Part 1 - Aftermath
Plot: After becoming the sergeant of a not-even-squad consisting solely of herself and Echo, Omega had genuinely lost hope of seeing her little brothers again. She didn't expect it to change. Until it did.
Author's Note: Omega's thoughts about Cut and Suu were meant to imply she has no idea what their relationship really is, not anything about. Ugh. Her and Echo. ;_; Just to make that clear lol
I might be wrong, but I think the art on the front cover was drawn by lgpvintage on Instagram. :)
This is for Febuwhump Day Fifteen: "Who Did This To You?"
PS. This is a gift for ProwlingThunder on ao3.
~ Rivana Rita
It started as just a normal day in the lives of Echo and Omega – okay, no. That's a lie. It didn't.
It started with Order 66, and Omega's mind is still reeling. Echo is furious about it, and frankly, so is Omega. They worked closely with Anakin Skywalker. She knows he's not a traitor. He would never commit treason.
Omega explains to Echo about the inhibitor chips, though she really doesn't know why Echo's isn't working and everyone else's are. Something about being injured on Skako Minor is her guess.
Then, they hear an announcement of how the Republic is an Empire, which neither of them is any happier about.
Omega takes them to the cafeteria hall where many of the younger clones eat. They're a little out of place here, but Omega's seventeen. She's the oldest clone there is – the oldest ones in action, anyway, are thirteen. She doesn't fit in anywhere. After being on the fronts so long, she wanted some real food enough to dare venturing out here, and the cadets are often less annoying than the older clones.
They're walking together, hands interlinked the way they often are, because Omega has always been prone for physical contact even if Echo still finds it odd, when a flying tray sails past Echo's head.
Omega jerks to a stop, staring, scanning the room for the source of the ruckus. She knew they were walking into some sort of fight, but the source of the disturbance is far easier to pinpoint than she thought.
There's four of them, and they stick out well because they look so different. Just like – like the little brothers she knew so many years ago, that she thought she'd never see again.
Three's size is the same, though they're supposed to be older. Many of the clones were put in statis when the operation got temporarily paused. Omega had no idea how old her brothers were, or if they made it. She hadn't heard or seen anything of them in years, and when she grew up, she didn't have... anyone. Not until Echo joined her.
Omega looks up at Echo, who sighs. "Better step in," he suggests.
"I was gonna say the same thing," Omega replies, and they move in together.
Three is trying to bite somebody's head, and Omega half wants to laugh, but there's a whole roomful of other clones here, and her brothers don't stand a chance against them all. She's not about to let them get hurt.
Echo attempts to pry Three out of the others, which is hard when he's so big, and Omega goes after the others. She grabs the Two's tunic – that is Two, right? They're so old now, it's hard to tell them apart, though his skin was lighter than One's, so she thinks he's the same – and hauls him back, ignoring his ungraceful yelp and flailing. He tries to pry her grip off, and Omega yanks him closer, grabbing one-handedly for Four – there's no question which he is. His gray hair is falling in short, messy curls across his forehead. He growls when she grabs him, and Omega leverages herself backwards to avoid getting stepped on. He tries to bite her arm, but she's in her armor, so he just hits her vambrace.
"Come on!" Omega yells, irritated, "Stop it! Stand down!"
One stands, wiping his face off on his sleeve, looking up at her. The rest of the cadets are standing sullenly, glaring.
"What, exactly, is going on here?" Echo demands, still holding onto Three, who's squirming harder than should be physically possible.
"They're freaks," one of the other clones says, jabbing a finger in their direction.
"They think they're better than us," another chimes in. That's accompanied by a whole chorus of talking on top of one another, and Omega sighs.
"You know what?" she says finally, irked, "Echo and I have been on the fronts for the past seven months straight, and we would really like to get an actual meal, so if you don't mind, please go back to your benches, and stop throwing things."
There's a grumbled agreements of "yes sir"s as the cadets spread out, and Omega lets go of the two she's attempting to hold.
