Brighton

1700 hours

Current Conditions: Clear

It was a whole 4 hours before Andy was finally able to leave the school after he had signed a mountain of paperwork and assisted the Automotive Club with examining the engines' states. As he leaves school grounds he feels 2 arms wrap around him from both sides as Emerald and Peter greet him.

Peter: "Hey there dude!" he greeted.

Emerald: "Sup city boy." she giggled.

Andy: "Pete? Esme? You guys are still here?" he asked.

Emerald: "Of course we are silly! What kinda friends would we be if we just left ya hangin'?" she replied.

Peter: "So, how'd it go over there?" he asked.

Andy: "It went pretty well." he replied, "Though the engines could be in better shape."

Peter: "How bad are they?" he asked.

Andy: "They're all rusty and most of them need major overhauls." he replied.

Emerald: "Yikes." she winced, "You think we have a chance against the other schools?"

Andy: "With enough upgrades and a ton of patience, we just might." he said, "But first we need crews and a lot of training."

Peter and Emerald looked thoughtfully at one another before turning back to Andy.

Peter: "You think me and Esme can join?" he asked.

Andy: "Wha-?....well, yeah, if you want to." he replied.

Emerald: "Sick, where can we sign up?" she asked.

Andy: "I'm not sure." he replied, "But...do you really want to? You've only known me for a day."

Peter: "'course we are buddy." he said, "Besides, how hard can it be?"

Emerald: "Yeah! Plus, it'll be fun!" she added.

Andy looked at their naive yet eager faces and chuckles.

Andy: "Alright fireman and radio woman." he chuckled, "Let's celebrate our union with a celebratory meal."

Peter/Emerald: "Yeah!" they laughed.

The trio made their way to a nearby steakhouse, ordering their food and making idle conversation.

Andy: "Say, you guys know a lot about me, but I don't know nearly as much about you guys." he said, "Mind sharing?"

Emerald: "Ooh! Ooh! I'll start um....well, I'm about 20-ish percent Japanese on my mom's side." she started, "For most of my life my mom has been trying to get me into Flower Arranging but my dad decided that I should have freedom of choice so he introduced me to a lot of other things. Rail Wars got me the most hooked but my mom didn't approve so she sent me to Eastwood in hopes that I'd just accept that I wouldn't be able to do Rail Wars."

Peter: "Well, that's gonna be a very awkward conversation in the near future." he chuckled, mimicking Emerald's voice, "Hey mom, I joined Rail Wars, suck it!"

Emerald: "Oh come on, I'm a bold person but I'm not that bold!" she pouted.

Peter: "Oh yeah.....it'd go something like this." he said, "FUCK YOU MOM! I ain't dealing with those bullshit flowers no more!"

The trio had a good laugh at that.

Andy: "How about you Pete?" he asked, "What's your story?"

Peter: "Well, not much to tell really." he replied, casually.

Random Dude 1: "Yo! Pete! Thanks for hooking me up man." he said, passing by the table, "You trying to hook those 2 up?"

Peter: "I just might in the future." he replied, nonchalantly.

Random Dude 1: "Hoho. Nice." he chuckles.

A whistle attracts his attention as a girl on another table beckons the man over.

Random Dude 1: "Gotta go, today's our second date." he said, beginning to leave, "Thanks again."

Peter: "Good luck with her!" he called.

Andy: "Ah, you're the love guru." he said, "Nice."

Peter: "Mhm. One time, I got 2 enemies to fall in love with each other just so they stopped disturbing classes." he bragged, "Got me in good graces with the school board and the Headmaster for the rest of my Freshman Year."

Emerald: "We met the Lunch after he set those 2 up on a date." she said, "We've been friends ever since and sorry to say but you are never hooking up with me Pete. You just ain't my type."

Peter: "It's cool Esme, doesn't stop me from trying my usual tricks to get you hooked up to someone else though." he grinned.

Emerald: "Oh, like with Andy over here?" she asked, sarcastically, "Puh-lease."

