Chapter Text
Don't leave me to go through this again.
“Do you hafta go?”
Hunter sighed, meeting Omega’s beseeching gaze. “Yes, we have to.”
Omega’s soft, round face puckered in a frown. “Why can’t I come?”
“Because it’s better for you to stay here,” Hunter answered for what felt like the millionth time. Every time they were deployed, Omega asked the same round of discontent questions, but they all tried to remain patient. With the near constant coming and going, her frustration was justified. Hunter understood; neither he nor his brothers liked being separated from her.
“I don’ like Mist’ess Se,” Omega said, wrinkling her nose.
None of them liked Nala Se, but the scientist likely did not care, if she bothered to acknowledge their feelings in any way. Even so, Omega’s matter-of-fact statements about her dislike made Hunter uneasy. She was strong-willed with her opinions, something Kaminoans were not fond of, deviant clone or otherwise.
“I know you don’t like her, but you have to keep that to yourself,” Hunter said, trying to sound firm. “You’re going to behave yourself for Mistress Se while we’re gone, right?”
“Yeah…” Omega grumbled, leaning against his leg. She quieted for a moment, then asked, “Are you gonna come back?”
Hunter looked down at her in surprise. That was a new question. “What do you mean?”
“You always go’way.” Omega glanced at him, and there was fear in her eyes. Her small, fluttering heartbeat picked up its cadence against his senses.
Hunter understood her anxiety then, and he wished she did not have to bear the strain of uncertainty from their unpredictable comings and goings. “We’ve always come back, haven’t we?”
Omega’s finger traced aimless patterns on his leg as she considered the question. “Yeah.”
“Then you know we’ll come back again.” Hunter stroked her hair, trying to smooth away the frown lines that had gathered on her forehead. She was only the equivalent of three standard years old, too young to have such concerns. “I know why you might worry about that, but we won’t leave you.”
To his relief, Omega seemed reassured, her gaze becoming quizzical. “What about Tick, an’ Wricker, an’ C’oss?”
“They would say the same thing. You can go and ask them, if you want.”
“M’kay!” Omega’s heartbeat ticked up again, but this time with excitement. Effectively distracted from her greatest worries, she ran off to find the other three with a smile, an errand that would undoubtedly lead to her being showered with affection. Hunter watched her go, hoping he could live up to his promises.
***
Panic threatened to paralyze Omega entirely, mind and body alike as the bounty hunter’s ship carried her farther and farther from her family. The image of Hunter on the ground, unmoving, was burned into her mind, and the man who had shot him was now taking her away from him.
Her surroundings offered no solace. The cell the bounty hunter had confined her to was cold and uncomfortable, like the room she had spent countless hours of isolation in on Kamino. There she had screamed her voice away, throwing herself at the door until she bruised, begging for her family to come for her, but they never did.
She had been left to wonder why she was separated from them, if they even loved her anymore, until that fateful day after the war was over. Reunited with them, she could not deny that they loved her, but she was still plagued by unanswered questions, questions she could not find the boldness to ask for fear of what the answers would be.
Now she faced the same situation once more. She was separated from her family, likely by the Kaminoans, and she feared they would not come for her. Could they even manage it if Hunter had been killed?
Another nauseating wave of panic rolled through Omega, leaving her struggling for composure. A few moments later, the bounty hunter’s droid trundle past the rayshield of her cell, and through sheer force of will, she retreated to the appearance of cold indifference she had learned to emulate from Nala Se. The Kaminoan had not cared for her emotions, so she found it was easier to hide them. Likewise, she would not allow the bounty hunter or his droid see how she really felt, and as the dreadful seconds trickled by, she realized she could not simply sit there and let herself be taken away.
She was older now, old enough to understand what was happening, to know the pain of separation with sharp clarity rather than muddled confusion. She also knew what true freedom felt like now, what life was like with her family without Kaminoan control, and she was not going to give that up easily.
After the incident on Pantora with the first bounty hunter, Omega had been instructed that if she was ever captured, she should keep from angering her captors if possible, and comply with any demands to prevent herself from being harmed. As she began to formulate ideas to get to her comm, she knew she was going against those instructions. Maybe she would get in trouble later, but she would much rather have that than whatever fate she was being carried off to.
