Morning came, as mornings are known to do. No, that's an overused joke, I'll try a different starting sentence.
As the giant plasma ball coloured orange made his way into the air and shone down upon the Canadian countryside, there was a small indigestion (or indignation) meeting going on. John, Marie, Harrison, and Miranda were gathered at the coal and water point, discussing the plan of action for the night's proceedings. Moondust was there too, feeling most refreshed after a difficult night. He had a map on the ground, as people are known to do, and had drawn lines and such on it. These lines looked very confusing and complicated.
"I still can't make sense of this map," Harrison said simply.
"I'll explain it, then," Moondust replied, indicating to the other engines to pay attention. The engines apart from Harrison, that is. His hand sat on a box with an arrow drawn from it with a bit of pen. "This is the junction where we saw the ghost train, or not ghost train as it turns out. The formation has to stop to access the line it takes to get to the valley, so we have to use that time to our advantage."
He looked over to the coaches. "We've disguised the passenger set used yesterday as a scrap train, of stock being hauled to be disposed. Onboard this train will be Mounties, who at the correct time will leap off the train and arrest the perpetrators."
"Hopefully they won't be interrupted by any lumberjacks who are OK," John noted.
"We should be fine," Miranda noted. "This will be at night, and seeing as they sleep at night and work all day they won't be awake."
"There appears to be a cultural reference I'm somehow missing," Harrison noted.
"And what is a Mounty?" Marie asked.
"Royal Canadian Mounted Police," Miranda explained. "Mostly seen in the English speaking parts of Canada. Of course, you guys have your own police force."
"Once they have arrested the smugglers and gotten the goods as evidence, we should be good to go. We'll haul the prisoners to jail and then we can go back to normal."
"We'll probably be heroes too," Miranda added.
"Remember we're not doing this for glory," John told her. "We're doing this to save Canada from that group of criminals." Suddenly, patriotic music started up in the background. "In many ways, we are merely continuing in an old tradition of the values that this nation was founded to represent. And in doing so we show that loyalty was indeed commanded in all of Canada's residents- including the mechanical ones. And we shall once more be the land where the beaver roams free, and good people can once more eat poutine in peace. For this is our land, and we shall not see it fall to troublemakers!"
No sooner had he finished the speech, the music abruptly stopped. A workman came over holding a wire. "You really shouldn't run record player wires over active track," he said.
Night came, and it was a very dark night. Although it was unable to rise again as night rarely does that. The train sat in position, ready for the incoming visitors. The engines waited in position for the incoming formation that night, with ghostly formations and suitably redone stock sitting in position, waiting for the ghost to surface.
The moon hung once more in the sky, looking sickly as it always did. The fog swirled around them, and the RCMP's Emergency Response Team had already set up a forward position to monitor the trains as they passed.
And soon they got what they were looking for. A puffing noise began from down Mount MacDonald Tunnel, and the engines all watched in anticipation.
"Get ready," Moondust said. "We need to be ready to expect the worst. We have no idea what these gun runners are capable of."
In that moment, the ghost train left the tunnel and came to a stop at the switch it needed to use to access the other line. There was a moment's silence. And then the cry went out.
"NOW!"
Suddenly, floodlights slammed into life and lit the ghost train up, bathing it in bright light. The doors of the scrap stock burst open, and the Mounties went into action, dashing across the gap between the scrap and ghost trains to board whilst the ERT kept them covered from the barricade.
"THIS IS THE POLICE! YOU ARE UNDER ARREST! COME OUT WITH YOUR HANDS UP!"
The engines watched, incredibly tense. The lack of sound was very worrying, but this would soon not be source of their attention. The engine at the front was a very familiar face.
"Vinnie?" Harrison asked.
"Yes," the engine replied. "And you goody two shoes have stopped the plan that would have saved us all. Boomer will lead this place to greatness in honour of the lady with the white hair!"
"What is he talking about?" Marie asked.
"I have no clue," Moondust replied.
The police had mostly finished clearing out the train, and brought the crooks out in front in lines, with their hands behind their backs and firmly handcuffed, so they couldn't do anything clever or make any false moves. Or real ones, for that matter.
"That train was loaded with weapons and evidence," said one of the Mounties. "Thanks for bringing this to our attention- you've saved a lot of lives. Now how are we going to get all of these criminals to jail for trial?"
"You could use our train," John suggested. "And the train with all the evidence onboard could be moved by another engine. After all, it doesn't look too heavy, moving some coaches a few flatbeds, and a steam engine.
Vinnie growled in frustration at that remark.
The police began moving the criminals towards the train whilst other engines began moving about to move the other stock. But their work was mostly done, as the criminals had been caught.
Though oddly, there was no sign of the man with biker goggles or a leather jacket. Clearly he had escaped.
"Well, that was quite something," Goldie remarked. "I never knew of this story!"
"I had to keep it under wraps until fairly recently," Moondust admitted. "Legal proceedings against all the perpetrators only recently concluded. You know how it is- these sorts of cases can drag out for years. But we all got rewarded. The engines got medals (which are still in their cabs), and I've got one in my apartment back in Canada."
"What was it like working out there?" Sunny asked. "I've lived by the sea my whole life so don't have much familiarity with the mountains."
Moondust smiled. "I can see now why mountain railroaders are considered to be so tough. Going up and down those mountains day after day is pretty tough on anybody, not to mention the engines, which are constantly being cycled up and down from full power. But not with steam power. The excursion program ended years ago, although last I heard John was being prepped for a run to Mexico City. I guess I'll have to wait and see if Canadian Pacific want be back for that."
Argyle, who had been largely silent for much of the time (as he had been listening intently the entire time), then spoke. "Moondust, if I may, you say that Marie saw a figure with biker goggles and a leather jacket. Is that correct?"
Moondust nodded. "Correct. He seemed to be some sort of ringleader of the operation, not to mention somebody who was clearly the hired muscle. Why, does he sound at all familiar to you?"
Argyle nodded. "One of my daughter's friends has sometimes mentioned a man who matches the description. I know many people wear biker goggles and leather jackets, but it's possible they may be the same person." He glanced to Goldie, who figured out what he was inferring, and nodded to both of them before glancing back to the guest. "Well, anyway, it all sounds like it was a very exciting adventure. I must head out there again someday, but my attention has largely been focused eastward. I did a lot of trips into the east for photography purposes. We can discuss them over dinner at the pub if you'd like."
"Sounds great," Moondust smiled. "I kinda knew. The Dresden trip has become family legend, as it's where you won my sister's heart."
"Still one of the best decisions I ever made," Goldie replied, smiling at Argyle, who smiled in return. "Funny how your life can change because of who you, quite literally in this case, bump into."
Moondust laughed. "Ah well. Enough from me and my journeys. I'd like to hear what you've all been up to in the years since I've been away. I thoroughly doubt that it's been anywhere near as crazy as my adventures in the frozen north."
The Starshines nervously glanced at one another, before Sunny spoke. "You wouldn't believe us if we told you."