Clone Girls

After Chloe showed the experiments to Ticia, things continued to be awkward between her and Chloe. 

While both of them were next to each other all the way back to the elevator and even after, neither spoke up. Ticia was not in the mood to speak while Chloe continued to spread an aura that made it quite difficult to talk to her. 

Only one person seemed unaffected by the current mood though, and that was Rebot-ia. 

While at first she seemed quite shocked by the discoveries, she recovered quickly enough. She declared that the actors of those acts must be punished if encountered, but that it was otherwise none of her business and would rather focus on finding her father and Emily and keep acting as Ticia’s assistant AI. 

Immediately after declaring that though, she began talking with Chloe, who still had the helmet from one of the ECGs, about the past. She also engaged into small insignificant and silly talks as usual and even invited Ticia to join in and tell her own stories.

Despite the AI’s wish however, Ticia was in no mood to talk right now and wanted to concentrate on her own thoughts, so after excusing herself, she muted the communication link with Chloe until they reached the elevator. On their way back, Chloe stared at her from time to time, as if wanting to say something, but stayed quiet in the end.

They stayed like that until they reached the central elevator once again, upon which they met up with Laura, who was in the process of vomiting whatever she had in her stomach.

Ticia immediately understood that Laura had also met the experiments and in a rather brutal way at that. When their line of sight met one another, both could tell they felt similar despite Ticia still having her helmet.

A quick report revealed that the whole 75th floor had been void of anything they wanted, after which Chloe then promptly decided they should continue on and explore as many floors as possible. Her decision met no opposition and the clones under her command all nodded while Ticia and Laura did not comment.

Chloe’s methods of exploration revealed themselves to be extremely time-effective. Where Ticia and her group would have taken hours just to explore one floor, the expeditionary force explored two to three floors in the same amount of time. Thanks to this, the group had already cleared six floors and just finished a seventh. Unfortunately, apart from some clones stuck in cryogenic pods here and there which were immediately unfrozen, none of these floors revealed what they were searching for. The lack of sentries even made Chloe suspicious something was up…

As the elevator began to make its way down to the next floor, Rebot-ia casually asked Chloe about the commanding skills she had developed, to which the woman simply answered that she had developed such skills as years passed and she gained seniority. She told the AI some of her own experiences and the names of comrades she learned from. Those details gained the curiosity of not only Ticia and Laura, but also from the ECGs themselves this time.

Contrary to the army system employed by the clone supremacists which relied on predetermined ranks for clones with no promotion possible and a complete obedience to humans, the clone rebellion’s army apparently based itself on seniority and experience. This helped the organization and overall skill of the army, but Laura was quick to point out some problems with such an organization.

“While it’s good, young soldiers who may have talent in a domain could die on the battlefield.”

“Before they get to command anyone, they should experience the battlefield themselves.” Chloe retorted, but Laura only shrugged.

“Well yeah, I guess, but other alternatives also exist you know? Besides, some people have talents not specifically related to the battlefield or commanding, but still essential. Think of the hackers for example, or the medics. Promotions for them shouldn't be battle oriented, right?”

“...” Chloe remained quiet.

“What about you Ticia?”

“Eh? Me?” Ticia was surprised when Laura called out to her, not expecting to have to join this conversation. 

“What do you think about the chain of command of an army? Should promotions be based on experience alone, whether a person shows skills in a certain domain or passes an exam?” Laura precised.

“I…” Ticia did not know how to answer as not only Laura, but even Chloe stared back at her, waiting for her answer. These kinds of things never even passed through Ticia’s mind before…

What should I say? I would always let Rika answer these complicated questions…

“Allow me to answer.” Bronz suddenly interjected, gaining the attention of her mother, Laura and Chloe. 

“While both are indeed valid methods, OUR family believes not all should be based on them alone. The art of war is not something set in stones and can change unpredictably. As such adaptation is a key element. Yes, officers need to have some experience of the battlefield before leading troops, and yes, some people should also be kept to the side in order to nurture their own range of skills. But nothing should be absolutely rigid. Officers should continuously hone their skills through participating in interbranches learning courses and joint discussions around possible scenarios and share their point of views in order to learn from one another, while soldiers should be invited to take initiative when necessary and learn whatever could be of importance to improve their ability to achieve their objectives. Other factors should also be counted, like simulations’ results, sense of comradeship and coordination inside the group, and many others.”

“Mh, I agree. A lot of what you’ve said made sense. Some are even used in our army on a global scale. Our Empress would love to reform the army more in this direction, but there’s a huge opposition from the nobles.” Laura nodded, seemingly satisfied, before letting out a grunt of frustration as she thought of the political side. Chloe meanwhile also nodded but remained silent, her gaze remaining on Ticia.

