Chapter 8 - Kamino

Author's Note: Aaaangst. :') And broken families trying to heal. ^-^

~ Amina Gila

Alema Syndulla

Omega, at least, knows where to go. The tension as we enter the underwater tunnel to the facility is running high. Omega is scared and upset. Tech himself is uncharacteristically restless. Echo and Fives are, too. "We'll get them back," I say quietly.

"The chances are not in our favor," Tech replies bluntly. I may not know him well, but it still hurts to see. I can feel the deep-rooted ache, a need to get his brothers back. He doesn't care about anything else anymore. He only cares about protecting Omega, but otherwise, if I weren't here, he would go in there blindly, recklessly, alone.

"They never are," I remind, "But we always work it out. The Jedi Order was built on hope. That's what we stand for."

He stares at me for a moment, then returns to studying his datapad, or at least pretending to.

"Are... you alright?" Echo inquires of Omega quietly. My gaze turns to her. She's... crying.

"It doesn't matter," she answers, shakily, "Hunter is what matters."

I don't promise her it'll be alright. All I can feel is the need burning me inside out again, the same as on Ryloth, the feeling that I have to protect them. I'm tired of being helpless. And I'm afraid of where that will take me. I'm terrified of... of what that icy feeling inside me means.

I haven't planned a mission in such depth... ever, actually. It's like when Anakin and Aniya infiltrated the Citadel on Lola Sayu, except at least it's a water planet instead of lava planet.

We enter Nala Se's lab where we meet AZI, and Omega tells us for the first time that she was there when her brothers were born. Tech pulls up the schematics for the facility as I asked him to.

"Alright," I say finally, studying the maps, "I'll track Hunter. Tech, Omega, and AZI, go the medbay closest to Hunter's location, assuming you can get it working, anyway. Echo and Fives, you're with me. I'll lure Crosshair and Wrecker to your position. I'm a Jedi, so they won't focus on anyone else when they see me."

We split up after entering the facility. Hunter's position is moving, which is annoying, but I contact Tech and Omega to tell them the changing position, anyway. This is nothing we can't make work. All the clones are gone now, and something about this place is too... empty. I know something very, very bad is about to happen, but I force myself to tune it out and focus. I'm on a mission, and I can't get distracted.

I can't –

"Stay here," I tell Echo and Fives, stopping at the end of the hall to where Hunter's comm is. "You can stun them as they pass. Or take out anyone else with them. I'll go in alone."

They look at each other uncertainly. "Yes, ma'am," Fives says finally, very, very reluctantly.

"Hey, I'll be fine," I assure, "Just stay hidden. They need to think I'm alone." My heart rate spikes anyway. I'm afraid to see them again. Afraid to be alone, but I need to be. (Maybe it's that I think I deserve to be, after I left, after I failed, after... after everything.)

"Are you sure?" Echo asks. I glance over at him – I'm fully grown, and near his height now. I'm close to seventeen. I remember a time when I was younger, when I was shorter than everyone, when I was still small and when I would climb onto the barrels of enemy tanks to make them blow each other up because I thought it was fun. Because really, it was fun to watch them blow each other up. I had back on Jabi'im when... I first met Aniya.

I don't think I can answer him verbally, so I take a moment to try calming myself. (I'm never going to have that again.) "Yes."

I ignite my lightsaber, and Echo and Fives disappear around the corners at either end of the hall as I plunge my blade through the door.

Another lifetime, either a blue or green would already be meeting mine.

I kick the door down with my prosthetic and step through the smoke, lightsaber down.

And no, I'm not afraid. Not at all.

There's a pause of silence, and my gaze goes straight to Hunter – and Crosshair, who's standing behind him, and... Wrecker's a bit to the side, and there are others standing around the room. For a moment, no one moves, but then, I sense everyone's blasters being aimed at me. "How predictable." Crosshair, of course. Everyone else is quiet. "The Jedi would be the first to the rescue. Where are the others?"

"As if I'd tell you."

He sends the order to someone to find the rest, of course, not believing I came here alone. Not as if I expected him to, anyway. I don't move, not until they start firing. It might've been fatal, even for me, except I jump over it, landing in a roll and standing again, cutting my way towards the front of the room, towards Hunter.

I Force-shove Crosshair away from him long enough to give me time to free him. "Get your weapons and go," I order, turning around to deflect a few blaster shots. "Don't worry, it's all part of the plan."

I could do without Wrecker shooting at me fifteen times per second though. He's frustratingly hard to avoid, and it's nearly impossible to deflect his shots with how fast they come.

