Treasure Hunt

Based on the Buzz Books story of the name and Salty's Lighthouse TUGS segment, The Silly Day Parade

Adapted by Jonathan Downs, Rachel Ravens and Zack Wanzer

The 1930s – the Great Depression was now in full swing. It was a horrible time for everyone. As stocks continued to fall during the early 1930s, businesses failed, and unemployment rose dramatically. By 1932, one of every four workers was unemployed. Banks failed and life savings were lost, leaving many Americans destitute. With no job and no savings, thousands of Americans lost their homes.

These effects were felt greatly in Bigg City Port where many businesses were shut down. The railway found themselves running fewer trains as a result of the crash, which meant less work for Top Hat and Zob. Ocean liners also came to Bigg City Port less and less, which meant less work for Hercules and Zeus. Even the smaller jobs for switchers like Ten Cents and Sunshine lessened. Although I managed to keep the Star Fleet afloat, there wasn't that much work for them, and they were lucky if all of them were out working at any one time. They hated not being busy and were feeling rather low as a result.

The Z-Stacks, on the other hand, managed to stay afloat through illegal means, as Mr. Lloyd stated. You see, during the 1920s, it was the period of Prohibition, when it became illegal to manufacture, transport and sell alcohol in the United States, as a result of the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution with the Volstead Act being passed in 1919. Prohibition was a complete failure as it was almost impossible to enforce the Volstead Act. For one thing, there was a lack of public support as it was impossible to persuade drinkers to change the habit of a lifetime. Plus, the law did not forbid the consumption of alcohol (only the manufacture, transport and sale of it), so many felt justified in drinking. Even President Harding reputedly flouted the law.

Also, alcohol was readily available as it was being supplied by bootleggers, moonshiners and rum-runners. 280,000 illegal stills were seized, and speakeasies were everywhere, including 30,000 in New York by 1929. Another result of prohibition was the rise of organised crime gangs, such as the Mafia, and gangsters such as Al Capone. Indeed, Captain Zero's Z-Stacks would supply alcohol to the various speakeasies that were in Bigg City Port. In order to avoid suspicion, he often used a codename – "treasure". This helped the Z-Stacks stay afloat after the Wall Street crash as they still got business ever after other clients were hit financially. But alas, it was only a matter of time before their luck ran out…


On the day I remember, Captain Zero's loud voice was full of greedy delight as he made his announcement.

"There's another big job tonight, lads," he said. "Some… er, pals of mine are sending up a ship to be unloaded. Very special cargo, it is – let's call it 'treasure', shall we? It's arriving at midnight for, um, extra security and it must be unloaded immediately. As Zorran is in for an overhaul, I'm putting Zak and Zeus in charge. No mistakes, either of you – or there'll be trouble!"

The Z-Stacks looked at each other knowingly. The Captain's less-than-honest friends quite often gave them jobs like this. Zip and Zug sighed wearily as they had been busy all morning.

"Come on, you lazy lot!" snapped Zeus sharply. "Don't think it's a holiday until that ship arrives tonight!"

Somehow, Zeus was much better at giving orders than doing jobs himself. This morning, however, he had something he wanted to do in person.


The night before, a smallish cargo ship had got into trouble on rocks in the estuary. By now, it would only be fit for salvage. First, Zeus collected the wreck and brought it back to the harbour. Then he went to see Burke and Blair.

"And you say it's only good for scrap, right?" asked Blair.

"I doubt Captain Lucky would be able to mend it," said Zeus. "Nor would its owners afford to mend it in this economic climate. I've left it by the old quayside if you're interested."

"Well, we're always interested in any ships that have good scrap value," said Mr. Broke. "Let's say… five hundred."

"I'll even throw in some old stores we've thrown out for rubbish for an extra three hundred."

"Deal," said Mr. Broke.

"Right, Zeus," said Burke. "Mr. Blair and I will be over first thing tomorrow morning to collect them."

"Pleasure doing business with you, gentlemen," said Zeus as he left.

With this and tonight's deliveries, he thought, we'll make a handsome profit. Captain Zero will be pleased with me.


That evening, Captain Zero had arrived home late. His car had broken down, but unfortunately, the local mechanic had been unable to get spare parts at present, so he had to walk home. When he got inside, he heard a voice that sent a chill down his spine.

"You're late," said the voice which was female. It was his wife, Ursula.

"S-sorry, my dear," he said in a shaky voice. "M-my car broke d-down and the m-mechanic didn't have a-any spare parts. Y-you know how this f-financial crisis is."