Laura then continued to engage with Bronz about military structure while Ticia watched in silence.

She should have felt proud of what her daughter just said, but instead, she felt ashamed…

I wasn’t able to answer… Were her thoughts. While the subject seemed nothing much to Ticia before as she never bothered with such things, it now became important…

My daughters are organizing themselves with me as their leader. They’re learning military organization from Rika. I know that Licia, Ria and Bronz are doing some secret reunions between themselves and discussing similar subjects. Rika praised such things while I on the other hand could not comment. The only thing I’m doing is worrying about my daughters when I shouldn’t, and look where it led us… Instead of worrying about their safety by restricting their movements, I should learn from them.

As Ticia tightened her fists with mixed feelings in her mind, she finally noticed Chloe staring at her. The latter immediately looked away once their gazes met. This only made Ticia sigh.

Really, what's wrong with her? She’s been like this for a while now…

If it were any random strangers, Ticia might have ignored it, but for some reason, she could not help but pay attention to Chloe’s actions. It was a weird feeling she had a hard time to explain as she didn’t feel bothered by the stares, but rather, she felt awkward…

I don’t feel any hostility coming from her, and I don’t think she has anything planned…

It was when such thoughts crossed her mind that something finally changed. As the doors to the 82nd slowly opened, Ticia suddenly felt a murderous aura directed towards her.

““!?!””

Before Ticia or even the ECGs surrounding her could even react, Chloe pushed Ticia down behind a metal crate. Not soon after, a laser beam passed above their heads, followed by multiple ones.

“Agh-!”

“Ambush!”

“Take cover! Fire back!”

The clones despite the suddenness of the attack quickly went into action. Some of them got hit but most of them were quick on their feet and took cover before firing back. Laura and her robots did the same.

“H-hey! What are you doing!?” Ticia said in a surprised tone. She tried to get herself away from Chloe’s grip, but found herself unable to do so.

Unphased by the struggling Ticia under her, Chloe raised her voice while analyzing the situation, pistol in hand.

“Report! How many enemies?” She asked. Multiple voices were heard in return over the noise of gunfire.

“Enemy fire coming from a makeshift barricade straight ahead! Estimated number of enemies is around twenty!”

“Reporting! Some fire is also coming from the sides!”

“Take care of the barricade first!” Chloe swiftly declared before beginning to shoot the enemy with her pistol while still keeping Ticia down.

““Understood!””

The sound of gunfire intensified after the reply from the clones.

Ugh. What’s up with that strength? I can’t get out of her grip! Ticia complained, still struggling under Chloe. She could only see the ground right now but she understood the situation.

Is she covering me like I’m some sort of target to protect? Why is she even doing that?! I can protect myself! Rather, I want to join in!

“Sisters! We’ll take the flanks!”

““Yes!””

Ticia suddenly heard Bronz yell, followed by the shouts of her daughters.

W-wait, you girls are charging in without me!? A-aren’t you girls gonna help your mommy?

Of course Ticia already knew the answer to that question. It was obvious that the ECGs, always so worried about their mother going head first into battle, would prefer to have her somewhere safe and away from danger. What Chloe was currently doing did not bother the ECGs in any way. In fact, Ticia had a feeling they were rather grateful for it.

On another note, Ticia was a bit worried for her daughters. She wanted to join in and struggled a bit more strongly, but her attempts were futile. Chloe did not let go, which made Ticia grow more and more restless.

After a short while, the surrounding noise calmed down. The small squirmish ended and Chloe finally released her grip on Ticia.

“What the fuck was this all about!?” Ticia immediately glared at the woman.

“...Reflex.” Was the only cryptic answer she got.

“What does that eve-” Ticia was about to continue her words, but realized it was not the time to do so. She released a sigh of frustration.  “Urgh, you know what? Forget it.”

Chloe stared at her for a few seconds before turning towards a clone that was approaching them.

“Status report.”

“Yes.” The clone saluted. “Our total losses account to twentyseven. Eight are dead and four are critically injured and in need of immediate treatment. The rest are unable to continue due to their injuries. Some sustained light injuries but those are not important enough to call them back from the mission.”

“Lost five robots in this ambush. Nothing important overwise.” Laura added as she joined up.

“Some light injuries from two of us, but nothing grave.” Bronz said. This caused Ticia to look at her daughters, but to her relief, they were all fine. Only black spots were visible on the armors of some, revealing that the armor did its job as intended. 

Chloe nodded as she received the reports.

“Anything else to report?” She asked.

