Chapter Text
The Marauder speed away with several Imperial TIE fighters behind it. However, once they made the jump into hyperspace, the Bad Batch knew that they were safe. The rescue mission had been a success & Omega was clinging to Hunter as if she never wanted to let go.
"What do we do now?" Wrecker asked looking at their leader.
"We go into hiding," Hunter said picking Omega up so he could at least walk. "Though I don't know where."
"Tattooine," Crosshair said from the back of the ship. "It's so far out in the Outer Chain that the Empire has no interest in it at the time."
"But there's nothing there," Wrecker said.
"Actually that is not true," said Tech. "There are towns, moister farms, & a few cities."
Hunter didn't say anything. He was thinking.
"That's where we'll go," he said.
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Light from the twin suns streamed through the window with the curtains doing little to block it out. Hunter rolled over in an attempt to get up only to find Omega sleeping next to him. In the two month since they had moved to Tattoine, Omega had only slept in her own room a few times.
"Come on, Omega," he said. "Time to get up. We have to open the store soon."
When they had arrived on the desert planet, they had bought a business in one of the oases. Originally called Dinar's Claim, they had changed it to Omega's Oasis. The business kept them all busy & was far enough away from the cities to keep them safe if the Empire ever came to the planet. Because it was so far from the nearest town or city, the store functioned as everything for the people that lived in the area & everyone had a job to do. Wrecker ran the garage with help from Tech, Echo found solace in the dewbacks & eopies who didn't care that he was mostly machine, & Hunter, Crosshair, Phee, & Omega ran the rest of the store.
Omega pushed herself up, Lula falling to the floor. Sand from outside had found its way into the living quarters meaning they were going to have to run the cleaning bot. Someone must have gone outside during the night. Most likely Echo. A few of the female eopies were expecting & Echo had been checking on them regularly. They were actually in the process of building a barn to keep the animals safe at night.
"Do you think we'll see any Jawas today?" Omega asked.
They had seen tracks from a crawler on several occasions but had yet to see the scavengers. They had also seen bantha tracks but were unable to tell if they were from wild banthas or ones owned by sand people.
"We might. Just remember that anything we get from them has to be cleaned and fixed before it's sold to the customers."
It was a rule they had all agreed on when they learned that the Jawas sometimes came to the oasis.
"I remember," Omega said.
"Good. Now go get dressed and make your bed. It's Echo's turn to make breakfast."
Omega got up and went right to her room. In the short period of time since they moved there, she had already filled it with toys, games, and quite a few plushies. Lula, as always, would hold court over Omega's other toys from her bed for the day while her trooper and kaleidoscope were on her dresser. She had a few other dolls on chairs or in the corner and somehow her new stuffed bantha had found its way into the hall. After getting ready for the day, Hunter & Omega joined the others in the kitchen. Tech & Wrecker were discussing the work that needed to be done on one of the speeders while Crosshair & Phee were arguing over the placement for a new display in the store.
"Hunter," Crosshair said, "tell her the display should be at the counter where it will be out of the way."
"It should be at the door where everyone can see it," Phee said. "Not all our customers come to the counter."
"How about the front of the aisle across from the door," Hunter said. "That way everyone can see it & it won't be in the way."
It was hard to argue with that. Breakfast proceeded much quieter after that. There was still a lot to get done before the store opened.
"Okay," Hunter said once the kitchen was cleaned. "I have to go into Mos Eisley to pick up some supplies. Echo's in charge 'til I get back."
"Can I come, too?" Omega asked.
The question really wasn't a surprise. Omega had been clinging to Hunter more than usual lately. They were all pretty confident that it had to do with her imprisonment on Tantiss. Even Crosshair had no idea what she went through.
"You can come," Hunter said.
Omega gave a shout of excitement & ran off towards the family's speeder.
"We'll be back as soon as possible," Hunter said.
In reality, Hunter & Omega wouldn't be back any time soon. Hunter undoubtedly would treat Omega to lunch & some window shopping while they were in town.
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Omega loved going to Mos Eisley, especially with Hunter. The speeder ride over was always fun since they played games on the way & she always came back with a new toy or holovid or holobook.
"Okay," Hunter said. "It's small & furry & gets into all kinds of mischief but can always get out of it by looking cute."
"A tooka," Omega said. "It's small with spikes & makes a tinkling sound when it moves."
Hunter thought a moment.
"I have no idea," he said.
"A crystal fox," Omega said. "It's big and likes to sleep on the furniture, chase womp rats, and eat Crosshair's boots."
"That's an easy one. It's Batcher."
