Clone Girls

Rika could only be relieved after leaving the principal's office. Based on what she'd been told, she thought the old man would be hostile towards her, but she was relieved to find out that principal Frederick Warren was still the grumpy old man she remembered from her days as a student.

Frederick Warren was an exemplary officer during his prime, beside being a neutral, and for this, he had been awarded the principal position at the academy. 

For the sake of equity, the Borkian confederation's constitution actually had an article stipulating that only neutral people could become principals, so that the academies of  the confederation would not deviate from their main function of forming capable officers for all the branches of the Borkian military.

Rather, the old principal saw her in a positive light, mentioning that she would do more than being just an ‘advisor teacher’. The only reason he had been against their requests in the first place was because he did not believe it to be a good idea to suddenly take 12 kids, and add them to the last year's best class. He wanted the clone girls to go through all regular years of formation, but Rika could only deny his proposal. Yes, Ticia wanted the girls to experience school, but their growth was irregular compared to normal humans. Besides, once they'd grown up to a certain age, Ticia had admitted painfully to Rika that she would make 'full use' of her daughters' skills, and that would mean they'd have no more time to go to school.

Still, everything went better than I expected. Rika thought as she moved towards the waiting room, twelve little clones were waiting for her there. Ticia went to do some ‘personal business’, as she called it, and left the Null CGs under her care. They would join up after the entrance ceremony, if everything went well.

As soon as she entered the room, twelve pairs of curious eyes locked on her.

“Miss Rika, is everything done?” Licia asked for her sisters.

“Yeah.” Rika nodded, giving a small smile to the girl. 

“That's good.” Licia replied, nodding to herself with a serious face. She had entered what Rika called the ‘Serious Ticia Mode’. “Did you ask about the thing mom said?”

“You mean the princess? I did, but the principal only grumbled that it was confidential.” She replied with a sigh.

“Hmph! You should have just insisted more.” Nillia suddenly mumbled, gaining everybody's attention.

“I can't do that.” Rika shook her head, unsure why the little girl was so hostile towards her. “Alienating him would be a very bad move.”

“You're just scared to go against him. As expected, we can't trust you.” Ria commented calmly.

“Ria!” Licia chided her sister. “What have I told you already?”

“But Licia! She's not one of us, how can you trust her so much?!”

Licia sighed. “First, why's the fact that she's not one of us something that matters? She saved Lidia and the others didn't she? Second, mom trusts her, so we should trust her too.”

“Ugh.” Ria could not find any counter arguments, but was stubborn in her mistrust. “Still, I can't trust her, and I'm not the only one who thinks like that.”

She said this, but Rika already knew that. From the time Ticia had presented all of her daughters to her, she had made efforts to recognize who was who and not make errors, but that didn't mean she had the time to build up a solid relation with the girls, as she was busy with the aftermath of the operation and planning their future moves. 

As a result, not all clone girls were happy to be put under her charge despite their mother's order, with Ria and Nillia being the most hostile towards her. The four she knew best would often listen to her requests, but the others would not move if not ordered by Ticia. Only Ticinia and Vinia showed some hesitance, with the former holding strong curiosity towards her and the latter because Rika had developed a strong attachment to the girl.

“Ria, you-”

“Enough, eldest sister, second sister. This isn't the time for that.” Nicia interrupted her two sisters as they were going to bicker another time, something that had become the norm now for the two of them. She then turned towards Rika. “Miss Ri- I mean, General, shall we move?”

“Yeah, it's time for the entrance ceremony.” Rika said, knowing that she and the clone girls would be put in the light again. Nowadays, she felt like those events were becoming a regular thing in her life, but then again, she had decided to help her friend achieve her goal.

 

***

 

The amphitheater where the opening ceremony was held was brimming with people, both students and their parents,as well as officials. All were talking between themselves, awaiting the time for the ceremony to begin.

Rika and the clone girls took place on the front row, where seats had been booked for them. Their entrance was not unnoticed, like Rika guessed it would. She got recognized immediately, and people theorized what she was doing here. Surprised and curious looks were also directed at the Null CGs.

Rika was wearing her usual uniform, but the girls also had their own unique ones. The clone girls’ uniforms were similar yet different from regular Borkian uniforms the students wore at the academy. Instead of being entirely gray, they had a mix of white and light gray parts, contrasted by golden buttons and small  golden ornaments to show their military ranks as officers.

Ticia’s done a good job designing those. Rika thought, agreeing with her friend’s design. Ticia had improved her old uniform’s design to respect Borkian uniformity, and applied those patterns to the ones made for her daughters while keeping it simple overall. She grumbled at the loss of her ‘white uniform’ though. The ECGs also had similar uniforms, but the golden parts had been replaced with ones in bronze.

