Chapter 13 - We Have Gone Too Far (1:9)

Author's Note: I could scream about how incredibly Mandalorian Hunter's protectiveness is, but... there's no need to write a fangirl speech about it. :) xD

Also, idk if Tech wasn't in the back in Canon because he doesn't have a rack there, or where in the galaxy Echo was at the time, and why Tech was sleeping up front instead, but it's post-Bracca. And do you really think either Hunter or Tech would be okay with sleeping right by Wrecker so soon? And how could I miss the chance at tRaUmA –

PS. I'll be taking a break from posting this fic in February. :)

~ Rivana Rita

I move out of the gunner's mount when Wrecker comes back to take over – Hunter's been treated.

"The only vessel in our scanners is Crosshair's and he is right on top of us," Tech is saying when I step into the cockpit and swing onto the seat by Hunter's. He's wrapped in a nearly ridiculous amount of bandaging, but I don't know the extent of his injuries. His bodyglove is down again, hiding the injury entirely, and Echo must've given him pain meds, because he looks fully coherent right now.

"Tell him to get off," I grumble, "Sitting on people is rude."

"And laying on them isn't?" Crosshair's voice snarks in my mind, and I bite my lip. He's not here to make any snarky comments, or for me to throw them back.

"It's getting hot back here!" Wrecker yells right after I feel the ship jolting again, and I wince.

"Prepping to jump," Tech says.

"Not without Omega!" Hunter argues instantly. Omega. She's not here, and I can't – I have no idea how to function without her. What am I even supposed to do without her beside me? It was different on Kamino, when we had something to do, when I knew when I'd see her again. But now? I have no idea who's after my sister or what they want with her, and why.

We need to get her back.

"The bounty hunter who took her is long gone. We'll have no chance of finding them if Crosshair shoots us down," Echo argues fiercely, spinning his seat around, ignoring Hunter's glare.

"Rear deflector shields are failing," Tech calls.

Hunter sighs, though I can see his wild desperation that I fully second. "Make the jump," he orders, and Tech pulls back the lever. We streak into hyperspace, and I watch numbly. Omega was here, and we have no way of tracking her.

She's my sister, and she's gone. We can't – we need to find her, but I have no idea how. I don't even know where to start. What are we supposed to do? I give Hunter a helpless look, but he's the one who's hurt, and it feels wrong to rely on him right now. He was shot, and that's not going to be a fast fix.

"What do we do?" I ask finally.

"We've gotta find that bounty hunter. Tech, see what you can find."

**w**

We end up just sitting around for quite a while. Hunter's description was detailed enough for Tech to figure it out, but Cid doesn't know anything about him, anyway. Tech also makes the supposed marvelous discovery that Omega's unmodified, which is old news, thanks, Mr. All-Knowing.

Nothing really matters, and Wrecker moved the energy-bow to the gunner's mount where I sit alone, leaned up against the wall with my eyes half closed.

I'm not going to sleep until we find her again, though I have no idea how long it'll be. It feels wrong to even relax right now, when I have no idea what's happening to my sister, if she's being hurt or – or what.

I don't know how to be without her. I don't know who I am without her, though I don't think I know, anyway. It wasn't so long ago that I tried to kill her, and I never got to make up for that.

There's not really a way that I could. There's nothing I can do that I haven't already tried. Nothing that – but it's never going to change what I did. Omega's gone, and I don't know how or when I'm gonna see her again.

I don't know what to do, and the helpless desperation is crawling under my skin, itching and grating on me in a way nothing else can. I'm used to not having much control over anything, but this is different, and I don't know what to do about it. I can't just sit here and wait and do nothing, but there's not even anything I can do.

I should've Seen this. The one time my Sight could have come in useful, I didn't even try to use it, at least not for what I really needed to See. And yeah, I know I can't always control it, but this is ridiculous. It isn't like I haven't gotten the feeling of... being separated from her before.

"Come in. Come in," Omega's voice says distantly, and I jolt fully into wakefulness, jumping form the gunner's mount. "Anyone?"

"Omega?!" Wrecker and I chorus in perfect unison, running for the panel.

"Omega, are you there?" Hunter calls. "Omega?"

"It's long-range. I'll try to boost the signal," Echo says, turning away.

