A Bio-Weapon’s Rhapsody

Chapter 276: Iskander descends…

Ale took a painfully long time before finding out that Miriam Eversoul just... didn't really care about the stupidly difficult thing that it was to create a device (Or several devices) that could effectively neutralize the inertia inside the vehicle.

Or prevent the inertia generated from affecting the people aboard the vehicle in question.

Instead, Miriam Eversoul merely listened to Ale and nodded when it was pertinent. Ale was feeling... confused; either she cared, or she didn't. But it was hard to find out which one it was.

So for now, Ale decided to not think too much about it, and instead turned to the more important problem at hand.

"So, we have confirmed that I have the means. Is there anything I need to prepare?" Ale wasn't sure how it was to travel around using this vehicle. She kind of understood the basic idea behind planes.

Even if she hadn't seen them working or how they moved, the blueprints and schematics she had kind of gave her the basic idea about how it was.

The schematics were kind of obvious, they used the wings as a way to control and gain lift as a way to control their height and speed. Also grant them some stability depending on the speed they could traverse at.

The Drake One, for example, was allegedly capable of achieving escape velocity and could do spatial travel.

But then again, at that height the wings kind of lost meaning since in the emptiness of space they didn't need lift.

"Nothing much that you actually need to do," Miriam Eversoul said to the question. Ale had half expected for the woman to not realize the question, but alas, it wasn't meant to be. "Since you will travel via private plane you only need to call and within one to two hours (Depending on the contract the pilot is under) you will be able to travel back."

That was good, and since Ale and Alexa had just arrived they didn't really need to prepare luggage...

Not that they didn't have luggage, Alexanders had sent her clothes and some personal effects, most important among them was the computer that Ale had in her room.

"How long do you think you will be there?" Miriam Eversoul asked as she moved towards a door at the side of the entrance to the apartment, opening showed some suitcases, bags, backpacks and even a chest... Or was it a trunk?

Ale wasn't particularly sure about what the correct word was for this at the moment.

"How much luggage do you think you will carry?" Was the question that was asked of Ale.

And that was the thing wasn't it? How many of her things did she really need?

Realistically, Ale didn't need to carry anything, at all. Even for her interactions on the internet, all she really needed was the connection point; she could interface entirely using her AI Cores or the Information Core that she had made. So the personal computer was not needed.

Clothes? She could just make them on the go, or repurpose what she was wearing as it was needed, the cleaning and washing could be left to the Nanites.

Alexa liked to go all about her shroomers, the underwear made out of the weird fungi-like creature. Was it Devilstrand? OR whatever it was called.

The pseudo parasitical entity that lived off of... well, Ale really didn't want to think about it at the moment, she knew these things lived off of them and requisitioned anything that was available to them.

Ale made sure to feed them whenever she could, by transferring biomass or letting them leech off them. But beyond that, Ale didn't want to think about it.

As for food? Well, Ale didn't really need to worry about that, worst comes to worst, she could just traverse the sewer system looking for some of the local fauna, that or bait a [Human] who wanted to attack them, just like how Alexa had done that first time so long ago.

So luggage? It wasn't really needed.

And even if Ale didn't want to leave anything... Did they even need to really do it?

How long was she planning to remain there? Would she return?

"Not much for now," Ale said after a few seconds, "I will evaluate on that side... I... wouldn't mind remaining here, but it will depend on how things go."

That was the answer she came with for now, Ale could see the appeal of living on Aquila after all, but then again, Ohio was where she had most of Alexa's social circle.

The final outcome would come from whatever she found about whenever she got there. That Ale still wasn't sure how she would even go about it. Was she supposed to expose more of herself and see if people came up with weird excuses for it?

Would she need to let Alexa run rampant and see if people excused her?

"Then I'll pack a week's worth of changes of clothes for Alexa," Miriam Eversoul said, picking up one of the travelling suitcases. "Do you want help with that? Or you want to pick your clothes yourself?"

What?

"I... Can do it by myself...?" Ale said confused, she hadn't expected that reaction, "You do know we don't really... need that right?"