"I don't want to hear your excuses!" she said, jabbing a finger at him.

"S-so, err, what's for dinner?" Captain Zero asked nervously.

"If you must know," she said, "I have to go to work. You can sort your dinner yourself."

With that, Ursula left the house and Captain Zero sighed sadly. He was trapped in a loveless marriage. I often felt sorry for him. You see, when we were in high school, we would try out dating Captain Lucky and Captain Salvage (Captain Lucky and I were together whilst Captain Zero and Captain Salvage were a couple), but in the end, we decided to just remain friends. Captain Salvage remained single and treated the Salvage Fleet as her family. It was at university that Captain Zero, Captain Lucky and I met our respective future spouses. I'd always felt that Ursula was more interested in Captain Zero's money, but Captain Zero didn't realise it until too late. As for me, I had a lovely woman named Sarah who was like a mother figure to the tugs. She worked as a history teacher at our old school. Captain Lucky's husband, Harry, was a cadet in the United States Navy and was amongst those who fought in the Great War. Tragically, he lost his life in an incident I'll cover in a future story. As a result, Captain Lucky was left to raise her daughter, Andrea, alone.

Anyways, Captain Zero's son and daughter-in-law, Chris and Amber, had given birth to twins last year – John and Jane. All three agreed it would be best if Ursula was not allowed in their lives. Unfortunately, because of her demanding presence, Captain Zero was also forbidden to see them. It was really tragic when you think about it, and I suspect it was this toxic marriage that led him to treating his own tugs harshly.


The Star Tugs were resting after a very short day, which had become routine. Then, they watched as Grampus came over.

"Evening, everyone," said Grampus. "I was wondering if I could spend the night with you."

"The Bridge Cafe is giving you another sleepless night?" asked O.J..

"Yes," sighed Grampus.

"That's something Ah've always wondered," said Sunshine. "Why would a cafe give someone sleepless nights?"

"Good question," said Ten Cents. "More to the point, who would want coffee at nighttime?"

The other Star Tugs were not sure, so they just went to sleep. Hercules stayed awake, looking thoughtful.

Hmm, he thought. I wonder...


It was at the stroke of midnight that the 'treasure' ship arrived. The exhausted Z-Stacks (with the exception of Zob, who never stooped to such low levels) worked for hours, and finally, the job was finished. All except for a few crates, which they put on a barge next to the quay.

"We'll do those in the morning," said Zak bossily. "I've had enough for one night!"

What neither Zak or Zeus realised was that they placed their barge next to the barge with the empty stools.


Early the next morning, Burke and Blair arrived at the quayside before any of the Z-Stacks arrived.

"Right then, Mr. Burke," said Blair. "I'll tow the ship. You collect the crates."

"You know, Mr. Blair," said Burke, "considering that Captain Star has not received any contracts recently, do you think he could relent and sell O.J. for scrap?"

"It would be nice," agreed Blair.

With that, the two scrap dealers collected their cargo and set off for the breaker's yard.


After resting and refueling, Zeus returned to the old quayside.

"Ah, good," he said. "Burke and Blair have taken the ship and those old stores. Now, let's get the 'treasure' and…"

He stopped and realised with horror that the treasure was no longer there. Zak was keeping a lookout for any of the Coast Guard vessels.

"Zak, you old fool!" snapped Zeus. "Where have you put those crates on the barge?! They belong to the ship that came in last night!"

"What are you talking about?" replied Zak, coming over. "They're right over… Ack! They're gone! Someone's gone and taken the barge!"

"Burke and Blair!" Zeus exclaimed. "They must have picked up that wreck earlier and took the crates by mistake!"

Quickly, the two Z-Stacks rushed over to the salvage yard.


Burke and Blair just docked the ship and were getting ready to break it when they heard two whistles.

"Ah, Zak and Zeus," said Blair with greed. "Another ship you've claimed salvage on?"

"No!" snapped Zak. "You took a barge that was meant for us and we want it back!"

"There it is!" Zeus said, quickly throwing a towline to the barge and the two Z-Stacks left without even saying thank you.

"Well, that was rude," grumbled Burke as he and Blair got to work with the ship.


The Star Tugs had finished their jobs for the morning and had returned to the Star Dock in the hopes of getting more work.

"I'm sorry, Stars," I said, "but there are no more jobs for today." With that, I went to get my lunch.

"Another afternoon of doing nothing!" grumbled Top Hat.

