Call It Freedom

Chapter 19 - A Dynasty

Author's Note: Ahhhh I had SO MUCH FUN writing Hunter like this! :D I'm so, soooo curious to hear y'all's thoughts about it and him and all of this! ^-^

I'd appreciate it if you checked out Out of Time, where the Batch post-S2 end up scattered across the galaxy back during the CW. :D

~ Amina Gila

One day leads to two and then three, and then, before Echo knows it, several weeks have flown by. It was hard at first, admittedly, even after he took Omega and joined up with Rex. In between helping Rex with missions, he's been spending time teaching Omega how to fight, how to fly the Marauder. He has to help Rex – it's his duty – but he can't neglect the child in his care, either.

But it's lonely, and it's hard, and Omega is miserable. She's a bright child, eager to please and compassionate, but no matter how much Rex and Echo spend time with her and try to help her, they can't make her let go of her grief. She misses the rest of the squad fiercely, and Echo has seen her crying on many occasions, stifling her sobs against Lula as she clutches the doll to her chest, curled in the gunner's mount.

It hurts him to see her hurt, and it hurts him to be away from his brothers. He can't shake off the guilt of having left them, and he can't stop feeling that he should have done something better. What's happened to them? Are they alright? Are they still alive? He thinks he would know if they died, but he – there's been nothing. No news. Surely, if they survived, Hunter would have found a way to get them out, or at least send a message, right?

And then, there's the issue of the chips, the issue that Echo has been struggling not to think about at all. The droid, AZI, did surgery on him to get his chip out, but he knows the others weren't as lucky. Did – did Tarkin find a way to activate them? Are they working with the Empire? That seems so surreal, that it could have happened, especially to Hunter, who knows so much of the could-have-been's. He lived a whole future, and if any of them could escape the influence of the chip, Echo would have thought he could.

But then, it's not something they can control very well, he's learned. Rex told him a little of what happened to him, of how he couldn't stop himself, and of how he'd thought it was really him who'd wanted those things, wanted to hurt and kill. It wasn't until after the chip came out that he began to realize how it had been affecting him.

Currently, the Marauder is landed on a small, out-of-the-way planet in the Outer Rim where Echo thought it would be safe for them to be for a few days in between missions for Rex. It's nice outside, not too hot or too cold, but Omega is still curled in the gunner's mount, her usual enthusiasm for exploring entirely absent.

Some days, it's hard for him to even get her to eat properly and reminding her that Hunter would want her to take care of herself will only work half the time.

He reminds himself to be patient with her because she's never had to deal with loss before, and this is very hard on her. It's only due to seeing how his General raised his own Padawan that Echo is even able to handle Omega. The same is true for Rex.

"You want to go outside for bit?" Echo asks, finally approaching the gunner's mount. "It's nice out."

Omega makes a face as she looks up, face tired and worn. "No," she mumbles, hugging Lula tighter. "When – do you think Rex will find anything?"

Ever since they first left, Rex and Echo have been searching for information on the Bad Batch, but short of going back to Kamino personally, which is far too dangerous for obvious reasons, they've found nothing. Omega... has said she wants to go back, to find them, to free them, but Echo can't do that. He can't walk into something so risky, not when he promised to take care of her. He left them behind already; he can't fail to keep the kid safe, too.