Chapter 18 - We Are The Reckless (1:14-15)
Author's Note: HERE WE ARE! =D=D=D THIS IS WHERE THE FUN BEGINS AND ONE OF THE MAIN REASONS I WROTE THIS IN THE FIRST PLACE –
When you go for one-on-one bonding with someone, and they start yelling at each other instead –
Sorry for the chapter length, but it had to end here –
~ Rivana Rita
"Wrecker, Vision, Omega, come in," Hunter's voice says over the comm, and I grab mine, flicking it on.
"Screaming by," I supply, "Because we're not standing by. Are you okay? Are you alive?"
"We have the target, but we ran into some trouble," Hunter replies, ignoring my rambling entirely, "We need a pickup."
"On our way!" Omega says excitedly bolting for the front.
"Be safe," I request, swinging myself into the pilot's seat and firing up the engines.
"On our way!" Wrecker echoes, laughing.
Flying is fun, and I love it. It's the first real time I've ever done it, even if I'm co-piloting with Omega – which at present, means squeezing into the same seat and attempting to tell each other what we need to do. I thought having four hands would be easier. It's actually more annoying. Not doing this again.
Turns out, our brothers are leaving through the reactor port, and I know what this means.
My hands are shaking, icy, as we fly to the mountain. Wrecker moves for the back, and Omega jumps into the co-pilot seat.
"Keep it steady, kid," Wrecker requests.
"Gotcha," I mutter, eyes narrowing as I steer the ship closer. I know how to do this, and I'd rather just land, but there's gotta be a short gap, because there's no landing spot here.
Omega glances at me before jumping out of her seat and drawing her bow. I hear her and Wrecker firing from the back after the door opens. "Come on," Wrecker yells once the firing dies down. I twist my seat around, glancing back. Tech climbs aboard, and – the ship shudders as fighters start shooting at us. Oh, great. This is not what I'm trained for doing yet.
"Tech," I yell over my shoulder, hands tightening over the steering yoke. "We need to break off. What do I do?"
"I will take it from here," he replies, practically appearing at my right side.
I half freeze up at the suddenness, and saved him just a moment ago, and I wish it felt like he actually – respected what I could do, but now isn't the time to complain about it, so I swing myself out of the chair and dart to the back instead.
"Wrecker, get on the tail gun," Tech orders, and Wrecker's already disappearing to the back. Omega and I scramble for the back seats to wait out the flight. Shootouts are never good for staying balanced.
My heart is hammering, and my hands clench over the arms of my chair as we wait. I just want Hunter and Echo back inside. I need to know they'll be safe. I can't – we can't lose Hunter, we can't –
The Marauder jolts as a blaster shot connects with it. "Shields are down. We're losing power!" Tech calls.
Oh, great. Like this could get worse?!
Omega jumps from her seat. "Gonky, we need you!" she calls out, grabbing the droid's plug-thing and plugging him into the nearby port.
Huh. He is a battery, I suppose.
"It's working! Systems are back online," Tech reports, and off we go.
It's only a few more minutes before we come back around, and I bolt for the doorway.
"Jump!" Omega yells to them – they're standing, facing the inside of the mountain.
"Come on!" I call.
Echo jumps, and Omega reaches out to grab his hand, pulling him aboard.
It all happens so fast after that.
I See more than see the incoming fighters, and I hear the whirring of their engines. There's too many, coming too fast. We need to move. My head turns to watch, heart hammering, the wind whipping across us.
Tech jerks the ship away from the incoming blaster shots, and thereby, the ledge Hunter's on.
I yelp, grabbing the doorway to stay upright.
Hunter jumps.
I half fling myself forwards, trying to – to – something.
He slams into the bottom of the ramp – blaster's gone – but it was too late.
Hunter falls.
Omega screams.
The ship is jolting and Omega lurches forwards, trying to catch him, but Echo drags her back inside, ignoring her struggles. I push myself up, ducking back inside. He's falling, from the mountain top, just like in my visions.
The ship is jerking and I'm just standing here, staring numbly like an idiot at the closed door.
Gonky gets zapped when the Marauder is shot again.
"Multiple system failures! We cannot take many more hits!" Tech calls from up front.
"Get the ship out of here," Hunter's voice says over the comm, and I nearly cry when I hear him again.
"Hunter?" I ask into my comm. He sounds – I don't know. The static covers anything I could tell from him. "Are –" His words catch up to me half a second later, and I know what he's saying, but we can't do that.
"I'll find another way back."
