It is coming to the end of the school day at the local High School. As the bell rings, the students file out, except for one, a teenage Togruta male hanging near the entrance. Alejandro had just finished on the phone with his parents, unsure what to do.
"Hey Alejandro, are you alright?" came a teacher's voice as she exited the building and spotted Alejandro. Turning around, Alejandro saw the figure of a Chiss, his Language teacher.
"Oh hey, Mrs Sasori. And, not really. I told Omega I'd be walking with her today, but I've just got a message from the primary school that Alexis had a breakdown today, and I'm the only one who can calm her down after one of those. I need to go and take care of her," Alejandro sighed sadly. Mrs Sasori put a hand on his shoulder and asked, "Where is Omega currently?"
"School library," Alejandro replied. Mrs Sasori nodded, gently squeezed Alejandro's shoulder, and said kindly, "Then I'll take care of her this afternoon. I'll explain what's happened and try to support her where I can. Alright?"
"Alright. Thanks, Mrs Sasori," Alejandro replied, giving her a quick hug before he walked off. Mrs Sasori went to the library to look for Omega.
When she arrived at the Library, she went to the reception desk and enquired about Omega. When the librarian pointed her out, dozing on a couch with one of the books lying on her lap, she giggled, nodded, and then walked over to introduce herself.
Omega had fallen asleep waiting for Alejandro's arrival. She'd been reading a fantasy book when a lack of sleep and energy caused her to nod off.
She feels the librarian gently shake her shoulder, and she groggily awakens.
"Are you not sleeping well?" a voice came from nearby. Omega initially thought it was the librarian but realised it was a woman's voice, not a man's. Sitting up in the seat, she looked around and saw a Chiss woman sitting opposite her.
"I'm not. My side's making it hard to sleep, even without the Nightmares and Night Terrors," Omega sighed as she gave the book back to the librarian, along with her library card.
"Can I please borrow this?" Omega asked,
The Librarian replied, "Sure. Before we do, though. Omega, this is Mrs Jers'asor'rimo. We call her Mrs Sasori. Mrs Sasori, this is Omega"
"Nice to meet you," Omega said, shaking Mrs Sasori's hand. Mrs Sasori smiled, then replied, "Nice to meet you too, Omega. It's good to connect the name Omega to a face. I've heard a fair bit about you from Alejandro."
"I could say the same for you, Mrs Sasori," Omega replied before she enquired, "Where's Al? He was supposed to meet me here,"
"Something's come up involving his sister, so he can't make it today. He sent me in his steed," Mrs Sasori replied kindly.
Omega sighed, "Again. Alexis' mental health is as bad as mine, I swear,"
"It isn't great, from what Alejandro has told me. What do you two do after you meet up here?" Mrs Sasori asked.
Omega replied, shrugging, "We walk around the town, or immediate surroundings, just talking, mostly,"
"Alright. I'm surprised Alejandro does that with his back as bad as it is," Mrs Sasori admits.
Omega answered, "He doesn't move very quickly, and we sit down a fair bit so he can rest."
It was then that Omega got an idea.
"Hey, Mrs Sasori, maybe you could accompany me on this walk today?" Omega asked.
Mrs Sasori smiled, "Sure. I'd like to get to know you better."
"Then let's go," Omega replied, and after she got her book and library card back, the two of them headed out.
Omega guided Mrs Sasori to a nearby park, the same one that she and Alejandro visited. It had a large expanse of green grass, with ferns, bushes and trees dotting the park. In one area was a bike track with jumps. Further was a pond and river with ducks and other water creatures playing around. On the other side were a few playgrounds for people of various ages and two pen-like areas for Dantooine Tamed Canids, Loth Cats, and other pets to play. A long path snaked its way along the park, with benches at regular intervals.