“Yes. One of the enemy clones was a reg, middle class. He led the others.”

“That explains the barricade.” Chloe said back to the clone, crossing her arms. “Did you capture him?”

“Yes, but he committed suicide immediately after…” The clone said bitterly, either upset about this failure or just sad at the clone’s suicide. Ticia did not know which one it was.

Chloe remained silent for a few seconds before answering.

“...Thanks for the hard work. We’ll take 15 minutes to rest and take care of the wounded before moving.”

“Understood.” The clone saluted before going somewhere else, leaving Ticia, Chloe, Laura and Bronz alone.

“We need to take a more cautious approach from now on…” Laura mumbled out loud to no one in particular.

“Yes.” Chloe nodded, her current expression was hidden by the helmet. “The fact that a clone was leading those things means that there are still some ‘humans’ around…”

“Half blood perhaps?” Laura asked, but Chloe shook her head.

“No. Those people would never have let half bloods get command over clones. It’s definitely a scientist. Those guys wouldn’t just abandon all their research afterall…”

“This sounds problematic…” Laura could not help but say. Ticia agreed.

“That aside. If there’s someone you want to ‘bodyguard’, do it on Laura.” Ticia said, now releasing a bit of her anger towards Chloe, who remained silent.

“But I have my robots for that?” Laura said while tilting her head. Her comment was ignored by Ticia.

“I know how to deal with situations like these. I’m not a rookie, got it?” She said with a dead serious look, staring straight into Chloe’s eyes.

“...” Chloe remained quiet, but after a few seconds, she nodded slowly. Ticia then sighed, broke eye contact and made some distance between her and Chloe. She sat on one of the small metallic crates, sighing again and releasing some pent up stress. Laura followed after her.

“Uhm, I don’t get why you’re so angry?” Laura could not help but say.  “It’s not like what she did was anything bad, and your daughters did not seem to mind either.”

Ticia rolled her eyes.

That’s because for them my security is a priority. The less I’m exposed to the frontlines, the better for them.

Still, she knew Chloe meant nothing bad with what she did. In fact, it could be said to be something positive since she was willing to protect Ticia even though the two of them only knew each other for less than a day. Sure, Ticia found the attention she received from the clone a bit weird, but it’s not like she had anything to say either about it since she also had a strange interest for the woman. She could not deny that she was overreacting a bit either, hence why she took some distance to calm herself a bit.

“In any case. She might be a bit rude on the edges, but I’m glad to have that person and the other clones on our side. They make things a lot easier for us.” Laura added, sitting right next to Ticia as if it was the most obvious thing to do. Ticia simply nodded, lost in her own thoughts. She didn’t even notice that Laura sat closer to her, so much so that she would normally be within what Ticia would consider her personal space. It did not go unnoticed by the ECGs however and some of them, Bronz in particular, raised their eyebrows.

They remained there in silence for the remaining time, Ticia organized her own thoughts while glancing at her daughters, some of whom were discussing with Chloe. Laura was humming a song, seemingly in a good mood. Fana brought up the time after a while, which made Ticia nod before standing up and going to Chloe. Laura followed soon after.

Aside from the ECGs that surrounded Chloe there were also other clones, who were most probably in charge of teams. Their discussion seemed to come to an end, and as soon as Chloe spotted Ticia, she spoke up to the rest.

“Select a few to remain behind and escort the wounded back to the base while the rest of us proceed with the exploration of this floor. Once up there, report the situation and ask to recruit some more manpower. If needed, don’t hesitate to strongly emphasize the fact that one of those scientists, if not an entire batch of them, might still be down there. We should grow our forces up to five hundred at least. I want more if possible, so try to convince the others up there.”

“Yes.” The clone to whom she addressed those words saluted.

“Good. Dismiss.” Chloe declared, and the clones all separated. Chloe then addressed Ticia.

“We’ll be going soon. Don’t stray too far from me.”

“Don’t try to chaperone me.” Ticia replied back, a bit displeased. “For all I know, I’m not your subordinate, nor a kid you have any responsibility for. I’m a grown adult. I make my own decisions for myself and my daughters.”

“...I might as well be your guardian right now...”

“What was that?” Ticia asked after she heard Chloe mumble something she did not quite grasp herself, but the woman just stayed silent, turning over to join some clones who were preparing themselves. Laura herself had also gone her own way unbeknownst to Ticia, leaving her with only Bronz and Fana around…

“And she fled again…” Rebot-ia suddenly commented, sighing. “Owner. Let me apologize in her stead.”

“Apologize for what exactly, Rebot-ia?” Ticia asked, clearly fed up. “The fact that she’s been acting rude or the fact that she considers me a kid?”