When the droid came by again, she caught his attention, offering to fix his leg. After spending time around droids in the Kaminoan laboratory, she had learned how to communicate with them, even manipulate them on occasion. She feared her furiously pounding heart would somehow give her away, but the droid was none the wiser as she fixed his leg, then disconnected his power systems. She waited until she felt the familiar lurch of the ship exiting hyperspace, ensuring that the bounty hunter would be occupied before she snuck off to find her comm.
She had seen the droid place the comm in a pile of similar equipment likely stolen off of other victims when she was dragged aboard the ship, and that was where she found it. The utter relief that swept through her when the comm activated was enough that she could cry, but she didn’t, biding her time until the ship stopped and settled somewhere.
The moment the hatch opened, Omega sprinted out onto a landing platform surrounded by a sea of white, puffy clouds. Buildings loomed amidst the clouds like they were a part of the formations, and she recognized the style of architecture, horrifying in its unmistakable appearance: Kaminoan.
Her hands trembled as she activated the comm’s signal, knowing she only had a matter of seconds. Static burst from the comm as she set it to a long-range transmission, but she did not wait for it to settle before shouting, “Hello? It’s Omega! Can anyone hear me?”
The static droned on, ringing in Omega’s ears with her own heartbeat as her hopes plummeted. Then through the interference, words trickled through.
“—mega? Omega, are you there?”
Hunter, alive. A sob welled in Omega’s chest, but she fought it back as she gasped. “Hunter, is that you? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, kid.” Noise undercut Hunter’s reassurance, a clutter of voices and movement that promised the rest of the group was present.
“Please!” The plea burst from Omega, strained words tumbling from her mouth before she could stop them. “Please, don’t leave me here.”
“We’re not going to leave you.” Hunter’s assurance almost destroyed Omega’s wavering composure, but she fought to maintain herself when he asked, “Where are you?”
“I don’t know!” Omega looked at her surroundings again, blinking away the tears that threatened to blur her vision. “It looks like Kamino, but it’s not.”
“We’re trying to get a trace—”
Any relief Omega could have felt was extinguished when the comm went flying from her hand, clattering against the platform. A boot came down, crushing the device without remorse, and in the same instant her wrist was seized in a cruel grip.
The bounty hunter—Bane, the droid had called him—loomed over her like the oncoming shadow of a storm. “You’re a resourceful little thing, I’ll give you that, but you’ve caused me more than enough trouble. Try that again and you’ll regret it.”
The sudden static that filled the Marauder’s cockpit might as well have been another blaster bolt in Hunter’s abdomen. He leaned hard against the console, suffused with gut-wrenching dismay that swept away all physical pain as he tried in vain to reestablish the signal.
“What happened?” Wrecker bellowed behind him. “Get her back!”
“The connection has been completely lost.” Tech did not raise his voice, but his words were punctuated with an undertone of fury. “I suspect the comm has been destroyed.”
Hunter swayed on his feet. They couldn’t lose her, not again, not after they had just reclaimed her from a hell they had been unable to save her from for years. Her broken plea rang in his head over and over again, proof that she feared the abandonment they had been forced into.
Please, don’t leave me here.
A hand fell on his shoulder, bony but strong. “Hunter, sit,” Crosshair demanded.
Suddenly feeling powerless to argue, Hunter obeyed, collapsing back into his chair. Pain lanced through his abdomen with the motion, but he barely registered it as Echo said, “I got her traced to the Lido system.”
“That’s better than nothing.” Tech latched onto that bit of information, throwing orders to Echo and Wrecker so fast it made Hunter’s head spin. He leaned back, seeking equilibrium, and caught Crosshair’s gaze beside his chair. He saw in Crosshair the same determination that filled himself: they were not going to let Omega be taken, not again.
There was another bounty hunter.
Omega wasn’t sure what had happened. Bane had dragged her into the building off the landing platform, leading her through darkened hallways. She had only just spotted the thin, imposing form of a Kaminoan when a blaster shot shattered the quiet. She flinched as the Kaminoan fell, and the next thing she knew, Bane had let her go as another bounty hunter materialized from the misty corridors.
