Back to the Batch Household
Two hours had passed since Cham, Bossk, Crosshair, and Astro had departed to rescue the teenagers from the Empire. The outside was now pitch-black, though still warm inside for a Spring night. Numa sat with Verd'ika, her pet Loth Cat, in the Batch's household Living Room. The lamps provided some light, though there were creeping shadows popping up. The sound of Verd'ika purring as Numa petted him filled the room, and the scent of the fur and the carpet wafted up. Numa had placed a pillow underneath her as she sat on the floor, providing a softer seat as the rug was rough. Numa couldn't sleep, like the other kids, but she had walked into the room to leave everyone and stay with Verd'ika. She knew the adults were capable, but this was the Empire, the mightiest military power in galactic history. Numa shook the fear that they would be too late. Numa didn't know what she'd do if Hera got captured.
Numa heard a knock at the door and asked, "Who is it?"
"It's Alexis. Can I come in?" came a voice from the other side.
"Sure," Numa replied, and the next moment, the young Togruta entered with her pet Tamed Canid, Daniel, close behind.
As Alexis sat with Numa, Daniel sat next to her. Verd'ika looked up at the new arrivals, but when Numa said, "It's just Alexis and Daniel, Verd'ika," the Loth Cat rested his head in Numa's lap and allowed the young Twi'lek to pat him.
"They're on their way home. Dad just rang mom and told her," Alexis said.
"Is everyone with them?" Numa asked in Twi'leki. Alexis seemed to understand enough to nod and put a hand on her shoulder.
"It's all OK. You'll be reunited with Hera soon," Alexis replied. Numa nodded, then turned back to Verd'ika.
"Why did they run off? What happened yesterday to trigger that?" Numa asked in Twi'leki. Alexis took a few moments to pick out what Numa was trying to say, fully aware that language barriers can lead to miscommunication, as Jek had discovered earlier this week.
"I'm afraid you'll have to ask someone else. I don't know what happened, except that Omega and Hera blew up at their fathers," Alexis admitted.
"OK," Numa replied. Suddenly, there was a loud noise from outside. Jek and Shaeeah, evidently looking for them, ran into the room, startling both Verd'ika and Daniel.
"They're back," Shaeeah called.
"OK, we heard," Alexis replied as she worked to calm Daniel while Numa shot an annoyed look at the young hybrids while calming Verd'ika. After a moment, Alexis and Numa got up and followed Jek and Shaeeah outside.
It was a warm summer night outside the Batch household. The lamps on the porch provided just enough light to see Slave 1 landing. The repulsorlifts drowned out any other sound, and the scent of burning earth was faint but noticeable as everyone waited at the edge of the porch. Everyone was anticipating the return of the teenagers and the adults who had gone to rescue them. So when the landing ramp descended from Slave 1 to the ground, the kids were onto it before the teenagers exited.
"Hera!" Numa called as she fought past the Fett twins to get to the green-skinned Twi'lek teenager behind them, the relief evident in her voice.
"Oof," Numa heard Hera say as she threw herself into Hera's arms, "Sorry for scaring you, Numa. And sorry for running out on you all. I'll take the blame for this. It was my idea in the first place,"
"At least you told us where you were going," Eleni replied, now standing at the foot of the ship with her arms crossed.
"We got her back," Cham reassured, resting his hand on Eleni's shoulder as Numa and Hera joined them. Numa looked around and saw Omega and Boba conversing with Jek and Shaeaeh while Alejandro and Alexis held each other.
"We'd better get inside," Hera told Numa, who nodded, and Hera led the group inside the house.
It was slightly colder inside the house as everyone returned to the household, where teenagers' moms immediately mobbed them.
"We're OK," each teenager confirmed with their worried parents.
"What do we do now?" Alejandro asked.
"Can you please stay with me tonight?" Alexis begged.
"Same with us," Jek and Shaeeah asked Omega and Boba.
"Hera?" Numa asked Hera.
"Who's staying with who?" Boba asked, thrown by Jek and Shaeeah, wanting to stay with him and Omega.
"I want to stay with you, Boba. You seem cool," Jek replied, making Boba awkwardly smile as he looked at his sister.
"I've told them about you, obviously," Omega returned the smile.
"Well, I guess we've got sleeping arrangements tonight to organise," Suu replied, "There are four groups of you and two rooms. Who's staying with who?"
