Clone Girls

Ticia’s group progressed without any problems. Thanks to Laura’s constant scanning of the surroundings with her eyes, they were able to avoid any patrols they encountered. It proved to be an unexpected boost. Even Chloe now seemed pretty satisfied with the result.

“What’s the situation?” Chloe asked Laura as their group rested in one of the buildings. The three women had removed their helmets so as to better communicate.

“We’re around the center of the town, I think.” Laura answered.

“Any patrols around us?”

“Mmmmh…” Laura’s eyes glistened for a second as she looked around before facing Chloe once again. “Two in the streets to our left, one  just in front of the building. They should be leaving soon though.”

Chloe nodded. “We’ll wait for a bit before continuing then.”

“Laura, can you see where the other groups are?” Ticia asked, worried about her daughters.

“Uhuh.” Laura nodded, looking to the side. “The other group is doing well. I can see them taking down a patrol right now. Oh, they’re already done, that was fast!”

“Bronz is that talented after all.” Ticia could not help but boast about her daughter, puffing up her chest, but worry soon came back in her thoughts.

I’m only worried she’ll get overconfident and take things too far… Still, Bronz isn’t alone, her sisters would correct her if she did something reckless.

She let out a sigh of relief at that, not thinking that all her daughters based their actions on Ticia herself.

“Do you see anything else?” Chloe asked.

“Troop movements? Gears? Or something else?” Laura asked.

“Troops.” Chloe answered immediately. It was after all their main concern.

“Roger roger.” Laura nodded before looking around.  “Patrols around here seem to vary in size from five to ten men. I also see a gathering of people further away.”

“How many?”

“About… two to three hundred? I’d need a longer look for a precise estimate.”

Ticia and Chloe shared a glance, serious looks on their faces, before looking back towards Laura.

“Please do that.” Chloe said, to which Laura nodded.

“If you need, you can send the data to Rebot-ia.” Ticia offered.

“Ugh. Thanks, but I’d rather not. Connecting to another entity makes me feel uncomfortable…” Laura grimaced as she answered, not looking at Ticia but instead concentrating on her task.

“Hm? But that’s not supposed to happen with a simple implant?” Rebot-ia commented, but Ticia decided not to listen.

Well yeah, having an AI invade your personal space even for just a short moment doesn’t really sound like a good thing. I wouldn’t like it, not one bit. She shivered at the thought.

“I would do it for a kiss thou-Ouch!?”

“Do not cross the line, impudent.” Fana said menacingly, glaring at Laura as she hit the back of Laura’s head with the back of the cross of her rifle. Seeing that, Ticia sighed.

“Stop it Fana, she was just joking.”

“I wasn’t though?” Laura added while tilting her head.

“...”

“Ignoring the comment huh? Well that’s also an option.”

“Rebot-ia…”

Geez… Is it really the time to be joking, you all?

“...A big group huh…” As Ticia was releasing yet another sigh of exasperation, she heard Chloe’s mutter. The woman was looking into the distance with a pensive look.

“The question is whether this group is where the leaders are or just a reserve of troops. The first option sounds more probable in my opinion.” She said to Chloe, giving her insight. The woman was startled at first, but nodded.

“Yes. I don’t think they have that much leeway, but we can’t be 100% sure either.”

“If it’s just reserves, we’ll avoid them, but if it’s the leaders…”

“I’d like to strike them if possible.”

“With just us?” Ticia asked, to which the clone woman nodded.

“If we manage to take them by surprise, we should be able to reduce their numbers massively. Let’s say we attack them while they’re confused by the lack of response from their patrols, they would be in no state to answer, right?”

“Well yeah…” Ticia answered vaguely, lost into her own thoughts.

“What? Not convinced?” Chloe asked with a light frown, but Ticia shook her head.

“Oh no, I love the plan.” She said, a fearless smile on her face.

“Then what’s worrying you?”

“Mother, if it’s about us-”

“Oh, don’t worry Fana. Although I’m a bit worried, that’s not what I was thinking about…” Just as Fana was about to express her worry, Ticia shook her head, patting her daughter on the shoulder before facing Chloe once again with a serious look. “What if our enemies aren’t composed of sentry clones but a majority of regular ones instead?”

