Hello there! Happy International Friendship Day! :)
This is the background story of Nathaniel, the friend of Caitlin who made his appearance in *A Kiss at Midnight*. I've created this character as a tribute to my favourite articulated engine; the B&O's EM-1.
Just in case, I warn you that this fic includes religious content.
Disclaimer: I do not own Thomas & Friends. All recognisable characters belong to HiT Entertainment. They are used for entertainment purposes only.
The OCs Nathaniel, Austin, Bernard, Washington and Mr. O'Mara belong to me.
"Not only were the EM-1s capable of holding their own on steep grades with a coal drag in tow but also it was arguably one of the most aesthetically beautiful large steamers ever built."
Adam Burns (American-Rails*com)
CHAPTER I
PROPHETIC NAME
"I feel in the depths of my heart that your name not only describes what you are, but also your destiny." -Mr. O'Mara.
People love steam locomotives.
From the children who walk hand by hand with their parents; to the grandparents who walk with a cane.
There is a strong bond between humans and those awesome machines.
People just hear a puff and get excited. They automatically look towards the tracks and wave at the train with a huge smile, and the passengers inside the coaches return the greeting happily as if everybody knows each other. And of course, the engine loudly blows her whistle showing that she also loves people. With that, maybe it would not be mistaken to say that steam locomotives are the most admired of all the inventions of human being. In fact, someone out there even said they are God's favourite grandchildren...
One can wonder; why do engines fascinate people so much to the point of stealing their hearts? No one exactly knows the reason. It is simply a mystery. Perhaps that mystery is precisely the reason, since the unknown can cause as much doubt as amazement in humans. Or maybe engines have something that makes them resemble humans. Either way, the steam train has a long love story with people.
And this love is quite strong on the Island of Sodor, one of the last places in the world where engines can live without fear of tomorrow. Here, the engines are very happy by working together and sharing their friendship as a big family. Even some of them are couples in love, like Gordon and Caitlin, for example. Gordon is the biggest, fastest engine on Sodor, and Caitlin is a streamlined engine who works at the Other Railway on the mainland. Ever since they have declared their love to each other, life is more wonderful for them.
But the following story in particular is not about any engine of Sodor or the Other Railway. It is about one engine that lived in the USA.
The story begins two months after Gordon and Caitlin's first Valentine's Day. At the end of April, to be exact.
And this was what happened.
It was a sunny spring morning. All the engines enjoyed their jobs, hearing the birdsong while puffing down the line through the flowery fields. But there was one engine that did not enjoy anything. Actually, he had had several moments of sadness the last two and a half years. But his sadness was not due to lack of love from people, but due to something wrong he did.
The engine sighed deeply with his gaze lost to the horizon. Four days had passed since his last day of work, and now he was parked in the dead storage yard waiting for his sentence. A wave of fear moved through his boiler at the idea of being scrapped, because it was a well-known fact that sadness increased the suffering in that moment while happiness made exactly the opposite... He immediately looked up at the sky. "I'm afraid, my Lord," he thought with humility, "remorse torments me… My soul can't be calm because of that terrible error I made… I betrayed my best friend and I can't know if she forgave me… But you already showed me that you can do what I can't... So, please, my Lord, let me know if I was forgiven... let me know it... That's the only thing I need to be able to face death calmly as my brothers did... Please, my Lord... I fully trust you."
On finishing his prayer, the engine felt some peace and closed his eyes with relief. So he began to remember his happy years, those years in which he enjoyed life together with his brothers and they made the mountains shake with their powerful whistles.
He remembered with special fondness the day he was born, that sunny day of August...
Baldwin Locomotive Works, Pennsylvania, USA. Fifteen years ago.
Just like every time that an engine was about to be born, the workers were very excited. They looked at the 458.4-ton machine they have just finished to build. This giant machine was an EM-1 articulated locomotive, of the 2-8-8-4 Yellowstone type. He wore a black livery and had the Nº 7629 over his pilot and in both sides of his cab.
Associating with the workers' joy it was Lady, the Angel of the Engines. She loved her job of placing the soul inside the machines and permeating them with human love. "You're very fortunate, son of mine," she said to the EM-1, "the name they chose for you means 'Gift from God', and it'll be prophetic in your life."
Lady placed the soul inside the engine, and soon the heart of the machine began to beat. Now the EM-1 was aware of his existence, and a comforting sensation of warmth invaded his whole body as his boiler bubbled for the first time.
