Hello everyone! Here is the author speaking.
Before you began reading this fic, I highly advise reading following points to avoid any confusion and delay:
1. I don't own Thomas The Tank Engine nor Team Fortress 2 or any other franchise appearing/used in this fic. My ownership is limited only to the OC's and the story itself unless specified otherwise.
2. The story begins roughly after the Season 24 of Thomas The Tank Engine (Or, for people not associated with TTTE terminology: The last season released before the reboot.) and is it's somewhat direct continuation in terms of chronology.
3. The story is written entierly on the phone by non-naitive English speaker (Namely: Me), so eventual grammar error and mispeeling issues are unavoidable.
4. If you want to make adaptation/retelling/anything directly based on this fic, feel free to do it! The more content around the community the better... I think...
5. If you want to actually know what is happening in the fic, then you should get acquainted with Thomas The Tank Engine as a whole franchise, since it won't be explained in the story unlike the lore part taken from Team Fortress 2. And if you didn't do that and don't understand the terminology used in the fic then you know what to do. (At least I want to assume so.)
6. There will be no regularity in the upload frequency. I just needed to made a side project so my creativity won't halt other fics I'm writing (Overthinking and getting eaisly distracted are real issues, seriously).
If you read all these points and haven't been discouraged enough to leave, I owe you a welcome to the first chapter of the story.
So, then... Welcome!
Narrator pow:
"Oi mates! What is the ocassion today?" Salty asked, as he rolled into the center of the Brendam Docks and spotted Edward with Porter, both of them looking up into the sky.
"Hold it, hold it..." A harbourmaster kept on repeating as Cranky slowly lowered a PKP class OKl27 steam engine towards the tracks, it's bright blue livery with white and yellow linings aggresively shining thanks to the cloudless mid-afternoon sun, especially a number '88' painted on his side in lining's paint sheme.
"A new engine!" Porter smiled, seeing what kind of delivery was being given to the railway.
"This will surely help us with the tourist season this yeat." Edward smiled, before so called The Fat Controller came out fo his car and approached the trio while the new engine came to it's tracks and was untied from the harnesses.
"Everyone! I would like to present you to a new engine straight from America." Sir Bertram Topham Hatt spoke, as the three engines in the port glazed upon the filled with scars face of the suprisingly smiling engine. "Edward, Salty, Porter... This, is Kowalski. A new engine I brought here for a test trials during which he will help with the excessive workload on the Main Line and branchiles. Depending in the results of the trials I will decide whenever or not he will be a pernament addition to my railway, so be sure to welcome him warmly and treat just as well as every other engine so he can do his best and show how much of a really usefule engine he can be." He added, before turning around and leaving his engines.
"Well then, since the official part is done... G'day mates." Kowalski said first, suprising the trio.
"Umm, hi to you too." Porter responded with sudden hesitance.
"Hi, we haven't expected the Australian accent." Edward added, clarifying the issue in his typical style.
"No problem, it's just that the Australians were primarly teaching me English. I don't think I need to explain the rest." Kowalski responded with a smile, before moving slightly forward. "Now, how about we move away from the working space and chatter somewhere else?"
Narrator pow:
"So, you're an engine from USA but build in Poland?" Edward asked as he and Kowalski slowly came into the station at Wellsworth, halting themselves as the first one realised the presence of Gordon on the opposite line with his express, directed towards the Mainland.
"Oh, Edward! I haven't expected you at this time." The big engine said, waiting for the passengers to go in and out of the train. "And who are you, smaller friend?" He asked, directing his attention to smaller engine behind him.
"Hi to you Gordon!" Edward responded, before moving a bit forward to not block the eye contact.
"And good day to you, my name is Kowalski." The newcomer followed, making Gordon wince at the sight of his not very perserved face. "I came here to help with the truck load all over the railway." He added, making Edward suprised.
"Wait, weren't you meant to help with general workload?" Blue engine number '2' asked?
