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Omega did dream this time, now safely beyond the edge of death’s veil.
She was moving very fast, and she could feel a thundering heartbeat beneath her touch. Steam and rusted metal filled her vision, and she got the sinking feeling that she was being chased. Footsteps pounded against the metal floor, never faltering, never slowing down. As she rounds a corner, the dream shifts.
Now, she’s in a small, windowless room. The walls look like they are made of stone, and the ground she is sitting on is hard. She can’t move her wrists, and her vision in her right eye is poor, like she’s squinting that eye. She’s leaning against something smooth, soft, and breathing. She can hear the sound of that same heartbeat, now slower. She hears a sound, a muddled voice it seems. It sounds concerned, but she can’t make out what's being said. Omega blinks, and the dream is changing again.
Now she’s flying, a cool mist of cloud rolling over her skin. Someone is holding onto her waist, their grip tight like they’re afraid to fall. Something is on her face, a mask she thinks. The world tilts upwards, and she sees stars. The vast expanse of space is before her now, and although she is not in a ship, she doesn’t feel afraid.
Omega’s eyes slid open slowly, the weight of sleep threatening to close them again. The room is quiet, the sound of soft snores occasionally disturbing the calm. She shifted a bit, wincing at the ache in her neck. That was going to take some getting used to. No more turning her head quickly.
Hunter’s chest rose and fell in a calm rhythm, and she takes a moment to bask in the fact that they were all alive and okay. The events of yesterday were still fresh in her mind, and Omega doesn’t feel like risking a nightmare by going back to sleep. So she simply lays there, content to just exist in the moment. Their lives are so full of action and danger, so the break is welcome.
The embrace she’s in right now is so comforting. She feels like nothing in the world could possibly harm her here. Smiling, she snuggles into Hunter’s chest, resting her eyes but not quite falling back asleep.
“Honk!”
Her eyes fly open.
She feels Hunter shift, hears him grumble and crack an eye open. She holds still, not sure if she wants him to wake up and see what Pillow is doing in here, or if she wants him to get more sleep because she knows he needs it.
He sleepily scans the room, then closes his eyes again, shifting his arms so that she can use them as pillows if she wants. Omega wants to settle down again; it’s just Pillow, he’s not a threat! Yet something keeps her awake and alert. She stares at the door, an odd feeling forming in her chest. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and tentatively reached out with the Force. Her connection with it is strong, but she is untrained, and thus it takes her a minute to actually figure out how to do what she wants. She starts small, feeling the soft glow of life that comes from everyone in the room. Then, she pushes outwards, searching for life beyond the confines of the room.
She finds it, but it isn’t just Pillow that’s roaming the ship’s abandoned halls.
This time, there is no questioning whether or not she want’s Hunter to get up. She shakes his shoulder, fear entering her eyes. The man wakes instantly, looking at her in concern.
“What’s wrong?” Hunter asked.
“Crosshair’s coming!” Omega whispered.
Hunter gets up as soon as the words leave her mouth. Omega tries to reach out to Pillow as Hunter rouses the others, to communicate with him across their bond. It’s all she can do; her injuries prevent her from moving too much. She feels Pillow’s emotions, he’s full of excitement and pride. He doesn’t understand the danger he’s bringing their way.
She projects her own emotions into the bond. Fear, hurt, concern. She feels confusion ripple through their connection. She sends the feelings again, stronger this time. She feels a flicker of understanding, then a wave of nearly overwhelming guilt.
‘It’s too late.’ Omega realizes. ‘He’s already figured out where we are.’
“Hunter?” She whines, shivering a bit. Crosshair had spared her before, but she has no idea what sort of mental state he’s in now. “’m scared."
“It’ll be okay. We’ll protect you.” Hunter soothes, lifting her up and handing her to Tech. “Get her back to the ship. We’ll cause a distraction.”
Omega leans against Tech as the younger clone takes her from Hunter. His presence is a source of comfort, and she hides her face in his chest. He has his plastoid armor on, so he isn’t as soft as she would like, but she knows he needs it, especially right now.
Soon they were moving, Tech darting down the hallway one way while the rest of the group goes the other way. They hadn’t been running for very long before the sound of footsteps became audible. They were too fast and close together to be Crosshair’s, so the duo is only mildly surprised when Pillow comes around the corner. He honked loudly when he spotted them, rubbing against Tech’s leg. He let out a series of short, sad honks, his way of apologizing. Omega could feel his sincerity through their bond.