"So, what do you teach?" Omega asked as they walked past the playgrounds, Omega sighing slightly at still not being able to play on them. Mrs Sasori replied, "Languages. Mainly other than Basic, like Togruti, Twi'leki, Dosh and Cheunh"
"Cheunuh?" Omega enquired, having never heard of that language. Mrs Sasori chuckled, then said, "My native language. I'm a Chiss, and Cheunh is my native language,"
"Oh, that's cool," Omega admitted, smiling at her, which she returned. As they walked further, Omega thought of something else.
"Are there any languages you want to learn? Other than the ones you've already learned?" Omega asked.
After a few moments, Mrs Sasori replied, "I've been trying to research what I can of Mando'a, the language of the Mandalorians. I've heard a couple of rumours that the planetary government is planning to allow Clones who no longer work for the Empire to emigrate here, where they can get the support they need to transition to civilian life,"
"They are? That'd be awesome. Wonder how they'd react if any of them met me," Omega replied excitedly. Mrs Sasori looked at Omega, "You're a Clone, right?"
"Right. I'm the only known female Clone created by the Kaminoans," Omega explained.
Mrs Sasori nodded, "That must be pretty cool."
"It is. Though, very few Clones even know I exist. I was kept down at the bottom of Nala Se's lab, not allowed to interact with the outside world while also being regularly medically abused," Omega replied, a brief haunted look appearing in her eyes.
"I'm so sorry that you had to endure that. Did you have any support while that happened?" Mrs Sasori asked, shocked at her treatment. After a few moments, Omega nodded and replied, "Yeah. Two Jedi masters, Shaak Ti and Plo Koon, as well as a defective Clone, called 99, all supported me through that time,"
"That's a silver lining, at least," Mrs Sasori replied.
"Have you got a family, Mrs Sasori?" Omega wondered.
"I'm a Widow with three kids. Two biological and one Adopted. Kinda like Suu in that regard," Mrs Sasori explained. Omega thought about it for a moment, then nodded.
"That's sad. Have you got anyone to help with raising your kids?" Omega asked nervously. Mrs Sasori smiled, "Yes. The Lawquanes have been nothing but helpful where they can. Plus, former students have babysat my kids when I haven't been able to due to various commitments. It's not easy juggling three kids with a teaching role,"
"It must be hard. But I'm happy that you've got people to help you out. How old are you kids anyway?" Omega enquired, curious to learn more.
"Serena's 12, so similar in age to you. She's my oldest. My two sons are both 8," Mrs Sasori replied.
Omega smiled, "So the youngest two are the same age as Shaeeah, while the older one is a year younger than me. Cool. Maybe I could meet them sometime?"
"I'm sure I could arrange that," Mrs Sasori replied. Omega then noticed the ice cream van and pointed to it.
"Al and I always come here for an ice cream or a drink," Omega excitedly said, and she ran for it. Mrs Sasori chuckled to herself and then followed.
When they arrived, the old twi'lek man behind the counter recognised both Omega and Mrs Sasori.
"Where's your Togruta friend?" the man asked as Omega approached.
"He's helping to support his sister with something. He couldn't come along,"
"Aw man, that sucks," he replied. He then looked over and said, "I see he got Mrs Sasori to accompany you instead. How's everything with you?"
"Oh, the usual. Hectic as hell, but you know that'' Mrs Sasori replied. Gavinso nodded, then stated, "So, no puppuccino this time. Are you still getting the same as usual, Omega?"
"Yep. Strawberry Ice Cream, please," Omega asked.
Gavinso nodded and turned to Mrs Sasori, "What about you? What'll you have?"
"I'd like a vanilla swirl, please," Mrs Sasori responded.
Mrs Sasori paid for the ice creams, and Gavinso gave them to them.
"Enjoy," Gavinso called.
Omega and Mrs Sasori replied, "We will," before heading to a nearby table to eat them.
As they ate through their ice creams, Mrs Sasori started enquiring a bit more about Omega's family.
