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casual-violinist-fangirl · 10 days

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All I can do to Keep you Safe is Hold You Close - 2,317 Words

A part of the collection I have fondly named 'Kaminoans are Assholes.'

Omega has been having trouble sleeping because of nightmares and her solution to that is to... not sleep. Hunter's Jango Fett gene has well and truly activated!

As always this fic is on my AO3 account here, and the link to my masterlist is here.

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The first time he had noticed something was wrong was when Omega started asking if she could drink caff in the mornings. Jokingly, Wrecker had let her have a sip of his, him and Echo laughing when they saw the expression on her face. She clearly hadn’t enjoyed the taste. When Tech had enquired as to why she had wanted to try the bitter drink, she had simply shrugged and said that there wasn’t really a reason.

That had been a lie.

Lying in front of Hunter was almost impossible; he could sense even the slightest of changes in a person’s body for crying out loud. To add to that, Omega was an awful liar, making it easy to spot from where he was sat. Glancing around the cabin, it didn’t seem as though any of the others had noticed this, although when he caught Crosshair’s eye he noticed an air of suspicion in his expression. He had noticed too.

The day had gone on as usual and Omega hadn’t asked any more about the caff… Hunter almost allowed himself to forget that she had even lied about wanting to drink it in the first place. She was a little girl, for crying out loud. She was full of energy and the last thing they needed was her pinging about the place before crashing in a heap when the affects ran out. That night, when he had put her to bed, tucking Lula and Trooper into her blankets with her, he had asked how she was. It had come out innocently enough, but clearly he had spooked her because almost straight away her barriers went up, and she was insisting that she was absolutely fine. Not knowing what to do if she didn’t want to talk to him, he had bid her goodnight and climbed back down the ladder from the gunner’s mount.

A week or so later it was becoming more and more apparent that Omega was exhausted. She kept falling asleep on missions at every opportunity she got to rest her legs, and it was getting to the point where Wrecker was having to carry her about. Sheer exhaustion rolled off of her in waves, and the rest of the batch were beginning to be more and more concerned for her wellbeing. She was their little sister… Hunter’s ad’ika (though he would never admit that to his brothers) she deserved to be happy and healthy like all little girls her age.

After one particular mission, Omega had collapsed in a heap in Cid’s bar; the loud music didn’t seem to bother her as she slept, drawing the attention of the Trandoshan.

“What’s with Tiny?” she asked, nodding her head towards the booth where she was resting. Hunter scowled, but that was more because he didn’t know the answer than because she was prying. He went to respond, but Tech stepped in.

“It would appear that Omega has… over done it on the past couple of missions,” he answered in a very reasonable tone. “She clearly needs to go to her bunk when we get back to the ship.”

Cid hadn’t said anything else following on from that, but Hunter could tell that she didn’t buy what Tech had told her, and that even she was concerned for the little girl. “Right…” she responded. “Well you see that she does get that sleep. I can’t have clients coming in thinking I let little kids pass out drunk in my bar.”

Omega had let Hunter scoop her up and carry her back to the ship, her head lolling on his shoulder as she wordlessly took in her surroundings. He had thought there and then that maybe he’d be able to get her into bed quickly when he got back to the Marauder…

He could not have been more wrong.

The moment he mentioned the ‘b’ word, Omega had perked up and started insisting that she wasn’t even remotely tired. “Can’t I just stay up for a little longer, Hunter?” she had asked, her big brown eyes trying to persuade him that he didn’t need to send her to bed. He had sighed, crossing his arms and trying to put on his best ‘dad’ face.

“You need sleep, Omega,” he reasoned as he reached into the gunner’s mount and pulled her pyjamas down. She pouted at him, and for a moment he was convinced that she was going to start crying.

“B-but…” she trailed, and Hunter could see an element of conflict on her features. She wanted to tell him something, he just knew it, but before she could get any words out Wrecker came parading into the room, a little tipsy. So much for talking to her.

"I’m sorry Omega,” he continued, watching her body deflate with disappointment. “I’m not budging on this one.”

She had gone to bed, but he had noticed how she tried to drag out every element of getting ready; she had taken nearly twenty minutes brushing her teeth for kriff’s sake. Looking back on that now, he should have seen just how reluctant she was to sleep and realised that something was wrong. He should have reached out to her.

Other abnormalities in her behaviour should have stuck out to him, and he found himself cursing for not noticing all of this sooner. Especially given what was about to come.

——

(Three Weeks Later)

There were plenty of times that Hunter cursed his enhanced hearing; being on a ship full of snorers when he was trying desperately to sleep was one of those times. As he lay in his bunk, all he could hear was the heavy breathing of Wrecker directly above him, and the light snores of Tech from his chair in the cockpit. He had ear buds for times like these, but whilst the noise irritated him to no end, not being able to hear made him feel vulnerable and he tried not to use them unless he absolutely had to.

Rolling over and resisting the urge to groan, he buried his face into the GAR standard issue pillow. It wasn’t exactly comfy, but being a solider meant that you had to be able to sleep anywhere. This lumpy pillow and hard bunk was a godsend compared to some of the situations he’d found himself in over the years. Distantly, he could hear the tapping of keys on some sort of device… it sounded a little like Crosshair’s data pad. Clearly he had joined Echo on watch then seeing as he couldn’t hear either of them anywhere else. They weren’t sleeping, that’s for sure.

Having Crosshair back had meant a little bit of adjusting for the members of the Bad Batch. For the first couple of days he had been incredibly isolated, not wanting to go near any of his brothers or even his little sister. Then, slowly, little by little he had started to integrate himself back into the lives of those who loved him. He had taken a shine to Omega, although he was loathed to show it to anyone except the little girl herself… now that Hunter thought about it, the only time he had seen Omega sleeping peacefully over the past few weeks was the morning she had been found in her bunk, clinging onto Crosshair’s sleeping form as though it was the only thing keeping her from floating out of the ship.

Hunter made a mental note to ask Crosshair about that in the morning, but his train of thoughts was cut off when he heard what sounded like a muted sob. Sitting bolt upright in bed and suddenly no longer tired, Hunter’s eyes darted around the room as he searched for the source of the sound. Not noticing anything out of the ordinary, he frowned, which deepened when he heard the sobbing sound a second time. Having been ready this time, he climbed out of bed and tiptoed towards the noise. Almost as though she could sense his presence, Omega’s snivels stopped as he reached the bottom of the ladder leading to her room.

“’Mega?” he asked quietly, not opening the curtain… he didn’t want to spook her or make her feel as though he was intruding on her space. There was silence for a moment before a quiet shuffling of blankets could be heard and a small hand reached to open the curtain.

Omega’s face was blotchy and red, her cheeks tear-stained and her eyes puffy from her crying; how had Hunter not noticed her sooner? He cursed to himself, making a mental note to be more aware in the future. “H-Hunter,” a small sob escaped her as she launched herself at him without hesitating and clung to his neck.

To his credit, Hunter reacted quickly; he carefully scooped Omega out of the gunners’ mount, cradling her trembling form as he wondered quietly back to his bunk and sat down. The little girl still clinging onto him, he stroked a hand through her hair and whispered soothing nothings to her as he waited for her cries to subside.

When her breathing eventually did even out and the sniffles came to a stop, she looked up at him with a bleary look on her face. Kriff, she looked exhausted. How long had she been going on like this?

“Ad’ika,” his voice croaked as he used the term for the first time. Omega’s eyes widened at the expression, and if he didn’t know better he was convinced that she pulled him just a little closer. “Have you been struggling to sleep?”

Bingo. He’d hit the nail on the head it seemed, as the little girl in his arms cried even more.

“E-every time I close my eyes,” she sobbed. “I see something different and it’s horrible…” she took a shuddering breath. “I’ve been trying to stay awake at night so that the nightmares don’t come.”

Hunter let out a shaky breath he didn’t know he’d been holding. “You’ve gotta get sleep, ‘Mega,” he soothed as he kept stroking her hair.

“I’m so tired,” she mumbled as her tears slowly came to a stop, reduced to small hiccups now as she rested her head against his chest.

An idea occurred to him, something that he hadn’t done since he and his brothers were cadets, all cowering away and petrified of Nala se. “You could always stay here for the night,” he whispered, his suggestion catching her attention. She didn’t move to look at him but nodded, wiping her eyes on the sleeve of her new pyjamas (Crosshair had insisted that she have sleeping clothes, though he wouldn’t say why he had become so interested). Shifting carefully, he set her down on the bunk next to him and went to put his back against the wall to make more space for her.

That clearly wasn’t what she’d had in mind as Omega frowned slightly and clambered over him, putting herself between him and the wall. Hunter let out a small chuff of laughter as he rolled over, letting the little girl get comfortable; by the time the pair of them had stopped fidgeting, Omega was curled into Hunter’s embrace, the arm he draped over her clutched to her chest as she hugged it like it was Lula. The sergeant was a little uncomfortable, but any thoughts of that melted away as Omega whispered something that only he could hear.

“Goodnight, buir.”

He just managed to choke back the sudden wave of emotion that washed over him. That was… unexpected. Clearing his throat, he smiled softly at the little girl in his arms.

“Goodnight, ad’ika.”

————

A week or so later Hunter was lying in bed, reading off of his holo pad. Omega’s nightmares hadn’t stopped, of course they hadn’t, but knowing that she could go to her buir when the nightmares arrived made them that much easier to cope with. It meant that he’d had to contend with having Omega, Lula and sometimes even Trooper in bed with him but if that was the price he had to pay for the girl’s comfort? So be it.

Speak of the devil, a sniffle to his right caught his attention and he looked up only to see that Omega had snuck out of her bunk and to his bed. She looked at him with pleading eyes for only a moment before he lifted his blanket.

“Come on,” he whispered, allowing her to climb into the bed and to her usual spot between her buir and the wall. Her head rested on his chest as he continued tapping at the holo pad; he had been doing some research into a new knife he’d had his eye on, but turned that off in favour of a mind-numbing game he knew Omega enjoyed watching him play. It was a game where you had to match three blocks of the same colour in order for them to disappear and for the items trapped at the top of the screen to reach the bottom.