"Ah hate not working," sighed Sunshine.

Then, Ten Cents smiled as an idea crept in his mind.

"Well, why don't we pretend to give out orders like Captain Star does?" he suggested. "But, we have to come up with the silliest ideas possible."

"That's a great idea, Ten Cents," said Sunshine.

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt to be silly once in a while," said Top Hat. Everyone else agreed.

"Ok, I'll start," said Ten Cents. "Calling all tugs! Calling all tugs! Due to a herd of wild horses galloping into the port, the annual 4th of July parade is canceled."

Everyone else gasped, then burst out laughing.

"A herd of wild horses in the water?" laughed Sunshine. "That is really silly!"

"Okay, Big Mac," said Ten Cents. "It's your turn."

"Ah propose we a' git freish flags fur us tae wear," joked Big Mac. "Ones fae doon in th' United Kingdom!"

Everyone laughed at that remark

"Have you got any orders, Captain Top Hat?" asked Ten Cents.

"All boats alert! All boats alert!" boomed Top Hat. "From now on, all Star Tugs must wear top hats and change their names to begin with the letter 'T'."

The Stars all laughed at that witty remark. This was a clever jab at how the Z-Stacks all wore fedoras and their names all begin with 'Z'.

"Okay, O.J., your turn," said Warrior.

"I'm going to give Hercules his orders through song," said O.J., as he began to sing.

"Tug, tug, tug your barge,

Gently through the harbour.

And if your mustache grows too long,

Tug yourself to a barber."

Everyone had a good laugh about it.

"That was a good one, m'dear," chuckled Hercules.

"Bravo, O.J.!" said Top Hat. "Bravo!"

"I like being silly," smiled Warrior.

"Yeah, it's really fun," agreed Ten Cents.

I was listening to them giving out silly orders whilst eating my salad. I must admit, it was rather amusing and I was glad they found something to keep them from getting bored.


Meanwhile, Zeus was shoving the crates onto the quayside when one fell over and broke open. It wasn't the 'treasure' at all, but the old stores they had left for them.

"If Captain Zero finds out we've messed up this job, our names will be mud!" panicked Zak. "No, scratch that! He'll sell us for scrap!"

"I'm blaming you for this," growled Zeus. "If you hadn't been so lazy last night and finished the job, we wouldn't be in this mess!"

"Hey, now, just a minute!" snapped Zak. "Who was it who told Burke and Blair that you would leave that cargo ship by the quay?"

"Oh, just shut up and listen!" Zeus snapped back. "We've got to find those crates before Captain Zero ever finds out!"

"And how do you suppose we do that?" retorted Zak. "If the other Z-Stacks find out, we'll never hear the end of it. Zip and Zug won't resist for a tease, Zorran will tear us a new stern, and as for Zebedee, Zob and Zilly… well, they'd probably say it wasn't a good idea in the first place."

"Who said we need to tell the Z-Stacks?" replied Zeus, a wicked grin coming across his face.


Back at the Star Dock, it was Sunshine's turn to come with silly orders.

"We must all be repainted into new colours," said Sunshine, "but Ah keep mah yellow. Ah mean, mah name is Sunshine. Can you really see me in anything else?"

Everyone laughed, knowing that Sunshine was painted white when she first arrived.

"What orders have you got, Captain Hercules?" asked Ten Cents.

"We all must go down the coast and watch whales and dolphins all day," said Hercules.

"We must all transform into merpeople and live under the sea with Captain Star as king of the ocean," said Grampus.

"My turn," said Warrior. "From now on, you all have new jobs. Ten Cents, you're in charge of… the snack barge."

"Aye aye, Captain Warrior," chuckled Ten Cents.

"Sunshine, you'll crack jokes all day. O.J., paddle backwards and splash up a storm!"

Sunshine and O.J. laughed.

"Big Mac, you'll be singing sea shanties," Warrior went on. "Hercules, you will travel around the coast and take pictures of sea creatures. Grampus, you will leave a trail for us to follow and find an underwater city. Top Hat, you and Skiff will run on the tracks like Puffa and his friends."

Everyone else laughed together, and I just had to join in, so I went upstairs and grabbed my megaphone.

"I propose we leave the tugging industry and move into the film industry!" I said. The tugs and Grampus looked up in surprise, then burst out laughing.

"Oh, Captain Star," laughed Ten Cents.

We were so busy laughing we didn't notice Zeus arriving.

