Clone Girls

"Hm♪ hmm♪ hm♪ hm♪ hmm♪~"

Ticinia was humming happily while Ticia was brushing her hair. Right now, they were in Ticinia’s bedroom. They just took a shower, and Ticinia was about to go to bed.

The following days after Ticia did some ‘cleaning’, Ticia enjoyed her days with the clone girls, playing with them to her heart's content. However, it did not last long. Just two days later, A-4 alerted her of the presence of Borkian troops near one of the entrances. She dealt with them in the same manner as she did for the Ionians. However, the Borkians immediately came back the next day. To make matters worse, the Ionians resumed their expeditions in the South. Ticia now had to deal with multiple fronts at the same time, lessening the time she could have with the clone girls. The sad faces they made whe she told them she was busy because of work broke Ticia. As Ticia was wondering what to do, Ria proposed that Ticia take some time to be alone with one clone girl each day at the very least. Everybody agreed to this idea right away. As for how to choose the clone girl, it would be left to chance by drawing lots. After drawing, the winner of the first round had been Ticinia. So, as promised, the next evening, Ticia passed some time alone with Ticinia.

"You look so happy, did something good happen?" Ticia asked, smiling tenderly.

"Not really~. I’m just happy that big sis is brushing my hair~"

"Guuuuu~. You’re such a sweetheart, Ticinia~. I want to hug you!" Ticia melted, she was really too weak to those cute acts, when she was not fighting, that is…

"Ehehehe! Hug me! Hug me! I wanna hug big sis too!" At Ticinia’s answer, Ticia hugged the clone girl as strongly as she could. Ticinia returned the hug with a happy smile on her face. They stayed like this for a while, until Ticia finally broke the hug and resumed brushing Ticinia’s hair.

"So, what song were you singing?" Ticia asked.

"I don’t know?" Ticinia simply answered, which made Ticia jiggle. "I just heard big sis humming it, so I copied you."

"Is that so?" Ticia answered. It was true that she sometimes hummed one particular song when she felt at ease. "Then I think I know what song it was. I don’t remember the lyrics, but do you want me to hum it to you before sleep?"

"!!! Yes!" Ticinia was happy, and so was Ticia. After finishing brushing Ticinia’s hair, Ticia laid Ticinia in her bed and took a chair nearby. She began to hum the song.

"Hm♪ hmm♪ hm♪ hm♪ hmm♪~" Ticia’s humming voice resounded in the silent room. Ticinia looked at her ‘big sis’ silently, the voice soothed her slowly to sleep. But before that, her curiosity overtook her, and she asked Ticia.

"Big sis, what is that song?"

"It’s a lullaby." Ticia stopped humming and answered Ticinia. She looked into the distance, reminiscing about something. "It is a song that is often used to put children to sleep…"

"But, big sis… Who taught you that song? Was it your mother?" Ticinia asked. Somebody had to have taught her, right? Ticinia thought it was probably a member of Ticinia’s family, hence, based on her implanted knowledge, and her own experience of a family, she assumed Ticia’s mother had taught her. If so, she wanted to meet that person. However, Ticia only shook her head.

"... My superior taught me…She used to sing the lyrics too." The answer Ticia gave was not what Ticinia expected, making her even more curious.

"Your superior? You have a superior big sis? Who is she?"

"... Not anymore…" Ticia suddenly said, then she smiled as she finally looked back at Ticinia. "It doesn’t matter right now, so let’s go to sleep now?"

Ticinia nodded hesitantly. She wanted to know more about Ticia’s past, but Ticia’s reaction told her she would not talk about it. As her consciousness slowly escaped to dreamland, she swore she would learn more about this ‘superior’ that her ‘big sis’ mentioned.

Ticia just looked at Ticinia’s sleeping face. The young girl had made Ticia’s thoughts go over Rika’s situation. She did not know where her old superior was right now, but some unknown thought told her the woman would be fine. She had, after all, reached the grade of brigadier-general.

***

Rika was laying down in the mud, her vision bloodied as she looked at the cloudy sky. Despite the fact that her ears were ringing, she could still hear rounds of explosions all around her.

What… Just happened…?

She was confused, why was this happening? Her superiors had told her section to scavenge an enemy aircraft that crashed a few hours ago. The site of the crash was a peaceful side of the warzone too.

Right now, Rika was on Pellia 4, fighting against the independent system of Pellia. Pellia and the Borkian Confederation had entered into a conflict after the former had refused to be integrated into the Borkian confederation. But the war didn’t go well for the Pellians. By the time Rika and her squad were deployed to the front, the Borkian armed forces were in the process of capturing the strategically important planet of Pellia 4. By doing that, they had forced the Pellian authorities to the negotiation table, and a cease fire had been enforced on the frontline. In other words, this was a nearly peaceful sector, where Rika would be able to enjoy her life as a junior officer without the risk of getting killed.

