Clone Girls

“Then, I'll report what you said to the higher ups. Captain Rowla, over.”

The screen on which Captain Rowla was displayed turned off. After Ticia confirmed the call was over, she sighed, feeling relieved.

“Thanks again for getting me out of there, Nath.” She said as she looked at the other person aside from ECG-001 in the ship’s meeting room, who had assisted in the whole conversation..

“No problem. I just ‘happened’ to be stationed nearby anyway.” Nathalia said with a small knowing smile.

It had been nearly a day since Ticia had exited CI26. After the eruption had begun, Ticia had called Nathalia, who ‘happened to be here’, to pick her up. Nathalia had her own way of getting information, as Ticia learned. She already knew about the installation and had managed to get on patrolling duty in the sector, hence why Ticia just had to ask her for a little service…

After getting some meritted rest, Ticia immediately called Rika to hear about her daughters before making a report to Rowla. She made up a story about the volcano blowing up to the latter, while telling Rika that everything was alright. Surprisingly enough, and although the fact that Ticia came out of all this without a scratch was suspicious, Rowla showed concern, asking her if she had any casualties and she was alright. Of course, seeing how genuine the woman was, Ticia answered positively, but she could not help but wonder if Rowla was not a bit too naïve, or perhaps trusting her too much, which made her wonder how she got the trust of the mysterious faction leader to lead the factions’ operations within the army…

“So? What did you get?” Nathalia suddenly asked as Ticia was about to turn and exit the communication room, still a smile on her face.

“…Nothing?” Ticia replied, tilting her head like she did not understand what Nathalia had said. Although she liked the woman and was willing to trust her with her back, she had decided to keep the existence of Rebot-ia a secret, hence why she left the poor AI in her helmet.

“Yeah, yeah, that bullshit won't work on me, Ticia.” Nathalia replied lightly, waving her hand before pointing at herself. “The fact that you came out of all this uninjured and then called ME out of all people is proof enough you got something.”

“…No use in lying then. Yeah, you're right. I got some good things out of this mess.” Ticia admitted, but did not say anything further.

“Mhmmm… I see…” Nathalia did not pursue either, simply nodding with her eyes closed, before asking curiously. “So? How did you really get out of there?”

She was referring to how Ticia got out of CI26 before everything went South, since she had been reported by other survivors as having entered the facility. Ticia and ECG-001 grimaced at the same time.

“I don't wanna talk about it…”

An awkward silence emerged as Ticia remembered with a slight shiver the explosion… It was not the first time she’d seen explosions, but the added eruption made it to a level of a prohibited weapon. Not that she had seen any in use. Remarkably enough, while research on cloning and other lost technologies continued despite the treaties, all nations respected the clause regarding the ban of weapons of mass destruction to the letter…

“But still, was it really ok to not give anything to ‘them’? The time it took you to report to that woman was way too short compared to the time you spent talking to your daughters…” Nathalia asked with a raised eyebrow, referring to the higher ups, before sighing.

This was in fact a point Ticia was slightly stressed about, because it was a fact that she did not give any benefits to the Borkian Confederation in this operation…

“...It should be fine.” She answered after a while. 

“Also, talking to my daughters is important, you know?” She corrected with a serious look on her face.  Nathalia could only let out another sigh.

“Seriously, you talk way too much about how you love them…”

“I don't want to hear something like that from a lovestruck childhood friend who has yet to come down to the act.” Ticia shot back, which made Nathalia flinch.

“Ngh. Touche…” The woman admitted defeat, before her cheeks became red and she began fiddling with her hair. “An-and I'll let you know, it's not that I'm scared or anything, just-. I just want Andrew to declare his flame to me…”

“Oh boy…” Ticia could only look at her new friend with a somewhat impressed look. “Never thought the ambitious destroyer captain would be such a romantic girl…”

“Wh-what’s wrong about that!?” Nathalia shot back, face reddening further as Ticia smiled. “I-I’m sure he’ll realize it soon…”

“Sure. Whatever you say, it's not my husband-to-be we're talking about anyway.” Ticia rolled her eyes at this answer, her smile deepening.

