Oh, this is the one. The one I've been looking forward to. Ladies and gentlemen, "Munitions" is coming at you right here, right now!

To run a fleet of tugs, you have to be able to take on any job. One of the most difficult and dangerous was handling the naval munitions ships. With the War on Terror in the Middle East in full swing, these were needed more than ever now.

On this day, I remember Foduck had towed the ordnance ship Alberta in from the base up the coast. Usually, a familiar and safe routine, but, it had been a rough journey, real rough. And if that wasn't enough, he had to suffer Burton, officious Glen-class naval tug. Burton was bossier than usual, what with the severe reprimand he had just received for trying to sink Northumberland. If these maneuvers didn't go smoothly, he'd be very sorry, indeed.

"ATTENTION! ATTENTION!" called Burton, "You, Foduck!"

"Attention, nothing," said Foduck,"I'm finished here, old boy. Moving out."

"Oh, no, you don't, not until I check things out!"

"Check all you like, your majesty. I'm needed elsewhere."

"You're under navy jurasdiction! Obey orders, and wait until I've made my inspection!"

"I AM under jurasdiction. Captain Bob's. A little wake-washer like YOU doesn't tell ME what to do."

"Haha! We'll see about THAT, laddy! Foduck! Here! WAIT! Stay right where you are, that is an order!"

"Toodle-loo."

And Foduck motored away, ignoring Burton's protests.

"Up-start civilian! I'll get you in a naval convoy one day and teach you a lesson or two! And then YOU'LL know what orders are all about!"

Foduck met up with Lucy, who was keeping some marker buoys in line marking the shipping lane for deliveries.

"Ugh," groaned Foduck, "that Burton. He's orders-mad. Orders come before common sense in naval terms!"

Lucy moaned in agreement. "I've had a run-in with him too, Foduck. 'Keep those buoys in line!', he shouts. As if I didn't do this job every naval exercise back in Montreal. 'Report to me when you're finished!', he says. Thinks a female isn't cut out for naval work, he does." Lucy turned to look at Big Basil, the dockside crane, who was loading the Alberta. "Hey. Heh, do you know what they're doing? They're loading munitions and taking fuel aboard the same ship! Hehe, dangerous seamanship, that is!"

"Well, Lucy, m'dear, I'm gonna have me a bit of a rest at the fuel depot. It's been a hard tow, and I feel a bit low."

Foduck motored off as Burton motored in, blasting his horn again. Lucy groaned.

"Keep them in line! Straight as a row of marines! I'll check them off after I've done my inspection!"

"We should work together, not fight each other! Never fought back in Montreal."

Next, Burton came to Red Fin.

"Ahoy there! Ahoy there! You! Hey, you! Red Fin! Collect some fire barges and proceed to the fire practice area NOW!"

"I'm standing by, awaiting orders to proceed to the old dock." replied Red Fin.

"And those orders are CANCELLED! And I'm in charge! Fire practice NOW! And don't leave until I tell you! Do I make myself clear? Now move! Fast away, flame! Fast away, flame!"

"Aye-aye...sir."

"Right, Morrison Fleet," I started at the morning briefing, "we're all servicing the naval maneuvers again."

The tugs groaned. Theodore, Emily, Hank, George, Molly, and Oliver were at the dock right now.

"Lucy's laying marker bouys in the old dock area." I continued, "Remember: no shortcuts! Use the official entry! You all know the Navy..."

The tugs continued to groan.

"Don't grumble, it's a good, regular contract. Just get on with it. Your loads are munitions. You're lucky, Knudsen Fleet has got the explosives. Ha, so give them a wide berth! Make myself clear, Oliver? No high wakes!"

"I don't make high wakes, Captain Bob!" said Oliver, defensively. The others disagreed.

"Well, not much. Especially after you saved that passenger train AND Carl from falling into the canal."

"Just wish I could've saved those 35 people..." replied Oliver, mournfully.