“Then it would depend on whether they are low classes or higher ones.” Chloe answered immediately mirroring Ticia’s expression. “The former wouldn’t pose much of a problem, but the latter… If it’s combat oriented high class clones, then yeah, we’ve got a problem, especially if there’s any Adams.”

“Is it still worth the risk then?”

At that question, Chloe put a hand under her chin. She took some time before answering.

“...We lack too much info, let’s wait for the android girl to finish.”

“I’m not an android! I’m a full fleshed human!” Laura retorted, seemingly annoyed.

“Did you finish your recon Laura?” Ticia asked the girl, still with a serious look on her face. Laura flinched before nodding while blushing for some reason.

“Y-yeah. There are three hundred forty two people there, all males. About two hundred of them are standing still like pantins, probably sentries. The remaining has ‘human’ behavior. Some of them seem to be guarding the place, while others are resting. Around thirty of them are gathered at the center of the group, they are inside a building. Seems like they’re the leaders?”

“Anything else?” Chloe asked, arms crossed.

“Yes. Out of the humanoid figures I could see among that last group, a few of them seemed to have their fists tied up. It’s also the only place where I see female humanoids mixed in the group. If those are not prisoners, I don't know what else they are…”

“Prisoners huh…” Chloe frowned, tapping the tip of her finger on her arm. She clearly was preoccupied with this piece of information.

“Maybe Emily is in that group?” 

““Highly unlikely.””

When Ticia said this, she received an immediate answer not just from Chloe but also from Rebot-ia.

“Emily wouldn’t let herself  be captured this easily.”

“Right right, owner. Emily isn’t someone who would obediently follow those guys. In fact, she would probably have killed them before they could even touch her!”

“Even though she was already a captive?” Ticia frowned. Wasn’t she under their custody? If she was restrained to a few rooms within this place, while unfreezing her, they could have easily made her their prisoner.

“Still, she’s not someone you can easily take prisoner. She would surely have escaped them by now, if not beaten them.” Chloe insisted.

“But even then, what if there’s a reason behind her capture? Like, someone she cares about?”  Ticia continued, thinking of one possible situation, which made Rebot-ia immediately react.

“Eh? Owner, you can’t be saying…”

“Chloe, what are the chances that Claudia is in this facility?” Ticia asked straightforwardly. Chloe’s  eyes grew big for a big instant, but she immediately took the situation seriously.

“I’m not aware of everything that was happening here, but the chances are not low…” She said. It was clear from her voice that she was reluctant to believe it was the case though.

“If you’re speaking about council member Claudia Willbix, I’ve seen her.” Someone said from the side, interrupting their conversation. They all looked at the person.

It was the old clone who had been accompanying Ticia for a while now. Despite some concerns that he was too old to follow them, the old low class clone insisted and stuck close to Ticia or her daughters with such a strong fervor that no one had the will to dissuade him. He managed to follow the group without being a hindrance, and proved that he was still able to fight.

“Apologies for listening, may I continue?” The old clone said, waiting for a form of acknowledgement from Ticia. She slowly nodded, feeling awkward. 

“On the last days before the entire shutdown of the facility, council member Claudia Willbix came to visit. It was her usual visit, which followed the restrictions she was under.” The clone explained.

“Do you know if she had left by the time of the shutdown?” Chloe asked, now a bit more emotional. However, the old clone shook his head.

“No, though things became quite hectic a few hours after her arrival. We were put on high alert to shoot on sight any person that looked suspicious or was trying to leave the place.”

There was a small silence. Though it was unsure, it appeared Claudia had done something that warranted her immediate death by the people in control of this place…

“...Big sis, what were you trying to achieve…?” Chloe suddenly muttered while looking into the distance, a wild range of emotions visible on her face.

“...Does she know how to fight?” Ticia asked, but Chloe immediately shook her head.

“No. Big si-, Claudia was incredibly out of shape when it came to physical efforts, to the point Emily would tease her about it.” Chloe then let out a long, loud sigh, calming herself down before facing Ticia with a serious look. “I get your point, Ticia. True, we haven’t considered whether Claudia would be there or not…”

“Even if she’s not there, Stuart Derguer might be.” Laura added, adding force to her tone. “I need to rescue him no matter what.”