"Negative. The odds of escape are not in your favor," Tech answers curtly.
"Go, Tech!" Hunter orders sharply, "That's an order!"
There's a heartbeat of hesitation before Tech shoves the ship forwards.
I feel sick.
"No!" Omega yells, desperately, "Turn around! We have to go back for him!"
"Remember what I said about jumping off a mountain?" I ask, tears burning my eyes.
"Sorry, kid."
"Don't be. I just need to get you back." Stars, this is the same thing that happened with Crosshair. He left and – and it happened the same way. It was from the moment he walked out of that prison cell that I last saw him, and he might not've been himself, but he still was. He wasn't trying to kill us yet.
I can't lose Hunter, too.
"Dad, we need you." I'm inhaling shakily and Omega's hand is on my shoulder now, clinging to me, like there's actually something I could do to help.
"Hunter, tell them to come back! Order them to come back!" She's practically begging now, nearly in tears, and so am I. For once, I'm not alone in that. I can't even think about what's happening clearly – it's too much, too fast, too overwhelming.
"Sorry, kid. I can't do that," Hunter replies, and the line goes dead.
It feels like a part of me did, too.
I register Tech taking the ship up towards the atmosphere, and everything after that is kind of a blur.
**w**
We go back to Ord Mantell to fix the Marauder. Omega's with Echo, and I stay inside with Tech, though there's really not a lot I can do. I just... help, numbly, unfeeling. I don't think I can feel anything. All my visions are being set into motion right now, and I know what's about to happen. I'm not ready for it.
I'm not ready to see Crosshair again.
I wish we hadn't left, but I know why Tech made the choice he did. There wasn't much of one that didn't involve us crashing and dying. Or we'd all be captured. I have no idea what'd happen then, but Crosshair – he'll be coming for us. I'm not ready. I know Hunter isn't, either. No one is.
I'm not sure how much help I'm being, but hey, I try.
"Are you okay?" I ask finally, because I need to talk or something, and Tech's the one who left. We don't do that, and I'm certainly not okay with the fact that we did. I can't really understand how his mind works, but still.
"By what measure?"
"Don't be annoying. You know what I mean. You threw Hunter off the ship. I wanted to know if you're okay."
"It doesn't matter," he answers shortly.
"Yes, it does. I don't care about things if they don't matter."
"You spent over an hour attempting to name your severed droid head."
"Thank you, Tech, but that actually mattered to me a lot." I glare at him, uncaring if he can't see me, "And stop being nasty."
"I am stating facts," he replies, annoyed. Good, because so am I, and I'm very, very tired of fighting with him all the time.
"Can you stop acting like that every single time I try talking to you?" I snap. "You can just tell me to leave. You don't have to be so – so – ugh." I stand and turn away, tempted to just go but that's not helpful, and it won't help him. This isn't about me. Never has been. I'm just so tired of... this. He's so hot-tempered. Maybe we just clash, because the same's true about me, but I don't know how to talk to him in a way he actually understands.
"Now is not the time to discuss this."
"Yeah, then when is?" I sit down again, too close to him for me to be comfortable with, but I'm not going to leave. I'm not like him in that way. I don't run just because I'm upset. I'm not mean to people just because I'm hurt. Or to hide my guilt or whatever. I can't understand being like that, but Tech was like this after we lost Crosshair, too. I remember that – he was being uncharacteristically snappy towards Echo. I'd been wondering if it was just something that changed after I left, but I guess I was wrong. It's just how he is when he's upset.
Tech pauses, glancing at me. It's the first time he has. "Perhaps after we have located Hunter."
I still don't see how that could lead us back to Kamino.
"You mean never," I mutter. Don't say anything past that. There's no point. He's not going to give in. Tech is stubborn. Unbelievably so.
I reach out to offer a light and fleeting touch to his shoulder – I'm not comfortable with more than that. Doubt he is, either, but Wrecker touches him like that, and he seems fine with it.
"The hull's patched," Echo reports some minutes later, reentering the hold with Omega behind him. I jump up, running to her side to grab her hand. It's the least I can do to calm us both, and I miss being without her everywhere.
"Nearly finished getting the systems online," Tech replies.
"I left Gregor with Cid. She wasn't too happy about it," Wrecker adds, climbing the ramp.
"What else is new?" Echo asks dryly.
"We are up and running," Tech says, scooting out from under the control panel and standing.
"Let's go get Hunter," Omega says, grabbing the steering yoke. Don't think Tech will let her fly, though.