"More than two," Alejandro replied, "I'm pretty sure my parents will want Alexis and me to stay in the same room as them tonight,"
"I think Jek and Shaeeah will want to keep together, so we sorted everything out," Omega replied.
"Yay. Then we can stay together in the kids' room tonight," Numa hugged Hera.
Returning the hug, Hera replied, "Definitely. Come on, it's past your bedtime," the teenagers led the kids towards their rooms.
Cham, Eleni and Nilim all help Hera and Numa get settled for the night, with Hera confirming she didn't mind Numa's lack of sleepwear, while Suu and Latts worked to relax the Lawquane siblings and Fett twins and Aurora and Astro helped get Alejandro and Alexis to sleep. Once the kids rested peacefully, Aurora, Nilim, Eleni, Suu and Latts headed to the Kitchen to talk.
Suu is the last of everyone to enter the Kitchen. It was a warm Summer night, and the lamps lit the Kitchen. The sounds of Nilim, Aurora and Eleni talking as they played a card game filled the room, and Suu could detect the scent of food, drink and the table wood. Suu noticed that Latts was sitting at the end of the table, patting her Boas as she sat near her.
The last few days and the clash with the Empire had confirmed something to Latts that Embo and C-21 Highsinger had expressed concern about. Latts looked up to Suu as she took a seat next to her. The boas briefly looked up at her, and then Latts patted the boas to calm down.
"Why are you here?" Latts asked, puzzled at Suu's sudden arrival.
"Just wondering why you're not joining the others in the card game," Suu wondered.
Latts grimaced, "The Empire. The attack today is the third time the Empire has attacked us. Embo and C-21 Highsinger think the Empire is after both Fett twins,"
"What? Why?" Suu asked.
"No idea," Latts replied, "That's what Highsinger's looking into,"
"Omega said that someone called Dr Hemlock is after her and her Kaminoan brother, Khan So. It sounds like Dr Hemlock is after Boba, too," Suu replied.
"That's not good," Latts replied, "What does Dr Hemlock want with them?"
"Boba is the unaltered Clone of Jango. Omega is the proof of concept for mutant and female Clones. That's what Omega suspects," Suu replied.
"Omega has a Kaminoan brother? When did this happen?" Latts asked, shocked.
"Khan So is Nala Se's Nephew, so they knew each other from when they were young. Some things happened involving them, but Omega has suppressed the memories, and I haven't met Khan," Suu sighed, "They're just kids, but they don't get to be. Not in this galaxy,"
"That's the case for all of our kids, it seems. The Clone Wars have caused significant trauma for everyone," Aurora replied, "Everyone has been through so much. Especially Jek, Shaeeah, Numa and Alexis. I hope they can lean on each other for support,"
"There's something else I thought of," Suu replied as she turned to Latts, "You know, having seen Boba interact with Omega, Hera and Alejandro, and seeing you interact with Boba, I've come to the conclusion that you seem to be a mother figure to Boba and that your syndicate should consider trying to settle down or something, like Clone Force 99 have," Suu suggested.
The atmosphere changed noticeably. Latts felt annoyed by this insinuation. Her boas looked up at Suu as the tension rose in the room.
"That's impossible with us," Latts replied flatly, "And he leads the syndicate. And I don't think he considers us parents. Especially not compared to Jango,"
"Well, who's someone he looks up to?" Suu asked.
"Bossk," Latts replied. She knew what Suu was trying to do. Suu wanted to show Latts that she and Bossk were acting like parents to Boba. It was something she didn't consider, and she didn't want to consider.
"Omega mentioned that Boba experiences nightmares as often as she does. Who comforts him after a nightmare?" Suu asked.
"Me, usually," Latts replied coolly. Suu nodded, then continued, "Who patches him up when he gets hurt?"
"Highsinger," Latts replied.
"What about things like education? Personal routines, things like that?" Suu asked.
"He's pretty self-sufficient in that regard," Latts replied, now glaring at Suu, "I know what you're implying. Yes, Boba is 14. But Jango taught him many things about surviving in this galaxy. And maybe I could consider the four of us guardians. But Bossk and I aren't his parents. Like all Clones, he has no mother, and his father is dead,"
Suu sighed in frustration, "Latts, it's not about biological parentage. Regarding Omega, I'm not her biological mother, as she's not part-Twi'lek, yet she considers me a mother figure. The Batch and Cut are biologically her brothers, yet they see her as a daughter. We're parental figures. And I think you and Bossk are in a similar position as parental figures of Boba,"
"Do you two want to join our card game?" Nilim asked suddenly, snapping the tension in the room immediately as Latts and Suu turned to face them.