“Speaking of, aren’t you quite close to the Unkillable Walkyrie?” Nathalia suddenly asked, a small smirk appearing on her still red face.

“Yeah? So what?” Ticia asked, unsure where this was going. Nathalia’s teasing expression  deepened.

“Aren’t you in a relationship with her?”

“...No? Why would you think so?” Ticia asked back, flabbergasted. Where did this come from?

“Well, from ho-”

*Beep Beep Beep*

Before Nathalia could continue further, a small alert activated on her watch. It was an alert for emergency communication. Both Nathalia and Ticia immediately became serious as they heard it.

“Duty calls, it seems.” Nathalia commented as she went over to the desk in the room while fiddling with her watch.

“Can't we have a break for more than three hours?” Ticia commented to the side, with Nathalia agreeing. She joined ECG-001 to the side so as not  to bother Nathalia as she activated the communications.

“This is Captain Ender from the BNS Faithful Vow, we are currently on a mission. What is the reason for contacting my ship? Identify yourselves.” Nathanlia declared in the communications with a stern voice filled with authority.

“H-help! P-pirates!” A feminine and panicked voice that sounded familiar to Ticia said through the line, which made both Ticia and Nathalia frown.

“Pirates? In the Nolam System?” Ticia whispered to herself, ignoring her sense of familiarity. Space pirates were usually operating in border systems or one in which the grasp of the central government was weak, and neither case corresponded to the system they currently were in…

“Calm down. Please identify yourselves and explain your situation.” Nathalia kept her calm and asked, playing her role as an officer.

“Y-yes! This is Passenger Line 793 on its way towards Borkian Prime! We suddenly got boarded by pirates and the crew of the ship are currently fighting them! I-I just sent our coordinates to you! Please come to our rescue!”

Nathalia fiddled with her watch again, seemingly reading and checking up something as she frowned slightly from time to time.

“…I have confirmed the identity and status of your ship, ma'am. Please hold on, reinforcements are on the way.” She said after a small tense silence, before fiddling with her watch again. “For now, follow the instructions of my operators.”

“Th-thank you!” The voice said before the communication was cut short.

“…Are we going there?” Ticia asked immediately after.

“Yeah, and quickly.” Nathalia said with a serious tone. “This is an act against the Borkian Confederation, which we do not tolerate. Besides, that ship has a member of a family with big influence.”

“What about their escort?” Ticia asked, still frowning. If it’s a member of an influential family, the Commerce Guards should have been there, right?

“Non-existent.” Nathalia replied as she fiddled with her watch again. She was giving orders to her crew through it.

“…This whole thing sounds fishy. I don't think it's a good idea to stick our nose in there…” Ticia commented  after thinking through it all.

“Agreed, when would a member of a big influential family take an average civilian's transport?” Nathalia said with a wry smile. “But you know what? Her identity is the real deal, and I'm sure you'll be surprised of who it is…” Her smile turned back to a serious expression as she pointed to a screen which lit up, information displayed on it. “Besides, there are other things fishy about all this that I want to investigate: Pirates in the Nolam system. That shouldn't be possible, moreso when there's clearly a whole bunch of them…”

“Three frigates?” Ticia muttered as she looked at the display. There were four ships on it. Three ships of diverging forms were surrounding a smaller one, with one of those three ships glued to the small ship. If she were to compare the three ships’ overall size to the destroyer she was on, she would say those ships were around half the size each, and with less arms.

“Yeah, three frigates, and that's already triple the usual.” Nathalia commented from the side before zooming on one of the ships. “What's more, their ships seem to be civilian hauls converted into military frigates…”

“Should we wait for reinforcement and track them?” Ticia asked, this all sounded a bit dangerous to her. How the hell did pirates get such ships? But Nathalia shook her head.

