THE LEGEND OF GRAND MECHAPOLIS

STAR BLAZERS/GALAXY EXPRESS 999

Founding of the Dual Monarchy and Galaxy Express System

By: Frederick P. Kopetz

Chapter Four: Of the First Galaxy Train and a Ghost from the Past…

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I. TAKING OFF

Planet Earth

Philadelphia, PA, USA

Reading Terminal Railway Station

Saturday, May 11, 2233

0900 Hours: Local Time

The news media was everywhere this day in the rebuilt Reading Terminal in Center City Philadelphia. The Commuter Tunnel which had once connected the two major commuter rail systems of Philadelphia and its environs had collapsed during the planet bombing thirty plus years ago. Until such time as the tunnel was rebuilt, the ruins of the old Railway Station known as Reading Terminal were rebuilt and reactivated as one of three major railroad stations for the City of Philadelphia.

Sitting on Track Number 10 of the huge trainshed of Reading Terminal, beside the newer electric and hydrogen-powered trains was a train that looked like a ghost from the past.

On the train’s point, facing out of Reading Terminal, sat the new G3 Pacific 217; the first Galaxy Express locomotive, completed at last.

The dynamic magnetic trackway between Earth, its moon, and Pellias was still being constructed, but the actual train was finished, and ready for her first run.

Walking down the platform, wearing coveralls, a green t-shirt, and work boots, was the High Queen Nova Wildstar, waving a small Japanese paper fan to cool herself off in the hot trainshed. Nova, with an engineer’s cap on, had been trained to run the 217 on her maiden run; a short run between Philadelphia and Allentown, recently renamed from “Allensburg”

Beside her walked Derek, who was clad in overalls and work boots like Nova’s, and carrying a red lantern. He would be acting as the front-end brakemen.

Last of all, behind them both, and going on and on about every detail of the old Reading Company known to man, was the Ninth-Class Robot Cooper, the inveterate railfan robot who never shut up. He was trained to run the train’s electronic systems and to fire the locomotive as fireman.

“The Boiler Pressure of this new G3 build is over 300 Psi”, he said. “She has third-generation cab signals, automatic train control under the 2225a standard, and she’s designed to talk to all SEPTA and Norfolk Southern trains enroute…She…”

“Nova and I are familiar with every detail of this engine, Cooper,” snapped Derek. “The question is, are you ready to shovel in some enriched coal?”

“Of course, I am,” he said. “I know the stoker isn’t hooked up yet, so I know I will have to hand-fire it! You’d better have a scoop ready for me!”

“We do,” Nova said. “Is your back strong enough?”

“What about yours?” said Cooper.

“Excuse me, I’m the engineer!” Nova snapped. “I’ll shovel coal only as a last resort if you can’t keep up!”

“Nova you have me there to shovel,” Derek said as Nova stopped by the engine and began to lubricate its valve gear and rod bearings with a portable air-powered grease gun.

When she was done, she said, “Let’s get up in the cab.”

Nova clambered up the ladder, followed by Derek, and then by Cooper.

Derek sat down after glancing at the gauges. “Your fire’s not quite hot enough, Cooper.”

“Give me a moment to adjust the water level,” Nova said as she pulled on work gloves and goggles and began to turn some valves. “Water level nominal.”

“Getting steam pressure and temp up,” said Cooper as he shoveled in some coal. “Nice fire going.”

“Signal’s green,” said Derek from his seat behind Nova.

“Galaxy Express 217,” said a voice over the radio. “Cleared to start. All passengers are aboard.”

“Acknowledged,” said Nova as, at the Mitsubishi-Baldwin plant, panels of engineering techs sat watching panels. “Opening throttle, systems checked for takeoff past Lansdale out past the catenary, out by Hatfield. Commencing operation in conventional ground mode,” Nova said as she turned on the automatic bell, blew the whistle, and released the brakes and gave the engine steam as she began to slowly chug out of the Reading Terminal trainshed.

Soon, 217 was roaring down the line; she had priority over everything else as her train, filled with Senators, Members of Parliament, and dignitaries, expected a fast but normal train ride. Some of them had ignored the briefings and were not cognizant of what this train could do.

