Prologue
Failure, failure, failure! All of my children, failures!
The words echoed in Tabitha's mind over and over as she followed behind her father, eyes to the ground. She walked with an uncharacteristic slump, uncertain of what her father was going to do once they arrived at the launch pad for his trademark "Caulder Missiles." She had failed, and previous experience with prior clones informed her that she will be hunted by the next model of Tabitha.
She replayed the events over in her head, how she had pursued the remaining forces who had just destroyed her favorite toy, an enormous airplane called "The Great Owl." It was designed to be impregnable, but Cyrus, the betrayer, helped Brenner's Wolves destroy it. Her failure now placed her father's lab in jeopardy.
"Right cannon has been destroyed."
The lab's loudspeakers chronicled the demise of another critical component of protection. Doctor Caulder, the opportunistic scientist that had sought to control what remained of the planet following an apocalyptic meteor storm, no longer reacted to the communiqué. At first, he was self-assured that no one could destroy his lab, presuming that the mixed forces that assailed his fortress could not organize effectively to defeat him. Following a rapid blitz on one section of his defenses, Caulder even went so far as to engage the forces by airplane himself. As he surveyed their forces, he was shot down, and he returned to his lab to regroup.
He and his daughter Tabitha, an artificial human constructed from his own DNA, walked past thousands of rows of 3D printing machines of various sizes building components of war. The autofactory could build engines, firearms, missile casings, bullets, and helicopter rotors without any human supervision. Any part could be built here- a marvel of modern science and engineering. His lab had survived the initial onslaught of meteors where his foes had been decimated. Following a long campaign where he attempted to keep his enemies fighting each other, they now stood to take away all his hard work he had created over the course of decades.
"The center cannon has been destroyed. Plant reactor approaching critical."
Caulder and Tabitha both knew that when the final left cannon was destroyed, the plant reactor would begin a cascade leading to explosion. Caulder knew that they were up against a united enemy force that exceeded calculations, and his end was approaching. Caulder had every advantage on the dawn of the first day following the cataclysm. His army responded remotely, instantaneously, and unquestionably at the will of his clone children. Tabitha alone could command multiple boats, airplanes, and mobile infantry by thought, a design that would revolutionize warfare in the new era. While autofactories were nothing new on his world, the tactics and logistics he employed were. The defense contracting company he founded, Intelligent Defense Systems, was on the cutting edge of technology even from a biological standpoint. With no statehoods enforcing laws prohibiting the practice of biological weapons, he even designed a virus that could turn young humans into literal flowerbeds that could sprout more flowers to infect more humans. He would turn humanity into a garden for him and his children, who were naturally immune.
He sought Godhood, which required him to give up his humanity.
"Father, may I please speak?"
"Quiet, Tabitha." Dr. Caulder spoke with his usual, confident tone.
He was unreadable - his expression determined - never looking away from the end of the hallway. The other side of the doors in front of him led out to the lift that would carry them to the payload bay of the last Caulder missile in his possession1.
Tabitha stood toward the back of the lift, always to Father's right. Tabitha normally stood with hands at her hips, but now it was with fists and a slouch. Tabitha felt a rare mix of rage, frustration, sadness, loss, confusion, fear, and defiance. The reasons for rage were just as obvious as they were for fear. These were natural fight-or-flight instincts that came with any significant amount of loss – or recent frustration. Sadness was a confusing one, but she traced it simply as she would for a lesser creature: in this case, she imagined, her father.
She had lost as well. That was where her feelings stopped. A natural dam, she could hold back. She straightened as the lift neared the top. She didn't miss a step-in time with her father as they stepped out of the elevator. She stopped. Her father continued walking toward the payload door.
"Please take me with you."
Dr. Caulder stopped, turned around, and gave her a curious look. Then, he seemed to remember something he had forgotten, and removed the goggles that covered his eyes. "No, Tabitha, this rocket is meant to send you far from here. I won't allow you to be captured."
Tabitha did not appear shocked. She spoke again.
"No, really. I insist."
Caulder stood a full 3 feet taller than Tabitha. He crouched so he was looking up at her, from a full knee. "This is it, Tabitha. You are my perfect creation. One that ended up being more… me… than any of the other children- even the one I thought was the perfect clone of me. Turns out they thought I was the fake all along. But you, are perfect, and you don't belong next to them."
Tabitha's face hardened. She hated weak people. She especially hated hearing these platitudes from the strongest person she knew. "I don't want to go."
"You're leaving, and that's an order."
Tabitha didn't move. She couldn't make eye contact and uncharacteristically clutched her long white dress. "You're forcing me to go alone?"
Caulder stood. "You know what happens when you disobey an order."
On instinct, Tabitha immediately moved toward the rocket, and climbed inside. Caulder ensured the locks would not allow her out until she reached a habitable atmosphere. Tabitha didn't look back, try to escape, or call out to him over the radio. The rocket left their planet for a different star.
1 This model is known to be the very first functional missile in possession of contractor Intelligent Defense Systems. It could distribute payload at super-sonic speeds, and during high-speed maneuvers, elevate into orbital atmosphere. The revolutionary nuclear reactor could also be theorized to initiate a chain reaction so powerful it may create enough dust to initiate an ice age capable of freezing all living life forms on the planet. Video footage seems to indicate it could generate 8 million pounds of instantaneous thrust, subjecting it to forces that would crush a non-zero number of tanks.