Clone Girls

Rika arrived at the entrance of her quarters, which were guarded by two of her most trusted underlings. They nodded in recognition at her, and did not even question the presence of the three little girls that were following behind her. Rika nodded back at them, before entering her quarters, which only consisted of a big, soundproofed tent. It wasn’t much, but Rika preferred it that way, and made sure the rest of her soldiers followed her on this preference.

Since Rika’s brigade moved a lot around for their operations, she had put in place regulations on what equipment her brigade would bring. Including their military gear, which was clearly necessary, she chose tents over the usual quick built buildings. Her reasoning behind that was that tents took less place than those, reducing the stress on her logistic team, and were overall quicker to mount up and dismantle. An advantage she preferred, despite the Borkian’s military preferences in their policy of well planned bases.

Other than that, the material brought was rather simple: a hoverer bike and some trucks for quick movement, a huge backpack for equipment, and whatever each soldier deemed necessary for their own well being during the operation. Rika’s policy in that domain was rather lax in fact, as she thought her soldiers needed some time for themselves, they were not all like Ticia, after all…

The 9th assault brigade’s camp was located right next to the 15th mechanized Division’s camp. Since Rika’s unit was not independent due to General Fika’s orders for this operation, she had to stick with them. Not that she minded, Berdo’s men were disciplined, and the cohesion between both units had always been great.

Nobody came in while I was away, good. Rika thought, nodding to herself after verifying with a glance that everything was still in place. It’s not that she did not trust the guards outside, just that she had learned to always be on guard, because when you were in a position of power, troubles always came your way. 

She glanced at the triplets she had just saved, they were now looking around the room with curious, analyzing looks. Rika always made sure things were tidied up in a way it looked neat as well as charming, at least in her own space, and seeing the girls’ reaction made her somewhat proud of herself. Good thing I keep it tidy.

At the center of the space was a desk and a huge table. The desk was tidy, with books and reports neatly arranged on the side, and a comfy chair, the only one in the room in fact, that was waiting for its owner to take her rightful place. On the table was a paper map that covered almost all of the table’s surface, and, on it, a multitude of small devices, hologram projectors, were alight, projecting various forms and information. This was the place where Rika led her brigade when she wasn’t on the frontlines, and where she usually held her briefings as the commander in chief of her unit.

To the right side of the tent was her personal hoverer bike, a special model, which was at least 300 years old, and was proudly displaying the ensign and colors of her brigade. Normally, that is, it broke recently, and her mechanics were too busy right now to take some time to repair a personalized hoverer bike. For now, she had covered it with a tarp. Her plans were to repair it herself once she had some time off, something she knew would be difficult to achieve in the coming future…

Behind her desk was a closed opening leading further into the tent. It was where beds, a shower, and some other basic necessities like a kitchen, were located. This was her privilege as the commander of the brigade, not one she had decided on, but rather one forced upon her by her own subordinates, who wanted their commander to have everything she needed for herself in her private quarter. This was their own way of thanking her, so she could not really refuse her men’s goodwill, and officers had to have better logement than soldiers anyway, that was a base rule in the Borkian military. She would need to check there as well, but she was sure nothing had happened and that space was as neat and tidy as this one.

Well, someone would need to learn a bit from me. She ended up thinking, as yet again her thoughts went to her subordinate who went missing. Ticia was… well, she wasn’t the most organized person. Not the worst, but still bad enough for Rika to give sermons to the woman. 

Thinking back on it, Rika felt nostalgic. There usually was a second occupant in this tent, and it was Ticia, playing the role of her general’s bodyguard and close aide.

But she hid her emotions with her usual poker face as she walked to the table, and disabled one of the projectors that was displaying a red building. Its location on the map itself referred to the place her unit had just raided, and by switching the display to off, she meant that the place had been cleared up.

I have some work to finish. She thought, looking at the desk, the computer that was integrated within blinked, signaling that she had reports to read. She needed to read through them all and make a report of her own for her higher ups, like it was asked of her.