He thought the little girl had drifted off to sleep, but was proven wrong when a small hand reached out and tapped three blocks on the screen. Letting out a small laugh at her antics, Hunter pressed a gentle kiss to the girls’ temple before the pair continued playing the game together, taking it in turns. He knew they’d both be tired in the morning but they had nothing planned for the day, a little lay-in wouldn’t hurt anyone. It was in moments like these that he allowed himself to make the most of the normality of it all, in the vain hope that one day he’d be able to give his little girl the childhood she deserved.

“Love you, buir.”

“Love you too, ‘Mega.”

Yeah, he could definitely put up with sharing his bunk with his kid and her toys if it meant that he got to have moments like these.

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casual-violinist-fangirl · 10 days

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No One's Gonna Harm You - 2,309 Words

Part of a collection I'm going to fondly name 'Kaminoans are Assholes'.

Set in a universe in between seasons 1 and 2 where Crosshair left the Empire and re-joined his brothers!

Omega is struggling to understand that it's okay to be human... and a child. Her brothers are seeking to help fix that.

As usual, the AO3 link is here, and the fic is below!

Link to my masterlist is here.

Crosshair should have been asleep, he knew that much. Unfortunately for him, his mind simply would not let him rest. This was not an unusual thing for him, especially not since his return to his squad. Having his chip removed (finally) had done a number on him, and he often found himself sat up at night regardless of whether or not it was his turn to be on watch. Glancing at the time on his holo, he groaned quietly. He still had four hours left of his sleep cycle. No point in getting up unless he wanted to be subjected to questioning from Echo, who was currently on watch in the cockpit.

A rustle behind his head caught his attention and he sat up in bed. The moving of fabric ceased, and for a moment Crosshair was about to dismiss it as his sleep-deprived mind finally losing it… when it happened again.

The clone raised an eyebrow, trying to identify where exactly the sound was coming from. He glanced at the sleeping forms of his brothers; Tech was passed out in a chair, a holo pad hanging loosely from his hand. Hunter was in the bunk opposite his own, ear plugs in to prevent the noises of the ship from waking him up. Wrecker was snoring above him, dead to the world. No, this sound hadn’t come from any of his brothers. That left one more person…

As though she had sensed him thinking about her, Omega’s head popped out from her curtain; she appeared to be half asleep, and Crosshair couldn’t help but roll his eyes. One of these days she was going to be so tired when leaving the gunner’s mount that she’d surely fall.

She clearly hadn’t seen him awake, as she pulled back the curtain to her bunk quietly and began to descend the ladder. The older clone was about to lie back down and try to sleep when something odd caught his eye.

When he saw Omega leaving her bed, he simply assumed that she was going to the ‘fresher or to replenish her water canteen… he had not been expecting her to start dragging half of her bedding down the ladder with her. Not daring to move, just in case he spooked her, he sat silently as he observed the little girl tug at the bedding as it got caught. She tugged at it a few times, her frustration clear on her face, but then with one mighty tug it came loose.

Omega stumbled, and had Crosshair not lunged out of bed to catch her, she would have hit her head on the floor of the cabin.

“What do you think you’re doing?” he hissed at her, trying not to wake his brothers. Omega looked at him with wide eyes. He noticed that she was trembling, but put it down to being cold. “You could’ve hurt yourself. You shouldn’t be traipsing around the cabin with your bedding like a toddler!” he scowled at her and picked up a handful of blanket to prove that the thing was huge and could easily make her trip up, but dropped it again when his hand was met with a damp patch. That, he had not been expecting.

If it was possible, Omega’s eyes widened even more, the horror evident on her face. Her whole frame was shuddering now, and Crosshair didn’t need to have jedi powers to know that she was terrified… of him? Of the predicament she was in? Both? Sighing, he crouched down to her height. She flinched away from him, a small squeak of fear escaping her as she did so. Crosshair noted the dark circles under her eyes, the way that her bottom lip trembled as her eyes filled with tears that she was too scared to shed.

“Has this happened before?” he asked, trying desperately to make his voice sound as calm as possible. When he didn’t get a response, he took that as a yes and stood at his full height once more. Now that he thought about it, he could vaguely smell the liquid that was the cause of her late-night trip. He made towards the ‘fresher, picking up the bedding with a grimace and nodding for her to follow him.

On his way to the ‘fresher, Crosshair bundled the soggy bedding up and threw it into the small machine they used to clean their blacks. He worked quickly, acutely aware of the trembling little girl behind him and before long, the gentle whir of the machine could be heard. He entered the ‘fresher and washed his hands before turning to Omega. Her cheeks were red with embarrassment and she was desperately trying to hold back tears.

“I-I’m so sorry, Cr-Crosshair,” she stammered out, her bottom lip still trembling. He sighed once more and crouched down again, making himself as close to her height as possible.

“Do you have a change of clothes?” he asked, not addressing her apology. She shook her head and he noted that at least she was responding to him now. Nodding, he leaned out of the ‘fresher and grabbed some of the first clothes he came across; they happened to be an old pair of Hunter’s blacks. Ones that had been shrunk in the washer by mistake. He plopped them in Omega’s arms and stood to his full height again.

“Have a shower, change into these, and throw those clothes out here when you’re out of them.”

He was surprised at the softness in his own voice, but the relief on Omega’s face told him that it had been the right thing to do. He left the room, and moments later the door opened only for a small pile of clothes to be thrown out. Wrinkling his nose slightly at the smell, he opened the top of the washer (how dehydrated was this kid?) and put them in with the blanket. He only moved again once he heard the sound of the shower running.

His first move was to check the rest of the bedding in her bunk; he climbed up the ladder quietly and glanced around. He hadn’t really been up here since returning to the Marauder, but looking around he snorted at how much the gunner’s mount had changed. It definitely looked more like a child’s bedroom than the access to the ship’s canons. There was an odd collection of pebbles, shells, dried flowers… you name it, on one of the shelves. Omega had clearly been picking up little trinkets on her travels, wanting to savour every part of the planets she had visited.

Looking up, his attention was drawn to the various pictures, clearly drawn by the child, stuck on the walls of the gunner’s mount. Crosshair would deny it if anyone asked, but he felt a small smile cross his face as he looked closer at the drawings. There were some of Lula, and various attempts at drawing the other inhabitants of the ship, but there was one picture that caught his attention. It was a clumsy drawing, where the people in it looked a little like potatoes with arms and legs, but the labelling made it clear who it was meant to be. It was all of them, smiling; he snorted at the box that had clearly been drawn to represent Gonky.

Snapping himself out of whatever emotion he was experiencing, he looked to the floor of the bunk; luckily the GAR issue bed rolls had a plastic coating, making them wipe clean. Crosshair set to work wiping down the bed with a cloth and some cleaning spray he had sourced on his way out of the fresher. Once that had been seen to, he descended the ladder to the gunner’s mount and went to his own bunk, opening a compartment and digging out two blankets. One he tucked around the sides of the roll mat, vaguely remembering a conversation he’d had with Hunter about the little girl hating the feel of the plastic mattress because it reminded her of the medbay on Kamino. The second, he draped over the mattress to act as a quilt. Replacing the pillow, Lula and Trooper on the bed, he climbed out of the bunk once more and sat on his own.

As he waited for Omega to emerge from the ‘fresher, he placed a toothpick between his lips. Maker, he missed smoking at times like these. He couldn’t get the image of the child shaking with fear, flinching away from him as though she expected him to lash out at her. Guilt filled him for a moment; was that what she truly thought of him? Reasoning took over a moment later. She hadn’t reacted like this to him at any other point… this was a learned fear. The guilt in his stomach turned to anger. He knew exactly who had made her scared in this way, and it filled him with rage.

The quiet hiss of the ‘fresher door snapped him out of his thoughts, and an exhausted looking Omega emerged. She was dressed in Hunter’s old blacks and had tried to roll them up a little, though she still looked as though she was drowning in them. Rolling his eyes, he left his bunk and walked to hers, opening the curtain and crouching to pick her up. She let out a squeak of surprise when he lifted her and placed her gently at the top of the ladder, her legs dangling over the edge of her room.

Now that she was back in the gunner’s mount she looked around, noticing straight away that her bed had clean blankets on it. The embarrassed flush returned to her cheeks.

“Sorry,” she mumbled, not daring to look in his direction as she shuffled a little further into the bunk, bringing her knees up to her chin and wrapping her arms around her legs. “I should’ve just dealt with it on my own.”

Crosshair was having none of it and he climbed the first few rungs of the ladder, bringing their heads to roughly the same level. “You know,” he whispered after a moment’s thought. “You’re not the first clone I’ve met who ends up in this… predicament from time to time…” he trailed off, hoping that his words had somewhat reassured her. She was looking at him now, her eyes filled with curiosity rather than shame.

“Really?” she asked, and he nodded in response. The truth was, he’d been that clone. Luckily his brothers had always been supportive, and Tech had gone to extreme lengths to inform him that bed wetting was common in children that were suffering, or had recently suffered some sort of trauma. Crosshair wasn’t stupid. He knew what Nala Se and Lama Su had been using Omega for, the experiments they had performed on her on a regular basis. No wonder she was traumatised.

“It usually only happens when I have nightmares… but not all the time,” she commented. “I try not to drink too much so that it doesn’t happen,” her eyes filled with tears. “But that didn’t work today.”

The older clone climbed further up the ladder and perched on the edge of the gunner’s mount. “You need to drink water,” he chided gently. “You’re no good to us all shrivelled up like a prune.”That at least brought a giggle out of the girl. Crosshair made a note to himself to make sure that Omega was drinking enough water during the day. No need to inform the others, not unless it got more serious.

A yawn from the child broke him from his momentary spiral. Her eyes drooped and she shuffled so that she was underneath the blanket he had placed on her bed. In her arms were Lula and Trooper, and it was in that moment that Crosshair was reminded of just how young she truly was.