The workers noticed that the engine was already alive, so they placed themselves in front of him to see him open the eyes. They had waited hours for this moment.
Suddenly, the engine felt uncomfortable because of the heat and he trembled a little. "Breathe, son," said Lady, "you need air to control your internal heat... Just breathe and you'll feel good again." The engine took a few seconds to discover how to breathe. He opened his mouth and let the air enter with a long sigh. Lady smiled tenderly. "Welcome to life, son," she said while giving the engine a heavenly embrace. "Be happy... be happy."
And Lady returned to Heaven.
The fresh air regulated the heat inside the engine's boiler, making him stopped trembling. Now the engine could breathe normally and at that moment he began to hear the sounds from outside. Then he slowly opened his eyes.
All what the engine could see was a blurry blue spot surrounded by the glow of the sun. He intuitively blinked a few times until his eyes got accustomed to the light. He could see better now, but the blue spot was still a bit blurry. As he tried to focus on it, he heard a voice.
"Look here below, big baby," said the voice, "it'll take you a while to see beyond your coupler properly."
The engine looked down and saw a lot of people in front of him. A worker approached his pilot and his eyes met his. "Hello, Nathaniel," said the worker with a smile, "welcome to life."
The new-born smiled shyly. "H-hello," he responded.
An ovation boomed all over the works. The workers always enjoyed to see an engine's birth. They felt that the machines were as their children. And to be honest, they were not so far from the truth.
As the applause and cheers ended, the man in front of the new-born spoke again. "Nathaniel," he said and pointed out a place near there, "meet Caitlin. She'll take you to your home at the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad."
Nathaniel looked up. Now he could already see beyond his coupler properly. He noticed that the blue spot he had seen before was actually an engine; a gorgeous female streamlined engine P-7a class that was smiling at him sweetly. Nathaniel automatically returned the smile. "Hello, Caitlin," he said, "pleased to meet you."
It was the first time that Caitlin saw an engine being born, so she could not help but feeling a maternal fondness for this big baby. "Hello, Nathaniel," she replied, "pleased to meet you too."
They both looked at each other tenderly.
Some minutes after, the two engines got out of the Works and set off for the Cumberland's mountain region in Maryland. The day was beautiful, with a pleasant climate and the sun shining brightly under a clear sky.
"Were you also born today, Caitlin?" asked Nathaniel as they puffed down the line.
"No," replied Caitlin, "I was born eighteen years ago."
"Oh… Then you already know everything about life."
Caitlin chuckled. "I can say I know many things, but not everything. We always learn something new."
"I get it. And do you know what my job will be?"
"Yes. You were designed for strength, so you'll pull heavy freight trains across the mountains, just like your brothers. You have twenty-nine brothers, by the way."
"Wow! I'm eager to meet my brothers and pull those heavy trains. Do you work with freight too?"
"No. I take fast passenger trains, for I was designed for speed."
"Ah. But, we'll see each other again, won't we?"
"Of course. We'll see each other as often as we can and we'll be good friends."
Nathaniel smiled widely. "Glad to hear that."
Caitlin thought she had never seen such a beautiful smile.
Caitlin continued to answer Nathaniel's questions and she taught him the names of the places where they passed by. Soon they came to a junction, and as they stopped, a lot of butterflies flew close to them. "Watch that, Caitlin!" exclaimed Nathaniel. "What are those flying colours?"
"They're butterflies, the most beautiful insects."
"Wow... They're beautiful indeed." Nathaniel saw that some butterflies landed over the upper part of his pilot and he felt happy. He was delighted to be able to observe in detail the forms and colours of each of them. But at one point he looked at Caitlin confused. "Are there butterflies of your colour?" he asked. "I didn't see any blue."
"Yes, there are blue butterflies too. But it's very rare to see them. Looks like they're experts on getting hide over there."
"Oh... What a pity… I would like to see one…"
Caitlin stared at Nathaniel tenderly. She noticed that he acted almost as a kid; a kid that was delighted by the simplest things he discovered on his way. Also, Caitlin noticed that Nathaniel was the most handsome between all his brothers, with his typically masculine features.
The butterflies flew again and a while later the signal changed to green. Then Nathaniel gave Caitlin a naughty look. "I've the feeling that I would be able to go as fast as you," he said. "How about a race up to the next junction?"
"Has anyone said race?" asked Caitlin. "That's right up my alley!"