Andy laughed as the 2 friends bantered to one another, allowing his focus to drift away from their conversation....that turned out to be a mistake as, in the background, the TV was playing a News Report from Westside Charter.

News Reporter: "We are here, live at Westside Charter High School where they are set to receive a Class 22 'Baby Warship' to further strengthen their fleet of shunting engines." she said, "This is a first for the Rail Wars community as not only is this the first Baby Warship to enter the competition but it is also among the biggest engines on the field today."

The screen showed a BR Blue Diesel being unloaded from a low loader, physically it resembled a Class 42 'Warship' but smaller and less powerful thus earning the nickname 'Baby Warship'.

News Reporter: "The class was presumed lost in January of 1972 but a recent trip to the scrapyard found one last example of the type untouched by the scrapper's torch." she continued, turning to another person to her left, "With me now is Westside Charter's premiere shunter Mr. Nathaniel B Yan. Tell me Nathan, why are you bringing this engine onto the team?"

Nathan: "We need to make up for the upset of last year. We find that the reliance on 2 shunting engines has become unnecessary and want to cut down the costs of maintaining 2 Class 08's." he said.

News Reporter: "Ah yes, the incident at Doncaster." she said, recognizing what he was talking about, "I remember your little brother Francis Andre Yan was at the controls of the runaway engine. Any comment on where he is at the moment?"

Nathan: "No." he said, flatly, "He is dead to me and my family and if he knows what is good for him he will stay away from Rail Wars."

News Reporter: "Well that's a shame, he was quite the star when he was still active." she said, "Delight on camera too."

Nathan: "We do not condone his actions that day." he said, "It was irresponsible, reckless, dangerous, and stupid to even consider."

News Reporter: "I see, well, it's a shame that we don't know of his current whereabouts." she sighed.

Andy sighed, wishing he had a hat to hide his face with.

Peter: "Prick." he muttered, breaking Andy out of his stupor.

Andy: "My brother is like that." he sighed, "He just follows my parents way too closely."

Emerald: "So they can just say that water is red and he'll automatically believe them?" she asked, incredulously.

Andy: "Yes. I know because they have and he did." he replied, "He's my parents' favourite for the pure reason that they can mould him into whatever they want while I grew up to be more independent."

Emerald: "And yet he's the one with the shiny new toy?" she questioned, "Ugh, the world can be so unfair at times."

Peter: "All the more reason to kick his ass when we get our engines ready for battle." he grinned.

Andy: "I hope we'll be ready in time for the first match of the season." he said, worriedly, "Sure our best looker and both our fastest and strongest engines will most certainly be ready, our shunter might not be."

Peter: "Why's that so important?" he asked.

Emerald: "Well Pete, as everyone knows, Rail Wars has 4 divisions in every round." she said, "There's the fastest engine, the strongest engine, the best looking engine, and the shunting competition."

Andy: "Yeah, while the Fastest Engine was the competition that started the whole sport it's actually the shunting competition that steals the biggest crowds." he explained, "Mainly because of how chaotic it is, all the engines crashing and shoving rolling stock to and fro as they put together the biggest train possible."

Emerald: "Competing engines can also ram each other out of the way and sometimes off the rails and the crowds love that." she added.

Andy: "On the competitor's side of things, the trains the shunters put together are also used in the strongest engine competition so there is a lot of strategy involved in there." he finished.

Peter: "Cool." he said, "Looking forward to that stress."

Andy and Emerald roll their eyes at their snarky comrade.

Brighton Works

0600 hours

Current Conditions: Clear

It was early in the morning on a very quiet Saturday as the engines Eastwood High was slated to use in Rail Wars were shunted into Brighton Works by the Class 08 that worked the place. The Headmaster and Andy stood in front of the engines as 4 groups of students formed lines in front of him. Each group was a friend group or club consisting of 4 members. Specifically the disbanded Basketball club, the history club, and the Anime Club with Emerald and Peter being the 4th group.