“C-could you stay with me?” She looked slightly shy as she made the request. “Only until I fall asleep, I don’t want to annoy you…” She looked up at her brother with big eyes and the older clone cursed silently to himself. How could he say no to that face?

Nodding, Crosshair swung his legs up into the bunk and sat with his back against the wall. If that was what she needed right now, he guessed he could do that for her. It wasn’t like he was going to get any sleep anyway. A tired smile crossed Omega’s face as she held her soft toys closer.

“Thanks, Cross,” she mumbled sleepily, and within moments she was dozing off. The man in question couldn’t help the yawn that escaped him as he rested his head against the wall he was leaning on. He would stay for just a few more minutes, to make sure that she was truly asleep. Then he would go back to his bunk…

Echo walked into the cabin of the Marauder, looking forward to the start of his sleep rotation. He looked at Crosshair’s empty bunk and raised an eyebrow. That wasn’t right. The door to the fresher was open, so he wasn’t in there… and unless he was hiding in a crate somewhere, there weren’t many other places he could be.

A light snore coming from the gunner’s mount made Echo’s head snap in that direction. He quietly crept towards the curtain and pulled it back, grinning at what he found. At some point, not long after Omega had dozed off again, Crosshair had fallen asleep himself. Now Echo found him curled protectively around the little girl, her face buried in his blacks as she clutched Lula with one arm and held onto one of his hands with the other. Rolling his eyes, Echo backed down the ladder and shut the curtain again. He supposed he could go a couple more hours before sleeping.

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casual-violinist-fangirl · 13 days

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Saving Stardust - 5,174 Words

Set in a world where Omega has been rescued following her second capturing and no one dies! The Bad Batch takes on one final mission and are tasked with delivering the Erso family to safety. Omega, being the traumatised bean that she is, doesn't take too kindly to Imperial scientists being on the ship.

Or:

How Jyn Erso ended up with her Trooper Doll.

I love Rogue One and this was a lot of fun to write! In this, Jyn is about three years old and the Bad Batch are flying their new ship, the Firebird (named after one of my favourite pieces of music ever). I hope you enjoy!

. Link to my AO3 page and Tumblr Masterlist

Thank you for reading!

————

Initially, Hunter had refused to take the job, no matter how well it paid. Their days as delivery boys were over and they had no interest in ferrying anyone about, not even if it was to help them hide from the Empire. That had gotten Phee frustrated with him.

“You’re not too different from this family, Hunter,” she tried to reason as they walked to the Archium. Hunter shook his head, adjusting his jacket as he did.

“We don’t pull jobs like that anymore, Phee,” he replied. He tried to keep his voice even, but he knew he just sounded annoyed. “Especially not since our last run-in with the Empire. We stay where we’re safe.”

The pirate sighed, exasperated. She was definitely beginning to see what Tech had always meant about Hunter being stubborn.

“This couple have a daughter,” she pulled as a last result. Hunter stopped in his tacks at that.

Bingo.

Phee knew it was cruel pulling the ‘they have a child and they’re on the run from the Empire’ card on Hunter, especially seeing as he had shifted the universe to find Omega on Tantiss, but this family deserved to be safe and deserved to be together.

“Ughhhh,” Hunter groaned as he ran his hands over his face in defeat. Phee felt herself beginning to smile. “I’ll talk to the others,” he agreed. “But if any of them say no, we’re not doing it!”

He rounded the corner of the street and made his way back to the home he shared with his brothers and Omega, disappearing from sight.

Of course, Phee had neglected to mention that this family had history as Imperial scientists… not exactly the squad’s favourite type of people. Hopefully the team would be able to see past that, the pirate mused to herself as she reached for her comm and prepared to contact the family.

——

Two hours later, the squad were waiting for Phee to return from collecting the family. Wrecker impatiently tapped his foot and complained every five minutes that this was taking too long only for Crosshair to tell him to stow it each time.

Hunter could feel himself getting more twitchy as time passed. They had been waiting for nearly thirty minutes now, and Phee was usually more punctual than that. He did his best not to let his concern show though, as he was painfully aware of Omega stood next to him, not wanting to let him out of her sight.

This was her first mission since her return from Tantiss for the second time; Hunter had tried to persuade her to stay on Pabu with Lyana and Shep, but she had shot him down quickly.

“I’m not leaving you!” she had practically yelled at him, fear in her eyes and her voice. Crosshair had taken over then, reassuring her that she wasn’t going anywhere and that of course she could go with them. Hunter had only been trying to look out for her.

It was times like these that he caught himself trying to remember how he’d coped with Omega’s outbursts before Crosshair had gotten back.

Out of the shadows, the telltale figure of Phee emerged. She was wearing a cloak with a large hood, and was being followed by three figures. As they appeared and realised that they were safe now, they removed their hoods and relaxed a little; Hunter had been about to introduce himself when he felt Omega go rigid next to him. He glanced at her, trying to figure out what was wrong when he realised she was staring at the man… Galen Erso? Hunter followed his daughter’s gaze only to scowl at what he saw.

Phee hadn’t mentioned anything about the Erso family being Imperial scientists.

He had been about to turn and give the pirate a piece of his mind, but wasn’t able to take the opportunity as she had disappeared back into the shadows as quickly as she had arrived. Hunter growled and made a mental note to talk to her when they got back. How could she be so senseless?

“Thank you for rescuing our family,” the woman, Lyra, spoke first. She had kind eyes and a soft smile on her face as she spotted Omega clinging to Hunter. “I’m sure you understand more than most how important it is to keep your family safe.”

Crosshair, who had also clocked the uniform now, rolled his eyes and stalked back onto the ship He clearly wanted nothing to do with this mission then. Wrecker followed him, but took a seat in the cockpit to help get ready for takeoff. That left Hunter, Omega and the Erso family stood next to the Firebird. The little girl, Jyn was her name, skipped onto the ship, seemingly unaware of the situation unfolding around her.

Omega started trembling, something she hadn’t done out of the blue in a long time. Hunter gently slung his arm around her and held her tight. He pulled a face and sniffed dismissively in the direction of Galen before turning and heading towards the ramp of the ship. The couple followed him in silence, their confusion clear. Hunter, quite frankly couldn’t bring himself to care. They had a job to do and he would be glad when it was over and they could go back to their safe haven.

He sat in the pilot’s chair before glancing over at Omega; she was sat stock still in the co-pilot’s seat, re-living something that he didn’t know about. Hunter sighed quietly before turning his attention back to the controls.

He was definitely going to have words with Phee when this was over.

——

The sleep cycle came around, but Omega protested against sleep. “What if you need me?” she asked, her eyes full of worry. Hunter sighed, not for the first time that day, but this time it was full of affection for the girl he’d come to call his daughter. She had been sat in silence up until this point in their trip, just staring blankly out of the port window or eyeing up Galen Erso warily.

“We’ll be fine, ad’ika,” he soothed as he opened her arms. She went to him and wrapped her arms around his middle. She squeezed him tight before retreating to her room - unlike the Marauder, the Firebird had two bunk rooms, each with four beds. He and the boys shared one, and Omega by default had her own room. This was a little different today as she was sharing with the Erso child and her mother. The three year old had found Omega’s string of lights fascinating and had giggled as they twinkled. She had also taken up an obsession with Omega’s new trooper doll; the young clone hadn’t gotten around to decorating this one.

Hunter was a hypocrite; he had already decided that until the Erso family were dropped off at their destination, he wasn’t going to sleep. They were Imperials, even if they were ex-Imperials, and the panic on Omega’s face as she saw the scientists’ uniform had been the final nail in the coffin. Hunter needed to be on lookout so that his kid felt like she could have a full night’s sleep without having to watch her back. The look of fear had gone unnoticed by Jyn, who had tried to surgically attach herself to Omega, had not been missed by Galen and his wife.

Once Hunter heard the door to his little girl’s room close, he sighed quietly and turned to the nav-computer.

Slowly, everyone began to settle down for the night. Wrecker had been the one to crash first, mumbling a “g’night” to Hunter and Crosshair and nodding at Galen and Lyra. Lyra had been second, saying that she didn’t want to disturb the girls any later than she had to. She had thanked Hunter and Crosshair one final time and bid her husband goodnight before creeping into the room currently being shared by Omega and Jyn.

Hunter had listened intently as the door opened, but noticed no change in the steady heartbeats and heavy breathing coming from the two children within. Good, he thought as he carried on his work.

Crosshair had retired an hour or so later; he had spent a minute having a silent conversation with Hunter.

Want me to stay?

No, sleep.

You sure?

Go, Crosshair.

The sniper had grumbled about getting a stiff back as he stood from his chair and moved towards the bunk room. As the door opened he glanced at Hunter one last time. His look said it all.

If he gives you shit, you come and get me.

That left Hunter and the scientist. Galen Erso. Hunter knew enough to know that the man wasn’t in cahoots with Hemlock, and he hadn’t had his hands on Project Necromancer… but that still didn’t being him comfort.

It had been six months since Omega’s second rescue and it was safe to say that she had been nothing short of traumatised. It had taken weeks of sleepless and tearful nights, screaming episodes and panic attacks before she began to show her true colours again. He was worried that something as small as Galen’s uniform would send her all the way back to square one, and he wasn’t sure if he was prepared to deal with that.

“I noticed your little girl has an aversion to scientists.” It was as though Erso could read his mind. Hunter scowled, trying to look busy for a minute or two before realising that it was going to be no good. He swivelled in his chair to face the other man; for some reason Hunter had been expecting to see some kind go smugness in his eyes, but he saw nothing but curiosity and… sadness?

“You've had dealings with the Empire before?”

Hunter snorted before he could help himself. Had they had dealings with the Empire? Of course they had. They were clones for crying out loud. They had been there when the Empire was born. Instead of saying anything, he simply nodded. He wasn’t sure how much he could trust this man, regardless of his departure from the Empire. The squad had learned the hard way that sometimes giving up information was a dangerous game. Information was priceless, and deadly if left in the wrong hands.

