Chapter 1: Family
Omega covered her mouth and trembled, drowned by emotions that numbed the child to the world around her. She knelt on a hangar platform, unaware of the rain, smoke, and explosions occurring across Kamino.
The renegade Clone Force 99, known as the Bad Batch, returned home after discovering a way to deactivate Order 66 and free the Clone Army. They succeeded just as Admiral Tarkin arrived with the Clone Army's replacements.
Omega looked up just enough to see the ruins of Tipoca city. Massive fires and explosive craters marred the once magnificent Kaminon capital, as what remained of the Clone army made a desperate last stand against the new Stormtrooper Corps and their Dark Trooper assault droids.
Human and kaminoan bodies littered the various platforms, V-19 fighters still flying overhead and strafing what remained of the city. Omega didn't feel the continued rain, only the tears streaming down her face and her heart breaking.
Among the dead clones lay five slightly altered variants. Echo, Tech, Wrecker, Crosshair, and Hunter. The long-haired clone coughed up blood while holding his scorched abdomen.
"Hunter, no." Omega choked on her tears as she knelt beside her adopted father. The enhanced clone reached up and placed his hand on her cheek.
"I'm sorry, Omega, I'm sorry we couldn't protect you."
"Hunter, please, don't leave me." Omega bellowed out before the clone gave a hint of a smile.
"You can still escape. You're more than any of us can ever be."
"No, I won't leave you!"
"Live, for us." Hunter's eyes closed, and he passed on.
Omega almost collapsed onto his body before feeling someone else place a hand on her shoulder. She looked up to see an exhausted Crosshair. The hate gone from his expression, leaving only remorse.
"Leave while you still can." He emphasized a nearby ship still in place.
"They've broken our lines!" A nearby Clonetrooper shouted. Omega looked up again and saw Stormtroopers surging in with Dark Troopers close behind.
"Go!" Crosshair forced himself up and blasted Dark Trooper right through its head, disabling it.
Omega reached out for the sniper as he took position beside two remaining Clone troopers.
"For our brothers!" Crosshair roared.
"For our brothers!" The Clone troopers echoed.
Omega somehow forced herself up and towards the shuttle, turning back as she reached the ramp. However, before she saw Crosshair, something ensnared her and nearly hurled the girl onto the wet platform.
"Ahhh!"
"Where do you think you're going, little girl?" Omega froze, the familiar metallic voice and clinging boots sending a shiver down her spine. Finally, her assailant pushed the girl onto her back with his foot. A blue-skinned duros garbed in a brown jacket and matching hat with two tubs attached to his cheek.
"Yyyyou." She stuttered.
"That's right, you and I have unfinished business."
Cad Bane reached down and picked Omega up in his arms. The little girl violently thrashed, trying desperately to escape, but to no avail.
"Crosshair!" Omega gasped, all the wind knocked out of her stomach by Bane's fist.
"Quiet."
The modified clone's eyes went wide as he looked back and saw Bane.
"No!" Crosshair forced himself back and raised his sniper rifle despite his grievous injuries, placing Bane's head dead center. The Bounty Hunter saw this and went still. For a very brief moment, Omega thought she felt Cad tremble.
However, the moment passed in an instant. Omega opened her mouth, yet no words came out. Crosshair dropped his rifle, smoke emanating from the back of his armor. Directly behind him, three black-clad stormtroopers with green visors approached, weapons raised.
"Hmp, so long, clones." Bane carried Omega to his ship and quickly closed the ramp. Staring out the window, the little girl got one final look at Kamino, at her family. They reached orbit, passing a fleet of Venator Star Destroyers before entering hyperspace.
Bane kept his eyes on the controls until he heard Omega sob uncontrollably.
"Quiet." He growled.
Omega didn't stop, the tears now soaking her tunic.
"I said, quiet!" Bane backhanded Omega and knocked her to the floor. Within moments, the Duros had her pinned down, his terrifying face inches from hers.
"Listen to me, girl, and listen good. Your friends, your family, they're all dead! You belong to me now, no one's coming for you, and if you don't do what I say, you die."
Bane got back into his seat, and Omega remained on the ground. She remained silent, but tears still flowed down her face like a river. The now orphaned girl lost all sense of time, not even noticing they'd exited hyperspace.
Cad moved them towards the nearest planet, completely unaware another ship followed. Finally, they set down, and he got up, placing a toothpick back in his mouth.
