Author note: From this point onward this fic is M-rated, otherwise my general vision and future plans regarding the plot progression wouldn't make sense in a long run.
I do hope you understand.
Author.
Narrator pow:
"So far only one job for me? I guess my only purpouse will be help during the Summer after all." Kowalski said to himself as he pudded into the Killdane station, seeing a worried Sir Topham Hatt waiting on it.
"Oh, Kowalski! I'm sure glad to see you here." Controlled said, earning his attention as the new engine stopped to listen to him. "Can I ask you to do something?" He asked politely.
"No job means no schedule, I'm available." Kowalski responded, smiling lightly to assure his logic.
"That's very useful from you." The Fat Controller said, taking a brief look at his old clock. "Now, I need you to go to Misty Valley Branch Line and help Emily with the work, the tracks there are too wet and she has troubles keeping up with time." He continued, explaining the task he was giving him.
"Roger that, Sir!" Number 88 said with carefree joy before moving forward and taking the turn to the right on the nearest junction, entering the Peel Godred Branch Line.
"Emily, huh? Now that's a cute name." Kowalski thought as he speed up on the delicate but long turn to the right. "I do wonder tho why the track is wet, the day is nearly cloudless after all." He added in his thoughts before looking up and seeing a huge grey raincloud suspended in the air in top right corner of his sight. "Of course, clouds trapped inside a valley, should have guessed..."
Narrator pow (Diffrent scene):
"Hi James! Why are you so unhappy?" Percy asked cheerfully, as he met with him at Tidmouth station.
"Oh, you know, there is a new rude engine around here." James responded, rolling his eyes with annoyance.
"New engine? Who?" Percy asked suprised.
"Some big tank engine called Kowalski, I couldn't care more about his name." Red engine responded, behaving like a fed up kid.
"Erm, that's fine. But why is he rude?" Percy asked again, now slightly worried.
"He called me vain and stupid! I will not stand for that!" Engine number 5 responded, letting out some steam on a sign of disapproval.
"Agreed, that's not very nice from him, even if you're not better." Green tank engine respond before leaving the station.
"Yeah, tha- Even if I'm what!?" James shouted back at him, baffled by the response.
However, unknown to them a very peculiar person in deep blue smoking and a cigarette in hand listened to them all along, eventually picking up his phone and calling one of his contacts.
"Howdy, pardner." A joyous texan accent sounded from the other side. "How's it going on the Isles?"
"Le Spirit of Dustbowl location is confirmed, he's already accomodating on Sodor as we all hoped." Mysterious man responded with french accent, leaving the station platform and going out into the street where he later found a discreet corner where he could continue freely.
"Hah! I knew the boy would manage. If he survived a crit from a Direct Hit to the face then he can survive an atlantic voyage." The man from the other side laughed, clapping his hands.
"Yes, yes, you're a very happy, Engineer." The man sighed, slightly annoyed. "Now, however, we need to band together on Sodor and get at least some basics for our new foothold in here, both Americas are locked out by a long margine."
"Sure thing Frenchie! I'm callin the few pals we have left and see how much money we got to spare." Engineer responded before ending the call.
"Fantastic, more waiting." The man sighed before looking around and walking back into the streets of Tidmouth. "But I do have a duty to the team, so let's investigate the region..."
Kowalski pow:
"Even the air smeels of moisture, almost like payload carts on Borneo." I thought as I approached what seemed to be very short but also very long hill with a back of a grey van skidding backwards at barely noticable rate on the neighbouring track.
"Alright, let's see how big the problem is." I said to myself as I casually went forward and examined the train on right to me. "Ten vans propably full of goods, tracks doused with rainwater, single emerald Stirling engine with golden twelve on the tender staying up front. Nothing I can't handle." I smiled as I passed by the engine without a single word and freely skidded downhill to the junction inside the actual valley before switching tracks and backing uphill to help the fellow engine.
"Oh, hello. Who are you?" A cute, feminine voice came to me from behind, presumeably from the Stirling engine.
"Hello to you too, I'm Kowalski." I responded, allowing myself to be coupled up.
"Emily, I haven't see you around here earlier." She responded kindly as I moved forward and pulled her up the hill.
"Not suprising given that it's only my first trial day before Sir Topham Hatt decides whenever to buy me or not." I responded, seeing that I already managed to cross the top of the hill and now was going downhill. "He asked me to help you on this branchline for the rest of the day so I'm stuck with you for the whole day."
"I won't mind, you seem to be a nice." Emily responded, propably seeing that I was pulling her train plus herself on my own without any trouble.
"Thanks for that. Anyways, what are the jobs for today?" I asked, stopping my steam as we went slowly downhill and came closer to the valley itself where I finally noticed small ponds forming left and right near the points.
"This train is a supply run to Callan Castle, and despite the rain a single passenger run can be scheduled unless something bad happens." Emily responded, pounding for a moment asif she almost forgot something. "Oh yes! These vans will have to be taken back to yards at Callan."
"Three jobs, two engines, one branch line. No problem for me." I chanted happly as we took the turn to the left as the track went and went on the seemingky shorter way to what appeared to be a decorational medival castle placed on top of a massively crafted boulder. "But one question remains." I added after a while of thinking, distracted by a average-average-sized seal squeaked a little, distracting Emily with his propably cute appearance.
"Which is?" Stirling engine asked me in return, rather suprised by me taking her away from the sea show.
"This branch line doesn't have turntable from what I know, so we need to stick together all the time." I responded, looking forward at the tracks layed out very close to the shore. "I hope you won't mind starring at my back for the rest of the day."
"Oh, it's fine, really!" Emily chuckled, giving me a weird feeling of relief as we stopped at the small station placed below the castle. This day was already promising, but now it was straight up great.
Narrator pow:
"Now would you look at that!" A squishy man wearing a stereotypical boomer garmets and technical googles said, looking down upon the town of Cregwir, beer in hand and a pick-up behind him.
"I know, Engie. This place looks marvelous." The man in deep blue smoking added, taking a stand near him and surveying the area with cigarette in hand. "But I do have a question for you."
"You can always tell a Texan, but you can't tell em' much."
"How are the finances going? You know, we aren't going to just wait for them to run dry."
"We're on it, Spy. By your orders we're already gathering and collecting spare changes for the new start." Engie responded, only to be interrupted by a distant, loud thud followed up by a trail of white smoke from behind the mountains on opposing side.
"Ah yes, fantastic, Soldiers were left alone without our supervision." Spy groaned, looking down at the citizens of Cregwir, who apparently didn't minded it at all.
"Well, I admit I wasn't exacly truthful towards you earlier." Texan said with a smile, making Spy's face turn red.
"Engineer, tell me everything." Spy responded shortly, already pacing inside a fairly big circle.
"You see, this smoke and noise were not two Soldiers doing their usual shoot first, ask questions later." Engineer smiled, grabbing another beer from the side. "In fact, it was two hundered Soldiers plus their racoon army constructing an LSWR C14 Class with about anything they found."
"Excuse me?" Spy asked, now fully engaged. "I mean, what the actual fuck? I thought the cooperative racoons were just a mere folk tale among us when we got drunk."
"Nah, it's just that New Mexico doesn't have enough of them to make this ability matter. And while RED Team Soldiers abandoned this for a sake of keeping their big diesels happy, ours kept them in wait for the future." Engineer responded with erudited smile, looking up at the distant trail of steam. "And the momemt came now..."
"Oh right, they have Excavation in their acronym for a reason..." Spy sighed, finally connecting the dots. "We were right about keeping the wood as a fuel source rather than coal and oil, such a resource watse!"