It’ll take some time, but I should be able to go through it like usual. She thought, but then, she sensed a gaze at her back, three gazes in fact, and she remembered that she was not alone.

Right, I still have other things to do. Rika refocused on the triplets, they were waiting for her next words, probably wondering whether this place truly was safe or not. But more importantly to Rika, they needed a medical checkup, as one was covered in blood (although Rika  was nearly sure it was not the girl’s own blood), and the other two were covered in bruises and small cuts.

“Follow me, girls, we need to heal your wounds first.” She said to them, going towards the second area. There’s some medical supplies piled up just in case.

Rika always kept medical supplies just in case something happened, and she was happy she did so right now. She would usually go to the small medic team in her brigade, but Rika wanted to limit the interactions between the triplets and Borkian soldiers, even from her own brigade. It was not that she did not trust her men, just that with the recent events with Felgoron, she needed to be more cautious of her movements. After all, despite the fact that she built the 9th assault brigade by herself, she knew that there were always people who would jump ship at the first opportunity they met.

She had no doubt that the triplets would have a fate similar to what they lived through in the Ionian base, if not worse, because for some reason, people showed a lot of interest in them. If she wanted the girls to be left alone, she would need to make sure that everybody forgot about them, and her plan for that was simple. Since all reports passed through her, she would just erase the mention of the girls, and if asked, she would just say she picked them up near the camp, and that she took custody of the kids until the end of the investigation.

Was it treason? Probably, but Rika did not care. It wasn’t like her fate would change much anyway, and since finding Ticia became more and more of an impossible possibility, then she would at least save young lives before becoming a scapegoat.

Finding the medical supplies was rather easy. They were in a box with a big red cross painted on it, on a shelf, right in between two beds. One was Rika’s bed, while the other bed was neatly made, but did not have any occupant. Rika took the box, opened it, and took out some disinfector and a quick health check device.

“Please sit on the bed for a while.” She said, pointing at the bed that had no occupant. The triplets obeyed without questioning, and Rika smiled internally. The girls were beginning to trust her, it seemed. She pointed at the medical scanner and said to them. “I’ll scan your bodies with it to know what injuries you have.”

She began with Lidia, the girl stayed imobile as the scan was made, and did not comment despite her expressionless stare. It was not the expression a normal child should have, but at least it was better than having the said child wanting to cut your throat with a knife…

 

Rika read the scan rapport, and just like she had guessed, Lidia was fine. For the bruises though, she felt a bit sorry. Those were definitely the result of their little spar.

“Alright, you’re fine, girl.” She said to Lidia, who immediately got up and sat right next to her, looking at the result of the scan herself, before nodding. The action made Rika even more attracted to the girl’s personality.

Rika’s first impression of Lidia was very positive, the girl put her sister’s safety first and foremost, appearing like the oldest of the group. She did not trust strangers easily too, and even corrected her sisters when they were about to reveal information about them. In all honesty, her overall personality… was very similar to that of a soldier, a perfect soldier. But this was the point of worry for Rika. For a kid to be like this, and not hesitate to attack somebody with the intent to kill, meant that the girl had been trained to become like this from a very young age, she was a child soldier.

Damn bastards! Rika cursed in her mind, not changing her expression in fear of scaring the girls. Why are they all like this?

This was a question directed at nobody in particular. Rika was simply disgusted with the people in power and their actions. She had heard some parts of Ticia’s past when the two of them were either drunk, or to make them think of something else when they suffered an injury, so she knew that Ticia had also been formed to kill from a young age. This was not how a kid should live, and added to her own past, it reinforced her hatred of the people in power.

But she closed her eyes, this was not the time to think about this. Right now, she needed to take care of the children in front of her.

She pointed to the second girl. “Your turn, errr…”

“It’s Nia, N.I.A, Nia!” The girl said, pouting. 

