#duncan the warlock engineer

[usagirotten]

ROGUE TROOPER is coming to screens written and directed by Duncan Jones

Duncan Jones made an incredible debut with his Sam Rockwell-starring sci-fi, Moon. However, his follow-ups haven’t collected as much acclaim with the Groundhog Day-on-a-train thriller Source Code, his step into the big-budget franchise world with Warcraft, and his high-concept Netflix sci-fi, Mute. For years, Jones has been developing an adaptation of the comic Rogue Trooper, which is to be an animated feature. The production has been rolling along, and Variety has revealed the cast of actors that Jones has been able to compile for the film. Aneurin Barnard, Hayley Atwell, and Jack Lowden are reportedly said to be the main cast in the lead roles for the science-fiction animated film. Barnard, whose credits include The Goldfinch and Dunkirk, is set to star as the eponymous Rogue Trooper. Joining him in the movie is Atwell, who is known for her roles in the Captain America movies and various Marvel Studios appearances, as well as the recent Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning. Rounding out the main cast is Lowden, who was previously seen in Slow Horses and Dunkirk. Jones has additionally assembled Daryl McCormack (Bad Sisters, Good Luck to You Leo Grande), Reece Shearsmith (Inside No. 9, Saltburn), Jemaine Clement (Avatar: The Way of Water, Flight of the Conchords), Matt Berry (What We Do in the Shadows), Diane Morgan (Cunk on Earth), Alice Lowe (Black Mirror), Asa Butterfield (Sex Education, Hugo) and Sean Bean (Game of Thrones, The Lord of the Rings). The movie, which is based on a 2000 AD’s comic book series by Gerry Finley-Day and Dave Gibbons, will be animated and made with Epic Games’ Unreal Engine 5.  

Rogue Trooper is one of the greatest characters to come out of 2000 AD, which also publishes characters such as Judge Dredd, Nemesis the Warlock, and Strontium Dog. Created by Gerry Finley-Day and Dave Gibbons, Rogue Trooper is a genetically engineered soldier bred to fight on Nu-Earth, a hellish planet consumed by an endless war between the Norts and the Southers. The sole survivor of a massacre that claimed his fellow GIs, Rogue sets out on a mission to find the traitor who betrayed them – the personalities of three dead comrades plugged into his helmet, backpack, and rifle. Jones is one of a generation of leading British film directors who have been inspired by the satirical, anti-establishment, and hyper-violent comic strips in 2000 AD. First published in 1977, 2000 AD has been at the cutting edge of British culture for four decades and continues to publish ground-breaking science fiction, fantasy, and horror comics.   2000 AD is the legendary weekly British anthology comic – the home of Judge Dredd and a galaxy of original sci-fi, fantasy, and horror action stars. Producing innovative and provocative comics for 40 years, it has brought the industry some of its biggest talents, from Alan Moore, Grant Morrison, and Mark Millar, to Jock, Brian Bolland, Dave Gibbons, and many more. Published in print and digital every Wednesday, 2000 AD is the Galaxy’s Greatest Comic and remains at the industry’s cutting edge.

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[esquimaltnanaimo]

Royal Rescue Ch.5 - Reunion

"124… the heck? CHLOE?!"

The approaching engine screeched to a stop next to Ellie, slowly ambling forward alongside Chloe. They were another GP9, just like Chloe and 119, but they were numbered 135 and painted with a red circle logo and "SRY Rail Link", instead of Chloe's white stripes and E&N logo. As soon as the islander Geep saw them, she immediately forgot about the situation. "Ohmygosh, Sis!!" she chimed, smiling brightly. "Gosh, it's been--" "Sis, what the hell are you doing back here?" asked 135 suddenly, cutting Chloe off.

"…Jeez, nice welcome party," said Chloe, smiling at her sister engine jokingly. "A-are you friend or foe?" squeaked Ellie, from behind. 135 didn't hear her. "OK… sorry, sorry," said 135. "It's great to see you, Chlo, but… seriously, you gotta get back to the Island. How'd you even get here?" "Ferry," said Chloe simply. She took a breath to continue, but 135 cut her off again. "OK, obviously, ferry. That was a dumb question," said the SRY Geep. "But seriously, you gotta get out of here. You aren't registered to Southern anymore, and 119's gonna shove you around if you try to move from the shop." "119… Carla, Jules, she has a name," said Chloe, in an accusatory tone. "What's up with her, anyway?"

Jules…? thought Ellie.

135 sighed. "Chloe, that isn't Carla anymore." "She's a cyborg… isn't she?" asked Ellie, quietly. Chloe opened her mouth to speak, but 135 finally noticed Ellie before she could. She rolled backwards to see the smaller engine. "…Jeez, I didn't even notice the switcher," they said. "Sorry I just blew right past you. What's your name?" "H-hi," squeaked Ellie nervously. "I'm Ellie. I'm not even Canadian…" 135 chuckled. "Julie," she said with a smile, "but you can call me Jules. And don't sweat the non-Canadian thing, none of us are. Save for the switchers. And the SDs, but they're assholes." "Okay," replied Ellie quietly. She wasn't really sure what else to say, as Julie rolled forward again to continue talking to her sister.