“Both, I guess?” Rebot-ia replied with a short wry laugh, before turning serious. “Owner, please don’t misunderstand Chloe…”

“Don’t worry, I’m not.” Ticia reassured, but she still grinded her teeth. “I just don’t like the fact that she’s treating me like a rookie.” 

“I think you pretty much are like a kid to Chloe…”

“Why?” Ticia raised her eyebrow. “Rebot-ia, I’m fucking twenty years old. I've been in the military for more than six years now.”

“Well yeah, but you’re acting like a teenager earning for some recognition right now…”

“Eh?” Ticia’s mind short circuited for a bit at Rebot-ia’s remark. The AI did not wait for her to reboot to explain why she said those words.

“I’ve seen my own good share of people throughout the years, Owner. I know what I’m talking about. You’ve been glancing towards her at every occasion you have as if expecting something.”

“...”

“Right now, you want to prove to her that you can defeat a group of enemies by yourself, and that you can stand by your own, right? You want recognition from her. That’s exactly how a teenager would feel.”

Ticia found herself unable to deny the arguments of the AI. She knew Rebot-ia was right.

The yearn to have your skills be recognized by someone… It was a feeling she had not felt in a long while and was not expecting to feel again. She felt weird as a result. 

Why the heck would I feel that way towards her? Did she leave that much of a good impression on me? Why am I expecting more… Ticia asked herself, clearly bewildered, but unfortunately no one could answer her. She began to stare unknowingly at Chloe’s back once again…

As Ticia was launched into another spiral of her own thoughts, the group began advancing towards the only hallway that presented itself in front of them. Rebot-ia continued to talk to Ticia with a worried look as Ticia followed the group, ECGs on her toes.

“I can also tell that you’ve been itching for some action to relieve yourself from your frustrations. I completely understand, this is a normal reaction, but…”

“Yeah, it could become dangerous…” Ticia nodded in agreement.

“I’m glad you understand.” The AI seemed relieved with this, and a small awkward silence reigned between the two of them for a while. Ticia broke it though, addressing the AI with a serious look.

“Rebot-ia, you know something, don’t you?”

“I do.” Rebot-ia replied, mirroring the serious look on her emoji face. Neither of them needed to clarify exactly what they were talking about, as it was very obvious to the two of them.

“As you probably already guessed, Chloe’s current behavior towards you has something to do with Emily and my previous owner, Claudia Willbix...To be exact, we think you have some parentry link with one of them…” The AI finally revealed.

“Figures…” Ticia sighed, feeling some frustration finally leave her. She gave her honest opinion to Rebot-ia.  “I don’t think that’s possible Rebot-ia.”

“I’m not saying this is the case either, Owner.” The AI replied. “While this is the conclusion we arrived at due to your relative similarity in personality and physic to those two, there are some consequent pieces of information that contradicts this guess. For one, Emily is down there and from what Chloe told me, she never came out, nor did she have any relationships. Which leaves Claudia, but both of us know for a fact she can’t have children… Owner Claudia was very sad about this. Perhaps that’s why she was so kind towards clones, which she partly considered as her own children…”

“...So you basically have nothing.” Ticia shook her head, sighing again. Weren’t all the clues and possibilities presented by the AI shut down?

“I wouldn’t say nothing, but… Yeah. That’s why we’re so confused. If only I hadn’t followed protocols and erased owner Claudia’s genetic information when I changed ownership, I would be able to…” The AI showed frustration at her own failures…

“So you still think I’m related to this Claudia or whatever?” Ticia asked lightly. Claudia was afterall the most probable guess despite the argument above…

“Claudia Willbix.” The AI corrected. “But yeah, despite all pointing against it, we both think you’re related to her. Emily probably knows more since according to Chloe, they both met frequently, not to mention the fact that you're clearly related to the Eve-class one way or another. If father doesn't know anything, Emily should at the very least have an idea on your origins.”

“So it all rests on whether we will be able to meet Emily or not huh?” Ticia ended up mumbling to herself, looking into the distance. It was frustrating to know that all the answers to her questions might be in the hands of one person, if that person was even alive, that is…

At the very least it made her keep her mind calm rather than focusing on Chloe’s behavior…

At least I know why she’s treating me like this now. It’s probably a reflex due to her being a bodyguard. Because she thinks I have some sort of link with her former boss, or see that former boss in me, she automatically ‘includes’ me into the list of people who need protection…

That was Ticia’s guess as to why Chloe was acting this way, which told a lot about how much clhoe cared about her former superior. Ticia could probably confirm her hunch with Rebot-ia, but decided overwise.