“For your ‘empire’?” Chloe said with a sarcastic tone, but Laura shook her head.

“No. This is personal.”

It was said with such seriousness that Chloe did not comment more. Even Ticia was a bit surprised.

I thought this was all for the empire? Did the empress put her life on the line or something?

In the end, Ticia sighed, there was no need to delve into others’ matters. They were allies only, not friends.

“Our chances?” She asked Chloe.

“The sentries aren’t a worry. The number of regular clones seems a bit high though, and the chances of convincing them to join us are low. Those kept near the high clearance personnel are always the most loyal of the bunch or those who have high value…”

“Then falling back and waiting for reinforcements is the safest choice.”

“Right-”

“Ah! They’re moving!” Just as they were about to come to a consensus, Laura suddenly exclaimed the movement of the enemies. Everyone grew tense at those words.

“What’s happening?” Chloe asked for everyone.

“They split into three groups! Two groups are going in opposite directions while the last one… is staying in place. One group is made majoritively of sentries while the other is a mix of both. Last one is made of those we discussed.” Laura reported, still looking into the distance with a strange glow in her eyes, though Ticia and Chloe could only see her glaring at a wall.

“How many are there in each group and where are they going?”

“The one full of sentries is going in the direction from where we came from, they’re about one hundred and fourty? The other is progressing towards the group that’s dealing with patrols, Number is similar, hundred and twenty I’d say,  but the patrols in the sector are merging with it. The last group is low in numbers, around eighty.”

““...”” Both Ticia and Chloe had thoughtful expressions on their faces, calculating how this new change would affect them.

“It is an opportunity, Mother. Let us strike the third group while they’re weak.” From the side, ECG-021, who had been listening to the whole conversation, confidently advised her mother.

“Mother, I agree with 021.” Fana supported her sister, nodding in agreement. Ticia looked at her two daughters with a pensive look. 

Certainly, we could continue but… Ticia had some doubts, a feeling telling her that something might go wrong. If she was by herself, she would have gone anyway, but since she was accompanied this time, she wanted to weigh the pros and cons.

“I would recommend cautiousness, Mother.” At that moment, another ECG squad leader spoke up. It was ECG-081, who had been one of the quietest among the squad leaders.

Ticia gave her a light nod of recognition, allowing her to continue her train of thoughts.

“Mother, this could be a trap set up by our adversaries. The groups could turn back and attack us from behind.” The ECG warned.

“I agree with 081, Mother.” Another squad leader, ECG-091, also agreed.

“That’s… a possibility…” Chloe admitted from the side, taking this seriously.

“I wouldn’t bet on it though.” Laura added from the side. “Both were moving towards our allies, it’s more probable they’re targeting them.”

“In that case, I suggest we help our allies and take down the groups together before taking down the alleged command center.” ECG-081 said calmly.

“I disagree, it would be better to strike the command structure.” ECG-021 said back, shaking her head. This made ECG-081 frown.

“Do we even know if it's their command post? Sister, for all we know this could be a well thought trap.”

“The same could be said in the other sense.”

They began arguing back and forth.

“Mother, believe in Bronz. She will be able to deal with that group.” Fana said to Ticia with  strong convictions in her tone. It was clear to Ticia that she said those words to reassure her mother, but also to back up ECG-021’s plan with confidence.

“Sisters, have you all forgotten the goal of this mission?” ECG-091 said with a harsh tone. “We are scouting, we shouldn’t do anything before the arrival of reinforcements. We already lost someone, let’s not lose others in a stupid way.”

She had probably said those words while thinking of Jinxy, who was part of her squad. However, it seemed to have backfired.

“That’s why we should help Zweite sister Bronz!” ECG-081 lashed out.

“No! We should avoid further engagement! I’m sure Zweite sister Bronz will make the same  responsible decision!” ECG-091 replied, raising her voice in response to her sister.

“Both of you are wrong. We should strike their smallest group and eliminate the threat first for Mother! That’s the way to protect everyone!” ECG-021 joined in.

““While putting Mother in danger at the same time!? Hell no!”” Both ECG-081 and ECG-091 replied at the same time and as it was about to get out of hand, Ticia intervened.

