It was a warm Summer afternoon on Pabu Island. Omega was living her typical life. It was a month since her escape from Mt. Tantiss alongside Batcher and Crosshair after five-and-a-half months of confinement, blood samples, daily tasks and regular experimentation on her by Doctor Hemlock, Emerie and Nala Se. It was warm for a winter afternoon, and Pabu's star flooded light onto Lower Pabu. The waves crashing onto the shore echoed, and the scent of stone and seawater wafted as Omega walked along the rough ground. Omega had found herself walking past Slave 1, a modified Firespray 31-class patrol and attack craft containing her older twin brother, Boba Fett. According to Phee, a Weequay pirate named Hondo Ohnaka had recommended Boba Fett hide here from the deadly Bounty Hunter Cad Bane, who was said to be after him on behalf of the Empire. Omega suspected that, for whatever reason, the Empire was after her and Boba, probably for the same reason why Emerie took her blood every day and why she was experimented on.
"What would I even talk to her about?" came Boba's voice from the entrance to the ship. When Omega heard Phee's voice, she realised they were talking about her. Using her tracking and stealth training from Hunter, Omega crept near the ship and crouched, listening.
"I don't know. Kamino?" Phee suggested.
"If she's who I suspect she is, I'm not touching that subject with a ten-foot pole, sorry. I'm glad you bring me food daily, but I'm used to being alone. Nothing against anyone here. It's how I've gotten used to things," Boba replied.
Omega heard this and sighed, knowing how bad that felt and wanting to talk to him.
"Well, people on Pabu tend to be more social than that. Please consider it," Phee replied as she departed. It wasn't long before Phee entered Omega's line of sight, and sure enough, Phee knew she was there.
"How long have you been there?" Phee asked curiously.
"Not long," Omega replied, joining Phee as they walked towards Upper Pabu.
"How much did you hear?" Phee wondered.
"Only the last bit of the conversation," Omega admitted, "I want to interact with him,"
"Is that why you've been stealthily following him so much?" Phee smirked.
"How have you noticed that?" Omega was surprised Phee noticed her.
"I recognise Hunter's style," Phee ruffled Omega's hair, "Be careful when approaching him. That is the advice I would give you right now. Boba isn't used to having visitors,"
"I'll keep it in mind," Omega replied as they reached the Batch, Lyana and Shep to prepare for dinner.
Later that evening, Omega sneaks back towards Lower Pabu, wanting to check on Boba. The weather had cooled noticeably, and there were clouds overhead, obscuring some of the stars. The moon lit the night sky as the sounds of crashing waves echoed, and the scent of seawater mingled with stone. Omega walked on the rough ground, looking for Boba's ship. Using the skills she learned from Hunter, Omega carefully and stealthily approached Boba's craft, trying not to startle him. She was shocked when she saw Boba Fett looking sadly at his helmet near the entrance to the craft.
Omega's first thought was, why was he upset? What about the helmet that made him emotional? Omega wanted to approach and offer comfort, but something told her not to. So she hid nearby, hoping to radiate comfort for him.
Omega kneeled near the side of the craft and approached very slowly. She stopped about ten feet from the entrance and realised Boba was exiting the craft. She could hear his footsteps on the ramp, and she had an impossible decision. Try to run behind the ship, turn this into a game of hide-and-seek, or try to talk her way out of the situation.
Omega didn't get to decide, as Boba Fett suddenly turned about a foot from the ramp and immediately spotted her.
"What are you doing here?" Boba spat. Omega winced. She knew Boba was like Crosshair used to be. Harsh and Unyielding. Omega didn't know what to say or what she had seen.
"Phee wanted me to check on you," Omega said, knowing that Boba would see through it. He did.
"If Phee had sent you, you wouldn't need to be sneaking around my craft. How did you manage to sneak up on me like that?" Boba asked with anger, fear, and curiosity in his features.
"Hunter taught me how to track and be stealthy," Omega admitted.
"Handy skill," Boba conceded, "Now leave. I don't want to hurt you, but the fact you snuck up on me like that is troubling, to say the least,"
"OK," Omega sighed, sneaking back up the rockface towards upper Pabu, hoping he didn't suspect her having seen him at a vulnerable moment. She needed to talk to someone about a better way to approach him. But how was she going to do that? Omega decided that it would be something to decide on tomorrow. Defeated, Omega returned to the craft and collapsed in her room, holding Lula close.
The following morning, Omega sat at the shore, troubled by her first interaction with Boba Fett. It was a mild Summer morning, and the Sun glowed over the island, though long shadows spread across parts of the island. The sound of the wind blowing and the scent of grass and stone wafted as Omega sat on the hard floor.
Omega heard footsteps and turned to see Echo approaching her. Omega jumped up and hugged him, which he returned.
"Hey, Havoc-5. What's happened?" Echo asked.
"What happened is that Boba Fett is here on Pabu. He knows Phee, who brought him here," Omega replied.
"Boba's here? And how did Phee know about Boba?" Echo asked suspiciously.
"A fellow pirate named Hondo Ohnaka," Omega replied.
"Hondo?" Echo asked, even more suspicious. Seeing the suspicion in Echo's face, Omega rested a hand on his shoulder.
"Echo, it's OK. He mostly keeps to himself. He doesn't cause trouble," Omega reassured.
"I understand. The whole situation is strange," Echo replied, the suspicion leaving his face.
