ICEBREAKER
Part XVI - Departure
1/14/2024 - Words: 34,513 Chapters: 16/? Comments: 2 Kudos: 3 Bookmarks: 2 Hits: 303
Dozing once again in his chair, Layton practically fell out of it as a deep, loud blast of what sounded like a fog horn ripped though the stillness of the area around him.
Quickly looking around, he finally found his roommate, sitting in her own helm chair to his left, a pleased smile on her lips as she watched him right himself in his helm chair again.
"Good morning, Mr. Layton." She greeted him with the same pleased smile.
Layton looked around. "Morning?" He asked, rubbing his hands over his face as he focused on the front window, which showed the first rays of the morning sun lighting the sky.
"You must have been more tired than you thought." She added, quickly working over several controls on the master panel. "You've been sound asleep in that chair for the past six hours."
Layton turned to her. "You should have woken me up so you could get some sleep."
Melanie frowned at the suggestion. "What good would my waking you up so I could sleep possibly do? It isn't like we're going to be attacked by anyone out here, Layton. And for your information, I did sleep."
"For how long?" He suspiciously asked.
Melanie paused for a moment. "Long enough." She finally replied, turning back to the panel.
Layton gave a small sigh as he stepped up next to her. "So where are we in preparations to leave this lovely little hidden paradise?"
Melanie punched up a few buttons and looked over the readings flashing across a small computer screen mounted above the helm chair she was using.
"All the diagnostics I've been running having been coming back favorable." She replied, turning to him with a small smile, "So by my estimates, I would say...how about now?"
Layton looked somewhat surprised. "What? Like...right now?"
Melanie pressed a button on the control board. To the side a small panel opened and a lever rotated into position. Melanie turned another satisfied smile to him. "Right now." She replied. "So how will we know if the train can move?" He asked. Melanie flicked several switches on the overhead panel, releasing the locks that held the train in place on the tracks. ""We're sitting on a small incline. Thankfully we'll be running reverse, so the inertia should act in our favor to get the train moving. Once we get to the bottom of the incline, the engine should take over and the wheels will work to find traction and start moving down the track." Layton listened as the train began to creak once it was released from the track, the slightest motion being felt as it began to slide over the tracks. "And what if the engine doesn't start?" He ask. "Then what?" Melanie gave a slight shrug. "Then we roll to the bottom of the hill and stop." Layton leaned over the arm of his chair and gave her a none to serious suggestive leer. "It is so sexy when you start with those complicated physic terms, lady." Melanie returned an unfriendly stare before starting the sequence to power up the engine.
Layton quickly dropped back into his chair, unsure of what to expect as Icebreaker continued to slowly begin moving down the hill. "All right then." He said. "Lets see what your train can do, Ms. Cavill."
Reaching above her, Melanie flicked several more switches on an overhead panel. With each one, Layton could hear some system of the train's engine coming to life, likely for the first time in nearly seven years.
Taking hold of the lever, Melanie slowly began to pull it back.
All around him, Layton swore he could feel every inch of the train heavy a great sigh as the engine strained to answer the command to take over moving the train. Pushing against the metal underneath them, he could feel the wheels begin to slowly start to turn faster, straining to make contact with the frozen track as it fought to find traction.
But ever so slowly, with each turn of the wheels under it, Layton could feel Icebreaker start to find a grip and begin to move under it's own power. He listened to every creak and groan as the train shook off its frozen mantel and watched as the landscape outside the window in front of him began to retreat as the train slowly continued to rolled backwards down the hill behind them. As soon as the train reached the bottom of the hill, the wheels seemed to quickly find the traction they were looking for and Layton felt the whole train give a slight push against the track underneath it as the engine fully took over moving the train.
"It's working." He stated in an almost awe-filled whisper. "We're really moving."
Melanie answered his tone of amazement with a small laugh. "Well, what did you expect?" She asked, though not entirely hiding her own relief.
Layton just continued to stare out at the landscape that was retreating before them faster and faster as Icebreaker picked up speed. But finally his relief broke with a loud laugh. He clapped his hands together in a satisfied jester as he turned to her.
