𝓣𝓱𝓮 𝓑𝓪𝓭 𝓑𝓪𝓽𝓬𝓱 𝓞𝓷𝓮-𝓢𝓱𝓸𝓽 𝓒𝓸𝓵𝓵𝓮𝓬𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷

𝑀𝓇. 𝒞𝓇𝑜𝓈𝓈𝒽𝒶𝒾𝓇

**For the story's sake, let's imagine that the cat in the pic above is a loth-cat. Also, Crosshair is back with the squad ;)**

***

Omega's hand swept through the long grass growing endlessly on the planet of Lothal. The thick grass felt like velvet against her soft skin, as she played a game only she understood, which involved lots of running.

The Bad Batch had just completed a simple supply run in Lothal, and Hunter and Echo were currently out buying rations for the squad. Omega was left in the care of Tech, Crosshair and Wrecker, who were all keeping themselves occupied. Wrecker was in the midst of deadlifting Gonky, while Crosshair cleaned his precious sniper. Tech, on the other hand, watched over his little sister. He inspected certain things such as the firm yet healthy soil and grass, looking up every once in a while to make sure that Omega hadn't gotten into any trouble, or injured herself.

The blonde girl continued to enjoy the planet's nature, soaking in the fresh air.

Meow.

Omega whipped her head around, her curiosity now piqued.

Nothing was there...Had she imagined the noise? Omega shrugged it off and carried on with her game. However, she heard the mysterious sound again just a minute later and determined that she hadn't imagined it after all. The young clone cautiously crept toward the unknown noise, hoping not to spook it.

Meow!

Omega gasped as a small fluffy creature jumped out of the swaying grass. The little girl, surprised by the creature's adorableness, forgot to be afraid.

"Hello there," She kindly said with a smile, "I'm Omega. And who might you be?"

The white and brown speckled creature tilted its head, their long ears pointing up. After a brief moment, the animal stepped forward and wove itself around Omega's legs, purring softly. Omega noticed that the fuzzy creature had a long scar tracing from above one of its eyes and nearly down to its mouth.

Upon realizing this, the young girl felt a sense of familiarity, but couldn't quite place where it came from. She pushed those thoughts aside and gingerly stroked the creature's velvety fur. Omega had never felt anything so soft in her entire life.

The little clone, excited to have discovered a friend, walked a few feet away from the animal. She hoped that it would follow her back to the Marauder. Much to her delight, the creature did in fact trail directly behind her. Omega guided it over to Tech, who was studying a small pair of animal footprints.

"Tech!" His little sister eagerly called out, "Look what I found!"

The spectacled clone turned his head, his eyebrows immediately raising at the sight before him.

"I see you've been busy," Tech pointed out casually.

"Yep! But...what exactly is it?" Omega questioned her brother.

Tech pushed his yellow-tinted goggles up before responding, "That would be a loth-cat and a young one by the look of it."

"A loth-cat," The blonde clone happily said to herself. "Tech...can I...maybe...keep it? Please?"

Tech's expression turned into one of surprise, "I...suppose you could ask Hunter, although the chances of him agreeing to take in an animal are near zero. Having a pet would create more responsibilities for the crew, such as feeding it and overall, taking care of it."

Omega's warm brown eyes turned slightly downcast at the reality of the situation. Maybe it would be too much of a hassle for her already busy squad.

The spectacled clone noticed the sadness etched across his sister's face. "However...near zero isn't exactly impossible..."