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Chapter Text

Omega sat up quickly, eyes wide as she stared around the room, dark is all she could see. She was bunking in the same room as Wrecker, who she could now hear snoring, on the bunk below her. She put her head in her hands trying to remain calm, it was a dream, nothing more. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, quickly opening them when she saw crosshair's blank expression staring back, knowing sleep wasn't going to be available.

She carefully slipped down the ladder on the bunk, making sure not to wake Wrecker, who simply mumbled and turned the other direction holding his Lula doll close. Silently she slipped out the door, heading for the cock-pit, the stars were comforting and provided a place to relax for her. She tiptoed down the halls, careful when she went past Echo and Tech's room, being extra quiet when she snuck past Hunter's room, taking a deep breath as she entered the cock-pit. The stars were beautiful to her, on Kamino she didn't get to see things like this, she was always in the lab working.

She sat in the co-pilot chair, staring into the never-ending void of specks, letting her mind wander. She had lots of questions, of course she did, this was her first time experiencing life outside Kamino and it was on the run.

She almost fell out of the chair when she heard someone clear their throat behind her, she brought her hands up and quickly spun, holding her breath.

Hunter stared at her, noting the tear stains on her cheeks and the panic look in her eyes, he'd seen this before. Wrecker had nightmares occasionally, usually nothing bad because of his Lula, but there were moments he needed to be calmed. This was different though, even though Wrecker was immature he still was an adult, Hunter or Echo could usually talk to him and help him relax, if not Tech had some sounds he could play that he'd recorded on different planets that'd work, but Omega was a kid. Omega was a kid who was dealing with someone a kid shouldn't have to be dealing with. No kid should have to be a fugitive, on the run, never safe to sit and relax.

"Couldn't sleep?" Hunter offered, kneeling besides the chair.

Omega stared for a moment before dropping her hands, letting her shoulder's hunch once more, avoiding eye contact. "Yeah."

Hunter wasn't the best when it came to this stuff, Echo was usually the one who truly understood what people needed, guess that comes with bad experiences. He simply nodded his head and sat in the pilot seat, not wanting to force the kid into talking.

"This is my favorite part of this ship," Hunter offered, smiling when he felt Omega look at him, "This room has so many good memories."

Omega blinked, getting down from her chair and striding to stand beside Hunter's chair, "Like what?"

He looked at her big eyes, full of wonder and much need excitement, he picked her up and sat her down beside himself in the chair. He slowly spun to face the door, "That's where we all had our first mission brief, we were huddled together receiving the orders, newbies ready for action."

She smiled wider, "Really?!"

"Yeah," He spun to face one of the corners that had several splotches of paint, some red, blue, white, and a little pink, "That's where we decided to use red and black for our armor."

She stared at the spot, "Who picked pink?"

"Wrecker," He said with a soft smile, remembering how angry Crosshair had been when Wrecker suggested the color.

Omega snuggled against Hunter's side, "It's a nice color, I like the red."

Hunter wrapped an arm around her shoulder, "Me too."

He continued to spin, slower and softer, telling small little stories. Noting how with each one Omega was getting closer and closer to falling asleep.

"My favorite memory though," He said quietly, "is when you got to see Hyperspace for the first time."

Omega smiled, "I like that one too."

Hunter laid his head back and smiled, noting how Omega was asleep now, he couldn't help this feeling of protectiveness. At first he had just assumed it was his clone instincts but now it felt different, more, natural. He could sleep here if that's what Omega needed, for some reason, he didn't mind.

Chapter Text

"Stay close to Echo and don't touch anything.", "Don't take your eyes off Omega for one second!" Hunter had told them before they left, "And stay close to the ship!"

"Echo what's that!" Omega asked excitedly, pointing at a carrier butterfly.

Echo smiled, "That's a butterfly."

Omega watched as it flew around in circles, "It's so pretty."

Echo looked around, he was suppose to be scouting to make sure this was a safe place to camp, but he did enjoy helping Omega have fun.

"Echo look!"

He turned and saw her standing beside a tree, "It's huge!"

He strode over with a smile, "It's definitely an old one."

"C'mon, I just need to spot from the ledge and we'll be good to explore."

Omega grabbed his hand, which caught his off guard for many reasons, he wasn't used to holding hands especially not when the other person was holding his prosthetic hand, Omega didn't even mention it, she hadn't recoiled or let go, it was as if she didn't even notice. He couldn't help but feel happier, it almost made him feel relaxed, it made him feel human. 

"You can see everything from here!" Omega gasped, pointing at how good the view was.

She was indeed right, you could see their ship, the entire valley, the mountains in the distance, the large forest of trees, you could see it all. Omega stepped forward, letting go of Echo's hand, looking over the edge, "oh..." She said quietly.

"What's wrong kid?"

"That's a big cliff. It's so far..."

Echo smiled, "Yeah, we can head back now if you want."

Omega nodded her head frantically, "I don't like it."

As she took a step Echo felt his heart stop, a loud crack sounded from her feet. He quickly looked at the ground, noting how she was over a small lip that was hanging off the cliff, which was now crackling.

"Don't Move." Echo urged, carefully stepping towards her.

She was visibly shaking now, eyes wide with fear, "E-Echo..." She whispered.

"I need you to make a big jump ok? I'll catch you, just one big jump ok?"

She held her breath, "ok."

"1. 2. 3. Jump!"

She jumped, flinging her arms around Echo's neck, burying her face into the crook of his neck. He tightened his hold as he watched the small ledge crumble and fall, sending a silent thank you to the force, rubbing her back as she huffed.

"It's alright, I got ya."

She clung to Echo all the way back to the ship, and for most of the day. She stayed very close to his side, holding his hand when he wasn't doing something. Once she went to bed he filled Hunter and the group in on what happened, earning a slight bit of reprimand for letting her get close to the edge. Echo couldn't be mad though, kids will be kids and trouble finds them.

Chapter Text

"Remain calm," Tech urged towards Hunter, "I have this situation under control."

Omega was sitting inside a small shield bubble that Tech had created, of course no one was small enough to fit inside except Omega, Hunter was not a fan of the idea.

"I just have to test if I made it properly." He smoothly offered, "Wrecker, hit the ball."

Wrecker stared at Omega, "What if I pop it?"

"You won't, besides, hit gently."

Wrecker took a breath and hit the bubble softly, noting how his hand bounced back. Tech laughed excitedly, "Good, Good!"

Omega was staring in amazement, "Wow! Hit it again Wrecker!"

Wrecker hit it again with more force, his hand still bouncing back easily.

Omega looking around the bubble, pressing her hand against it in wonderment, "It's feels so strange!"

"It is waterproof, fireproof, blasterproof, and Wrecker-Proof, I may have outdone myself."

Omega nodded along, staring at Hunter's knife. "Is it knife proof?"

Tech smiled, "Yes indeed it is."

"Wow!"

Echo shifted in his seat, "You did well, Tech. This could prove useful in battles."

Omega shifted on her feet, noting how her hands were now sweating. "Tech?"

Tech brought his attention back to his volunteer, "Yes?"

"Is it suppose to be hot?"

Tech's face fell, "No... It's suppose to be room temperature."

Omega nodded, "It's just a bit hot, nothing too bad."

Hunter didn't like this, something was wrong, something didn't look right. Omega was breathing pretty shallow, her hands and face were sweating, something just wasn't right.

"Open the bubble." Hunter said aloud, gaining the groups attention.

Tech looked up from his datapad, "What?"

"Open. The. Bubble."

"Why?"

He pointed at Omega who was now dripping sweat, "Something's wrong, Open the bubble!"

Tech quickly looked back to his datapad, typing in several lists of codes, "It's not responding!?"

Omega had sat down now, "Why is it so hot!?" She huffed.

"Wrecker hit it!" Hunter ordered, kneeling at the front of the bubble, "We're gonna get you out don't worry."

Wrecker tried, extremely hard, to shatter the bubble, his hands flung into the air sending him flying backwards. "It didn't work?"

Echo was now behind Tech offering what insights he could to the programming, "Try that!"

"I did!" Tech was panicking, he didn't understand what was wrong with it, his tech never malfunctions like this.

"I- I can't breath in here!" Omega panted, face red and sweaty, "It's too hot!"

Hunter was now panicking, "TECH OPEN THE BUBBLE FOR KRIFFS SAKE!"

Tech panicked and smashed every key he had available, shutting the entire system and datapad down. The bubble collapsed, Hunter scooped Omega off the ground and rushed to the small med area, "Deep breaths, Deep breaths." He kept whispering as they left the room.

Tech dropped the dead datapad and put his head in his hands, taking deep breaths. Echo patted his shoulder, "Not your fault, you had no way of knowing the bubble would malfunction."

"I almost cooked her." He breathed.

Wrecker was up and gone, presumably in the other room with Hunter and Omega.

Echo patted him again, "Don't go on a guilt trip Tech. You didn't know this would happen."

Tech nodded and grabbed the datapad, throwing it in the trash bin.

"Tech?" Omega asked softly.

Tech had been avoiding her all day, trying not to look at her and remember what he did, "Oh hey."

She shifted her weight, "Are you mad at me?"

Tech spun in his chair to look at her, "What?"

"You've been avoiding me all day. I was just wondering if you were mad at me."

Tech felt a soft smile come across his face, "No, I'm not mad, if anyone here should be mad it's you."

She looked up at him, "Why?"

"I almost cooked you!" He urged, standing to pace the floor, "and I didn't know what to do! I panicked! I didn't have control of my tech!"

He stopped when he felt a small arm grab his hand, looking down at the sweet little girl, "You didn't know that would happen."

"It was a test and it failed, that's ok."

He sucked in a deep breath, kneeling beside her, "But it almost wasn't ok, I promise I'll do better."

She smiled, "I promise I'll be there to help."

He hugged her close, letting the guilt wash off like a line written in the sand.

Chapter Text

"Look! We got more food for half the price!" Omega said excitedly, carrying the smaller crate.

Wrecker smiled, "Yeah! We'll be eating good for a while now, you sure you don't want me to carry that?"

Wrecker was already carrying a heavy crate anyway,  well Heavy to Omega.

"I can do it!"

"You're building some strong muscles kid!"

She smiled, "I have the best teachers!"

He chuckled, "I wouldn't say best."

"What!? You guys are the grea-" She didn't finished her sentence, instead it was a yelp.

Wrecker dropped the crate, spinning to see the source. A small man, not human, had Omega by the arm and was holding her in the air. The blaster he had was definitely old and rusty, probably seen better days.

"Alright, hand over some credits or the kid gets it." He demanded.

Wrecker stared at the man, tipping his hat back to reveal his face, "Drop the kid."

The man paused briefly, face falling then immediately regaining composure, "Give me credits."

The man jerked Omega's arm higher in the air, causing her to cry out.

"Final Warning. Drop. My. Kid." Wrecker's voice was lower than he'd ever had it before.

The man seemed torn between options, he stared at Wrecker, "I'm not afraid of you."

Wrecker laughed humorlessly, "Your mistake."

The man didn't have time to react, Wrecker was punching him in the face in 2 steps, easily taking his blaster and snapping it in half.

He spun to Omega, "You ok kid?"

She nodded her head, still holding her arm, "Yeah, Thank you Wrecker."

"Anytime, C'mon let's get back." He let her sit on his shoulder while they walked back, she didn't weigh hardly anything to him anyway.

Chapter Text

Hunter offered a small smile, "Look, you have to stay here and stay safe ok?"

Omega stared back, a hint of sadness in her eyes, "Can't I do anything to help!?"

Hunter shook his head, "This is recon, we're going to look around and try to stay out of sight, you need to stay here and tell us if anyone tries to get the ship.

Omega nodded, "Ok."

"Alright, We'll be back soon. If anything happens use your comm to call us ok?"

She nodded, "Be careful."

It had been 30 minutes, of course she was bored. She had been sitting and staring out the windows the whole time and it was the same thing over and over again, birds (or whatever those things are) would fly by and make a sound then fly away.

Something caught her eye, a shadowed figure approaching the ship at a quick rate, without hesitation she jumped up and ran to Hunter's bunk room, knowing he had some sort of weapon in there.

"Someone's here!" She urged into the comm, "I don't know who it is!"

"Sit still, stay hidden, we're on the way." Hunter offered back, it was obvious by the sound they were running.

She scanned the room for something, anything, she could use as defense, ending up grabbing a small blaster that was set to stun.

Footsteps, quiet and precise echoed through the ship, one set of them. She listened as the door to the Wrecker and her own bunk room opened, then the room across from this one which was Echo and Tech's opened. She raised the blaster and held it tight, the door swished open and she felt the air leave her lungs, Crosshair was standing there staring at her.

"Crosshair..." She whispered.

He smiled, but there was no emotion in it, "Looks like my lucky day."

She stared at him, "It's not your fault." She echoed from before, staring into his cold eyes.

He blinked at her, "What?"

She held the blaster tighter, "It's not your fault, Crosshair. You can't help it."

He looked like he was having a moment of conflict, which she tried to use for her advantage.

"You can't help it, but you can fight it, you can keep fighting it."

He shook his head and with three steps knocked the blaster from her hands, "Quiet,"

He grabbed her arm, dragging her from the room and outside the shuttle. "NO!" She shouted kicking and hitting at him, unsuccessfully.

"Be quiet!" He hissed, "Where are they?"

She stuck her tongue out.

He took a breath, "I don't have time for this."

He grabbed the blaster from his side, aiming in the air and firing.

"What was that?" Omega quietly asked.

"They'll come running faster now."

She stomped her foot onto his, yanking her arm at the same time. He hissed and let go of her arm, quickly regaining himself and chasing her.

"It's not your fault!" She shouted at him.

"Stop saying that!"

He grabbed her shoulder and yanked her backward, tightly grabbing her forearm, "Do you ever stop talking?!"

"It's not your fault." She whispered, eyes filled with tears as he tightened his grip.

Crosshair held his breath, his brain at war with his chip, "There's nothing I can do." He mumbled.

"I know," She offered, "It's not your fault."

He held his breath and began walking, his chip taking control once more, "Quiet."

He shoved her to sit on the ramp of the Havoc, pulling out cuffs. "This will keep you still."

As he put them on she felt a slight electrical buzz, noting how each movement she made caused a buzz.

There was a beat of silence between them, until the crack of a twig caught their attention. Crosshair grabbed his blaster, carefully aiming towards the woods. Omega felt a sudden surge, she leapt off the ramp and tackled Crosshair from behind, rolling off him to stand between him and the woods, unable to hide the winces from the handcuff's electricity.

As crosshair went to stand up he was face to face with Wrecker, "Remember me? You shot me." He punched Crosshair across the grass.

"Echo go help Wrecker," Hunter ordered, kneeling in front of Omega, "Hey, Hey, you hurt?"

She nodded her head, tears streaming down her face, raising his hands up. "Hurts."

Hunter stared at the cuffs, "Tech, come get the cuffs off her hands."

Tech quickly pulled his datapad out and got to work, he carefully took out a small pin needle and poked a spot on the cuffs which cause them to fall to the ground. Hunter took her arms and examined them carefully, "We'll fix them up, don't worry."

She nodded her head slowly, sniffling, trying to stop crying like a baby.

He wiped her tears off with his thumb, "You were so brave back there, you did a good job." He picked her up carefully, "Let's go work on your hands."

He stopped at the top of the ramp, "Tie him and toss him in the storage closet." He said aloud to no one in particular.

Chapter Text

Omega carefully move her wrists, noting the sting that still accompanied it. She could hear the group shouting near the supply closet. Quietly she snuck her way down the hall to look at them.

Echo, Tech, Wrecker, and Hunter were standing above Crosshair who was leaned against the wall, all of them shouting and arguing.

"Fight your chip!" Wrecker shouted.

"Don't you remember us?" Tech asked quietly.

"This isn't how this should happen!" Echo offered.

"Stop fighting!" Hunter shouted louder.

Crosshair stared at all of them, "When I get out I'm turning you all in!" He hissed.

Omega silently strode through the crowd, gaining their attention. She sat across from Crosshair, "It's not your fault."

Crosshair's eye twitched, "Stop saying that."

She leaned forward, forcing eye contact. "It's not your fault."

He twitched again, this time more visibly. "I know."

"You can fight it."

The group was silent with their jaws dropped.

"I can't." He hissed.

Omega smile and put her hand on his knee, "You can, I'll help you."

He stared, eyes narrowing, "How?" He huffed.

She smiled, "I can help."

There was a beat of silence, she closed her eyes, thinking of the chip and turning it off. Thinking of crosshair being back to normal. Thinking of being part of a family, their family.

Crosshair blinked in shock, "What did you do...?"

Omega opened her eyes, "What?"

"What did you do? I- I feel different..."

She turned her head sideways, "What do you mean?"

He glanced around the room, "How long have I been here..." he glanced at the black armor he was wearing, "Why am I wearing this?"

"Crosshair?" Hunter asked quietly.

Crosshair turned his head, "Yes?"

"What's the last thing you remember?"

Crosshair thought, thought hard, "We were helping someone on a planet...? a Jedi? I don't remember..."

"Crosshair, you won't believe what happened." Hunter huffed, a small smile crossing his face.

Tech was staring in shock, "You... You turned off his chip...?"

All eyes landed on Omega, she blinked and shrugged, "I don't know. I was trying to heal like they taught me on Kamino."

"Kid you did more than heal him." Echo offered.

Wrecker smiled, "You fixed him!"

Tech blinked, as if everything came clear, "Omega... Can you do me a favor?"

"Sure!" She offered, standing up.

"Can you grab that wrench over there?" He pointed at the other side of the room.

She nodded and walked over to grab it. Tech grabbed his comm unit quietly and threw it at her back.

Hunter stood quickly, "What The-"

With the grace of a jedi she quickly, much quicker than anyone had expected, stepped sideways and caught the comm unit with her right hand.

"What was that for?" She asked quietly, bring the comm and wrench over.

Tech stared, brow furrowed. "I'm testing something, stand here please." He motioned towards the center of the floor.

She stood there, obviously excited.

"Shut your eyes."

Hunter stepped closer, "Tech-"

"Let me try this."

He grabbed a rock off his desk, standing ever so still, he threw the rock much harder than he had thrown the pen. Hunter had surged forward to grab it but before he could Omega raised her hand and caught the rock perfectly.

"Her instincts seem to be almost as advanced if not more so than yours Hunter." Tech whispered.

"Let's focus on Crosshair right now, you can run tests later." Hunter offered.

Wrecker and Echo had already untied him and stood him up. It was agreed that they would talk to Crosshair then let Tech run his tests.

"Alright, let's try something else." Tech offered.

Wrecked yawned and scratched his head, "Can't we sleep now? We've been here forever."

Tech shook his head, "We're so close!"

Hunter stood from his chair, he'd been watching Tech throw stuff at Omega all night and watching her catch it, now the kid was practically asleep standing up.

"That's enough for tonight Tech, She's tired."

Tech frowned, then suddenly smiled with a gasp, "I know!"

Hunter stopped walking towards Omega, "What?'

Tech excitedly smiled, "Watch this," He grabbed something off the desk, it was his glass bowl, which Omega had commented on when they were exploring the ship earlier on. She had mentioned how pretty it was and how she loved it very much.

"I gonna shatter this bowl."

Hunter stared at him, his expression annoyed and tired, "How will that help?"

Tech chuckled, "Omega, I hate this bowl! I'm gonna shatter it!"

Omega blinked and raised her head, watching as Tech threw the bowl full force at the wall, she gasped and stuck her hands out, "No!"

The bowl slowed until it came to a gentle stop against the wall and slid down carefully, landing ever so softly on the ground, not a single piece broken. Tech began to dance, "I knew it!"

Hunter stared, was that the force, did the kid just use the force, did their kid just use the force? That didn't make sense.

Wrecker punched Echo in the shoulder, "That's Amazing!"

Crosshair blinked, "The kid's a force user?" He asked the question no one had put out into the air.

Omega blinked and stared at her hands, "I used the force?"

"Yes! I knew it! Your batch of clones was the very last one! They had been trying for years to make a clone who could use the force! You're the closest they ever got!"

Omega blinked, "I'm a clone?"

All eyes turned to Tech, who was now scratching the back of his head, "I- uh- well..."

Hunter scoffed and knelt in front of her, taking her head in his hands. "You are a clone, just like us, you are better than us though, you're kind, smart, and most of all, you care."

"I'm like you guys?" Her eyes were wide with joy, "I'm like you guys!"

A moment of panic suddenly turned to a moment of joy. They could deal with the force thing later, right now, all they could see was an excited child who just found out she was just like her family after all.

Chapter Text

Wrecker took a big breath as he descended the ramp, "Perfect spot for camping!"

Echo looked around, following behind Wrecker, "It is a pretty planet."

"It's an un-marked planet," Tech offered, following them both, "Not yet touched by the newly crafted empire, nor the old republic. A perfect place to relax for a moment."

Hunter stood at the top of the ramp beside Omega, "What do you think, kid?"

She looked around, eyes wide as she took it all in. Slowly she stepped down from the ramp, carefully putting her shoes onto the ground, "What is this?"

With a smile, Hunter strode down to stand beside her, "It's grass."

She knelt and ran her hand through it, "It's so nice!"

Hunter laughed and ruffled her hair, "Glad you like it kid."

Echo and Tech set up a small camp, lanterns, and bedrolls set in a circle, a small spot in the grass designated for a fire. Omega and Wrecker were running around in the grass, laughing and shouting back and forth. Hunter was sitting on his bedroll, thinking about too many things.

"We just need some firewood." Echo informed Hunter.

Wrecker walked over with Omega on his shoulder, "We can grab some wood if ya like, there's a forest over there anyway." He pointed to their North.

"Alright, You and Tech stay here with the ship, we'll grab some wood." Hunter stood as he spoke to Echo.

"Sounds good." He agreed, striding back to sit beside Tech.

Hunter, Wrecker, and Omega all made their way to the forest. Wrecker putting Omega down so she could run around while they walked.

"This grass is almost taller than me!" Omega shouted excitedly.

Hunter looked down, noting how the grass of the field was almost above her shoulders. "Stay close, gotta make sure I can see your head."

"Alright Wrecker, try and grab some sticks," Hunter told him as they approached the outskirts of the woods.

Omega was running around near Wrecker, unable to stop laughing at how small she was compared to the trees. "Hunter!" She shouted, "This is amazing!"

He smiled as he crouched down to grab a stick, "It sure is, Kid."

As he went to stand up he heard Omega yelp aloud, very fast as if she were caught off-guard. He stood quickly looking for the top of her head in the grass, not seeing it. "Omega?" His nerves spiking when he didn't get an answer.

"Wrecker where is she?"

Wrecker stood up, "I wasn't looking, I thought you were."

Hunter took a breath, trying to let his instincts and hyper-awareness take over. He carefully stepped forward, slowly, "This way."

Wrecker followed behind him a few feet, having dropped the sticks, and grabbed his blaster pistol off his hip. Hunter had his knife out, carefully tracking Omega's scent, which in this case smelled like Tech's machine oil because she was helping him earlier and got it spilled all on her shirt.

"It stops right here..." He muttered, looking around for any signs of Omega.

Wrecker stopped beside him, following his lead and looking around.

Hunter looked down, staring into a very small but dark tunnel, "Found her."

Wrecker looked over, "Oh, you don't think she fell down there do you!?"

Hunter looked around, "Yeah she's down here, go grab Tech and Echo, get here fast, I'm going down."

Wrecker nodded and took off running, much to Hunter's surprise, he was running faster than he did on missions. Without waste Hunter carefully slid down the tunnel, noting how many rocks and twigs were poking his sides. He hit the bottom, raising his arms to feel the ceiling of the cave was tall enough for him to stand. He quickly turned on the light that was attached to his gloved wrist, carefully scanning the area, not seeing Omega.

"Omega?" He said aloud, noting how it echoed down the cave.

"Hunter?" Came a quiet reply, from farther in the cave.

Wreck, Tech, and Echo were now at the top of the cave, having brought some rope and a medkit. "Hey, Hunter!? You find her!?" Wrecker shouted down.

"Yeah! Give me a second!" He shouted back, pointing his light in the direction Omega called from, "Talk to me kid."

"Something's down here!" She shouted, running towards Hunter's light.

"Like what?"

She was panting now, "It's big!"

Hunter saw her running at him very fast, he brought his knife up, waiting for what was gonna come around the corner. Omega quickly jumped behind him, holding tightly on his pant leg. Faint growling began to echo from where she had run from.

"Slowly back up," He whispered to Omega, who did as told.

Echo carefully lowered the rope down, "When Hunter has Omega he'll know what to do." He told Wrecker who was panicking.

Tech tapped his datapad, "I'm picking up three life signs..."

Echo looked over, "Three?"

"Two Human, the other looks like a creature of some kind."

Wrecker sat forward, grabbing the rope, "The second they grab this rope I'm pulling them out."

Omega felt the edge of the cave against her back, "Hunter?"

Hunter shifted his eyes, noting the rope from the tunnel above his head, slowly he moved his hands to tie the rope around his belt. "Alright, c'mere." He whispered.

Omega quickly came around and let him pick her up, she clung to his neck hiding her face in the crook of it.

He tugged the rope, unable to hide the small relief when he felt the rope being hoisted up, pulling them upward. He tightened his arm around Omega, pointing the light back down the cave, noting how a shadowed figure rounded the corner, snarling. He raised his head, "Pull us up Faster!" He shouted.

Wrecker and Echo pulled faster on the rope, Wrecker pulling extra hard to gain more ground. Tech tapped his datapad faster, "The creature is getting closer!"

Hunter watched as the creature came into the light, it looked like a wolf, probably feral by the way it was snarling. "Omega, keep your eyes shut ok? We're almost out."

"Ok." She sniffled, tucking her head back into the crook of his neck.

The wolf came running at the tunnel, growling at their feet as the rope pulled them up the tunnel, Hunter huffed out a sigh as he saw the faint sunset at the top of the tunnel. Wreck and Echo pulled them to the top, Tech taking Omega from Hunter's arms so he could climb out, Omega switched into Tech's arms easily clinging to his chest tightly.

Echo knelt Beside Tech and Omega with the medkit, "Omega? Can you look at me?"

Omega shook her head, clinging tighter to Tech, who sat there and running a hand through her hair.

"Omega," He offered again, quieter and softer, "Please look at me."

Omega turned her face to look at him, tears mixing with the dirt and dust on her face, a few scratches along her face. He offered her a small smile, taking one of the bacta-wipes out of the kit, "It might sting a little but it's going to make it feel better afterward."

He wiped her face, offering encouraging words as he did. Hunter silently shifted to sit beside Tech, resting a hand on her shoulder for comfort as Echo checked her over.

"Alright, all done." He said with a smile, "You did so good."

"Let's go back to the camp," Echo offered, standing up, "I can grab this wood and we can have a fire."

Tech stood up, still holding Omega in his arms, watching as Hunter came along to walk beside him. Wrecker followed behind them, eyes scanning the area.

Omega had hopped to each member of the Bad Batch through the rest of the night, when they built the fire she stayed with Tech. When Tech got up to record some of the planet's sounds she sat with Echo, who held her close and told her stories from his time in the 501st. When Echo needed to adjust his prosthetic arm she switched to sit with Wrecker, who let her hold his Lula and hug it for comfort.

Hunter stretched his arms, "Alright, time for bed."

He earned two pitiful whines from Tech and Wrecker.

"Go to bed." He ordered both of them, "You," He pointed to tech, "Can record more sounds in the morning." He pointed at Wrecker, "You know how you get when you have a bad night's sleep."

They both sighed, "Yes Hunter." They mumbled in unison. 

Omega handed Wrecker his Tooka doll with a small smile, standing and walking over to Hunter. She was wringing her hands as she stood beside him.

"Hunter?" She whispered.

He adjusted his pillow on his bedroll, "What's up kid?"

"I- well- can I-" She mumbled, shifting her weight back and forth.

Hunter smiled and dropped onto his back, "C'mon kid."

She quickly crawled to lay beside him, resting her head on his shoulder, grabbing onto his blacks, and holding onto them. She took a deep breath, Hunter had a specific smell, it was similar to how she thought jungle planets smelled, very earthy. Hunter brought his arm around to hold her close, noting how quickly she had fallen asleep.

He needs to watch her better, protect her better, he doesn't like how often trouble seems to find them. He'd worry about that later though, right now, he glanced at his brother's who were all sleeping on their bedrolls and their kid, letting his eyes fall back onto the sky full of stars. This wasn't too bad, now that he thought about it.

Chapter Text

Omega tiptoed around the quiet ship, everyone had gone to sleep which left her to try and fight nightmares alone, which she was used to usually. She silently entered the community room of the ship, she usually came here to look out the window and snuggle under the big blanket that sat on the small couch. She carefully approached the couch, grabbing the blanket ever-so-carefully and climbing onto the seat. She threw the blanket over herself and looked out the large window at hyperspace, she took a breath and tightened her grip on the blanket, nightmares still plaguing her thoughts.

"Runt?" Crosshair huffed tiredly, across the room he was sitting in one of the chairs with his head back staring at the ceiling.

Omega jumped, gasping in shock, staring at him. "O-Oh hi." She breathed, gripping the blanket tighter trying to calm down.

He lifted his head and looked at her, noticing her shaking under the blanket. "Why're you shaking?" He wasn't cold, the ship actually stayed pretty warm most nights.

"B-Bad dream." She offered, turning her face back to the window.

Crosshair hummed quietly, not entirely sure how to respond, he didn't know how to deal with people, definitely not children. He simply watched her for a moment, noting how she had begun sniffling, he felt his heart break, deciding to put his ego on the back burner for a moment. He stood and strode to the couch, avoiding her stare as he sat beside her, kicking his feet up onto the table.

She sniffled, wiping at her eyes, deciding to look away from Crosshair. She didn't want to be a baby, on Kamino she was always told to be tall and proud, never falter in your spot.

Crosshair took a breath, "Wanna talk about it?" He continued to stare at the ceiling.

Omega wiped her eyes again, "T-They shot Echo..." She whispered.

Crosshair hummed again, not wanting to interrupt.

"They shot him, and he fell down, and he didn't get up, and-and, I couldn't do anything," She spoke quicker, breath speeding up.

Crosshair raised his head up to look at her, fresh tears streaming down her face as she softly swayed back and forth as if to try and calm herself.

"I c-couldn't help-" She broke off into a sob, bring the blanket to cover her face as she cried.

Crosshair was not prepared for this, he wasn't trained for this, what was he meant to do!? He tried to remember what he'd seen other clones do when dealing with kids, 1) comfort, 2) make them feel safe, 3) help them sleep. He could work with that, that was a plan.

He leaned forward and picked her up, letting her rest against his chest as she cried, noting how easily she let him hold her. He didn't like how fragile she felt, even under the large blanket she felt small and as if she were made of glass, too innocent. He ran his hand across her shoulders, trying extremely hard to remember what the other clones had done. He pulled the blanket off her head and carded a hand through her hair, noting how she nuzzled into the crook of his neck as she cried. He definitely didn't freeze, he doesn't freeze, he's never frozen before.

He remembered the other clones had a song they'd sing to the kids, especially at nighttime.

"Mirrorbright," He began quietly, "shines the moon, its glow as soft as an ember,"

He waited, noting how her sniffles got quieter, "When the moon is mirrorbright, take this time to remember," He held her closer, "Those you have loved but are gone, Those who kept you so safe and warm," He closed his eyes and dropped his head to rest on hers, "The mirrorbright moon lets you see,"

"Those who have ceased to be, Mirrorbright shines the moon, as fires die to their embers," He took a breath, smiling at how he could hear her soft snores, "Those you loved are with you still—The moon will help you remember"

He carded his hand through her hair, while he didn't like the idea of being a 'softie', he didn't mind this.

Hunter took a breath as footsteps entered his room, precise and calculated steps, he assumed Echo.

"You're gonna wanna see this." Echo offered, turning and walking to the door.

Hunter rolled out of the bed, stretching his arms as he followed Echo. He stopped when Echo raised his hand in a shush motion and pointing into the community room, a small covering his face.

Hunter peeked his head in and felt his own face light up into a smile, Crosshair was asleep with his legs kicked up and head back, Omega was asleep on his chest. Hunter looked over to see Tech in the corner, taking pictures with his datapad.

Wrecker stretched as he came walking up, noting Echo already shushing him, "What're we looking at?' He whispered.

They scooted over and let Wrecker look in, he smiled wide too. Each one quietly entered the room, taking a seat in places they wouldn't disturb the two asleep, going about their usual things.

Crosshair raised his head up, blinking and letting his vision clear, noting how everyone was now staring at him. For a moment he wondered if he had something on his face, then he remembered Omega. He looked down at the sleeping kid and tightened his hold ever-so-softly, smiling as she grabbed onto his shirt and mumbled something in her sleep. He raised his head to make eye contact with each of them, dropping the smile, "Not a word." He whispered.

Each one raised their hands and shrugged, deciding to leave it alone for now. Tech didn't tell Crosshair he had left his recording equipment running overnight, he didn't tell him when he showed the rest of the Bad Batch, he totally didn't save them on three different datapads and holograms to be sure he always had the memory.

Crosshair and Omega would cross paths on certain nights from there on out, Crosshair offering silent comfort and a song of calming, Omega offering the innocence Crosshair needed to see.