“Normally that is what should be done, but nah.” She looked at Ticia with a small mischievous smile on her face, which made Ticia feel uncomfortable… “Say, Ticia, would you be partant for some space action?”

“It depends on what exactly you want from my girls.” Ticia replied back, making sure to not agree immediately to whatever the ambitious captain was planning, although she already had an idea.

“I want some experienced soldiers to board the captured ship and secure it. Can you do it?” Nathalia asked exactly what Ticia had guessed.

“And what do I get?” Ticia asked back, crossing her arms, which made Nathalia roll her eyes.

“Oh come on, don't play that game with me. You're the one who owes me right now.” The space captain pointed out, to which Ticia could only laugh dryly.

“True. Alright, I'll be your soldier for today. But remember, I JUST happened to be on the ship and decided to help in the name of my general.” She insisted as she raised her hand for a handshake, which Nathalia happily took.

“Yeah, I get it. Thanks a lot! And don't worry, there will be a price at the end. I'm putting my ship on the line too after all…”

“Fufu…”

“Hehe…”

““Let's rip some benefits.”

The both of them smiled, but the tension that was rising made the only other person in the room, ECG-001, uneasy…

 

***

 

“Rebot-ia, you can talk again.” Ticia said as she glanced at the emoji with a cross for a mouth on the side of her helmet’s HUD. She had ordered the AI to mute herself after she began talking way too much, and had forgotten to lift the order. As for the ECGs? They were a bit traumatized of Rebot-ia because of the recent events, so none of them really wanted to be the talking companion to the rusted AI…

“Finally!” The AI declared happily, sending another wave of digital confetis in Ticia’s vision, before sulking. “Uuuuuh~, Owner, you're so mean! How could you order me to mute myself and then leave me there!?”

“I was busy, and still am.” Ticia replied nonchalantly. “I can understand your curiosity to a certain level, but now is not the time to be curious.”

She understood the excitement of the AI, who had not seen the outside world with her own eyes before. In a way she was just like her daughters for this. Problem is, Rebot-ia just commented too much, and those comments sometimes made Ticia feel uneasy…

“Is it about that pirate thingy?” Rebot-ia asked, switching to serious mode. Ticia frowned at her words.

“So you were listening?”

“Yup! That's a piece of cake for my level!”

“Can I count on you then?” Ticia asked once again for the cooperation of the cheerful AI now residing in her helmet. Although she could just order her around, she felt it was better to get the AI’s approval before making her do anything…

“Of course! I've reprogrammed myself to become your battlefield assistant AI! I'm so fired up for my new job!” The AI replied joyfully, seemingly happy to be relied upon after so many centuries of loneliness. But her words made Ticia worry slightly.

“Please don’t go overboard…” She muttered, but before the AI could reply, an announcement resounded within the compartment Ticia and her daughters were currently in.

“We are approaching the location. To all personnel who have yet to get to their designated post, get to your battle stations immediately. I repeat, get to your battlestations immediately.”

“Sounds like it's about to begin.”

“Indeed, Mother.” ECG-001 nodded, having heard her mother’s mutter. Ticia removed her helmet for a moment and faced her daughters, who lined up in front of her, standing at attention.

“I want you all to remember something, girls.” She warned her daughters with a serious expression. Exuding the aura of a commander and of a warm mother at the same time. “Our goal might be to save and protect the passengers, but this isn't the order I am giving you. I want you all to come back safely to me. Don't you ever dare do something reckless and endanger yourselves, else I'm gonna get really angry. Is that clear?”

““Yes, Mother.”” The ECGs replied, saluting.

“Louder girls! Your mother isn't feeling reassured!” Ticia pressed.

““YES MOTHER!”” The clone girls yelled louder.

“Good.” Ticia nodded, feeling satisfied, before putting back her hemet on. Not soon after sligh shocks regularly shook the ship. The battle had begun.

