It was a small smoky bar on the campus of New Dalhousie University. Three alumni who had graduated a year ago today, had gathered to drink and catch up after a year apart. David and Sean were already seated when Herbert walked in.

"Herbert," spoke David when he saw his friend walk in, "where have you been??"

"I was in British Columbia, believe it or not. The railway is nearly completely repaired and you can now travel from the steamer ports on the Ottawa River all the way to those on the Fraser River without having to leave the comfort of your sleeping car."

"And what were you doing out there?" said Sean.

"Well, the Royal Canadian Navy has plans to re-establish a presence in the Pacific. The base at Esquimault will be rebuilt, and the Navy needed my help designing the new drydocks. It's going to take a lot of work shipping the specialized construction equipment from Ontario to the Pacific Coast, but ground has already been broken. What about you?" Herbert looked at Sean.

"Well, while you have been traveling the trains to the West Coast and back, I have been surveying the routes for the rebuilding of the Intercolonial Railway. For now the plans are just to connect the isolated communities in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick with the major ports, but once we secure more of Maine, it seems that they might put me to work building a line accross Maine to Sherbrooke and beyond."

"Speaking of Maine," said David, "that's where I have been for the past year. The Hunt family has sent a generous sum of money to the construction company that hired me. We have been repairing roads, bridges and power plants on liberated Maine. It seems that soon we will be able to return prosperity to the region."

"It is a good time to be an Engineer," said Herbert.