Clone Girls

Nightfall.

The streets of Borkian Prime City’s wealth district began to liven up with a different ambiance than during the day.

Luxurious cars bustled around, bringing wealthy and influential people to sites of interest where other people would wait for them. There, they would discuss a variety of things, from silly daily banter to building up relationships with other wealthy people.

Every man present wore suits, luxurious watches adorned to their suits, while women wore prestigious dresses and shining jewels to exhibit their beauty. All had smiles hiding their true feelings as they discussed.

All of them desired entertainment, and today, there was exactly the right place for that. All of the most influential people of the Borkian Confederation would not dare miss this event, for there was no better place to flaunt your wealth in Borkian Prime City other than the Malaise Tower.

Standing proudly within the far East of the district, the somewhat humble building compared to its neighbors benefitted from its location. Some of the biggest companies, including Eiko Extraction company and the Doesson industries, had seats nearby.

But most of all, the luxurious Senate building was nearby. Senators and other officials had selected this place as their favorite spot to display their wealth. They just had to make a turn after leaving the Senate Building and that was it.

The building itself had everything wealthy people needed to splurge in and show off their wealth. A casino, small theatres, a wide opera, restaurants, private bars, luxurious brand shops, exhibitions, business meeting rooms and even brothels. 

Even if there was something  lacking within the building, nearby businesses covered for that. Just having your shop or restaurant near the Malaise Tower was enough to boost your sales over the rooftop. Such was the influence and prestige of such a place.

Tonight too, wealthy people began to gather as usual. They greeted each other at the entrance, eyeing the move of each and every newcomer that came out of their luxurious car and put their feet on the red carpet leading to the tower’s entrance. Should the person wear brand new, luxurious apparels, they would praise them with fake smiles, but should someone come in with the same clothes they had yesterday, they would become the laughingstock of the night and be shamed, their reputation taking a hit for all foregoing social events.

Some women dreaded this kind of event, over reeled in it. Such was the rule of what they called ‘high society’.

From the common people’s view, this might appear like a dream, others, either jealous or truly disgusted by this display of wealth would call it decadence, but it did not matter to the people who were usuals of the Malaise Tower.

Today too, they would get to participate in a thrilling event organised by the tower’s owner. These sorts of events were common, but the fact that they were branded as ‘outlawed’ brought thrill to these people in search of something exciting.

All of them thought the laws of the country applied to the lowly citizens, not them anyway. As the ruling class, how could they share common laws with low salary factory workers? They were clearly above the law.

“My, what is waiting for us today I wonder?” A middle aged woman asked in a clearly loud voice for everyone around to hear as they watched people get down their cars one by one.

“Oh my, you don’t know? Today’s big event is an auction!” Another woman answered.

“Wonderful! I wonder what kind of luxurious goods will be presented today! Husband, we have to buy something!”

“Of course my dear, but one is not enough, we’ll buy three at the very least!”

The group laughed, seemingly in a merry mood. None of them knew what exactly they would buy at the auction, but they did not care that much. Most of the time, they bought something at the auction because they could. 

“Mh? Oh my, isn’t it Mr Doesson?” A young woman said out loud as a middle-aged man excited the next car.

Davie Doesson came alone out of the car and approached the group, a charming smile on his face.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, how are you all doing on this fine night?”

“Oh, we’re doing absolutely well, Mr Doesson, thank you. It’s been a while since we’ve seen you.” A woman answered, a smile on her face. 

“Buiseness kept me busy, you all know how it is, right?”

“But of course. And about your wife, you have our sincerest condolences…”

“Thank you, lady. The last few weeks have been… rough.”

“That must be hard… Handling the funerals and dealing with a rebellious daughter…”

“That arrogant brat! how could she not even attend her mother’s funeral after all you and Meiko did for her!”

“Please don’t be like that. Rika is just too shaken, I’m sure she’ll go back to reason soon enough…”

“Hmm… If you say so, Davie. What about your old man? Is he doing well?”

“Oh, father is doing well for his advanced age, even though he keeps complaining his back hurts. He keeps nagging me not to become like him.”

“Haha! That can’t be helped now, can it? We’ll all end up like that one day anyway!” 

They continued to banter in a merry mood until a new car stopped in front of the venue.

