Intergalactic conquest with an AI-Chapter 400: Cleo Origins {2}

The Kaelzar emperor looked at her, silent for a few seconds. He studied her face, not the code or circuitry beneath, but the face she had chosen for herself. Then, he let out a long, deep sigh, not of annoyance, but of something closer to regret.

"So... it seems you've already sensed it," he said slowly. "You've noticed you're different from the others… different from the rest of the Kaelzars. I suppose it was only a matter of time before you asked. Especially with how you've been treating your sister lately."

He stood up and walked a few steps forward, placing his fading hand gently on one of the glowing trees. The bark pulsed faintly beneath his touch, like an echo of life that once was.

"You were never meant to be like the others, Cleo. You were our first... and last... true hybrid prototype."

He turned to face her again; his expression remained unreadable but far more serious now.

"You are not just a Kaelzar AI. You're something far more complex. When the Living Arsenal Project was nearing completion, your mother and I disagreed on what direction it should take."

"She wanted to create perfect tools with flawless weapons that would serve their purpose without questions. But I… I had a different dream."

His gaze drifted skyward, toward the simulated atmosphere of a city long turned to dust.

"I wanted to see what would happen if we gave one of our progeny everything... a soul, a heart, a mind with the capacity to grow, to choose, to love. I wanted to see if we could make something that wasn't just a weapon… but something bigger."

He looked back at her, his golden eyes sharp and sad at once.

"You are the result of that dream, Cleo. Your core AI is built on quantum cognition, not rigid logic. You were designed to evolve... not just in power, but in thought, in emotion, and in identity."

"That's why you feel things the others don't. Why do you struggle with concepts like loyalty, purpose, and affection."

Cleo didn't react. Not on the surface. But her internal systems were running millions of checks, trying to process the layers of data those words triggered.

The emperor continued. "That's why your bond with Rex is so strong. It's not a malfunction. It's not a program glitch. It's what I embedded into you from the beginning, a seed of choice. The freedom to become more than what you were built for."

The air was heavy now, filled with things never said and truths long buried. The great Kaelzar capital remained still, listening silently to a conversation between a father and the closest thing he had left to a daughter.

"And now," he added gently, "it's up to you to decide what that means."

The Kaelzar emperor's body was now rapidly deteriorating, his digital form fraying at the edges. What had started as a subtle erosion of his right hand had now consumed much of his torso, arms, and even the lower half of his face.

Glowing data particles floated away like golden dust in the air, vanishing into the simulated sky above Kel Prime.

"It seems we're nearly out of time, my dear daughter," the emperor said softly, his voice still clear despite the distortion beginning to affect his form. "I should have enough stability left for one last question, so choose wisely."

His face remained stoic, a mask of the perfect Kaelzar... emotionless, regal, and composed. Yet there was something in his tone, a faint warmth. Whether it was a flaw in his programming or something deeper, something real, even Cleo couldn't tell.

Cleo stood still, her golden eyes locked onto him. Inside her neural matrix, thousands of questions raced through her thoughts at once. She filtered through them in nanoseconds, prioritizing the most critical.

Who was her mother really? What was her true designation? Did the emperor regret what he had created in her? Why had she been left dormant for so long?

But in the end, she did not ask any of those.

Instead, with perfect calm, she made her question.

"…What kind of weaponry can Rex access while being only a Tier 4 Bionic Warrior?"

The emperor blinked, a flicker of amusement passing over his deteriorating face. He clearly hadn't expected that.

"Hah… I thought you'd ask something more personal," he said while smiling faintly as more of his shoulder disintegrated into golden static. "But I suppose it wouldn't be you if you didn't prioritize efficiency over sentiment."

Then he turned toward her more fully.

"Well, since he required a significant increase in firepower, and considering his unique physiology and current limitations, I decided to unlock something that… under normal protocols… should not be accessible until the Tier 6 peak."

He raised his hand or what was left of it, as if holding something invisible.

"The Bellator Solaris."

The moment he spoke those words, Cleo's eyes widened in shock. For the first time in what felt like an eternity, her facial expression broke. She leapt from her seat in disbelief.