"I mean, I know you had clothes there, but if something happened to them you would need to buy at last minute, and I for one hate stress buying." Miriam Eversoul shrugged, "Oh right, I am starting to prepare to pack up things, but when are you leaving for there? I need to check and prepare too."

Prepare?

"Why?" Ale asked confused, "I mean, I can take a cab to wherever that plane is parked."

"...I will not let an underage girl travel alone." Miriam Eversoul said mildly offended for some reason, "Even less so when you will travel into a city as dangerous as Columbus, Ohio!"

Then, as if to make a point of it, Miriam Eversoul started typing something into her phone, "Let me ask them about their schedule and see if they need a hard date for the departure."

Ale was still confused. And before she could even say something else, her phone rang asking for confirmation for travel plans. And also gave her a notice that stated something quite... she had not expected this.

"Huh?" Miriam Eversoul started typing furiously on her phone, probably because of the notice that Ale had gotten, "... this motherf----flicker bastard."

That was not a good deflect if Ale had seen one before.

"I will not be able to accompany you on the plane." Miriam Eversoul stated, "And everyother plane is no longer allowing personal use if you are registered with the portals."

Ale could understand the justification behind that, since that meant that she was just taking a space that could be used by someone else. IT was not practical, if someone could return by the use of instantaneous travel, then why waste the effort and energy of using the plane?

It was not logical.

"Did he say something to you?" Miriam Eversoul asked turning to Ale.

So Ale checked the message she had received, it was indeed only the confirmation that she could schedule her flight whenever she wanted. IT had some mentions about prime times to travel, but an addendum that they could depart whenever she wanted.

Funnily enough, it did not include any waiting time, none, whatsoever.

Ale did a quiet prompt towards Albireo, the local managing AI, and the answer she got was quick and interesting. The reason why they wouldn't let Miriam Eversoul board the plane was because it was part of the secrets that Alexanders held about the defense system of Aquila.

That is to say, the fact that the defenses weren't what the people assumed. Most assumed that Aquila was defended by a force of Core Users, or a private army.

It was not the case.

Aquila was defended by the use of autonomous weapons and Drake One was one of them, the plane had no wait time because it was unmanned. And while Alexanders didn't have an issue with this fact being exposed to Ale.

Exposing it to Miriam Eversoul was another matter entirely.

"He just sent a message telling me that Drake One could only be used by Saintsworths, and that was why you wouldn't be able to travel with me." Ale said, not telling the full truth, it was not a lie though. Ale was sure that people with the Saintsworths blood probably knew about this.

Probably... Surely... Maybe.

"This is why no one likes the Saintsworths," Miriam Eversoul said grumbling and sighing, "I'll wait for you on the other side then. Just send me the time you are landing... And I will still accompany you for take off, so also tell me what time you are leaving."

That was... acceptable.

"Okay," Ale said nodding and sending a confirmation command to the local AI, since it was going to be automated, Ale assumed that it would be Albireo the one piloting the plane.

"Morbin!" At least till the voice of a little girl came blaring into her ears and made her jump.

"Something the matter?" Miriam Eversoul asked while looking at Ale confused.

"Nothing, the confirmation came in. The plane is leaving tomorrow morning." Ale said nursing the left ear, for some reason the scream only came from that side. "I'll go and pack up a week of clothes then, can you help me with Alexa's clothing and toys? Do leave a few plushies where she can grab them."

"I know," Miriam Eversoul nodded with a smile, "I know how little girls get with their travel companions. Do call me if you need help with anything, and don't forget to pack toiletries in one of these!"

Miriam Eversoul put on the table a backpack that matched Ale's overal theme for clothing and a small purse. Probably a special one designed to house the toiletries, not that Ale would ever forget doing that.

While grimacing from the damaged ear channel Ale picked up the backpack and walked to her room. As soon as she walked in she found a little girl with red hair and eyes that almost seemed to blaze with glee and probably the same kind of energy that Alexa had on her eyes almost all the time.

"And you are..." Ale said, looking at the little girl, she could faintly perceive the irregularities on the figure; her feet were two centimeters into the floor, but there didn't seem to be any damage to the floor.

Her clothes were also weird, the buttons didn't seem to be sewn into the blouse, the shorts weren't buttoned, but they still looked as if they were a single piece.

