*Tik Tok*
The ticking of the old majestic clock within the field marshal's office were the only noise heard within the silence as David faced Barry Twill.
The old field marshal smoked his cigar like usual, but contrary to his typical easygoing atmosphere, Barry was annoyed this time…
“What a pain…” He finally said, breaking the silence as he released a smoky sigh.
Barry had good reasons to be annoyed. Recently, nothing went the way he wanted.
“First, the minister of the army suddenly blocks our army expansion plan, then the minister of finance threatens to reduce our allocated monthly budget…”
Barry knew the ministers well, he had no doubt someone had bribed them to go against him. Although he was unwilling, Barry had to bribe the men with his own funds to come to an agreement with them.
“Not only that, the war came to a stalemate just a few weeks after breaking out…”
War is either a matter of days or a matter of years, with the latter being hated by everyone the most. A stalemate occuring at the very beginning of the war is never a good thing, moreso if you are the commander in chief of the armed forces of your state.
Barry had received immense pressure from politicians to make the war a short matter, but the old man ignored their demands. He knew war better than them after all. But the complaints had become so numerous at such a ridiculous pace that Barry could not ignore them anymore…
“And now this whole fiasco with the academy!”
*BAM*
He suddenly slammed his fist on the table, making David finch.
This was the most unexpected thing that happened to him, as never had he seen the academy fight back so directly. In the aftermath, his political allies, and even some of his most loyal subordinates, spooked by the academy’s move, blamed him for being too greedy, while some of his opponents began undermining his authority from within the military.
It was clear that he was in a bad position right now…
“Something is happening… Or rather, someone is making moves against us in the shadows.”
That’s what he concluded after thinking deeply on the recent events, but what frustrated him was that he did not know who was the person lurking in the shadows…
He needed to rethink his priorities…
“David.” Barry called out after a small silence.
“Yes, Field Marshal?”
“Let’s postpone any moves on the clones.”
“Wha-!? But sir!” David was shocked, he immediately tried to protest, but the old field marshal stopped him with a gesture.
“We have bigger problems right now. We must concentrate our efforts and resources on the war, or else, we might lose everything…”
Barry was greedy for power, but he was not stupid. He knew he sometimes had to give up on some things if he wanted to keep his position. David, however, seemed of a different opinion.
“If you give me more time, I’m sure I could get closer to Brigadier-General Rika…” He replied while clenching his fists.
“Hah. You sure are confident for someone who always gets rejected by your target.” Barry Twill retorted with a sneer.
“But still, it’s because I never was able to get some alone time with her…”
“Because a clone was always around her, right?” Barry pointed out, and David nodded. The old field marshal stayed pensive as he stared at David while smoking. This all sounded like an excuse to him.
“Look, we already spent a lot of favors and bribes not only to get you into the academy, but also to get the clone mother and most of their forces away from Rika, and yet you still failed. Heck, we even lost our grip over the Guards because of what happened!” Barry chided. He considered the events with the Guards to be an unexpected loss which he could still get up from, but the loss of the Guards’ support still affected his grip on the military in the short term.
“Besides, she’s shown clear signs of rejection to you.” He finished, before smoking his cigar again.
“She did not say it outright, so I can still pursue her!” David defended himself.
“Then what?” Barry was growing irritated. “Look kiddo. It’s not like the clones will get away. We can get them once things have settled up on the front.”
“But what about the other factions?”
“If we can’t get close to them, do you expect other factions to achieve it?” The old field marshal countered with a smirk. He had heard of some recent link with the Pellian’s dominating party, but he did not believe they would be much of a threat.
“And just look at the Doessons right now, do you want to end up like them?”
The recent events surrounding the Doesson family had become quite the topic between Borkian circles… If there was one faction frontly opposing Rika, then it was them, and they received some blows while Rika and the clones came out unscathed or stronger…
Seeing this, Barry wanted to avoid becoming the talk on everyone’s lips.
“But still, even if I can’t get close to Rika, I can make it appear like we’re close at the very least. Besides, there’s also the matter of the immature clones.” David stayed convinced of his goal.
“I see you won’t give up on this matter huh?” Barry commented. It would seem like David had become obsessed with the clones… “Fine, do whatever you want. But don’t expect support from me, I have more important matters to deal with right now.”
When you are at the helm of a huge faction, it's impossible to control everything. Especially when said faction was majorly composed of opportunistic people rather than loyal ones. Barry’s policy was one of leniency over his subordinates and allies, so long as nothing blew up in the face of the faction, he would leave them to their own schemes… That’s why Barry had left alone his underlings who tried to kidnap the clones…
“Thank you, Sir. Then-”
*Beep*
“Hold on a sec.”
As David was about to express his gratitude, Barry received an urgent notification. He immediately checked it.
| Urgent report: The president’s health is degrading at a visible rate. Doctors do not give him more than a year to live. |
“Ho…” The old field marshal’s annoyed look suddenly changed. After a small silence, he smirked. “It’s your lucky day it seems, David.”
“Eh?”
*Tik Tok*
As the clock's cogs continued their endless movements, the subject of the two men’s discussion shifted…
***
“I’m back!”
Ticia declared as she entered the barracks.
“Welcome back, Ticia.” Rika welcomed her with a smile.
““Mom!”” Twelve little girls suddenly rushed towards Ticia.
“My girls! Ouf!” Ticia received them with open arms as they hugged her, holding her ground as the girls giggled. “Phew, don't suddenly jump at me like tha-”
“Mother!”
““Eh?””
“Eh? Ough!”
Seemingly inspired by the actions of the Null CGs, ECG-099 also rushed towards Ticia, surprising everyone. Ticia, who did not expect this, received the impact unprepared and fell to the ground with everyone.
“Ouch ouch ouch…” Ticia grunted as she tried to get up, only to fail because of the weight of her daughters on her. “Geez, 099, what a clutz you are sometimes…”
“Apologies, Mother…” 099 replied with a tinge of embarrassment while the Null CGs began to giggle.
“I wasn’t reprimanding you…” Ticia smiled wryly as she headpatted her clumsy daughter.
