Dr Hemlock had gained custody of Crosshair five months ago and had captured Omega three months ago. Omega was astonished when she realised this. How could so much time have passed so quickly? The duo are currently in Nala Se's lab, Omega having just gotten out of a Bacta Pod after the latest round of experimentation. It was warm for an Autumn day on Mt. Tantiss, and the lights in the ceiling of the laboratory were almost blinding. The scents of metal and bacta waft through the laboratory as Crosshair sits on the gurney with Omega. Everyone can see that the gurneys are all the same size, though only Crosshair notices the infrared trails on the floor. Nala Se had convinced Dr Hemlock to allow Crosshair to spend time in the Bacta Pod to let him heal after experimentation. The upshot was that Crosshair's condition had stabilised, which relieved Omega and Nala Se.
"I heard about what happened to Tech," Nala Se suddenly said as she turned to face them.
"Why do you care? I thought you only cared about her," Crosshair replied, pointing to Omega.
"There's someone else she cares about. She does have family, after all," Omega replied, rubbing her head.
"Yes. And I want to keep that family member out of Dr Hemlock's hands," Nala Se replied.
"Does he have anything to do with Omega?" Crosshair asked.
"There's a long and dark history between them. I don't want to discuss it here," Nala Se replied coolly.
"Back on topic, you said that you heard about Tech. And I thought you only cared about your family members and Omega," Crosshair stated.
Nala Se sighed, "I'm sorry about his demise. And I want to do something to help you two with the grieving process," Nala Se replied.
"How?" Crosshair asked.
"What is your favourite memory of Tech?" Nala Se sat on another gurney opposite Omega and Crosshair.
"He taught me how to fly," Omega started.
"Tech taught you how to fly?" Crosshair raised his eyebrows.
"He did," Omega replied, "He even showed me how to do the Tech turn," she briefly chuckled as she wiped a tear from her eyes.
"Have you crashed the ship like he does?" Crosshair smirked.
"I didn't crash the Havoc Marauder," Omega pouted, "The landings have been rough, and I did bump a few things, but I haven't crashed the ship like he has,"
Crosshair snortes but doesn't say anything until Nala Se asks, "What about you, Crosshair?"
"He was the one who stayed with me when I rested after our experimentation. Hunter couldn't do anything because he was overloaded, and something had happened to him, though we could never figure out what it was," Crosshair replied.
Both Nala Se and Omega grimaced.
"Well, at least you all found comfort in each other," Nala Se said, a guilty grimace crossing her features.
"I was experimented on too. And much worse than what I've endured here," Omega admitted.
Nala Se grimaced again, "I know,"
"Because, of course, you were," Crosshair snarled and turned to Nala Se, noticing the grimace, "By her,"
"I'm not proud of it," Nala Se admitted, "Though it wasn't just me. And trust me, my evil sister did far worse than I ever could've dreamed. I almost slit her throat. I was so mad at what she had done and planned to do,"
"I get the feeling Emerie wants to do something similar once Omega's older," Crosshair sneered before he turned to Omega, "The way she talks to you is creepy,"
"Glad I'm not the only one who thinks that," Omega replied.
"Emerie does have a concerning interest in you," Nala Se replied, "That's why I told you to stay guarded around her and not trust her,"
Omega nodded but noticed the glare on Crosshair's face directed at Nala Se.
"What about you?" Omega asked, seeking to diffuse the tension between Nala Se and Crosshair.
"I remember when he came bounding into my laboratory at about fourteen, developmentally, and he was excited. When I asked Tech what's up, he said he could recall every element on the periodic table. I didn't believe him, so I asked him to demonstrate that he could. And he did. Quite the proud moment, honestly," Nala Se replied.
"That sounds like Tech," Omega replied, surprised that Nala Se recalled this moment.
"Heh, he had been working on that non-stop for years. He was so happy when he finally recalled every element without looking at the periodic table," Crosshair said.
"Thanks, Nala Se. That has helped with the grief," Omega replied.
"No problem. I'm afraid, however, that with only Tech down, Dr Hemlock can still get everything he wants from all of you," Nala Se sighed.
"He can?" Omega asked.