“Mh? A car from the military academy?” Davie frowned. He was not the only one. It was extremely rare for the military academy to come here. And to top it off, this was not the usual type of car the academy uses for its officials’ displacement, far from it.

The jet black car resembled a limousine with fine geometric lines. Any car enthusiast would immediately recognize the brand as one of the rarest made-order limousines from that famous brand that had disappeared decades ago…

Who could possibly be in this car? They got the answer pretty quickly.

““Eh?””

The first person that came out was a young woman in a suit with white hair. If it was only her that would be fine, but another identical person in the same clothes came out, which told the surrounding people ‘what’ they were. Clones, obviously.

Their surprise continued as the main person in the car came out.

““Wha-!? The Unkillable Valkyrie?””

“...Rika?”

Rika came out of the car next. Unlike usual she wore a suit, but somewhat loosely. She let out a relaxed yet serious atmosphere.

Smiling, she moved a hand towards the car, where the hand of another person took it.

The next person to come out of the car stunned everyone present.

It was a woman with shoulder-lench white hair with black tips. She wore an evening dress, highlighting her stunning beauty and sexyness.

Unlike Rika, who was smiling from ear to ear, the clone had a cold look on her face, clearly distant from the rest of the world. The woman looked around, giving a cold glare to the men, but when she looked at Rika, her look somewhat softened, but still looked a bit cold.

That woman was of course Ticia.

Another woman looking similar to Ticia, with white hair came out next. It was Emily, but unlike Ticia, she drew less attention. Emily wore a simple yet elegant dress, not hiding her beauty but not revealing much either. She stood behind Ticia, as if she was her ‘lady in waiting’, with a smile on her face.

The three women walked away from the car towards the Malaise Tower’s entrance while the two escort clones got back in the car and drove away.

“Rika-” Davie called out to Rika, but she completely ignored him. She walked in the building, hand in hand with Ticia.

““...”” 

Everyone now stared at Davie.

“Is she still not talking to her family?”

“This is a bit…”

People began whispering behind him. Some took his side, blaming Rika, others just made fun of the situation or criticised how Davie handled his family matters.

Meanwhile, as Davie kept his poker face while grinding his teeth, Rika lightly chuckled.

“What? Finding it funny?” Ticia said back in a bit of an aggressive tone.

“Of course I am.” Rika replied back, still smiling. “It’s not all day that I can make my ‘father’ lose face.

“Is that really all?” Ticia frowned. “You forced me to wear this dress, aren’t you just enjoying ‘showing me off’?”

“Heh, you got me there.” Rika said back, still smiling.

“Ugh, for real? I knew I should have refused...” Ticia rubbed her forehead in frustration. Her gaze inadvertently went to Emily, her mother. Were it not for her sudden appearance and her saying ‘My mother instincts told me I should be here’, Ticia would not have accepted Rika’s half forced dressing choice upon her.

Not that she disliked this kind of clothing, in fact, she thought it was nice. She just was not used to showing this much skin and disliked how this drew gazes from other people, particularly men…

There was a ‘reason’ behind this choice of clothes though.

Rika’s cover up idea for tonight’s meeting was that she came here to ‘release some stress’. As such she did not come here in her military uniform. In fact, it would be weird for anyone to come to this district in a military uniform, or so she said to Ticia. While Rika herself would wear a suit, she boldly declared she would ‘show off’ the beauty of clones through Ticia and began forcing stylish dresses on Ticia. For some reason Emily also sided with Rika. 

Faced with a front on two sides, Ticia relented and let them choose a dress for her. While this was happening, Ticia self reflected that were this to happen to her daughters, she would probably be in the same position as Emily, wanting to observe every instant of it, so she begrudgingly kept quiet, even as the dresses became more and more revealing.

“Still, you could have been the one wearing the dress.” Ticia said to Rika a while after they had entered, while they were on the lift that would lead them to the Opera floor. They were the only ones in this lift.

“It wouldn’t fit someone like me with scars on their face.” Rika simply said, a bit of a sad tone in her voice.

Ticia remained quiet as she knew going further might be a hurtful subject. She knew how much Rika liked to dress up in the past.

Emily on the other hand did not know.

“I’ve been meaning to ask, why have you not treated these scars yet? Was this technology lost?” She asked.