"Let's go." Omega didn't respond.
"I said, let's go!" Bane delivered a powerful kick to Omega's side, curling her up. Growling, Cad grabbed the girl by the back of her tunic and dragged her out of the ship.
They'd arrived in a secluded area at the edge of a forest. The only sign of civilization being an ominous structure built near the treeline.
"You really should learn when to quit." Cad said while setting Omega down. A gentle breeze flowed across the back of her neck, making a few of the trees rustle.
"After all, I never fall for the same trick twice." Bane whipped out two pistols and unleashed a barrage of fire into the treeline. Omega almost yelped in fright, a flash of red lights from Bane's blasters filling her eyes.
Something moved among the branches, and after a few more seconds, Bane unleashed another ensnare, which hit its mark. A figure clad in black tumbled from the trees and grunted upon impact. Omega's eyes widened as she saw Cad approach the woman and kick her onto her back.
"Looks like you didn't learn your lesson from last time, Shand." Cad growled while taking out his toothpick.
Fennec grit her teeth and got up to her knees but remained trapped in the ensnare.
"Fennec!" Omega muttered, tears still in her eyes as she trembled.
"Omega." Fennec groaned, sounding almost ashamed of herself.
"Still trying to protect the girl, Fennec? That kaminoan who hired you is dead. No more money, why are you still after her?" Bane narrowed his eyes while asking.
"I could ask you the same thing, Bane." Fennec retorted defiantly.
"Hmp, I'm afraid you're wrong, Shand. Not all the kaminoans are dead. They've still got hidden outposts and plenty of money. After what happened, they're gonna want revenge on the Empire. For that, they'll need a reliable clone army." Bane turned back to Omega, who began breathing heavily.
"That's right, little girl. Your DNA is worth a fortune, and I'm going to sell you back to those long-necks piece by piece."
"No!" Omega muttered, shaking harder than ever.
Cad grabbed her again, his piercing red eyes burning right to Omega's core.
"You caused me a lot of trouble before. Now I'm going to savor watching your squirm as you're strapped to a dissection table like the little experiment you are."
"Fennec!" Omega screamed, unable to control her tears and feeling ready to wet herself.
Shand too trembled as she saw Omega's terror.
"Bane, don't do this! I'll get you anything you want! Money, ships, anything, just let her go!" Fennec pleaded.
Bane grit his teeth and gave a sadistic smile as he turned back to Shand.
"Ohh I still have a score to settle with you, Fennec. You're gonna watch me rip this girl apart, and then I'm gonna have my fun with you."
Bane turned back to the structure and raised his wrist communicator.
"Todo, open the door. I'm back." There was no response.
"Todo, Todo come in, Todo?" The door finally opened, only for a small droid to come out in pieces. Cad quickly took a defensive stance and grabbed his blasters.
"Tsk tsk tsk, tormenting little girls. Is this what the Great Cad Bane is reduced too?"
Omega and Fennec went still as another figure emerged from the structure. He was humanoid, and completely clad in green Mandalorian armor, just like the suit Omega saw her Father Jango Fett wear in holoprojectors. Near the helmet's left temple rested a burn mark.
"Fett!" Bane almost shouted. Omega and Fennec couldn't believe their eyes, but there was no mistaking it. No matter how hard he tried to hide it, Cad Bane was shaking. He was afraid.
The Mandalorian turned to Omega, who wasn't sure what to think. Whoever he was, he couldn't be worse than Bane. Fennec, however, was very interested.
"What, what are you doing here?" Bane muttered, his hands still hovering over his pistols.
"Why are you shaking, Bane? Are you afraid? Well, I don't blame you after our last encounter." Omega looked up at the metal plate covering Bane's head as he growled.
"You got lucky last time, Fett! Bounty hunters who rely on luck end up dead. Which proves you're still nothing but a boy wearing a man's suit of armor!" Bane snarled.
"Hmp, how sad. I thought you were a man of action, Bane, not empty words. If you were the bounty hunter the galaxy thinks you are, I'd be dead already. Instead, you're stalling, hoping I won't draw my weapons."
Bane continued to tremble. His eyes fixed on the Mandalorian.
"Let me make this simple for you. Hand over the girl, and I'll let you live."
Her, he was there for her? Omega thought.
"Grrr, she's my mark."
