Thomas and the tugs

Chapter 2: Meeting the Star Fleet

The engines, cranes, and Sir Topham Hatt had mixed expressions of shock/terror/surprise on their faces as the fog cleared up to reveal the tugs and submarine. They are literally the creepiest things they've ever seen.  Fear eventually overcame the engines as Ten Cents made a move. He bowed to them.

"Greetings, Sudrians." He said. "I'm sure you're all aware of our little accident. We do apologize."

He was only met with silence from the engines, cranes, and Sir Topham Hatt he called 'Sudrians. After a brief moment of silence, Sir Topham Hatt is the first to perk up with a smile.

"Hello there." He simply said. "Welcome to Sodor."

"This is Sodor?" Warrior asked stupidly.

"Oh my God, what do you think, weirdo?!" Top Hat yelled at him with pure annoyance in his voice.

"Guys!" Ten Cents said, quieting them down. Then he turns to Sir Topham Hatt. "Sorry about them. They...have trouble getting along sometimes. Since we've accidentally crashed onto your dock, we'll get to fixing that problem right away."

Sir Topham Hatt held his hand out, stopping him. "Wait. You don't have to right now. You can find time to do that, but for right now, let's get you all settled."

"Good idea." Ten Cents said. Then his eyes widened. "Oh wait!"

"What is it?" Sir Topham Hatt asked."

"It's just...we haven't introduced ourselves yet." Ten  said.

"Oh...well, go ahead." Sir Topham Hatt smiled.

The leader speaks. "My name is Ten Cents and these guys are my friends." He gestures to each. "Here, we have Top Hat, Hercules, Warrior, Big Mac, O. J., Sunshine, and..." He stopped talking.

Everyone else stared in confusion, but the engines are still too terrified to say or ask anything.

Sir Topham Hatt spoke. "What's wrong?"

"Oh, nuts. One of my friends is hiding." Ten Cents said. Top Hat approaches the seven engines, whose eyes widened in fear.

"Wow, your engines are as silent as a mouse. Are they usually like this?" Top Hat asked Sir Topham Hatt.

"Uh, no, it's just..." Sir Topham Hatt turns to the eight engines, now spoke in a hushed tone. "Come on, guys. Don't be rude. They're actually very friendly."

"But...they're aliens..." The engines said quietly.

"Darlings, relax." Hercules said calmly. "We are completely harmless."

"So anyway, who's that one friend that's hiding?" Sir Topham Hatt asked Ten Cents.

"His name is Grampus. He hides from strangers all the time." Ten Cents said.

Then, Ten Cents looked up and in shock!

"Big Mickey? Is that you?"

"It sure is, Ten Cents!"

"You two know each other?" Asked Cranky.

"Yes, I used to work at Bigg City Port, until I fell over thanks to that Bluenose!" 

"Well, now that you guys introduced yourselves, I'll have my engines say a little something about themselves." Sir Topham Hatt said with a smile, referring to his engines. He turns around to face them.

"It's okay, engines. They're completely harmless." He said. The engines  nervously approached the Starr Tugs. After a minute of hesitation, Thomas spoke up.

"Uh, hello. I'm Thomas. These are James, Percy, Edward, Gordon, Henry, Toby, and Emily."

"Those names sound beautiful." Hercules said with a friendly smile.

"Right. So is it just you that's the talkative one?" Top Hat asked.

"Oh, no. Together, we're the Steam Team." Thomas said. "And we love making new friends."

"Yeah..." The other engines said nervously, although they did manage to put a smile on their faces.

After a brief moment of silence, Sir Topham Hatt perks up. "All right. Now that we introduced ourselves, I think we have some work to do. If you and your friends don't mind, Ten Cents."

"Of course not, Sir." Replied Ten Cents.