"Is there any advice you can give?" Omega asked.
"He's a mini-Crosshair, so unless you want to go to Tantiss with him for another six months, that won't work," Echo replied.
"I figured that much when he caught me sneaking near his craft," Omega grimaced.
"How about talking to Phee about it? She knows him better than I do," Echo replied.
"I'll give it a go, keeping the Crosshair comparison in mind," Omega got up, hugged Echo again, then went looking for Phee.
Omega found Phee in Lower Pabu, staring solemnly out at the water. It had noticeably warmed, and the scent of sea salt wafted as Omega approached.
"Hey, Omega. I heard from Boba you were sneaking around his area last night," Phee prompted.
"I did," Omega replied, "I was hoping I could try to help him,"
"Your heart was in the right place," Phee replied, "Even Boba acknowledges that. But he's not ready to talk about what's happening to anyone else. He's going through a lot at the moment. I'm talking to him about it. His trauma runs as deep as yours does, and he is being hunted at the moment,"
"Poor guy," Omega sighed, "I wish I could help him,"
Phee stood there and thought about it momentarily.
"Sorry to bring her up, but do you have anything to remember Nala Se by?" Phee asked.
Omega looked at Phee momentarily, then remembered where she had stuffed Nala Se's pendant.
"I do. Why?" Omega asked.
"Boba has mentioned Nala Se a few times. Whatever you have from her, maybe you could show him that?" Phee suggested.
Omega looked at Phee, then nodded.
"Thanks for the suggestion, Aunty Phee. Is there anything else?" Omega asked.
"No problem, Omega," Phee replied.
"Do I bring the goggles along?" Omega asked, her face falling into shadow.
"I can recommend it," Phee replied, "If he understands that you've experienced loss as he has, maybe he'll be more open,"
"That sounds like a plan," Omega replied.
"One more thing. Don't sneak around again," Phee reminded Omega, who nodded.
"Maybe you can organise somewhere for us to meet?" Omega suggested.
"I can't guarantee it, but we'll see," Phee replied, "By the way, what was he doing when you saw him?"
"Looking at his helmet," Omega recalled.
Phee thought about this momentarily, then got an idea.
"Do you still have the goggles?" Phee asked sadly. Omega felt a jolt of psychological pain shoot through her as she remembered Tech.
"We do," Omega sighed.
"Bring them along," Phee advised.
"Alright," Omega nodded. Phee and Omega would stare at the beach before they drifted off.
A few hours later, Omega is watching over Lower Pabu. It was a hot day, and Omega sweated in the hot Sun. Crashing waves echoed, and the scent of seawater wafted as Omega stood on the hard floor.
Omega heard footsteps and turned to see Boba Fett approaching.
"Oh great, it's you again," Boba said before he stopped, recognising the pendant belonged to Nala Se.
"That pendant. Where did you get that?" Boba asked, surprised seeing it.
"I've had it while on Kamino. It's Nala Se's," Omega replied.
Omega watched as Boba realised she was involved with Nala Se. Omega saw a pang of shock and what appeared to be sympathy cross his features.
"Nala Se. Is she alive?" Boba asked.
"She is, but she's imprisoned on Mt. Tantiss," Omega replied.
"At least she's alive," Boba sighed.
"Since you have that, I assume you were working with Nala Se?" Boba asked curiously.
"I was her lab assistant," Omega sighed, her face falling into shadow. Omega then saw Boba look at Tech's goggles.
"What happened to those goggles?" Boba pointed at the goggles.
"These?" Omega asked, showing the goggles. When Boba nodded, Omega explained.
"They're Tech's. We attempted to locate the base where Crosshair was being held. We heard Doctor Hemlock was attending a meeting on Eriadu and worked to attach a tracker to his ship. But our operation was sabotaged by people bombing the meeting place, trying to kill people. The Gondola was damaged, and Tech had to fix it. But the Empire attacked our Gondola and damaged it. Tech fixed the mechanism for moving the Gondola but, getting back, lost his footing thanks to the Empire and was left dangling from the damaged Gondola. He sacrificed himself, shooting the damaged Gondola and letting himself plunge to his death, hoping to save us. It worked, but I got injured in a crash. We had to return to Ord Mantell only to discover Cid was working for the Empire now, and I got captured. Doctor Hemlock handed us these goggles, saying this was all of Tech he found," Omega sighed, the pain of Tech's death bubbling inside her.
"I'm sorry for your loss," Boba replied empathically. Omega smiled in response.
"What's the armour for?" Omega asked.
"It's based on my father's armour," Boba replied, "I watched him die, beheaded by a Jedi. I destroyed a year of my life pursuing vengeance. I'm partly here because of my decisions in the aftermath. I hope you don't go down that path,"
"Thank you," Omega replied before she turned to Boba.
"I'm sorry I approached you in the way I did. I didn't want to disturb you," Omega admitted.
"Your heart was in the right place. Please don't sneak on me like that," Boba replied.
"I can't guarantee that, but maybe you could attempt to spot me if I try to sneak on you," Omega suggested.
"You're on," Boba smiled, which Omega returned.
And that was the case over the next few weeks. As Boba moved around Pabu Island, Omega took time to sneak around on him, seeing if he spotted her. Sometimes, he wouldn't. Other times, he would. This sport would bring them closer together, in a way, and was fun for them.
