Chapter 3 - Teth
The rest of the climb is pretty easy, and she sees droid pieces flying off the wall. Her master's doing. There's so much smoke, though.
Seeing all the destroyed droids is actually relieving, and Omega finds herself smiling with relief.
She finally reaches the top, still smiling even if her hand is achy and sore, and flips over the edge. She's achy from doing all the movement, but she learned some at the Temple.
Up above, a few destroyer droids are closing.
Anakin jumps over them, sending a Force-shove from behind that flings them over the edge.
Omega climbs over the edge, running to her master's side.
"Nice work," Anakin tells her with a small smile, patting her shoulder. "Everybody good?"
"Fine," Hunter nods.
Clone Force 99 is gathering nearby, looking around the destroyed droids. "Aww," Wrecker whines, deflating, "I missed all the fun!"
"I wouldn't say that," Anakin objects.
"I am inclined to agree," Tech adds, "There are far too many droids here for them to be renegades."
"I sense Count Dooku's hand in this," Anakin agrees, "Let's find Jabba's son and get outta here. The sooner we're gone, the better. I think there's something... darker at play. We're not done yet."
A shiver snakes down Omega's spine. She somehow never thought battle would be so scary. Which, on hindsight, was probably silly. It's nice to get to work with her brothers again, but it's still just... scary. Jedi aren't supposed to be scared, but she can't help it.
But they just need to find another kid and get him to safety, right? That's a good thing.
The sky is purple. It's so pretty from up here. There's so much to see. Omega's never seen a purple sky before. She can't stop staring at it in awe.
Hunter catches her gaze and smiles down at her, helmet on his hip, even if she'd almost pegged him as the type who rarely smiles, and she grins back.
"Tech, keep your scanners alert if anything else is coming. Stay alert, and warn us if anything goes wrong. We're all going in to find this Huttlet. We don't know what we're up against, so everybody, be ready." Anakin motions them after him, and together, they approach the giant doors.
"Tech, get the door," Hunter orders, and Tech breaks away to get it open. He plugs his datapad into something, and the massive door lifts part way, enough they can easily enter.
It's dark inside. Her brothers pull out their flashlights, shining them around, and Anakin and Omega use their lightsabers for a small amount of illumination. It's so big.
"This place gives me the creeps," Wrecker whispers loudly.
"It's in your head, Wrecker," Crosshair snarks, "Everything gives you the creeps."
"'m not!" he protests, "I'm not scared of nothin'. I just got a problem with gravity, and dark, spooky places."
"I don't sense anything," Omega offers, trying to make him feel at least a little better.
"Stay alert," Hunter warns, "Considering the number of droids outside, there's probably some inside."
"This place is fascinating," Tech remarks, "It appears to be a B'omarr monk monastery. Or, at least it was, before the Hutts took it over."
"And the monks just let them?" Omega asks, confused. If this was their home, why would they let someone else take it?
"The Hutts have a way of getting what they want, one way or another," her master replies, "This place has a lot of history. Master Qui-Gon's been here before – he and Obi-Wan arrested the Hutts that took it over way back. I don't know who's been here ever since."
Hunter freezes, jerking his hand up. "Wait," he hisses in warning, and they all freeze, weapons aimed towards the darkness.
Up ahead, Omega sees a droid slowly clanking forwards. It's gray, with large eyes, and not a type she recognizes. "Is this one dangerous?" Omega asks.
"It is a type of caretaker droid," Tech replies, "This is not a type known for violence, unless disguised as something else."
"Who are you?" Anakin asks, blade aimed at the droid.
"Merely the humble caretaker, O mighty sir," the droid replies, "You have liberated me from those dreadful battle bots. I am most thankful."
"Where is the Hutt?" Anakin inquires.
"The battle bots kept their prisoners on the detention level. I must warn you it is very dangerous down there, my friend. Not a place for a child."
Omega bristles at the droid's pointed look at her. "I'm not that young," she argues, "I'm twelve." That isn't that young. Her brothers are nine, and they're already on the front lines. She's perfectly capable of doing it, too. "Besides, I'm a Jedi."
"A thousand apologies, young one," the droid replies.
Omega sighs, looking up at her master.
"Alright. Come on," Anakin says, waving them onwards, 'Let's go find that hutt."
They keep moving, and Hunter stops them again, handing out a warning that there are some droids up ahead in the shadows.
Her brothers shoot them all – there's only a few, and it's not even a real fight.
"He's in here," Anakin calls from up ahead, pausing in front of one of the doors.
It smells awful down here. When was the last time someone cleaned? Azi used to be obsessed with cleanliness, and the Jedi at the Temple are fairly, too, though not as much. Something abut being prepared for circumstances.
Anakin opens the door with a wave of his hand.
