Fianna Kelly Versus the Jeebees: A Collection of Steampunk Stories (2 page)

I
looked around the barn for the people. There was no-one in it except for those
strange creatures. Not even any farm animals. I couldn't help but wonder what
these creatures had done with them. These things said there were people to be
processed, whatever that meant. Where were they now? It had been just a few
minutes. How could they have disappeared so quickly? People just don't do that.
I would have noticed once they had walked out of the barn. The other doors were
closed and I would have noticed them opening. It was puzzling and I was not
good at solving puzzles.

It
was amazing what they had done inside the barn. It looked like a laboratory. I
saw free-standing panels with switches, dials, and meters on them. On one wall
was a giant ring of brass embedded in a wooden frame. It was connected by thick
cables to a table covered with more dials and switches. Next to that was a shelf
of parts, most of which I couldn't recognise. It seemed safest to leave all of
this just the way it was.

I
figured I could find a safe spot to hide in the farmhouse, spend the night, and
then sneak out again at sunrise. As I turned to go, I noticed a steam boiler
resting beside the barn door with what could only be legs and arms. From the
feet to the top of its smokestack it had to be ten feet high. There was a long
box on its chest with words on it.

This
must be the automaton that the beings had mentioned. It was the one who refused
to obey them anymore. I was thinking that it might come with me and carry my
portmanteau.

"Okay,
how can I help?"

From
the right side to the left, a different letter rotated into place with a click
until they all rearranged to spell the next word. I think the letters were on
two dozen wheels that spun around to show new ones.

REPAIR

That
would make sense. If the creatures were torturing it, then it probably was
broken.

"Do
you know how to fix yourself, because I don't?"

YES

"You
are not very talkative, huh? Must be a male automaton; tall, dark, and silent.
What do I do first?"

BOOK
5 PAGE 40

"Wonderful;
a book. Hopefully 'tis written in English. Where is this book?"

CABINET
TO MY LEFT

The
books were contained in metal albums. I counted five over and carried that one
to the automaton. Page 40 had a picture that depicted some kind of harness
which connected together with a twist. I looked at the automaton and noticed an
open panel on its  right side revealing the harness that had been separated.
That was a simple task for me to reconnect it. And that was how it went. The
automaton would reference a drawing showing how it was supposed to look, and I
would try to make it look that way. Maybe an hour passed; maybe more. I was
lost in the work.

THANK
YOU

"I
guess we are done. I need to sleep."

I
WILL WARN IF DANGER

"That
is very kind of you. I guess you don't need to sleep, do you?"

I
AM ALWAYS ON

The
expectation of a soft bed with my hair let down and letting my feet breath kept
me going into the vacant farmhouse. And it was everything I hoped for, with the
exception of the automaton making so much noise moving around the farm. I
figured it was pacing about on some kind of guard duty that only made sense to
automatons or strange beings.

I
expected to wake up with the rising sun, but had slept in. I checked the time
and saw it was almost nine o'clock. My pocket watch was wonderful. I could see
through the face to the inside where gold-coloured gears moved slowly as time
passed. It made me think about the automaton. Its gears did not show. All its
inner workings were concealed behind metal plates. Now thinking about
concealing; will I dress for my mother or for myself? I didn't feel like
sweeping the path with my skirt again today, so 'tis the green knee-length
skirt.

I
made it halfway to the barn to check on the automaton and stopped, stunned.
Laid out next to each other were two graves with wooden crosses in an X shape.
I guessed they were placed above the remains of the strange beings. The
realisation of what I did last night hit me hard. I knelt down, cried a few
minutes, and said a short prayer for the souls of the departed wherever they
had gone.

How
was it that I had been so uncaring last night? I had just shot them and left
them. One was going to attack me, but I should have had some respect for the
dead, whatever they were. Even a machine had more consideration than I had and
these things were disassembling it. It had more reasons to dislike them than I
did, yet it buried them and marked the graves.

I
shouted, "Hello! Is there anyone or anything here?"

The
automaton lumbered out of the barn to stand in front of me.

"I
am going now. Try to keep all your parts where they belong."

I
WILL WARN IF DANGER

"Oh,
so you want to go with me, yes?"

YES

"Can
you carry my portmanteau and bag of supplies?"

YES

"Do
you have a name?"

NO

"Well,
since you are coming with me, I need to call you something... How about Bradan?
I knew a guy with that name who was also very quiet."

BRADAN
IS OKAY

"Wonderful!
Let us be on our way now."

