That evening, as Terramar, his parents, and his sister relaxed in the family pool (it was a very hot evening), Terramar couldn't stop thinking about what Skarloey had said. What was so bad that you could be sent away from your home and to another island entirely? He pondered these thoughts as he dived underwater and dropped to the bottom. He often found he thought clearest when down here, even if for a brief while.
His thinking was interrupted when Silverstream suddenly appeared in front of him. She presumably said 'surprise', but it came out underwater as 'suplise'.
Terramar jumped and suddenly surfaced, his head crashing through the water and into the air. He coughed. "Silverstream!"
His sister surfaced a second later, laughing as she adjusted her goggles. "Having a nice time down there?" she asked.
"Maybe, before you decided to play peek a boo underwater!" Terramar removed his own goggles as Sky Beak and Ocean Flow swam over.
"Looks like you two are having fun!" Sky Beak said. "How was your first day here?"
"I made several new friends in a few minutes, and even got some work on the narrow gauge railway here," Terramar said. "The quarry's really neat."
"See?" Silverstream said. "I told you that you'd like it!"
Terramar sighed. "I've been thinking about something, though." He had to be careful. He couldn't mention Luke or what Skarloey had said, as that would be a breach of his trust. So he made his query as vague as possible. "Guys... what's the worst thing you've ever done?"
Ocean Flow scooted over and put her arm around her son's shoulders. "What's brought this on, honey?"
"I'm just wondering."
The others nodded. "I'll go first," Sky Beak said. "I once tripped up a fellow competitor in junior sports as I desperately wanted to win. I got disqualified for my actions instead and came home with nothing. That day taught me that the desire to achieve your goals must never come at the cost of fair play."
Silverstream spoke up next. "A while back, a Christmas tree fell over at the Works, and my friends and I had to clean up the mess. I was so mad at being forced to clear up a mess I hadn't created that, instead of sticking by my friends, I angrily accused Ocellus of having done the deed. I should have been there for my friend, but instead I let her down."
"Ocellus is the one with the pink hair, right?" Terramar asked.
"I'll go next," Ocean Flow spoke. "I accidentally gave a fellow worker an allergic reaction when I brought some homemade cookies into work one time. He had a nut allergy that I didn't know about."
"Is he OK?" Silverstream enquired.
"Yes, yes. He's completely fine."
"I guess that leaves me," Terramar sighed. "I once pushed somebody into a pool. Nothing bad came of it, but it could easily have gotten a lot worse. What if they hadn't been able to swim?"
"But they forgave you," Ocean Flow reassured him. "No matter what happens or will occur, we will never throw either of you out because we love you.
"Thanks mom," Terramar sighed. That did make him feel a lot better, but some thoughts yet remained.
His thoughts were interrupted by his father's voice. "Who wants to go in the hot tub?"
As his family members evacuated the pool quickly, he followed them. What was so bad that you could be sent away?
The next morning, the drivers of the Skarloey Railway were checking in for work. Yona had been the first to arrive, and was giving Rheneas some much needed maintenance and some paint.
"As I was trying to tell Skarloey, I'm thankful that I'm getting a new coat of paint," Rheneas said. "As much as we are supposed to work, and getting dirty is an inevitable part of railway operation, it feels good to get a cleanup every now and then. After all, 'no polish means'-"
"Are you seriously doing that again?" Duncan asked, annoyed.
"Not neccesarily," Rheneas continued. "Besides, you were the one who stopped without being polished."
"I had to recover you," Skarloey grumbled. "But hear this Rheneas, the grimy look makes you look like a really useful engine, as we all are."
"Yona agree!" Yona said. "Yona think Rheneas is really useful engine, good for moving passengers or slate!"
"Or any other cargo, for that matter," Rheneas laughed.
Ocellus opened Skarloey's cylinder cocks and moved him out into the yard. "Right then!" she said. "Blue Mountain Quarry, here we come!"
"Can I catch a lift up?" Terramar asked. "As you know, my engine is up at the quarry."
Skarloey's face fell, but Ocellus seemed happy to oblige. "Sure! It'll be nice to have some company."
"Am I not company?" asked Skarloey.
"Of course you are," Ocellus soothed. "You're also my friend."'
As they set off up the valley, the two humans engaged in conversation. "So, how do you find Crovan's Gate?"
"It's pretty nice," Terramar admitted. "Lots of friendly people and faces to see. Our house is also pretty nice, given we live not far from a workshop."
"One of the biggest of its kind in the world now," Ocellus pointed out. "I've been here for a bit now, and it never gets boring around here!"
"It won't with people like you around!" Terramar smiled. "Nor this railway. It reminds me of the Talyllyn!"
"Have you met my twin Talyllyn?" asked Skarloey.
"Yes," Terramar replied. "Mind, he wasn't very chatty at the time. Engines only recently regained sentience across the world, after all."
Before long, they arrived at the quarry, and Ocellus made a quick dash to the WC before work began. Terramar hopped out and spoke to Skarloey. "I spoke to my parents, and we couldn't think of anything so bad that you could be sent away for it."
Skarloey looked shocked. "You haven't been blabbering about Luke, have you?" he asked.
"No! I never mentioned him!" Terramar protested.
Skarloey relaxed. "Good. Terramar, I think we, as narrow gauge engines, can trust you. Now then, once Ocellus returns from her bathroom break, we shall begin work. Get Luke fired up!"
Sure enough, the working day began, with the engines gradually arriving from Crovan's Gate. Slate was shifted, and wagons rattled up and down the hills both loaded and empty. Sir Handel took the loaded wagons away as fast as he could, and brought back empties equally speedily. Rusty also helped with marshalling empties together along the way to speed up loading.
