Vlad looked at the jet, although, ‘jet’ may have been a misnomer, that had just been elevated in what was in effect, his front yard. Its design came from one of his visions of the future. It was built and powered by a technology that even after several decades of study he didn’t fully grasp. The Nano Cells themselves were something that took him more than thirty years to create even with the blueprints and assembly instructions having been memorized. It took a gymnasium sized area of script circles and the draining of several artifacts of power just to compress the materials listed into a single blood cell sized brick.

Fortunately, after the initial brick, they became self-replicating, using materials around them to break down and repurpose. Their use was only limited by the imagination. It was through them that the majority of V Industries’ ‘innovations’ came into being. Vlad was able to advance the planet’s technology by several generations in just a few years. He did hold a great many of the more advanced bits of technology back, mostly for himself and his trusted people.

Simple things such as cell phones, internet and ‘green’ technologies were the things he shared with humanity. Vlad even shared some of the more advanced tech when it benefited humanity. Unlimited, renewable energy, soil that was fertile year-round, environmental conversion technologies and medical equipment and techniques that could save lives that would otherwise be lost. All given for free to create a near utopia for what was essentially his livestock.

Vlad only held back things that could be considered a threat. Things like this aircraft were reserved for him and his trusted circle. It was shaped like a swallow, with wings that looked too small for it to attain any form of lift. Its propulsion was another bit of science Vlad hadn’t fully understood. He simply fed the Nano Cells the information and they built and powered it. It seemed to pulse with energy, alternating between large, powerful pulses for maneuvering and quick steady pulses for speed in a particular direction.

It was made from a material created by the tiny bricks. It looked and felt like a light gray, almost white metal but when the aircraft was powered it camouflaged itself changing its colors to match its surroundings. It used external cameras that could view its environment in three hundred and sixty degrees. It was a marvel that was capable of intercontinental travel at speeds that weaker humans wouldn’t be able to survive. He and Stefan did not have that issue and its aerial grace would see them to their destination with haste.

A second, smaller thrumming had begun after Vlad had ended his communication with Adelina. Once this one thumped to a stop Vlad was presented with another awkward image of his Right Hand, Stefan. This time he was holding a nine-foot metal cube with no top and multiple straps adhered to many rings affixed to its sides. He was pulling the straps taut and attempting to balance it across his back as he trudged carefully toward the rear of the aircraft, each step threatened to spill some of the many weapons that filled the cube. Vlad was flabbergasted.

“Stefan, why are not just dragging it?” Vlad asked, his voice lacquered with impatience.

“It is quite heavy Master. I did not want to scuff the floors or damage the exposed yard.” Stefan said as he stepped off the reinforced elevator platform onto the grass, his foot immediately sank into the dirt up to his knee. He struggled wildly to maintain balance of enormous weapons laden box, and barely succeeded.

“Just drag the accursed thing! We can replace the grass but not the time it takes away from us to get to saving humanity!” Vlad yelled as he swiftly strode to the side of the aircraft’s nose, he removed a gauntlet and leaped upon the aircraft. He pressed his now exposed palm into a panel that had enough give to depress into a perfect mold of his hand. A light behind the panel passed from the bottom of his palm to the tips of his fingers and back.

The perfectly smooth top of the aircraft split open to reveal a sizable cockpit. Vlad was reminded how large the aircraft was. It was seventy feet long, eighty feet wide and twenty feet tall. Its shape and size didn’t seem to stop it from being the fastest most maneuverable aircraft in the sky and that is all Vlad really needed it for.

Stefan freed himself of the grasp the ground had on him, set the box down and dragged it to the cargo hold, which Vlad opened with a slide of his hand on a projected screen. Vlad engaged the Nano Cell batteries and let energy flood the propulsion system. It came to life with a mouse-quiet hum, quieter than even the electric cars his company produced. The loudest sound came from Stefan as he dragged the weapons crate into the hold and secured it. Vlad closed the hold behind Stefan and entered the coordinates of their destination, setting it for maximum speed once at altitude.

