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Summer of Bad Batch 2024 | Week 12 | Prompt: Nightmares

Summary: After a nightmare, Omega finds comfort with her brothers. POV: Omega Rating: G (Word Count: 1973)

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Note: The second scene (with Omega and Hunter) is my interpretation/continuation of the ending scene from season 1 episode 9 "Bounty Lost."

She hadn’t realized she had been crying in her sleep, until a gentle hand woke her from the dream. She must have been more scared on Pantora than she had realized, if dreams about getting lost and falling from tall towers and bounty hunters pretending to be her friend while making plans to steal her away were making her cry. Wrecker must have heard her sobs, for he was here now, gently patting her back and murmuring consolingly, “It’s okay, kid.” This was… new. The Kaminoans had never been mean to her, but they had never been concerned when she’d had a nightmare before. It was so nice to have her brothers now. Relieved to have been brought back to reality rather than being stuck in finishing out the nightmare, she scooted toward her brother and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, hiding her face in his chest as she let loose the last of her tears. And Wrecker hugged her close, a solid and comforting presence, holding her tightly as she drifted back to sleep.

****

She woke with a start. It took a few rapid, almost panicked blinks to clear away the lingering vision of several tall, wide-eyed, slowly blinking Kaminoans and a red-eyed, blue-skinned bounty hunter leering at her through a glass tube – she was stuck in the tube, stuck in the thick suffocating liquid, turned into an experiment… No. She wasn’t stuck anywhere. She was safe on the Marauder. She could hear Echo sighing in his sleep, Wrecker turning over on his rack, and Tech quietly snoring… Hunter must be on watch now. She stole out of her room and went to sit by her brother.

“Can’t sleep?” he asked. “I keep thinking about the Kaminoans. Seeing that place,” she said, taking a breath before sharing her newfound fear. “I don’t want to end up an experiment in a tube.” “That’s not gonna happen,” Hunter said firmly. “If I’m as valuable as you say, Lama Su will keep sending bounty hunters after me.” “He can send everyone in the galaxy. You have us.” She wanted to feel better, to feel comforted; but she knew the truth, and the truth wasn’t comforting. “You can’t fight them all.” Hunter slid out of his seat and knelt in front of her. “Omega, you don’t have to worry. You are never going back to Kamino.” He was so sincere, she couldn’t help but feel hopeful. “Promise?” she asked. “I promise.” And she knew he would do everything in his power to keep that promise. She took him by surprise when she hugged him; but he took her in his arms as he reclaimed his seat, letting her curl up against him, and held her close, gently resting his chin on her head, as sleep claimed her.

****

Her own gasp woke her up, and she found herself sitting straight up in her bed… Her nightmare would have had her believe she was alone, abandoned on a desolate and fractured Kamino, her brothers all taken from her. But reality proved otherwise: here she was in her own bed, on the Marauder, with four of her brothers talking quietly on the flight deck… Someone must have heard her gasp, for quiet footsteps now approached. “Omega?” Echo’s voice called out softly from just beyond the curtain. “I’m okay,” she reassured him, opening the curtain and attempting a smile to prove her words. “What happened?” he prodded gently but firmly. “Just a bad dream, that’s all. I’m okay now. I think I can go back to sleep.” He nodded once at her. “Can I help you get settled?” She smiled, genuinely now. “Yes, please!” Echo took two steps up the ladder to reach an appropriate angle to help her find Lula before tucking both her and the doll snugly under the covers, then lingering for several minutes in the threshold, keeping watch over her. “Sleep tight, Omega,” were the last words she heard before she fell asleep.

****

Her head felt foggy and her vision was still a little blurry, but she climbed down the ladder anyway and managed to land safely on her two feet. Only then could she manage some deep, calming breaths, reassuring herself that she could still breathe. She had never been frightened of water. She had grown up on an ocean planet, after all, and she was a strong swimmer. Still, after what had happened on Kamino months ago, she had to admit it had been rather unsettling a few weeks ago to fall into a fast-moving river in the dark with no idea where the river would lead or when she’d be able to take her next breath. Add to this being caught out on the water during the recent tidal wave, and she supposed it was no wonder she had just had a nightmare about drowning. She wasn’t quite sure where Hunter and Wrecker were – maybe out on the plaza by the Archium – but Tech was sitting on the Marauder’s steps, datapad in hand. He must have heard her leave her room, for now he turned and considered her solemnly before gesturing to her to join him – an invitation she gratefully accepted. “Did you wake from a nightmare, Omega?” Tech asked once she had settled down beside him. Still trying to steady her breathing, she nodded. “Would it help if you told me about it?” She shook her head. Tech nodded thoughtfully, pursing his lips ever so slightly as he glanced at her again. “Shall I tell you what I have been researching?” he offered. She smiled – this would be the perfect way to get her mind off her dream. “Yes please.” His research was always interesting, and he didn’t disappoint this time either, as he told her all about the constellations in this sector of the galaxy and which could best be seen from Pabu at this time of year. She wanted to keep learning these details – she loved looking at the stars – but she was really tired, and Tech’s voice was so calm and soothing… She rested her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes as Tech continued his lecture, and soon dozed off to sleep.