Something on the controls beep, and I sidestep to let Tech look at it. "His communication device has just been activated. It appears he is no longer on Daro."
My heart skips a beat, and my gut plummets. Here we go. It's happening.
"What do you mean? Where is he?" Omega asks worriedly.
"Kamino," I supply, "At least heading there. Just like my dreams."
"Every landing platform will be swarming with troopers," Echo says, "How would we get in?"
That's not hard to figure out. "Nala Se's landing platform," I offer, "It's underwater. Unless they thought jumping into the ocean and drowning was a good idea, that should be clean. Might have a few fish, though."
"Most on Tipoca City don't know about it," Omega agrees, "If we can get through their forces in the air, that platform will be safe, and we can get inside unnoticed."
"Let's get going," Wrecker says.
Echo and Tech take their seats, firing up the engines. The ride's gonna be long, but I don't even care.
"Activating Hunter's comm was intentional," Tech remarks as he takes us up through the atmosphere, "The Empire wants us to come to Kamino. I am uncertain as to why."
"No turning back now," Wrecker supplies.
"If we turned back, we wouldn't be us," I reply, gripping the armrest of Echo's chair, "And I don't wanna say this, but I'm sure it's Crosshair, and he wants to make everything up close and personal."
No one really talks after that.
**w**
Tech is real grumpy about landing in the water, but Omega's right as she always is. The Empire wasn't even trying to stop us from landing, which is what I'm really unappreciative of. They're up to something, and I don't know why they want to make it so – well, like I said, up close and personal.
I don't want to face Crosshair down again. The mere thought makes me want to cry.
Tech steps out first, half-shielding his eyes with his hand.
I trot past him into the pouring rain, nearly freezing at the cold wetness as it soaks my hair in a second and at the smell of seawater. Familiar. Home, but not the one I want to be at. "What's wrong with you?" I ask, "You're wearing a helmet. How can the rain even get in your eyes?"
"Never doubted you for a second, kid," Wrecker congratulates Omega, wisely ignoring us entirely.
"Landing was only one problem. How are we going to get into the city?" Tech asks cluelessly, pointing towards the city with his datapad.
Like we expected him to jump into the ocean and swim? "We're gonna swim," I deadpan, which is mean, but I can't help it, "For the next thirty years."
"We'll take the tube system," Omega replies.
"The what?" Echo asks, confused.
"Underwater tunnels," I supply. I know about them, because 'mega does. The regs don't know about it.
Once we do get inside, there's other problems.
The Crosshair problem, actually.
I don't want to think about it, but I know what the chips are like, and I know Crosshair. He isn't going to want to make this fast. At least, he'll want it to hurt first – whatever in the stars he has planned. Will he hurt us? Is he going to break us down entirely, to rip us apart just because he can? To make us beg? I don't want to think about it.
Or will he just annoy me enough to make me resume my fork-hitting techniques?
"Don't think about it," Omega replies, grabbing my hand and pulling me to the opening.
Good idea. I close my eyes, trying to focus on hearing and feeling instead of brooding. The rain makes it easier – the constant washing of waves, the roar of the rain as it hits it, and the wetness as it soaks through my hair and clothes and drips down my face.
Hunter's the one who taught me to focus like this, and that's not something I want to focus on right now.
The underwater tunnel looks the same as I remember, and Omega gets to work on the controls right off. The light outside is flashing, moving too fast for me to watch, and it's making me dizzy.
"This type of underwater transport system is not documented on any schematics," Tech remarks, working on his datapad as we go.
"Kaminoans keep a lot of secrets," Echo points out.
"Indeed," he agrees, "Vision, Omega, how did you know this existed?"
"I walked off a landing platform one day, fell three thousand feet into the ocean and survived." Everyone is staring at me. "Just ignore me."
"Nala Se," my sister answers. "This tunnel leads to her private research lab. The others run throughout Kamino."
My attempted levity falls entirely flat anyway, but it does out the moment I realize she's crying. I've seen that many times before, but I never know what to do. The most I can do is hug her, which I do. It still throws me a little how tiny and skinny she is, and soon, I'll be taller than her. I don't want that to happen.
Omega slides her arms around my waist, clinging to me, head resting on my shoulder.
"You, uh, all right?" Echo asks quietly, crouching.
"It doesn't matter," Omega mutters into my shoulder. "Saving Hunter is what matters."
I'd say the same about me, but I don't know what's upsetting her. "We'll be fine," I try, even if I don't believe it. There was once a time I thought we'd only have six members before Echo, though we were more like five then, and it feels like we're back at the same. "I Saw us together, remember?"