"Anyway, Chloe," began Julie. "About 119. Long story short, just… things have gone totally off the rails here since you left in '04." "What… happened?" asked Chloe, worried. Duncan looked sad. "Presumably some real bad shit," he put in. Julie sighed and said, "OK, everyone, this is gonna get really heavy. You might want your handbrakes on." Ellie looked worried. "Sh-should I be human for this, Duncan?" "No… that might freak people out. And draw more attention." "Wait, what?" asked Julie, looking surprised. "…It's a joke," said Ellie, quickly. She gave a half-fake-sounding laugh, hoping she'd save face. "Yep. Inside joke," added Duncan.

Julie looked confused, but she decided to not ask questions. "…OK, whatever," she said, looking to her sister. "Anyway… Chloe, you remember our switchers, right? The 900's?" Ellie perked up at the word 'switcher', looking terrified. "Of… course I remember them," replied Chloe. "Well… we're down one." "Oh, gosh… Sold?" "No. Killed." "What??" Ellie's engine backfired. "Wh-what??" she squeaked. "Oh my gosh… Was there a derailment? Were they… What did I miss??" stammered Chloe. "Well, you saw the slug coupled to 119, didn't you?" asked Carla, serious. "The what…?"

Ellie froze, putting two and two together about the strange car coupled to the cyborg Geep. "Slug…? Diesel tender… Switcher trucks… switcher…" Julie stopped, and was about to ask if Ellie was alright before she was cut off by the sound of the little switcher throwing up. Both Geep sisters winced. "Jeez… Are you OK?" Julie finally asked, after a moment. Ellie was still recovering, so Duncan stepped in. "She's… from preservation. We're totally out of the loop…" he explained, rubbing Ellie's side as dark brown engine oil spread across her pilot. Julie felt awful. "…Yikes, I'm sorry. I should've warned you." "It's… ugh." croaked Ellie, tears rolling down her face. "That's so inhumane!" she cried, sobbing. "That poor engine… Oh, Watty Piper, if I ever get out of here, I'm going to pray every Sunday like a good little diesel…" "…Don't mind her," said Duncan, apologetically. "She's still pretty young minded." Julie cracked a small smile at Ellie's praying, then sighed. "It's OK," she said.

Duncan proceeded to look for some shop towels to clean the oil off of Ellie's pilot, while Carla continued her explanation to her sister.

"So…" began Chloe, quietly. "Who was it…? The… slug." "Tamara," replied Julie. "The one the managers bought surplus from the pulp mill in Squamish." "Great rails above… That's so awful." Duncan had found some towels, and climbed back up onto Ellie's front platform. "I'm sorry for your loss, Julie," he said. "Thanks," replied the SRY engine. "We're pretty much used to it at this point, but… thanks." Ellie was repeating something quietly to herself, while Duncan cleaned up the mess on her pilot. "Still… it's fucked up," he said. "I'm afraid it… gets worse, actually." replied Julie. "How could it possibly get worse?" asked Chloe, in disbelief. "Don't say that," said Ellie, quietly. "When you say that, it gets even more worse."

Julie went on. "Well… You guys saw 119. Before Carla was sent off for her… rebuild, I guess, she was derated to a master engine." "Master engine?" asked Chloe. "It means…" began Julie, sighing. "It means she's perma-coupled to the slug out there, and half her generator's energy goes to the slug's traction motors. It's called 'master and slave' by the railway. 119's the master, and the slug is the slave." Chloe recoiled in horror. "That's disgusting!! What an awful name… so half her power's getting sucked off by… Tamara's body?" "Basically." Chloe was horrified. "I'm… at a loss for words," she said. Ellie sobbed. "…If it makes you feel any better," said Julie, "Carla doesn't feel it. She's gone." "Oh, right… the rebuild…" "Yeah. It's why we call that thing 119 instead of our sister's name." "R-right…"

"Anyway, speaking of… Before Carla got sent away, when she first got mated to the slug, she was still herself," continued Julie. Chloe looked worried. "And…?" "Well… She started complaining about hearing voices, and… how she couldn't get the slug to pull all the time, and how she didn't want to be a master, so…" As Julie trailed off, the only sound was Ellie retching again. Duncan rubbed the side of the little switcher's hood, trying to help her feel better. Chloe and her sister looked at each other, then back at her. "…I know I asked before, but are you OK?" asked Julie, concerned. "I'm sorry… this is just so gross to me," said Ellie weakly. "And she heard a voice of the fallen… that's…" she trailed off, shivering in fear and horror. "That's what the rest of us thought, anyway," said Julie, sighing. "We never really got a chance to find out for sure, before… well…" Chloe shuddered, remembering what Jordan had told her before she left the island with Ellie. "Her rebuild... the ECO program?” "Yup." said Julie simply.

