Karin:

  Mari’s transformation after her procedure had been unexpectedly disconcerting. Karin kept close track of every one of the empire’s clones ever since freeing them. While the reactions from most of their peers were generally negative, there really wasn’t much to be done about the issue.

  Establishing a new government was not an easy thing, and taking an outspoken stance in defense of cloned imperial humans would have destroyed her early efforts. Not that she liked it. It was simply a matter of efficiency—and Karin was nothing if not efficient.

  The oddity of Mari’s changes stemmed from her being the weakest and most soft spoken of the bunch. She was less an imperial clone and more of an experimental test subject. Karin had nothing but sympathy for the girl, but she’d kept it closely contained, only arranging for people to watch over the girl as much as possible. Anyone titled as a ‘super soldier’ by the empire was worth keeping an eye on, even before she took into account the girl’s infection.

  Mari had grown up small, frail, timid and easily manipulated. Only the last of those descriptions had budged in the fourteen years she’d been a student. At least, until her decision to restore her predecessor’s memories.

  Only a few documented results for late-stage memory implantation existed. In those records, split personalities weren’t unheard of, but all details were nebulous and hard to nail down. Triggering a transition between personalities was never something done on command, which was why the meeting had been a surprise. Mari had immediately switched places with Marielle and allowed the older personality to take the lead.

  And Marielle had a presence to her. She was tall, proud, and confident; even if her true height was the same as Mari’s. Such a complete shift was where her description of ‘disconcerting’ came from. The woman wasn’t a presence that Karin could ever think of as a child. She posed a new variable in their situation, and it couldn’t have come at a better time, really.

  The biggest part where Mari diverged from previous notes on similar situations was that the implanted memories had changed her as well. Not only had Marielle taken up residence inside the girl’s head, but Mari herself had changed dramatically.

  “Something you’d like to ask about?” Mari’s quieter tone still carried the edge of steel barely masked beneath it. “If you stare any more than you are, you’ll burn a hole in my head.”

  Karin kept her eyes locked firmly on the youth as she… put on makeup.

  It was bizarre. She’d gotten a brief rundown from Alynne, but nothing had prepared her for watching Mari type on thin air, then conjure makeup, brushes and a small mirror from a faint red haze that coalesced in the air around her.

  “I am merely surprised. I had not expected to see you using makeup, let alone conjuring it from the ‘nanites’ that Alynne mentioned briefly. I assume they are the secret behind your sudden good health?”

  “The makeup? Well, if you spend as much time in war zones as I—,” She trailed off, catching her speech. “As Marielle has, sorry. Anyway, you get an appreciation for the times and opportunities you have to look your best.”

  “So you have tested the conversion ratio of those nanites? I thought you were going to wait until proper tests could be done? I cannot say I appreciate playing with potentially dangerous things without testing the limits in a controlled environment first.”

  She is becoming too bold. A cavalier attitude might be troublesome.

  Mari spun on her heel to face Karin. Her eyes had a subtle red tinge around them, and her pale skin had a healthier pallor. After a final check in her small hand mirror, Mari set to work on her clothes, which were all noticeably too small for her new height.

  The expression on her face, though. She looked like she was studying me. She never looked like that before. It felt like she could see into my soul.

  “You seem concerned. Is it about my sudden changes? And how they relate to your daughter? While I’d like to reassure you, I really can’t. There is no going back from all of this. I understand your concerns, but I am who I am. If that poses a problem for Kris, we’ll cross that bridge when it comes. I won’t make empty promises to you.”

  That is more like it. How interesting.

  “If you are willing to take responsibility for the consequences of your actions, then that will be fine. Make no mistake, though—if you hurt her, I will make you pay for it.” She allowed the fury of a mother to enter her eyes as she stared down at the teen, who was pulling stitches from the hem of her pant legs before setting the nanites to extending the length.

  “Scary. You certainly have the bearing of a soldier, ma’am. Or should I call you mother? As for Kris, my main concern is that Marielle lived a life of endless tragedy. Taking in all of the struggles of her life, I just hope her bad luck didn’t pass on to me.” Unsaid, but clear in her eyes, Karin knew that all evidence was to the contrary of those hopes.

  “I never believed in luck. The only person who knows the future is the one who takes the steps to write it. I have always been the one to write my own future, so if you do not want bad luck, then you should be the author of your own story, Mari. You have been given a chance to do just that. Write the future where you can both be happy, is that clear? As a mother, that would make me satisfied.”

  “Taking your own advice, ma’am? Is this conversation just you trying to write that happy future for yourself?”

  “Who knows.” Karin’s soft chuckle clearly put the topic to bed, and a more serious expression settled into Mari’s shining, pale red eyes.

  “Tell me about the disappearances. If something is going on, I’d rather know before it lands in my lap.”

  The air around them became just as serious as Mari’s expression in an instant as she straightened up and clasped her hands behind her back, standing in a parade rest.

  Studying her, Karin couldn’t help but reaffirm how much the girl changed. Her regal stature was unmistakable, even wearing simple black pants and a white shirt that was clearly too short, exposing her surprisingly toned abs. Nobody would ever miss her vivid red eyes and long black hair, all coming together with the makeup to emphasize a face that had a healthy color and a firm, resolute expression.