"Yeah," she murmurs.
It feels like it takes forever, but that's probably just the wait and anticipation talking. I want to just find Hunter already. The lab is still cold when we finally step inside, or maybe that's just how I'm still all wet.
I shiver, looking around and sighing. The depressiveness of being here never sunk in until we got back again, and I realize I very much did not want to see this place again. It was so lonely. "Here we are. Home sweet home. And I hate getting my hair wet."
"Perhaps if you cut it –"
"Don't you dare," I scowl at Tech. "Touch my hair, and I will bite your hand off."
"This looks like every other Kaminoan lab to me," Wrecker supplies, confused.
"Not exactly," Omega replies.
"Hunter's comm is still active. I'll pinpoint his location," Tech says, and that's what I focus on, as opposed to all the snippy commentary I want to make.
"I'll tap into the system," Echo adds.
"We're assuming that Hunter's with his comm," I point out, crossing my arms, because no one else is being blunt about this. I'm freezing, and maybe it is a little cooler in here than usual, or maybe that's just my fear. Yes, I am scared. No point denying it. "We know this is a trap, and Crosshair knows us, so we gotta be careful."
"Yeah," Wrecker agrees, shoulders slumping.
"Either way, if we find Crosshair, Hunter should be close by," Echo points out. Fair.
Wrecker squeezes my shoulder, and I lean into his warmth a bit. At least I'm not alone. The like Hunter is goes without saying. "What's so special about this lab?" Wrecker queries.
"It's where we lived."
"It's where we were created," Omega corrects.
"Here?"
"You all were here, too," she answers, climbing a set of stairs to one of the medical capsules, pressing a hand against the glass.
"What do you mean?" Tech asks, and he somehow sounds more confused than Wrecker.
"Your mutations were enhanced in this room. Experimental Unit 99 began right here. I was there." Her hand falls from the glass, and she turns around.
"Wh – is that true?" Wrecker splutters.
"How could I possibly know that?" Tech throws back.
"It was only for a short time, before you were sent to be with the other clones," my sister explains.
"Something's not right. All the central files have been wiped. There's nothing in the system," Echo speaks up, and we gather around.
"Anyone else think that's weird?" Wrecker asks, cut off by a clattering behind us.
We all whirl around, weapons raised. Even Omega moves surprisingly fast. She really is catching onto the soldier thing.
"Do not shoot!" a familiar voice yelps, "I am AZI-345211 –"
"AZI?!" Omega and I exclaim in unison, lowering our weapons. I don't holster my blaster, though – it's out, and I have no idea when it'll be that I need it.
"Omega, Vision, I am relieved it is you," the droid says, floating around the corner.
"Same," I agree, "Don't want to get seen on first entry."
"What are you doing down here?" Omega queries.
"I am in hiding. Soldiers were deactivating droids and forcing key Kaminoan medical personnel onto transports. Those who resisted were eliminated."
What?! I look up at Echo with wide-eyed horror. What in the galaxy is the Empire doing to our planet? What are they up to?
"The clones did that?" Echo asks, appalled.
"No, these were other soldiers. All clone troopers were reassigned and transferred off-world, with the exception of CT-9904."
I already knew that, assumed that, but I still feel somewhat let down to hear it. I was really hoping I was wrong just this once, but nope. Too much to ask for.
"It is not safe here, Omega," the droid continues, "You must leave."
"We can't. Not without Hunter," Omega replies with a shake of her head.
"Found him," Tech cuts in, "His comm is pinging from the central cloning platform."
Good. One step in the right direction.
"Come on, AZI. You're with us." Omega grabs AZI's hand, and we run for the door. Echo takes up the lead as we run through the halls of the facility.
A deep-set, rippling fear is inside me, but I'm more determined than anything else. I don't care how dangerous this will be, or what will happen. Hunter needs us. And like I said to Wrecker, it's high time we're able to do something for him.
The rain is still pouring when we leave the facility to make our way to the next one. Omega and I are beside each other, holding hands the way we often do, but as I see the walkway, the city, I can't shake a feeling of finality.
It's all winding down now. Right here.
**w**
We make our way to the next facility, Echo still leading. AZI explains midway when we nearly get caught that all the clones are being replaced with some other random people that they call TK troopers.
Wrecker enters the room Tech takes us too first, and the rest of us follow a few steps behind. I'm half expecting to see a roomful of people, but well, Tech's not that stupid.
