Clone Girls

It was already one week after the clone girls came out of their nutrition pods. Ticia spent her entire days with the girls. She had ordered A-4 to create a whole playground for them on the fourth floor. They played a lot of games together, those moments would stay engraved in Ticia’s memories… In fact, she even ordered A-4 to record the scene and take some photos.

But playing with the clone girls wasn’t the only thing Ticia was happy about, within a week, the girls had begun to forge their own unique personalities. To celebrate this fact, she had helped each girl find the hairstyle that they liked the most. Each clone girl found the hairstyle they liked, albeit, Ticia had forced every one of them to keep their hair long, selfishly saying she preferred it that way. Only two clone girls did not really search for a hairstyle for themselves. The first was Ticinia, she said to Ticia that she could do her hair in whatever way Ticia wanted, which caused critical damage to Ticia for the umphest time. In the end Ticia arranged Ticinia’s hair into twintails.  In her opinion, Ticinia’s cuteness was doubled with this hairstyle. The second clone girl was, surprisingly, Licia. When asked what hairstyle she would prefer, the girl simply said she didn’t care. A bit troubled, Ticia gave her the same hairstyle she had, albeit with her hair still reaching her waist and no lock reaching her eyes like Ticia.

At the moment, Ticia had left the girls by themselves in the playground. She trusted they wouldn’t hurt themselves anyway. Right now Ticia had something important to do with A-4, and that was testing the armored suit, which she had postponed.

When Ticia entered the armory, A-4 guided her to the left side. They entered another room with empty shelves. However, at the end of the room, there was a stage with multiple mannequins standing side by side. All were naked, except one at the center. What the mannequin wore was the armor Ticia had designed with the help of A-4.

"A-4, is this…"

"Answer: This is the armored suit owner Ticia and this unit designed together."

"I thought so…" Ticia gulped. She had dreamed of getting one of those, and now, an armored suit, one she had designed, was finally standing in front of her.

The armor was a bit black but mostly white. From the distance, it only looked like plastic hard parts stuck together, but this wasn’t the case. Ticia recalled A-4 telling her the hard parts of the armor were composed of a mixt of three materials. The main component was a metal alloy called Rudium, it was a light yet very solid metal alloy that could protect her against hard projectiles. The second component was a special type of carbon fiber that, from A-4’s own words, was capable of absorbing shocks and diffuse energy throughout a section of the armor to a certain degree. This function would be very useful against laser blasters’s fire. The last component was a variant type of bioplastic material that helped combine the two other components and let them stick together. It was also the reason why the armor appeared to have this shiny white plastic appearance.

The hard parts with those materials were separated into multiple pieces of armor that protected vital parts of the body while not restraining any movement. For example, beside the chestplate, there were fore-arms protectors, reinforced boots, elbow and knee protectors, tibia protectors and much more. Because of that, each part that could not be covered by hard parts, like the joints, were protected by a black skinsuit worn under the armor. The skinsuit was composed of the same carbon fiber material as well as an endurant and insulating biotextile. The belt was also made so that different types of equipment could be hooked on it with ease. Finally, there was what Ticia thought was the coolest part of the design, the helmet. It covered all her head and had a T-shaped visor tinted blue with black borders. It had a helmet crest that began at the front until the back of the head in an elongated way. This was added by Ticia, she argued that it made the helmet cooler that way.

Of course, the armor was full of electronic components. The helmet came equipped with an air filter, communication devices of multiple types, and a HUD that would assist the user’s vision with multiple apps. For example, it had a target tracking system. The armor also came equipped with a small energy shield generator, but when used, the one wearing it could not use any weapon. Overuse of the energy shield could also lead to overheating of the armor. To power all of this, the armor also had a small energy generator which provided infinite energy. Finally, in addition to all that, complementary armor was added in the form of gray pauldrons on each shoulder and a synthetic black leather that covered the back of the legs, called by A-4 a kama.

The design was still no more than a prototype that Ticia could remodel later, but for now, she was enamored with it.

"...Can I wear it?"

"Notification: This armored suit hasn’t been made to be observed, its primary purpose is to protect owner Ticia from serious injuries."

Ticia rolled her eyes. "Was that a joke?"

"This unit only states the obvious."

"Riiight…" Ticia was sure the AI enjoyed itself when it said that. She did not comment more, this kind of exchange had become common between the two of them when nobody else was present.

"So, can you give me instructions on how to wear it?" She asked A-4. Although she badly wanted an armored suit, she had no knowledge on how to operate it.