“I don’t expect you to trust me, sergeant,” Erso continued speaking when he realised that Hunter wasn’t going to say anything. “However I can try to express just how far removed I am from the Empire. I have no desire to go back to them, not after the chaos and destruction they have caused.”

There was a pause as Hunter eyed the man, leaning back in his chair as he tried not to see the similarities between them. In reality, Galen was a man trying to protect his family as they went on the run from the Empire. He was trying to forge a life for Jyn and Lyra that didn’t involve looking over their shoulders… Hunter could see a little bit of himself in the man, especially in the way he doted on his child.

“Omega has been experimented on since she was a toddler,” he conceded, his throat tightening at the thought. “She… she was kidnapped by Hemlock about a year ago and held captive whilst…” He couldn’t carry on. The thought of Omega being trapped on Tantiss made him want to be sick. Galen nodded, a look of horrified recognition in his eyes at the mention of Royce Hemlock. It occurred to Hunter then that Erso must have had some contact with Hemlock, even if it was only in passing… even if it was only at conferences when all of the scientists updated the Empire on their progress.

“I’m sorry,” he replied eventually and even though Hunter would have scoffed at that normally, he could feel the weight behind those words. He nodded at the scientist once more; Galen Erso couldn’t undo the past, but him leaving the Empire was a step in the right direction. A movement that would damage the vile dictatorship that sought to destroy all that was sacred.

“We’re recovering…” he trailed off with a small huff. “She’s recovering, but it’s been a long journey.”

And it wasn’t over yet, it the Bad Batch knew this to be true. Whilst Omega didn’t wake up screaming as often, didn’t shy away from going outside, she wasn’t the cheerful little girl she had been before. She was more withdrawn and still favoured being glued to Hunter’s side on missions. He had heard her pacing her room at night more times than he could count, but didn’t intervene; if she needed him, she would go to him. He knew that.

As if their conversation had triggered it all, he suddenly heard a change in Omega’s heartbeat. Her breathing picked up, only loud enough for him to hear with his capabilities, but before he could stand and move towards her room, she let out a sharp cry.

Galen’s head snapped towards the door of the room, his guard immediately raised but Hunter waved him down. “It’s Omega,” he whispered before a light patter of feet could be heard and the door to her room hissed open.

Omega appeared in between the two rooms, her breathing still rapid as she trembled; Hunter put her out of her misery by leaving his chair and crossing the room to greet her. He crouched down so that he was in her line of sight.

“B-buir,” she started, shaking as she reached for him. He grasped her hands, running his thumbs over her knuckles in a gentle, soothing motion.

“I’m here, ‘Mega,” he soothed, plastering a small (albeit fake) smile on his face. The little girl’s breaths came out in short, sharp huffs as she tried to gain control of herself. “Just breathe with me, ad’ika,” Hunter placed one of her small hands over his chest so that she could feel the rise and fall as he modelled the way she should try to breathe.

“I-I was…” Omega glanced at Galen, tears streaming down her cheeks. Her breathing was beginning to even out again, but she was clearly distraught. More distraught than Hunter had seen her in a while. Hunter hushed her, instead encouraging her to just focus on him. On her breathing. On staying calm.

When eventually her breathing had slowed to a sensible rate, Hunter opened his arms. Omega collapsed into them, trembling and sniffling. The sergeant carted his hand through her hair; it was brushing her shoulders now and hung loose on this particular evening. They said nothing as he scooped her up and carried her to one of the chairs in the cockpit, ignoring Galen (who had the presence of mind to take interest in his holo pad).

Omega was wearing her pyjamas, a short sleeved top and shorts that came to just above her knee. Hunter remembered when he’d found her on Tantiss, how her arms had been mottled with bruises and marks from when needles had pierced her skin. Now her arms were clear of bruises (save ones she’d obtained from being clumsy) but the scars she bore from her time as an experiment remained. She had been hooked up to more machines, tested on over and over again more times that she could count and the abuse showed on her skin. She still bore a scar hidden under her hair from an attempt at implanting a chip to monitor her brain activity. Hunter had seen red when he’d first discovered it there.

Hunter rocked the child as he cradled her, swivelling the chair back and forth in slow, calculated movements. He remembered a time when he had done this for nights at a time, switching between rocking her and swivelling the chair to try and lull her into a slumber. When she had been much younger, he had paced back and forth with her in his arms on board the Marauder. He had been exhausted, falling asleep in the middle of the day a lot of the time, but he had never said no to her when she sought his comfort.

——

(Six Months Ago, Just After Omega’s Rescue)

It was relatively quiet on the Firebird, Hunter mused to himself… except for the crying child in his arms; he knew Crosshair and Wrecker had opted to go to the bunk room this time. They had all learned quite quickly that Omega didn’t enjoy an audience when she was struggling.

This was the third night in a row that the girl in question had dissolved into tears at the mention of going to bed. They had tried everything, including setting up Hunter’s pillow and blanket in the bunk room with her. It hadn’t worked.

Hunter knew that if Tech was there, or Echo to be fair, they would recommend sedating Omega. A light dose that would ease her into a dreamless sleep and allow Hunter to get some rest as well.

The sergeant was determined not to resort to that - Omega had spent enough time being prodded and poked by needles. The damage done whilst she was on Tantiss was there for all to see. Her arms were wrapped in gauze and plastered with bacta. She whimpered in his embrace, clinging to his shirt like it was a lifeline.

“I’m not going anywhere, ad’ika,” he soothed in a hushed tone, noting how the little girl nodded but still clung to him.

“You’re safe now,” he continued. “He can’t hurt you anymore.”

Omega didn’t respond verbally, she simply stared absently into the void, blinking slowly. She must have been exhausted but Hunter knew that she was plagued with horrible sights every time she closed her eyes. He didn’t think she’d actually slept since leaving Tantiss, which had been three days ago… she needed to rest.

“I can hear you thinking,” she croaked. Her voice sounded void of emotion, not like her at all. Hunter swore that if Hemlock hadn’t been killed by Crosshair, he would have taken joy in doing ti himself. The psychotic doctor had broken his kid. His little girl, who used to have the galaxy in her eyes.

“Sorry,” he looked down at the child in his arms. “I’ll try to think more quietly.” This got a small snort out of Omega, and Hunter’s heart skipped a beat. For a split second it was like she was back with him before she drifted away again, distant and remorseful.

“You’re forgiven,” she replied, a ghost of a smile on her face as she glanced up at her Buir. “I know you think I need sleep,” she carried on, snuggling further into Hunter’s embrace.

The sergeant hummed in response, not committing to a verbal answer. There was a slight pause, neither of them breaking the restful silence.

“I just don’t want to wake up and all of this be gone. That happened enough times when I was… there.”

Hunter nodded, still looking down at the little girl. There were dark circles under her eyes and she was pale; telltale signs that she was running on empty.

“I know you’re worried, ad’ika,” he replied. “Want to run through it again?” A small nod and he smiled genuinely this time.

“What can you see, kid?”

“The stars.”

“What can you hear?”

“Wrecker. He’s snoring.”

Hunter snorted at that. “What can you feel?”

This exercise went on for a while; it was one they had rehearsed and whilst it had never been successful in easing Omega to sleep, it had definitely soothed her and reassured her that this was reality to start with.

This time, however, Hunter could feel her head slowly growing heavier on his chest. He could hear her heartbeat slowing down and her breathing beginning to even out. Had the exhaustion finally caught up with her? He wouldn’t be surprised.

“Don’t leave me,” came a tired whisper, Omega taking one final, feeble grasp at his shirt. He nodded, gently kissing her forehead.

“Never, ad’ika. I promise I’ll be here when you wake up.”

The little girl nodded the tiniest amount before she was no longer awake, falling into a deep (hopefully dreamless) sleep. Hunter could have cried in that moment; he had hoped that him refusing to sedate Omega would have paid off in the end, and here she was. Sleeping… it may not have been a completely sound sleep, and she might wake up screaming for him in an hour but for now she was safe. She was resting, asleep in his arms.

As slowly as he could, Hunter reclined his seat slightly and rested his head against the headrest. Knowing that she was resting meant that he felt as though he could do the same and before long, he too was was in a deep sleep.

When Wrecker and Crosshair found them later, they had slowly retreated back into the bunk room. They had, of course, taken a photo of them before they went.

——

(Present Day)

Luckily, it hadn’t taken long for Omega to be soothed into a light sleep this time; Hunter had whispered a quiet “I love you,” to her as she’d dozed off again, tear tracks clear on her face and her breathing still a little stuttered from her crying. Resting his chin on top of her head, the sergeant glanced over at Galen. The scientist had a hard-set frown on his features as he watched the pair, his eyes glancing over the scars that littered Omega’s arms.

“The Empire did this?” he asked, his voice full of trepidation.

Hunter simply nodded, not needing to verbalise his response. He could see Erso mulling over this fact, clearly thinking of his own daughter.

Out of habit, Hunter tuned into the sounds coming from the bunk rooms - Crosshair and Wrecker both slept soundly, and he could hear two gentle heartbeats coming from Omega’s room. Everyone was safe. He whispered as much to Galen, who nodded in thanks.

“She’s been so brave,” Hunter said quietly, looking down at the child in his arms. “I don’t know half of what they did to her, she doesn’t like to talk about it, but I won’t let anyone lay a finger on her again.”

Another nod from Galen, whose eyes were still fixed on Omega’s scars. Had she been awake, she would have glared at him and grabbed her jacket. She would be marked by the Empire for the rest of her life, and Hunter had to live with knowing that he hadn’t been able to help his little girl.

“Please,” he started after a long silence. “If you’re found…” he trailed off, not wanting to think about Jyn being snatched by Imperials. “Don’t tell them about us.”