The three engines were silent. 119 came into view again, continuing to shunt freight cars in the yard robotically, with the slug engine that used to be Tamara coupled to its rear.

Chloe looked at 119's face. She looked at the blush marks on its cheeks just like her own, the once-bright, unblinking eyes, the number boards, the paint patch over where "CARLA" used to be written… and remembered.

She remembered back before she moved to the Island, when she still belonged to SRY. She remembered how often she would team up with Carla, and how well they worked as a team on light transfers and industry runs.

She remembered Montana, the day all the Rail Link engines got their five-chime horns, and how Carla picked the wrong one just because she liked the sound better.

She remembered when she was still in Burlington Northern green, sitting nervously in the repair shop as her high short hood was chopped down, with Carla being there through the whole process to comfort her.

She remembered when she met Carla for the first time, both sisters fresh from the factory, coupled face to face as helpers on a Northern Pacific heavy freight train.

"Sis…"

"…Yeah?" said Julie, looking at Chloe, who was silently watching 119. "…I'm sorry I left." Julie recoiled. "Don't you dare," she scolded. "You're E&N now, you belong there. And it wasn't your choice, either way." "Still," began Chloe, but she trailed off. "Think about it, Chlo," cut in Duncan. "What if it was you who got rebuilt like 119?" Chloe blinked. "I'd… rather not." "Duncan!" cried Ellie, starting to tear up again. "Don't say that…" "Yeah, that wasn't cool to bring up," agreed Julie. Duncan felt awful, and apologized, while Chloe was silent again. She was thinking about a lot of things at once. "I miss home," said Ellie suddenly, quietly. "I just wanna save Gloria and get back home to where I can't get turned into a slug, or a re-power, or… put in a museum…" "Save-- what?" asked Julie. She looked to Chloe. "OK, let's drop the horrific explanations--" "Please," replied her twin. "…Yeah, let's do that. What's going on? Save Gloria?" Chloe looked at her sister, serious. "It's why I came back," she said, sounding determined as she remembered her and Ellie's mission. "We're going to save an engine." Ellie perked up. "Gloria, the last running Royal Hudson," she added. Julie blinked, and immediately looked doubtful. "You're joking, right? She's all the way in Squamish." "We're not kidding," chided Duncan. "And… how in the hell do you plan to do that, exactly? You'd have to go through the city, and there's at least three yards between here and the outskirts!" "Illusions," said Ellie, simply. And with that, she shut her eyes and focused, just as Julie looked back to ask her what she meant. Her eyes met not a small bright-blue switcher, but an even smaller, black, ancient-looking steam engine.

Julie's jaw almost hit her pilot. Chloe giggled as Ellie quickly changed back, and Duncan breathed a silent sigh of relief about how Ellie could still focus and hold an illusion spell even when she was distressed. After a moment of speechlessness on Julie's part, Chloe began to explain briefly. "Duncan gave us magic crystals that we can use to disguise ourselves as different engines," she said. "Like, ones that wouldn't get caught." "And, record for most words I've never heard together in a sentence, broken," deadpanned Julie. "No words." Chloe couldn't help but giggle some more. "By the way!" added Ellie, feeling a lot better now that they had changed subject. "You know the joke I made about turning human earlier?" "…It wasn't a joke, was it-" began Julie, but she was cut off by the switcher, who now stood behind Chloe as a short, blonde, soft-looking human girl, wearing a blue jersey emblazoned with a large white "2", a pair of dusty jeans, and heavy-duty work boots. "It wasn't a joke!" she chimed with a big smile, doing a small 'ta-da' pose between the rails.