After some more greetings, they shifted to the refectory of the barracks, where the Null CGs excitedly told their mother about their experiences.
“Mom, mom! We did a wargame with soldiers!” Willia was the one who talked the most of her experiences.
“Yeah, I saw it.” Ticia replied with a smile.
“You did?”
“Of course.” Ticia boasted. “I had no choice but to watch since my girls were live streamed to the whole Borkian Confederation. You all did great, mommy is proud of you all.”
The girls giggled at the praise.
“Mh? What’s this?” Ticia noticed a difference between her girls. “...Willia, did you grow taller?”
“Fueh?”
““Eh?””
Willia tilted her head, while her sisters froze.
“Yeah, I’m sure of it.” Ticia nodded to herself, smiling. “You’re taller than your sisters by at least one centimeter.”
“R-really?” Willia seemed glad to hear that.
“Fufu, good for you. You grow up so fast~.” Her mother headpatted her, and Willia giggled happily.
“Hehe.”
““...””
The other Null CGs were making weird faces however…
“Wh-what? Why are you all looking at me like that, sisters?” Willia asked, feeling that something was wrong, when Nicia suddenly mumbled.
“Not fair…”
“N-Nicia?”
“Why is it you out of all of us? Tell me your secret now!” Nicia grabbed Willia by the shoulders and shook her.
“Eh? Eh?” Willia was of course confused, but still answered her sister’s question. “Uhm, I mean, I train a lot and get nutritious meals?”
“What kind of meals? Tell me!” Nicia pressed.
“I eat the same thing as you though!?”
“Ah, that’s not exactly true, Willia, you do drink a lot of milk too.” Rika suddenly chimed in with a knowing smile on her face.
“Really huh? A lot of milk…” Nicia lowered her head.
“Uhm, can you let me go now, dear sister?” Willia asked in a trembling voice as her sister’s grip was still strong on her. Never had Nicia been so strong before!
“No way, I still haven’t finished talking to you~.” Nicia replied with a smile that sent shivers to Willia.
“Hieee!? S-sisters, help?” Willia tried to get some help, only to realize her sisters had similar looks to the one Nicia had…
““...Punishment.””
“Hiek!? Wh-what did I doooo~!?” Willia ran away like a scared bunny.
“Agh?! Where do you think you’re going Willia? Come back here!” Her sisters immediately ran after her.
Ticia watched the whole scene with a large smile.
“Ah~, I missed that…” She said as she heard Willia’s shrieks in the background. She was not worried about Willia’s growth spurt, as this was clearly a side effect of the gene modifications. She expected the girls’ growth to go at different paces each, but she also knew from A-4 that they would all end with the same measurements as her, so she only saw the current situation with a huge motherly smile on her face.
“Were the ECGs calmer?” Rika asked from the side, but Ticia shook her head.
“I wouldn’t say that. I had some precious memories with them too, right 001?”
“M-Mother, please have mercy…” Remembering a certain moment, ECG-001 became blushed and slightly panicked, which made Rika look at her in wonder while Ticia had a teasing smile on her face.
“Anyway, we have a lot to talk about, right?” Rika decided not to embarrass the ECG further.
“Yeah, want to begin?”
“Sure.”
“Oh, but before that, there’s someone I must present to you.” Ticia said as if remembering something. She put her watch on the table. “You can unmute yourself, Rebot-ia.”
An emoji face suddenly appeared on the watch’s screen.
“Hi there! Are you my owner’s owner?”
“...Sorry, I think I got the wrong AI, let me throw that one away.”
Ticia grabbed the watch and went towards the recycle bin.
“W-wait, Owner? T-that was a joke of course! Please don’t throw me away!”
There was a small quarrel, and Ticia sat back while sighing.
“...What’s this?” Rika asked as she observed the watch, bemused by what just happened. “You brought an AI?”
“That’s the gist of it.” Ticia rubbed her forehead, seemingly tired. “Remember when I said I got something valuable out of the clone installation? Well, it’s this old AI. Rika, I present to you Rebot-ia.”
“Engaging noble greeting program: Ahem. A good day to you, Miss Rika. I am Rebot-ia, former AI in charge of Clone Installation 26 and now the personnal assistant AI of my new owner, Owner Ticia.”
“Uhm, yes, hi…”
Rika was still weirded out. AIs were not particularly developed this much or relied upon in the Borkian Confederation, so an AI that expressed herself like this was really weird…
“She’s a weird one right?” Ticia said with a knowing smile.
“Yes, yes, I’m weir- wait, Owner? Why are you suddenly saying that?!”
“I mean, can you deny it?”
“Absolutely not!”
“Thought so.” Ticia sighed, before looking at Rika “Despite how she is, this AI has proven itself to be of extreme value in both regards to providing information and assisting me in my goals.”
“...I see. I trust you Ticia.” Rika said after a moment of thought, before looking towards Rebot-ia seriously. “I’ll be glad to work with you in the future too, Rebot-ia.”
“The pleasure is mine! Owner’s talked a lot about you, as much as her daughters I must say!”
“Realy?” That picked up Rika’s curiosity.
“Yes! She told me-”
“Rebot-ia.” Ticia smiled, but the aura around her said something else.
“Ah, I made Owner angry again… Teehee.” Rebot-ia pulled her emoji tongue, which made Ticia pick up the watch again with the goal of reaching the recycle bin for good.
“Wawa!? Please stop!? I-I get it already, I’ll go say hi to the Null CGs and begin my main task!”
“What’s your main task?” Rika asked as Ticia sat back again.
“Recording all of the Owner’s daughter's cute moments! Seeya later!”
“...” Rika stared in silence at Ticia with a judging look as multiple screams of surprise reverberated in the background..
“W-what? I’m not doing anything wrong, I’m just saving precious moments for myself!” Ticia defended herself while blushing.
“Suuure… Well, I won’t say anything, so long as I get to watch them too.” Rika said back with a business look.
“I knew you’d understand, Rika!” Ticia took Rika’s hands in her own, delighted.
