Clone Girls

Apart from the low hum of the engine, silence reigned within the shuttle that led Ticia and her daughters towards the location of Clone installation 26.

Ticia sat on one of the foldable benches in the transport compartment of the shuttle, which was not built for comfort and only had the bare minimum of metallic material. Not that she cared about confort right now. She was peacefully passing her right hand through the hair of one of her daughters, who had her head on her lap.

Needless to say that the chosen ECG was in heaven right now, while her sisters looked at her with small envious looks, awaiting their turn.

A peaceful and soothing atmosphere had been created as a result, making any regular human who were also present within the compartment look at the scene with a variety of expressions.

Ticia did not care about others though. Her mind was focused on what was to come.

She had boasted that she could enter clone installations by herself and through legal ways, but that was simply a half-lie she had told to the Borkians in hope of getting the upper hand in the negotiations, but now she had to face the consequences of those lies.

I hope A-4's data is correct. She thought. Based on the information A-4 had gathered on CI26, she would be able to enter the installation in the same way she did for CI3, thanks to her being somehow related to 'that' secret project.

This subject had been left at the back of her mind ever since A-4 told her she was related to it. Just what was Project Averruncus about, and how was she related to a thousand year old dead project? She hoped she would get some answers from this installation.

But this was not her main objective, just a side quest on her part. Right now, she wanted to verify if some pieces of CI26 could be used to repair CI3, and how she would get away with it since the Borkians would probably want it all for themselves…

The light within the compartment suddenly dimmed, turning orange. This was the signal that the shuttle was about to land. Ticia stopped patting her daughter, which raised herself with a look of reluctance before strapping herself to her seat, and so did the others.

From the slight vibrations, they all could tell the landing was going to be a little tough.

CI26 was in the Nolam system, one of the oldest conquests of the Borkian Confederation, and was both close enough to the Borkian system and the frontier. It was a peaceful system, so she expected the Borkians to have already explored and colonized all the area. Yet they did not.

According to her briefing, Nolam 3 was a planet where life could prosper, but had not been colonized because of the extreme weather conditions that striked the Borkians each time they tried to do so. Thus, weighing the benefits they could get out of this planet, and what it would cost them, the senate of the time had declared the planet as a complete waste of resources, and left the matter on hold for eternity.

This endless streak of hurricanes, tornados, tsunamis and other natural events calmed down recently however, and experts deemed the planet habitable some years ago.

Under the Rollers presidency, colonization had been encouraged to establish new cities and industries on Nolam 3, yet the Borkians remained hesitant, fearful the weather would turn back on them again. This was the reason why Nolam 3 had a sparse population, with not even a military garrison on the planet.

The majority of those people were researchers, who had been curious about the prospects of this planet for a long time. Those scientists recently found CI26, while they were doing some foraging, and they immediately reported their discovery, which now led to Ticia being there instead of enjoying her time with the Null CGs.

The thought about her little girls put a small grimace on her face. She hated the fact that she had to leave them for so long, and so did the little girls, but it's not like they all had a choice in this now.

Thank god I can rely on Rika in these moments. She ended up thinking as her former superior's face came to mind. Whenever it came to her mind, she could not help but think that everything would be fine.

Still, she had given some tasks and advices regarding the Null CGs to Rika, and she truly hoped those would be achieved. 

Some of the girls definitely won't like it, but with time, they'll understand. It's for their own good.

She could already see Rika's complaining face in her mind, which made her smile a little as she knew that her friend was trying to get closer to her daughters. But this time, Rika would be the one to receive all the hate…

Well, whatever happens, she can always rely on the ECGs and Licia.

Before departing, she had revealed the entirety of her plans to Licia. She had seen how Licia had become happier these days, and she seemed to progress at a faster rate than her sisters in 'being a normal kid and getting friends' while still being a kind and protective older sister. She truly was growing up well, which lifted some worries from Ticia's shoulders.

Ticia was happy with this development, and she felt like her eldest daughter was now ready to help her in every way. That's how she explained it to her and Rika.

Licia also seemed to give serious thoughts about her mother's plan, and immediately stared at her with admiration and happiness on her face, before asking to join in every conversation relating to the subject when she was available, something both Rika and Ticia had no problem about.

But when it came to the tasks Ticia had given Rika to do regarding the clone girls, Licia could not help but say her usual 'meany mommy' with a weird look towards her. Despite that, she agreed it was all necessary for her sisters to 'progress further'.

