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Clone Force 99 (or the Bad Batch as they called themselves) had been in countless battles during the war, escaped from Kamino twice, and had been on several dangerous jobs for Cid. They thought there was nothing the galaxy could throw at them that they couldn't handle. They were wrong.
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"Hunter," Omega said when they were heading back to Cid's parlor after a mission, "I don't feel good."
Hunter knelt down in front of her. Her face was flushed and it looked like she had a thin layer of sweat on her skin. He felt her forehead.
"You're burning up," he said.
"My stomach hurts, too," Omega said.
"Come on," Hunter said picking her up. "Let's get you back to the ship."
He turned back to Tech and Echo.
"Go back to Cid's and get our share of the payment," he said. "Then find Wrecker and meet us back at the Marauder."
By the time she and Hunter got back to the ship, Omega was really feeling sick to her stomach. Suddenly, what little food she had eaten was threatening to come up. She just made it to the refresher before it did. She had just finished throwing up when the others got back.
"There you are, kid," Wrecker said. "I brought you something. Best part of the mission."
The sight of the Mantell Mix was enough to turn Omega's stomach. Rushing back to the refresher, she threw up again.
"What's wrong with her?" Wrecker asked.
"She sick, Wrecker," Echo said.
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Omega had finally fallen asleep but her "brothers" could still tell that she was still feeling miserable. Adding to the problem was that none of them knew what to do. None of them had really been sick before and they had no idea if Omega had. She had spent the first eleven years of her life on Kamino (like they had spent the first two years of theirs) which was an extremely sterile environment. Adding to that, as a pure genetic replication, Omega didn't have the heightened immune system the other clones did. In fact, they were a little surprised that she hadn't gotten sick sooner.
"It's a logical assumption that Omega's illness stems from our last escape from Kamino," Tech said.
It was a logical assumption. The Empire had sunk all the cities on Kamino and the squad and Crosshair had been trapped in one. Omega, Crosshair, and AZI-3 had become trapped in a flooding room before the rest of the squad got them out. Then, when they used lab capsules to escape the sunken city and get to the surface, Omega had left hers while still under water to rescue a deactivated AZI-3. It was entirely possible that she has swallowed some of the water which most likely contained bacteria and parasites. It was also possible that Crosshair had also gotten sick but the odds were extremely slim. Not only had he not swallowed as much of the water as Omega but he had a heightened immune system like the other clones. What was the point of sending soldiers to planets with different ecosystems if they were going to get sick?
"We may have to take her to a doctor," Hunter said, looking over to where Omega was sleeping
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Conducting a mission with a sick child on board was difficult but Hunter wasn't about to leave Omega on Ord Mantell. Cid may say that she'd look after Omega but she was all about making money. As sick as Omega was, Cid would have to close her parlor to look after her; something Hunter was sure she wouldn't do. On top of that, he didn't exactly trust the Trandoshan's maternal instincts. Besides, Omega was being clingily. Not surprising since she wasn't feeling well. Hunter looked out the window of the gunner's mount. He needed to be ready in case the others came back with "company". But it wouldn't be easy to use the guns with Omega curled up in his lap.
This wasn't a mission for Cid. They had been contacted by Rex to help break Captain Howzer and his men out of an Imperial prison. With Omega being sick, Hunter would have passed on the mission but Howzer had helped them escape from Ryloth.
Omega began to shift against him. She had been clinging to him enough for Hunter to recognize when she was waking up.
"Hey," Hunter said when Omega was fully awake, "how are you feeling?"
"Terrible," Omega answered.
Hunter hated seeing her like this; hated that she was sick and there was nothing he could do but give her medicine and make her comfortable. Omega snuggled closer and Hunter held her tight in an attempt to make her feel safe. Did all parents feel this way when their kids were sick? Hunter wasn't sure. The closest thing he had to a parents was Shaak Ti, the Jedi Master who over saw the clones' training. She had regarded all the clones as special but she had treated Clone Force 99 a little different. She seemed to value that they were different. While others had disapproved of their genetic differences, she hadn't. Sha had worked with them to enhance their special traits further than the Kaminoans.
The others entered the ship pulling Hunter from his thoughts. Omega groaned slightly and shifted closer to him. She needed to rest so the medicine could do its job and that was hard on a ship. As the Marauder took off, they were contacted by Rex.
"Howzer and the others are on my ship," the clone captain said. "Thanks for helping." It was then that he noticed Omega. "What's wrong with the kid?"
"She's sick," Hunter said. "The doctor gave us some medicine to give her but what she really needs is rest and it's hard for her to get that on a ship."
"I might be able to help," Rex said after a moment. "I have some friends that might be willing to let you stay with them until Omega is feeling better."
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The ship landed on a private landing field where the Bad Batch was met by one of Rex's friends. He was young but technically he was older than them. From what Rex had told them, he was a senator and had only recently gotten married.
"Rex sent word that you were coming," he said as the Bad Batch disembarked from their ship. "My wife would have been here to greet you but she's seeing to your rooms."
"Thank you for letting us stay here until Omega feels better," Hunter said.
"Rex is your brother. That makes you our friends." The young senator smiled at Omega who had fallen asleep on the trip and was now resting in Hunter's arms with her head against his shoulder. "Let's get the youngling inside so she can sleep," he said.
The Bad Batch followed him inside the estate trying to figure out how he knew Jedi terms. The answer became clear when they entered the estate and were met by a young trouga female.
"My I present my wife," the young senator said, "Ahsoka Tano."