Four stomps over to hide behind One, still glaring at her hard. It's a good thing looks can't actually pulverize. Still hurts, though.
"My name's Omega," she says, crouching in front of them, "This is Echo. Do you have names yet?"
"Hunter," One answers. He looks much like the other clones, except his hair is... long. Really long. Like, a foot down his back long – Omega wanted to let hers grow out, until she realized she couldn't wear a helmet properly, so she has to keep it trimmed short enough to wear one properly. "These are Wrecker, Tech, and Crosshair."
They all have names now. They're not – not just the normal, identification numbers all clones except Omega have.
"I thought we were the only... non-reg clones?" Hunter asks.
"I'm your sister," Omega says, "And Echo is. Um. He got injured on a mission. He didn't fit in with the regular clones the same way anymore."
"Oh," Wrecker says, staring. He looks more confused than anything else.
"Are you done in here?" Omega asks, "I don't mean fighting."
"Well, no," Hunter answers.
"Then grab a tray and... c'mon. You can share our table." She's vibrating with a sort of giddy excitement when they sit down together, though conversations don't hold long. They feel awkward around her, Omega thinks. That still hurts. It's okay, though. She understands they don't remember her.
"So," Hunter says finally, "How'd you do it?"
"Do what?" Omega asks."
"Growing up alone. The regs. The experiments. All of it."
Experiments? Omega was never really... experimented on. Is that just a term, or is there actually something... there that happened to them? She doesn't feel comfortable enough to ask, though. "I guess it wasn't the same for me as it was for you," she replies.
There's four of them. She can't imagine what it would've been like to grow up with other siblings, people her age. She's always been different because she doesn't age like the others, and that's – it's changed everything about her. She didn't want to grow up alone, and there was so long the Kaminoans didn't know what to do with her. She was just one, and she and Echo aren't enough to be their own squad. There's only two of them. Omega always wished there were more.
"That sounds lonely," Hunter says.
"It was." That's what Omega's used to, though. She can't say it doesn't bother her, because it does, but she's learned to live with it. The loneliness always bothered her, but she has Echo now, and she doesn't want to think about before. "But I'm not alone anymore."
"Wrecker, why are you holding onto me?" Crosshair grumbles. "I'm not going to disappear. And I'm trying to eat."
Wrecker makes an unintelligible noise, turning back to his trays – he has two of them. He must still be hungry all the time like he used to be, though that was so long ago, Omega hardly remembers him. Her brothers feel more like something out of a dream now.
The conversation flies back and forth, never anything overly important, but still there. It's been so long that Omega doesn't know them anymore, and this isn't near enough to make up for it, but she still feels... better. Much better, now that she knows they're here.
"Are they the ones you talked about?" Echo asks after they leave.
"Yeah," she nods, "It's been so long, I wasn't even... sure if they made it." Nala Se had told her they would be fine, but after years of seeing and hearing nothing of them, Omega had started to wonder if they... died, if there was some sort of complication because their mutations were off. She wasn't sure they were still alive.
"Well," Echo replies, "I'm glad we got to meet them. They're... different."
Omega nods to him. She feels empty leaving, but – they're still here, so she can find them again.
**w**
Echo has never defied orders before, no matter what he's like, and for that matter, neither has Omega. The moment she realizes the Empire sent them in after a group of civilians, she just snaps. They're walking out. Deserting. The Jedi was – was bad enough, and after this, Omega can't pretend nothing happened. Neither can Echo.
Not that they get much choice when Tarkin comes to personally arrest them for their disobedience, and Omega is very tempted to roll her eyes in his face, but she's not quite that childish anymore.
They didn't have a choice but to come back, even if Omega knew it'd be dangerous. Her brothers are here, and she couldn't leave them behind. They're at risk, too.
Being in prison is... it is.