““...”” Now it was the ECGs’ turn to look at the two women with judging looks.
After some short embarrassment, Rika told Ticia what happened while she was away.
“I see… So? What exactly did the academy want from you?” Ticia asked while drinking some coffee.
“Blood. The girls’ blood, to be exact.” Rika replied, sipping her tea, but her words made Ticia nearly spit out her drink.
“...Did you give them some?” She asked with a grave look.
“Yes, but don’t worry, I consulted with our little specialist before making the decision.”
“You mean Nicia?”
“Yeah, she told me it wouldn’t be a problem since ‘you can’t create a clone out of a clone’s gene’.”
“Ah, right… I remember A-4 mentioning this once…” Ticia remembered vaguely. She had to admit she should have listened to the AI instead of playing around… “But won’t giving them blood reveal the genetic changes of the girls?”
“I’m not sure, so I’ve just sent Willia’s blood for now…”
“Willia, huh?” Ticia seemed to agree on the move. Willia’s genetic modifications were quite simple and easy to understand, but even if their enemies were to know them, it would not have a big impact on Willia herself. What were the counters to raw strength, afterall?
“More importantly Ticia, about the twins…”
“Yeah, I’ve noticed…”
The conversation shifted to another subject. This was another matter of concern to Ticia. Despite the happy mood the girls were in right now, Ticia could see that the twins were not in their best state of mind… Despite her worries and the pain she felt at seeing the twins like that, she remained firm on her decision.
“For now, I’ll take some time off with them and check on them frequently, but as I’ve said to you before, we can’t do much. This is something they have to resolve by themselves.”
“Still, it’s painful to watch…” Rika could not help but say with a grimace, a sentiment that Ticia shared.
“Tell me about it. I’m their mother, but I can’t do much for them…” She sighed. “If we were not in our current predicament, I would have left them alone…”
“...Things aren’t that simple, Ticia. Your situation can’t be helped right now…” Rika said with a sad look. “Besides, living a spoiled life full of innocence isn’t always a good thing…”
“Rika…” Seeing that Rika seemed a bit depressed now too, Ticia decided to speak about something that she did not tell Rika yet.“Rika, there is someone I need you to meet once we finish this discussion, is that ok?”
“Sure? But who?”
“...I’ll tell you later.”
She ended up backing away for now. There were some other matters she wanted to talk about to Rika, and aboarding the subject right now could get Rika’s attention away… At least that’s what she told herself.
“If you say so, it’s not like I’m in a hurry anyway.” Rika also sensed something, but decided not to pry further.
“Now it’s my turn to make a report to you, Rika.” Ticia began her report, crossing her arms. “I’ve already told you the gist of what happened in our previous calls, and now that you’ve met Rebot-ia, you should know everything about that part, so I’ll skip that. But first, I want you to request a private meeting with the Phillio Empire’s ambassador.”
“...Did you find something useful?” Rika asked curiously.
“Yes. Very useful. I’m going to use the piece of information I just got as a threat. Do you know about Prince Aldebert Irma Monfils?” Ticia asked. This was the perpetrator behind the pirate attack…
“I’ve heard of him before.” Rika replied immediately. “He’s a rebellious prince who often defies his sister’s authority as empress yet somehow always comes out of it unscathed… Don’t tell me the VIP you mentioned is-.”
“No, it’s not him, unfortunately. But I have proof of him meddling in our affairs.” Ticia said back.
“I can see why you want to meet the ambassador now, but Ticia, threats won’t work.” Rika pointed out as she took another sip of her tea.
“Why?”
“We’re talking about the empress of the Phillion Empire right now, when have you heard of her showing mercy towards her half-siblings?”
“Never.”
It was only when Rika mentioned this that Ticia realized her plan to keep the Phillians at bay was flawed.
“Right, she’d prefer him dead. With the information you’ve just gained, you’d only get a favor at best.”
“A favor huh?” Ticia raised an eyebrow. “I see…”
This was not what Ticia wanted. She began to rethink her plan as useless and gave up on the idea to meet the ambassador, but Rika was of another opinion.
“I’d suggest we still take this as an opportunity.”
“Why?”
“Empress Laurelette Irma Luz is known to be merciless against her siblings, but she’s also known to always repay favors… Ticia, while we don’t know the Empire’s intentions concerning you and your daughters, a temporary alliance could be beneficial to us.”
“Hmmm…” What Rika said made sense to Ticia, she pondered on the option for a while, before coming to a decision. “I get it, let’s take the gamble and ally ourselves with the Empire then.”
Rika nodded in agreement.
“Anything else you want to mention, Ticia?”
“Yes, I’m going to give names to 001, 023, and 099.” Ticia declared flatly.
““!?!”” Rika was not the only one who was impacted by this declaration this time. The ECGs, who were surrounding the both of them, opened their eyes in surprise.
“Hoh? Took you long enough to name them, but why those three in particular?” Rika had a smirk on her face as she said that.
“001 and 023 deserve it, as for 099, take it as my apology for not taking you with me this time.” Ticia sent a wink to the surprised ECG-099 as she said that.
“M-Mother…” ECG-099 was overwhelmed by emotions because of this announcement. “Yes! I am delighted to receive a name!”
The other ECGs looked at their sisters with looks of mixed envy and happiness.
“Oh, if it’s about merits, I do believe there might be another candidate you should consider…” Rika suddenly added.
“Who?” Ticia asked while tilting her head.
“046.”
“Eh?” ECG-046 let out a weird voice, before pointing at herself. “M-me? General?”
“You’ve shown a good amount of growth recently, 046. Also, I think you should keep wearing what was given to you.” Rika added with a teasing smile. Right now, ECG-046 did not wear her headband because she was scared of what her mother would say, but it was such a display of emotions around this accessory that got Rika to speak out for her in the first place.
“B-but.” ECG-046 fidgetted, sending glances towards her mother. Ticia could see a mix of dread and hope mixed in that look. Rika smiled wryly at the display.
“I don’t think your mother would be bothered by that.”
