Caleb stared at the junk-filled planet, recognising several destroyed ships amongst the wreckage. He'd never visited Bracca before and it wasn't exactly appealing.
Behind him, Omega let out a small whimper. Caleb could sense her fear rolling off her in waves. "Couldn't we go anywhere else?"
"We asked Rex, but he said finding another suitable place would take time and we know we can safely remove the chips here." Hunter replied, a hint of regret in his tone.
"What happened last time you came here?" Boba asked, fiddling with his jetpack.
Instantly, the cockpit fell silent, save for the hum of the engines. All of the Bad Batch wore downcast expressions, as if Bracca held particularly painful memories for them.
"My chip sorta activated before we could get it out. I almost..." Wrecker trailed off. He murmured the ending of his sentence so quietly Caleb was certain he'd misheard him, "Almost killed Omega."
"Oh." Looking slightly guilty, Boba refocused on his jetpack.
Omega darted over to the gentle giant and embraced him. Smiling warmly, Wrecker picked her up and the young girl wrapped her arms around his neck.
Shocked, Caleb stared at the pair. Wrecker and Omega were so close, he couldn't picture him harming a hair on Omega's head. Yet the chip had forced him to nearly kill his little sister. He couldn't imagine the guilt Wrecker must've experienced after having his chip removed. A whirlwind of emotions about clones swirled around inside him. On one hand, Caleb still resented them for the murder of Master Billaba and countless other Jedi. However, on the other, he felt sympathetic towards them. It wasn't their choice to open fire on the Jedi.
Groaning from the middle of the ship diverted Caleb's attention. He knew the trooper who shot at him was handcuffed to a bunk mere meters away. Hunter had forbade him from approaching Crosshair, not wanting Caleb to be killed, but Omega had mentioned previously that she'd briefly managed to delay Wrecker by talking to him. Her words had momentarily brought him back. Sneaking a glance at the Sargeant, Caleb stealthily backed out of the cockpit.
"Commander Dume," a malicious voice sneered behind him. "I see Hunter can't resist adopting every child he comes into contact with."
Taking in a shaky breath, Caleb turned and faced Crosshair. The clone was significantly different from the last time he'd laid eyes on him. His ash-grey hair was gone and a nasty scar covered the right side of his temple. He was lying down on the bunk, his left wrist bound to the wall above his head. When their eyes met, his brown ones gleamed with hatred.
Caleb grimaced. "Your new look doesn't exactly suit you."
Crosshair rolled his eyes. "Did Hunter send you in here to interrogate me?"
His voice felt colder than ice and harsher than a desert sandstorm. Hearing the killer in his tone, Caleb abandoned his idiotic idea of trying to pry Crosshair from his chip.
"No, I came here to tell you that we'll be landing soon." Caleb's heart pumped with fear seeing the sharpshooter again. He'd gotten extremely close to killing the Padawan on Kaller. Had Caleb not knocked him unconscious, he was unsure if he'd be alive.
"Thank you for being so generous," Crosshair's voice dripped with sarcasm. "Mind telling me where we are?"
"No," Unable to steady his racing heart, Caleb moved to leave. He opened the doors to the cockpit and hesitated. "I forgive you."
"What?"
"I forgive you for trying to kill me. I know your actions were influenced by your inhibitor chip. When you're back with your brothers and sister, they'll forgive you too."
"That brat is not my sister."
"Caleb! What are you doing in there?" Hunter yanked him inside the cockpit and shut the doors.
A strong hand rested on his shoulder. Hunter knelt down in front of Caleb and his remaining hand clamped down on his other shoulder. Wincing slightly, Caleb prepared himself for punishment.
"Are you alright? Did Cross hurt you?"
Confused, Caleb shook his head.
A look of relief crossed the Sargeant's face. Caleb would've relaxed if a stern expression didn't follow it.
"I told you not to go in there without one of us! Crosshair's still loyal to the Empire, if he spotted an opportunity to complete his objective, he would've!"