Chapter Text

Hunter sighed and leaned forward on the table, "It's too dangerous for her to stay on the ship, especially with all the troopers lurking around."

Wrecker sat back, "Why not let her go with one of us?" All eyes turned to him with a raised brow, "What? We could keep an eye on her then."

Hunter nodded, "Alright, I want her with you." He pointed to Crosshair.

Crosshair stared for a moment, "Are you sure?"

Hunter nodded, "She's with you, You're going to be farthest away from troopers in general because you're scouting sniping spots."

Crosshair looked to Omega, who was smiling wide at him, and huffed a chuckle, "Alright then."

"Crosshair?" Omega quietly began, "How far is the spot?"

Crosshair stopped to gauge the distance, factoring in the turns and things they'd need to make, "100 feet."

Omega nodded, "Do you enjoy being the sniper?"

Crosshair wasn't much for chit-chat but this kid was so innocent and so relaxed around him it was hard to avoid. "Yes."

Omega nodded again, "Is sniping hard?"

He thought for a moment as they continued walking, "No, not when you're trained."

She smiled up at him, "So you must be the best trained ever! Because you snipe amazingly!"

He looked at her smile and felt himself smirk, "I wouldn't say that."

As they continued to walk, they approached the sniping spot he had seen from the ship, it was a small divet in the mountain covered by some cascading vines, perfect for hiding a sniper. Omega watched as Crosshair examined the spot, checking how much area he would cover and if any trees would block his shots.

"Psst." She heard from behind her, from the trees they had just come from.

She spun to look, "Did you hear that Crosshair?"

He looked up from his rifle, "No, What was it?"

Omega stepped forward, leaning to try and look through the trees, "It sounded like someone-"

She didn't finish her sentence as blaster fire came from the trees, Omega gasped and ran towards Crosshair who was now aiming his rifle.

"Stay behind me." He whispered quietly, leaning his rifle to the left to shoot two troopers.

Omega shifted in her seat, blinking as Crosshair continued to snipe each trooper he saw. Crosshair peeked out from the small divet, "Alright let's go back to the ship, this spot isn't going to work."

Omega stood with Crosshair, but time suddenly slowed down, she turned her head from side to side, seeing a trooper behind them about to shoot Crosshair. She shoved him as hard as she could, even with time slowed he moved fairly quickly, then time sped up. Crosshair stumbled backward as the blaster shot burned Omega's arm. Crosshair spun quickly and shot the man responsible, dropping to one knee beside Omega.

Her face was scrunched tightly as tears rolled down her cheeks, but, to his surprise, she wasn't making noise. He grabbed her wrist and gently moved it from the burn, noting how it wouldn't leave a scar but it'd leave a nasty bruise. Her knees were shaking something fierce.

"Let's go." He scooped her off the ground, holding her to his chest.

He grabbed his comm unit, "We've been spotted, meet us back at the ship."

Hunter came through the small radio, "Where's Omega?"

"She's with me, she got hit by a blaster."

There was a small pause before Hunter replied, "Is she hurt bad?"

"Just her arm, we should be at the ship in 5."

"We'll be there."

He slipped the comm unit back onto his belt, "How you doing kid?"

Omega sniffled, "It hurts."

Crosshair huffed softly, more a chuckle than anything, "I know, we're almost back."

He weaved them through the trees, careful not to jostle her too much, stopping in his tracks when he heard a branch snap behind him. He carefully turned and stared down two troopers, who were holding their blasters right at him.

"Drop the child and we'll let you live." One offered, motioning with his blaster.

Crosshair looked down at Omega who was staring at him with wide fearful eyes.

"I've got you, kid." He whispered, looking back up at the troopers. "She's with me, if you touch her I'll kill you where you stand." He hissed.

"Drop the child, Final Warning." The other trooper replied.

Crosshair twitched, trying to calculate a plan, he couldn't drop Omega to get his rifle because it'd take too much time. He couldn't run because he'd lead them to the ship. He couldn't do much of anything. He stared the trooper down, then behind the trooper, he saw a faint glimmer of red and black, unable to hide the smile that broke across his face.

"What's so funny?" One asked, raising his blaster higher.

Crosshair tightened his hold on Omega, guiding her head to look behind him so she wouldn't see the scene unfold before him, "I said, She's with me. You should have listened."

From behind the troopers, Hunter and Wrecker emerged, easily getting rid of the two. Crosshair nodded his thanks as they quickly made their way back to the ship.

"There we go, all patched up!" Echo announced happily, offering Omega a smile.

Omega smiled back, wiping at her eyes, "Thank you."

Crosshair was sitting in the chair holding her as she was being patched up, to the bad batch's surprise, he had been encouraging her and offering comfort the whole time. Omega turned back to Crosshair and wrapped her good arm around his neck, burying her face in the crook.

"You can sleep now, kid." He offered, petting her head.

Omega snuggled closer, "Thank you."

"For what?"

Omega took a soft breath, "Being there."

Crosshair blinked, he cleared his throat, "I'll always be there, kid, you can count on it."

He raised his head and immediately frowned, hating the looks of awe each member had on their face, "What." He huffed.

Chapter Text

Wrecker strode into the cockpit, "Have any of you seen my other shirt?"

Hunter, Echo, and Tech all spun to look at him. Tech speaking up first, "The one you wear when we're on-world?"

Wrecker nodded.

Echo shrugged, "No, but now that you mention it, one of my blankets is missing."

Tech leaned forward in his seat, "I haven't been able to find one of my datapads recently either..."

Hunter scratched the back of his head, "I haven't been able to find my bandana lately..."

All eyes landed on Crosshair, who was just walking in, "What're you guys looking at?"

Tech stared at him, "Have you noticed anything missing lately?"

Crosshair blinked, "I haven't seen my space sniper scope in a while..."

Hunter turned his chair slightly, "They couldn't just disappear."

They all stood and decided if they look together they wouldn't be able to miss them. They started looking around the cockpit, unable to find anything, they began looking in the community spot of the ship. Surprisingly there was nothing there either, they began looking in Hunter's room, finding nothing of the sort. They check Echo and Tech's room, finding nothing. A quick search in Crosshair's room showed nothing either.

"Last room is your's and Omega's room." Hunter directed at Wrecker.

"But she's still asleep." Wrecker whispered.

Tech opened the door quietly, "We'll be extra quiet," he whispered.

They began looking around the room, to their shock, there was nothing on the shelves nor floor.

"Psst..." Crosshair whispered, motioning them all to the bunks.

They looked down at the sleeping Omega, who was holding each of their missing items tightly to her chest.

Wrecker tilted his head, looking to Tech for an explanation. Tech nodded his head toward the door for them to leave. As they left the room, Crosshair shutting the door carefully, Wrecker finally spoke up.

"Why's she got all our stuff?"

Echo leaned against the hallway with a smile, "It's actually really common for people to do that, Wrecker. It provides a sort of comfort when she's asleep that we're there with her to protect her even when we are separated."

Wrecker stared blanket at Echo, turning his head to Hunter. "What?"

Hunter chuckled, "It makes her feel safe when she goes to sleep, like your Lula."

"Ohhh! I understand!"

Tech was smiling wide, "I should make her something like a Lula to have..." His sentence trailed off as he left for his work spot in the community room to start designing.

Crosshair was leaning against the doorframe opposite Echo, a small smile on his face, "I'm in the mood to make some food."

Wrecker looked to Crosshair excitedly, "Yay! You never cook your good food!" He clapped Crosshair's shoulder and guided him to the kitchen.

"That's adorable, huh?" Echo said across to Hunter, who was still standing in the hallway staring at the wall.

Hunter's face broke into a large smile, "That's our kid." He patted Echo's shoulder, "Let's go make sure Crosshair doesn't kill Wrecker."

"What's that smell?" Omega sleepily asked, gaining attention at the entrance to the community room.

Everyone stared as she rubbed her eye with one hand and was clutching all the stolen items in her other hand.

"Crosshair made breakfast." Wrecker said excitedly.

Omega blinked and looked around, "Really?" Even in her half-asleep state, the excitement was there.

"Sure did, Kid." Crosshair confirmed, sitting down a very tall plate of pancakes.

They didn't mention the stolen items to Omega, they just kept letting her steal items when she felt the need, they would find their items returned and traded for something else occasionally. They didn't really mind.

Chapter Text

1) Holding Hands.

Echo and Omega had been sent to scout around their latest landing spot. Echo watching carefully to make sure Omega stayed close to his side as she continually mentioned how interesting all the native things were. From how red the grass was to how pretty the clouds were, she made sure to point and show him each thing so he could experience it too.

"Echo! Echo Look!" Omega was practically bouncing on her feet with excitement.

Echo turned his head to look at the small lightning bug that was sitting on the grass, flashing with a warm glow of color. He noted how there were several other lightning bugs on other blades of grass as well.

"Watch this." Echo whispered to Omega, who was now watching with wide excited eyes.

Echo took off running through the grass, causing all the lightning bugs to fly into the air in a flurry, dancing in the wind and shining like low hanging stars.

"Oh!!!" Omega gasped, smiling wider, "It's so pretty!"

She took off running towards Echo, staring up at the bugs who were now flying higher, "They're so high!!"

She stopped at Echo's feet, "Can you pick me up!?"

Echo smiled and picked her up, raising her to the sky so she could be the slightest bit closer to them, unable to hide the joy in his heart when she waved her hand at the bugs as they flew away slowly.

"Thank you so much, Echo." She hummed as he sat her down.

He smiled wide, "Sure thing kid."

Omega grabbed his right hand and looked at him with a smile. He stared back with his smile, still struggling to understand that she didn't mind holding his prosthetic arm, actually, she usually held his cybernetic arm because she always walked on his right side.

"Let's head back." He said happily, leading them back to the ship.

2) Extra hand

Echo was sitting on the floor of his bunkroom, angrily trying to work on his prosthetic arm, trying to get it adjusted for their next mission. He huffed and dropped the screwdriver in his left hand, leaning his head to look at the ceiling to try and calm himself. He hated working on his arm because he never had enough hands to do what he needed.

"Echo?" Omega quietly asked from the door.

Echo dropped his gaze from the ceiling to her, a smile covering his previous angry features. "What's up?"

Omega picked up a screw from the door, which he had forgotten he had kicked away earlier, and walking over carefully, "Would you like some help?"

Echo blinked, "You know what kid, I could use an extra hand."

Omega nodded and sat beside him, gathering all the things on the floor and organizing them neatly around him. He carefully began explaining what he needed to do, taking the prosthetic off, cleaning the bolts, carefully adjusting the cybernetic parts, carefully placing it back, making sure it was all correctly done, he was surprised she did each action with care and made sure to check that she was doing it right.

He sat the screwdriver down and looked at his hand, "Thank you Omega. You did very well!"

"I did it sometimes on Kamino." She said with a shrug, "Let me know if you need any more help!"

She stood up and strode out, heading off to check on the other members of the bad batch. Echo sat there with a smile, cleaning up all the tools and making sure they all got put back in their respected place.

3) Machines and Echo don't mix.

Echo opened his eyes and felt a surge of panic when all he could see was white light and a scanner over his eyes. He raising his arms quickly, shoving whatever was near him, "No! No! No!"

Omega quickly got between Echo and Tech, creating a sort of human shield, smiling softly. "Hey Echo, It's ok! It's Tech."

Echo stared at Omega, forcing his mind to realize he wasn't in a bad place anymore, he was safe, he was safe here...

"It's ok, you got hit by a blaster shot, Tech was just checking you, he won't anymore." She continued, steadily rubbing small circles on the back of his hand. "All done, you're all healed, no more machines."

Echo took a breath, "Ok..." He whispered.

Omega smiled wider, "You were so brave! You just jumped and took that blaster hit for Tech like it as nothing." She crawled so she was sitting on the bed beside him, "You didn't even hesitate."

He sat up more, sitting against the wall behind the bed, "It's kind of just habit now, I guess."

"Habit..." She muttered, "Did you do that when you were in the first group?"

He smiled, "The 501st?"

She nodded.

"I did it all the time in the 501st."

She sat forward, sitting her head on her hands, "Can you tell me about it?"

He took a breath, finally feeling his brain shift from panic to calm, "Sure kid."

4) Can you dance?

Echo was sitting and staring at his datapad, which was playing a small holo-video of him dancing with Rex. They had both lost a bet and had to dance together, he had sworn he would delete the video and never speak about it again but there were moments he missed hearing the 501st's laughs, this video helped him remember each of them with ease. The song playing was a slow song, usually played in cantina's late at night when the only people left were drunks and bounty hunters, it was a soft and pretty song. 

"Is that you dancing?" Omega asked quietly, careful not to startle Echo.

Echo looked up from the datapad, now realizing he was still sitting in the small community room, he must have been there a while because he didn't really remember coming in and sitting down.

"That's me and my friend, we had lost a bet."

She nodded and watched, "It's a pretty song."

He nodded in agreement.

"You're a good dancer."

He smiled, "Thank you. Can you dance?"

She shook her head, "On Kamino, I had to focus on healing, I was not allowed time to do things like that."

He sat the datapad down and restarted the video, letting the song replay, he stood with a smile and held his hand out. "I'll show you how to dance."

She stared for a moment, "Really?"

"Yep."

She took his hand with a smile, staring at his feet as he slowly showed her how to dance, carefully she studied as they began dancing around the room. She got excited as she began to understand and dance smoothly with Echo, "Am I doing it right?"

He smiled, "You're doing great."

They dancing around the room, Echo spinning her occasionally, unable to hide his laugh when she would giggle and smile wider.

"This is fun!"

Echo nodded, unable to find his voice, he was lost in a different place. His kid was standing here dancing with him, he could see the 501st's faces, each one nodding and giving a thumbs-up as he taught her to dance. Rex standing behind all of them with a smile and nod of approval.

Omega stopped when the song stopped playing, watching as Echo looked down at her, "Thank you."

Echo shook his head, "Thank you, kid. I haven't danced in years, I'm glad it was with you."

She hugged him tightly, not letting go until he patted her head softly, she took off running towards the cockpit. "Hunter! I can dance now!"

Echo stood there, glancing back to where the 501st had been, a smile as each of them faded from view, another memory locked away for later.

5) Sleep well, ad'ika.

Echo was staring out of the windshield of the ship, watching hyperspace go by. Everyone had gone to bed and he got stuck with the first watch, he didn't mind the first watch that much honestly, it gave him time to clear his mind before he slept. He sat up in his seat when he heard the soft patter of tiny feet, slowing to a walk as they entered the cockpit, he knew it was Omega, she was the only one with small feet.

Silently she stepped over to stand beside Echo, not saying a word. Echo glanced over and took in the sight, she was shaking on her feet, face covered in tears, clutching her blanket tightly in her hand as she stood beside him. He cleared his throat, gaining her attention.

"Nightmare?"

She nodded, avoiding his eyes, "Yeah." She mumbles, wiping at her eyes.

He nods his head, picking her up and sitting her in his lap as he continues to stare out into space, "You know when I was in the 501st-" He began telling her a long story, nothing too gruesome nor scary, just a soft story of how he and his brothers protected some bystanders from getting taken captive. He kept his voice monotone and quiet, letting her snuggle into his chest and stare out at hyperspace as he spoke. He continued telling the story, noting how she was falling asleep slowly.

"What's that word mean?" She mumbled.

"What word kiddo?" He quietly asked, pausing his story.

"moruc" She muttered.

"Oh, you mean morut'yc, it means safe. It's Mando'a."

He looked down at her and smiled, she was sound asleep, clinging to his shirt.

"Sleep well, ad'ika." He whispered, kissing her forehead softly. He looked back out the windshield, letting himself fall asleep to the soft humming of the ship.

Chapter Text

1) Echo

"Alright," Echo said with a smile, "Try again."

"Gar shuk meh kyrayc." (You're no use to me dead) Omega slowly spoke out, carefully pronouncing each word.

Echo smiled, "Jate!" (Good)

Omega smiled widely, "Vor'e!" (Thanks)

Echo sat back in his seat, "Use this power wisely, Omega. Wrecker doesn't know Mando'a very well, only a few words. Tech knows the entire language. Hunter is Semi-Fluent. Crosshair... I don't know if he knows it or not, he's never alluded to knowing it" Echo leaned forward and whispered, "but I think he does."

Omega jumped from her seat excitedly, "Vor'e, Buir!" She excitedly urged as she ran for the door, ready to go speak Mando'a at the other members of the bad batch.

Echo stared at the door as it shut behind her, repeating that sentence in his mind, his heart full with joy. "Buir..." He repeated aloud, (Father)

2) Tech

Omega came running in excitedly from Echo's room, her eyes full with determination. She strode to stand before Tech, who was sitting at his desk tinkering with some of his machinery.

"I'm afraid I'm going to be quite boring today, Miss Omega, I'm just going to be tinkering around." He said aloud, not moving his eyesight.

"It's ok, your room is like yaim'la just like the rest of the ship." (Home)

Tech froze, turning his head to face her with a familiar confused look, she had seen that look many times before surprisingly.

"Duraani, burc'ya?" She said with a smile. (You looking at me funny, pal?)

Tech smiled, "I see Echo taught you Mando'a."

Omega nodded her head quickly and took off running to the door, "Ret' Buir!"

Tech blinked, turning to stare blankly at his machinery, his brain constantly repeating the term.

3) Wrecker

Wrecker was sitting on his bunk, prepping himself for sleep. He had adjusted all of his blankets, gotten his Lula prepared for bed, and was saying goodnight to the ship from where he sat.

"Goodnight Havoc, I hope you sleep well tonight." He patted the wall with a smile.

Omega came walking in, a smile covering her face.

"Ready for bed?" Wrecker asked, picking her up and putting her on the top bunk.

She nodded her head, Smiling as Wrecker tucked her in. He gave her a soft smile and got in his bunk, holding his Lula close.

"Jate ca, Buir." She whispered, letting sleep take her to dreamland.

Wrecker sat for a moment, his brain shuffling through Mando'a words to try and piece together the sentence.

'Jate' was good... 'ca' was dark? no... a star? no no, it was night' and 'Buir' was four? no no four was cuir. Buir was father...? Father... Wrecker stared at the wall for a while, letting his mind ponder the thoughts until sleep finally claimed him.

4) Hunter

Omega was getting good at sparring, Hunter was proud that she was learning to protect herself. He watched as she trained carefully, his eyes tracking her movements. Her goal when they sparred was to get one hit on him, of course, she was only swinging a piece of wood, but that was the goal. Each time they sparred she would get the hit on him quicker, he also noted her defense was much better than the first time they sparred, she must have been practicing on her own throughout the day too.

"You're doing great, kid!" He encouraged, dodging her swing and stepping to the right.

He didn't even notice her other hand, he watched with pride as she quickly spun and smacked his hip with a piece of the wood, her eyes filling with joy.

"I did it!" She jumped excitedly.

He knelt down, "You sure did! That's a new record too!"

She gasped, "A new record!?"

He nodded his head, enjoying the excitement on her face. He wished her face could always hold that emotion.

"I have to tell Echo!" She said excitedly, still standing in place, looking at him expectedly.

He nodded his head to the door, "Go tell him."

She smiled and took off running.

"Careful! Don't trip!" He called behind her.

"Elek, Buir!"

Hunter fell back onto his butt, trying to translate the phrase in his head. "Yes, Father." He said aloud as he translated it. He smiled as a warm feeling filled his chest, he sat there for a moment, wishing he could keep this feeling forever.

5) Crosshair

Omega peeked into Crosshair's room, not wanting to bother him. The door was open, which she knew meant she had no need to knock, but she knocked on the wall anyway.

"Crosshair?"

"C'mon in, runt." He encouraged.

She smiled and strode in, watching as he cleaned his rifle, curiosity taking over her train of thought. She silently sat beside him, eyes locked on the rifle as she watched him work.

"Do you always have to clean that?" She asked.

He looked at her, noting the look in her eye, the look of someone who actually wanted to learn. He turned back to the weapon, "Yes."

"Does it mess with the functionality if you don't?"

He smiled, she must have been hanging around Tech because that was a very big word. "It does, actually. If I don't keep the dust out of the barrel it could cause a misfire or worse, cause the blaster itself to malfunction. Which could end up in an explosion if bad enough."

She nodded her head, still staring at the weapon, "It's a pretty rifle. Do you like it?"

He nodded again, "I love this rifle, I've had it since I first joined 99. I've been modifying it ever since."

"Kandosii'la,"  (Stunning) She whispered, "On Kamino, I wasn't allowed near any weapons, your rifle is so nice."

He smiled, "It is a 'stunning' weapon isn't it."

She turned her head to look at him, shock on her face.

"Don't be so surprised kid, Mando'a might be a reg's language but I made sure to know what they're saying."

She smiled, "Can you tell me more about the rifle?"

+1) The one time they spoke it back.

Omega was struggling to fall asleep, it was their first-night camping on this planet, which was very dusty and sandy. The ground was hard and uncomfortable, even on the bedrolls, none of the other bad batch members had said it aloud but they were feeling the same way.

"How could anyone sleep like this?" Tech huffed, rolling over on his bedroll.

Omega turned over on hers, obviously fighting sleep, "It isn't soft..."

Hunter huffed and cleared his throat, "You know what usually helps us sleep on tough nights?"

Omega rolled her head to look at Hunter, eyelids drooped, "Hmm?"

Hunter smiled, "Nuhoy, ad'ika, Gar ner cyar'ika, Ni ja'haili'gar,"

Crosshair chimed in, "Akay vaar'tur, Nuhoy, ad'ika, Gar ner cyar'ika,"

Tech sang along, "Ni laarari'gar, Akay vaar'tur, Nuhoy, ad'ika,"

Wrecker and Echo sang along together, "Gar ner cyar'ika, Ni cabuor gar, Akay vaar'tur."

(ALL CREDIT GOES TO THE MISCHIEF OF TAD ON TUMBLR FOR WRITING THIS BEAUTIFUL LULLABY)

Sleep, little one
You are my sweetheart
I will watch over you
Until morning

Sleep, little one
You are my sweetheart
I will sing to you
Until morning

Sleep, little one
You are my sweetheart
I will protect you
Until morning

Omega was fast asleep on her pillow, each one of the bad batch shut their eyes with a smile. Camping wasn't so bad.

Chapter Text

"Hunter!?" Omega urged, tapping the side of his face.

She grabbed the comm unit and pressed the button, "Echo? Wrecker? Tech? We need help!" Static filled the air.

She sat the comm unit back beside Hunter, looking back at the large tunnel, she could do this. She gave his shoulder a quick pat, grabbing his blaster and flashlight. She took a breath and ran over to the tunnel, turning the light on, she glanced one more time at Hunter and jumped into the tunnel. As she hit the ground she looked for tracks like Hunter had been doing before, she saw the claw marks along the tunnel first. Silently she began crawling down the tunnel, eyeing the sides to continue tracking correctly, noting the small scrap parts of ships beginning to fill the tunnels. Whatever this thing was it collected parts, not just parts though, these were electrical parts. She kept crawling smiling as the tunnel opened into a small cave, almost tall enough for her to stand in.

She eyes the area carefully, seeing the part the creature had stolen just a few moments earlier, "Bingo." She whispered, sitting the blaster down to grab it.

She froze as she heard hissing from behind her, grabbing the blaster quickly as she spun around with the light. The creature was huge, its head was the size of her torso at least, its teeth were sharp and broken in spots. She kicked her legs, backing up against a rock, hands shaking. The creature shrieked, eyes never leaving Omega. Omega stared in horror as the beast approached her, its eyes full of anger and hate, something she hadn't seen before. She watched the beast grab the part off the ground and fling it aside, creeping towards her.

"I-I won't hurt you!" Omega urged, gripping the blaster tighter to steady it.

The beast hissed, snapping at her foot. She yanked her foot backward, unable to stop her body from shaking, "P-Please! I don't want to hurt you!"

The beast lunged at her, mouth wide and teeth ready to bite, Omega did the only thing she knew to do, she fired the blaster into the creature's mouth. 

Hunter blinked his eyes open, taking a breath, he could've sworn he heard blaster fire. His brain caught up, reminding him of the previous fight, he sprung up grabbing his mask. "Omega?" He muttered, scanning the area. "Omega!?"

He looked around, no blaster or flashlight, without waste he jumped into a crouching position. Taking the soil into his hand and carefully running it through his fingers, his brain instantly tracking her footsteps, he raised his view and stared in horror as he saw her steps end right at the tunnel.

Omega could feel the tears streaming down her face, she blinked as time sped up, the creature fell to the ground beside her. She took deep breaths, trying to calm herself, eyes flickering around the cave in search of other threats.

"Omega!?" Hunter's voice echoed through the tunnels.

Omega grabbed the part for the ship and began crawling her way through the tunnel, "I-I'm coming!" She spoke.

As she crawled out of the tunnel Hunter quickly scooped her up and sat her on the ground, "Are you hurt?" He quickly asked as he looked her over, noting the tears on her face.

"What were you thinking going down there?" Hunter remembered Cut in the back of his mind, 'She's not a soldier', He knelt beside her, "You could've gotten really hurt."

She blinked and nodded, "The mission was to retrieve the part," She raised it in one hand, "I tracked the creature like you did." raising the blaster in the other hand.

He took the blaster, "You used my blaster?"

She nodded.

"Are you sure you're not hurt?"

"I'm ok." She said with a curt nod, "I did the mission like you."

Hunter smiled, "You did great," He ruffled her hair and picked her up, "Let's get the ship fixed up and get off this rock."

Chapter Text

"Look at those birds!" Omega said in awe, pointing to the small clearing in the trees above them.

All eyes looked up at the surprising large flock of wild birds, well whatever this planet's version of birds was, flew into the air.

"That's a lot of birds." Echo commented, returning his eyes to work on his prosthetic.

Wrecker laid back down on his bedroll, "Really small birds too."

Tech stared, "They seemed startled, we must've made too much noise."

Hunter leaned against the crate he was sitting beside, "We'll have to be quieter."

A comfortable silence fell between them, each one slowly falling asleep. Wrecker snored the loudest, dulling all of the local planet's sounds, but even so, the soft cry of birds could be heard occasionally. Omega turned her head and noted how each member had fallen asleep, all of them looked so peaceful and tranquil. She turned her head back to the clearing, looking at the stars and large moon of the planet, unable to stop the sigh of contentedness.

Her attention was drawn by a nearby sound, very soft, it sounded like a cry. Omega sat up on her bedroll, turning to face the woods, noting the faint glow of warm light through the trees. Silently she stood up, leaning her head to try and get a better look. She carefully stalked forward towards the trees, using the skills Hunter had shown her on sneaking, glancing back to the camp once more. She decided she'd only go a few feet into the woods, that way she could see them if something happened.

She crept closer into the woods, eyes searching for the creature that had caused the sound. She saw a creature, similar to what she thought a cat would look like, trapped under a fallen branch. She smiled and strode over, kneeling beside the scared animal.

"Hello," She whispered, "Let me help you."

She silently grabbed the fallen tree branch, which wasn't too heavy but just enough to make her struggle slightly, and shoved it to the side. Smiling as the creature looked up at her gratefully.

"Now you can go to your family."

Omega watched the creature run off quickly, almost as if it had been on the run when it got trapped, she turned her head to look for the warm light she'd seen earlier. It was still there, but it looked brighter this time. She stood and turned to look back at the camp, still able to see them barely through the trees she continued forward, approaching the warm glow of light.

She stared in horror as she got closer, a small hut was burning, causing the surrounding trees to catch aflame. She stared for a moment, looking for any signs of life nearby, not seeing any she ran forward. There wasn't any sign of people, she stood before the burning front door, mouth agape.

"Hello?" She shouted.

She heard someone, it was quiet and faint, she wouldn't have heard it had she not been listening for them. "help." They choked out.

Omega stared in shock, someone need help, someone needed her help. She took a breath, screaming to grab the bad batch's attention, "HELP!" and without another word she ran into the hut, searching for this person.

She scanned the burning room, covering her mouth with her hands as she took shallow breaths, trying not to breathe in the smoke. She saw them, curled up against the wall, leg trapped beneath some fallen debris from the roof. She rushed over and began digging their leg out quickly.

Hunter jolted awake, eyes darting around the small group. Each one was sleeping, looking rather peaceful, then his eyes landed on Omega's empty spot. He scanned the area and felt his heart speed up as he found no evidence of her nearby.

"Get up!" He shouted, standing quickly.

Tech rolled over on the bedroll eyes landing on Hunter. Echo stood quickly, still half-asleep but standing at attention nonetheless. Wrecker sat up slowly, rubbing his eyes.

"Omega's gone," Hunter said quickly, striding to her bedroll and crouching beside it.

"She's gone?" Tech repeated, standing.

Echo blinked the tiredness from his eyes, "How long?"

Wrecker stood slowly, "Where's she at?"

Hunter ran a hand over the grass, standing fast and beginning to walk, "This way."

Omega finally unburied the person's leg from the debris, grabbing their hand and pulling them, "You've gotta get up!" She coughed out.

They stood slowly, coughing and choking on smoke. Omega got behind them and began pushing them towards the door, "C'mon!" She choked out.

She heard the ceiling creaking above her, the fire was above their heads now, she watched it begin to crumble. She panicked, "Move!" She screamed, shoving the person out of the door. Watching them stumble and fall into the grass outside, she raised her head in a quick panic and watched the ceiling fall, she stepped backward quickly trying to avoid the falling debris.

Hunter stopped and knelt once again, brushing a hand through the grass, "Almost there."

Echo tapped his shoulder quickly, "Boss."

They all looked to where Echo was looking, each one feeling a pang of panic rise in their chest. A hut was fully engulfed in fire, a person laid out in the grass coughing and choking. They rushed forward, noting the trees behind the house were now also beginning to burn.

"What happened?" Echo asked the person, dropping beside them.

"S-Someone pushed me o-out." They choked out, breaking into a coughing fit.

Hunter turned and ran towards the house, heart beating faster as he saw the debris blocking the door. "Omega!?" He screamed.

Omega was sitting on the floor now, foot underneath a small block of wood, she was trying hard not to breathe in the smoke.

"Omega!?" Hunter screamed from behind the blocked door.

Omega took a shallow breath, "H-Here!" She coughed out, pulling her foot from beneath the wood.

"We're gonna get you out! Get away from the door!" Hunter shouted, "Make a hole, Wrecker."

Wrecker prepped himself to bust the door, adjusting his shoulder so the armor plate would be the thing making contact with the burning wood. He quickly rushed the pile of debris, slamming his shoulder into it, and made a significant hole in it, big enough for Tech.

Tech wasted no time rushing in, he ran through the small hole eyes looking for Omega. He saw her in the middle of the floor, curled in a tight ball, he surged forward and grabbed her. Without waste he rushed back out of the small opening, running into the grass and sitting her down softly. Her coughs filling the air.

"Remain calm," Tech urged to Hunter, who was now hovering at his side. "She inhaled a lot of smoke, she should be ok."

Hunter thought for a moment, the time for scolding would be later, right now they needed to get out of here. "Pick her up, we've gotta go."

The fire was now spreading quickly from where the tree's earlier had caught ablaze, sending fire through the forest.

Echo stepped forward, "I'll carry her," He picked her up easily, tightly holding her to his chest.

"Let's go," Hunter ordered, leading the group back to the ship with ease.

"Thank you." Called the weak voice of the hut owner.

Omega was laying in her makeshift bed, holding Wrecker's Lula tightly as she coughed. Hunter silently stood beside her, rubbing her back as she coughed.

"You could've been hurt really bad," He quietly spoke, gaining her attention, "Why'd you rush in like that?"

She took a wheezy breath, "They needed help." She whispered hoarsely, "I couldn't leave them there."

Hunter smiled, "I'm proud of you, you didn't hesitate in the face of danger." He continued as Omega looked at him with joyful eyes, "I don't like you putting yourself in danger, but you did the right thing."

Echo had stalked up while they were talking, offering Omega a small glass of water. "It'll help."

Tech was still sitting in the pilot seat, "I will need to monitor your breathing tonight, Miss Omega if you don't mind having a sleepover."

Omega gulped the water and smiled tiredly, "I've never had a sleepover before."

Wrecker looked at her in shock, "Really!?" His face lighting up with an idea, "You can keep Lula tonight too! It'll be a real sleepover then too!"

Omega smiled, eyes landing back on Hunter, "You're proud of me?" She whispered, tiredly waiting for an answer.

He nodded his head, running a hand through her hair, "Very proud."

Chapter Text

I'm so happy you have all been enjoying this series, I personally have found it one of my favorite series to write so far. I want to write things you can enjoy so I'm going to write some questions and hopefully you can comment answers so I understand.

1) Do you want Crosshair in the stories or not? (Would you prefer if I wrote Crosshair in without his chip being active, so he can still function as a normal clone, or would you rather keep it canon? *also there can be just a few stories mixed in where I leave him in or out depending on the answer so don't fear of never seeing him around*)

2) Does the use of the Mando'a language confuse you while reading? (I plan to translate it while it is written, either in the story or in the notes, if it confuses you I can limit the use of it)

3) Do you prefer the idea of Omega being Force Sensitive over being a Force User? (Example: If she is force sensitive she will be able to feel things, she can 'sense' the bad vibes, and even have visions occasionally. If she is a force user she'd be able to physically use the force, fling stuff with her mind and all that.)