"He needs more people to do it, Boba, for instance, to screen your baseline, Omega, but he won't stop until he has everyone here," Nala Se replied.
"So until the Empire discovers where Boba is hiding, the Dark Trooper Program is still not progressing," Crosshair sneered.
"I hope so. The problem is, the longer you two are here, the more likely it is that Dr Hemlock will capture Hunter, Wrecker, and Boba," Nala Se replied.
"We'll be OK," Crosshair replied.
"I hope so," Nala Se replied.
That moment between the three of them helped Omega and Crosshair continue processing their grief over the death of Tech. Discussing their favourite Tech moment allowed Omega and Crosshair to mentally prepare to handle what Dr Hemlock, Emerie, and Nala Se had for them. All Omega, Crosshair, and Nala Se could hope for is that Dr Hemlock doesn't arrive on Mt. Tantiss with Hunter, Wrecker, and Boba. That would be the worst.
A few days later, Omega was sitting in her bed, waiting for what would happen next. It was a cold Autumn evening, and Omega shivered slightly. The uniform didn't provide much insulation against heat and cold. Fairy lights lit her room, and the sound of Nala Se's equipment hummed in her ears. The scent of bacta, wood, and fabrics dominated her senses as she sat on her solid but supportive bed. Omega held an improvised doll she had spent her non-tested and recovery time creating. Omega held the doll closely as it reminded her of Lula and was a source of comfort for her while she suffered on Mt. Tantiss.
Suddenly, she gets a knock on the door. Instinctually, she hid the doll under her pillow, not wanting anyone to see the doll and take it away from her.
"Who is it?" Omega asked nervously.
"Scorch," came the voice from the other side of the curtain, "I'm here to take you for a different type of test. Are you decent?"
"Yeah," Omega replied, pulling the curtain back to see the Clone Commando looking at her. After her pretend escape, Omega had been escorted everywhere around the base with Scorch at her side. It's frustrating, but it could be worse.
"What type of test?" Omega asked warily.
"I can't tell you what the test is here. You'll have to follow me," Scorch replied, his attitude and demeanour surprising Omega. He was talking quieter than usual, almost like he was about to share a secret. Confused, Omega climbed from her bed and followed Scorch out of the lab.
The corridor was colder than the lab, and Omega shivered. The corridor was empty, and this only made Omega more nervous. To her continued confusion, instead of Scorch taking her to the labs, Scorch was walking in the opposite direction.
"The labs are that way," Omega whispered.
"I know. Keep moving," Scorch replied. Omega just obliged, her confusion growing the further away from the labs they got.
Scorch and Omega walked for about fifteen minutes until they reached a strange, dark blue metal door. Scorch tapped his keycard into it, and it opened into a lift.
"Where we're going is two levels below us," Scorch said as he guided Omega into the lift, then entered himself.
As the lift lowered further into Mt. Tantiss, Omega noticed it was cramped and slightly claustrophobic. It was significantly warmer here, and instead of shivering, Omega was immediately sweating, causing her to put a hand on the wall to stop the world from spinning.
"Are you OK?" Scorch asked.
"I don't like significant temperature swings," Omega replied, "It's something I share with Hunter,"
"So that's why Dr Hemlock was after you," Scorch replied, "Do you share mutations with all of the original members?"
"Yes, though not to their levels," Omega replied as they reached the lower floor.
It was warmer than the upper floors but not as hot as inside the lift, Omega noticed as she and Scorch exited. However, the corridor looked identical to the above floors. Omega looked around and saw several other Commandos moving along the floor.
"Scorch, what is she doing here?" came Fixit's voice from nearby.
"I'm under orders to test her physically. See how well Clone Force 99 have trained her, especially with Echo on their team," Scorch replied.
"Alright," Fixit replied cautiously, "Go to the end of the corridor. It should be empty,"
Scorch nodded and led Omega towards the training grounds.
The training grounds were mild for an Autumn evening, and the change in scents to almost total metal was slightly overwhelming for Omega. She looked around and saw what looked like a gigantic obstacle course. Extensive artificial lighting lit the obstacle course from the walls and ceilings and hummed with the sounds of electricity coursing through the lights.