"Well, I've got five brothers, Hunter, Wrecker, Tech, Echo and Crosshair. Sadly Crosshair was brainwashed by the Empire, and he has stayed with them as far as we know. Somewhere in the galaxy, I have a twin brother called Boba, but I've never met him, and I don't know if he even knows I exist. Outside of them, the Lawquanes are family to me as well. Not just because I'm Cut's sister, but also because Suu has been a mother figure for me, and Jek and Shaeeah have been lovely little siblings," Omega explained as she went through what she knew.
Mrs Sasori smiled and nodded, "Sounds like you've got a lovely family. I heard Suu's expecting a third child,"
"Fourth, according to Shaeeah'' Omega chuckled, and Mrs Sasori looked slightly puzzled.
"When they found out that Suu was having a boy, Shaeeah said they had two sons and daughters. And when Suu asked how she determined that, Shaeeah said that she counts me as part of the family,"
"Oh, that's cute. Do you see Suu as a mom, Omega? '' Mrs Sasori enquired, smiling happily. Omega returned the smile, "Well, I've called her mom on several occasions, so yes,"
"Aw, that's lovely," Mrs Sasori replied. She continued, "You've said you're having trouble getting enough sleep at night. Have you got any strategies to help?"
"Yeah, I've got a few. Don't always work. I have had a lot of trauma, which feeds into frequent nightmares and night terrors. I've found that having someone sleep with me helps. Usually, it's Hunter, but I've stayed with each of my brothers, and since after they saw me experience horrid night terrors the first I was there, Jek and Shaeeah have made sure to stay with me every night afterwards, I won't have to sleep alone,"
"That helps a lot for me. After I lost my husband, I found that I couldn't sleep alone. My kids helped out where they could, and now a few of my former students are taking turns to stay with me, so I'm not alone," Mrs Sasori responded, smiling and gently putting a hand on Omega's shoulder.
"Thanks. It doesn't help that I'm injured as well. Although my concussion has cleared, my side still itches, and the stitches have only just dissolved, so I've got to take it easy for another few days," Omega admitted. Looking concerned, Mrs Sasori asked, "What happened with your side?"
"I Had a hole blown in my side by an explosion on a mission. The force of the blast knocked me into a nearby wall. I got a concussion and had fourteen stitches in my side," Omega explained. Mrs Sasori looked on in shock.
"That must have been hard," Mrs Sasori said.
Omega replied, "It was. But thanks to the support of my brothers, Al, and the Lawquanes, I'm getting through it,"
"That's very good to hear," Mrs Sasori replied. With their ice creams finished, Mrs Sasori got up and said, "I think it's about time I got you back to your home. I assume you're staying with the Lawquanes?"
"Yep," Omega replied. They both then headed back towards the Lawquane household.
When they reached the house, they spotted Suu waiting for them.
"Oh hey, Mrs Sasori, I was wondering who Omega was walking with today," Suu said, smiling. Mrs Sasori returned the smile, then said, "Yeah, Alejandro wasn't available, so he asked me to take over,"
"Shaeeah said Alexis had a class breakdown," Suu admitted.
She then turned to Omega, "Did you enjoy yourself?"
"Yes, I did, mom," Omega replied. As she went inside, she gave both Suu and Mrs Sasori hugs, which both returned.
"She's a lovely kid," Mrs Sasori said.
Suu nodded, "She is. She's had a very rough and traumatic life, so to give her some happy memories and a mother figure to look up to, This is an important time in her life. I'm glad to be that mom,"
"I'm glad. I'd best get home. I've got a ton of marking to do," Mrs Sasori sighed.
"You got any help with it?"
"Yeah, one of my former students will be helping me with it," Mrs Sasori replied.
Suu nodded, smiled, and replied, "Good luck,"
"Thanks, Suu. Say hi to Cut for me," Mrs Sasori replied.
Suu said, "Will do" before Mrs Sasori made her way home, while Suu followed Omega inside.