Once I had finished eating, I said goodbye to the other engine crew. "Goodbye guys. I have to go check in with Jim and Don. I'll be right back."

"Ok. Goodbye Leopard."

"Bye."

I then exited the cab, and made my way back to the Primary Command Center. As I walked, I thought about manifests. "3 engineers, 3 firemen, 3 brakemen, and 6 Engine Guards. Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary, 15 in total. Alex, Todd, Fred, Andy and I make up the Secondary Crew, 1st Engineer Joe Dixon, 1st Fireman Frank Otis, 1st Brakemen Carl Vinson, and their two guards make up the Primary Crew, and then there's the Tertiary Crew; 3rd Engineer Mitchell Gibson, 3rd Fireman Daniel Hudson, 3rd Brakeman Timothy Watson, their 2 guards, 201 other crew, 1,000+ soldiers from Battalion 4009, several dozen others, including wives, girlfriends, fiances, and a few family members, plus a butt-load of pets, with all of that being packed into a 32 car war train! No wonder they call it a 'Fortress-City on Rails'!"

A few minutes later, when I reached the Primary Command Center, I knocked on the door.

"Come in."

I entered. Two men were seated at a console table with digital maps spread out on it. The younger of the two was 25 year old Major Don Curry, and the other was 60 year old Chief Engineer Jim Bender. These two men were in charge of the train; Jim kept everything sound and running, and Don gave all of the orders.

"Oh, Captain Leopard. It's nice to see you." Don shook my hand.

"Hello Don, Jim."

"Hello Captain. What brings you down here?"

I sighed. "I just came down to check in, and see if there was any news from Stateside."

Don looked at the map. "Well, tomorrow, we're due to meet up with Iron Glory for a resupply. After that though, it's time for another cleaning and shakedown. There's also a meeting for the train's entire compliment tomorrow morning as well."

I nodded. "Yeah, and then it's on to Vegas."

"Yes, on to Vegas. Just like what Jeff wanted."

We all were very sad when Don said that. Major Jeff Coleson had been our leader since day one. He was killed during the Battle of Omaha, Nebraska during an air raid on the train, though he gave the ultimate sacrifice, manning a machine gun, downing 7 enemy gunships, and possibly crippling 3 others before he succumbed to his injuries. His sacrifice saved the lives of 5 men trapped inside of one of the 16in. gun turrets, who couldn't escape due to the doors of the turret jamming, as well as the rest of the train, as those gunships were also carrying bombs. Jeff's sacrifice saved us all. After that, Don was promoted to take his place, and since I was a captain, I was promoted to be the train's 3rd in command, even though I still remained 2nd Engineer.

"Yes, for Jeff, and all of the others who gave their lives for the cause of Freedom."

Just before I left, I asked one more question. "Hey Don?"

"Yes Leopard?"

"Just so I know, as I am 3rd in command, has a target date for our Vegas assault been set yet?"

"Yes, it has. Friday, June 8th. The day that the assault begins."

"That's a little more than 2 weeks away. Looks like we have some more ground to cover before then."

"Correct again Captain. Our first stop is reinforcing the team about to retake the Hoover Dam, and then backing up US Army and Marine units moving down from the recently-liberated Reno and Carson City, and Air Force personnel from Nellis Air Force Base as they all dig in behind Vegas to cut off any retreat. Then the assault can begin. This operation will begin on June 1st, as cleaning and shakedown will take about 5 days to fully complete."

I nodded. "Sure, whatever you say Don. Goodnight."

"Goodnight Captain."

I then left the command car, and headed back to the engine.

Once my job was done for the day, and the Tertiary Crew came to take over the engine, we Secondary guys retired to our quarters.