"I'm sorry. I thought I could get through to him." Caleb hated how his voice cracked as he spoke.
Sighing, Hunter's expression relaxed. "Caleb, I know you're just trying to help, but the only sure way we can get Crosshair back is by removing his chip. Until then, I'm ordering you to stay away from him okay? I don't want him hurting you."
"I understand."
"We're landing." Tech announced. "Rex should be waiting for us."
"Rex? As in, Captain Rex of the 501st?"
Echo nodded. "My former battalion."
"You served under General Skywalker? I heard so many stories about him!"
Smiling sadly, Echo faced him. "I'll tell you a few later if you like. Rex will have some good ones too."
"Yes please!"
~
A clone wearing the blue armour of the 501st battalion and a clone in traditional white armour stood waiting. A medical stretcher hovered behind the pair.
"Rex!" Omega bounded off the Marauder and dashed towards the clone in blue. Staying alert, Caleb cautiously followed her.
The clone removed his helmet, revealing short blonde hair, like Omega, a familiar face and eyes that held memories of war and loss. Despite that, he wore a warm smile; he lowered himself down to Omega's height and the girl ran straight into his waiting arms.
"Good to see you again Omega. You taking care of your brothers?"
"Well, Hunter's my father now, so they're kinda my uncles. But yes, I have been looking after them."
Chuckling, Rex stood and ruffled her yellow curls. "That's great news."
"Hiya kiddo," the clone next to Rex waved at Omega.
"Gregor!" Omega threw herself at him. "I've missed you!"
Gregor beamed at the little girl. "I've missed you too Mega."
Rex's brown eyes landed on Caleb. "Who might you be?"
Hunter had assured him that both Gregor's and Rex's chips were gone, but he still wanted to be sure. "Padawan Caleb Dume, former apprentice of Depa Billaba."
Rex appeared shocked. "I never met your master, but I heard she was formidable. I take it my brothers...obeyed orders?"
Caleb nodded, his vision misting up with tears. Rex approached him and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "I'm glad you survived, Commander."
"Thank you Captain. I have to ask, what was it like serving under Anakin Skywalker?"
The clone grinned broadly. "Chaotic, especially when he and General Kenobi worked together, which was often. His plans fell apart during practically every battle. Thankfully, he was good at improvising. Him and his Padawan were reckless, but brave, always willing to help every trooper. I was proud, every day, to serve as Skywalker's Captain."
"Rex, who's this?" Echo asked. He was standing by the stretcher, which Caleb could now see held a clone. He was wearing armour customised with grey paint.
"Commander Wolffe of the 104th Wolfpack. Gregor and I found him and we want his chip removed too."
Boba cleared his throat. "Uh, hello? I'm here too."
Rex glanced at Boba and frowned. "Are you a Mandalorian? You have the voice of a clone."
Boba removed his helmet, revealing his matching face. "I don't think of myself as another identical clone. I am Boba Fett, son of Jango, brother of Omega."
The other clone, Gregor, cackled. "Of course, you're a clone! Jango Fett requested you as payment for being the template. You just age normally."
Boba's face twisted into an expression of rage. Snarling, he launched himself at Gregor, but Hunter grabbed his arm as he passed, forcing the young clone to deactivate his jetpack.
"Enough! We're here to help our brothers, not fight each other! Boba, you are a clone, accept it. Gregor, please try not to annoy him, as tempting as it is."
Caleb stifled a laugh, admiring how Hunter made no attempts to disguise his own dislike of Boba.
Satisfied, Hunter released Boba, the two of them shooting death stares at the other.
Sighing, Rex leant towards Caleb and Omega and muttered, "It's like working with cadets all over again."
Both children covered up their giggles as Rex stepped forward, gaining control of the situation.
"Right, Tech and Gregor were able to locate another Jedi Cruiser we can use to free Wolffe and Crosshair from their chips. Wrecker will carry Crosshair and one of us will remain with Wolffe at all times. It's not an easy route and we have the scrappers to deal with, so cut the fights until our mission is complete. Let's move."