Seizing her chance, Omega fled from the ensuing fight, blaster fire ringing through the halls behind her. Fear lent speed to her escape despite her wrists being bound in cuffs, and only once the sounds of conflict had faded to a tolerable distance did rational thought return to her. She had not been injured yet, and she could not waste the opportunity she had. The Batch was coming for her, and she did not know if they had made a full trace to the strange planet she was on, but she could potentially reach them. Though the halls and rooms around her were dark and abandoned, she knew them well enough, because they were almost the same as Nala Se’s laboratory. She knew what to look for.
The fighting continued somewhere behind her, but she focused on her new goal, checking every room she passed in search of a communication console. She tried not to notice the isolation tanks still full of fluid scattered amongst the rooms, and she did not want to see what floated within them. They were just like the tanks in Nala Se’s lab, where she had seen many monstrous and malformed specimens, and she had always feared that one day it would be her who floated inside.
She was not spared when she finally found the console. The room that housed it had more tanks, and though they were consigned to shadow, grotesquely elongated bodies were still visible within. Riveting her eyes on the console, she approached it, and an immeasurable wave of relief swept over her when the buttons lit up beneath her touch.
“Please,” she whispered into the stale air as she punched in the Batch’s frequency. “Please…”
The Marauder was in hyperspace when a transmission came through. Hunter jolted as the console pinged, nearly upending bacta all over himself and Crosshair. “What was that?”
“It’s an open transmission,” Echo said. “All it says is ‘99’.”
“It must be Omega. Can it be traced?”
Tech didn’t wait for Echo to reply, practically pushing him out of the way to get to the console. “On it.”
Several tense seconds crept by, then the console pinged again.
“Marvelous girl,” Tech breathed, and the relief in his voice eased Hunter’s tension fractionally. “Bora Vio, in the Lido system.”
Beneath his fear and frustration, Hunter could not help but feel pride in Omega. “How quickly can you get us there?”
“It depends on how much risk you will allow me to take.”
Hunter’s own safety was the last thing on his mind. “Do whatever you need to.”
Omega wasn’t sure if her transmission had reached the Batch, but she didn’t have a chance to find out when the second bounty hunter discovered her. She was even more frightened when she recognized her as the bounty hunter from Pantora, Shand. Though Shand was not as forceful and merciless as Bane, she disliked her as much as him. The only people she wanted to see were her brothers.
If Shand intended to take her away, her chance was interrupted by the arrival of Bane. Everything happened so fast that Omega couldn’t keep up with it. Shand turned on Bane, and someone’s blaster went off. Glass shattered, and fluid gushed out of a broken isolation tank along with an ugly, elongated cadaver that flopped onto the feuding hunters.
Panic took over Omega once more at the sight of the misshapen body, wild and uncontrollable. She fled the room without looking back, having no destination except to get away from the grotesque experiment and the bounty hunters. She ran through the darkened halls until she lost all sense of direction and her body burned from exertion. Then she huddled in the darkest corner she could find, trying not to cry as she prayed her message had reached her brothers.
“What are you doing?”
Hunter pointedly ignored Echo’s disapproving gaze. “Suiting up.”
“Maybe you should sit this one out.”
“There’s no way in this galaxy I will.” Hunter gritted his teeth, his torso throbbing as he strapped his chestplate back into place. “I’m the one that lost her, so I’m going to find her.”
“You’re not going to win this argument, Echo,” Crosshair muttered, “and we can’t stop him anymore than you.”
Echo backed down, and Hunter was glad of it. An argument between them was the last thing they needed with Omega at stake.
Tech’s risky flight techniques, while potentially stressful on the Marauder, had landed them in Bora Vio’s orbit quickly, all things considered. But the hyperspace travel and the approach of the planet’s atmosphere still felt too long, every second stretching into its own small eternity.
Hunter’s heart dropped when the buildings appeared through the clouds. Omega had not been exaggerating; this planet was tied to Kamino in some way, if not now then in the past. It was likely that her kidnapping was facilitated by the Kaminoans, a possibility that made him feel equally sickened and angry.
“Based on the coordinates, this is the facility the signal came from,” Tech said as he brought the Marauder low over the large building.