If only her taste could also apply to normal clothes… Rika ended up thinking, releasing a small discreet sigh. Just then, she received a message on her terminal from the said person.

Ticia: I’m here.

Rika immediately turned to look around the amphitheater, happy that Ticia could make it in the end, and she did find Ticia sitting not far. She did not seem alone, however. The ambassador from the Pellian empire was sitting next to her, and Ticia had a strained smile as the man spoke to her, stuck to her like glue

Rika could not help her friend right now, so she only sent a message in their private chat.

Rika: I see you, hang in there!

Ticia: Thank you T_T
Also, don’t say anything to the girls, don’t wanna stress them out!

Rika: Got it.

The last part of the message could be said to be in consideration of the girls, but Rika had a slight feeling her friend just wanted to surprise her daughters. But, she had to admit that Ticia had too much influence over them right now, and that is not what the both of them wanted for this event.

Then, people began to fill the stage, and as they did so, the amphitheater slowly fell into silence. Those people were, of course, the academy’s most important personnel, and Rika could see the old principal at the head of the group.

Frederick Warren, now at the center of the stage, began to speak up.

“Dear students, parents, and officials. I am delighted to see you all gathered today for the entrance ceremony…”

Alright, here comes the boring speech. Rika thought to herself, well used to the old man’s words. They were the same each year, with only some slight modifications. She remembered some old acquaintances had named this the first trial of the academy, as students betted whether they would be able to stay awake the whole time, and she had to admit that she had never managed to stay awake in one at the time. Now however was different, thanks to being forced to listen to boring repports and debriefing for a long period of time. Even Ticia was capable of that, or so she hoped she would… Ticia is Ticia after all…

After a good hour of presentation of the personnel of the academy, Rika curiously glanced to her side, to see whether or not the little Ticias had managed to survive against the sleep inducing ceremony, and the answer was no.

Licia was fighting against herself to stay awake, Mia, Ticinia and Vinia were clearly dozing off, Nillia, Lidia and Nicia had their eyes closed, state unknown, Miria and Tiria were not even listening to the speech anymore, and Willia and Nia had fallen deep asleep, snoring lightly. Only Ria seemed unphased by the speech, listening to it while maintaining a serious appearance.

Guess it was to be expected… She thought to herself, smiling bitterly, before pinching the sleeping Nia and Willia who had been placed right next to her.

““Ouch!”” Both exclaimed, nearly jumping out of their seats and waking up immediately. Nia then looked at Rika with tearful eyes as her sisters also refocused on what was happening thanks to the noise. “Why me!?”

Your mom’s order, Nia. Rika nearly blurted out, but managed to hold back. How could she say to the poor girl that her mother had expected her and Willia to cause troubles in some way and set them up as exemples?

“Don't sleep through the ceremony.” She ended up saying with a serious, hushed tone.

“But it's boring~.” Nia said childishly.

“I won't say the contrary.” Rika said back, looking at the stage. “But I need you all to stay awake. What he's about to say is important.”

The girls could only obey her, and they looked at the stage as principal Warren continued his speech.

“Our academy prides itself in the diversity of formations it can offer. As a reminder, let me say it to you all again. The students first register themselves in a main formation, before choosing speciality classes in which the student can hone his skills and specialize himself.”

“Hmm, I don't get it.” Willia said as she tilted her head in confusion, trying to understand what the principal said.

“Of course you don't, you musclehead…” Nicia mumbled in an almost inaudible voice, letting out a small sigh.

“Uhm, actually, I too don't understand.” Vinia said, siding with her third sister. She looked at Rika. “General, can you explain to us again?”

“Sure, what the principal meant is that you are free to choose which class you attend.” Rika said flatly.

““Eh?”” Both Willia and Vinia were surprised, but they were not the only ones, most of the clone girls reacted that way.

“Like, if I want, I can only go to training classes?” Willia said with some expectation in her voice, which made Rika smile a little. From the little time they had been together, she had seen how much Willia loved to train, often joining her and Ticia in their daily exercises, trying to match up to their level.

“Well yes, but actually no.” She said, immediately destroying the girl’s expectations. “Just like the principal said, you are all required to select a main course that you must follow through, but for the remaining hours, you can pick whatever you want from the list. Your mother and I registered all of you to the basic officer training for the ground forces, and she also registered you in some classes she wanted you to take individually. As for the other stuff, you're free to choose what  you want.”

“Really?” Mia asked.