And yet here she was now, under a rain of artillery shells.

Slowly, her senses came back, she should have been happy about this fact, but as her senses came back, she felt an unbearable pain from the left side of her head, as well as her right side.

"Guh–"

She tried to scream, only for a miserable groan to come out. Why… Is this happening…

She thought. They told me it would be safe! They…

Rika did not like war. Instead, she wanted to enjoy a spoiled high class life like her mother, marry somebody who was of the same status as her, and then live at home while taking care of her children. She only enlisted because her family pushed her to do so. The Doesson was a well established familly within the Borkian elite circle. While it was not a family that had enough power to become an official representative in the Borkian senate, nor the power to become part of the government, the social network the Doesson possessed could not be underestimated. The patriarch of her family however, yearned to become a senator. As such, he enlisted his family members into the military in the hope their deeds would be enough to promote the family’s status.

This was the reason why the young lady Rika Doesson was pushed into one of the Borkian confederation most prestigious military officer academies. Of course, she complained. But the patriarch made it clear to her that she had to graduate from the academy, then serve at least five years into the armed forces before she would be free to do whatever she wanted. Or else, she would be casted out of the family as a failure. Rika had tried to ask for help from her parents, but they could only give her sorry gazes as they sent her off to the academy. Because of this forced enrollment, she understood that she was only a pawn to the patriarch of her family, and as a result, her trust in her family was destroyed. Still, she would obey, hoping to be left alone after completing her service.

Some years passed, and Rika was now a junior officer. For one year, she was assigned to the 956th infantry regiment to learn on the field. Rika was given command over five other soldiers. This was a tradition within the Borkian military, and she was no exception to it. 

From those soldiers,  four of them were sent from her family as bodyguards. Rika was, after all, part of a high ranking family. The last one was an expressionless teenage girl, an orphan with no backers, but with excellent skills. Being a spoiled young lady who did not want to be here, she did not like this teenage girl who was often praised as a perfect soldier in the making. Hence, whenever she could, she and her lackeys would bully the girl. Satisfyingly enough to Rika, the teenage girl did not resist against her, she just took everything without ever fighting back. Just like an AI who could only listen to orders…

Then, one day, an officer who was backed up by her family told her they would go on a safe mission that would help her rise within the ranks. Rika , of course, could not refuse.

At the beginning, everything was fine. Her section progressed smoothly within the no man’s land. With the ceasefire, nobody would try to shoot them. But then… Her mind went blank.

Now there she was, agonizing as she slowly lost blood. Not knowing what had happened… She tried to lift her upper body, but then…

"Don’t move." She heard a familiar voice. She shifted her gaze toward the direction of the voice, and what she saw made her eyes round. The black haired teenage girl, the one she had been bullying for a whole year, was treating the wound on Rika’s right side.

"You… What are you doing…" She was baffled. What was this girl doing in this king a situation?

"I’m giving you first help, ma’am." The teenage girl answered. Rika stared at the girl who was nonchalantly applying disinfectant, which made her groan in pain. She wanted to know why the girl was helping her instead of getting revenge after all she’s done to her. But this wasn’t the time for that.

"What about… The medic?"

"Dead." Said the girl without batting an eye. "Just like the rest of the section."

"A-all of them!? *cough*" Rika made a sudden move from the shock, which made her cough as pain spreaded.

"Stay calm, ma’am, or else the wound will aggravate." The girl warned her, and Rika did not try to move after that. The treatment took a long time in her eyes. The only sounds she heard during that time was the echo of the battlefield, as well as her groans from time to time.

After some time, all her wounds had finally been bandaged.

"You’re lucky, ma’am, your wounds weren’t as deep as they seemed. You’ll be able to move with some aid." The teenage girl said as she cleaned her hand with some water from her gourd. "Now, ma’am, what are your orders?"

"Orders?"

"You are still my superior in rank, ma’am." The girl answered as if it was obvious.

"...We should get back to our base…" But it's useless. Rika thought. With her current state, she did not believe she could make it.

"Understood, ma’am." The teenage girl stood up and began to prepare her equipment which was dispersed within the shell crater they were in. Rika saw that the girl was limping from her left leg. There was a bandage already red with blood on that leg. The girl then said to Rika. 

"Once the shelling calms down, I will try to get you back to our lines, ma’am."

Rika just nodded, but in her head, she thought the chances of them surviving were nonexistent. Rather, it might have been better. She wouldn’t have to worry about being abandoned by her family anymore. They were the ones who put her in this position in this place…

After some time passed, and night slowly arrived, the bombardment waned off. The teenage girl helped Rika stand up, then supported her from the right as she held a laser blaster in her left hand. They slowly began to walk out of the shell crater.

The area had been completely destroyed by the artillery, Rika had a hard time recognising it, but her companion seemed to know more than her. They slowly walked into this no-man’s land full of newly made craters. The problem was however, that as they began walking toward friendly lines, Rika was beginning to lose consciousness. She had lost too much blood. Ticia noticed it, and proposed something.