"Moscow, here we come!" He announced.
Moving down the main track again, Hes had to admit he liked being the lead train far more than being the end car. And not just for what it represented to him. As the lead train he could once again see where they were headed. Far more important to him than looking at where they had been.
Moving down the track, the train suddenly gave a sharp shudder as it passed over an uneven line of track. Not an unusual occurrence, but it still caused the newer apprentices to jump slightly, giving each other quick looks as they rated the degree of concern off of how their older counterparts reacted.
"Steady on, boyo's." Hes called out, trying to settle any spiked nerves. "Snowpiercer's just letting us know she doesn't much care for this part of the track, that's all." He added, casting a quick glance at the Third Engineer, who answered with a quick nod of agreement.
The apprentices hadn't taken well to Hes at all when he had first started coming to the engine room to learn more about running the train. They viewed him as little more than an upstart. Just another in a long list of possibilities that may one day take their beloved teacher away from them. But the more he was present in the Engine Room, and the more they began mixing with Hes's own apprentices and learning about the metallurgist, the more accepting they became of him. And while still not totally comfortable with him, especially now, with the stern looking blacksmith in control of the train, they did accept him for now as a temporary replacement until their Head Engineer returned. Something they appreciated seeming foremost on the metallurgist mind as the train continued on the track towards Moscow.
Sitting at the helm, Melanie barely managed to stifle a yawn as she watched the train running smoothly over the rarely used tracks towards Moscow. Still two days away, she knew she wouldn't be able to stay awake constantly until they arrived there. In fact, once they arrived, she needed to be more on her game than ever since they had no idea what the situation was going to be.
"I think it's time for a certain engineer to take a nap." Came the comment from the chair next to her.
Layton expected to have to argue her all the way back to the mattress he had removed out of one of the rooms and laid on the floor for them to use. His reasoning being the only way he felt he would ever get her to take time to sleep was if he could guarantee she wouldn't be more than a few steps away if something happened.
But to his surprise she simply gave him a tired nod.
"Are you sure you're going to be all right driving?"
"Melanie, I have watched you for the past four hours. I'm pretty sure I have it down."
"Then lets hear it."
Layton sighed he glanced at the ceiling, making the correct gestures with his hand. "Push the lever up, the train speeds up. Pull the lever back, the train slows down." He turned back to her with a smile. "And if something unexpected happens, scream your name."
Melanie gave a slight nod. But as she started to walk back to where he had laid the mattress just a few feet behind the helm chairs, she stopped and leaned down next to him, a none to friendly look in her eyes. "Do NOT hurt my train." She stated firmly, then turned and walked back to the makeshift bed.
Layton answered the warning with a small smile as he turned back to the front of the train. "Yes, ma'am."
Layton was actually surprised that she slept as long as she did.
A full eight hours later he heard a yawn behind him and some moving about as she pushed aside the blanket he had gotten for them to use.
"I'm going to save that mattress when we get back to Snowpiercer." He commented as she sat back down in the helm chair.
Melanie turned to him. "Why?"
"Because even in your own bed you rarely sleep eight hours."
Melanie shook off the comment. "I need to get as much sleep as I can before we meet up with the main track in Moscow. There's no telling what we're going to run into once we get there."
Layton gave a none to happy nod as he got up from the chair. "I was going to go take a look at the food storage to see what might be available to eat. Any requests?"
Melanie continue to work over the controls. "Anything that hasn't been chewed into or rifled through."
"I think I saw 'Stew' labeled on one of the food bins."
Melanie gave the offering a slight nod.
A few minutes later they were both sitting at the helm again, each with a bowl filled with something that looked more like a dark colored oatmeal than beef stew.
The main point of the offering seemed to be simply that it was warm and edible. Layton had managed to find the bowls, flatware, a water dispenser, and working microwave in the back in what would have been the crews quarters and had quickly gotten the food heated and served.
"Well, it's not Beef Wellington," he commented, "but it is edible."