They enjoyed drinks served by a robot as some of them laughed and said, “What’s so special about this cruddy old steam train, anyway?” said one Senator, who was named Senator Lenhardt Bolton.

“I hear Nova herself is up front running this stupid old train,” said Senator Joyce Wade as she reclined her seat back to enjoy a Martini. “I’m insulted! I thought we’d get a much newer and cleaner train than this dirty old antique!”

The whistle blew as two of the sons of the Minister of Finance said, “Look, Dad! This train is fun! WHEEE!”

“There’s a speedometer on the bulkhead, kids,” said Pierre’ Ranbauld, the Minister in question. “This is interesting, but why is this train going a hundred miles an hour and accelerating? It’s awfully fast!”

“We just flashed through Lansdale!” laughed Jean-Luc, the oldest of the two boys. “This is NEAT!”

“All passengers,” Nova’s voice said over the PA system. “We will be making phase transition in about five minutes! Our ETA in Allentown is twenty minutes from now. Hold on tight; phase transition might be a little bumpy.”

Up front in the cab, Cooper said, “Switching power over from fire to reactor! Checked thruster systems, all green!”

Nova was blowing the whistle like a maniac as Derek said, “Getting closer to takeoff speed! We’re at a hundred and twenty-five now…”

The radio said, “This is Lehigh Valley Air Traffic Control; 217 Heavy, you are cleared for takeoff!”

“Wonderful!” Nova said. “Hold on…passing Hatfield…clear of city center, thrusters ready, anti-gravs fixed and locked, radar up…flight path clear! TAKEOFF!”

Nova then pulled back the throttle with one hand, blew the whistle, and then pulled back on the flight yoke; a control no locomotive had attached to its back head until now.

217 bumped once and then began a stately liftoff from the tracks.

A drunken hobo nearby heard the roar of the steam engine turning into the blast and roar of a spacecraft, and he looked at his bottle of Mad Dog 40/40 cheap wine and poured it onto the ground. “Starting now, man, I am swearing off booze FOREVER! What the HELL? A Flying train??? Damnit!”

Back in the coaches Senator Joyce Wade hadn’t bothered to hold on as she was almost thrown out of her seat. “What the heck?” she yelled. “No one told me this train would be gaining altitude!”

“You evidently weren’t at the briefings,” said Senator Hoshi Nozaki as he sat nearby.

“Did they say this thing would be flying?”

“Yes,” said Senator Nozaki.

“WHY?” yelled Senator Wade.

“Test of a new form of intergalactic transport,” said Minister Ranbauld. “This is more significant for the Galaxy then it looks. In a few months, this train will be on a new route.”

“Where?” gasped Wade.

“Between Earth, the Moon, and Pellias. Practically a commuter run, until the first long-distance line is completed,” he said. “We’re getting some help from the Gamilons and the Iscandarians at the other end of the line.”

“Other…end…of…the line?” said Wade.

“Yes. Scheduled service between here and Iscandar; the run will take just four days each way,” said Senator Nozaki. “It’s going to be quite a project.”

II. ARRIVAL…

Planet Earth

Allentown, PA, USA

Central of New Jersey/Reading Station

Saturday, May 11, 2233

1015 Hours: Local Time

At Allentown, recently renamed back from Allensburg, one car of the train was left at the station while a normal switching crew of a SEPTA engineer certified to work on steam worked with Cooper in the cab to turn the train around at a wye some distance down the line after the train had landed between Bethlehem and Allentown.

With some time to kill, Derek and Nova walked down the platform at Allentown, wiping their sweaty brows, and thinking of a good lunch in the hotel and bar across the street (and a Beer each) when they spotted a figure clad in black walking down the brick platform at Allentown Station while the train was backing in to couple to the car that was left.

“Is that who I think that is?” Derek said.

“Well, I did see her board in Philadelphia,” replied Nova. “That’s Maetel!”

Both Wildstars looked on with smiles as they saw Maetel coming past the coach that had been left behind. She was carrying a blue suitcase, and she looked rather serious as she said, “Even though it is not the most auspicious of beginnings, today begins what will be a long era for me as I ride the rails.”

