~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For 40 advanced chapters, visit my Patreon:
Patreon - Twilight_scribe1
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Forget it. Pretend I never asked."
Alexei gave up immediately. Scientific and technical discussions simply weren't his specialty.
"By the way, you said you had something else you wanted to ask me. What is it?"
Henry whistled.
A spy drone emerged from optical camouflage.
Compared to Little Duck's boxy shape, the black, streamlined machine was several sizes smaller and far sleeker.
"This is an upgraded autonomous version based on your usage feedback," Henry explained. "Codename: Sparrow. I wanted to get your professional opinion and see if there are any flaws that need improvement."
"Do I have access permissions?" Alexei asked immediately, already familiar with operating Little Duck.
"Yes. Through Little Duck, you can obtain temporary Level One authorization. The basic controls are similar, though the functions are different, so the menus aren't exactly the same."
Because of Alexei's particular requirements, the retinal projection system had been integrated directly into a pair of contact lenses, eliminating the need for additional equipment.
With a simple rub of his thumb against his ring finger, a control interface appeared in his field of vision.
After nearly half a year of use, Alexei had practically explored every function Little Duck possessed.
He immediately began reviewing Sparrow's capabilities.
The first thing that caught his attention was the weapons menu.
"There's only one weapon system," he said. "And ammunition count is listed as one. Please tell me it's not what I think it is."
Henry rolled his eyes.
"It's a spy drone, not an assassination platform. Why would it need a whole arsenal? If it's discovered and can't escape, it self-destructs. That's enough."
"You really do love self-destruct mechanisms."
Alexei looked concerned.
"Have you ever considered seeing a psychiatrist? Maybe explore your mental state a little?"
"I just don't want my technology falling into someone else's hands and being used against me."
---
"Fair enough."
Alexei continued scrolling through the menus.
"I see the holographic imaging functions are listed as partially locked. You're not letting me use that technology?"
"Not exactly. The full functionality requires three units operating simultaneously."
Henry paused.
"Actually, forget it. I'll unlock it so you can see."
At a high-frequency command from Henry, a second and third Sparrow emerged.
On Alexei's display, Little Duck's status changed from being linked to a single subordinate unit to being connected to three.
At the same time, the environmental modeling scanner began updating at astonishing speed.
The progress bar completed almost instantly.
Previously, with only Little Duck available, the same process took time and covered a relatively limited area. Environmental changes were also detected less efficiently.
Now, with the Sparrow drones assisting, the system could generate models nearly in real time.
There were even playback functions, personnel identification systems, and additional analysis tools.
Alexei stared at the features in amazement.
His battlefield instincts were beyond question.
However, searching for specific targets and conducting reconnaissance had never been his greatest strengths.
Although he didn't believe an almost godlike surveillance capability was especially important—and worried that overreliance on it might eventually dull his instincts—he could still appreciate its value.
Less capable operatives might treasure such functionality.
For Alexei, however, the most important factor remained reconnaissance speed before combat.
Not trying to monitor surveillance feeds while simultaneously fighting and maneuvering in the real world.
The faster an auxiliary system could gather information, the sooner he could act.
And the more sudden his attack would seem to the enemy.
During the past six months, without Little Duck's support, Alexei couldn't even count how many difficult situations he might have fallen into.
Sometimes he even used Little Duck's offensive capabilities as a diversion, creating openings for his own attacks.
It was one of the reasons he could operate alone while giving opponents the illusion that an entire army was bearing down on them.
Having grown accustomed to fighting alongside Little Duck, Alexei immediately began imagining additional uses for Sparrow.
He didn't keep his ideas to himself.
Instead, he openly discussed them with Henry.
---
Henry was more than happy to exchange ideas.
"Because Sparrow's manipulator arms use specialized suction pads, it can adhere to virtually any surface," Henry explained.
"That allows it to conserve power while stationary. Its primary purpose is surveillance of specific targets, so extensive movement isn't usually necessary."
Alexei nodded before suddenly asking,
"I'm curious. You don't usually do things without a reason. So who exactly are you building Sparrow to deal with?"
Henry hesitated.
"A bunch of brats."
He then gave Alexei a summary of the recent incidents involving the troublesome children.
"I don't know who's hiding behind them," Henry concluded. "So I need to dig those people out and make preparations."
Alexei looked baffled.
"If you ask me, just grab one of them and beat him up. He'll tell you everything. No need to make things so complicated. A kid that age hasn't been trained to resist interrogation."
"Buddy," Henry replied, "the oldest of them is maybe ten years old. Are you sure beating him up is a good idea? What if you hit him so hard he stops growing?"
"Honestly, spying on a child like this isn't exactly more ethical than punching him."
Alexei shrugged.
"If someone really is pulling the strings behind those kids, they can't be communicating through methods that are too complicated. Asking questions would reveal the truth a lot faster than waiting around."
"I don't mind wasting time," Henry said.
"What worries me is collateral damage.
"Besides, children are masters at holding grudges and making things up. By the time we're done, forget verifying information—it might be impossible to get the kid to tell the same story twice."
"Fine. You're wasting your time, not mine."
Then Alexei immediately grinned.
"So... can I have a set of these Sparrows? Or maybe upgrade Little Duck? I'd even trade Little Duck for them."
"You're unbelievably quick to abandon old favorites."
Even so, Henry transferred control authorization.
After all, having someone actively field-test the drones was exactly what he wanted.
Sparrow's development had been heavily influenced by Alexei's feedback from months of using Little Duck.
As for his own units?
He could always build another set.
In fact, some of Alexei's suggestions had already given him ideas for further improvements.
---
"Oh, right."
Alexei looked up.
"Can I rename them? Calling them Sparrow One and Sparrow Two is boring."
"Go ahead."
"Including Little Duck?"
"No."
Henry shook his head.
"You can't change Little Duck's ID. That's tied into the architecture of my entire system.
"The Sparrows can still be renamed because they haven't been fully integrated into the wider network yet."
"Too bad."
Alexei sounded disappointed.
Then he casually asked,
"So when are you finally going to build my combat suit? I've had that reservation for ages."
Henry sighed.
"You still haven't given up on that?"
"Do you currently have any enemies that actually require equipment on that level?"
"That's not the point."
Alexei looked completely serious.
"The issue isn't whether I need it right now.
"If I have better equipment, I can operate on a completely different level."
He spread his hands.
"Give me a suit tomorrow, and the day after that I can stroll into NATO Headquarters and have a nice heart-to-heart conversation with the commander."
"Exactly."
Henry pointed at him.
"And that's why I absolutely cannot give you a combat suit."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
🎉 Power Stone Goal Announcement! 🎉
I'll release one bonus chapter for every 500 Power Stones we hit!"
Let me know what should I do
Your support means everything—let's crush these goals together! Keep voting, and let the stones pile up! 🚀
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~