Saving Bigg City

**Saving Bigg City** is the thirty-third story of *TUGS: The Bigg City Chronicles* and the third and finale story of the Wartime trilogy. Because of the length of the story, it is split in two parts.

## Plot

#### Part 1

It has been a week since Billy Shoepack's funeral. Ten Cents, Big Mac, Hercules, Zorran, Zak and Zip have announced their intentions to sign up for the navy. Captain Star arranges for Penny to come back and loans the harbour tug and the ocean-going tug Ariel had informed him about. Admiral Cardona, wanting to make up for what happened to Zug, helps find Captain Zero find some replacements for Zorran, Zak and Zip, which come in the form on three diesel tugs from Canada.

On the day the subsititute tugs arrive, Captain Star and Captain Zero gathered both fleets (including Ariel, Hans and Corona) round the Star Dock. Then Penny bustles in, following by the other five tugs. Hercules is surprised to discover the harbour tug and the ocean-going tugs are his old friends, Meridian and Venus. The three diesel tugs are called George, Emily and Theodore. Meridian explains that she volunteered to be part of the Royal Navy convoy to the United States following the Pearl Harbr attack and Venus was actually at Pearl Harbor on the day of the attack. It's discovered that Zip and Venus are sisters, the latter excited at the prospect of having a little sibling. Unfortunately, Zip also learns that her brother, Zion, was killed at Pearl Haarbor. After a salute for him, Ten Cents, Big Mac, Hercules, Zorran, Zak and Zip head to Lucky's Yard.

There, they are fitted with radios and fighter guns and repainted into a temporary grey livery. Zip goes last so that Captain Lucky can give her counseling. The six tugs are officially inducted into the military's ranks as the 110th Flotilla of the Bigg City Reserve Corps, with Hercules being named its commanding officer.

A week later, everyone gathers at the Railhead to pay their respects to Zion. Zip, Ariel, Penny and Venus all give heartwarming eulogies for him.

Meanwhile Penny, Meridian, Venus, George, Emily and Theodore make friends with the other residents of Bigg City and perform excellently in Ten Cents, Big Mac, Hercules, Zorran, Zak and Zip’s places.

Unfortunately, Corona is unimpressed with Penny and Sunshine for accepting Theodore's help because he is a diesel tug. Corona smugly warns Penny not to make friends with the wrong sort but Penny retorts that she can tell who the wrong sort are for herself. After Corona leaves, Theodore is still cross with the remarks. George and Emily reveal that they had a similiar encounter with Zeus. Penny assures them that she doesn't care what fuel type they use and all that matters is that they're friendly and helpful.

Months go by and a S100 tank engine come to the Dock Railway. She doesn't have a name, just a number - No. 73. Zob is annoyed by her cheekiness but warns her about the horrors of war, having experienced it back in the First World War. Theodore comes with a delivery of fuel for the Logging engines and asks why Zak joined the navy despite once stating he agreed with Hitler's ideas. The engines, Zob, Ariel, Theodore and Mr. Lloyd begin to suspect that Zak was the one who killed Billy and he volunteered to avoid detection. Mr. Lloyd promises to let Captain Zero know in the morning, unaware that Captain Zero would learn the horrifying truth for himself.

Captain Star, Captain Zero and Captain Lucky have just finished a meeting at Mittsville. Warrior and Venus give them a life back to the port. They take a short cut through one of the old docks where they encounter Ten Cents, Big Mac, Hercules, Zorran and Zip out on patrol. Surprisingly, Zak is absent from the group. Then, they spot the swastika hanging above a warehouse and out from the shadows emerged Burke, Blair, Corona, Nightshade, Oleander, Foxglove, Hans, Otto, Zeus, Zak, Ursula Zero and Mr. Broke, all wearning the swastika. Zorran quickly realises that this is a hostile takeover and that Zug's death was a distraction for the attack, with Mr. Broke making the fake phone call to the Admiral and Ursula pouring the Black Water. Not only that Zeus had been Hans and Otto's informant during the Clearwater incident and that Mr. Broke was the one who arranged for Hans and Corona to help after Zug and Zeus's deaths and would have arranged for the Poison Plant trio to help when Zorran, Zak and Zip were serving in the Navy had it not been for the curfew. Captain Zero is appalled to angry tears at Zak and Zeus' treacherous actions and promptly fires them as well as telling Ursula that they will be getting a divorce.