"Whoa. This obstacle course is bigger than the one Echo made for me," Omega gasped.
"That's a good sign. Did you ever complete it?" Scorch asked.
"It took a few attempts, but I did," Omega replied.
"Good," Scorch replied, "Wait here a moment. I need to talk to the others,"
When Scorch departed, Omega couldn't resist looking for a position to see the course she would be tackling. Soon, she found a lifeguard tower about two meters above the course and halfway along the western side. Omega ran up to it and climbed in to get a better look.
If she thought Echo's obstacle course was challenging, it was nothing compared to what she could see.
The obstacle course had everything Omega expected and more. The obstacle courses contained Cargo Nets, Crawling Wire and Net areas, Pipes and Tunnels, climbing walls, balancing planks, climbing steps, window-sized holes in walls, mazes, monkey bars, rope swings, and what looked like an arena in the middle. It was wild, and Omega was sure Scorch wouldn't expect her to do all four courses. Especially since two looked like they required entire squads to navigate. A dark thought reached Omega's mind. This obstacle course will be the training ground for the Dark Troopers that Hemlock intended to turn Crosshair, and eventually her, into.
"Oi, Omega, what are you doing in there?" Scorch called.
"Sorry," Omega replied as she climbed out of the lifeguard tower, "I was looking for a better spot to see more of the course,"
"Your tendency to wander off was something Nala Se warned me about," Scorch replied.
"Sorry," Omega grimaced.
"Before we start on the obstacle course, you need to meet the Clones you'll be training against," Scorch said.
"OK," Omega replied as she followed Scorch to the back of the course, where the Wolfpack was waiting for her, led by Wolffe.
"Omega, this is the Wolfpack. You'll be training against them today,"
"Are you sure about this? She doesn't look older than about 12," Wolffe replied.
"My brothers have been training me. Also close, I'm 13," Omega replied.
"Even so," Wolffe replied.
"She'll be OK. Omega will likely be rusty at first, but if she's been trained properly by Clone Force 99, she'll knock the rust off immediately," Scorch replied.
"I assume there will be no live fire due to her not having armour?" Wolffe asked.
"Low degree stun only. We don't know how long we have here, and the more I can get an idea of how trained Omega is, the better," Scorch replied.
"OK, five per cent charge on your stun rifles. Alright?" Wolffe called to the other troopers, who all made the necessary adjustments.
"Here's your blaster, Omega. Your blaster is at five per cent charge and set to stun," Scorch turned to Omega and gave her a blaster, then a holster attached to a brown strap.
"Wrap this around your waist and place your blaster in the holster," Scorch stated.
"Yes, sir," Omega replied, and she complied with Scorch's request.
"By the way, introductions. I'm Wolffe," Wolffe said before he pointed to the other troopers to identify them.
"Sinker," Wolffe points to the trooper directly behind him to his left.
"Comet," Wolffe points to the trooper directly behind him to his right.
"Boost," Wolffe points to the trooper between him and Comet.
"And Warthog," Wolffe points to the trooper between him and Sinker.
"Hello," Omega replied, and each trooper waved back.
"Alright. Omega, head for the entrance. Wolfpack spread out. Stick to the maze and arena segments. I'll inform Omega about the route she's taking in this course, and then this match will begin. Alright?"
"Alright," Wolffe replied.
Scorch returned to find Omega in the lifeguard tower again. This time, Scorch went to her.
"This place would be good to show you the route you've got to take in this challenge," Scorch said as he joined Omega, "Since you're likely rusty, we're doing the shorter route first. You'll only need to face the Pipes and Tunnels, the walls, the planks, the climbing holes, the maze and the monkey bars. I know it's a lot, but a good cadet commando could do this course with their eyes closed,"
"Noted," Omega replied as she followed the track of Scorch's finger. That obstacle course route had the same frequency of obstacles as Echo's course back on Ord Mantell. Only now, she'd have Clones to avoid.
"Take it easy first, give it your all, and be ready for anything. Alright?" Scorch advised Omega, who nodded.