H. Samson: "Good, we are all here." he said, getting everyone's attention, "First of all, I'd like to thank you for taking this time out of your schedules to visit the works today. It will be a great help in revitalising our efforts in Rail Wars."

A murmur goes through the students as they mutter the usual 'no trouble', 'not an issue', 'it's cool', and 'didn't have anything better to do'.

H. Samson: "Now, onto why you are here." he said, "After consultation with the Rail Wars officials, we have been allowed to learn what we can do in an exhibition match. The team from Hillview School for Girls shall come down from Scotland and compete against us. This match will give us invaluable information as to what you can do in your respective engines once you choose them."

Andy: "After reviewing the rules, every engine must have at least 3 members to occupy 4 roles." he piped up, "There's a driver, a fireman, a radio operator, and a brakeman. All 4 will work various jobs in the cabs to ensure we are competitive."

H. Samson: "The driver and radio operator are straight forward roles. Brakemen/brakewomen are exclusive to shunting and the strongest engine competition since those competitions involve rolling stock. Firemen on the other hand have the most difficult job, making sure the furnace that keeps the engines running is well stocked and burning brightly." he continued.

Andy: "In the fastest engine competition the fourth member of the team can be an extra fireman but the best looking engine only needs a crew of 3." he explained, "But for now, we can worry about that at a later date. For now, I want you to pick your engines."

H. Samson: "There is absolutely no pressure." he added, "Take as much time as you need, we still need to repair and restore all of these engines."

Andy: "But as soon as these engines are complete they will be yours forever." he added, "You will be able to choose your liveries but I implore you to stick with either the school's baby blue livery with red lining or draw inspiration from history. I am hoping not to see the A4 painted bright pink or the 9F bright, shiny gold."

A chuckle goes through the group at the idea of such weird liveries.

Andy: "Now, go on and pick. But just now, the tank engine is mine." he smirked.

The groups dispersed, running around the works and inspecting the remaining 3 engines to see what they were working with. Andy, Emerald, and Peter all turned to what remained of the tank engine as the workers began inspecting the engines with the Automotive Club pitching in.

Worker 1: "Yo! This tank engine was built here!" he called.

Worker 2: "No way." she said, shocked.

Worker 1: "I'm starin' at a builder's plate that states otherwise." he said, staring at what remained of a tool box disguised as a splasher.

The workers, Andy, Emerald, Peter, and the Headmaster all gathered around. Sure enough, the builder's plate read

'L B & S C R

No. 110

1918

Brighton Works'

Andy: "Well, I'll be damned." he whistled.

Worker 4: "Yo! Pops! Can you get the record books?" he yelled.

Pops: "Already got em open sony." he said, walking up to the group with a massive book in his hands.

The worker took the book and opened it to the section dedicated to engines built at the works in 1918. He scrolled through the book before coming across the entry.

'L B & S C R                      Class E2XX                                 No. 110'

Peter: "E2XX? The fuck is an E2XX?" he questioned.

H. Samson: "Our prized little locomotive apparently." he replied with a chuckle.

Pops: "My grandfather worked on the engine in 1918." he said, walking forward with a picture, "The idea was to give the E2 Class another chance, making an E2X shorter and smaller to work better at Southampton Docks. It was a success but the Southern Railway didn't see much use in more tank engines when the A1X's were everywhere at that point. Thus, it is the only one of its type."

Emerald: "What a life it must have had then." she giggled, "It's survived a war, modernization, and competed in a motorsport before kicking the bucket."

Andy: "Well, let's give the old girl her life back." he grinned.

Worker 6: "Roger that. What specs we gonna do for her?" he asked.

Emerald: "The E2's had 170 PSI boilers and 17.5 in x 26 in cylinders." she said.

Andy: "Yeah, but that's underpowered by today's standards." he said, "Especially by that baby warship Westside Charter is fielding."