We start working our way through them towards the doorway. I cover for Hunter before I take off down the hall myself. I have a promise to keep, and I have to do it fast. Something is going to go very wrong. I can't shake that feeling; it's only growing.

I lose track of the rest in the chaos. Well, I think Hunter and Crosshair are beating each other up in the background for no legitimate reason except, well, boys, but Wrecker is chasing me. It takes a ridiculous amount of time to stun him, and in the end, it's Tech who came to find me.

"I didn't mean to take so long," I grumble, dragging the way-too-huge clone into the medbay with the Force, "He just held me up a bit."

"Just get him inside. Everything is ready," Tech replies, reentering the medbay area.

"They sent someone out here to find us," Omega says.

"I know," I reply, "I knew you could handle them. There's not many left out there, but I'll go back to help out." Really, Hunter ought to be here for this if he could be. He's the one who deserves to see if his brothers are alive and alright. I... only hope this is something they'll all be able to recover from even if they do survive.

Crosshair and Hunter are still fighting when I find them in the halls again, and I instantly attack the other troops still in pursuit. It gives Fives and Echo the moment they need, a stun bolt strikes Crosshair.

"Come on," I urge, "We're already taking care of Wrecker."

Hunter nods, relief obvious. He picks up Crosshair, and we run back for the medbay – hopefully no one will track us too here until this is over.

Omega runs to Hunter, throwing her arms around him the moment he steps into the room. "Are you okay?" asks Omega.

"Yes," Hunter assures, "I'm sorry, Omega. I know I promised you'd never have to come back here."

"It doesn't matter. We had to come for you. All of you," she replies, firmly.

"Are you certain this is... safe?" Hunter asks, eyeing where AZI is doing surgery on Wrecker's brain.

"It worked on me," Fives offers.

"It's as safe as it can be, given the circumstances," I reply. And truthfully, I think both of them would much rather have complications resulting from this surgery than continue living how they are. "And if you were close, I know they would prefer the risks over being forced to continue hurting you." No one argues that logic.

Omega moves to sit next to Wrecker, and we all wait in silence. The Empire knows we're still here, so we can only hope they don't think of looking anywhere near this medbay. I don't hear anything nearby, though, so that's a good sign.

"All vital signs are stable," Tech reports, once the surgery is finished, and they carefully transfer Wrecker off the operating table, to begin on Crosshair.

I can feel their tension when Wrecker finally stirs, reaching up to touch the side of his head as he sits up, blinking in surprise and confusion at his surroundings. I know he should be in his right mind now, but that doesn't mean I'm not more nervous than anything else. I think it's just his size, but I also can't stop remembering how he nearly killed us on Ryloth. I know it wasn't his fault, but sometimes, it's hard for me to accept that. Anything that reminds me of Krell in some form or other is... difficult.

Omega is the first to step forwards. The others are two seconds short of drawing their weapons – not that I can blame them. "Wrecker?"

"What..." He looks around again, probably still thoroughly mind blown.

"We removed your chip," Echo says.

"I tried to control it," he blurts, rubbing his head again, "I tried as hard as I could. I just couldn't make it stop."

"I know. It's okay," Omega promises, reaching up to lightly touch his cheek. Moments like this, I can easily see how she used to be older than them. She still is. She still looks close to tears though, not that I can blame her. She just got reunited with him after... I don't even know how long it's been. It hasn't been easy for anyone.

"Welcome back," Hunter offers.

There's a pause of nothing, and the clone's presence swims with guilt. "I almost killed ya," Wrecker says, finally, shoulders slumping. I swallow hard at the memory of the vibroblade at Hunter's neck.

"You couldn't help it," Hunter says finally, hand dropping from his weapon, though I can sense how tense he still is. It's a self-preservation instinct, one I'm well accustomed to myself. I... had a hard time being around anyone for a long time after Krell. Anakin's patience and understanding helped that fade away. "It wasn't your fault."

"Still," he says, "I'm sorry." Omega wraps her arms around his neck – it's insane to see how huge he is compared to her – and Wrecker returns it, though it's more awkward on his part. He's clearly not much used to hugs. That's true about all the clones though.

There's another pause, and I can feel something twisting with danger and warning in the Force. "Tech, is Crosshair done?" I ask, pacing around the room, "We need to get out of here."

"Nearly," Tech replies briskly.

I can sense the steadily growing danger. It's the danger of pre-battle, but I'm no longer accustomed to it. I no longer find it... enjoyable. Not when I'm so alone. And just watching this family slowly piece itself back together makes it harder, because I know nothing I do will make mine come back together. Can it? I don't know.

