Counting Stars

Written by Jonathan Downs, Rachel Ravens and Zack Wanzer

Johnathan Star's Point of View

1910

Over at a railroad in New Hampshire, a black railway tug with a hat and monocle and two engines were anxiously waiting for an update from the superintendent. The railroad had been undergoing financial difficulties and he was at a meeting to discuss the future. The railway tug's name was Top Hat. Tillie was the younger of the engines whilst Jebediah was a single wheeler.

At last, the superintendent came up to see them. "I have some good news and some bad news, you three," he said solemnly. "The bad news is that due to the ongoing financial difficulties, we've had no choice to close down operations."

"Oh dear…" Tillie said sadly.

"I guess it's the end of the line for us…" sighed Jebediah.

"Oh, bother," groaned Top Hat. "What's the good news, if there is any?"

"We've found new owners for you," replied the superintendent. "Tillie and Jebediah, you are to go to the Indian Valley Railroad in Wisconsin. And as for you, Top Hat, I've had a letter from Captain Star, the owner of Star Tug and Marine in Bigg City, New Jersey. Apparently, the Dock Railway needs a tug to transport car floats across the canal, and you, Top Hat, fit the bill."

"Ah, so someone has heard of my talents then," smirked Top Hat.

"Looks like it," chuckled Tillie.

"We'll miss you a lot, Top Hat," said Jebediah.

"Be sure to get your new owner to write to us, okay?" said Tillie.

"I promise," said Top Hat. "You two do the same thing."

With that, the two engines bid him farewell as they set off for Wisconsin. Top Hat began the long journey to his new home.

"A railway tug?" Ten Cents said in amazement. "I didn't know such a thing existed."

"According to Little Owl," said O.J., "they're a subclass of harbour tugs used by any railroad in New York to transport rolling stock across the harbour on special barges called car floats."

"That's right," replied Little Owl, who had just puffed off. "Two of them stick in my mind – New York Central No. 13 and Pennsylvania Railroad No. 9."

"The new tug will be arriving at the Star Dock tomorrow morning," said O.J.. "We must give him a big welcome."

When Top Hat arrived at Lucky's Yard that afternoon, he was repainted into the Star Fleet's corporate livery and given the number four. He then spent the night at Lucky's Yard before setting for the Star Dock the next morning.

"I do hope this is the right place…" said Top Hat before he noticed three tugs in the same livery as him. "I say, excuse me," he called. "Is this the Star Dock?"

"Hmm?" said Big Mac. "Ah, Ye mist be th' new tug that's 'ere tae hulp wi' th'."

"Top Hat, at your service," replied the railway tug.

"A pleasure to meet you, Top Hat," greeted O.J.. "I'm O.J., and this is Big Mac and Ten Cents. Captain Star will be here to make the announcements very shortly."

"Welcome to Bigg City Port, Top Hat," said Ten Cents.

"Thank you, old chaps," replied Top Hat.

"Good morning to you all," I boomed through the megaphone. "And welcome to Bigg City Port, Top Hat. I hope you had a pleasant journey."

"Very well, and thank you, Captain Star, sir," replied Top Hat. "Now, I understand you need me to help out around the Dock Railway."

"Indeed, we do," I boomed. "You are to transport car floats across the canal to the main line railhead. You will also be used for other jobs like garbage or coal deliveries."

"Oh dear," groaned Top Hat. "That would ruin my image." Ten Cents, Big Mac and O.J. each tried to stifle a chuckle.

"Right then, O.J., take Top Hat to the Railhead," I boomed.

"Aye aye, sir," called O.J. as he and Top Hat set off.

"That Top Hat is quite the character, isn't he?" remarked Ten Cents.

"Aye," agreed Big Mac. "Hopefully, he'll be a hard worker though."

O.J. led Top Hat to the Railhead where Mr. Lloyd, Puffa and Little Owl were waiting.

"Puffa, Little Owl," said Mr. Lloyd, "this is Top Hat. He's going to help transport your rolling stock across the canal. Top Hat, meet Frank and Eddie. You'll be working with them."