It came out as more of a desperate plea than a stern request from a soldier. He didn’t think Omega would cope if the Empire caught wind of her again. He certainly wouldn’t cope if he had to search half of the galaxy for her. She was his kid and in the time they’d been separated, he’d felt as though he couldn’t breathe properly. He looked up at Galen Erso, his eyes tired and desperate. The scientist regarded the clone before nodding.

“You have my word, they’ll never know of your involvement in this,” he stated. Hunter believed him.

Galen had stood and bid Hunter goodnight not long after that, suggesting that the sergeant should get sleep as well.

“I know what it is to love your child so much it hurts, Hunter,” Erso had said. “But you need to be functioning to be able to look after her.” With that final statement, he headed into the bunk room that held Crosshair and Wrecker. Hunter was left alone with Omega, still swinging his chair gently. He supposed resting his eyes for a little while wouldn’t hurt. Resting his head against the back of the chair, Hunter closed his eyes and allowed himself to join his daughter in sleep.

The following morning they were halfway through their time in hyperspace… and Jyn was bored. The little girl had never been on a long-haul flight before and it was safe to say that the novelty of it all had well and truly worn off. Galen and Lyra had tried their best, and in fairness they had come prepared for a long trip with a small child. Jyn had played with some small figures in her backpack, drawn multiple pictures of the Bad Batch and her family, and had tried playing a game with her father. She was now out of new things to do, and was making it the problem of everyone on board.

Crosshair had scarpered first, claiming that his rifle needed cleaning; this had made Hunter laugh. He had forgotten that even though his brother adored Omega, he was uncomfortable with smaller children. Especially excitable ones. Jyn had steered clear of Wrecker, slightly intimidated by the clone’s height. Hunter had expected Wrecker to be more upset by that then he was, but he had busied himself elsewhere in the hold of the ship. Hunter was sat in the pilot’s seat, his feet propped up on the dashboard when he felt a small tug at his arm.

“Are you Omega’s daddy?” A small, curious voice asked and Hunter turned to the tiny child with a small smile on his face. “I saw you cuddling her this morning. She looked happy.”

Slightly unsure of what to do, Hunter tried to recall what he had done when interacting with Cut and Suu’s children when they had been little. He clambered out of his chair and crouched down to make himself as close to Jyn’s height as possible.

“I guess I am, yeah,” he replied with a nervous chuckle. Usually people just assumed that he was Omega’s father. He wasn’t used to inquisitive children asking him that question. Hunter glanced up at his kid; Omega was tapping at a data pad, pretending that she wasn’t listening to the conversation. It made him smirk; the kid thought she was so sneaky.

Jyn nodded, taking this information on board. Hunter could practically feel her gearing up to ask more questions.

“Omega’s daddy?” she started. “Is it okay if I play with Omega?” The question stumped him a little. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Omega glancing up from the data pad.

“Well that’s not up to me, kid,” he started, his eyes flickering over to his daughter. She looked a little uncomfortable, but plastered a convincing smile on her face as Jyn approached her.

“Omega, can we play?” There must have been something about her pleading tone or the look on her face, because Omega crumbled and nodded. She allowed herself to be pulled by the hand to her room.

In the back of his mind, Hunter held a small, nagging worry but he squashed it. They were on a ship in hyperspace for kriff’s sake! There was no way that anyone could get to Omega here. He really needed to relax.

Trying not to think about it too much, he busied himself checking the nav computer and the ship’s vitals…

… he stopped dead in his tracks when he heard something he hadn’t heard in a long, long time.

Omega had laughed.

Not just a snort of laughter or a small chuckle, she had full on laughed. Laughed like she was the carefree child she should be. Hunter’s head shot up at the noise, and tears sprung to his eyes unbidden as he heard it again.

Galen and Lyra had been sat talking quietly to one another but stopped their conversation to glance at the sergeant.

“Are you okay?” Lyra asked, a small look of concern on her features. Galen, however, only had a look of understanding on his face.

“I’m okay,” Hunter managed after a few seconds. “I just… I just haven’t heard her laughing like that in a long time.” He smiled, making it clear that he actually was okay. The couple nodded, Galen sharing Hunter’s knowing smile before going back to the conversation they had been having previously. Hunter allowed himself to tune into Jyn and Omega’s game, smiling every time he heard his little girl laughing and playing along with whatever stories Jyn was making up as she went along.

————

One day later, when the Firebird finally reached it’s destination, everyone had disembarked. Wrecker had been first, stretching and declaring loudly that he was happy to be back on solid ground; it was no secret that out of all of Hunter’s brothers, Wrecker was the one who liked flying the least. Jyn had been quick to follow him, her fear of the gentle giant no longer present.

Hunter stood on the ramp of the ship, watching as Lyra and Galen spoke to a local tradesperson… something to do with transport to a nearby farm. Wrecker was playing with Jyn and Crosshair was sat watching, teasing Wrecker as Jyn managed to evade his capture.

Light footsteps approached behind him and he turned to face Omega. She looked more relaxed than he’d seen in a while and it warmed him to see her smile at him. She came and stood next to him before fidgeting and wriggling so that his arm was wrapped around her.

“You good, kid?” he asked softly and she nodded. Her hair was loose again and it bobbed as she nodded.

“Just… taking it all in,” she breathed. “I’m looking forward to going home.”

Home. For a long time, Hunter was convinced that his family would never had a home, but Pabu had proven to be the sanctuary that they needed.

“I’ve got a present for Jyn,” she carried on a moment later, fiddling with a small bundle in her arms. Hunter recognised one of Omega’s card games and something else.

“You’re giving away Trooper?” he asked, surprised. Admittedly, this trooper wasn’t the same as her previous one, and it still hadn’t been painted in Bad Batch colours. Omega nodded again, shrugging her shoulders lightly.

“I have Lula,” she started. “And besides, sometimes it’s the small things that comfort you when you’re living the life that she’s gonna be living.”

Hunter had to blink away proud tears. Omega knew what sort of life the Erso family were in for and in typical Omega fashion, she wanted to help where she could. The child padded down the ramp and headed over to Jyn. She crouched down to the girl’s level and spoke to her softly; once she had presented the presents, Jyn had squealed and thrown her arms around Omega. She wobbled under the attack but recovered quickly and held her back. Galen and Lyra glanced over at the scene, warm smiles on their faces before they called Jyn to them.

It was time to go.

The squad had stayed, waving the family off as they travelled into the distance towards their new life. Then, one by one they had made their way back onto the Firebird.

It was time to go home.

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casual-violinist-fangirl · 14 days

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Spoilers for Bad Batch Season 3, Episode 12 Below:

Are we… entering our #hotrampart era?

Is this… a repetition of the #hotkallus era?

#the bad batch #sw tbb #tbb omega #tbb hunter #tbb wrecker #tbb tech #tbb echo #tbb crosshair #sw tbb spoilers #star wars #sw tbb s3 #tbb season 3 spoilers #tbb season 3 #tbb rampart #hot rampart #hot kallus #sw rebels

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casual-violinist-fangirl · 15 days

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I'll Keep You Safe - 2,282 words

Two fics in one day? I could never...

This one is set in between Season 3 Episode 9 and Season 3 Episode 11, so read at your own risk! This fic does contain some spoilers!

This is largely a fluffy, angsty, hurt/comfort fic written for Hunter and Omega - addresses some of the feelings Hunter has about Omega being his daughter following Ventress leaving the Batch on Pabu.

As always this is the link for my AO3 and the fic is posted below!

Link to my Bad Batch Masterlist

————

Something wasn’t right, Hunter mused to himself as he walked along the sea walls of Pabu. It had been little over a week since Ventress had darkened their door, and since then it felt as though the island that once brought Hunter a sense of peace was a ticking time bomb.

No, something wasn’t right at all… but Hunter couldn’t bear to go back to a life of looking over his shoulder, a life of not being sure that he would be able to keep Omega safe. He couldn’t go back there, not again. Not when they had fought so hard for the life they currently had.

Where would they go, where in the galaxy would be safe from the Empire? If Hemlock was a desperate as people seemed to think he was, he would stop at nothing to re-capture Omega… and who knew what would happen to the girl once she was back in that psychopath’s grasp. He didn’t know what the man had planned, but if it was enough to make Nala Se rebel against science, he didn’t want to find out.

There was Omega’s emotional well-being to consider as well; Hunter couldn’t keep track of the number of times he’d heard her wake up with a gasp, no doubt searching for a threat that didn’t exist. As her… older brother, all he wanted to do was go to her in times like those, but at the same time he didn’t want to overstep. Omega wasn’t the little girl he had met on Kamino anymore. She was practically a young woman, and she deserved the right to privacy… that being said, Hunter still wished she would reach out when she was plagued by as many things as she was.

Almost as though she had heard his thoughts, Hunter spotted Omega perched on the edge of the sea wall, staring out into the distance. For a moment, Hunter thought that she was meditating (she really enjoyed doing so) but on a second glance, he realised she was crying. Her shoulders were hunched and shaking with heartbreaking sobs.

Another glance made Hunter realise that she was in her night clothes - a thin shirt and trousers as opposed to her usual jacket. She must have been freezing. Without thinking, Hunter walked towards the little girl slowly, careful not to startle her.

‘I can hear you,’ came a small, broken voice, and in that moment he knew he was busted. Omega turned towards him, her cheeks stained with tears; how long had she been sat here for? ‘I couldn’t sleep… I thought if I left, I might be able to clear my head.’

Hunter nodded, taking a seat on the wall next to her. He made sure to leave a gap between them, not wanting to make her feel crowded.

‘I couldn’t sleep either.’ Technically not a lie, though the truth was Hunter hadn’t been trying to sleep. It was hard to come by when your kid was being hunter by the Empire.

Omega nodded, a sniff leaving her before she reached up to wipe her face with the sleeve of her shirt.

‘You know,’ she continued after a moment of silence. ‘I love this place so much.’ Hunter could feel his heart breaking at her admission, if only because he felt the exact same way. Maybe one day they would be able to come back here and live a life of peace… maybe.

‘Pabu is a sanctuary,’ he commented. ‘No matter where you come from, you’re guaranteed acceptance.’