“What what? Something bothering me? Tell me more…” Ticia was a bit unsure what the subject was about, but since she saw Rika teasing her daughter, she also wanted to jump in.
“Oh, it’s nothing much, just that 046 received an accessory as a gift recently.” Rika said with a huge smile.
“Ah, you mean the headband I saw her wearing the other day?” Ticia thought back, she had seen 046 wear a headband during the wargames. She then sent a teasing look towards ECG-046, who shied away from her gaze. “Hehe~, you were worried mommy wouldn’t allow you to wear it? How cute~.”
“M-Mother, please stop teasing me…” ECG-046 hid behind ECG-001, who sighed at the display.
“It’s ok, it’s ok~!” Ticia waved her hand in the air happily. “You’re allowed to wear whatever you want, 046, and that goes for all of you. I don’t care about uniformity or whatever, wear whatever you like.”
““Mother…”” The ECGs looked at their mother with immense fondness.
“As for the name…”
“Mother, I’m ok, you don’t have to give me a name.” ECG-046 said, afraid she was bothering her mother.
“Are you sure?” Ticia also asked back. If ECG-046 did not want a name right now…
Fortunately, Rika intervened.
“That’s a no go, Licia also wants her to have a name.”
“Prime sister Licia?!” ECG-046 seemed surprised by this fact.
“Licia does? Well, if Licia asked for it, then I have no other choice but to oblige.” Ticia declared happily. How could she refuse a request from her favorite daughter? “Tomorrow, 001, 023, 046 and 099 shall receive names!”
““Thank you, Mother!”” The ECGs saluted their mother for her decision, which made Ticia smile.
“Hehe, you’re welcome.”
“Now then Ticia, I believe we have one last matter to talk about.” Rika went back to the subject Ticia had been holding on, which made her twitch a bit.
“Yeah… about that…” Ticia avoided contact while scratching her cheek.
“Mh? What’s wrong?”
“Remember the VIP I saved? Well, it’s someone you know very well…”
“I do?” Rika was getting more and more curious, which made Ticia falter a bit. She tried to make her words clear, but had a hard time telling Rika that her mother wanted to meet her and was actually in one of the waiting rooms of the academy right now…
“Yes, uhm, you were very close to her in the past and uhm, she wants to meet you and-”
“Ticia, stop turning around the point. Tell me who it is.” Rika asked straightly, understanding that Ticia was hesitating more and more.
“...You promise you will meet her after that?” Ticia asked suddenly. She was honestly scared how Rika would react to the information…
“?” Rika tilted her head. “Sure, since you’re so insistent about it. So, who is it?”
Ticia lowered her head. She mumbled weakly.
“...-ther”
“Mh? What was that? I didn’t hear you right now, Ticia.” Rika asked again. Ticia swallowed loudly, gathering her courage. She let out a long sigh before looking straight at Rika with a serious look.
“It’s your mother.”
“...What?” Rika looked utterly shocked by what she just heard, so Ticia repeated herself.
“I’m talking about your mother, Rika. Meiko has come to talk to you.”
***
Deep within an old underground complex, lights shined as various computer green lights blinked into the darkness.
Within the room was a lot of scientific equipment, and most of it was covered by dust, having been left in a state of unuse for centuries. And yet, they remained in a working state. The computers and machinery were completely unaffected by rust or surrounding elements.
None of them had served their original task since they had been left there. Since their owners fled the place. But that did not mean nobody was left behind…
In one corner of the room, one of the machinery was hard at work, humming lightly. It had not worked for centuries, and yet someone had removed the dust and put the object back into service.
Within it, multiple small tubes filled with a red liquid turned, with small samples being taken from time to time to another machinery, which also came to life momentarily.
This second machine conveyed some information to the computer it was connected to, which blinked green lights as a result.
“Mmhh… I see…” A feminine voice suddenly mumbled, thoughtful.
“This genetic pattern, it’s definitely…” The voice did not finish her phrase, yet you could tell she was sure of herself.
“Truly interesting. I never thought I would ever see another of one ‘those’ again, not to say a hundred and thirteen…”
The voice went quiet again, leaving the hum of the machinery as the only noise in the dark room. Another sample was studied like that by the machinery…
“Genetic modification… strength huh? What a classical. Though I must say I’m quite surprised they pushed it this far. How is the subject still stable?” The voice began to mumble to herself again.
The scene continued for an unknown amount of time, until the machinery had completely depleted the red liquid inside the test tubes.
“...Fufu.” The voice began to laugh. “Interesting, very interesting! Are they all the strength type? No, that’s probably not the case. The blood comes from only one donor after all. Then they hid their abilities from me? Hah! Excellent! Being on their guard is exactly how they should be!”
Green light blinked as the voice grew excited.
“Should I show up in front of them? No… Let’s not. I should keep watch on the situation for now… Those damn rats on the surface are too annoying though… Ugh, but they could also help ‘them’ grow stronger…”
The voice finally came to the end of her debate after a while.
“Let’s wait for now. I shall keep moving from the shadows…”
The lights moved slowly, going to another room as the voice was suddenly taken by laughter. The lights then reached a huge computer with a fissured screen on it, who blinked black and white as soon as the small green lights made contact with it.
“Hah… It’s been a while since I’ve felt so excited… Let’s calm down for a bit, unless I want to lose some more processors…”
The screen stabilized, revealing a smiling emoji face on a green background…
“Still, it’s been a while since I’ve last trained clones, I can’t wait to make my move…”
Chauchat
Author's monologue:
Hey there! I'm back with another late chapter!
A lot of stuff happened in this chapter. the Twills are ploting things again, but so are Ticia and Rika! I wonder if they'll manage to get what they want with the Phillians... Oh well, at least we got some cute moments!
And yeah, this is a recent modification, but I decided to also give ECG-046 a name with her sisters, seeing how she appears as often as the other three. Huray for her?
Rika will have some talk to do. I wonder what will happen.
Also, what was that at the end, Friend or Foe!?
Well, that's something left for future chapter... for now, that's it for me for today! I'll see you all in the next chapter!