For a little while longer, we sat around in the makeshift common room, and talked about what was to come. Then, one by one, we all went to our cabins. Finally, I called it a night, and after walking to a door just before the door to the Secondary Command Center, I entered my cabin. Because I was an officer, it was slightly larger than normal, but only just. There was a full-sized bed, a night-table with a lamp, a desk, a dresser, a filing cabinet, a gun safe, a small table, a mini-fridge, a pellet stove for heat (used primarily in the Winter. It was currently turned off, as we were in the Mojave Desert, and I was currently out of pellets for it. I could also cook on it thanks to a double-burner, improvised hot plate on top as a makeshift stove-top, but as burn spots on the floor below testified, it was a bit of a fire-hazard), a small clothes closet, a plush rug by the bed, and a few shelves. The room also had its own tiny bathroom, with a toilet, mirrored sink, and shower. On the floor by the door were two dog dishes with the word "Aurora" on them, and hanging on the wall above them was a large leash. A window at the back of the room provided natural light, but there was also electrical lighting as well, courtesy of the lamps in the room, and a rickety old ceiling fan, which also provided airflow.

I went over to my bed, and sat down on it. I then looked over at my nightstand, and picked up a picture on it of a young woman with brown hair, brown eyes, and wearing a Battalion 4009 field uniform, with a satchel slung over her shoulder. "This room's so lonely without her. Why did she have to die?! WHY?!" I set the picture on my lap, and then buried my face in my hands.

Ever since she died, I could never stop thinking about her. Lilly was my whole world. She had been there since WW6 restarted, and was the only female to really understand me. On Christmas Eve, 2026, on the platform of Grand Central Station, just before the Battleship Express pulled out for St. Louis, I took Lilly's hand in marriage until death did us part.

"Then, little more than a year later, she was gone."

Lily's death was so tragic. During the Battle of Omaha, the same battle that claimed Major Jeff, our radar picked up several enemy aircraft closing in on the train. Our guns did manage to destroy them, but one aircraft flipped out of control, and slammed into one of the weapons cars. Lily was inside helping a technician, and she and 4 others were killed instantly. I was so shaken by her death that I almost committed suicide. It was only because of my care of Aurora that I thought twice about that. I carried on, but I was never the same again.

"Aurora. Speaking of which, where is she anyway?" I got up from my bed, and poked my head out into the hallway. "Aurora? Here girl, it's time for bed!"

For a few moments, there was only silence. Eventually though, I heard a series of barks, and from somewhere off down the train, the sound of paws on the floor could be heard as well. Moments later, a large, grey wolf appeared. When she saw me, she came bounding up to me, and jumped into my arms.

"Hey Aurora, there you are! Did you miss me girl?"

Aurora licked my face, and barked happily. "Yes, I sure did Master!" (Yes, Aurora can talk thanks to medical modifications!)

"Yeah, I missed you too Girl!"

After letting go of me, Aurora walked over to my bed, and jumped on it. I was about to go over to her, but then I saw something move outside my door. I turned to look, and sure enough, there was Todd.

"Oh, uh, hey Todd. Did you need something?"

Todd shifted a bit on his feet. "Well, I, um.....w-wanted to ask you something."

"Oh? Well, ask away. I'm all ears."

"Well....um, w-why do you always wear that Kitsune mask?"

I was taken aback a bit by his question. I reached up to my face, and sure enough, there it was, my white and red Kitsune mask. The same mask I'd been wearing for almost a year.

"I....um....it's complicated. That accident really did me in, and it almost did Aurora, Alex, and I in for good."

I thought back to the "accident". In April of 2028, we were almost to Denver, Colorado, and the Futas were REALLY sweating to stop us. Their ultimate goal was to knock the Battleship Express out of the war for good, and they damn near succeeded. Unbeknownst to us, they had an agent in our midst. Corporal Sally Face was the bastard's name, and he was the most hated soldier in the RWD, whole US Armed Forces for that matter. He was weird, always wore his blue hair in pigtails, and always wore a really creepy white prosthetic face mask.