"Ma’am, I know it’s hard, but try to keep your consciousness awake, how about you talk about happy moments and try to forget the pain?"

Rika just nodded, she did not have the strength to argue. Instead, she began telling stories of her childhood to her young companion, like how she felt when her little brother was about to be born. Simple answers came back, affirming that her companion was listening in. Somehow, this gave Rika some strength to keep on advancing.Then, after a while, the girl began to tell Rika about her past too. About her life as an orphan on Brelia 7, and why she enlisted into the army. The teenage girl slowly opened up as fatigue accumulated. Her soldierly attitude disappeared, replaced by the girl's true personality as she cursed the officers who sent them on this mission. They exchanged for a while like that, until Rika remarked something.

"Which, nhn, reminds me. *pant* I don’t think I ever heard your name…"

"...It’s Ticia, with no last name."

"Ticia… Ok, I’ve remembered it. Well, *pant* Ticia, I’m Rika Doesson. If we survive, I’ll make sure something like this doesn’t happen again to the two of us. I promise."

"..."

Rika did not receive a response, not that she needed one. She had already made up her mind. If they survived, she would do everything to go up in ranks rapidly while assuring her own safety, and the one of Ticia, who just saved her life when she could have literally abandoned her. Never would she be lazy and selfish again! They continued their slow approach under the cover of darkness. Ticia’s leg didn’t get any better, and she too, was beginning to have a hard time staying awake. They both spoke about silly things to keep themselves from closing their eyes.

Fortunately for them, they were about to reach friendly lines.

"We… We did it, Ticia… We managed to come back!" Rika exclaimed, forgetting her pain. But then, Ticia stopped.

"Hey? Ticia? Come on! Let's continue! We’ve arrived!" Rika did not receive an answer. Instead, Ticia slowly fell down. "Ticia!?"

Rika held Ticia, and they both fell. Rika kept calling Ticia’s name, but did not receive an answer. Then, as Rika panicked, she heard a voice from behind her.

"You promised something like this wouldn’t happen again!"

"!!!" Rika turned, and saw an older version of Ticia, with an enormous wound to her stomach bleeding profusely, guts visible. And as suddenly as that, artillery shells began to explode all around her again, obscuring her vision.

***

"!!!" Rika woke up while gasping for air. The scar on her face itched.  She raised her upper body, quickly inspecting her surroundings while putting her left hand on her scar. Of course, nobody was in her room.

"...*sigh*"

She calmed down, and began to regulate her respiration.

"This nightmare again…"

Ever since she came here, Rika often had this nightmare where she would relive this horrific moment of her life. It was like a phantom that did not want to go away. When it happened for the first time, she thought it was only a one time occurrence, that it only happened because she was going to risk her life on a battlefield again. But the nightmare kept coming back every night, making her unable to sleep. She questioned herself, why was she having that nightmare. That’s when a certain person began to appear in her nightmares and began to say a line to her.

"You promised something like this wouldn’t happen again!"

"..."

She was beginning to be certain of one thing, she had this nightmare because of a certain promise that was now unfulfilled.

Rika wasn’t a saint. She broke multiple promises in her life. But there was only one person she kept her promises with, albeit unconsciously, and it was Ticia.

As the nightmare kept appearing each night, Rika understood something. While she always said to herself that Ticia was a valuable asset. It would seem that her heart disagreed. After all the two of them had been through together, she might not have looked at Ticia as a valuable and loyal soldier under her command anymore, but as a precious comrade with whom she had made a precious agreement with. Someone she could entrust her life to. They might not have been friends, but, even though the both of them refused to recognise it, they cared for one another with their own way, making sure to keep the other safe.

But now, Ticia was gone, Rika would probably not see her again, even if the other woman survived. She was sure the higher ups would try to frame Ticia or her somehow sooner or later, seeing how she was treated during the meeting with General Fika.

Rika was trapped, she would still continue her duty, but could not escape her fate. The Doesson family was still thriving from her fame as a war hero, but on the first occasion, they would drop all support and banish her. That was something that disgusted her. At least before, she had someone that would remain on her side, but that was not the case anymore. Death penalty would probably wait for her at the end of this battle. There was no talk about going back to civilian life, Rika could not see herself going back to her former self too. Since she had lost her closest ally, the only thing she had left now was her brigade. She resigned herself to live on with the guilt of not fulfilling a promise that was never completely affirmed as one. This guilt that has been building in her heart, it was the guilt of not having enough power to prevent her precious comrade from falling into danger.

Rika closed her eyes. As if to forget about it all, she began to hum a lullaby to herself. This lullaby was her favorite, as it helped calm her mind.

"Hm♪ hmm♪ hm♪ hm♪ hmm♪~"

In the silent room, Rika's humming voice resounded. The lullaby soothed her, but it did not chase the nightmare away.