During a lunch break, Luke decided to open up a bit to Terramar. "Sorry for not speaking to you yesterday," the little engine said.
"Hey, it's OK," Terramar replied, as he started on one of his tuna sandwiches. As his name suggested, he ate a lot of seafood. "First days are often quite awkward. But I've been here a bit now, and I've got the ropes- I think."
Both of them laughed at that. "But I've been wondering," Terramar continued. "What did you do that got you sent away from Sodor? I spoke with my family and we couldn't think of anything that would get a person sent away."
"You're the brother of the hyper girl, right?" Luke asked. Terramar nodded. "I've done bad things, Terramar."
"We all have!" Terramar replied. "I once pushed somebody into a pool as I was angry that they'd beaten me in a race."
Luke sighed. "If you're still around after that, maybe there is hope for me after all. I'll tell you what I did, but you must tell nobody else. Understand?"
"I understand," Terramar said.
And so, Luke began...
Blue Mountain Quarry, 1963
Luke was excited to start work in the Blue Mountain Quarry. The facility seemed massive to an engine who had previously only worked on peat bogs, and as a result he wanted to get started.
There was another saddle tank working in the quarry, similar in design to Skarloey but somehow blockier in shape. He spoke with a calm but firm voice (in a Welsh accent to boot). "You be careful with the slate wagons, as they are very heavy," he said. "Especially when loaded. I saw firsthand at Dinorwic the effects of runaway slate wagons, so please be careful Luke."
Luke was too excited to listen, and was soon putting together a loaded train at the top of the incline to go down, pulling the empty wagons up. Once he was done, he signalled for the wagons to be moved down.
The other engine was waiting at the bottom of the incline, ready to collect the loaded wagons. The winding engine started up, lowering the wagons down the hill. But the load was too heavy for the rope, and it snapped. The wagons gained speed, rattling and roaring down the slope until they crashed into the engine. Several wagons broke apart in the impact, and wood, metal, and slate went flying everywhere.
As for the engine at the bottom- a badly damaged wreck remained.
"...They took him away," Luke finished. "And he was probably scrapped. I was sent away for causing the accident. That engine is dead... because of me, and for that Skarloey and Rheneas cast me out!"
Terramar looked at the upset tank engine. "It was all an accident," he said. "I'm certain those involved have forgiven you."
"Fat chance of that," Luke snorted. "Did you see the way Skarloey and Rheneas acted yesterday? They don't trust me, and I'm worried. If anybody else on the Island finds out what I did, I'll get sent back to the power station, or worse away from Sodor!"
"That won't happen," Terramar said firmly. "I won't let it happen. As long as we're together, you're safe on Sodor."
Just then, Mr Percival arrived on one of the empty workings coming back. "Hello, Terramar!" he called. "I would like to thank you for your hard work the last two days, but Duke has now been repaired and can come back to working here. We have no further need for you."
Terramar's heart sank. "Sir, if it's possible, can I continue working? Luke and I-"
"I won't keep more engines in working order than I need," Mr Percival said. "You can work here another two days, but then Luke is going back to CEGB Brendam."
Terramar looked at his new friends. "Sorry, buddy," he said. "I'll be sure to keep helping and looking out for you. Wait a second. A saddle tank with a Welsh accent? And you say he mentioned working at Dinorwic?"
"Yes," Luke replied. "Why?"
"Just curious, that's all." Terramar had an idea as to who the engine might have been. But there were a number of potential leads.
The next morning, long before work was due to start, Terramar snuck out and walked along the streets of Crovan's Gate, looking for a specific house. It took him a while, and the humid air was already causing him to sweat, but he kept on going until he reached his address. "22 Hartshorne Street, off the intersection between Campbell Drive and O'Donnell Avenue."
He reached the house, a fairly normal property, and knocked on the door. It took a few moments, but eventually Ocellus answered the door. He could tell it was early for her, as she was still in her nightgown. "Hi, Terramar," she yawned. "It must be really important if you're popping round at 6 in the morning."
"It is," Terramar insisted. "Also, it's hot out here. I have something to ask; can you help me figure out a class of engine?"
Ocellus' face lit up almost immediately. "Sure! Let me get my sketchbook!"
A few moments later, the pair were sat around the kitchen table, with Ocellus' parents themselves getting ready for work. "So," Ocellus said, "it was a saddle tank with no cab, an exposed smokebox, outside cylinders with inside frames, no dome, a copper capped chimney, and square buffers. Right?"
"Right," Terramar replied, and nodded. "No clue what colour it was, though."
"OK then," Ocellus nodded. "One minute. Let me get to work!"
A few minutes later, she had a fairly detailed technical drawing done. "Based on your description, it was a Quarry Hunslet from the second batch, built between 1900 and 1904. That limits us to Holy War, Hugh Napier, and Irish Mail."
"That helps me greatly!" Terramar replied. "Thanks for the help, Ocellus. I now need to make a phone call."
"And I need to get ready," Ocellus laughed. "I've got to get to the shed in an hour!"
Terramar opened his mobile and dialled a number on the phone.
"Bala Lake Railway head office, can I help you, over?"
"Hi, it's Terramar. Can I speak to Holy War please?"
"Sure thing. Putting you on speaker now."
Moments later, another voice spoke. "Hello, Terramar. How are things going on Sodor?"
"An engine called Luke told me about an engine hit by slate trucks going too fast. Does this story ring a bell?"
"It is 100% true Terramar. I was the engine hit by those slate trucks."