"Excuse me, Stars," he called. "Zak and I are in a bit of a fix – I wonder if you lot can help us."

"Huh, must be another joke," said Top Hat.

"I'll have you know it's not a joke," growled Zeus, and he told us about the disappearing 'treasure' crates.

"What exactly is this 'treasure'?" asked Ten Cents.

"Could be anything!" Zeus smirked.

We all frowned at this. Zak and Zeus had gotten themselves into this mess because they were too careless; why should we help them?

"All right, Zeus, m'dear," said Hercules. "But on one condition – make sure we get the jobs when you've got more work than you can handle!"

"It's a deal!" Zeus replied. "Thank you, old buddy." But of course, he didn't intend to keep his promise and we all knew it. As soon as Zeus left, Ten Cents turned to Hercules.

"Why did you agree to this?" asked Ten Cents. "There's no way Zeus will keep his promise."

"Because he was being very cagey about what was in those crates or who they were for," said Hercules.

"Oh, I see," said Ten Cents. "You think they might be supplying a speakeasy in Bigg City?"

"Precisely," said Hercules. "We've got to find out who their client is and report it to Peeper Pipes and his team."


As not to arouse Captain Zero's suspicion, Zak and Zeus searched their side of the harbour while the Star Tugs went to look everywhere else. First, Ten Cents and Big Mac tried the Municipal Waste Company.

"Hello, Ten Cents, Big Mac," said Lord Stinker. "What a pleasant surprise."

"Are you here to do a run?" asked Jack.

"I'm afraid not," sighed Ten Cents. "You haven't seen some crates delivered by mistake, have you?"

"Sorry, lads," said Lord Stinker. "Nothing's been delivered here for two whole days."

"Och," said Big Mac. "Thanks, anyway…"


Sunshine and O.J. tried the warehouses.

"Hmm, nope… Nothing here," said Sunshine. "Anything on your end, O.J.?"

"No," called the paddle steamer. "No crates in this one."


Warrior and Hercules looked all along the quay.

"There's lots of crates here," said Hercules. "But it would be impractical to open them all."

"And Zak and Zeus weren't much help," muttered Warrior. "They couldn't tell us what the 'treasure' looked like."

"Seems like we're at a dead end, m'dear…"

"Agreed," moaned Warrior. "This treasure hunt is too difficult. There aren't any clues!"


Top Hat and Grampus went up to the Railhead, where Porter was taking some freight cars.

"Pardon us, Porter," said Top Hat. "But have you seen some suspicious crates on the railway?"

"Let me guess, the Z-Stacks were doing shady activity?" he puffed.

"Afraid so," sighed Grampus.

"Well, sorry, you two," Porter sighed. "Me and the other engines haven't seen any crates like that. We'll keep you posted if we find something though."

"Oh, thank you anyway," said Top Hat. "Guess we'll keep looking."


Later, some of the Stars met up again.

"I can't understand it," said Ten Cents. "How can Zak and Zeus not remember what the crates looked like?"

"I have no idea, m'dear," sighed Hercules. "According to Zeus, it was the same with Burke and Blair this morning. All he told us was that they were the crates on the barge next to the wreck."

Then, a realisation dawned upon Ten Cents. "It's them!" he cried. "Don't you see? They probably took the Z-Stacks' rubbish and the 'treasure' this morning."

"Of course!" exclaimed Top Hat. "Zak and Zeus don't have the brains that Zorran and Zob do! When they arrived and couldn't remember what they'd lost, Zeus just grabbed the first barge he saw, which was the one with their old stores and the 'treasure' is still there."

"Exactly," replied Ten Cents. "Time to pay Burke and Blair a visit, I think! Let's see if we can jog their memory!"

"Ah will heid up thare richt awa'," said Big Mac. "Top Hat, go 'n' fin' Peeper Pipes, Davy Jones, Cappy 'n' Snowy, wull ye?"

"Right away, old chap," replied Top Hat.


Big Mac soon arrived at Burke and Blair's yard.

"Ah, Big Mac," said Blair. "Has O.J. finally given himself up?"

"If he hud, he would be 'ere," grunted Big Mac. "Did Zeus tell ye aboot a ship he'd salvaged yesterday!"

"Why, yes," replied Burke. "He sold it and some old stores to us."

"Tell me," continued Big Mac, "was yin o' th' barges heavier than th' other?"

"Now that you mention it," replied Burke, "one of the barges did feel heavier like there was something inside."

