The Unity Festival
It had been little over two and a half weeks since Thomas arrived on the Unova Railway to attend the festival. So far he, Corrinne, and Gervase had been busy between their jobs by giving the Texas Rangers help as well as helping out the various divisions of the Dallas Police Department with the Gang Unit being the team they helped out the most to deal with the gang related crimes such as Vandalism. At the sheds the three were alone when Wyatt Hatt came to see them.
Wyatt: I'm pleased with the work you three have been doing so far but you must remember that you can only do so much. Remember to be careful but you must also remember that you have trains to keep to schedule. Corrinne, you'll be taking a non-stop service from Dallas to Austin.
Corrinne: Yes sir. I won't let you down but I gotta ask. Why give me the service? From what I can gather that's usually Caitlin or Connor's job.
Wyatt: True but Caitlin is in need of some repairs and Connor needs to get back to basics so to speak and you need to get back to hauling express trains.
Corrinne: That actually makes sense provided my enemies don't attack me or the Unova Railway. Considering that they could do that as retaliation for all the work Thomas, Gervase and I have done.
Wyatt: They won't Duchess Corrinne. The Texas Rangers and I will see to that. (To Gervase) Gervase you've got a freight train going to Houston and Thomas you're gonna be on the commuter trains today. I'm very proud of you three as I am of all the engines that work hard and are well mannered.
Thomas Corrinne and Gervase all went to work and while they were pleased that Wyatt Hatt thought well of them they were only visitors and the fleet would have to stand on it's own.
Meanwhile in a compound in Northern Texas some men were making plans of their own. But the plans had a sinister purpose in mind. What nobody knew was that the compound in question was owned by a radical white supremacist group known as the Soldiers of the New Millennium. Even though Travis Braxton had been arrested most of the group had been in hiding but now the group had resurfaced and with a new more charismatic leader and that leader was a relative of Travis Braxton by the name of Don Braxton his cousin.
Don Braxton: As you know my cousin tried to lead you to destroy a unity festival but the attempt ended in failure. However I have come up with a new more refined version of my cousins plan and with only one site to worry about and some C4 I can personally say that this time getting captured will not be an option. This time we'll be careful to avoid being captured and this time we'll have a backup plan for future events.
The men cheered at Don Braxton's Speech knowing that Don was a natural leader.
Meanwhile Wyatt Hat was having a word with Sir Richard Hatt via video chat. He was also joined by Alex and the Texas Rangers and they were discussing the festival but they were also talking about another issue. Namely the Local street gangs.
Wyatt: As you know the gangs haven't been causing problems since Thomas, Corrinne and Gervase stepped up and they even helped you arrest some gangbangers while encouraging the rest of the Unova Fleet to step up their game, and while I'm pleased Duchess Corrinne has brought up another issue. Retaliation by the gangs themselves for all the work the fleet has done.
Walker: Well if the gangs do retaliate then they'll have made a big mistake.
Sir Richard: Cousin Wyatt told me you said that when a student of yours was working to make their middle school a better place Walker You said that the student in question was Faith and she ended up shot in the spine even though it was an accident.
Walker: I did say that and we won't let anything happen.
Alex: Walker's right. Some gangs like the Fire Like Bloods may be gone and their places have been taken over by the Crows but we can help take back the neighborhoods and give the people hope and a chance to life in neighborhoods free of gangs.
Sir Richard: Yet two are still around, the blades and the guardians.
Walker: Yes but they're on a basketball team called the Blue Angels.
Wyatt: The point is at least Division Street doesn't have to worry about its gang problem anytime soon.
Sir Richard: I see your point. Still gangs come and go and while Sodor hasn't had to deal with that yet we've got to be ready. You never know when a new enemy may crop up.
As the controllers and the Texas Rangers continued talking they didn't notice that somebody was outside the office listening to every word that the controllers and the Texas Rangers and Cahill were saying and recording it. Once they heard everything they quietly slipped out but not before they planted a bug in the door so that nothing that was said would go unheard and that their boss would be able to make a plan to counter it.
Back in the office Sir Richard and Wyatt decided to finish up the final touches of the discussion.
Wyatt: So can I count on you to show up for the festival nephew?
Sir Richard: Well as you know the railway is busy but I can leave the staff in charge to handle things while I'm away. I've done so before. So yes I can catch a flight to the festival.
Wyatt: Great. We'll be sure to have everything ready.
Sir Richard: I wish you the best cousin.
Sir Richard and Wyatt ended the conversation.
Sydney: So I take it that your nephew is gonna attend?
Wyatt: That's right. Provided nothing actually gets blown to bits in the process.
Gage: Relax nothing is gonna get blown to bits. We'll see to that.
Meanwhile at the festival site the engines were hard at work getting everything ready but little did they know that Don Braxton was there with one of his cousin's lieutenants watching the event.