“Mom!” 

“That’s okay Ticia.”

Ticia chided in, but Rika gently put a hand on her shoulder, shaking her head with a wry smile.

“The technology still exists.” Rika confirmed. “But I’ve decided not to use it.”

“Why though? Why waste your pretty face?” Emily frowned. As a woman, if you could fix a hideous scar destroying your face, you would jump on the occasion.

“To remember what my old self cost me.” Rika answered, looking into the distance with a wry smile on her face as she remembered the past. “Back then, I was such an arrogant idiot. I was forced into the military by my family. I hated it, I hated everyone who didn’t agree with me and I often lashed out on those who did not agree with me.”

“Is that so? In that case you changed for the best. Who changed you?”

While Ticia remained quiet, Emily was intrigued. She asked more questions.

“Your daughter.” Rika said back, a smile on her face, which made Emily smile as she put a hand under her chin.

“My, I thought so.”

“Not only did she change me, she saved me. I owe my life to her. But I wasn’t really honest either until recently.” Rika admitted.

“What do you mean?” Emily asked, but this time Ticia was also confused. What did Rika mean by that?

“I decided to keep Ticia by my side under the idea that she was a very efficient soldier, when what I truly thought but could not admit was that I needed her. I  convinced myself of her usefulness, that as long as I had her in my unit, impossible tasks could be accomplished, so I often sent her on hard missions.”

“...Those were hard indeed, but not impossible. You’ve got nothing to blame yourself for on these matters Rika.” Ticia answered back. This was the first time she commented on the missions Rika had given her out loud. 

Sure, some sounded impossible, but Ticia knew she could do them. She probably was the only one who could do them whom Rika could rely on.

“Still, now that I think about it, that was a bit over the top on my part. And I kept thinking about your chances of success, you know? Honestly, not having you nearby was sometimes very stressful.” Rika admitted.

“Sending your most trusted and capable underling on a mission of utmost importance is but a matter of course. I’ve not heard the details of these missions, but I think you did nothing wrong if my daughter didn’t leave.” Emily said in a serious tone. These were the words of a soldier, not a mother.

“Exactly. Not that I had any power to object.” Ticia added, also with a serious expression on her face. “Rika, remember one thing about my old self. I only wanted three things : a good pay, food on the table and a work environment where I do not have to worry about getting backstabbed. You offered precisely those three things.”

“Still…”

“Gosh, we’re not going to talk about that matter again, aren’t we? I said I’m fine, that was out of your grip. That’s all.” Ticia insisted. Now that she thought about it, this was rare for Rika to fall into such a spiral of thoughts. Or at least to share it to someone else. Ticia would help her get over it, just like Rika did for her in the past.

“If my daughter says this so strongly, then it must be true. Listen to her, stop worrying about stuff like that.” Emily added.

“I’m not looking at your old you Rika, but the you of right now.” Ticia insisted again, looking rika straight in the eyes.

“My, that sounded pretty flirty to me, Ticia.” Emily commented on Ticia’s words, now a teasing look on her face.

“Wha-!? T-that’s not what I meant!” Ticia became flustered.

“But she’s keeping these scars on her face because of you, isn’t she? You should take responsibility as my daughter.”

“W-what’s that supposed to mean!?”

Rika looked at the mother-daughter interaction, before chuckling. A smile now back on her face.

“Thank you. I’ll consider it.”

“Wai- Rika!? Ugh, this is no joking matter…” Ticia rubbed her forehead, trying to get her emotions under control. Surely Rika did not mean it that way… right? Ticia knew Rika well, but sometimes, she just could not tell what Rika was hiding behind her smile…

As if perfectly timed, the door of the lift opened with a ting. Ticia was the first one to leave the lift as if to escape, but nearly tripped because of her high heels. Rika caught her by the hip.

“Whoa there, be a little more careful Ticia, you’re wearing high heels.”

“T-t-t-that can’t be helped, I never wore high heels before!” Ticia protested, pouting while blushing.

“As much as I enjoy watching this, I don’t think it’s the right time for that. Calm yourself down Ticia.”

“I-I know mom. Geez…”

Ticia took a deep breath, calming herself. She thought back on the people back at the entrance, which brought her disgust. Her face soon came back to the unemotional, sharp look she had back in the past before the events of CI3.