Hunter looked out the viewport, catching sight of an unfamiliar ship docked on an adjacent landing platform. “Someone’s still here, which means there’s a good chance Omega is too.”
Crosshair shouldered his rifle and stepped forward, barely shifting as Tech brought the ship in toward the landing platform with a sharp turn. “I’m taking point on this.”
Hunter’s responding scowl turned into a wince as he fought to maintain balance against Tech’s maneuvers, his torso complaining at the unexpected jolt.
“This is why I’m taking point,” Crosshair growled, steadying him. “If Bane can outshoot you in prime condition, he definitely can now.”
“I agree with Cross on this one,” Wrecker murmured.
Hunter gritted his teeth and straightened his posture. “I’m fine.”
Crosshair scoffed. “Even if that were true, which it isn’t, I would still take point. You said it yourself that Bane is dangerous. Someone needs to outgun him, and it won’t be you.”
Hunter sighed, glancing out the viewport at the rapidly approaching landing platform. They didn’t have time to argue, for Omega’s sake. He was sure her desperate plea rang just as loudly in their minds as his own. “Fine. The four of us will go in while Tech circles the ship in lookout.”
Tech didn’t even land the Marauder, bringing it to a brief hover over the platform so he could take off quickly once the rest of them disembarked. As the ship took off once more, Hunter paused, letting the sensory noise of the area wash over him. He blocked out the thrum of his and his brothers’ hearts, delving into what he perceived beyond them.
The facility buzzed with a low undercurrent of electricity, powered by whatever generators remained. Hunter pushed past it, going deeper to search for irregularities, and found three. The first was an inhuman heartbeat, too large and slow, likely belonging to Cad Bane. The second was a human heartbeat pounding fast, but it was too strong. The last was the hardest to find, smaller and lighter, fluttering in a fearful cadence, but find it he did. He knew Omega’s heartbeat at once despite the passing of time, and he had sworn never to forget it even in the years of separation.
“She’s still here,” Hunter said, opening his eyes. “She’s inside.”
No one else spoke, for there was no need. Crosshair stepped forward and the rest of them followed, a single unit bound by one purpose.
The interior of the facility was dark and quiet, qualities that were eerie for the fact that someone so bright and lively as Omega was within. Hunter could not precisely identify her location at first, but as they moved deeper into the cold halls, he could feel them getting closer to her as well as Bane, while the other human seemed to be moving farther away.
They moved in near complete silence, Crosshair in the lead with Hunter close behind. Finally, the smell of blood struck Hunter, though to his relief it was laced with a pungent tinge of chemicals that revealed it was not human. He placed a hand on Crosshair’s shoulder, halting him and the others behind. In the stillness, he listened, and heard the rasp of labored breathing.
“Bane’s ahead, to the left,” he murmured. “He’s hurt.”
Crosshair nodded, prowling forward and aiming his rifle down the supposedly empty hall in front of them. “We know you’re down there, Bane. Show yourself before we make you.”
“I know a clone’s voice when I hear it, no matter what.” A growling, almost bored response drifted to them from beyond a corner where the hall veered to the right. “You wouldn’t gun down an injured man.”
“That sentiment doesn’t apply to the scum of the earth.” Crosshair’s retort was laced with contempt. “Come out, now. I won’t ask again.”
After a brief pause, Bane stepped into view. Fury ignited inside Hunter at the sight of him, but he restrained himself, watching the bounty hunter carefully. A slight hunch in his posture further confirmed the injuries Hunter had already sensed, but it was surely not Omega who had inflicted them.
“Where’s the kid?” Crosshair demanded.
Bane shrugged, his narrow face twisting with disdain. “She ran off, but she ain’t worth the trouble.”
“Why’d you bring her here? Who hired you?”
“Who do you think?” Bane sneered. “The only ones who care about clones. They wanted the girl, and I don’t ask questions.”
Hunter could not be sure if he was being honest, but the building they stood in seemed to indicate Kaminoan involvement, and that made him angrier than Bane. “Who else was here with you?”
“No one was with me. She was tryin’ to steal my target.”
Hunter disliked the situation even more, and Crosshair hissed, “Why? Who were you going to meet here? I want a name.”
Bane glared at them disdainfully. “I could tell you that, for the right price.”