"According to the comm signal, Hunter is directly above us," Tech reports.
"Sweet," I supply, a bit jittery, rolling my shoulders as I struggle to calm myself. I'm cold, freezing, and I can't quite say why. I'm just scared. "So, we chop a hole in the floor?"
"The training room?" Echo queries warily, "That's open ground. If Crosshair's waiting, he'll pick us off."
"Oh, he's waiting," Wrecker mutters darkly.
"Yep," I agree, shifting and tightening my grip on my blaster. "Like I said, he's going to make this personal."
"Precisely why we will not be going in through the main entrance, like he would expect. We'll enter through the lift. That should give us a slight advantage."
Tech activates the lift, and he, Echo, and Wrecker climb on.
"Should is a good word, Tech," I object, darting forwards, "But I'm not sure we should gamble with our lives like that. This is your life. I know I might be... very nasty sometimes, but I still care about you. You're my brothers. All of you." I have no idea where Crosshair will be exactly because I can't See it, but I don't want them walking in blind. "Are you sure there's no other way?"
"Under the circumstances, not that I am aware of," he replies.
"The longer we wait, the worse this could be," Echo agrees, "We have to move. Vision and Omega, wait here."
"Shouldn't we stick together?" my sister argues.
"No, Echo's right. Crosshair's after us, not you," Wrecker replies.
"'kay," I grumble, crossing my arms unhappily. I understand it, though I certainly don't like it. Staying here will mean having no idea what's happening to our brothers, and there's a risk to that I don't appreciate whatsoever. I want to see Hunter again, make sure he's okay. I don't want my siblings to confront Crosshair without me.
I'm supposed to be the one who brings our family back together. I can't fail. That's never even been an option.
"Stay out of sight," Echo adds, "If things go south, we'll send you a signal. Get back to the ship and contact Rex."
"For the record I don't think this is the world's best idea, but if you really think that's the best choice, just try not to get shot!" I yell after them as the lift takes them up into the training room.
If Crosshair heard me yelling in the background, oh well, I guess. Could've been worse. He's already going to know we're here – I would never be willing to stay behind, and he knows me.
I don't think waiting is a good idea. Not like Echo was going to take arguments, though. "They'll be fine," I sigh, pacing the length of the room. I have too much energy, and it's gathering up under my skin, pulsing and burning.
"We should be there," Omega says dejectedly. "What if something goes wrong? What if someone gets hurt?"
"Welcome to being the youngest," I supply sarcastically, spreading my hands. Oh, yeah, I'm just being mean now, but what am I even supposed to say? I had to deal with this for months. It was so, so hard to live knowing I had no way of knowing if they were hurt. And honestly, I think that's just what it takes to be the youngest, because Crosshair had to go through the same thing.
He's a sniper, and yeah, that means he's gonna be away from the rest of us. Not to mention that's where he is now. I wish I could say I can't imagine the stress of that, but I can and do. It's not really fair, to any of us, but it's not like we can control it.
My comm lights up abruptly – Echo. "Ohhh, typical. 'mega? What do you say? It's like we need Hunter to hold our hand so we can breathe."
"Something went wrong. They're in trouble. We have to help."
"Per CT-1409's instructions, we should flee to the research lab," AZI objects, "Assisting will mean we will also be in danger."
"AZI, we're in danger as long as we're on planet. Crosshair's not gonna let us walk out. We have to get them out. Rex would never be here fast enough to do anything." That's not what Echo told us for, anyway. It's to protect us, which is ridiculous, because this entire thing has been about bringing our family back together. Not stopping now.
"I have an idea," Omega pipes up, moving to the machines that store training droids.
"I'll keep watch," I offer, "In case someone comes. Try to make it fast."
"On it," she agrees, typing something into the screen. I draw my blaster, turning to face the doorway. I don't hear anything, but that could change at any moment.
I know something's going on with the others, and it feels like I ought to hear blaster fire, which I don't, though facilities are far more soundproof than I give them credit for. I probably wouldn't hear anything, even if I want to pretend I could. Still, I know they're hurting. Being hurt. I can't imagine how hard this must be.
I saw Hunter fall. He must be hurt from that. Can he even walk? Honestly. I know he was talking, but that doesn't mean much.
"I think I've almost got it," Omega murmurs from behind me.
"Good," I call back, "Set 'em off, and let's get in there."
"Freeze!" a voice barks and one of Crosshair's black-armored squad-members steps into view, her blaster raised.