Briefly, I think of how accepting the 501st was of having Ahsoka back. Of how happy our masters were to see us again. And maybe – maybe it is easier than I think it will be. I don't know. I'm not used to this... depression. I've never had to handle it alone.

The others are crowding around Crosshair now, who's out of the surgery but still unconscious. Tech suddenly looks up from his datapad. "Three Venators are descending on the city," he reports.

Everyone turns to look at him, and the tension in the room skyrockets even farther. Omega steps back from Wrecker, looking up at Hunter.

"Time to go," I say, alarm flaring through me. I knew this was going to get bad fast, and if we don't get to the Marauder fast... we don't have a chance to holding off ships that size alone.

"Wrecker, grab Crosshair," Hunter orders. That seems to shake him from whatever haze was still covering his mind. I imagine it'll take a while for him to become accustomed to not being controlled.

We take off down the halls the moment we can, heading back to Nala Se's lab. I think. Maybe. I don't even know. Everything is in absolute chaos, and the next thing I know, everything is shaking and... falling. We're falling. The halls go from light to dark in a moment.

I hear the very disturbing sound of water sloshing violently outside the facility, and my heart skips a beat. I know what's happening. They're – bombing the city, aren't they? And that means –

The floor is rapidly becoming more of a wall now, and the next thing I know, all of us are more sliding than anything else. It's too dark to see properly, but I desperately look around, trying to make sure everyone is here with me. I think so, but it's hard to tell, and I have no idea what to do or how to stop this, when the structure is shaking so violently.

The ceiling above us suddenly explodes with a flash of light, the force of the explosion promptly ripping through the floor right where we were moments before. It's enough to throw us all to the ground, and all we can do is get back up and keep moving. We have to hurry. Actually, at this point, merely surviving would be impressive. Hopefully, the Marauder isn't history, else we'll all be stuck here for the indefinite future – why am I even thinking about that?

I have no idea where we are now, but the doors to what was once a room are suddenly closing behind us – except before everyone gets through. The angle of the floor is shifting again, so it's mostly a floor now, but Omega and Crosshair aren't with us.

"Hunter? Do you copy?" Omega's voice crackles through our comm.

"What is it?" I demand, instantly.

"Yeah, kid. Are you okay?" Hunter asks, as the rest of unsteadily clamor to our feet. The room seems slightly more stable now, but I'm not going to risk it. I did come prepared for ending up in water, at least, which is good – but my prosthetic could easily be damaged in water.

"Not really," she calls back, desperately, "The room is flooding, and Crosshair's stuck."

I'm not even surprised when Wrecker's the first to fly into motion, running for the door.

"We need to get that open," Hunter says.

"All compromised compartments are sealed to contain the flooding," Tech objects. Well, that's a relief – to a point. At least it should slow down the water getting in here until we can find a way out. Hopefully. "I cannot override the protocols from here."

I cast a sideways glance at them, then pull the helmet from the backpack I was wearing, pulling it over my head. It's the same kind of thing the Jedi typically use, much like what I know Anakin and Ahsoka were wearing on Mon Cala, just shaped different to fit over my lekku.

The others are struggling with the door, desperately trying to force it open. I did come prepared, and considering how water is trickling through the crack they have open now, I'm going to need it. And I do not have a good feeling about this. We're stuck in the middle of an ocean here.

"I can help!" I call to them, reaching out with the Force, yanking the doors further apart. A wave of water washes into the room, throwing everyone off-balance, but Omega, AZI, and Crosshair come along with it. I instantly release my hold, letting the door slam shut. That was close.

"What did you do?" demands Crosshair, scanning the room.

"The Empire opened fire on the city," Hunter replies.

"They took our chips out. We hafta to get out of here," Wrecker offers, whacking his arm for no apparent reason. Maybe it's his form of nudging. I have no idea.

"We need to get topside before this entire structure submerges," Tech interjects.

"Then let's go," Fives urges.

We take off running through the halls again, random parts of the ceiling sparking as we go. Even if we're somewhat settled, the building is still collapsing. Omega pauses at the window overlooking what... was once the area that the clones were held before being... born, or whatever the term is for clones. The entire area there is being destroyed. For them, I can't imagine what it would be like to watch. I wouldn't take well to seeing Ryloth be destroyed, either. (It was bad enough when I had to see the Jedi Temple burning on the horizon, knowing there was nothing I could do to stop it.)

"We have to keep moving," I tell her gently, nudging her back into motion.

The floor starts slanting violently again, and it feels like we're falling, probably down through the water. "Hold onto something!" Hunter yells, and we all scramble for the nearest thing we can catch onto.