Julie now truly had no words. "I know, right?" laughed Chloe, again seeing her sister's expression. "OK, so… you have magic illusions and transformation powers now, OK. I'm guessing you can do the same stuff, huh Chloe?" "Yup! I'm not as good at it yet, but I can do it!" replied Chloe, shutting her eyes and preparing to use her crystal as well. Julie made a strange sound. "N-no, that's OK! I'm gonna save the questions, that's enough weirdness for one lifetime. Day. I mean day." "…You OK, sis?" "Yeah, fine, just… Suddenly my sister and her new friend-" "Cousin!" corrected Ellie cheerfully. "…Cousin have magical transformation powers," said Julie. "It's weird, and it's a lot to process. And on top of that, you're going to rescue a steam engine? What're you even rescuing her from?" "Becoming stationary," explained Duncan, standing next to Ellie. "Like, no steam, ever again." "Oh god, they're de-comming her?" asked Julie, gaining a look of fright. "Isn't she in pretty much perfect condition?" "It's what she said in her letter to Jordan…" said Chloe, sadly. "Yeah. Perfect shape or not, it's what the museum people want to do," said Duncan. "But we're gonna… 'borrow' Gloria. Forever. Like, forever-forever, so they can't do it," added Ellie, in a determined tone. Julie looked thoughtful. She hadn't thought her sister and the newcomers were serious at first. "…Well, jeez. Crisis all of a sudden," she said. She felt bad for doubting her sister, but decided to move on rather than apologize. "Do you guys need some help?" she continued. "I can round up the others, and we might be able to get you across town on a transfer or something…" "Wait. You guys still do the Downtown run?" asked Chloe, surprised. "I thought that ended before I left." "It started back up after CN reopened the Burrard Inlet line. We run stacks to Port Metro and back here now." Chloe looked confused. "…Stacks? Containers? Gosh, things have changed." Julie laughed. "It has been a while since you've been here, huh?" she teased. "Yeah, we started running stack trains. Trading tonnage with CP and CN, mostly." "Ahh, gotcha," said Chloe. "Well… Gosh, if you could get us across the city on one of those, it'd make the first part of our trip a whole lot easier." "Well, I'll talk to the others and see what we can do," said Julie. She looked out of the shed, spying 119 again. She frowned, then looked back to her non-rebuilt sister. "Sis, Ellie, Duncan, you three stay here, okay?" She was met with agreement from all three other parties. "Like, seriously, don't bother leaving. 119's still out there, it'll just come and shove you right back in if you even try to turn a wheel. I'll see if someone else can come and see you, and maybe keep watch." "You're the best, Jules… Thanks," said Chloe. "'Course, sis," replied Julie, as she started to roll forward out of the shop building. She stopped short and looked back at her sister. "Oh, and…" "Yeah?" The mainland Geep smiled. "Good to see you again, Chlo. Seriously, it is." The island Geep smiled right back. "Same to you, Jules… I'm glad you're doing OK." "That's a word for it," chuckled Julie, as she revved up her engine and rolled away, into the yard.

Chloe sighed as her sister left, smiling to herself. Ellie, on the other hand, was remembering the conversation at length and looked distraught. "…I need marshmallows," she said, quietly, and Duncan began to rifle through his messenger bag. Ellie's stomach gurgled after a moment, prompting her to look worried. "Or… m-maybe not," she said, and Duncan stopped. The comparatively enormous GP9 looked back at the human couple. "You okay, you two?" she asked, concerned. "I'm shocked, honestly," said Duncan. He didn't show it, but he was still trying to process all he'd seen and heard. Ellie, meanwhile, approached Duncan and pulled out a bright blue The Little Engine that Could plush from his messenger bag. Hugging it closely, she quickly, wordlessly climbed up onto Chloe's pilot. "Ellie? What are you…" began Chloe, surprised, as her cousin laid down on the cold metal and curled up into a ball in front of her face, shaking like a leaf.

The big Geep sighed gently, unable to really do anything to comfort her cousin. Fortunately, Duncan was on the scene and climbed up after his girlfriend, sitting next to her and gently stroking her back.

Silence reigned once more, for what felt like a long time.

--

(mun’s note: i moved chloe’s memory lane trip to this chapter! it was more fitting here, i thought. sorry this took so long, btw! it was a lot of stuff to edit XD)

[esquimaltnanaimo]

Royal Rescue Ch.4 - Making Port

"Everything ship-shape back there, you two? You're awful quiet."

Chloe woke suddenly at the sound of her radio. She had dozed off on the barge as they crossed the Strait of Georgia, the sounds of the waves and Riley's rumbling engines putting her to sleep. Next to her, Ellie had tears rolling down her face. The little switcher was afraid of what might happen when they made port, but fortunately Duncan was there. Gently hugging her face, he spoke to her softly. "If – IF – anything bad happens, I promise until you feel better I'll buy you a stuffed animal a week, and a bag of marshmallows every day. And if you want, I can get you a Dreamcast." "A Dreamcast...?" "Yeah, with any games you'd like." "Okay… Can it be the rare blue one?" "I'll… see what I can do." Ellie smiled wide, silently. Chloe cracked a smile too, then clicked on her radio. "We're OK, Ri. Thanks," she finally replied to the big tugboat. "Just makin' sure!"

Chloe looked off the sides of the barge, and finally it occurred to her they were no longer in open water. Riley was leading them down a wide river, underneath a huge suspension bridge. Industries and warehouses occupied one side, with houses on the other. "…Where are we, Ri?" asked Chloe, radioing the tug ahead again. "Just under the Alex Fraser," replied Riley. "Almost in New West." "…Wow, how long was I asleep for?" "Must'a been a couple hours, if the last thing you remember is the Strait." Chloe was surprised.”Huh. Well, cool!"

The Geep looked over at her cousin, smiling again when she saw Duncan still hugging her. "How're you two holding up?" she asked. Ellie's expression fell. "I'm… still really scared," she said, as Duncan pulled away to let her speak. Chloe sighed, looking ahead down the river. "It's… I am too, you know? I don't know what we're in for, but… I know that if we stick to the plan, we'll be okay," she said, after a brief silence. "Okay…" replied Ellie, quietly.

