//------------------------------// // High Winds // Story: Tugs of Seaquestria // by The Blue EM2 //------------------------------// There were some days that incredibly bad characters sailed into port, but that very day I recall that none of us were suspecting trouble of any kind. We were all rather concerned with the incoming high winds about to rock the port, as it would make tug work difficult. Silverstream looked out to sea in concern. "As much as that sunrise us beautiful," she said, as the giant flaming orange rose higher and higher in the sky, wreathed in a blanket of fog, "I'm rather worried that it presages doom." "You know what Captain Novo says," Skystar told her. "Red sky at night, sailor's delight. Red sky in the morning, sailor's warning. Doesn't bode well." "Aren't there supposed to be some high winds on the way?" Silverstream asked. "That would make sense, given the weather." "Stop chit chatting, you two!" Mistmane called, from a neighbouring dock. "The storm flags are up, and the winds are going to hit us any minute!" "We were just discussing the bad wea-" Skystar started. "Then get a move on!" Mistmane interrupted. "Out at sea, the situation is dire. Ocean Flow is already answering a distress call from a tanker! Now move that oil barge to where it needs to go, and then bring in Diamond Tiara- she's busy dredging in the harbour!" "Aye, Mistmane!" Skystar replied. "You'll have extra work to do in order to batten down the hatches before the storm hits!" Mistmane added, as she puffed away. "Good luck!" "Come on, Silverstream!" Skystar called. "We have work to do- wait a second, is that Grubber there? Hello Grubber!" "What a rubbish day," Grubber grumbled to himself. "High winds approaching, and Sonata chooses today of all days to break down! Means I have to do her work in addition to her own!" Skystar looked at the barges with concern. "Those four aren't secured together very well, and not only that he's cut right across us!" "Very bad," said Silverstream. "Very bad indeed." "Look!" Skystar shouted. "One's coming loose!" And indeed it was. One barge lazily floated off from the others, the mooring ropes having snapped in the meantime, and drifted off towards the dockside. "Do you think he's noticed?" Silverstream asked. "Well, there's only one way to find out," Skystar said. "Hey! Grubber! You've got a barge coming loose! You may want to stop and secure it!" Grubber looked behind him to see the cause of the problem, and sure enough, the barge was drifting. "Oops. Well, that sorts that problem. I'm not sure why they used me for this work; I'm a big tug, with exceptionally big frames. And thanks." Skystar moved into position to hold the barge in place, and they were able to get it to a dock in time to allow it to be resecured and then towed on its way. "Did Grubber say thanks to you?" Silverstream asked. "If he did, I must have been hearing things." "I heard it too, so unless we both were hearing things and the exact same thing at the exact same time, it's highly likely. Seems that Storm ships have some kindness in them after all. Sadly, there were some who wanted to take advantage of the bad weather to continue their criminal careers. Moored out of port was Verko, the notorious gangster and parts trafficker. He was painted a very light pink, complemented by a messy patchwork of grey, two tone brown, black, and a very deep purple shade. He was waiting for an opportunity to sneak into the port unnoticed so he could drop off his illegal cargo. He laughed as he watched other ships flailing about in the winds. "Right, that idiot Ocean Flow is distracted," Verko smiled, as he raised his anchor. "Time to slip into port and meet my contacts!" His contacts, of course, were people who were purchasing the illegal parts he was transporting, so they could sell them on and cause a giant scam by selling them for high prices. New parts were hard to come by here, and we mostly made replacement parts from scratch, so the offer of new parts from the manufacturer frequently caused a stir. As Verko steamed into port, Sky Stinger made his approach. "Halt!" he called. "You are within Hippogriffia Port city limits! Stop immediately and drop anchor so I can make an inspection." Verko didn't slow down. In fact, he sped up, increasing to ramming speed. "What are you do-" Sky Stinger had no chance to finish his sentence as Verko slammed into him and sent him flying into a rock. "Sorry! Looks like the wind blew me off course!" Verko laughed. Grubber was patrolling the area at the time, looking out for any ship that might need towing, from liners to the smallest fishing boats. He glanced about, when suddenly Verko appeared right in front of him. "Here's Verko!" "Ahh!" Grubber cried, and went into full reverse! He only just stopped in time, and something in me wishes he hadn't, as it would have saved us a lot of bother. But anyways, there they were. "Oh, Hello Mr Verko." "Indeed," said Verko, seemingly squinting from behind that ridiculous pair of goggles he wore over his eyes. "I must see the Storm King at some point. Do me a job, will