Alright, that's all the questions, for now, please comment your answers so I can understand what you prefer. Thank you to whoever reached out and contacted the Lullaby Author, we received the "all clear" to use it. I can't wait to write more stories for all of you! I hope you've enjoyed the series so far, thank you for all the Kudos and Bookmarks, it means the world to me that people enjoy my writing. Alright, see ya in the next fic! 

Chapter Text

Omega cleared her throat, "Aliit ori'shya tal'din." She slowly spoke, trying hard to remember the correct words.

"Very good!" Echo encouraged, sitting back in his seat. "What does that translate to?"

Omega smiled, "Family is more than blood."

Echo nodded, a smile covering his face. "You've got Mando'a down pretty good kiddo, I'm not really surprised though, you're super smart."

Omega spun her chair in a circle, unable to hide the blush, on Kamino she didn't receive praise so much as she received acknowledgment for doing her job. She liked being told she did a good job, she liked being praised for doing something difficult.

"Echo?" She asked, stopping the spinning chair to face him, "Can I ask you something?"

Echo turned to face her, noting the genuine curiosity and seriousness on her face. "Sure."

"Why do all of you know Mando'a?"

Echo stared at her a moment, that was a good question. Clones don't generally speak in Mando'a when they're off mission, especially not when in the presence of a Jedi or Government Officials.

"Well," He began, sitting up in his seat, "On Kamino, most clones are trained to know several languages, Mando'a being one of them." He made sure she was still interested before he continued, "We have to know different languages for when we're on routine missions, that way we can communicate with locals or secretly communicate with each other."

She nodded her head, staring at him with excited eyes.

"Mando'a isn't really well known throughout the galaxy, the only people who know it are people who study the language and history, Mandalorians, or people like us who were trained to know it."

"So you guys use it as a secret code?" Omega questioned, tilting her head to the side.

"In a way yes, we use it to protect what we say, that way only specific people understand. It's great on missions when we're on planets where we can't let the locals know our secrets."

"What are Mandalorians like?"

Echo smiled, "Mandalorians are really interesting people. You know, we clones are based off a Mandalorian."

Omega's eyes widened further, "Really!?"

"Sure are, that's also another reason they wanted us to know Mando'a, so we could be more 'connected' but I don't think that works."

"Is the planet pretty?"

"Mandalore is really pretty." He confirmed, unable to hide his joy when she smiled. "The people are interesting too. Lots of them are bounty hunters."

Omega's face shifted from joy to confusion, "What do bounty hunters do?"

"They go out and-" Echo stared at Omega's innocent face, the poor kid already had so much to think about and to keep her awake at night, she didn't need another, "- Hunt creatures that hurt people for money."

"So they're good guys?" She said with an innocent grin.

Echo nodded silently, not wanting to shatter her thoughts.

"Does that make us Mandalorians?" She questioned.

"Well-" He began unsure how to answer, thankful she interrupted with a different question.

"-Do all clones know Mando'a?"

Echo shook his head, "Not every clone knows Mando'a, some are specialized in other languages. Most clones know it though, even if they can't speak it they can read it."

Omega sat back in her chair, absorbing the information. "Was he a good guy?"

Echo glanced back at her, "Who?"

"The Mandalorian guy."

Oh, the one they were based on, Echo wasn't entirely sure but he had heard stories from other people. All the stories said not really, other stories said he was doing what he thought was right, but this kid, their kid, wanted to know if the person they were raised after was a good guy...

"I think he was a good guy," Echo confirmed, noting her nod of agreement.

"What other languages do you know?" She asked excitedly.

"Well I spent lots of time reading manuals and books so I know lots of languages, there's-"

Echo continued to list off the several languages he knew, agreeing to teach her some words from each one every time she asked.

Chapter Text

Hunter stretched his arms, looking across the grassy field at the small townscape, this planet seemed so tranquil and peaceful. Hunter watched as Omega came up beside him and stretched her arms, mimicking his movements, a smile on her face.

"C'mon," He spoke louder, to gain the group's attention, "Let's grab the stuff we need and go. Wreck you and Echo go grab some ration bars or any other kind of food," He began handing some credits to them, "I'll grab some ammo and other needed items," He turned to Tech, "You and Omega can grab the parts you need."

A quick nod from everyone and they were gone, each one vanishing into the town to grab their needed items. Omega was walking beside Tech, staying close due to the crowdedness of the streets, Tech didn't dare look when she grabbed his hand. "The part I need should be right over here," He informed her.

They continued walking until they reached a small stand, a small man with lots of cybernetic replacements sat behind it with a warm smile, "What can I do for you?"

Tech eyed the stand, pointing at the parts he needed, "1 of each please."

Omega scanned the area as she waited for Tech to finish his deal, she couldn't shake the feeling of something wrong. Something in the back of her mind was calling for help, not loudly or faintly just a constant hum for help, it didn't make sense.

"That's all I needed," Tech informed, looking down at Omega, noting her very distant stare. "Is something wrong?"

Omega didn't say anything, simply strode forward, pulling him along behind her.

"Omega?" He asked quietly, not wanting to gain any of the passerby's attention.

She blinked, face still vacant of emotion, "This way." She whispered, guiding him through the crowd. To his surprise, she managed to weave them through the crowd with ease.

They continued walking until they reached a small alleyway, Omega stopped mid-step and looked down the dark area, Tech cleared his throat.

"What's-" He began only to be cut off by a soft cry, quickly he turned his head to see what she was staring at.

A small Tooka cat was sitting beneath a small box, not enough to hurt it but just enough to render it trapped, it continued to cry pitifully. He watched as Omega let go of his hand and walked over to the cat, "It may be-" He began, worried about it being dangerous. He watched with wide eyes as she approached and stuck her hand out, it sniffed her hand and purred quietly, letting her move the box. It jumped and brushed against her leg, letting her pet it.

Omega smiled, her eyes regaining their usual excitement, "Ok, we can go now."

She strode back to Tech taking his hand, Tech stayed silent and processed the information as they walked, letting his brain put the questions in proper order.

"How did you know the cat needed help?" He began.

Omega smiled, "I heard it."

"How did you hear it? I could barely hear you over all the street noise."

Omega seemed to think about this, noting how loud it was now but how quiet it had been when she heard the cat calling for help. "I-I don't know, I just heard it..."

Tech nodded, "What did it sound like?"

"Like a, uh, I'm not sure, sort of like a 'hmm'." Omega hummed a sound similar to what she had heard.

Tech stared, "And you just heard it?"

Omega shook her head, "I felt it."

"You felt it?"

Omega noted his confusion, "I felt it, it was scared and hurting, I could feel it."

Tech was mentally cataloging each response, to later retell to the bad batch. "So you could feel its pain?"

She nodded, weaving them through some more of the crowd, "Yes, it was scared of us, but it said it would let me help it."

Tech stopped, which caused her to stop and look at him, "It said it would let you help it?"

Omega stared at his wide eyes, concerned she did something wrong, "Yes... I knew it wasn't going to hurt me, it said it had been trapped for a while and it was hurt and scared and I wanted to help it-"

Tech saw her expression changing to fear and panic, "No, I'm not upset, Omega. It's just interesting."

She stared at Tech, "You didn't hear it?"

Tech shook his head, "I didn't."

She stared at him, "Oh," Now it made sense why he was so confused.

"Let's get back, it's getting late and you need some food." Tech encouraged, brain running through endless scenarios of what this could mean.

Hunter strode away from Omega's small room, having said goodnight and tucked her in, sitting with her until she fell asleep like he did every night at her request. He noticed Tech motioning him in the cockpit, Echo, and Wrecker already in there sitting. He strode in and took a seat, "What's up Tech?"

"I need to tell you some information I think is important."

Echo stretched his arms, "Make it quick, I want to go to sleep."

Tech nodded, "While Omega and I were out she found a cat that was hurt and helped it."

Hunter blinked at Tech, "And this is important because?"

Tech sent him a glare, "We were in the crowd when she heard it, but it was far too loud to hear each other let alone a cat cry." He had gained their attention now, "She said she heard it humming, and that she could feel its pain and fear..."

"Well, that's not too out of the ordinary, she is enhanced just like us," Hunter mumbled.

"Hunter can hear and feel our pain, it's part of his enhanced senses." Echo offered.

Tech shook his head, "She said it talked to her."

All eyes opened wide, staring at Tech.

"What?" Wrecker whispered loudly, still struggling to grasp the concept of using a quiet inside voice.

"She said it talked to her, told her it'd been stuck there for a while and that it was ok with her helping it," Tech repeated what Omega had said before.

Echo looked at Hunter, "Do animals talk to you...?"

Hunter shook his head, "No... I mean I can feel what they feel because I can smell it... I've never had an animal speak to me."

"I knew it was out of the ordinary..." Tech confirmed, "I think it has something to do with her being a Clone."

"Why would that change anything?" Echo asked with genuine curiosity.

"She is from the clone batch 'Omega' it was only one clone in that batch, her, and they were experimenting with the force in the clones up to her batch." He continued, "It would only make sense if she had some sort of force capabilities, Her batch being the last batch they made would mean they had finished experimenting and reached a conclusion."

"You're saying you think they gave her the force?" Hunter repeated, in simplified terms.

Tech nodded his head, "More or less, I think she has the ability to feel and sense things even your enhanced abilities can't do, things the force could see and help her see."

Wrecker had fallen asleep during Tech's explanation, his snoring was now drowning out their talking.

"Just think on it and pay attention from now on." Tech offered, striding to the fold-down chairs where he usually worked until he fell asleep. Echo stood and strode to the small corner of the ship where he usually slept, letting his thoughts lull him to sleep. Hunter sat there for a while thinking, he didn't realize he fell asleep until he woke up the next morning.

Chapter Text

1) Hunter

Omega was very excited, she'd been training with Hunter all day and had finally done what she assumed impossible, she punched him without him expecting. She stood staring in shock, unsure of what emotion his face was holding, she quickly stepped back excitement wavering with panic.

"I- I didn't- I meant to-" Omega began.

Hunter's face broke out into a grin, causing her to stop in her tracks, "You did great! I didn't even see it coming!"

Omega felt her fear wash off easily, bouncing on her feet she did a small dance, "I'm just like you!"

Hunter nodded his head, he still struggled with the fact that someone in the big broad galaxy wanted to be like him, Omega wanted to be like him. He loved the fact that she constantly mimicked his movement, copying his form, trying so hard to have a stern face when it simply looked adorable. He didn't understand why the universe would let him, of all people, take care of a child, but then again he wouldn't trade Omega for anything in the universe.

He blinked his thoughts away, smiling at her, "C'mon kid, let's grab some food."

Omega bounced on her feet and punched Hunter in the leg, her smile widening. He laughed and scooped her up, throwing her over his shoulder like a sack of flour with ease, walking to the small area they would sit and eat.

Her laughter filled the small ship, brightening all of their days, none of them could admit it easily but she was in fact the light of their lives.

2) Wrecker

Wrecker loved when Echo would tell stories, he didn't usually grasp the ones with lots of small details but he loved them anyway, mainly because the first time he saw Echo smile was when he had told them a story. Omega was sitting beside Wrecker, curled up with her head in his lap while Echo spoke, Wrecker had almost forgotten she was there because she was so relaxed and quiet.

"You won't believe what happened next," Echo said with a laugh, facing most of his words towards Tech who was typing on his datapad.

"I actually believe I could make a very probable assumption based on-"

Hunter elbowed Tech, "What happened next?"

Echo smiled at Tech's need to be 100% honest at all times, he continued telling the story. Waving his hands to gesture, mimicking the 501st's voices, Wrecker was loving this story very much. He looked down at Omega to see if she was enjoying it only to see she was sound asleep. He blinked and looked back up at the other's nervous about how to react. He waved his hand to get their attention and motioned at the sleeping child.

"Poor thing must've been tuckered out," Echo commented.

Hunter nodded, "Yeah, we were running around a lot today."

Tech continued to type, "Yes, In fact, we've been running so much it's been almost a full day cycle."

"I'll put her in her bed," Hunter said with a yawn, stretching his arms.

Wrecker shook his head, trying very hard to whisper, "I can do it."

All eyes fell on Wrecker, Tech raised an eyebrow, "You want to carry her to bed?"

Wrecker usually avoided carrying fragile items, knowing his strength would lead to breaking things, but this was different. He wanted to do this. He nodded his head.

Echo felt a smirk cover his face, "Best let him do it anyway," Gaining their attention, "She might notice the difference if someone else picks her up and wake up."

Hunter nodded and sat back down, motioning for Wrecker to go ahead. This was it... This was the moment he'd been waiting for his entire life. He carefully shifted Omega to sit up, using extreme caution, he carefully sat her in his lap. He took a small breath and lifted her as he stood, noting how she didn't wake, simply mumbled and grabbed onto his shirt. He felt a sense of pride wash over him as he strode to her bed, sitting her down. The Bad Batch had never seen Wrecker be so gentle before, so calm. Wrecker sat beside her, not wanting to force her to let go of his shirt, he simply sat there until she let go in her sleep.

3) Echo

Echo loved the stars, they were his haven. He could look at the stars and feel at home anytime he wanted, especially now that they were on the run, they provided another comfort of safety. He liked to sit in the co-pilot's chair when he wanted to look at the stars, mainly because it was his turn to watch anyway. He felt a tug back to reality when he heard the small patter of footsteps, stopping right at the entrance to the cockpit. He didn't turn around, deciding it best to let her come in and be in his company if she wanted to. Silently she strode in, her steps were uncertain and hesitant, stopping beside his chair. He turned to face her with a warm smile, noting the concern on her face.

"What's up kiddo?"

She shifted on her feet, obviously at war with herself, trying to decide whether or not to voice her issue. He rested a hand on her shoulder, trying to show he was there to help.

"I need help reaching Lula..." She whispered, shame filling each word. She obviously hated the fact that she needed help, she hated having to come to ask him and disturb him.

Echo stood up, picking her up easily, "Of course, you know you can always come to tell us if you need help. We don't mind."

Omega nodded, letting her feet kick and he carried her. She pointed at the shelf just above her reach, right beside the communications computer, he couldn't help but smile wider.

"Wrecker put Lula there before we left on the mission and I can't reach them, he already went to bed." She explained.

Echo grabbed the doll with ease, depositing it in her arms safely, noting how tightly she held the small toy. He carefully climbed the ladder and tucked her back in.

"Sweet dreams, Ad'ika." He whispered, brushing her hair from her face. Watching as she drifted to sleep with ease, deciding to return to his post in the cockpit.

4) Tech

"Miss Omega, could you help me for a moment?" Tech had noticed how intently she had been watching him work from a distance and finally found a job she could do.

Omega practically fell out of her chair with excitement, running and skidding to a stop beside him, eyes wide with excitement. "Sure thing!"

He loved how excited she was all the time, everything was so new to her, she had so much to learn and couldn't wait. 

"I need you to reach that small wire up there in the duct, I'm afraid I'm too big to fit in the vent."

Omega bounced excitedly, "I can do! I'm a perfect size!"

Tech smiled and nodded, "Let me give you a boost up." He cupped his hands as a step and boosted her to the vent.

"So, What wire am I looking for?" She called from above, crawling through the vent.

"It should be small and bright red, it's the wire for the lights, I just need to replace it before it goes bad." Tech informed, "It is still turned on so please do not touch it until I cut it off."

"I found it Tech! Let me know when I can touch it."

Tech flipped the switch off, watching as the entire ship lost its light, double-checking to be precautious. "Alright, now you'll just need to pull the wire and it'll pop off, then Hand it to me and I'll hand you the one you need." 

Omega carefully grabbed the wire and pulled it, noting how easily it came loose, she slid her hand back and waved it. "Here ya go!"

It was a tight fit, her body barely fit in the duct anyway now that she was trying to maneuver it was proving extremely difficult. She grabbed the wire Tech handed her and quickly pulled her hand back.

"You just need to slide it on, then you can climb back out," Tech informed.

Omega slid the wire on with ease, quite proud of herself. She went to turn around and felt a pang of panic rise in her chest when she couldn't get her other foot turned around. She quickly jerked her leg but it didn't budge.

"Tech, I'm stuck!" Omega urged.

Tech looked up at the duct, noting how one of her feet was dangling over the opening. "Remain calm, Miss Omega. I'm here to assist you. What is stuck?"

Omega took a breath, "My leg is stuck between my chest and the vent."

"Can you maneuver your leg at all?"

Omega tried to move her leg, grabbing her ankle and trying to move it, but no luck. "No." She whimpered, unable to stop 'what-ifs' running through her head.

Tech cleared his throat, when Omega cried he always felt like a piece of his heart was broken, "I'm going to open the panel you're on, you'll fall into my arms. You need to pull your other leg to your chest. Do you trust me?"

Omega sniffled, doing as she was told, "Yes." She choked out, wiping her eyes.

Tech quickly unscrewed the latches holding the panel that was under her, catching her with ease. Omega cried harder when Tech caught her, clinging to him like a lifeline. He adjusted her so she was sitting on his hip and had her face in his shoulder. He hummed and comforted her for a while, walking around and doing his regular business. He did get a chewing when he told the rest of the Batch what happened, they weren't too pleased. Omega continued to offer her help though, that bad time didn't seem to discourage her curiosity and need for learning.

Chapter Text

Wrecker couldn't take it anymore, he was starting to get nervous at this point. He and Omega had been chatting then Omega began staring at the wall and had been for a while now, her eyes were glazed over and her mouth was slightly agape. Wrecker didn't like it. He stood and strode to the cockpit, scratching the back of his head.

"Guys," He said aloud, gaining the rest of the Batch's attention, "I think something's wrong with Omega."

Everyone stood immediately.

"What?" Hunter urged wanting more info.

Echo was already striding to the door, "Use your words, Wrecker." He encouraged, giving the big brute a pat on the back.

"We were talking and she just stopped talking and she's been staring at the wall for a while now and her eyes are all foggy." He offered, unsure if that explanation was enough.

Hunter and Tech fell into a walk-behind Echo, Wrecker following behind them. Echo stopped a few feet from her, getting a good look. She was sitting with her legs crossed, like most children did, with her hands in her lap clasped together. Her posture wasn't rigid but it definitely wasn't relaxed, similar to a clone at attention. Her face was void of emotion, a simple frown on her lips and her eyes staring at the wall with a haze in them. She was breathing, Echo noted.

"I've seen this before." Echo whispered.

Hunter and Tech were struggling to stay still, "What?" Hunter whispered back.

"In the 501st one of our Generals had this happen, occasionally."

Tech didn't like not knowing what this was, "What is 'this'?"

Echo took a breath, "She's not here."

"What do you mean she's not here?" Hunter spat, in a hushed voice.

"Her mind isn't here," Echo repeated, "Her mind is somewhere else."

Tech ran through the words through his brain, relaxing when his brain provided a result. "You mean like meditation?"

Echo shrugged, "The Generals never said the difference, simply told us how to handle the situation."

Wrecker gave Echo a pat on the back, "Well, go handle it." He whispered.

Echo quietly walked forward, kneeling to a crouch beside Omega's chair. She didn't even register him there, which he'll admit concerned him slightly. What did the only Generals use to say... 1) Try speaking first, 2) Try motion in front of eyes if open, 3) tap lightly on the shoulder, 4) if you're desperate just grab their shoulders and shake them.

Echo cleared his throat, nerves on edge when she didn't respond at all. "Omega?" He whispered, not wanting to startle her.

Nothing.

"Omega." He said louder, in a normal voice.

Nothing.

He raised his hand and waved it in front of her eyes, watching for any sign she saw them. Nothing, her eyes didn't track his hand at all nor make any recognition it was there.

He raised his hand and tapped her shoulder softly, trying to recall more information from his time in the 501st. Lots of the Jedi had moments like this, where they were lost to reality. They would sit and stare at nothing, or if their eyes were closed just sit there for ages as if the world around them was gone. Many of them did this when they needed to relax, to forget what had just happened, others had this happen accidentally.

Omega blinked, Echo watched as her eyes were instantly clear, she looked at him confused. "What's wrong?" She whispered.

Echo let a breath out, "Kid, where were you just now?"

Omega tilted her head, "I've been sitting here the whole time... I fell asleep I think."

Echo shook his head, "You weren't asleep kiddo, you were talking to Wrecker before remember?"

She stared and thought, she had been talking to Wrecker. He had actually been mid-sentence talking to her when she felt something-

"Omega," Echo spoke, regaining her attention, "What happened?"

"I was talking to Wrecker," She began, letting her brain function on autopilot as it recalled the events, "Then I felt something and I saw people..." Her voice faded off after that as if she were recalling more than she wanted to.

Echo nodded, "What people?"

"Sad people," She whispered.

"What did you feel?"

Omega thought hard, the feeling had been strange, it was almost as if she were connected at that moment to those people but then again she hadn't been. She could feel their sadness and grief yet she didn't have sadness nor grief in her heart.

"It was sad..." She mumbled, trying to put it to words, "I was holding someone's hand." She mentioned.

"Who?"

Omega's face scrunched in confusion, "I don't know, they held my hand while we walked. They had a pretty voice."

Tech, Hunter, and Wrecker were panicking. Hunter had just assumed the kid was asleep with her eyes open but Echo kept asking questions and Omega kept giving specific answers that wouldn't add up to dreaming. Tech was digging through his brain files for information, why was this the one time his brain drew a blank. Wrecker was concerned, he didn't understand any of this and it made him anxious.

"What was their voice like?" Echo continued asking, letting his brain remember the old Jedi Generals and their wisdom.

Omega smiled, "It was a deep voice," She yawned, "They said I shouldn't be scared."

Echo nodded his head, picking her up as he stood, striding to her bed. He tucked her in and gave her hair a quick ruffle, "Goodnight Ad'ika." He whispered.

He turned and stared at the rest of the Batch, their eyes wide and confused. He motioned back to the cockpit, following in behind them.

"She had a vision." He said aloud.

"A vision?" Hunter repeated.

Tech's face visibly relaxed, "A vision, of course, why didn't I think of that."

Wrecker cleared his throat, "What's a vision?"

"Lots of my Generals would get them," Echo informed, "They'd have moments like that, sometimes it'd last longer. Some of them would even speak aloud while they had them. Our Commander Ahsoka explained to us that visions were part of the force, it was the force's way of showing you something you needed to see, showing you what the force wanted you to see. She said sometimes they mean nothing but other times they can mean everything."

"What do we do with this now?" Hunter voiced.

Echo shrugged, "The Commander would just sit and have them, she didn't like to be disturbed when she had them. When it was over sometimes she'd tell us, other times she kept to herself. She usually only told us if it was important though."

"Might I advise," Tech offered, noting everyone nodding, "We should teach Omega to voice when she has these 'visions' that way we can try and help her."

Wrecker nodded, "And now we know what it looks like when she has them,"

Echo nodded, "Probably for the best if she tells us, I'm not the best when it comes to 'Force Knowledge' but I have worked with many Jedi's so I can at least help in some ways."

Hunter took a breath, "Alright. So, let's get this straight." He cleared his throat, "Omega had a vision, we don't know if it means anything because the 'force shows you want it wants you to see', We want her to tell us when she has one so we can help her understand it better, and we have no idea if these visions are important because we're not Jedi?"

Everyone nodded.

Chapter Text

Thank you for all the responses to the questions I asked early on in this series of ‘Dad Batch’ chapters. I finally decided what I’m going to do.

1) I’m going to keep Crosshair out for now (there may be a few stories with him but I’m going to try and keep it semi canon and have him elsewhere until we know more in the upcoming episodes)

2) I’m going to write Omega as a Force Sensitive Clone, not a Force User. (She has no Jedi to train her on how to use it anyway and also she does seem to demonstrate some sort of slight ‘force’ relation in the show, if they disprove this in the upcoming episodes I’ll write her character the right way don’t worry)

3) Mando’a will be used through the fics and I will provide pronunciation and translation at the end of the chapters in the end notes

4) Times. I have been updating this almost daily since I’ve started the series, that would make it about 19-20 days of solid writing and posting. I’m going to take some time in between posts from now on, that way I don’t burn out all of the good ideas too soon.

I wanted to let all of you know this that way there wouldn’t be anyone disappointed or confused. Please remember I do this for people to enjoy, but I also do this for myself to enjoy. Be sure to read the end notes.

Chapter Text

1) Wrecker

Omega was sitting in her spot, the place Wrecker had made for her, the place she felt the safest and most comfortable on the ship. She didn't understand, what was a 'bounty hunter' and why was she a 'target', none of it made sense. Why would they be after her, what had she done that was wrong? Echo had said the war being over was good depending on who's side you were on, who's side were they on?

She slipped down the ladder quietly, noting how most members were asleep, deciding to ask whoever was on the first watch the question. She snuck silently past the slumbering members, Tech, Echo, and Hunter were all asleep. That would mean Wrecker was on the first watch. She took a breath and strode in, making sure Wrecker heard her.

He spun in his chair with a smile, "What're ya doing up kid?"

Omega smiled back, walking to stand beside his chair, "I have a question."

Wrecker picked her up and spun the chair so they were facing the window, the hyperspace being their main light source, "Go ahead kid, I'll try to answer it."

Omega thought for a moment, snuggling into Wrecker's side, making sure the question was worded correctly in her mind. "What's a bounty hunter and why am I their target?"

Wrecker took a deep breath, struggling to find the correct answer. He could tell her what happened, why they were being hunted, why they wanted her specifically, and everything... but that was so much for a kid to deal with, actually, it was a lot for anyone to deal with let alone a child.

"Well kid," He began, "A bounty hunter is someone who is paid to capture people."

"Bad people?" She asked quietly.

"Most of the time." He answered.

"Are we bad people?" She whispered, eyelids drooping slightly.

Wrecker frowned, he didn't think so but he never had good judgment, but he knew Omega was a good kid. "Nah kid, we're the good guys."

Omega nodded against his side, "'kay." She whispered, letting herself fall asleep.

2) Echo

Echo was sitting on his small bunk, well if you could call it that, as he adjusted his prosthetic. He was so focused he didn't notice Omega walk up to him.

"Echo?" She whispered, not wanting to startle him.

Echo blinked, lifting his head and looking at her, a smile covering his face. "Hey, Something wrong?"

Omega shifted on her feet, she'd already asked Wrecker but she couldn't quite remember what he'd said, she'd fallen asleep. She knew he had said they hunted bad people.

"Omega?" Echo asked quietly, regaining her attention, "What's up?" He patted the spot beside him.

Omega jumped to sit beside him, letting her gaze rest on the floor. "Do bounty hunters hunt bad people?"

Echo sat down the screwdriver he was holding, "Most of the time yes."

Omega looked up at him, tilting her head, "Not all the time?"

"Sometimes they get confused, they don't get the right information." Echo explained, trying to remember he was talking to a child.

"Are we bad guys?"

Echo stared at her, the genuine concern and fear in them, the fear of being a bad person. He didn't hesitate, "No, We're good guys."

She broke eye contact to look at the floor, "Why am I a target?" She asked in a hushed voice.

Echo put his arm around her shoulder, "Because the galaxy is confused right now," He settled, "They don't know who's good and who's bad."

She nodded her head, this wasn't the explanation she was expecting but it made sense.

3) Hunter

Omega was sitting in the co-pilot's seat, lost in thought once again, letting hyperspace comfort her.

"Omega?" Hunter asked from the doorway.

Omega startled, spinning in the chair with wide eyes. Hunter raised his hands up, "Hey." He said quietly, walking and kneeling by the chair.

"I didn't mean to scare ya kid." He offered, resting a hand on her shoulder, "You're shaking."

Omega blinked, "Oh."

Hunter hadn't noticed how cold the ship was, his armor-weave keeping him warm most of the time. He had forgotten how cold space was. He picked her up, "Whatcha thinking about kid?"

She wrapped her arms around his neck, nuzzling into the crook, "Are bounty hunters bad?"

Hunter shrugged, making sure not to jostle her, "Not all of them, most of them are just trying to make a living."

"Was she bad?"

Hunter thought for a moment, that woman grabbing Omega and using her as leverage, dropping her from that tower onto that truck.

"She didn't seem good," Hunter said aloud.

Omega nodded, "Was she going to stab you?"

Hunter felt her tighten her grip on his neck, "Nah, I wouldn't have let her."

Omega was clinging to him now, it was obvious she wouldn't let go anytime soon. He strode to his small bunk, leaning against the wall, pulling a blanket over them.

"Are all bounty hunters scary?" Omega muttered.

Hunter rubbed circles on her back, "Not all of them are scary."

Omega nodded against his shoulder, he didn't mind the fact that she needed some time to think about what had happened. It was a lot to process that he wished she didn't have to process.

4) Tech

Tech was tinkering on some new tech he planned on using, it was similar to a droid except it would be built into a piece of armor. He didn't realize how long he'd been working until Omega came walking up to him holding a ration bar.

"You've been here a while." Omega offered the ration bar.

He smiled, taking the rations bar and sitting it beside him.

"What're you making?" Omega asked, eyes locked on the circuit panel.

Tech explained it in good old 'Tech' fashion, he didn't leave out any detail on why the circuits have to be wired this way, Omega took it in and thought.

"So it'll help you in the field when you're trying to hack?" She bounced back.

He nodded his head, "Indeed it will. Especially when we're on the run."

"Like yesterday?"

He thought for a moment, her tone was slightly off, "Yes, similar to yesterday."

He looked over, deciding to put the work on hold. "Is something wrong, Miss Omega?"

She stared at him, "She was going to hurt you guys..." She whispered, dropping her gaze to the floor.

Tech didn't bother speaking, he knew by the look on her face there was more she needed to say.

"She dropped me..." She forced out, chest heaving, "It was scary."

Tech slid out of his chair, sitting on the floor on his knees, "I know."

"She-" sniffle. "She didn't care."

Tech watched Omega's wall break, finally crying after the horrible events of the previous day. He pulled her into a hug, "I understand your fears."

"It was very scary, you were very brave out there." Tech encouraged, "You thought on your feet."

He ran a hand through her hair, "I can promise you this, no bounty hunter will hurt you while we're here."

Omega sniffled against his shoulder, leaning back to look at him with teary eyes, raising her hand. "Pinky promise?"

Tech smiled, "Promise."

Omega cried until she had no tears left, then she fell asleep in Tech's lap while he worked on his circuits. He didn't bother getting up, he had work to do and she was comfortable. He'd have to discuss this whole 'Bounty Hunter' business with the rest of them, develop a better way of keeping her safe.

Chapter Text

Omega was bouncing on her heels, holding the flashlight tightly, "What're we looking for again, Tech?"

Tech was staring at some markings along the wall, noting how they resembled claw marks, "We're looking for a special mineral, only found in cave systems."

Omega nodded, "What're those things on the wall?"

The tech shrugged, "Could be many things, animal markings, people markings, ship markings, hard to tell without proper investigation equipment." He motioned for her to follow him as they began walking further into the cave, the area around them darkening as they got further from the entrance.

"What kind of animals?" Omega finally spoke, making sure to walk beside Tech so she could feel his presence.

"Many animals live in caves, Acid Lizards, Kradaks, Squill, it depends on the planet and the cave."

Omega nodded, taking in the information. She shuffled slightly closer to Tech, their sides now barely brushing as they walked, she kept scanning with the flashlight.

"Are they mean?" She whispered.

Tech wanted to answer quickly and honestly but he felt a tug on his heart telling him to answer reassuringly, "Most of them aren't mean, lots of them are territorial, just very protective of their homes."

Omega sighed in relief, "That's good."

They'd been walking for a while now, Omega staying close to Tech's side while he eyed the walls for the mineral he was searching for. It was a highly-priced Mineral, one they could sell on the market and make enough credits to last them a few planet-hops at least. He chuckled in relief when he saw the shine of said mineral across the way on the wall.

"There it is," Tech announced, "That's big enough to get double what I was going to ask for."

"That's great!" Omega excitedly added.

He strode over to it, pulling it out of the wall with ease, surprised it was buried deep. He turned around with a larger smile, "Now we can leave."

The flashlight flickered, once, twice, then went out, leaving them in darkness. Not just darkness, complete darkness. Omega couldn't see her hand, no matter how close to her face she put it. She didn't like this... She couldn't see anything... She couldn't feel anything other than the ground beneath her feet and the faint breeze coming from the distant cave entrance. She didn't like this. She didn't- "Tech?" She urged out, clutching the dead flashlight in her hand tightly.

"Omega, I'm still right here. I will walk to you, hold still." Tech offered, walking towards her voice.

Tech held his hand out, finding her shoulder and holding it, not mentioning the fact that she jumped. "Alright, time to go hmm?"

He took the mineral and put it in his small pack, making sure it was secure. Without waste he took Omega's hand, noting how tightly she was holding onto his, and began leading them the way he assumed was the way out.

"Once we are out we can-" Tech began only to be cut off by a loud hiss, that echoed through the cave.

Omega had stopped cold, frozen in her spot, holding Tech's hand tighter. "Tech?" She whispered.

"Not to worry, I'm sure we'll be fine if we keep moving." He whispered back, leading her slowly.

