{"id":1069,"date":"2015-05-19T21:46:22","date_gmt":"2015-05-20T02:46:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/m9girls.com\/webcomic\/en\/?p=1069"},"modified":"2015-05-21T21:01:25","modified_gmt":"2015-05-22T02:01:25","slug":"the-m9-state-uneasy-alliances","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/m9girls.com\/webcomic\/en\/the-m9-state-uneasy-alliances\/","title":{"rendered":"The M9 State: Uneasy Alliances"},"content":{"rendered":"

We now continue with the first part of The M9 State<\/strong>, our crossover with The Ruby Nation<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Things have become grimmer than in the original continuity of Ruby Nation, if such thing is possible. As leader of the resistance, Jiro faces some though choices.<\/p>\n

<< Prologue<\/a> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 >> Part 2<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u00a0The M9 State<\/strong><\/p>\n

1. Uneasy alliances.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Uneasy<\/p>\n

I feel enraged. Enraged and impotent. It stings bad to lose people under my watch. It\u2019s even worst since this whole raid was my idea.<\/p>\n

Ruby is silent at my side. She is not blaming me for this. She had to agree we could not stand doing nothing, while the State slowly but steadily encroached over the world. I decided for the direct route. No more guerrilla wars. We went full frontal. That was my mistake. Now the tattered remains of our group are scrambling to reach our hideout. No Apex post-humans seem to be on our trail, but I take no chances. I\u2019m not losing any one else today. We momentarily rest at an abandoned building.<\/p>\n

Ruby touches my arm, and I signal the group to be on alert. I have heard it too. Enhanced bodies or not, everybody in our group readies their weapons. The last generation of post-humans created at the Beagle complex has proved to be deadly efficient.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just a couple of girls, unarmed\u201d, says Duncan, from his current vantage point on a corner.<\/p>\n

\u201cNothing is \u2018just\u2019 as it seems\u201d, I mutter, watching intensely at the two young women walking thru the abandoned building. Some noise comes from the empty machinery, probably a mouse. But that makes the girls react: the one with the curls and heavier set touches the wall, and her hands and arms becomes concrete. The other girl, the slim one, does not show any ability in particular, but I\u2019ve seen enough. I give the signal.<\/p>\n

Every one of us falls into position, and we surround the girls. We point our weapons at them.<\/p>\n

\u201cPost-humans! Identify yourselves!\u201d I shout. The slim girl adopts a defensive position and extends her hands\u2026 but the curly one touches her shoulder, and she relaxes a little. Just a little.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou are with the Apex\u201d, I say, looking at their clothes.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow brilliant of you\u201d, sneers the curly girl, smiling. \u201cAnd obviously, you are insurgents\u201d. She raises her arms. \u201cEasy there, boys, we mean no harm.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her body becomes normal. We step closer.<\/p>\n

\u201cI take it you are what\u2019s left of the rebels that stormed the complex earlier. That didn\u2019t went well, I\u2019m afraid.\u201d<\/p>\n

I look at the girl with a sudden surge of fury.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are sorry about that\u201d, says the slim girl, speaking for the first time. And she really looks sorrowful.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was no way you could prevail\u201d, says the curly girl.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat would you know about it?\u201d I snap.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe would know. You see, we helped create the creatures you fought today.\u201d<\/p>\n

And now the slim girl seems on the border of tears.<\/p>\n

\u201cJiro, you might want to see this\u201d, says Opal, passing me a handheld terminal. She has run an id scan on the girls. I tense when I see the screen.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are no longer with the Apex State\u201d, says the curly girl. \u201cWe defected during your attack. I think that makes us insurgents, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll see about that\u201d, I say. \u201cBlindfold them. Let\u2019s move on.\u201d<\/p>\n

* * *<\/p>\n

The detention room can theoretically contain Ruby. I enter, fully armored. The shackles the girls are wearing are also capable of holding Ruby.<\/p>\n

\u201cI apologize for the inconvenience\u201d I say. \u201cBut it was necessary, since you are M9.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has been a long time since we used that name\u201d, says the slim girl, and her gaze wanders for a second.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, it is true there\u2019s an M9 project at the Apex. We never had confirmation beyond the rumors about the experimentation at Beagle Labs.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, since we are pouring our hearts out, I might as well fill the blanks for you, cowboy.\u201d<\/p>\n

She told me their story. She explained that they were not really post-humans, as their powers were not the result of nanotechnology, but rather a deeper mutation of their genetic structure. They had operated as a super-powered team for a while, before things went to hell. That\u2019s when they got involved with Beagle Labs. They had willingly worked for them, as the technology at Beagle Labs was part of what kept the civilization afloat.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou see, giving powers like ours to regular humans is freaking hard\u201d, was saying the curly girl (Pato is what the other girl called her). \u201cMost attempts have horrible side effects on the subjects.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYet Beagle Labs have been trying to do it, right? To replicate your powers on other humans.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m afraid so. And the expert in the subject is one of us: Any, another of the original M9 Girls. We have been working on using nanotechnology along the M9 serum. Any, she thinks she is doing the right thing, helping in keeping peace and restoring order.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd you mean to tell me you don\u2019t agree with her.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe believe Any should not be allowed to continue her experiments. We believe that Beagle Labs should be stopped from dictating humanity\u2019s future. So Clau and I plan on\u2026 uhm\u2026 retrieving Any and convince her to see things clearly.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA raid on Beagle Labs could be possible with inside information.\u201d I\u2019m baiting her, and she might see thru me, but it\u2019s worth giving it a try.<\/p>\n

The girl called Clau looks into her companion eyes. Pato nods and gives me a wry smile.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is not as easy, as you already learned yourself. You see, Any is an empath. She can feel our presence and she can read our intentions and anticipate them. That is why your attack and the previous attempts of the insurgents have failed so far.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStill you want to attempt it: Capturing your friend.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pato and Clau nod.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith our help.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe more the merrier\u201d, says Pato.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not sure why I should follow two Apex geneticists into the wolf\u2019s mouth. Besides, you already said it is quite impossible to enter the Labs without your friend noticing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI have a few tricks of my own\u201d, says Pato, standing up. There is a \u2018poff\u2019 sound followed by a metallic thud. The girl materializes next to Clau, while I look momentarily alarmed at the cuffs in the floor. \u201cAs for trust, I think we are stuck with each other for the time being.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCan I get rid of mine now?\u201d asks Clau with a sudden smile on her face.<\/p>\n

I had a desperate plan when the day started. I might as well finish it.<\/p>\n

\u00a0>> Continue to Part 2<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We now continue with the first part of The M9 State, our crossover with The Ruby Nation. Things have become grimmer than in the original continuity of Ruby Nation, if such thing is possible. As leader of the resistance, Jiro faces some though choices. << Prologue \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1069","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","uentry","post-blog","postonpage-1","odd","post-author-raul"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/m9girls.com\/webcomic\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1069","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/m9girls.com\/webcomic\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/m9girls.com\/webcomic\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/m9girls.com\/webcomic\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/m9girls.com\/webcomic\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1069"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/m9girls.com\/webcomic\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1069\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1084,"href":"https:\/\/m9girls.com\/webcomic\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1069\/revisions\/1084"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/m9girls.com\/webcomic\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1069"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/m9girls.com\/webcomic\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1069"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/m9girls.com\/webcomic\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1069"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}