"Notification: Owner Ticia should first begin by wearing the skinsuit. The skinsuit has a zipper on the front. Hard parts of the armor can be clipped and unclipped easily by the owner."

Ticia nodded, she undressed the mannequin and headed to a changing room that was prepared nearby. After undressing herself and only keeping her underwear, she put on the skinsuit. It immediately adjusted the temperature for her, something that Ticia greatly appreciated. Then she put every part of the armor on except the helmet, which she kept under her right arm. The first thing she did was test if she could move correctly in it.

"Hmmm, there are some points that could be upgraded, but overall the performance seems good." She murmured to herself. "...It’s a bit tight on the chest though…"

"..."

She looked herself into the mirror. "Wow…" She was a bit amazed. Somehow, the armor did not let out a bulky impression, quite the contrary, it embraced her forms quite perfectly. Also, for some reason, her hair was let as it is, flowing behind her.

"Now then, let’s test it."

Ticia went to the training ground on the second floor. A-4 had prepared equipment for her to test out the armor. She did not say a word as she put on her helmet. Its integrated HUD lit on. From outside, this made the T-shaped visor shine a faint blue color. Ticia grabbed her weapons that were posed nearby. Then, when she heard a siren, she rushed out into the parcour ahead, which was in the devastated town environment type.

Her HUD signaled to her the presence of enemies to her right. She hid behind a wall, took out her rifle which she had put on her shoulder, and discreetly searched for the enemy. She found two drones patrolling the zone, and she proceeded to shoot them down quickly. After confirming their destruction, she continued on, each time she disabled a drone, her HUD would lock on to the next target. When danger came, it would also alert her of the incoming enemies from her blind spots.

After a while, the difficulty of the exercise was increased by A-4, Ticia slowly found herself encircled by drones, which began shooting low lethality laser beams at her.  Her amazing reflexes permitted her to evade most of them. However, some still found her.

"Guh"

Ticia flinched and stepped back a little from the impact… But that was all. The next moment, she threw away her rifle and took out her pistols. She began shooting at every drone around her. Each of her shots found their targets, disabling them.

After eliminating all of them, a siren was heard. This meant the end of the training session.

"End of the training session. User Ticia has beaten her record by 300 points!"

She looked at her hands, then gripped strongly. She was still in good shape. “This is amazing!” She exclaimed, she was very happy about the performance of the armor. It did not bother her movements and provided good protection. Now Ticia could move more freely on the battlefield without always worrying about getting hit. Ticia happily walked back to the entrance of the room where A-4 was waiting for her. When she saw the AI’s drone, she called out.

"A-4, that was really amazing! With this I can-." She stopped in her tracks. A-4’s drone was there, but it wasn’t alone. Ticia could see heads sticking out from behind the entrance. As soon as those heads noticed her gaze, they quickly retreated back behind the door, only for one head to slowly stick back out at a time and look in her direction with stars in their eyes.

Awwww~ That’s so cute! Ticia melted for a moment. Wait, not that, this is not the moment, Ticia, get a grip on yourself!

"You can all come out, I know you’re there."

The heads behind the door were startled, to Ticia’s amusement. Then, one clone girl slowly revealed herself and approached her. Soon after, four other clone girls revealed themselves and followed behind. They were Ria, Willia, Miria, Tiria and Nia.

"I said everybody, so come out too, Lidia, I know you’re there." A bit of time after Ticia said that, Lidia came out from behind her, coming from the ruined city landscape. She had been hiding in the room from the beginning!

"What are you all doing here?" Ticia asked, removing her helmet. The clone girls looked at each other, then all their gazes passed on Ria, they wanted her to explain, it seems.

"...We were searching for you, we wanted to eat dinner together…" The girl, who emanated a more mature look than her sisters, finally said that.

"Oh, is it already time?" Ticia did not even look at the time, she was too focused on what she was doing. Noticing uneasy glances from the clone girls, Ticia smiled at them. "Did you think big sis would get angry because you left the playground without permission?" They nodded, Ticia’s smile deepened. "I’m not angry, you know? I trust you are all good girls, you can go wherever you want. If there is a place you can’t get in, A-4 would have told you."

A-4 was currently monitoring the clone girls with another drone. In case something happened, he would directly report it to Ticia just as she ordered.

"And what about you Lidia?"

"...I was searching for a quiet place…" Lidia said quietly.

"So it was the case… Well, that’s fine." Ticia had remarqued the girl liked quiet places, so she did not bother her when she entered the room herself. Besides, the training drones wouldn't hurt her since A-4 controlled them.