As they walked in silence they could hear faint clicking, like claws on a hard surface, as well as quiet hisses and growls. Omega was shaking, not just shaking, she was shaking to the point Tech could feel her hand shaking as he was walking. Tech wasn't going to admit it aloud but he was nervous, he didn't have any source of light and he only had his blaster pistol, not exactly what he needed to get them out of a bad situation. If the rest of the group heard the shooting and fighting it would still take them several minutes to get to them.

"The breeze is much cooler than it was before," Tech whispered, "We're getting closer."

Omega felt something, it was like something looking at the back of her head, she squeezed Tech's hand, "Tech..." She whispered, "Something's behind us..."

Tech cleared his throat, knowing they'd have to stop, outrunning whatever wasn't an option. He stopped and stood between Omega and what he assumed was behind them, the darkness not really helping his sense of direction. He tapped his goggles, deciding to test out the new thermal scan he'd just added recently. He could see the heat radiating off the creature, the outline large and fuzzy, possibly the fault of his goggles not being properly adjusted, but it was approaching them at a slow speed.

Omega had let go of his hand, switching to hold onto his leg instead, staring at the blank darkness.

Tech silently reached and pulled out his blaster pistol, palming it in one hand while reaching to rest his other hand atop Omega's head. He watched the creature stop approaching, instead, it stood about 15 feet from them, simply breathing and staring. Tech could feel his heart racing, he didn't do the shooting and fighting most of the time, he was the tech junkie, he simply sat back and did the hacking while the others would fight.

The creature hissed, almost as if it were a question. He felt his heart race faster as he saw a second heat signature appear beside the creature and stop, two creatures then... His blaster pistol wouldn't be able to hand two of them, he wouldn't be quick enough to handle both of them.

Omega hid her face behind Tech's leg, unable to hide the now audible sniffle, "I'm scared..." She choked out quietly.

Tech took a breath, "So am I..."

One creature approached, Tech gripped his blaster tighter, while tightening his grip on Omega as well. The creature stopped, tilting what he assumed was its head.

"Backup slowly, if I say run then run as fast as you can ok?" Tech whispered, feeling Omega nod her head.

"What about you?" She sniffled.

Tech let out a humorless chuckle, "I have the weapon."

The creature approached again, this time with more determined steps. Under its heavy breathing, there was growling, aggressive growling. Tech patted Omega's head one good time, "Run." He whispered.

Omega squeezed his leg one last time and took off running, he didn't dare look back at her as he began firing at the closest creature. Blaster shots were echoing through the caves, filling the creeping silence with loud blasts, Tech watched the first creature fall and spun on his heels. The second creature's heat source was showing it chasing Omega, he took off after them both.

Omega was running, not just running, she was sprinting as fast as he tiny legs could go. The darkness wasn't in her favor, her foot hung a rock, just enough to make her trip and tumble to a stop. She quickly sat up and began backing away from the hissing noise that was growing louder and louder. She felt like she couldn't back up quick enough, her back hitting the wall, leaving her between it and the creature. She did the only thing left she could do, she cried. She broke down and sobbed, the creature still hissing and growling as she continued to cry.

Tech aimed his blaster and fired, hitting the creature in the side of the head, watching it fall to collapse beside Omega. He didn't waste time sliding to sit beside her. "Are you hurt?" He urged, grabbing her shoulders gently.

She shook her head and kept sobbing, voice lost to the tears. He picked her up and began walking, he knew the exit was up ahead. Omega clung to his neck, sobbing into his shoulder. He couldn't explain the relief he felt when he saw the rest of the Bad Batch running towards them with flashlights and their weapons were drawn ready for action.

"Are you guys hurt?" Echo quickly spat out.

Tech shook his head, "No," he said with a sigh of pure relief, "We're ok."

Omega strode into the cockpit, clutching Lula tightly in her arms. She quickly stepped to stand beside Tech, who was typing on a datapad. He raised his gaze to look at her, offering a smile, he sat the datapad down. "Something wrong?"

"Can... Can you turn on the lights in my room?" She whispered, holding Lula closer.

Tech nodded, standing to follow behind her, "Sure."

"I'm not afraid of the dark..." She quickly spoke it out, "Lula. Lula was afraid..."

Tech almost spoke, almost spilled useless facts about how stuffed animals couldn't feel, and that she was probably the one who was afraid of the dark and was using the Lula to cope, but, he didn't. This was one of those moments he was ok with not spilling the facts.

"Well, let's make sure Lula doesn't have to be afraid." Tech softly whispered, clicking the switch to turn the lights on.

Tech smiled as Omega climbed into the makeshift bed, still holding Lula tightly.

"Goodnight, Omega." Tech offered, beginning to descend back down the ladder.

Omega grabbed his arm, eyes wide with panic, "Please stay." She urged.

Tech cleared his throat, looking at the tears in her eyes, "Of course, Ad'ika."

He climbed back so he was sitting beside her, legs crossed, he didn't make a sound as she crawled over and rested her head in his lap, holding his arm with one hand and Lula with the other. He definitely wasn't embarrassed when the rest of the Bad Batch woke and found him holding Omega in his arms, fast asleep.

Chapter Text

Hunter froze where he stood, eyes scanning the ground ahead of them, noting the small craters scattered around here and there. He took a breath, "Tech?" He spoke into his communicator.

"Yes?"

Hunter glanced to make sure Omega was beside him, she was to his relief standing close to his leg eyeing the beautiful landscape. "Does this planet have craters?"

Silence for a moment then finally, "No, this planet is not known to be cratered."

"That's what I thought," Hunter mumbled, "I think we found an old battlefield."

Tech cleared his throat, "It wouldn't be unlikely, this planet was one of the more heavily affected by war."

Hunter slid the communicator back into his pocket, turning to face Omega, "I need you to follow exactly what I say and do ok?"

Omega looked up at him, face morphing from a smile to a serious frown, "Ok."

"This is a dangerous place, lots of mines."

"What are mines?" Omega asked curiously.

Of course, she didn't know, she's not a soldier, she's never been seen battlefields, she's just a kid, she's a kid...

"Mines are explosives, that make big explosions when you get too close." He watched her face fall, "No need to worry, we'll be fine."

Hunter gave her a quick nod and turned to face the field, letting his hyper-awareness take over. Silently he stepped forward, beginning to weave through the area. He stepped out the other side, quickly spinning to look at Omega.

She stood shaking, obviously unsure of how to move, eyes scanning the ground wishing she could see the mines.

"Hey, Hey," Hunter urged, gaining her attention, "Focus on me, Focus on what I say ok?"

Omega nodded, wrapping her arms tightly across her chest and clinging to her shirt.

"Step forward, 4 steps."

Omega followed his orders, slowly making her way across the field, eyes locked on Hunter's to avoid panic. Alas, their calm moment was short-lived as a bird flew down, flying to rest a few feet from Omega on the ground. Their eyes both fell onto the bird, unable to stop the sudden panic as beeping began to fill the air.

"RUN!" Hunter screamed, rushing towards Omega.

Omega was sprinting towards him, panicking.

Just as they reached each other the bomb exploded, flinging them through the air and into darkness.

Echo shifted in his seat, noting the faint distant boom, he turned to eye Tech. "Was that a bomb?"

Tech raised his eyes, clearly at unease as he grabbed his communicator, "Hunter, are you two alright?"

Neither one could hide the slightly horrified expression when they didn't receive an answer.

Hunter rolled onto his back, opening his eyes with a groan, he stared up at the sky for a moment recollecting the events that had just transpired. He quickly rolled to his knees, eyes darting across the ground, "Omega?" He whispered.

There she was, lying a few feet from him on her stomach. He didn't waste time crawling to sit beside her, resting a hand on her shoulder, "Omega?"

She took a deep breath and grumbled, cracking her eyes open to look at him, brow furrowed.

"Where are you hurt?" He urged, carefully lifting her to sit in his lap.

She stared at him, eyes switching from confusion to panic in a flash, "I can't hear you..." She whispered, breath speeding up, "I-I can't hear anything..."

Hunter took her face in his hand, forcing eye contact, trying to calm her. He took her hand, writing onto her palm, 'I-T O-K-A-Y' He wrote.

Omega took a breath, "Are-Are you hurt?" Omega whispered, voice barely audible.

Hunter shook his head, of course, she would be worried about him while she was the one who couldn't hear anything. He stood with her in his arms, letting her tuck her head into the crook of his neck, playing with his hair to calm herself.

Hunter fished the communicator out of his pocket, noting how Tech was frantically calling his and Omega's name. "We're here." He offered.

"Are you hurt?" Echo urged.

"I'm fine, one of the mines went off and Omega can't hear anything, otherwise she seems ok."

Tech sat back on his heels, offering Omega a smile. He spoke very slowly hoping she could read his lips but mainly directed it to the rest of the Bad Batch. "She is ok, Temporary Hearing Loss is common, it should come back in a few days."

Each sighed with relief, except Omega, who obviously hadn't understood what Tech said. "Am I broken?" She asked quietly.

Tech faced her, unable to hide the fact that his heart had shattered slightly, "No," He shook his head, taking her hand. 'Y-O-U H-E-A-R S-O-O-N'

Her face relaxed, "Ok." She whispered again, obviously not able to tell how softly she was talking.

Tech stared for a moment, an idea blossoming in his head, he held her hand and spelled carefully, 'Y-O-U K-N-O-W S-I-G-N-S?"

Omega tilted her head, thinking, then her face faded to understanding, "I know signs!" She nodded, voice much louder than expected.

Tech felt a wave of relief wash over him, of course, she knew signs. She grew on on Kamino with nobody but medical mentors to look up to and droids, she spent all of her time learning and studying.

Tech raised his hands, 'How You Feel' He signed slowly, making sure she understood. Unable to hide the smile of relief when she signed back, 'Good'

Tech looked to the rest of the Bad Batch, "Do you remember any of the signs I taught you a while back?"

Each one offered a nod, Wrecker looked very proud and excited, "Ya! I remember!" He urged, kneeling in front of Omega beside Tech.

'You Hungry' He signed, making sure his face expressed the fact it was a question, at her nod he continued signing, 'Follow Me, We eat' He smiled as she signed, 'Ok' and followed him.

"Wow..." Echo felt stunned, "Wrecker remembered more than I thought he would."

"He smarter than we give him credit for," Hunter agreed, directing back at Tech, "Show us more signs, things we need to know."

Hunter, Echo, and Tech sat there for an hour practicing signs, making sure each one was done properly. Wrecker and Omega were sitting in the Cockpit signing back and forth happily, Omega laughing as Wrecker told her a story. Each member of the Bad Batch filtered in, slowly making their way to sit in seats around the place.

Omega yawned, letting her shoulders relax as she continued to watch Wrecker's hands as he signed the story more. Eventually, Wrecker sat back, 'Go Bed' He signed to her with a smile.

'Good night' She spoke aloud, signing as she spoke.

Each member, to her surprise, signed back with a smile. She smiled wider and quickly signed, she pointed to herself with one finger then brought her arms to an x across her chest, then pointed at all of them in a sweeping motion before quickly retreating to her bed.

"What did she sign Tech?" Echo questioned, noting the amused look on his face.

Wrecker had his eyes locked with Tech, unable to his own smile.

"Well, come on, what was it?" Hunter encouraged.

"She signed, 'I love you all'..." Tech offered.

The bad batch rested easy that night, unable to hide the smiles as they all drifted to sleep. Omega woke up with her hearing back, though slightly muffled, she could hear when they spoke louder on purpose. She couldn't help but notice the way they'd sign things when she didn't hear them properly, by the time her hearing was back to normal they had all been signing rather than speaking anyway.

Chapter Text

1) Tech

Tech didn't handle Emotions as well as most people, he simply kept them in the back of his mind while he worked. Emotions weren't logical, they didn't follow set rules, all they ever do is get in the way of functioning properly in hectic moments. He can't help the sadness though, it's been creeping on him since they left Kamino, left Crosshair. He can't help the fact that in moments like this when all is quiet and everyone is asleep, his emotions hit him full force. He doesn't mind letting his emotions have moments where they take over so long as it's when nobody else is around. With the humming of the ship and the sound of Wrecker's loud snoring, he doesn't mind sniffling and crying.

"Tech?" Omega whispered, startling the man from his thoughts.

Tech sat up straight, wiping his eyes and clearing his throat, "Omega," Curse his voice cracking.

Omega was still holding Lula in her arm as she walked towards him, one hand rubbing sleepily at her eyes, "Are you ok?" She asked her Kaminoan Accent thick.

Tech cleared his throat again, "I am fine," He assured, although the fact that his face was red and stained with tears probably didn't help his point.

Omega stared at him, eyelids droopy, only now noticing he wasn't wearing his goggles. His brown eyes were bloodshot and tears still threatened to fall.

"Are you sure?" Omega muttered, knowing even in her half-asleep state he obviously wasn't fine.

"Yes." He quickly spoke, "I apologize for waking you, you can go-" He was cut off by the sudden feeling of arms wrapping around his neck.

Omega had dropped Lula and embraced Tech, holding him tightly. "It's ok," She offered, voice slightly slurred with sleep, "You can be sad."

Tech felt his breath hitch as he brought his arms up to hug her, he held her close and let himself cry. This was the first time he had cried in a long time, this was the first time he cried and someone comforted him in a long time. Once he had finished crying they sat in the hug for a while longer, until he was sure Omega had fallen asleep. Without waste he picked her up, making sure to snag Lula off the ground, and tucked her into bed. He couldn't voice the relief he felt when Omega didn't bring it up the next day, the fact that she gave Tech a knowing smile and simply let the previous night's moments go made him happier than he'd been in a while.

2) Wrecker

Wrecker was tossing and turning on his bed, trapped within the realm of a nightmare. Explosions were everywhere, screaming echoing, not to mention the constant sound of blasters. He stared in horror as a droid stood face to face with him, blaster in hand, muttering something about 'say goodbye' as it shot. He jumped from the cot, clinging to his blanket. Everyone was asleep, even Echo who was on the first watch was asleep in the cockpit. Wrecker laid back down and brought his hands to his eyes, wiping the stray tear away. He continued to stare at the ceiling, noting the sound of tapping that was approaching.

He cleared his throat and rolled his head to the side, taking in the sideways form of Omega, "Hey, Kid."

Omega didn't say anything, she simply stood for a moment then moved towards him. She retucked his blanket around him, making sure it wasn't too tight, just like they'd do for her on most nights. She knelt beside his head and tucked Lula against his chest wordlessly, making sure the blanket covered his shoulders.

"Thanks." He offered, reaching over to pat her shoulder gently.

Omega stood for a moment, grabbing his hand and squeezing it for reassurance before tucking it back under the blanket, she gave him a quick pat on the arm before striding off back to bed.

Wrecker held Lula close and smiled, their kid was amazing.

3) Hunter

Hunter sat back in his chair, letting his head look up at the ceiling, today had been too close. That bounty hunter knew too much about them, not to mention the fact they almost got Omega killed, it was too close. Hunter wouldn't admit it aloud but watching Omega fall from that truck nearly broke him right then, the only thing keeping him from breaking down at that moment was the sudden clone instinct kicking in. He had no trouble saying that having a kid was making him soft, but admitting that thinking about their life without the kid made his heart seize up was harder.

He glanced over at the rest of the sleeping Bad Batch, Echo was propped against Wrecker as they both snored while Tech was asleep on the floor where he had been working on some sort of new technology. He glanced and noticed Omega sitting beside Tech, head using his arm as a pillow.

Hunter huffed out a breath and sat forward, dropping his head to his hands, unable to suppress the shudder that came through his shoulders. His brain replaying the scene of Omega falling, it kept replaying her panicked face and the fact that she thought she was going to die, the fact that he thought she was going to die. His hyper-awareness was too focused on his thoughts that he didn't even notice Omega get up and walk over. He didn't notice her standing beside him with her head tilted as his breath came quickly.

"Hunter?" She whispered, not wanting to startle him.

Hunter quickly lifted his head, staring at Omega's face, without hesitation he pulled her into a hug. She startled for a moment before raising her arms to hug him, rubbing her hand up and down his back between his shoulder blades. She didn't speak, she simply let him hug her for as long as he needed.

Hunter listened with his advanced hearing, listened to her breathing and heart beating, it was all he needed right now. He simply needed reassurance that she was here, that she was ok, that he saved her in time. He'd have to keep a better eye on her, keep her close by so she'd stay safe. Omega shifted her arms so she was hugging his neck instead of his chest, playing with his hair while he slowly relaxed. By the time they broke the hug Omega had braided his hair, not the best braid but still a braid. Hunter smiled at her, noting the tiredness behind her concern.

"Thank you," He began only to be cut off by her shaking her head.

She took a breath, "'s okay," She muttered, offering a smile.

Hunter ruffled her hair, "Off to bed."

He watched her climb into bed, holding Lula tightly as she drifted off. Hunter huffed a small chuckle, glancing back at the sleeping Bad Batch, it was ok, they were all ok now.

4) Echo

Echo shifted where he sat, everyone had left to gather supplies leaving him and Omega on the ship. Omega was up in her room talking to Lula, leaving Echo alone in the cockpit. He didn't like to be alone much, it always brought back bad memories, he usually had a task to keep him busy. He stared at the flashing panels around the room, trying not to get lost in thought. Alas, it didn't work that way, his thoughts caught up to him. Fading between moments in the 501st to moments after the explosion and the Techno Union, his brain was lost to the world. He didn't even realize he was panicking, didn't realize he was now sitting on the floor with his arms wrapped around his legs shaking.

Omega had heard him drop, without waste she evacuated her room and rushed in, staring at the now-shaking Echo. She quickly surged forward, dropping to kneel in front of him, noting how his eyes were glazed over. "Echo?" She quickly spat out.

Echo didn't say anything simply shook and gripped his leg tighter with his good hand.

Omega reached out, letting her hand hover a few inches from him, not wanting to freak him out, "Echo," She spoke calmly, "It's Omega."

Echo's head turned slightly towards her, eyes slightly less glassy, but he still shook horribly.

"You're safe," She continued, trying to remember how Nala handled panicking patients on Kamino, "We're ok."

Echo's eyes seemed to fade back to normal, the haze seeming to disappear as he stared at Omega.

"No one is gonna hurt you," Omega gave a small smile, "I promise."

Echo willed himself to stop shaking, clearing his throat, unable to hide the slight embarrassment he felt now. "I'm sorry-"

Omega quickly put her hand up, similar to Hunter, to stop him. "Don't apologize." Omega assured him, "You have nothing to be sorry for, I get scared too."

Echo smiled, feeling his anxiety slowly fade, "Thank you." He offered instead.

Omega smiled wider, "Do you wanna come to play with me and Lula?" She asked excitedly as she stood.

Echo stared at her, unable to say no to her pure excitement, "Sure."

+1) Omega

Today had been rough, they'd been trekking through the rain and mud all day trying to find a specific type of fruit. Tech had mentioned how it'd sell for over 2000 credits if they could find it, so of course, they started looking. Hunter decided to call off the search as he heard the faint sound of thunder, telling them they could always search after the storm has passed. They were all spread out in the Havoc, Wrecker sitting on his bunk cleaning his weapons. Echo sitting at the Nav computer adjusting his prosthetics. Tech was sitting in the cockpit, checking the ship's systems once again, while Hunter stood by the door watching the storm roll past. Omega was laying up in her bed, having fallen asleep on the way back from the search.

Hunter watched the sudden bright flash of lightning, knowing fully well how loud the thunder would be. Within a few seconds, the thunder roared, feeling as though it would shake the earth beneath the ship. Omega tossed in her bed as the thunder became steadier and quicker, each one of the members deciding to wake her up if the tossing got much worse. A loud crash of thunder shook the ship slightly, mostly due to the fact that Wrecker had startled a bit and jumped. All heads shot up when Omega let out a panicked squeak, falling from her bed and slamming onto the ground.

Hunter reached her first, picking her up off the ground and into his arms. Echo was beside him, scanning for apparent injuries noting none. Wrecker had surged forward, unsure of what had happened. Tech was standing on the opposite side of Echo, simply watching and calculating.

"Hey, Hey, it's ok," Hunter assured as she sniffled, scrubbing her hands over her tear-filled eyes.

Another crash of thunder echoed overhead, causing her to cry out again as she clung to Hunter's shoulder, burying her fast into his chest.

"Omega, can you tell us what's wrong?" Echo encouraged quietly.

Omega sniffled, going to speak only to be interrupted by the thunder crashing once more, just as quickly as her head was raised it was hidden once more.

"It would appear the thunder is startling Omega." Tech offered, "Causing Panic and Fear."

Wrecker glanced around, "What can we do to help?" He whispered not to quietly to Tech.

"Treatment for Panic and Fear depends on the individual, some studies show keeping their mind off it helps while others show talking it out helps." Tech relayed the information, letting his brain figure out a solution, "If the Thunder is what is causing this then we should eliminate the sound."

Echo glanced up from Omega's shaking form, "And how do you suggest we do that?" He asked slightly sarcastically but mostly out of concern.

"We need to make a louder noise, something that isn't startling," Tech informed.

"Just one more round, friend, Then homeward bound, friend." Tech sang, startling all of the other members except Omega, who turned her head to look at him. "Don't forget me in your dreams. Just one more song, friend, And then so long, friend."

"The nights get shorter it seems." Echo joined in, noting how easily she was now relaxing,  "Just one more rhyme, friend. Yes, it's a crime, friend."

Wrecker joined in, keeping his voice softer and deeper, "But you know time, friend. Time can fly. So it's goodnight, friend. Goodnight—but not goodbye."

Hunter grumbled slightly but joined in, "Just one more drop, friend, Before we stop, friend: One more moment face to face."

Omega offered a tired smile, snuggling against Hunter's chest as they all sang,

"Next time you're dry, friend, Try stopping by, friend, If there's a light in the place. We may not thrive, friend, But we survive, friend. Look, we're alive, friend: You and I. So say goodnight, friend. Goodnight—but not goodbye."

"Just one more dance, friend. Just one more chance, friend: One more chorus, one more tune." There was a faint hint of sadness in their voices as they sang, each one unable to stop the silent creeping memory of Crosshair singing this song with them one night when he'd drank a little much.

"It's not the end, friend, If you're a friend, friend, Then you'll come back to me soon, But it's too late, pal, To celebrate, pal. You'll have to wait, pal. Don't you cry. Now, it's goodnight, friend. Goodnight friend. Goodnight friend."

All eyes fell onto the now sleeping Omega, still clinging to Hunter but her face had relaxed immensely.

Tech cleared his throat, "Well,"

Each member had now averted their eyes, from embarrassment and sadness.

"It is good to know she's afraid of Thunder," Echo muttered, reaching across Hunter to move some hair from her face.

Wrecker cleared his throat, "Ya, good to know we can make her feel better too."

Hunter brought his gaze back down to look at Omega, "Yeah, we'll have to learn more songs..." He muttered.

Tech smiled, "I already have a database full, I'll send them to your datapads to start memorizing." He cheerfully stood, giving one last glance to Omega before striding off.

Echo cleared his throat, "I've gotta fix my arm..." He tore his gaze from Omega and stood, sitting back in his chair.

Wrecker stretched his arms, "I'm going to bed." He smiled at Omega and went to his small bunk.

Hunter sat against the wall, still holding Omega. The thunder had died down now, it was faint enough he could only hear it when he listened for it. He couldn't stop the faint smile that crossed his face.

Chapter Text

"It's an easy mission" Intel had said, "You'll get double what I'm paying if you bring the item back undamaged."

They couldn't pass up money, especially not now with a bounty hunter on their tail. It had been a very smooth mission so far, almost too smooth. They had retrieved the object in question, a small gem in a spherical shape, and were making their way through a canyon.

"It's a shortcut," Tech assured as they walked, "It leads right out by our ship."

Omega was striding beside Wrecker, chatting about the small creature she had seen earlier when they landed. It was most likely the planet's version of a cat but Wrecker listened intently, mimicking her excitement. He would nod and ask about its color and size, letting her explain in full detail everything about it, which to their surprise was a lot of detail she'd noticed.

"Did you hear that?" Hunter asked, stopping to look around.

Everyone stopped to listen, noting the very faint rumbling. All eyes scanned the canyon, looking for the source, noting how there was no one in sight other than a few bird-like creatures. No one was prepared for the side of the canyon to crumble away, flinging rocks down the side like a snowball on a hill. Wrecker grabbed Omega and turned his back to the incoming debris.

The rest of the Bad Batch watched in horror as Wrecker and Omega disappeared beneath the mountain of rocks, staring in shock.

"oH-" Hunter shouted, words unavailable.

The Bad Batch surged forward and began throwing rocks, trying to dig them out.

Wrecker blinked his eyes open, unable to shake the heavyweight on his back, only now realizing what had happened. He was on his hands and knees, with Omega beneath his chest, holding up the pile of rocks.

"Omega?" He whispered, unable to get the dust out of his throat.

Omega's face was scrunched tight, "Hm?" She forced out.

"Are you alright?" He quickly asked.

Omega cracked her eyes open, staring at him, "Me? You're holding up a mountain... Are you ok?"

Wrecker simply chuckled, "This is nothing kid, I've lifted heavier. Are you hurt?"

Omega stared at him a moment, face still scrunched, "My leg is stuck under the rocks..."

Wrecker quickly glanced down to notice her leg sticking out from beneath his small coverage, several rocks were crushing it.

"Don't worry kid, we'll be out real soon."

"Scan it Tech, I need to know where to dig!" Hunter urged obvious panic beginning to set in.

Tech raised a hand, "It's scanning now, give me a moment."

Echo watched Tech's wristband beep and scan, immediately springing forward when it chimed with Hunter right behind him. They began digging slowly, making sure none of the rocks would shift.

"Wrecker!?" Hunter's voice broke through the rocks, gaining their attention.

Wrecker huffed out a sigh of relief, not wanting to admit how hard it was getting to hold the rocks up, "Here!" He shouted.

"Are you two ok!?" Echo now spoke.

"Ya! Omega's leg is under the rocks!"

"Alright, We're digging you out!" Echo confirmed.

Wrecker turned his attention back to Omega, noting how she was shaking slightly. "It's gonna be ok, I promise."

Omega's eyes stared into his, before relaxing slightly, "Ok."

"Well, this is exciting huh?" Wrecker tried to calm her.

Omega offered a small smile, "Yeah,"

The rocks around them shifted, Wrecker stared in shock as Omega screamed in agony, curling forward to grab at her leg.

"Stop Stop!" Wrecker shouted, noting how the rocks stopped shifting, "Hey, Hey, talk to me kid."

Omega was crying now, tears streaming down her face as she uselessly clung to her pant leg, "MmmMm!" She whimpered out.

"What's Going On Down There!?" Hunter shouted.

"The rocks shifted!" Wrecker shouted back, "It'll crush her leg worse!"

There was a break of silence, a moment of fear until Tech's voice sounded from above.

"If we tunnel in the side," He offered loudly so they could hear, "We can grab Omega and Wrecker can crawl out."

"Do that!" Wrecker encouraged.

There was a comfortable silence now, Omega's sobs had quieted slightly, the only other sound was the constant grumble of the digging. Wrecker couldn't voice his relief when he saw Echo's face emerge from the rocks on his right.

"Shiny," He huffed out in relief, unable to hide the smile when Echo nodded at him.

"Let's get you two out of here." Echo offered, crawling to sit beneath Wrecker's chest.

Silently he dug Omega's leg out, glancing back at the gap they'd dug, "You're gonna have to crawl out," He offered sadly, "I'll go out backward so I can help pull you along ok?"

Omega nodded, wiping her eyes.

"You follow behind us," Echo pointed at Wrecker, "Make one swift motion when you switch."

Wrecker gave a quick nod, watching as Echo crawled out backward guiding Omega, who for her part, was doing amazing well crawling with a busted leg. Wrecker made sure they were a good way down the tunnel when he switched, carefully easing the rocks down until he could crawl through the tunnel. To his relief the tunnel didn't collapse until they were all out, it gave a loud rumble and crumbled down to rest.

"I haven't lifted that much in a while," Wrecker offered aloud, stretching his back.

"While your leg is bruised and extremely sore, it did not break the bone. At most I'd say it's a small fracture but I am not a healer." Tech offered aloud, now looking to Wrecker.

"I'm fine, gonna be sore though." Wrecker confirmed.

Tech was right, as usual. Omega's leg wasn't broken, it did have a small fracture which they got checked out by a healer in the next town over. The woman wrapped Omega's leg tightly and told them she shouldn't walk on it for a few days, after that she should take it easy. So they carried her around, even at her slight protests that she was ok and could walk fine, they carried her for a few days then slowly let her walk around more. Wrecker kept close by for those few days, unsure of why he felt the need to be nearby.

Chapter Text

Omega stared at the water, it was so pretty on this planet. It was a soft blue, almost clear, with tons of small fish-like creatures swimming around. She’d never gotten this close to the water before, she’d been close to it on Kamino but the water had never been this calm, not to mention she hadn’t been able to reach out and touch it on Kamino. She knelt in the sand, running her hand over the sand then splashing the water with a smile.

”It’s so cold!” She laughed, looking to the Bad Batch with a wider smile than before.

Hunter and Tech both chuckled. Echo strode to sit beside her, offering a small smile of his own, dunking his hand in the water. Wrecker was still moving some of crates to the ship.

”It is cold isn’t it.” Echo agreed, pulling his hand out of the water.

Omega glanced down the beach, noting how there were subtle groups of people, some in the water others tanning in the sun.

”Why are they in the water?” Omega looked to Echo, head tilted.

Echo looked at the people playing in the water, splashing each other. He watched them laugh and run around, each one carefree. “It’s fun,” Echo encouraged, “they’re having a good time.”

Omega watched as two of them ran into the deeper part of the water, paddling their arms and legs as they swam around.

”What’re they doing now?” She asked, pointing at their heads in the water.

Echo scanned his eyes and watched them swim around, splashing each other. “They’re swimming,” he looked to Omega, noting her frown, “Have you swum before?”

Omega shook her head, turning to look back at the water, “No, the water on Kamino was too dangerous and Nala wouldn’t let me swim in the training rooms.”

Echo turned to look back at the rest of the Bad Batch, motioning for them to come sit. Each one subtly walked over and sat, making sure not to interrupt the conversation.

”So you’ve never gotten in the water?” Echo offered, splashing her hand with a little bit of water.

Omega giggled, splashing his hand back, “Nope, Nala said I wasn’t meant to do that.”

Hunter leaned forward, tracking the fish with his eyes, “Swimming is,” he searched for the right word, “fun.”

Tech tapped his wristband, “Swimming is a fairly easy skill to learn, it’s one of the first you learn in the academy. I’m not surprised you weren’t allowed in, it can be very dangerous if you try to learn unsupervised.”

Wrecker clapped Tech on the back, “It took Tech ages to learn how to swim!” He said with a laugh.

Tech huffed, “It is a physical test, I did not ‘struggle’ I simply did not excel at them...”

Echo smiled, “I wasn’t a great swimmer either, I know enough not to sink.”

Omega was still staring across the horizon, “Can I learn how to swim?”

Everyone glanced to each other, some holding nervousness while others held awe. Echo spoke first, “Definitely!”

”Sure!” Hunter agreed.

”Yeaah..” Wrecker nodded.

”Learning to swim is fairly easy, you probably won’t have much trouble with it. Not to mention we can buy flotation devices to assist with learning.”

So they agreed to let her learn to swim once they landed for good on a planet.

Chapter Text

Omega was sitting on the ship's ramp, staring across the field of grass as it flowed in the wind, Lothal was so beautiful in her eyes. She hadn't seen a planet so tranquil, they had landed in a field on the farthest side of the planet to be sure they were out of the Empire's range for now. Tech and Hunter were in the cockpit discussing things, she didn't know what because she had let herself become entranced by the outdoors. Echo and Wrecker were checking parts on the outside of the ship, making sure nothing had come loose from their latest jump. She took a deep breath, letting her gaze wander.

A flash of white caught her glance, something shiny in the field, she felt her curiosity grow quickly. She stood and leaned to peek inside the ship, Hunter and Tech were still discussing something with very serious faces. She descended the ramp and strode around to where Echo and Wrecker were, noting how Echo was standing on Wrecker's shoulders as he adjusted something on top of the ship.

"Uhm," Omega began, not wanting to disturb them.

Wrecker dropped his head to look at her with a smile, "What's up?"

Omega smiled back, "I saw something shiny in the grass!" Omega urged, "Can I go see what it is?"

Echo climbed onto the roof of the ship, glancing down at them, "Go with her Wrecker, I can jump down when I'm done."

Wrecker glanced up at him then back at her, face gaining her excitement, "Let's go!"

Wrecker took her hand and let her lead the way, running through the grass excitedly. Echo smiled as he watched them walk away, returning his focus to the part he was fixing.

"It was right over here!" Omega excitedly chatted, still holding Wrecker's hand in hers.

Wrecker glanced around, looking for something shiny, not seeing anything specific. He glanced around the grass, noting how it was now up to Omega's waist, "What did it look like?"

"It was shiny," Omega relayed, letting go of Wrecker's hand to use her own hands as a shield from the sun, "It was like a rock or something."

"I don't see much," Wrecker informed, glancing back at the ship.

"I guess it was no-" Omega began, instead of yelping as something, or rather someone grabbed her around the waist.

