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Amadine swallowed. When she did, they both looked at Geero. “Something funny?”
“No, I just see a distinct resemblance. You are really sisters?”
Amadine sighed. “I am her clone. I am not her sister. I am just what she would have looked like if Uradda hadn’t tinkered with her genetics and tortured her.”
Geero paused. “You are Uraddan?”
Ondine nodded. “It’s in my file.”
She ate quickly. “Since Amadine is so chatty, I will just take care of these dishes and then get my face out of sight. She can answer most of the standard questions.”
Amadine spoke softly. “Onny, sit. He’s okay. He won’t take this outside.”
Ondine looked at them both. “Well, Titan has already sprung a leak. Hera brought one of her partners with her to meet with me. I am nearly healed, so soon, I can step into the suit because I want to, not because I have to.”
“Aren’t you there already?”
Ondine shrugged. “Maybe.”
Geero frowned. “I don’t understand.”
Amadine finished her plate. “Titan was a life support unit. Onny was crushed in a tunnel collapse while escaping Uradda. She made Titan to keep her alive. It got bigger over time.”
Ondine looked over, and there was still more food. “Anyone mind if I get seconds?”
Geero took her plate. “I will get it. Ms. Ondine, why did you become a defender?”
“Money. My injuries were extensive, and I couldn’t afford a place to live and couldn’t get out of the armour. I couldn’t go to any of the other means of earning funds the others slipped into. Fighting for survival was lucrative when others were at stake. I got good at it. Space is fun as well.” She smiled.
“They denied you medical attention?”
“Sure. They were not obligated to provide it. Z-Tech wasn’t Z-Corp yet with a branch in Aksalla. The prefect was helping to house the other refugees, but I didn’t fit in a house.” She smiled. “I met Kritz after I took a lot of damage on my third assignment. He was a little shocked to see all of me, and we came up with a plan of repair. It has been working. There is an entire team that studies me.” She snorted. “The Aksallan government wants to sponsor a movie about my life.”
Geero chuckled. “Really?”
Amadine snorted. “Really. The payday they are offering for Titan’s story is incredible, but she isn’t going for it.”
“We have enough money now, Amy.”
“Even with your little one on the way?” Amadine looked at her innocently.
Ondine looked alarmed. “It isn’t mine. You know that.”
“Well, I am not raising it; I’m only six.” Amadine sipped at her soda.
She looked at her sister. “You snuck that order in, and it wasn’t until Kritz congratulated me on a successful embryo after four failures that I got an idea of what you were up to.”
“Hey, those hormones and needles hurt. You wanted a baby, and now, you are getting one. I will be the babysitter and daycare when you go on missions.”
Geero returned with a warm plate. “Why do you want a child?”
Ondine took the food and shrugged. “Because I can’t have one, and the moment I was told that, my heart hurt. I was fixated. Zera tried to help, but that just resulted in Amadine.”
Amadine smiled softly. “Thanks for that.”
Geero ate his own seconds and said, “That sounds like it wasn’t supposed to be.”
Amadine shrugged. “They used tech based on a regenerating active. They built Ondine a new body, but I was inside it. She met my gaze and ordered them to gain education files for me. I was tested for aptitude, and she paid for it all. When I was legally registered, I was so happy, but then I activated, and things went to shit.”