"Is anyone there?" Omega's voice comes through again, and I dart over to the panel.

"'mega? We're here."

"Omega, do you copy?" Hunter asks, and I hear a quiet, distant gasp from the other side.

Stars. Was she there when he was shot? Did she think he was dead?

"Hunter? I'm here. I got away, but you have to hurry."

"We're hurrying, sis," I promise instantly, "You okay? Where'd he take you?"

"I – I don't know where I am, but I'm fine," 'mega answers. She sounds freaked out, and I can hear her moving around a little. I just – she has to come back. Hearing her is soothing, but she's not here, so it only helps so much.

I nearly – would've killed her. I was about to, but someone stopped me, and I – if not for that, she wouldn't even be there for us to worry about.

"Hang on, kid. We're coming for ya!" Wrecker interjects, as cheerful, or at least hopeful, as ever.

"The signal's too weak to establish a direct connection trace," Echo sighs.

"Omega, we need a relay of your position," Tech interjects, moving forwards, and I grumpily step out of the way to let him figure out whatever it is he's doing. "Try to create a power surge. Can you find a panel nearby?"

"There's one by a door," Omega offers, "It looks like the ones on Tipoca City."

"That's weird," I assert flatly over Tech's "that's good." "Why would she be on a place that looks like Kamino? I didn't know they had other places?"

"If the Kaminoans are searching for her, they'd probably have her taken to another Kaminoan world," Echo offers, and we look back at the panel.

Tech is mid-telling her what to do when a series of disturbing staticky sounds come from the other end, and I practically teleport over to the panel again. "'mega!"

"Omega?" Tech asks, and I hear distant something on the other end. It sounds like Omega, and she's – oh no.

The bounty hunter must've caught up with her, which says nothing good.

"Omega!" I yell, panicking. I want to scream. To – something, or cry, but I feel helpless again and there's nothing I can do. I can't help her. We're far away and I need to be there with her, to protect her, to – to – we were supposed to be together, to do everything together and that's changed somehow, and I don't know how to live with this.

"Do you copy?" Tech asks, and for the first time, I think even he sounds a bit freaked out. More muffled noise. "I still can't get a good read."

"Hunter, I need you!" Omega's voice cries, distant but there.

I inhale shakily, biting my lip. Whatever little something inside me is crumbling to dust, leaving me raw and empty.

Hunter darts forwards, eyes wide and panicked, shoving Tech out of the way, which is like, so rude, but who doesn't want to shove Tech around a bit sometimes? "Omega!" he calls, desperation lacing his voice, and then the line goes dead with a final sparking thump.

There's nothing, not even static.

That was Crosshair's comm.

Did someone just step on it?

I officially have someone to stab.

Tech steps back, expression tight, and Hunter stares at the now-quiet panel, raw fear and desperation written on his face.

Whirling around, I slam my fist into the chair, not wanting to hit anything breakable, literally just because it hurt. The sharp, stinging pain radiating through my hand does very little to distract me, but it's something and it – I'm just so angry. At the Kaminoans, at Nala Se for – literally anything and everything, at that bounty hunter, at Crosshair, at... me.

I was supposed to have Seen this and done something about it.

Wrecker pulls me into a hug, intercepting my storm-off return to the gunner's mount, and I throw my arms around his neck. He's so good at reading me, and I can't imagine how he feels having lost Crosshair, though it can't be much different than 'mega's absence. But still, he needs it and I need him, so it goes off well enough.

I can't do anything, except cling to him and desperately hope we're going to get her back.

We need her.

**w**

It's Echo, almost unsurprisingly, who finally figures out where she is. My sister is resourceful, even without me – she's the brains for all of us, after all – and she manages to get us a signal.

When we pick her up, she's in a flight pod, crashing towards the water below, but Tech has the Marauder latch onto her ship before it can hit anything and something... worse can happen.

My heart is hammering in anticipation as the hatch opens and Wrecker leans over it. I know she's there, but I feel a sudden, strange amount of anticipation at knowing I'm about to see her again. I should've stopped this from happening, and I was about to kill her. I can't believe I did that. I don't care if I couldn't help it – that doesn't mean it's alright.

"Omega, are you in there?" he calls.