‘But not safety.’

Tears were trickling down her cheeks again, and Hunter reached out an arm, an offering. She shuffled closer to him until she was tucked into his embrace and the pair sat, staring out into the darkness together. Pabu was lit up by night, soft lantern lights shimmering throughout the island. Omega breathed in deeply, inhaling the sea air like it was the last time she might get the chance.

‘We need to leave here, don’t we?’ she said it like a question but Hunter could tell from her voice that she already knew the answer. He nodded, resting his chin on top of her head as he held her just a little closer.

‘We’ll come back one day,’ he tried to reassure. ‘You’re going to come back, Omega.’

There was a pause as the child took in what he was saying… her eventual response nearly made him fall off of the wall.

‘Wouldn’t it just be easier if I was dead?’

Tears filled Hunter’s eyes unbidden and he suddenly found it a little harder to breathe.

“No,” he croaked out, a little harsher sounding than he had intended but it got the point across. “It absolutely would not be easier if you were dead, ad’ika, so please, please don’t say things like that.”

Omega tensed a little in his embrace, wriggling enough that she could look up at Hunter.

“What does that mean?” she asked, her voice no louder than a whisper; had Hunter not had heightened hearing, he would have missed it.

He smiled a little, though his heart was racing. He had hardly come to terms with his own feelings on the matter of who Omega was to him. She wasn’t a soldier, but that was okay because he no longer fit that role either… gone were the days where he would happily call himself sergeant. For so long he was convinced that his feelings were no different than that of his brothers, and it was true. His brothers would die for Omega - they would kill for her. Hunter… Hunter felt as though he couldn’t breathe around Omega; his heart ached and he found himself being unable to do anything other than worry about her safety. About her happiness, about whether or not she was getting enough sleep, enough to eat, getting to be a child.

It had come to the point where he could deny them no longer. In the days of her absence, Hunter had been like a man possessed. He was reckless with his life and regrettably he had also been reckless with Wrecker’s at times. His brother had called him out on it, pulling him back from the brink of chaos more than once.

You gotta be alive to save her, Hunter. You can’t help her if you’re dead.

They had been dark times, and the thought of getting Omega back had been the only thing keeping Hunter sane… though it also seemed as though it had been the thing that was driving him to recklessness.

——

(Two Weeks Before Omega’s Return)

“We need to have a chat, Sarge.” Wrecker’s gruff voice broke Hunter from his work - he had been staring at a fragment of a holo map for what felt like hours now.

“Yes?” he asked, trying not to sound as though he was fed up. He was tired and hungry and weeks of following one particular lead had cost them more time and credits than he cared to admit. Wrecker switched the map off, sitting in front of his brother. His eyes were filled with concern, a familiar expression for Wrecker recently. Concern for Hunter.

“You need to stop and rest, Hunter,” Wrecker started off gently, as though he was trying to coax a wounded animal out of hiding. The sergeant frowned - he had not been expecting that.

“I know you and ‘Mega have a… different relationship from the rest of us…” he trailed off, trying to figure out what to say next. Hunter bristled.

“What do you mean, different relationship?” he asked, genuinely confused. Omega was his baby sister, just as she was to Wrecker. The larger clone looked at him, slightly shocked before letting out a huff of laughter.

Hunter was still confused. What did Wrecker mean?

“The kid’s basically your ad’ika, Sarge,” Wrecker joked, his voice full of soft humour. “Tech always said you had ‘an affinity for being paternal’… I just didn’t really know what it meant until now.”

Paternal. Hunter felt as though he’d been winded. Of course he loved Omega, she was a wonderful child and it pained him that she wasn’t with them any more. He guess he’d just never seen their relationship as any different from the one she shared with his brothers.

Though now that he though about it, it was Hunter who was often mistaken for her dad on missions, usually because she was clinging to his hand or his arm. It was Hunter who was called for in the middle of the night when she was unwell, it was Hunter’s bed she crawled into when she’d had another nightmare. It was Hunter who looked at her as though she was the universe, and it was Omega who looked at him as though he’d hung the stars. Shep had made a few comments about him being a fathers… hell, even Hemlock had spoken of his paternal nature…

Omega was his kid. His… his daughter. His ad’ika.

“Looks like I’ve given you something to think about,” Wrecker was still staring at Hunter. “Just…” he trailed off, his eyes filling with tears for a moment. “Don’t get yourself killed looking for her, Hunter. She needs her buir just as much as you need your kid.”

With that pearl of wisdom, the gentle giant stood from his chair and went back to the cockpit, leaving Hunter to have a breakdown over this new revelation.

——

(Present Day)

Omega was still looking at him expectantly, her eyes watery still, but also curious. He smiled down at her, trying to calm himself down as he thought about what to tell her. He knew what he thought, what he felt, but what id she didn’t feel the same?

“Ad’ika…” he trailed off, already cringing at his efforts. “Ad’ika is a Mando’a word.” The little girl nodded at him, her attention still 100% on him. “It means little one or,” he cleared his throat. “Or it means daughter.”

A small gasp left the child, but Hunter couldn’t bring himself to look down. He couldn’t bring himself to face inevitable rejection.

“You…” Omega’s words were shaky, cautious. “You think I’m like your daughter? I’m your kid? You’re my dad?”

Hunter looked down at the child; he was still crying from their previous conversation, though that was quickly becoming long forgotten.

“I do,” he managed to say, a small smile on his face. He braced himself for a let down.

Nothing could have prepared him for what happened next.

Omega pulled him even closer, burying her face in his side and refusing to let him go. She was crying all over again, but when he pulled her away, there was a smile on her face.

“Omega?” he asked, concern all over his features. “Are you okay? I’m sorry, kid. I won’t call you that again if you don’t want me to…”

“No!” Omega’s sobs turned to sniffles and she smiled a little wider. “I want to be your kid, Hunter. I really do.”

The man needed no other cue; he pulled Omega as close to him as he could, resting his cheek on top of her head as he rocked her gently. The pair were both crying at this realisation, but neither were sad about it. They sat in a soft, happy silence for a while - the world around them could have stopped turning and I don’t think they would have noticed.

Eventually Omega broke the silence; her head was resting against Hunter’s chest as though she was trying to listen for his heartbeat through his armour.

“Hunter?”

“Uh huh?”

“What’s the Mando’a word for dad?”

Blinking rapidly, Hunter couldn’t help but smile. “It’s buir,” he replied, pressing a gentle kiss to her hair. Omega nodded, snuggling closer to him.

“I love you buir.”

“I love you too, ad’ika.”

They made their way back to the Marauder slowly, and on their arrival Hunter insisted that Omega was wrapped in a blanket. She could have at least taken a jacket with her when she’d left the ship, he thought to himself. He had just been getting ready to send her to bed when a small hand shot out of the blanket Omega was wrapped in, stopping him.

“I… I don’t want to be on my own,” she whispered, and Hunter was reminded of their current situation. “I don’t want this to be a dream and for me to wake up back there…” her eyes were filling with tears one more and Hunter pulled her into his arms before picking her up and carrying her to his bunk.

“You can always stay here tonight, if you want?” he suggested, a smile on his face as she nodded; in that moment she had almost seemed like her old self again. Young, innocent and without the burden of the Empire on her shoulders.

Omega curled up next to the wall of his bunk, looking at him expectantly. Hunter discarded the armour on his top half before laying down next to her. Immediately she was curled up, grabbing one of his arms and clutching it like it was a soft toy.

“I’ve got you, ad’ika,” he soothed as he tried to calm her down. “You’re safe. You don’t need to be afraid, I’ll keep you safe.”

Before long, Omega’s breathing began to even out and her eyelids became heavy. Just as she was about to lose her battle with consciousness, she smiled a small, sleepy smile.

“Love you, buir. Thank you for keeping me safe.”

“Love you too, Mega. Always.”

————

Two days later, darkness arrived on Pabu and unknown to Hunter, every promise he had made to Omega about her never being taken again… was about to be broken.

#the bad batch #sw tbb #tbb omega #tbb hunter #tbb wrecker #tbb tech #tbb echo #tbb crosshair #sw tbb spoilers #star wars #sw tbb fanfic #sw tbb s3 #tbb fic #tbb fanfiction #hurt/comfort #family fluff #parental hunter #tbb s3 spoilers

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casual-violinist-fangirl · 15 days

Text

Find Me - 4,663 Words

This fic contains spoilers! Please read at your own risk.

My take on what happens after the events of Omega's Capture in 3 x 11. Omega has arrived back on Tantiss and has been locked in The Vault. There, she begins to realise that she's not as safe as she thought she was, and however hard she thought she had it last time she was on Tantiss, things were about to get a lot worse.

Number of Words: 4,663

Link to AO3 below as well as this fic!

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Omega tried to ground herself and bring the world back into focus despite the walls feeling as though they were closing in on her. Don’t show him your fear, Omega, she chided herself. He didn’t need to know just how afraid she was.

“I don’t want to be an experiment in a tube, I don’t want to be an experiment in a tube…”

The words she had said to Hunter all that time ago rang through her ears now as she stared around the room. Her brothers had taught her how important it was to be aware of your surroundings at all times. You never know when you might need to tap into that information.

Hemlock hadn’t spent long in The Vault, he’d merely dropped her off, old her that a droid would assign her a room and then left. Now she was sat, curled up in her room… it was a cell, let’s face it. She angled her body so that she was facing away from the other children. The other pieces of the puzzle.

“This is your home now, Omega,” he had said in his unfeeling voice. After she had lost so many places she had called home… Kamino - although in hindsight that was more of a prison - Pabu, the Marauder…. The girl screwed her eyes shut as she focused on her breathing. She tried not to imagine the Marauder as it burnt away to nothing. A tear escaped her and she curled in on herself even more.

The other children in the vault had left her alone, but she could practically feel the curiosity radiating off of them. She knew what it was like to be a child and trapped in a confined space with not a lot to do… one of them would let their curiosity take over at some point. It was just a matter of time.

