Fianna Kelly Versus the Jeebees: A Collection of Steampunk Stories (12 page)

I
watched out my window as we passed over the city. The sun went below the
horizon somewhere behind us so I could only tell the buildings by their
outlines and lights. It was like watching stars which had fallen to the ground,
only they were yellow and came in different sizes and shapes. We left England
behind and the only lights I could see were the stars and planets ahead of us.

When
I paid attention, I could hear the engine speed up and slow down. I asked
Gerald and he said it was new and the pilots did that to condition it properly,
whatever that means. He said when I was ready for bed, they would run the
engine and the fans at their quietest speed so I could sleep. We were expected
to arrive at our destination just after sunup even going slowly.

I
smiled at that thought. I will sleep while travelling and awake over another
country. I could not imagine a nicer way to see the world. I looked about and
noticed some racks on one wall where I could secure my rifles and hang my gun
belt. This airship was not just built for travelling, but like a house that
flew. I could imagine living inside it and seeing the world without leaving my
home behind.

It
was too quiet when I awoke. I went down to the sitting room where all three men
were seated around a table.

I
said, "'Tis terribly quiet. What's wrong?"

Asher
said, "The short answer is that the steam engine is broken."

"Can
we fix it?"

Ethan
replied, "No. We tried already."

"Anything
else I should know about?"

Gerald
said, "We are losing altitude."

"That's
wonderful. What do we do?"

He
answered, "We drift in the wind until we crash into the North Sea."

"I
don't like that. What else can we do?"

He
suggested, "Pray for the wind to shift so we crash on land."

"That's
not much better."

He
continued, "Pray that another airship comes along, we transfer to it, and
watch this one crash from safety."

"Do
you have any ideas that do not involve my beautiful airship crashing?"

Gerald
stated, "No."

"Now
I see why my father objects to airships. At least on a locomotive, once the
engine breaks, we walk away."

Asher
asked, "Can you swim?"

"I
can, but Bradan will sink to the bottom of the sea... How long do we have until
we hit water?"

He
said, "Our best guess is that we'll be under water before sundown."

"I'll
be back in the cargo area with Bradan. You'll tell me when there's anything I
need to know, yes?"

It
was so quiet. I realised that when you are drifting with the wind, you don't
even hear that. All I heard were the tiny noises that Bradan makes when he's
doing nothing. I spent some time just talking to him. He just stood there and
watched me. I was expecting some kind of reaction when I told him we might
crash in the sea, but nothing came. I didn't look at the time so I had no idea
how long I was there before Gerald said they needed me in the sitting room.

I
looked out the window as indicated and asked, "Is that an airship off to
our right?"

Gerald
said, "Yes, but it's flying a black pirate flag."

"I
could care less about who or what they are. Do we have any way to contact
them?"

Asher
answered, "We have an Aldis lamp that we use to signal the ground
crews."

"I
suggest you signal them; let them know we are a ship in distress."

"So
you want me to tell a pirate ship that we are defenceless?"

"No,
I want you to invite them to lunch before we crash. To be sure, let them know
we can't go anywhere but down. I'm going up to the galley and see what we have that
will make a good meal for a crew of pirates."

As
Gerald said, we had a plethora of fruits, meats, and vegetables. I found a
large pot stowed in a cupboard and began making stew. I guessed that double
what my family usually ate for supper will be enough to feed a pirate crew. I
put the fire on very low and went back to the sitting room.

Our
ship passed through a shadow. The other ship was gigantic in comparison to
ours. It was like two balloons tied tightly together at each end with a gondola
placed underneath in the middle of them. They had four large fans; one mounted
near each corner of their gondola.

"Ahoy!
Prepare to be boarded!" shouted someone to the left, I mean port, of our
ship.

I
looked at the men and they just shrugged their shoulders. I shouted back,
"Could you be more specific?"

The
reply was, "You need to open the door and get out of the way."

It
was a curious chain of events that happened next. A magnet on a line shot
through the door and stuck to the starboard wall. A set of thin pipes were
pulled along the line and unfolded like an umbrella once they were completely
inside. They expanded to a man-sized or larger box and were pulled back tightly
against the door opening. There was a pulley at the top with a thick rope
around it. A man in a sling came sliding in on the rope, landing nimbly in the
box.

He
smoothed his jacket out and inspected us. He looked just like the pirates I had
read about. He was wearing a vest, long coat, tall boots, and a three-cornered
hat. Shortly thereafter, two other men came across in the sling one at a time.
They were dressed more modestly. The second man barely made an impression. If I
had seen him walking on the road, I would have greeted him like anyone else.
The third one however, was wearing a leather face mask with goggles. It had two
hoses running from where his mouth was to a cylinder mounted on his back. He
also had an assortment of tools fastened onto his belt.

The
first man was surely the captain. He asked, "Whose ship is this?"

"It's
mine!" I said as if it was obvious.

"Well..."
started Gerald.

I
stared at Gerald. "Is there something you'd like to add?"

"No,
Miss. I've nothing to add."

"My
name is Fianna Kelly and who do I have the pleasure of addressing?"

The
Captain said, "You can call me Captain Benton. You have an interesting
flag. I don't believe I've seen it before. It resembles a pirate flag. What
country do you owe allegiance to?"

"I
come from Ireland, but I owe them nothing that I can recall."

"I
see."

"Now
then, Captain Benton. We're thankful for your assistance."

"Don't
thank me yet. Your airship could still end up at the bottom of the sea."

"That
she may, but I sincerely hope not to be aboard her when she does.'"

He
asked, "What's wrong that puts you in distress?"

"The
pilot was supposed to have signalled you that our engine was broken, and we are
falling into the sea."

"Is
your pilot aware that an airship like this has to keep moving or it will lose
altitude naturally?"