“Uwah… Now that’s a cold look if I know one. Should I also make a face like that?” Emily commented.

“Do as you please.” Rika said back. “That’s just Ticia’s way of treating people she doesn’t want to deal with.”

“Let’s stop the needless talk. We’re expected somewhere.” Ticia cut the small talk and began to walk away, slightly pushing Rika away, who was still holding her for some reason. This time she took her time to walk.

There were not any people around them. The lift they had taken was a private one the employees had guided them to. It led directly to the VIP rooms of the building’s inbuilt opera.

The decoration was lavish. Extravagant and refined gold decorations were everywhere the eye could see, with the only other color entering Ticia’s eyes being the deep red of the curtains hanging to the walls. 

There were no windows either. The lighting relied on chandeliers with false candles, lighting up the place as best they could, but the surrounding remained somewhat dark if not for the abundance of gold that reflected the light.

The group kept advancing in the hallway. They would not meet anyone else while on their way. This hallway was meant for wealthy people who did not desire to either reveal their identity or wish for a quiet place away from all the socializing.

In other words, they were in a perfect place for secret meetings to be conducted.

There was a bit of tension in the air. Rika and Ticia feared they might get ambushed. The rules of the Malaise Tower were strict: No guns. Ticia only had a small knife for self defence she had managed to hide under her dress. The same went for Rika. As for Emily, she said she didn’t need one and that her fists were enough to deal with any perverts, whatever that meant. 

They quickly reached their destination. At the end of the hallway there was a heavy looking door with fine decorations. When they approached, the door slowly opened.

The room  behind the door was also lavishly decorated, with red and gold everywhere and the addition of fine white marble without any blemish.

One entire wall was deep dark however, being only surrounded by a wide big red curtain. This was probably where the opera would be watched.

There were a few armchairs directly facing this black screen. A small marble table right next to them.

Among these armchairs, one was already occupied.

Even though the owner of the bald head shining from the surrounding light had his back turned on them, Ticia and Rika immediately knew who it was.

The man got up from his armchair himself and greeted them.

“Brigadier-General Rika, I’ve been waiting for you.” Barry Twill said with a small smile as he raised his hand for a handshake.

“Hello, Fieldmarshall.” Rika took the handshake. Bary Twill was not wearing his usual uniform. He too wore a suit. A prestigious one at that. It gave him a very different aura from usual.

“And greetings, Clone Mother.” Barry then said, smiling as he asked for a handshake from Ticia. He seemed to remember her from before. Ticia made a small pause before accepting the handshake. It was in moments like these that Ticia regretted not bringing her eleventh daughter, Ticinia, with her. Ticinia would have been able to know what emotions passed through the old fieldmarshall’s mind right now…

Barry then looked at Emily and frowned. 

“I was told there would be only you two?” He asked.

“Please do not mind me, sir.” Emily said respectfully, making sure to keep a distance and putting herself on a lower level than Ticia and Rika. the both of them frowned for a bit, but they decided to play along. Emily’s place in the hierarchy had not been decided after all… 

Barry Twill seemed lost in thoughts for a bit before he nodded. His actions told Ticia he was feeling insecure.

“Please take a seat, let’s discuss over some snacks and good alcohol.” He said, pointing towards the armchairs as a small drone brought over a plate filled with various wines and brandies.

Ticia’s eyes shone for a bit, but just a little bit. This was a business meeting, not the time to drink. Rika was probably thinking the same thing. They would have to hold back a bit, for now…

Rika, Ticia and Emily took seats. Immediately after the small drone gave each of them a drink and a plate of snacks. Rika and Ticia were not used to this easygoing sort of meeting, but after seeing Emily casually taking some of the refreshments, they followed after.

Barry Twill also drank his glass of brandy. He tried to appear laid back, but he failed to do so. Perhaps the age had finally got him, or perhaps this was simply his strategy from the start.

He pushed a button and the huge black screen lit up. The screen now displayed a huge scene. This was of course the opera scene.

This WIP room was meant to observe the opera while remaining out of the public’s eyes. Ticia had to admit this was indeed a good place to hold a meeting and put people at ease.

Just as she thought so, a man in an elegant suit showed up on the scene.