"Now show that obstacle course who's boss," Scorch replied. Omega nodded, and she and Scorch departed the lifeguard tower and headed for the obstacle course start line. Omega was excited and nervous in equal measure. She knew her performance in this test would influence how Scorch saw her brothers. Omega was determined to do well but knew it had been over three months since she last trained. Hopefully, her rustiness doesn't reflect negatively on her brothers.
When the call went out to start, Omega took off and ran for the climbing wall. She started climbing up and immediately knew she was rusty. Not only was she noticeably slower, but she remembered being able to climb this wall faster when Echo tasked her with completing his course. Once she climbed the climbing wall, she looked ahead to see the next obstacle in this course. She saw a net connect her back to the ground and climbed down. Next were balancing planks, which she carefully took. The bars felt unstable, and Omega was nervous about the bars slipping. She managed to get through the planks and ran to the next obstacle, the monkey bars. Immediately, Omega noticed the net over a significant hole in the ground. Omega took a moment to brace and jumped to grab the monkey bars.
It didn't work. Omega slipped off almost immediately and landed in the net. Rolling back onto her front, Omega slowly pulled herself across the net and back to the start of the Monkey Bar segment.
It was second time lucky for Omega. She managed to grab hold of the monkey bars and start moving across, grabbing each bar one after the other in a rhythmic pattern. Finally, Omega gets across. Omega immediately cops a stun from Boost and collapses. She had no clue Boost was there.
Omega awoke a minute later to find every member of the Wolf Pack, plus Scorch, looking over her.
"Are you OK?" Wolffe asked.
"I'm OK," Omega groaned as she carefully pulled herself to her feet, "Thanks for waiting until I got off the Monkey Bars before stunning me. I don't like to think what would've happened if I fell from them while unable to catch myself,"
"That's why I did it. Want to start again from here?' Wolffe asked.
"Give me a minute," Omega carefully stood up before shaking the last stun effects from her limbs.
"Alright, Wolfpack, spread out," Wolffe called to the others, who obliged.
"You're the Wolfpack?" Omega's eyes lit up, "Your master was Plo Koon!"
"Was. How do you know Master Plo?" Wolffe asked.
Omega's face adopted a haunted look as she said, "Shaak Ti and Plo Koon helped take care of me after a particularly long test session,"
"Who did that to you?" Wolffe asked.
"Nala Se," Omega replied, "And other Kaminoans,"
"Demagolkas," Wolffe spat, "Are you, OK?"
"It's something I don't discuss often," Omega admitted, "It's painful to remember what they did to me,"
"And now you're here," Wolffe replied.
"Dr Hemlock and Emerie are doing their share," Omega sighed.
"Then we'd better get working towards getting you, at least, out of here," Wolffe replied, "But in the meantime, let's continue with this,"
"Alright,' Omega replied, shaking herself mentally so she could focus on the mission ahead.
The next stage of Omega's challenge was the crawling pipes and tunnel, which Omega realised she would have to commando crawl through. The tunnel had barbed wire above the tunnel, and Omega had to be careful not to get scratched. Suddenly, she noticed a Trooper waiting at the tunnel's exit. Omega carefully reaches back to grab her blaster, and she creeps forward to stun the trooper while just outside his stun range.
'Yes," Omega thought as she climbed out of the tunnel and moved towards the pipes.
Omega was surprised at how wide the pipes were. As Omega climbed into the pipe, however, she quickly realised the width of the pipes was somewhat illusory, as they were a surprisingly tight fit even for her.
"Well, this complicates things," Omega gritted her teeth and found a way to move through the pipe. It took her a minute to move through the pipes, but as she exited, she observed where other troopers were. And she suddenly had to pull back as a stun flew past her head. She grabbed her blaster and fired a stun at the trooper. It worked, but she was stunned, too and collapsed at the pipe's exit.
Once again, Omega awoke a minute later.
"Two hits. You'll need a couple of goes to knock the rust off, it seems," Scorch said.
"Apparently," Omega sighed as she climbed out of the pipe and climbed to her feet.
"Alright. You've only got the climbing holes and maze left. Good luck," Boost replied, "But the way, I'm the one you stunned while Comet stunned you,"
"Noted. I'll be more careful," Omega replied. The other troopers disperse, and Omega heads for the maze.