"Right, Top Hat," said Puffa. "You're to take these log cars over to the main line railhead."

With that, Top Hat tied himself to Frank and Eddie. Puffa and Little Owl shunted the log cars on board the two rail barges. Once all that was done, Top Hat set off across the canal.

"Say, Top Hat, is it?" asked Frank.

"Yes, that is my name," he grinned. "Quite refined for a tug of my calibre, wouldn't you say?"

"So you were named after that big fancy thing all the high, mighty and stuck up people wear?" remarked Eddie.

"Well, yes, I– oi!" cried Top Hat. "Who are you calling stuck up?!"

Frank and Eddie just laughed and laughed. Top Hat grimaced. Do I have to put up with these two juveniles?

That evening, I spoke to Top Hat.

"Mr. Lloyd was impressed with your performance today," I said. "Good work, Top Hat."

"Thank you, sir," he replied. With that, I put the megaphone back in my announcing house and went home.

"A word of advice, Top Hat," said Ten Cents with a serious look on his face. "If you see two brown tugs with murderous looks in their eyes, watch out. Their names are Burke and Blair. They work for the breaker's yard Up River and have had their eyes on O.J.." He, Big Mac and O.J. quickly filled Top Hat in on the situation.

"Good heavens!" exclaimed Top Hat. "I had no idea a captain could be so cruel to his tugs."

"Aye," sighed Big Mac. "We wur lucky that we wur able tae save O.J. In time ."

"So whatever happens," said O.J., "it's important that we have each other's backs." The other three Star tugs agreed.

April 1912

The Star Fleet had now been up and running for a couple of years, and Ten Cents, Big Mac, O.J. and Top Hat had proven themselves to the civilians of Bigg City. Although Top Hat had a tendency to annoy his colleagues with his self-image, he proved himself to be a hard worker and helped to keep the Dock Railway going.

Then, one day, some shocking news reached Bigg City Port.

"Have you heard, chaps?" called Top Hat. "The Titanic sank!"

"That's that new ocean liner built for the White Line Star!" gasped Ten Cents.

"Yes," replied Top Hat. "Apparently, she was on her maiden voyage to New York when it hit an iceberg. Eighteen hundred lives are reported to have been lost."

"Losh sakes!" gulped Big Mac.

"What a tragedy," sighed O.J.. "For all we know, some of the residents on Bigg City could be on board."

"Jennifer!" gasped Ten Cents. "Her brother, Jeremy, was supposed to be coming home on board that ship!"

Quickly, the four tugs rushed over to Lucky's Yard where they saw Jennifer in complete tears. Patrick, Sean and Lenore were comforting her.

"A representative from White Star Line came by earlier," sighed Patrick sadly. "Jeremy was on board the Titanic when she sank. Apparently, he had given his place on a lifeboat for a mother and her child."

"We're so sorry, Jennifer," said Ten Cents sadly.

A funeral was held for Jeremy Salvage at Uptown. Many memories were held.

"My dear brother always loved the sea." Jennifer wiped a tear away from her eye. "He was always watching the ocean animals from various boats, water skiing and surfing in his spare time. At the very least… he died doing something he loved…"

Sean, Patrick, Lenore and her sisters all embraced Jennifer as she sobbed.

After the funeral, Lenore, Patrick, Sean and I helped to clear out Jeremy's house. Sean noticed a sketchbook.

"I never knew your brother liked to draw," he said.

"Oh, yes," replied Jennifer. "He was quite the artist, you know."

We all had a look at the various pictures he drew over the years such as the harbour, O.J. in his Dun Fleet days and City Hall. Then, we noticed some pictures.

"'Salvage Fleet'?" asked Jennifer. "'Barges with cranes'?"

"It looks like a tug fleet," commented Patrick.

"You're right," explained Jennifer. "Jeremy designed a tug fleet especially for rescue and recovery. It must have been his final dream."

"Perhaps you should make that dream a reality as a final tribute to him," suggested Lenore.