Don Braxton: When all is said and done by this Saturday we'll show the world the power of the Soldiers of the New Millennium.
Lieutenant: Good thing your cousin or the guys that Walker arrested didn't tell you much and thanks to the janitor we put on the inside of headquarters we have nothing left to lose.
Don Braxton: Let's get going. I still have some things I brought over from the remnants of Eagleton's Organization and if all else fails we'll be out of range.
Don Braxton and his lieutenant left on that note.
The Unova Railroad Fleet was currently discussing their plans for the festival.
Caitlin: Three more days till the festival begins. I'm so excited.
Connor: You got that right. This will be the best festival Dallas has had yet. Given all that's been going on.
Paul: And I can't believe I'm saying this but I hope Sam is able to attend.
?: Were you talking about me?
The three engines in question heard that and they heard a loud whistle and on cue a Virginian Blue Ridge Articulated Steam Locomotive arrived.
Paul: Sam Glad you could show up. We were just talking about you.
Sam: Well I'm glad to hear that I'll be invited to the festival. This is about unity and teamwork.
Connor: Which is why I'm worried our enemies could split us apart and play on our loyalties to our old railroads.
Paul: You're beginning to sound like Duchess Corrinne. Still the Texas Rangers have to stay alert and we got this. Security has been beefed up and the bomb squad is prepared.
Caitlin: Which means we can enjoy the event.
Connor: Except there's the issue of Isaac. The resident Diesel. If what Corrinne suspects is true then they may use him to get to us. Which means we need to be very careful.
The Engines all agreed to that as they went back to work doing the various jobs but what they didn't know was that Don Braxton had heard everything and was already making plans of his own.
The next day the Texas Rangers were in the office to discuss what was going on.
Trivette: Well this is it three more days until the festival begins.
Sydney: Dallas Police have already taken Corrinne's advice and stepped up patrols and so have the staff on the Unova Railway. Though she still has issues with the resident diesel like she doesn't trust him.
Trivette: No big surprise considering what the file on her said and what the file on her enemies has. One stands out.
Gage: Who?
Trivette: Coi.
Sydney: Koi? As in the Fish?
Trivette: No as in Coi the Dark Witch the most dangerous mob boss in all of Great Britain and the leader of the Crows. The most powerful, disciplined, and dangerous criminal organization that law enforcement has ever seen. the word on the street is that she's got stash houses in all the major cities across the world and even has some here in Dallas. Here's her file.
Trivette presented Coi's file and needless to say Gage and Sydney were shocked upon seeing it.
Sydney: The most dangerous is putting it mildly. According to this she had her hands in all but anything that had to do with organ trafficking and illegal organ trading. Basically she had her hands in all the typical dealings found in organized Crime. And she's even back engineered top secret military technology that she's also swiped via getting the crows to do it.
Gage: Sounds like Coi's been busy. You name it she's done it. But her personal favorite was witness intimidation allegedly.
Walker: It's worse than that. Anybody who even attempted to stand up the crows either wound up beaten to a pulp or dead and sometimes they'd take a page from the most brutal leaders in history to drive home their point.
Gage: Brutal as in guys like Ivan the Terrible and Vlad the Impaler?
Walker: I'm afraid so.
Trivette: And get this Coi was so powerful entire towns and cities feared what she'd do. Even other Crime lords were terrified of her, some allied with her like Pablo Escobar and there were a few that waited to take over when she was defeated.
Sydney: So is Coi still in charge.
Walker: Well she's out of the criminal underworld but there are those who still fear her even to this day if they cross her and some are considering taking her place. The Crows however are still around and they're currently waiting for the perfect time to attack.
Trivette: If they're here and they team up with any white supremacist groups looking to disrupt the festival then we're gonna be in for a massive war. According to the files Coi's got her hands on enough black market weaponry to arm an entire city and enough stealth technology to allow a small army to break in and out at will.
Gage: If that's the case we might want to consider doubling security.
Walker: I had a word with Wyatt Hatt and he's already on it.
The others agreed that Walker had a point and for now they decided to do their usual routines but what they didn't know was that the janitor had been standing outside and had heard everything that was happening and recorded it so as to send it to their boss.
Later that night the engines including the new diesel were discussing plans for the festival.
Isaac: Finally I get to be a part of something fun besides doing work around the yards and what not. Not that I'm complaining about my job here since you guys need to get fired up but I hope the people will accept the fact that I'm here.
Paul: There's a reason that Wyatt Hatt brought you in Isaac. To take care of the shunting duties and deliveries between the yards.
Isaac: I get that but let's hope that things turn out well for the festival.
Corrinne: As long as we come up with plans and backup plans we'll be alright.
Caitlin: Corrinne's right. It's not like a hate group is gonna set up bombs to destroy the big event and cause havoc like one tried to do before and if they do Walker's gonna stop them again.
