Call It Freedom

Chapter 8 - The Scar I Can't Reverse

Author's Note: Saleucami! :D 

~ Amina Gila

In the end, they decide to go to Saleucami. They went there before, and Hunter sees no reason to change that destination now, not when Cut had needed their help. They should help him and his family; they don't deserve to suffer or die because Cut is a deserter. And besides, he'd accepted them as brothers. Very few regs have ever done that.

Once they make the jump to hyperspace, Hunter decides that he should probably talk to Omega and explain the situation to her. She's one of them, and she should know the truth. "Omega, can I talk to you?" he asks, entering the main hold from the cockpit.

Omega breaks off, giggling, from her animated conversation with Wrecker, practically bouncing to him. "What's wrong?" she questions, probably seeing the look on his face.

Hunter sits down on a crate, and Omega settles onto the closest rack, watching him attentively. He doesn't miss the way Crosshair slinks from the room, heading to the cockpit. He keeps doing that – leaving when Hunter comes in, or otherwise trying to keep his distance. It hurts, but he doesn't know what to do about it. Crosshair needs time to process, and he gets that. Probably, he'll have to go after him like he always used to do when they were younger. He'll have to coax Crosshair into talking – or yelling – and then, they can talk reasonably and sort out... whatever all this is.

"There's something I need to tell you," he begins, uncertain quite how he's supposed to explain this. "I – I... saw the future, I guess," he settles on finally. "You can call it time travel if you want. I lived it, about eight months into the future. A... lot of things happened, not all of them good, but you were with us."

Their eyes meet. Her brown ones are bright, surprised, but there's something distinctly happy and hopeful in them. "I... was?" she asks shyly.

He reaches out, touching her shoulder. "It took me a while to see it, but you're one of us. You belong with us, if you want to stay."

Saying these words to her is a sharp reminder of everything last time, of all the happy and sad and bittersweet memories of the past, of taking in Omega, getting used to her, of caring for her, raising her. She's a kid, but she's their kid. They all helped raise her. Maybe Hemlock wasn't so far off when he remarked about Hunter acting paternal. If – if that's what these feelings really are... they all felt it towards her, even Tech, no matter how much he may have struggled with actually showing it.

"I left Kamino with you. This is where I wanna be," she states determinedly.

"If this is where you want to be, then this is where you'll stay," he promises, an echo of the promise he made her way back at the beginning.

She beams, and Hunter finally gives in to the desperate yearning within him to pull her close and not let go. He tugs her gently against him, wrapping his arms around her and just... holding her. "I can't promise nothing will happen to you," he tells her quietly, past the unwavering affection within him as she clings to him happily. "The Empire will come after us. They may not stop coming after us. It will be risky for you, very risky, but we'll protect you as long as we can."

Tech certainly had.

And Hunter vows that if one of them must make that sacrifice again, it will be him. He will not lose another brother under his watch. If one of them has to die so the others can live, he wants it to be him who says "plan 99" this time.

"I know you will," Omega answers softly. "I trust you."

I love you, Hunter thinks, but he doesn't say the words; they've been taught to suppress their emotions, and admitting to love, even if he knows it's what he feels, is... hard. Omega is still his kid, though, their kid, and this time, now that he sort of knows what he's doing, he vows to make it easier for her to settle in. She'll make mistakes. He'll still make mistakes. But they can figure it out. With the warm, familiar, comforting weight of Omega in his arms, Hunter can relax and let go. There is still so much he needs to figure out, worries and fears that will come back to haunt him before long, but right now, he can just... be.