"Wrecker!" Omega half gasps, half sobs, and Wrecker reaches inside to pull her out. He scoops her into a hug in the overly dramatic way he normally does, but considering what happened, I would too. If I could.

She's crying, and it's gutting to watch – Omega doesn't just cry. She's – she's the calm, level-headed one who doesn't react on pure emotions and insanity whenever something just... exists.

"Might wanna get us outta here," I yell up front to Tech, "Before the bounty hunters come back."

"Good to have ya back, kid," Wrecker says, squeezing her gently as the engine fires up.

The curtain over the gunner's mount is open, and I can see as we lift off. Tech doesn't say anything, but there's not much to say.

I pull out my vibroblade, hesitating a moment as I realize the last time she saw it was when I tried to kill her. "Stick your hands at me," I request, because just doing it would probably make her freak out. "Gotta get those things off."

She holds her hands out to me, and I cut it through the cuffs she's wearing, letting them clatter to the floor. I re-sheath the blade, and we move to hug each other in unison. Omega's arms are tight around me, and I cling to her, trying to offer comfort as well as find it.

She's my sister, and we're physically about the same age, but she still took care of me when I was little, and she's still older than me, and she fixes things. Not the way Hunte does, but still. She's my light, and I need her. She's not trained, and I have to protect her, but I know she'll do the same for me. She's my heart and she knows me in a way that no one else does. I can't lose that, and I need her to be happy and alright, where she always wanted to be. I need to know that she'll be fine, not – not lost and alone. I can't even imagine that.

Omega steps back from me, throwing herself at Hunter and wrapping her arms around his waist. Hunter flinches back, wincing visibly, and I remember seeing the extent of his injuries earlier – he's hurt badly, all over, really, and that must've hurt, even if he won't react.

He pulls her back, and I dart forwards to stay beside her and slide an arm around her waist to keep her from feeling... left out. She doesn't need to know that hurt him – she wouldn't take well to it. "Are you okay, Omega? Are you hurt?" Hunter queries.

She sniffles. "Why is this happening? Why are the Kaminoans after me? Why am I any different than Viz?"

"Hunter, you have to tell her." Echo offers, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck.

"You're... valuable to them," Hunter replies, hands on her shoulders, and Omega's gaze snaps from Echo back to him. Hunter glances at Wrecker, as if silently asking his permission to continue. They're... close. "More than all the other clones. Even more than us. You're... different."

"Different?" Omega echoes, "How?"

"Your DNA is... unaltered," Hunter explains, "You're a pure replication of our genetic host. And... you were the host of the first known Force-sensitive clone. If the Kaminoans want to start a... possibly far more effective cloning operation, they'll need yours."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," I yelp, suddenly realizing exactly what that means for the first time. "Does that mean she mutated normally, and I'm a mute-afied freak?"

Everyone is looking at me weirdly, and I shrug, pulling back.

The last time I was close to her, I nearly killed her, and I can't get it out of my head.

I don't want to think about this anymore. What if something happens again? What if... stars, I don't even know, but I don't trust myself.

I want to scream until my throat is raw, but even that wouldn't be enough to dull the fear and emptiness inside me. Crosshair's loss broke something inside me, and everything has been falling ever since.

Screaming won't change anything, but I'm about desperate enough to not even care.

I tried to kill her. The one person who – she's not more important than our brothers, but she's more – we grew up together, and that means everything to me. I can't live without 'mega, and I think she could say the same for me.

All that, and I was about to – to –

Stars.

I was going to kill her, just because I wanted to. I wanted to hurt her, and I can't stop remembering it.

I watch, awkwardly, as Tech scans her over just to make sure – that's the first real time he's showed genuine worry for her, and I find myself wondering if he ever does the same for me when I'm not looking because he certainly doesn't when I am.

Everyone keeps looking at me, half worried, though I don't get it. I'm fine. I'm not the one who was captured, and I'm not about to start trying to stab anybody again, right? Tech said I was fine and there was nothing to worry about.

What if he was wrong?

What if I...

"It's been a day," Echo says, "We should get some rest."

Hunter throws a worried glance at Tech, who catches it, but doesn't respond. "I'll watch the ship," he offers.

"Excuse me," I grumble, "You're the one with a hole in your chest. You need to be sleeping more than any of us."