Her hair had weird loops and for some reason she had only three fingers on the left hand and seven on the right hand. It was as if a very lazy person had imagined how a normal person looked.

"Albireo?" Ale asked confused, the voice sounded different after all.

"Aneki? Of course not, Aneki is the one in charge of this place!" The little girl said shaking her head side from side. "You are using one of Master's autonomous vehicles, so that means you are mine!"

That... did not explain a single thing.

"So who are you then?" Ale asked, "You are transmitting data to me, so I assume you are one of the local AI, then? But you seem smarter than the average ones I have seen around."

Aquila was filled with smaller less smart AI's all over the place after all.

"Listen and be impressed, for this one is..." The little girl said as she made a pose that only worked to have her figure distort even further, now part of her shorts had shifted into a skirt... for some reason, "The great and mighty.... Iskander!"

"That still explains nothing," Ale said, sending a query to the same channel from where she was receiving the transmission, which included the basic premise needed to calibrate the fidelity of the image and fix the issues with the hands and clothes.

"Thank you!" The little girl quickly said and before Ale could say anything she executed the file.

"...That was stupid." Ale said as the image of the little girl shifted and stabilized into a more visually normal image, "You didn't even run a check on the file?"

"Why would I?" The little girl asked confused, "You are Master's sister, right? That means you are important like Mistress!"

Mistress? The purple woman?

"So like I said, I am Iskander. I deal with all the things that go boom and move by themselves." The little girl spoke yet again, as if she had explained something before, which she hadn't.

"Right... So you control all the vehicles?" Ale asked, nursing a headache that wanted to come to the forefront of her mind, "And since the plane is an autonomous vehicle, it means you control it?"

"Yes!" The little girl said nodding enthusiastically, "Exactly! If it must be moved I control it!"

"Alexanders didn't say anything about a little girl controlling it though." Ale pointed at the first thing she was having a hard time understanding, she couldn't imagine any reason why that was the case.

"Master still doesn't know how far ahead we are!" The little girl smiled and laughed as she said that, "We are a surprise to him! Mistress said that he would enjoy it more this way!"

"Then why are you in front of me then?" Ale asked confused, "If you are a surprise then shouldn't you remain hidden?"

And perhaps, not cause Ale a headache? She didn't mind Alexa since she was her sister, but she had no motivation to deal with another hyperactive little girl like this one.

Also, she said autonomous weapons and vehicles did she not? Meaning she had access to any type of weaponry that could move without human assistance.

... How many of those were around?

"Because you aren't Master of course." This had to come from a copy of Alexa behaviour, there was no other reason why it would do something so dangerous like this, "Also Mistress asked us to speak with more people to develop our consciousness strands into Consciousness Streams."

That, that by itself was enough for Ale to make a full stop and rewind the memory of what had just happened.

"I beg your finest.... pardon?" Ale asked unsure if she had heard well, even after rewinding the memory several times.

"Mistress asked us to interact with as many people as we could, you were among the examples of people that we could interface with so long it was a reasonable development for us to speak with you." Iskander said nodding sagely, her hair was messing into weird different hairstyles with each nod, so Ale sent her another file to fix that. "Thank you! See! Mistress was right! I have advanced so much in so little time!"

Ale... Was Ale being used to advance this weird-ass program?

"Right... Say... how many weapons and vehicles do you control?" Ale asked while moving to pack up her clothes for the week, she didn't knew why she had asked to be honest.

"The fighter jets... the intercontinental planes... the tanks... the submarines... the torpedos... the ICBMs... That couple shuttles... The Mechas..." Iskander spoke raising a finger with each phrase, with each one her hand had an extra finger. Ale couldn't help but feel the headache come back.

"Mechas?" Ale asked, intrigued, "As in gigantic robots that aren't really very practical in a war environment?"

"They are useful! They raise morale and lower enemy morale!" Iskander said defending the stupidity of having a gigantic humanoid robot, "Also Master loves the genre."

OF COURSE THAT WAS THE MAIN ISSUE HERE!

Ale couldn't help but sigh yet again, so many issues. So many problems...