Her mental ability had been unaffected by what was happening to her physically, so she quickly navigated the maze and found her final obstacle. Her next obstacle was the climbing holes in the walls. Taking a deep breath, Omega ran up to the climbing holes, grabbed the hole's edge and then worked to pull herself through.
When Omega pulled herself through the hole, she had to duck to avoid a stun. Omega returned fire and managed to repel the trooper.
Finally, Omega saw a flag, which she knew was what she needed to capture to win. Checking her surroundings, Omega ran for the flag and grabbed it just as she was stunned, this time by Sinker. Unfortunately, Omega hit her head on the flagstand. So she had a headache when she awoke.
"Are you OK?" Scorch asked when Omega awoke. Pulling herself into a seating position, she felt the cut on her head.
"Sorry about that," Sinker replied as Omega felt the bitter taste of guilt over not showing her true capabilities.
"You've shown that your squad have done well in training you. We can probably run you through this course a few times so you can show what you're capable of," Scorch kneeled to Omega's level.
"Thanks, Scorch," Omega replied.
"Now, let's get that cut on your head sorted, alright?" Scorch offered.
"Yeah, it hurts a bit," Omega admitted as she got to her feet.
Scorch then led Omega back to Nala Se's lab, unsure how Nala Se would react to knowing the spirit of the Wolfpack during the obstacle course challenge had hurt Omega.
What Scorch hadn't expected was Dr Hemlock lecturing him about letting Omega get hurt. Scorch thought Hemlock was hypocritical here, knowing that he, Nala Se and Emerie were regularly hurting Omega during the tests. However, he managed to convince Dr Hemlock, with the caveat that nobody could stun Omega if within a certain distance of the flag, to allow the training sessions to continue.
Scorch had also enticed Dr Hemlock with the cover story that he was preparing Omega for her time as a Dark Trooper, even if that was still several years away.
Omega thought about things while she sat in her room with a bacta patch covering the cut on her head. She thought about the obstacle course, looking like it would be perfect for training Dark Troopers, but also a secret door she had seen on her way back. And the strange sounds she heard from it. Omega wondered what had happened to the Zillo beast they had encountered. Well, Omega thought, now she suspected where it was. Finally, Omega considered why Scorch was taking her to this training ground. Was it to see how Clone Force 99 had done training her? Was it to subtly inform her about where Dr Hemlock was holding the Zillo beast? Was it to keep her away from Dr Hemlock, Emerie, and Nala Se longer? Or could it be a combination of the three? All Omega knew at this point was that her escape plans were starting to come together. Now, Omega needed to survive and convince Crosshair to join her in the escape.
About a week later, Omega was back in the labs testing the Clones alongside Emerie. This time, Omega noticed that Dr Hemlock wasn't available.
'Where is Dr Hemlock?" Omega asked.
"He's off on a tip. His scouts have found the two Force Sensitive Kaminoans he's after," Emerie sneered in that same creepy voice she always used when it was just her and Omega. Looking at the Clone she was about to test, Omega saw her feelings reflected on his face.
Omega turned away from the Clone. For the first time since arriving here, she was properly scared. The last thing she wanted with someone as creepy as Emerie on Mt. Tantiss was her Kaminoan brother. Knowing how Emerie had spoken to her on a few occasions when she thought they were alone and how creepy Emerie had been towards her, Omega wouldn't put it past Emerie to attempt something involving them if she got her chance.
Does Emerie know what Cora Sol had planned for her, Khan and the Spaarti Cylinder Clones Cora Sol had made, apparently specifically for her? The thought that Emerie might know and try to replicate those horrors on Mt. Tantiss made Omega shudder with fear. The worst part is that Dr Hemlock might sanction it. Omega didn't know if Dr Hemlock would be willing to go down such a disgusting and horrific path.
Once again, when Omega had finished the testing and started heading towards Nala Se's lab, she looked back and saw that Emerie and Scorch were talking to each other. This time, Omega noticed that Emerie was more relaxed around Scorch than anyone else. Omega's mind wandered. Why was Emerie seemingly calmer around Scorch than anyone else? Was there some unspoken history between them that Omega didn't know?