“Why will you be riding, Maetel?” Derek asked in all innocence as Nova gave him a light dig in the ribs.

“You know what my mission will be,” she whispered as she came up close to the Wildstars under the semi-darkness of the small platform roof at Allentown Terminal. “It will be the overthrow of my mother.”

“Ironic that it begins in a city I spent some time in as a child,” Nova said softly. “In a sense, I traveled like did, Maetel.”

“We still do,” Derek said. “I get the feeling that the three of us will be wandering for many years; you on the rails, us aboard the Yamato.”

“I will have to cruise on your ship someday,” said Maetel. “I have heard so much about the famous Yamato, I have even seen her, but I have never boarded her. On a note more germane to my upcoming travels, I see that the first test run of the Galaxy Railways worked so well. I can soon see myself taking off from Earth on this very train; the first of many.”

“Well, let’s get us some lunch,” Derek said.

“I’ll treat,” Nova said as the three of them, two of them somewhat dirty in overalls, and one clean, elegant, and mysterious in her black dress walked together and began to cross Hamilton Street near American Parkway, when chaos struck.

Suddenly, a black hole opened up in reality, flashing with green and blue lightning, and a woman fell out of the hole in mid-air onto the street.

Nova saw that she was about to be hit by a car. She nodded hard at Derek, and both of them subtly raised their hands and made the car stop just feet away from the woman’s head.

Derek thought she looked familiar, but Nova saw the woman with reddish-blond hair, a black peacoat, white slacks, and black boots moaning softly as she raised her head and her face became visible.

Nova recognized her face. “AUNT YVONA?” Nova said.

“Who’s this?” said Maetel as Derek ran perplexed to her side.

“Derek…you remember the clone who saved us on the New Orient Express twenty-six years ago?” Nova cried. “This is her! She doesn’t mean us any harm!”

“What the…hell?” muttered Yvona. “Nova? Derek? I recognize your voices! Where am I?”

“You’re in Allentown, Pennsylvania,” Derek said as a traffic jam built up.

“It used to be Allensburg, Yvona,” Nova said. “You don’t intend to harm us?”

“That’s a stupid question…I’m dying,” Yvona said. “Derek, get me a doctor!”

“I’m a doctor now,” Nova said.

“You can’t be…you look younger than I did since I last saw you,” Yvona moaned.

“I am a doctor,” Nova said as she took Yvona’s pulse. “Derek…Maetel…help lift her up a little. Her pulse is thready…I have to fix this…”

“You don’ even have a med kit…how are you gonna…?”

“Excuse me,” Nova said as she unbuckled Yvona’s peacoat, and quickly slid a hand up under her blouse, feeling warm, sticky blood. “This is it…”

“It hurts!” said Yvona as Maetel knelt down near her. “Who’s this?”

“Princess Maetel,” Maetel said.

“Ekogaru spoke of you…” moaned Yvona. “Is the war still going on?” she mumbled as Maetel took one hand and Derek took the other.

“Ekogaru is dead, but his Empire isn’t,” Nova said as she nodded to Derek and Maetel.

Yvona screamed as a burst of incredible energy was channeled into her by Nova, Derek, and Maetel. She was sure she was about to die.

A moment later, her vision cleared and the pain faded. “What? I can…move my legs? Nova, Derek…what have you two become now?”

Nova sighed. “I’m now the High Queen of the Terran-Pellian Commonwealth. Derek is my Prince, and I Passed Through the Fire while you were out, gained the full power of the Matrix, and shared it with Derek. He and I share a bond and new vitality. That’s why we look so young even though we’re fifty-seven years old. I gather you know about Maetel. Let us help you up. As I was telling Derek before, lunch is on me.”

“Who’s the villain threatening us now?” Yvona said.

“My mother Queen Promethium,” said Maetel. “She has turned evil and has become Ekogaru’s Successor. Even Ekogaru repented before he died.”

“How do I know that?” said Yvona.