The walls are dim and gray, and it's dark. Echo hates closed spaces. That's one of the only things he is genuinely uncomfortable with. It doesn't bother Omega in the same way, but she's certainly far from fond about it. What worries her the most is that they were charged with treason, and Omega has no idea how to get out of this.
She feels lost, and she's scared. She doesn't want to die here. She can't let Echo die, either.
She knows he'd die for her without question, too, but she doesn't want to ask that of him. He's all she's had since finally leaving Kamino – the few loose friends she's picked up at the 501st are important, but they're not the same.
Omega hears a distant... something, before there's a sudden crash and the grate in the room in front of them falls down, Wrecker on top of it.
The regs in the room instinctively raise their blasters towards him, and he blinks up at them, wide-eyed.
Uh. Oh no.
Omega jolts forwards up to the ray shield.
"What're you doing here?" one of them demands – from his armor, he's higher ranking, though Omega doesn't know what it is specifically.
"I – I got lost," Wrecker replies as if that makes perfect sense.
"In the vents?"
He nods – Wrecker has the absolutely perfect innocent face. "I got lost."
"How can you get lost in the vents?" the reg demands, jerking with his blaster in a motion to get up.
Crosshair swings down from the opening in the ceiling, kicking the reg in his helmet and somehow making it down to the floor on his feet. Wrecker scoops up the reg and throws him at the other two before they have a chance to fire. Hunter jumps down, next, sprinting to the controls in the center of the room and yanking down the lever, deactivating the ray shield. Omega steps out, snatching up one of the reg's blasters.
"Thank you," she says, "Do you know where our gear is?"
"I am sure I can find it," Tech says, looking down from the vent, holding a datapad in one hand. "If you can help me down from here, because I am not dropping this."
Omega steps up to him. "Jump," she requests. He does, and his weight crashes into hers nearly nard enough to knock them both over. Wrecker grabs her arm to keep her upright, but she lowers him to the floor without tipping over, so she counts it as a plus.
Echo's already at the door, looking down the hall. "We're clear," he says, and Omega turns back to her brothers.
"They'll know you helped us," she warns.
"We had to," Hunter replies seriously, "They were gonna do something to your..."
"Inhibitor chips," Tech finishes for him, "And they were going to execute Omega."
She feels slightly numb, but they were already willing to walk out. That they're being forced to makes it no worse. "Thank you."
"We'll come with you," Hunter adds, exchanging a fleeting glance with the other three. That was easier than she thought it'd be. After what happened, Omega knew it'd be dangerous for her brothers, and if she and Echo were leaving, they couldn't leave them behind.
"Well, c'mon," Omega says, inclining her head towards the door. It's time to get out of here, this time for good, and Omega couldn't be happier to leave Kamino behind for good.
**w**
Their armor is in the hangar, thankfully, right by the Marauder. Omega pieces her armor on, and thankfully, Hunter and Tech are already helping Echo get his armor on. Ever since his injuries, he's struggled to get dressed and many things on his own. Omega's always been there to help him, and it was part of why she wanted to stay with him.
Most clones don't have the time or patience or mental space to devote to taking care of Echo. That's not something they've ever done for each other, because it was always just... themselves. They've never had to, and Omega is glad to see her little brothers treat each other differently. They're close.
"Come on."
"Is there anything you need to get?" Omega inquires.
"I don't think there's time," Echo replies, "I'll prep the ship."
Predictably, a group of the Coruscant Guard shows up right before she and her brothers make it aboard, but the shootout is fast. Wrecker throws a crate in their faces and Omega fires stunbolts at them. Crosshair picks up a blaster from Force-knows-where, shooting back.
They make it aboard, and Echo sends them up out of the hangar. Omega scrambles into the pilot's seat, taking them straight upwards into the atmosphere.
"So..." Wrecker asks, "Whadda we do now?"
"I don't know," Omega confesses. She's used to orders. She always has someone tell her what to do, and now, she feels lost. "I never thought about it, but after the things the Empire is doing, we couldn't just stay. I thought you might be in danger here. Things are changing here, and everywhere. I didn't want to leave you behind."