"Nothing you could have done, Oliver. It wasn't your fault. You did what you could, and I'm proud of you. Molly, daily garbage detail for you."

"Yes, sir!" she said, eagerly.

"This means we'll have Burton buzzing around us. I can't stand that tug. What a terrible bore he is with his orders, isn't he?"

"You do the garbage detail, then!" said Molly. The others laughed, but Oliver didn't.

"Me?! How can you suggest such a thing?!"

"And less talk, Oliver, or you WILL find yourself on garbage again! Heh, maybe you can save another locomotive and get us some more good publicity, eh?" Again, everyone but Oliver laughed.

"That is NOT funny. It would ruin my image." Everyone continued laughing.

"Okay crew, stow it! Oliver, car floats for you!"

"As you wish, sir."

"Theodore, go to Lucky's and pick up the new Morrison Line oil barge, get it filled, then take it to the naval yard."

"Right, sir!"

"Emily, go to the canal and pick up Giant Jack, they've finished the work on the bridge. Take him home."

"Very good, sir."

"George, thanks for winning us the steel contract!"

"That's okay, sir." replied George, modestly.

"You pick up the last girder barge, then to the estuary for the American strategic sealift ship. She's a cargo ship called T/B Sea Eagle."

"Yes, sir. But, why American?"

"I asked the same thing myself. Apparently, it's a NATO thing."

"Ah, right. Well, I'll be off now."

The Knudsens were up river at the munitions factory. They were there to collect explosives for the navy. It was a very dangerous operation, but worth a great deal of money to Captain Zero, who had put Jeremy in charge.

Jeremy addressed Jebediah and Jack, who, alongside himself, were to take the explosives to the harbor. There was no way in HELL Jeremy would entrust Jip and Jug with such loads, so he stuck them with moving empty barges at the factory.

"Now listen, you two," he began, "towing this lot's the tricky bit. Jack, move off first."

"Right." replied Jack.

"Go slow and don't take any nonsense from the Morrison mob. Show them explosives don't scare us. If they come to close, just-"

"BLOW THEM UP!" shouted Jack. He was, of course, joking.

"Yeah," said Jeremy, unimpressed, "with your horn, dumbass! No silly games, okay? You don't have to be THAT brave!"

"Okay Jeremy, sir!" And Jack set off with his dangerous load.

"And," added Jeremy, "watch out for the naval twerp, Burton. Your job is to deliver that barge directly to the ordnance vessel Alberta. If Burton gives you different orders, ignore him and refer him to me. Just keep it steady. Keep flying that danger flag! Jebediah, next!"

"But," protested Jebediah, "Burton told me he was in charge, and that I must obey orders!" Of all the Knudsens, Jebediah was always the one with a conscience. He wasn't above heckling the Morrisons or aggressively competing for contracts, but he believed in fair play, and would never, ever dream of hurting a Morrison.

"You ARE." replied Jeremy, "MINE, remember that.

"I'll remember that, Jeremy, sir."

Jeremy narrowed his eyes, just thinking about all the money the Knudsens were about to get. They could most likely afford another tug, or even TWO, after this!

"Eat your heart out, Morrison assholes! This trip's worth twenty garbage barges, ferry trips, or girder tows! It'll get us some new tugs, for sure! Heh, if we don't get blown up. Right. Easy does it."

Jeremy took this dangerous operation very, very seriously. He had to, or else he risked a nasty death.

"What about us, Jeremy?" asked Jug.

"Yeah," added Jip, "we wanna be involved, too!"

"You wanna help?" asked Jeremy, "You can move those weapons casings."

"But Jeremy!" whined Jip, "We wanna take the explosives! So much more exciting than boring artillery shells!"

"There's no way in HELL I'd ever let you two idiots take explosives! You'd probably cause an international incident and get us all nuked! Just get those shell casings NOW!"