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The aircraft ascended more smoothly than any elevator and made little noise in the process. Once at altitude the propulsion system pulsed once very powerfully, making a noise like the cry of a whale, followed by smaller pulses that grew in rapidity over a few seconds. It wouldn’t be heard by anyone outside of the aircraft, as they were in the upper atmosphere.

Trusting the craft to get them to their destination, Vlad turned and looked at Stefan and the massive collection of weapons he stuffed into the metal crate. Stefan’s normal tuxedo and designer sunglasses were replaced with tactical armor made from a polymer the Nano Cells created. The armor was black and didn’t reflect light, it was strong enough to stop most projectile based arms but if the round was large enough, the force it carried would still be dangerous. It seemed unnecessary, considering they would be fighting mindless undead.

“You don’t believe you’ll get to use all of those, do you?”

“One can never be too prepared Master.” Stefan said, looking resolved. “You taught me that and it was a lesson I took to heart. It has served me well over the centuries.”

“While that’s true, one must also consider constraints they cannot shuck, such as time and the need for mobility. Pick only enough you can carry and remain mobile. We’ll have many more battles, perhaps you’ll get to try them all before the world is free of zombies. The autopilot said we would arrive within an hour, be ready. I must contact Natalie. Our plans have been altered.”

Vlad turned back to the cockpit, sat, and used the communication interface to call Natalie on her emergency line.

“Greetings to my Master.” Natalie answered.

“Natalie, what is your current situation?” Vlad asked.

“New York City is faring better than I would have thought. The mayor used the emergency alert system to direct people to our shelters and some of the more reinforced locations around the city. Most reports of danger are coming from the subway. I have teams sweeping it and other large, enclosed areas. My concern is for more rural areas. We have an enormous amount of, yet still limited resources.”

“Indeed, which is why my plans for you have changed. I need you to mobilize all our air transport and contact Adelina Zamfir, get the locations of all of the mutt’s enclaves and start distributing them to high impact areas. Use my personal link to coordinate with leadership and to find the most affected cities. Also, try not to kill them, Adelina and I have made a temporary pact. Stefan and I should be able to handle Temuco slightly faster than anticipated, thanks to Stefan’s enthusiasm.” Vlad said as he watched his Right Hand trying to attach a cumbersome looking metal rectangle to the back of his armor.

“Understood. My team in Colorado is already near one of our airfields. How many of the creatures do you believe I will be collecting?” Natalie asked, not hiding her disgust for the lycanthropes in any way.

Vlad paused for a moment to think. He hadn’t attempted to cull the werewolves’ growth since after their last confrontation in the sixteen hundreds. Only Adelina and a few of the enclave elders were still alive from that era and were smart enough to stave off any form of rapid growth due to their fear of Natalie, if nothing else. If the elders had grown confident though, there could be a great many more of the savages than Vlad had initially thought.

“I’m not entirely sure how many to expect, to be honest. I haven’t really given them much thought since they haven’t posed any danger for so long. Just take all the transports from the Colorado airfield. That should be sufficient to move several thousand of them. If there are more, get the locations of the enclaves to some of our European teams and have them take some of the less sophisticated aircraft.”

“It will be done, Master.”

“Thank you, Natalie. Once you let the dogs out, you have my permission to engage wherever you see fit.”

“Thank you, Master!” Natalie said, the excitement in her voice for combat outweighed her disdain for the pack.

“No thanks necessary Natalie, I expect your power on the field to expedite our victory. I will leave you to it.” Vlad said as he ended the call and watched Stefan trying to fit more weapons than would be necessary into slots on his armor.

“Stefan, do not make me limit you to an acceptable….” Vlad cut himself off as a screen that had a similar appearance to one of his holographic projectors appeared in the air, directly in his view. It looked almost substantial, with its black background, white lettering and golden border. Its message ominous.

RULE System integration aborted due to Global Bio-Curse Event.

Resolve Global Bio-Curse Event with extreme haste to reestablish RULE System integration.

Time remaining: 29 days, 23 hours, 59 minutes, 56 seconds.