Omega gasps, jumping back, hands raised. "Uh, hello?" she offers awkwardly, waving.
I tighten my grip on my blaster, eyes narrowed. "You're not the only one with a blaster, idiot," I growl, eyes narrowed.
And I'm angry. Scared, too, but that's a given when someone has a blaster aimed at my sister. She could kill her.
"Try anything, and I'll shoot her," she snaps.
"And I'll kill you," I snarl back, "I'll gut you and feed you to sea monsters."
"Sir, I've found the girls," she says into her comm. I hear muffled static from the other end, not enough to make out, but it's – it's Crosshair's voice. I can hear that, and I don't think it'll ever stop hurting. "Both of them," she adds, "They're together."
I take a half-step closer to Omega, trying to put myself between her and the Imperial.
"Move it," she snaps, motioning with her blaster for us to step away from the droids.
"I'm kinda in the middle of something," Omega offers hesitantly.
My hands tighten. I should've seen her coming sooner. "Just so you know, I'm not very good at following orders."
"Lower the blaster, kid," she orders, anyway, "Or I'll blast your droid."
AZI yelps.
"Do it," I snarl, "You'll lose your leverage. Crosshair doesn't want us dead. Or at least, he'd kill you for doing it. Graphically. You want me to go on?"
Her blaster starts moving, but I move first, shooting the weapon out of her hands, dead-center, and firing again. The second shot takes her shoulder, and she drops. Not dead, but injured, and it doesn't matter.
Omega breathes a sigh of relief. "Thanks, Viz."
"Sorry, AZI," I try, lowering my blaster and throwing a look over my shoulder, flipping my dark curls out of my face. "That was a bit, uh –"
"Tense?" he supplies with a droid shudder.
"Yeah."
"Let's hurry," Omega requests, typing in one last thing, "Activating droids now."
"Let's get going." I sprint for the lift to take us up to the towers – it's time to go in, finally, and I can't wait to see them again. Omega and I skid to a stop at the edge, looking down.
My eyes dart between Echo, Tech, and Wrecker who are taking shelter behind the mini-wall thingies in the room to where Hunter and Crosshair are rolling around on the floor – what are they doing, anyway? They look like they're attempting and miserably failing to mimic 'mega and my snuggle parties – to the droids closing in. "Oopsies," I supply cheerfully, whipping out my blaster.
"I believe you have activated a few too many droids," AZI supplies.
"I can see that, AZI," Omega replies, drawing her bow and firing at the two by Hunter and Crosshair, who are still... rolling around. Crosshair flips them over and Hunter kicks him off, and they roll to their feet. Crosshair... immediately tries to cut his throat. Literally. My gut flips violently just seeing it, watching in numbing horror as he stabs at Hunter's neck with his own knife. Hunter tackles him anyway, of course, ripping his blaster and knife away and rolling to his feet, shooting back at the droids. I take off one nearby, just for good measure, and Omega draws her own bow to do the same.
Crosshair pushes himself up as Wrecker and Tech move forwards, lifting his rifle to take out the next droid. Wrecker and Tech freeze, looking at each other with obvious shock, before Wrecker pulls out his knife and they charge.
"C'mon!" I cheer, swinging myself over the edge with a squeal. "That's our cue!" I slide down the wall, stabbing my blade into it to slow my fall – I refuse to take the time to climb down – and kick myself off towards the bottom, rolling to cushion the landing and jumping up again. I whip around, firring a few times at another droid, and I hear Omega beginning her own descent behind me.
Omega is down beside me in minutes – I'd like to throw my knife at them, but I don't know how to aim just right yet – and we stand together, shielding each other, dodging any shots that come close, and mostly picking them off from behind. I pull my knife out when I'm close enough, anyway, stabbing a droid in its back, half to see what would happen, half just... because. Because it's fun. 'mega fires at it, the shot taking it through, and I spin around to another droid that somehow started sneaking up on is, raising my blaster towards its head.
Only for it to be hit from elsewhere, and my head whips around. It was... Crosshair?
I look up at him, wide-eyed, and he's looking at us, too. For the first time. He... helped us.
The feeling of warmth that spreads through my heart is overwhelming. This, I realize suddenly, is the first time we've all been somewhere, fighting together. Everything that I've ever wanted and needed and... am. This is what we were made for, and it's what I've always wanted. What I've always dreamed of. We're all here together again. Crosshair is here again, and we're not going to leave without him.
We're home again.
We're together again.
We're... family.
Nothing's gonna take that from us. Not again.
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