Back in port, Burton was towing a barge with unfueled, unarmed Tomahawk cruise missiles. He happened upon Theodore, who was picking up the oil barge from Lucky's Yard. Feeling the need to make his authority known, he decided to taunt the tug he had accused of being a communist spy in 1993, simply for wearing a red hat.

"Ahoy! Ahoy there! Ahoy! You, with the oil barge! You're in my way and you're idle! I don't like idle tugs! So move and move fast! That is an order!"

He came up in a way as to let his barge scrape the oil barge.

"Hey!" cried Theodore, "HEY! You naval jerk, you scratched a brand-new deliberately!"

"I gave an order to move out of my way! This harbor is the most undisciplined I've ever walked in! If I order you to jump, you jump! And that barge is conscripted for a naval purpose! And if I wanna scrape it, I will! I'll scrape YOU if you don't get to your post on time!"

"I'm ALWAYS on time! And you know it!"

"You'd better be, or I'll have you clapped in drydock! Now, get your motor revving, and start turning your screws! Mobilization! That is what I want, mobilization!"

Burton scraped the oil barge again.

"Hey! HEY! Hey you, come back here! Hey, you just scraped it again! Hey! Ugh, Knudsens are bad enough, but Burton? He's something else."

Night came down fast. Dock lights helped Big Basil transfer explosives to the Alberta and Sea Eagle. By now, they had been joined by a second American ship, the USNS Lawrence H. Gianella, a tanker. The Knudsens were moored off. All were shot of their dangerous loads except Jeremy, now being unloaded. One last-minute slip-up could mean disaster.

"I'll be glad to get rid of this lot." muttered Jeremy.

"Attention! Attention!"

"Oh, no, here we go!"

Burton came in with his barge from earlier, which he was now hauling from the side.

"I'm coming alongside! Move aside! You, with the K on your stack, MOVE!"

"You don't mean me, mister, do you?"

"Yeah, YOU, mister! Move that barge! My load's first!"

"You shouldn't move a barge that's been unloaded!" said George, who was resting after bringing the tanker.

"Get pensioned off, old-timer! This is my pool, I say what goes!" George just made a disgusted sound.

"Go and draw your pension, George!" said Jebediah, "You're past it!" And he laughed. But Jeremy didn't find anything about this situation funny.

"Shut it!" Jeremy snapped, "George is right! We're not barge, mister!"

"I want this fuel unloaded NOW!" shouted Burton, ordering Big Basil about, "Hey, you, cranky! Drop your hook in this baby, and leave the munitions right now!"

Jack was taken aback by this. "He's a brave tug to order a shore crane around!" he said.

Jeremy shook his head in agreement. "Yeah, nobody tells Big Basil what to do!"

"Well I do, and I'm in charge, so obey orders!"

Theodore arrived, now with a loaded oil barge. It was full of diesel fuel keep the tanks and support vehicles rolling overseas.

"Hey, what's going on? Schedule says I'm next!"

"Don't you start, laddie! Wait your turn!" said Burton.

George said something along the lines of "watcham" or something like that. I don't know. Nobody, not even George, knows exactly he said.

"I'm coming in alongside." said Theodore, "This barge has to be unloaded, I've got orders, too!"

"Who's orders?" asked Bluenose.

"Captain Bob's orders! I'm coming in alongside!"

"Ha, we'll see about that! Now, just move aside and let me through!"

And Burton charged ahead.

"Burton, stay back!" called Lucy, who still had the marker buoys, "That barge is unsafe!"

"Do not give ME orders! If I wanna move, I MOVE!"

He wasn't looking where he was going, and his barge hit another one, disturbing a barrel of oil...that fell on a crate of explosives.

"I told you to move that! Now look what's happened!"

"You've done it!" cried Jeremy.

"Oh, no!" cried Theodore.

"Start engines, quick!" shouted George.

The flames got bigger, getting dangerously close to the other explosives.

"I'm in charge!" shouted Bluenose, "Stay where you are!"