"Ha! Ha! Let's go then!"
And they threw themselves into the race.
"YEEEEEE-HAAAAW!
"HA! HA! HA! You're funny, Nathaniel!"
"You still didn't see anything! Just listen to this!" Nathaniel blew his whistle with all his strength.
"WOOOW! You'll make the mountains shake!"
They both laughed out loud.
Although having been specifically designed for strength, Nathaniel was also able to take express trains. So it was not so hard for him to keep up with Caitlin and they reached the next junction almost at the same time. After that, they kept enjoying their funny ride.
On arriving at Cumberland, they entered the yard where the oldest of the EM-1s was waiting for them. "Look, Nathaniel," said Caitlin, "that's your older brother, the number 7600. Isn't he awesome?"
"W-wow… He's magnificent..." Nathaniel was impressed. Only now that he saw his brother he could notice how enormous and beautiful the engines of his class were.
As they stopped near the Nº 7600, Caitlin greeted him. "Hello, Austin!"
"Hello, rare beauty!" responded Austin with his pleasant, deep manly voice. "I see we have a new friend."
"I can assure you that we have an endearing new friend. This is Nathaniel, the one you've been waiting for."
Austin's eyes met his new brother's. "Hello, Nathaniel, welcome home. I'm Austin, your older brother."
"Hello, Austin," replied Nathaniel with a smile, "pleased to meet you."
"Pleased to meet you too. Did you enjoy the ride from the Works?"
"Yes! It was a nice ride. Caitlin taught me many things and we also had a funny race."
Austin looked at Caitlin affectionately. "You know, precious," he said, "when I learned that they sent you to bring my brother from the Works I knew that he would be in good company. Thanks for giving him a happy beginning of life."
"Oh, Austin… It was my pleasure. For the first time I saw an engine being born. It was very exciting." Caitlin looked at Nathaniel. "Well, I leave you in your brother's good company. I must return to Baltimore now."
"Caitlin… as my brother said, you gave me a happy beginning of life. What can I do to show my gratitude?"
"Aww… I just want you to enjoy life, my baby."
Nathaniel blushed. "O-okay... mom."
"Hee! Hee! You're so cute." Caitlin pumped her pistons. "See you, guys!"
"Bye, Caitlin!" responded the two EM-1s.
Nathaniel stared at his 'mom' while she puffed away. "She's very sweet…" he said.
"You're quite right," replied Austin. "She's a wonderful friend, the only female engine over here. Be kind to her, okay?"
"Oh... of course. By the way, what makes female engines different from us?"
"Well, from what I can see in Caitlin, they have a face with fine features and a soft voice like women. And it seems that they have a maternal heart too."
"I could feel that," Nathaniel smiled. "Caitlin said to me 'my baby'."
"And your face got red…"
They both laughed.
Austin looked at his brother tenderly. "Let's go now," he said, "the others want to know you."
Nathaniel eagerly followed Austin to see his other brothers. The majority were working at the time, but four of them were in the yard. On seeing them, Nathaniel thought that the sight of four EM-1s together was worthy of a postal picture. Everything seemed too small beside them.
"Hey, guys!" called Austin, "meet our brother Nathaniel." The four giants smiled widely. "Hello, Nathaniel!" they exclaimed. "Hello, brothers!" replied the new member of the family.
Nathaniel was happy with his brothers. He noticed that, despite having an intimidating appearance, they were friendly and funny. "Let's hear your whistle, Nat," said one of them in a moment. Nathaniel obeyed with pleasure, and the echo of his whistle was heard for several seconds after he stopped. "Stunning steep climbs!" exclaimed his brother. "You do have the guts!"
"Ha! Ha! Thank you!"
Nathaniel saw the mountain that rose at the side of the yard and remembered what Caitlin had told him during the race they had. So he came up with something. "I have an idea!" he said enthusiastically. "Let's blow our whistles in turns to see who gets to make that mountain shake. It'll be called the Battle of Whistles. What do you think?"
Much to Nathaniel's delight, his brothers loved the idea and the battle began immediately. Each of them did their best, and their whistles, together with their laughs; could be heard several kilometres around. And even though none of them got to make the mountain really shake, they spent a very joyful moment until Austin decided it was time to get back to work. So, during the rest of the day, Nathaniel got to know all his other brothers. And with Austin's help, he learned how to couple up to the heavy trains and pull them.