“Yes.” Rika nodded. “But we’ll see this after the ceremony is over with your mom. For now, listen to what the principal has to say, and try not to fall asleep this time.”

All of them nodded, and Rika noticed some of them were even ashamed that they fell asleep now. They focussed all of their attention on the stage, their concentrated faces making Rika think yet again about how cute the girls could be sometimes, if not all the time.

The speech continued on, with some rather generic lines of propaganda for the Borkian confederation, as well as a showcase of the academy’s infrastructure.

It had everything, some classic stuff like soundproof classes, amphitheaters and a huge library for theoretical classes, as well as recreational facilities and refectories, but also laboratories, workshops, training fields and even a shooting range. All of them were equipped with last generation technologies, which were extremely performant and would satisfy any needs for the students. 

Last but not least, there were also dormitories, which the barracks the clone girls had been using until now were part of. All clone girls had been granted access to the campus, and the ECGs were expected to patrol around campus when they were stationed here, except for a small group that would be bodyguards for the Null CGs.

If they were interested, the ECGs were able to take some lessons, but as part of the agreement, they were also expected to help the students by showcasing their skills as full fledged soldiers.

“Now, usually, I would let the best student of last year speak up, but because of a recent incident in which she was implicated, it has been decided that she would be exempted from participating today.” Principal Warren said calmly, but his words caused some whispers. Rika heard some of them behind her, coming from students.

“Mayers got into trouble again?”

“What happened this time…”

“That might have something to do with what happened to Steve, you know? Her fiance.”

“Oh, right. Rape attempt gone wrong in a warehouse full of unregistered experimental explosives, was it? How could he be so stupid, smoking in this kind of place and throwing his cigarette’s stub on the stockpile…”

“At least I can understand Evelyn, even though she is a Pellian. If my fiance did this behind my back, I too would not dare to show up the next day.”

Hearing how the truth had become so twisted, Rika nearly burst out in laughter but controlled herself. Steve Ritter had become the huge scapegoat from the incident, and the Doessons did not feel bothered giving all the blame to him. Still, this incident left a deep scar on the Doessons’ reputation. It showed them to the public as being careless in their gestion, and some factions had also been angered by their unregistered merchandise, mostly those who also had businesses nearby and were hit by the explosion, though.

“So Evelyn also studies here…” Rika heard Licia mumble, and when she turned towards the girl, she found her smiling happily. If she were to guess, the little girl had grown attached to the blue haired girl she had met yesterday. Her identity as the victim had also been kept hidden, which was something Rika was glad of.

“Instead of the student representative's speech this year, we have a special announcement to make…” Principal Warren stated calmly, regaining attention to himself as he stared straight at Rika.

“It’s time, girls.” Rika simply said before getting up walking straight to the stage, and the clone girls followed after her without saying anything.

“As you all know, we recently gained some ancient clones in our conflict with the Ionians, one hundred and thirteen, to be exact, and all have been placed under former student now brigadier-general, Rika.” Warren said as Rika and the clone girls took position on stage. Some students immediately began to applaud once she reached the podium, Rika’s reputation following after her. So they had to wait for things to calm down before speaking again.

“Thank you for welcoming us principal, I will explain the rest.” Rika said to the principal, before looking at the crowd that was now whispering in confusion. “I take pride in being placed at the head of the clones, but as you can probably guess by looking at the ones beside me, there are some special cases…” She began, glancing at the clone girls who now stood at attention right next to her.

“Out of the one hundred and thirteen clones, twelve of them have not finished their growing phase, and are in need of some more education. This is why it has been decided that those twelve girls would join the academy as students.”

The whispers continued in the crowd, but everybody had guessed this much after seeing the girls go on stage. They only had one question: why the hell enlist them when they clearly were too young for that?

“Do not underestimate them because of their current appearances.” Rika warned. “Clones grow up differently compared to regular humans. By the time this year is over, they’ll be the same age as most students.”

Rika fell silent, letting the people present digest this new information, before continuing. “Not only this, those clones are one of their kind, and can be considered geniuses, hence why it has been decided to integrate them in the senior grade’s most performant class, Class 38.”

““Eh?”” Students could not help but be shocked, more particularly the ones at the front, which Rika recognised as the ones whispering before. They probably were the student of the said class.

Rika then looked towards Licia, who was standing right next to her, the latter felt her gaze and nodded.

“I will now let one of them speak up.” She said, before letting Licia speak up.

“I am Null CG-01 Licia, first of my sisters.” Licia declared in the most serious voice a child could make. But it still looked cute in the eyes of Rika because of the difference in height with the podium.