"No way!" replied Jeremy, defiantly, "I know what's on that barge! Get clear, the whole thing's gonna blow!"

Jeremy backed away quickly. Jebediah and Jack followed suit, as did George. Lucy abandoned the buoys and also got back.

"STAY WHERE YOU ARE!" cried Burton.

Dock workers had seen what was happening, and relayed the information to the control tower. The base commander got on the intercom.

"Emergency, emergency! Clear the area, immediately!"

"STAY STILL AND OBEY ORDERS!" screamed Burton...just as the explosives on his barge went on.

"Move out, move out, save yourselves!" called George.

"Theodore!" cried Lucy, "Cut your barge rope, and pull free!"

"My barge is clear," replied Theodore, "but Burton is blocking the way!"

Burton told Theodore to stay still, while muttering gibberish, as well. He was going into shock, not only because of the explosions, but because he knew that this counted as the naval maneuvers NOT going smoothly.

"Oh, come on, Burton! Cast off, let's get out of here!"

"I can't, I can't!" cried Burton, now wanting out, "I CAN'T!"

"Try harder, Burton!"

"My engine's cut out!"

All while this exchange was going on, more explosions occurred, scattering debris. Dock workers had gotten out the hoses, and Halifax Regional Fire & Emergency had been called.

"George!" called Theodore, "His engine's out! I'm gonna help!"

"Don't be a fool, Theodore!" cried Jeremy, "Get out of there!"

"He's right, move!" agreed George, as more explosions went off.

"He's got himself into this! Leave him!" Jeremy saw this as a good opportunity to get rid of Burton.

"It's too dangerous, Theodore!" called Lucy.

But Theodore stood firm. "You're coming with me, Burton!"

"Keep going, Theodore!" called Big Basil, "Keep going! The Alberta's on fire! It'll blow any second!"

Indeed, the Alberta was on fire. The ship's crew fought a losing battle, and the captain gave the order to abandon ship. Sadly, though, the ship's gangway had been destroyed. The crew was effectively trapped, and jumping overboard was out of the question, as there was too much sharp debris in the water.

Theodore buttoned on to Burton, and pulled him clear.

"Don't you move me!" said Burton, delirously, "I've got m-my orders, and those orders say I am loading fuel there!"

Theodore ignored him. "You can load all you want once I get you out of here! Hey, George, what should I do with him?"

"Put him at the back." replied George, "Out of the way. We don't want anymore of his orders!"

"Hey!" cried Burton, still delirous and slipping into shock, "This is a mutiny! Take me back, immediately! Obey orders! Obey orders! Orders is orders!"

Just as Burton finished his little rant, the sirens went off. They were Federal Signal Thunderbolt 1000 sirens, sounding in attack mode (rising and falling tone). This told all non-essential personnel to evacuate, as well as the call for port authority fire services. Halifax Regional Fire & Emergency was on the scene, and had set up a triage unit in a nearby building.

All of a sudden, the munitions under Big Basil began going off.

"Oh, no!" cried Jeremy, "Big Basil's dock is going up!"

"Move out, everyone!" ordered George, "He's going to go over!"

"Stay where you are!" called Big Basil, "I'll keep clear!" These would be his final words.

"I just hope he gets it right," said Jeremy, worried, "otherwise he'll sink us all!"

The supports under Big Basil's dock gave way. His operator tried to escape, but the door was stuck.

"BIG BASIL!" cried Theodore.

The dock collapsed into the water, and Big Basil toppled over, leaning towards Burton's barge.

"Oh, he's done it!" cheered Jeremy, "He's falling sideways!"

Burton screamed, as Big Basil fell onto his barge. The barge exploded, and what was left of Big Basil sunk below the waves. His operator was killed in the blast, and Big Basil drowned.

It was the last time anyone ever saw.

"That was too close for comfort." said Theodore, mournfully.

"It took real skill to make that move." admitted Lucy.