A few minutes later, Riley had detached her tow rope and was now gently nudging the ferry against its berth. Once it was in place, the dock's ramp fell with a clank, locking into the rails on the deck of the barge. The ramp led to a small, yet busy-looking railway yard on the banks of the Fraser River, with the city of New Westminster just east. The high-rise buildings and three bridges of the downtown area stood tall against the darkening late-afternoon sky. "Oh, waves below," said Riley suddenly. As she held the barge in place and her deckhands moored it to the dock, a familiar-sounding engine could be heard approaching. "What's up, Ri?" asked Chloe, looking ahead past the freight cars on the barge. "It's 119… I forgot it's on barge duty on Tuesdays." "119-" said Chloe, before her face lit up with surprise. "Carla!" she exclaimed, finally seeing where the familiar engine rumbling was coming from. A GP9, all but identical to Chloe herself, smoothly rolled their way onto the ramp track, heading straight for Chloe. While she wore a bright smile, happy to see one of her sisters, the new Geep's face was completely devoid of expression. They stopped suddenly, staring directly at Chloe. Duncan looked up to see the newcomer, and immediately went wide-eyed. "Carla?" asked Chloe. "What are you-" The Geep numbered 119 suddenly spoke, cutting their sister off. “Ａｌｅｒｔ： Ｕｎａｕｔｈｏｒｉｚｅｄ ｌｏｃｏｍｏｔｉｖｅｓ ｄｅｔｅｃｔｅｄ ｏｎ ｐｒｅｍｉｓｅｓ. Ｅｓｃｏｒｔｉｎｇ ｔｏ ｌｏｃｏｍｏｔｉｖｅ ｒｅｐａｉｒ ｆａｃｉｌｉｔｉｅｓ ｆｏｒ ｉｎｓｐｅｃｔｉｏｎ.”

"Cyborg!" yelled Duncan. But before he could do anything, the new Geep powered forward to Chloe, who yelped as her coupled locked against theirs. 119 proved to be quite strong as they pulled her off the barge with ease, even with Chloe’s wheels sliding against the rails as she dragged her handbrake. "Hey-- Carla! Stop- What are you doing? What's with your voice??" stammered Chloe, utterly confused. With her engine off, she was helpless.

"Let go of my cousin!!" cried Ellie, as Duncan clambered into her cab and started her engine. As soon as her big V12 was running, she took off after the two Geeps, coupling onto Chloe's rear and pulling back with all her might. It proved to be a fruitless effort, as the strange Geep didn't even flinch. They simply continued to pull them through the yard. Ellie honked her horns loudly, trying to pull back until her traction motors ached. Chloe had already given in, having released her brakes, so she gave up too. "We're dead. We're dead! They're gonna… they're gonna rebuild us! We're gonna… Oh Gawdry, oh Watty Piper, oh…" "You don't know that!" cried Chloe. "We- Carla, seriously, what are you doing? You're freaking me out!" "Damn it," cursed Duncan, simply holding onto Ellie's control stand.

119 wordlessly pulled Chloe and Ellie across a number of switches, then abruptly reversed direction and backed the two cousins into a large shop building. Once they were stopped, with both engines inside, they uncoupled and reversed direction again, backing back down the track and rolling smoothly away down another, away from the shop. As the tracks curved away, an odd looking freight car with diesel-like bogies was visible, coupled behind the strange Geep. Duncan went pale as a ghost when he saw it.

"…What just happened?" asked Chloe, still endlessly confused. "And… what's that?" added Ellie, as she saw the strange car coupled to 119. Duncan was quick to cut in. "It's… a tender! A tender for diesels," he lied.

A silence reigned for a few moments, until 119 was out of sight. "That was… exactly how they acted in the movie." Chloe blinked, looking at Duncan. "The movie… you mean the rebuilt engines?" "The cyborgs, yeah," he replied. "Carla was probably weak minded… So the cyborg format totally took her over." Chloe made a small sound. "And they gave her a slu-- er, diesel tender," went on Duncan. "It helps the rebuilt engines be stronger." Chloe sadly looked out of the shed doors, spying 119 and their 'tender' shunting the cars off the ferry barge. "So… Carla's…" she began, hesitating. "…Not Carla anymore." said Duncan, sadly. "I'm sorry, Chloe."

The little Geep was silent.

Ellie, meanwhile, was thinking about how insignificant and weak she felt sometimes, being the smallest diesel on her home railway. "Duncan, can I have a--" "NO, YOU DO NOT WANT A TENDER!!" shouted Duncan suddenly, startling Ellie so badly her engine backfired. "Because you're… fine as is," he concluded, after a moment. Ellie was confused, but stayed silent.

Suddenly, the sound of another engine approaching from the other end of the shed made everyone freeze.

"124… the heck? CHLOE?!"