"Oh, that's a nice thought, Lenore," replied Jennifer. "But to set up a tug fleet, you need lots of money, manpower and tugboats."

"Tell you what," I said. "I can help fund the set up and ask the navy to see if there's any ex-naval tugs that could help."

"There's an old dock near Mittsville," said Sean. "That could be the Salvage team's base."

"I would recommend getting an ocean-going tug and two harbour tugs for any emergencies out at sea," I added.

"In that case," said Jennifer, folding her eyes, "from now on, you can call me Captain Salvage."

It wasn't long before work began renovating the old dock to the Salvage Fleet's base of operations. Captain Salvage even hired Twinkle and Striker's old crews to help.

By March 1913, everything was set. Now all that was needed were the tugs.

In the next port down from Bigg City, three naval tugs were heading back into port. One of these was an ocean-going tug with a pink fedora and the Pisces symbol, for which she was named after. The other two were harbour tugs – one of them was called Mystic, or Misty she preferred. She had a light blue cap and the Cancer symbol on her stack. The other harbour tug was named Scorpio after her symbol and had a lime green cap.

"You're late," huffed an ocean-going tug with a mermaid crest on her cap.

"Look, Saleen," replied Pisces. "There was a ship in trouble and we had to rescue them."

"Yeah," agreed Misty. "It wouldn't have been nice to leave it out there."

"Sorry, dearie," said a harbour tug named Blaze, "but being a naval tug isn't about being nice."

"Yeah, it's explosions, gunshots and screams!" agreed an obnoxiously-loud harbour tug named Chlotilda.

"But most importantly, winning!" added another harbour tug named Lightning. "Sounds fun, right, Misty?"

"Uh… no," replied Misty, who was terrified.

"What do you mean, 'no'?" demanded Lightning and Chlotilda.

"I don't know," replied Misty, still terrified.

"You're not afraid of war, are you?" sneered a harbour tug with the same design as Misty, but with spikes on her cap and the complete opposite of her personality.

"Hey, you leave Misty alone, Cancer!" snapped Pisces.

"I'll do whatever I like, Pisces!" Cancer snapped back.

"Nobody tells us what to do…" snapped a harbour tug named Venom, who had the same design as Scorpio, but with spikes on her cap.

"…unless we say so!" snapped an ocean-going tug named Piranha, who had the same design as Pisces, but with a messier ribbon on her fedora.

"Yeah, you three are being such doormats right now," sneered another harbour tug named Mara.

"At least Pisces, Misty and I work hard," retorted Scorpio. "I've not seen you do as much work since we got here."

"Just because you've haven't seen us doesn't mean we don't put in the effort," insisted Saleen.

"Well, there must be a lot I'm not seeing," replied Scorpio. "Oh wait! You know what! There isn't any! Neither of you have been putting in the effort at all, because you're too lazy and slack."

"Oh, you want to get even?! We'll get…" Venom began, but a loud hooter sounded and another ocean-going tug approached them. This tug had a pair of tinted glasses, a neat mustache and a sailor cap with an eagle crest on top.

"Oh, am I interrupting?" said the Eagle-crested tug sarcastically.

"Thankfully," replied Pisces.

"At least, Pisces, Scorpio and Misty were willing to do the right thing," said the Eagle-crested tug. "You should remember that."

"My apologies, Hercules," said Blaze.

"Oh, forget it," replied Hercules. "You lot had better get back to work and leave Pisces, Misty and Scorpio alone."

With that, the troublesome tugs left.

"We're sorry, Hercules," sighed Misty. "We didn't mean to drag you into this."

"No need to apologise, old darling," Hercules said kindly. "They just like picking on other tugs."

"We can see that," muttered Scorpio.

"We would be happier if we didn't have to work with them all the time," sighed Pisces.

"Well, I've heard rumours that someone is setting a fleet of rescue and recovery tugs in Bigg City, which is the next port up from here. I could recommend you three for the set-up of the fleet."

"That's a great idea," the three Water Sign tugs replied happily.