Wrecker spun, staring at the man who was now holding a squirming Omega in one arm and a blaster pointed at her with the other hand.

The man spoke, his Lothal accent thick, "Don't get any ideas, big man. I have a sniper and two other people with pistols in the grass too."

Wrecker stared, deeming this man #1 now that he knew there were at least 3 more. "Don't hurt her." Wrecker threatened.

"I wouldn't dream of it, nobody buys damaged goods." The man said flatly, looking down at the child, "Stop squirming or your big friend here is gonna get another scar."

Omega stopped, glancing up at the man before quickly looking at the ground. He sat her down, grabbing onto the back of her shirt collar, "Alright, let's go see how many more of you there are."

He walked them towards the ship, Wrecker noting how the other men popped out of the grass and followed behind them. He couldn't try anything because the man was too close to Omega. They silently strode to the ship, the man kneeling to a crouch beside Omega, not letting go of her shirt nor dropping his blaster, "Call them outside, big man." He motioned to Omega, "And don't try anything."

Wrecker cleared his throat, "You guys may want to get out here." He tried to keep his voice even and calm.

Hunter and Tech strode to the door, standing at the top of the ramp taking in the scene. One man was beside Omega, holding her shoulder, and had a Blaster in his other hand. Two men were on opposite sides of Wrecker, each with their Blasters drawn, while a single man stood several yards back with a rifle.

"Hands up," The man beside Omega urged, shaking her shoulder slightly.

Tech and Hunter did as told, raising their hands reluctantly.

"Walk down one behind the other, stay a few feet away from each other." He continued.

They strode to stand in a line, separated by a few feet. Hunter used his heightened senses to see how many people he could spot, only spotting the 4. Tech was looking at Omega, noting how much she was shaking, he couldn't blame her. Wrecker was still facing the ship, keeping his head forward but his eyes up, knowing Echo was still up there.

"Big guy," Man #1 spoke, "Turn around."

Wrecker turned, if looks could kill this man would be long gone.

"I had originally planned on trading you and your ship for some quick credits," He continued, glancing to Omega then to each member, eyes landing on Hunter. "But you are clones, you'll make us enough money for several planet hops, not to mention the kid."

Omega raised her eyes from the grass, staring at the ship, she could see Echo's head peeking over the edge slightly. She subtly dropped her gaze back to Wrecker, trying to figure out if they had a plan.

"Here's how this is gonna work," Man #1 began, motioning the two men with blasters over, "We're gonna export you all off-world, trade you for credits, and then trade your ship too."

He stood up, adjust his grip on Omega's shoulder so he was holding her shirt collar again, "None of you are gonna do anything about it, because you know what happens when fights break out?" He pointed his blaster at Omega, "Things get broken, Understand?"

He watched them all nod, "Alright Boys, check em for weapons."

The two men holstered their blasters, striding over to pat down Wrecker and Hunter first.

Echo took his moment, he leaned over the edge, aiming his pistol at the sniper in the field, making sure to aim properly before firing the shot. The blaster sound rang out as the sniper dropped dead in the field. Wrecker and Hunter wasted no time tackling and fighting the two men patting them down. Hunter unsheathed his knife, making quick work. Wrecker simply put the man into a chokehold, holding the man until he went limp.

Tech was standing a few feet from the man holding Omega, the blaster digging into her side, "Don't come closer." He warned.

Echo couldn't get a clear shot from the top of the ship, the man had crouched down so Omega was a sort of shield.

"Let her go and they might let you live." Tech offered, forcing his clone brain to take over to prevent panic.

The man had changed quickly from confident and arrogant to shaky and fearful, switching his grip to hold Omega around her shoulder now. "I'm gonna take that ship."

"I promise you if you move at all, that man up there is going to shoot you," Tech informed him, taking a small step forward, "Drop the kid and we'll talk."

The man took a breath, "No- We have nothing to talk about," The man urged, "I'm taking the ship."

Tech stared at him through his goggles, "The math shows the probability of that plan working being slim to none. You know if you hurt that child you'll be dead faster than you can blink. Think this through."

Omega took a quick breath, she did some quick math in her head before deciding what to do. She calmly and subtly moved her arms while Tech and The Man continued to try and convince him to do the right thing, now having one hand on her side above the blaster and the other clenched tightly to her side. She took another quick breath, letting her brain switch from panic to planning, without waste she grabbed the Blaster and shoved it outward as the man pulled the trigger in fear, quickly she brought her other elbow into Man's stomach. Shutting her eyes tightly, she ran forward, unable to hide the flinch as Echo shot the man from the roof of the ship quickly.

Omega stood there huffing, staring at the horizon, the sun now falling slowly.

"Omega," Tech urged, quickly dropping beside her and grasping her shoulders gently, "Are you hurt?"

Omega didn't hear him, her brain was simply running the scene over and over again, all the outcomes that could've happened.

Hunter was now beside Tech, "Is she hurt?"

Tech shook his head, "I don't think so, she appears to be in shock." He picked her up, noting how she didn't even acknowledge it, "She needs a blanket."

Tech and Hunter quickly went to treat the shock while Wrecker and Echo checked the men for anything useful.

By now they had jumped into Hyperspace, deciding it best to leave Lothal before any more smugglers could catch their trail. Omega was sitting in the co-pilot chair, wrapped in a blanket, staring at the stars as they zoomed by.

"Alright, I think I'm gonna go to bed," Echo announced, standing to stretch his arms.

"Yeah," Wrecker agreed.

"Wait!" Omega shouted, spinning to look at them.

All eyes glanced at her, noting the panic in her stare, "Please don't go..."

Echo and Wrecker felt their heart melt slightly, "Sure," Echo said with a nod as he sat in his seat.

"Yeah, I wasn't even tired anyway." Wrecker agreed, sitting on the floor beside Tech as he worked on a gadget.

Omega took a small breath, quickly hopping off her chair and striding to sit beside Wrecker, blanket now wrapped around herself like a cloak.

Hunter glanced over from his chair, smiling as he watched Wrecker pick her up to hold her in his lap, letting her use him as a pillow. He also couldn't stop the warm feeling in his chest as Omega sleepily glanced at each member of the batch, including himself, making sure they were still there. He looked away, noticing how Echo and Tech had also been watching with their own smiles. Wrecker simply sat there and hummed as she fell asleep, he must have been humming something he came up with because non of the Bad Batch had heard that tune before.

Chapter Text

Omega had been sitting on her makeshift bed talking and playing with her doll for hours now. She had given it a name, batch number, and voice. The rest of the Batch couldn't help but smile when they'd heard her give it a 99 number. They were all dotted around the ship, doing their separate tasks.

"Then you'll never believe what happened," Omega exaggerated, smiling at her doll who sat in her hands.

"What happened?" A quiet voice asked, surprising her.

She lifted her head quickly, noting the transparent man sitting beside her. He seemed older than the Bad Batch but not by much, he was wearing fancy robes like a Jedi too.

"I didn't mean to startle you, young one." He spoke calmly, "I couldn't help but be interested in your story."

"It's ok," She assured, unsure how to proceed, "I'm Omega, who are you?"

"Someone of unimportance," He simply responded, adjusting his robe slightly, "Please continue your story, don't let me interrupt.

Omega continued her story, now talking towards the Man instead of the doll. She continued talking to him, telling him everything the Bad Batch had faced so far and how exciting it had been. She sat the doll beside the man, using her hands to motion for the story.

"It was huge!" She excitedly offered, stretching her arms as wide as they'd go.

He smiled, "It sounds scary."

"It was scary," Omega said with a nod, "But they protected me like they always do!"

She continued telling more stories, unable to stop the warm feeling of joy in her chest as the man sat and listened to her.

Wrecker strode into the cockpit where the rest of the batch was sitting, doing their small tasks in separate chairs. "Uh- Hey guys?"

"What is it, Wrecker?" Hunter asked, not looking up from the knife he was cleaning.

"Omega has been talking for hours now..." Wrecker began, only to be cut off by Tech.

"It's quite normal for children to talk to dolls, they use their imagination to think the dolls are living creatures who can understand and speak back."

"Y'ah, I know that," Wrecker cut back in, "But she's not talking to the doll anymore."

"What's she talking to?" Echo asked, looking up from his prosthetic.

"I don't know." Wrecker urged, "That's what I was coming to ask you."

With a collective mumble, they all stood and followed Wrecker to the ladder. Omega was sitting with her back to the ladder, intently motioning and telling a story to thin air. She was recollecting every detail of their encounters, even down to the color of people's eyes.

She giggled, catching their attention, "You'd never guess her name!" Omega gasped, eyes wide, "How'd you know?"

They glanced at each other, trying to decide who should speak. Echo was shoved onto the ladder, as usual. With a deep breath, he knocked against the wall, not wanting to startle her.

Omega glanced back at him, smile widening, "Hey Echo!"

Echo smiled and climbed the ladder, sitting beside her facing the window, eyes facing forward at the stars. "Hey," He cleared his throat, "Who're you talking to?"

Omega grinned excitedly, "I'm talking to, uh, you never said your name!" Omega urged at the man.

"Call me Jinn." The man offered with a smile.

Omega nodded and looked at Echo, "I'm talking to Jinn."

Echo glanced down at her and nodded then looked back where she was looking, "What does Jinn look like?"

Omega's brow furrowed, "What do you mean? Can't you see him? He has pretty robes and long hair, and a beard too."

Echo stared, "What's the sound like?"

Omega turned to face Echo with a look of shock, "You can't hear him either? He has a deep voice, it's really nice. He is blue though..."

Echo took a breath, "No, I can't see or hear him."

Omega blinked and faced Jinn, "Why can't he see you?"

"He's not force-sensitive," Jinn began, "You are."

"Are you real?" Omega asked, eyes filling with sadness.

He nodded, "I am real, I am a vision in the Force. A long-forgotten Jedi."

Omega's face shifted from sadness to excitement, "He's a Jedi!" Omega told Echo.

"Oh..." Echo said with a nod.

The rest of the bad batch was shifting on their heels, wishing they could all fit up there.

"I'll leave you two to chat, let us know when you're done." Echo said with a smile, patting Omega on the shoulder and waving towards the window where he assumed 'Jinn' sat. He climbed down the ladder silently and motioned the rest of them into the cockpit to discuss.

"So it was a vision?" Hunter asked, holding the bridge of his nose trying to grasp the information.

"I don't think so," Echo countered, "She wasn't lost to reality, she could still see me and hear me."

"Who's 'Jinn'?" Wrecker asked.

Tech snorted from his seat, gaining their attention.

"What's funny?" Hunter asked, raising his head.

"It is simple logic, if you all had read the books I forwarded to your datapads you would know what happened."

"Skip to the point," Echo encouraged.

"Page 14 of Chapter 2:" Tech said with a smile, "Spirits, Commonly referred to as 'ghosts' can be seen. They speak, walk, and look the same as they were before they died. It's a piece of them that lives through the force."

"Ghosts..." Hunter repeated aloud.

"Ghosts?" Wrecker questioned, voice giving a slight quiver as he glanced around the room.

"Oh. I did read that page." Echo recalled.

Hunter huffed, "So it's not bad? She's ok?" Hunter directed his question towards Tech.

"She is ok, It is normal. We simply don't see them because we are not attached to the force like her."

Wrecker glanced at Omega, noting how she was still talking, "Is the ghost mean?"

They looked to him with a smile, "No, the ghost isn't mean." Tech simplified.

Omega talked to 'Jinn' for a long time, eventually, she said goodbye as he faded from view, his blue transparent form fading to nothing. She could see other people like that walking on planets, none of them speaking, just simply walking around. The Bad Batch decided not to disturb her when she would talk to these 'ghosts' as she seemed far too excited and happy to have someone to talk to.

Chapter Text

"The deal was 3000 Credits and a ship for this," Hunter forced behind clenched teeth.

The man across the table shrugged, "Now that I'm looking at it, I'm thinking 900 Credits and no ship."

Echo patted Omega's shoulder, gaining her attention. "Omega, can you go over there and ask her to refill this with water?" He pointed at the bar which was only a few feet away.

Omega nodded, taking the glass and sliding out of the booth, striding proudly to the bar. She didn't realize Echo simply didn't want her to see Hunter threaten the man. Her focus was on getting this cup refilled, She stood at the bar on her tippy-toes to see over, smiling at the tall woman behind the counter.

"Can you refill this with water please?" Omega asked excitedly, reaching to sit the cup down.

The woman smiled, "Of course, You take a seat right there and I'll fill it up for you."

Omega nodded and stared at the chair, it was a high barstool chair with no way for her to climb up into it. She grabbed the counter and tried jumping, unable to hide the huff of frustration when she couldn't jump up.

"Want some help?" A voice spoke, Omega quickly nodded. Two hands quickly picked her up and deposited her in the chair with ease, a short armored teen sitting beside her, "One mug of your best please." He asked the woman kindly.

Omega smiled at the man, noting his face was mostly emotionless. "Thank you," she said happily, kicking her legs.

"Sure thing." He muttered, taking the mug into his hand.

"I like your armor." Omega chatted, turning to look at the people around the bar.

The boy glanced over at her then back at his mug, "Aren't you a little young to be here alone, where are your parents?"

She was shocked by his genuine concern in his voice, "I don't have parents but my family is over there." She pointed to where the Bad Batch was sitting, now all leaning over the table angrily talking.

"Looks like a deal gone wrong huh?" He chuckled, remembering several deals he'd done before that had gone wrong.

"Yeah, that guy was being mean. He kept changing his mind." Omega said with a huff, spinning to look at him. "What's your name?"

The boy smiled, he normally avoided children but this kid was so innocent it was hard to hide the joy, "You can call me Fett."

Omega smiled even wider, "You can call me-" She paused, trying to think of a code name, "Omi!" She said happily, proud of herself.

Fett knew it wasn't her actual name, she had taken far too long to think of it, but he didn't mind. The kid was too happy to call her out on it. "Pleasure to meet you, Omi."

"Here's your water," The woman said kindly, sliding the glass over to her carefully.

Omega took it and hopped down from her chair, smiling, "Thank you!" She looked to Fett, "Wanna meet my family?"

Fett glanced at the clones who seemed prepared to go outside and brawl, "Sure..."

He took a long chug of his drink and sat it down, sliding a small credit across the bar. He followed her with a smile, hand resting on his blaster holster as he walked over.

"Listen I swear if you don't hold up your end of the deal I'll-" Hunter began only to stop mid-sentence when Omega sat the glass on the table.

"I got your water!" She said excitedly, "I made a friend too!" She motioned at Fett, who offered Hunter a quick smile before he turned his glance to the small man sitting across the table.

"You causing trouble?" Fett asked the man, who suddenly seemed to cower in the presence.

"N-No No!" The man urged, shaking his head, "I ain't causing no trouble."

Tech adjusted his goggles, "Not true, He actually has caused immense trouble. He is refusing to hold up his end of our deal. Changing our original deal from 3000 credits and a ship to 900 credits and no ship."

The man looked at Tech horrified, then back to Fett. "I-I was just trying to get the best part-"

"I know what you were trying to get," Fett hissed, leaning over the table, "Give them the money and the ship, or we'll have a problem."

The Batch watched in shock as the man quickly stood, pulling out all 3000 credits, "The ships outside, all yours." He waved a quick goodbye and took off running. For a teenager, this kid definitely had a reputation here.

Omega smiled, "This is Fett!"

All eyes glanced over, Echo speaking first, "Thank you, Fett."

Fett rolled his shoulder, leaning back. "Anytime, that dude likes to cause trouble here a lot. He just needs a reminder he's not as tough as he acts."

Omega scooted to sit beside Echo again.

"Look, I don't know how long you guys will be here but if you need anything let me know." Fett offered with a smile, "It was a pleasure talking to you Omi."

They all glanced at Omega, who smiled and waved at him. "Bye, Fett!"

Fett waved back and strode off, everyone's eyes still on Omega. She glanced around at them, "What?"

"Omi?" Wrecker asked.

"I couldn't say my real name!" Omega defended, "Plus I don't think his name was Fett."

They smiled, Of course, their kid was the one who could befriend a stranger, not only befriend but become an ally with him. They took their credits and resold the ship for even more credits, enough to last several planet hops and even a few days on a planet. They didn't run into Fett again but that planet had a marker for their first ally.

Chapter Text

The Bad Batch was running all over this planet trying to gather their needed supplies before the empire and bounty hunters could catch wind of where they were. They needed food, clothes, more ammo, and basically everything.

Omega was in awe of all the people on this planet, so many different-looking people, "Echo, what are they?" She asked quietly, looking up at him.

Echo glanced to where Omega's attention was then back at her, "Those are Togruta," He confirmed.

She smiled and looked back over at them, "They're pretty."

He couldn't help but chuckle, "Yeah, They are pretty." He glanced over and saw the crate of supplies they needed, not to mention how cheap the vendor was selling it. "Here, I need to buy this."

He led Omega to the stand and began bartering with the man, Omega still holding his hand as she looked around. Her eyes got caught on a tall man, wearing armor similar to what the Bad Batch wore, even a similar helmet, except it, was blue and white. She stared at the man, unable to shake the feeling in the back of her mind that he was looking at her too, though it was hard to tell behind the helmet.

"Omega, what do you think?" Echo asked, catching her attention.

She broke her stare with the man and looked at him, "What?"

Echo smiled behind his helmet, "You think this is enough to last a while?"

Omega looked at the supplies with a nod, "It should be enough."

Echo nodded and began chatting with the man again. Omega quickly turned her attention to see the armored man was gone, she quickly looked around for him, unable to hide the anxiety of not knowing where he was.

"Alright, Let's get going." Echo encouraged, "Want to ride on the crate?"

Omega felt a pang of excitement, her feet were tired from walking the whole way, her boots were getting pretty worn from all the running. "Yes!" She said excitedly, letting him pick her up and sit her on the crate.

He pushed the crate with her on it, striding down the walkway through the people. Omega was strangely quiet now, her eyes scanning intensely as they walked, Echo couldn't help but ask. "What're you looking for kid?"

Omega blinked, "I thought I saw someone."

Echo hummed in acknowledgment, "What'd they look like?"

"They were wearing armor like yours."

Echo subtly picked up the pace, now almost jogging, "Yeah? You still see them?"

Omega shook her head slightly, glancing around, "No..."

Echo couldn't hide his slight relief when he saw the rest of the Bad Batch already at the ship. Omega hopped off the crate, still staring at the people walking outside the hangar, looking for any sign of the man.

Echo was relaying what Omega had told him to the rest of the Bad Batch, discussing the possibilities.

Omega stared at the armored man, having caught sight of him again, he was standing outside the hangar entrance silently staring at them. She stood there, rigid, holding her ground. She tightened her grip on the bow, not wanting to bother the Batch until necessary.

"Hello?" She whispered, loud enough for him to hear but not disturb the Bad Batch.

He raised his hand and waved, "Hello." He offered back quietly.

"Who are you?" She questioned.

The man knelt down so he was at her level, she couldn't help the feeling that this guy was a good person, he seemed far too calm to be a bad guy.

"I'm Rex, I'm an old friend of theirs. Who are you?"

She loosened her grip on the bow, offering a smile, "I'm Omega."

Something about him, she couldn't figure out what made him seem so honest. She couldn't shake the feeling, it was as if her brain already knew he was good. She didn't flinch when he stood and walked over to her, kneeling before her.

"They are very lucky," He chuckled, "You seem like an amazing kid."

She couldn't help but smile and blush from the compliment, "Nooo," She urged, "I'm the lucky one."

Rex smiled, he hadn't seen a kid in a while. He couldn't help but feel guilty when he saw how innocent she seemed. Children shouldn't have to be witnesses to the lifestyle of war. "Is Echo over there too?" He asked, refocusing.

She glanced over at them, then back at him, obviously thinking of how to answer. She hesitated before nodding, "Yes."

He smiled, "Let's go say hi," He stood, "Would you like to sit on my shoulder?"

Omega couldn't resist, she nodded excitedly, unable to hide the gasp of excitement when she realized how much she could see. She held onto his helmet, noting how she was taller than Wrecker now. They strode over, noting how they were all staring at a hologram map on Tech's arm, not even noticing them.

"Hello," Rex greeted, gaining their attention.

All eyes shot up, panic mixed with confusion.

"It's been a while," He continued, "Hunter," He greeted, "Tech, Wrecker," He looked at Echo, "Echo."

They were all stunned, none felt the ability to speak. Omega took in their faces, each one holding shock yet relief.

"I met Omega," Rex said with a quick laugh, "You've got a smart kid running with you gentlemen."

Rex reached up and carefully removed his helmet, making sure not to off-balance Omega.

Echo walked over so he was standing face to face, staring at him, "Rex?" He almost sounded like he was in denial.

Rex smiled wider, raising a hand to rest on Echo's shoulder, "In the flesh."

Echo's face broke into a smile, he huffed a laugh which turned into a full-body laugh, "Never thought I'd see you again," He offered honestly.

"Same here," He glanced back at the Bad Batch, "Can't really say how relieved I am to see all of you ok, after everything."

There was a collective nod. Omega leaned down to whisper something into Rex's ear, noting the flash of sadness in his eyes.

"I'm sorry," He offered, obviously talking about Crosshair, "We'll fix this, we'll get them all back."

No one spoke yet, still remembering Crosshair, Omega was the one to break the silence. "How come you're not affected by the chip?" She traced a circle on the side of his head, a sudden realization lighting up her eyes, "You don't have the chip anymore..."

Rex was impressed, it wasn't a question but a statement, she knew the chip was off. "Ahsoka turned it off," He informed, "How did you know?"

She simply shrugged and continued tracing circles.

"We have a lot to discuss," Echo said with a smile, "Please come talk."

Rex smiled back, "I'd be happy to."

Chapter Text

Omega stared at Wrecker with wide eyes, unable to hide the pure fear in them. "But, Wrecker, I'm your friend." She whispered horrified.

Wrecker clenched the gun tighter, his heart begging him to stop but his brain running on autopilot, "Good soldiers follow orders." He gritted out.

He let out a groan as he felt the stun of a blaster from behind, sending him to the ground in a heap of unconsciousness. Revealing Rex, still clutching his head with one hand, standing with the blaster in the doorframe. Eyes still staring at the scene that could have unfolded.

Omega stared at Wrecker's form, watching his breaths, her own eyes still wide.

"Are you hurt?" Rex asked, resting a hand on her shoulder.

She hadn't even realized him walking over, let alone the fact he was kneeling to her level. She brought her gaze to him, unable to form words.

"Are you hurt?" He repeated, scanning for injuries.

Omega shook her head, "No.." She muttered, eyes still falling back on Wrecker.

"Hey," Rex encouraged, guiding her to look back at him, "He's ok, just stunned."

"But he almost-"

Rex finally got her to make eye contact, that's when he saw it, he saw the pure fear of a child, not just the fear of a child, the fear of a child who was almost betrayed by someone they love. He didn't hesitate when he spoke, "But he didn't. We're going to remove the chip and he'll be back to normal."

Omega stared into Rex's eyes, searching for any sort of lies only to be met with honesty. She didn't realize her eyes had tears in them until Rex wiped a stray tear from her cheek, "You're ok." He offered quietly.

She raised her hand to wipe her eyes, hearing the footsteps of the rest of the Batch approaching, taking a deep breath before offering a small smile. "We'll make him better." She agreed.

Rex couldn't help but smile back, this poor child was in a war, fighting a losing battle, nearly losing the battle to someone she trusted with her life. So mature for someone so young yet still so innocent.

Rex stood in the doorway, staring at his helmet and all the markings, lost in a sea of memories. Wrecker was still unconscious on the table, Omega fast asleep on his arm while still holding his hand, Hunter sleeping in a chair slightly beside her, Tech asleep on the dashboard, Echo leaning against the wall asleep as well. Rex couldn't help but get lost in the silence, so many memories working to the surface, good and bad.

Omega stirred slightly as something tapped her head, she blinked her eyes open slowly letting them refocus. Wrecker was looking down at her with a small smile, he gave a grunt as he moved slightly, "Hey, Kid. Why- Why the long face?"

Omega couldn't hide the sudden excitement, "He's Awake!" She urged, jumping from her seat still standing by his side.

Everyone sat up, Tech staring for a moment, "Oh, You made it."

Everyone approached the table, each one offering their small bit of measurement. Rex held the chip scanner in his hand, "One chip down. Three to go. Who's next?"

There was an awkward silence between them all, none of them really wanted to be the one to go next. One by one they got it removed, starting with Tech.

Omega adjusted her bow on its holster, checking the comm unit making sure it was properly secure, her face pulled in a taut frown. Wrecker stared at her frown, unable to hide the overwhelming feeling that he caused the frown. He had to do something, had to apologize, this was his fault.

He strode over, surprised by the fact he had managed not to catch her attention, meaning she was lost in thought. He tapped her shoulder gently, clearing his throat to let her know it's him. As she turned around he knelt to her level, wishing he didn't have the huge scar which he knew made him scarier.

"Listen, Omega." He dropped his gaze to the floor, "About what happened..."

Omega stepped forward, placing her hand on his cheek, encouraging him to look at her while he spoke.

"I- I tried to control it. I tried as hard as I could." He couldn't stop the guilt washing over him, "I just couldn't make it stop."

Omega didn't wait to speak, "I know, Wrecker. It's okay."

"But still... I- I'm sorry."

Omega had never seen this look in his eyes before, it was as if he were going to cry and she didn't like it. She didn't want him to be sad, it wasn't his fault. She quickly reached into her pouch, pulling out the candy they had gathered before leaving on this mission, noting his small gasp.

"The mission's over." She offered, holding her hand out so he could reach, "We can't break tradition." Offering a small smile. 

Wrecker felt his guilt wash off easily, unable to hide the chuckle escaping his mouth, "Thanks, kid." He took one with a smile.

It didn't take long for them to finish a handful of candy off, Wrecker letting Omega have more than him, unable to hide his joy when she'd mention how good the candy was. Omega hugged him quickly, making sure he knew she wasn't upset, "It wasn't your fault."

Wrecker huffed lightly, "I know."

Omega patted him on the back, stepping back to look at him with a nod, "It wasn't your fault." She repeated, staring into his eyes to be sure he understood.

Wrecker felt that last layer of guilt wash off as if a weight had just been lifted off his shoulder, he smiled wider, "I know." He waited a moment, "Thank you."

Omega nodded and strode over to Tech and began questioning him to make sure the chip removal hadn't done anything to his brain.

Wrecker sat there for a moment longer, before standing and walking over to them, letting the images of the Omega terrified, staring at him with a look of fear and betrayal, disappear from his mind.

Chapter Text

1) Hunter

Hunter had been strolling around the market, Omega by his side holding tightly onto his hand, only so he could keep track of her... No other reason. They'd been gathering different supplies, he couldn't help but say yes when Omega begged to come with him.

"Hunter?" Omega whispered, drawing him from his thoughts.

He glanced down at her, "What's up?"

She turned her gaze and motioned at a couple walking by, holding hands and laughing to each other. "Why are they standing so close together?"

Hunter now noticed that one of them had an arm wrapped around the other's waist, a small ring on their hand, he cleared his throat, "They're a couple."

Omega offered a small 'oh' as she seemed to think, "What's a couple?"

Hunter thought for a moment, "It's when two people love each other and are together." Way to go, Hunter, that explains it so well.

"Are they a couple too?" She motioned at a parent walking by holding their child's hand, similar to how Hunter was holding Omega's hand.

He chuckled, "No, when families hold hands it's different," He tried to figure out a middle ground, "It's a different type of love." Maker, why was this so difficult to talk about?

"Like what?" She questioned again, looking up at him.

He cleared his throat, "Well, there's the love two people have, romantic love," He felt like he was starting to sweat, this was not something he wanted to discuss, "There's the love you have for stuff, like for Lula," Alright, what else? "There's the love parents, children, and siblings have for each other-"

"Like we have?" She asked excitedly.

Hunter felt his heart warm, "Yes, just like we have."

Omega nodded, returning her gaze to the street, "Love is cool."

Hunter took a breath, "Yeah, I guess it is."

2) Echo

Omega and Hunter had returned from their supply run, parting ways as she went to sit in her room and play with her dolls while Hunter deposited the supplies. Echo was analyzing data on his datapad when he heard Omega approaching.

"Hello there," He offered, turning his attention to her.

She smiled, "Can I ask you a question?"

He noticed how she was staring at the floor, playing with her sleeve, a common occurrence he had seen happen on several occasions now.

"Sure," He set the datapad down, "What's up?"

Omega cleared her throat, "Have you ever been in love?"

Echo stared at her, out of every question he thought she would ask this was not one of them. He out a small hum of thought, dropping his gaze to stare at the floor to think. "Well,"

"You don't have to answer!" Omega quickly spoke, "Hunter and I were talking about it and I didn't mean to make you-"

"Omega," Echo spoke calmly, "It's ok to ask questions, It's a good question, I'd have to say no, I haven't been in love before. I love you and my brothers, that's all I need."

Omega nodded, "Ok."

She strode off, leaving Echo to sit and think about that conversation.

3) Wrecker

Wrecker was sitting on the ramp of the ship, enjoying the sun's warmth. He glanced at Omega who sat beside him, holding Lula in her arms.

"Hey, Kid." He greeted.

Omega smiled, "Hi, Lula wanted to look outside."

Wrecker gave a nod, "Nice planet, warmer than the other ones we've been on."

Omega was silent for a moment, "Wrecker?"

He hummed.

"Have you ever been in love?"

Wrecker blinked his eyes open, thinking, "Nope."

Omega offered a quiet oh, surprised at how easily he answered compared to Hunter and Echo.

"But I don't need it," He continued, "I have Hunter, Tech, Echo," He leaned over and poked Omega's shoulder, "and you!" He chose to exclude crosshair from this explanation, knowing mentioning him would bring on a round of emotions he didn't want Omega to see.

Omega smiled, "and Lula!" She held out the stuffed toy.

Wrecker smiled, picking her up with ease and tossing her into the air, not high enough to be dangerous but enough to be exciting. He couldn't help but laugh with her as she excitedly squealed.

4) Tech

Tech had been sitting on the cockpit floor for a while now, working on a specific gadget that just wouldn't work. The rest of the Bad Batch had left to do Recon, leaving him and Omega to watch the ship. She was helping him with the gadget, bringing him the tools he needed, and offering input when he asked. Tech could tell she was fighting sleep, her eyelids would droop and her head with fall forward only to shoot back up.

"Miss Omega," He offered, "Perhaps you should sleep."

Omega shook her head, "No," She muttered, rubbing her eyes, "I'm awake."

Tech couldn't help but smile, her Kaminoan accent was much thicker when she was tired. He continued working, letting her use his side as support.

"Tech?" She mumbled quietly, still trying to fight unconsciousness.

"Hmm?" He offered, adjusting his shoulder so she wouldn't fall.

"Have you ever been in love?"

The question was barely audible, he wouldn't have heard it had he not been listening. He glanced down at Omega, noting her eyes were practically closed now.

"No, I haven't been in romantic love before."

He smiled as her breaths evened out, eyelids shut now. He leaned so his back was against the wall, picking her up and letting her rest against his chest rather than on the floor. He took a deep breath, hugging Omega close, "But I have them and you, I wouldn't trade this for anything."

5) The Question Almost Every Human Dreads

The Batch finally had time to walk around together, Omega standing between Echo and Hunter, Tech walking in front, and Wrecker behind them. Omega had been scanning the area, she couldn't help but stare at a person holding a small baby, it was swaddled in cloth and she was giving it a bottle of something.

"Where do not clones come from?" She asked aloud, not directing the question at anyone specifically.

Hunter and Echo stared at each other, even with their helmets on they both held a horrified expression. Wrecker was humming, pretending he hadn't heard the conversation. Tech cleared his throat, adjusting his goggles.

"Well," Tech began, "When, well..."

Everyone was staring at the back of Tech's head, he never used filler words, they were 'meaningless and took up too much time', in his own words.

"When two people," He began, keeping his eyes on his datapad, "love each other very much, and have enough love to spare they have a baby."

Omega strode to walk beside Tech, "But where do they come from?"

He thanked his Maker he had his helmet on to hide the blush covering his face, "From the Convor..."

Omega tilted her head, "What?"

Tech took a breath, "The Convor brings them the baby, it's a very special bird."

Omega seemed skeptical for a moment, looking back at the rest of the Batch for reassurance, each member nodding.

"Cool!" She said excitedly, falling back to walk where she had been.

She didn't understand how the Convor delivered the babies to people, but she decided not to ask. The Convor brings the Babies.

Chapter Text

Hunter pinched the bridge of his nose, "Are you sure about this?" His question was directed towards Echo, who had suggested letting Omega go on this mission.

Echo nodded, "She's gotten very good at using her bow, she can be our sniper."

Omega was simply sitting on the floor playing with her doll, she presumed Hunter would say no anyway and couldn't help but have her attention drawn away.

Tech cleared his throat, "Not to mention it would be very beneficial for this mission to have a sniper, being that we are in a canyon."

Wrecker smiled, "Ah c'mon! Let her do it, It'll be her first official mission!"

Hunter gave a quiet huff and nodded, "Alright," Turning his attention to Omega, who was now looking up at him with excited eyes, "You can be our sniper."

She leaped from the floor with joy, "Really!?"