Ticia and her daughters stayed within the compartment, waiting for their time to strike while keeping calm. The shocks were nothing much, and while they became more numerous because of the enemy fire, the energy shield around the destroyer seemed to be doing its job well and absorbed all damages.

Ticia and her daughters had a simple yet dangerous role. They would be the spearhead of the boarding party, meaning they were the ones who were supposed to be sent into space and open a breach for them to infiltrate the captive ship. Thankfully, the armored skinsuits Ticia and A-4 had designed had the ability to make those who wore them survive in space for around five hours, but it did not make the task easier, and that was probably the reason why Nathalia had asked Ticia to act as the spearhead. Armored skinsuits were just the perfect weapons for spaceship boarding action, where the space to fight was reduced and only light weapons could be used. Still, Ticia would be under heavy fire from the defenses until she reached the other ship…

After a while, another message resounded.

“This is the captain. We are into position for boarding the target. All assault units must stand at attention.”

“Ticia, I will be opening the door soon. Good luck out there.”  Nathalia said through a private communication channel.

“Thanks. Please make sure they don’t focus on us. I don’t wanna become a space donut.” Ticia said back.

“I’ll do my best.”

Just as the communication finished, the sas locked itself, depressurising the room as the door leading to space opened. Ticia could now see what was going on outside.

The Faithful Vow had drawn as close as possible to the captured ship, and was shooting back at the frigates. Ticia only had a small distance to fly through with the help of her jetpack to reach her destination, but they would still be under heavy fire as soon as the enemies noticed them, most notably from the ship that stuck to the captured one…

Since Nathalia had not said anything else, she also knew that the crew of the ship was still resisting against the invaders, and they would need help as quickly as possible… Well, it’s not fighting the pirates that worries me anyway…

“…Owner, do you want me to pirate into the enemies’ defenses?” Rebot-ia suddenly asked.

“You can do that?” Ticia frowned. Was it really possible?

“Yes!”  The AI replied boastfully. “The technology I’ve met so far’s only been a downgrade from UFG standards, so it’s easy peasy!”

“Do it then.”

“Orders received!” Rebot-ia seemed to concentrate for a bit. “Hmmmm… What shall I use… Ah, I know! Hyperlink spam which leads to a good old song I created a long time ago! Let's just add a small smiley dance and… there you go! Huehehe, this is gonna be fun! Prepare to be Rebot-Rolled!”

“…” Ticia decided not to comment on the AI’s behavior for her own sanity. She instead looked at her daughters who were all looking at her. Knowing well by now that they would not let her go first, she gave her assent to ECG-023, who went ahead with around ten of her sisters.

She watched with worry in her heart as the small group flew out… and did not get targeted by enemy fire. In fact, the enemies were not even shooting the Faithful Vow anymore, but rather shooting into space for some reason. Ticia could only link this to the mischievous AI she had for an assistant…

After half of her daughters had jumped into space, Ticia was finally allowed to jump herself, which she did immediately, followed closely by ECG-001.

“Wahoo! We’re in space! Wahahaha!” Rebot-ia commented excitedly, and this time, Ticia was in agreement with the rusted AI.

Despite the situation being what it was, it was still the first time she flew in space like this. It made Ticia realize again how small she and her daughters were in this universe…

Still, we’ll find a place for ourselves in this galaxy. She reaffirmed once again in her mind, determined to see the happy faces of her daughters as all lived in peace.

She reached the hull of the captured ship easily and joined up with ECG-023. The latter was keeping a watchful eye over her sisters, who were holding high precision lasers in  their arms. Those would be used to pierce the energy shield of the ship, and then breach the hull for them to infiltrate in. They did not have to worry about air leak so long as the artificial gravity generator of the ship was still operational, and the pirate’s goal was clearly to capture the ship, so they would not damage it.

The ECGs did a precise job, and the breach was quickly made. ECG-023 was the first to jump in, followed by her sisters.

Ticia followed once ECG-001 gave her the clear sign, and she also entered the ship, being attracted to the ground because of the effect of gravity.