[esquimaltnanaimo]

Royal Rescue Ch.3 - The Plan

Everyone had headed back inside the diesel shop, and the four engines and the warlock made a plan. The EMD cousins Chloe and Ellie would work together, and Duncan would aid them on the journey. The three would take the railcar ferry across the water from Nanaimo to New Westminster, a city on the mainland. Chloe knew they'd be safe there, as the yard the ferry would arrive in was her old home yard, where the rest of her family lived.

"So that takes care of you getting there," said Jordan, looking over the map on the shop's wall. "But how do you get to Squamish? There's the BN yard at Braid, and then there's the Lynn Creek and Lions' Gate CN yards. You wouldn't roll fifty feet through any of those without raising some kind of attention." Chloe hummed thoughtfully. "I guess we couldn't just… go to Squamish on a rail barge, huh," she said. "No, Riley has a set route…" said Abigail softly. "If she deviates from it, the Coast Guard will come to inspect her and set her back on course…"

Duncan was looking over the map, and upon seeing a part of the line through the city, he snapped his fingers. "An illusion spell." "Huh?" "Cloaking you as another engine, Chloe," said Duncan, turning to the Geep. "It'd get us through those yards." Chloe was silent for a moment. "So, like… Another engine?" "A CN one, probably," cut in Jordan. "Yeah. I remember running the Lynn Creek transfer through the city there. CN engines run all over the place, no issues." "But what about Ellie, though…?" asked Abigail gently, causing the small switcher to perk up. Duncan and Ellie looked at each other, then Jordan cut in again. "Wait," he said suddenly, "You're all going to the museum." Duncan looked at the big SD. "Yeah?" "Well, perfect. What if Ellie cloaked up as one of the Crown engines?" Ellie looked confused. "Why?" she asked. "Hear me out," said Jordan, "Little EMD's like you are few and far between on the mainland now, since all the switching and stuff is done by bigger engines." "Meaning…?" said Duncan. "Well, the Squamish museum would be a perfect place for a little switcher like you to end up, 'specially if you were in the Crown colours. You'd be part of BC's history."

Ellie's eyes widened. "But I'm not," she stammered. "I'm not… part of…" Abigail blinked. "Are you OK…?" "I don't wanna be a display!" blurted out Ellie, her radiator kicking in noisily. "Whoa, whoa, let me finish," said Jordan. "I didn't mean-" "I don't wanna be in a museum… I want Tillie-Senpai!" cried Ellie. Duncan gently shushed her and hugged her face. "It's OK, that's not what he meant…" Chloe was at a complete loss for words, and Jordan looked exasperated, muttering something about switchers under his breath. Abigail gently rolled forward, towards Ellie. "Jordan didn't mean you'd actually be given to the museum as a display, Ellie…" "Yeah," said Jordan, "I just meant you'd disguise as an engine that would be." Ellie took a deep breath, calming down. "OK…" Jordan went on. "It'd just be a ruse so you'd be let through, like… say if Chloe turned into a CN Geep or something, and you played like you're being taken by her to the museum." "That's actually… brilliant, J," said Chloe, cracking a small smile. "What do you think, Ellie? Duncan?" Duncan hummed thoughtfully. "Well, here…" he began, pointing at the map where he saw before.

Duncan explained his idea, and why he brought up a disguise spell to begin with: The line between Braid and Lynn Creek went through a tunnel halfway, which would be a perfect hidden place to cast one on both engines. That only left Braid to get through, but Chloe assured everybody that they'd be safe for that. She was still in her old home line's colours, after all, and engines that wore the same paint passed through BN territory every day to get into Vancouver. As long as the cheery Geep was leading for the trip through the city, they'd be fine.

Shortly afterwards, after Abigail and Jordan had said goodbye and wished luck to the three adventurers, Chloe led the way to the rail-ferry slip. As they rolled behind the Nanaimo yard's outbuildings and into view of the dockside, Chloe smiled. "Looks like we have perfect timing!" she said, spying the bright red smokestack of a familiar tugboat. She was just tying herself onto the ferry barge, getting ready to head across the Strait of Georgia to the mainland. "Riley!" called Chloe, blowing her whistle loudly. The tug looked over, and smiled wide. "Hey there, Clo!" she chimed as the two engines approached. "And well, float me in the water, if it ain't Ellie the switcher too! What brings y'all over here?" "Just wondering if you've got room for two more," said Chloe, looking at Ellie as she stopped next to her. "We need to save an engine," said Ellie, serious. "Oh ho, goin' on another rescue mission, eh Clo?" "Yeah," said the Geep, smiling a bit. "Duty calls, as they say." She giggled. Ellie was surprised. "Another?!" "Well, yeah, ol' Chloe here brought home a certain rainbow engine from Alberta once," said Riley, smiling. "Oh, right," said Ellie. "Well, engine needs savin', I'm glad to help. C'mon aboard, there's room at the back!" Chloe smiled, releasing her brakes and gently ambling onto the ramp track. There were rails embedded in the barge's deck, which were already loaded with several freight cars bound for the mainland.