"Sure," Suu replied.
"I guess," Latts shrugged as the Boas retreated.
"Something to think about," Suu said to Latts, who shrugged. She didn't expect to have time to think about it as they moved up the table to join the card game.
An alarm awoke Omega from her slumber. Since the alert was connected to her datapad, nobody else would hear it. Omega pulled off her Eye Mask and groped over to the side of her bed to silence her datapad. Omega pulled off her noise-cancelling headphones, careful not to wake Shaeeah, who was snuggled against her. Today was the day everyone gave presents. It was another warm morning, and a dim lamp lit the room. Due to blackout curtains and heavy soundproofing, minimal sunlight filtered into the room. She looked down and saw Shaeaeh snuggled against her. Although Shaeeah was asleep, Omega sensed that she was about to awaken. Omega looked over to the other bed and saw that Jek and Boba were awake. Shaeeah awoke a minute later.
"Good morning, sleepyhead," Jek teased.
"Good morning," Shaeeah replied, "I hope everyone slept OK after last night,"
Boba and Jek nodded in agreement, while Shaeeah said, "I slept OK. How about you?"
"Pretty good. Having the headphones and sleep mask help," Omega replied.
"You know what today is?" Jek excitedly asked.
"Present day," Omega replied, smiling gently.
"There are many more people to get presents for this year versus last. I hope everyone contributed," Shaeeah replied.
"I hope so," Omega replied as Shaeeah climbed out of bed and headed for the refresher. A moment later, Shaeeah was replaced by Jek, who snuggled himself against Omega.
"I hope I get a translator so I can understand what Numa is saying," Jek said. Wrapping her arms around her adopted younger brother, Omega reassured, "I'm sure someone's got something to help. Probably Tech, honestly,"
"I hope so," Boba replied, leaning gently on the rail and smiling at them. After about ten minutes, Shaeeah returned, and Jek replaced her in the refresher. This repeated for Omega and Boba before everyone was ready for the day.
The Living Room was well decorated when the quartet entered the Living Room. It was marginally colder than upstairs, and the light in the ceiling lit the room. The scent of the Christmas tree and the paper the presents were wrapped in mingled with all the beings crowded into the room. The room was buzzing with conversation, but it died down as the quartet entered. Omega didn't mind the number of people here. Omega had one person she wanted to talk to, and she made a beeline for Crosshair, who was sitting on the couch, talking with Cid.
"What brings you here, Tiny?" Cid turned to face Omega.
"Hey, Aunty Cid," Omega replied before she turned to Crosshair, "Have you got a present?"
Crosshair sighed and nodded, "I should've told you I had presents for Hunter and Boba the whole time,"
"You would've caused less trouble if you had told her that, Toothpick," Cid reminded Crosshair, causing him to roll his eyes.
"It would've helped," Omega admitted, "But there is something you owe me after everything,"
Crosshair faced Omega, his eyebrows raised momentarily.
"Both of you need to apologise to the other," Cid stated authoritatively, "Both of you did things you shouldn't have, and you all paid the price,"
Crosshair went first, "Omega, I'm sorry for some of my behaviour this festival. I shouldn't have let my personal issues and feelings regarding Cham affect my enjoyment of the festival,"
Omega nodded, "Apology accepted," before continuing, "I'm sorry I blew up on you like I did. I also apologise for running out on you all. I recognise how reckless that was, and I shouldn't have done it,"
Crosshair smiled, "Apology accepted. You're definitely a Bad Batcher. The rest of us would've done the same thing in similar circumstances,"
"I'm also sorry for how I acted around you," came a voice from nearby. Crosshair, Cid and Omega turned and saw Cham Syndulla standing nearby.
"Hera told me about the Inhibitor Chips and that you had yours removed some time ago. If I had known that you didn't have the Inhibitor Chip in your head, I wouldn't have been hostile towards you. A bit resentful due to your past association with the Empire, but I would've put that aside for Hera,"
Crosshair looked at Cham momentarily, then said, "Apology accepted. I also apologise for my behaviour towards you. I probably would've felt similarly, owing to the past, but as you would've for Hera, I would've put any resentment aside for Omega,"
Cham nodded, then disappeared into the crowds.
Omega turned to look at the large number of presents overflowing around the Christmas tree.