“Mind if I join you?” said Ekogaru as he appeared from nowhere, gleaming slightly and clad in a white military tunic, slacks, cloak, and boots.

“You…YOU,” yelled Yvona. “I could scratch your eyes out for what you did to me, you…you…BASTARD!”

“Actually, he’s all right now,” Nova said soothingly. “He helped us defeat Promethium.”

“It would also be a little hard for you to scratch out the eyes of a ghost,” Ekogaru said. “Interesting what you’ve done to Earth. First time I’ve been here in a while.”

“What’s that blue moon up in the sky?” Yvona said as she allowed Derek and Nova to help her up. Maetel and Ekogaru were engaged in soft conversation as an Allentown Police Cruiser pulled up.

“What happened?” yelled a police officer who jumped out with his gun drawn.

Derek pulled out and flashed a small badge hidden in his coveralls in a small binder. Nova did likewise. “Earth Defense and Royal Government,” Derek said. “This woman appeared from nowhere and almost was hit by a car. Her Majesty and I took care of her and she’ll be all right. We’ll take her back to Philadelphia with us when the train leaves, along with these two.”

“Officer, please, have them hold the train’s departure for thirty minutes while we have lunch in that small hotel across the street,” Nova said. “If you need a statement, sit down to lunch with us, please.”

“Uhh…okay…” said the officer. “Rodriguez, I’ll get the report!”

“Okay, McDonald,” said the other policeman, who turned to the crowd and said, “All right…the show’s over! The Wildstars have the woman…she’ll be all right,” he said as he saw Yvona walking under her own power to the restaurant with help from Derek and Nova.

“The Star Force is in Allentown?” someone yelled.

“Yeah,” said Derek. “We tend to get around…”

_______________________________________

“Okay,” said Yvona a few minutes later as she munched carefully on some Cajun Shrimp, her first meal after twenty-six years of being caught in the Fourth Dimension. “Life as a clone can be tough, but I learned two things while I was in that vile black space. My son, Erugar, that monstrosity fathered by…uh…you…I think he’s…” she said as she looked at Ekogaru’s ghost, who was calmly talking to her niece.

“Erugar is dead,” said Ekogaru. “Unfortunately, he didn’t go to the same place where I am now. I’m just a projection, really. I’m still in Heaven.”

“How did you get to Heaven?” snapped Yvona.

“The Grace of God in the last few days of my life. Your niece told me all about His Mercy, and she was right.”

“And you’re a Queen now?” Yvona said.

Nova nodded as she sipped at her cold beer. “Okay, may I ask why you had to join the party, Ekogaru?”

“Is she really talking to a ghost?” whispered Officer McDonald as he ate his hamburger.

“She sure is,” Derek said. “I’ve gotten used to it.”

“If you wonder why I had to show up, I need to let you know, Nova, that you didn’t kill your mother.”

“Ekogaru…did I hear you right?” Nova said. “I didn’t kill my mother? She went insane; she was a cyborg; she tried to kill Derek and I! I didn’t really want to do it…”

“That cyborg you killed, Nova, was not your real mother. Promethium made a clone of her that she then broke and drove insane after she couldn’t break your mother,” Ekogaru said. “Promethium rejuvenated your mother and put her in cryo-freeze after she found she couldn’t use her directly.”

“Why couldn’t she?” said Nova.

“Because your real mother is just as stubborn as you are, Nova,” said Ekogaru with a grin.

A robot waitress came and said, “Would any of you like refills? Beer and dinner are on the house. The barkeep heard about who you are, Majesty and Lord Admiral Wildstar.”

“None for me,” said Ekogaru wryly. “I’m trying to cut down.”

“You didn’t order anything, sir,” said the waitress.

“I’m on a very severe diet!” Ekogaru said with a deeper grin.

“Anyone else?”

“No,” said Maetel. “We have a train to catch,” she said as she heard 217’s whistle outside. “That conductor is a stickler for schedules and rules!”