Right, Nia's the one with an ahoge… Rila reminded herself once more, how many times did she guess wrong between Mia and Nia? The difference in their body language was quite apparent though. The problem was that Mia's hair was untied now, because the girl realized how much of a mess it had become after being liberated. So Rika could only really tell the difference between the two from the number of hair strands standing proudly on their heads. For Lidia though, the girl wore different… clothes? Beside that, the red ribbon and ponytail made a better job at identifying the girl.

Rika was a bit disoriented about Nia though, she was very energetic for a kid who was supposed to have just suffered a lot from an experiment… But she would check whether it’s a bad thing or not later. She scanned the girl, and then read the results.

Now that’s alarming… Rika thought, glancing at the girl who was still pouting, looking away with eyes closed, but still opening one from time to time to look at what Rika was doing. The action in itself was cute, if not for what Rika had just read.

Drugs... Poor girl… Rika thought, looking very sad. She turned over to Lidia, who was still next to her for some reason, and had also read the results. “Is your sister always like this? Or is it because…”

“What do you mean, 'always like this'?!” Nia jumped on her feet in protest, but tripped over nothing, falling towards Rika. “Ah-”

Her fall was softened by two soft ‘cushions’. A small silence emerged, Mia panicked, Lidia stared at her sister with exasperation, and both Rika and Nia stayed silent. Then, Nia suddenly began to giggle.

“Hehe, they’re a bit smaller than mom’s, but they sure are confort-Guah!” Before she could finish her phrase, Lidia had grabbed her sister from behind and pulled her out, before giving her a chop on the head.

“Owie~” Nia held her head, meanwhile, Lidia said to Rika with a sigh.

"Don't mind her, it's got nothing to do with drugs, it was a soporific type anyway…

“I see…” Rika replied, and just after that, Nia was back in action.

“Hey! What was that for?” She asked, looking at Lidia with tears in her eyes and still holding her head.

“You were doing something rude.” Lidia said, sending a judging look at her sister.

“I was just being honest!” Nia retorted, she then began to move her hands as if she grabbed something. “It was as soft as mom. I wanna sleep th-Guah!”

Lidia hand chopped her sister again, releasing a sigh. “You never learn, do you?”

“And do you need to hit me because of that?!” Nia asked, but then, she turned to Rika. “Miss, I was complimenting you, you understand me, right?”

“Uhm, thanks, I guess?” Not expecting the ball going her way, Rika thanked Nia. They're still kids anyway, so I don't think there's any weird meaning behind her words…

“See? She was not offended!” Nia said with a smug look to Lidia

“It's still rude, you should apologize.” Lidia replied, and Rika had to agree that it was basic manners. But Nia's next words just aggravated the situation.

“Hmph! You're just jealous it wasn't you who got to touch them!”

“Hah?” A vein popped on Lidia’s forehead.

“Yes!” Nia stood proudly, still with a smug look. “You can’t hide it from me, sis! I know you- Glebu!”

Before she could finish her phrase however, Lidia had begun another  hand chop assault, grabbing Nia in the process so she wouldn’t escape.

“L-let me go!” Nia said as she fought back, but she was too weak against Lidia.

They sure are energetic… Rika though, smiling bitterly at the two sisters. But I should stop them. One is still injured after all…

It was as Rika was about to intervene in this whole situation that she heard a giggle coming from the side. She turned, and saw Mia, the most timid of them, giggle, a smile on her face. When her gaze met Rika's, however, the girl was startled.

“Ah, sorry…” She said, looking down.

“No, it’s alright, you did nothing wrong.” Rika smiled, trying to reassure the girl as she got closer to her. “Rather, are those two always like that?”

“Uhm, kind of?” Mia replied, tilting her head. “Nia is always like this, but it’s the first time I’ve seen Lidia so put off by our little sister. Normally, mom would keep a close eye on Nia.” The last bit was said with a bit of sadness, but Mia seemed to be in a good mood. A better mood than she was before, actually.

