FORESIGHT and SCOPE: BOOK TWO

C H A P T E R F O R T Y-S E V E N

I hurried back to the entrance of the mineshaft and stepped out onto the platform, where I found Wrecker standing in an attentive stance and Omega sitting in a hunched-over state, fiddling with a pebble in her open palm. "Alright, Half-Pint, you're up."

"Really?" she questioned monotonously.

"Yes, really." I chuckled as I hopped down from the scaffold and pulled her to her feet. "Turns out, a person of 'small stature' is exactly who we need to complete the mission. We are counting on you." I winked at her, hoping I can boost her enthusiasm. Instead, I received a silent, obedient nod. My grin wavered as I watched her trudge her way into the tunnel with her head hung low and disappear. With a heavy sigh, I leaned my back against the metal stage with my bare arms tightly crossed. "I thought she'd be more thrilled to help..."

"She seems upset about Echo leaving still." Wrecker said in a gruff tone.

"Can you blame her?" My mouth formed a straight line. "I don't..."

"She'll get used to it, right?"

I couldn't see the big guy's expression since he wore his headgear, but his concern was displayed in his voice and body language. The nose of his blaster drooped. Part of me wanted to smile and assure him that yes, Omega would eventually adjust to Echo's absence; but then I reflected how spiritless she was when I offered her the more enjoyable part of the mission, like it didn't matter to her whether she waited out here bored or not. I shared the muscular clone's sentiments: I was hoping to see our young girl return to her bright, exuberant self...

"I don't know, Wrecker." I replied honestly. "It's a big change for someone like Omega. She doesn't understand like you and I, and Hunter and Tech, that Echo did not abandon us."

"Abandon?" Wrecker tilted his head in confusion, his tone grew slightly frantic. "Why would Omega think Echo abandon us?"

"Calm down, you big oaf." I patted the air with my hand. "It's complicated for Omega to grasp Echo's intentions." I then exhaled and approached my friend. "Come on, sit with me." We settled on the dusty ground, keeping our view on the vast, stunning landscape. Wrecker slipped his helmet above his brow and propped his blaster up on one knee. I crossed my legs and hopelessly brushed away the hair from my face again. The distant thunder continued to grumble; it reminded me of whenever Wrecker's stomach growled.

"I'll try to explain the best I can, okay? You and I, and Hunter and Tech, are enhancingly mature to register that Echo had to do what he believed was right. We are capable of taking that in stride. For Omega, however, springing the news that Echo would no longer be with us was a shock to her system. She's not mentally or emotionally mature enough to be able to just take that information and roll with it just yet. Does that make sense?"

"Yeah, it does." Wrecker nodded, his frown deepened. "Her heart got broke."

"Yeah, it did." I softly smiled as my eyes studied the horizon. "She's a child who has a deep emotional attachment to this squad, so taking one member out of the equation, albeit temporarily, is devastating to her. But we don't quite understand that...It's not our fault by all means, though. We are trained from birth to adapt to all the unexpected and unforeseen. Everything will be fine in the end. At some point, I'll um..." My voice choked. My mouth buried itself in my palm. The sudden emotion washing over me took me by surprise, and I couldn't swallow the lump in my throat fast enough.

"I want to help her, too." Wrecker sighed next to me. My hand lowered as I gazed over to him with wide eyes. He lightly shrugged. "Or at least, that's what I thought you'd say."

"Something like that." I hummed a chuckle and playfully nudged the big guy. He didn't budge a millimeter. When we looked at each other, my neck tilted back as we both shared a laugh. It occurred to me I didn't share small moments like this with Wrecker often...His intimidating external presense paired with his soft heart and kind tendencies made me feel safe and, for a minute, my own distress over Echo's separation diminished. My head rolled over to where my eyes fixated on the skyline. My grin then wavered and my snickering transitioned to nervous chortling. "Is it just me, or has that storm changed its course?"

"It's not just you." Wrecker said warily.

We both rose to our feet and just as we were absorbing the full scale of the not-so-distant sand tsunami, Hunter, Tech, and Omega emerged from the mineshaft. They immediately took notice at the new climate development and exchanged glances.

"I told you those storms are unpredictable." I prodded, looking up at them while holding back my hair whipping in my face.

"We have what we came for." Hunter said. "Let's get back to Ord Mantell." He passed on the large cannister to Wrecker and reached out to me to hold my hand. As I was about to grasp his, he froze. His chin popped up and whipped around to face the triangular rockwall that blocked the ship from view. "Hunter, what is it?"

He did not reply and leapt off the platform. The moment his boots touched down, he sprinted towards the natural divider. I instinctively dashed after him, and when I caught the faint sound of machinery powering up...I tripled my pace. I zoomed pass the clone, but when I hooked around the pointed ledge, I was knocked back by the sheer force of the Marauder swiftly jetting off. I hacked up the dust bomb from my lungs as I grudgingly picked myself up. Behind me, the squad gathered together and we watched our hijacked ship disappear into the hazy atmosphere. Lightning sparked within the swelling sandstorm that was gaining ground quickly.

"You were supposed to be on lookout!" Hunter snapped at Wrecker.

"There was no one there!" The muscular clone said. I pushed the sergeant back by his chestplate, putting me in between. "Stand back, Hunter. It's not his fault."

Hunter sharply diverted his back to me and removed his helmet in distress, his chin hung low in deep thought.

"There has to be a way to get it back, right?" Omega tugged on my arm. I pulled it away as my mind swam with a million thoughts. "Not now, Omega. Let us think."

"Tell me, Wrecker," Tech chided. "how exactly did you miss our ship compromised?"

"Oh, stow it, Wired-Brain!" I barked at him. "Maybe if you hadn't docked it out of view, we would've have seen someone approaching." Tech flinched at my rebuke.

"Well, there was no other suitable landing zone, Fern." He justified his actions. I tossed my hands up in defeat. "Ugh! You're impossible!" Meanwhile, at my hip, Omega's sombered face melted into dejection. As much as I wanted to offer some reassurance to her, there were more imperative issues to address and concentrate on.

"Pointing fingers is not going to do us any good." Hunter sighed. "We can't stay here, either. Tech, where's the nearest town?"

"When we were descending the planet, I scanned a spaceport about 35 to 40 klicks south of here." I recalled. "If our luck doesn't drain completely, we could pick up some transportation there."

"You know how long that would take?" Wrecker grumbled.

"Since we do not have access to long-range communications without our ship," Tech snided. "it is our only option."

"Let's move." Hunter nodded, and instantly the three men kickstarted our interminable journey. I raked my fingers through my hair, upsetting my headband. As I frustratingly attempted to fix it, Omega once again touched my arm. Stomping with irritation, I ripped off my band and glared down at the young girl. "Omega, please. I know you are upset about the ship. We all are. But right now isn't the time, you understand?"

"Yes, Fern." Her head hung. I exhaled through my nose and gingerly rubbed her back.

"Come on, Half-Pint. We have to make sure Wrecker doesn't pummel Tech the next time he gets blamed."