However, Ursula points a gun at Captain Star and Captain Zero pushes him out of the way, taking a shot to the heart. Just before he dies, Captain Zero asks Captain Star to look after Zorran, Zebedee, Zip and Zob for him. Zip angrily chews the villains and calls them "narrow minded bigots". Zeus then charges at the switcher but Venus defends her sister. Ten Cents takes Captain Star, Captain Lucky and Captain Zero's body with him whilst the others fight off the villains. Otto advances on Big Mac but Warrior rams him into the quayside, but doesn't notices that Otto is carrying a barrel of Black Water, which falls over and leaking into Otto's system, killing him. Warrior is horrified that he had killed someone. Ursula orders the evil group to retreat. After they leave, Hercules announces that a indignation meeting is to held tomorrow morning at the Railhead.

The next morning, at the Railhead, everyone is shocked at the information they've just learnt. Captain Star then vows to bring those responsible to Captain Zero's death to justice. Everyone else agrees, especially the four remaining Z-Stacks who are determined to avenge their fallen captain.

Ursula's gang are hiding out at a disused part of the scrapyards. Ursula is furious that Otto was killed by Warrior. Corona then comes up with a plan for revenge and the vilains' cackles echo through the night.

### Part 2

The next morning, O.J. was on his way back from making a delivery Up River when he has a horrifying encounter with Burke and Blair. Warrior has a nasty encounter with Corona and Hans, the latter of whom who wants to avenge Otto's death. Zebedee is knocked out by a crate bought by Zak and Zeus. Nightshade, Oleander and Foxglove pour Green Water into Stormy and Hail. Little Owl is diverted onto the wrong line and her crew are knocked out by Ursula and Mr. Broke.

Captain Star is surprised to see Captain Lucky, Captain Salvage and Mr. Lloyd in his office. Then, he sees a message that fills them with horror with horror: some of the tugs and one of the engines have been kidnapped and Ursula is demanding a ransom or else they will be destroyed.

Quickly, they gather the remaining tugs and engines at the Railhead and work out who have been kidnapped. They then work out where O.J., Warrior, Zebedee, Stormy, Hail and Little Owl are being held and send in some spies to work out any potential traps without alerting Ursula or her minions.

Skiff and Captain Zero's family go to the warehouse where Flotsam and Jetsam once held O'Malley hostage. It's there that Ursula, Zak and Zeus are holding Little Owl and Zebedee hostage. Skiff, Chris and John pretend to side with Ursula whilst Jane and Amber hide and take notes. It's there that they discover Ursula plans to cause a fire, which will cause a fuel barge (with its fuel pipe) to explode.

Finbar pretend to conduct a fire inspection at the breaker's yard with a false story that a new law had been passed by City Hall. Mr. Broke buys the story. Finbar and the firefighters note that O.J. and Warrior are being help captive by Burke, Blair, Hans and Corona.

Captain Lucky’s sisters, Lacey and Luna, and my wife Sarah travel on board the shrimpers and discover that Nightshade, Oleander and Foxglove are keeping Stormy and Hail captive inside a cave near Dem Der Rocks.

With all the information gathered, a rescue plan is organised. Big Mac, Hercules, Jimbo, Meridian, Venus, Penny, George, Grampus, Peeper Pipes and Admiral Cardona will go to the breaker’s yard and rescue O.J. and Warrior. Jimbo will haul a cannon on board a barge to fire a shell, which will create a distraction for them.  Ten Cents, Theodore, Zorran, Zip, Zob, Sea Rogue, O’Malley, Snowy, the engines, Captain Star, Captain Lucky, Captain Salvage, Mr. Lloyd, Thomas and Andrea will go to the warehouse and rescue Little Owl. Pisces, Misty, Scorpio, Ember, Moonlight, Robin, Sunshine, Emily, Cappy and Davy Jones are to go and rescue Stormy and Hail. An Air Force plane is to be used to drop a smokescreen.

On Wednesday night, everyone gathers at the Railhead, ready for the rescue to take place. Theodore, Zip, Zob, Sea Rogue, O’Malley, Puffa, Porter, Maeve, Lexi, Placido and Tillie have disguised themselves as ghosts to frighten off Zak. Sunshine, Robin, Emily and the Salvage tugs are wearing special goggles to help them see through the smokescreen. With all set, the group sets off to begin the rescue mission.

Ten Cents' group arrives at the warehouse. Captain Star, Captain Lucky, Captain Salvage, Mr. Lloyd, Thomas and Andrea emerged from Henney's passenger car with the fake cheque for Ursula. Thomas and Andrea wait whilst the three captains and Mr. Lloyd distract Ursula. Zak is keeping an eye on Little Owl when he looks in horror to see the "ghosts" and runs off, screaming at the top of his voice. Little Owl is relieved to see that it's her friends. Meanwhile, Zorran challenges Zeus to a duel.