  She looks like a new woman. And it makes me want to trust her.

  “Fine,” Karin replied with a sigh. “I’ll tell you as we walk.”

  With that, they both moved towards the closed door and exited side-by-side—something few people ever did around Karin. The reverence had always bothered her, but it actually felt good to have the newly confident teen walking shoulder to shoulder with her.

  “The disappearances were first caught by Constance. She takes care of a lot of affairs for the council, including reviewing staffing reports. Every person who has gone missing has been a maintenance worker in the lower levels of the underground infrastructure. A few people getting lost might not be surprising, but fifteen of them is excessive. And even if you do get lost, there are plenty of ways to just keep ascending until you find a way out.”

  “But those areas are frustratingly expansive. Is that the issue with a search and rescue operation?” Mari’s comment was conversational, hiding the gravity of their topic from the passing medical aides in the halls.

  “We tried. There was no sign of the missing people. It has stumped the other council members. Alynne reported that recording you saw, but I do not believe it could be the bioweapon spreading again, and there was no sign of a struggle.” Karin let out a sigh, but the exhaustion didn’t crack her professional facade.

  “I find it hard to believe that many people just got up and walked away from their duties. Especially not with how progress-minded most people are. Anviens certainly would never leave a task partially complete.”

  They both stepped onto an elevator, pausing their conversation as they weren’t alone for the ride. Merely a minute later, they’d stepped into the lobby and strode for the exit, surrounded by slightly bowing aides.

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Karin scowled, annoyed as usual by the pageantry and reverence of the people who recognized her.

  “Worth noting that all of the assigned maintenance was completed. It makes little sense, really.” Karin wrapped up her brief overview of the situation, but offered none of the speculation that had run rampant between the officials involved in the issue.

  The weather that greeted them outside the medical complex was perfect. Bright and clear skies, the sun shining as a cool breeze swept in from the bay at the outermost strata of the city. Each district of Elitheen was separated by a wall, creating layers of defense that had stood since even before the empire existed. The sun reflecting off the faint blue-white of the stonework just emphasized how beautiful the day proved to be.

  The city, wedged between the cliffs of a triangular ravine, enjoyed both the long days of being near the equator of Sylpharia, as well as the gentle breeze that came from the way the planet’s wind tended to travel.

  “It sounds to me like your problem is something intelligent enough to cover its tracks. At a minimum, I’d obviously be prepared for the absolute worst. It does beg the question of what you’re doing sending people to maintain the lower levels, though.” Karin noted that Mari only implied the question, rather than probing for more details.

  She’s picking up that the topic is close to a classified subject. When was the last time someone read me this perfectly? More importantly, do I trust her?

  After a few moments of silence, nearing their destination of the massive educational building in the central district, after having passed by The Citadel and the beautiful waterfall cascading down the front of it, Karin made her decision.

  “I hold myself to rigid structures. Proper, unemotional speech, for one.”

  “Your perfect posture and expressionless mask, right?” Mari’s reply was no surprise by that point. She’d picked up the ability to read others, even Karin herself, who tried to be unreadable. “Your thoughts are written in how you fidget with your bracelet. A gift from Kris’ father, if I had to guess.”

  Karin paused. She hadn’t realized she was doing that. She was so used to having the braided glass bracelet there that it blended into part of her being. “I will endeavor to fix the habit, thank you. I maintain this image to prevent myself falling into any of the traps that led to the empire. I do not do favoritism to anyone but my daughter. So, understand what my breaking a confidential secret means.”

  “Yes ma’am.”

  “Good.” Karin paused their walk outside the entrance to the school. “We are considering repairs to the global communications system. The lines for it were built into the old transit system beneath every city, and it literally covers the whole world. But we don’t have our own access to the old system, so we’ve had to build our own from the ground up. Alynne is close to creating her own secure system.”

  “I’ve always wondered why we never found a way to reuse the old system, actually.”

  “Because… that old emperor and his closest allies tried to upload their minds to that system. Putting it to use would allow any of them that were successful to use weapons systems against us. The Emperor, of all people, might still be alive in that digital realm.”

  Karin watched as Mari folded her arms, tapping her chin with her index finger in thought. There was no shock there, just acceptance and consideration.

  She is so much more composed. It really is easy to trust her.

  “You don’t need me to tell you that it sounds like someone intelligent is doing something down in those tunnels and disposing of your workers.”

  Karin nodded, as she’d already come to that exact conclusion.

  “I’ll keep it in mind, and make sure to protect Kris for you if anything happens. Focus on what you need to, I’ll at least take up that burden in your place.”

  It seems like I have two capable daughters now. She smiled warmly, feeling a weight lift from her shoulders.

  “Thank you for being candid with me, ma’am. If you ever need anything, don’t hesitate to call me. We’re family, after all.”

  “I almost find it more worrying that I see so little of Mari in you after everything. Are you sure that you are still you in there?”

  “Ma’am, the difference is, I used to be incapable of doing anything, and now I have the ability to be who I want to be. I have a lot of lost time to make up for.” Mari’s shining eyes glinted with vigor and passion. Then she patted the holstered weapon strapped to her thigh. “I’ll keep Kris safe. I promise.”