As if she had summoned them in her mind, one of the children appeared in the doorway of her cell. Omega refused to glance up initially, not wanting to get to know anyone new when she had lost everything. You won’t be here long, she reassured herself. Hunter and the others are coming. Crosshair must have attached a beacon to the ship.

Taking a deep breath, she looked up to see who her visitor was. It was the young Iktotchi girl, looking as shy and nervous as she was curious. Omega couldn’t blame her. She remembered the first time she had interacted properly with children. It was terrifying at the time.

“Hello,” the girl chirped. She gave a small wave and a smile in greeting; Omega blinked, her mind going blank for a second before she greeted the little girl in return. Is this what it had felt like for her brothers meeting her for the first time? A complete sense of bafflement?

“Hi,” she returned, turning to face the girl fully. She took this as a cue to come further into the room, wringing her hands together nervously as she did.

“I’m Eva,” she said again, her smile growing slightly. “What’s your name?”

“Omega,” came the reply. Eva nodded, clearly pleased that she was making a new friend. She took another step into the room, and Omega couldn’t help but chuckle lightly at how bouncy she was despite being kept captive in this hell hole.

“You should come and meet the others, Omega,” Eva eventually spoke again. “You’re the first person to arrive here in a while… though the baby arrived last week.”

A baby? Omega felt her stomach drop. Hemlock wasn’t beyond kidnapping babies in order to achieve his goals…

It was in that moment she could feel herself willing her brothers to arrive soon. If he was willing to sacrifice children to achieve his goals, who knew what he was capable of.

Brushing that thought to one side, she stood on shaky legs and moved towards Eva and the door to her cell. The little girl grinned at that and reached out to take her hand.

Omega nearly retracted it in shock - she wasn’t used to younger children - but let Eva settle her small hand in her palm. For the second time, Omega found herself wondering if this sense of helplessness was how Hunter had felt the first time she had gone to him and quietly slipped her hand into his. Trying not to stare at their joined hands, Omega went out into the common area of The Vault.

The other two children were still there, sat at their tables looking so, so bored. Omega noted that a couple of the games they were playing were ones she recognised from when she was Nala Se’s assistant on Kamino. Not for the first time she wondered what the Kaminoan had planned for Omega’s life as she was pulled along by Eva, towards a boy with green skin.

“Jax!” she called lightly as they arrived at his table. Omega assumed this was his name. “This is Omega.” the boy looked up and glanced at her. He had clearly been the oldest before she had turned up and she saw a slight wrinkle in his nose. as he regarded her for the first time.

“Welcome…” he grumbled almost sarcastically in a way that reminded her of Crosshair. Eva wasn’t put off by this though, almost as though she knew what the boy was like.

“Why are you all here?” Omega found herself asking; if Jax was the oldest, he might have more answers than someone as young as Eva. He scowled in response, a sneer flying up in the direction of the windows at the top of the room. Omega’s eyes followed his and she saw a couple of people staring down at them. Ugh. She shuddered slightly as she sat on a stool next to Jax.

“I… know you’re different,” she started as gently as she could. “I know I’m different too, but not in the same way as you.” Jax glanced up, clearly not expecting her to say that.

“We’re all here because we’re cursed,” he replied bitterly. Eva frowned and moved closer to Omega. The young clone realised that Eva still hadn’t let go of her hand.

“We’re not!” she replied stubbornly. “I was always told what we have is a gift.”

The other girl, a Pantoran by the looks of things, approached their table as well, a nervous look in her eye.

“Gift or otherwise,” she started in a fearful whisper. “ We’re gonna get in so much trouble if we’re not doing our tasks.” She glanced at Omega. “You’d do well to listen and follow instructions here,” she carried on.

Omega raised an eyebrow and in a show of completely false confidence she crossed her arms.

“I don’t exactly ‘do’ following orders,” she replied in a way she knew Hunter or Tech would have done. Eva’s eyes widened and she grinned excitedly. Omega found herself smiling at the girl before it hit her again. Is that was it had felt like to have a child you hardly knew look at you as though you had hung the stars?

Eva had shown Omega how to complete some of the activities they had been given, but had made a point to fill her in on how the day worked in The Vault and the different people that visited them. By the time it was time for them to go to bed, Omega’s brain felt like it was going to explode, but she couldn’t help but feel grateful for Eva’s knowledge. It would only make it easier for them to escape when the time was right.

“They’re coming to get me,” she whispered to herself as she tried to comfort herself to sleep. “They’ll be here soon and then everything will be okay.”

————

The following day the lights turned on and the cell doors were opened. Omega had been prepared to leave her cell and re-join the others but was stopped by Emerie walking in.

“Good morning, Omega,” her sister greeted. “Did you sleep well?” Omega wanted to ignore her, to act as though she was tough and untouchable but she couldn’t.

“Would be easier to sleep if I wasn’t being held prisoner,” she grumbled, but her eyes narrowed as she saw something in Emerie’s face that she hadn’t seen last time. Was that… guilt?

Emerie Karr felt guilty for what was happening.

“I’m sorry but I’m going to have to run some tests on you this morning,” the scientist carried on as though nothing had happened. As though nothing had been said and Omega sighed. Nodding, she stood and moved to leave the room but Emerie shook her head.

“You’ll be needing these,” she stated as she held out a bundle of clothing that the young clone recognised… it was a prisoner’s uniform Similar to the ones Eva, Jax and Mina wore. Similar to the one Crosshair had been wearing.

You can get new clothes once you leave here, a quiet voice in her mind told her as she wrinkled her nose and took the pile. It was a shame really, she liked her current cloths ; the reminded her of her brothers and Pabu…

Once in the uniform she had been issued, Omega followed Emerie out of her cell and towards The Vault exit. She had a feeling she was in for a long day, and she wasn’t going to enjoy it.

————

Luckily the testing hadn’t been too invasive today, Omega mused to herself as she lay in her room that night. Multiple blood samples were taken, along with hair, spit and her least favourite, stem cells. Those samples had been sent away for testing that she wasn’t sure of and once they had come back, new samples were taken. This was done a few times before Omega started to feel woozy from the blood taken and the pain of an intrusive stem cell extraction was bordering on too much.

Emerie had sent her back to The Vault that evening and as she turned to say goodbye, a look of guild flashed across the woman’s features once more. Maybe there was hope for her… Omega rolled over in her bunk, hissing in pain as she rolled over the arm they had taken the samples from. Hopefully she would be able to get some half-decent sleep, she wondered absently as she closed her eyes. She was light headed from the amount of blood she had given up, so in theory she should slip out of consciousness quickly…

Omega was woken by the sound of screaming.

She sat boy upright in her cell and stood, going to the door to see what was going on. She could hear Emerie talking in a slightly raised voice, and spotted her standing in the door of a cell on the other side of the room.

“Eva, please,” the woman tried to reason. “These tests are important…”

“No!” the little girl pleaded. “I don’t want to go back there, I can’t go back there!”

Where? Omega quietly crept out of her room; a quick glance upwards told her that there was no one watching them yet so she was able to sneak across the common area without being detected. As she approached Eva’s cell, Omega locked eyes with Mina, who shook her head frantically. It was like she knew what Omega was going to do.

That wasn’t enough to stop her as she barged her way into the child’s cell, shocking both Emerie, the medical nanny droid and the clone commander with her. She pounced, standing in front of Eva in a protective stance she recalled Hunter and the others doing for her many times.

“Leave her alone!” she hissed, a glare on her face. Luckily none of them could hear her heart hammering in her chest. “She hasn’t done anything to you, she’s just a kid!”

A look passed across Emerie’s face that Omega hadn’t been expecting: panic. It took her off guard enough that she did a brief double take, but that was long enough for the clone trooper to shock her with a stick.

“Commander!” Immediately Emerie scolded the man, but it was too late as Omega cried out and dropped to the floor. She hadn’t been expecting a shock… a stun bolt at worst. Static filled her ears and everything felt tingly… a little like burning. Eva gasped, the fear even more prevalent in hr voice as she continued pleading with Emerie. The clone commander had taken Eva under the armpits and was pulling her out of the cell as Omega re-gained the ability to stand. She tried to launch herself at the clone again, but was held back by Emerie.

“Omega?” Eva called as she was dragged towards the doors to The Vault. “OMEGA!”

The young girl tried to struggle, she really did, but her head still felt as though it was full of static and every movement hurt.

“Stand down, Omega,” she heard the quiet voice in her ear and she slumped. Eva was gone, taken out of The Vault, most likely to the labs. There was nothing more Omega could do from here. She silently slinked back to her cell, Emerie’s hand firmly on her shoulder. Once there, the medical droid garbled something to her about a punishment for attacking a trooper, but she wasn’t paying attention. What was she thinking, coming back here? Sure, she had done it to keep her family and the people of Pabu safe, but now by being here she was putting these children at risk.

“What’s going to happen to her?” she croaked out as she looked up at Emerie. The scientist sighed a long, sad sigh and adjusted her goggles.

“She is going to be sedated and we will be extracting a… large sample of blood,” she replied. Omega felt sick. “But that could kill her,” she said. Emerie nodded.

“She is going to be placed in a bacta tank and we will set up a transfusion,” she spouted as though she was reciting a mantra. “She won’t feel any pain during the procedure.” She turned away and went to leave, but turned back one last time. “I will let you see her when she’s back, Omega,” she stated in a gentle voice.

As it turned out, Omega was punished with isolation following her violent acts and wasn’t allowed to see Eva when she returned. She had heard her though, sniffling as she trudged into her own cell. Omega had been told by Mina (who had braved coming to talk to the clone) that her door would be locked for two days. That wasn’t so bad, she mused as she lay in her bunk. She had spent years in isolation on Kamino, what was two days?

As it turned out, those two days were cut short by two clone troopers and Emerie showing up. “Good afternoon, Omega,” the scientist greeted almost kindly, though the immense guilt in her expression told her everything she needs to know. Something bad was about to happen.