"Someone's eager to start," came a voice from nearby. Omega turned and saw Hunter and Suu standing next to her. The kids, Jek, Shaeeah, Numa and Alexis, were sitting in a semi-circle around the tree, while Alejandro, Boba and Hera were just behind Hunter and Suu.
As the presents started to be handed out, Boba sat near his sister, with Hera and Alejandro sitting opposite them. The room had noticeably warmed since he had first entered the living room. The only noises came from Suu and Hunter handing presents out and the sound of tearing wrapping paper.
"You've got something to apologise to your twin sister about," Suu gently said. Boba looked at her, confused, "What is it?"
"I think Omega would've appreciated you being there for her after her blowup at Crosshair," Alejandro replied.
Boba turned to face Omega, surprised. Then again, he thought, even while they were at the festival, Omega did seem a little cold and standoffish with him. Taking a present from Suu, which was given to him by Crosshair, he said, "I can explain. But I'm sorry I wasn't there for you like an older brother should've been for his little sister after something like that. While I did think you were a little out of line for yelling so loudly, I understand why you were so upset and angry,"
"Why weren't you there for her, Boba?" Alejandro asked.
"Bossk and Cid. These two argue like an old married couple," Boba started.
"I'm right here, you know," Cid interrupted.
You two sounded like an old married couple arguing, Cid. Don't deny it," Suu replied.
"I'm just teasing. I know that's what we sounded like. But there's nothing between us like that," Cid replied. Suu nodded, then turned to Boba.
"I didn't want to cause further issues, so I pulled Bossk back to the ship for the night. I probably could've kept Latts on him while I eventually went back inside to check on you, Arla. And I'm sorry I didn't do that. Can you forgive me?" Boba finished.
"I forgive you, Boba," Omega replied.
"So this will sound like a tangent, but why do you call Omega Arla?" Alejandro asked Boba.
Boba thought about it momentarily, "Do you know what the Kaminoans did to Omega?"
"The medical abuse she endured? Yes. Omega has talked about it to me regularly," Alejandro replied as he placed a hand on Omega's shoulder.
"Well, Nala Se gave Arla the name Omega. Just like she gave me my dead name, Alpha. I don't want to give the Kaminoans any credibility, so I don't use Omega. Instead, I use Arla because that's the name my father would've given her if he adopted her into our family. Finally, identity reasons. If I call her Omega, then I feel like I'm removing her personal identity and tying her to Nala Se. By calling her Arla, I feel like I'm giving her an identity that she can forge herself,"
"Aw, thanks, Boba," Omega smiled. Omega didn't know the identity part of why Boba called her Arla, but hearing Boba explain that reason made her appreciate her twin brother more.
"Oh, that makes sense," Alejandro replied, realisation evident in his voice and face as he opened another present.
"You're OK with us calling Omega, Omega, though? That's how we were introduced to her," Hera asked.
"Sure, you can," Boba replied, "If that's how she introduced herself, then that's how you know her. I'm OK with it. I'll stick to Arla for the reasons I have said before,"
"Good," Alejandro replied. Boba finally turned to his presents and realised he had four.
"Huh? Crosshair got me a present, and so did Arla, and the third is Latts and Bossk, but who gave me the other one?" Boba wondered.
"We got you one too. I don't think you have had many presents in the last few years, do you," Suu replied.
"No, I haven't. Thanks," Boba replied, making Suu smile. He opened it and saw the present contained a drawing of him and Omega sitting on the porch of the Lawquane household. The caption read, "Boba and Arla in a happier time,"
Boba couldn't help but smile at Suu, "Thanks. This is amazing. I didn't know you could draw,"
"It was an idea I had for some time," Suu replied, "But until I knew what you looked like, I couldn't complete it. Take good care of it, alright?"
"I will," Boba replied, gratitude welling up inside him.
Meanwhile, with the kids
Jek noticed the massive pile of presents and was briefly surprised before he remembered how many people there were. As he got his first present, he tore it open to reveal the latest chapter of the adventures of the Water Demon of Dantooine.
"Hell yeah! Thanks, Dad," Jek excitedly replied as he set it aside for another present. Jek noticed that it was boxy in shape and relatively heavy. He checked the card and saw it was from Tech. Jek looked at Shaeeah, Alexis and Numa and saw they had the same boxy present.
"Please be careful when opening it," Tech called from nearby as he discussed the gift card Suu had given him.