Hunter raised his hand, "There are a few rules you need to know, if ANYTHING happens you call us on the comms, you stay out of sight, you keep your bow ready at all times, and be aware of your surroundings like I show you, alright?"

"Got it!" Omega nodded her head quickly, "I won't let you down!" She saluted quickly and ran off to grab her bow and shoulder holster.

25 MINUTES LATER

Omega had been sitting and staring at this building for over 20 minutes now, waiting for something to happen. The Batch had quickly entered the building, Tech estimated 18 minutes to retrieve the object they needed and 5 minutes to escape, so hopefully, they were now on their way out. Omega couldn't help but feel like something was off, her mind ringing as if she was missing something in plain sight.

Silently she scanned the canyon floor once again, noting very few smugglers still dotted around outside, none proving a threat to her or the batch. The pathway Tech had described was still clear for a quick getaway, the building hadn't exploded which was a good sign.

She felt her heart seize as footsteps came from behind her, without hesitation she spun on her knees with the string of the bow pulled back, ready to fire. Three men, faces covered by masks, stood staring at her.

"It's a kid..." One whispered to the other.

Omega stared, "Not another step." She hissed, eyes locked on the one closest to her.

He raised his hands, "Look kid, we can do this the easy way," He looked to another guy then back at her, "Or the hard way."

Omega continued to stare, trying to make sure her face stayed as stoic as possible, "I'll Stand My Ground."

He stepped forward, adjusting his sleeve to reveal a small vibro-knife similar to Hunter's only different in color. Omega didn't wait, she let the string go and watched the energy arrow hit him in the shoulder with ease. She smacked her Comm unit on her sling, "Got a situation up here." She quickly grabbed her string, backing up slightly to put more distance between the two approaching men. She couldn't help the quick gasp of fear when her feet hit the edge of the rocks, meaning no escape.

The man was 3 feet from her now, too close, he swatted the bow from her hands with ease. He had a blaster aimed at her nose, "I suggest you don't move." He said through his mask.

Omega tried to think of a plan, she couldn't let them see The Batch exiting the building behind them, if they saw the mission would be a bust. Omega took a breath, glancing at the man behind this one, he was holding a staff but it had electricity buzzing at the ends.

"We're on the way-" Hunter's voice came through the Comm, she had to do something now.

She tried to remember the exact moves Hunter and Echo had taught her when training with Wrecker, with the grace of a trooper she quickly grabbed the blaster and shoved it while leaning in the opposite direction. The shot went wide, missing her head by several inches, causing the man to falter in his spot. She yanked the blaster from his grip, kicking him in the groin, swapping the blaster into her other hand. She sidestepped, careful of the edge she was now dancing on, shooting the man as he bent over in pain. Without waste she turned her attention to the man with the staff who was now swinging at her head, quickly she ducked, teetering on the edge again. She couldn't help the "kriff" that escaped her lips, she'd heard them use it so much, as the blaster in her hand jammed.

"Hold still you rat!" The man urged, swinging the staff back towards her.

Omega rolled beneath the staff, grabbing for her bow. The man kicked his foot, sending the bow flying away as if it were merely a rock. He then swung his foot to catch her on the side of her face, flinging her towards the edge. Omega rolled to her knees, noting how they were mere feet to the edge.

The man brought the end of his staff inches from her face, "Any last words?"

Omega glanced around, looking for some sort of way out. She took a breath and brought her eyes to stare at his mask, "I'll stand my ground."

He gave a huff, "Good luck with that."

Blaster shots scattered by their feet, drawing their attention. Omega couldn't voice her relief as she saw The Batch running towards them, blasters firing. They were running faster than she'd seen them run before, even Wrecker was running fast, it wouldn't take more than a minute for them to get there. The man didn't move for a moment, as if he were trying to decide what to do. He gave a quick growl and twirled his staff to rest on his back instead, turning to face the approaching clones.

The man waited until the Batch was now close enough to hit him with their blasters, he turned and kicked Omega in the shoulder causing her to roll off the edge. In a moment of panic, she grabbed the edge of the cliff with her left hand, unable to stop the shout of pain as her shoulder popped.

The man was running now, Hunter shouting at Echo and Tech to get Omega as he and Wrecker pursued the man. Echo slid to his knees at the edge, grabbing Omega's wrist.

"Omega," He spoke quickly, "Tech grab her shoulders."

Tech dropped beside Echo, leaning over to pick Omega up beneath her shoulders, pulling her over the edge to safety.

30 Minutes Later

Hunter and Wrecker entered the ship silently, following the faint sound of chatter to the cockpit. Omega was sitting in the co-pilot chair, a sling around her shoulder, as well as a few bacta patches dotted around her face and arms, not to mention the bruise on her face, but most importantly she was laughing which meant she was feeling good enough to have fun.

Omega offered them both a smile, although it turned into more of a wince as it pulled on the bruise. Hunter made three large steps and knelt at her chair, taking her head in his right hand.

He looked her up and down one time, to calm himself, then stared at her face with a soft look, "Why'd you fight those guys?"

Omega leaned against his hand, eyes shut, content with the contact, "You had to escape with the object."

Hunter sighed, shaking his head, "You could've gotten hurt worse."

Omega hummed, cracking her eyes open. She stared at him a moment, wrapping her uninjured arm around his neck and snuggling into his shoulder, "I know."

Wrecker gave a laugh from behind him, "She took two of 'em out! Not Bad! They were big fella's too!" He gave a proud laugh and grabbed Hunter's vibro-knife off the table, using it to carve on the wall another successful mission.

"How did you manage to take on two of them?" Tech asked, adjusting some settings on the nav computer, "It had appeared you shot one with your bow and the other with a blaster?"

Omega tilted her head to the side, so it wasn't smooshed against Hunter's shoulder, "I stood my ground."

Echo smiled wide from his seat, "Just like our training."

Omega silently fell asleep against Hunter, uninjured arm still wrapped around his neck loosely. Hunter picked her up gently and sat so she was in his lap, careful not to wake her.

"Alright, Let's go." He whispered to Tech, motioning for him to take off.

Sid gave Omega another bow a few weeks later, nobody asked where or how, too afraid to ask actually. She was back to shooting in no time flat, not to mention Hunter invested in a small vibro-knife she could carry in her boot as a backup, in case another situation like that happened again, he swore it wouldn't but knew he couldn't control everything.

Chapter Text

Omega’s dream had quickly turned from a walk in the forest to an all out fight for survival, she was running through a burning forest now, trying to figure out where The Batch was. One minute they were walking beside her the next they were gone, they left her, she was alone again. She couldn’t help the fact she was frantically searching for them, she didn’t want to be alone again.

With a gasp she sprung up on her bed, staring at the wall. It was a nightmare, she was still on the ship, she could hear the humming of the engine and Wrecker’s snores. With a deep breath she took her trooper doll in hand, staring at it, something felt wrong. It wasn’t the nightmare anymore, something was calling her name.

She stared at the doll as if it would provide and answer, yet it still was limp in her hands. She took another breath, unable to stop the sudden breath as her vision switched as if she blinked and was somewhere else.

She couldn’t hear Wrecker snoring anymore, all she could hear was fire crackling. She stared at the scene before her, trooper doll still in hand, it was the charred landscape from her dreams. The Bad Batch stood in a line, each one with their arms crossed, simply standing.

A voice echoed from her mind, deep and booming, “You failed.”

Omega stared, unable to tear her gaze away from their blank expressions

The voice spoke again, “Your fear is good.”

Omega was shaking now, she could feel her shoulders vibrating with fear, what was this?

“You failed them,” the voice whispered again, “Look at their faces, their disappointment.”

Omega could feel her breath hitching as tears rolled down her cheeks, she gripped her doll tighter. She tried to to find her voice, tried to say it was a lie, that she knows it isn’t real, but their faces are so clear and it feels too real.

”I’m sorry…” she breathes out, voice catching as she let out a soft sob.

A different voice spoke now, it was much higher pitch than the other one, much more soothing. “You did nothing wrong, my dear.”

Omega couldn’t figure out what was happening, it was as if the two voices were talking to each other, fighting over what to say. One voice deep and full of hatred while the other was high pitch and full of acceptance. She squeezed her eyes shut tightly trying to block them all out, until a third voice silenced the other two, it sounded weary and quiet as if they were old in age. “You have done nothing wrong,” The voice restated, “You have too much compassion in your heart.”

Omega felt a hand on her shoulder, causing her to fling her eyes open, revealing her bed and the wall she had been staring at. She turned her head quickly to see Hunter sitting at the top of the ladder, face full of concern.

She went to speak, to apologize for waking him, to tell him it was a stupid vision, that it was nothing, but she couldn’t help the sob that replaced the words. Hunter silently drew her into a hug, rubbing circles on her back with one hand while carding a hand through her hair with the other hand.

She didn’t know how long they sat like that, too long, on Kamino she wasn’t allowed to cry this long. Emotions were linked to weakness, emotions led to being hurt, or that’s what the Kaminoans would say.

Hunter hummed quietly, gaining her attention, “Wanna talk about what happened?” He paused, “Bad dream?”

She nodded on his shoulder, taking a deep breath, “I had a vision.”

Hunter nodded, “I saw you staring at the wall on my way over, I wasn’t going to interrupt but I heard you crying.”

Omega snuggled against his chest, finally out of tears, “He said I did good.”

Hunter scooted to lean on the wall, not wanting to force her to move, “Who?”

”I don’t know,” She muttered, unable to combat the oncoming wave of sleep.

Hunter tightened his hug, “Go to sleep, we’ll be here when you wake up.”

Omega still held her doll in one hand while she clung to Hunter’s shirt with the other, her voice was barely above a whisper now, “Are you proud of me?”

Hunter smiled, “Yes, you constantly make me, Echo, Tech, and Wrecker proud.”

She gave a content sigh and drifted to sleep.

Chapter Text

Omega stared out the front window, hand resting on the glass. The glass was so cold, the warmth from her hand creating small bits of fog around it on the glass, she couldn't take her eyes off the falling white specs. She had read about "snow" before, the books had said it was cold and unpleasant, but this seemed nice.

"It would appear we are stuck here until the storm passes," Tech elaborated to the group, "which will be a few hours. It would be dangerous to try and fly through it, the engine could malfunction."

Echo kicked his feet up onto the small shelf beside his chair, "Sounds like the perfect time for a nap," He stretched his arms and dropped his head back.

Hunter was sitting in the pilot's chair, cleaning his blaster, he gave a light chuckle. Tech was sitting in the chair behind him, typing on his datapad, obviously focused on something.

Wrecker couldn't help but watch Omega as she stared out the window, "You never seen snow before?" He asked, standing from his seat and walking to stand beside her.

She shook her head, still focused on the falling snow, "It's so pretty, we didn't get snow on Kamino."

Wrecker looked over to Hunter, an idea forming in his head, "Hey Hunter?"

Hunter's hand paused from cleaning, he knew that tone, that was the tone Wrecker used when he had an idea. He raised his head to meet his eyes, "Yeah?"

"Can I take Omega outside? Just for a few minutes so she can see what snow is like?"

Hunter wanted to say no, that it would only get them wet and make a mess, but he watched her excitedly turn to stare at him with pleading eyes.

"Only for a few minutes," He began, "Stay close to the ship and together."

Omega's smile grew wider than he'd ever seen, she lunged into his arms, "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

He gave her head a pat, unable to hide the smile on his own face as she quickly stepped back and grabbed Wrecker's hand, "C'mon!"

Hunter turned his head to watch them leave, noticing how Echo and Tech were looking at him with a smile. "What!?" He asked them, returning to cleaning his blaster.

As the ramp fell, cool air filled the shuttle, Omega couldn't help but give a slight shiver. Wrecker grabbed a blanket from the supply crate nearby, wrapping it around her shoulds like a cloak.

"Ready?" He asked with a smile.

She nodded her head, stepping down the ramp and onto the snow, unable to hide the squeak when her boots sunk slightly. There was a slight breeze, causing the snow to dance in the air as it fell, gaining her full attention. She couldn't help but track the snowflakes as they fell to the ground, piling nicely onto each other, creating layers. She brought her hand outside the blanket, letting snowflakes land on it, staring in awe as they landed and melted. Now she noticed her breath, as she breathed out it was creating little puffs of fog. She could feel the snow landing in her hair too, it was softly sitting atop her blond waves.

Wrecker couldn't help but smile as he watched her, she was in such awe over such a simple thing. He'd seen snow before on missions, he had forgotten what his first time seeing it was like, seeing her joy made a warm feeling spread through his chest. He knelt down beside her, gaining her attention. He grabbed some snow in his hands, patting it into a ball. He held it up slightly to show her, then threw it at a nearby rock, watching as it hit and shot out in all directions.

Omega let go of the blanket, letting it drape over her shoulders as she bent down and picked up some snow, shivering at how cold it was in her hands. Silently she packed it into a ball and threw it, watching with a smile when it smacked the rock just like Wrecker's did. They didn't notice the rest of the Batch watching them from atop the ramp with smiles, they didn't notice when Tech took several pictures using some holochips. Silently they all disbanded, going back to their chairs, making sure Tech saved the pictures.

They stayed that way for a little while longer, Wrecker sitting there watching as Omega drew in the snow with a stick she had managed to snag off the ground. Omega sat the stick onto the ground, tightening her hold on the blanket, turning to face Wrecker with a tired smile.

"I like the snow," She muttered, reaching up with one hand to rub at her eye.

Wrecker smiled, reaching to pick her up with ease, unable to hide the small hum of shock when her cold nose nestled into the crook of his neck. "Me too, kid." He strode back up the ramp, hitting the button and watching it shut, striding to sit closest to the engine which he knew was the warmest spot on the ship. He sat down against the wall, grabbing a second blanket and covering them both up. They sat there for a while, Omega sleeping soundly in Wrecker's arms while he slept with a smile holding her close.

Chapter Text

Hunter took a breath, unable to hide the winces as his lungs stung, he took Omega...

Wrecker pulled his helmet off, sitting it swiftly down on the floor.

"He took Omega," Hunter breathed out.

Wrecker visibly twitched, "Who? Crosshair?"

Hunter took a shallow breath in, "No. A bounty hunter..." He couldn't stop the groan of pain as his lungs protested the movement, he grabbed Wrecker's chest plate, gripping it tightly, "We have to find her."

Wrecker grabbed his hand, "We'll find her," Even with his helmet on Hunter could tell the look in his eyes was dangerous, "Hunter needs something for the pain!" He shouted to Echo and Tech, who were both flying the ship.

"Take over." Echo quickly spoke to Tech, standing and striding to Hunter, avoiding eye contact.

"Echo," Hunter hissed, "He took her,"

Echo still wouldn't look at him, "Sit still so I can work on this," Echo urged, "I'll make Wrecker sit on you."

Hunter could see the attempt for humor, to lighten the situation ever so slightly, even though Echo had been right all along. If they left with Rex they wouldn't be in this situation at all, this was his fault... He made the decision for them to stay, to try and pay off their debt, and he lost his kid for that. He couldn't help but pull away as Echo put a bacta patch on his chest, at some point they had taken his chest piece and top off while he was lost in thought. He grabbed Echo's shoulder, forcing the man to look eye to eye with him, "We have to get her back."

Echo had a look in his eye Hunter hadn't seen before, throughout all their time together through the war this look had never so much had crossed his face, it was fear. Hunter could see it plain as day now, the fear in Echo's eyes, the fear that he Hunter could feel in the bottom of his heart.

"Echo, We have to-"

Echo growled, grabbing Hunter's hand and sitting it back down in his lap, "You need to hold still."

Hunter still wouldn't sit still, Echo couldn't stop himself.

"Stop Moving!" He bit out, shocking everyone, "Sit Still So I Can Patch You Up So We Can Find Omega. I Swear," Nobody dared interuppt, "You Think You're The Only One Who's Worried!?" Echo took a breath, "I'm Scared To Death For Her Hunter! I Want Nothing More Than To Track That Ship And Find Her But We Can't Do That Until You Are Healed!"

It was a strange silence that fell over the ship, no sounds other than the beeping of the ship controls from the other room. Hunter simply sat in silence, keeping his eyes shut.

"We have to find her." He repeated.

Echo finished patching his wound, standing and walking towards the cockpit, "We'll find her."

Omega blinked, trying to recall what had happened, it all came back too quickly. She lunged up with a gasp, "Hunter!"

A deep voice drew her from her thoughts, "He ain't here kid."

She turned to stare at the man, taking in his appearance. Blue skin, brown hat, red eyes, toothpick, blaster on his hip, not to mention the scary robot that was flying the ship. 

Omega automatically reached for her bow, unable to hide the fear as it wasn't there, she couldn't do anything other than scramble backward against the wall.

"Relax, kid. My job is to bring you in alive."

Omega took a breath, "Who are you...?"

"Name's Bane."

Chapter Text

Omega sat with her back against the wall, staring at the droid as it floated around. Its leg seemed broken but it was still functioning fine, other than bumping into things occasionally, it was humming as it worked. Omega brought her knees up to her chest, crossing her arms over her knees, she dropped her head to rest on her arms. Everything that happened today finally catching up with her, she couldn't help it as tears streamed down her face.

"Kid." Bane said aloud from where he sat, spinning in his chair. He stared as Omega raised her head to look at him, eyes filled with tears, he simply huffed and continued, "Here," He tossed a ration bar, landing it at her feet, "I presume it's about time for you to eat."

Omega stared at the ration bar, scrubbing a hand over her eyes as she grabbed it and opened it. She nibbled at it as she stared at Bane, who simply stared back. He reminded her of Crosshair, the way he walked, and how he seemed very closed off. 

Omega tried to think of a way to talk to him and not appeared scared, remembering what the Batch had told her about Bounty Hunters.

"Why?" She asked aloud, noting how he blinked at her.

"Why what?"

Omega scanned the room of the ship then landed back on him, "Why are you a Bounty Hunter?"

He stared for a moment, spinning in his chair to face the front windshield again, "Hm."

Omega couldn't help the feeling she had, he didn't seem good, the feeling she had wasn't fear so much as it was panic, "You're not doing this for the money..."

Bane's hands froze over the controls, "What?"

Omega stared at the floor, "You don't need the money."

Bane spun in his chair, crossing his leg as he stared at her, "I'm doing this for the money."

Omega brought her gaze back up, he couldn't put his finger on the look in her eye but he had seen it before somewhere, "No, you're not..." Omega seemed more confident in her accusation now, "You have nice clothes and weapons, you don't need money." He watched as a look of realization crossed her eyes now, "You've done this before..."

He couldn't help but shift in his seat, the kid was intuitive he had to give her credit for that, but this was almost too intuitive for his liking. "Why do you say that?"

Omega pointed at the small toy in the other corner, a child's toy, Bane hadn't even noticed it there. "That's a child's toy."

Bane puffed out a small bit of laughter, this kid was smarter than he gave her credit for, it was no wonder they wanted the kid back. "Look-"

Omega cut him off, "You like doing tough jobs, you like running because you're afraid..."

Bane cleared his throat, "No. Cad Bane does not fear anything, get that stuck in your head kid. Now, finish your food and sleep, it's a long flight."

Wrecker had finally fallen asleep, though it took much coaxing from Echo and a lullaby, which he hadn't done since the war. Tech was flying them after the ship, he had managed to track it before it hit hyperspace. Echo was now in the Copilot seat, helping Tech when needed. However they all knew the real reason why they both were working so hard, they were working hard that way they didn't have to deal with any emotions right now.

Hunter was sitting up in Omega's bunk, clutching her trooper doll in his hand. His enhanced senses making his grieving worse in all honestly, he couldn't help but take a deep breath and huff out sadly. He ran his thumb over the doll's head, unable to stop the image of Omega holding the doll up to him with a smile, her laughter filling the ship and brightening their day.

He couldn't stop the tear that rolled down his cheek as he realized he'd lost his brother and his kid.

"Hunter," Echo caught his attention, the man was standing at the bottom of the ladder, "Don't think like that, I need your head clear and prepped for when we come out of hyperspace."

Hunter cleared his throat, he was supposed to be the leader of this group yet sometimes he felt like the kid. He gave a nod, watching Echo walk away only to stop at the hallway to the cockpit, "We'll get her back." He ensured, striding out of the room.

Hunter took a breath and looked at the doll, Echo was right, he couldn't let himself lose hope. Omega had never lost hope, though everything she'd been through this far, she'd still told them how hopeful she was and how trusting she was in them. It was their turn to be hopeful and to live up to the trust. He didn't care if he had to call Rex, a Jedi, Cid, anyone, he was going to get her back. He tucked the trooper doll beneath the chest plate of his armor, making sure it was secure and safe.

It was time to save their kid.

Chapter Text

1) Hunter

Omega stared at him, eyes clouded with disbelief and fear, he had just told her she'd never go back to Kamino, that she'd never be trapped in a room and experimented on so long as they were with her.

She took a small breath, "Promise?" She whispered, voice quivering ever so slightly.

Hunter didn't hesitate, "I promise." He made sure his face was as serious as could be, wanting her to know that with every fiber of his being he'd fight to protect her.

Omega stared into his eyes once more, as if searching for the lie, a small smile replacing her frown. She gave a small nod at him, "Okay."

Hunter stayed where he was, kneeling by her chair, unable to bring himself to move. He wasn't one for physical touch, Cut had made it seem so easy, but he couldn't watch her hug her knees tightly anymore. He leaned back slightly, gaining her attention, without a word he opened his arms and motioned for her. He couldn't help but smile as she practically lunged from the chair into his arms, he made sure to bite back his hiss of pain and instead began to card a hand through her hair.

To his surprise she didn't cry like she had just moments before, she simply clung to his shirt and took deep breaths, hands messing with his hair that he knew was too long but wouldn't dare cut if it meant Omega was content. He wasn't sure how long they sat there, maybe minutes or hours, but she eventually fell asleep.

Hunter carefully leaned back, sitting in his chair with her secured in his arms, returning his gaze out the windshield. He couldn't help but remember Kamino and the many sleepless nights the Batch would have and how 99 was always there, somehow 99 knew, he'd sit them down and talk it out and comfort them.

He could hear 99 now, "Gar taldin ni jaonyc; gar sa buir, ori'wadaas'la." He'd say, usually speaking to them in Mando as a way to ensure they'd remember the language. Hunter took a breath, "Nobody cares who your father was, only the father you will be."

99 would say that to them every time they'd ask questions about Jango, about the man they were all based on, and 99 would simply say that.  Of course, none of them expected to ever be in the presence of a child let alone caring for one. Hunter didn't mind though, 99 was right, all that matters is what you will be.

2) Echo

Omega was home, it'd been several hours since he'd woken Hunter and taken 2nd watch, Hunter had transferred Omega to her bed then went off to his makeshift bunk. Echo glanced at Tech and then back to the control panel, adjusting a few settings. He couldn't help but freeze as he heard the pattering of feet approaching, very slowly and methodically. Echo spun silently in his chair, to face the wall to his right and not gain her attention, using his peripheral vision to watch her.

She stepped to Wrecker's bunk, staring at him a moment before giving a small nod, then glanced down the hallway at Hunter with a nod, with the grace of an assassin she slipped into the cockpit without making a sound, standing beside tech and watching him a moment before nodding.

Echo knew what she was doing, she was keeping tabs on them, she was making sure they were all here and all alive. He'd done that so many times during the war with his brothers he couldn't count, sometimes you just need reassurance.

Omega silently walked up to his chair, glancing to see if he was awake and freezing in her spot when he looked over at her. Echo smiled, watching the tension melt from her shoulders.

"I just, I wanted to, I didn't," She began, trying to supply him the reason for her sneaking around.

Echo raised his hand and motioned her over, helping her sit in his lap, "You don't have to explain Ad'ika, I understand. I do it too, every night I check on them and you."

Omega smiled back at him, leaning against his chest, "I thought she liked me..." Omega whispered.

Echo glanced down at the child who was now fiddling with her sleeves against his chest. "Who?"

"I thought Nala Se liked me, the Kaminoans were always so nice, but, but they don't like me, they just want to use me." Omega had begun speaking faster as if a new wave of emotions was being brought on. "I trusted them because they were all I had, then I had you guys and thought maybe it'd be ok but they won't go away, and it's not fair, I thought she wanted me."

Echo let her speak, knowing it wouldn't be good for her to keep it all locked up inside, he could tell the new emotion was anger. She was angry that Nala Se, which he now realized may have been the closest thing she had to a mother, had been trying to retrieve her merely for experiments. Why hadn't he realized that before, Omega had missed Kamino and Nala Se because that is what she thought a family was until she met them.

Echo leaned to the side so he was looking her in the eyes, "Omega," Her eyes met his, full of anger but mostly pain, "I want you to know that I will never let anyone experiment on you."

Omega's eyes softened slightly, "I know. I trust you."

Echo smiled and ruffled her hair, "Alright, it's time for bed. You need some rest. Tomorrow I have some Holos I wanna show you of the planets we visited during the war."

Omega nodded and gave him a quick hug before hopping down and silently heading to her bunk, not making a sound.

3) Tech

Echo had woken him moments ago, telling him it was his turn to watch the controls. Tech simply waved him off and got back to work on his datapad, glancing at the controls every few minutes. He heard Omega sit up in bed with a gasp, then the sound of her feet on the ladder, then the floor as she approached the cockpit quickly. Tech sat his datapad down and looked over at her, noting how her face was covered in tears, and both the Lula and Trooper were clutched in her arms.

Tech didn't really understand how the rest of the Batch knew what to do for Omega, he'd read tons of books and articles on children yet he still felt like he was missing a certain thing. He felt like he didn't really have the skills he needed to take care of a child.

"Bad Dream, Verd'ika?" He asked softly, noting how she nodded very quickly and her eyes darted around the room.

Tech cleared his throat, "Would you like to talk about it?"

She quickly shook her head, more tears threatening to fall.

Tech cleared his throat, "Would you like a hug-" He didn't finish his sentence as she quickly ran towards him, dropping the toys as she jumped into his arms.

Tech didn't say anything as she clung to his armor, which he knew couldn't be comfortable yet she didn't seem to mind as she sobbed against his shoulder. Tech tried to remember what he'd read, how to comfort children. He took a breath a hummed an old song, unsure of its name at this point all he could remember was the tune. He rocked side to side in the chair, rubbing her back as she hiccuped and sniffled.

Without a word he stood and strode over to the spot where the toys were, kneeling to pick them up with his free hand. He stayed standing as he swayed on his feet, still humming and rubbing her back. He couldn't help but feel a sense of pride as she stopped crying and relaxed, breaths even and smooth. Tech needed to focus on his work but he couldn't leave her alone in case she'd wake up again upset, luckily for him he knew just the clone to protect her.

4) Wrecker

Wrecker jostled awake, "What'dya want?" He muttered.

Tech was standing beside his bed, Omega in his arms. Wrecker blinked and propped himself up on his elbows, "What's wrong?"

"She needs someone to help her sleep, I have to do work, Hunter needs to heal, and Echo's bunk is far too small to fit both of them comfortably."

Wrecker stared at him a moment, understanding finally filling his expression, "Oh, give her here."

Tech easily transferred Omega into Wrecker's arms, watching a moment before leaving and heading back to the cockpit. Wrecker adjusted so he was on his back, one arm serving as a pillow for Omega and the other serving as a pillow for himself.

"Wr'ker?" Omega questioned, accent thick and slurred from exhaustion.

Wrecker cracked his eyes open and glanced at her with a smile, "Yeah kid, go to back sleep, you're ok."

Omega shifted so she was lying against his shoulder, tucking herself into a small ball and holding onto his shirt. Wrecker wrapped his arm around her and held her close, making sure not to crush her.

"Nuhoy," He offered, remembering the small amount of Mandalorian he'd been taught, "I've got you."

Omega muttered something inaudible and relaxed, still clinging to his shirt even in her sleep.

When Wrecker woke up Omega was still tucked at his side, Hunter and Tech were in the cockpit discussing something and Echo was organizing supplies. Omega was tough, agile, and smart. She was a kid still though and sometimes kids just need to be protected and loved.

Chapter Text

The cockpit had fallen into a comfortable silence, Hunter was sitting in the seat behind Echo while Tech was trying to explain how the ship's circuits worked to Wrecker who was sitting behind him. Hunter had put Omega to bed a few moments earlier, noting how she had seemed to be exhausted from their small supply run even though she didn't do any running or much walking for that matter. He blinked as he was drawn from his thoughts by the sound of Omega's feet climbing down the ladder, very slowly and not methodical like usual. He silently turned his chair to face the door, waiting for her to enter, gaining the other Batcher's attention.

Omega stepped in and was quite a sight. Her usually spikey and fluffy hair was matted to her head with sweat, her face was red, she was clutching the Trooper doll in her arms tightly, her little frame shaking, plus Hunter could hear how wheezy her breaths were from where he sat.

"Omega?" He spoke first, already stepping out of his chair and kneeling beside her.

Omega didn't say a word, she silently leaned forward to rest her head in the crook of his neck, he almost shuddered at the heat radiating off her. He could smell it now too, there was no way to describe how sick smelt but he knew how it smelled and this was it.

"She's sick." Hunter voiced aloud.

Echo was up and walking down the hall before Hunter could speak again, "I'll get some water, blankets, and meds."

Of course, Echo knew what to do, he always seemed to anyway.

Tech was up next, grabbing something from a small compartment and approaching slowly. "I'll scan for temperature, it'll only take a moment." He silently scanned her head, nodding at the numbers and words reading out, "It's a low-grade fever, nothing severe, it seems she's picked up a bad cold. Which is to be expected, having never left Kamino her immune system isn't as strong as ours. Even being a Generation One clone doesn't make you immune it would seem." He strode back to his seat, beginning to research things to help with colds.

Wrecker stayed where he was sitting, silent, not wanting to be loud and scare her, he loudly whispered to Hunter, "Can I Help?"

Hunter glanced down at the small girl in his arms, now practically asleep standing up, and glanced back to Wrecker. "Sure, Go put on regular clothes first."

Wrecker was up and gone within the second, returning a moment later in his regular clothes that he usually wore on planets where they needed to blend in. Hunter motioned for Wrecker to sit down, which he did, and deposited Omega into his awaiting arms. Omega shifted as if she were going to protest only to give a content sigh at the warm Wrecker had radiating off him.

Echo came in, arms full with bottles of water, blankets, meds, and Lula. He sat everything down and took the small medicine shot, silently stepped beside Wrecker, and giving him a nod. To their surprise Omega didn't so much as stir awake when he gave her the shot of Fever Reducer, she didn't make a sound other than her wheezy snores.

Chapter Text

It had been agreed on that Wrecker was going to sit and hold Omega until he felt himself drifting to sleep then he'd switch out with someone. Echo had agreed to sleep in the cockpit just in case Wrecker needed something.

Omega shifted in Wrecker's arms, unable to stop the small whine as she moved, her body aching. Wrecker had his head back, snoring quite loudly, not awaking at her noise. The poor guy had been sitting there for hours now, his neck would no doubt be sore later. Echo heard her and woke easier, standing and striding to Wrecker's chair, he swept Omega's hair from her face unable to hide the soft smile as she leaned into the touch. He didn't hesitate to pick Omega up, making sure not to wake Wrecker.

"Let's get you some water, hmm?" Echo encouraged as he strode across the room, holding Omega on his hip with his prothetic as he picked up the water bottle with his human hand.

He carefully helped Omega sip it, making sure she drank it slow. "Alright, that should be good." He sat the bottle down and used his hand to rub circles on her back. He couldn't really remember what helped him sleep as a kid, back at the academy you either slept or trained exhausted.

"Did I ever tell you about the time I was on Rishi Moon?" He kept his voice soft.

Omega shook her head against his shoulder, her body still tense and shaking. Echo sat in his chair, beginning to retell the story. From meeting Rex, all the way to the battle, he made sure to leave out the scary parts, sighing in relief as he felt her relax. Silently he grabbed the small scanner nearby and checked her temperature, content that it seemed to slowly be going down.

Hunter woke up shortly after Wrecker had been sent to bed by Echo. Striding into the cockpit, heartwarming at the sight. Echo was sitting in the chair, one leg propped against the dashboard while the other kept him from falling on the floor, his head was resting against the chair's back and Omega was tucked against his side. Hunter almost wanted to leave them that way, knowing Echo probably hadn't slept in a while but he knew sleeping like that would cause horrible stiffness. He strode up and tapped Echo's shoulder gently, noting how he woke up with a salute like usual. He gave a simple wave, picking Omega up from the chair.

Echo didn't put up a fight, instead, he gave a nod and went off to his bunk. Hunter couldn't help but smile as Echo stumbled out of the cockpit, eluding to just how tired he actually was. Hunter carefully adjusted Omega in his hold, cradling her head carefully against his shoulder. Instead of sitting in the cockpit, he decided to go back to her bunk, silently stalking down the hallway. He climbed the ladder with ease, leaning back so one leg was propped against the wall and the other was resting on the rung of the ladder, his back being propped against the wall and Omega curled on his chest. He smoothed Omega's hair away from her face, tightening his arm around her to make sure she wouldn't fall. Eventually, he fell asleep, only waking when he heard footsteps approaching. In his half-asleep state, he quickly gripped his knife, huffing in relief as Tech's head revealed itself on the ladder.