The room they had breached was a passenger room, which was empty. ECG-023 busted the door leading to the hallway open, her sisters raised their weapons and entered the hallway.

“Wha-!? Gah!” Blaster fire resounded as one ECG shot down an armed man. Rebot-ia had already identified the positions of every enemy using the sensors of the surrounding ships, and had highlighted their silhouettes to see their positions even through walls.

The ECGs moved quickly after that, eliminating the enemies on the way. Since their rifles were too long for the hallways of the ship, they had instead taken some V-12 Carbines, TP-100 pistols, and some other small arms they had ‘borrowed’ from the Faithful Vow’s armory.

At some point Ticia noticed that the pirates were beginning to regroup, probably in order to face her. Another group of pirates also seemed to board the ship from the frigate.

“001, take half of the girls and intercept the incoming threat.” She ordered.

“Understood, Mother.” ECG-001 nodded, selecting who would come with her before going in the direction opposite from where Ticia was going.

“The rest of you are with me. We’ll go relieve the defenders.” She said to the remaining ones. “023, lead the way.”

“Roger.”

“Reinforcements are coming from the Faithful Vow, Owner.” Rebot-ia notified.

“That's great to hear.” Ticia said as she began to move in the direction where the biggest part of the crew and passengers had barricaded themselves, which would be the bridge of the ship.

After some small skirmishes with the pirates, Ticia became confident no harm would be done to her daughters so long as they remained in groups. She ordered smaller groups to go secure and help other small resistance groups, mainly in the engine compartment. She now only had twenty ECGs under her command to fight the pirates on the bridge, including ECG-023.

The closer they were to the bridge, the more bodies she saw lying here and there… Some were pirates, others were crew members, recognizable by their uniforms, and some seemed to be poor civilians who had either joined the defense or happened to be unlucky. Either way, Ticia could not do anything for them since they had already passed away.

After a while, they finally reached their goal. She could see thanks to Rebot-ia that the enemies in the next room that led to the bridge were waiting for her to enter the narrow corridor to shoot all they had at her, and as she wondered how to operate next, ECG-023 made her move.

“023!?” Ticia called out in a panic as she saw her daughter run into the corridor and straight into the enemy.

“There! Open fire!” A voice declared on the other side of the corridor, and numerous laser beams flew straight towards ECG-023.

“...” ECG-023 reacted calmly. She activated her shield and put it into scutum mode, putting it in front of her as she accelerated her pace. The shield did its job, absorbing the shots, but continuous fire would make the shield overheat…

ECG-023 was not just taking shots without replying, though. With her carbine, she fired back at the enemy, taking some of them down.

“Keep shooting! She won’t hold for long!” The same man shouted, encouraging his men.

On the other side, Ticia also took action, she moved behind ECG-023, trying to catch up to her daughter. The other ECGs also followed her. Still, by the time they had reached halfway to ECG-023, the clone girl had reached the barricade.

The clone girl switched her shield into hoplon mode, before jumping over the barricade as if it was nothing. She landed over a pirate, which she killed without any second thought.

“K-kill her!” The man from before shouted again, and pirates began to surround ECG-023, but the clone girl stayed unphased. She continued to kill those who were shooting at her, while bashing those who came too close with her shield. Still, some shots managed to pass by, hitting her, but her armor did its job, and the shots were negated.

“W-what’s up with that armored skinsuit!? It’s too powerful!” One man shouted, his peers agreeing. As pirates, they had some experience boarding ships, and there sometimes were cases where they would face people in armored skinsuits. Still, they had found out that as long as you overwhelmed those people with numbers, they would fall quite easily.

By the time Ticia and the others arrived, ECG-023 had already neutralized half of the pirates!

“...Neutralize them all.” Ticia declared in a cold tone, which sent shivers to the pirates as they desperately tried to defend themselves against their foes. But their attempts were futile, as from the other side, a door which had been sealed opened, and men in arms flooded the small room they were in.