“Calm down girls. It’s not the time to raise your voices.” She said with a bit of authority in her voice. The bickering girls immediately stiffened, standing straight as they now looked towards their mother with anxious looks.

Ticia looked at them with a bit of a severe look, making them conscious of what they did wrong. She knew what had caused this dispute.

What a bad mother I am…

They might have not shown it, but It was clear that Jinxy’s disparition had caused a ripple in the clone girl’s emotions. Ticia blamed herself on not doing anything to console her daughters and focusing on herself instead.

But not anymore.

“I understand all your viewpoints. I’m taking them all into consideration, but while I appreciate your eagerness, please don’t go overboard with one another. 091’s suggestion is one we should consider, just like yours, 021 and 081.” She said while sighing.

What each of the three of them suggested was a sound idea to Ticia. In fact, it was the three options they had left right now. 

It also told a lot about how their personalities were developing. ECG-021 followed Fana’s footsteps but was more aggressive, while ECG-091 seemed more worried about the safety of her family. ECG-081 on her side was more neutral, she followed ECG-091’s train of thoughts to some point, but did not follow Bronz blindly either and recognized the possibility that her sister could fail.

““Apologies, Mother.”” The ECGs apologized to their mother, now feeling ashamed, but Ticia once again shook her head.

“No, not to me. Each one of you apologies to the other.” She said authoritatively.

The ECGs looked surprised at first, before looking at each other with awkward looks.

“...Apologies, sisters, I went overboard.”

“Me too, I apologize.”

“I am sorry for letting my emotions influence my suggestion.”

“Good good.” A huge warm smile finally emerged on Ticia’s face as she saw her daughters reconcile. This is the way it’s supposed to be.

“Ahem. Sorry to ruin the happy family moment, but we don’t have the time for that.” Chloe interrupted the warm moment.

“Right.” Ticia nodded, regaining her serious look while the concerned ECGs blushed out of embarrassment. “What do you think, Chloe?”

“We must decide quickly, our window opening is getting shorter by the minute.” Laura added from the side.

“For now, we should approach the smallest group and get more information. If it appears to be a trap, we leave posthaste.” Chloe decided.

“Sounds good to me.” Laura said, nodding. “Although, if Stuart Derguer is there, I won’t hesitate to attack by myself if it comes to it.”

“So long as it doesn’t hinder the backtrack of our group, I don’t care.” Chloe said back nonchalantly, to which Laura smiled.

“Of course. I have no intention of hindering you.”

On her side, Ticia nodded in agreement before looking towards her daughters.

“Do you agree, girls?” She asked them.

““Yes.””

“We have no opposition to whatever Mother says.”

Her daughters said, saluting.

“Then it’s settled.” Chloe said decisively, putting back her helmet. The others did the same. “Let’s move on.”

And so they departed. The group advanced at a rapid pace towards the small enemy force, avoiding any remaining patrol on the way like they did before. Once they reached the surroundings of the main enemy’s position, Laura did another scan.

“Yup. The building ahead looks like a town hall, they’ve taken position inside. It appears the ones doing patrols are sentries? The others seem to be resting.” Laura commented as she once again reported on what she saw. “There's a machine gun position dug up right in front of the entrance, passing there will be tough, there’s even a rotary laser canon!”

They were currently on the first floor of a building with huge windows. Facing them was a small parc with bushes and other plants that had grown thick because of the lack of proper maintenance. Small stone walls placed here and there and on the other side was the town hall Laura had just described.

Ticia herself could see the sentries patrolling, some of them on the parc, but a good majority seemed to be stationed inside the town hall or at the machine gun position.

Assaulting the position seemed possible to her. The plants provided enough cover to sneak up to the ennemy and bypass the machine gun position and enter the building from the sides, which, from Laura's report, seemed less defended. Ticia had learnt not to rush in however.

The weird feelling she had was still there. Had she been alone or in a smaler group, she would have tried her luck, but there were simply too many unknown factors.

“Should we strike then?” Ticia asked Chloe.

“...” Chloe remained silent for a moment, lost in thoughts.

“...Miss Chloe?” Ticia asked once again, breaking Chloe out of her train of thoughts. She looked at Ticia with a serious look.

“I have a bad feeling.”

“You too huh?”

