Mom Omega

Part 7 - Rescue on Ryloth

Wrecker and his brothers have never really met another kid before, much less ended up on a mission with one, but when Echo and Omega take them to Ryloth on a mission, they get their first real sight of civilian childhood.

Echo and Omega are talking to the adults when a green kid spots Wrecker and Crosshair lingering in the doorway of the Marauder.

"What type of ship is this?" she asks, looking up with wide eyes.

Wrecker looks at his little brother, who shrugs, shifting forward.

"It is a modified Omicron-class attack shuttle," Tech answers for them, approaching.

"Can I have a look inside?" she asks.

Wrecker looks to Echo and Omega.

"Can she come up?" Hunter calls, and Omega nods to him, so the five of them reboard the ship together.

The kid looks around, green eyes wide and awed. She goes right up to the controls, and Tech starts pointing out a thousand random buttons to her.

Crosshair rolls his eyes, shifting into Wrecker's side, who hooks an arm over his shoulders and pulls his little brother close.

"Do you fly?" the kid asks.

"When it is necessary," Tech replies.

"I wanna be a pilot someday," the kid says, awed. "And live on a starship. I'll probably want a bigger kind, though."

Wrecker can say he never thinks about the future. It doesn't matter, because they're soldiers, and they just do whatever part they're told to. It's weird to hear someone who does. Nat-borns are weird. He thinks he likes this one, though.

"This one's big enough for us," Hunter shrugs, "And we live here."

"It's my dream," she says, "Your ship is amazing. I fly a little sometimes. When I close my eyes and picture myself up there, I feel it. It's really about a feeling."

A feeling?

Wrecker has no idea what she's talking about and from the look on Tech's face, he doesn't either.

"What feeling?" Tech objects, "It is about precise calculations and detailed knowledge of the ship's functions."

"Maybe but it's more than that," the green kid insists. The thingies hanging off her head are swinging, and Wrecker can't stop staring at them. He's never seen a species quite like this before and it's weird.

A conversation about flying is kinda boring and his mind wanders to the weapons they're buying. He doesn't know what kinds, but explosives are always fun.

"What're you getting the weapons for?" Wrecker asks.

"It's a secret," she says, leaning forward conspiratorially. "The Empire's taking all our weapons and my uncle says we need to be prepared."

"You're fighting the Empire?"

Wrecker looks up at Omega's voice. She's standing in the doorway.

The green kid looks up, startled. "Not yet. My father hopes we won't have to."

"The Empire will notice if you keep collecting weapons," Hunter speaks up.

"If you ever need any help but only in emergencies, you can have our comm channel," Omega offers.

Wrecker perks up instantly. He likes her. The regs aren't nice like this. He wants to get to talk to her again.

"She's strange," Crosshair supplies when the others head back for their ship.