  Karin nodded, satisfied. Then she led the way into the school and headed down familiar halls towards the sports field at the back of the building. There, Kris would be preparing for her Magball match.

  Kris:

  Kris pulled her hair back in a ponytail beneath the sun’s afternoon rays that warmed her skin. She settled into her stretching routine, working the muscles of her legs in anticipation.

  Magball was a somewhat simple game, but it hinged on complex knowledge about the flow of magnetic currents. The technology involved was one of the most alluring aspects of the sport for her, being as inquisitive as she was.

  As far as gear was concerned, the padded ball was a framework of small metal spheres that interacted with a magnetic field created by the gloves each competitor wore. The glove would generate the equivalent of a small gravitational field, and the ball would revolve around the glove of the competitor that received it, allowing for a skilled person to wind up the momentum before launching it again, this time back towards their opponent’s side of the corridor.

  The match she was preparing for was more of a friendly competition, but things grew quite exciting when watching was one of the best forms of entertainment around. Even simple matches were broadcast around the city.

  Across the field from her, Cleo, her opponent, was doing similar stretches, garbed in the alternate color attire, featuring more reds and oranges. The Anvien boy had a short stature, as all of his people did. His eyes never left her form, just as hers hadn’t left his.

  Magball was all about probing for weaknesses. The field of play was a narrow corridor, and both players functioned like goal-keepers. The objective was to score points by getting a ball past the opposing player. With the corridor only being about three of Kris’ armspans wide, there were four important elements to the game: speed, hand-eye coordination, careful calculations, and a keen intuition. As a Kilthien, she had a natural advantage in speed, but the true gift Kris had was in her calculation ability. She could track objects more by the opponent’s windup and body posture rather than purely relying on her eyesight. It was something as uniquely potent as her mother’s incredible sense of hearing.

  When the match would begin, they’d start slow. Cleo was all about probing for weaknesses to exploit. He was a steady opponent. One who would play things safe and generally avoid risks.

  Thinking of risks, Kris could name a few that players might take. For one, they could try to throw off her reading of their body posture by twisting their bodies in unusual ways. The issue was that consistency was key to a good game, and if she learned an opponent’s consistency, and they tried to throw her off, they’d be liable to hurt themselves by being foolish.

  Patience and a solid defense were safe methods to go by, if you had the stamina for it. Anviens had stamina in spades, too. Against someone like Cleo, she’d be better served by taking the game fast. The issue was her injury. Her hand hadn’t recovered yet, and the twist of her wrist to get the lightning-fast throws she usually could pull off would make the base of her thumb ache. The move was off the table, since she knew better than to risk tearing something just to win a friendly match.

  Just as she was thinking over her options, a flash of pink hair caught her eye as two figures entered the field behind the school. To her surprise, her mother strode out, straight-backed and refined, with her matching natural pink hair casting a striking color over her black and gold council robe—the robe of the head of the council.

  Next to her mother—literally next to, standing shoulder-to-shoulder—was Mari. Unusually, she was standing tall and proud, and to Kris’ eyes, her beloved was actually taller than before. Her clothes were more of the athletic variety than the school uniform, and the shirt was quite clearly too small.

  Ohh. Are those abs? Since when and how did she ever get abs overnight? Damn, she looks good.

  Mari, for her part, stood there, smirking at her.

  Shit. I’ve been caught.

  Rather than play it off, Kris licked her lips suggestively, returning a similar smirk of satisfaction. Being in love was an exciting sort of rush. And Mari was quite the distraction.

  Her mother took a seat in the stands nearby, and Mari joined her. Kris decided to go and chitchat before people started really piling into the seats.

  “Mari, Mother, how are you both today? Not often I see the two of you together. And Mari, are you taller?” As Kris got closer, she realized Mari was suddenly only a little shorter than she was. She double-checked for heeled shoes, but found none. Just the sleek footwear that was part of the school uniform.

  The pair shared a look, clearly having some unspoken debate about who to speak first. In the end, Mari took the bait.

  “I’m doing great. Never felt healthier in my life. Your mom is my approved chaperone for this outing from the hospital. As for being taller, blame Marielle.” Kris’ beloved tapped her head and rolled her eyes.

  “There is a lot to unpack there. Marielle made you taller, how?”

  “Those nanites. She took the liberty of testing them out. While it is not ideal, I vastly prefer her being in good health.” Karin decided to pipe into the conversation in a hushed tone. “I also prefer fewer people to know the details, so please keep specifics to yourselves. Granted, it will be difficult to concoct lies for your classmates and acquaintances. Please just try not to share anything about her blood problem.”

  “Yes ma’am.”

  “Alright—” Kris did a brief spit-take at Mari’s response to her mother. “Did you just call her ma’am?”

  Mari shrugged, smiling innocently.

  Two peas in a pod, these two.

  “I’m going to go back to stretching now…” she trailed off as she frowned at her lover and her mother, feeling suspicious at how close they’d grown.

  It’s the abs, isn’t it? Gotta be. Kris chuckled at her own internal one track mind.

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