“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for attending today’s auction!”

There was a cheer at the man’s words. Ticia on her side frowned. 

“What is this about?” Rika asked out loud, a frown on her face too.

“Oh, you didn’t know?” Barry Twill looked a bit surprised. “This place holds illegal auctions from time to time.”

Both Ticia and Rika looked at one another. This showed how much the both of them had been oblivious, or rather did not pay attention, to what was happening within the heart of the Borkian government. It was not that they had any sense of justice, but the word ‘illegal’ did make them feel a bit itchy. 

The Borkian Confederation had very loose laws when it came to auctions, so the fact that this one was ‘illegal’ meant that it did sell some illicit merchandise…

For all they  knew there could even be slaves sold here…

“Do you partake in these often, FieldMarshall?" Rika asked the old man, who nodded.

“I do, but I don’t necessarily buy.” He said, reaching out for a cigar before stopping himself. “Sometimes I join for socializing, sometimes there is something interesting being sold… like old weaponry…”

At these words, Emily’s eyes perked up from her snacks, but she did not ask further.

Neither Ticia or Rika asked further details. They understood the gist of this place and why it was so popular with senators. The rules of the Borkian Confederation were quite simple when it came down to illegal things after all. If there’s no proof, then you’re not guilty. Since every person present probably knew what this place was about and partook in it, no one would want to denounce the owners of this illegal auction house.

As such, with the auction happening in the background, Barry Twill began to talk.

“General Rika, I shall be frank. I think you already know my current situation by now, which is why I want to set aside any differences we have accumulated over the recent months…”

“Whatever differences do you mean by that?” Rika said, sipping from a glass of wine the serving robot offered her. “When you tried to make me a scapegoat? Or when you tried to take MY clones?”

The insistence on ‘MY clones’ made Ticia twitch for a second for some reason, but she continued to listen as Rika showed her anger and pressured the old Field Marshall.

“...I apologize for all of it, even my underling’s actions.” Barry Twill surprisingly apologized humbly, much to the surprise of Rika. “Truth be told, before everything that happened, I had noted how good of an officer you were and wanted to take you under my wing.”

“I knew that someone had been supporting me in the shadows back then. So it was you? But so what? And for what reasons other than me being a ‘good officer’?” Rika asked, frowning.

“You might not believe me, but I like to have competent people around me.” The old man said, sighing as he looked at the auction. “My strategy’s always been the same. Nurture talented people who will be loyal only to you while you bribe greedy ones, showing them you could award them with something should they join you. It worked so well all this time!”

“Until it didn’t.” Rika dared to interrupt as a show that she was not scared of the Field Marshall. “So your plan was for me to become one of your loyalists?”

“Yes, but you were extremely wary of anyone, perhaps a bit paranoid, might I add.” Barry said back, a wry smile on his face as he added a remark. “Fortunately for me, that made you unlikely to join the camp of an adversary. I was quite delighted when you took the same neutral line as Major-General Berdo.”

There was silence. Ticia understood what the general meant when he mentioned Berdo. As neutrals, Rika did not meddle much with politics, but she also accepted the tasks and orders given by superiors. So long as these orders were sound and not politically motivated she would obey them.

“I wanted you to be David’s equivalent, but allas…” Barry Twill released a long sigh.

At the mention of that name, Rika frowned while Ticia took a sip of her drink.

“Oh, speaking of that guy… Get him out of my sight.” Rika said bluntly.

“I want to, believe me. His skills are needed on the front, but-”

“You’re losing your grip on him aren’t you?” Rika said back. Barry hesitated but sighed in defeat.

“It appears so. I am aware he is being tempted by the Senate, this ungrateful brat. I’ll try to force his hand this time, don’t worry.”

“You better, I’ve had enough of his approaches.” Rika huffed and crossed her arms.

It would appear Barry Twill had not yet given up on David Fika. He was his protege after all, Barry Twill had probably nurtured the young man as his heir.

“Well, the plan was always to get you and him together, even before everything, but I understand that is not possible anymore.” Barry added.

“Yes, it’s impossible.”

“Mh?”

The comment did not come from Rika this time, but from Ticia. Barry looked at her, raising an eyebrow.

“I mean the compatibility between him and my general, of course.” Ticia shot back immediately, keeping a neutral look.