As Ticia was about to go to the changing room to change herself, she heard someone.

"Uhm, big sis…"

"Yes, what is it, Nia?"

"Can I take a closer look at what you are wearing?"

"Eh?" Ticia did not expect this kind of question coming from Nia. After the small incident when Ticia gave names to the clone girls, Nia had put a form of distance from Ticia by not asking questions for two days. When Ticia wondered how to fix things, Nia intensively began to act carefreely. Ticia took that as Nia forgetting about the event and finally beginning to grow up emotionally. They played a lot of games together after that. During those games, Ticia had noticed that Nia was the most playful of the group. It was a bit worrisome that she did not show much interest in anything else but playing, but seeing Nia expressing curiosity for an object, Ticia could not refuse. "Sure, here take a look at it." She gave Nia her helmet, it wasn’t that heavy, so even a young girl could carry it. "What big sis is wearing is an armored suit, it will help big sis when she is outside for work~."

"Whoa…" Nia examined the helmet carefully, like it was an object that could break at any time. The other clone girls also looked at the helmet with curiosity. "So cool…" Ticia did not know who said that, but it made her kind of proud of herself. “Right~? Big sis designed it herself with the help of A-4~.”

Then, Nia demanded. "Can I make one too?"

"Eh?" Ticia did not know how to respond, the stars in the eyes of Nia were so big she could swear they looked like the ones in the galaxy. The girl had not shown much interest in anything else, so she was happy that she found something that interested her. However, she couldn’t let a kid play with military gear, even to her, there was a limit.

"I’m sorry, but you can’t." She said with a sorry look. "You are too young to play with those…"

"I see…" Nia looked very sad, which made Ticia feel bad, but Nia did not give up. “When I grow up, can I make one?” She asked with puppy eyes.

"Gufuh" A critical hit! Ticia struggled for a moment, still, she did not change her mind. "...Even if you grow up, I don’t know if I’ll let you wear one… You need to train like big sis to wear one of those armor~."

"You mean the cool things big sis was doing just now?" Willia intervened. "I wanna do that!" She then joined Mia and made puppy eyes too.

"Gaha…" Damage accumulated as Ticia let out another weird noise. If this continued, Ticia wouldn’t be able to resist! She looked around to change her ideas… Only to fall on the stares of both Miria and Tiria. They were clearly demanding for it too! "Guhu…" Another blow was dealt. If this continued, she would cede. No! I have to remain strong! I can’t let those kids become child soldiers like me! T-they need to have a normal life…

She looked at A-4, her loyal AI, for support.

"...Suggestion: Training the Null class clone girls might be beneficial for owner Ticia’s safety."

"You too, A-4!?"

It was a complete betrayal.

Then, Ticia looked at the two clone girls who hadn’t said anything. Lidia was sitting on a chair, looking uninterested. But the regular glances she sent from time to time told all the contrary. Then, Ticia met Ria’s gaze.

"...Sisters, let’s stop there, we’re bothering big sis."

""Eeeeh~~~?""

A way out appeared, Ticia beamed, while the other clone girls looked a bit dejected. Ticia sighed in relief. But then Ria approached her.

"You know, big sis, everyone wants to be useful and help you… Since we're a family, aren’t we supposed to help each other?" Another blow was dealt! Ticia's health bar was in the red!

"Since this is what we want to do, why not do it all together with the other sisters too? Or is it that you don’t want us to help you?" Ria said with a sad look.

"...Alright, I get it. I’ll train you all." Ticia raised her arms, the clone girls had won.

"Really? I’m glad. Thank you big sis." As if the sad look was an illusion, Ria let out a big smile, shocking Ticia. Behind Ria, the other clone girls high-fived, except Lidia, who just smiled and silently left.

"Then we’ll go announce it to the others, let’s train all together under big sis!"

""Yeah~~""

The clone girls all left the room in a hurry while giggling. Meanwhile, Ticia just stood there. Her mind had yet to process what just happened. The clone girls had used their one and only weapon to win against Ticia.

"...I’ve been outmatched…"

"Notification: Null class clones, albeit powerful, are not capable of overwhelming their gene source."

Ticia turned her head towards A-4 while smiling, but her eyes were not.

"?"

Ticia then suddenly grabbed her helmet and threw it on A-4 with all her force. It just bounced off.

"???"

"Humph! This is revenge for just now."

Ticia stood up, and, while pouting, she left the room, leaving a confused AI behind.