"He saved us all for sure..." Theodore was silent for a moment, to remember his fallen friend. "But the fire's getting out of control!"

The fire truly was getting out of control. Any remaining dock workers fighting the fire with the hoses had been killed, several thrown clear into the water. The fire had now spread to the Sea Eagle, and was licking at the Lawrence H. Gionella. If the tanker went up, it was game over.

"Surely, you've heard the siren." said George, "Red Fin'll reach us any minute. Just wish he were here now..."

Another explosion, this one smashing the Alberta's superstructure in. A large shard of glass decapitated her captain gruesomely.

"Red Fin won't be much good!" said Jack, "Look at that transport!"

Three violent explosions rocked the ship, and Theodore shut his eyes.

The glow of the fire could be seen from all around.

"Someone's having a dockside celebration." said Chong. Right now, he and Cheech were being loaded with freight cars.

"No, no," replied Oliver, "if there was a party, I'd have been invited."

"Eh, perhaps they don't need a long-necked highbrow, holmes!" said Cheech. He and Chong laughed.

"Ha ha, very funny." said Oliver, sarcastically, "Certainly wouldn't want lowlifes like YOU there." He then heard a fire siren. "Hey, what's that?"

It was Red Fin, sirens blaring, towing two fire barges on either side of him.

"Emergency! Emergency! Get them tied off and follow on, Oliver! Might need all hands!"

"Yeah, follow on, Oliver!" called Emily, "Fire at the old dock!"

"I'd love to join you, but these two are in a right state!"

"Always our fault, eh, Cheech?" said Chong.

"Never is, eh, Chong?" replied Cheech.

"He could take us along! Like to see a fire!"

"The only fire," Oliver stated, "that you're going to see, I can tell you this for a fact, is the one I will set under your tracks, if you dumbasses don't get a move on!"

Cheech and Chong didn't believe him.

Back at the dock, the fire continued to spread, and the explosions continued to go off. Another building had been commandeered as a morgue, as the death toll continued to climb.

"The fire's on the Lawrence now," observed Jeremy, "the whole thing will REALLY spread."

"I feel so helpless..." said Theodore. He wanted Emily to be with him.

"Yeah, those were some big explosions." agreed Jebediah.

"There's more to come yet." warned Jeremy, gravely, "Just you wait. They were nearly fully-loaded before that naval ass arrived. What's onboard...I don't wanna think about it."

Yet more explosions occurred. Several fire trucks moved to back away, but were too late. They were destroyed, taking their occupants with them.

"Isn't there anything we can do?" asked Theodore.

"Believe me, Theodore," said Jeremy, "I'm as concerned as you are. But we've limited options here."

"But it's spreading! And that means Carl will get taken out!"

Carl was sitting on the quay, motionless. The memory of the crude oil tank cars exploding in the canal had triggered PTSD.

"You're right, Theodore!" said George, "Come on, everyone! Shout, and warn Carl!"

The tugs shouted out to warn Carl, who snapped out of it. Building up power in his EMD 567 engine, he dashed out, frantically blasting his Nathan P5 horn. The tugs cheered as he got clear.

But has he did, the building he passed blew up. It was the building that had been commandeered as a morgue. It happened suddenly, and without warning. The personnel inside looking over the dead were killed themselves, and the bodies were either vaporized by the intense heat, or were scorched beyond recognition.

Oil that had leaked off the dock and into the water found something to ignite it, and the fire spread somewhere nobody wanted it to spread.

"That's all we needed!" groaned George.

"The fuel's caught fire!" shouted Lucy.

"And that tank's fully-loaded!" said Theodore, "I must try to get it out to sea!"

"Don't do it! Stay back!" called George, "If that blows, it could take you with it!"

"Better me than the city!" replied Theodore.

The glow was ever-intense, and had caught Foduck's attention. His safety tug instincts kicked in, and he dashed off to the scene.

Theodore approached the barge cautiously.

"It's really hot. No chance of getting a line on it."