“It’s okay Pillow, you didn’t know Crosshair was trouble. Think you can get us out of here?” She asks, reaching down to pet the amphibian.
Pillow bobbed his head and started off down the hallway he’d just come from. Tech hurried after him, relying on the sound of Pillow’s soft honks when they ran into a patch of corridor that didn’t have any functioning lights.
Suddenly, Pillow yelped, falling back into Tech and Omega. The sudden weight tripped Tech, which caused him to drop Omega. She yelled in pain, her back flaring with white-hot agony. She grit her teeth and pressed her forehead into the cold, dusty floor, trying to find something to focus on aside from the pain.
She lifted her head when she heard the sound of slower, heavier footsteps. She could just barely make out Crosshair’s form as he approached, a sharp coldness rolling off him in waves.
She’d always wondered why Kamino had seemed so cold after the order had gone out.
He raised his rifle, aiming at Tech. The downed clone was unaware of the danger, the force of Pillow being kicked into him having knocked his senses loose for a minute. Fueled by fear, Omega jolts to her feet, tears slipping down her cheeks as her melted muscles and blistered skin were agitated.
“Don’t hurt him!” She said, stepping in front of Tech. The barrel of the blaster sits right in front of her heart. If he fires, even a stun round, she’ll be dead.
“I’m the one the Kaminoans are interested in. A Force-sensitive clone is much more valuable than a rogue enhanced one, right?” She asks, praying that she’s right, and that her life can be used as a bargaining chip. She can hear Tech coming back to himself, and she knows that she needs to hurry.
“If you let him go, I’ll go with you willingly. We can be gone before the others give you trouble, just- just don’t hurt Tech!” Omega pleads.
Crosshair doesn’t speak, and for a moment Omega thinks that he’s just going to shoot her and kill Tech anyways. But then he lowers his rifle, and she hears his gruff voice.
“Let’s go.”
She sighs, her body quivering as she tries to step forward. She wobbles, her body not ready to support her weight in motion yet. Before she can fall, Pillow is there, ducking down and nudging her onto his back. He looks at her questioningly, like he’s asking her if she’s sure she wants to do this.
“Go, Pillow. We don’t have a choice.” She says softly, collapsing onto his broad back. His rapidly increasing size had been a nuisance when it came to sleeping and feeding him, but now she was infinitely grateful for it.
Pillow whined but obeyed, galloping after Crosshair. Behind them, Tech had realized what was happening.
“OMEGA!” He cried. “No,no,nononono! Crosshair get back here!”
Pillow looked back, honking sadly, but didn’t slow down. He understood that what they were doing was dangerous, and it probably wouldn’t end well, but if he tried to escape, they wouldn’t get very far. Rusted metal and sparking wires flew by as he raced down the corridor, Omega holding on for dear life as they followed behind a sprinting Crosshair.
Soon, they reached an opening in the ship. It was a jagged hole, torn open by some weapon during the war. Crosshair spoke into his comlink as Pillow slunk behind him, taking care not to cut himself on the sharp metal. On his back, Omega twitched in pain, crying quietly into Pillow’s neck.
“I need a pick up at my coordinates. I have two captives with me, one human, and one…” He looked at Pillow, who glared at him, “overgrown lizard.”
Pillow snorted and stomped his foot, looking over his shoulder when the movement caused Omega to whimper. Crosshair looked over at her as well, his eyes widening a bit when he saw the state she was in. Blood was soaking through her bandages, and in the light of the early morning, he could see the bruises on her neck.
“And get the medical bay ready. One of the captives requires medical attention, and we need her alive.” He adds.
Pillow nodded, agreeing with the armored human. He didn’t like the man, hated him actually, but at least he wasn’t being stupid. Warm One was hurt bad, and she reeked of fear and pain. He licked her head, trying to bring the human fledgling some comfort.
He was so close to being ready to metamorphosize. He just needed a bit more energy and time, and then he’d be able to help Warm One. He’d bust them out of whatever confinement this human was going to put them into.
He’d save her. He’d save her, and then he’d destroy anyone who had dared to hurt her.