The
question was which way were we going; forging ahead, or going back? Neither
choice was enticing. What I had experienced so far could be a sample of what
was ahead. What was behind me was not likely to have improved overnight.
However, I was no longer alone so continuing on seemed okay.

I
can't stand silence. I am accustomed to people and animals and things making
noise around me all the time. I could hear a bit of nature sounds, but that
wasn't doing much to help me relax. We had walked for a few miles before I
couldn't stand the silence anymore.

It
was difficult to have a conversation with Bradan. I would ask a question, get a
response, then expect him to ask me something on the same subject. A few minutes
later, I would try again.

"Bradan,
why is it that you can understand what I say and respond in English?"

 UNKNOWN

"I
guess I'd have a similar response if someone asked me. Maybe it is related to
what those beings said about being scarier if they talked so we could
understand them. On that subject, why can you hear, but not speak?"

UNKNOWN

"I
would think that they would want you to have a deep scary voice to frighten us.
You seem to know enough words to answer my questions. Do you have any questions
for me?"

NO

"So
you aren't the curious type. That's wonderful. I have enough questions for both
of us. For example, how will you know if we are in danger?"

I
CAN SENSE IT

"You
really are one of a kind, Bradan. Are there any more automatons around like
you?"

UNKNOWN

"Do
you mind if I sing? It helps the time go faster."

IT
IS OKAY

Once on
a bank of roses laid,
And where soft violets grew,
I saw the Queen of Fairies braid
Her wreath of varied hue,
Her wreath of varied hue.
[ii]

I
knew that steam engines required water and some kind of fuel to keep running. I
wondered if Bradan was capable of feeding himself or if I would have to do it.
Perhaps he had refuelled at night while I slept. Hopefully, he wasn't going to
run out soon. I had to stop for a rest and he just stood in the road like a
metal statue.

"Please
wait here. I need some privacy for a couple of minutes." It was funny how
I now thought of him as male and I will do female things out of his sight.

I
WILL WARN IF DANGER

"I
figured that. I'll be back shortly."

After
returning, I took my bag of supplies from him and got out some food and water.

"How
long can you go on without stopping for water?"

TWO
DAYS WALKING

"I
have the makings of a sandwich here. What kind of fuel do you use?"

DRY
WOOD IS OKAY

"Do
we need to get any for you?"

NO

"How
long before you need more?"

SEVEN
DAYS

"You
may be able to go on for days at a time, but I prefer to eat three times a day.
You won't object if I eat in front of you, will you?"

NO

"I
had hoped to see some people on the road and get a ride to a town by now. It
looks like we'll be walking until we find a town or village ourselves.
Hopefully it will be inhabited."

I
looked up at Bradan and wondered if he could carry me too. On second thought, I
would either burn myself, get seasick from the way he walked, or both. I should
have looked at the farmhouse for a wagon or carriage. He looked like he could
pull one. Then I could have been riding instead of walking. I wondered if he
could run. Would we be moving even slower if he was pulling a carriage?

Would
he object to that though? He may not want to be treated like a beast of burden.
Do we have the kind of relationship where I can make him do whatever I want?
Perhaps we are just friends and he only does what I ask to be polite. Does he
even have feelings? The beings indicated he had some kind of conscience. Maybe
he'll do anything I ask as long as I don't offend him. If I upset him, will he
leave me all by myself? Does he know what an apology is? Would he be able to
tell if I asked a hypothetical question? I don't think that I want to know the
answers to these questions right now.

About
an hour later, we came upon a blockade in the road. Bradan saw it first and
tapped me on the shoulder.

ROAD
BLOCKED AHEAD

"That
will be no problem. You are with me. Just hold my things and pretend you are a
wind-up servant. Once we don't look like a threat, they may believe we
aren't."

I
walked up to the blockade with Bradan a respectable ten feet behind me. Where
did he learn that servants walk behind their masters? If I was lucky, he
wouldn't need to alert me to anything and make me explain all about him. Two
soldiers got up from where they were lounging under a tree and stood behind a
barricade blocking the road.

"Who
are you?" said the one on the left. The stripes on his collar indicated
that he was a sergeant and likely the one in charge here.

I
replied, "I am Fianna Kelly."

"Where
are you from?" asked the other soldier who had corporal stripes.

"I
come from Ireland."

"Where
are you headed? This region has been declared dangerous and you should not be
here."

"We
are on our way to Wimbledon for the International Firearms Tournament."