“You’re in no position to bargain. I can shoot you right now and be done with you.”
“If you’re gonna take me down, I can make sure you go down with me.” Bane looked at Hunter. “At least one of you knows that.”
Tension crackled in the air as Crosshair said, “You want to bet your life on that?”
Bane’s hands dropped toward his belt, and though Hunter’s reaction time was slowed, Crosshair’s was not. Hunter had barely registered Bane’s movement when a bolt streaked from Crosshair’s rifle, grazing the bounty hunter’s right hand. Bane froze, and time seemed to stop with him as the blaster fire echoed and faded. Hunter tensed, everything in him screaming to yank Crosshair out of the line of fire, but he remained still.
“The next one goes straight through that arm, or maybe through your head.” Crosshair did not raise his voice, but it was as cold as the forgotten halls around them. “Your choice.”
Bane appeared unbothered, but the spike in his pulse told Hunter otherwise. “Well, aren’t you a real deadeye?”
“You have five seconds to answer the question. Who was after her?”
Bane was quiet for so long that he appeared to be calling Crosshair’s bluff, and Hunter knew he would gladly shoot the bounty hunter dead. The moment Crosshair moved to pull the trigger, Bane jumped backwards with surprising speed, his boots igniting beneath him.
Crosshair fired, but the unnatural height of Bane’s jump made the bolt catch him only in the leg. Bane did not let the pain stop him, drawing his own blasters as he propelled himself backwards. Hunter grabbed Crosshair and yanked him to safety behind a corner as a retaliatory volley of bolts came flying down the hall, Echo and Wrecker sheltering on the other side of the intersection.
“Kriffing scumwad,” Crosshair snarled. “I should have known he would pull something.”
“Do we go after him?” Wrecker called.
As much as Hunter wanted to hunt Bane down, he resisted the urge, instead focusing on the smaller, more important heartbeat within his perception. “No. We need to get to Omega and get out of here.”
Crosshair muttered several curses, but despite his anger, he swiftly oriented to the greater task. “Then show us the way.”
Omega felt like she had been hiding in the oppressive darkness for an eternity. The facility had gone eerily silent safe for her own breathing, and even then she kept her breaths as shallow as possible for fear of somehow alerting one of the bounty hunters. She could not see anything except the glow from the panel next to the door she had come through. The longer she waited, the more her thoughts spiraled out of control. Her signal could have failed, and it could be days before she was found, if the bounty hunters didn’t find her first.
“Omega!”
She stopped breathing altogether as the call reached her. It sounded like Wrecker.
“Omega, where are you?”
Echo’s voice sent Omega scrambling to her feet, hope and relief fueling her actions. She emerged from her hiding place on trembling legs, squinting at the sudden light. A dark figure appeared unexpectedly in her periphery, and she instinctively stumbled back with a frightened yelp.
“Easy, Omega. It’s us.”
It took every ounce of strength Omega had to keep her composure as Crosshair loomed in front of her, with Hunter, Wrecker, and Echo following slightly behind. Crosshair took her by the shoulder, and though his helmet was on, it was obvious he was looking her over.
“Are you alright?” he asked as the others crowded around. “Are you hurt?”
Omega almost felt dizzy with relief. A vibroblade appeared, severing the cuffs that bound her hands before she could process it. “N-no. I’m fine…”
“Wrecker, you got her?”
“I’m fine. I can walk—” Omega’s protests were in vain as Wrecker scooped her up like she weighed nothing, and thought the plastoid of his armor was uncomfortable, she could not fight the way she sank into his hold.
“Don’t worry,” Wrecker said, his voice softened with relief of his own. “We’re getting you outta here.”
And they did just that. They moved through the halls so fast that Omega quickly lost any sense of direction, but it didn’t matter. Soon enough, they were back on the landing platform where the Marauder waited, and Omega resolved that she would never complain about being cooped up aboard again as she was brought back to the ship’s safety.
There was a flurry of activity as the Marauder took off. Omega was deposited on a bunk as helmets and weapons were set aside, then they were all looking at her with deep concern. She didn’t look back, instead choosing to stare at her lap. She had been through worse things than this, and she would be okay if she could have a minute, but there was too much going on. There were too many voices, too many eyes on her, in addition to her own scattered thoughts that she couldn’t piece together.