“We are Null clones, special clones with high autonomy compared to our other sisters, and the right to command them if necessary.” She continued, making sure to insist on the fact that they were important. “Unlike most of our sisters, we have been granted names, and we would be grateful if you referred to us by them, and not our numbers. Those names are… very important to us.” She said with a big smile, carrying emotions in her voice that everyone felt, and her sisters nodding along, before dropping a bombshell on all of them.

“We don’t like the Borkian confederation.” She started seriously, quieting the entire amphitheater, but Licia continued on, emotions still in her voice. “You took our home away from us, the only place we’ve ever known! You attacked our mother, and you were clearly intent on making us your experiment subjects rather than leaving us alone, and none of us will forgive you people for that, either Ionians or Borkians.”

The whispers were now lowder, with most people offended by what Licia just said, but there were also some pitiful and sorry gazes in the mix.

“...” Rika was quiet, listening to the clone girl and not stopping her like some people wished she would. When she and Ticia had asked Licia to make a speech, they did not order her to say anything in particular, and just let her free to speak her mind. It could be considered a risky move, but Ticia wanted her daughter to say her heartfelt feelings, and had total trust in the girl not to go too far.

“We only came here because our mother has put her faith in General Rika.” Licia said, giving a quick glance at her. “But unlike our other sisters and our mother, we did not make any oath. We want to choose who we serve on our own.”

Big implications were lying under those words, which made the whispers grow back in intensity again, but this time with more greed. Rika could clearly read what those gazes said and nearly sneered at them. A kid was easy to influence, so if they made the correct move, they could get a clone for themselves. Unfortunately for them, what Licia just said was complete bullshit to a big extent, and Rika knew that well. Never would the girls serve anybody else but their mother!

Ticia, your little girl is as daring as you… Rika could not help but think. Licia had voluntarily thrown herself and her sisters into the center of endless greed, using her mother and Rika’s ‘oath’ as an excuse...

I’ll need to speak with her later. She thought. Licia clearly had come up with a plan for herself and her sisters while they were in the academy, and since none of the other clone girls protested against what she said, that meant they had agreed on this beforehand.

Rika thought this would be the biggest surprise to come out of all this, one she and Ticia were happy about, but she was not ready for what came next as the principal spoke up.

“As said before, the clones will be put in Class 38, and Brigadier-General Rika will be put as the teacher in charge of the class alongside General Fika.”

““!?!”” everybody was surprised as David Fika appeared from the backstage, all smiling, and took position next to the principal.

“It’s my pleasure to accept this position, principal.” He said. “I will make sure to guide not only the clones and students of Class 38, but also all the other students of the academy.”

He then turned towards the silent Rika, who was still recovering from the shock of his appearance, and raised a handshake towards her. “Let’s get along well on our new appointment, miss Rika.”

Rika stayed silent at first, before faking a smile and shaking his hand. “...The pleasure is mine, general.” More like torture…

“Oh please, no titles between the two of us.” He said with a smile. “We’re fellow teachers now, please call me David.”

What he just said made no sense because they were still in a military academy, but Rika did not say anything, neither denying or agreeing to his request, she only had one thought.

What a pain… Everything was going so well…

People around were also a bit shocked by this. After all, both of them were thought of as good presidential candidates, and yet here was Fika, acting all friendly towards the one who appeared to be his rival.

“I have a question for the little clones, Miss Rika, and I think all of us would like to know the answer.” David asked, turning his gaze towards Licia.

Licia glanced at Rika first, and when the latter nodded, she came closer.

“What would that be, sir?”  Licia asked, showing the least respect in her words to the general. This made some eyebrows twitch in the audience, but David continued as if unaffected.

“You said you and your sisters were not under oath, so will you listen to Miss Rika’s orders then?” He asked, and two answers came immediately.

“Yes.”

“No.”

““Eh?”” Confusion rose up from the two answers. Licia had obviously answered yes, but Ria had jumped in and denied it at the same time.

“Ria…” Licia immediately glared at her little sister, now was not the time to be prideful!

“Could you please explain?” Asked a still smiling David towards Ria.

“We will not follow her orders because we didn’t make an oath to her, but since our mother asked us to follow her orders for now, we will do so.” Ria said with a very reluctant look on her face, and Licia sighed in relief, Ria had not thrown everything they had worked on just for her pride and mistrust.

“I see, so in other words, Miss Rika is your temporary leader?” David asked.

“Hmmm, I wouldn’t say that.” Licia said as she retook control of the conversation, she seemed thoughtful as she looked for the right word to describe Rika to her. “... I guess the word caretaker would be fitting, no, using normal human terms maybe nanny is better?” She ended up saying with a small impish smile.