Her brothers look at each other again, a silent communication running between them. She wishes she understood what they were saying. She wishes she understood them.
"No one has ever said that to us before," Tech supplies finally.
"You don't have friends?" Omega asks a bit incredulously.
"Hardly," Crosshair scoffs.
"No," Hunter answers with a shake of his head, "The regs don't like us, 'n they're the only people we know."
That's what sounds lonely, if anything does, but at least they had each other.
"Do you know anyone?" Wrecker questions.
"Uh. I know some people, but not anyone who I know aren't with the Empire." Actually... "Actually, there is one," Omega realizes, "Cut. He's a clone deserter. Maybe we could pay him a visit?" And figure out what in the stars to do now? That doesn't sound bad.
"Clone deserter?" Echo asks warily – he hadn't been with her when she ran into Cut. She actually never mentioned it to him.
"Yeah," Omega answers cheerfully, "It's a bit of a long story, but he lost his company on Geonosis. He... left because he couldn't move on fighting, and he has a family now." That's not something Omega ever really understood at the time, but she has something of the same now. She has Echo, and she has her little brothers, who are still young, and they'll have to raise them together.
Just like Cut and Suu.
"Strap in," she says, excitement running through her as she remembers what it was like when she first made the hyperspace jump. It was so beautiful, and she's glad not to have to share it alone anymore. "Hyperspace's amazing."
Wrecker has to peel Tech off the dashboard to get him to the back, and Crosshair climbs into Hunter's lap, ignoring his shrieks.
"Come on!" Hunter grumbles, sounding even more irritated than Omega was with the cafeteria disaster. "How are you gonna not go head-first into Omega's chair?"
"I'm not that pathetic. Or clumsy."
"You know that implies you are somewhat, right? Ow! Stop biting me!"
Omega laughs, punching in the coordinates. "Ready?" she calls back.
There's a chorus of yes's, and Omega pulls down the lever to make the jump. They streak away into hyperspace, and Omega takes a minute to just watch it as she always does.
"So," Crosshair says, suddenly all chatty, jumping out of Hunter's lap, "How'd you get blown up?"
"Crosshair!" Hunter hisses.
He ignores him entirely.
"Did you try to deactivate a landmine by stepping on it?" Crosshair asks, and Omega slowly turns around. He's looking at Echo, who's watching him, one eyebrow raised.
Wrecker laughs.
Crosshair's holding Lula now, and Omega didn't see when he got her.
"I think he's asking who did this to you," Omega supplies.
"It was an explosion," Echo answers, and Omega's almost surprised by it. Echo gets touchy about his past, among many things. "It was an infiltration mission. I was trying to protect our shuttle, and I was standing right by it when the droid turrets blew it up."
"I found him with the help of the Jedi General he fought with," Omega adds, "He was a Separatist prisoner for a while, but we make it work."
"I told ya it wasn't nice to ask," Hunter mutters. Crosshair's still stubbornly ignoring him – Omega's fairly certain there was some squabble she missed.
"It's fine," Echo reassures, "You wouldn't know."
Omega looks around, trying to figure out how to start handling their presence. Gonky honks, waddling up to them, and Wrecker turns around to look at him. Tech's already moving towards one of the never-used computers on the side, staring at the endless supply of buttons on it.
"C'mon!" she offers, jumping up. "I'll show you around." She grabs Wrecker's hand, tugging her brothers to the back. She was so excited when she saw a ship for the first time. It drove her trainers crazy. This was her home, and she wants them to know every part of it, every part of her.
She wants them to know her, to trust her, to finally be together again.
If they can finally make their own choices now, they can choose to leave, and there's so much of the galaxy Omega wants to see with her brothers, even if they need to survive, too. Actually, she has no idea how to get credits or what most people do to survive, but that's why she's gonna talk to Cut. He'll help. He's one of the oldest clones, and he did this himself.
She's finally home.
It feels... amazing.
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