Hunter, Wrecker, and Tech had heard about Ahsoka Tano. She had been on the citadel rescue with Echo and he talked about her. Rex also talked about her; having served with her since nearly the start of the war to the end.
"This must be the youngling," Ahsoka said her blue eyes falling on Omega. "I'll show you to the room I've made up for her."
The estate was big; easily able to house four or five units; maybe six. None of the unit had ever been in a place this nice. The estate was bright and opened and the rooms they had been given were each bigger than the one they shared on Kamino. The rooms that Hunter, Tech, Echo, and Wrecker were given were blue with wood panels while the one Omega had was pink and white. In fact, it looked fit for a princess. Hunter set Omega down on the full-size bed. She looked so small sleeping there. A pink throw blanket was on one of the chairs and Hunter draped it over her.
"I sent for a doctor," Ahsoka said coming into the room. "I know she's already seen one but it won't hurt to get a second opinion."
"It's fine," Hunter said, not taking his eyes off Omega. "Your doctor is probably better than the one Omega saw on Ord Mantell."
She looked pail; almost as white as Echo. That wasn't good. She should be getting better not worse.
"My lady," said a servant entering the room, "the physician is here."
"Show him in please," Ahsoka siad.
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"Whoever you took her to clearly had no idea what they were doing," the doctor said to Hunter after examining Omega. "Your daughter doesn't have a simple stomach virus; she has intestinal parasites."
Hunter didn't correct the doctor by saying that Omega wasn't his daughter.
"Is there anything you can do for her?" he asked.
"I'm prescribing these," the doctor said handing Hunter a container of pills. "Give her one a day until they're gone and try and get her to eat when you can. Have Lady Bontari contact me if she starts feeling worse."
Omega was a little difficult to give medicine to. Hunter had a feeling it had to do with what she'd been through on Kamino. He knew that she had been used for experiments. He didn't want to think about what Nala Se had done to the girl and Omega wasn't volunteering any information. She seemed to want to put that part of her life behind her. And Hunter didn't want to open up old wounds of bring up painful memories by asking.
"I'll see that she gets her medicine," Hunter said still unsure how it would happen.
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"Come on, kid. Time to take your medicine," Wrecker said.
"Mm-mm," Omega said trying to avoid opening her mouth.
"Omega, you will not get better if you do not take your medicine," Tech said trying to apply logic to the situation.
But Omega refused. Logic didn't always work when Omega was being stubborn.
"Let me handle this," Hunter said.
He always had better luck getting Omega to take her medicine. As the others left the room, Hunter sat down on Omega's bed.
"Tech's right," he said. "You have to take your medicine if you want to get better."
"But it tastes awful," Omega said knowing Hunter wouldn't force her to take it.
"I know. But the worse the medicine tastes the better it is for you."
Omega knew better than to argue with Hunter. She also knew that Hunter only wanted her to feel better. Reluctantly, she took the medicine & made a face as she swallowed. At least it tasted better than the stuff Nala Se used to give her.
"Think you might be able to keep some soup down?" Hunter asked.
Omega nodded. She had been eating nothing but soup, toast, & plain oatmeal since coming to Onderon but at least it was better than broth & she was able to keep it down.
"I'll ask the cook for some."
Hunter got up & headed for the door.
"Hunter," Omega said.
He turned & looked at her.
"Thank you...for taking care of me," Omega said hugging Lula & her trooper close.
"That's what big brothers do," he said.
"Technically I'm eight years older than you," Omega said.
One of the plus sides to being at the Bontari estate was the food. They had lived on military rations and bar food for so long that the thought of a hot, home cooked meal was alien to them. But it hadn't taken them long to get used to it. There was always something good being made in the kitchen.
"Hunter," the cook said as Hunter entered the kitchen, "what can I get for you?"
"Omega wants some soup," Hunter said.
"I got a big pot made up just for her. She's feeling better than?"
"Much better. If she keeps improving like this, we'll be able to continue our missions."
And the sooner, the better. Hunter had received several angry calls from Cid insisting that they come back & get to work. It was only after he told her that they were taking time off so Omega could get better did she give in. Prickly as she was, Cid cared about Omega. Still, Hunter didn't want to think about the kind of mission Cid would send them on when they got back.
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The squad returned from training with the guards having left Omega in Ahsoka's care. With Omega improving, they wanted to be ready when they got back to work.
"How's Omega?" Hunter asked Ahsoka coming into the sitting room.
"She's fine," Ahsoka said. "She's taking a bath right now. I let her borrow some of my bubble bath."
To Hunter's knowledge, Omega had never had a bath let alone a bubble bath before. Showers yes but never a bath. She was probably having the time of her life.
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It took about a standard week before Omega was better & the squad could resume missions. They said their goodbyes to Ahsoka & Lux.
"You can always come back if you want to," Ahsoka said hugging them all goodbye.
"She's right," Lux said taking Hunter's hand in a firm grip. "We can find a place for all of you here."
"It's tempting," Hunter said. "Maybe. As soon as we pay off our debt to Cid."
Just as Hunter predicted, Cid had a lot of missions for them as soon as they got back; enough to keep them busy for nearly a standard week. They had just finished the last one when Omega came into to cockpit.
"Hunter, can I ask you something?" she said.
"What is it?" Hunter asked turning to see her scratching at her arm & red bumps on her face.
"Are pimples suppose to be itchy?" Omega asked drawing the others' attention.
"Interesting turn of events," Tech said.
Wrecker just laughed.
"Oh, not again," Echo said.
Hunter had to agree. They had just gotten Omega through her bout with intestinal parasites & now they had a new problem: chicken pox.