H. Samson: "Well, what would you suggest?" he asked.

Andy: "I'd say we swap out the cylinders for 18x26 inch ones, give them a better ability to handle higher pressure steam and swap the boiler for one that has 200 psi." he said, estimating the numbers, "That should give us an edge."

Worker 8: "That's a lot of power for an engine the size of an E2XX." he noted, based on how short the wheelbase was.

Peter: "It'll give the press something to talk about, the public something to gawk at, and our competitors something to make them scared shitless." he grinned, "I say we do it."

H. Samson: "And I approve." he smiled.

Worker 1: "Welp, you heard him, let's make this little tank engine a monster." he said, cracking his knuckles and running off.

Westside Charter Workshops

0900 hours

Current Conditions: Clear

In a similar hive of activity mechanics from Westside Charter's Automotive Club work their asses off to get the Class 22 into working order, replacing its motor and traction current with more modern systems to make sure it was as reliable as their Class 42, their Intercity 125, and their beautiful HS 4000 'Kestrel'. Overseeing all of this was Nathan, Andy's brother, he was slated to take the Class 22 on a test drive later that afternoon when the Headmistress, his mother, approached.

Sara: "Nathan. I see you are eager to try out the new Class 22." she said.

Nathan: "Yeah, ready to kick some ass and make sure last year is the last time we lose in Rail Wars." he nodded.

Sara: "Good, good." she said, leaning against the railing of the catwalk, "Are you sure you're up to the task? You know what happened last year when you were the only shunter on the grid."

Nathan growled at the memory, when Andy had run off to save someone's life he'd left Nathan to do all the heavy lifting and since most schools had 2 shunters he was easily outmatched and they lost the shunting competition and thus forfeit the Strongest Engine Competition. That wouldn't be too bad but their Intercity 125 was out of commission that day and Kestrel needed a new paint job. As a result, they completely lost.

Nathan: "We'll get em." he said, determined, "Shoving and shunting other engines out of the way is allowed this year, right?"

Sara: "Correct." she replied, "Why?"

Nathan: "Just a question." he replied, walking away.

Sara: "They've found your brother." she suddenly stated, "His school is planning to rejoin Rail Wars this season."

Nathan: "....then we will crush him and his pathetic team at the starting line." he growled, walking away.

Sara grinned, she had perfectly moulded Nathan into a competitive and bloodthirsty Rail Wars champion. Now all that was left to do was deal with her failure but she was sure he wouldn't stand a chance....but just in case she turned to the CME.

Sara: "Is Diesel number 10 ready for service?" she asked.

CME: "Yes ma'am." he replied, "The necessary modifications have been made to the Class 42 to allow for easy conversion."

Sara: "Good. Should my failure of a son even come close to the winner's circle, I want that claw on standby." she said.

CME: "As you command ma'am." he saluted, going back to work.

A crate was seen being lowered onto a flatbed labelled as 'Fragile', 'Experimental', 'Dangerous', and 'Not to be Touched'. This flatbed was then shunted onto the train that contained spare parts and fuel for the engines during the various events. It also contained well wagons and cranes should the engines come off the rails and in case the event took more than one day, it had a few coaches with sleeping quarters for the crews.

A/N:

Andy: A little short but it serves. Now, let's get into the details, yes I'm making Westside Charter intentional villains instead of the incidental villains that Kuromarine was in Girls und Panzer. Still building up motive against Andy other than him throwing a match to save a man's life. Then there's the locomotives. As you can probably guess...yes, the E2XX is Thomas, I recently came upon a photoshop of an E2X that's lower to the ground, shorter, and sporting Thomas features and thought 'Yeah, I can use that as a base'. That also gave me the idea to put a Class 22 'Baby Warship' and a Class 42 'Warship' in Westside Charter's team to reference Diesel 10. dieHero, DrFrostwire0; what'd you guys think? Anyway, got online classes (Fuck you Taal Volcano you unlucky fu-) I'll see you guys next time.