One day, while the Big Boy was being steamed up for our run to Boulder, Colorado, the Primary Crew were sleeping or eating, the Secondary Crew, including myself, were being briefed by our superiors, and unfortunately, due to a miscommunication, the Tertiary Crew left the engine early, thinking that we Secondaries were coming to relive them. The engine was completely unmanned for 10 minutes, and in those 10 minutes, Face did his terrible deed.

He damaged the main steam pressure gauges, causing them to show a much lower reading than they were supposed to. Face then left the cab, and Alex and I came to the cab a minute or so later, not knowing that the Big Boy had become a ticking time bomb. We began to build up the fires, thinking that the pressure was low. Alex then left for a brief moment to take a wiz, and it was then that I began to hear a loud hissing sound. I turned around, and realized that the boiler had become white hot! It was going to explode!

There wasn't even time to scream a warning before the boiler blew. The blast knocked me clear out of the cab, and onto the ground below. The train was knocked out of commission for 4 months while emergency repairs were undertaken. Fortunately, this was made easy by the vast number of new parts being made in Pittsburgh, Detroit, and Cleveland. There were no fatalities in the explosion, but Alex and I, as well as Aurora, and a number of others who had been nearby were cut up, and burned. For 3 weeks I was in the hospital car. When I woke up, I saw the burns on my face, as well as the scars, and I quickly covered my face. (In all actuality, the burns were 2nd degree at worst, and were almost healed by now.) It was then that I took to wearing my Kitsune mask most of the time.

In the aftermath, Face was hunted down, and was believed to have been killed in the battle of Boise, Idaho, however, his body was never found. The building that he was in however was demolished by a cruise missile, so not finding a body was understandable!

Once I finished my flashback, I turned back to Todd. "Sure, I'll take it off, but only because you keep asking me, and only for tonight." I removed my mask, and set it on my night-table.

"See? Your face isn't so bad. You should learn to let go of the mask."

I rubbed my face. "I'm trying to Todd, really I am. But old habits just die really hard."

Todd nodded. "It's understandable Leopard, but I think that you should keep trying. Anyway, I have to go to bed now. We have a busy day tomorrow."

I nodded. "Yeah, we really do, don't we? Well anyway, Goodnight Todd."

"Goodnight."

After he left, I took off my uniform, crawled into bed after Aurora, and after wrapping my arms around her, and she wrapped her paws around me, we both fell asleep.

The next morning, I was up at about 7. I got up, showered, brushed my teeth, and then I pulled on my field uniform. It was dark blue, with gray thrown in as well. It consisted of a blue tunic, dark blue pants with sort of overall straps, some gray armor, black boots, and a gray German-style helmet with goggles. I also had gloves, but I only used those when I drove 4009. Once I was done getting ready, I took Aurora to use the bathroom. Once she was done, I grabbed my trusty ChesterTon M16 rifle (I called it this because it had replacement parts from both Winchester and Remington in it) and Glock 9mm, and after putting a leash on Aurora, we exited our cabin, and after leaving our crew car, we went to attend the crew meeting.

When we arrived, most of the others were all gathered around as well. Once we were all assembled, Don and Jim appeared, accompanied by several soldiers. Don looked at all of us.

"Good morning everyone."

"Good morning Major."

"Good morning Sir."

"Good morning Don."

"Ok, now that you're all here, I'm sure that by now, you're all wondering why you're here. Well, I'll tell you. At about 5am this morning, I received a video call from none other than President Dillinger himself!"

"What did he have to say?" Someone asked.

"He told us that he was proud of the great service that we were doing for our country, asked me how the war was going, and how much longer until America was once again fully free from Sea to Shining Sea. You know, all of the usual stuff."

"And what did you tell him?"

Don sighed. "Exactly what he wanted to hear, that's what! He also told us what great heroes we were, and how we would be rewarded when the war was over."

