."
Zak was just having a rest when he heard some voices.
"Hey, Zak!" called Misty. "Sunshine and Moonlight are stuck in that dock over there. They need your help to rescue them."
"Do they now?" said Zak. "This will really show Captain Zero what I can do."
With that, Zak untied his barge and set to the rescue. But when he got there…
"Where are they?" he snapped.
"Right behind you!" called a voice. Zak turned his wheelhouse to see Sunshine, Moonlight, Ariel and Stormy jamming an old tramper into the ledge, trapping him. Davy Jones and Peeper Pipes overheard the commotion.
"Ahoy, Coast Guards," called Stormy. "We caught this dumb gorilla trying to sabotage us Salvage Tugs! All so the Star Tugs would have to work Up River and leave the harbour all for the Z-Stacks."
Misty brought the barge over.
"Well done, you five," congratulated Peeper Pipes. "Zak, you are under arrest!"
"We'd better get a crane to remove this tramper," said Moonlight.
"Stand guard, Stormy," said Davy Jones. "Make sure Zak doesn't escape."
"I would've gotten away with it too if it weren't for you meddling tugs!" Zak growled.
Meanwhile, Ten Cents, Top Hat and Penny were still bringing Delta Queen into the harbour mouth, but they were starting to feel tired.
"Phew! I wish Hercules was here," panted Ten Cents. "He's designed for this sort of work."
"Come on, you two!" urged Top Hat. "We need to put in more steam!"
But the two switchers were already up to full steam. Then, Delta Queen's engine gave out altogether. It was all on the three tugs now. With a blast of his hooter, Top Hat made one last huge effort and the tramper started to move. But they weren't out of the woods yet. Zeus had been watching nearby and saw his chance. He raced past at full speed, causing a huge wake. Ten Cents and Penny were unable to keep Delta Queen straight and she began to slip sideways.
"It's no good!" groaned Penny. "The Z-Stacks will have to take over this job!"
"Oh no, they won't!" called a voice. The tugs looked to see Warrior pushing against Delta Queen and began to help.
"Well done, old chap!" praised Top Hat. "We've got her under control again!"
"Thank you, Warrior," said Delta Queen.
Zeus looked on in disbelief. "Blast!" he snapped. "My plan to get Delta Queen has failed!"
"What plan?" said a stern female voice. Zeus winced as Snowy came up alongside.
Ten Cents, Top Hat, Warrior and Penny brought Delta Queen to the O'Donnells dock where her cargo was unloaded. Then they towed her to Lucky's Yard.
"A fine piece of work, dearies," said Captain Lucky. "I'll be sure to let Captain Star know about this when he gets home. Now, you four have a rest. You deserve it after all this."
Just then, Davy Jones arrived at Lucky's Yard.
"Captain Lucky," he said, "we've found the cause for Scorpio, Ember and Hail breaking down. As it turns out, Zak poured compost into their boilers whilst they were asleep. So when they took on water, their boilers were filled with dirty water, which clogged up their pipes, causing them to break down. He knew the Stars wouldn't resist the chance to help the Salvage Fleet. This was so that the Z-Stacks could have the harbour all to themselves."
"Zak!" groaned Top Hat. "I should have known!"
"As if Zeus trying to sabotage you guys wasn't bad enough," muttered Warrior.
"Don't worry," said Cappy, who had overheard. "Snowy is dealing with him."
Once again, Zak and Zeus were both dry docked for the rest of the year. Not only that, but Captain Zero had to pay for Scorpio, Ember and Hail's repairs and compensate the local farmer for the stolen compost. Needless to say, this resulted in yet another angry tears moment.
That evening, the five tugs were telling each other about the day's events.
"You and the others did a good job at catching Zak, Ariel," said Ten Cents. "That was a great plan of yours."
"Thanks, Ten Cents," smiled Ariel. "You and the others did well with helping Delta Queen too."
"Aw, thanks," said Ten Cents, blushing as he did so.
"Is it just me," Penny whispered to Top Hat and Warrior, "or is there something going on between Ten Cents and Ariel?"
"Heh, maybe," chuckled Warrior.
"Hercules reacted in a similar way to Lillie Lightship," said Top Hat. "It's a possibility, at least."
"Let's hope it works out better than Hercules and Venus," said Penny. "Ugh, I can't believe Zeus was actually right."
"Well, not exactly," said Top Hat. "He said 'Hercules can't stick to one girl.'"
"And yet," said Warrior, "he and Lillie are still together."
"Good point," said Penny. She giggled. "I wish I could have seen Zeus eat his words." Top Hat and Warrior had to laugh too.
A few days later, Scorpio, Ember and Hail were back at work; at the same time, Hercules had returned from up the coast and I had returned from my vacation.
"Captain Lucky says all you did a good job from Big Mac, O.J. and Sunshine covering for Scorpio, Ember and Hail, to Ten Cents, Top Hat, Warrior and Penny rescuing Delta Queen," I said proudly. "You've proven that my fleet is still the best around. Ariel and Penny, I want to thank you for your help during this tug shortage. I hope you two will come back to Bigg City and help out again in future."
"Well, if Zak decides to sabotage the Salvage tugs again, let us know," joked Ariel. Everyone had a good laugh.
"And Captain Lucky, thank you for looking after my fleet whilst I was away," I said.
"Think nothing of it," Captain Lucky replied. "I'm glad to help a friend."
"Thank you, Captain Lucky," said Ten Cents. "It was fun being looked after by you."
"We'd better get to our harbour, Penny," said Ariel. "Goodbye, everyone."
With that, the Star Tugs all whistled goodbye to their new friends as they set off for home.
"I hope we get to come back someday," said Penny, "and get to see Ten Cents again."
"So do I, Penny," agreed Ariel as she started to sing, thinking about Ten Cents.
"What would I give to live where you are?
What would I pay to stay here beside you?
What would I do to see you smiling at me?
Where would we float?
Where would we run?
If we could stay all day in the sun?
Just you and me, and I could be part of your world."
Ariel and Penny traveled along the coast back to Massachusetts, with the former's feelings for Ten Cents growing all the more, even as they arrived back at Boston.
"I don't know when, I don't know how
But I know something's starting right now
Watch and you'll see, someday I'll be part of your world!"
Of course, Ariel and Penny would indeed return to Bigg City, but that will be covered in a very future story.
The End
Author's notes: Yet another light and soft story with some new elements thrown in: Captain Lucky becomes a cool aunt to the tugs for a few days, we get a reason for Big Mac, Sunshine and O.J.'s absence, and we see Delta Queen as the ship in distress. We also get to see Ariel and Penny - Ten Cents' love interest and sister in this series respectively. We also threw in Part of Your World from Little Mermaid, and a song from Salty's Lighthouse which Ten Cents and Penny sing together.
Next time, some tugs get competitive in The Race.