"Something tells me we picked one of their deliveries by mistake," said Blair. "And it smelled funny too."

"Did Zak 'n' Zeus check whilk barge 'twas?" asked Big Mac.

"No," replied Blair. "Zeus just grabbed the first barge and they left without even saying 'thank you'."

"Weel, A've git th' empty crates 'ere," said Big Mac. "Whaur is th' ither barge?"

Burke and Blair led him to the other barge and they exchanged barges.

"Thank ye fur yer cooperation," said Big Mac. "Ah will be oan mah wey noo."


Big Mac gave the crates to Zak and Zeus, who had waited in the harbour. They hated to admit it, but the Star Tugs had got them out of trouble. Or so they thought…

"Well… er, thanks, lads," said Zak. "Of course, we realized they must've been with Burke and Blair this whole time, didn't we, Zeus?"

"Yes," lied Zeus. "But we thought we'd let you take the credit for the detective work, seeing as you're having a difficult time right now, eh?"

"Well, I'm afraid the joke might be on you," Top Hat said with a smirk as he returned with the four Coast Guard vessels. Zak and Zeus looked in disbelief as the Coast Guard team examined the crates and inside were bottles of wine, beer, whisky, rum, vodka and liquor. Then they looked at the label on one of the crates which read:

FOR DELIVERY TO THE BRIDGE CAFE

BIGG CITY, NEW JERSEY

"So that's it!" rapped Ten Cents. "The Bridge Cafe was a speakeasy!"

"No wonder I kept having those restless nights!" thundered Grampus.

"Just as I suspected," said Hercules.

"And why would anyone operate a cafe near a dockside rather than in the city itself?" agreed Sunshine.

"Zak and Zeus, you two are under arrest for smuggling!" Peeper Pipes said sternly.

"Well done, Star Tugs," congratulated Snowy.

Zak and Zeus opened their mouths to shout at the Star Tugs, but…

"ZAK! ZEUS!" roared Captain Zero. "Get over here! Some of that… er, 'treasure' is missing! Don't tell me you've lost it, you stupid tugs!"

So Captain Zero had found out after all, Zak and Zeus thought. They would have to do some very fast talking this time!

"Coming right away, Captain Zero, sir!" they said. "We can explain everything!" Peeper Pipes and Snowy followed them in hot pursuit.

"That'll teach them to be so high and mighty," said Ten Cents, and he grinned at the others.

"Right, Big Mac," said Cappy. "Bring that barge to our dock and we'll get th' police to shut the Bridge Cafe down."

"Richt awa'," replied Big Mac.

"Something tells me my days of having sleepless nights are over," Grampus said with relief.


Grampus was more correct than he'd realized. It didn't take too long for the police to raid the Bridge Cafe, which was shut down with immediate effect and its owner arrested. This soon led to a wider crackdown of all speakeasies across Bigg City. For the third time, Zak and Zeus were dry-docked for a year – heh, anyone would think they wanted to live there! Captain Zero was slapped with a heavy fine for supplying them.

"Perhaps, it's time to try for more legal contracts," said Zob.

"You're right, Zob," sighed Captain Zero. "Any more illegal activities and our business could get shut down."

"And we could end up being scrapped," gulped Zip.

"So the Bridge Cafe's closure was for the best," said Zebedee.

"Yes," said Zorran. "If we're going to become better tugs, we must try to act more legally going forward." Everyone else agreed. Just then, Ten Cents came over to the Zero Dock.

"Ah, Ten Cents," said Zorran. "Come to gloat how to do things legally, have you?"

"Far from it," replied Ten Cents. "I've come to let you know that if you need any help during Zak and Zeus' incarceration, we Star Tugs are willing to offer our services."

"Really?" said Zorran. "Oh, well… erm, thank you, Ten Cents. In fact, some of Captain Zero's more honest clients might be, erm, thinking about changing contracts, so you might end up with more work."

"Well, thanks for the message," smiled Ten Cents. "Sorry that we got the Bridge Cafe shut down."

"That's okay," said Zip. "It's for the best that it was shut down. Maybe moving away from illegal activities will finally get Zak and Zeus to be better behaved."

"I reckon it'll be a cold day in Davy Jones' Locker before that happens," said Ten Cents. Everyone, even Zorran and Captain Zero, burst out in laughter at Ten Cents' remark.


The Z-Stacks were as good as their word. From that day forward, they only sought legal contracts and became a lot friendlier towards the Star Tugs to the point where any competition was more of a game.