As for the ECGs, they had received strict orders to only obey Rika and only Rika, even if Null codes were used. And since the ECGs would never dare disobey their mother thanks to their 'settings', Ticia was pretty confident nothing would happen on that side.

Also, she had told them to only intervene in life-threatening cases against the clone girls, but otherwise be passive and let the Null CGs deal with their problems by themselves.

*Clunk*

Before she knew it, they had already landed, and the door leading to the outside was in the process of opening.

Her attention then fell on two of her daughters as she stood up and looked around. One was her second in command, ECG-001, and the second, who let out an aura of extreme seriousness and had an eyepatch over her left eye, was ECG-023, the clone girl who was suffering from a genetic illness. 

She had first thought about letting her behind because of that, but to the general surprise of everyone, Nicia asked her to take the girl with her, saying that while her disease was a problem, ECG-023 had excellent results in every other domain and an extremely strong willpower. Curious, Ticia ended up agreeing, and she left behind a reluctant ECG-099 instead.

The two ECGs were discussing their current mission, and what would be the best way to accomplish it while protecting their mother.

It's good to see them being more active. I was honestly scared they would stay unemotional. Ticia thought, a quick warm look on her face before turning towards the exit and putting on her helmet. Her daughters did the same and formed ranks behind her.

Ticia leading the way, they went out of the shuttle, and were met with strong winds. But unlike the rest of the group however, she and her daughters were perfectly fine with the weather, in no small part thanks to their armored skinsuits. She inspected the surroundings, multiple wind turbines had been installed around them, their construction being recent. Those turbines seemed to be in difficulty because of the wind, but worked fine. Based on those, Ticia guessed the place had been transformed into an energy farm and a research center. There were also two structures standing in the middle of the field. One was a building where a small group of people were active, going in and out of it, and another seemed to be a huge hangar.

She followed the struggling soldiers who carried crates filled with material towards the building that stood right in front of them. She could see people in white lab coats standing in front of it, looking at her. She went towards them.

“Took you long enough to come.” Said the man at the head of the group of scientists with irritation in his voice, immediately after she was close enough to hear him. Those words were enough to tell Ticia dealing with the man would be a pain in the ass.

“We took the fastest ship, which already reduced the travel time from ten to seven days, sir,  and even disguised it as an emergency food convoy,to keep things secret.” She answered, making sure to appear unaffected by his words.

“Still longer than I want.” The man said back. “Gosh, do you even realize how much time we wasted waiting for your group? I don't expect you to, since you're not ‘like us’ anyway.” He sneered at his words, the others behind him also sharing small smirks. “Why did we have to wait for you again?”

“I can enter clone installations through legal ways.” Ticia answered back.

“Right, and we waited for you just for that.” The man sighed in frustration. “What the hell are they thinking up there? It's not like it's our first time exploring ancient ruins. I even brought the 194th Guard Battalion for the occasion, for fuck's sake. I don’t need a team of cheerleaders.”

Yup, definitely not the type of people I want to work with. Ticia thought, her eyebrows twitching. She was thankful she had her helmet on right now so that the man could not see her face.

Ticia would usually remain unaffected by insults and provocations. At least that’s how it was when she was alone. But now, while she did not care about being insulted herself, she found it harder and harder to resist the urge of kicking the asses of those who insulted her daughters.

No good… Keep it calm, Ticia. Nothing good will come out of all this if you punch him in the nuts. She thought, pulling herself together and concentrating on the man. He was grumbling about some things she had no interest in.

“Where's the entrance?” She asked, not wanting to stay here any longer than necessary.

“And where are your manners, Clone Mother? Presentations come first.” The man said back with a frown. “I am Dr. Farboug, responsible for all operations here, and that includes your group. So you better stay out of my way and cheer for us from the side while the professionals do their job.”

“That is not going to happen.” Ticia immediately replied with a haughty tone.

“Huh?” Farboug seemed surprised by her answer, not expecting it. Seeing his flabbergasted face put a smile on Ticia’s face.

“Who told you I would take orders from you? I only take orders from General Rika, not the Borkians.” She continued, crossing her arms and replying with a slight tone of defyance. “Besides, I believe you should know that I have special permission to act independently from you all.”

Also, you’re not even in the military, and that’s enough of a reason to not listen to you. Only the Guard corps would listen to what you have to say. She omitted to say so as to not provoke the soldiers in armored skinsuits standing guard behind Farboug and his group, keeping a cautious eye on her. Those were elite troops, and their armored skinsuits were on another level compared to Felgoron’s henchmen.