The EM-1s were really enjoying life and their crews loved them. But they were not aware of a painful reality: the golden age of steam was coming to its end...
Locomotives that were being building at these days, in spite of carrying the latest technology available; were doomed to a very short life before the invincible diesels' army.
Back in the present, Nathaniel continued with his gaze lost to the horizon. The dead storage yard was the worst place to be in. Here, time simply did not run. It was as boring as being in a static display in a museum, but much more chilling, since here the machines were only awaiting their encounter with the scrapper's torch or the miracle of being saved by some charitable soul.
The EM-1s had already gone. All but two. The happy years passed too fast and the last ones were particularly difficult for Nathaniel.
Four years before, when the diesels were already conquering the whole railroad, Nathaniel and his brothers were transferred from Cumberland to Pittsburgh Division in Pennsylvania. That was the first warning sign for them, the beginning of their end. And to make matters worse, their four-digit numbers were changed by others of three-digit to make room for newly arriving diesels. Their numbers were now from 650 to 679. All of this was a harsh psychological blow to Nathaniel, who now wore the Nº 679. For an engine, losing his/her original number is like losing his/her identity, unless it is due to a good cause. And losing it in favour of the diesels was not exactly a good cause; but a humiliation. Austin said that they must at least feel fortunate to continue living, but that was not enough for the youngest of the family. Nathaniel became irritable and extremely sensitive, so much that he no longer resembled the sweet big baby who had invented the 'Battle of Whistles'. Now he got angry by anything and did not stop ranting against the new diesels. "What's gotten into you, Nat?! That's not you!" his brothers used to complain. And Nathaniel, looking down at his number plate, always screamed the same answer; "Of course this is not me! I'm the #7629!"
But after one year of repeated bad mood attacks, Nathaniel had another harsh blow: some of his brothers were removed from service, just like his beloved 'mom' Caitlin...
Frustration and fear had taken over the EM-1s. Stopping working being so young took them by surprise, and the mere thought that they could be scrapped terrified them. Those who were still working tried to comfort the removed ones, although the truth was that they needed consolation as well. But when they learned that Caitlin was also out of service and had already received her death sentence, they thought they would not endure it. The most affected by this was undoubtedly Nathaniel, who had with Caitlin such a deep friendship like the very mother-son bond.
One morning, while his boiler was heating up, Nathaniel was very sad by thinking of the unfortunate Caitlin. But his engineer, Mr. O'Mara, arrived with an announcement that gave him happiness.
"Good morning, boy!"
"Good morning, sir. I'm almost ready to start work."
"I see. But first I want to tell you something very exciting."
"Really? What is it?"
"Caitlin will NOT be scrapped."
"W-what?"
"She was bought by an English businessman and will go to work in London. What do you think?"
Nathaniel's jaw dropped. "O-oh my g-goodness… That's what I call good news! My Caitlin was saved from death… and she'll keep being a really useful engine! Oh, sir, this makes me so happy!"
"Glad to hear that."
"I just hope I could say goodbye to her. We've not seen each other so often lately."
"Easy, she won't leave without saying goodbye to her friends. Besides, you're her baby, don't you remember?"
"Ha! Ha! Yes, I do!"
Nathaniel felt happy with the announcement. He could not wait to see Caitlin to congratulate her, and maybe to have a last funny race together. He knew it would be hard to be separated from her, but he preferred that she was far and alive instead of staying there only to be scrapped.
But Nathaniel's joy faded as soon as he remembered his retired brothers and their uncertain future. "Oh, dear…" he said.
"What's the matter, boy?"
"If only my brothers and me could be saved as well… I'm very scared about what awaits us…"
"Oh…"
Mr. O'Mara felt a pain in his heart. He would have liked to have enough money to buy Nathaniel and assure him a happy future. This kind man has been married for several years, but due to an unknown reason, his wife had never been able to have babies. So he loved Nathaniel as a real son and did not want to lose him. But he had already heard the rumour that all the EM-1s would be removed from service and scrapped within the following months.
However, Mr. O'Mara thought he should encourage Nathaniel instead of showing that he was also scared about what awaited them. So he climbed on his pilot and put a hand on his cheek. "I can understand how you feel, Nat," he said softly, "because things really got ugly for steam engines... I feel bad for not being able to do anything to save you, but allow me to say two things that might give your heart some relief."
"Go ahead, sir. Your words always help me feel good."