PS: you can join the discord here! https://discord.gg/
*Tik Tok*
The ticking of the old majestic clock within the field marshal's office were the only noise heard within the silence as David faced Barry Twill.
The old field marshal smoked his cigar like usual, but contrary to his typical easygoing atmosphere, Barry was annoyed this time…
“What a pain…” He finally said, breaking the silence as he released a smoky sigh.
Barry had good reasons to be annoyed. Recently, nothing went the way he wanted.
“First, the minister of the army suddenly blocks our army expansion plan, then the minister of finance threatens to reduce our allocated monthly budget…”
Barry knew the ministers well, he had no doubt someone had bribed them to go against him. Although he was unwilling, Barry had to bribe the men with his own funds to come to an agreement with them.
“Not only that, the war came to a stalemate just a few weeks after breaking out…”
War is either a matter of days or a matter of years, with the latter being hated by everyone the most. A stalemate occuring at the very beginning of the war is never a good thing, moreso if you are the commander in chief of the armed forces of your state.
Barry had received immense pressure from politicians to make the war a short matter, but the old man ignored their demands. He knew war better than them after all. But the complaints had become so numerous at such a ridiculous pace that Barry could not ignore them anymore…
“And now this whole fiasco with the academy!”
*BAM*
He suddenly slammed his fist on the table, making David finch.
This was the most unexpected thing that happened to him, as never had he seen the academy fight back so directly. In the aftermath, his political allies, and even some of his most loyal subordinates, spooked by the academy’s move, blamed him for being too greedy, while some of his opponents began undermining his authority from within the military.
It was clear that he was in a bad position right now…
“Something is happening… Or rather, someone is making moves against us in the shadows.”
That’s what he concluded after thinking deeply on the recent events, but what frustrated him was that he did not know who was the person lurking in the shadows…
He needed to rethink his priorities…
“David.” Barry called out after a small silence.
“Yes, Field Marshal?”
“Let’s postpone any moves on the clones.”
“Wha-!? But sir!” David was shocked, he immediately tried to protest, but the old field marshal stopped him with a gesture.
“We have bigger problems right now. We must concentrate our efforts and resources on the war, or else, we might lose everything…”
Barry was greedy for power, but he was not stupid. He knew he sometimes had to give up on some things if he wanted to keep his position. David, however, seemed of a different opinion.
“If you give me more time, I’m sure I could get closer to Brigadier-General Rika…” He replied while clenching his fists.
“Hah. You sure are confident for someone who always gets rejected by your target.” Barry Twill retorted with a sneer.
“But still, it’s because I never was able to get some alone time with her…”
“Because a clone was always around her, right?” Barry pointed out, and David nodded. The old field marshal stayed pensive as he stared at David while smoking. This all sounded like an excuse to him.
“Look, we already spent a lot of favors and bribes not only to get you into the academy, but also to get the clone mother and most of their forces away from Rika, and yet you still failed. Heck, we even lost our grip over the Guards because of what happened!” Barry chided. He considered the events with the Guards to be an unexpected loss which he could still get up from, but the loss of the Guards’ support still affected his grip on the military in the short term.
“Besides, she’s shown clear signs of rejection to you.” He finished, before smoking his cigar again.
“She did not say it outright, so I can still pursue her!” David defended himself.
“Then what?” Barry was growing irritated. “Look kiddo. It’s not like the clones will get away. We can get them once things have settled up on the front.”
“But what about the other factions?”
“If we can’t get close to them, do you expect other factions to achieve it?” The old field marshal countered with a smirk. He had heard of some recent link with the Pellian’s dominating party, but he did not believe they would be much of a threat.
“And just look at the Doessons right now, do you want to end up like them?”
The recent events surrounding the Doesson family had become quite the topic between Borkian circles… If there was one faction frontly opposing Rika, then it was them, and they received some blows while Rika and the clones came out unscathed or stronger…
Seeing this, Barry wanted to avoid becoming the talk on everyone’s lips.
“But still, even if I can’t get close to Rika, I can make it appear like we’re close at the very least. Besides, there’s also the matter of the immature clones.” David stayed convinced of his goal.
“I see you won’t give up on this matter huh?” Barry commented. It would seem like David had become obsessed with the clones… “Fine, do whatever you want. But don’t expect support from me, I have more important matters to deal with right now.”
When you are at the helm of a huge faction, it's impossible to control everything. Especially when said faction was majorly composed of opportunistic people rather than loyal ones. Barry’s policy was one of leniency over his subordinates and allies, so long as nothing blew up in the face of the faction, he would leave them to their own schemes… That’s why Barry had left alone his underlings who tried to kidnap the clones…
“Thank you, Sir. Then-”
*Beep*
“Hold on a sec.”
As David was about to express his gratitude, Barry received an urgent notification. He immediately checked it.
| Urgent report: The president’s health is degrading at a visible rate. Doctors do not give him more than a year to live. |
“Ho…” The old field marshal’s annoyed look suddenly changed. After a small silence, he smirked. “It’s your lucky day it seems, David.”
“Eh?”
*Tik Tok*
As the clock's cogs continued their endless movements, the subject of the two men’s discussion shifted…
***
“I’m back!”
Ticia declared as she entered the barracks.
“Welcome back, Ticia.” Rika welcomed her with a smile.
““Mom!”” Twelve little girls suddenly rushed towards Ticia.
“My girls! Ouf!” Ticia received them with open arms as they hugged her, holding her ground as the girls giggled. “Phew, don't suddenly jump at me like tha-”
“Mother!”
““Eh?””
“Eh? Ough!”
Seemingly inspired by the actions of the Null CGs, ECG-099 also rushed towards Ticia, surprising everyone. Ticia, who did not expect this, received the impact unprepared and fell to the ground with everyone.
“Ouch ouch ouch…” Ticia grunted as she tried to get up, only to fail because of the weight of her daughters on her. “Geez, 099, what a clutz you are sometimes…”
“Apologies, Mother…” 099 replied with a tinge of embarrassment while the Null CGs began to giggle.
“I wasn’t reprimanding you…” Ticia smiled wryly as she headpatted her clumsy daughter.