I don't know how long it is that we're falling, but finally,the structure goes almost eerily still. I can feel the sudden... life around in the Force, and I know it means we're probably at the bottom of the ocean, surrounded by whatever creatures live way down here.

Tech is the first to his feet, looking around. "There is no way to accurately calculate the damage. Most of the facility may be –"

There's a loud screech, and everything jolts. A hole is ripped straight through the ceiling, a very disturbing stream of water gushing in.

"Unsafe," I finish for him, "We have to find a way out. Fast." I'm used to thinking in tight situations, but this is still pushing it. All of us could die here, and no one would even know what happened. Ahsoka would never – No, I need to focus.

We take off again, this time making our way to what apparently was their old barracks. I can't imagine what it must be like for them to see it again. It hurts for me to see, but maybe it's just that every time I see... family, it makes me long for my own.

"You're working with regs now?" Crosshair asks Hunter the moment everything is – albeit temporarily – safe.

"Clearly, you've never met the 501st before," Fives throws back.

"I'm Alema Syndulla," I interject, "Those are Echo and Fives. We're all short on a place to stay right now." He recognizes me from Ryloth; I can feel it in the weight of his gaze. I don't let myself think about it though, instead crossing the room to see if I can find us a way out. Besides, if... they want to talk, they should have privacy to do so.

"There's an underwater tunnel over there," I observe, stopping next to Omega who just spotted the same thing.

"We could use that to get back to the Marauder," she agrees, hopefully.

"Is it secure?" Crosshair objects.

"Better than staying here," Echo says.

AZI announces that it can use an airtight seal to cut into the pipe right below us, which 'might' be safe enough for us to get through. I don't like the odds of it either, but I don't see what else we can even do.

No one's excited about it, but we all file into the tunnel. I don't miss the way the others keep glancing at each other, as though to make sure they're all still there. Not that that's a surprise. The tunnel sure doesn't look safe, but I know that – since I'm here – I can hold back the water for a short time in case it breaks.

"We have to hurry," I tell the others, "There are creatures out there, and they might attack us. Or we could be hit by a piece of still settling debris."

"That does a lot to ease the tension," Fives replies dryly.

"Hey, I'm here. I can shield us for a short time if I have to." The others have flashlights out, except me – I'm using my lightsaber to light the way for me. But still, being so far under the ocean floor – it's a miracle the windows and walls haven't given way from the pressure yet. Maybe the gravity and pressure here are different than some places.

I hear a distant roar outside, and my gaze jumps to where, sure enough, a giant creature has caught sight of us for its meal. Uh oh.

"AZI, these tunnels are protected, right?" Omega asks nervously.

"Only when the power is operational, which it is not."

That's what really eases the tension, Fives. I could almost say that, except I never knew him well enough to throw offhand jokes back and forth. Ahsoka did. Anakin did. Aniya would, anyway. And for a fleeting moment, I can almost – almost – imagine she's here, right with me, in the midst of the darkness of the ocean floor on Kamino. For a moment, I can remember the steady weight of her hand on my shoulder, or her hands holding mine – I can remember, back when they were both flesh and blood. I remember it clearly enough to have been real.

But that moment is fleeting, gone in a second, tearing at the hole in my heart that my family once had, the family I thought could never be taken apart. I thought my family was no longer with the Order. But what if I was wrong? They promised to come and find me when the war is over. When all was said and done – but... that isn't what happened.

"If your own matter that little to you, this isn't the place for me."

"Why are you doing this?"

"I can't pretend it was nothing, even if you can. I don't know how you can."

"I can't find my family with the Order anymore. It's... not my home."

"I know who my home is. I just don't know where."

"How you manage to be so cheerful, even now, is beyond me, little Icicle."

"We'll see each other again. Someday."

Breaking down right here, right now, would be a very bad idea, but I... I don't know. I've been under so much recently.

I try to shake that off, letting myself fall to the back. It's ideal for me to bring up the rear in these situations. I used to do that all the time... before. And I need to stop thinking about before. Wishing, remembering... nothing can bring it back.

"Isn't there some... Jedi thing you can do to stop it?" Echo asks me as the creature starts approaching.

I eye it warily. "Since... I left, I haven't had a good time connecting with anyone."

"Go!" Hunter yells as the creature moves towards us. We don't need to be told twice, instantly taking off running down the hall.

Except we don't get far, before its jaws clamp over the passageway. The entire thing shakes, cracks rapidly spreading across it.

Oh no.

We need to hurry. Not that we aren't.

