Fianna Kelly Versus the Jeebees: A Collection of Steampunk Stories by Harry Dodgson

happen
when a soldier pointed at me and pantomimed shooting a rifle. A few minutes
later, they approached me.
    The
reporter flipped his notepad to a new page. "The soldiers say you are
quite a woman. I'd love to get your story for the Times."
    "What
are they telling you?"
    "They
say you are very courageous. You fired at the jeebees to distract them and make
them easier to kill."
    "'Tis
true I distracted them. I think I shot some too."
    The
photographer asked, "Would you allow me to take your picture?"
    "I
am sure that I look a mess. Could you get one after I have had a chance to make
myself presentable?"
    The
reporter replied, "You look perfect just the way you are. If you didn't
look like you had just been through a war, we could hardly say you had, could
we?"
    I
said, "Okay, what do I need to do?"
    He
continued, "First, I would like to hear about you, the automaton, and that
remarkable rifle you have."
    I
was not feeling like giving them a long story so I settled on just answering
his questions. "My name is Fianna Kelly and I am headed to Wimbledon for
the International Firearms Tournament. I call the automaton Bradan and I
rescued him from the jeebees who built him. The army was so nice and gave me
this wonderful rifle to use at the tournament."
    "What
is so special about the rifle?
    "'Tis
an experimental version of an Enfield-Martini rifle with a telescope that
adjusts for distance. It has so many improvements over the previous versions, I
couldn't list them all." I didn't mention that I couldn't list them
because I wasn't paying attention.
    Seeing
as he was waiting for me to say more, I went on, "I should have arrived
yesterday evening, and registered this morning, and competed with my old rifle.
But that didn't happen. Instead I have had a four-day adventure just to get
here today."
    "So
much for your original plans. What are your plans now?"
    "I
need to run if I am going to get registered. Then I'll need to go shopping for
the custom cartridges this rifle needs as I used all the army provided for
me."
    "It
sounds to me like it is a miracle that you are here alive. We won't detain you
more than a minute to get your picture."
    It
was the photographer's turn next. He had been setting up his tripod and trying
to get people to move out of the way so only Bradan and I were in the picture.
He said, "I was thinking if I could get you standing near the giant
automaton with it holding one of those things as if it were a fish that you had
caught..."
    He
started to compose the picture, having Bradan and I move so we both were in it.
He was posing us almost the way I used to arrange my dolls around the table for
tea. I was still feeling a bit unsteady so I just did as he requested.
    "Could
you push your goggles up higher?" he asked.
    "They
won't stay there long," I said.
    "That's
okay. I only need them off your face for a minute."
    I
slid them up so they rested precariously on my bangs. I had to hold my head
still so they wouldn't slide back down.
    He
said, "Now if I could get you to smile, just a little."
    I
really didn't feel like smiling. I'm not sure what I felt like, but happiness
wasn't on the list. The closest would be relieved. I tried for a smile.
    He
said, "That was perfect. I have to run to get this developed for the
evening edition."
    I
replied, "I have to run as well."
    I
saw that the Colonel was standing alone, watching me. I ran over to him and
gave him a big hug. He returned the hug, lightly, as if he was afraid of
breaking me.
    He
spoke first. "It is a pleasure to see you are still alive and healthy,
Miss Kelly."
    "I
am happy to see you as well, Colonel. If I didn't know better, I'd say you just
came from your office instead of a battle. You look just as I first met
you."
    Thank
you, Miss. You do not seem that much worse in spite of today's skirmish."
    "That
is nice of you to say, but I feel exhausted and I must look that way too. Have
you seen Albert? He was looking for you."
    "Yes,
we found each other. I sent him