"OK," Jek nodded as he carefully placed the present on the ground and unwrapped the paper. It was a small black box with a speaker in the lower half. Jek tipped it carefully and saw that on one face, it had a bunch of languages other than Galactic Basic listed.
"It's a translator!" Alexis exclaimed in surprise when she realised what it was, "That means we can now understand what Numa is saying,"
A jolt of excitement ran through Jek upon hearing this. A translator was something Jek had hoped would be a present for him and the others. Now, Numa could be a part of their friendship group.
"Thank you, Tech," came the translator in Numa's hands.
"No problem," Tech called back, which came through in Twi'leki for Numa. Jek looked over and saw that Numa's other gifts included a pink bracelet from Hera, a drawing book, coloured pencils from Nilim, and what looked like a nightgown from someone.
"Hey Numa, what's with the pyjamas?" Jek enquired.
"They're from our parents on my behalf," Omega replied, "That nightgown is made of the same materials as my pyjamas. We compromised on what nightwear Numa would have since she'll have to get used to wearing something after going so long without wearing anything while sleeping,"
Jek saw Numa flush slightly, and as she said something in response in Twi'leki, her translator said, "Thank you, Omega. Though how did you know about my lack of sleepwear?"
"Mom informed me after Jek told her. I've had the same issues of being tormented by frequent nightmares like you, Numa. So I needed some pyjamas that didn't need to be constantly washed after nightmares. Mom found some for me, so I knew where to get something for you. I hope it's in the correct size, as I used Alexis as a guide," Omega explained. When the translator had finished translating for Numa, she smiled, then ran up and hugged her.
"Thank you so much," Numa replied as Omega returned the embrace.
"No problem. Now, please try it on," Omega replied. Numa let go, grabbed the nightgown, told Boil and Nilim where she was going, and vanished.
"Where's Numa going?" Cut asked.
"Changing into her new nightgown," Nilim replied, "If this is long enough, I'll be so glad. It needs to be really long now so Numa has time to grow into it and not grow out of it before the next chance we get to get a bigger one,"
Ten minutes later, Numa entered the Living Room wearing the nightgown. It was blue and pink, with a large flower in the middle. The nightgown was more than long enough, reaching down to just above her ankles.
"Perfect. Despite how fast you're growing, that'll last you a year at least," Nilim said.
"She looks so cute in that nightgown," Hera said.
"Agreed," Jek replied, his cheeks flushing slightly. Numa hid her face in embarrassment at the overwhelming positive comments regarding her nightgown, only about to say quietly "Thank you" before she left the living room to change back into her regular clothes.
While Numa was changing back, Tech wrapped their translators in a plastic film.
"Just in case any of you drop it," Tech said.
"Thanks, Uncle Tech," Shaeeah replied.
"No problem," Tech replied before he departed. When Numa returned, Jek said, "So, question. What was the hyperactive fangirling towards Omega about?"
When Numa's translator was done, Numa replied in Twi'leki, and her translator replied, "I'd heard tons about Omega from Howzer and Hera, who both talked fondly about her. I couldn't wait to meet her, so when I got the chance to, I couldn't contain myself. I was so excited. I'm sorry if I scared any of you off,"
Jek grimaced, "Seeing you acting like that was a bit off-putting at first. But having gotten to know you better, I understand why you acted like that. Apology accepted,"
"Thank you," Numa replied. Once all the presents were handed out, most of the crowd dispersed to play with their new toys. The kids moved their translators to their room, the quartet silently coming to a mutual understanding that there was much to discuss tonight. It was finally time for them to start working together to begin healing from their various traumas.
Meanwhile with Echo
Echo wasn't sure what he was expecting for Christmas. When Tech gave Echo a large shape covered in wrapping paper.
"What the?" Echo asked, surprised. He started tearing the paper off and gasped. It was an artificial arm, complete with a new hand.
"Tech, is this your gift to me?" Echo asked, astonished.
"It is," Tech replied, "I hope you like it. Do you need any help getting it on?"
"Sure. Does it have a Scomp Link like this hand?" Echo wondered.
"It does," Tech replied, "It's inside your hand. Now you can do both,"
"Thanks," Echo smiled. Tech and Echo retreated into another room to replace the old arm with a new one.
"This is amazing," Echo said as he flexed and moved his new arm.
"I thought you deserved it after everything you've endured," Tech replied. Echo smiled, "Thanks,"
"No problem," Tech replied before the duo returned to the Living Room.