After some more greetings, they shifted to the refectory of the barracks, where the Null CGs excitedly told their mother about their experiences.
“Mom, mom! We did a wargame with soldiers!” Willia was the one who talked the most of her experiences.
“Yeah, I saw it.” Ticia replied with a smile.
“You did?”
“Of course.” Ticia boasted. “I had no choice but to watch since my girls were live streamed to the whole Borkian Confederation. You all did great, mommy is proud of you all.”
The girls giggled at the praise.
“Mh? What’s this?” Ticia noticed a difference between her girls. “...Willia, did you grow taller?”
“Fueh?”
““Eh?””
Willia tilted her head, while her sisters froze.
“Yeah, I’m sure of it.” Ticia nodded to herself, smiling. “You’re taller than your sisters by at least one centimeter.”
“R-really?” Willia seemed glad to hear that.
“Fufu, good for you. You grow up so fast~.” Her mother headpatted her, and Willia giggled happily.
“Hehe.”
““...””
The other Null CGs were making weird faces however…
“Wh-what? Why are you all looking at me like that, sisters?” Willia asked, feeling that something was wrong, when Nicia suddenly mumbled.
“Not fair…”
“N-Nicia?”
“Why is it you out of all of us? Tell me your secret now!” Nicia grabbed Willia by the shoulders and shook her.
“Eh? Eh?” Willia was of course confused, but still answered her sister’s question. “Uhm, I mean, I train a lot and get nutritious meals?”
“What kind of meals? Tell me!” Nicia pressed.
“I eat the same thing as you though!?”
“Ah, that’s not exactly true, Willia, you do drink a lot of milk too.” Rika suddenly chimed in with a knowing smile on her face.
“Really huh? A lot of milk…” Nicia lowered her head.
“Uhm, can you let me go now, dear sister?” Willia asked in a trembling voice as her sister’s grip was still strong on her. Never had Nicia been so strong before!
“No way, I still haven’t finished talking to you~.” Nicia replied with a smile that sent shivers to Willia.
“Hieee!? S-sisters, help?” Willia tried to get some help, only to realize her sisters had similar looks to the one Nicia had…
““...Punishment.””
“Hiek!? Wh-what did I doooo~!?” Willia ran away like a scared bunny.
“Agh?! Where do you think you’re going Willia? Come back here!” Her sisters immediately ran after her.
Ticia watched the whole scene with a large smile.
“Ah~, I missed that…” She said as she heard Willia’s shrieks in the background. She was not worried about Willia’s growth spurt, as this was clearly a side effect of the gene modifications. She expected the girls’ growth to go at different paces each, but she also knew from A-4 that they would all end with the same measurements as her, so she only saw the current situation with a huge motherly smile on her face.
“Were the ECGs calmer?” Rika asked from the side, but Ticia shook her head.
“I wouldn’t say that. I had some precious memories with them too, right 001?”
“M-Mother, please have mercy…” Remembering a certain moment, ECG-001 became blushed and slightly panicked, which made Rika look at her in wonder while Ticia had a teasing smile on her face.
“Anyway, we have a lot to talk about, right?” Rika decided not to embarrass the ECG further.
“Yeah, want to begin?”
“Sure.”
“Oh, but before that, there’s someone I must present to you.” Ticia said as if remembering something. She put her watch on the table. “You can unmute yourself, Rebot-ia.”
An emoji face suddenly appeared on the watch’s screen.
“Hi there! Are you my owner’s owner?”
“...Sorry, I think I got the wrong AI, let me throw that one away.”
Ticia grabbed the watch and went towards the recycle bin.
“W-wait, Owner? T-that was a joke of course! Please don’t throw me away!”
There was a small quarrel, and Ticia sat back while sighing.
“...What’s this?” Rika asked as she observed the watch, bemused by what just happened. “You brought an AI?”
“That’s the gist of it.” Ticia rubbed her forehead, seemingly tired. “Remember when I said I got something valuable out of the clone installation? Well, it’s this old AI. Rika, I present to you Rebot-ia.”
“Engaging noble greeting program: Ahem. A good day to you, Miss Rika. I am Rebot-ia, former AI in charge of Clone Installation 26 and now the personnal assistant AI of my new owner, Owner Ticia.”
“Uhm, yes, hi…”
Rika was still weirded out. AIs were not particularly developed this much or relied upon in the Borkian Confederation, so an AI that expressed herself like this was really weird…
“She’s a weird one right?” Ticia said with a knowing smile.
“Yes, yes, I’m weir- wait, Owner? Why are you suddenly saying that?!”
“I mean, can you deny it?”
“Absolutely not!”
“Thought so.” Ticia sighed, before looking at Rika “Despite how she is, this AI has proven itself to be of extreme value in both regards to providing information and assisting me in my goals.”
“...I see. I trust you Ticia.” Rika said after a moment of thought, before looking towards Rebot-ia seriously. “I’ll be glad to work with you in the future too, Rebot-ia.”
“The pleasure is mine! Owner’s talked a lot about you, as much as her daughters I must say!”
“Realy?” That picked up Rika’s curiosity.
“Yes! She told me-”
“Rebot-ia.” Ticia smiled, but the aura around her said something else.
“Ah, I made Owner angry again… Teehee.” Rebot-ia pulled her emoji tongue, which made Ticia pick up the watch again with the goal of reaching the recycle bin for good.
“Wawa!? Please stop!? I-I get it already, I’ll go say hi to the Null CGs and begin my main task!”
“What’s your main task?” Rika asked as Ticia sat back again.
“Recording all of the Owner’s daughter's cute moments! Seeya later!”
“...” Rika stared in silence at Ticia with a judging look as multiple screams of surprise reverberated in the background..
“W-what? I’m not doing anything wrong, I’m just saving precious moments for myself!” Ticia defended herself while blushing.
“Suuure… Well, I won’t say anything, so long as I get to watch them too.” Rika said back with a business look.
“I knew you’d understand, Rika!” Ticia took Rika’s hands in her own, delighted.