“Okay, where’s my mother?” said Nova. She paused for a moment to dial the Conductor direct on her personal comm device, and she snapped, “Mister Conductor, please hold the train until we get there. I don’t care what Layla Destiny says…this is an order direct from me! I’m above her in your chain of command! Remember, I hired you and I can fire you! Understood? Thank you,” Nova said as she hung up. Thus, would begin the great fear of his termination that the being who would become the Chief Conductor of the Galaxy Railways would hold for the next several centuries.

“Planet Defuel, locked in cryo-freeze in a tomb,” Ekogaru said.

“Yes, that’s where you kept me for a while,” Yvona said. “Don’t worry about asking him for the coordinates. I remember where it is.”

“Not bad,” Nova said. “Derek, shall we offer Yvona a job helping us?”

“I’ll swear her into the Defense Forces once we get back to Philadelphia,” Derek said after he sat in silence for a moment. I want to take the Yamato out to investigate. I could use you as an Artillery Officer on my bridge, Yvona. That is, if we can trust you…”

“Derek, you know we can trust her. She saved your life and mine! Or did you forget?” Nova said as she finished her mushroom and swiss burger and got up.

“I’ll be happy to help,” Yvona said. “I have some…experience.”

“What exactly happened?” said Maetel as Ekogaru vanished before Officer McDonald’s eyes.

“I’ll tell you when we walk back to the train,” Yvona said.

FLASHBACK: May 2207:

In May of 2207, a battle was going on between the Technomugar and their Cometine allies on one side, and our Terran and Iscandarian heroes on the other side; they were fighting aboard another train: The New Orient Express.

In the meantime, in the kitchen of the car’s dining area, my demented son Erugar was being utterly humiliated by Major Deglits of the Comet Empire. The old Cometine Major had grabbed the R’Khell commander by his collar, and he was banging the enraged young man against the bulkhead.

“You idiot!” yelled Major Deglits in his chef’s uniform. “Now they are on to us! I told you once, and I told you twice, we should have just poisoned them!”

“No thrill of the hunt in just poisoning anyone, you fool!” roared Erugar.

“You child!” said Deglits. “I have this poison in my effects. Totally tasteless and totally odorless. A few drops of it in their wine last night or coffee this morning would have just quietly killed them. No fuss. No mess. Then we would have been off the train and I could have signalled for a pickup! Instead, you caused both my men to be killed, and they are on to us!”

“Because your people had no spirit, we are losing,” said Erugar. “We should have fought harder! Those four Terran fools!

“So, you should have expected that with a frontal attack. Except for the half-Iscandarian, the other three of these people are all hardened and experienced soldiers, despite their deceptively peaceful appearances off-duty. Corner special operations people and they will fight,” said Deglits. “You should have listened to me, son,” he said. “I have been sent by Invidia and Dyre on five other assassination operations. They all have succeeded. This is the first time we lost…I…”

“QUIET!” roared Erugar as he lashed out psionically at Deglits. Then, he killed him with his mental powers by making his heart stop.

A moment later, he felt Sasha approaching the kitchen. “Now, you next,” he said as he caught an image of her, now clad in a blue minidress, in his mind and prepared to lash out with his mind. He would give her a cerebral hemorrhage and then blow her out of the train. It would be very easy and quick.

However, as he focused on Sasha, meaning to literally blow her out the bulkhead, he felt something blocking his attack and blowing his own mental force back at him.

“What?” he roared. “How dare you? Who does this?” he snarled as he hit the sink harder.

“This has gone far enough,” I said to him very shocked son as I solidified before his eyes. He was not expecting to see me. Nor was anyone else.

“Mother?”

“If we arouse her, we arouse Aliscea, and we arouse others,” I said as I slapped him. “Besides, I cannot kill my niece. Not now.”

“Why not?” roared Erugar.

“Because she is expecting, and the life in her is innocent,” I said, having serious misgivings about killing Nova at all. For you see, unlike the person I was cloned from…I was coming to love her and respect her. “We are failing, and…we are going to lose this battle soon, so why not just give it up, and…?”

Erugar screamed, lashing out at me a mere moment later.

He blasted two bolts of energy at me; one bounced off of me, and the other one went through her…and it just missed Nova, who had just run into the kitchen with an Astro-Automatic and a fresh white and pink dress on.