"What does he think he's doing?" Jebediah asked Jeremy.

"Looks like that fuel barge is on fire." replied Jeremy, "I'll say this much: Theodore's got more balls than me."

"Better push it! Gotta get it out to sea!"

As Theodore began pushing, the others heard a wonderful sound.

"Oh! Haha! It's about time you turned up!" George said to Red Fin. "Give Theodore a hand, he's burning up!"

"Get that thing out of here, quick!" Red Fin ordered Theodore.

"What do you think I'm doing?" retorted Theodore, "I'm not here to keep warm, you know!"

"You lot, stay back!" Red Fin told the others.

"I wasn't of thinking of moving anyway, sir." said Jeremy.

"Who's responsible for this, then?" Red Fin asked.

"Him! Behind me!" answered George, "Burton!"

"Ah, him. Him who gives all the orders. Well, he won't be giving anymore. He's in shock!"

Burton was indeed in shock. Between the explosions, the massive loss of life, and the likelyhood of him being court-martialled, he had lost all of his faculties and blacked out.

Red Fin noticed a building smoldering badly.

"Emily!" he called, "Get the fire barge and start dousing that building! It's going to blow any second!"

"On my way sir!" she replied, pushing a fire barge.

"We've got to try and stop the fire from spreading!"

Emily was pushing through her phobia of explosions to save the lives of army personnel.

"I'm taking this out to sea, Emily." said Theodore, "Take care. Watch those flames back there."

"Hey, what you got there looks far more dangerous to me-THA-THAT'S A BOMB, THEODORE! JUST LEAVE IT, WILL YA?"

"I'LL BE OKAY!"

"CUT THE CHAT!" called Red Fin, "EMILY, GET THE BARGE WORKING! STEER IT BETWEEN THE FLAMES, AND THEN SPIN IT AROUND!"

"YES SIR!" cried Emily. The heat was on for her, both figuratively and literally.

Another tug arrived on the scene.

"Oh my god!"

"Just in time, Foduck! Use your hose on that barge and the oil yard! Quick!"

"Yes, sir! Right away, sir!" Foduck forged ahead fearlessly.

Emily had gotten fire barge working, and fire was now 2% contained.

"Hey, the building's on fire now!" she called, "I-I can't seem to stop it-"

She was cut off when it exploded. Unfortunately, that building happened to be where the triage had been set up, further adding to the climbing death toll.

"Just keep spraying water on it, Emily!" called Red Fin, "Stop the spread! STOP THE SPREAD!"

The fire was fast spreading to the oil depot.

"Foduck, get out of there! It's gonna blow!"

"I can control it, sir!" said Foduck, "Don't worry!"

The fuel tanks at the depot were now detonating one by one.

"God..." muttered Foduck, as he continued spraying water. Debris from one explosion hit him right in the hat.

"God! Dammit! That hurt like a bitch!"

But he was undeterred, and continued the fight.

"Move back, Foduck!" ordered Red Fin, "Move back!"

"No, sir." replied Foduck, "I gotta look after Carl. He's a mighty valuable and good friend. Gotta look after your friends, you know."

Red Fin understood. "Okay, Foduck. Here, Jeremy, give me a hand with this fire barge! We gotta try and save the Alberta!"

"Oh, the ship's too far gone. Can't do much more. But...you are the boss."

Jeremy pushed the fire barge forward towards the ship.

"Go on, Jeremy," murmured Jebediah, "show them who's a real hero."

Out at sea...

"This is getting too dangerous." said Theodore to no one in particular, as he coughed. "The tank's blistering badly. It's starting to smoke! It's gonna go any second! I'VE GOTTA GET OUT OF HERE!"

He backed away as quickly as he could, as the barge exploded.

The glow could be seen from the main fire. Emily froze when she saw it.

"Theodore...no..."

"Stay put, Emily!" called George, "You're needed here!"

"But...h-h-he might need help..."