Rex and Echo took up the front, chatting about old times in the 501st. Gregor and Tech stuck by Wolffe's side, Wrecker following them, readjusting Crosshair every ten seconds. Omega kept a tight hold on Hunter's hand, her eyes darting around as if she were anticipating an attack any second. Caleb walked with them whilst Boba brought up the rear.
"Okay, something else happened here that you're not telling me. What is it?" Caleb demanded.
"Bane," Omega whispered. "He took me and almost killed Hunter."
"As in Cad Bane, the bounty hunter?" Boba enquired. "You let Cad Bane kidnap my little sister? He's ruthless!"
Groaning in frustration, Hunter replied, "You make it sound as though I just handed her over to him. It was only the two of us and he bested me. We got her back, that's what matters."
Boba scoffed. "She could've been taken back to Kamino! Do you have any idea what they would do to her?"
"Kids, go talk to Rex and Echo please." Hunter ordered.
"No! Dad- "
"Omega, you'll be okay. You have Caleb and I'm right behind you." Hunter's tone softened when he addressed his daughter.
Omega nodded miserably, dropped her father's hand, and walked faster, heading for the front of the group. He could hear Boba and Hunter bickering about Bane and Omega behind them. He'd heard how the notorious bounty hunter had broken into the Jedi Temple on Coruscant and kidnapped Force-sensitive children. Omega must have been terrified.
Regretting asking about what was bothering her, Caleb clasped her hand in his, giving it a small reassuring squeeze. Omega glanced at him and produced a weak smile.
"So, Jesse finally became an ARC Trooper? Good for him," Echo sounded delighted, talking to Rex about his 501st brethren.
"Who else was in the 501st with you?" Omega asked.
"Apart from me and Echo, there was Fives, one of the best brothers I'd ever had, he always acted in our best interest, our medic Kix, he was tremendously good at his job and could be very stubborn when it came to his patients, Jesse, a stubborn and determined soldier, Hardcase, who was extremely hyperactive, always desperate to fight, Tup, a creative clone and a quick-thinker, Dogma, a stickler for the rules and following orders, to name a few."
"Echo mentioned Fives a few times," Omega recalled. "You called him your twin."
"Those two were formidable on the battlefield together." Rex praised, helping Caleb and Omega climb up to a higher vantage point.
"Fives was always cracking jokes, but he was serious when it came to the lives of our brothers," Echo's voice lost its hint of happiness.
"Remember when we pranked the 212th with General Skywalker?"
Chuckling, Echo shook his head slightly. "I will never forget that. General Skywalker wanted to prank General Kenobi and Fives came up with the idea to send me and Hardcase into the vents to set off stink bombs whilst General Kenobi addressed the 212th Legion," Echo sniggered with laughter. "Kenobi's face when the bombs activated was priceless. When they evacuated the room in a hurry, Skywalker, Tano, Fives, and Jesse pelted them with water balloons."
The four of them burst into peals of laughter. Wiping tears of joy from his eyes, Caleb remembered meeting the kind Jedi and pictured him covered in water. The image made him double over, clutching his stomach, trying to calm himself down.
"If you lot are done squawking into the comms, we've arrived at the Cruiser." Tech announced.
"Thanks Tech." Omega giggled.
Gazing upwards, Caleb examined the starship. Clearly, it crashed long ago, potentially near the beginning of the Clone Wars. The bridge was completely destroyed as if a giant hand reached down and crushed it. The ion engine was dark, condemned to an endless slumber. Rex discovered an entry point and lifted Omega, then Caleb up into the ruined ship. Omega retrieved her torch and shone it around the hallway they were in. Cables hung from open panels, crackling with sparks.
"You've been in these more than me. Where are we?" Omega asked.
Caleb shrugged. "That was a while ago. I have no idea."
"Thankfully, I do." Tech said, clicking on his own torch. "We're roughly two levels down from the medical bay."