Hercules put the recommendation in, and a few days later, the three Water Sign tugs received word that they had been accepted into the Salvage Fleet.

"What?!" Blaze, Lightning, Mara, Chlotilda, Saleen, Piranha and Venom exclaimed in anger.

"You three were picked over us?!" snapped Cancer.

"Well, maybe if you selfish tugs were more helpful, you would have been chosen," replied Pisces firmly.

"Thank you for suggesting it, Hercules," said Misty.

"Think nothing of it, m'dears," smiled Hercules. "Just make sure you three do what's right."

"You've got it," replied Scorpio confidently.

Pisces, Misty and Scorpio soon arrived at Bigg City Port, and their first stop was Lucky's Yard where they were repainted in the Salvage's Fleet livery – white, but they kept their old symbols. The three tugs were given the numbers one, two and three, respectively.

Once their inspections were complete, Pisces, Misty and Scorpio set off for their new dock.

The Star Tugs were collecting timber from Up River when Top Hat noticed something. "I say, who are those three?" he asked.

"Must be the new tugs Captain Salvage purchased for her new fleet," said Ten Cents.

"We'd better go ower 'n' say hullo," said Big Mac.

"Come on, lads," said O.J..

The four tugs headed over to the Salvage dock where Captain Salvage was greeting Pisces, Misty and Scorpio.

"Welcome, ladies," said Captain Salvage.

"Thank you, ma'am," said Pisces. Then she noticed the four Star tugs approaching them. "Oh, hello," she greeted. "You must be the Star tugs. Lenore Lucky told us about you."

"That's right. I'm Ten Cents," said the switcher. "The harbour tug is Big Mac, the railway tug is Top Hat, and the paddle-driven tug is O.J.."

"I'm Pisces," the ocean-going tug said. "These two are Misty and Scorpio. Misty's cap is blue and Scorpio's cap is green."

"Nice to meet you, Star Tugs," smiled Misty.

"What's up?" asked Scorpio.

Just then, the tugs heard a signal in the distance.

"I say!" gasped Top Hat. "That's Delta Queen!"

"Who?" asked Misty.

"She's a tramp steamer owned by O'Donnells, which sells potatoes from Ireland," explained Ten Cents.

"In either case, she sounds like she's in trouble," said Pisces. "Misty, Scorpio, duty calls!"

"Right behind you!" replied Scorpio.

"Wait for me!" called Misty.

The three Salvage tugs all raced over. Sure enough, Delta Queen was coughing and billowing smoke.

"Be careful!" she called. "I didn't take on enough water down at the last port and–"

"Don't worry," replied Pisces. "Girls, try to get a line on her, but stay away from her engine!"

"Got it!" called the other two.

It wasn't long before all three tugs had towlines on Delta Queen. Slowly but surely, they started to bring her in.

"Oh, thank you, ladies," she replied. "Are you new around here?"

"We sure are," said Misty. "I'm Misty, and these are my sisters, Scorpio and Pisces."

"Welcome to Bigg City Port, you three," replied Delta Queen.

"Excellent work, you three," praised Captain Salvage. "It's only been one day and already, you've proven yourselves."

"Thank you, ma'am," replied the three Salvage tugs.

"Now, get some rest," said Captain Salvage. "You'll need to stay alert for any emergencies."

With that, Captain Salvage put her megaphone inside her announcing house and headed for home. Just as the three Salvage tugs were resting, they had two unwelcome visitors.

"Ah, greetings, fellow tugs," said Blair.

"Who are you?!" yelped Misty.

"We're a pair of tugs with a proposition for you three," said Burke. "We work for the breaker's yard further Up River and we were wondering if you would be interested in selling any boats you recover to us for an extra little profit."

"WHAT?!" Scorpio exclaimed angrily.

"What do you think we are?! Crooks?!" snapped Pisces.

"Yeah, we're here to rescue boats, not send them to their deaths," agreed Misty.

"Now do us a favour and get lost!" snapped Scorpio. Without another word, Burke and Blair slunk away, disappointed.