you?" "Namely?" Grubber asked. "Tow me into port," Verko replied. "That way I'm not breaking the law. If anybody asks, my name is Steamer, and I've come in from Snugboat Harbour with a cargo of coal. Got it?" "I'm not sure I can do that, sir. You see, you nee-" "Spare me your excuses! I'll report you to the Storm King if you don't, and he and I... have a past. Besides, my orders override his." Grubber, too frightened to think properly, agreed, and attached a towline to Verko. He towed him to the old dockyard which hadn't been used for many years, which was where he had arranged to meet his criminal friends to offload his cargo of illegal parts. "Hey!" called one. "These parts better have tugboats shooting rainbow lasers out their stacks if they're gonna settle your debt!" "All accounted for," Verko replied. "They can be tweaked according to your preference. Just make sure not to cause a big explosion." He turned to Grubber. "Get me some coal." "You mean steal it?" Grubber asked. "Wait, no way." "I never said to steal it, just get it," Verko replied. "Do as ordered, or I'll break your stack and slap cement in your hold. MOVE!" Grubber was now in a terrible muddle. If he helped out Verko, the Storm King would almost certainly sink him. But if he didn't, Verko would sink him too! Reasoning that he could sneak Verko out without anybody noticing, he set off for some coal. Meanwhile, Silverstream and Skystar were trying to keep control of Diamond Tiara, but the vanguard of the high wind had arrived, which was causing them trouble. "Work harder!" Diamond called. "At this rate, I'll be up and over!" "We're trying, but the wind's too strong!" shouted Silverstream. "We need another tug!" Just then, Grubber steamed by. "Hey!" Skystar called. "Gubber! Can you help us? Fix a single line to hold Diamond Tiara steady!" "Sorry, I can't stop. And why should I?" "Because it's the decent thing to do!" Silverstream replied, struggling at her end. "Besides, you owe us for the barge!" Grubber steamed into position, and revved his engine to full power. "There you go! Now get that line secured!" Skystar attached her second line, and Grubber backed off, mission seemingly complete. "Thanks," Skystar said. "Without your help, we'd never have got that line attached." "Not a word of this to the Storm King, Understand?" asked Grubber. "That includes you, Diamond Tiara." "Gossip? Me? Don't be absurd." As Grubber puffed away, Silverstream looked over. "I thought Aria got off with no trouble when she helped you stabilise Thunderhooves." "That was because the alternative would have been the harbour being blocked," Skystar replied. "And that would cost him money." Grubber, meanwhile, kept up his search, eventually locating a barge of coal. "Perfect! I can slip it away and take it to Verko. Nobody will ever know, after all. What's one barge in amongst hundreds, eh?" As he attached to it and steamed away, he didn't see that Blueblood had witnessed the entire thing. "That's funny," Blueblood said. "I thought I was the only one delivering coal today. I had better check with Captain Novo, as this is all very strange." Grubber got the coal to Verko with no further mishaps, and the big gangster was pleased. "Thank you," he said. "When I next see the Storm King I'll put a good word in for you. Or does he not like you helping me?" "I don't think I'd be in his good books," Grubber admitted. "Oh, yes," Verko smirked. "He's got you officially on rescue duty, hasn't he? You're clear until this evening, so go do what you've got to do and report back here. Got it?" "Yes sir," Grubber said quietly, and slipped gently out into port. Sky Beak sounded his whistle and pulled up next to Big Mac. "Hey!" he said. "Rainbow Dash told me that Ocean Flow's towing a liner in." "Which one?" asked Big Mac. "It's one of the big ones. It's the Princess Luna!" "That is quite a haul," Big Mac replied. "What happened?" "She was damaged out at sea and needed a tow." "Not one of yer disasters, eh?" Big Mac joked. Sky Beak looked shocked. "Hey! It's not my fault! I can't operate in the open ocean!" "Ah was joking," Big Mac said. "Come on. Let's go and tell Mistmane, and then we can bring her in when she's closer." "That'll certainly make Captain Novo happy!" Sky Beak smiled, and off they went to tell Mistmane the news. Meanwhile, Grubber continued to float around, trying to carry out the Storm King's orders. He was about to give up and return to port when suddenly- "Help!" It was a voice, unmistakable. Grubber sped up and rushed over to where the voice was coming from. "Oh my!" he said. "That looks serious. What happened, Sky Stinger?" Sky Stinger was wedged against a rock. "I never thought I'd be glad to see you, Grubber," he said. "I was trying to flag down Verko, but he crashed into me, leaving me here." Grubber was now in a serious dilemma. If he admitted to knowing Verko, he was confessing to assisting a known criminal, making him an accessory to crime. But at the same time he couldn't hide the truth. So he came up with a compromise. "Verko? The Storm King's mentioned him once or twice." Whilst not