"It is my turn to watch," Tech informed him, climbing back down to let him follow, still holding Omega. "I'll keep an eye on her," Tech informed.

Hunter nodded and transferred her into Tech's arms, making sure he was holding her properly before leaving for his bunk.

Tech was sitting in the Pilot's chair, holding a slumbering Omega as he working on his datapad, he'd checked her fever moments ago and was happy to see it had finally broken. He continued to work, glancing at her occasionally to check on her, only he froze when she was looking back at him. Her brown eyes no longer hazy and glassed over, instead they were clear and tired.

"Miss Omega," He greeted, "Your fever has broken."

Omega shifted in his arms, he thought she may have been trying to get up but instead, she snuggled closer to his chest, answering him with a yawn instead of words.

"I can return you to your bunk if you'd be more comfortable." Tech offered.

Omega simply shook her head, "C'mfy."

Tech couldn't help but smile, her Kaminoan accent was thick and it was almost hard for him to even understand, he ruffled her hair and continued to work on his datapad. She didn't say anything as she rested there, seemingly content with sitting in his lap. Tech continued to type away, running different codes and calculations.

"T'ch..." Omega muttered, obviously trying to stay awake.

"Hm?"

"C'n you tell me 'bout space?"

Tech stopped typing for a moment, considering the question, he knew Omega knew a lot about space already. "HyperSpace?" He provided.

She gave a small nod. Of course, Omega was a smart kid who did her research, she already knows about space but HyperSpace is so new to her.

"Well, you see-" He began at the beginning of when HyperSpace was being developed, how it served as a boost for the economy, how it actually works, everything you could need to know the listed off. He looked down and couldn't help but smile at how she was completely asleep, holding his hand with both of her hands. He gave up on typing for now and instead sat the datapad down and relaxed, he dropped his head forward to rest atop hers, falling asleep easily.

By the time he woke up Echo, Hunter, and Wrecker were all in the room with a now giggling Omega sitting on Wrecker's knee. Everything was fine. It was just a bad cold. Now it was gone, hopefully strengthening her immune system ever so slightly so they wouldn't have to worry about her being sick again for a while.

Chapter Text

Hunter took a deep breath as he stood atop the ramp, this planet was tranquil, there were birds sounding from the trees and a breeze causing the grass to dance. They'd finally found a spot to land and relax for a day, mainly to let Tech repair the ship, but also to let Omega relax.

Omega strode to stand beside Hunter so her shoulder was brushing his arm, she'd been making a habit of being close to them.

"Why don't you head on down?" Hunter offered, stretching his arms in the air.

Omega looked up at him then back to the grass, "I- I can wait."

He hated how her curiosity was now battling with her fear, while she had the tendency to get into trouble he didn't want her to miss out on experiencing fun things. He nodded his head and adjusted his armor, making sure his vibro-knife was secure and began walking down the ramp. He stepped onto the grass and offered Omega an encouraging smile as she followed him, her brown eyes scanning the area as she descended behind him.

Echo, Wrecker, and Tech followed shortly after. Tech and Wrecker immediately getting to work on the ship while Echo followed behind Hunter and Omega.

"What are those...?" Omega whispered, pointing at some flowers.

Hunter glanced over and stared at them a moment, "Black Lilies."

Omega silently left Hunter's side, going to squat beside the flowers staring at them. Hunter and Echo strode over to stand beside her, not making a sound.

"Their so pretty," She exclaimed, reaching out and running her hand over the petals, a smile blossoming across her face. She looked at both of them with a smile and then back at the grass, excitement growing as she saw more flowers. "There's more over there!" She jumped and ran towards them.

Hunter and Echo couldn't help but smile as they stood and followed her over, watching as she examined each flower carefully.

"Look at those!" Her attention jumped from the flowers in her hand to the ones across the field, that sparkle finally returning to her eyes.

She didn't hesitate to run over and grab one, whispering an apology to the flower as she picked it and brought it back. "Look at how pretty it is!"

Echo knelt beside her with a nod, staring at the flower, "That is a Kelari Lily right Hunter?"

Hunter leaned down and looked at it, "Yes it is, looks like you found a whole batch of them."

Omega bounced on her feet, "What do they do?"

Echo glanced over at the big batch of flowers, "They can be used on the battlefield to treat wounds if you don't have any bacta."

Omega stared at the flower in her hand, "Wow! Can I show Tech and Wrecker?"

Hunter gave a nod and ruffled her hair, watching as she took off running excitedly across the field towards the ship, her arms out and flapping in the wind as she giggled. Hunter looked at Echo as he stood, "Who knew flowers would be the thing to gain her curiosity?"

Echo glanced back at the flowers than at her as she ran into Wrecker's await arms and laughed as he spun her in the air, "I'm not surprised, she's never seen flowers before. Kamino doesn't have any."

As they strode back to the ship they could hear Tech explaining how the flower works like medicine to Omega, who was listening intently, and Wrecker who wasn't paying attention at all but was doing pushups as Omega sat on his back as a weight, it was obvious she didn't weigh anything to him though.

"Can we collect pictures of flowers from planets from now on?" Omega asked Tech.

Tech thought for a moment, "It wouldn't be difficult, I don't see why not."

Omega threw her hands up in excitement, then brought them back down and looked at the flower in her hand, with a smile she tossed it to sit on the ground gently.

So they began taking pictures of flowers from the planets they'd visit, adding them onto a datapad Tech had designated as Omega's Datapad. She'd carry it when they weren't on missions and when they were Tech would take pictures with his field datapad and send them to hers. Thus began the collection now known as Omega's Flowers.

Chapter Text

Hunter stared at the board in shock. He had made a bet that if Omega could win the game against him he'd let her come on the missions, she not only won the bet, she had beaten him in the game in a way he couldn't understand.

Omega was practically bouncing out of her seat, "I get to go on missions now right!?" She asked excitedly.

Hunter blinked up from the game, looking at her wide smile, "Yeah kid, you get to go with us."

She jumped from her seat excitedly, running towards Wrecker chattering about how she won the bet. Hunter was still sitting and staring at the board, trying to figure out how she managed to win. At first, he was going easy on her but as the game progressed she got more difficult to stump, to the point where he couldn't plan out moves anymore.

"You appear to be shocked," Tech questioned from across the table, a smile on his face.

Hunter brought his eyes off the table to Tech, staring. "You won't believe this..."

Tech brought his hand up, "I was watching your game from the bar, I believe it."

Hunter stared for a moment before a sudden idea blooming in his head, he quickly stood and grabbed Tech's arm, "Sit."

He sat tech in his seat and motioned Omega over, "C'mere kid." As she approached he lifted her and sat her in the chair opposite of Tech. Without a word, he reset the board.

"Play." He motioned the board.

Tech glanced at Omega and the board before returning his gaze to Hunter, "This hardly seems-"

Hunter raised his hand, "Just play, it's an experiment."

Tech hummed and faced the board, carefully planning his moves, he silently pressed the button and watched the figure on the board. Omega watched his eyes and hands as he pressed the button, then watched his figure move, without so much of a sound she swiftly pressed a few buttons and had already gotten rid of one of his figures.

Wrecker and Echo had now approached, standing on either side of Hunter watching, obviously interested in who would win.

Tech would make a move and Omega would counter it, he'd get rid of one of her figures and she'd get rid of one of his, they continued like this for several minutes. Omega wasn't even looking at the board at this point, she was staring directly at Tech, watching his body language and movements. Tech however was focused solely on the board and buttons, trying to figure out how to get out of the stalemate. He moved his piece and watched as Omega's piece moved opposite of his, they were indeed locked in a stalemate with no way to have a winner.

Omega stared at him, watching as he looked up from the board at her, his eyes were obviously calculating something. Omega didn't say a word, simply stared at him quizzically, "What does that mean?" She asked pointing at the words now flashing on the board.

Tech's gaze dropped to the board, clearing his throat he spoke slowly, "It means stalemate... It's a tie."

Echo nearly dropped his drink, "What?" He whispered.

Hunter was staring at the board as well, "Wow..."

Wrecker picked Omega up and danced around the room as usual, "Good job kid! You got a tie!"

"Tech?" Echo asked again, "She tied you?"

Tech stared at the board, a smile beginning to cover his face, "She was going to win had she not hesitated. Her hesitation is the only reason we tied..."

Hunter still didn't say anything, simply pondering the fact that their kid would have won against the smartest person they know.

Echo sat his cup down, "So you're telling me-"

Tech didn't let him finish, "She out-strategized me... It was as if she could see different things I couldn't and had plans even I couldn't formulate. I-" He stuttered a moment, eluding to the others just how impressed and in shock he was, "I've never seen anyone do that."

Omega was still sitting in Wrecker's arms as they walked back over, her smile gaining all their attention. "Thank you for playing with me Tech!"

Tech simply nodded and stared at the board, obviously lost in his thoughts.

"Omega," Echo began, "Where did you learn to play like that?"

Omega stared for a moment, thinking, "I didn't know how to play this game, I watched Sid play it. I liked reading on Kamino so I learned a lot of stuff from the books."

Echo nodded, "But strategies like that don't just come from reading, I mean, it was as if you have been in a war before..."

Omega stared at him, her bright smile somehow getting bigger, "Really?! That's cool! Nala Se would let me play this game on Kamino, I don't know what it was called-" Her face slightly fell at the mention of her old mentor, only to brighten back up, "But she'd let me play and it was all about strategy!"

Echo nodded, "What was it like?"

Omega shifted in Wrecker's arms so she could use her hands to motion, "It was in a room with pretty lights and a big table, you sat there and had all these holo pieces of little people and ships, and you moved them around and it was like a battlefield?"

Echo blinked, "Oh ok! That's- cool! Can you go grab that box of Mantell Mix from the other room for me, please?"

With a nod she jumped from Wrecker's arms and disappeared into the other room, leaving Echo to stare at the rest of the Batch.

"Those weren't games, that's exactly how I'd expect a kid to describe the Clone Strategy trainer."

Hunter waved a hand, "She already confirmed Nala Se wouldn't let her near the clone training areas."

Echo shook his head, "I forgot you all trained in a separate area than the rest of us," Echo confirmed, "The Kaminoans had private facilities dotted around the factory, for-- private sessions with specific clones. It would only make sense that Omega had her own facility to train in, even if she wasn't allowed to do the physical training the Strategy training is all mental."

Tech thought for a moment, "It would make sense that since she couldn't physically train they'd train her mentally. It would also account for her attention to detail, heightened emotional awareness, and obvious hand-to-eye coordination."

"I'll have to talk to her about it..." Hunter confirmed.

Omega came running in with the box, stopping at Echo's feet with a smile, "Here you go!"

Echo took the box with a smile, eating a piece of candy to show her he hadn't just sent her away to talk without her. Sid came in the room with her usual grumbles, offering Omega a smile and depositing a stack of credits into her hands, "Here's your cut that's left, guess your bucket-heads don't owe me." She offered them a quick grin and shuffled back out.

Omega stared at the credits in her hand and looked at the batch with a confused stare, "What do I do with these?"

Hunter smiled, "Put them in your pouch kid, they're your credits."

Chapter Text

Hunter had said to stay close to the ship, which she had been doing all day. She had been sure to stay within view of the ship as she explored around the small clearing they had landed in. She had been extremely careful while walking like Echo had told her, so she wouldn't disturb any animals, Tech had explained to her where to look for the local birds, Wrecker had given her Lula as a protector. She couldn't help but wonder why all the local animals seemed to be making their way into their caves and burrows, the birds hiding in hollow trees. Then she saw it, the far too familiar flash of lightning, prompting her to jump from her spot and looking around frantically.

The flash of lightning was bright, causing everything to brighten then suddenly plunge back into darkness as the clouds overhead seemed to block the sun entirely. Omega glanced up at the sky in fear as the thunder roared, threatening to burst her eardrums. She quickly looked around, trying to remember the way back to the ship, knowing exactly which tree she needed to see. She'd made sure to memorize one tree she could use as a compass, to know exactly which way the ship was, only now in the dark she couldn't see the tree. She felt herself flinch when the rain hit her face, signaling her to look up as the downpour was beginning.

Omega didn't hesitate to grab her comm, still clutching Lula in her other hand, "Hello?" She urged into it, only receiving static, "Hunter? Echo? Tech? Wrecker?" She experimented with all their names, hoping it would reach at least one of them.

Hunter was standing at the top of the ramp, staring at the rain pouring down, tapping his foot with his arms crossed. "Call her again."

Tech attempted to use the comm again, "Omega, please respond."

Static filled the Havoc, not easing their anxiety.

"I'm going-" Hunter began, only to be cut off by Tech again.

"That would not be wise, this planet is known for its extremely intense storms. It is said by locals that you must not go out during the storms as it is far too dangerous-"

Echo appeared beside Hunter, "But Omega is out there."

Tech stared for a moment, "Yes, which is why I'm-"

All heads spun to the comm as it crackled, the broken voice of Omega coming through, "-lo? -er m-"

Tech hit the button, "Omega?"

"-ch! I- -nd, -cave- -ait -am safe." The comm began getting more and more static almost to the point they couldn't hear her voice.

Wrecker glared at the little comm unit in Tech's hand, "What did she say?"

Tech stared for a moment, trying to remove the static within his brain and decipher what she had said, "She found a cave," He paused a moment, then continued, "She's going to wait there, she is safe."

Hunter took a breath and released it, "Ok, how long until this storm passes?"

Tech typed something on his datapad, "About 30 minutes."

Omega glanced around the small cave, striding towards the back wall to get away from the rain. Silently she sat against it and hugged Lula tight, staring at the rain falling, a thought popping into her head.

"This is my first real mission alone..." She said aloud, unable to stop the small smile on her face, "I'm on a mission!"

She took Lula and stared at its face, her smile growing, "Private Lula! We must survive on this planet until our rescue comes!"

She stood up and walked towards the entrance to the cave, watching the rainfall, holding Lula closer as the thunder became distant. "It's ok, Private Lula, I'll protect you."

"It's a cold rain, hmm Lula?"

She quickly stared down in horror as a growl sounded off, stared at Lula as she assumed it was the doll, only to turn her head slowly as she realized the noise was coming from behind her. She could help but feel fear rise in her chest as she stared at the shadowy creature in the corner, somehow she had missed it when she first found the cave.

"Hello?"

She was merely answered with another growl, causing her to back up to the edge of the entrance, stopping as she felt the rain hitting her shoulders. She clutched Lula closer, stealing a quick glance outside before looking back at the shadow approaching her.

"I- I'll be going-" She didn't wait for another growl as she spun on her heels and ran, weaving through the trees. 

As she ran she glanced around for anything she could use to help her, noting a tree with lower branches, she quickly tucked Lula in her comm belt and began climbing the tree. Not looking down as the creature growled from the ground, she continued climbing until she was sure the creature below couldn't reach her, holding the tree tightly as she glanced down at the creature. She presumed it was the planet's version of a wolf, but she couldn't be sure.

The rain dripped through the branches, landing on her face. She took a deep breath and grabbed her comm, trying again to reach the Havoc.

"Hello?!" She huffed, trying to catch her breath from running.

The bad batch had been walking for a while now, Tech had informed once the lightning had stopped they could walk safely and find Omega, Hunter had been trying to Comm for a while only to receive static which Tech has said was natural with her being in a cave.

"Hello?" Omega's voice echoed through the Comm.

Hunter nearly dropped the Comm in his hand, "Are you ok, Omega? Are you hurt? Where are you?"

"I- I'm in a tree."

Hunter glanced around trying to use his tracking to find her tracks, "What can you see?"

Omega took a breath again, "I can't tell,"

"Can you climb down from the tree?"

"No," They noted her hesitation, "There's something at the bottom of the tree."

Hunter glanced at the batch, "Ok, Can you try yelling really loud so I can hear you?"

Omega took a breath, "HELLO!" She screamed, gripping the tree as the branch she was on swayed in the breeze.

The creature below the tree growled, still clawing at the bark. Obviously unsettled by her yelling.

"Omega!" Hunter shouted back, voice getting louder as they got closer.

Omega carefully glanced down, looking for them, huffing in relief as she saw the gray shining through the trees. She shut her eyes tightly and gripped the tree, not looking as they fired their blasters at the creature below.

"Omega?" Echo called up the tree.

Omega opened her eyes and leaned her head over, "Hello."

Echo gave a small chuckle, "You can climb down now, the wolf is gone."

Omega gave a nod and adjusted Lula on her belt once more before descending slowly, testing branches before stepping on them.

"Almost there," Echo encouraged as Hunter and Tech disposed of the wolf.

Omega glanced down at Wrecker's awaiting arms and leaped into them, hugging him tightly.

"Quite an adventure, huh?" Echo asked.

"It was kinda fun." Omega agreed from Wrecker's chest.

"Thank you for protecting Lula!" Wrecker offered with a smile.

Omega nodded, "It was my first real solo mission!" She exclaimed excitedly.

Tech had approached now, "Solo Mission?"

"I was alone and had to survive until rescue, just Private Lula and I!" She informed, matter-of-factly.

Tech smiled, "You did very well on your first 'Real' Solo Mission."

Hunter had stalked over, not interrupting their talking. "Are you okay?" He asked her, noting how Wrecker sat her down so she could stride over to him. He put his hands on her shoulders, doing a quick injury check, "Are you hurt?"

Omega shook her head, "I'm okay." She confirmed.

Hunter took a breath and ruffled her hair, "You did good, I'm proud of you."

"As am I," Tech confirmed.

"Quite proud," Echo added.

"Ya! I'm proud too!" Wrecker agreed.

Omega couldn't help but smile wider, unsure of what to say. On Kamino, you didn't get praise, you simply got told you did it and it wasn't the worst outcome.

"Alright, Let's get going." Hunter offered, guiding them to the ship.

Chapter Text

Omega couldn’t help but look around, she’d tidied her small bunk room, helped Echo with his prosthetic, assisted Wrecker with cleaning the ship, provided Tech with an extra set of hands while re-wiring the cockpit, and helped Hunter wash their armor. She was thoroughly bored and in need of doing something fun.

she glanced over and noticed a pencil and blank sheet of paper sitting on the console of the computer, she looked towards the cockpit and noted how the batch was in an intense discussion over something, so she grabbed the paper and pencil with a smile.

She silently sat against Gonky, carefully drawing, making sure not to make too many mistakes. She sat for a while drawing, chatting to Gonky. She began to doze off, jolting awake as she would drop the pencil until she couldn’t fight sleep any longer. She sat the pencil and paper on the ground and rubbed her eyes, leaning against Gonky and giving it a quick pat, and promptly fell asleep.

Echo strode into the small hallway, his gaze automatically falling on Omega, a smile covering his face. He knelt down carefully and shook her shoulder gently, “Omega?”

Omega muttered something and she cracked her eyes open, obviously not entirely awake.

”Time for bed,” Echo informed.

Omega didn’t say anything, she simply leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his neck, dropping her head onto his shoulder.

Echo have a light laugh and picked her up, carefully climbing the ladder and depositing her into bed, making sure to tuck her in snug. He tucked trooper and Lula in with her, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.

”Night.” Echo offered, his smile somehow growing when she hummed back.

He descended the ladder with ease, eyes catching on the piece of paper on the ground. He swiftly picked it up as he strode back into the cockpit, freezing as soon as he entered, eyes locked on the paper.

All eyes turned to him, seriousness and annoyance replaced with concern and confusion.

”What?” Wrecker asked first.

Hunter was second to speak, “Echo?”

Tech sat back in his chair, “What’s on the paper?”

Echo’s shocked face faded to pure joy, a smile the bad batch hadn’t seen since Rex was around. Without a word Echo turned the page around revealing the drawing done by Omega.

Needless to say the 99 Crew slept at ease, hearts full of joy. Omega would find newer colored pencils and nice sketchbooks to draw in, which she did quite often.

Chapter Text

Omega was sat in the co-pilot chair, staring out the windshield, obviously lost in the thought. Tech was sitting in the pilot chair, adjusting certain controls and codes, unable to stop himself from glancing over at her occasionally. She was quieter than usual, by this time she would have asked him to recite the ship parts so she could memorize them, but instead, she stayed staring out the window.

Tech couldn't take the silence any longer, he cleared his throat, "Omega, are you alright?"

Omega blinked, turning her head to him with a cocked eyebrow, "I'm ok, are you ok?"

Tech offered a smile, "You have been much quieter since we left, I was concerned you may have been hurt in some way."

Omega shook her head, "I'm not hurt, just- thinking."

Tech gave a nod and turned his attention back to the controls, not wanting to push her to explain her thoughts, he understood that some thoughts should remain with their thinker.

"Tech?" Omega asked quietly, eyes once again staring out at the stars.

"Hm?"

Omega hesitated, something Tech hadn't known her to do when asking a question, he turned his head to face her. "If you have a question please do not hesitate to ask, I am willing to answer any question to the best of my ability."

Omega took a breath, "Do you think flying is about a feeling?"

Tech thought for a moment, "I- don't understand the question."

Omega spun to face him, "Hera said that knowing the ship is only a part of flying, that flying is about a feeling. Do you have that feeling?"

Tech turned to face the controls, "Well, it is true that being a pilot is not just knowing how to control and fly the ship, as a pilot you must know how to fly and how to react with your environment."

Omega was listening intently, waiting for his true answer. He couldn't help but feel strange talking about this, he was a logical person, emotions and feelings were always pushed down.

"I- I like to think that flying is a combination of emotion and logic. You must be skilled and educated to fly the ship but you must be rational and patient."

Omega nodded and faced the window again, not saying anything. Tech sat in the silence for a moment, "What do you think?"

Omega's head snapped to the side, so quickly Tech almost worried about whiplash, her eyes wide and confused. "You want to know what I think?"

Tech was confused at her confusion, "Of course, your thoughts, ideas, and values are valid and important to all of us."

Omega's confusion faded to excitement with a hint of sadness, "On Kamino, nobody ever wanted to hear my thoughts. Except for AZ but he didn't have much choice."

Tech stared at her, he could see himself as a young clone, full of knowledge and ideas with no one to tell or anyone that would listen. Of course, he could tell his brothers but they simply didn't understand or care for that matter. He couldn't help the wave of protectiveness he felt wash over him, staring at the disheartened child before him, making a silent vow to never let her ideas go unheard.

"We are always ready and excited to hear your thoughts, Omega. Please do not hesitate to share what you're thinking with us."

Omega's sadness flickered for a moment, in doubt, until she saw his reassuring smile. The sadness was quickly replaced with happiness, "Okay, well," She adjusted herself in the chair, "I was thinking and I realized Hera was right!"

Tech nodded, spinning his chair so he was facing her entirely, giving her his full attention.

"She said when she imagines flying she sees herself up there, when I imagine flying I see myself here with you guys." She stopped for a moment to gather her words, "When I'm flying, I feel like I'm free. It's as if I was never trapped on Kamino, bound to work in the medical lab forever and become an experiment."

Tech could feel a warm feeling in his chest growing as he heard her mention them, that when she imagines flying she's with them. Tech couldn't stop his smile as it grew, he simply nodded his head not wanting to interrupt her train of thought.

"I- I know you all promised I won't go back and I believe you, but when we're flying and I can see the worlds go by, it feels-" She seemed at a loss for words but her face faded to understanding, "-safe. Flying feels safe."

Tech didn't know what to say, he had no planned response for something that heartfelt, especially from a child. "I'm glad you feel safe with us," Tech began letting his feelings bubble up to the surface for once, "I understand we aren't the safest group in the galaxy, especially now that we're wanted, but I want you to know everything we do is in your best interest. Our top priority mission is to keep you safe."

Omega's face had fallen from the excitement, instead into an emotionless state, scaring Tech. She was simply staring at him, her eyes slightly widened.

"Y- You mean that?"

Tech smiled again, "Of course, you're part of our team now, as Hunter has stated many times before, 'You're stuck with us' if you continue to wish it so."

Omega jumped from her chair and strode over to him, flinging her arms around his neck and hugging him tightly. Tech sat for a moment, replaying what just happened, without waste, he wrapped his arms around her and held her close.

"I always want to be with you guys," Omega confirmed, not leaving the hug.

Tech gave a small huff of laughter, "That might not be the most logical choice," he tightened the embrace, "but I am glad."

Tech wasn't sure how long they sat in the hug, he took a deep breath, noting how Omega was beginning to fall asleep in his arms.

"If my calculations are correct, it is time for your sleep cycle to begin."

Omega gave a small nod, stepping out of the embrace and rubbing her eyes, quite adorably if you asked Tech. He checked the controls one last time before standing and guiding her to her room, assisting her in climbing the ladder, making sure she was tucked in properly with both Lula and Trooper. As he descended the ladder and spun he saw Echo and Hunter staring at him with a smile, unable to stop the blush rushing to his face.

"Silence," He whispered, "She just fell asleep."

Tech marched past them, "Not a word." He uttered as he passed, going back to his seat.

Nobody brought it up, but it was difficult not to notice how relaxed Omega had become with Tech. She didn't hesitate to hug him, offer her help, ask him questions, it was as if something had changed.

Chapter Text

Omega was laying in bed, lost in the depths of sleep, dreaming of nice things. The ship, being parked at one of Cid's hangars, was off and quiet. Without it running there was no humming of the engine or beeping of the nav system, it was a drastic change that Omega still couldn't quite get used to. Wrecker was out in the bar, helping Cid move heavy crates in exchange for more mantell mix. Hunter had said he was going out to shop for supplies, Tech following along to get some equipment. Leaving Echo and Omega on the ship to relax. When Omega fell asleep Echo was in his bunk, silently sleeping. Omega couldn't help but toss and turn in her sleep, the silence of the ship now turning her pleasant dream into a nightmare.

"Don't go!" Omega cried out, watching as Hunter was walking away, "Please-"

Hunter didn't stop walking, Wrecker and Tech following behind him, "We're busy kid, you can stay here for a while." Wrecker grumbled.

Omega was trying to chase after them but it seemed the faster she'd run, the farther away they'd get. "I'll be alone?!" She cried again, finally stopping in her tracks.

Echo was now walking with them, "Being alone isn't the worst thing in the world." He growled, which turned into a laugh as they all walked off.

Omega stared at them fading from view, unable to stop the rising panic, she had to do something. She couldn't end up alone again, she needed people, she-

"NO!" Omega sat up with a cry, clutching Lula and Trooper close. She could feel the tears streaming down her face, she could also feel her body shaking from fear and unbroken sobs.

Echo was up within the second she shouted, making it to the ladder in 3 steps and already climbing, "Omega!?" He urged, head appearing in view.

Omega couldn't say anything, she simply turned her head to look at him as the tears continued to stream down her face.

"Hey-" Echo quietly greeted, climbing up to sit beside her, "Hey, talk to me, you hurt?"

Omega shook her head, finally finding her voice, "I- was alone-" Her voice cracking as the sobs broke through.

Echo pulled her into an embrace, trying to be as comforting as he could, "Hey, you're ok, you're not alone, I'm here, we're all here."

Echo couldn't help but remember his nightmares, how often he'd have them, and how the Batch would assist him in calming down.

"C'mon," He stated, scooping her up and carrying her down the ladder, noting how she didn't protest at all. Without a word he sat on his bunk, tucking her between him and the wall, making sure she was comfortable.

Omega buried her face into Echo's chest, crying until she couldn't produce more tears, letting her breath finally even out. She adjusted her grip, switching to hold onto his shirt, taking a deep breath. Omega knew it would sound weird if she voiced it but each member of the Batch had a distinct smell, Hunter smelled of what she thought Jungle planets smelled like, Tech always smelled like soap from constantly working with circuits and needing his hands to be extremely clean, Wrecker smelled like gunpowder and gun-cleaner, but Echo smelled like machine oil from his prosthetics. While some would find it repulsive she somehow took comfort in it, it always allowed her to know which member it was without looking.

"Omega?" Echo quietly asked, as if checking to see if she were even awake.

She didn't trust her voice, "Mhm?"

"Can I ask you something?" He was speaking very cautiously as if what he said would upset her again.

"Ok," Omega said with a small nod, snuggling against his chest.

"Why are you afraid of being alone?"

Omega wasn't sure if it was her exhaustion from crying or Echo's presence but she didn't feel as afraid to speak about it. "On Kamino, when Nala Se was busy or doing something she'd send me away to my sleep pod which was small and dark and lonely, whenever I wasn't with her I was left in a room by myself," She cleared her throat, tightening her hold on Echo's shirt, "I was always alone, sometimes I'd call for her but she wouldn't come, I didn't like it."

Echo tightened his hug, unable to think of what to say.

Omega took a small breath, "All I had was AZ but sometimes he was busy-" She could feel her breath speeding up again, "I don't- I'm not sure-"

Echo quietly shushed her, holding her even tighter if it was possible, "Hey," He whispered again, gaining her attention, "As long as I'm around I promise to try my hardest to make sure you're never alone."

Omega nodded against his chest.

"You'll always have us," Echo confirmed, "We need you."

Omega couldn't help but smile, one thing she loved so much about the Batch was their ability to speak how they feel, even though they weren't the best at it they still managed to let their feelings out in the ways that mattered.

Echo brought his left hand to card a hand through her hair, "Sleep," He encouraged. Smiling as she nodded softly against his chest and slowly fell asleep. He stared at the wall, hating Kamino more and more as he stared, wishing he could go back and personally fight each one of them. He hated the thought of Omega sitting in a room alone, calling for the one person she had only to have them not come for her, it broke his heart. He held her tight, hoping she would always understand that with them, she would never be alone.

Echo cracked his eyes open as he heard the ramp open to the ship, he rolled onto his back making sure not to wake Omega who was on his chest, grabbing his blaster from beneath his pillow and aiming it at the hallway.

Hunter appeared in his line of sight, offering a small friendly wave.

Echo gave a small huff and dropped the blaster back down and slid it under his pillow again, glancing to make sure he hadn't awoken Omega, she was still sound asleep.

Chapter Text

Cid smiled across the counter as Omega carefully placed the clean cups in a row, making sure it looked exactly how Cid had asked. Now if you asked Cid, she'd say she wasn't a fan of having a kid around because it was a liability, but deep down she didn't mind.

"Alright Tiny," Cid informed, "You've done a good job, why don't you take a break and relax?"

Omega glanced up at her, offering her the same smile back, "Okay!" She leaped up into one of the bar stools, with a little bit of difficulty, and spun to look around the bar.

The rest of the batch was dotted around the room, doing their own things. Wrecker and Hunter sitting at the other end of the bar cleaning their weapons, Echo standing beside Tech who was sitting beside Wrecker explaining something about the ship they needed to fix. Omega adjusted her belt, making sure her comm was tucked in properly and her bow was secured on her arm when she heard someone talking from the other side of the room.

"Pfft, They're all weirdos!" The man laughed, talking to another patron who seemed slightly uncomfortable with the conversation. "I mean, why else would they hang around Cid?"

Omega spun in her chair, now focused on their conversation.

"I mean have you seen the way they all walk in a group? The big one in the back and the dork in the middle?"

Omega couldn't quite put into words the feeling taking over, it was a mixture of anger and protectiveness. She stared at the man as he spoke, waiting for him to cross the line.

"I mean Cid's always been a nutcase but now she's adopted a batch of broken children? What's next? She gonna buy them all matching little outfits?" The man was laughing hard as he spoke now, "I bet they aren't even real soldiers."

Omega's body reacted in tune with her brain, she quickly removed her bow and sat it on the bar, and began unbuckling her comm belt.

From the end of the bar, Tech brought his gaze up, having been ignoring the man's snide remarks, "She's going to hit him."

Hunter, Echo, and Wrecker all looked up, watching as Omega slid from her chair and began walking slowly towards the man. Cid had now made her way down to their end of the bar and followed their gaze.

"No she's not-" Wrecker began, only to be cut off by Tech.

"She took off her bow and comm belt," Tech motioned at the items now sitting on the bar, "You can also tell by her stature that she is bracing."

Hunter blinked, staring at the items, "Oh my maker..." He stood, Echo standing beside him, it was too late, she had already crossed the room.

Omega had her fists clenched at her side, her feet shoulder-width apart, she stood in front of the man with a tight frown.

"What do you want, pipsqueak?" The man asked, tilting his drink to the side.

"What you said was not nice. You should apologize right now."

Omega did move as the man leaned forward in his seat, tapping her shoulder with the brim of his cup, sloshing some of the drink on her shirt. "I don't think I will, I meant what I said, all of them are freaks."

Omega felt the anger from her heart flood her arms, without hesitation she proceeded to punch the man in the face, hitting him hard on the nose. Watching as he flailed back in his chair, grabbing at his face.

She didn't even realize she was speaking until the words were already out, "They are not freaks. Don't you dare call them freaks."

Hunter and Echo were still standing at the bar, in shock that Omega had in fact hit the man and defended them with more passion and sincerity than expected.

"Why you-" As he leaned forward to grab her, Omega brought her foot to kick him in the crotch, watching as he doubled over in pain.

"You're a bully. I don't like bullies." Omega stood her ground, "You should leave."

The other patron surged forward and grabbed the man by the shoulder, "I'll show him out," The man said.

As they were leaving Omega spun on her heels, freezing when she realized they were all watching her.

