Fianna Kelly Versus the Jeebees: A Collection of Steampunk Stories Read Free Page B

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