"Do
you have a passport?"

They
took a quick look at my documents, as if it was sufficient that I had
something. I wondered if they could even read.

"And
what is that... thing?"

"Isn't
he wonderful? He is an automaton built to carry my luggage. I don't know what I
would have done without him. I don't think I could have made it this far on my
own. There was supposed to be a ride waiting for us at the dock and we have had
to walk all this way."

"Well,
I guess that is okay." replied the sergeant, as if it was only by his
permission that we existed.

"Could
you tell us where we could secure a ride to London?"

I
heard Bradan's wheels spin into place and he tapped me on the shoulder.

INCOMING
DANGER

"Where
are they?" I asked him.

ESE
312 YARDS

I
was getting accustomed to his replies being either uselessly exact, terse, or
arcane. I figured that I would need to have a long talk with him later. To be
sure, I'd be doing all the talking.

"Point
to the direction they are coming from," I corrected. He pointed over the
heads of the soldiers.

I
put one hand on the barricade and vaulted over it between the soldiers. As I
landed, I went down on one knee and brought my rifle into the ready position.
The first being came running up, firing a hand-held weapon that spit out
sparks, hoping it could surprise us. It did not have time to be surprised
itself as I put a bullet into its egg-shaped head. It only took a few seconds
for the two men to recover and realise they were under attack.

It
would be nice to say it was a hard fought battle against terrible odds, but it
wasn't. We were outnumbered though; six of them versus three of us. Between the
soldier's pistols and my rifle, they did not survive long. The strange firearms
they used were designed for short range combat so they failed to make a solid
hit on us. That is not to say that they didn't hit the soldiers; just that the
only wounds were minor.

Cleaning
up after the skirmish was simple enough. While Bradan buried the beings, I
tended to the injured men. I was sure they could do it themselves once I wasn't
around. However, there I was. It was expected of me, being a woman, to care for
the men.

The
sergeant spoke first, "Let's try the explanation again on your metal
companion. I can tell now that it is not a simple luggage carrier."

"No,
he isn't. I rescued him from a pair of those... things", I replied.

"We
call those things jeebees. That is short for Grey Beings of Hostile
Intent."

"Corporal!
I think with all the jeebees in this area, the lady and her metal friend should
have a military escort. I will stay on post here while you escort them to the
base."

The
Corporal added, "You should be able to get a ride to London as we have
carriages and wagons passing through all the time. The base is about a mile in
this direction. It will be fun to see their expressions when we arrive."

It
was a short walk to the main gate and the Corporal was as silent as Bradan. I,
on the other hand, could not stand it and was talking about anything I could
think of. I wasn't sure if the Corporal would like my singing though. He
appeared rather jumpy right now, as if afraid the jeebees were hiding behind
every tree ready to leap out at us.

As
expected, the guard at the gate was not expecting a soldier, a woman, and a
giant automaton to be strolling up. The Corporal did the explaining and I
nodded in the right places. It went something like this.

"You
should see her; she points her rifle and a jeebee's head explodes. Without her
there, the Sergeant and I would both be dead.  At least half a dozen of them
were attacking us. Luckily, her automaton can smell them coming like a trained
hunting dog."

The
guard said, "You can make a full report to the duty officer. Those two are
your responsibility until he makes a decision."

I
said, "Excuse me, but is there a carriage or wagon headed toward London? I
need to be going faster than walking to reach Wimbledon in time for the
tournament."

He
replied, "Just follow the Corporal for now and we'll get you all sorted
out."

We
made too many stops. I was starting to sympathise with my father yesterday.
People would stare at us and the Corporal would stop and tell them how we saved
his life. To be sure, my father was a patient man to be able to put up with all
my delays without complaining. I was about to scream; let everyone know how
much of a hurry I was in and that we didn't have time to tell my story to the
entire base one person at a time.

We
finally entered a small building. Inside was a small room with one window and
no decorations. I told Bradan to wait outside as the doorway looked too small
for him. A man was seated at a desk just inside the door. He obviously hadn't
noticed all the commotion we were creating. I presume he was the duty officer
as the Corporal repeated the story yet again for him. He listened to the tale,
and then flipped through a stack of papers on his desk.

The
officer said, "We don't have anything else headed to London today. We have
been restricting travel to daytime only. If it can't reach its destination
while the sun is up, we don't let it go. If the jeebees are now attacking
during the day, we will need to change our plans again. I will discuss this
with the Colonel."