A warm hand touched her arm, and she looked up into Hunter’s face. “Omega, are you alright?”
“I’m fine!” Omega burst out with a ferocity that surprised herself. “I’m fine, I…I just need…” Her voice threatened to break, and she dropped her head again, battling against herself. Hunter’s hand moved from her arm to her face, gently tilting her chin up and forcing their eyes to meet once more.
“Omega,” he said, his voice as soft as his eyes, “you don’t have to be fine.”
The last bastion of Omega’s composure cracked and crumbled, the emotions spilling forth in a way she could not remember allowing before. Tears welled in her eyes, and there was no stopping them as she fell apart. She truly cried for the first time in a long while, but this time she was not met with the indifference of Kamino. Strong, warm arms encircled her, and she wept freely against Hunter’s shoulder.
Hunter was pained but not surprised when Omega started crying. He had felt like doing the same in the long hours since she had been taken, and it was almost too painful to imagine just what she was subjected to. But he let her cry, taking her into his arms as she released her pain in a flood that seemed long overdue. Even when they had first been reunited, she had not cried like this. A glance toward his brothers confirmed that they looked as helpless as he felt, each one looking pained in his own way.
Omega sobbed incoherently at first, but then words came stumbling out between the heaving, tear-laden gasps. “I-I thought you were gonna leave me…”
Hunter felt like he had taken a blow directly to the chest, momentarily stealing his ability to breathe. Their greatest failure was now laid before them, no longer lingering unspoken in the silence they had tried to consign it to. He knew it would have to come out eventually, but he had not imagined anything like this. Wrecker, Tech, and Crosshair had all gone still, their faces ashen. Echo was less stricken, though his expression was grave with understanding.
“We weren’t going to leave you, Omega,” Hunter said. “I promise.”
Omega pulled back, her face full of pain he wished he could take away. “Then why? Why did…?”
She did not finish, another sob interrupting her words, but she did not have to. Hunter knew the question. Her heart pounded in his senses like thunder, and he could form no answer that seemed good enough for her. His brothers offered nothing either, likely for the same reason.
“We didn’t willingly leave you with Nala Se,” he finally said, as memories shrouded in red fury surfaced in his mind. “You were taken from us.”
Omega shook her head, more tears squeezing from behind her eyelids. “But you didn’t come for me.”
The amount of despair Omega reflected brought more words to Hunter’s mouth. “We wanted to, more than anything. We even made a plan.”
Omega’s eyes flew open, and she regarded him with something between surprise and hurt. “Why didn’t you do it?”
Hunter glanced at his brothers. None of them wanted to say it, to spare Omega from the darker things that had loomed over her life, but she deserved the truth. “Because the Kaminoans made it clear that any insubordination could be reflected on you, that they could hurt you…or worse.”
Omega’s breath caught in her throat, her eyes widening with horror. It was a small relief to Hunter that she had not known previously.
“We couldn’t risk you,” he continued. “We wanted you safe, but we were always waiting for a chance to take you as far away from Kamino as possible and never go back.”
Omega didn’t answer, her tears now rolling silently down her face.
“I wish it hadn’t been this way.” Hunter lowered his head, the weight of her gaze unbearable as shame welled inside him. “It took too long, and I’m sorry.”
Omega let out a deep, quivering exhale, her grip on him tightening. “I’m just glad you’re here now.”
“And we’re not going anywhere,” Hunter said, his voice strangely choked. “Never again.”
Omega relaxed, sagging against him, pressing her forehead against his shoulder. “The Kaminoans…they’re after me.”
“They won’t get you.” Hunter cradled her head, letting the gradual descent of her heartrate calm his own. “Just rest. You’ve been through a lot.”
“Can I stay with you?” Omega asked, the question almost a whisper.
“You don’t even have to ask.” Hunter situated himself so he was seated on the bunk, settling Omega next to him. As she curled into his hold, he made a shooing motion to his brothers, who reluctantly dispersed. She was his responsibility for the moment, though he knew they would be paying close attention regardless. He let that reassurance soothe the residual tension inside him, and as Omega rested in his arms, he finally felt he could rest again, as well.