Sunshine, Robin, Emily, Moonlight, Pisces, Scorpio, Misty, Ember, Davy Jones and Cappy arrive at the estuary. Sunshine bravely moves forward to distract Nightshade, Oleander and Foxglove. Sunshine claims that she is out on a secret job but won't tell the three Poison Plant tugs what it is.

Back at the breaker's yard, Jimbo gets the gun into position and Grampus surveys the scene. Once Grampus gives the all clear, Jimbo fires on Admiral Cardona's instructions and the shell destroys Mr. Broke's office. Hercules, Venus and some of Admiral Cardona's men start firing at Mr. Broke's workers. Mr. Broke hops on Blair and the five villains retreat. Big Mac and George enter the warehouse to rescue Warrior and O.J. Meridian rams into Corona, who crashes into Burke, Blair and Hans and the four vessels run aground onto the mudbanks with Mr. Broke being crushed between Burke and Blair. Peeper Pipes then arrests Burke, Blair, Hans and Corona.

Whilst the three captains and Mr. Lloyd keep Ursula talking, Thomas and Andrea turn off the fuel pipe and untie Zebedee. After Thomas and Andrea slip out, Ursula heads for the exit and snaps a rope near the door and a barrel of oil crashes onto the floor. Ursula sets the oil alight and runs to a safe distance. Ten Cents and Snowy enter the warehouse.

Ursula cackles evilly until she realises that there was no explosion and learns that she was tricked by Skiff, Chris and John and that Thomas and Andrea had switched off the fuel pipe. Then Ten Cents emerges with Zebedee in tow. Snowy follows with Captain Star, Captain Lucky, Captain Salvage and Mr. Lloyd on board, much to Ursula's fury.

Zorran and Zeus' duel gets underway.  At first, it looks like Zeus has the upper hand, until Zorran points he has something that Zeus doesn't: superior brain power. Without saying any more, Zorran maneuveres around Zeus and rams his rear into the quayside, damaging his propellor. Zeus, not wanting to risk further damage, then surrenders and begs to be taken to Dry Dock, but Zorran has other ideas.

Nightshade, Oleander and Foxglove realises that Sunshine's here to Stormy and Hail. But just as they're about to take her hostage, the plane drops the smokescreen, startling the trio. The rest of Sunshine's team arrive with Misty and Robin rescuing Stormy and Hail. The Poison Plant tugs give chase until they approached Dem Der Rocks. Sunshine's swerved out of the way in time but Nightshade, Oleander and Foxglove are going too fast to stop and crash onto the rocks. The impact breaks their hulls apart and they sobbed at the thought of failing Ursula as they sink into the ocean. Pisces praises Sunshine for facing her fears.

Back at the warehouse, everyone congratulates Ten Cents for facing his fears. Meanwhile, Ursula hops onto Zak but before they can escape, Zorran, who still has Zeus attached to him, throws a towline onto Zak and charges towards the burning warehouse. Realising what's about to happen, Zak and Zeus scream their wheelhousees in horror whilst Ursula begs to stop, but it's too late. Zorran rams Zak into the fuel barge and causes an explosion, which kills all four of them, much to everyone else' shock.

By morning, the group has all gathered. They are relieved that Zak, Zeus and Ursula Zero are dead, but are also saddened that Zorran had died as well. The vessels all lower their flags to half mast whilst the three captains and Mr. Lloyd take off their hats in respect. The engines remain respectfully silent. Captain Star then tells the three remaining Z-Stacks (Zebedee, Zip and Zob) that Captain Zero's dying wish for them to join the Star Fleet. Zebedee, Zip and Zob agree, but they're not alone. Moonlight announces his intention to join the Star Fleet after the war so that he can give Sunshine comfort and that Robin would take his place in the Salvage Fleet. Although Meridian politely declines the offer to the Star Fleet, Venus announces she would. Zip suggests that Ariel and Penny could work at Lucky's and both tugs as well as Captain Lucky agree to the idea.

Back at the Railhead, Henney asks Mr. Lloyd if she could volunteer to go to the United Kingdom after the war is over to help them rebuild. Lexi, Maeve and Placido do the same. Mr. Lloyd agrees to this, but states that he will miss Henney when she goes.

Burke, Blair, Hans and Corona are found guilty of their crimes. Captain Star orders that Corona is never to be used as a tug ever again, no matter what. To that end, Corona is converted to a goose house  near Dun Tuggin' and hates every second of it. Not only do the geese leaves "presents" all over me every second of the day, but everytime she throws a tantrum, the geese would attack her, much to Boomer's amusement.