We keep running as fast as we can, and AZI takes off down the tunnel, calling that it'll try to restore the power. The creature pulls back, only to bite down on the tunnel a little further along. The cracks are spreading faster than my heart is pounding – if that's even possible – as we run for the end of the tunnel. We barely make it through the opening at the end before I could swear that I hear the faintest sound of a trickle of water somewhere a distance behind us. It could have been my imagination too; I honestly don't want to know.

At least we're back in Nala Se's private lab, and I dare to take a moment to catch my breath.

"What is this place?" Hunter asks.

Now that we're momentarily not running, Crosshair seems to be feeling almost uncomfortable again – I can feel it in the Force. That's true for him and Wrecker, but Wrecker seems to have a far easier time simply fitting back in. Likely, because he wasn't gone as long. And because he seems so... goofy and chaotic.

"Nala Se's private laboratory. Omega says this is where our mutations were manipulated and enhanced."

"We were made here?" Wrecker asks dubiously, looking around.

"How would she know?" Crosshair objects.

"Because she was there," Tech replies, "Omega was created before us. Technically, she is older than we are."

Crosshair turns to look at her, an odd look on his face as though he's seeing someone for the first time. Not that that's a surprise. Then again, Wrecker is staring at her, wide-eyed, too.

"That's why I wanted to find you again. I was alone until you were created," Omega interjects, quietly. I viciously force away the dark, bitter part of my mind that whispers she's fortunate she had people to go back to. I do, too. I just need to try hard enough.

"We would have come for you sooner, if we knew what to do," Hunter says, looking to Crosshair and Wrecker.

I'm trying not to listen to them – even if I overhear it anyway – focusing instead on finding us a way out of here, because our only path to the Marauder is cut off. Fives and Echo already seem to have some ideas about that.

"I know," Wrecker assures.

There's a moment when I think Crosshair will say something. He... doesn't. Instead, he just looks away. There's a... not quite tension, but it's too close to that for my liking, that stays lingering in the room.

The conversation moves on after that, and we quickly realize the only way we'll be able to get to the surface now is by using the watertight chambers in here to float to the surface. I have no idea what they used to be used for, and I don't really want to know, either.

Except... there's not enough room for everyone.

"I can swim," I offer, even if I know that will be dangerous. Swimming all the way up from the bottom of an ocean raises serious pressure-changing complications, not to mention how easily I could get eaten. Not that that's not true for the others, too, so hopefully, AZI will be able to steer us properly.

"We won't have directional control. How will we avoid the debris field out there?" Hunter asks.

"The droid," Crosshair suggests – it's really the first time he's spoken. I don't like the sense of... self-doubt I feel from him. (Maybe it's just that it reminds me too much of... me.) "He can do it."

Hunter turns to AZI. "Can you guide us to the surface?"

"Barring any extraneous complications, I should be able to complete the task," he replies.

"Won't that be dangerous?" Omega inquires worriedly, moving closer.

"Your safety and well-being is my primary mission objective."

"I can help, too," I offer, "A little."

And from there, we get to work. It takes time to get everything in place, and I can't deny being nervous – because if this doesn't work, it'll be the end of any hopes of getting out of here, even if we don't stop trying – as Omega and I set the explosives in place. This... is where she grew up, and I can't imagine how it would feel to blow that up. Or to see the entire thing destroyed, but what matters most to all of us is that we survive. Considering everything that happened, that's truly the most we can ask for under the circumstances.

Wrecker is very noisy about his complaints, but he's luckier than most, really. Echo and Fives are together, as are Hunter and Crosshair. Tech and Omega are a bit luckier, thanks to her much smaller size. AZI and I wait outside until Omega lets off the explosives, and water instantly floods the lab. Time to get moving.

It's a bit overwhelming, and unnerving, to be underwater, but I came prepared for this. If I hadn't, we'd definitely have had a problem – there's not room for another person to squeeze in. But the Force warned me of that, and... maybe I can still do some good.

Final Notes: Reviews are always appreciated! ^-^

Come hang out on Discord (delete spaces), discord . gg / nqSxuz2 or find us on tumblr at fanfictasia (our more serious blog which does have controversial posts on it; I won't be offended if you choose to block it, promise), and disastertriowriting (which is our fun blog with crack posts or incorrect SW quotes)

We've got a YT channel for tributes! (delete the spaces) youtube channel / UC_g1M5rSCxJUzQCRS29B6pA

ALSO: We have SW gift request forms for General, Anakin-Clones-centric, and Bad Batch fics. :D (delete spaces) bit . ly / CourtesyTrefflinFicRequests