****

She woke with wet cheeks, her thin pillow soaked with tears. Of course she had been crying: she had just dreamed that Tech was gone, lost forever; Wrecker and Hunter and Echo had been caught by Imperials; and she had been carried off to be imprisoned in a laboratory… But it wasn’t just a dream. This was her reality. There was no waking from this nightmare. �� And there was no one to comfort her, not anymore. She had a brother here, but he had never exactly seemed to be the type to offer comfort; and anyway, she couldn’t even try talking to him – even if she could find where Crosshair was being held, she wasn’t allowed out of her room at this hour. She was alone, locked in this cell. She was alone, trapped in this horror. There was no escape. She cried herself to sleep.

****

She stared at the red-tinted viewport of her room on the Marauder. Her eyes were heavy, but she didn’t dare close them. Hunter was worried about her, she knew; he kept asking if she could sleep. It was easier to shrug as if it was no big deal and say she couldn’t get to sleep, rather than try to explain that she didn’t want to sleep. Sleep meant dreaming. She didn’t want to dream again – when her dreams didn’t include Tech falling out of reach or Hunter and Wrecker being captured or Echo being shot down in a fight against Imperials or Crosshair being punished for something she did, they were haunted instead by the hopeless gaze of prisoners subjected to torture, the cruel undertones of Hemlock mocking her weakness and promising punishment, the claustrophobic crushing feeling of being trapped… and now, a shadow tracking her, trying to drag her back to that place… A gentle knock, and then Crosshair was sitting next to her. “So, you don’t want to sleep either,” he observed quietly. “No,” she replied. He said nothing else, just sought her hand and gripped it tightly in his as he joined her in staring at the red-tinted viewport, until exhaustion overwhelmed her resolve and pushed her into sleep.

****

She woke, shaking with fright, and bit her bottom lip hard to stop herself from crying out. It was over. Tantiss was gone. Hemlock was defeated. No more bounty hunters and shadow operatives. No more experiments and threats and torture. No more confinement. They had won. They were safe. She was safe. She shouldn’t be having these nightmares anymore. Hunter appeared in the doorway – she couldn’t stand to keep her door closed – and caught her wide-eyed gaze. She had wanted to keep this nightmare quiet, but she couldn’t help it: her eyes welled up with tears. “I… I don’t know why I keep having bad dreams…” she choked out. Hunter crossed the room and knelt by her bed, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “Omega, I think we’re all still having bad dreams,” he sighed. “It’s nothing to be ashamed of.” She nodded, but now that the tears had started, she couldn’t stop them, and her shaking had only intensified. “I don’t… I don’t want to be alone right now,” she admitted. Eyes full of concern, Hunter stood, scooped her up – blankets and all – and carried her out to the sofa in the front room of the cabin. Wrecker was already sitting there, idly rubbing one hand over his only recently healed chest, a faraway look on his face; but he blinked and looked up curiously when Hunter stood in front of him. “Budge up,” Hunter prodded him. “Give us some room.” Wrecker readily obliged, casting a sympathetic glance at her as Hunter sat down next to him, still holding her snugly in his arms. “You have a bad dream, too, kid?” Wrecker asked. She nodded, tears still leaking down her face, though already she was feeling a bit better, and she wasn’t shaking quite so much anymore. Hunter now looked toward Crosshair’s room – he must have sensed something; and, as if on cue, Crosshair now wandered out of his own room, face troubled and shoulders hunched dejectedly. He stopped short, expression shifting to puzzlement, when he saw the trio on the sofa. “What’s all this?” Hunter yawned. “We’re all having a hard time sleeping too.” Wrecker patted the narrow space that was left on the other side of him on the sofa. “Come here, Crosshair, there’s still room for you.” Crosshair, now looking startled, started to shake his head. “I was just getting some water…” “Sit,” Hunter ordered. “Please?” she put in. It only took one look at her tear-streaked face for Crosshair to capitulate, though he still sighed a little as he wedged himself next to Wrecker. “Better?” he said, with only the slightest hint of sarcasm. She smiled as she reached across Wrecker to pat Crosshair’s arm. “MUCH better,” she said. “Uh hm,” Crosshair hummed with a small smile, before elbowing Wrecker. “Move your arm. I’m falling off the couch here.” Grumbling a little, Wrecker moved both his arms from where they were wedged against his sides, slinging them across Hunter’s and Crosshair’s shoulders. Crosshair shifted himself to lean against Wrecker, and Hunter, adjusting his hold on her as she curled into him more closely, tilted his head back and closed his eyes with a sigh. And as her eyes now filled with tears of relief, she smiled again, letting the comforting calm of her brothers’ presence fill her, knowing she was surrounded by people who loved her enough to fight off the horrors, even the horrors in her dreams. It wasn’t long before they all drifted off into blissfully dreamless sleep.

@summer-of-bad-batch