Echo was the first to surge forward and kneel in front of her, "Omega-"

Omega misinterpreted his face as anger and immediately dropped her head to look at the floor, "I'm sorry, I just- He was being mean-"

Echo lifted her chin with a smile on his face, "I'm so proud of you."

Her frown wavered for a moment as if replaying his words in her mind, before switching to a smile. She looked over at Hunter who was approaching with a smile of his own.

"Now where'd you learn to punch like that?" Hunter asked as he knelt beside Echo.

Omega smiled wider, "I watched you guys!"

Cid was now laughing from behind the bar, "You should be my new bouncer tiny! You've got a lot of nerve and I like it."

Wrecker stood from his seat and approached happily, scooping Omega up as she ran towards him excitedly, "You were so brave!"

Tech adjusted his goggles as he stood, clearing his throat to gain her attention as Wrecker sat her down. He knelt down beside her, "Why did you stand up for us?"

Omega stared for a moment, "He was being a bully, I've seen other clones be bullies before on Kamino," Omega looked around at all of them, "I couldn't let him be mean to you guys, you're my family!"

There was a beat of silence, the smiles in the room somehow getting bigger.

Tech ruffled her hair, "Thank you, Omega."

Wrecker strode to the bar and brought back a box of Mantell mix, "This calls for a snack!"

Hunter and Echo were standing at the door to the cockpit, taking in the sight. Wrecker was sitting against one of the cockpit walls asleep, Omega sandwiched between him and Tech, who was also asleep and had his head resting atop Omega's.

"Can you believe she hit that guy?" Hunter whispered as the pride he felt still burning.

Echo smiled, "It's good to know now, she has signs for when she's about to do something."

Hunter looked over at Echo with a cocked eyebrow, unsure of what he meant.

"Like Tech said earlier, she had discarded her bow and comm belt," Echo motioned how even now she had the belt on and the comm safely tucked in the holder by her shoulder, "She always has the comm on her because she knows she can reach us, so if she takes it off we know something is about to happen."

Hunter nodded, "Good to know," He looked back at the sight with a smile, "Good to know." He repeated quietly.

Echo silently entered the room with a blanket, which Hunter had no idea when he grabbed it and stalked over to the sleeping trio. As he adjusted the blanket over them, Wrecker grabbed him in his sleep and pulled him into a hug, locking him in place. Hunter couldn't help but chuckle as Echo tried to squirm out of Wrecker's arms with no luck, he strode over and adjusted the blanket again so Echo was under it and tiptoed to the other side of Tech, dropping to sit beside him. He couldn't help but smile as he drifted to sleep, the image of Omega hitting that jerk filling his brain.

Sleep piles were common during the war, when they were on cold plants or if they had trouble sleeping, but this sleep pile was the best kind because they didn't have to wake up and fight an army of separatists or trudge through the snow.

Chapter Text

After waving goodbye to Hera and her family the batch quickly fled the planet, sailing in hyperspace towards Ord Mantell. The batch was sitting silently in the cockpit, an odd silence had fallen over them, Omega was sitting on the floor playing with Lula and trying to suppress yawns.

The silence wasn't uncomfortable, just unusual. Echo was sitting and messing with his prosthetic while Hunter cleaned his knife, Wrecker was watching his datapad while Tech adjusted flight controls. All eyes couldn't help but look as Omega yawned widely and stood, clutching Lula to her chest, she wordlessly strode to Hunter.

Hunter glanced over, sitting his knife away and spinning to face her, a smile covering his face and she dropped her head onto his shoulder. He carefully lifted her as he stood, smiling even more as she buried her face into the crook of his neck, mumbling goodnight to everyone.

"Night," Echo chuckled.

Wrecker waved, trying his hardest to whisper, "'night!"

Tech watched as they left, "Goodnight, Omega."

Hunter carried her from the cockpit to the ladder, carefully climbing it and depositing her in bed as gently as he could. He made sure she had Lula and Trooper, made sure she was tucked in properly, and silently clicked on the lights. "Night." He whispered, giving her a small head pat before shutting the curtain and going back to his seat.

Tech was the first to break their silence, "That mission went smoother than expected."

"I can't believe the kid convinced you to do it," Echo confirmed.

Hunter shrugged lightly, "She and Omega had created a solid plan,"

Wrecker shut his datapad down, "You shoulda seen her flyin'!"

Hunter and Echo glanced over, encouraging the chatter, Tech continued Wrecker's train of thought.

"While the flying was very erratic it was exactly how she needed to fly," Tech adjusted his goggles, "I have no doubts she could fly the ship if a situation called for it."

Wrecker nodded, "She took out so many cannons! Plus," Wrecker had never looked more proud, "She didn't even put a scratch on the ship!"

Hunter shifted in his seat, "Let me ask you all something," he waited until they all looked at him, "Did you hear Omega when we were saying no to Hera?"

Echo nodded, "The way she said, 'I'd do it for you.'?"

Hunter cleared his throat, "You don't really think she would-"

Tech cut him off, "Yes," He saw their looks, "Based on Omega's past behavior it is only logical to assume this, not to mention she is emotionally attached to each one of us." He paused and adjusted his goggles once again, "It is also very possible she'd succeed in her mission due to her determination and strategic ability."

There was another moment of silence, except this time it was because they were all remembering little moments they'd had with Omega.

Hunter can still see Omega's face after she had a nightmare, she couldn't sleep alone, he can still see her tear-stained face approaching his bunk. The way she had been shaking and trying not to cry, clutching Lula in a white-knuckled grip.

"Bad dream?" He offered, melting as she nodded and sniffled, "C'mere."

Omega crawled into his arms and let him protect her from the world, all the bad things seemed to disappear as he held her tight.

Echo can still see her face when she spoke to Rex, the way she looked similar to him yet somehow so different. Her confidence when speaking to him, like she had already met him and was comfortable with him. Every day that passed she continued to remind him of his past brothers.

He couldn't help but smile as she questioned him about his prosthetic, making sure to listen, she even bought him spare prosthetic parts while on Ord Mantell. Somehow, she knew exactly which ones he needed and what would be helpful.

Wrecker can still see her face the first time she ate Mantell Mix, the cautious scrunched face melting into pure joy and excitement, the way she looked at Wrecker as if wanting to make sure it was real and wasn't a dream.

"Like it?" Wrecker questioned, smiling as she nodded and ate another handful.

He closed the box, "Don't want to fill up, gotta eat some ration bars later."

She gave a nod and thanked him, explaining how she'd never had anything sweet before, as she left he turned to Cid and ordered all the candy and sweet things he could for Omega to try.

Tech can still see Omega sitting on the edge of her seat as he explained circuit boards to her, the way she was actually listening to him and wanting to learn. She was the first person who was willing to listen to all of his ramblings and teachings. He can still remember sitting there and muttering about the flight controls only to have Omega ask a question about it, the shock he felt when he realized she had been listening to the whole time and formulating a question as he spoke was indescribable. From that moment whenever he did anything he always made sure to explain to Omega why he was doing it and what it did.

The silence was cut off as the ship beeped, alerting them that they were exiting hyperspace. Tech spun to take control of the ship, easing them out of hyperspace and into one of Cid's private hangars. 

"We're pretty lucky, you know that?" Echo said with a smile.

Hunter nodded, "I'd say we are."

"Well, luck-" Tech began, face switching to realization, "Oh- you meant- Yes, I'd also say we are very lucky."

Wrecker smiled wide, "Ya! We're super lucky!"

Chapter Text

Hunter couldn't help but stare at Omega as she sat and helped Cid clean up the mess that was the bar. He still couldn't help but picture her face as she said, "I don't know, Ruby likes him, so maybe he isn't all bad." The understanding in her eyes was overwhelming at that moment that he couldn't even respond, he simply had to nod and walk beside her to the bar.

"What're you thinking so hard about?" Echo asked, causing him to blink and refocus on the present.

He had almost forgotten he was sitting beside the rest of the Batch, all of them now staring at him as they sipped their drinks.

"I was just thinking about Omega," Hunter muttered, drinking from his glass.

Tech adjusted his goggles, "You appeared to be thinking extremely hard, similar to how you did on Saleucami..."

Wrecker stared at Tech before he realized what he was implying, "No!" He pointed at Hunter.

Hunter quickly raised his free hand, "I'm not thinking about leaving her," He assured.

Echo gave a quiet laugh, "Like you could,"

Hunter turned to look at him, "What?"

Echo took a swig from his cup and leaned forward, "You have to see her or be in contact with her at all times, Hunter, you can't even fathom the idea of leaving her again."

Hunter stared at him, surprised at how true his words were. He couldn't stand not being able to see her, he didn't like the idea of her being alone or without a way to contact each other. When did he become such a helicopter parent?

He found himself laughing, "You're right."

Tech sat his cup down, "What is it you were thinking about then?" Obvious curiosity on his face.

Hunter glanced over at Omega again, she was now sweeping the floor and chatting as Cid wiped some of the tables. He cleared his throat and look back, "Have you ever noticed how compassionate she is?"

The group was quiet a moment, then Echo spoke first, "Yeah," There was a hint of somberness to his voice, "I've noticed. She reminds me so much of Fives and Rex."

Another moment of silence fell, more of a moment for Echo to grieve and reminisce before anyone spoke, then Tech spoke, "She is very compassionate when we do things. It would seem her passion and empathy for others is her greatest strength, it's how she learns and grows."

Wrecker nodded, "Ya! I mean look at her!"

All eyes glanced across the room to Omega, who was helping Cid walk to a chair and sit down. As she sat Cid down, her attention turned to the bar. She strode over to grab a cup and brought it back to Cid, making sure she drank it. If the batch hadn't known better they'd say it was like a kid taking care of their grandmother, especially when Cid ruffled Omega's hair with a smile.

Hunter couldn't help but smile wider, "She even felt bad for him," He was still so surprised by that, "She wanted to defend him."

Echo nodded his head, "She seems to see something in people we don't."

Tech took a small sip of his cup, "She has been showing signs of an enhancement of some kind, not only in the fact she is a master of strategical planning, something about the way she empathizes with people seems advanced, I've yet to figure it out."

Wrecker smiled and sat his cup down, "That's our kid!" With that he stood and strode over, helping her clean so Cid could remain sitting. As much as she joked and put on a tough act, it was obvious her legs were in pain from all the walking and climbing she had done earlier.

Echo sat his cup down, now empty, "Did you notice how she checked on Wrecker when he got back? She knew he was uncomfortable."

Tech nodded, "Somehow, she had seen his discomfort and knew exactly what to ask and how to handle it."

Hunter nodded, "He's always had a thing for bugs, but we haven't been around bugs since she came aboard right?"

Tech nodded again, "We haven't so much as mentioned bugs yet somehow she knew, it wasn't in his file on Kamino either."

Eyes once again fell to Omega, who was now dancing around with Wrecker hand in hand, Wrecker was also singing and dancing along with her.

"It's interesting to think about," Echo finally offered before sliding his cup onto the bar, striding over to them and seeing what he could do to help clean.

Tech finally finished his cup, standing up, "They are cleaning inefficiently," He muttered, however, to Hunter it was obvious he wanted to be part of the group.

As Tech walked over Omega quickly grabbed his hand and guided him over, pulling him into the group dancing as they cleaned. Even though Tech wasn't really dancing, he was merely swaying, the smile on his face was genuine happiness.

Hunter simply stared at them as they all danced and cleaned, Cid sitting beside them with a smile of her own, he could get used to this. He still missed Crosshair, that wound would never truly heal and go away, that would be a permanent scar but he decided to put that sadness away as Omega came walking up to him.

He sat his cup down and leaned forward to look her in the eye, "Something wrong?"

"You're the only one sitting over here, do you wanna come dance?" She offered her hand and that big smile, that big smile he loved so much.

He took her hand, "I'd love to."

They danced around the bar and cleaned it up, the smiles and laughter that happened would be memories they wouldn't forget. Cid would probably never admit it aloud but she did enjoy having them around, especially when she saw how Omega would smile at her and give her a thumbs-up as she cleaned.

Chapter Text

Omega stared at the window as Tech flew them into Hyperspace, the weight of what had just happened beginning to settle on her shoulders. She slowly backed out of the cockpit and slid to stand beside the door, staring at it. She was never going to see him again, she, she'd just lost the first person who treated her like family, she just lost her brother, she-

Wrecker appeared in her vision, kneeling in front of her with concerned eyes, hands on her shoulder. It occurred to her now that he was actually speaking and she should be listening-

"Breathe Omega," Wrecker encouraged.

Oh- it made sense, she was panicking- of course, she took a deep breath and couldn't help it as tears spilled down her face, her panic seeming to spike worse as she tried to calm her breathing. Now Echo showed up in place of Wrecker, his soft smile and pale face staring at her with more concern than she'd ever seen on his face.

"Omega," Echo urged, gaining her attention, "Breathe like me," He took her hand and put it on his chest, taking slow deep breaths, "Copy me."

Omega shut her eyes tightly, following his breath, even more tears falling from her eyes as she felt her breath return easily.

Echo nodded with a sad smile, "That's it, just focus on breathing ok?"

Omega nodded, keeping her eyes squeezed shut, focusing only on counting and regulating her breaths. She didn't hesitate and Echo pulled her to his chest and held her close, she simply buried her face into the crook of his neck and cried the rest of her tears. "H- He's gone!" She cried out, unable to stop the rising panic once again, "He's g-gone, and I- I didn't do anything to h-help!"

Echo quickly pulled her back to stare into her bloodshot eyes, "Listen to me, and listen good, you did everything you could." He made sure she was hearing him as he spoke, "You flew the ship better than anyone could have asked for and you did everything in your power to make sure we all got aboard, this is in no way your fault. You understand?"

Omega nodded, collapsing back against his chest as she cried, unable to speak anymore.

Echo glanced back up to Wrecker and Tech, noting how Gregor had decided to stay in the cockpit which he was grateful for, staring at his brothers' concerned stares.

Tech made a motion with his hands as if asking what they should do, how they could help, how does a group of brothers with no experience console a child who just lost the closest person to them, and Echo had no answers to give. Wrecker simply stared in horror, obviously uncomfortable and unsure of how to even approach the situation.

Omega simply sobbed against Echo's chest until she fell asleep due to exhaustion, when she'd wake she seemed to cling to Echo as if being separated was not an option. Echo didn't mind, for the most part, the only time they were separated was when he would use the refresher and he'd come out to find her sitting on the floor holding her knees waiting for him.

She had trouble sleeping at night, now sleeping in the bunk with Echo, she would sit and then cry herself to sleep as she clung onto Echo's shirt like a lifeline. He didn't know how to handle it, so he simply held her close and rubbed her back each time until she would stop crying and fall asleep.

This continued each day and night until Hunter's return

+1 Hunter and Cross's Return

Omega was flying the ship again, doing just as Tech has requested, focused solely on keeping the ship close enough to the cliff. Hunter had managed to break out, with the help of a few inside friends, and was now running to Rendevous with Tech and Wrecker. Once they met up they would return to the Havoc and it'd be a quick getaway, however, Hunter mentioned he was bringing Crosshair which Omega was originally excited for but now realized she was nervous. How would Crosshair react to Omega using the gunner's nest as a room, how would he react to Omega being part of the team, would he even like her?

Echo must have heard her mumbling because he spoke up, "You're doing great," He gave her a quick smile, "Crosshair'll love you." He confirmed, striding to the ramp and laying down cover fire as they all approached the Havoc.

Suddenly Tech was there with Omega, "You've done an amazing job, I'll take over-" He didn't even get to finish his sentence before Omega handed him the controls and bolted towards the corridor.

Hunter didn't even need a second to think as he saw Omega approaching at high velocity, he dropped down and pulled her into a tight hug, holding her tighter as she sobbed. "Hey," He said softly, smiling as she tightened her hold. "You miss me?"

Omega didn't say anything, in fact, it worried Hunter until Echo appeared and spoke, "She was inconsolable Hunter..." His face was extremely serious, "You- She couldn't sleep, couldn't eat much, she thought you were dead..."

Hunter's smile fell from his face as he looked down at her, she was clinging to him, holding him as if when she let go he'd vanish and she'd be alone. He silently reached over and grabbed a ration bar, "Here kid, eat something." Omega didn't hesitate to take it from him, trusting him completely as she began to eat slowly.

Crosshair had strode to the cockpit, talking with Wrecker and Tech, internally crying with joy. He stood in the doorway, watching Hunter go into parent mode as he did things for Omega, making sure she drank water, making sure she finished the ration bar, whispering reassuring things as she voiced her difficulty with him being away.

He had gone soft, but that was ok, he had to admit that hearing Omega's soft and broken voice made his heart melt too. He couldn't help but force his smile away as Echo approached and smiled at him.

"What?" Crosshair offered, wondering if his old agitated facade would work.

Echo simply smiled wider, "I'm glad to have you back."

Crosshair smiled too, "I'm glad to be back."

"You know," Echo glanced over at Hunter and Omega who now were snuggled close and napping, "The kid adores you."

Crosshair hesitated, smile once against dropping, "Even after everything...?"

Echo nodded, "She constantly told us it wasn't your fault, that you couldn't help it. She even looks like you when she shoots."

Crosshair's head whipped to the side, "You let her shoot?" He was proud, however, he was slightly concerned that they let a child shoot.

Echo nodded, "She had to learn, for her safety, she constantly asked if you'd be proud of her and if you'd teach her some tricks when you got back."

Crosshair looked back at the sleeping child on Hunter's chest, a smile crossing his face, "I'd be more than happy to teach, from what I've seen she's a good shot."

Hunter closed his eyes and held Omega tight, He had all his brothers back and his little sister held tight in his arms, this was all he needed.

Chapter Text

AZ was pulling Omega into a sprint, following her brothers as they all ran for their lives. Omega couldn't think, too much was happening, too much noise, and too much to think. She knew her feet were running but it was only on pure instinct, not because she was thinking about it, AZ was still holding her hand as he guided her to follow the Batch.

Omega glanced down the halls as they continued running, so much had happened here, she learned to speak in the room down the hall on the right, she learned to walk in the room near the training facility, she learned how to strategize in the command room on the other side of the facility. She blinked and could see Nala Se's face, her warm smile and twinkling eyes just staring at her.

"What is it?" Young Omega questioned, "Something on my face?" She brought her hands up to her face to feel it.

Nala Se smiled wider and gave a quiet laugh, taking Omega's face into her hands, "No, You are just incredible. You've already mastered the strategizing course which takes regular clones months." There was something about the way she said 'incredible' that made Omega melt but Nala Se continued, "You are my little star. I know you'll achieve greatness."

Omega hugged Nala Se tightly, "Thank you," She didn't know what else to say, it was the first praise she had received and would be the last she received from Nala Se.

Omega blinked again and suddenly the image changed.

Nala Se was showing Omega how to care for an injured clone, this clone had hurt his shoulder, Omega was still too small to do anything particularly useful other than carrying needed medical objects so she was told to be emotional support.

"You're doing great!" Young Omega encouraged the clone, who remained silent as Nala Se relocated his shoulder, "You're so brave!"

The clone looked at her, pain laced in his eyes, but he managed a smile. In a gruff voice he spoke quietly, "Thanks kid," He gave her a quick ruffle of the hair, "You helped a lot."

There was no sarcasm to his voice, no annoyance, he was being dead honest and Omega couldn't believe that she had helped without even doing anything.

Omega took a deep breath, her ears being assaulted with the creaking of the facility and the explosions still raging from outside, her eyes now full of flashed as the lights flickered, AZ's metal claw grasped around her wrist pulling her, Hunter and Tech shouting at each other trying to figure out what to do, too much, too much noise, too much sight.

Omega didn't see the bar laying across the floor until it was too late, her left foot caught it, pulling her to a stop as she fell to the ground with a cry. She clutched her ankle tightly, unable to figure out what to do, she did the only thing she could do, she cried.

Hunter froze from running and spun quickly, making it back to Omega in 3 steps and kneeling quickly. He looked at her face and could see the way it was scrunched tightly in pain, tears streaming down her face, but something else seemed off.

"I'll carry you, we gotta keep moving." Without another word he picked her up, letting her wrap her arms around his neck and hide her face into the crook.

Without another word they kept running, trying to figure out where to go, Tech raised a hand motioning for them to stop running. "Let me check the schematics."

Omega's hands were fiddling with Hunter's hair, but he didn't miss the way she seemed to flinch at every loud sound. "You hanging in there kid?" He quietly asked.

She gave a soft nod against his neck and didn't move, worrying Hunter even more. "I know I promised you wouldn't come back here," He began again, "I broke that promise," he couldn't even stop the words because he didn't realize what he was saying, "I know I promised a lot of things and seem to keep breaking them, I just want you to be safe and happy. I can't promise I'll get you out of here but I can promise I'll try my hardest to get you out."

Omega nodded again, her tiny voice coming out so quiet that Hunter wouldn't have heard if not for his advanced hearing, "Scared..."

Hunter hugged her tighter, he was scared too, he had just got his brother back and they were supposed to be off Kamino and happy. Now they might die on Kamino.

Tech was panicking from where he stood, to the untrained eye he might just seem slightly annoyed but to his brother's he was in a full-blown state of fear. "I can't- I don't know where to go-"

Wrecker adjusted Crosshair on his shoulder, grateful the stun was lasting longer than anticipated, making the run much easier than trying to fight Crosshair. Echo was standing beside Tech trying to keep him calm but also trying to calm his own panic.

Omega's voice silently spoke into Hunter's neck again, "'la se's lab." She whispered.

Hunter dropped his head down to hear her better, "what'dya say kiddo?"

Omega sniffled, "We c'n go 'n n'la se's lab."

Hunter quickly whipped his head up, "Omega says we can go in Nala Se's lab."

Tech visibly shifted, from fear to calm, "Of course! Omega you're a genius!"

Without another word Tech quickly typed onto his Data Pad, "It's not on my schematics, I don't know how to get us there."

Omega finally raised her head from Hunter's neck, revealing her red tear-stained face, "I know."

Hunter quickly strode to the front, "Lead the way, I'll carry you and you call out when to turn."

Omega nodded and wiped her eyes, glancing down the corridors, "Left."

It took them 5 minutes to reach to lift using Omega's instructions, Hunter would question later why she knew how to get there so easily. 

The lift wasn't working, without power, it was stuck on floor 3 which thankfully they were on floor 1, now looking down the empty lift tube it was easy to see a small light illuminating from the bottom.

Wrecker jumped down first, with Crosshair, landing and sitting the unconscious clone aside before sliding to stand where he could catch them.

Tech and Echo went next, both easily jumped down and getting out of the way.

Hunter looked down at Omega, "You gotta trust me ok?" Omega gave a small nod, "I'm gonna drop you down to Wrecker and then follow, he'll catch you, you just have to stay still ok?" another nod.

Hunter got to the edge of the lift, looking down at Wrecker, "Here she comes!" He quickly warned, making sure the big brute was ready, after a quick shout of "Ya!" back he dropped Omega and stared as she fell.

Wrecker caught her with ease, quickly handing her to Echo and stepping back to catch Hunter. Without waste, Hunter jumped and let Wrecker catch him.

Omega whispered something to Echo, whose face seemed impressed, "Omega says it runs on its own power and if you enter NS-9027 into the lift button it'll seal the door."

Hunter quickly entered the code and watched as the door to the lift shut and then suddenly let off a small hiss, then suddenly a quiet voice read off from above their heads, "NS-9027 is now initiated. The door to Kaminoan Facility is now secure. Initiating NS-9028."

Without any other warning, a rack came from the wall revealing weapons and respirators.

"How did you know-" Tech began only to stop himself, "Not the time, grab one for everyone and let's go."

Echo grabbed one for himself and one for Omega, handing it to her without making her move. Wrecker grabbed one for him and Crosshair, lifting the clone back over his shoulder. Hunter and Tech grabbed one for themselves and grabbed two weapons.

"What now?" Hunter asked, glancing around the lab.

"We came in through this hanger, Omega, how far is the landing pad from the main Facility?"

Omega's shaky voice sounded from Echo's shoulder, "Far enough."

Tech gave a small smile, "Just what I was hoping for." He stepped over to the small circular transport that they had all entered in earlier, "Everyone in."

Without another word, everyone entered, looking at Tech.

"Omega if you would," He encouraged, motioning the panel.

Echo leaned down close so Omega could enter a code, within the second she hit enter the small orb was off, sending them back towards the launch pad.

"Omega, how do you know all this stuff?" Hunter finally asked, seeing that they had a few minutes.

Omega took a breath, "Nala Se and I spent a lot of time here together."

Hunter didn't say anything, he knew Omega would grieve the loss of Nala Se for a long time, surprisingly that was the closest person Omega ever had to a mother.

As the orb raised above the platform there was a large sigh of relief as the Havoc was still sat there, weathering the storm like a trooper, unharmed by the explosions in the distance. They quickly boarded the Havoc, not wasting any time.

Wrecker sat crosshair in the corner, taking his weapons and hiding them as far away as possible, also tying his hands together just in case he woke up violent. Hunter and Tech quickly ran to the cockpit and begin starting the ship and getting it ready to fly. Echo took Omega over to the small seats and sat her down, "Let's look at that ankle hmm?"

As Hunter and Tech flew them off-world, with Wrecker in the back of the cockpit giving emotional support, Echo patched up Omega's ankle. He told her about a story, how he fought beside Jedis and how exhilarating it had been. By the time he finished he gave her shoulder a quick pat, "You shouldn't walk too much on it, only when necessary, you just yell for us and we'll carry you for now, ok?"

Omega gave a nod and watched Echo walk into the cockpit, explaining Omega's ankle and how she was ok, and now discussing Crosshair and where they should go.

Omega blocked them out, putting her elbows onto his knees and dropping her head to rest in her hands, trying to calm down. It was too much sensory for her to handle back there, too much noise and flashing, the fear was overwhelming. They had almost died...

Omega didn't realize she was silently crying until she felt the tears hit her hands, that didn't make her stop, she continued to silently sob.

Crosshair blinked his eyes open, taking in his surroundings, he was on the Havoc. He was home? He quickly thought about what happened as he stared at the wall, then silently he tugged on his hands, noting the rope bounding his wrists. Slowly he looked around, noting the curtains now blocking out the gunner's nest, as he continued to glance around he saw Omega sitting on the chair crying.

He blinked as he stared, leaning forward slightly to note how the rest of the Batch was busy in a discussion on where to go, none of them were quiet enough to hear Omega crying. Hunter was obviously too focused on the conversation to be able to hear Omega. Crosshair hesitated a moment before clearing his throat to gain her attention.

Omega's head whipped up, tears still streaming down her face. Crosshair couldn't describe the feeling he felt, it was a mixture of protectiveness and concern. "What?" meaning what's wrong.

Omega's head tilted to the side and she wiped at her eyes, "Huh?"

Crosshair glanced back at the cockpit and took a breath, dropping his arrogant facade, "You hurt?"

Omega hesitated obviously struggling with whether or not to trust him, without a word she stood up and silently crossed the room, which to his surprise she did so quietly that Hunter didn't even move in the cockpit. Crosshair noted her limp as she sat down beside him.

"They missed you," She whispered out, obviously trying to change the subject, "They talked about you a lot."

Crosshair gave her a small smile, not wanting to frighten her or make her worried, "Oh-" They sure didn't show it, the number of times they shot at him and left him...

Omega wiped at her eyes, "They said I shoot like you."

Crosshair stared, "You shoot?" Why would they let a kid have a weapon!? 

Omega nodded, tears slowly stopping, "I have a bow."

Crosshair smiled at her, trying to appear encouraging, "That's- nice."

Omega blinked at him for a moment then hugged him, shocking him to his core, he froze as she hugged his torso.

"W-What-?" He stuttered out, confused. Why is she hugging me, doesn't she realize I tried to kill them?

Omega hugged him tighter, "It's ok, I understand," Crosshair didn't move, he simply listened, "It's not your fault, you thought they left you for good."

He couldn't help but flinch at the mention, how did this kid know how he felt, "I-" She knows exactly how I felt, exactly what I thought, just like back on Kamino...

"They missed you, I missed you," Omega stated, "I'm glad you're back."

Crosshair dropped his arms to hug her, not knowing what to say, "I- glad to be back."

Omega couldn't help but relax, Crosshair reminded her of Tech in a way, he seemed uncomfortable yet somehow managed to make her feel better.

Hunter took a breath and stood, walking to the door to the hallway, freezing as he took in the sight, Omega was asleep in Crosshair's arms as he sat there with his head back.

Crosshair raised his head as Hunter entered the hallway slowly, obviously trying to figure out the situation. The emotions he felt were a mixture of anger and happiness, he was happy to be back and be home but he was mad that they had left him and that they didn't come back for him.

Crosshair simply stared at Hunter, trying to calculate what he was thinking.

"Crosshair-" Hunter began, only to go silent, obviously struggling with words.

Omega shifted against Crosshair's side, which he turned his attention to, making sure she was comfortable. As he raised his head he saw Hunter smiling.

"What?" He hissed quietly, making sure not to wake Omega.

Hunter didn't say anything, he simply gave a small nod, obviously meaning so much more than he could voice right now. Crosshair took a breath, he would have to earn their trust again, he was sure this would never truly go away but he was ok with having to work for it. He gave Hunter a quiet nod back, watching as he walked back into the cockpit, Hunter had gone soft but maybe there was nothing wrong with that...

He glanced down at Omega, smiling at how adorable she looked snuggled into his side, not caring about his armor or the fact he was lanky. He couldn't help but smile wider as he dropped his head back and shut his eyes, maybe there was nothing wrong with being a softie.

Chapter Text

Hunter froze atop the ramp to the Marauder, turning to watch Omega, who still stood staring at the now crumbling and burning facility of Kamino. He wanted to go and pick her up, avert her gaze, make her happy again, but he knew he couldn't. It hurt to see her watching the closest thing she had to a home burn and collapse into the water, everything she had ever known before they met was now lost to the waves of Kamino. She needed a moment, just a moment, to be alone and grieve.

Omega took a small breath, face pinched tightly to prevent tears from falling, quickly spinning on her heels and jogging towards the ship. She couldn't help but freeze as she noticed Crosshair not moving, unable to not say something.

Crosshair turned to look at her, voice low and gravely as usual, "What-" He growled.

Omega hesitated a moment, "Thank you for saving AZI," She huffed out, unable to hide the emotion behind it.

Crosshair glanced at the platform, seeming as though he wanted to say so much more, "Consider us even," He muttered, facing away.

Omega spun only to turn around again, "You're still their brother, Crosshair." Her voice cracking ever so slightly as she began her next sentence, "You're my brother too." Without another word she took off for the Marauder, climbing the stairs easily.

As the ship lifted Omega stared at Crosshair's back, still grasping the fact he wasn't under the control of the chip. The ramp began to close and Omega gave one last glance at the facility, unable to stop the tears beginning to fall from her eyes.

Within the second the door was shut and locked, Omega was left staring at the wall, unable to tear her eyes away from it. She could hear Hunter approaching again, she wasn't sure if she had made a noise or if he had heard her tears hit the floor, but he quietly knelt beside her.

She didn't hesitate to fling herself into his arms, crying on his shoulder, letting go of all the emotions she'd been holding in. Hunter didn't say a word, he simply held her tight and rubbed her back as she cried, knowing it was good to cry.

Wrecker and Tech were in the cockpit while Echo recharged AZI's batteries, all of them slightly afraid to approach Hunter and Omega. As Omega pulled back and wiped her eyes, she went to apologize only to have Hunter shake his head before she could speak.

"Don't apologize, kid." His voice was full of so much emotion, "You shouldn't have had to see any of that, you did your very best and I'm proud of you."

Omega stared at him before giving a small nod, "Ok." She muttered.

Towards the back of the Marauder, the sound of a machine whirring to life filled the air, only to be replaced by sudden shouting, "Omega!"

Omega couldn't help but run towards her robotic friend, "AZI!" She cried once more, pulling the robot into the tightest hug she could.

AZI wrapped his metal arms around her and hugged her close, "Your sudden emotion is expected and appreciated." He stated.

Hunter stood and watched, Echo joining beside him, Hunter couldn't help but give a chuckle.

Echo spoke quietly to Hunter as Omega and AZI caught each other up, "I'm glad the droid is ok, Omega could use a friend around here."

Hunter nodded, "It's nice to see her happy after everything."

There was a brief silence as both of them just listened to how happily Omega was telling AZI what had happened, then Echo broke the silence again.

"Crosshair hasn't had the chip for a while it would seem," His voice trailed off as if lost into another world.

Hunter couldn't help but shudder at the thought of his brother willing to blindly follow. "I guess so."

AZI's voice broke the silence, bringing a happy mood back to the sorrowful moment. Omega's laughter filled the air as AZI told her about another droid that had been annoying him. They would worry about the Empire tomorrow, tonight they would revel in the little safety and peace they had.

Chapter Text

Well it has been a while, *cough* a year, I’m sorry for my disappearance. I had a lot of things happen in my life and got so busy I forgot about my stories! I didn’t remember it until the other day I opened Disney and saw the new season!!
I’m going to be back writing new chapters but they’re going to take time because my schedule is always jumbled up, I can’t promise consistency but I can promise quality.
I hope y’all enjoy the upcoming season and stories, as always I don’t own them but if Disney is hiring hmu ;D, may the force be with you!