““...”” Now it was the ECGs’ turn to look at the two women with judging looks.
After some short embarrassment, Rika told Ticia what happened while she was away.
“I see… So? What exactly did the academy want from you?” Ticia asked while drinking some coffee.
“Blood. The girls’ blood, to be exact.” Rika replied, sipping her tea, but her words made Ticia nearly spit out her drink.
“...Did you give them some?” She asked with a grave look.
“Yes, but don’t worry, I consulted with our little specialist before making the decision.”
“You mean Nicia?”
“Yeah, she told me it wouldn’t be a problem since ‘you can’t create a clone out of a clone’s gene’.”
“Ah, right… I remember A-4 mentioning this once…” Ticia remembered vaguely. She had to admit she should have listened to the AI instead of playing around… “But won’t giving them blood reveal the genetic changes of the girls?”
“I’m not sure, so I’ve just sent Willia’s blood for now…”
“Willia, huh?” Ticia seemed to agree on the move. Willia’s genetic modifications were quite simple and easy to understand, but even if their enemies were to know them, it would not have a big impact on Willia herself. What were the counters to raw strength, afterall?
“More importantly Ticia, about the twins…”
“Yeah, I’ve noticed…”
The conversation shifted to another subject. This was another matter of concern to Ticia. Despite the happy mood the girls were in right now, Ticia could see that the twins were not in their best state of mind… Despite her worries and the pain she felt at seeing the twins like that, she remained firm on her decision.
“For now, I’ll take some time off with them and check on them frequently, but as I’ve said to you before, we can’t do much. This is something they have to resolve by themselves.”
“Still, it’s painful to watch…” Rika could not help but say with a grimace, a sentiment that Ticia shared.
“Tell me about it. I’m their mother, but I can’t do much for them…” She sighed. “If we were not in our current predicament, I would have left them alone…”
“...Things aren’t that simple, Ticia. Your situation can’t be helped right now…” Rika said with a sad look. “Besides, living a spoiled life full of innocence isn’t always a good thing…”
“Rika…” Seeing that Rika seemed a bit depressed now too, Ticia decided to speak about something that she did not tell Rika yet.“Rika, there is someone I need you to meet once we finish this discussion, is that ok?”
“Sure? But who?”
“...I’ll tell you later.”
She ended up backing away for now. There were some other matters she wanted to talk about to Rika, and aboarding the subject right now could get Rika’s attention away… At least that’s what she told herself.
“If you say so, it’s not like I’m in a hurry anyway.” Rika also sensed something, but decided not to pry further.
“Now it’s my turn to make a report to you, Rika.” Ticia began her report, crossing her arms. “I’ve already told you the gist of what happened in our previous calls, and now that you’ve met Rebot-ia, you should know everything about that part, so I’ll skip that. But first, I want you to request a private meeting with the Phillio Empire’s ambassador.”
“...Did you find something useful?” Rika asked curiously.
“Yes. Very useful. I’m going to use the piece of information I just got as a threat. Do you know about Prince Aldebert Irma Monfils?” Ticia asked. This was the perpetrator behind the pirate attack…
“I’ve heard of him before.” Rika replied immediately. “He’s a rebellious prince who often defies his sister’s authority as empress yet somehow always comes out of it unscathed… Don’t tell me the VIP you mentioned is-.”
“No, it’s not him, unfortunately. But I have proof of him meddling in our affairs.” Ticia said back.
“I can see why you want to meet the ambassador now, but Ticia, threats won’t work.” Rika pointed out as she took another sip of her tea.
“Why?”
“We’re talking about the empress of the Phillion Empire right now, when have you heard of her showing mercy towards her half-siblings?”
“Never.”
It was only when Rika mentioned this that Ticia realized her plan to keep the Phillians at bay was flawed.
“Right, she’d prefer him dead. With the information you’ve just gained, you’d only get a favor at best.”
“A favor huh?” Ticia raised an eyebrow. “I see…”
This was not what Ticia wanted. She began to rethink her plan as useless and gave up on the idea to meet the ambassador, but Rika was of another opinion.
“I’d suggest we still take this as an opportunity.”
“Why?”
“Empress Laurelette Irma Luz is known to be merciless against her siblings, but she’s also known to always repay favors… Ticia, while we don’t know the Empire’s intentions concerning you and your daughters, a temporary alliance could be beneficial to us.”
“Hmmm…” What Rika said made sense to Ticia, she pondered on the option for a while, before coming to a decision. “I get it, let’s take the gamble and ally ourselves with the Empire then.”
Rika nodded in agreement.
“Anything else you want to mention, Ticia?”
“Yes, I’m going to give names to 001, 023, and 099.” Ticia declared flatly.
““!?!”” Rika was not the only one who was impacted by this declaration this time. The ECGs, who were surrounding the both of them, opened their eyes in surprise.
“Hoh? Took you long enough to name them, but why those three in particular?” Rika had a smirk on her face as she said that.
“001 and 023 deserve it, as for 099, take it as my apology for not taking you with me this time.” Ticia sent a wink to the surprised ECG-099 as she said that.
“M-Mother…” ECG-099 was overwhelmed by emotions because of this announcement. “Yes! I am delighted to receive a name!”
The other ECGs looked at their sisters with looks of mixed envy and happiness.
“Oh, if it’s about merits, I do believe there might be another candidate you should consider…” Rika suddenly added.
“Who?” Ticia asked while tilting her head.
“046.”
“Eh?” ECG-046 let out a weird voice, before pointing at herself. “M-me? General?”
“You’ve shown a good amount of growth recently, 046. Also, I think you should keep wearing what was given to you.” Rika added with a teasing smile. Right now, ECG-046 did not wear her headband because she was scared of what her mother would say, but it was such a display of emotions around this accessory that got Rika to speak out for her in the first place.
“B-but.” ECG-046 fidgetted, sending glances towards her mother. Ticia could see a mix of dread and hope mixed in that look. Rika smiled wryly at the display.
“I don’t think your mother would be bothered by that.”