"STAY WHERE YOU ARE!"

As George said this, the Alberta, Sea Eagle, and Lawrence H. Gionella began to really explode. The fires had gotten below their decks. Any minute now, they would explode.

"Everyone move back!" called Red Fin, "They're all gonna go!"

"Aw, crapbaskets!" moaned Jeremy, "This won't be fun..."

After one last small explosion, it happened. A massive explosion ripped through the Alberta, as she keeled over. The Sea Eagle was split in half, sending flaming debris and bodies flying.

The Lawrence H. Gionella, which, might I remind you, was a tanker, was the worst. It was fully-loaded with fuel. Fire and fuel did not mix. The tugs all fled for their lives.

The resulting explosion was big enough to be seen from the International Space Station, and was reportedly loud enough to be heard in Toronto.

When the sun rose, the damage could be seen in full. The entire dock area had been destroyed, as several other nearby buildings. The blast wave was powerful to reach downtown, shattering windows, sending cars flying like toys, and demolishing unreinforced structures. Purdy's Wharf Tower II was set alight by the thermal wave, burning through the night. Despite the best efforts of Halifax Regional Fire & Emergency, the fire was too far gone. At 8:31 AM, the building suffered a total progressive collapse, smashing Tower I.

The effects were also felt throughout the Maritimes, with shattered windows and shaking reported throughout Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

All of the tugs had been hit by the blast wave, but were undamaged.

I was at home when the fire started. I stayed glued to my television and kept in close contact with Captain Zero. When the explosion occurred, the whole neighborhood lost power.

Estimates placed the explosion at being the equivalent of 4 kilotons of TNT. This made it the most powerful accidental man-made explosion EVER, more powerful than the Halifax Explosion in 1917. Why is it always Halifax?

The Morrison Tugs all convened at the dock, and everyone in the harbor stayed put after hearing Foduck's emergency horn.

George and Lucy were telling Hank, Molly, and Oliver about the fire, while Foduck was out making his inspection, putting out any remaining fires, and helping any vessels that had been beached by the blast wave.

Emily stared blankly out to the estuary. She couldn't see much, as the fire had created a large ash cloud that blotted out the sun.

"Are you alright, Emily?" asked Lucy.

"T-T-T-Theodore should've been back by now..." she said, quietly.

"We must all salute a very brave tug." said George, solemnly.

"Theodore...please...don't be dead..." Emily began to cry. Ever since the Cabot Incident in 2001, she had been very protective of Theodore. Now...now he was dead. And she never even got to say goodbye.

"Theodore! Please come home, Theodore!" She sobbed loudly, loud enough to be heard from the Knudsen Dock. The Knudsens were sad, too. They never wanted any of the Morrisons to die.

Emily's sorrow soon turned to rage. "IT'S THAT MOTHERF*CKER BURTON'S FAULT! I'LL KILL HIM! I'LL WRESTLE HIM OUT TO SEA, AND I'LL SCUTTLE HIM!"

"Emily, calm down!" I shouted through my megaphone, "Burton is being dealt with as we speak! Constance is looking for Theodore, but so far, no sign of him."

Hank tried to reassure Emily. "Maybe he's been towed in by someone."

"No. He would've turned up by now..."

A horn sounded. A very familiar horn.

"I can still hear that horn of his. I loved that horn just as much as I loved him."

"Uh, Emily?" said Oliver.

"I'll probably slip into depression, fill my tank with that high-grade natural gas and get high, lose my job, and scuttle myself."

The horn sounded again.

"GAH! Be that horn our sound of parting! Get thee back into the Tempest and the Night's Plutonian shore! Leave no black bumper as a token of that lie thy soul hath spoken! Leave my loneliness unbroken! Quit the waters in my dock area! TAKE THY BEAK FROM OFF MY HEART, AND TAKE THY FORM FROM OFF MY DOOR!"

Quoth the Theodore "Nevermore."