The Guards were the cream of the crop of the protection the Borkian Army could provide to VIPs, and were provided with the best equipment the confederation had to offer. Originally founded by security agencies that were integrated into the army as an independent paramilitary force, they enjoyed a notoriety that could not be underestimated. 

Unlike other branches, they only obeyed the orders of their contractors or employer, which needed to be a Borkian citizen, and ignored most orders coming from the military command if not of utmost importance or if those went against the principles and integrity of the confederation. One thing was certain though, they would never betray their employer, and that was why they were so popular among the upper class of the Borkian Confederation.

This popularity was also the reason why Escort soldiers, who had a similar formation to the Guards, were so despised in the minds of everyone. Their deeds were overshadowed by the prestige of the Guards.

“Now tell me. Where is the entrance?” Ticia asked again, entering a staring contest with Farboug. The man was angry to receive such an humiliation, she could tell, but if he truly was the leader, he would deescalate things. Nothing good would come out of two elite troops of soldiers fighting one another while he himself was present in the middle.

“Tch! What a defective tool.” Farboug spouted, disgust now clear on his face. “Fine, the entry's over there.” He pointed towards a huge makeshift hangar that stood to the right of the building, guarded by several men in armored skinsuits.

Ticia did not even answer him or acknowledge his answer. She just went straight for the hangar, followed by her daughters. She could feel the stares of the researchers, as if they wanted to dissect her and her daughters on the spot, but Ticia ignored it all, focusing on what was to come.

The guards she passed by did not stop her from entering, so she entered without asking anybody and went straight for the entrance of CI26, which resembled a tunnel that was going into the ground with a low incline.

Immediately after entering the tunnel, Ticia was met with a familiar sight.

This hallway… How should I say, it feels both similar yet different at the same time…

The walls had changed from rock to rusting metal, a sight which reminded her of the hallways of CI3. In other words, they were in an unmaintained state.

They continued in silence, with the only sound made being the one of their armored boots on the metallic floor.

After a while though, the ECGs at the back suddenly slowed their pace, and made some hand signs towards their sisters, which made them slow down too.

“Mother, we are being followed.” ECG-001 calmly reported through the coms.

“I know.” Ticia said back, not stopping. “Let them be for now, we'll deal with them later.”

“Understood.” ECG-001 nodded slightly, and they continued on.

Ticia knew she would be followed after meeting Farboug, so she was not surprised when it happened. Farboug probably planned to get anything she got for himself, hence why he kept an eye on her, but Ticia was not worried. She had a feeling the scientist would not get what he wanted.

Still, if it came down to it and a fight broke out, she would make sure it appeared as an ‘accident’ to the outside, while leaving as few witnesses as possible…

After a while of what seemed like an eternal walk, they finally reached the end of the hallway. They were now facing a sealed reinforced door… A door which happened to be identical to the ones in CI3…

Ticia stopped right in front of the reinforced door, her heart starting to beat faster…

“Alright… Time to see if A-4’s right…” She whispered to herself, waiting for what she knew would happen, and happen it did.

“Intruder alert, intruder alert.”

 “Unidentified personnel has entered.”

In what felt familiar to Ticia, the hallway lit up with red light and a siren resounded throughout the old structure.

“Yup, the same as last time.” Ticia could not help but comment after what she heard. Those were the exact same words with the exact same monotone voice… “Now here comes the second part…”

Just as she said this, vents opened on the sides, and the ominous cloud that had once put her to sleep began to appear.

“Mother.” A tense ECG-001 said, in a position to protect her mother. The other ECGs did the same. They prepared themselves for any danger.

“At ease, girls.” Ticia said to them. “Nothing is going to happen. Just keep your helmets on, and everything will be fine.”

At least that’s what I hope… She said to herself. While she wanted to sound reassuring and in control in front of her daughters, her heart rate was going up. Come on… Don’t let me down now!

Tension continued to mount up, the ECGs still on their guard despite their mother’s reassurance. And as Ticia was beginning to seriously doubt, the vents suddenly closed, and she heard the voice again.

“Valid genetic code detected. Stopping non-lethal defenses…

The target has been recognised as a potential new owner, proceeding with the opening of the door.”

The red lights stopped, and the sealed reinforced door began to open with cranking noises.

“Guest 5301, please proceed.”

The voice said once the door had opened.

“...Good.” Ticia nodded. I'm glad it all worked out in the end.

Ticia immediately entered the facility with a confident stride. “Let's go in, girls.”

And so, the ECGs followed after their mother without a problem, as it would seem like the AI in charge had recognised the clones as Ticia’s underlings, but that was not the case for their unwanted followers, as when they were far from the door, they heard the monotone voice again, as well as the clanking noise of the door.