“Yeah, but it comes from experience. Wouldn’t be alive without it.”

“Same.”

Ticia frowned while nodding. She did not judge Chloe for this, she understood what she meant after all. Sometimes, some kind of internal instinct would warn you of something bad to come, and Ticia had come to trust such things on the battlefield… Besides, her instincts had also warned her just before. If two of them  had bad feelings, it couldn’t be a coincidence.

“Let's not poke the bear.”

“Agreed.”

Both reached the same conclusion. 

 

“...Found him.”

“Eh?”

“He’s there! Stuart Derguer!” Laura said from her left side, now in an agitated state. “He seems to be kept near the center of the defensive perimeter, unlike other prisoners. Rather… Isn’t he getting tortured!?”

“Hey, wait!”

Laura suddenly rushed out into the open plaza in front of them, Ticia immediately grabbed the red haired woman’s arm and pulled her back inside, restraining her with her arms.

Still, Laura lashed out like a child.

“Release me this instant! I can’t let that old man die here! He’s my only way out!” She said out loud with a desperate look on her face.

Despite Laura being smaller than Ticia, she had a lot of strength, which forced Ticia to call for help to restrain her.

“056, come help for a sec!”

“Yes Mother!” ECG-056 immediately came to help, restraining Laura together with Ticia, who now tried to reason with Laura.

“Calm down Laura! Rushing isn’t gonna achieve anything but getting us all noticed by the ennemy!”

Laura however, was hysteric, which was unlike her. Ticia truly thought for a moment that Laura had gone crazy. 

“You don’t understand! I need Stuart Derguer alive and in one piece or else-”

*Bang*

Just as this was happening, Ticia heard a loud firing sound. The next thing she knew, ECG-056 was falling on the ground.

“0-056!” She immediately released a shocked Laura and rushed to her daughter. Fana, who was also nearby, was quick to act and raised her rifle, standing in front of Ticia with her shield in scutum mode to protect her mother.

“Sniper! Everyone, take cover! Be careful of your surroundings!” Chloe gave her orders, the clones hiding behind walls. This did not stop the sniper, or rather snipers, however, and some clones fell victim to them.

“M-Mother…”

“Stay with me, dear.” Ticia tightened her grip on ECG-056’s hand as the clone weakly reached out towards her. Still under the protection of Fana, she had managed to drag her daughter back behind a thick wall, which should protect them for now. 

A harpoon had pierced through the left upper part of the ECG’s stomach stomach. It was clear even to Ticia that this was a severe wound, if not fatal.

“Let me inspect her.” A clone with an armband upon which was drawn a red cross approached carefully. He was followed by a few others. Ticia watched them with one eye as the first one took out a scanner while some others administered medical injections to ECG-056. After a while, the first clone spoke up.

“The harpoon has penetrated deep inside her left flank. Internal injuries to vital organs have been confirmed. Tch! We can’t remove the harpoon right now!” 

“What’s her state?” Ticia asked worriedly.

“Critical.” The man said honestly. “I am gonna administer her all the treatment she can receive right now with our resources, but do not get your hopes up.”

“L-let me help!” Laura suddenly surged from behind in a clear state of despair and concern. 

“...What now?” The icy response she got from Ticia made her flinch, but she did not stop. She took out what looked like a gun with a huge syringe at the end from a small solid container safely attached to her belt.

“I-I have something that can stop the bleeding and help repair her organs! We just need to remove the harpoon!”

“Are you crazy!?” Ticia was now two inches away from lashing out at Laura, but a weak grunt from ECG-056 as well as new fire shots reverberating made her keep a calm mind.

At that moment, the medic clone spoke up.

“Wait… You have Premium Panacea on you?!” He said, pointing towards Laura’s tool with incredulous eyes.

“”Y-yeah, that’s the name. I always make sure to have some on me to deal with my headaches.” Laura said while tilting her head, seemingly a bit taken aback by the sudan exclamation.

“You use Premium Panacea for your headaches!? No, nevermind that, let’s use it posthaste then!” The man said, grabbing the tool from Laura’s hands and manipulating it as if it was its most precious thing in the world.

“I’ll remove the harpoon.” Laura said with a serious look, before glancing towards Ticia for permission.