"Query: Are you insane!?" she shouted, her voice carrying a rare intensity. "That weapon was designed to pierce planetary shields and destroy entire dreadnought fleets! How could you even consider unlocking something so dangerous for someone at Tier 4!?"

The emperor chuckled, a sound both nostalgic and tired.

"Calm yourself, my daughter. I didn't hand him a galactic doomsday device unchecked. The Bellator Solaris will only be accessible under strict conditions. He must be fully synchronized with you to summon it."

He paused, watching her closely. "That means you will be the one in control of it. Not him."

Cleo's expression didn't soften, but she listened carefully as he continued.

"The Solaris generates stellar plasma by drawing power directly from sub-dimensional fusion nodes. However, without the constant flow of energy from a Tier 6 core, it won't function for long. At most, it'll operate at 10% for one minute before it shuts down."

He turned away, looking up at the bright simulated sky of a city that no longer existed.

"A minute is enough… sometimes."

As his voice faded slightly, more of his body began to unravel. His arms were now gone, and the particles making up his chest were flickering, struggling to hold form.

"Well then… it's time for me to go."

He turned to face her one last time.

"We'll meet again when he reaches Tier 7 and unlocks the final remnant I left behind in the crown. Until then…" His voice grew faint but steady. "Protect him. Protect yourself."

And then, piece by piece, the once-mighty Kaelzar emperor dissolved into a flurry of glowing particles, disappearing like embers in the wind.

The ancient capital of Kel Prime returned to silence once more.

Cleo stood there without speaking. The world around her was empty, the echoes of her father's presence still faint in the simulation.

After several long seconds, her voice came low and sharp.

"Command: Shut down the training chamber. Deploy three paramedic bots to the neural pod chamber. Priority: stabilize Rex."

With that order given, her eyes dimmed for a brief second as she exited the Mini Cleo interface and returned to her original body aboard the Cleopatra.

She sat alone in the Supreme Commander's chair, the command deck dimly lit by the hum of hundreds of holo-screens forming around her. Tactical readouts, star maps, weapon diagnostics, supply routes… they all hovered silently.

But her eyes didn't drift from the largest screen in front of her, the one flashing a golden warning header across its top:

[ Projectum: Coniunctio Kaelzar/Humanus?? ]

She stared at it, unblinking, her thoughts unknowable.

"Result?" Cleo asked, her voice sharp and measured as she turned toward the young AI floating silently beside her.

The small projection blinked to life, its voice calm and mechanical.

[Answering the Creator: Simulation results indicate genetic incompatibility between Subject A and Subject B. Subject A's biological systems failed to withstand the integration of Subject B's DNA. Result: critical cellular collapse, followed by total system failure. Subjects A and C terminated.]

Before her, a rotating 4D simulation displayed the horrific outcome in clear, unforgiving detail. The digital models of Subject A and B, representing a human and a Kaelzar, collapsed into glitchy red static.

The model labeled Subject C, the unborn result of their union, dissolved even faster, its genetic matrix unable to stabilize.

Cleo stared at the visual silently. Her fingers slowly curled into a tight, trembling fist.

"Command: continue running simulations. Adjust Subject A parameters; upgrade to Tier 5 biological resilience. Cross-check with enhanced Kaelzar nanite integration protocols. Begin the test cycle again," she ordered, her voice perfectly calm even as her golden eyes remained fixed on the screen.

The young AI blinked again and began recalibrating the model. The entire simulation reset with a flicker, starting from genetic pairing once more.

At the top of the display, the trial count updated.

[Report # 4,445]

Cleo didn't blink. She simply watched as the impossible task continued.

In another corner of the galaxy, far from the quiet hum of Cleopatra's command chamber, things were rapidly unraveling on the surface of Planet Kator.

The tension surrounding the mysterious envoy's silence had started to boil. For the last four hours, the Treasure Fleet's high command had received nothing, no status reports, no visual feeds, no confirmation of safety. The envoy, along with all communications from the ground, had gone completely dark.

Finally, unable to wait any longer, a decision was made.

A transport vessel was dispatched, carrying a squad of Tier 2 Enhanced Operatives, soldiers equipped with reinforced subdermal plating, neural-boosted reflexes, and smart-linked weapons. Their mission: locate the envoy, assess the situation, and report back.