"Ugh, those two give me the creeps," sighed Pisces. "Keep an eye on them, girls. They're not to be trusted."

Misty and Scorpio agreed.

1915

The Salvage Fleet had gotten off to a successful start, but Captain Salvage decided that Pisces, Misty and Scorpio needed help. So, she purchased two more harbour tugs from the Navy. Their names were Ember and Stormy, who became the Salvage Fleet's numbers four and five, respectively. Ember was stoic but calm and collected, and became Pisces' second-in-command. Stormy was grumpy and temperamental, but had a heart of gold.

Meanwhile, war had broken out in Europe following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary, and his wife Sophie the year before. Back home, a new munitions factory had been established Up River with two tugs named O'Malley and Sea Rogue being brought to run it.

It was also that year that an unfortunate incident occurred that would break friendships.

"Morning, lads," said Sean one morning.

"Good morning, Sean," greeted Patrick. "How was your evening?"

"Before or after I lost two hundred bucks…?"

"Two hundred bucks?! Are you having us on?!" exclaimed Ten Cents.

"I wish I was…"

"Howfur did you– Ye ken whit? Ne'er mynd, that doesn't maiter," said Big Mac.

"Goodness me, Sean," groaned Top Hat. "I thought you had it under control!"

"I did, but I figured I've been in a good mood lately," replied Sean. "So why not let loose a bit?"

"Because you can't control yourself when you get started!" Ten Cents sighed. "You've dug yourself in deep this time, mate!"

"Since you're still walking about, I'm guessing you haven't told Ursula," said O.J..

"No, but I'll have to…" replied Sean, letting out a groan. "She's going to leave me for sure this time… I know it…"

"That's if ye're lucky," said Big Mac. "If nae, this micht be th' lest time we see ye breathing!"

"What am I going to do?" gulped Sean.

"Start praying, mate," said Patrick. "Start praying hard."

No one noticed a man who had overheard their conversation.

That evening, Sean was walking home.

"What am I going to tell Ursula and Chris…?"

"How about nothing?" said a voice.

"Crikey!" exclaimed Sean. "Who in blazes are you?!"

"Someone willing to help you with your current predicament," replied the man. "$200 is quite the substantial debt."

"How did you–" asked Sean, before realising. "Wait a minute… You overheard our conversation this morning, didn't you?"

"Correct," replied the man. "I'm willing to give you an opportunity to save yourself with your current predicament."

"What sort of opportunity?" asked Sean.

"$300 for a day's work," said the man.

"Three… hundred dollars? Doing what?"

"Taking crates of dynamite from the munitions factory," replied the man. "That's all."

"What?!" gasped Sean. "But that's stealing."

"I wouldn't say stealing," replied the man. "Think of it as borrowing and not returning it."

"Hmm… on second thoughts, I think I'll pass," said Sean.

"Very well," smirked the man. "Give my regards to your lovely wife and your adorable son."

Sean winced at the mention of Ursula and how she would react if she ever found out. "When do you want me to head up there?" he asked nervously.

"Tomorrow night," replied the man. "Bring the crates to the old Dun dock and our tramper, Johnny Cuba, will take them from there. Understood?"

"Yes, sir," replied Sean.

"Good. Welcome aboard."

That night, unknown to any of us, Sean was slipping into the munitions factory.

"I only need to do it once," he said to himself. "Just get the money and pay off the debt. I can keep the last hundred for… Hmm… Patrick was talking about a new harbour tug. Perhaps I can save up the cash and surprise him and his father!" He smiled to himself as he opened the shed.

Unfortunately, it was extremely dark, so he tried to turn on his flashlight. "Blast!" he cried. "My light's not working…"

"Hey!" snapped a female voice. "What are you doing?"

"Cool down, Stormy," said another voice. "It's probably a late night worker– Moonlight Oceans above! Sean Zero?!"

"Oh, crumbs!" Sean gulped. "The plan's ruined…" He began to dash out. However, what he didn't realise was that he had dropped a cigar on the ground, and it was partly lit.