Melanie gave a satisfied nod as she dug in for another spoonful. Up until then they had eaten little past a few packs of snacks they had stored in their survival suits. This represented the first full scale meal either had eaten since leaving Snowpiercer. "It's not bad." She replied. "The main point of it is it's freeze dried and vacuum sealed. Basically, it can last forever. So it can be a useful emergency supply to the rest of the train."
Layton dug another spoonful out of his bowl. "So, any thoughts about what we might be headed into?" He asked.
Melanie gave her bowl a thoughtful look, then shook her head. "That's the problem." She replied. "We have no idea what happened on Snowpiercer."
Layton leaned back in his chair. "If Wilford is back in control of both trains, we better have a plan in place for how to handle that."
Melanie turned to him. "Any suggestions?"
"I was thinking over a couple of ideas the past few hours. If we have a way to privately hail Snowpiercer...get Bennett or Javi only on the line, that could be a good start."
"We may not need to contact them." Melanie stated, suddenly reaching down into a pocket of her Engineering suit, she quickly pulled out the familiar little square box and held it up for Layton to see.
Layton paused as he look at the little box. "Out of everything to take with us on this mission," he asked, "you thought to bring a way to communicate with your ASSISTANT?"
Melanie frowned at his tone. "Frank is a good deal more than just some gopher lackey, Layton. And you very well know it."
"No. I don't know it." Layton replied. "And that's only half my problems with that man. Someday I swear I'm going to tell Till that as part of her detective training I want her to go find out everything she can about that man and report back."
Melanie gave him a deeper frown. "Layton, he's MY assistant. I know Frank keeps secrets. But I also know that the ones he keeps, he keeps for good reason. What about Eliah? What would it benefit anyone to know who she is? But it could cause a good deal of harm. Now, Frank has never done or shown anything but utter concern for the train and the passengers. That's all I need to know about him."
The suspicion in Layton tone didn't drop off one bit. "Just let me know when you contact him."
"It won't be any time soon." She replied. "The communicator has limited range and we're still much too far away."
Layton got up from the chair, offering to take her bowl as he walked past to go clean up from their meal.
Melanie handed him the bowl with a slight frown. "You're a very suspicious man, you know that?"
Layton turned back to her. "I'm a detective. We got paid to be suspicious of other people. And sometimes, it's what kept us alive." He paused for a moment. He knew she was fiercely protective of her assistant. Almost too much so. "And all I'm saying," he added finally, "is don't give the man a free pass on everything. Because I would bet a lot on that man running his own agenda as much as Wilford."
Melanie huffed at the suggestion. "Well, if he is, I would sleep comfortably knowing it wasn't likely to be half as sinister as anything Joseph Wilford would come up with."
"You don't think so?"
Melanie turned back to him. "What is that suppose to mean?"
Layton leaned down a bit towards her, lowering his tone as thought there was a room full of people behind them that might hear. "You want to know what I think about your very proper assistant, Ms. Cavill?"
Melanie only raised her eyebrow at him in inquiry.
"I have watched that man since you took him on. The way he acts. The way he talks, moves, and that protective little shield he holds in front of anything that might deliver even a tenth of an ounce of anything about his background. I was in law enforcement for a very long time, and I've met men like him before, Melanie. Frank Jackson is not someone you want to put your full trust in or give any benefit of the doubt to. He is a very dangerous man."
Melanie looked stunned at the assessment. "You play cards with him every Friday night!"
"I didn't say he wasn't friendly." Layton replied. "If fact, being sociable and pleasant to others is likely one of his greatest skills. Presenting himself as harmless and making people trust him."
Melanie held his stare for a moment longer than huffed at him again as she turned back to the front of the train.
"You're getting paranoid, Mr. Layton." She answered him.
Layton paused by her chair before he left.
"Wrong." He stated. "I got on this train that way. And it kept me alive in the Tail for nearly seven long years."
Melanie listened to as he walked back to the crews quarters, all the while staring at the small box still held in her hand.