“What what? Something bothering me? Tell me more…” Ticia was a bit unsure what the subject was about, but since she saw Rika teasing her daughter, she also wanted to jump in.
“Oh, it’s nothing much, just that 046 received an accessory as a gift recently.” Rika said with a huge smile.
“Ah, you mean the headband I saw her wearing the other day?” Ticia thought back, she had seen 046 wear a headband during the wargames. She then sent a teasing look towards ECG-046, who shied away from her gaze. “Hehe~, you were worried mommy wouldn’t allow you to wear it? How cute~.”
“M-Mother, please stop teasing me…” ECG-046 hid behind ECG-001, who sighed at the display.
“It’s ok, it’s ok~!” Ticia waved her hand in the air happily. “You’re allowed to wear whatever you want, 046, and that goes for all of you. I don’t care about uniformity or whatever, wear whatever you like.”
““Mother…”” The ECGs looked at their mother with immense fondness.
“As for the name…”
“Mother, I’m ok, you don’t have to give me a name.” ECG-046 said, afraid she was bothering her mother.
“Are you sure?” Ticia also asked back. If ECG-046 did not want a name right now…
Fortunately, Rika intervened.
“That’s a no go, Licia also wants her to have a name.”
“Prime sister Licia?!” ECG-046 seemed surprised by this fact.
“Licia does? Well, if Licia asked for it, then I have no other choice but to oblige.” Ticia declared happily. How could she refuse a request from her favorite daughter? “Tomorrow, 001, 023, 046 and 099 shall receive names!”
““Thank you, Mother!”” The ECGs saluted their mother for her decision, which made Ticia smile.
“Hehe, you’re welcome.”
“Now then Ticia, I believe we have one last matter to talk about.” Rika went back to the subject Ticia had been holding on, which made her twitch a bit.
“Yeah… about that…” Ticia avoided contact while scratching her cheek.
“Mh? What’s wrong?”
“Remember the VIP I saved? Well, it’s someone you know very well…”
“I do?” Rika was getting more and more curious, which made Ticia falter a bit. She tried to make her words clear, but had a hard time telling Rika that her mother wanted to meet her and was actually in one of the waiting rooms of the academy right now…
“Yes, uhm, you were very close to her in the past and uhm, she wants to meet you and-”
“Ticia, stop turning around the point. Tell me who it is.” Rika asked straightly, understanding that Ticia was hesitating more and more.
“...You promise you will meet her after that?” Ticia asked suddenly. She was honestly scared how Rika would react to the information…
“?” Rika tilted her head. “Sure, since you’re so insistent about it. So, who is it?”
Ticia lowered her head. She mumbled weakly.
“...-ther”
“Mh? What was that? I didn’t hear you right now, Ticia.” Rika asked again. Ticia swallowed loudly, gathering her courage. She let out a long sigh before looking straight at Rika with a serious look.
“It’s your mother.”
“...What?” Rika looked utterly shocked by what she just heard, so Ticia repeated herself.
“I’m talking about your mother, Rika. Meiko has come to talk to you.”
***
Deep within an old underground complex, lights shined as various computer green lights blinked into the darkness.
Within the room was a lot of scientific equipment, and most of it was covered by dust, having been left in a state of unuse for centuries. And yet, they remained in a working state. The computers and machinery were completely unaffected by rust or surrounding elements.
None of them had served their original task since they had been left there. Since their owners fled the place. But that did not mean nobody was left behind…
In one corner of the room, one of the machinery was hard at work, humming lightly. It had not worked for centuries, and yet someone had removed the dust and put the object back into service.
Within it, multiple small tubes filled with a red liquid turned, with small samples being taken from time to time to another machinery, which also came to life momentarily.
This second machine conveyed some information to the computer it was connected to, which blinked green lights as a result.
“Mmhh… I see…” A feminine voice suddenly mumbled, thoughtful.
“This genetic pattern, it’s definitely…” The voice did not finish her phrase, yet you could tell she was sure of herself.
“Truly interesting. I never thought I would ever see another of one ‘those’ again, not to say a hundred and thirteen…”
The voice went quiet again, leaving the hum of the machinery as the only noise in the dark room. Another sample was studied like that by the machinery…
“Genetic modification… strength huh? What a classical. Though I must say I’m quite surprised they pushed it this far. How is the subject still stable?” The voice began to mumble to herself again.
The scene continued for an unknown amount of time, until the machinery had completely depleted the red liquid inside the test tubes.
“...Fufu.” The voice began to laugh. “Interesting, very interesting! Are they all the strength type? No, that’s probably not the case. The blood comes from only one donor after all. Then they hid their abilities from me? Hah! Excellent! Being on their guard is exactly how they should be!”
Green light blinked as the voice grew excited.
“Should I show up in front of them? No… Let’s not. I should keep watch on the situation for now… Those damn rats on the surface are too annoying though… Ugh, but they could also help ‘them’ grow stronger…”
The voice finally came to the end of her debate after a while.
“Let’s wait for now. I shall keep moving from the shadows…”
The lights moved slowly, going to another room as the voice was suddenly taken by laughter. The lights then reached a huge computer with a fissured screen on it, who blinked black and white as soon as the small green lights made contact with it.
“Hah… It’s been a while since I’ve felt so excited… Let’s calm down for a bit, unless I want to lose some more processors…”
The screen stabilized, revealing a smiling emoji face on a green background…
“Still, it’s been a while since I’ve last trained clones, I can’t wait to make my move…”
Chauchat
Author's monologue:
Hey there! I'm back with another late chapter!
A lot of stuff happened in this chapter. the Twills are ploting things again, but so are Ticia and Rika! I wonder if they'll manage to get what they want with the Phillians... Oh well, at least we got some cute moments!
And yeah, this is a recent modification, but I decided to also give ECG-046 a name with her sisters, seeing how she appears as often as the other three. Huray for her?
Rika will have some talk to do. I wonder what will happen.
Also, what was that at the end, Friend or Foe!?
Well, that's something left for future chapter... for now, that's it for me for today! I'll see you all in the next chapter!
PS: you can join the discord here! https://discord.gg/