Emily snapped out of her Edgar Allen Poe-fueled insanity, and saw, in front of her...

"THEODORE! YOU'RE ALIVE!"

He was indeed. Blackened, but floating, Theodore was under Owan the Oil Rig, held up by cables. Sigrid had towed both of them into the harbor.

"We found him listing badly after his barge exploded." explained Sigrid, "But me and Owan acted quickly and got him righted again."

"YESSIREEBOB!" yelled Owan in his usual manner, "IT WAS A CLOSE ONE, BUT WE SAVE THE LITTLE GUY AND HAD HIS SKIPPER FLOWN TO HOSPITAL! THEY'LL BOTH BE FINE!"

Hank floated up to Theodore. "Are you alright, Theodore? What happened?"

"Well, just after I started reversing, it blew to smithereens! Nearly took me with it! Lights went out, water in the engine. Didn't know if I could make it back, before I found Owan. He stabilized me with some cables, then Sigrid towed us back here."

"And just as well!" I said, jubilantly, "Emily, take Theodore to Lucky's Yard for a top-to-bottom overhaul!"

"Yes, sir!" she said excitedly.

While we celebrated Theodore's safe return, Burton was getting his from John Rogers Anderson, his superior.

"Burton," he began, "words cannot describe how FURIOUS I am with you! You let your own authority cloud your common sense! Because of you, 6,000 people are DEAD, and we'll now have to pay compensation to their families! What's more, your actions not only destroyed one of our transports, but two American-flagged ships AND 15% of Halifax! The Prime Minister is LIVID. This is going to delay the start of our next offensive against al-Qaeda for months!"

"But, sir! It wasn't me! It was those tugs! They're the most undisciplined-"

"SHUT UP! I don't wanna hear it! People, both military and civilian are dead, and the blood is on your bumpers! I said you'd be sorry if the maneuvers didn't go smoothly, but OHOHOHOHOHO! This takes the cake! You'll be court-martialled for this!"

Burton was indeed court-martialled. Not only that, he was tried as a war criminal. After a two-month trial, during which Theodore, Emily, Foduck, George, Lucy, Jeremy, and Red Fin were called to testify, Burton was found guilty of too many charges for me to list here. During this period, the death toll rose to 8,000.

Two weeks after the verdict, things went from bad to worse for him. First, he was struck from the registry, then he was decommissioned, and finally, the navy put him up for sale, with the instruction that he never be used for work again. Countless offers came in for him, but ultimately, it was Captain Zero who bought him for cheap.

Burton was then resold to Wink and Fibb for an excellent price, who laid him up at their yard upriver. Stripped of his nameplates and his engine, Burton languished there until 2014, when he was finally beached and cut up. Captain Zero, whose fleet had expanded since them, bought one of Burton's Ruston-Paxman engines, and gave it to Jack, to replace his decrepit ALCO engine.

Theodore, meanwhile, was overhauled at Lucky's Yard, and came out better than ever. For the longest time, he and Emily worked exclusively with each other. Suffice to say, the whole thing brought them closer than ever.

Rebuilding began a week after the explosion. The ash cloud cleared after ten days. Most major work was completed by mid-2010. Nowadays, there's zero evidence to suggest the explosion ever happened!

The disaster did have one benefit for me: a massive salavage contract. My fleet worked day-in and day-out to take the wreckage of the three ships away from the disaster area, after all the bodies had been removed. We also moved rubble and debris upriver to a site designated by the military. There was so much to do, I had to charter a few tugs to help. Among them were Sea Rogue, Buster Keaton, and Junior Johnson. JJ, in particular, proved invaluable to loosening some of the rubble with his dynamite. It was one of the most lucrative contracts I had ever had. In fact, it brought in so much money, I was able to afford several new tugboats. But that's a story for another day...

Well, there it is! My favorite episode, and probably the one I had the most fun writing for! Up next is the adaptation for "Warrior", titled "Oliver".