Chapter 69: Chapter 68: Kristina 2.0

“You really think these are going to work, sir? They seem a little . . . small?”

Alex chuckled a little as he placed one of Vitale’s sensors on the upper rim near the mining biosphere. Lt. Rob Decklan was the one helping him while they were guarded by the rest of his squad.

“They might be small but the important part is that they work,” replied Alex. “And I’ve seen Vitale demonstrate it enough times to know they work.”

“So you’re saying that if I jump on this thing a few times, it will give us an early warning to an approaching bear?”

“That’s the idea,” replied Alex. “And what makes it better for us is the geography of the rim. There are five channels that the bears can come down into the bowl which is why we have five sensors. We place a sensor in each channel and now we have our warning system. This is going to give us as many as five seconds back that we didn’t have before. That’s more than enough time to kill those bastards.”

“Or we could just have you out here full-time,” joked Rob. “You seem to have no problem getting the job done.”

Alex elbowed him in the ribs. “I like to sleep too, Lieutenant. And it’s about time someone else got on the scoreboard for once.”

Rob chuckled at that and they were soon moving on to place the rest of the sensors. By the time all five had been placed, it was time for Rob’s squad to head back to the city. They were being replaced by Rick’s squad which was presently filled with some new recruits that had just enlisted.

One of those new recruits was Jenna.

There was a lump in his throat as he looked at her for the first time in two days. It was pretty different to see Jenna in her newly-issued VDF fatigues, especially when the last time he’d seen her, she was wearing the sexiest lingerie known to man.

He’d made no attempt to contact her in the two days since the truth came out but looking at her now made him realize just how much he missed her.

Once inside the biosphere, Rick presented his squad for Alex’s inspection.

“Okay, I want everyone to listen closely,” said Alex, addressing the whole group. “I realize many of you are new to the VDF ranks. For some of you, this might be your first patrol. All I ask of you today is that you remember your training. You were accepted into the VDF for a reason—because of your superior skill set and your willingness to defend your homes. I know none of you will let me down today.”

Alex was very confident in this group because he’d trained most of them. All but one had attended his rifle training classes, and they eagerly enlisted once he gave them the opportunity.

“Now, there’s some new technology up there that’s designed to give you an extra warning if a bear is in the area,” said Alex, taking a few minutes to explain how the technology worked. “If there’s a bear on the upper rim, you’re going to hear the siren down below. The siren that goes off is rigged to align with the sensor that’s closest to it on the rim. In short terms, you see the closest siren going off, you better get ready to shoot because the bear is coming. Any questions on that?”

There were a few predictable questions but the new recruits seemed anxious to test out the warning system. As much as Alex was thankful for having it, he wished they didn’t have to test it out at all.

“All right, get to your positions,” said Alex as he wrapped up. “And good luck out there.”

Most of the new recruits scattered at that point, but for a very brief moment, Alex had a direct line of sight to Jenna. Working purely on instinct, he approached.

“Please be careful out there,” he said to her, surprising her for a moment judging by the look on her face. “I know this is your first patrol but I’d feel bad if I didn’t say anything—”

“I can take care of myself, Alex,” interrupted Jenna as her surprise turned to a frown. “And I especially don’t need you looking out for me.”

Alex winced at the retort. “I know you can. I just don’t want anything to happen to you.”

Jenna scoffed at him and walked away, leaving him feeling entirely defeated. What was even worse was the fact that Rick seemed to have seen the entire thing.

“Give her more time, Alex. She’s just not ready yet.”

“I didn’t think that she would be but shit is real out here, Rick. She could die if there’s an attack.”

Rick put his hand on his shoulder. “She had great training and she’s a smart girl. She’ll be just fine. And I promise to keep an eye on her too.”

“That’s great but who’s going to keep an eye on you?” joked Alex.

“Isn’t that what you’re here for, Commander?” quipped Rick.

“I suppose you’re right,” said Alex. He watched as Jenna slipped outside the mining biosphere with her rifle to take up position near one of the watchtowers. “Just make sure she comes back alive.”

“Don’t worry. I promise you she’ll be just fine.”

*****

Alex’s thoughts were filled with Jenna as his rover made its way back to the city. Even though he trusted her and knew that she would be an excellent soldier, he couldn’t help but think of all the things that could go wrong. The watchtowers were still placed too close to the biosphere to be useful. The sensors hadn’t been successfully tested on bears yet. She also didn’t have the experience of true combat either to know how to keep her head together yet.

But all of those things were now out of his hands. He just had to hope that if shit really did hit the fan, she would remember her training and kick some ass.

At least for now he had a distraction. Vitale had sent him a message on his P-com shortly after getting back to the city and he was on his way to see what was up. At first, Alex suspected it was about the cost of the sensors but when he entered the laboratory a short time later, he found that Vitale wasn’t alone. A lovely woman was sitting on the desk next to him when Alex walked in—a woman who wasn’t Tabby or Tammy.

And as soon as she saw Alex, she bolted off the table and ran into his arms.

“Alex, you’re back! Oh my god, I’ve missed you so, so much!” she yelled, peppering his face with kisses.

Temporarily thunderstruck, Alex looked at the woman and then back at Vitale. “Vitale, what’s going on? Who is this?”