“...I trust you know what you’re doing.” Ticia said, trying to remain as calm as possible. Seeing the enthusiasm the medic clone presented towards Laura’s tool, she decided to let them operate.

After a quick nod between all of them, they began. Laura quickly and strongly pulled out the harpoon, ripping out not only parts of the armor but also bits of flesh. This had the result of making ECG-056 let out a pained, distorted scream.  The clone medic and his aides acted quickly, using the tool and various syringes to apply both the Premium Panacea as well as pain killers and other medical drugs.

Ticia could only tighten her grip on her daughter’s hand as a sign of reassurance.

“Hold tight, 056, I’m right here.”

After a few minutes that seemed like hours to Ticia, ECG-056 began to calm down. To Ticia’s surprise, the gaurish wound had reduced to a cross shaped, medium sized deep cut who did not bleed anymore, which the clone medic and his aides swiftly stitched. 

“Procedure completed. The Premium Panacea is working as intended. As expected from a product only reserved for the elites.” He said, wiping some sweat from his forehead while one of his aides injected another drug, a stimulant this time, with a needle. “She should be able to walk for now, but forget about fighting. As strong as it is, it is still a temporary solution that tires both the body and the mind. Proper care will be needed after this if we survive.”

Ticia simply nodded, a dazed look on her face. This was the first time she had seen such miraculous medicine! It was only when ECG-091 called out to her that she snapped out of her daze.

“Mother, we’ll take care of sister 056.”

Ticia nodded, and after receiving a last sign from ECG-056 to say she was feeling better, she left the place to group up with Chloe. Laura and Fana followed her quietly.

On the way, they were targeted by a few harpoon shots and regular laser beams, but they managed to avoid each of them, which was not the case for the unfortunate clones who were nearby…

Once they reached Chloe, who was accompanied by ECG-081 and her squad, they discussed what to do next.

“The situation isn’t good. We need to find those snipers.” Chloe said.

“I’m on it!” Ticia declared, wanting to get revenge for her daughter. But before she could move, they heard a voice from a speaker.

“FC-118035/1A59D, I know you’re at the head of this group.”

“Wha- T-this voice…” Chloe froze, her face quickly paling…

“Surrender yourself quietly while I’m still being generous.” The voice said with authority that made not only Chloe shiver, but also the nearby clones.

“Wh-what’s wrong?” Laura asked with concern.

“Adam… It’s an Adam…” They heard one clone mutter from nearby. 

“Warmonger…” Chloe muttered.

“Shit, not that asshole...”

“An acquaintance?” Ticia asked, trying to understand what was happening.

“Acquaintance my ass.” Chloe spitefully replied. “He’s a psycho! The type of man you’d never want to meet! But most of all…” She then stared at Ticia. “He’s Emily’s ‘second half’, and he’s obsessed with her!”

“That person, he's bad news, Owner, REALLY bad news.” Rebot-ia added, face now full of worry.

“What do you mean?” Ticia grew confused, Chloe did not seem to insinuate this as in a romantic relationship, but the woman did not explain. Instead, she fervently warned Ticia.

“Nerver, EVER show you or your daughter’s faces to him, you hear me!? Never!”

Ticia could only nod silently at this forceful warning.

“I am only sparing you because Warspite cares about you, FC-118035/1A59D. I’ve already seen through your excuse of a plan, you can’t escape.” The voice of Warmonger announced as gunfire resounded in the distance. The other two groups had engaged Ticia’s allies.

“There’s no fucking way I’d surrender to you after all you’ve made Big sis and the others go through, you frick!” Chloe yelled, but her words carried more fear than strength in them.

“I see, so you don’t believe my words. You are one of the staunchest beliver of that witch Willbix after all. It is obvious that you would hold a grudge, having been completely brainwashed by her. But I am willing to make amends towards your continuous insubordination.”

“What is he babbling about, that crazy man…” Chloe could not help but comment, but what he said next sent shivers not only to Chloe, but also Ticia and her daughters.

“I’ve sensed Warspite’s presence within your group. Multiple presences in fact. It's that witch's doing, isn't it? Those entities shouldn’t exist, they are a stain that needs to be eradicated. Their existence desecrates Warspite’s purity. Give them to me and I will leave your group alone.”