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Omega sighed dreamily and gazed out the window as they approached the heavily forested planet. Her eyes shone with wonder as Tech carefully steered them to a clearing and lowered the ship. After a moment, the rumbling of the engine went silent.
"This planet is uninhabited," Tech announced, striding from the cockpit as he tapped on his datapad. "We should be safe here for the night, although I recommend we move first light."
"Copy that," Hunter replied. He was flicking his knife open and closed agitatedly, eyes fixed on nothing. He was still upset about the fight with Crosshair, Omega could tell. He had been muttering to himself the entire flight, and the last few days he'd taken to pacing when there was nothing to do.
Right now, however, his eyes flickered to Echo, who was hunched over his prosthetic arm with a small screwdriver. Hunter's brow furrowed. "How long has it been since you slept?"
"I'm fine," Echo replied blithely.
"That's not what I asked."
Echo gave him a tired glare, and just in the brief moment that he looked up Omega could see the dark circles under his eyes. Since she'd met him, he'd had a permanently exhausted air about him. Now, however, he looked even worse, like he hadn't slept in weeks. He sighed and glanced away, not noticing her concern. "A couple days," he muttered.
Hunter crossed his arms. "How many is a 'couple'?"
A pause. "Four."
"Echo."
He waved his free hand distractedly, not looking up from his work. "I'll fall asleep when I fall asleep."
"If you don't go now," Tech reasoned drily, "you will likely fall asleep mid-mission."
"What mission?" he scoffed. "I dunno if you noticed, but we're sort of between jobs at the moment."
"You get mean when you're tired," Wrecker muttered sullenly.
Echo scowled at him, further confirming the observation.
Hunter rested a hand on his shoulder. "Get some rest," he said quietly.
Echo shook his head firmly.
Hunter gripped his shoulder more firmly and leaned forward slightly, lowering his voice. "We're all here," he said quietly. "Nothing can hurt you."
Echo sighed. "We both know that's not true," he muttered, but he dropped his tools on the table and stood. He swayed as he did, betraying his fatigue. Hunter steadied him for a moment until he could stand on his own. He limped to his bunk and collapsed onto the blanker, not even bothering to remove his armor. He barely managed to slide the curtain shut.
After a moment, Hunter turned away. "He's out," he announced, likely hearing his breathing and heartbeat.
"He's getting more stubborn about it," Tech noted. Omega heard a faint hint of worry in his tone.
"I think they're getting worse," Hunter retorted.
Omega tilted her head. "What is?" she asked tentatively.
Hunter looked up as though he'd forgotten she was there.
"Echo gets nightmares sometimes," Wrecker explained in a low voice.
Omega nodded solemnly. "He got scared seeing the medical robots on Kamino," she recalled. "Sometimes I get scared going to sleep after nightmares, too."
Hunter smiled wanly at her. "Not nightmares like this," he murmured. He straightened up and stretched. "Get some rest, everyone."
Omega woke with a start, curled up in the pilot's chair. At first she wasn't sure what had woken her, until she heard a slight whimper from behind her. She swiveled in the chair and sat up, rubbing her eyes. Hunter sat up in his bunk and looked around.
Another small noise emanated from Echo's bunk. "No," he whimpered.
Omega stood and stepped forward, reaching out a hand to wake him.
Hunter grabbed her shoulder and shook his head. "It's best to let him wake up naturally," he said quietly. "Trust me, we've all learned that the hard way."
The curtain was still drawn over his bunk, so she couldn't see him, but she heard thumping, as though he was tossing and turned. "No, no, let me go!" he moaned.
Tech sat up and grappled for his goggles, squinting in the dim light.
"It's just Echo," Hunter informed him softly.
"You're just going to leave him like that?" Omega whispered in horror.
Hunter swept the hair out of his eyes and sighed. "It's hard for me, too," he said quietly as Wrecker also awoke, "but, trust me, it'll be a thousand times worse for him if we wake him."
"He'll get disoriented," Tech explained with a yawn, slumping back against his pillow. "Almost took out my eye when I tried to wake him once."
"Stop, stop!" Echo moaned.
Hinter sighed and looked away. "There's some headphones under the console," he said quietly. "That'll help."
"Fives!"
Immediately, everyone shot to attention.
"Farrik," Tech hissed, sitting up.
Hunter stood quickly and made his way to Echo's bunk, sweeping the curtain open. Echo lay on his back, thrashing, face twisted in agony.
"Fives!" he gasped. "Rex! Tano, someone!"
Hunter knelt and pressed his hands firmly over Echo's shoulders. "Echo, you're okay, c'mon."
"Wh-what?" Omega gasped, looking around as Tech stood. "You said to leave him alone!"
"That was before the names," Tech muttered, raking his curly hair out of his face as he stood.
"No, no, no!" Echo screamed, twisting against Hunter.
Hunter held firm, holding him against the bed. "Echo, you're safe!"
His eyes shot open and he tried again to sit up. "Fives!"
"Just breathe."
"Please, I just wanna go home!" he sobbed in panic.
"You are home, Echo," Tech said from where he stood.
Echo couldn't seem to hear him, still fighting vainly against his stronger captor. "Fives, help!" Panic ripped through his voice as Hunter once again pushed him down. "Fives, I'm sorry, please, help me!"
"Breathe, c'mon," Hunter goaded. His face was steely and firm, set in grim determination.
Echo slumped back, chest rising and falling in quick, shallow gasps. "I - I can't," he whispered. "I can't."