Mr. O'Mara smiled. "Thanks. Well, the first one it's about the… scrapping. You know, they say that if engines are happy at that moment, they practically don't suffer. So, I think you shouldn't be so much afraid."
Nathaniel was not so satisfied with those words, but he valued the good intention of his engineer. "Sorry for not agreeing with you, sir," he said kindly. "I've already heard about that issue. But I wonder; how can an engine be happy at such a horrifying moment? I don't know what's supposed to be done to stop being afraid and wait for death happily… It just doesn't make sense to me."
"I know it seems to make no sense, but there is actually something that helps us not to fear death; it's called clear conscience. To have done everything right; without having anything to regret; without being in debt to anyone; to have loved our friends by staying with them in good times and in bad… all of that makes us have a clear conscience. And if we have the blessing of being accompanied and comforted in our final hours by someone we love, we'll be able to feel happy until the last moment."
Nathaniel stayed open-mouthed. "Wow… that sounds amazing, sir... It had never occurred to me that a clear conscience could calm the fear of death… or that consolation from someone we love could give joy at the final hours... Now I think it makes sense... I'll reflect on my actions and try to do everything right to have a clear conscience."
"Oh… That's good. You do learn fast."
Nathaniel giggled.. "By the way, sir, my boiler is already bubbling. What's the second thing you were going to tell me?"
"It's about your name. Do you know what the meaning of 'Nathaniel' is?"
"Um… n-no, sir. I must admit that I didn't even know that names had their meanings."
"Okay. You have a Biblical name of Hebrew origin that means ´Gift from God´."
Nathaniel gasped. He had the feeling that he already heard this phrase before, but he did not remember where nor who had said it. "Gift from God…?" he whispered.
"Isn't it beautiful?"
"Yes… But, why they called me that, sir?"
"Well, I just know that employees of the Works choose the names for the engines they build. Maybe it be at random, or one that suits the engine. But what I can assure you is that names can be prophetic."
Once again, Nathaniel had the feeling of being hearing words that he already heard before. What was happening to him was that the words that Lady had said when his soul began to live were emerging now from depths of his subconscious. "Sir... what it means that names can be prophetic?"
"It means they can describe what you are or even mark your destiny."
"My… So, am I a gift from God?"
Mr. O'Mara looked deeply into his engine's eyes. "Yes, Nat," he said as he slowly slid his hand over Nathaniel's cheek, "you were a heavenly gift in my life... As I don't have my own children, you are a real son to me, and I'll be grateful to Heaven for the rest of my life for having given me the blessing of being your engineer. When you get to reflect on your acts, I want you to know that you don't owe me anything, because you made me happy since the first time I climbed into your cab… Many times I've imagined that you were the size of a human baby and I took you into my arms..."
"Oh, sir..." Nathaniel was touched. "I'm honoured to hear all this... I can say that I really feel your fatherly love... Now I think I'll be able to wait for my destiny with a clear conscience, although it'll be hard to say goodbye to you…"
Mr. O'Mara swallowed hard to clear the lump that formed in his throat. He noticed that Nathaniel was about to cry and he felt he'll also break. But at this moment, Heaven inspired him what to respond. "Nat..." he whispered, "we must be prepared to say goodbye to each other… But I feel in the depths of my heart that your name not only describes what you are, but also your destiny."
"What do you mean, sir?"
"I mean... given that the greatest gift from God is life; perhaps you'll survive."
Nathaniel got surprised. Those words gave him a glimmer of hope. "Wow... I hope you're right, sir."
"Me too," Mr O'Mara smiled tenderly. "It would be wonderful that someone saves you… Well, let's work now."
"Yes, sir. Thanks for this conversation."
"You're welcome, boy."
Nathaniel looked at his engineer sweetly as this came down from his pilot. "Oh, sir… can I ask you something?"
"Of course. What is it?"
"Um... why do you kiss your wife on the lips?"
"Oh..." Mr. O'Mara chuckled, "because kissing her sensual little lips gives me happiness and makes me able to endure anything."
"My goodness… Then you're a very lucky man, sir."
"Ha! Ha! You're right, Nat!"
Nathaniel set off for the yard with a smile on his face. The conversation with his engineer did cheer him up and he clung to the hope of surviving.
On arriving at the yard, he coupled up to a long freight train that he should take to Youngstown. Then he pumped his pistons while waiting for the the order to leave. But the yard manager seemed to be distracted looking from side to side. "Can I go already, sir?" Nathaniel asked.