As usual, the mad scientist of Vesta could only grin back at him. “You don’t recognize her? That’s Kristina! Or rather, Kristina 2.0. She’s finally ready for you!”

Alex’s mouth fell open as his eyes fell on Kristina again. Suddenly, it all made sense.

Vitale had recreated his I-Mate.

Kristina elbowed him in the ribs playfully. “You don’t even recognize me? I’m going to give you a serious hard time for this, Alex! You know, some women would consider that grounds for punishment! Or at least sleeping on the couch for a while.”

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Kristina followed that statement with the most adorable giggle, which only served to confuse Alex more.

“She seems so . . . lifelike,” said Alex to Vitale. “With the first version, it was still obvious she was an android but this one seems so much more real.”

Vitale bowed dramatically. “A job well done by yours truly! She’s one of the best I’ve ever made, on par with both Tammy and Tabby. Her physical structure is still that of an I-Mate so her body is built for sexual liaisons but I’ve given her a totally new software upgrade that I call the ‘personality package.’ In effect, there’s very little that would distinguish her from a real human female.”

Kristina looked over at Vitale. “Don’t forget to tell him the upgrades you made to my cerebrum!”

Vitale smacked his forehead. “Ah, yes! Before I forget, Kristina is much more than just a sexual partner for you. She’s also going to be a source of unlimited information. You see, I took the liberty of infusing her with various textbooks, online records, encyclopedias, as well as a healthy dose of popular culture in the form of music, movies, and books. In short, I think you’ll find her an incredibly well-rounded individual that would suit your tastes impeccably.”

“Isn’t that great?” asked Kristina, kissing his cheek again. “We’re going to have so much fun together.”

Alex could still only gawk in wonder. “That’s amazing, Vitale. I had to admit when you told me you could bring her back, I was skeptical. But this seems almost too good to be true.”

“Well, I wouldn’t say that exactly,” replied Vitale. “She’s still an android, so you’re still going to have to plug her in at times, mostly during the overnight hours. I can’t promise that she won’t occasionally say something stupid either. The conversational mapping sometimes goes down some very strange paths to say the least.”

Kristina crossed her arms in front of her perky breasts. “I’m only as good as my creator, Vitale. So any of my faults are also yours. Just keep that in mind.”

“See what I mean?” asked Vitale. “She gets mouthy from time to time.”

After receiving a dark glare from Kristina, Vitale looked at Alex one more time. “So what do you think? Worth the wait?”

“Very much so,” replied Alex. “What do I owe you for her? This had to have cost a small fortune.”

Vitale waved his hand dismissively. “I’m not going to take your money.”

“What? Why?”

“Because I don’t consider it necessary, Alex. You’ve already come into Vesta and made quite the splash. Commander of the VDF. Council member. What’s most important is that it seems like you actually care about turning this place around. Consider this just a favor between friends.”

“That’s one expensive favor though, Vitale. I can’t imagine what it cost to make her.”

“It was negligible, trust me. If you really feel the need to pay me back, then stop the bear attacks. If anyone can do it, I’m sure you’re the man that will. Stop the bear attacks and I’ll consider us even.”

Alex let out a low whistle. “That’s a tall order though. I think we’re closer than we’ve ever been thanks to your sensors but stopping them completely is something different entirely.”

“I know but one step at a time, right?”

Vitale was about to say something else when Tabby poked her head in from the other room.

“I need you, sugarplum. Can you come here for a moment?”

Alex raised an eyebrow. “Sugarplum?”

Vitale managed to turn completely red. “Must be one of those dialogue tree malfunctions. I swear I never programmed that into her—”

Tabby interrupted them. “You let me call you sugarplum all the time. In fact, he quite enjoys it when I call him that.”

“Okay, that’s quite enough, Tabby,” said Vitale, rushing to close the distance between them. “Alex, I’ll have to catch you another time! Hope you enjoy your new friend!”

Just like that, Alex was alone with Kristina. She smiled at him when his eyes settled on her and she wasted no time in taking his hand. “It’s so great to see you again, Alex. I really missed our time on the Racine.”

Alex raised an eyebrow. “You remember everything we did on the Racine?”

She nodded her head. “But of course! Vitale pulled my memories that were uploaded into the servers of Inspiration Technologies. So I very much remember what we did that first night in your cabin. Honestly, it was kind of hot, Alex.”

Alex remembered it as well. The original Kristina had given him head but it wasn’t that satisfying of an experience only because it was still obvious she wasn’t real.

But this Kristina was entirely different. She was like a real person.

Kristina put her finger against his chest. “But this time around, things are going to be different.”

“Different?” asked Alex. “What do you mean by that?”

Kristina started to smile. “I just mean if you expect me to give you head, you’re going to have to buy me dinner first, mister.”

Alex could barely hold in the laugh. “You’re a lot more adorable like this, Kristina. I’m already liking Kristina 2.0.”

She winked at him. “So what you’re saying is that we should get a move on with getting that dinner?”

Alex let out a long sigh. “I suppose so. You’re probably the only woman I can mess around with these days that won’t get me in trouble. So sure, let’s go get something to eat. Just as long as you don’t call me sugarplum.”

Kristina giggled. “I’ll remove that term from my speech processes. You should see what else she calls him. Some pretty risque stuff.”

Alex groaned. “I don’t even want to know.”

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