Hunter turns that you're-adorable-but-I'm-not-listening-to-you look at me, which is very insulting, because I am not adorable in any shape or form, thank you very much. "I'll be fine," he assures.

Yep. I'm gonna pretend I don't see a Wrecker-shaped bruise on his neck either or anything.

I think Tech has one too, but I'm not gonna look.

"You can have my rack," Hunter tells Echo, moving up to the cockpit.

"Can we come?" Omega asks – we've never slept on their racks before, and I know why she's curious to try it out.

"Hey," I squeak, a sudden realization dawning, "Do you think three people could fit on one rack?" What? I've been wondering for months!

"I do not advise that," Tech objects, and I take off to the back before he can finish. What? He's not stopping me, either.

**w**

We pile in next to Echo, entirely uncaring that we could steal Tech's bunk, uncaring that he's in the back too – I will do that someday – and Crosshair's hasn't been touched since he left. For as hard as I try, I can't sleep.

I can only keep remembering how I was about to fire at Omega, how I... I could've killed her, and she could've killed me when she threw my knife at the bow. We wouldn't be here to talk about it if either of us had. I hate myself for even being upset about it because it wasn't her fault.

It's not until I hear movement from below that I finally squirm my way off Omega – she's between Echo and me. It's not noise as much as it is a feeling, the knowledge I have sometimes. It's Tech. I can See it, the edges of his presence curling and darkening.

I poke my head over the edge, scooting over to look down, even if I'm upside down.

Tech pushes himself up, a half-frown on his face when he sees me. "Go back to sleep."

"You good?" I ask, leaning farther. Yeah, I probably look ridiculous half hanging upside down, but I don't care.

His expression is tight, not quite angry, but close. "I am fine," he snaps back, swinging off his rack onto the ladder. I don't buy it.

"You sure?" I ask in a whisper, sitting halfway up and reaching for the ladder myself. I don't know him that well, exactly, but I'm perfectly fine with chasing him if I have to. I can't sleep much, anyway. All I can think about is how I was about to kill my sister and that she still trusts me enough to sleep beside me.

Not very conducive to sleep.

"Your concern is unwarranted," he replies, disappearing from sight.

Thanks.

I bite my lip, glaring, unreasonably hurt about something I can't even place. Maybe it's just out of place. I remember a time where I didn't really fit here, and sometimes...

At least Wrecker never nearly killed any of us.

Guess Crosshair and I really are quite a pair.

Is this how he feels?

Lost and empty and afraid and drowning in guilt until he can hardly breathe?

I turn back, glancing at Omega's still form. I don't think she's sleeping, at least not deeply – as upset as I am. I don't want to go to sleep again. Echo's here, but what if...

I don't think I'll be able to sleep alone by her for a little while, period.

He doesn't have to be so rude. Honestly – it's not like he's the one I nearly killed or anything. I don't even know why it hurt, but it did, and... I swing off the rack, tiptoeing past the others.

I can hear him talking to Hunter quietly up front.

I pause, backing against the wall to just... listen.

"– still out there," Tech is saying.

"There's nothing we can do," Hunter replies, quietly. "Not right now. Not after Bracca."

"I am aware," he says, maybe a little too shortly, "But as long as he is with the Empire, there will always be a threat."

They're talking about Crosshair, aren't they? It's the first time I've ever heard.

"I know." Hunter sounds so... I don't know, lost and scared. I've never heard him like that before. He's afraid, and I can't imagine anything that would make Hunter scared. There's a heartbeat. "You staying?" he asks instead.

They're back to dodging the topic, per usual, and I abruptly find myself wondering if Tech was... dreaming or something. I can't imagine him having a nightmare, but I thought those were just... normal sometimes. No idea. It's still creepy, though.

There's a pause. "Yes, I will."

I hear Tech moving to sit down, and lean against the wall, contemplating sitting down somewhere, just... something. I'm sure Hunter senses me, but he doesn't say anything.

It's not until Omega comes out from the back, and Tech is sleeping in one of the chairs – that is so uncomfortable, why did he think that was a good idea please tell me it didn't have to do with – the Bracca thing – that I finally come out of hiding.

Omega pauses when she sees me. "You okay?" she asks, even if I can see the tense worry on her own face.