Omega doesn't know what she expected to see, but a quiet whine from a tiny creature on the floor, too small to even reach the top of her boot was not it. It's tiny, comprised mostly of a large head, a tiny tail, and two small arms that she can hardly make out in the darkness.
"Well, he's younger than I thought he'd be," Hunter shrugs.
"Goodie," Crosshair mutters grumpily.
"It will make our job a lot easier," Anakin replies, "They move slow."
The smell is even worse in here, Omega realizes with a disgusted shudder, but she tiptoes down the stairs into the cell where the Huttlet is. "Aw," she breathes, leaning down to look him over. "He's so cute up close."
"Just wait until you see what he'll grow into," Anakin grumbles, stepping back into the hall.
"What are we gonna do with him?" Wrecker asks, looking it over.
Hunter, Tech, and Crosshair look pointedly at him. "You get to carry him," Hunter tells him sweetly.
"What?!" Wrecker yelps, waving his hands. "No, no, no, no! He smells horrible! I'm not touching that! Why don't you carry it?"
Omega presses a hand to her mouth, struggling to suppress her giggles.
"Because I don't think it's cute."
"I never said it was!"
"I'm not carrying it, either," Crosshair adds, "Even on pain of death."
"I will carry it," Tech intervenes, before the squabble lifts to blows. If her brothers do that. Omega's seen her fair share of fighting between the clones. And even other children at the Temple.
The Huttlet whines while Tech scans him. "I believe he is sick," Tech reports.
"Sick?" Omega repeats worriedly, crouching to touch him. He's warm, maybe oddly warm, but she doesn't know anything about Hutts.
"Sounds like we better get him up to the cruiser fast," Hunter says, arms crossed."
"Come on," Anakin calls from the doorway, "Let's get him to the landing platform."
**w**
Tech is surprisingly not cranky about having to lug around the Huttlet. He's heavy. Anakin knows that. He's still unhappy about the mission as a whole, even if understands the reasoning for it. They cram it into a backpack, and Anakin goes to report to Master Qui-Gon.
They're actually lucky the place had a communications tower, because without the ship, they have no way to contact anyone. Comms are just short range. It's even more of a miracle that this thing is actually working.
"Anakin, have you located the Hutt?" he queries.
"We have him, but it looks like the Separatists are behind his abduction," Anakin reports.
"It appears so," Qui-Gon replies, "I believe it is Dooku behind this." What it would mean for him to be fighting against his master, the man who raised him, Anakin can't imagine.
"Dooku is probably using us to get Jabba to join the Separatists," Anakin adds.
"We have another problem," Hunter interjects, "The Huttlet's sick. I'm not sure we'll be getting him back to Tatooine alive."
Anakin should care. Rotta is a child, and an innocent one, but he just... doesn't. He can't. Not when Jabba has done so much worse to others. It horrifies him that Dooku has fallen enough to be willing to harm an innocent child in such a manner, because he is no wonder the reason the Huttlet is sick in the first place. But the reality is that Anakin simply feels nothing. Jabba is a monster. Why should he ever want to bring his son back to him and seal his fate to become the same? "This rescue well might backfire on us," Anakin warns. "I don't think dealing with the Hutts is a good idea."
"They control the shipping routes in the Outer Rim, and right now, when we're cut off from Kamino, the Republic needs to regain access. However, despite our reservations, I do not sense this will end badly for us."
"General," Tech interrupts, approaching, "We have Several droid ships inbound."
Anakin scans the room. "We'll have to call you back, Master. The droids found us. We could use a little help if you got the time."
"We'll be there soon," Qui-Gon promises, "Keep Rotta safe."
There are other people who need help far more direly, people with no one to protect them. He's not worth the lives of these men. That's what angers Anakin so much. No one is worth all the lives that are going to be lost today, and Jabba would never care. No one would.
"Tech, get to the doors and close them off. Fast," Anakin orders, shutting down the crackling transmission.
"That's not really our style," Hunter points out. It's exhausting. Anakin will always do, well, what Anakin does, but Hunter has his own orders, and the others follow him. And Anakin doesn't know how to let Hunter lead, what it means for all of them. If something happens to them, it's going to be on Anakin, not Hunter. That's what they don't understand.
"No. It's not worth the risk. No one should have to die for this mission. Let's make it good."
When they reach the exit hall, droids are already approaching. Spider droids are incoming. There's too many. They're going to be overwhelmed. The Bad Batch can hold it here, but... that's not a risk he's willing to take.
It's not worth the lives. Out here, there's open ground. Not enough cover.
Crosshair is shooting by the doorway, hand Hunter and Wrecker have gone out to take the fight to the droids themselves, though it's all they can do to just hold the lines here, even with Anakin and Omega's help. "Fall back!" Anakin yells, deflecting an onslaught of blaster shots from one of the spider droids. "Get back inside! Both of you!"