Batcher was a lurac hound that had been liberated along with Omega and Crosshair and had become the family pet. Omega giggled. She loved Batcher. She was a good playmate for her and a great watch dog. Though, for some reason, she had recently taken to crewing on Crosshair's boots and only Crosshair's boots. It really didn't make sense since Omega left her shoes (and toys) all over the living quatres and Wrecker left his boots in every room except his and Crosshair always kept his boots in his closet. But somehow Batcher had figured out how to nose open Crosshair's closet.
"Okay," Hunter said when they got to the space port, "let's go see if the supplies are here."
The freighter had arrived but was in the process of being unloaded so they would have to wait. They couldn't collect the supplies until everything was unloaded and checked.
"How about we do a little window shopping?" Hunter said.
Omega loved window shopping. Sometimes, if she played her cards right, she could get something from some of the stores. Mos Eisley was busy. Omega had to stay close to Hunter so they wouldn't get separated. Not that she minded. Ever since her rescue, Omega had been somewhat reluctant to be out of Hunter's sight. They visited a few shops where Omega was able to talk Hunter into getting her a couple of new outfits and a new chew toy for Batcher.
"Do you think Batcher will like it?" Omega asked looking at the chew toy.
"I'm sure she'll love it," Hunter said. "And maybe it will keep her from eating Crosshair's boots."
Omega giggled. They could only hope.
"How about some lunch?" Hunter said after they checked the progress of the shipment.
"Sounds good. And I'm a little hungry," Omega said.
They went to one of their favorite canteenas. There were several that were more like restaurants than bars and that Hunter felt comfortable taking Omega to.
"What can I get you?" the waitress asked.
"I'll have...spaghetti with meat sauce," Omega said.
"Make that two," Hunter said handing the menus to the waitress.
"I like when we come to town," Omega said.
"I do, too," Hunter said. "It's nice to get away from the store and the others for a while."
They were walking down the street towards the space port after lunch when a noise drew their attention to one of the allies. Three teenaged boys were huddled around something and seemed to be hitting and kicking it.
"Stay here," Hunter told Omega afraid that it might be an animal the boys were hitting. "What are you doing?" he said to the boys taking their attention away from what they were hitting. "Go back home."
The boys ran off and Hunter saw what they were hitting; a boy no older than fourteen. And Hunter recognized him right away.
"Commander Dume?!"
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"I still don't know how he managed to get this far with the Empire hunting Jedi," Echo said.
"He has a story to tell, that's for sure," Tech said.
"It will have to wait," Phee said. "Let the poor boy rest. He's been through enough."
Everyone left the room as Phee closed the door behind her.
"Omega," Echo said, "why don't you go out in the yard and play with Batcher."
Omega knew better than to argue.
"Come on, Batcher," Omega said, heading outside.
Both suns were out so it was hot. Omega opted to play in the shadow of the house where it was cooler. Batcher got into a play bow as Omega picked up a ball. She knew what was coming and was excited.
"Go get it, Batcher," Omega said.
Batcher ran after it and brought it back to Omega, dropping the ball at her feet and getting into another play bow. This was their favorite game.
"Okay, Batcher," Omega said after an hour or so, "time to stop. My arm's getting tired."
Batcher whined, the ball still in her mouth. She hated having to stop playing.
"Let's see if dinner's ready," Omega said heading to the house.
Batcher followed her. A delicious smell hit them both as they entered the house.
"Yum. Roast," Omega said.
"It will be ready soon," Phee said setting a bowl of soup on a tray with some toast and a glass of milk. "In the meantime, why don't you and Batcher take this to our guest."
Omega took the tray and made her way down the hall. When she came to the room the boy was in, Batcher nudged it open for her. The boy looked at her from the bed.
"Hi. My name's Omega. This is Batcher."
"Kanan Jarrus," the boy said.
"I brought you some dinner."
Omega brought the tray over and set in on the side table.
"Omega," Phee called. "Dinner's ready."
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"How long until Kanan can come out and play with me?" Omega asked as Hunter tucked her in.
"It will be a while," Hunter said. "His injuries need time to heal. And he also needs to learn that he can trust us."
"Why's that?"
"He's a Jedi."
"Like Gungi."
"The situation's a little different. We were there on Kala when Commander Dume lost his teacher General Billaba."
"But none of you were responsible for that."
"No. But the other clones were and that left him scared. And Crosshair did try to kill him. We need to give him time and let him know he's safe here."
"Okay, Hunter."
"That's my girl. Now get some sleep. We have another busy day tomorrow. And try to sleep in your own bed for the whole night."
"I'll try."
Hunter turned the light off on his way out. Looking back into the dark room, he could see Omega drifting off to sleep Lula held tightly to her chest. How different it would be for her to have someone close to her own age (and who didn't share her genetic profile) to play with on a regular basis and how different it would be for all of them to have another child in the house. That is if they could get Commander Dume to trust them.