Rika then heard two whispering voices coming from the side, from the two other girls.

“Yay! We made Mia laugh!”

“Mission accomplished, I guess.”

“Yeah, thanks for following on me, sister.”

“...I’m still going to report what you just did to mother, though.”

“Hieee! P-please don’t do that!”

“Denied.”

Ah, so they were just raising their sister’s morale… Rika smiled, she was touched by how much the sisters cared about each other. Now this is how a family should be. A quick thought about her own family made her frown a little, but she quickly passed to something else. These kids are strong, I should do my best to help them.

“U-uhm.” Mia began, hesitating to say what she wanted.

“What is it, kid? Don’t be scared and say it.” Rika said, trying her best to appear friendly.

“Th-then, uhm, can I… Can I touch them too?” Mia said, blushing as she said so.

““...”” A silence reigned in as Rika did not know how to answer to that. Even Lidia and Nia stopped their quarrel to look at their sister with big, round eyes, nobody had expected that!

“I-I just want to verify if it’s really soft or not!” Mia blurted out seeing the reaction, blushing even more, before shaking her head and speaking quickly while panicking. “Wh-what am I saying!? Not that! I-I just want a hug, yes, a hug, definitely not because I’m curious!”

Ok, this girl might be the problem… Rika thought, with the bitter sentiment of having the image of the innocent little girl just shattered. She reconsidered who she should be more attentive to. Guess it’ll be her first, Nia in second, and Lidia last…

“...Well, if it’s just a hug, sure, I don't see why not…” Rika said after a while, and Mia reacted happily.

“Th-thank you!” She immediately hugged Rika, who was a bit surprised by the suddenness.

How long has it been since I last had someone hug me? The hug made Rika ask herself. She could not recall ever being hugged by somebody after the age of five, which could seem sad, but it had something to do with her status as a young lady from a powerful family. A hug was simply not considered well…

And no, those times when Ticia and I were drunk don’t count. She reminded herself, if so, then yes, she could say she hugged a lot, because when she was drunk, Ticia was rather… Well, let’s just say she liked skin contact. Now that I think about it, Nia’s a bit like that too, isn’t she?

But distractions aside, she was sure this hug was kind of different, this hug, rather than annoying her like Ticia’s, it made her warm, and comfy. Rika reciprocated the hug, and seeing the girl’s satisfied expression, she guessed she wasn’t the only one who felt like that.

“Hehe, it feels just like mom, warm and secure…” The girl mumbled, before quickly falling asleep in the embrace.

“...What a fast sleeper…” Rika mumbled, not long had passed since they began to hug. “Is it because of the drugs?”

“Oh, it has nothing to do with that.” A voice suddenly said from the side, and when Rika raised her gaze, Nia and Lidia were standing there, Nia had a smile on her face, despite the fact that her appearance looked even more messy than before.

“Mia’s like that you see. She always falls asleep quickly when she feels safe and secure~.” She said, and Lidia nodded at her words. Nia then leisurely sat next to Rika, sighing.

“Those mean people, if they wanted to make us fall asleep longer, they should have used a stronger drug! Hmph!”

“...Don’t say that. Drugs are bad.” Rika said, a bit shocked by the girl’s comment. If she guessed it right from the things she had found in that laboratory, the dose they were given couldn’t be anything but strong. At the same time, she scannned Mia.

The results she got back were the same as Nia's, which was also bad. But that would also explain why she fell asleep so fast, she must be very tired... Her sister on the other hand, she's just weird for being so energetic with such a condition...

“Right, right, they’re bad, like, really bad.” Nia continued, as if the lesson was for somebody else. Rika decided not to comment, instead, she proceeded with treating Mia’s wounds skillfully.

“Wow, you’re good at doing bandages~, miss.” Nia commented from the side.

“Yeah, I got used to doing them after a certain someone always came back with an injury.” Rika said with a bitter smile. Truly, caring for Ticia wasn’t her job, but she often ended up making first aid bandages for her subordinate. She reasoned it was her way of thanking her.