"I'm not suitable for complain-capable loads thanks to mental preferances." Kowalski responded with somewhat serious tone. "I mean, if common passengers can't be provided with actually competent ride, then what's the point?" He ended with the rethorical question, making both listeners impressed. Each in a diametrically diffrent way.
"Hmmm, I'll surely take a liking to you, Kowalski. But now the express needs to go forward." Gordon simply commented before leaving the two as he rushed forward towards his next station.
"Oh okay..." Edward said hesitantly, somewhat shocked at the specific opinions of the new engine. "Anyways, do you remember the question I asked you before we came here?" He asked, trying to somewhat stay on topic.
"Yeah, the thing is that only things Polish in me are engine model and name which normally people use as a username." Kowalski responded, making Edward slightly confused as they puffed in their own direction towards Crosby to have time for conversation.
"Oh really? How come?" Edward asked again, busy with learning all he could about him.
"I was built in some random shed six years ago located somewhere in Mauritania's capital city of Nouakchott by a bunch of Texan engineers on a basics of some dumb footage they found on the internet because my previous owner wanted my creation to be kept in secret from local concuretion." New engine responded, making Edward baffled by his statement.
"Really? That's just bizzare, really." The guiding engine said, puzzled by the stories of his guided friend. "And your previous owner was..."
"... Builders Leauge United. A construction conglomerate that in reality was a team of mercenary companies that was entering the eight decade of squabbles and rivarly over entire state of New Mexico against other team of mercenary companies called Reliable Excavation Demolition, a self-proclaimed 'demolition company'." Kowalski explained in a shortened basics, making Edward less and less confident in truth about his stories. "In short, I was built by direct order of so called BLU Team to help in in business against RED Team, hence the liverg scheme as a match to company's logo." He added, finally explaining one thing.
"Sounds promising, given that I still have a lot of questions about your past." Edward commented in a bit akward tone, trying to not insult his companion.
"Naaaaah, I'll manage. Controller gave me the first day free to learn the place so I have time." The tank engine responded, pausing to let him speak again.
"Well then, what were you doing back in New Mexico?" Edward asked, going from the basics.
"Cargo trains, relocation of mercenaries, supply delivery, occupation of space on sidings or just number boosting in case RED wanted the same place as BLU did." Kowalski answered, slightly smiling underneath his breath as they passed Crosby and went forward to Tidmouth.
"Occupation of space? Must been very bad." Edward commented, rather unsure how much of a 'wanting' of some place was actually an empty wanting on it's own.
"Yeah. Since both teams are a bands of mercenaries they just go blasting guns and whatever else." Kowalski said with calm and steady tone, throwing Edward's suspicion off the charts. "And yes, engines had to engage in these fight themselves more frequently than from time to time. That's how I got these facial memories." He added, looking up on one particulary big scar stretching all over his forehead and almost reaching the boiler on his right side.
"You were fighting?!" Edward nearly shouted as he asked a very disturbing for him question.
"Yup, even the rails weren't a ceasefire zone back there. And someone had to make sure his team would be the winner." New engine responded with a minor grief note in it's voice. "Being essentialy a hand-made heavly modified on inside version of already existing engine helped me in those encounters, if not for a fact that their engines were heavly modified inside too." Kowalski smiled as they slowed down to enter the right turn and then a straight tracks to Knapford and then Tidmouth.
"Och, that explains a whole lot." Blue engine number '2' responded, as they arrived to the Tidmouth station where The Fat Controller was waiting patiently.
"Edward, Kowalski. Excuse me for interrupting your sightseeing tour, but I need you two to double head an important cargo train straight to Vickarstown, can I rely on you?" Sir Tolham Hat asked them, turning his head away from the sidings.
"Will do Sir! Edward, you're up front since you know the way while I do the heavy part." Kowalski responded, leaving the suprised duo before Edward nodded and also left the station, whistling in case anyone was about to come into his way.
"Now that's a very useful engine you don't see every day." The Fat Controlled smiled, looking away at the two engines going for their first joint task. "But I do wonder how they execute it together..."