true, it also wasn't false. "If you're out here to recover lost boats, you could start by pulling me in," Sky Stinger replied. Grubber connected a towline, and they set off for the harbour. "So, what has the Storm King said about Verko?" "He's mentioned he did business with him in the past, but that was it," Grubber replied. Sky Stinger suspected that Grubber was hiding something, but he chose not to question further, seeing he would get no more information out of him. Instead, when he was fully repaired, he would speak to the Storm King instead. Once Grubber had dropped Sky Stinger off, he ran into Tempest Shadow, who looked cross. "Where have you been?" she demanded. "You're supposed to be answering distress calls!" "I just brought Sky Stinger in, so I have been doing my job," Grubber retorted. Tempest looked even more angry. "Don't get snippy with me," she snapped. "You've also been helping Novo's lot, based on what a dockhand said. I bet you want to be one of them, don't you?" Grubber's attention was suddenly drawn by a commotion over in the harbour. In the distance a large liner was being dragged into port. "Are you even listening?" Tempest said coldly. Docking a liner is hard enough at the best of times, but today the crosscurrents and fierce winds were making it almost impossible. Every single one of my tugs was assisting, but the Princess Luna couldn't help. Her engines were offline and her rudder had been damaged in the storm, so the huge liner was basically deadweight. Deadweight with hundreds of passengers onboard. "What's going on back there?" called Ocean Flow, at the head of the formation. "Hold the liner steady!" "She won't respond!" Big Mac called. "We're all pushin' or pullin' as hard as we can, but it's no use!" "I can't keep this up much longer!" Skystar called. "My engine's already in the red as it is, and Silverstream's safety valve's blowing fiercely!" "Keep it up!" Ocean Flow called. "Not much further now!" "The wind's too strong!" Sky Beak shouted. "I'm running at full power here, but it doesn't seem to be having any effect!" "We need another tug!" shouted Mistmane. "Come on Spitfire, lend a rudder!" "I need to stand off in case of fire!" Spitfire replied. Suddenly, the Princess Luna swung violently to port. "Help! I'm in trouble!" Silverstream cried. "We need help!" Skystar called. "We'll be squished on the dockside otherwise!" What happened next caught everybody off guard. Grubber thundered in and collided with the liner, his diesel engine roaring and producing huge clouds of black smoke. "I hope this helps!" he shouted. "It did!" Mistmane called. "She's back under control, and we can take it from here. Thanks for the help, Grubber!" "No problem," Grubber replied, as he backed off. Tempest, of course, was quick to capitalise. "What were you doing?" she asked. "Helping the Seaquestria tugs? You've gone soft in the wheelhouse!" "I don't recall you chastising Aria when she helped Skystar," Grubber replied, and set off into the harbour, leaving Tempest lost for words. That evening, Grubber returned to the dock where Verko was moored. "I'm back, as you asked," he said. "Good," Verko replied. "There's a few other things I need doing before I depart, and the sooner you can do them, the bet-" They were suddenly interrupted by a familiar chime whistle as Ocean Flow came up the channel. "Good evening," she said curtly, none of her usual warmth or cheer in her voice. "Grubber, fancy seeing you here, with a wanted criminal no less. How has it been since you scammed the Klugetown steel mill of several thousand bits, Verko?" "I'm not Verko, I'm called Steamer!" Verko replied. "I've come in from Snugboat Harbour with a cargo of coal." "Well, that's a lie," Ocean Flow said. "Snugboat harbour has a quarry, not a coal mine. They import coal rather than export it. You're under arrest." Verko tried to back out of the dock, but Grubber, thinking quickly, wedged the gangster against the quayside. "You're not going anywhere," Grubber said. "I'll break your stacks! They can't hold Verko down!" the tramper thundered. But they did, for a very, very long time. The authorities gave thanks to both Grubber and Ocean Flow for catching the crook, and as the sun set in the sky, Grubber met with Skystar and Silverstream again. "Lovely evening, eh?" Silverstream said. "No trace of that storm!" "Yep!" Skystar smiled. "Just as Captain Novo said; Red sky at night, sailor's delight. Red sky in the morning, sailor's warning. Look who's here! How are you doing, Grubber?" "Fine thanks, but my coal levels are a bit low," he replied. "Thanks for the help, and congrats on catching the crook!" Silverstream said. Grubber looked back. "I only did what any decent tug would have done, given the circumstances." "If you ever want to join us, we have a space open for you," Skystar offered. Grubber scoffed. "What? Today's today, and tomorrow is an entirely new day." After that day, everything went on as normal, but that day demonstrated that, ultimately, you can rely on the Storm Fleet to do the right thing... provided they tried everything else first.