I
looked at one of them and he replied, "We are going down too fast to be
explained away that easily."

"I'll
have Jack check out your ship. I don't want my prize to slip from my grasp
until I let go of it."

We
sat and talked about the usual things that people with little in common talk
about. I was hoping his man would come back from his inspection with good news;
at least for one of us. I had read tales of pirates; how they sold their
captives into slavery or forced them into joining their crews. Perhaps they
would ransom us to Mr. Balfour for a sizeable amount of gold. Gerald had said
not to mention things you didn't want to happen lest you give people ideas they
didn't have before. So our conversation tended to be about meaningless things
until his man returned.

The
Captain asked, "What's the situation?"

Jack
replied, "I'd rather not say in front of the lady."

"Just
watch your language then."

"Okay.
They have one of those experimental electric buoyancy controls. Once the system
lost pressure, the gas flowed back through the pipes and out. I stopped up the
hole so they'll not be dropping so fast. That's all I can do."

The
Captain smiled. "What's wrong with their engine?"

"It
is a long chain of poor installation and missing safeties. The primary and
secondary water supplies have been connected together. The secondary is supposed
to be dedicated to the buoyancy control when installed. Instead, it emptied out
replenishing the primary. That caused the buoyancy control to short out due to
lack of water. That caused the generator to overheat and swell. That caused her
engine to seize up, and that is why they aren't going anywhere but down without
help."

I
was puzzled and said, "I didn't understand most of what he just
said."

Captain
Benton replied, "He said your ship is damaged beyond repair. All the
engine parts will need to be replaced."

"So
as I understand it, we now have a cargo of scrap metal where our engine used to
be, correct?"

"Unfortunately,
you are correct."

I
addressed Jack, "What did that buoyancy contraption do when it was
working?"

He
replied, "It keeps your ship level both fore to aft and port to starboard.
You don't really need one unless you take on cargo while in the air... like we
do."

The
Captain added, "The men who sell them convince the buyer that they will
provide the gentlest ride even in rough weather. Whoever outfitted this ship
must have considered you more frail than you appear."

He
addressed Jack. "We don't need one either as long as we have an
able-bodied crew that knows how to stow cargo properly and we stay above the
storms."

I
turned towards Gerald and the two aviators and asked, "Would one of you be
responsible for this incompetence?"

Gerald
replied, "No, Miss. That kind of work is beyond our abilities. It was
performed by certified engineers in London before we left."

I
said, "I believe those engineers should be stripped of their certificates
and be forced to pay for all necessary repairs to my airship."

Jack
said, "Captain, I took the liberty of checking their cargo. All they have
is an automaton; looks like it's built for mining. Nothing much in the crew
quarters; even less in the lady's room. The galley is well stocked
though."

I
just remembered my stew. "I better get back to my cooking. You are all
welcome to join us." I ran back to the galley. It's almost impossible to
overcook stew, but I don't like it too mushy.

When
I came back down, another six of his crew had joined us. He ordered two of them
to assist with place settings and carrying the pot of stew down the stairs. I
admit that I was grateful for the help. When making the stew, I hadn't realised
how much all the individual parts would weigh when put together. I went back to
the galley for bread and when I came back, another six crewmen had arrived. I
was glad that I had filled the largest pot we had.

After
they ate, one man said, "I'm not saying Jimmy's cooking is lacking, but
change can be good once in a while."

Another
added, "Compared to this, I'd say Jimmy's cooking is lacking a lot."

I
told them, "My mother taught me to cook it until it tastes right, then
stop cooking it."

Everyone
got quiet at that point. I guessed it was time to ask the question that I had
been avoiding. Maybe it was time for Jimmy to stop cooking and me to take his
place. I would rather go on the boarding parties than be stuck in a galley. I
sat down next to the captain and asked. "What are you going to do with me?
I hear being a pirate is full of adventure."

He
replied, "I don't see you as a pirate. I can tell you have a much
different destiny."

I
was puzzled... again. This was happening to me frequently these days. I said,
"I don't understand."

"You
have a lot of spirit, but I can see you don't have the stomach for
killing."

I
sat there waiting for him to say more. He chose that moment to take a drink. I
wondered if someone like Gerald had taught him that approach or if he was just
thirsty. I knew he had more to say so I just placed my hands on my lap and
tried to be patient.

"Let
me tell you something, young lady. Pirating is a lot like fishing. I look at
your airship and I see a little fish; too small to make a decent meal. Like the
fisherman, I'm going to toss you back and wait for you to get bigger. If our
paths cross when you do, rest assured that I will not let you off my line
without a fight."

He
continued, "That being said, Matthew will give your pilots a quick lesson
in being towed and we will tow you to the nearest port."

I
said, "I don't know how to repay you."

"I
don't think anyone would complain if you fill that pot again and let us take it
when we go back to our ship."

I
smiled and said, "I can do that."

He
addressed another of his crew, "Go take down the black flag and raise the
one we got in the Americas. It might make the port authorities less likely to
fire upon us."

I
was surprised. "You have been to the Americas? I would love to hear that
tale."

He
replied, "Perhaps if we meet again."

After
the pirates left, I was feeling exhausted. I guess after all the excitement;
this was to be expected. I asked Gerald, "Why did I have to make all the
tough decisions?"

 He
reminded me, "You were the one who told them it was your airship."

"That's
because you told me that it was mine."

"And
that's why you get to make the tough decisions."

Gerald
resumed his lessons while I washed and stowed the plates. I wondered where the
dirty water went. Did we release it to rain down on people or did we store it
to be emptied when we landed? Gerald's challenge this time was different. He
said, "You cannot make me eat carrots." I tried using the various
techniques he had taught me to no avail. He sat down next to a window, smiling,
figuring he had won the game.