A/N: While using the Vagaari as an example may not be wholly accurate as far as canon goes, I thought, "Hey, they're little known and in the Outer Rim. What the hey?" So they're mentioned in this story.

Chapter 8: Hunter?

Omega yawned. She blinked hard, trying to clear away the drowsiness that had been steadily growing since she'd snuggled underneath the covers.

The streaks of hyperspace-stretched stars twisted around themselves outside her window, performing a dance that was hypnotic and mesmerizing. The patterns of light were captivating in their complexity. Omega didn't think she could separate the beams into different strands of color, even in her imagination. Even in a million years.

She hopped onto her knees and pulled the blanket closer about her shoulders before flopping down again, the covers tucked tightly all about.

She had so many questions about the ship, about Vagaari, and about Tech. But Tech had told her that memorizing sixteen controls in one day was enough ("No, you can't fly the Marauder until you have memorized them all - and their functions...and their proper handling."), and he was vague about the memory wipe he'd mentioned, and the Vagaari were out of the question. She had wanted him to ask Hunter for permission to tell her, but then Tech wouldn't even do that!

The questions whirled about in her head, lulling her to sleep despite her curiosity, the conversation with Tech echoing from one end of her mind to the other...

"You ask him."

Omega lifted her head from the pillow, all weariness forgotten.

Tech wouldn't tell her about himself, so she would ask Hunter.

A whispering thought came into her head -Tech said to ask Hunter if Tech could tell you about the Vagaari...- but she brushed the thought away with a quick reply that Tech never really said what to ask Hunter about. Implications didn't really mean anything.

Omega extricated herself from the blanket and, reaching instinctively for Trooper, slid down the ladder as silently as she could. Wrecker and Echo were both asleep, Wrecker on his rack, Echo sprawled sideways in a chair, his neck and knees propped up by the arms of the seat.

Omega could see Tech in the pilot's seat as she headed for the bunkroom. She raised her hand to knock and paused, looking back again towards the cockpit.

Tech turned slightly in his seat to reach the navicomputer, and Omega could see his face, outlined sharply against the blue light. It seemed to hold a thousand unknown things, things to be suspicious of. Things that needed to be destroyed. It was too easy to read all sorts of negativity into Tech's calm face and demeanor now. Negative things, the effects of hidden horrors.

She turned away and knocked, shrugging off the spurt of anxiety that shot through her stomach at what she was about to do.

It didn't feel...okay...but Omega needed to know.

For a moment, she thought Hunter might be asleep. But then the door hissed open and there he stood, wild bed-head and all.

"What is it, Omega?" The mild concern in Hunter's voice only served to reignite the apprehension in Omega's heart. But she shook it off once more and spoke.

"I need to talk to you. Is that...okay?"

Hunter blinked - then stepped aside to let her enter the room.

Once she was seated on the bed, her knees pulled up to her chin, all her bravery seemed to melt away. Omega bit her lip, but there was no backing out now. If she told Hunter "it was nothing - I'll go back to bed", the sergeant would hover over her for the next several days with that controlled face and unbridled concern in his eyes - she would have been a bother for nothing.

No, she would have to be brave now.

Hunter seated himself crosslegged at the head of the bunk, opposite her - and waited.

Omega took a breath.

"What happened to Tech?" she blurted.

Hunter blinked, a flicker of surprise crossing his tattooed face.

"What?"

"I know he had a memory wipe for being too curious once, and that something that happened to him is connected somehow to the Vagaari, but -"

"You still stuck on that?" Hunter interrupted.

Omega nodded. "I want to know what happened to him."

Hunter looked steadily at her. "Well, contrary to popular belief, we do have some rules in the squad."

Here it comes...

"One of those is - if you want to know something about someone else, you ask them. Not their squadmates."

Omega inhaled deeply and studied Trooper. "He said I could ask you."

Hunter was silent for a long moment. When Omega looked up again, the man was staring darkly at his fingers. He met her gaze and Omega realized that what had seemed to be "dark" was really "deep thought".

"Hmmm," Hunter rumbled. "I don't know everything that went on..."

Omega had the strangest feeling that Hunter was confused about Tech. A confusion that shouldn't have even been there because what caused it was something not true. Not honest. Omega had lied...

"For someone so factual all the time," Hunter huffed, flashing Omega a small smile, "some things still hit pretty hard."

Omega wanted to ask again what had happened, but something held her back. She felt...bad...

Hunter rubbed a hand across the back of his neck and stared at his knees. "Tech," he began, "was...not like the rest of us - Wrecker and myself and...Crosshair. He was in a different unit for a while before we bumped into each other."

"Why?" said Omega.

"Well...?" Hunter sighed, pausing again. "His handler liked to keep him...where she could study his enhancements. He was only put with us when we met, and only after he asked his handler if he could join."

"And she let him," Omega prompted when Hunter paused again.

"Yeah. She was not...the nicest handler."

"Nala Se was nice."

"Yes," said Hunter, very slowly. "But Nala Se had different focuses than Sullo Pria. Tech's handler would - would...torture him."

Omega's eyes widened. She had heard the word a few times before, and it didn't sound nice.

"What's torture?"

Hunter pursed his lips. "It's when someone hurts someone else, usually to get something they want from them."

Omega frowned. "Like what the Vagaari did to the target Cid told you about?"

Again a pause. "Yes."

"They wanted information and so they hurt him in order to get it...? To make him tell?" She glanced skeptically at Hunter, more to urge him to continue talking than because she doubted his words.

"Yes."

"...So...what did Sullo Pria want from Tech?"

Hunter squinted his eyes and gave a tired sigh. "I...actually don't...really...know... You'll have to ask him about it if you want to know."

Omega shifted off the bed. "But what if he doesn't want to tell me?"

Hunter gave her a strange look. "That's his right," he said.

Omega paced up and down the length of the Marauder. She had been sent back to the ship after scouting out the area with the other Bad Batchers with orders to guard the ship and stay put.

Not willing to make another mistake like her former one, Omega had saluted with a smile and hurried to her post.

Besides, she had another mistake to worry about without having back-talking Hunter added on top.

She had lied. Argue as she might, logic as much as she could, the hard truth had settled like an irremovable weight in her heart. What she had done was wrong. She would have to make it right.

"You know, Lula," she sighed, poking sadly at the stuffed tooka, "Being brave because of mistakes is one of the hardest things ever..."

Lula flopped onto her side, her ears wilting in sympathy.

Blaster fire burst through the silence, and Omega.charged to the cockpit, bracing her hands against the dashboard and peering in apprehension through the viewport.

Echo, Hunter, Wrecker, and Tech came plowing around the corner onto the landing pad, a stream of lasers swarming past their shoulders.

Omega slammed her hand down on the door control. It started to open, and then closed. Confused, Omega hit the control again. Nothing happened.

Her comm came to life with a crackle of static. Tech's voice burst through.

"Omega, don't touch anything!"Omega pulled back from the panel, and this time the door opened smoothly. Tech, she realized, had been trying to open the door the same time as she.

The squad charged into the Marauder. Tech jumped for the pilot's seat, clasping Omega by the shoulder and pushing her out of the way. Echo landed himself in the copilot's seat, Hunter jerked his thumb towards the back of the ship, and Omega dashed to the seats, sitting down fast enough to hurt and pulling the restraints over her head. Wrecker slammed a metal cage onto the seat next to her, earning an enraged screech!!!! from whatever was inside, and fastened the seat restraints over it before securing himself as well.

The Marauder took off, and everything after was all too fast for Omega's thoughts to resurface. For now...