“Nanny it is!” Nia suddenly declared, the same expression on her face as the one Licia had, and to Rika's surprise, most clone girls nodded in agreement.

Rika frowned a bit at the term used to describe her relationship with the clone girls. In all rights, it was exactly the best word to describe the relationship she had with them, since she would guard them while Ticia was away, but…

It doesn’t feel right… She thought to herself, feeling disappointed for some reason.

David laughed at this. “I see, I see, so she is like a nanny to you all.” He then looked at Rika with a small smile. “Miss Rika, although it is breaking the rules of the military, I’ll let it slide since the concerned people are a special case.”

Everybody laughed at that, but before Rika could even think of correcting everybody. She felt someone pulling her sleeve. When she looked down, she saw a trembling Ticinia.

“Nanny…” Ticinia uttered, and Rika immediately knew what was wrong. Ticinia was feeling overwhelmed by the feelings of greed she felt all around her, and she had told her that David Fika had particularly strong ones. Without even thinking, Rika immediately stuck the girl’s face to her stomach, allowing the girl to hide her face from the greed surrounding her, and lowering the strain on the girl. Ticinia hugged her in return, relaxing a bit. The action raised eyebrows as a clear breach of protocols, but before anybody could voice it out, the principal spoke up.

“Ahem, I thank the both of them for the contributions they will make to the academy, so everyone, let’s welcome them warmly to our academy.”

After he said this, everybody in the amphitheater applauded, marking the end of the opening ceremony, before dispersing into small groups.  Rika and the clone girls stayed behind for a bit, answering some questions, before excusing themselves. David Fika tried to stick himself to Rika, proposing they tour the academy’s installation together and prepare for their joint lessons, but she softly refused, implying that she had some business to finish. The general did not insist any further.

Rika did a quick turn of the academy with the clone girls as was tradition, and since there were no classes on the first day anyway. She made sure they would not lose themselves in the huge campus, but her mind was elsewhere. She did not trust David and his sudden inclusion into the academy, and she wanted to come up with new plans by discussing it with Ticia.

Arriving at their barracks, Rika froze up when one of the ECG passing by saluted her in a way she did not expect…

“Welcome back, prime sisters, nanny.”

“Wha-!?”

She was assaulted with a weird feeling, as some of the Null CGs giggled, and got a bad premonition as more and more ECGs she met along the way called her like that.

Further into the room, Ticia awaited them, sitting at the kitchen’s table and enjoying some coffee. The Null CGs immediately rushed towards her.

““Mom!””

“Welcome back!” Ticia said back with a motherly smile, hugging all of them. “I saw you all over there, mommy is proud of all of you!”

The girls giggled at her praise, but soon enough, Ticia’s gaze met Rika, and a teasing look appeared on her face.

“So, miss nanny~, were they all good kids today?”

“...” Rika did not respond at first, before releasing a sigh. “I knew this would happen…”

She looked at Ticia as both she and the Null CGs giggled, sending them an exasperated gaze. “Have you had your fun now?”

“What~? Don’t like it?” Ticia said, continuing to tease her friend.

“It’s too childish of a term…” Rika mumbled as she became embarrassed. Truth be told, she felt fine being called like that, but she just felt that the name did not fit correctly.

“Is that so~?” Ticia put a hand over her mouth, hiding her impish smile. “Then how about I allow the girls to call you auntie instead~?”

“Second class Ticia, disciplinary training, now.” Rika’s mood suddenly changed, a vein now clear on her forehead.

“W-wait, Rika? I-I was just joking…” Ticia immediately panicked, realizing she had taken her joke too far.

“What's that? Disobeying orders now, second class Ticia?” Rika smiled, but the aura around her told Ticia otherwise.

“R-run away!” Licia suddenly declared, and all the Null CGs, scattered in various directions like rats fleeing a sinking ship.

“W-wait, girls? Don’t leave me alone!” Ticia said, before glancing around, spotting a group of ECGs who were passing by, she sent them a distressfull look, but the ECGs only avoided eye contact and left the place as if they saw nothing. Now feeling betrayed, she sent a pleading look towards Rika.

“C-can we talk about this?”

“No way~.” Was the only answer she received before Rika dragged her to the academy’s training ground, not letting her go until late at night.

At least she wasn’t alone in her suffering(?), because her daughter Willia had followed along, happily receiving the disciplinary training along with her.

After that, the clone girls never attempted to call Rika nanny or auntie ever again. But they did stop adding ‘miss’ to her name while in private…