“I see, I see~, just like mom then.” Nia nodded, comparing Rika’s bandage to those her mom did. “It’s very similar!”

“...Did your mom also treat your wounds?” Rika asked, seeing this as an opportunity to learn more about the girls’ mother. With some luck, she would be able to get some information on her and judge for herself whether this mother was good, or was the one who put her own daughters through an experimentation process. It was fortunate that Nia was rather talkative.

“Yeah, yeah, but after some time, sister Nicia also began to treat our wounds from training too.” Nia said, continuing without a care.

“Sister Nicia? Training?” More questions popped up in Rika’s mind as a result of what Nia just said, so she asked for clarification.

“Yeah, Nicia’s our older sister, and Lidia’s li-”

“Nia.” Lidia interrupted her sister before she could finish, and Nia put her hands on her mouth, as if trying to stop herself from speaking more. The action in itself was very cute to Rika, but it also made her think over it.

So they are child soldiers… She concluded, the word training couldn’t have any other meaning to her. As for this ‘Nicia’, she presented her as her older sister, but Lidia also stopped her from saying more. That person might have been a scientist or another kid within the same program, but then again, the name is so close to ‘her’... Rika shook her head again, there was just no way. It was just a coincidence, another, very strange coincidence. The question is: where is that Nicia now?

“Finished.” Rika said as she managed to finish bandaging Mia, and putting her clothes back on, she carefully lowered the girl on her own bed, trying not to wake her up. Then she looked at Nia, who still had her hands over her mouth. “It’s your turn now.”

Nia simply nodded, keeping her hand over her mouth, the action again cried cuteness, even the look she gave from time to time to her sister, pleading to let her speak, was cute. Lidia relented in the end, and nodded.

“Yay~! I’m allowed to speak again without repercussions~.” The girl said happily, now standing in front of Rika. “Hey, hey, miss, can you help me take off my clothes like you did for Mia?”

“Your sister was sleeping, that’s why I did it.” Rika said, shaking her head.

“Come on~, I’m injured too, and you’ll get to hug me too!” Nia pleaded, her true intentions getting out at the same time. Rika wasn’t used much to kids, and she debated whether she should agree or not.

“...Fine.” She ended up agreeing.

“Yay~!” Nia immediately jumped into Rika’s arms, completely forgetting about the undressing part.

“Hey!” Rika exclaimed, but Nia did not seem to listen, she could only sigh. “This kid…”

Fortunately, someone came to her help. Lidia grabbed her sister from behind and pulled her up.

“Whoa?!” Nia was surprised at first. “S-sis? What are you doing?”

“...” Lidia, without a word, began to undress Nia herself.

“Nuaaa! W-wait a sec, sis! Stop!” Nia pleaded, but Lidia did not listen to her, in front of a bemused Rika, Nia was stripped of her clothes.

“Uuuu~~, I can’t marry anymore!” Nia said, ashamed.

“You weren’t planning on doing that.”

“You’re still too young.”  Were the simultaneous answer she received from both Lidia and Rika.

“So mean!”

“I wasn’t though?” Rika said in her defense. “You’re still too young.”

“Hmph! I’ll grow fast, miss! And when I’m an adult, I’ll make you take responsibility for seeing me naked and marry me!” Nia declared, but Rika just took those words as kid’s play, and rolled her eyes.

“Yes, yes, we’ll see that in another ten years, girl, we’ll see if you still remember this at that time. Now, come closer so that I can treat you.”

Nia pouted, but still listened, and just like for Mia, Rika treated the girl’s small wounds and bruises with some disinfectant.

“Does it hurt?” Rika asked, this was military grade disinfectant, it was strong, and did not erase pain like the civilian ones on the market.

“Nh, it tingles a bit.” Was Nia’s reply, seemingly more calm than before.

In fact, her mood took a sudden turn, her mood turned sour as she looked at her sleeping sister on the bed.