"So that's it then." The Mandalorian revealed a blaster carbine.
"I guess so." A tense standoff went down, and Omega held her breath. The entire planet seemed to go silent, with only the wind making any noise.
Finally, the bounty hunters pulled up their weapons and fired. Simultaneously, both men flew up off the ground. The Mandalorian using a jetpack and Bane his jet boots.
Omega watched in Awe as the two warriors unleashed a barrage of bolts at each other, both narrowly missing before the Mandalorian hit Cad's right leg.
Fennec wanted to shout, her adrenaline rushing.
"Come on!"
Bane snarled in pain, his flight pattern messed up. Seizing an opening, the Mandalorian fired a grapple around Cad's legs, forcing him down to the ground. The Duros bounty hunter grit his teeth and whipped out his own grapple around the Mandlorian's wrist, pulling him closer while unleashing a jet of flames.
The Mandalorian flew backward with jetpack without breaking stride, pulling Bane forward and sending his flames astray. With Cad stumbling around, the Mandalorian unleashed his own flamethrower, engulfing the Duros.
"Gaaahh!" Cad Bane whipped off his jacket. Now furious, he lunged for the Mandalorian and knocked his blaster away. From there, Bane tried to punch his foe, but the warrior blocked each blow. Omega's heart pounded faster with each strike as the two bounty hunters clashed in intense hand-to-hand combat. At first, they seemed evenly matched until the Mandalorian locked Bane in an armbar. The Duros tried to smash him with his elbow, but the younger man blocked it, tossing Bane aside and knocking him over in two successive punches finished by a kick to the face.
Bane barely remained on his feet, unable to react as the Mandalorian raised his wrist and fired a rocket. Omega closed her eyes when it made contact and lit up in a bright fiery display.
When she finally looked back, Bane's hat slowly landed beside her. What remained of Cad Bane lay on the ground before the Mandalorian, who stared at his body.
"And so ends Cad Bane." The Mandalorian let loose his flamethrower onto the body until nothing remained. Omega's heart raced again, Bane was dead, but now she was at the mercy of this stranger.
He walked over to Fennec and aimed his wrist at her back. Omega clenched her eyes shut but heard a snapping noise instead of a blast. Opening her eyes, she saw Fennec's bindings broken.
"Thanks." Fennec said, getting up.
"Don't mention it." The Mandalorian now came up behind Omega and very carefully removed her bindings.
"It's ok. I'm not going to hurt you." He spoke in a surprisingly tender voice. Omega's earlier raw emotions returned as she thought about her dead family and began to tear up.
"Who, who are you?"
The Mandalorian slowly removed his helmet, and Omega's heart soared. She saw a very familiar face, one she'd known her whole life, but only younger, perhaps eighteen or so.
"My name is Boba Fett. I'm your brother." Omega lost control and completely broke down into pure emotion as she wrapped her arms around Boba's chest and hugged him with everything she had.
Boba hugged her back and kept his sister in the embrace as long as she needed. Fennec struggled to hold back her own emotions watching the two and finally smiled.
"They're gone. All our brothers are gone!" Omega wailed, her tears streaming down Boba's armor.
"I'm sorry, Omega. But it's going to be ok. I'm going to make sure you're taken care of. We're family, and families watch out for each other." Boba said, taking Omega by the shoulders and looking right into her eyes. When Boba stood up, he lifted Omega up in his arms before noticing Fennec was still present.
"Thank you for watching over her." Fennec smiled before approaching to put a hand on Omega's shoulder.
"It was my pleasure. Where are you going to take her?"
"Don't worry. She'll be safe."
"Where can she be safe?" Fennec asked.
"Not where, but with who."
Fennec nodded.
"Take care, Omega."
"You too." She said, fighting off the last of her tears. Omega buried her head in Boba's shoulder as he carried her to his ship, the Slave I. Once inside, he set her down in a chair and set a blanket over her.
"Rest, Omega." After everything she'd been through, the clone girl almost collapsed from exhaustion, falling into a deep sleep. Boba watched his sister for several moments before taking a deep breath.
"No, bounty hunting is no life for her." He said to himself, lifting his ship up and moving off-world.
When Omega finally woke up, she felt only slightly rested despite the long sleep. The ghosts of her family still circling the girl. She clutched the blanket and held herself tightly.
"Feeling any better?" Boba asked.