"What's going on?" called Sea Rogue as he, O'Malley, Big Mac and O.J. rushed over but before anymore could be said, disaster struck…

KABOOM!

"My eye!" Sea Rogue cried in pain. "I can't feel my eye!"

"Hang on, Sea Rogue!" said O'Malley. "I'll get you to Lucky's."

"We've got to put the fire out!" said O.J..

"Where's a fire tug whin ye need yin?" groaned Big Mac.

Just then, sirens whirred. A white and red fire tug rushed onto the scene with a fire barge.

"Everyone, get clear!" he announced. The tugs and humans in the area wasted no time, and he quickly got to work dousing the flames. A few more explosions were heard, but thankfully, no one else was harmed.

"Losh sakes…" gulped Big Mac.

"Thank goodness Ten Cents wasn't here to witness this," sighed O.J..

"Some of that dynamite will need to be replaced," said Ember.

"Indeed," agreed the fire tug. "I'm Finbar, by the way. I was recently bought by the Fire Department."

"Pleasure to meet you, chief," said O.J.. "I just wish it was under… less dangerous conditions."

"That's understandable," sighed Finbar. "Now then, how did the inferno start?"

"One of Captain Star's employees, Sean Zero, was trying to steal some dynamite but ran off after he was caught," explained Ember.

"He dropped a cigar that was lit in the process and it set off some dynamite," added Stormy. "One of the munitions factory's tug, Sea Rogue, lost his left eye."

Big Mac and O.J. exchanged a horrified glance. After saying goodbye to their friends, they rushed back to the Star Dock.

The following day, the two harbor Tugs explained things to everyone. Top Hat was so shocked the sudden movement of his wheelhouse caused him to drop his monocle, I almost dropped my megaphone in shock, and Patrick and Ten Cents were trying hard to keep their tempers in check.

"I didn't expect such underhanded behavior from you, Sean Zero!" I snapped. "We must pay the munitions factory for their lost stock, and one of their tugs has lost an eye, all because of your misdeeds!"

"I… I never meant for anyone to get hurt…" gulped Sean. "I'm sorry…"

"YOU'RE SORRY?!" snapped Ten Cents.

"'Sorry' doesn't cut it this time!" snapped Top Hat.

"Sean, I have to agree with Ten Cents and Top Hat," I said sternly.

"Sir, please at least let me explain…"

"No! I'm terminating your employment effective immediately."

"Oh no, sir, not that! There must be…"

"Sean Zero, go!" I said firmly. Sean looked at Patrick hopefully, but he just gave a disappointed look. Without another word, Sean left. The tugs were furious with Sean.

"What was he thinking?" snapped Ten Cents. "Endangering others like that?"

"'n' tae think he 'n' Patrick wur wance friends," growled Big Mac.

"Not to mention the mess he's dragged his family into," huffed O.J..

"That was zero thinking from him," agreed Top Hat.

"I… I don't know what to make of him anymore…" Patrick sighed. I pulled him in for a hug, as the four tugs looked on worriedly.

Fortunately, Chris was at a friend's house so he wasn't there to witness the angry sobs at home.

"Oh, stop being such a baby!" snapped Ursula. Sean was pounding the floor with angry tears from his eyes.

"He wouldn't give me a chance to explain!" Sean sobbed. "I wanted to try and earn some extra money and he fired me!"

"I haven't got time for this," muttered Ursula as she left the room. "I'm going to go for a walk. And if you're so upset about losing your job, just set up your own tugboat fleet!"

As Ursula left, Sean stopped crying.

"Set up my own tug fleet?!" he said thoughtfully. "Crazy, but it just might work."

The End…?

Arthour's notes: Here we welcome Top Hat into the Star Fleet, a few of the Salvage tugs, and this is unfortunately where Sean and Patrick's friendship ended. It's a very unfortunate set of circumstances, but Sean did partly bring it upon himself by gambling. And at the very end, we're hinting at the Zero fleet.

Next time, we're burning as bright as a Firestar. (And yes, that's a Warrior Cats reference.)