Bad Order

Relay Power

"Did you have fun with Luno?" Solano asked cheerfully. "I would hope so! He enjoys going very fast when he drives and it scares me! I always worry the boiler will explode or the Eclipse will rattle apart, but she doesn't!"

"He wasn't going all that fast." Comet replied. "I didn't feel like I was about to fly out whenever we made a turn."

"Wonderful! Because you will be driving, you will be able to choose the speed! But do not go too fast. It is possible to come off the rails! And that is not fun!"

Sunspot squeaked at him, begging to be picked up. He knelt down and did just that.

"And you're gonna put Sunspot into the switcher's firebox?"

"Yes! He is hot enough to fire the switcher all on his own without having to tend to a fire all the time! But he cannot do that for the Eclipse. She is far too big!" Solano said. "Come on, come on! Let's get started!"

He and Comet climbed up into the cab of the switcher, and Sunspot took his place in the firebox.

"This is all Greek to me." Comet remarked. "And I thought driving a car was confusing."

"It is not difficult! At least when you are me and have been doing this for a very, very, very, very, very long time!" Solano replied. "I am sure you were able to glean at least a little from Luno!"

"He said the driver's paying attention to what the fireman's doing, too. And looking at the tracks ahead for any obstacles."

Solano laughed.

"Yes! Did he say the line?"

"The line?"

"You must be an excellent fireman before you can be a driver." Solano said in a perfect imitation of Luno's voice. It kind of freaked Comet out.

"Uh...yeah. Just like that."

"Ha! He never does change!"

"That was terrifying."

"Oh, please, darling. You aren't scared when he uses this voice."

"Cut it out!"

Solano laughed.

"Fine! We must get started anyway!" he exclaimed. "The switcher is far less complicated than the Eclipse! There are three main controls: something to steer, something to make it go faster, and something to make it stop!"

"I thought trains don't need to steer. Considering they're on rails." Comet said.

"Right! So it only has something to make it go faster and something to make it stop! These two levers here are always within easy reach!"

In front of Comet were two levers, just as Solano indicated.

"This one here is the regulator, and is what makes the locomotive accelerate! It allows steam to enter the pistons and make them move!" Solano explained. "Then the other lever here is the reversing lever! Here is a pop quiz for you: what happens if you push this lever forward?"

"It...goes forward?"

"Yes! And backward?"

"It goes backward."

"Correct!" Solano chirped. "If you leave it in the middle, it is called mid gear! The engine is effectively in neutral and will not go forward or backward!"

He pointed at the base of the second lever.

"The notches are essentially different gears, and switching between them changes the efficiency of the steam use at different speeds!" he said. "To make it stop, there is a handbrake here, and over here is the control for the steam brake! It uses the steam cylinders to put the brakes on!"

"Seems simple enough." Comet remarked. "Feels like Luno does more work than you do."

Solano's smile faltered for a moment.

"That is not true! Each of us has a different set of responsibilities we must attend to! Everything is even in the end!" he answered. "That was sort of rude!"

Comet frowned.

"Oh."

"Now, especially because we are in the yard, there are several things you must also know!" Solano said. "Signals! That is how you do not crash into people or things!"

"Is that what Luno's doing on the ground waving his arms all crazy-like?"

"Precisely! But there is a specific system for hand signals we follow! Especially with the twilight sky, he uses his lantern to allow for better visibility!"

"Huh. I guess I just kinda thought he had it for looks."

"Nope! For now you will not need to remember them, but here is a quick overview!" Solano said, then stood back. "Do them with me! Holding the lantern horizontally at arm's length means reduce speed!"

Comet followed each of his movements as he went on.

"Moving your arm in a circle means to back up! Swinging the lantern back and forth at the waistline is to stop!" Solano instructed. "Moving the lantern up and down means proceed, and moving your lantern up and down over your head like this means to sound the whistle!"

"Is this gonna be on the final exam?" Comet muttered.

"Yes! But you do not need to know these until you are comfortable driving and firing! Only when you begin work in the yard!" Solano replied. "Now! Proceed forward slowly! Disengage the brakes, gently open the regulator, and move the reversing lever forward one notch!"

Comet did as he was told, and slowly but surely, the switcher began to move forward on the track.

He didn't think he'd ever felt more powerful in his entire life. The hum of the locomotive before him was like the heartbeat of a massive animal, and he was its careful master.

"This is crazy." he breathed.

"Yes! Exhilarating, isn't it?" Solano chirped. "I do so love driving! Especially on Earth where there are physical rails we can feel ourselves glide upon! You are free to choose our speed how you wish!"

Comet carefully moved the reversing lever forward a ways and the two of them felt the switcher accelerate until they were moving at a decent clip.

"You are a natural!" Solano beamed. "You are very good at moving levers and making sure we do not hit anything! You will be able to drive on your own soon enough!"

"It'll certainly be nice to get out of the Station a bit more."

"I bet! You and Caelestis will be best friends!"