"Not really." The bounty hunter extended his hand, offering Omega a nutrient bar. She stared at it in disinterest for a long while.
"You should eat. You'll need your strength." Omega finally took a bite before realizing they flew towards a large moon.
"Why?"
Boba smiled.
"You'll see." As they reached the surface, Omega saw a massive jungle that covered the entire moon. Fett set them down in a clearing and donned his helmet.
"Come on." Omega slowly followed her brother into the jungle, the sounds of thunder and distant predators filling the air. Omega kept close to Boba, clutching his arm tightly.
Finally, after a few hundred yards, Fett stopped and looked around the treeline.
Boba spoke in a strange language. One Omega heard a few times from the Clone Commandos and their trainers. Moments later, three figures flew from the canopy, all adorned in Mandalorian armor like Boba.
"Fett, what brings you to Dxun?" One of the Mandalorians asked, turning her attention to a frightened Omega.
"Hello." She said softly.
"I need to speak with Walon Vau."
"This way." Omega and Boba followed the three Mandalorians to a basecamp hidden among ancient ruins. Omega's eyes darted several dozen Mandalorians in the settlement, men, women, and children all working or training.
Their skills were incredible, just like Boba's and many of the Republic's best clone soldiers. Speaking of which, Omega almost jumped when she saw clones. Not just any clones either, but Clone Commandos. Several dozen, all removing their Katarn-class commando armor and donning the same beskar armor as the Mandalorians.
"Boba, I, I don't understand."
"You will." Finally, they reached five men looking over the camp, all in Mandalorian armor. In the center was a fair-skinned man with golden eyes, dark-graying hair, and black armor. Beside him stood four clones, changed into beskar armor.
The four commandos looked less distinct from each other than the Bad Batch, but there were some differences. One had more noticeable burn marks on his face with black and yellow armor. The next commando had the least amount of scars with green and white armor.
The third had the most scars with white armor stained by blood. The final one didn't have any distinguishing features but held a stronger presence with white and orange-colored armor.
"Walon, Delta." Boba said in a friendly tone.
"Ahh, there he is, Boba Fett, the fearsome bounty hunter." The blood-covered clone said, locking hands with Boba for a moment.
"Good to see you too, Sev. Omega, this is Delta Squad. Fixer, Scorch, Sev, and Boss. This is Omega. She's a clone, like us."
"Hello." Omega muttered, still nervous as the four clones looked down at her. Boss knelt down and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"It's nice to meet you, Omega." His voice, the same voice she heard from Hunter. Omega almost teared up and hugged Boss, who tenderly hugged her back.
"Welcome to Clan Custodes. I'm Walon Vau, and this is my son, Jeanx." Omega looked over at a boy, perhaps twelve years older and accumulating muscle. He had black hair and gold eyes like his father with a confident demeanor about him.
"Another clone, great."
"Watch it kid." Scorch said, narrowing his eyes at Jeanx, who shrugged.
"She's a foundling now. We're going to train you in the ways of the Mandalore Omega. You'll become part of our clan, part of our family." Boss said, filling Omeg with hope and warmth.
"Jeanx, you'll help her catch up." Walon said as the Mandalorian boy smiled at her.
"Maybe with my help, you can become a real warrior." Omega blushed slightly.
"Take good care of her." Boba said, giving Omega one last hug.
"You're not staying?" She asked.
"No, this isn't my path. But if you ever need me, I'll be there." Omega smiled despite the tears in her eyes and felt Boss's and Fixer's hands on her shoulders.
"Come on, let's find you a tent."
Omega walked with her new family as the memories of the Bad Batch still lingered. They weren't really gone, Hunter, Echo, Crosshair, Tech, and Wrecker. She was their legacy, and she'd live for them.
Author's note
Thus the chronicles begin, yes the Bad Batch are dead, but Omega lives and she has a chance for a better life free from Kamino with a new but familiar family. I hope you guys enjoyed, I thought it was a bad decision not having Boba kill Bane, it just makes sense for him taking the mantle of the top Bounty Hunter.
As I said in the description, the next chapter will be a different story with different characters as the focus, but that doesn't mean characters from this story will never be seen again.
Please let me know what you guys liked, what you didn't like, and since this is an episodic fic, I'm willing to take suggestions for stories or characters. Just PM them to me.
So until next time,
Please review, comment, suggest, or ask(VIA PM)