Some of us laughed at that. While President John Dillinger meant well, he was getting up there in his years, and at times could be best described as suffering from bouts of dementia. He tended to forget certain things, and could be incompetent at times. Nevertheless, he was once a soldier like us, and he was democratically elected by a majority, so he was our Commander in Chief, even if only until the next election when his second/final term ended.

"All joking aside though, he also told us that we should probably be careful. According to our code-breakers and radio monitors, the Futas have gotten strangely quiet lately. He thinks that this could mean trouble."

There was a murmur among the crowd.

"The last thing that we need is another gosh-damn f@#king traitor like Face!"

We all agreed to that.

"Ok, ok! Settle down!" Don tried to keep talking, but he was drowned out by the noise.

"HEY, THE MAJOR TOLD ALL OF Y'ALL TO SHUT UP, SO YOU'D BETTER F@#KING DO IT RIGHT NOW!!!!!"

Jim was normally pretty quiet, but when he shouted, he could rattle windows! Needless to say, the crowd calmed down pretty quickly after that!

Once it was dead silent, Don continued. "Thank you Jim. Now then, where was I? Oh yes, our immediate future. As I'm sure that all of you are aware, we are currently in northern Nevada. Our target is the Futa Capital, Sin City, also called Las Vegas. As the flagship of the Railway Warfare Division, the most powerful train leading the most powerful land-based division in the US aside from the US Army, President Dillinger has chosen us to lead the assault on Vegas."

Now there came cheering from the crowd.

"However! There are things that need to be done first! As I'm sure that you all are aware, it's been almost 14 months since our last cleaning and shakedown, as well as 14 months since our last shore leave. And, as I've been informed, we're FINALLY due for both of them!"

Once again, there was loud cheering, only this time, it was accompanied by shouts of "USA! USA! USA!" barking, meowing, and a whole host of other noises.

"HOWEVER! Before our shore leave can begin, we must first get this train to the railyards in Lund, Nevada. THEN, and ONLY THEN, can we take a break! Now then, are we ready to do this?"

"Yes!!!!"

"What was that? I can't hear you! I said, ARE WE READY TO F@#KING DO THIS?!?!?!"

"HELL TO THE F@#KING YEAH!!!!"

"Alright then, cue the music, and let's do this!"

Someone popped in just the tape for the occasion.

"No! Wrong tape you dummy! The other one!"

"Whoops! Sorry! Hold on!" He took the tape out, and flipped it over.

"Much better. Now then, let's go!"

As quickly as I could, I handed Aurora off to Corporal Amanda Lindsey, the gal who cared for most of our animals while we were working. She quickly made her way to her post at the "Animal Day-Care" located behind the first pair of 16in. guns. I then raced up to the cab, joined by Alex, Todd, Fred, and Andy. As fast as humanly possible, and while singing the lyrics, and working in time to the music, we quickly got up steam in the boiler, made the fire roar, and were soon ready to leave.

"ALL ABOARD!!!!" Todd shouted.

Everybody who wasn't already on board the train quickly got on, and once everyone had checked in, we did one final check just to make sure that nobody, no pets, or anything at all really was left behind. Once that was done, with a loud blast of our whistle, (which, thanks to a stray bullet now no longer sounded with it's deep, familiar baritone chime, but now instead sounded like a Banshee's shriek, which was actually even MORE terrifying to the Futas!) we pulled out for Lund.

Author's Note

Ok, so, that was Chapter 1. I hope that you all enjoyed it. Now the Battleship Express is getting ready for the assault on Vegas in less than 2 weeks's time. How will that go? Well, stay tuned, and I'll tell you!

Also, if you're wondering, no, I'm not a Nazi! I hate them, and everything that they stand for, (except for their really cool uniforms, minus of course the Swastikas!) I just think that the song was catchy, and sorta fit the mood. If you didn't like it, don't fret. Much better music will be coming in the near future.

Meanwhile. comments, feedback, and questions, are always appreciated, and I'll see you all in Chapter 2!

ScarFox out for now, ALL ABOARD!!!