Hunter's actually on one of those droids, stabbing its eye out with his knife.
He's heartstoppingly daring.
Wrecker, too. Sometimes, he just thinks Wrecker has a death wish.
Anakin covers for them in the doorway until they retreat into the safety of the building.
"Close the doors!" he yells over his shoulder, deflecting the shots, covering as they fall back.
"Not until you're in here," Hunter calls back firmly.
"Close them, now!" There's no time to argue about it. That's one of the things he struggles with. They don't listen.
The doors start closing, and Anakin ducks beneath them right before they shut, rolling to his feet. He stands, breathing heavily for a few minutes, letting the adrenaline fade. Shots are still hitting the doors, but they'll hold well for now.
"We'll stay here until Master Qui-Gon arrives with reinforcements," Anakin says.
"General," Hunter interjects, "I don't think this Huttlet can last this long."
"Tech, can you scan for other ways out?" Anakin asks, turning to the two of them. "That's the only other way we have."
"Well, of course, I can," Tech replies while Artoo beeps happily.
"Good. Get on it. Comm us with the directions. Omega and I will try to get us another ride. Hold their lines here as long as you can until we find a way out. Crosshair, this is where you come in."
The sniper smirks. "Alright. Anyone without a death wish, get back and leave it to me."
Anakin knows this is dangerous. He knows Ventress is here, because he recognizes her presence. He knows this slippery darkness well, not dark enough to be a true Sith, but still dark enough to pose a heavy threat. He could take her, but he has to stay with Omega and make sure they get Rotta to safety. He doesn't have the luxury of staying back here and protecting his men.
Even if he wants to.
"Get ready," Anakin orders, "And... be careful." He borrows Rotta and the backpack from Tech, grumpily hooking it onto his back. He doesn't want to carry it, but Omega's so small, and she's been fighting for so long already. The kid's worn out, and she needs to rest. "And of course, we'll swing around to pull you out."
**w**
"Let's get some rest," Anakin tells her, studying her through the darkness of the room. They're in one of the back rooms of the monastery. Artoo and Tech are working on a way out, scanning through the holograms of the building.
"I'm not tired," Omega protests despite the exhaustion weighing her down. She's a padawan. She's a Jedi – she can't just sleep on missions when she's tired and her brothers are still fighting for their lives.
"It's okay, just sit down and get some rest," Anakin repeats, "It's been a long day for you, little one."
Omega shuffles over to him, sinking onto the edge of some sort of platform. She's exhausted now that she's sitting. She could sleep. She could definitely sleep for a long time, but they're not done yet. She is tired, but she isn't a youngling anymore, either. She's can do this. Really. Even if she is tired, she doesn't want to act like she's not able to be a Jedi. There were so many people in the Temple who told her that, and it hurts. She doesn't want Anakin to think the same of her. "I'm not too young," she protests, "I ready to be a padawan."
"I know," Anakin promises. "But Qui-Gon once told me nothing happens by accident. It's the will of the Force that you are at my side, and I want to keep you all of you there in one piece."
They're her brothers. She remembers them from when they were little, and knowing them again, Omega knows they're the same. It's been years, but she finally got to see them again. She gets to be with them, just as she always wanted. The Jedi call this feeling attachment, but Omega is just happy to get to be with them again. The separation, the loneliness, was so draining. She wanted to get off Kamino just so she could have the freedom to be with them again.
If she's part of their squad, she'll be able to stay with them forever, just as she always wanted, except right now she has to be off here with her master and take care of the Huttlet. He's cute, and she likes him, but she really, really just wishes they could all do this together.
"And," Anakin adds, "I know you're ready. I just don't think I am."
Omega looks up at him, about to reply, when a sudden explosion shakes the building. "What's that?" she asks, heart pounding, leaping into her throat.
"It sounds like they just breached the walls. We don't have long." He lifts his arm, speaking into his comm. "Tech? You got anything?"
"Transmitting locations now," comes the muffled reply. "The droids are advancing. But there is a landing platform in the back which you may be able to use."
"Copy," Anakin says, "Omega, let's go."
**w**
Between the four of them, they hold the droid line well in the doorway. Crosshair put his reflector disks all across the front hall, and that right of itself does very well at keeping the droids at bay. Whatever he can't get, between Wrecker's shooting, Tech's explosives, and Hunter's stabbing, is very well kept back.
It works, until someone else comes in, someone with a dark cloak and red lightsabers.
"Asajj Ventress," Tech reports. "The Separatist assassin."
Crosshair shoots again, and she deflects the shots from the reflector disks back in their direction. Hunter ducks out of the way, the shot scorching the wall next to his head.
He's tired of holding back, anyway. "Alright, boys. Let's do this. Tech?"
"Ready," he promises, gripping a smoke grenade.