Burke and Blair are taken to Lucky's Yard by Scorpio and Stormy, having been sentenced to the Final Firing. Both Captain Lucky and Captain Salvage have been instructed to give it to them. The Coast Guard team are there waiting, along with O.J., Warrior, Zebedee, Zip, Zob and Captain Star. Burke and Blair are terrified at this but, despite their pleas, Captain Lucky and Captain Salvage pour the Black Water in and the two scrap dealers both fall into a permanent deep sleep, much to O.J.'s relief and satsifaction. Pisces, Ember and Misty bring into Zak, Zeus and Otto's remains whilst the Poison Plant trio’s remains are left at the bottom of the ocean to serve as artificial reefs. Hans is blown up as target practice. This time, no one bothers to rescue him. As the naval destroyed takes aim, Hans accepts his fate and the destroyed fires the first shot, it's a perfect hit.

A week after the rescue mission, a joint funeral service is held for Zorran and Captain Zero where many memories are shared. Captain Star then makes a speech about the events of the past year and praises Zorran for his heroic sacrifice. The tugs and engines then praises Captain Star, Captain Lucky, Captain Salvage, Mr. Lloyd and the late Captain Zero for their bravery and the three remaining captains and Mr. Lloyd then praise the tugs and engines in return. Ten Cents and Ariel then admit their feelings for each other, thus official becoming a couple.

The Nazis never attack Bigg City port again. Ten Cents, Big Mac, Hercules and Zip continue to serve the navy. By now, the Soviet Union has become an ally to the United Kingdom and the United States. After a successful invasion of Normandy, which liberates France, the Allies drive the Nazis back from Europe. Although President Roosevelt dies before the end of the war, Harry S. Truman finishes what FDR started. After Hitler commits suicide, Germany surrenders, marking the end of World War II in Europe. Three months later, Japan surrenders following the controversial atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, thus ending World War II entirely.

There is massive relief in Bigg City at this news as the suffering is over at long last. But no never forgets those we had lost in the conflict and Captain Star reminds the reader to always value their loved ones, for one day, they will not be around.

## Characters

* Captain Star
* Ten Cents
* Big Mac
* O.J.
* Warrior
* Hercules
* Sunshine
* Grampus
* Captain Zero (death)
* Zorran (death)
* Zebedee
* Zak (death)
* Zip
* Zeus (death)
* Zob
* Captain Salvage
* Pisces
* Misty
* Scorpio
* Ember
* Stormy
* Hail
* Moonlight
* Robin
* Ariel
* Penny
* Meridian
* Venus
* Theodore
* George
* Emily
* Corona
* Hans (death)
* Otto (death)
* Nightshade (death)
* Oleander (death)
* Foxglove (death)
* Jacob Burke and Ebenezer Blair (death)
* Sea Rogue
* O'Malley
* Peeper Pipes
* Jimbo
* Mr. Frederick Lloyd
* Puffa
* Little Owl
* Porter
* Henney
* Lexi
* Placido
* Maeve
* Tillie
* Admiral Cardona
* Thomas Star
* Zug (flashback)
* Top Hat (mentioned)
* Zilly (mentioned)
* Kirke (mentioned)
* Zion (mentioned; confirmed to have died)

## Voices

### Official

* Simon Nash as Ten Cents
* Sean Barrett as Big Mac, Hercules, Zebedee, Sea Rogue, Finbar and Captain Zero
* Ian James Corlett as O.J.
* Chris Tulloch as Zorran
* Shaun Prendergrast as Zak
* Lee Cornes as Grampus, Peeper Pipes and Billy Shoepack
* JoAnne Good as Sally Seaplane
* John Baddeley as Puffa
* David Menkin as Porter
* Lucy Montgomery as Lexi

### Fan chosen

* Peter Dickson as Captain Star
* Jeff Bennett as Warrior
* Michelle Creber as Sunshine
* Tara Strong as Zip and Misty
* Christian Bale as Zob
* Catherine Cavadini as Pisces
* E.G. Daily as Scorpio
* Ali Milner as Ember
* Nicole Sullivan as Stormy
* Katie Leigh as Hail
* Shaun Prendergrast as Moonlight
* Julie Nathanson as Robin
* Kevin Kline as O'Malley
* Jodi Benson as Ariel
* Alice Oswalt as Penny
* Mandy Moore as Meridian
* Kathleen Delaney as Venus
* Ian James Corlett as Theodore
* Paul Dobson as George
* Jennifer Hale as Corona
* Hugo Weaving as Hans
* Chris Evans as Jimbo
* Lenore Zann as Little Owl and Captain Lucky
* Phyllis Smith as Henney
* Peter New as Placido
* Cristina Pucelli as Maeve
* Kath Souice as Tillie
* Paul Dobson as Mr. Lloyd
* Javier Bardem as Admiral Cardona