Part 1:

Hunter was standing in the shining white halls of Kamino. Outside, lightning flashed, illuminating the vast, white facilities outside the window. The familiar smell of sterilized rooms stung his nose, and the rain incessantly drummed on the windows.

Why am I back here? He wondered, inspecting his surroundings. He knew he should be more concerned; the empire was after them, the regs would be on him and his squad any second now.

But the halls were empty. Silence seemed to hang like thick, impenetrable fog over the corridor, throughout the entire facility in fact. Perhaps it had all been a bad dream? Order 66, the test, Onderon, Crosshair's betrayal; was it all just a terrible nightmare?

"So." A voice echoed through the silence.

Hunter wheeled around to face the speaker. His eyes widened as he saw Crosshair standing at the end of the corridor. Their eyes met momentarily, and Hunter tried to take a step toward the sniper. His heart pounded faster as his feet stuck to the ground.

"I hope you're happy with your new family," Crosshair sneered. "No need to go back for your brother now that you have your precious little kid."

"No, no, we wanted to come back for you, but—"

"You chose her over your brother, after all that we've been through. You left me for the empire to use."

Hunter's breaths came faster and faster now, the full weight of his guilt crushing him.

"No," he muttered, putting his hands to his ears, trying unsuccessfully to block out Crosshair's accusations and the ringing in his ears that was getting progressively louder.

"You didn't save me. It's all your fault."

"Hunter," a quiet voice whispered through the racket, but it was drowned out by the now earsplitting buzz. He fell to his knees, desperate to escape the whining, and unable to control his shaking body.

All my fault.

He should have done something, anything differently to protect his brother. He should have tried to take him with them when they fled; should have tried harder to keep the guards from taking him.

I failed.

"Hunter," the voice repeated, this time louder.

"Hunter!" it shouted, finally wrenching him out of the dream. He woke to Omega desperately shaking his shoulder, eyes wide with concern. Judging from her expression, he had been shouting in his sleep. When he sat up, the girl relaxed minutely.

"What is it, kid?" he asked, trying to shake off the dregs of sleep. He rolled his shoulders, which were stiff from sleeping on the narrow bunk.

"Tech wants to talk to you in the cockpit."

Stretching his arms, Hunter stood, "how long have you been up, kid?"

"A while. I couldn't sleep," she responded. Hunter didn't blame her. Their disastrous trip to Pantora had been stressful for them all. "But Tech told me about some of your missions! Did that Yalbec really try to mate with Crosshair?"

Hunter chuckled, "yeah. After we finally killed it, Wrecker couldn't stop laughing at him..." He trailed off, looking around the small, cluttered room.

His eyes first settled on Wrecker, who was tangled hopelessly in a blanket, Lula clutched tightly to his chest. He, of course had slept through all the noise. Nothing short of an army of droids marching past could wake him up. No, scratch that, thought Hunter as his brother let out a massive snore, like a fighter craft flying directly over their heads, even an army of droids couldn't wake him.

Since they set up a hammock for him, Echo seemed to sleep better. It was less common that he woke himself with his own screams. Whenever that did happen, one of the Batch always comforted him and asked him if he wanted to talk about it. If he didn't feel like it, they would sit near him, as if standing guard, until sleep claimed him again.

Then Hunter's eyes landed on something in the corner. There, behind a pile of tools, rested Crosshair's kit, untouched for days now, and beginning to gather dust. The place just doesn't feel the same without him. Hunter sighed.

The earsplitting whine (he'd thought it had been a part of his dream) suddenly began again, and Hunter let out a shout of pain. His head felt as if it were about to split open. Where was it coming from?

Omega gasped and rushed into the cockpit. Abruptly, the sound ceased, and Hunter was left gasping for breath and clutching his throbbing temple.

Reentering the room, Omega rushed to his side, "are you okay?"

"What was that?" He asked her, wincing at the remains of the pounding in his head and his ears, which were still ringing faintly.

"Tech turned on this gadget he made last night," She explained quickly, leading him to the cockpit, "he said it's for if we ever run into any 'aggressive wildlife' again, like on Saleucami."

They entered the small cockpit, where Tech was jumping deftly between checking their hyperspace course, and fiddling with a small, metal contraption. Did he sleep at all last night?

"Ah, Hunter, my apologies," Tech said, then shrugged, "at least we know that the device works, now. Who knows when we might need it?"

Hunter scowled, "yeah, it'll take down any creatures with half decent hearing, plus your sergeant. Great idea."

Looking down at the device, Tech's excited expression faded to one of disappointment, "Well... now that you mention it, it might not be such an effective plan."

Omega giggled, and Hunter couldn't help but smile at her. She brought something new to the squad that would change them all. He could already see it in Wrecker. Hunter had never seen him be so gentle with anyone. Ever.

A crash of junk tumbling to the ground, followed by a string of curses in multiple languages announced Echo. As he groggily entered the cockpit, Hunter shot him a warning look and gestured to Omega, who was staring at him with an attentive expression. Not in front of the kid.

Echo gave Omega an awkward, yet kind smile. The girl waved back happily before jumping into the copilot's seat, where she again gazed in wonder at the swirl of hyperspace in the viewport. She seemed unable to tire of the endless blue spiral.

Rubbing the back of his neck, Echo's expression switched back to his default morning face, a grumpy expression which could rival even one of Crosshair's scowls. "What was all that noise?"

"Tech was testing a new device of his, designed to ward off dangerous animals with a high-pitched whine. I could hear it in my sleep and Omega woke me."

"Huh," was all Echo said in response.

"Now what was it you wanted to talk to me about, Tech?" Hunter asked, crossing his arms and looking at the distracted mechanic.

"Ah, yes. Although we were able to obtain credits on Pantora, we were not able to buy rations," he said, cautiously peering at Omega. "Unfortunately, this means we will have nothing to eat until-"

"WHAT? No breakfast after all that?!" thundered Wrecker, seemingly summoned by the mention of food. Omega, too, looked rather distraught.

Tech glared briefly at Wrecker as their broad-shouldered brother awkwardly squeezed himself into the narrow, packed cockpit before resuming, "Until we stop at the next inhabited planet and buy food at the market."

Realizing it had been a while since he had last eaten, Hunter felt a gnawing in his stomach. He'd been so focused on saving Omega, and then getting them all off Pantora safely, that he'd completely forgotten about their rations plight. It had been worth it, though, and he knew all his brothers would agree.

He nodded to Tech, "fine. Reset our course. Hopefully, if we're careful, this trip will be uneventful."

Omega lowered her head guiltily, and Hunter amended quickly, "It's okay, Omega. Pantora wasn't your fault." And Omega brightened again, reassured that nobody blamed her for what had happened.

I need to teach her about stranger danger to make sure nothing like that ever happens again, he thought, before changing the subject. "I sure hope your scrambling works."

"Of course, it will," replied Tech matter-of-factly.

Hunter sighed and shook his head in exasperation, he admired his brother's confidence, and yes, Tech wasn't wrong very often, but as the mechanic's plan on Saleucami had proven, it was better to be safe than sorry when dealing with variables, if only to keep Omega safe.

However, his squad was his responsibility. They were his family. It was his job to keep his brothers safe, and now that included Omega. He had already failed them once, something that gnawed at Hunter's conscience relentlessly, and he would be sure to amend that.

But he didn't know what he'd do if Omega got hurt under his watch.