"Go."
Tech throws it out, smoking the hall. Droids can't see properly through the smoke, and it will blind her, even momentarily. Hunter and his squad all have scanners on their helmets, so that's not even a problem for them.
He swings out from behind his hiding place, firing, as does Wrecker. Crosshair fires, a well-aimed shot at her lightsabers, and one of them explodes.
He flings his knife at her, too, for good measure, and Ventress bats it aside with her surviving weapon.
They still have to duck when she starts deflecting the shots their direction. Separating her from her lightsabers is the trick, especially when they didn't have time to plan this.
Which they can't do here.
"Take out the ceiling," Hunter calls, "Let's see how she likes that."
Wrecker laughs gleefully, flinging an explosive up onto the ceiling where it goes off with a deafening explosion, ripping a good piece of ceiling, rock, or whatever material the place is made out of down on her head. Ventress yells angrily, catching it with the Force and flinging it aside, rolling aside to avoid the rest.
"Wrecker, Crosshair, circle around," Hunter orders, "Fall back, you know what to do. Tech and I, we distract her."
This will be some story. Probably something they'll be laughing at for a long time to come. Or not.
Ventress charges at them with a yell, deflecting some of the shots, but dodging most of them. She's going to cut through them instead, and she comes fast. She's deadly. Hunter can see why she's considered so dangerous now.
Tech ducks into a roll as she slashes the ground open beside him.
Hunter jumps her, grabbing her arm and ripping her back. She swings around, kicking him in the stomach. He skids backwards, doubling, grunting quietly.
Ventress rips one of Tech's blasters from his hands when he tries to shoot at her, flinging it to the floor. She's just going to cut through them, weaponless. Tech rolls aside, drawing his second blaster and firing.
She jumps out of the way, but Hunter's already grabbed his knife from the ground and is on his feet.
He knows trying to backstab a Force-used is a bad idea. He tries, anyway, nearly getting relieved of his arm, but Tech grabs her arm, one-handed, and yanks back, lightsaber held in it or no.
Ventress yells, Force-shoving them both in opposite directions down the hall. Hunter hits the floor, rolling over a few times, nearly hitting the debris pile from where they took out half the ceiling. Tech hits the wall across the hallway.
Hunter tries shooting, and Ventress lifts her hand. Something tightens around his neck, lifting him, and he struggles against it, even if it's not a physical grip and he has no way of getting it off. No. Absolutely not. He is not going to just dangle here like an idiot and get not even physically strangled to death by this maniac. There's gotta be something else he can do, but his neck is burning and his lungs are screaming for air, and it's very hard to think about anything else.
Crosshair is the first to swing down from the hole, dropping into a roll and tackling Ventress. She Force-shoves him into the wall. Hunter hits the floor when she drops him, unable to stay focused on him while fighting his brothers. He groans softly, panting, trying to catch his breath.
That was unpleasant.
Tech has one of his hands behind his back, and Hunter senses a ticking something. Some kind of explosive. Good one. Don't throw it until it's about to go off, and she won't have time to react.
Hunter drags himself off the floor, because the twins' attempted fighting attempt isn't going so well either, throwing his knife at her again. She swings it aside with the Force, where it embedded itself into the wall. She tries to hit him, and Hunter blocks it with his forearm, backing up.
Wrecker charges with a yell. Ventress flips over him, Force-shoving him at Hunter, and they crash awkwardly onto the floor. Oww. Wrecker is actually very heavy. He's lucky his armor took the worst of that one.
Tech throws the explosive – it's an EMP grenade, and the electricity hits her with a whir.
Hunter's head spins, and he tries to haul Wrecker off of him, panting heavily. Owww. Sincerely, ow.
Still, though. It was fun.
Even if he almost died a few times, all things considered, this was definitely more exciting than most of their missions.
Ventress hits the ground on her knees with another yell – how is she not hoarse by now? – but not unconscious.
Not good.
What's also not good, is that he feels something – something's coming.
"Oh boy," Wrecker says, raising his blaster.
"Destroyers," Hunter hisses, shoving him to an opposite side of the hall. This isn't good. Both destroyers, and Ventress?
"Take care of the clones," she orders, standing, "I'll go after Skywalker."
Omega. The kid. The kid's there – but the destroyers here are a far more present problem that's right up in their faces. He'll have to trust Anakin can take care of her himself. And that scares him. Destroyers are a hard thing to fight, especially with no cover. Even for them.
Wrecker fires at the first destroyer, ducking back against the wall with a yelp when it nearly shoots him. But the focus is enough for Hunter to bolt forwards, sprinting across the hall and sliding the rest of the way under the droid and through its shield, stabbing it in the eye with his knife. It sparks and falls, and Tech drops the next with another deactivator.
There's a long, long fight ahead of them.
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