"Not really." I don't elaborate past that – don't know how I could. Not to her. She's... probably the only one who could make this better, and Wrecker's probably the only one who knows what I need to hear, but I nearly killed her, and I don't feel worthy to ask for that.

Omega is... everything to me, and I... I nearly destroyed that. I don't even know who or what I am without her. My entire life has been defined by Omega, and I – I can't deal with this.

I know I didn't hurt her, but that's not enough. I just want to curl up in a ball and cry, but there's no one who has time for it, and even if someone did, I'm too exhausted even for that.

"You?" I query softly. "They didn't hurt you, did they?"

"No." She glances up front, past Tech, to where Hunter's sitting in the cockpit. I want to go to him, but he was hurt, and it doesn't seem fair to ask him to make me better somehow when he's the one still healing.

Hunter doesn't have anyone to take care of him.

Not that I'm stopping Omega if she needs him, obviously. It's just... I don't know. Different for me.

Omega climbs into the pilot's seat, and I've got zero sympathy for Tech that his seat just got stolen.

"Can't sleep?" Hunter asks, feet up on the control panel, and it looks ridiculous to see him like that when he's only wearing half his armor. He looks... so young sometimes, and it's jarring.

He's... what? Only three years older than me? Or thereabouts. We're really not that far apart.

"I keep thinking about the Kaminoans," Omega admits, arms wrapped around her legs. I approach from behind, hand gripping the edge of her seat, but hesitant to climb in.

I don't know if she'd be comfortable with it, and for all that I want to pretend nothing's wrong, I don't want to do something she's uncomfortable with, either.

"Seeing that place. I don't want to end up an experiment in a tube."

"That's not gonna happen," Hunter promises instantly, with every bit the fierceness he has. Sometimes, I think what I love about him most is how easily he can make... nothing into something. He makes me feel alive in a way I can't quite understand.

She looks up at him, but I know she doesn't really believe it. "If I'm as valuable as you say, Lama Su will keep sending bounty hunters after me," Omega objects. She sounds so scared. I don't know what she saw there, and I almost don't want to.

"He can send everyone in the galaxy," Hunter tells her fiercely, "You have us."

"You can't fight them all," she mumbles, turning away.

Hunter pushes himself up, turning her chair to face him and crouching in front of her. "Omega, you don't have to worry. You are never going back to Kamino."

A distant image of blue fire flickers through my mind, and I shove it away just as fiercely. Doesn't matter.

Hunter casts me a warily uncertain look, but I just shrug, not really sure what he's asking.

"Promise?" she asks, a little desperately.

"I promise."

Her smile is tentative and faint, but there, and I couldn't ask for anything more.

Hunter looks at me again when Omega doesn't say anything else. "Vision?"

"It's nothing," I reply instantly, self-consciously, shaking my head.

His hand is steady and warm on my shoulder, and I lean into it instinctively, even if I wish I wasn't. I did... things, and I don't deserve this. Them. I nearly killed my sister and took Omega from them and –

"Dreams?" he guesses.

"Wake-dreams," I deadpan.

Hunter is looking at me, with that confused-calculating expression he gets when he's thinking over a particularly difficult strategy.

"Brooding," I supply when he fails to translate Vision-speak.

"What happened on Bracca wasn't something you could control," he tells me gently. "We all know that."

I scoff, and I know I'm just being bitter and mean but I can't make it stop. "Do we?" I ask. "Does Crosshair? Does he understand it?"

He looks so hurt I hate myself for even saying it. What is wrong with me? Why do I even...

"Never mind," I blurt out, backing away. "It – I don't – I don't know what's wrong with me." I don't deserve to have them, any of them, if I'm so – so – this. Whatever this is. I don't know why I keep hurting them. I thought, with my chip out, that'd be the end of it, and we'd be fine, but I was wrong.

Hunter starts calling me, but I spin around, making a dash for the 'fresher. Running to hide, per usual.

I used to be unafraid to do anything. Now, all I can feel is fear eating me inside out.

I close the door behind me, sliding onto the floor, panting.

I can't breathe.

WhatifIhurtOmegaagainwhatifthere'snoonearoundtostopmewhatif –

There's a light tapping on the door, and I squeeze my eyes shut.

Omega.

I do not want to talk to her right now.

But Omega is, well, Omega, and as persistent as ever, she lets herself in.

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