Barry Twill quickly lost interest.

“Well, if you say so. Anyway, I understand you took Mister President’s offer?”

“Yes.” Rika Nodded. “My troops and clones shall now be known as the Presidential Guards.”

“Then our goals align.” Barry Twill smiled ferociously. “The Senate has gained too much military power. We can’t let them take another step forward. They have gained most of the former Guards regiments, which have been disbanded thanks to our dispute. I’m pretty sure they got connections in the Commerce Guards and the Navy too.”

“We have some connections in the Navy, I believe we do not have to fear most of them siding with the Senate.”

“Is that so? That’s news to me. Well, it’s not that I don’t trust your words, but it’s better to check.”

He was right. While Ticia and Rika had no reasons to doubt Nathalia’s words, she was after all just an officer among a group. What is there to say that all the Navy would side with her just to get rid of the Commerce Guards? The Navy had as many ties with the Senate after all…

“What about the former Escorts units?” Rika asked.

“It’s a complicated mess too.” The old Field Marshall grimaced. “A lot of them are spiteful of the disbandment of their units.”

“Eh? But I thought Escorts was already…”

“Humans are strange beings. They’ve grown used to their titles, forcefully removing this title made some feel like they weren’t ‘special’ anymore…” Barry shook his glass of brandy as he spoke, a thoughtful look on his face. “I’ve recruited a bunch of them and reformed them into regular units, but some have just decided to… ‘go home’.”

‘Go home’. The words in themselves meant nothing grave, but the meaning behind them did. Rika quickly caught on to that meaning.

“That’s another problem in itself, isn’t it?” She said, a grave look on her face.

“Yes, having local experienced military men without a job stuck on a planet? This can only go one way in this situation… When he kicks the bucket, the Borkian confederation will be a mess…”

There was silence. Everyone present here understood that once President George Rollers died, they would be plunged into a power struggle that had a high chance of ending in a civil war. At this time, should a begrudging person or charismatic one persuade former Escort units on their planet to unite under them, they could secede entire parts of the Borkian Confederation and proclaim independence…

Ticia did not care for the Borkian Confederation, but she had to admit. This was indeed a mess she and her daughters got themselves into…

“What is your goal then?” Rika asked directly. It appeared she would make a decision from what the old Field Marshall would say next.

“Same as always, girl. I want to keep my position, nothing more, nothing less. If I can take more I will, but I don’t want to destroy the Confederation for that.”

“I see, I understand. It appears we can cooperate.” Rika said back, a smile on her face. Neither Ticia or Emily disagreed with her decision.

“I’m glad to hear that. By the way, Berdo and your troops should be back in this system within a few weeks. They’ve spent too much time on the front.” Barry Twill said back, a smile on his face as he gave Rika what seemed to be his gift. 

“Understood. Are you confident in our victory against the Ionians?” Rika asked back.

“No, not under these circumstances. But it’s not like our enemies are better either. There’s been rumors of uprisings crushed in blood reaching my ears…” The old Field Marshall replied, which was news to Ticia’s group.

They would need to check on this information.

“Anyway, for now I’ll give my approval to your promotion to Presidential Guard. You don’t really need it, but it’ll smooth the process.” Barry continued the discussion. “Right, while I’m at it, I’ll let you know, but you shall receive your long overdue promotion to Major-General. Shall I give you the new ranks in person to show our enemies our alliance?”

“I suppose we can do that.” Rika accepted his plan. She had no intention of hiding from her enemies anymore.

Ticia looked at Rika for a moment. She weighed this decision by openly showing the alliance. Would it benefit them to show it? She had some doubts, but she trusted Rika’s judgement.

As if to make this an equal exchange, Ticia felt the need to speak up.

“Field Marshall, I shall also let you know this piece of information. Even if you do get a hold of a clone, it’s no use. A clone cannot be made out of a clone.” She said to the Field Marshall. While it was crucial information for the old man, it was also a sneer at him that he wasted his resources all this time.

The message seemed to have passed.

“...Understood. Though I must say, you got us for a long time, miss Clone Mother.” He said, smiling back at Ticia?

“...Excuse me?”

“Your involvement with Brigadier-General Rika goes way past the events on Brelia 7, doesn’t it?”