“Help has arrived! Let’s get rid of those pirates!” One man in uniform shouted, and the others let out war cries as they gunned down their enemies. Needless to say that the battle did not last long and that the remaining pirates quickly surrendered themselves…

“That was dangerous, 023. Do you realize you could have died!?” Ticia scolded her daughter once they had taken care of the remaining pirates.

“It is alright, Mother. I simply acted in a way that would avoid any injuries for my sisters.” ECG-023 replied calmly.

“By endangering yourself!?” Ticia had none of it. “Listen, I know your armor has excellent defenses, but going alone and straight into the enemy is NOT something you should do.”

She might be overreacting, moreso when she was capable of doing the same thing herself. But Ticia had become a worrywart when it came to her daughters, including the ECGs, so if possible, she wanted to keep them safe.

“...I understand, Mother.” ECG-023 replied after a while.

“Mother, if that is the case, we will charge together with sister 023 next time.” One ECG declared, the others nodding in agreement. ECG-023’s charge had inspired them it seems.

“You girls, that’s not what I-” Ticia stopped herself as she realized she and her daughters had become the center of attention. She sighed, feeling tired. “Forget it, we’ll talk about it later.”

“I am the officer in charge of the relief force, who’s the one in charge here?” She asked the group that had jumped from inside the bridge. They were around forty, which was less than she expected, and most of them had wounds and tired looks.

“That would be me.” One man said, saluting. “Sixth officer Rooks, at your service Ma’am.”

“...Where are the other officers?” Ticia asked.

“All fell in battle, I am now the highest authority on this ship.” Rooks replied.

This was not a good thing, considering what was to be done after this. But for now, Ticia glanced at the men and women who had gathered around. Most were civilians who had taken arms and sheltered themselves on the bridge, with only around ten crewmembers. Ticia could see from their expressions that they had prepared themselves for a desperate last stand… She removed her helmet and smiled, giving them comforting words to calm their minds.

“You’ve done well holding this far. You’re safe now, just leave the rest to us servicemen.”

Relief finally washed over the faces of everybody, and the tension that had built up within them finally vanished. Some people fell on their knees, exhausted, others began crying. Whatever had happened to them, Ticia did not care. But she could somewhat sympathize with their current state…

Now Ticia needed to check up on the situation with ECG-001. The action ECG-023 had just done made her  uneasy about how her daughters were fighting, and despite her trust in them, she could not help but worry. She also needed to check with Nathalia the current state of the battle. More importantly, she needed to declare the bridge as safe, and call for medical teams.

“E-excuse me!” A feminine voice suddenly shouted from behind the crowd as Ticia was about to ask for some medical assistance through the coms. She recognised that voice as the one who had sent the distress signal.

When the person finally emerged from the crowd, Ticia froze for a second. It was a middle aged woman who seemed extremely distressed, and was wearing fine clothes compared to other people. But this was not the reason Ticia had frozen.

Dark long straight hair that stopped after the shoulders and blue eyes that Ticia was very familiar with. Yet her age had not degraded her beauty, and she exuded a mature yet different aura that was enhanced by her bountiful bosom.

I-it can’t be, right? Why would she be here? Ticia thought to herself in disbelief. She had only met that person once or twice, and not as the main person talking to her, but as the escort of Rika.This was the least expected way she had ever thought of meeting that person again.

“Y-you’re clones, right?” The woman asked with an expectant look, but it seemed she had asked this not for confirmation, but rather for herself as she continued.

“I-if you’re here, that means she’s here too, right? My daughter… Please let me see her!” The woman became a bit despaired as she asked Ticia this. It was as if she was at the end of the line and her objective was right in front of her.

“...” Ticia stayed silent with a neutral expression however. Her mind was in shambles…

Why… Just why!? She asked herself repeatedly. Why is Meiko Doesson, Rika’s mother, here of all places!?

It would seem like Ticia’s preoccupations were only rising as events happened…