Ellie lagged behind for a moment, and Duncan appeared on her walkway next to her face. She stood still, simply breathing for a moment. Duncan broke the silence, with a sigh. "Are you sure about this, Ellie?" "We have to try," replied the little switcher, trying to sound determined. Tillie wouldn't be proud of me if I didn't try, she thought, finally releasing her own brakes and trundling onto the barge next to her cousin. Chloe offered her a reassuring smile as she pulled up. "You OK?" "I'm really scared," said Ellie quietly, as the dock workmen milled around, preparing the barge for departure. Riley was preparing herself for the voyage, as well. "Well… like I said, we'll be arriving in my old home yard. My family's all still there, so we'll be safe," said Chloe, reassuringly. "Still… there's so much that could go wrong… Like what Duncan said, you could be caught and you could get cyborgified, or… I could get locked away in a museum, or… scrapped…" she said, trailing off. Duncan appeared again, gently placing a hand on Ellie's hood panels. Chloe didn't know what to say that could help.

As the two cousins talked, Riley's workmen finished untying the barge from the dock, and the ferry was underway. With two short toots of her cute two-chime whistle, she gave her big twin engines a mighty rev and pulled away into the harbor.

Chloe and Ellie were silent for a moment, both feeling worried. The Geep broke the silence. "We're gonna be OK…" she began. Ellie made a small sound. "We'll ask my family in New West for help, too. If we tell them everything, I'm sure they'll help… They're a good bunch." "OK… I hope so," said Ellie, quietly. "I'm here too, remember," chimed in Duncan reassuringly. Chloe smiled. "That's right… We're a team, cous. We just gotta stick to the plan, and we'll be safe."

Riley pulled the barge, laden with the two cousins, out of the mouth of the harbour. She paid out her tow line as she entered open water, cheerfully powering through the calm sea. The mainland's mountains were visible in the distance, under a darkening early evening sky, as the Nanaimo docks grew further and further away behind them. Duncan returned to Ellie's cab, and Chloe tied on her handbrake, settling in for the short voyage.

"I think I can…" whispered Ellie.

[esquimaltnanaimo]

Royal Rescue Ch.2: Cause for Alarm

"No!" cried Ellie. "That's awful! Can we… can we do anything?" A silence reigned for a moment, before Jordan cut back in. "Well… the hell could we even do? She's done for… Even after all she's done for rail preservation and tourism in this province, they're gonna disable her for the rest of her life as a static display." Abigail made a small sound. "Well, hang on," said Duncan, "You're talking with a warlock, and his diesel shunter girlfriend." "…your point being?" asked Jordan, looking empty. "Well, I'm sure we can do something." The big widecab looked at Duncan. "…OK, I know you can do portals and shit. But there's no place we could take her with a portal, even if you can make one big enough. She's a giant steam engine with a huge tender." Ellie's face brightened. "We could take her to Sodor!" Another silence, as the four looked thoughtful. Ellie sighed. "I know it's far, but…" "Wait," said Jordan, "That's Britain, isn't it? Loading gauge, man." "Fudgecicles!" cursed the little switcher. "And if I take her to the FVR, she might get sent back." "What the hell do we do…" "I wish Tillie was here…" said Ellie quietly. "She'd know what to do." "It's--"

A loud, dischordant horn startled the two GMs, their two-stroke engines backfiring. "Fuck--! Christ's sake, Abigail, why don't you just fucking say something?" grumped Jordan, calming his engine back down. "I've been trying to…" said Abigail calmly, "but you all kept talking." Ellie recovered, staying quiet. "Anyway…" began Abigail, "What if we brought Gloria here…? To the island?" "You mean, like, on the E&N?" asked Jordan, surprised. "You can't be serious, we don't have any oil or water supplies." "I didn't say we need to run her here…" went on Abigail, "We just need to keep her safe, until we find a better place for her to go." Jordan looked thoughtful. "That's… actually a pretty good idea," he said. "Yeah," chimed in Ellie, "And even if she ends up staying in one place for a while, she won't be permanently disabled!"