“...” Now Ticia was the one quiet. She took a sip from her glass of wine while giving a sharp look to Barry Twill.

“Military information like this is easy for military men and bureaucrats to get. Well, this information doesn’t really have much value now…” The old Field Marshall said back, still smiling. But he was right, this information did not have much value anymore.

This was simply his way of warning Ticia that not everything was under her or Rika’s control, and that he was not either. He was an ally, one Rika and Ticia needed to nurture goodwill towards for the alliance to continue, and the same could be said in reverse. 

Barry Twill had given them his apologies for his deeds and made the first move, now it was their turn to show their goodwill…

“It is true that I’ve made contact with MY General before the events of Brelia 7, Sir. It was a planned move on my part as I searched for the perfect general to serve under.” Ticia came clear, she told him the arranged story she had made with clear convictions.

“Is that so? Well, I suppose such things don't matter anymore. Let’s just enjoy our drinks for the rest of the night.” He said back, and Ticia could not agree more.

The auction seemed to reach a high point

“And now, ladies and gentlemen, let me present to you one of our most prized acquisitions!”

The presenter said as he made a show about what this could be. The live public present seemed to be excited, following his moves as they discussed what the prized article could be. Ticia did not care much, she simply took another glass of wine to enjoy while her mother gave her a sidelook.

Finally, the article was revealed. Its fur caught Rika’s attention. This was not an object after all, but a beast…

“Coming straight from the Pelian system, this is a young female Magnus Manul! As you can see, it is still very energetic, which is quite rare for this race! They usually have given up hope by this point!”

The presenter said as he showed the animal. The Magnus Manul, as he said, was extremely aggressive and hissed at him, its tail twitching in the air like a snake. It tried to gnaw at the bars, without much result.

“Do not worry dear auctioneers, the bars are made from a very strong alloy. Even though this particular beast managed to escape three of our cages, it won’t escape this one! Of course, the cage is a separate object from the animal, if you’re interested…”

The presenter of course presented the cage as a separate object for the auction, but that did not matter right now. Rika had heard of such animals before. She knew the sacred state of these beasts to the Pelians and she could not believe the guts of the auctioneers to dare sell such revered animals in this auction in which some Pelians probably took part…

Ticia on her side felt pity for the animal, but she simply prayed it found a good master or was released in a good environment, as silly as that sounded.

“And this is not our only possession. We will show you later, we shall auction a whole litter of kittens from this same race, pet-sized ones, as well as some really rare unregistered variants!”

““Whoaaaaaa!””

The live public erupted in cheers as the presenter told them there were more of them.

“These beasts… Aren't they revered in the Pelian system?” Barry Twill said, frowning. Although he had an air that told Rika and Ticia this was not his business, he understood the situation.

“They are.” Rika confirmed, and the old Field Marshall’s frown deepened.

“You’re friends with the Pellian Peace Party, right? You should let them know.”

“Of cours-.”

*KABOOOOM*

““!?!””

Just as they were talking, an explosion shook the whole building. Ticia looked at her surroundings, making sure the glass in her hand did not spill a droplet of wine while doing so.

Nothing had changed in the room they were in, however, the scene of the auction was filled with dreams as smoke and fire engulfed the scene.

“An attack!? Who would be crazy enough to do something like that here!?” Barry Twill exclaimed.

Just then figures became visible on the scene. Very familiar figures…

One opened the cage where the Manul was being held with bare hands, seemingly cautious of what was happening and the new arrivals, it hissed, but did nothing more. In the end the figure approached the Manul and just carried it out of the cage as if nothing unusual.

Another figure approached the presenter, who was screaming at them, and wordlessly shot him dead, making the crowd scream once again.

Just then, as the clouds cleared, Rika heard a familiar voice.

“We’re liberating the cats!”

“Wait, what are they-!?”

Rika couldn’t believe her eyes. What were they doing here!? She looked at her watch and saw she had missed a few messages from Atrax-ia.

*crack*

Just then, she heard the sound of glass breaking. Rika slowly turned her head, only to see a frighteningly angry Ticia, who exerted so much anger even though she was smiling she had unknowingly broken the glass of wine she held in her hand…

At that moment, Rika knew…

Some noughty girls might not see the light of day for a while…

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