“Miss, I know you’re curious about us, but please don’t ask too much.” She suddenly said, and Rika stopped moving while Lidia’s eyes grew big at her little sister’s words, none of them had expected this sudden change!

“You know, where we come from, there are rules…” She began, and before Lidia could say anything, she said to her sister. “Don’t stop me, sis, I won’t leak any info on mom or that place.”

Lidia hesitated for a bit, before nodding, she would let Nia speak. Seeing this, Nia continued, a bit depressed.

“...Mia broke a rule because of me and my stupid mouth. You see, if not accompanied by mom, we don’t have the right to go outside, and because I said I wanted to go outside jokingly, Mia broke an important rule to let us go outside… In doing so, she committed a taboo, and it meant that she would never be able to go back to how it was before…”

“...” Rika stayed quiet, not wanting to stop the girl’s story, continuing to treat the girl instead. She was opening up to her, and this would help her deduct from where those girls were from. Although, from the first words uttered, things were kind of bad…

“When she broke that rule, I couldn’t take it, even though I’m sure mom would disagree, our sisters would be furious at her, and she would be alone. Moreover, I was scared that something would happen to her outside. So I followed her, despite knowing that by doing so, I would become an accomplice and suffer the same fate. But then, after a while, we got captured by those guys…”

A small silence reigned, before Nia continued. “...I’m the one who caused Mia to go outside because I wanted her to be herself, and not be shy anymore, but… but it was an error.”

She began to tremble, and tears began to flow in her eyes.

“I was scared, very scared, but when I thought about what they would do to Mia, I wanted to defend her despite my fears. I continued to act defiantly, so that they would focus on me, but it did not work. Those people inflicted the same pain to the both of us!”

Both Rika and Lidia could feel the frustration Nia felt, and it affected them. Then, Nia looked at her sister Lidia.

“Sis, I know you also feel guilty because you were the one who actually got to go outside with mom, and told Mia about it. But you’re not the one at fault. I'm the only one responsible for playing the reliable sister who likes the same things as her big sister, despite just being a lazy person who only jokes around. I just, I just wanted to be relied on by someone…”

“Nia…” Lidia looked at her sister with a sad look as Nia began to cry.

“I’m sorry! I don’t know how you convinced eldest sister to help us, but-”

“Don’t say that!” Lidia stopped her sister and hugged her, also crying. “It’s true that I felt guilty, but eldest sister is the one who rushed to save you when she heard the news!”

“R-really?” Mia asked, having a hard time believing it.

“Yes, in fact, I only learned about your actions thanks to her, she even broke the rules multiple times just so she could go save the both of you in person! After witnessing that, how could I just stay behind…”

“E-even though our relationship isn’t that good?”

“Yes, she was determined to help the both of you without mother or our sister’s help, even if it meant she herself would have to suffer the consequences.”

“Uuu~, eldest sister~! She cares about us.”

“Yes, we are her sisters after all.” Lidia tightened the hug. “She cares about us as much as mom does.”

Nia began to cry louder, and Lidia closed her eyes as she too cried in silence, both were happy their eldest sister cared about them, but were also worried about what would become of them.

Those girls… Ah, I can’t hold back anymore! Rika also felt something break open from deep within her. Although she did not understand all of the story, she could tell that the sisters loved each other, as much as they loved their mom, and that whatever rule they had broken, it had changed things for them.

“It’s all right, you’re all strong girls.” She said, warmly hugging both girls at the same time. “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure nothing else happens to you all.”

Both girls trembled in her arms as they all tightened the hug, they were searching for warmth to console themselves, and Rika tried her best to provide it.

I’m sorry I can’t do much, I’m not your sister, nor your mom…She thought, feeling powerless, but her eyes were burning with conviction.

“I’ll protect you girls as long as I can, I promise.”

The sobbings of the two girls continued for a while longer, as Rika found a new goal to achieve.