Dooms

Doomsless - Chapter 4: Metamorphosis

Simply put, Benni is driving Omega crazy.

He's itchy and awkward about the entire thing, which she'd be far, far more understanding of if he hadn't been the one who stole the Marauder in the first place. That's the only home they have, and all of them are furious about it. It's easier when they have someone to aim their anger at.

Hunter seems especially jittery around him, and Omega trusts that, because the one thing she's learned is that her second-oldest brothers' senses are insanely good. At everything.

Omega's still angry at him, but when she sees Mokko as she heads in to get the hangar open so they can fly out as soon as the Marauder's finally fixed – another thing she's still mad about – she kind of...gets it.

He treats Benni and all of the people inside horribly.

No one should have to compete for food. That's not something Omega has ever had to do, or really knew was even a thing that happened. It's just – sometimes, they don't have much, but her brothers always make sure she has something. They'll scrap and ration, but she knows Hunter or Tech sometimes will give up their own so Wrecker doesn't have to have nothing. That's not what it's like here.

It's no wonder all the kids look so thin. Omega still feels sick about it.

She gives Benni her rations, because he's hungry, and it feels wrong not to. He might have hurt them, but he doesn't deserve any of this.

She still should have seen it coming when he sells them out, though. He's trying to get Mokko's favor, and Omega gets that, but she's still hurt. And angry.

The droids drag her into the mine area they were on before and over to the edge, even as she squirms and thrashes and yells. Droids are hard to fight. They jerk her to the edge of a broken walkway, with a very, very long expanse and fall below. The fall is guaranteed long enough to kill.

Mokko orders her brothers to be sent to the mines, but Benni interrupts with the information Omega had found about the ipsium degradation. Mokko was lying to them, and Omega had found it strange. It wasn't right. She knew there was something more, even if not what.

Mokko orders her thrown over, and Omega's heart lurches. She looks down, panicked, because she doesn't know a way out.

She catches sight of a grappling hook wrapping around one of the beams.

Hunter's below her.

The droid tries to throw her, and Omega grabs its arm to drag herself back, bracing her feet against the platform edge to throw them both over. Hunter's waiting to catch her at the bottom, and she believes that without a shred of doubt.

He's always there. He has been since he rejoined them on Kamino, from the moment he came with them. Omega reaches for him, and Hunter grabs her hand, lifting her to balance half on his backpack and half on him for the rest of the ride up. He reaches to steady her when they make it to the top.

Hunter climbs over the rail, detaching his grappling hook when they make it up.

"Thanks," Omega says anyway, panting a little.

She looks down. Wrecker and Tech shoot the droids on either side of Mokko when they move for the people in the mine – most of them can't be that much older than her. Crosshair takes Mokko out with a shot through the heart, watching with far too much smugness as he falls over the railing towards the molten rock far below.

Omega has no remorse over that, either. Not after seeing what he's done.

"Let's go," Hunter says gently, guiding her shoulder back towards the exit. They head back for the Marauder, and Benni promises to bring all their things back while they finish fixing the ship.