A whoosh echoed through the corridor as Boba jetted up to their position.
"Where did you get your jetpack?" Caleb asked, in awe.
"It was my father's." Boba replied.
There was a loud clanging sound as Wrecker threw Crosshair's unconscious form through the entry point and his Imperial armour collided with the metal floor.
"Wrecker! Don't throw him!" Omega protested.
"Too late now." Wrecker carefully lifted Wolffe through the opening with surprising gentleness for someone of his size and strength.
To Caleb's horror, Wolffe's hand twitched and a groan emitted from his helmet. The Clone Commander sat up on his stretcher and he seemed to stare straight at Caleb.
"A J-Jedi?" Wolffe's hands instantly reached for his blasters, but they found empty holsters.
Before Caleb could react, Omega shielded him, her plasma bow drawn. Astonished, he froze in place. Boba instinctively kept his hands over his blasters.
"Wolffe, stand down!" Rex ordered.
"Good soldiers follow orders." Wolffe snarled, reaching for Wrecker's blaster.
Rex quickly stunned him, causing Wolffe to tumble off his stretcher.
"Caleb, Omega, you two alright?" Hunter shoved his way to the front of the group.
Breathing heavily, Omega slowly collapsed her bow. "We're okay Dad."
Tech and Wrecker meticulously placed Wolffe back onto his stretcher and Rex stunned Crosshair again as a precaution.
Relieved Wolffe hadn't shot Omega for defending him, Caleb tapped the girl on the shoulder. "Hey, Omega, thank you for doing that."
Omega smiled. "No problem."
~
After navigating through the endless labyrinth of abandoned corridors, Caleb wondered how the Jedi and clones managed to commit all of the passages to memory.
"There it is!" Omega exclaimed happily.
Peering through the gloom, Caleb spotted the metal door engraved with the red Republic medical symbol.
"At last! I swear Crosshair's getting heavier!" Wrecker complained.
"Gregor, Rex help me with this." Hunter ordered.
The two clones joined him by the door and their combined strength managed to force the door upwards.
Caleb raised an eyebrow at the medical bay. It wasn't exactly clean, with grime covering most of the walls and floor. Creatures scurried around the facility, squeaking indignantly as the beams of light blinded their sensitive eyes.
"You want to perform surgery in this dump?" Caleb accused.
"There are worse alternatives," Gregor reminded him. "Kamino, for example."
"I'll prepare the chamber." Tech announced, tapping the console and the machine whirred to life, illuminating the dark room.
Wrecker carefully laid his brother onto the table, removed Crosshair's helmet, and placed it on the floor.
"How long does this normally take?" Caleb whispered to Omega.
Omega shrugged. "Sometimes it takes a while. Wrecker took some time to wake up after the removal. Why?"
"I want to explore the Cruiser. I haven't been on one in a while and I wanna see it one last time."
Omega considered his option. "But I want to be here when Crosshair wakes up."
"We won't be long, just a couple of minutes. Please?" Caleb begged.
Omega hesitated.
"Besides, when else will you get to see a starship of the Republic?"
That swayed her. "Dad, we're going to explore for a minute. Is that okay?"
Removing his helmet, Hunter eyed the pair before nodding. "Stick together and don't take too long. Understand?"
"Yep, thanks!" Caleb grabbed Omega's hand, pulling her into the tumbledown corridor. The only light came from a gaping wound in the cruiser, the elongated shadows giving off an eerie feel. Due to the dim luminescence, Caleb failed to spot a jagged piece of metal sticking up from the floor. With a yelp of surprise, he tripped over, sending himself and Omega crashing to the ground.
"Ow. You hurt?" Caleb winced as pain blossomed in his knee.
"Nothing serious. You?" Omega offered her hand.
"Nah." Grateful, Caleb accepted it.
"How about we walk this time?"
"Good idea."
As they passed the hole in the ship, Omega rushed to take in a bird's eye view of Bracca. The sun was slowly sinking behind the ship graveyard, casting soft pinks and oranges into the sky.