“What is going on in here?” cried Nova. I remember how scared she looked then.

“Get back,” I said as I shook my head and exposed my identity to Nova as my reddish-blond hair came exposed.

“Yvona?” yelled Nova as she drew her weapon and swiveled at me. “Aunt Yvona? You’re dead! I killed you!”

“Yes and no. All explanations later!” I spoke. “Get behind me?”

“Get behind you?” said Nova.

“Do it!” I yelled while Erugar laughed and raised his hands. “He means to kill both of us!”

Sasha ran in and looked shocked as Erugar directed a blast of flame at them. I deflected most of it, but Sasha screamed as some of it hit her foot between the toe and ankle straps of her sandal while there were sounds of severe fighting and yelling outside. The burn would not be major; Nova would bandage it later…but, it would hurt.

“What are you doing here, Yvona?” said Nova.

“I am not the one you fought or the one you knew!” I said, “I am a copy of her.”

“Copy?” said Nova with raised eyebrows.

“Made by the Dark Lord, who just wants to destroy us!” I yelled. “But I have my own mind now! Get behind me! NOW!”

Erugar snarled and mentally threw a knife at me. I took it in my shoulder, thus protecting Nova and Sasha. Then, I had to lash out at Erugar, blowing green energy into my son to kill him as tears ran down my cheeks. I don’t want to kill him, I thought. This is a fresh and very painful memory. For me, it just happened a little more than an hour ago, even though all of you tell me I’ve been in there for twenty-six years. But do I have a choice? I added to myself.

Erugar screamed, and fired blue energy back at me. It hit me very hard, blowing right into my body as Nova screamed. I stepped aside, and then I cried some strange words, and a portal of pinkish blue force opened behind me. I then prepared to throw myself into that tunnel. I thought I was going to die soon. Before I went in, I grabbed my son’s hand, and dragged the surprised R’Khell commander into the vortex with me.

“Good luck fighting them, Nova!” I yelled. I was gone a moment later and seemed to drift in the blackness as if I was caught in a space warp. Then, everything opened up and I fell out of reality in front of all of you. You know the rest…

“What a story,” Maetel said.

Then, a moment later, the train’s Conductor showed up. He was the second employee of the nascent Galaxy Railways, save for Layla Destiny herself. He was an invisible alien from a planet called Marduck, and he claimed to have an eidetic, clear memory. All that could be seen of him between his cap and uniform collar were two gleaming golden eyes. “I can’t abide the thought of being late! Maetel, I only held the train for you and the others because she called me up and ordered me to hold it! Where’s your pass?”

“Right here,” sighed Maetel as she showed him a laminated pass with the old Reading Company logo on it.

“Is she steamed up?” Nova said as she came by and put her engineer’s cap back on.

“Yes, Majesty!” said the Conductor with a smart salute. “Admiral Wildstar, where’s YOUR pass?”

“I’m part of the train crew; I don’t need a pass,” Derek snapped irritably.

“Oh…yes…right,” stammered The Conductor. “All right, people!” he yelled. “All Aboard for Philadelphia! This train is not making any stops! ALL ABOARD!” Derek, followed by Nova, climbed up into 217’s locomotive, to find Cooper shoveling coal in and shaking the grates.

Soon, Nova blew the whistle, and 217 started down the tracks, chuffing slowly as it left Allentown; gaining speed as she went through East Penn Junction, and accelerating hard once she took a switch and bypassed Allentown Yard, going down the old Lehigh Valley route on the other side of the Lehigh River.

Before the train made the new Hill-to-Hill Bridge in Bethlehem, the train lifted off again, flying over Route 145 in Bethlehem with a roar and several whistle blasts as the train’s passage over the bridge and highway stopped all traffic as people looked up and gawked at the flying train.

Soon, Galaxy Express 217 was heading far up into the sky over South Mountain with another blast from her whistle and an unearthly roar from the sophisticated new train that looked so old-fashioned.

She would be back in Philadelphia an hour later, ahead of schedule.

The first test run of the Galaxy Railways was remembered for centuries, and the new Project was an overwhelming success.

TO BE CONTINUED…