"They...." Bowen paused, blinking, once, twice. "Is that what they're calling 999 nowadays?" He wasn't sure how to take that. "I mean... I know of the Astral Express but... I wouldn't want to be comparing my train to... theirs...." He didn't think it was really fair for either, but he shook his head. "Anyway, anyway, ah, nice to meet you too, Nihilux." A smile, a proper one, forms on his own face. "Guess Planacardia's the place to be right now, huh?"
ANONYMOUS sent in : Bowen, what do you think about miss Serval?
UNPROMPTED : ALWAYS Accepting.
"Oh, the Neverwinter Mechanic? I'm actually really grateful for her help, her knowledge has actually played a huge hand in getting 999 back up and running. Her music's amazing too!" There's a pause as his face tinges pink. "She's also.. kinda hot, if I'm gonna be honest."
"Attention Please, passengers traveling on the 999, departing at midnight, please proceed to Platform 1, Track 1."
A female voice announced on the speakers, throughout the station.
As the hand counted down to 12:00AM, a young man walked along the platform, from the back of the train to the front, carrying a large, brown kit bag in hand. A uniform of black, with a white shirt, black tie and a black hat, a badge of a train wheel adorned in gold ablazoned on it, and the buttoned up jacket.
Bowen, 'The Engineman', Navigator of 999.
This was it's first journey back into service, after a painstakingly long time of correcting everything that had happened to it, he, along with the regulators, were satisfied the train could resume it's duties. Though even he, is not sure of the route. Only the locomotive, C6248, knows that.
Such was the literal definition of the Path of Trailblaze, the true journey into the Unknown.
A check of the pocket watch against the clock, time is correct. Good.
One minute to 12, the departure bells ring out along Platform 1. Bowen climbs into the cab of the C62 and assumes his seat. A few switches flicked, undergoing the Departure Procedure for the first time.
He sat back in the driver's seat, window slid open for air.
Tonight, this young man will embark on the journey of his life.
Defeat is not an option.
It's a journey he'll remember for the rest of his life.
For Bowen, his journey, is just beginning.
...
The bells cease. 12AM.
One flick of the switch against the bulkhead, the train doors shut, then he pulls on the whistle cord, signalling departure.
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
The internals of the engine's systems roar into life, he switches on the headlight, coordinates for the next planet appear on the designation panel. He's all set, he pulls the regulator towards him.
Steam bursts from the cylinder cocks as the engine lurches forward, taking the slack of the many carriages. Slow chuffs from the stack. He takes on more of the regulator, wheelspin, he pushes back, a steady beat as the train departs from the platform through the station tunnel, gaining speed.
Finally...
He looks out the window, his eyes dim in reflection for a minute.
Finally I'm leaving...
He looks over to the grey smoke, listening to the beat of the engine as it gradually accelerates.
At last... after everything...
AAAAAWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
The train is out of the tunnel, flying at speed. The shining stars of light above a perfect backdrop for it's first departure in what might have well been forever.
And as the sky and the city surrounds come into view, The Engineman keeps watch out ahead, for signals, for points, to ensure the train was on the one track up, to take it into space.
Nothing's gonna stop me
I'm flying now
I just can't wait no more
Gonna search to find my dream somehow
It's time for me to go
The whistle blasts as the train charges along the mainline. The further it gets, the further it leaves Megalopolis behind, maybe even, for the very last time.
Who knows when I will ever return
I'II be roaming the galactic skies
Till I find what it takes to be a man
To find where my dream lies
The blonde looks up and out the window, a look of determination, maybe he knew, this was the real start of the adventure, the story he was thrust into.
I'm leaving, I'm flying
I'm taking off to the unknown
The valve gear of C6248, a mesmerising sight of the eyes at speed. The engine looked like it had never left traffic, not a speck of dirt or dent on it. The brass shiny and polished, the 999 headboard in clear display, not a single bit scratched or flaked. The bright headlight shone the line ahead. An engine of sheer wonder and beauty from a time, maybe of millennia ago... to roam the stars again once more.
Maybe I'll find that hidden star
I can call my own
Four tracks faded to two, then to one, as it picks upwards, the ramp track, the track that would lead to an empty end... Bowen gives the regulator hell, full speed ahead, overcome the grade and provide the best speed possible for space.
TAKING OFF, TAKING OFF
How the city below in itself was a sight, so many stories above on an 'antique' train.
Taking off, taking off to the unknown
The stretch would go on for a bit still, giving 999 the best chance of the best launch, as it always should.
Nothing's gonna stop me
I'm flying now
I just can't wait no more
Gonna search to find my dream somehow
It's time for me to go
The blonde turned to look down to the city below him. Maybe even he knew, he might not ever see this place again. Only a small handful of stops does 999 ever return to... this one might have been one of them... but when would that happen again? Maybe not for a very, very long time.
Who knows when I will ever return
I'II be roaming the galactic skies
Till I find what it takes to be a man
To find where my dream lies
The end of the track is in sight, Bowen looks ahead, hand upwards to the 'SPACE' switch. The moment they reach the end, he flicks it... and so the train flies off the edge... upwards, climbing, tracks leaving the wheels as it takes flight... the true journey beginning again, for 999.
And so Bowen looks back down, the city growing minuscule, but vast.
I'm leaving, I'm flying
I'm taking off to the unknown
Maybe I'll find that hidden star
I can call my own
People reminiscent, old friends, railway friends, childhood friends, they all made him smile... his time here might not have always been great, but for the most part, it was all filled with memories..
TAKING OFF, TAKING OFF
Another man in his memory, Leland, the former 'Engineman', once deemed a Trailblazer, who had long disappeared onto his own path, the very reason Bowen found out about 999 in the first place. His smile drops.
Why did Leland have to go...
Taking off, taking off to the unknown
BZZZZT.
Bowen looks up at one of the indicators.
REACHING STRATOSPHERE, CLOSE ALL WINDOWS.
He sighed, leaning back into the cab and shutting his driver's window. It might not make much of a difference, but it was best practice to have closed windows in space.
TAKING OFF, TAKING OFF
Taking off, taking off to the unknown
And so the train reaches past the clouds... and slowly begins to leave this planet behind.
The horizon of the nearest star was coming into view... here, now, the journey truly begins.
999, was on it's way again.
The following is considered draft and may change as elements are developed.
Once upon a time, there was a legend, prior to the Astral Express, was another train, one that truly journeyed the unknown, only ever stopping at a planet for as long as it could hold a day, before moving on to the next. Crewed by a distinct team of Nameless, this train was one of the greatest examples of following the path of Trailblaze.
It's route number, the only one to ever have even a route, was 999, or 'Three Nine' as spoken aloud. It's engine was C62 48, and while on the surface it might look ancient, the loco and the carriages, the train itself, was truly capable of an endless journey of space.
Now, only two members remain, how they came to crew the 999 were stories in themselves. The Conductor, a cheerful individual who kept 'charge' of most of the train, and the 'Navigator' of 999, a young man, referred to as 'The Engineman', but really, going by the name of Bowen.
Bowen was the one who found and repaired C62 48 and brought 999 back from what otherwise would have been a fate to rot on a desolate planet. Now the sound of the C62's whistle carries throughout the galaxy, as 999 takes to the stars once more, on a journey that would last, at least, as long as the crew can keep such running, allowing passengers a true adventure into the unknown, of the greatest of discoveries.
Bowen, The Engineman, the Navigator, works in the cab of the C62, bent on covering every aspect of this galaxy, as 999 takes off for the first time in generations, the adventure restarts anew... and the stars shine to be mapped and captivated, once more...