A clone either side of her, she wasn’t even given the option to come quietly as she was hoiked out of her bed and the cell, across the common area and towards the exit to The Vault.

She had been so surprised by this that she didn’t even think to start protesting until they were nearly half way through the ray shields. “Let go of me!” she had shrieked. She didn’t care, what did she have to lose now? There was no Crosshair to threaten anymore.

She had struggled the entire way to the labs, Emerie making the odd plea for her to stop as they went. The two clone troopers shoved her unceremoniously onto the floor of the labs before turning to Emerie as though awaiting orders.

“Please can you place her on the gurney?” The hurt in the scientist’s voice gave Omega reason to pause her struggles. Maybe she could talk Emerie out of whatever she was about to do…

… all hopes of that vanished the moment Hemlock walked in.

“I hear you have been causing us some trouble, Omega,” he commented in his usual, eerily calm voice. The young clone sneered at him; she would have spat at him had she been feeling braver. Instead she opted to glare at him, impersonating Crosshair as best she could. She knew realistically there was no way she could intimidate this man when she was strapped to a gurney, but it didn’t hurt to try.

“Very quiet,” Hemlock observed before looking over at Emerie. “Progress report, Doctor Karr? I assume there’s a reason you’ve removed the specimen from The Vault.”

Emerie cleared her throat quietly before going to speak. “Yes,” she started with a small cough. “The blood we drew from SP-54 has been tested and made suitable for transfusion.” Omega had no idea who SP-54 was but she didn’t much care as she squirmed on the gurney. A medical droid floated closer and she blanched as she noticed a tray full of the equipment used for a blood transfusion.

“No…” she stammered. She had managed to keep her fear of medical procedures under wraps for the most part, bottling up her discomfort until in her room each evening, but this was too much.

“No need to panic, Omega,” Hemlock’s voice made her want to be sick. “We need you alive, you do not need to worry about being harmed.”

Funnily enough, that did nothing to calm her fears.

“No… please…” she could feel her eyes filling with tears as the equipment was set up.

I don’t want to be an experiment, I don’t want to be an experiment, I don’t… want to…

A small needle had been jabbed into her neck. Omega’s final thoughts were of her family, of Hunter promising her that she would never have to go back to Kamino. Him promising her that she wouldn’t become an experiment…

————

Omega awoke on The Marauder. A warm light was streaming through the window of her room and she smiled softly as she held Lula closer in her arms. She was safe, everything was good. She was safe.

Getting up, she stretched and yawned before pulling back the curtain to the gunner’s mount and clambering down the ladder. There was Wrecker, who smiled and greeted her warmly. There was Hunter, who carted his hand through her hair and put his arm around her as he said good morning. There was Crosshair, who glanced up froths rifle and nodded at her in greeting. There was… Tech, who barely looked up at all, but gave a small wave from where he was sat, stating at his data pad. This… this had never happened. This was her imagination.

They were at the beach. The sun was even warmer than it had been before, and Omega relished in the fact as she ran towards the sea. No sooner had she waded in up to her ankles, Wrecker had come up behind her and dunked her in the water. She had squealed excitedly and shrieked as the cold water hit her. To one side she could hear Hunter chiding Wrecker, but the amusement was clear in his voice. Crosshair was sat with a blade in his hands, whittling away at a log as he tried to create more toothpicks. There was a sudden whisper in her ear, one that sent a shudder down her spine and she felt incredibly cold… almost as though someone had thrown a bucket of icy water over her. The whispers continued “we’re losing her, we must bring her back…”

They were sat by a campfire. She was curled into Echo’s side as he told her a story of his time with the 501st. She had laughed, her heart full as she glanced around at her brothers. They were all there, they were all happy and safe.

“We can’t monitor brain activity like this, there’s too much in the way…”

The whisper threw her off again, as this image too faded to nothing and another took its place.

She was sat with Hunter in the cockpit. This, they had done before. She was certain that this was a memory. She was sat in front of him, facing away, and hair brush, comb and bottle of conditioner sat to one side. Hunter was gently carting his hands through her hair and she hissed as his fingers snagged on a knot.

“Sorry,” he muttered, pausing his movements. Picking up the spray bottle, he carried on, helping to remove the knots and matting that had gathered on the back of her head.

Omega remembered this distinctly, how she had been unable to sleep, how she had tried dragging her brush through her own hair. How Hunter had heard her crying when she had been able to do so because of the matt in the back. He had been cross, but not with her - with the people who had taken her captive and not even thought to help her take care of herself. The pair of them had sat there for hours as he gently brushed her hair. It had been a quiet moment for just the two of them; nothing had been said, not that it needed saying, and they had just enjoyed one another’s company. When he had eventually finished, she had stood and immediately clambered into his lap like she had when she was younger.

It was there, curled up in his embrace that she felt most safe, most secure.

“You’re safe, Omega,” he had whispered into her newly brushed hair. “You’re here, you’re home. No on is going to hurt you, not while I’m around.”

In that moment she had believed him whole heartedly, and they had spent the rest of the night curled up in the pilot’s chair of the Marauder. Unlike the other images that had flashed before her, Omega knew that this was real, that it had happened not long after her return to the Batch. She held onto the memory as tightly as she could despite it feeling as though it was being ripped away from her and torn to shreds.

“She’s coming to, no sudden movements. We don’t need to alarm her.”

————

Upon waking, Omega felt as though her head was pounding. Everything felt too loud, to bright - her senses were working overtime and for a moment she pondered if this it was like to be Hunter on a daily basis.

“When will we know if the transfusion was a success?” The calm voice of Hemlock ripped through her mind and she flinched at the sound.

“I am not sure, Doctor,” Emerie’s voice joined in. “We will be constantly monitoring her brain activity through the… ports.” The word ports sounded almost forced and slightly choked and Omega found herself wondering why that was.

Groggily, she went to sit up, forgetting that she was still restrained. She didn’t like people talking about her as though she couldn’t hear. She wanted to go back to her cell and hide there, where she wouldn’t be interrupted constantly. She’d even take isolation again over this. Her headache was relentless and she brought a hand to her scalp to try and alleviate some of it.

Her stomach dropped as she felt her hair, shaun… practically a buzz cut compared to the soft locks she’d had less than three hours ago. Her fingers brushed a pad and wire, no doubt hooking her brain up to some machine that was tracking her in some way.

A small sob escaped her when she realised what had been done. She had become the very thing she never wanted to be. The thing that had kept her awake at night and been the cause of so many tears. She had become an experiment. Throw her back in her cell, it might as well be a tube.

She was dragged from her thoughts by a hand on her shoulder. Emerie. It wasn’t much, but in that moment when all she could see was the blur of her own tears, it was some comfort.

“You are okay, Omega,” Emerie’s voice was soft. “We’re going to return you to the vault now.”

The next thing she knew, Omega was laying on her back in her bunk, staring at the ceiling. She tried to distract herself from everything by mulling her situation over. She didn’t have a high M-Count, she mused to herself, but these children she was imprisoned with did. Her blood could be used as binding agent, or at least that’s what she had understood from fragments of conversations. So… they had drawn a sample from Eva (who Omega now realised must have been SP-54) and given it to her, to do what? Make her face sensitive? So that they could clone her? If she hadn’t had a headache before, she definitely had one now.

“Omega?” the quiet and familiar call of Eva drifted into the cell. The little girl gasped as she saw Omega’s hair, but that didn’t put her off as she stepped closer. The young clone turned her head slowly and she tried to sit up to greet the child. Her eyes widened as in her hands she saw a soft toy made out of straw… Lula.

“Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

Those words winded Omega and she felt new tears welling in her eyes. She nodded and tried for a brave smile to reassure Eva, but knew it wouldn’t have been that convincing.

“I’m okay,” she tried to soothe.

Eva barrelled into her side, wrapping her arms around her middle and holding her tight. The pair were like that for a while before Eva shuffled onto the bunk with Omega.

“Thank you for trying to help me,” the little girl whispered after a long silence. “I know you did your best.”

Omega nodded, sitting back against the wall of the cell. “It’s okay,” she croaked. “We’ll get out of here before you know it and we’ll go somewhere there Empire will never find us.”

Eva grinned and stared up at Omega with wide eyes. “Really?” she asked, thrilled. All she could do was nod. “Really,” she soothed. She paused, thinking. When she was upset and worried that something might happen, what did her brothers always do?

Tech would have tried to distract her using an explanation of something he knew she was interested in. Wrecker would have played with her and Crosshair would have offered to meditate with her. The pair had gotten quite used to doing so together. Hunter would have held her close and told her everything was going to be okay and Echo… Echo would have told her stories.

“Want to hear a story?” she asked. Eva nodded before settling closer to her friend. “This one’s about my brothers,” she said softly. “They’re looking for us as we speak…”

“Once, there was a girl, she lived on Kamino but really she longed to see the stars…”

Eva had fallen asleep before Omega had gotten halfway through the story. Tired and sore, Omega reached up and ran her hand over her nearly bald scalp. A couple of tears escaped her, but she could feel her eyes drooping with exhaustion. Before she knew it, she too was drifting off into a light sleep.

The last thing she was aware of before sleeping was the glimmer of hope that coursed through her. She had to make it through this so that she could see her family again… so that Eva, Jax and Mina could see their families again.

“You’ll find me,” she whispered as she dozed off.

————

“Find me,”

Ventress’ eyes shot open; she wasn’t one to meditate often, but it did help soothe her mind occasionally. She would recognise that painfully optimistic voice anywhere, she mused to herself as she groaned and reached for her comm device.

She needed to contact some idiot clones and ask them how they’d managed to lose the child they were so desperate to protect.

#the bad batch #sw tbb #tbb omega #tbb hunter #tbb wrecker #tbb tech #tbb echo #tbb crosshair #sw tbb spoilers #star wars #tbb fanfiction #tbb fic #sw tbb s3 #tbb season 3 #tbb s3 spoilers #tbb s3 ep12 #hurt/comfort

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