Little did anybody know that Caitlin had just tempted fate as the fleet decided to get some sleep.
Days passed till the day of the festival finally arrived. The Unova Railroad Fleet finally got ready for the festival.
Sam: Well this is it.
Gervase: The day of the festival. For some of us tomorrow will be business as normal. But for Thomas Corrinne and myself we won't be sticking around.
Paul: Oh right I forgot. You three return to your respective railroads after the festival.
Corrinne: That's right but we'll never forget the friends we made and the help we brought to this railway.
Caitlin: And at least the festival is gonna go off without a hitch. I mean there hasn't been a single street gang causing us problems yet.
Connor: Yeah it's been quiet up to today. Perhaps a little too quiet. Something's not right.
Paul: Connor's right. If a hate group were to attack and we let our guard down now then things are about to turn explosive. Where are Wyatt and the Texas Rangers?
Sam: Paul's right we're gonna need them, bomb squad, S.W.A.T. Search dogs, the whole nine yards.
?: Well here they are.
On cue the engines saw Wyatt Hatt, The Texas Rangers, Alex Cahill, the bomb squad, search dogs and the whole nine yards.
Sam: Wyatt Hatt has remarkably good timing. How does he do that?
Thomas: He's obviously Steven Hatt's Cousin and Richard Hatt's uncle. As for how he does that well it's better you don't know.
Wyatt: Okay let's skip the formalities and get to business. I appreciate all you've done but it's clear to me that things have been too quiet.
Corrinne: Duh it's obvious we need to do some searches and hunt down some gang members and keep them from recruiting.
Sam: So basically, its do what Walker did for Chisolm Middle School, Lemmon Avenue Middle School and the High School where he and Trivette went undercover as the new principal and head of security respectively?
Paul: Which is basically the same plan as usual when dealing with situations involving gangs trying to recruit youths to join them.
Caitlin: Hey if it ain't broke don't fix it.
Thomas: That still doesn't explain what we do about the bombs.
Gervase: Well here's some good news. When I was delivering supplies to the military bases I asked the staff if there were any explosives missing the good news is all the explosives are accounted for.
Sydney: Well that's good news but I'm guessing there's bad news.
Corrinne: I'm afraid so. The Crows are in town and they've been busy recruiting new members from all over Texas and the country.
Paul: Figures. Walker only has jurisdiction in Texas and mostly in Dallas. The same is also true with his team so the Crows will go where they're not. They'll probably advise other gangs to do the same. Just like they did when Coi was in charge.
Corrinne: Like I said the Crows always have to prove their superiority by thinking three steps ahead of the cops. Still if the Crows are in town this could deter hate groups from trying to attack the festival.
Thomas: And how are they gonna do that? Give us an anonymous tip about what a hate group is gonna do?
Right on cue Walker got a phone call on his cell. The team waited as he took the call before he finished answering it.
Walker: That was an anonymous tip about the return of the Soldiers of the New Millennium. Bombs have been planted all around the area and they're the same ones that Eagleton planned to use.
Caitlin: Déjà vu much.
Corrinne: Either way, let's just get going and find them. The last thing we need is another near explosion at a unity festival.
Right on cue Law Enforcement and the staff of the Unova Railroad began working on finding the explosives and bombs.
The engines also kept their eyes and ears open for any suspicious activity and their crews were examining them just in case they had been sabotaged.
Walker: Well?
Trivette: We found the bombs and the explosives.
Sydney: And the crews just examined the sheds and the engines. They're all cleared. They weren't sabotaged.
Gage: But whoever tipped us off wants this festival to proceed.
Isaac: Most likely cause either they aren't afraid to battle hate groups or they have their own sneaky motives.
Sam: You're beginning to sound like Corrinne but for now let's party!
Everyone agreed to that and in a matter of hours the festival began without a hitch. People were enjoying the food, the show and the entertainment. The fleet was busy taking people up and down the line and passing the wisdom of days past upon the public.
Soon afterwards the festival came to an end and it was time for everyone to go.
Corrinne: Well this was a good festival but I wonder what happened to those who were planning to destroy it?
Alex: There will be time to talk about that later. Right now we should enjoy the moment and relax.
Sir Richard Hatt: Alex is right. I didn't travel across the Atlantic for this moment just to worry about what ifs. I came here to see what different people and engines could do when they work together without fear or prejudice.
Walker: That's right and after this Corrinne the Railway Board will decide what to do about you. They've reviewed your situation and the circumstances as to how you got here and all you've done since you've been here but they look at the big picture so you'll have a fair chance.
Corrinne was glad to hear that as she had been though way too much back on the British Isles after doing what Walker did and helping to bring positive change. Thomas, Gervase and the rest of the Unova Railroad Fleet also understood but for now they decided to enjoy the moment and worry about the future another time.