"Yes you can," Hunter insisted. "I've seen you do it, c'mon." He took a deep breath, held it for a moment, then released it slowly. "C'mon, after me."
Echo stilled for a moment and mimicked the action. He was shaking now, tears running down his pale face.
"One more time."
He took another deep breath. He held it for a moment before releasing it in a sob. He sat up and wiped his eyes. "I'm sorry," he whispered, turning away in embarrassment.
Hunter sat on the bed next to him, rubbing his back. "Nothing to apologize for," he said quietly.
Echo shook his head and pushed past him, standing. "I need to take a walk," he muttered, grabbing his blaster from the table and walking quickly down the ramp.
Tech sighed and turned back to his bunk.
Wrecker patted Omega heavily on the shoulder. "He'll be fine," he assured her in his rumbly voice. "He just needs a bit."
She frowned out into the dark forest before turneing back to Hunter. "Who were all those people?" she asked softly.
Hunter sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Tano was one of his Jedi Commanders," he replied, "Rex was his captain."
She tilted her head. "And Fives?"
He shrugged. "We're not entirely sure," he admitted quietly. "We know he was in his unit, he was there at the explosion when he was captured, but beyond that," he shook his head. "He doesn't talk about him."
Omega turned out the doorway again, worry weighing heavily in her chest. Hunter was right. She'd never had nightmares like this.
He stood and ruffled her hair. "He needs some space," he said. "He'll be back before morning." He turned back to his bunk and collapsed again onto the blanket, sliding the curtain shut.
She glanced from the cold, dark outside to her pilot's chair for a moment. She took a deep breath and followed Echo resolutely.
The planet was unfamiliar, and she wasn't as good at tracking as Hunter, but the moons were bright. The entire landscape was bathed in silver light from the three moons in the sky, and the stars glittered like she'd never seen them. The footprints in the soft ground and slick leaves were easy to follow. He wasn't trying to cover his tracks. She eventually spotted a clearing ahead and saw his silhouette pacing in the moonlight by a shimmering lake. She stopped and hesitated by the tree line.
"Can't hurt me," he muttered sullenly. "They already did, because kriffing droids can't kriffing aim. A little to the left and I never would've had to deal with this." He reach up distractedly to the ports in his skull, fingers digging into his head around one of them. "Stupid, stupid," he snarled. Omega could see tears welling in his eyes in the moonlight.
He huffed again and turned away. He was still for a moment before he pulled something from his belt and sat on a fallen log. After a moment, he switched the device on and leaned forward. "I don't know why I keep doing this, honestly," he said quietly. Omega finally recognized the device as an audio recorder. Simple, rather obsolete after the advancements of comms. He continued in the same soft voice. "I guess I just miss you."
It was one of the people he was calling, she realized, likely someone who had died. She'd spent enough time lingering around Kamino to know that some people spoke to lost brothers as a means of coping. She shouldn't be listening, she knew, but she couldn't help edging forward a little.
There was a long pause before he continued. "You'd know how to fix me," he said shakily. "You'd know what to say to calm me down. You always did. I just wish I knew what I needed you to say." Another pause. "I wish I could talk to you again," he whispered. "I wish I knew if Rex and Tano and Skywalker were still alive." His voice broke, and he rested his head against his hand. "I wish you could be here for me," he whimpered. "And I wish I could've been there for you. From what Rex said, it sounded like you needed it." He shuddered as he took another breath. "I wish we'd never left that shitty outpost on that shitty moon," he continued, his prosthetic hand tapping against the handprint on his armor. "I wish I could've helped you." His voice finally broke, and he began crying softly. "I wish I'd died when you thought I did," he sobbed.
That was too much for Omega. She burst from the bush she hid behind and ran forward. Echo barely had time to look up before she tackled him in a hug.
"Omega?" he cried in surprise. "What're you doing here?"
She didn't answer, just buried her face in his shoulder. trying to hide her own tears. She latched on, almost worried that he would slip away if she let go. After a moment, he returned the gesture, hugging her tightly.
"How much did you hear?"
"All of it," she whispered, guilt washing over her. "I'm sorry, I just -" She sat back and wiped her nose. "Please, don't say that. Don't say you wish you were dead."
His face changed, from sadness to a mix of anger and pain and deep, deep helplessness. "Kid -"
She gripped his shoulders firmly. "I'm glad you're here," she snapped. "Hunter is glad you're here. Tech is glad you're here. Wrecker is glad you're here. I'm sure Crosshair is too. And," she took his face in her hands, forcing him to look at her, "I'm sure Fives would be happy you're alive, whether or not he were here to see you. He'd want you to keep going."
Tears welled in Echo's eyes. He pulled back and looked away, wiping his eyes. "Yeah," he whispered. "Yeah, he would."
She wrapped her arms around him again. He hugged her in return. They sat for a long moment before he pulled away. "We should get back," he said quietly. He stood, and Omega took his hand. They walked back to the ship in silence. Everyone else was already asleep when they returned.
Echo ruffled up her hair. "Sorry to wake you," he said.
Omega hugged him one last time before they made their way to their sleeping spots. She hesitated before sitting in the pilot's chair again. She picked up the plush Wrecker had given her, Lola, and tiptoed to Echo's bunk.
"Echo?" she whispered. The curtain slid open again, and he frowned at her inquisitively. She handed him the plush. "This might help."
He smiled, his face softening for the first time in a long, long while, and accepted the plush. "Thanks."
She nodded and made her way back to the cockpit. From Hunter's bunk, she heard a soft chuckle.