"Oi, Zip, Zug," called Ten Cents. "Give Sunshine and I a head start and we'll beat you to Lucky's!"

"Catch us if you can," giggled Sunshine.

"It's on," Zug challenged back. "Step on it, Zip!"

"Wait up for me!"


"I bet Big Mac and I can get to the quarry before you two can," Warrior called to Zorran and Zebedee.

"We hud ye beat lest time even whin ye hud Zak wi' ye," Big Mac remarked.

"We can shift more barges than you two," laughed Zebedee. "Come on, Zorran!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Zorran raced after them, giving a smirk. "Maybe I'll let them win…"


Top Hat, Zob, Hercules and O.J. would find time to catch up on the latest news.

"…and then, Frank and Eddie were arguing on who would have found the 'treasure' first," Top Hat chuckled.

"You should have heard what Kirke said about Zak and Zeus's predicament," said Zob. "If we were leaders of a mafia, the mafia would be doomed in next to no time."

"That sounds about right," chuckled Hercules. "Look what happened to the Bridge Cafe."

"Well, at least Grampus will have more peaceful nights from now on," laughed O.J..


Grampus and Zilly looked at where the Bridge Cafe was now bordered up.

"You know, it's going to feel strange not having the band play every night," admitted Grampus.

"A-a-at least you'll b-b-be able to get m-m-more sleep," replied Zilly.

"Well, if not for the band, I wouldn't have found out who stole the barges and had Ten Cents framed," said Grampus. "And we wouldn't have been able to rescue Sea Rogue and O'Malley, or capture Flotsam and Jetsam."

"T-that is a fair p-p-point," Zilly realised. "That B-B-Bridge Cafe d-d-d-did do s-s-something right after a-a-all."


Zak and Zeus looked from the dry dock with resentment.

"Look at them," grunted Zak. "The Stars and Z-Stacks becoming friends? It's sickening!"

"Have the rest of them become soft in the wheelhouse?" huffed Zeus.

"It certainly looks like it," said another voice.

"Ursula Zero?" gasped Zak. "What are you doing here?"

"I have a plan for revenge on the Star Fleet and my husband," she replied. "I ended up losing my job because of them."

"Wait, you worked for the Bridge Cafe?!" gasped Zeus.

"I worked as a barmaid," explained Ursula. "But that idiot husband of mine didn't think of getting extra tugs to help, and then you two wouldn't have lost those crates in the first place! Also, that Captain Star has made him soft in the head and look at what happened – the Star Fleet got the Bridge Cafe shut down!"

"You know what? You're right!" snapped Zak. "Captain Zero never sees any value in us! He doesn't respect us! We're just pawns in some game of chess!"

"And all because he was fired by Captain Star's father!" growled Zeus. Ursula Zero smirked as her devious plan for revenge began to take shape.

"Well then," she said, "perhaps it's time we begin planning a hostile takeover. If you two are interested, we can overthrow my incompetent husband and sell the other Z-Stacks for scrap. Then we'll kill Captain Star and his tugs will be sold for scrap as well, and I know where I can find other tugs to replace Zorran, Zebedee, Zip, Zug and Zob, and you, Zak, will be leader with Zeus as second-in-command. What do you say?"

"Well, it would be nice to be leader of the Z-Stacks," said Zak. "You've got yourself a deal!"

"Count me in as well!" said Zeus. "It'll be great to get my revenge on the Star Stacks."

"Excellent," said Ursula Zero evilly.

Little Owl overheard everything, but decided not to report it. "Those Z-Stacks are incompetent anyway," she muttered to herself. "They'll find some way to mess it up. Why should I worry? Why should I care?" As you'll see in future stories, it would have been better if she did care.

The End?


Arthur's notes: This was another one I was looking forward to. Credit goes to a friend of mine on DeviantArt, GallopingGoose97, for coming up with this theory. The Bridge Cafe is a speakeasy, which means it was illegally selling alcohol in the prohibition era. Who would go for a coffee late into the night in the 1920s?! I also love the addition of the Stars being silly ala The Silly Day Parade. Ten Cents, O.J., Top Hat and Warrior's ones were ripped out of the episode (with Warrior's extended), and the others were made from the ground up. Heh, Captain Star getting on the fun was really cute. Like a 'fun dad' to his tugs. Aww. I also love the Z-Stacks and Captain Zero's development, and we get more of a playful rivalry happening between the fleets.

Next time, the Tugs look around for The Missing Barge.