“...Owner, I know you don’t like talking about it, but would you mind telling me more about your past?” Rebot-ia suddenly asked. “I know that you are an orphan, but you never said more than that.”

Ticia was a bit surprised and nearly stopped walking, making her gather some attention from those around her for a brief moment.

Wow, I’m surprised she didn’t search for the info. I guess she does respect privacy after all.

“I’ve been without parents for as long as I can remember.” She answered flatly, no emotions present in her voice.

“Eh?” Rebot-ia seemed surprised. She probably had expected some resistance from Ticia. Ticia however continued, seemingly unbothered.

“I don’t know who my parents are. All I was told is that the orphanage took me up to fill its ‘quotas’ of orphans back then. But honestly, living on the streets was better than at the orphanage. Had to do a lot of shady stuff though. At some point I did get picked up by someone, but I was just being used, so out of options after killing them I joined the military. That’s it. You can find the rest pretty easily by looking at my military records.”

Ticia ended the talk there. There was no need for her to mention more than that after all.

Was it because those weren’t happy memories for her? Yes. Nobody liked to remind themselves of painful moments. If she had to talk about it though, she would, but she felt no need to go into details.

What Rebot-ia wants is info related to my origins. Unfortunately I can’t give her much info on that matter…

The only other people who knew about her past were Rika and Licia. She had been rather evasive when she had told her favorite daughter about her past, making it appear like it was someone else’s past, but she was sure Licia immediately understood she was talking about herself. Licia had not asked more after that, but if she were to ask Ticia would tell her, this time in a serious way.

As for Rika, she probably knew a good part of the story, if she could still remember it that is. Telling such stories while both parties were drunk didn’t help in remembering much. Although, she did recently have some talks with Rika about her past with a clear mind.

“That’s… Sorry…” Rebot-ia now seemed truly apologetic, but Ticia simply shook her head and smiled.

“It’s fine. It’s all in the past.”

Ticia had long before decided to look only forward and not stall on the past.

Those things do not matter anymore. What matters are my daughters. Oh, and Rika too.

She smiled bitterly at the last part. Rika had all to lose in helping her, and yet she still did so, keeping an eye on her slightly rowdy daughters. Who knew what would have happened without her help…

But I guess she’s not the only one… Berdo, Madam Meiko, Nathalia, Riley… They’re helping us. Sure, some might have some underlying goals, but I can rely on them for now.

Perhaps her world was not as small as she thought so anymore… 

“Aren’t you curious about your parents?” Rebot-ia asked after a while, but Ticia shook her head.

“My parents? No. My origins? Slightly. I’m as curious as you as to why I’m ‘special’, but it’s not like I have a desire to meet my parents. I’m doing fine without them. Besides, I have a family now.”

She said the last part while taking Bronz’s hand, who happened to be the closest to her at the moment. She tightened her grip gently yet firmly. The clone girl was a bit surprised at first, but tightened her hand back, seemingly happy at the slight show of affection while the other ECGs looked on in slight envy.

“I see.” Rebot-ia also smiled at the show of affection. “True. You can’t be stuck in the past. Guess I should follow your exemple on this.”

“Still, since there is a chance to meet your father, we should do our best.” Ticia decided to say some positive, encouraging words to the AI who laughed a bit as a result.

“Hehe. Right, I have some words to say to this irresponsible father of mine… Man, Atrax-ia’s gonna be so jelly I am the one who got to scold dad first…”

Wait wha-? But I thou- 

Ticia stopped thinking for a second. She believed Rebot-ia had a good relationship with her father, but then thought back on how the AI probably had something to say about being left behind…

Nevermind… Better do as if I never heard this last part…

Ticia then turned her attention towards Chloe. The woman was once again staring at her, though this time Chloe’s stare lingered a bit after their gazes met one another. Ticia did not know why, but she felt that something had slightly changed, although she could not quite discern what exactly. 

I don’t really know if I deserve her attention but… I shouldn’t focus on it either.

She decided to just forget about it. There was no need to make a fuss. Rather than acting like a teenager, like Rebot-ia said, it was better to just accept it and talk it out if necessary, like the proper adult she was.

Feeling as if she had been freed from another weight on her heart, Ticia felt more calm and ready to face whatever happened next.

“M-Mother, h-how long are you going to hold my hand? N-not that I dislike it or anything…” An increasingly embarrassed Bronz weakly protested(?) while fidgeting under the growing gazes of jealousy from her sisters.

Whoops, I forgot. Embarrassed Bronz is cute though. Ticia smiled, now in a mood to tease her daughter.

“Just a bit more.”

“M-mother!”