"Not yet, Nat, you'll have to wait a little. I was informed that a diesel will help you to pull this train."
"A DIESEL?! I can pull this train by myself! Why do they send me a disgusting diesel?!"
"Sorry, I don't know. But orders are orders and we must obey."
"But I don't need a shoebox with a seal face to help me!"
"Ha! Ha! Ha! Shoebox with a seal face! Good one!"
"DAMN THE DIESELS!"
All the joy that Nathaniel had felt was faded at this moment, giving place to anger. Despite having gotten along well with the diesels during his first years of life; he literally developed allergy to them as he noticed they were replacing steam engines.
A few minutes later, the diesel in question arrived. He was an EMD F7A model, with the number "4538" and wore the same royal blue livery as Caitlin. "Good morning there!" he exclaimed happily.
Nathaniel rolled his eyes. "What does 'good' mean according to your dictionary?"
"Ooohh! The 679 is in a bad mood for a change. Looks like I'll have fun on this journey!"
Poor Nathaniel pressed his lips angrily. He hated being called by that number. As the diesel began to reverse to couple up to him, he thought the journey would be quite uncomfortable. Even so he decided to try to remain silent as long as possible, because he knew that arguing with his annoying workmate would only make things worse.
The first part of the journey went smoothly. But soon the diesel wanted to have fun by bothering Nathaniel. "Um... are you there?" he asked.
"Just behind you. Where else could I be?"
"Well, I thought you had fallen asleep, because I'm doing the entire job by myself."
"Don't make me laugh! For your information, I am the one who is pulling this train while you're a mere ornament in front of me."
"Ornament? Wow... I see you admit that we diesels are beautiful things."
"Oh, please! I just meant that you're useless! You all are simple square things without attractiveness. Trains pulled by diesels are only trains. They don't have the charm of the steam ones."
"Ha! Ha! Ha! What do you mean by 'charm'? You steamers look like grimy sewer pipes!"
"Say it again and I'll show you who the grimy one is!"
"But I already know who the grimy one is! Ha! Ha! Ha!"
"You'll regret having bothered me!"
"Ha! Ha! Ha! Who's afraid of a tiny jet of dirty steam?!"
Nathaniel was furious. He wanted to shout something else, but at this moment he felt the pats from his engineer. They were the 'encoded pats' that Mr. O'Mara had invented to warning him every time he was going too far during a verbal fight. So he just blew his whistle scandalously every time his workmate bothered him again.
As the unpleasant journey finally ended, the diesel was uncoupled from Nathaniel and this one was uncoupled from the train.
"Thank you a million for the funny ride, 679! I had never laughed so much."
"Shut up and move onto the other track. I'm sick of that smell of oil."
"Well, you'd better accept that the smell of oil is about to be king of the railroad, my dear 679. You steamers already lost your numbers. Now you'll all lose your jobs, and a little after; your lives."
That was the straw that broke the camel's back. Without thinking twice, Nathaniel rushed forward and hit the diesel. Luckily, he had controlled his strength enough as not to cause him damage. But even so, the diesel derailed and blocked the track where they were, and also the next-door track.
Traffic in the yard was immediately stopped.
And Nathaniel was immediately punished.
He was locked in an abandoned shed until the next day…
...
A/N: Thank you for reading this far. I hope the plot of the story is being interesting to you. In the next chapter, Nathaniel will show both his weakest side and the bravest. But please give me two weeks to finish writing it, okay? :)
I've portrayed Caitlin as being streamlined when Nathaniel was born. In real life, Caitlin's basis was non-streamlined at the time that the EM-1s were built (1944/45). Her basis, the P-7 #5304 "President Monroe", was streamlined twice in its life. The first time was from 1937 to 1940 with a design classified as the P-7a and nicknamed "The Bullet" (this is the design that Caitlin wears on the TV series). The second time was from 1946 to 1957 with a different design classified as the P-7d.
The character of Austin came out of the blue as I was writing the chapter. Given that Nathaniel's brothers appear here, I was in need to give a name at least to one of them so that Nathaniel could interact with him, because I thought it would be unfair to call him just by his number. So, Austin appeared. And I chose that name due to its meaning, which suits the EM-1s perfectly: "Magnificent."
As for Mr. O'Mara, I've created him because I love to picture the affective bond between a driver and his engine. In fact, in real life the EM-1s were very much loved by their crews.
See you, my dears! :)