Jacob stood to the side as he watched Maximiler walk on the designated path using the support bars that were on either side of him. Max had been making decent progress over the past two days since he started this exercise. The clone had gone from barely being able to support his weight to hobbling through various exercises.
"Great job, Max." Jacob called out as he went over to where Max was. He approached the sweaty clone that was leaning against the wall, choosing to remain standing rather than sitting down. He was quite serious about training his legs.
"I did better earlier this morning." Maximiler replied, leaning his head back on the wall while taking deep breaths.
"You did, but there's no need to push yourself. You'll be able to walk well enough in time." Jacob walked up to the Maximiler, giving him a firm pat across the back. Over the past two days, he had noticed that the helpless Maximiler had grown on him, almost like a little brother who couldn't take care of himself.
"Come on, let's get you freshened up so you can meet up with Doctor Freya. She's been eager to meet you again ever since two days ago. She claims studying your life signals and watching the various camera recordings don't do justice to someone as amazing as you. Pff." Jacob snorted before handing Maximiler a cane that was made specially to assist him in walking.
"You sound jealous." Maximiler cracked a smile, jabbing Jacob's side with his elbow.
"I am not."
"Whatever. You may not want to admit it, but I can tell." Maximiler stifled a laugh when Jacob shot him a glare.
The pair made their way out of the private gym, going to the higher floors of the underground facility until they reached the living quarters. Ever since Jacob had been assigned as Maximiler's personal guard, he had been relocated to the room beside Maximiler's.
"Take your time. I'll freshen up as well and come check up on you." Jacob waved before stepping into his room. Maximiler nodded before stepping into his room as well. He hobbled over to the small couch in the corner of the modestly sized room before dropping down on it unceremoniously. He sighed and dragged a hand over his face. Pretending to have issues walking was getting tiring.
Although he was given his own room, he was under no illusion that he had his own privacy at any given moment. His every move was being closely monitored and the moment he acted out of character, he was a hundred percent sure that his room would be swarmed with an entire squad of armed guards.
Peeping out of the gaps between his fingers, he took a slow, long look around the room. Generic grey walls, barely any décor and a simple single bed, along with the small couch he was sitting on. He had no means to entertain himself aside playing along with the script he had prepared for the coming days he would be spending in this facility.
Letting out another low sigh, he got up and hobbled to the en-suite bathroom in order to freshen up and get ready to meet Doctor Freya.
Half an hour later, he exited his stateroom, his silver cane held firmly in his grip. Jacob was already waiting outside, leaning against the wall by his door.
"Took you long enough." He pushed off the wall and approached Max. "How are you feeling? Better?"
"Well enough. When can we meet Doctor Freya? There's something I want to show her." Max replied, walking beside Jacob as they left the living quarters.
"She's on the ground floor. This should be your first time going there, right? You're going to like some of the scenes." The two of them carried on, exchanging short remarks between each other as they went.
Jacob secretly admired Max's ability to easily comprehend things. For a simple clone that was cultivated en-masse for labor, even if he had evolved and become sentient, his level of comprehension was far better than most people Jacob had been exposed to in his life. Max absorbed knowledge like a sponge absorbing water. Sometimes he got the feeling that Max already knew all these and was just going through some practiced sessions where he recited what he knew from his mind.
He had discussed it with Doctor Freya earlier, and that was the reason why she had requested to see Max this early while he was still going through his exercises. Even she was surprised when she learned his level of advancement. She wanted to introduce him to other senior researchers that were stationed in other departments of the organization that funded the cloning facility.
The pair got into an elevator that took them up to the ground floor above the underground facility. With a low chime, the metal doors slid open, revealing the busy interior of a high tech building. Glass walls, uniformed workers, and armed guards greeted Maximiler's sight. Outside the glass walls, he could see the distant frames of the large metallic mechs.
Mechs were usually referred to as Single Unit Combat Platforms in the central area of USC space. These mechs were massive weapon platforms that were mostly utilized by small planetary militaries, or certain private organizations. Compared to fielding starships, mechs were vastly cheaper and therefore were usually employed in large numbers. The only downside was that due to their smaller frames and sizes, when pitted against starships, there were liable to suffer a crushing defeat. The primary and secondary armaments of a starship were not to be taken lightly!
The large weapon platform slowly walked out of view, its heavy footfalls sending slight vibrations through his sensitive feet.
"Breathtaking eh? Don't worry, you'll get to gawk at them all you want later, let's head to Doctor Freya's office first." Jacob led him by the arm, weaving through the mass of bodies that were constantly moving on the floor. A few people cast curious glances at the two of them. It wasn't quite hard to recognize a clone. The pale, flawless skin that was a staying point for them made the stand out from the crowd. One thing that Maximiler had come to notice was that every person he had come into contact with, whether directly or indirectly, featured dark skin. Only the mass produced clones featured fair skin that allowed them to stand out.
Jacob led him down a complex maze of winding corridors before stopping before a simple metal door. If Maximiler had to find Doctor Freya's office by himself, he was sure to get himself lost.
Jacob waved his security card in front of the small black scanner that sat silently beside the door. The door let out a low chime before sliding open. The scene that greeted Maximiler was what he least expected from a researcher of Doctor Freya's status. Random pages of paper were randomly strewn about, littering the room. Low beeps and flashes of light blinked from underneath stacks of paper, giving the place an ominous vibe. Overall, the large office was in disarray.
"Aunt Freya?" Jacob called out warily, as though scared that a monster would appear from beneath the massive stacks of paper.
"Oh Jac- Ah!" Freya's voice called out, only to be interrupted by a loud crash of papers falling.
"Oh, Aunt Freya..." Jacob palmed his face before walking toward the area where the pile of papers had fallen over Doctor Freya.
Maximiler just watched on, astounded at his new discovery. Doctor Freya and Jacob were related?