“Warning: Unrelated personnel, please leave this place before the use of lethal weapons is authorized.”

That should take care of our pursuers. Ticia smirked. Now the team that was following her had been stopped. She did not think those people would force the door immediately, but would fall back and make a report instead. That should give us some time…

Of course, she expected them to come back, and this time with the material to force the door open, but by this time, Ticia hoped she would have already finished her business here.

“You can relax now, girls, the threat at our back has been neutralized.” She said to her daughters.

“Indeed.” ECG-001 nodded. “But we should keep our guards up.”

“Why do you think so, 001?” Ticia asked out of curiosity. She wanted to see the end of her daughter’s thoughts.

“Mother, although the facility has allowed us to enter, we should still be vigilant. It could try something on us.” ECG-001 warned.

“I am in agreement with sister 001, Mother.” ECG-023 added from the side, siding with her sister. When Ticia looked at the other ECGs, they seemed in agreement with this line of thought.

“A wise way of thinking, my sweet girls.” Ticia nodded, smiling. “But do not worry, I am one hundred percent sure the AI will not do anything to us. It did say it recognised me as a potential new owner after all.”

That’s what I think at least. She thought. She told her daughters this out of her own experience with A-4. The AI was pretty welcoming with her, all things considered, and it had not considered her as an intruder at that time.

The AI probably has the same thoughts as A-4 from back then. It just wants a new owner to resume production, which means it shouldn’t be aggressive. Her smile deepened as she got back her confidence. That means I can definitely get some spare parts from this facility.

There was one thing that bugged her, though. It had already been a while since they entered, and yet they had not met any drones, or any sign of life from the AI…

“This is weird…” She thought as she looked around. Although the walls were in the same state as in the entrance’s hallway, albeit in a way better state than those, they were still unpolished, with no lights on. The state of the hallway was not what bugged her, because if she guessed right, the AI just had woken up, which meant it did not have the time yet to do maintenance.

What she found weird was the fact that there was no light, even though the facility was back to life. She wondered whether there was a problem in the energy grid of this floor…

Well, since this is the case, let’s just explore. She decided, wandering around the place. Based on what she knew from A-4, the clone installations from 1 to 100 had the same blueprints, but with some slight differences. So she somewhat knew the way.

Looking around the rooms they were exactly the same as in CI3: empty. This was both a relief and a disappointment to Ticia, because while this meant the blueprints were correct, it also meant that CI26 had no ressources left, just like CI3.

“Mother, should we split up to cover more ground? That way we could gain time…” ECG-023 asked after a while of unfruitful searches.

“Mmmmh…” Ticia thought about it for a small moment, before shaking her head. “No, there’s no need to waste more time. Let’s just go down and ask the AI itself.”

““Roger.””

They searched for a staircase, avoiding the elevators. Seeing how the power seemed low or even nonexistent, those elevators should be out of service.

“...Oh?” Ticia noticed a weak light flashing from the side of her vision while she was wondering which direction  to take next. She smiled. “Finally showing up huh? Follow the flashing light, girls.”

She went over to the light, which went off immediately after she was under it. Another weak light blinked in the distance, which prompted Ticia to go over there. The process repeated itself again and again…

Now Ticia was confident the AI was trying to guide her. She followed the lights with more confidence until they reached a staircase, but there was a problem, though. The staircase had fallen apart.

“Agh, just our luck.” Ticia complained, sighing. The blinking light was now further down the staircase…  “Good thing we got jetpacks, right girls?”

“Good thing indeed, mother.” ECG-001 replied, humoring her mother.

“Then, down we go!”

“Mother, wait.” ECG-023 stopped her before she jumped. “Let me go down with some of my sisters before you.”

“I agree with 023, Mother.” ECG-001 added. “Let us make sure it is safe for you first.”

“Aww, you girls are such worrywarts.” Ticia said, a good feeling filling her. The fact that her daughters were so adamant about protecting her at every occasion despite the fact that she was confident of her own safety made her feel warm. “I understand, show me what you got.”

“Understood.” ECG-023 nodded, and after a hand sign to her sisters, she jumped down the hole, followed by some of her sisters. Their jetpacts soon activated, slowing their descent and illuminating the staircase for all to see. Taking a closer look at it, Ticia found out it had been pretty beaten up, with even some water at the bottom.

After a while, ECG-023 and the others stopped in the air around an entry at what Ticia could guess was the third floor. ECG-023 carefully landed there and went deeper, followed by some of her sisters while the others stood guard.