Duncan, meanwhile, was lost in thought about Gloria's fate. God, that'd be like if someone broke my kneecaps, he thought. "I mean, I guess it could work… But how would we even get her here?" asked Jordan. Duncan snapped out of his thoughts. "Oh, uh. Ellie and I." Abigail looked concerned. "Goodness… are you sure? You don't know your way around the mainland… do you?" "I have no idea," said Ellie simply. "I'm sure we'll be OK, though." "We'll think with portals," said Duncan with a smile, drawing a giggle from his girlfriend. Just then, the sound of a familiar engine approached, accompanied by a distinctive electronic bell. Abigail looked up, and her expression lightened. "Oh, Chloe…! Welcome back," she said, with a small smile. "Hey, Abs… what's everyone gathered out here for?" asked Chloe, rolling to a stop next to her switcher cousin. "We need to save Gloria," began Ellie, but her boyfriend cut her off before she could explain why. "They're gonna break her kneecaps," he said. Chloe blinked. "We need to save… wait, what?" Duncan shook his head. "I mean, uh… they're going to make her static." Chloe was still confused. "Hang on… I can explain," said Jordan. Chloe looked at him. "You remember Gloria, right Clo? The Royal Hudson, over on the mainland?" he asked. "Of… course I do, yeah," said Chloe, "I worked with her once." "You know how she's in a museum?" "Yeah…?" "Well… she said in her letter today…" Jordan went on to explain the situation more thoroughly. Gloria, the Royal Hudson, was in a museum that was very possessive of her. The staff there didn't have enough money to return her fully to steam, but they didn't want anybody else to have the chance to either, in case she ever changed owners. So, the plan was to decommission her, and keep her as a static display so nobody else could have the pride of an on-site Royal Hudson. Chloe was horrified. "No… You're kidding." Jordan looked grim as ever. "Fuck, Clo, I wish I was." "Duncan and Ellie said they'll try to save her…" said Abigail gently. "Wait, how?" asked Chloe. "Portals and the cloak of nighttime," said Duncan. "You know… magic and illusions," added Ellie, smiling. "With… a giant tender engine." "Yes." "…Look, Duncan, no offense, but… that doesn't sound safe," said Chloe, concerned. "I can make portals big enough for the biggest steamies on the FVR," replied Duncan, reassuringly. "So you'd just… portal there, pull her out of the museum, and portal back here or something?" "Exactly." "Okay, interrupting here," said Jordan suddenly, "But do you actually know where 'there' is?" "Well… not quite," said Duncan, "I don't know Gloria personally, so I can't lock onto her location." Abigail looked worried. "She's all the way in Squamish," she said quietly. "Well, then Ellie will have to take me there first." Ellie looked determined. "And he'll lock on here after we save her, and we'll bring her through!" "Safely, and not broken," concluded Duncan, with a smile. "OK, let me rephrase my question," said Jordan huffily, "Which you didn't answer, by the way. Do you know where Squamish is?" The switcher and her boyfriend looked at each other. "…No," they answered, almost in unison.

Abigail chimed in quietly. "I know how to get to Squamish…" Ellie looked over at the old ALCo. "Would you be able to tag along, Abby?" "I…dunno." she replied gently, looking unsure. "It's a long way, on a big mainline, and… I dunno if I can do that anymore." Ellie was about to reply, when Chloe revved her engine. "I'll go," she said confidently. "You sure?" asked Duncan. "Sure I'm sure," said Chloe with a smile. "We've got a map of the railway lines in the shop, we'll find our way somehow." "Fuck, Chloe, are you sure you want to go back to the mainland?" asked Jordan, looking surprised. "Why wouldn't I be? There's an engine on the line, here!" "You're a Geep, though. Haven't you heard what's been happening to Geeps?" Ellie made a small sound. "Uh… Not really." Jordan sighed. "You haven't heard of the ECO program, huh…" Duncan thought for a moment, swearing to himself that he'd heard that before. "ECO?" asked Chloe. "ECO, like… Economic?" That did it. Duncan snapped to attention. "Cyborgs," he uttered. Chloe looked over. "Cyborgs?" "Okay," said Duncan, "This is going to sound crazy. Like… tinfoil hat stuff." Jordan looked at him flatly, but Abigail shot the big SD a glare before he could say anything. "I watched a horror movie once. One made in Ellie's world, and… well." Everyone listened closely. "Diesels get rounded up, and… like… They get gashed open and their innards are taken out, while still awake, with no anesthetic." Abigail's old ALCo engine backfired with a loud clatter, and she looked deeply shocked. "Wh… what?" she squeaked. Across from her, Ellie began to cry. "It got worse. Their engines, generators, and… everything that kept them alive, really… were replaced with machine parts." Jordan looked sad, while Abigail wore a look of abject horror. "So they're… made into machines?" asked Chloe slowly, looking afraid. "Basically," replied Duncan, looking grim. "I didn't want to think about it, but… I sort of figured it wasn't just a made-up thing in the movie." "That's so awful…" whispered Ellie, tears rolling down to her pilot. "So, wait…" said Chloe, "That's actually happening?" Jordan sighed. "Ask any GM-looking engine that looks like it's got a new coat of paint, Clo." Duncan sighed as well. "It's not just the rebuild that happens," he said. "The engines that get… selected… lose the ability to move themselves. They can't control their own engines, and… they lose their memories. Of what they were, who they knew, what they've done… gone.” "So…" began Chloe, after a moment. "…My family. On the Southern… are they…?" Duncan shook his head. "I don't know," he admitted. There was silence for a long time. The only noise from the four locomotives were their idling diesel engines, and Ellie's gentle sobbing. Chloe suddenly released a loud blast of air from her compressor, and everyone snapped to attention. "We have to focus," she said, uncharacteristically serious. "We have an engine to save."