Smiling at the view, Caleb joined her by the edge and Omega made the mistake of looking down at the terrifying black abyss that lay below.
"Woah," Omega hastily took a step backwards. "You have to admit, for a planet covered in junk, it has gorgeous sunsets."
"Yeah." Caleb agreed.
Out of nowhere, a blaster shot hit the wall beside Caleb, narrowly avoiding his head. Startled, Omega stepped away quickly, forgetting about the drop. With a horrified scream, she tumbled out of the starship.
"Caleb!"
Terrified of losing her, Caleb reached out with his hand and caught her with the Force. Looking up he saw a square speeder hovering away from the cruiser, their rifles aimed at both children.
"Scrappers!" Omega shrieked.
One of them fired at Omega, hitting her in the shoulder. Her screams turned Caleb's blood cold. Even from the distance, he could see the white fabric of her uniform turning red. Tears streaked down her cheeks as she stared up at Caleb.
"Let me go!" she shouted.
"What? No! Your brothers would kill me!" Caleb protested.
Another shot whizzed over his head. Panicking, Caleb hollered for anyone to come and help him, but no-one replied.
"Caleb, they'll kill you and then we'll both be dead! You have to let me go!"
"No! I don't want to lose you!" Caleb choked back a sob. "Your family won't want to lose you either."
Omega closed her eyes at the mention of her brethren and a flood of tears followed. Caleb could tell she was afraid to die and he felt a burst of love for her father and brothers erupt from her. She didn't want to leave them.
A Scrapper fired a shot that almost hit Caleb's outstretched fingers. He momentarily lost focus and in that moment, he dropped Omega. Petrified, Caleb desperately tried to reach her again, but she'd fallen beyond his grasp. Her scared eyes gazed into his as, like the sun, she fell into the abyss below.
~
Humming.
Humming filled Omega's ears.
It was similar to Caleb's, yet also unique.
She was also floating above the ground.
"C-Caleb?" Omega stuttered.
Whoever saved her slowly lowered her downwards, twisting her around until she was the correct way up. Pain spiked in her back, causing her to groan. She must've collided with something on her way down. As her feet touched the ground, Omega scanned her murky surroundings for her saviour. The only light source was the setting sun far above her. Sparks flew from broken cables. Metal creaked and groaned, threatening to crush her.
"Hello?" she whispered.
"Hello?" a timid voice answered.
Startled, Omega whipped around, trying to decipher the source of the voice. Was it an echo or a real person?
"Who are you?" Omega asked.
"Nobody. Who are you?"
"A-A friend. I think. What's your name?"
Silence descended upon her. Had she scared them away? The humming in her head indicated that they were still close. Questions swirled around in her mind. Would her brothers come for her? Did they even still believe she'd survived that fall? Caleb would've told them what happened. His name brought a small smile to her face. What must he be feeling? He'd tried so hard to prevent her from falling, she recalled his fear for her. Shivering from the cold and not wanting to be left alone, Omega repeated her question, "What's your name?".
Light footsteps answered her query. A short figure wearing black clothes emerged from the shadows. As they stepped into the fading light, she noticed they were wearing a black poncho. Omega could vaguely see the face of a young boy, freckles dotted across his cheeks. Ginger hair covered his head and his bright green eyes were curious and wary. Just like Caleb when she'd first encountered him, Omega could feel a sense of loss radiating from the boy. One thing she knew for certain was that the boy was Force-sensitive, like herself and Caleb.
"I'm Cal. What's your name?"
*Author Note*
Hey guys! Hope you all enjoyed this chapter, which turned out to be a lot longer than I originally anticipated. Sadly, I'm returning to school soon, so chapters will be further apart. I had been hoping that we'd see Wolffe in s1 of the Bad Batch, so fingers crossed he'll appear in s2. I've never played Jedi Fallen Order, so I apologise in advance if Cal seems a bit out-of-character. Let me know what you thought in the comments and may the Force be with you!