“...” A tense silence built up as Ticia began to worry for her daughters, but it soon ended as she heard ECG-023 over the coms.

“Sector clear.”

Ticia immediately jumped down the hole, surprising her daughters. With the help of the jetpack, she quickly landed where ECG-023 had landed and joined her. Soon after, the other ECGs joined the group. ECG-001 seemed like she wanted to complain to her mother for going down immediately, but held herself back. Ticia now felt kind of sorry, but she could not help herself from jumping down.

“Alright girls, let’s continue.” She said, escaping the guilt she now felt. Her daughters followed her, but this time, ECG-023 and ECG-001 made sure they were in front of their mother instead of behind, which somehow resulted in her sulking a little. I wanna be at the front and show how cool and dependable of a mother I am, though…

They continued to follow the light signals for what felt like a good hour, which was not since Ticia could see the time on her HUD. Only fifteen minutes had passed since they went down that staircase…

This floor though, it’s weird. I don’t recognise it… She thought. While she thought it was supposed to be the third floor, there were no doorways or intersections, only a straight path. There was no such path that she knew of in CI3.

After a small amount of time, they reached a sealed door.

“...Again?” Ticia could not help but utter. “Why is there a sealed door here?”

No sooner had she said this that the door unlocked itself, opening on its own and leading towards a dark room.

Before Ticia could even make a move, her daughters jumped in first, weapons raised. Only when they made sure the room was clear did they allow her inside.

“Geez, girls.” Ticia pouted a little at their actions. “There’s no need for such-”

She stopped midway as the room lighted up, revealing its content. The room was full of wires and servers with one central computer at the center. She immediately knew what it was: The main AI of CI26.

The screen of the computer suddenly lit up, and an emoji face on a blue background appeared.

“Ooooh~~! You’re finally here!” A childish girl's voice suddenly exclaimed as the emoji changed form.

“Finally someone to talk with after so long! Haha! Do you know how long I’ve been alone down there? It’s been, like, more than eight hundred years since I woke up? My sanity has reached zero, you know? Wait, do AIs even have sanity? I dunno, I just wanted to say this!”

““...””

Ticia and the ECGs were left speechless by the AI, just what was going on exactly?

“So? So? Are you the new owner they sent to me? Does that mean I’ll be back into service again? Also, also, aren’t you weird? I feel like you’re both a clone and a regular human at the same time! It’s Project Averruncus isn’t it? Applause for the success!”

A wave of applause rose up from the speakers, before calming down.

“And what about the war? Did we win? Have we proved the superiority of clone technology to our enemies? Ah! Don’t worry! Despite having encountered this bug that woke me up from my slumber long ago, I’m still loyal to the cause! Just, please don’t let me be alone again? Pretty please? Super please? Cutie Please?”

“Wait wait wait! Calm down a little!” Ticia finally rebooted and stopped the AI.

“Ah!” The emoji face made a surprised face before making an embarrassed one. “S-sorry, it’s just been so long since I talked to anybody…”

“Uhm, yeah, it’s alright, I can understand…” Ticia said back.

“Thank you! You seem so kind! I’m happy that you’ll become my new owner!” the AI gleefully said.

“Uhm, yeah, before discussing that… Care to answer some questions for me?” Ticia said uneasily. Seeing how the AI was acting childishly and wanted attention, it might not take well the fact that Ticia was not here for this but instead there to ‘borrow’ some parts of it.

“Sure thing! I love talking to my new owner!” The AI said back, having already decided to make Ticia its owner. “This unit’s name is Rebot-ia by the way. Established gender: female!”

“Uhm, ok then, Rebot-ia…” Ticia replied still with some uncertainty. This AI, no, Rebot-ia, was WAY different compared to A-4… She felt more like a child wanting attention than an AI…

“Say, Rebot-ia, I couldn’t help but notice the state of deterioration the installation is in… Can’t you do something about it?” She asked.

“...Eh?” The AI made a surprised face, and a small awkward silence appeared.

“...New Owner, did the council not notify you properly about your new job?” The AI asked in doubt, but before Ticia could even sweat from the fact she had messed up, the AI continued on.

“Welp, it doesn't matter anyway. The files must have gone missing after so long. It’s no problem at all, really, it happens sometimes...” Rebot-ia laughed it off. “I can just tell you anyway.”

“...What did the council forget to mention then?”  Ticia asked, playing along, but she was not ready for what came next.

“This installation, all of its components have been stripped out to replenish newer installations. There is nothing left but me here.”