Chapter Text
Omega and Wrecker huddle close. One wrong move, and it’s all over. This requires the steadiest of hands, their absolute concentration and focus.
A bead of sweat trickles down Omega’s forehead. It’s dangerously close to dropping onto the operating table.
“Nurse Wrecker!”, she calls out. “Cloth!”
“Sorry boss!”
Wrecker gets on it, wiping her brow with care.
“Nurse Wrecker, I need you to find Consultant Echo! We need some expertise here. Attaching prosthetics isn’t as easy as it looks, you know”.
“Yes boss! Getting him now!” Wrecker sprints off, searching for Consultant Echo.
Omega takes a break for herself, admiring her half-finished handiwork. She didn’t think she was doing too badly so far, especially considering she’d never attached an arm to someone before. It was painstaking work, but she had to make sure she was getting this right.
Outside the operating theatre, Wrecker rushes to find Consultant Echo.
After a minute of frantic searching around Pabu, he finds Echo deep in conversation with Emerie. He guesses they’re talking about politics again, or maybe the Regs. He bursts into their conversation before realising he has no idea what to say. He pauses, both Emerie and Echo’s gazes fixed on him. Echo speaks first.
“Yes, Wrecker, what is it?”
“Doctor Omega… uhh… Omega Omega actually, needs your… we need your help! With something urgent!”
“Doctor Omega? What’s so urgent? What’re you two up to?”, Echo responds.
There’s a slightly amused, slightly worried look on Echo’s face, his usual reaction to Omega and Wrecker’s shenanigans.
“If a doctor is needed, I may be of assistance!” says Emerie. Wrecker appreciates her offer, but he needs Consultant Echo.
“No! Uhhh… Doctor Omega just needs Consultant Echo, thank you Doctor!”
“Oh! I’m sorry”, says Emerie.
She looks a little sad, Wrecker notices. She does always try to be as helpful as possible these days to make up for her actions on Tantiss.
“Sorry, Ms Karr, ma’am, it’s just that you’ve got both your hands already!”
Emerie looks on in absolute confusion. Wrecker feels like he’s not quite getting his message across, so he takes matters into his own hands. Literally.
He grabs Echo, tosses him over his shoulder like he’s a Gonk droid, and starts to run off. Then, realising he’s being slightly rude, runs back and slings Emerie over his shoulder too. She gasps in surprise, but also in excitement about included in the others’ games.
“Come on, Doctor Omega needs us!”
Wrecker runs off, ignoring Echo’s protestations.
From just off, Hunter watches the whole interaction unfold. He doesn’t need heightened senses to smell an Omega-Wrecker shenanigan from a mile off.
He smiles. This is what they’ve fought for. The freedom for Omega to be a child. After everything she’s been through, he‘s amazed she can still try.
Back inside the operating theatre, Omega gets back to work. Just as she brings her needle and thread back down to the patient, Wrecker bursts in with the others on his shoulders, depositing them beside Omega at the operating table.
“Got ‘em for ya, boss!”
Omega smiles at them all, her grin seeming to literally stretch from ear to ear.
“Nurse Wrecker, you’ve done excellently!”, says Omega. “Now, Consultant Echo, Doctor Emerie, I need your help with some surgery!”
Consultant Echo and Doctor Emerie look down at the operating table. The patient is missing a hand, and it looks bad. Doctor Omega was halfway through attaching the prosthetic.
She brings her needle and thread back to the hand.
“Consultant Echo, would you mind helping me with the reattachment? Doctor Emerie, could you watch the patient’s vitals?”
Doctor Omega is in absolute control.
“Nurse Wrecker?”
“Yes, boss?”, replies Nurse Wrecker.
“… go get some Mantell Mix, for the patient after she wakes up!”
“And for the doctors!”, responds Nurse Wrecker.
He runs out the door, looking anywhere he can for Mantell Mix. On Pabu. He might be a while.
Back inside, Consultant Echo dives right in with the surgery.
“Doctor Omega, you’ve done an excellent job so far. Just a few more stitches will do!”
Doctor Emerie, however, is confused.
“Omega, why are you giving your doll a prosthetic arm?”
The question seems so logical to Emerie. Echo and Omega look at her like she’s gone mad.
“Because Lula lost her arm, of course!”, responds Doctor Omega.
Consultant Echo concurs. “How can Sergeant Lula be expected to be at her best in battle without her arm? Think, Doctor Emerie, think! And get me that cloth!”
Doctor Omega and Consultant Echo’s arguments are so accurate and succinct and medically sound that Doctor Emerie has no choice but do as she’s told. She rushes to get the cloth that Wrecker dropped on his way out and gets back to wiping Doctor Omega’s brow. It could be a long evening in the operating theatre.